Papers by Marcio Nascimento
How can we flip a mattress, so as to keep it durable, and
how many ways can it be done?
This ques... more How can we flip a mattress, so as to keep it durable, and
how many ways can it be done?
This question is a great way to introduce the intuitive
flipping laws of a mattress, as shown by the American
writer and computer scientist Brian Patrick Hayes in his
incredible book Group Theory in the Bedroom, and Other
Mathematical Diversions (2009). The answer, which takes
into account the initial condition of the mattress, involves
a mathematical theory established by an adolescent who
died in his twenties and covers applications as relevant
and disparate as mattress flipping and quantum physics.
Following 1793 Patent Act and the current American laws, they declared that “the master is the ow... more Following 1793 Patent Act and the current American laws, they declared that “the master is the owner of the fruits of the labor of the slave both manual and intellectual”. Thus, no slave could patent his own inventions, because if they intended, patents would be considered property of their owner. There are a vast literature on subject [1,2].
However, there was a descendant of slaves who submitted a patent a few decades later, and was able to obtain a grant, under number US 3,306X, published on March 3, 1821 [1]. The required patent had the following title: “Dry Scouring Clothes,” about a new method of cleaning and washing that preceded the dry cleaning current system [3,4].
The patentee was Thomas L. Jennings (1791 - 1856), tailor, entrepreneur, inventor and abolitionist, a free man. That was the reason why he obtained exclusive rights and the patent privilege of a new dry cleaning process (Figure 1). However, it was not an easy task, because his request was contested by the fact of being black. Jennings won the case because the law simply was not applicable to him. It was only in 1861 that the American Congress reviewed the rules to extend patent rights to slaves, since the new law understood that the privilege should be granted “only to its one true inventor,” even if they were still considered to be a property of someone. It is worth remembering that the US Emancipation Proclamation occurred two years later, on January 1, 1863, by President Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865).
Em 2015 celebra-se o Ano Internacional da Luz por decisão da Assembleia Geral das Nações
Unidas. ... more Em 2015 celebra-se o Ano Internacional da Luz por decisão da Assembleia Geral das Nações
Unidas. Tal data coincide com a comemoração de um importante marco na história das ciências,
engenharias e da tecnologia, que foi a proposta da Teoria da Relatividade Geral pelo vencedor do Prêmio Nobel de Física de 1921, Albert Einstein. Apresentamos um exemplo sucinto desta espetacular teoria, vinculado a um experimento realizado no nordeste brasileiro em 1919, sugerido por um engenheiro e astrônomo franco-brasileiro: Henrique Charles Morize
One of the most relevant open issues in glass science refers to our ignorance the nature of the ... more One of the most relevant open issues in glass science refers to our ignorance the nature of the diffusing entities that control crystal nucleation and growth in non-crystalline materials. This information is very relevant because all the existing nucleation and growth equations account for the diffusion coefficient (DU) of these unknown entities. In this article, we measured the shear viscosity (g) and the crystal growth rates of a supercooled diopside liquid (CaMgSi2O6) in a wide temperature range. The well-known decoupling of viscosity and crystal
growth rates at deep supercoolings was detected. We tested and analyzed 4 different approaches to compute DU, three existing and one proposed here. As expected, the classical approach (DU ~ g1) and the fractional viscosity approach (DU ~ ge) were not able to describe the crystal growth rates near the glass transition temperature. However, our proposed expression to calculate DU—gradually changing from a viscosity-controlled to an Arrhenian-controlled process—was able to describe the available data in the whole temperature range and yielded the lowest uncertainty for the adjustable parameters. Our results suggest that viscous flow ceases to control the crystal growth process below the so-called decoupling temperature, corroborating some previous studies.
This article deals with the centenary of one of the greatest Brazilian scientists. Bachelor in el... more This article deals with the centenary of one of the greatest Brazilian scientists. Bachelor in electrical engineering, was also graduated in mathematics at the newly founded University of São Paulo, where he was in addition professor of physics. Schenberg was widely regarded as one of Brazil's most important theoretical physicists, as well as politician, writer and art critic
Resumo Este trabalho refere-se a uma spin-off acadêmica e o processo de desenvolvimento de um pro... more Resumo Este trabalho refere-se a uma spin-off acadêmica e o processo de desenvolvimento de um produto inovador. Este tema é relativamente pouco explorado na literatura pois a maioria dos estudos se concentra em empresas de grande porte e bem estabelecidas. O objetivo principal consiste em analisar a viabilidade técnica e econômica, por meio de um plano de negócios, de um spin-off que fabrica compósitos de fibra de polipropileno-coco. Os resultados foram estimados por um prazo de dez anos. Usando uma abordagem sistêmica, os conceitos e fundamentos da engenharia econômica são usados para determinar as despesas e os resultados esperados. Conclui-se que o negócio proposto é viável, sustentável e pode ser rapidamente
In this article I present a simple definition of mathematics, from a non-specialist, based on bea... more In this article I present a simple definition of mathematics, from a non-specialist, based on beauty and aesthetics. It is certainly not new, but rewritten and based on the platonic concept of idea, that has Pythagorean origins. The beauty is exemplified in terms of symmetry, more precisely by means of ambigrams, the Rorschach inkblot test and poetry. However, even considering all the elements of poetry, one cannot explain why some songs we like a lot and why it is possible to know all the words by heart. Part of the answer was quoted by Pascal in one of his Pensées.
A produção de nanofibras a partir da técnica de electrospinning representa uma linha de atuação e... more A produção de nanofibras a partir da técnica de electrospinning representa uma linha de atuação estratégica nacional tendo em vista os diversos tipos de materiais que podem ser obtidos, assim como um amplo leque de aplicações. Nanocompósitos poliméricos, constituídos geralmente pela junção de um polímero com substâncias inorgânicas torna possível a obtenção de novos materiais com características únicas e otimizadas quando comparadas às substâncias em separado. O uso da técnica de eletrofiação (electrospinning) faz com que a interação entre os dois materiais na formação das fibras ocorra de maneira mais efetiva. Com o objetivo de melhor utilização dessa técnica, nesse trabalho foi analisada financeiramente a viabilidade de compra e instalação de um spin-off acadêmico visando a fabricação de nanofios pela técnica de electrospinning por uma incubadora de inovação de alta base tecnológica, vinculada a um laboratório de pesquisa em materiais brasileiro. A partir da utilização dos métodos de análise econômica de Valor Presente Líquido e Taxa Interna de Retorno foi possível verificar o potencial de lucratividade que a aquisição e operação de uma máquina de electrospinning pode fornecer para uma spin-off, levando em consideração tanto o aparato inicial necessário quanto as particularidades e variações apresentadas pelo mercado em que o produto está inserido.
Como ensinar o algoritmo da divisão usando, de forma divertida, grãos de três cereais, para repre... more Como ensinar o algoritmo da divisão usando, de forma divertida, grãos de três cereais, para representar a casa das centenas, das dezenas e das unidades
A raiz quadrada de -1 tem uma história que pode ser dita complexa
The objective is to describe the first patents, key inventions and scientific papers related to g... more The objective is to describe the first patents, key inventions and scientific papers related to glass science & technology. According to the literature and the Guinness Book of Records, the first English recorded patent was granted to John Uty-nam in England in 1449 and a second in 1552. Regarding publications, the first two papers on glass production were published in 1665 in Le Journal des Sçavans in France and the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society in Eng-land. We illustrate our points using landmarks that cover half a millennia and constitute advancements in modern life that are substantially connected to and dependent on glass technology.
Core/shell structures of carbon-based materials/ metal oxide have been considered as potential ca... more Core/shell structures of carbon-based materials/ metal oxide have been considered as potential candidates for electrochemical devices due to their improved pseudocapacitance/electrical double layer capacitance and high conductivity/ superior surface area. The development of multiple core-shell structures of MWCNT@MnO 2 @PPy was analyzed as a standard procedure for mass production of supercapacitor electrodes. The relative concentration of carbon nanotubes in the composite was varied to optimize the double layer capacitance contribution in overall response of device. Resulting structures presented capacitance in order of 272.7 Fg-1 and reasonable cycling performance.
In 2015, we commemorated the 120th anniversary of the birth of the brilliant Brazilian mathematic... more In 2015, we commemorated the 120th anniversary of the birth of the brilliant Brazilian mathematics professor, storyteller and writer, Julio Cesar de Mello e Souza. Under the pen name of Malba Tahan, he published a seminal book on recreational mathematics that has since been translated into many languages. We reveal the origin of his best-known story, the riddle of the 35 camels to be divided
among three sons, where the eldest son was to have one-half of them, the second son one-third and the third one-ninth. This riddle is cleverly solved by adding one camel before dividing them amongst the brothers, and then subtracting two camels afterwards. We provide all the solutions to the more general puzzle in which t jamals (camels) are divided among three brothers ¡ assigning some fraction of the total to each one ¡ by means of adding one camel before dividing and removing two camels after the division is completed. We also address a controversy related to the origins of this type of puzzle. Finally, we conclude that Tahan, the man who loved to count, really existed.
Background: According to the Guinness Book of Records, the earliest of all known English patents ... more Background: According to the Guinness Book of Records, the earliest of all known English patents for an invention was granted by King Henry VI in 1449 to Flemish-born John Utynam for making stained glass. The second patent was approved by King Edward VI and granted to Henry Smyth in 1552 for making Normandy glass. Objective: To show that most of the first published patents were related to the manufacture of glass or to instruments that used such knowledge. Method: We analyzed some historical documents and applied a brief statistical analysis on the number of glass patents publications. Results: In Italy, patent laws started as early as 1474 to protect incipient glass manufactures. The first French patent was granted in 1561 for a special lens dispositive (l'holmetre). The first American patent was issued in 1790 for an improvement " in the making of Potash and Pearl ash "-both are basically potassium carbonate, essential for the making glass and soap. The first German trademark registration, PERKEO, was granted in 1894 to a Berlin lamp producer. Approximately 827,643 patents with the term " glass " in the title or abstract have been filed worldwide, according to the European Patent Office (starting in 1859 and up to 2015). This number continues to grow as do total glass sales worldwide. Looking for the word " glass " in the title only, we found 250,589 patents filed in this period. Conclusion: We conclude that the spirit of innovation has in its origins a strong connection with the rise of glass technology.
Fractais correspondem originalmente a diagramas, figuras e esquemas
visuais que se repetem em alg... more Fractais correspondem originalmente a diagramas, figuras e esquemas
visuais que se repetem em alguma escala – e alguns podem ser criados
a partir de papel e lápis. Concebidos pela mente de um matemático
franco-polonês, essas estruturas podem ser também compreendidas
na forma de sons, como ocorre em uma das composições clássicas mais
famosas do mundo
We briefly discuss a letter written by physicist of German origin Albert Einstein (1879-1955) to ... more We briefly discuss a letter written by physicist of German origin Albert Einstein (1879-1955) to the Norwegian Nobel Committee nominating the Brazilian military officer, geographer, explorer and peacemaker Candido Mariano da Silva Rondon (1865-1958). Einstein nominated other eleven scientists, and all them were Nobel Prizes laureates. We also examine and discuss the Nobel Peace Prize Nominators and Nominees from 1901 to 1964. Just taking into account data up to the year of the Nobel Prize, the highest number of nominations was awarded to an organization, the Permanent International Peace Bureau in 1910, with a total of 103 nominations, followed by two women: Bertha von Suttner (101 nominations, 1905) and Jane Addams (91 nominations, 1931). Data show that the average number of nominations per Nobel Prize awarded was 17.7, and only 18 of the total 62 laureates exceed this average. At the other extreme there were often prizewinners who had just zero, one, two or three nominations-a highly subjective indicator. We also verified that there were at least 25 nominations by National Parliaments, there were determinants for some winners. Considering the results presented, it is possible to affirm that Rondon received sufficient nominations to be awarded the Nobel Prize, even not considering Einstein's letter.
The development of low cost alkaline anion solid exchange membranes requires high ionic conductiv... more The development of low cost alkaline anion solid exchange membranes requires high ionic conductivity, low liquid uptake, strong mechanical properties and chemical stability. PVA/PSSA blends cross-linked with glutaraldehyde and decorated with titanium dioxide nanoparticles introduce advantages relative to the pristine membrane of PVA and PVA/PVP membranes due to their improved electrical response and low methanol uptake/ swelling ratio allowing their use in alkaline direct methanol fuel cells
Clays obtained from nature have a lot of impurities. Therefore, for best using of these materials... more Clays obtained from nature have a lot of impurities. Therefore, for best using of these materials, it is necessary its selection and purification. Thus, the aim of this work is to separate and to purify the smectite fractions using water as a solvent at a low flux mixed with a bentonite clay extracted from a mine in Vitória da Conquista - Bahia / Brazil. For this a separation method of fractions of expandable clays based on the Stokes’ Law was applied – this process is called elutriation, in order to ensure and to expand possible
industrial applications of this material. The samples were characterized by analysis of X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy. The Rietveld method enabled the quantification of main phase minerals: montmorillonite, kaolinite, nontronite and quartz, reaching 85% in mass of montmorillonite phase at the end of the process. Results showed that the method used was efficient to remove almost all quartz, carbonates and organic matter from the sample. It was also observed a monomodal
grain size distribution of elutriated materials with thinner grains, around (18.1 ± 1.8) mm at the end of the process. It has been concluded that the method developed and applied showed promising characters to be applied to elutriate kilograms of clays and could be used in industrial scale
In this short statistical report, we compile and analyze statistics on past and current scientifi... more In this short statistical report, we compile and analyze statistics on past and current scientific and technological research on photosensitive glass (PG) as well as glass-ceramics (GC). Their developments have traced remarkable histories since their first commercial discoveries in the 1940s and 1950s, both the work of Don Stookey. These products and processes have transformed modern life and are two of the most widely reported methods for special glass manufacturing. They provide security, are of high quality mass production. The U.S., Japan and China have been leaders in PG glass development, the second place going to China in terms of GC research communities. We have observed very significant progress in recent decades with an exponential growth in the number of scientific publications and patents for PGs and GCs due to new publications, author keywords, affiliations and primary characterization techniques. More than 6,497 patents were filed globally prior to 2015 with the terms " photo-sensitive and glass " and 9,738 with the terms " glass and ceramics " within the title or abstract according to the European Patent Office. These numbers have continued to grow along with worldwide PG and GC-related sales. Based on the Sco-pus database, for the same period 1,405 PG documents and 30,819 GC-related (primarily manuscripts) were published with the same terms in the title, abstract or keywords list. From this statistical analysis, both PG and GC will continue to be fascinating materials for further research, development and uses in the near future.
In this article we present a simple argument that explains
brotherhood or fraternity in terms of ... more In this article we present a simple argument that explains
brotherhood or fraternity in terms of an exponential
growth model called ‘the genealogy paradox’. Looking
at a family tree today, the mathematics about the calculations of how many descendants there were since
the beginning of our Era shows that we should expect
as many as 604 sextillion people in the past. This occurs
because, in theory, a person’s ancestor tree should be a
binary tree, formed by the person, the first generation
back with two parents, the second generation back with
four grandparents, the third generation back with eight
great-grandparents, and so on. Thus, there appears to be
more ancestors in these early generations than available
people. This astronomical number is absurd, and one
explanation is related to marriages between relatives
– another reason could be related to migration. In
conclusion, it is easy to observe that we are all members
of the same family tree, the tree of life.
Uploads
Papers by Marcio Nascimento
how many ways can it be done?
This question is a great way to introduce the intuitive
flipping laws of a mattress, as shown by the American
writer and computer scientist Brian Patrick Hayes in his
incredible book Group Theory in the Bedroom, and Other
Mathematical Diversions (2009). The answer, which takes
into account the initial condition of the mattress, involves
a mathematical theory established by an adolescent who
died in his twenties and covers applications as relevant
and disparate as mattress flipping and quantum physics.
However, there was a descendant of slaves who submitted a patent a few decades later, and was able to obtain a grant, under number US 3,306X, published on March 3, 1821 [1]. The required patent had the following title: “Dry Scouring Clothes,” about a new method of cleaning and washing that preceded the dry cleaning current system [3,4].
The patentee was Thomas L. Jennings (1791 - 1856), tailor, entrepreneur, inventor and abolitionist, a free man. That was the reason why he obtained exclusive rights and the patent privilege of a new dry cleaning process (Figure 1). However, it was not an easy task, because his request was contested by the fact of being black. Jennings won the case because the law simply was not applicable to him. It was only in 1861 that the American Congress reviewed the rules to extend patent rights to slaves, since the new law understood that the privilege should be granted “only to its one true inventor,” even if they were still considered to be a property of someone. It is worth remembering that the US Emancipation Proclamation occurred two years later, on January 1, 1863, by President Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865).
Unidas. Tal data coincide com a comemoração de um importante marco na história das ciências,
engenharias e da tecnologia, que foi a proposta da Teoria da Relatividade Geral pelo vencedor do Prêmio Nobel de Física de 1921, Albert Einstein. Apresentamos um exemplo sucinto desta espetacular teoria, vinculado a um experimento realizado no nordeste brasileiro em 1919, sugerido por um engenheiro e astrônomo franco-brasileiro: Henrique Charles Morize
growth rates at deep supercoolings was detected. We tested and analyzed 4 different approaches to compute DU, three existing and one proposed here. As expected, the classical approach (DU ~ g1) and the fractional viscosity approach (DU ~ ge) were not able to describe the crystal growth rates near the glass transition temperature. However, our proposed expression to calculate DU—gradually changing from a viscosity-controlled to an Arrhenian-controlled process—was able to describe the available data in the whole temperature range and yielded the lowest uncertainty for the adjustable parameters. Our results suggest that viscous flow ceases to control the crystal growth process below the so-called decoupling temperature, corroborating some previous studies.
among three sons, where the eldest son was to have one-half of them, the second son one-third and the third one-ninth. This riddle is cleverly solved by adding one camel before dividing them amongst the brothers, and then subtracting two camels afterwards. We provide all the solutions to the more general puzzle in which t jamals (camels) are divided among three brothers ¡ assigning some fraction of the total to each one ¡ by means of adding one camel before dividing and removing two camels after the division is completed. We also address a controversy related to the origins of this type of puzzle. Finally, we conclude that Tahan, the man who loved to count, really existed.
visuais que se repetem em alguma escala – e alguns podem ser criados
a partir de papel e lápis. Concebidos pela mente de um matemático
franco-polonês, essas estruturas podem ser também compreendidas
na forma de sons, como ocorre em uma das composições clássicas mais
famosas do mundo
industrial applications of this material. The samples were characterized by analysis of X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy. The Rietveld method enabled the quantification of main phase minerals: montmorillonite, kaolinite, nontronite and quartz, reaching 85% in mass of montmorillonite phase at the end of the process. Results showed that the method used was efficient to remove almost all quartz, carbonates and organic matter from the sample. It was also observed a monomodal
grain size distribution of elutriated materials with thinner grains, around (18.1 ± 1.8) mm at the end of the process. It has been concluded that the method developed and applied showed promising characters to be applied to elutriate kilograms of clays and could be used in industrial scale
brotherhood or fraternity in terms of an exponential
growth model called ‘the genealogy paradox’. Looking
at a family tree today, the mathematics about the calculations of how many descendants there were since
the beginning of our Era shows that we should expect
as many as 604 sextillion people in the past. This occurs
because, in theory, a person’s ancestor tree should be a
binary tree, formed by the person, the first generation
back with two parents, the second generation back with
four grandparents, the third generation back with eight
great-grandparents, and so on. Thus, there appears to be
more ancestors in these early generations than available
people. This astronomical number is absurd, and one
explanation is related to marriages between relatives
– another reason could be related to migration. In
conclusion, it is easy to observe that we are all members
of the same family tree, the tree of life.
how many ways can it be done?
This question is a great way to introduce the intuitive
flipping laws of a mattress, as shown by the American
writer and computer scientist Brian Patrick Hayes in his
incredible book Group Theory in the Bedroom, and Other
Mathematical Diversions (2009). The answer, which takes
into account the initial condition of the mattress, involves
a mathematical theory established by an adolescent who
died in his twenties and covers applications as relevant
and disparate as mattress flipping and quantum physics.
However, there was a descendant of slaves who submitted a patent a few decades later, and was able to obtain a grant, under number US 3,306X, published on March 3, 1821 [1]. The required patent had the following title: “Dry Scouring Clothes,” about a new method of cleaning and washing that preceded the dry cleaning current system [3,4].
The patentee was Thomas L. Jennings (1791 - 1856), tailor, entrepreneur, inventor and abolitionist, a free man. That was the reason why he obtained exclusive rights and the patent privilege of a new dry cleaning process (Figure 1). However, it was not an easy task, because his request was contested by the fact of being black. Jennings won the case because the law simply was not applicable to him. It was only in 1861 that the American Congress reviewed the rules to extend patent rights to slaves, since the new law understood that the privilege should be granted “only to its one true inventor,” even if they were still considered to be a property of someone. It is worth remembering that the US Emancipation Proclamation occurred two years later, on January 1, 1863, by President Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865).
Unidas. Tal data coincide com a comemoração de um importante marco na história das ciências,
engenharias e da tecnologia, que foi a proposta da Teoria da Relatividade Geral pelo vencedor do Prêmio Nobel de Física de 1921, Albert Einstein. Apresentamos um exemplo sucinto desta espetacular teoria, vinculado a um experimento realizado no nordeste brasileiro em 1919, sugerido por um engenheiro e astrônomo franco-brasileiro: Henrique Charles Morize
growth rates at deep supercoolings was detected. We tested and analyzed 4 different approaches to compute DU, three existing and one proposed here. As expected, the classical approach (DU ~ g1) and the fractional viscosity approach (DU ~ ge) were not able to describe the crystal growth rates near the glass transition temperature. However, our proposed expression to calculate DU—gradually changing from a viscosity-controlled to an Arrhenian-controlled process—was able to describe the available data in the whole temperature range and yielded the lowest uncertainty for the adjustable parameters. Our results suggest that viscous flow ceases to control the crystal growth process below the so-called decoupling temperature, corroborating some previous studies.
among three sons, where the eldest son was to have one-half of them, the second son one-third and the third one-ninth. This riddle is cleverly solved by adding one camel before dividing them amongst the brothers, and then subtracting two camels afterwards. We provide all the solutions to the more general puzzle in which t jamals (camels) are divided among three brothers ¡ assigning some fraction of the total to each one ¡ by means of adding one camel before dividing and removing two camels after the division is completed. We also address a controversy related to the origins of this type of puzzle. Finally, we conclude that Tahan, the man who loved to count, really existed.
visuais que se repetem em alguma escala – e alguns podem ser criados
a partir de papel e lápis. Concebidos pela mente de um matemático
franco-polonês, essas estruturas podem ser também compreendidas
na forma de sons, como ocorre em uma das composições clássicas mais
famosas do mundo
industrial applications of this material. The samples were characterized by analysis of X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy. The Rietveld method enabled the quantification of main phase minerals: montmorillonite, kaolinite, nontronite and quartz, reaching 85% in mass of montmorillonite phase at the end of the process. Results showed that the method used was efficient to remove almost all quartz, carbonates and organic matter from the sample. It was also observed a monomodal
grain size distribution of elutriated materials with thinner grains, around (18.1 ± 1.8) mm at the end of the process. It has been concluded that the method developed and applied showed promising characters to be applied to elutriate kilograms of clays and could be used in industrial scale
brotherhood or fraternity in terms of an exponential
growth model called ‘the genealogy paradox’. Looking
at a family tree today, the mathematics about the calculations of how many descendants there were since
the beginning of our Era shows that we should expect
as many as 604 sextillion people in the past. This occurs
because, in theory, a person’s ancestor tree should be a
binary tree, formed by the person, the first generation
back with two parents, the second generation back with
four grandparents, the third generation back with eight
great-grandparents, and so on. Thus, there appears to be
more ancestors in these early generations than available
people. This astronomical number is absurd, and one
explanation is related to marriages between relatives
– another reason could be related to migration. In
conclusion, it is easy to observe that we are all members
of the same family tree, the tree of life.