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My Tungsten Cube - Tristan Hume

thume.ca · 628 words · saved by 1 readers

A few months ago I bought a featureless cube of tungsten. It’s 1.5 inches across and cost $130, but I argue it was one of the best purchases I’ve made recently. Why would I spend so much money on a cube? Well it’s really dense. Tungsten is one of the densest elements, over twice the density of steel. My cube weighs one kilogram despite being pretty small. The first time I held a friend’s tungsten cube I was blown away, it felt like some otherworldy force was pulling the cube down into my hand (spoiler: it was gravity). Whenever I show people my cube they consistently find it really cool and it’s fun to be able to so easily share a unique experience like that. Even after the initial surprise wore off, I still find it just really satisfying to hold. Ever hold something with satisfying heft? Well it’s like the platonically purest amplified form of that satisfaction. I keep it on my desk and turn it around in my hands while I’m thinking. The cool thing about it being a featureless hunk of

My Tungsten Cube - Tristan Hume Tristan Hume Github Resume + Project List Blog My Tungsten Cube --> A few months ago I bought a featureless cube of tungsten. It’s 1.5 inches across and cost $130, but I argue it was one of the best purchases I’ve made recently. Why would I spend so much money on a cube? Well it’s really dense. Tungsten is one of the densest elements, over twice the density of steel. My cube weighs one kilogram despite being pretty small. The first time I held a friend’s tungsten cube I was blown away, it felt like some otherworldy force was pulling the cube down into my hand (s

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