- Sea glass (Wikipedia)
Sea glass are naturally weathered pieces of the anthropogenic glass fragments of typically drinkwares, which often have the appearance of tumbled stones. Sea glass is physically polished and chemically weathered glass found on beaches along bodies of salt water. These weathering processes produce natural frosted glass. Sea glass is used for decoration, most commonly in jewellery. “Beach glass” comes from fresh water and is often less frosted in appearance than sea glass. Sea glass takes 20–40 years, and sometimes as much as 100–200 years, to acquire its characteristic texture and shape. It is also colloquially referred to as drift glass from the longshore drift process that forms the smooth edges. In practice, the two terms are used interchangeably.
- Inside the tiny chip that powers Montreal subway tickets (righto.com)
To use the Montreal subway (the Métro), you tap a paper ticket against the turnstile and it opens. The ticket works through a system called NFC, but what’s happening internally? How does the ticket work without a battery? How does it communicate with the turnstile? And how can it be so cheap that you can throw the ticket away after one use? To answer these questions, I opened up a ticket and examined the tiny chip inside.