Synchronous rotation of the set of double pendula: experimental observations.

We study the occurrence of the synchronous rotation of a set of four uncoupled nonidentical double pendula arranged into a cross structure mounted on a vertically excited platform. Under the excitation, the pendula can rotate in different directions (counter-clockwise or clockwise). It has been shown that after a transient, many different types of synchronous configurations with the constant phase difference between pendula can be observed. The experimental results qualitatively agree with the numerical simulations.

The three-dimensional dynamics of the die throw.

A three-dimensional model of a die throw which considers the die bounces with dissipation on the fixed and oscillating table has been formulated. It allows simulations of the trajectories for dice with different shapes. Numerical results have been compared with the experimental observation using high speed camera. It is shown that for the realistic values of the initial energy the probabilities of the die landing on the face which is the lowest one at the beginning is larger than the probabilities of landing on any other face. We argue that non-smoothness of the system plays a key role in the occurrence of dynamical uncertainties and gives the explanation why for practically small uncertainties in the initial conditions a mechanical randomizer approximates the random process.

Physical attractiveness: interpersonal and intrapersonal variability of assessments.

On the basis of face photographs, a team of 50 male judges assessed the physical attractiveness of 64 young women, giving them scores according to two scales (0/1 and 1-10). The attractiveness of each woman was then calculated as the mean value of assessments of all observers. The ratio of intra- to interpersonal variance of assessments was the measure of divergence of the observers' opinions (and its complement to unit was the measure of consistency). The correlation between assessments of attractiveness and measurements of the morphological features of the women was calculated as well as the correlation between the morphological features of the observers and the features of women regarded by them as the most attractive. The main conclusions are: Attractiveness is not solely a function of individual tastes. About 25 per cent of the assessments' variance can be explained by common opinion of the judges. Higher assessments of attractiveness are correlated with modal variants of morphological features of assessed women. There was no correlation between morphological features of the observers and the features of the women rated most attractive by those observers.