Looking back on this past semester, I will admit that it could have been worse. I liked learning about blogs and how they worked. The class had taken on a new and different style, and it was fun to try. It was also very interesting to learn about different topics each week. I learned many new things about a variety of subjects, and I will never regret that. The issues I had with this experience was that I may have learned many interesting facts, but that is all they are to me, simply interesting facts.
Physics is a fascinating subject, and is full of everyday formulas and facts that relate to things we use constantly. Yet, with all the topics I have researched this last semester, I still do not understand how they relate to Physics. The death of a star was interesting to learn the stages, but I have no idea what the quatum qualities about them are, or how they work. We never learned all the basic information necessary to make them more important to us. Many important concepts were not covered, and I regret not being able to learn them. The link between the class I took and the topics covered was missing to me.
The blogging exersize is a good idea as a once a month or weekly exersize, but nothing more. As a teacher once said, physics is the most basic science of them all. I feel like my scientific foundation is smaller than the information above it. I understand the tactic for taking us out of our everyday boring classroom enviroment, and get us more acquainted with technology but I believe this was not the complete way to go.
I am sorry for all the complaints done by me, but I am a very upfront person, and I do not appreciate curve balls. This blogging exersize came out of nowhere to start and lacked the connection to physics and why we looked it up in the first place besides to keep us busy. It is a toss-up on its good sides and bad sides, I would call this a fifty-fifty venture.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Realizing the Current Aspects of Today’s Fast-Paced Society in Relation to the Foundational Beginnings of Flight
With today’s continually evolving world, sometimes it is nice to take a step back and review the tributaries that formed the rushing river of contemporary society. One such factor that flew the world into hyper speed has been the constantly new modes of transportation invented over the years. One particularly fascinating and important form is flight. Since its conception, airplanes have made international relations stronger and booming industries. As all good things, it started out small and simple. I8n this case, it all began in Dayton, Ohio in 1896.
The two most famous brother credited with fathering flight are Wilbur and Orville Wright. These boys grew up with a bishop for a father and a mother that died in their high school years. After her death, they began their own printing business, which late turned into a bicycle shop. While tinkering with the bikes, the brothers began to formulate ways to balance an aircraft like riders do on their bikes. They took biplanes and warped the wings, and made test flights on kites. They continued further and tried to put controls in the planes.
These new balanced planes and initial controls were tested in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The Wright brothers chose this location because it was near the ocean, where they could take advantage of the strong sea winds. They loved using this wind to test out the wing designs and perfected it here. By the time they mastered the design, they began working on a small, light weight engine to outfit the plane. Racing against Samuel P. Langley, another flight enthusiast, Wilbur and Orville made their fist successful flight on December 17. 1903. With two more year of tweaking and fine tuning, the first “practical” plane was created in 1905.
Fast forwarding a few more years, 1926 was the next milestone with the invention of the Goddard rockets. These were the first liquid propellant rockets. It was manufactured by Robert H. Goddard, and it blasted up to forty-one feet in about two and a half seconds. Even more impressive is that it went one-hundred-four feet across the sky. The next memorable step was the legendary “Spirit of St. Louis” transatlantic trip performed by Charles Lindburgh in 1927. The next one took place fifteen years later with the invention of the first American turbojet.
On October 14, 1947 the “Glamorous Glennis” soared into the record books. An airplane piloted by Captain Charles Yeagar, it was the first manned aircraft to travel even faster than the speed of sound. It hit a record nine-hundred-fifty-seven miles per hour and reached altitudes of over seventy-thousand feet. At the time, it was most known for reaching the highest altitude for a manned spacecraft. The craft was named after Captain Charles wife. Strangely enough, all the above is small talk, especially as we travel to the late fifties.
On October 4, 1957, almost ten years later, the Russians launched Sputnik. Sputnik was the first artificial satellite sent into orbit around the Earth. It was an intense battle between the United States and Russia for this claim to fame, but the Russians beat us. This even sparked the infamous “Space Race”, that sent the United States scrambling to reach further heights. The U.S.’s response was the Explorer 1 Jupiter Rocket in 1958. This was quite the eye opener, and it revealed the radiation from the now called “Van Allen Radiation Belts”. It was the first big discovery for the Space Race.
Breaking into the sixties, on December 14, 1962 the United States launched the Mariner 1. The Mariner was the first aircraft created to study another planet. This little sucker came within an impressive twenty-one-thousand feet of Venus. Comparative to the Explorer, it discovered further radiation, magnetic fields, and interplanetary dust. The communication with the Mariner was lost on January 2, 1963. It now orbits the sun, at least we think it still does.
Since we were able to get satellites up in space, it was time to send a human. On February 20, 1962 we sent up John H. Glenn Jr. This man went around Earth three times, for a total of almost five hours before crash landing into the Atlantic Ocean. Our escapade followed the Russians, much to our dismay, from their success in 1961. The Gemini IV was another very impressive landmark of flight. The first spacewalk was performed by Edward H. White on June 3, 1965. The technical word for spacewalking is “Extra Vehicular Activity” (EVA). His amazing feat lasted for twenty minutes, and was ten minutes longer than the Russian’s first walk of only ten minutes.
Our next point, was the North American X-15. This was the first winged aircraft to actually work at extremely high altitudes of one-hundred-thousand feet. It was created as a rocket powered, research craft to study the problems of flight. The funny part about it was that unbeknownst to it’s creators, it would ultimately link manned flight to space exploration. The North American X-15 ended up functioning more like a space craft than an actual plane. Hooray for Americans, we actually made it somewhere before the Russians!
One of the most famous milestones is Apollo 11. This was the infamous first steps on the moon by Neil Armstrong. It was made into three parts, consisting of a command module, a service module, and a lunar module. The lunar module was nicknamed “The Eagle”. One of the astronauts stayed in the command module to take further pictures of the moon’s surface while the other two began their descent to Earth in the Eagle. Who can forget the quote “Small step for man, a giant leap for mankind”? From this exploration, we obtained basalt moon rocks from Apollo 17 that were used to study the moon’s surface.
Jumping from the moon to Mars, we travel to July 20, 1976. The Viking Lander, was the first spacecraft to reach Mars. It survived a ten month trip to get to Mars. The Viking Lander was a huge success because it continued to send us photographs until November of 1982. In 1983, the Pioneer 10 had reached beyond the known recesses of our solar system. It flew past Jupiter and even entered Pluto’s orbit. It entered an asteroid belt on July 15, 1983 and came out of it seven months later, unharmed! Their greatest achievement was that it reached beyond all known planets.
The Pershing II was a nuclear arms carrier, which continued the Cold War. The International Nuclear Forces Treaty prohibited the use of the Pershing II and other nuclear arms deployed in space. This was a sad note in history, because of the Space Race, the United States and Russia kept going back in forth and eventually tried to resort to arms in order to end it. Thankfully, this phase ended. A fun aspect of the milestones of flight occurred on March 19, 1999. The Breitling Orbiter was the first non-stop flight around the world by air balloon. It was performed by a British citizen.
The most recent milestone occurred on June 21, 2004 in the form of “SpaceShipOne”. This was the first privately owned space ship to reach space. This is a rather interesting point because it has been developed in order to attract possible tourism to space. Such as you pay a large fee, and they take you up into space and then back. It is not unlike your usual amusement parks today. The flight reached into space just enough, without being sent into orbit, and then landed safely back on Earth. It lasted twenty-four hours. It has won several awards for being privately created and its overall success. It is designed to hold three people, be light weight, and special wings for safe return to the Earth’s atmosphere.
The journey to today’s flight technology was a long, but rather interesting one. Just to think that everything starts with a simple idea, but image how much work has gone into developing it. Several nameless people have put their lives into the field, yet only a few get the real credit. Perhaps we can someday go into space for a day and then come home. Neat day trip huh?
The two most famous brother credited with fathering flight are Wilbur and Orville Wright. These boys grew up with a bishop for a father and a mother that died in their high school years. After her death, they began their own printing business, which late turned into a bicycle shop. While tinkering with the bikes, the brothers began to formulate ways to balance an aircraft like riders do on their bikes. They took biplanes and warped the wings, and made test flights on kites. They continued further and tried to put controls in the planes.
These new balanced planes and initial controls were tested in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The Wright brothers chose this location because it was near the ocean, where they could take advantage of the strong sea winds. They loved using this wind to test out the wing designs and perfected it here. By the time they mastered the design, they began working on a small, light weight engine to outfit the plane. Racing against Samuel P. Langley, another flight enthusiast, Wilbur and Orville made their fist successful flight on December 17. 1903. With two more year of tweaking and fine tuning, the first “practical” plane was created in 1905.
Fast forwarding a few more years, 1926 was the next milestone with the invention of the Goddard rockets. These were the first liquid propellant rockets. It was manufactured by Robert H. Goddard, and it blasted up to forty-one feet in about two and a half seconds. Even more impressive is that it went one-hundred-four feet across the sky. The next memorable step was the legendary “Spirit of St. Louis” transatlantic trip performed by Charles Lindburgh in 1927. The next one took place fifteen years later with the invention of the first American turbojet.
On October 14, 1947 the “Glamorous Glennis” soared into the record books. An airplane piloted by Captain Charles Yeagar, it was the first manned aircraft to travel even faster than the speed of sound. It hit a record nine-hundred-fifty-seven miles per hour and reached altitudes of over seventy-thousand feet. At the time, it was most known for reaching the highest altitude for a manned spacecraft. The craft was named after Captain Charles wife. Strangely enough, all the above is small talk, especially as we travel to the late fifties.
On October 4, 1957, almost ten years later, the Russians launched Sputnik. Sputnik was the first artificial satellite sent into orbit around the Earth. It was an intense battle between the United States and Russia for this claim to fame, but the Russians beat us. This even sparked the infamous “Space Race”, that sent the United States scrambling to reach further heights. The U.S.’s response was the Explorer 1 Jupiter Rocket in 1958. This was quite the eye opener, and it revealed the radiation from the now called “Van Allen Radiation Belts”. It was the first big discovery for the Space Race.
Breaking into the sixties, on December 14, 1962 the United States launched the Mariner 1. The Mariner was the first aircraft created to study another planet. This little sucker came within an impressive twenty-one-thousand feet of Venus. Comparative to the Explorer, it discovered further radiation, magnetic fields, and interplanetary dust. The communication with the Mariner was lost on January 2, 1963. It now orbits the sun, at least we think it still does.
Since we were able to get satellites up in space, it was time to send a human. On February 20, 1962 we sent up John H. Glenn Jr. This man went around Earth three times, for a total of almost five hours before crash landing into the Atlantic Ocean. Our escapade followed the Russians, much to our dismay, from their success in 1961. The Gemini IV was another very impressive landmark of flight. The first spacewalk was performed by Edward H. White on June 3, 1965. The technical word for spacewalking is “Extra Vehicular Activity” (EVA). His amazing feat lasted for twenty minutes, and was ten minutes longer than the Russian’s first walk of only ten minutes.
Our next point, was the North American X-15. This was the first winged aircraft to actually work at extremely high altitudes of one-hundred-thousand feet. It was created as a rocket powered, research craft to study the problems of flight. The funny part about it was that unbeknownst to it’s creators, it would ultimately link manned flight to space exploration. The North American X-15 ended up functioning more like a space craft than an actual plane. Hooray for Americans, we actually made it somewhere before the Russians!
One of the most famous milestones is Apollo 11. This was the infamous first steps on the moon by Neil Armstrong. It was made into three parts, consisting of a command module, a service module, and a lunar module. The lunar module was nicknamed “The Eagle”. One of the astronauts stayed in the command module to take further pictures of the moon’s surface while the other two began their descent to Earth in the Eagle. Who can forget the quote “Small step for man, a giant leap for mankind”? From this exploration, we obtained basalt moon rocks from Apollo 17 that were used to study the moon’s surface.
Jumping from the moon to Mars, we travel to July 20, 1976. The Viking Lander, was the first spacecraft to reach Mars. It survived a ten month trip to get to Mars. The Viking Lander was a huge success because it continued to send us photographs until November of 1982. In 1983, the Pioneer 10 had reached beyond the known recesses of our solar system. It flew past Jupiter and even entered Pluto’s orbit. It entered an asteroid belt on July 15, 1983 and came out of it seven months later, unharmed! Their greatest achievement was that it reached beyond all known planets.
The Pershing II was a nuclear arms carrier, which continued the Cold War. The International Nuclear Forces Treaty prohibited the use of the Pershing II and other nuclear arms deployed in space. This was a sad note in history, because of the Space Race, the United States and Russia kept going back in forth and eventually tried to resort to arms in order to end it. Thankfully, this phase ended. A fun aspect of the milestones of flight occurred on March 19, 1999. The Breitling Orbiter was the first non-stop flight around the world by air balloon. It was performed by a British citizen.
The most recent milestone occurred on June 21, 2004 in the form of “SpaceShipOne”. This was the first privately owned space ship to reach space. This is a rather interesting point because it has been developed in order to attract possible tourism to space. Such as you pay a large fee, and they take you up into space and then back. It is not unlike your usual amusement parks today. The flight reached into space just enough, without being sent into orbit, and then landed safely back on Earth. It lasted twenty-four hours. It has won several awards for being privately created and its overall success. It is designed to hold three people, be light weight, and special wings for safe return to the Earth’s atmosphere.
The journey to today’s flight technology was a long, but rather interesting one. Just to think that everything starts with a simple idea, but image how much work has gone into developing it. Several nameless people have put their lives into the field, yet only a few get the real credit. Perhaps we can someday go into space for a day and then come home. Neat day trip huh?
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Discovering the Hidden Significances of Holography in Every Day Life and Our Future World
When you hear the phrase"technology of the future", I'm sure holography does not come to mind. holography is a ery intersesting concept and its uses ar endless. Reaching from communication to health care, thsi technology h as yet to make its mark. Its name comes from the Greek words "holos" meaning "whole", and "gramma" meaning "message". And holography is just that. Well almost, it still has a lot of work to be done.
A Hologram is simply a picture, in three dimensional imaging. It was a first invented in 1947, when a Hungarian scdientistr Dennis Gabor attempted to modify the electron microscope. Unforunately, he was unable to make the light concetrated and allow defined forms to be distinguised. The light sources around at the time were not purely "coherent". By 1960, the invention of the laser came about. This further stemmed the invention of the pulsed ruby laser which would give off a strong burst of light that would allowthings moving at high speeds to be shown as real as possible in holographic forms. In 1967, the first holographic human people were created.
In detail, holography creates a 3-D image when a light source touches the light of a similar wave length coming from an object. That being said, a hologram is almost impossible to decipher when a hologram is only lit up by the initial light source. To make a completed hologram, it must have both components. HJolography is split up into two different types. They are reflections holograms and transmission holograms. A third type is called a hybrid hologram which is special and newer kind of hologram.
Reflection holograms are the most common. They consist of a white incandescent light that is localized into a spot. This spot is put at a certain angle, diustance and put on the observer's side of the object. The visible image uses the reflected light of the hologram. This kind of hologram is used mostly in art galleries. It is also responsible for the cool cards we would tilt different way to catch light and see different images. Life makes sense now, doesn't it?
The other kind of holography is called transmission holography. This one requires a laser light to be located behind the object and transmitted through it. This one is cool because you can put a piece of paper all around the object and still be albe to observe it through a hole. Also, depending on the holes location, you can look at different perspectives of it. This kind of holography is responsible for our projectors and powerpoints. Isn't this a pleasant discovery.
Hybrid holograms are a happy medium of the two. Hybrid holograms include the way we can mass produce holograms by "embossed holograms". This way uses a series of nickel deposits and grooved surfaces to catch the light and produce different images. Another method is the integral holograms. This uses several transparencies that are usually scanned into a camera, then shown on an LCD screen and lit up by a laser to create the hologram. Then holographic interferometry is used to make invisible objects visible, such as shock waves and heat waves.
Holography has made its way into today's life, and has made the world of healthcare even further advanced. For the future surgeons, they now are able to get a little practice in before working on a real body. Holograms make it possible for students to simulate body parts and see how they would operate on them and such. Also, current doctors are able to make three dimensional images of body parts in order to be better able to treat and diagnose injuries and disorders. They are able to simluate bones, eyes, organs, and more. They can also have a more advanced look at cavitites within the body that would be otherwise unseen by x-rays and CT scans.
Holograms are an interesting phenomenon that has taken many years to invent and improve. It is really amazing to think that lasers have such an important function in today's world. We will continue to make further discoveries about this and hopefully one day we can communicate further by using holograms. Such as working from home and being able to attend meetings via holograms. Wouldn't that be a neat convenience? But then again, it would continue to make our society even more lazy. Will this jepordize our existence or make it better? Many questions are out there surrounding the issue, I'm going to go with let's keep working on it and see where it leads us. Every advancement solves a problem, and then creates more to be fixed. If everything was perfect, there would be no reason for us to exist.
A Hologram is simply a picture, in three dimensional imaging. It was a first invented in 1947, when a Hungarian scdientistr Dennis Gabor attempted to modify the electron microscope. Unforunately, he was unable to make the light concetrated and allow defined forms to be distinguised. The light sources around at the time were not purely "coherent". By 1960, the invention of the laser came about. This further stemmed the invention of the pulsed ruby laser which would give off a strong burst of light that would allowthings moving at high speeds to be shown as real as possible in holographic forms. In 1967, the first holographic human people were created.
In detail, holography creates a 3-D image when a light source touches the light of a similar wave length coming from an object. That being said, a hologram is almost impossible to decipher when a hologram is only lit up by the initial light source. To make a completed hologram, it must have both components. HJolography is split up into two different types. They are reflections holograms and transmission holograms. A third type is called a hybrid hologram which is special and newer kind of hologram.
Reflection holograms are the most common. They consist of a white incandescent light that is localized into a spot. This spot is put at a certain angle, diustance and put on the observer's side of the object. The visible image uses the reflected light of the hologram. This kind of hologram is used mostly in art galleries. It is also responsible for the cool cards we would tilt different way to catch light and see different images. Life makes sense now, doesn't it?
The other kind of holography is called transmission holography. This one requires a laser light to be located behind the object and transmitted through it. This one is cool because you can put a piece of paper all around the object and still be albe to observe it through a hole. Also, depending on the holes location, you can look at different perspectives of it. This kind of holography is responsible for our projectors and powerpoints. Isn't this a pleasant discovery.
Hybrid holograms are a happy medium of the two. Hybrid holograms include the way we can mass produce holograms by "embossed holograms". This way uses a series of nickel deposits and grooved surfaces to catch the light and produce different images. Another method is the integral holograms. This uses several transparencies that are usually scanned into a camera, then shown on an LCD screen and lit up by a laser to create the hologram. Then holographic interferometry is used to make invisible objects visible, such as shock waves and heat waves.
Holography has made its way into today's life, and has made the world of healthcare even further advanced. For the future surgeons, they now are able to get a little practice in before working on a real body. Holograms make it possible for students to simulate body parts and see how they would operate on them and such. Also, current doctors are able to make three dimensional images of body parts in order to be better able to treat and diagnose injuries and disorders. They are able to simluate bones, eyes, organs, and more. They can also have a more advanced look at cavitites within the body that would be otherwise unseen by x-rays and CT scans.
Holograms are an interesting phenomenon that has taken many years to invent and improve. It is really amazing to think that lasers have such an important function in today's world. We will continue to make further discoveries about this and hopefully one day we can communicate further by using holograms. Such as working from home and being able to attend meetings via holograms. Wouldn't that be a neat convenience? But then again, it would continue to make our society even more lazy. Will this jepordize our existence or make it better? Many questions are out there surrounding the issue, I'm going to go with let's keep working on it and see where it leads us. Every advancement solves a problem, and then creates more to be fixed. If everything was perfect, there would be no reason for us to exist.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
A Look At Technology's Fantastic Advances in Alternative Energy Solutions To Create a Greener, Less Wasteful World
This world has come a long ways since the time when we were carrying clubs and writing on cave walls. Technology has been our friend, but at the same time it could just be our own demise. All of its advancements have come with consequences, an luckily we are discovering them now, and hopefully we can do something about them before it is too late. Burning our beloved fossil fuels has been ripping holes in the ozone layer, and is quickly running out due to our selfish ways (yes, I mean you!). Scientists are now scrambling to find more efficient, and practical ways of using everyday things as energy. Here are some of the ways that are in the works today.
The first, more popular way, is using solar energy. The sun rises and sets everyday, and is very predictable most of the time. Solar energy is the power that creates specific climates and forms of weather that pretty much keeps all living things, well, living. (Get down on your knees and worship the Sun, you never know when it might decide to not shine ;) We convert solar energy into electricity and presto we have solar power. This power is used across the spectrum of electricity users from agriculture to businesses. The great part about solar energy is that it is plentiful and available. Unfortunately, we haven't worked out all the kinks, such as if the day is cloudy.
Another popular method is wind power. This one has been used for years and years in the form of windmills to help pump water or crush grains. Today, we use wind power in the form of wind turbines on large wind farms. These farms are connected to electrical grids that span several places with energy. It only provides about one percent of the world's power, but other countries, such as Denmark has nineteen percent of their power produced from wind. Wind is great because it also very plentiful and renewable as well. It definitely does not give off emissions either! The down side is that it does not always stay windy in certain places, and the wind tends to blow with larger amounts of energy in higher altitudes, where no one lives (Can't imagine why...).
Wave energy is another popular idea, and it is created when we put generators on the ocean surface. This is used primarily in power plants, water pumps, and desaliniation facilities. The amount of energy produced from the wave depends on the wave height, length, density, and speed. The company Pacific Gas and Electric have supported this way and plan on building a plant that uses wave power. It is estimated that it could produce two megawatts of power, and it would provide 1500 homes with power! Sadly, this energy is also still experimental and under going trials.
Tidal power, commonly called tidal energy, stems from a form of hydropower that uses the energy of water movement of incoming and outgoing tides. This also uses turbines like wind energy, and can be used in two different ways. The first is called "tidal stream systems" and this uses the moving water, or kinetic energy. Tidal stream systems are cheaper and definitely are eco-friendly. The other one is called "barrages", and this is much more costly to build, still eco-friendly, but it relies on the potential energy between high and low tides. Again, this method is best used in certain locations where tides are more prevalent. So therefore only specific places can use this energy to its best potential.
I hope we find a solution for our energy crisis soon. Gas and electricity are getting way to expensive. We are forgetting to enjoy life because we have to work so much in order to pay to survive. Granted, we could all give up a few things we love and still be happy, but that ruins the "American Dream". Let's go team, fight for clean energy and a better tomorrow! (Yay!).
The first, more popular way, is using solar energy. The sun rises and sets everyday, and is very predictable most of the time. Solar energy is the power that creates specific climates and forms of weather that pretty much keeps all living things, well, living. (Get down on your knees and worship the Sun, you never know when it might decide to not shine ;) We convert solar energy into electricity and presto we have solar power. This power is used across the spectrum of electricity users from agriculture to businesses. The great part about solar energy is that it is plentiful and available. Unfortunately, we haven't worked out all the kinks, such as if the day is cloudy.
Another popular method is wind power. This one has been used for years and years in the form of windmills to help pump water or crush grains. Today, we use wind power in the form of wind turbines on large wind farms. These farms are connected to electrical grids that span several places with energy. It only provides about one percent of the world's power, but other countries, such as Denmark has nineteen percent of their power produced from wind. Wind is great because it also very plentiful and renewable as well. It definitely does not give off emissions either! The down side is that it does not always stay windy in certain places, and the wind tends to blow with larger amounts of energy in higher altitudes, where no one lives (Can't imagine why...).
Wave energy is another popular idea, and it is created when we put generators on the ocean surface. This is used primarily in power plants, water pumps, and desaliniation facilities. The amount of energy produced from the wave depends on the wave height, length, density, and speed. The company Pacific Gas and Electric have supported this way and plan on building a plant that uses wave power. It is estimated that it could produce two megawatts of power, and it would provide 1500 homes with power! Sadly, this energy is also still experimental and under going trials.
Tidal power, commonly called tidal energy, stems from a form of hydropower that uses the energy of water movement of incoming and outgoing tides. This also uses turbines like wind energy, and can be used in two different ways. The first is called "tidal stream systems" and this uses the moving water, or kinetic energy. Tidal stream systems are cheaper and definitely are eco-friendly. The other one is called "barrages", and this is much more costly to build, still eco-friendly, but it relies on the potential energy between high and low tides. Again, this method is best used in certain locations where tides are more prevalent. So therefore only specific places can use this energy to its best potential.
I hope we find a solution for our energy crisis soon. Gas and electricity are getting way to expensive. We are forgetting to enjoy life because we have to work so much in order to pay to survive. Granted, we could all give up a few things we love and still be happy, but that ruins the "American Dream". Let's go team, fight for clean energy and a better tomorrow! (Yay!).
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Exploring the Thrilling Abyss of Deep Oceans
It is amazing to think that water, primarily salty oceans, cover the majority of our planet. Yet, much is unknown about the vast existence. Of course, it is relatively difficult to investigate the enviroment, because it is miles and miles deep. This extreme depth creates a large pressure so great that it will crush our bodies. In the past, it was thought that nothing existed there, that it was just empty and open space (talk about denial). With today's advancing technology, scientists are discovering new inhabitants of deep oceans.
Scientists have developed submarines that are specially built to be able to survive the immense pressure of the deep oceans, and have since found several new ecosystems. They have found hydrothermal vents that spit out warm water and chemicals that are used to feed the shrimp, clams, and tube worms that reside down there. These vents are located in underwater gardens. The gardens house the animals that can survive the deep. Even more disturbing, these animals are actually feeding off of the food that drops from the sea above them! Talk about garbage pickers...
Even further, since every used to adopt the "nothing lives down there" theory, people used to dump tons of dangerous chemicals into the ocean blue. Pollution is a big factor in deep oceans, especially because heavier materials will sink to the bottom, and then recycle back up the top centuries later as the currents fluctuate. The chemical dumping is blamed for ten percent of ocean pollution. The rest of the pollution is from run off from land, run off from business and factories, and gas and oil spillages. Maybe we should start looking at what we can control to reduce this. Perhaps we can find more efficient ways to transport oil?
Another interesting feature about the ocean is that it contains most of Earth's heat. It gains the heat from the sun, which heats the surface of the water. This water then densifies the salt in the water. This denser water obviously sinks and travels down to the deep oceans. It could take centuries in order to see this water come back up! So the key to cooling down the world, deheat the oceans!
The deep sea is the home of the world's ugliest animals. The viper fish, for example, is an almost transparent fish. It is basically see through. Another resident is the dragon fish, which is not unaccurate to its name. It has a large head and a lot of razor sharp teeth. Another one is the fangtooth, it only grows to six inches, but it has a very intimidating appearance.
I find it really funny that we used to think that nothing existed down there, out of sight out of mind? I wonder...
Scientists have developed submarines that are specially built to be able to survive the immense pressure of the deep oceans, and have since found several new ecosystems. They have found hydrothermal vents that spit out warm water and chemicals that are used to feed the shrimp, clams, and tube worms that reside down there. These vents are located in underwater gardens. The gardens house the animals that can survive the deep. Even more disturbing, these animals are actually feeding off of the food that drops from the sea above them! Talk about garbage pickers...
Even further, since every used to adopt the "nothing lives down there" theory, people used to dump tons of dangerous chemicals into the ocean blue. Pollution is a big factor in deep oceans, especially because heavier materials will sink to the bottom, and then recycle back up the top centuries later as the currents fluctuate. The chemical dumping is blamed for ten percent of ocean pollution. The rest of the pollution is from run off from land, run off from business and factories, and gas and oil spillages. Maybe we should start looking at what we can control to reduce this. Perhaps we can find more efficient ways to transport oil?
Another interesting feature about the ocean is that it contains most of Earth's heat. It gains the heat from the sun, which heats the surface of the water. This water then densifies the salt in the water. This denser water obviously sinks and travels down to the deep oceans. It could take centuries in order to see this water come back up! So the key to cooling down the world, deheat the oceans!
The deep sea is the home of the world's ugliest animals. The viper fish, for example, is an almost transparent fish. It is basically see through. Another resident is the dragon fish, which is not unaccurate to its name. It has a large head and a lot of razor sharp teeth. Another one is the fangtooth, it only grows to six inches, but it has a very intimidating appearance.
I find it really funny that we used to think that nothing existed down there, out of sight out of mind? I wonder...
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
About The Big Bang Theory
The big bang theory, in summary, is a single statement that tries to explain how the universe came about. There was a time when there was nothing, and now there is something, the universe! The general theory of the big bang is that the universe was born out of a singularity, and is about 13.7 billion years old. Singularities are particularly fascinating because they do not follow any of the rules that give physics its identity. Singularities are believed to reside wihtin the black hole's intensely large gravitational strengh. They are proposed to form by an accumulation of matter that is so compacted that it gains "infinite density".
After this begining stage, the singularity expands and the "big bang" occurred. It started as a small, extremely hot ball of fire into the universe we know today. But the big bang, was not actually a big bang at all. It was more like something that expanded and released its contents. Then came photons, then quarks, the protons, neutrons, and electrons. Then presto, here we are! Why did it happen? How exactly did it happen? Nobody knows...
Of course religion has a different persepective. They believe that God said "Hey, wouldn't it be fun to make something called a universe?" and then it was there. Religions do not question the exactness of how we all came about, they just believe that God created the universe and let the bible take over from that point. Another newer theory is called the "Intelligent Design", which is an awkward mix of religious views and the big bang. It says that God created it, then evolution and natural selection formed us into what is existing today. A little twisted huh?
After this begining stage, the singularity expands and the "big bang" occurred. It started as a small, extremely hot ball of fire into the universe we know today. But the big bang, was not actually a big bang at all. It was more like something that expanded and released its contents. Then came photons, then quarks, the protons, neutrons, and electrons. Then presto, here we are! Why did it happen? How exactly did it happen? Nobody knows...
Of course religion has a different persepective. They believe that God said "Hey, wouldn't it be fun to make something called a universe?" and then it was there. Religions do not question the exactness of how we all came about, they just believe that God created the universe and let the bible take over from that point. Another newer theory is called the "Intelligent Design", which is an awkward mix of religious views and the big bang. It says that God created it, then evolution and natural selection formed us into what is existing today. A little twisted huh?
This whole unknowing thing makes me question what is real and what isn't. I don't think I like space because there is so much unknown. I like finding and discovering new things, but space is such an open and infinite abyss of hidden information. How do we really know what is real from what we think is real? I'm probably thinking to far into it, but it seems like too big of a mess for me to care about. But hey, that's that just simple minded me. ;)
Monday, April 14, 2008
Solar Systems -v- Galaxies
Solar systems are simply defined as a star and all the other celestial bodies revolving around it. This is characteristic of our sun, the eight planets surrounding it and the three dwarf planets such as Pluto, Eris, and Ceres. These planets all are pulled gravitational toward the sun, along with their natural satellites (commonly known to us as "moons"). Solar systems also usually include four inner life bearing planets, four outer gas giant planets, an asteriod belt, another belt made of icy objects, and an interstellar medium. This interstellar medium is where the solar winds from the sun are supposed to finally reach and affect nothing that is beyond it. Of course the star (for us, it is the sun) is the center of the solar system, essentially. This means that the pull of gravity is around this star, and it is bascially the glue that keeps the entire thing together.
Solar systems are very similar to galaxies in many respects, except that galaxies are much larger. In addition, galaxies contain many solar systems. Although, there are three different kinds of galaxies. The first galaxy is called an elliptical galaxy. These galaxies have no definite structure, and resemble a smushed up ball. The next kind is called a spiral galaxy, and it looks like it has a central nucleus and pinwheels of stars. The last kind is called an irregular galaxy and has no specific shape or size. They must not have known what to call that last one, so they called it irregular.
It is amazing that galaxies and solar systems have very little in difference, and yet it is a very large one. Their sizes!!! I wonder how many galaxies are out there, I wonder how they actually know that these exist, especially since the Milky way galaxy is so vast. What technology do we have that proves that these are out there? The universe is so large and interesting that it is worth investigating. Is there life out there similar to ours? Perhaps, down the road, we will be surprised by the beings hiding somewhere beyond our reach.
Solar systems are very similar to galaxies in many respects, except that galaxies are much larger. In addition, galaxies contain many solar systems. Although, there are three different kinds of galaxies. The first galaxy is called an elliptical galaxy. These galaxies have no definite structure, and resemble a smushed up ball. The next kind is called a spiral galaxy, and it looks like it has a central nucleus and pinwheels of stars. The last kind is called an irregular galaxy and has no specific shape or size. They must not have known what to call that last one, so they called it irregular.
It is amazing that galaxies and solar systems have very little in difference, and yet it is a very large one. Their sizes!!! I wonder how many galaxies are out there, I wonder how they actually know that these exist, especially since the Milky way galaxy is so vast. What technology do we have that proves that these are out there? The universe is so large and interesting that it is worth investigating. Is there life out there similar to ours? Perhaps, down the road, we will be surprised by the beings hiding somewhere beyond our reach.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Comparing Stages of the Sun
Red giants: The red giant phase of a star marks the next progression point to star death. after a star is about a few billion years old, the star starts to run out of fuel (or protons) to burn on. the star then begins to cool and contract, but as it contracts, it heats up. causing the remaining protons to be fused into alphas. these alphas become the new source of energy for the star. Now the star is much hotter than before, and the outer parts of the star begin to swell and expand. Which in turn gives the term "giant" for its name. The first half of the name comes from the shade of red the low level of radiation gives off. Red giants are the most common star visibile to the naked eye, but strangely enough are not very common occurences in space.
White dwarf: after the red giant phase, the star continues to run out of fuel to burn on. When it reaches its breaking point, it then sheds all of its outer layer material and makes a planetary nebula. This planetary nebula leaves behind the core of the star, which keeps burning even hotter then before. The star smolders for approximately another billion years more, all the while running out and cooling down. White dwarfs are particularly interesting due to their characteristic way of compression. most objects in space have a special internal fusion that prevents it from collapsing by the gravity surrounding it. But white dwarfs maintain its existence by quantum mechanics. This means that all the elctrons in the dwarf are forced so close together that they have no where else to go within their energy levels. Since only two electrons can be on energy level they are stuck thus keeping the dwarf alive and in a shape.
Black holes: Black holes are the famous ending to a star's life. They are at least ten times larger than the star itself. While the star burns out, it runs out of substance to keep it alive. As the star reaches its collapsing point, it then has reached zero volume. At this zero volume, it has achieved infinite density. Light rays are now bent around the star and are caught in its orbit. The black holes are so dense, that they do not allow light to escape. The were originally discovered not because the scientists could see them, it was because of the effect they have on surrounding areas.
Our own sun is still striving to be the red giant stage, thank goodness we still have about five billion years left of the sun's life. In fact, as we progress in time, the sun is losing weight. As mentioned earlier, it continues to burn energy, and therefore is now lighter. The sun is about ninety-eight percent of our solar system's mass alone and it burns at 11, 000 degrees farenheit! It have a uneven appearance due to the eruptions that occur on its surface. It is about four and a half billion years old. It is predicted that when the sun is ready to progress into a red giant stage, that the sun will swell so large that it will take the Earth with it. Obviously we still have plenty of time before this is a problem, so rest assured!
White dwarf: after the red giant phase, the star continues to run out of fuel to burn on. When it reaches its breaking point, it then sheds all of its outer layer material and makes a planetary nebula. This planetary nebula leaves behind the core of the star, which keeps burning even hotter then before. The star smolders for approximately another billion years more, all the while running out and cooling down. White dwarfs are particularly interesting due to their characteristic way of compression. most objects in space have a special internal fusion that prevents it from collapsing by the gravity surrounding it. But white dwarfs maintain its existence by quantum mechanics. This means that all the elctrons in the dwarf are forced so close together that they have no where else to go within their energy levels. Since only two electrons can be on energy level they are stuck thus keeping the dwarf alive and in a shape.
Black holes: Black holes are the famous ending to a star's life. They are at least ten times larger than the star itself. While the star burns out, it runs out of substance to keep it alive. As the star reaches its collapsing point, it then has reached zero volume. At this zero volume, it has achieved infinite density. Light rays are now bent around the star and are caught in its orbit. The black holes are so dense, that they do not allow light to escape. The were originally discovered not because the scientists could see them, it was because of the effect they have on surrounding areas.
Our own sun is still striving to be the red giant stage, thank goodness we still have about five billion years left of the sun's life. In fact, as we progress in time, the sun is losing weight. As mentioned earlier, it continues to burn energy, and therefore is now lighter. The sun is about ninety-eight percent of our solar system's mass alone and it burns at 11, 000 degrees farenheit! It have a uneven appearance due to the eruptions that occur on its surface. It is about four and a half billion years old. It is predicted that when the sun is ready to progress into a red giant stage, that the sun will swell so large that it will take the Earth with it. Obviously we still have plenty of time before this is a problem, so rest assured!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Science -v- Pseudoscience
There are several fields of research that are classified as sciences, but which ones are real, fact supported sciences? A science is simply defined as something that is observed, identified, described, experimentally investigated, and a theoretically explained phenomena. Such examples are chemistry, physics, biology, and earth sciences. All of these sciences have had extensive studies that have been duplicated hundreds of time and have all supported the theories or facts that the science is based upon.
Sciences are able to be replicated but Pseudosciences on the other hand, are false sciences that is a theory, methodology, or a practice taht is considered to be without scientific foundation. Examples of pseudosciences are homeopathy, which was developed in the late eighteenth century with the thinking that giving diluted amounts of the substance causing a person their illness would eventually cure them. Another is phrenology, which was developed in the nineteenth century and says that a person's character, intelligence, and mental capacity can be determined by the shape and irregularities of their skulls. Dianetics is also considered a pseudoscience, it is associated with the religion of scientology and believes that a person can get rid of certain emotions, sensations, or fears through a soul specific method. It is based on this phrase "what the soul is doing to the body through the mind".
Seemingly complete opposites, yet these sciences do differ. Boths methods having to do with human sciences use similar procedures of obtaining information, creating a hypothesis, and then spreading their newly found research to the rest of the science community. The conclusions are not always the same but the way they gain their information is. Any science is up for stipulations based on what religions or beliefs a person is associated with, therefore, who really knows what is real and what isn't. In addition, sciences change everyday with new found knowledge. All sciences, whether real or pseudo, do have an impact and a purpose with everyday lives. Whether they are simply a cure all or some mental trick to help suffers feel better, they all can work to some extent. To some, sciences considered realistic are accepted as fact by others not so much. For example, many people believe that global warming exists while others do not. There is scientific reasons that prove that it is possible, but others refuse to believe them. Some people swear on homeopathy medicines rather than clinical ones, and many people have had success with curing themselves and others have not. All sciences, in my opinion, can be considered real or pseudo. It all depends on what you believe in and what you cannot believe. I believe that they all have a purpose, whether they are believable/functional or not.
Sciences are able to be replicated but Pseudosciences on the other hand, are false sciences that is a theory, methodology, or a practice taht is considered to be without scientific foundation. Examples of pseudosciences are homeopathy, which was developed in the late eighteenth century with the thinking that giving diluted amounts of the substance causing a person their illness would eventually cure them. Another is phrenology, which was developed in the nineteenth century and says that a person's character, intelligence, and mental capacity can be determined by the shape and irregularities of their skulls. Dianetics is also considered a pseudoscience, it is associated with the religion of scientology and believes that a person can get rid of certain emotions, sensations, or fears through a soul specific method. It is based on this phrase "what the soul is doing to the body through the mind".
Seemingly complete opposites, yet these sciences do differ. Boths methods having to do with human sciences use similar procedures of obtaining information, creating a hypothesis, and then spreading their newly found research to the rest of the science community. The conclusions are not always the same but the way they gain their information is. Any science is up for stipulations based on what religions or beliefs a person is associated with, therefore, who really knows what is real and what isn't. In addition, sciences change everyday with new found knowledge. All sciences, whether real or pseudo, do have an impact and a purpose with everyday lives. Whether they are simply a cure all or some mental trick to help suffers feel better, they all can work to some extent. To some, sciences considered realistic are accepted as fact by others not so much. For example, many people believe that global warming exists while others do not. There is scientific reasons that prove that it is possible, but others refuse to believe them. Some people swear on homeopathy medicines rather than clinical ones, and many people have had success with curing themselves and others have not. All sciences, in my opinion, can be considered real or pseudo. It all depends on what you believe in and what you cannot believe. I believe that they all have a purpose, whether they are believable/functional or not.
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