Science in the News
Grade 9 Science Blog (2014-15)
Monday, 28 August 2023
Sunday, 8 May 2016
Soil Measurements
We were assigned to measure different kinds of soil, and measure how much water they lose. My group measured compost soil, garden soil, and one cup where both are mixed together. We started off by placing different masses of soil inside a coffee filter placed in the cylinder, made so the water goes right through it inside a cup placed underneath. We made sure to always add the same amount- 40 ml, and to measure the same time- 3 minutes.
Here are the results:
Here are the results:
|
Compost
Soil
|
Gardening
Soil
|
50/50 Soil
|
Mass
|
101,3g-2,7g
(mass of the cup)= 98.6g
|
70,8g-2,7g=
68.1g
|
89,9g-2,7g=87.2g
|
How much
water comes out in three minutes
|
20 ml
|
8 ml
|
15 ml
|
Since the masses we used differ from one another, I decided to measure how much milliliters per gram the soil loses the certain mass of water, and in that way, I would end up with fair calculations.
These are the results I got:
|
Compost
Soil
|
Gardening
Soil
|
50/50 Soil
|
The final
mass of water lost/starting mass of soil
|
20ml/98.6g=
0,203 ml/g
|
68.1g/8ml=
0,117ml/g
|
87.2g/15ml=
0,171ml/g
|
The results above prove that the compost soil is the worst out of three for plants, as it loses the most amount of water per one gram. The calculation for the mixed soil is in the middle, as it contains estimated 50% of garden soil. The results for gardening soil are the best, and show that the soil retains the most amount of water out of these three soil samples.
Sunday, 8 November 2015
How to measure variables for the new project
Recently in class, we started a project on investigating on improving our human body machines using our knowledge of work. We were to come up with a research question and think about the ways to prove it through measuring the change in the variables.
My research question is "How does the widths between the hands affect the amount of work performed while doing a pull-up?". The independent variable or the manipulated variable is the widths between the hands and the dependent or the response variable is the work performed while doing a pull-up. In this blog, I will be brainstorming ways to measure these variables.
*A pull-up in this context is an exercise involving one pulling himself up against a horizontal bar enough to touch his bottom of the chin on the top of the bar.
The widths between my hands can be measured with a ruler fairly accruately
To measure the work performed while doing a pull-up, I must know the mass, acceleration, and the displacement since work = m x a x d.
The mass that I pull during a pull-up is
my total body weight - (weight of my hands+forearms)
The acceleration is equal to the gravitational acceleration (9.81) since I am working against it.
The distance over which I pull up myself can be measured with a ruler and is essentially the distance between the bottom of my chin and the bar when I am hanging with my arms straight on the bar.
I think I can measure these variables accurately through the ways mentioned above but if not I am considering making a model for better measurements.
My research question is "How does the widths between the hands affect the amount of work performed while doing a pull-up?". The independent variable or the manipulated variable is the widths between the hands and the dependent or the response variable is the work performed while doing a pull-up. In this blog, I will be brainstorming ways to measure these variables.
*A pull-up in this context is an exercise involving one pulling himself up against a horizontal bar enough to touch his bottom of the chin on the top of the bar.
The widths between my hands can be measured with a ruler fairly accruately
To measure the work performed while doing a pull-up, I must know the mass, acceleration, and the displacement since work = m x a x d.
The mass that I pull during a pull-up is
my total body weight - (weight of my hands+forearms)
The acceleration is equal to the gravitational acceleration (9.81) since I am working against it.
The distance over which I pull up myself can be measured with a ruler and is essentially the distance between the bottom of my chin and the bar when I am hanging with my arms straight on the bar.
I think I can measure these variables accurately through the ways mentioned above but if not I am considering making a model for better measurements.
Sunday, 1 November 2015
This week we began the next unit. Unit 2.
How can we use our knowledge of physics to improve our human body machines?
Physics: Motion, Forces, Energy
WORK: MAD : Force * displacement (F*D)
We completed an exercise of finding the amount of work you perform if you jump one meter off the ground.
First we find the force which is:
F=m*a
F=!00 kg * 9.81 m/s
F= 981 N
Work= F*D
Work= 981 N * 1 meter= 981 J
J= Joules (unit for work)
How can we use our knowledge of physics to improve our human body machines?
Physics: Motion, Forces, Energy
WORK: MAD : Force * displacement (F*D)
We completed an exercise of finding the amount of work you perform if you jump one meter off the ground.
First we find the force which is:
F=m*a
F=!00 kg * 9.81 m/s
F= 981 N
Work= F*D
Work= 981 N * 1 meter= 981 J
J= Joules (unit for work)
Sunday, 4 October 2015
Matija Kondic's Science Blog
4/10/2015
Throughout this week I have been learning about the motion of objects travelling at various speeds in science class. I have also learnt about (shown by a student in class) what the impact would be if 2 cars collided with each other frontwards travelling at 50 mph.
A science article that relates to what I have been learning about in class is "How Your brain Tracks Moving Objects" on Live Science. This article relates to what I have been learning about in class due to the fact there is a speed (motion) of a ball travelling at 100 mph that how "brains can predict the path or motion of a moving object." According to the article, when a baseball player hits a home run off a 100 mph fastball the opponents "can track a fast moving object" and the "brain processes visual information and is lastly responsible for calculating where a moving object will most likely end up."
Baseball travelling at 100 mph
Sunday, 27 September 2015
Matija's Science Blog
27/9/2015
From the start of Monday the 21st of September my class mates and I have been learning about Kinematic equations and how to use them in kinematics problems based on Kinematic equations. An article on the Business Insider relates to what I have learnt about in class because using the kinematic equations can help us solve the speed, distance velocity and time of (as said in the article) the supersonic passenger jet airliner Concorde. As claimed in the article by the author, "The Concorde flew across the ocean for the first time 42 years ago today — here's what it was like."
An Air France Concorde
On the article the author claims that, "On September 26th 1973, an Air France Concorde flew from Washington DC, to Paris - marking the first supersonic flight by the Anglo-French airliner." As said from the beginning, the aircraft flew across the ocean. Here this would be the North Atlantic ocean because the Concorde aircraft flew from Washington DC to Paris and the ocean between the United States and France is the North Atlantic Ocean. The aircraft's maximum speed is 2,179 km/h and if we were to find out the aircraft's time from Washington DC to Paris we would use the equation Time = Distance/velocity. 3,828/ 2,179. 3,828 miles to km = 4.8 km. 4.8/2179 = 0.0022 minutes.
Darija Djuraskovic
Grade 10
Science
In the past week we have been doing a lot of kinematic equations and problems. We have also submitted our journal for the experiment in which we have included both our 4 graphs that we have made and our calculations for the average. We have ended the journal with a conclusion and a hypothesis.
After we have submitted the journal we began answering the 30 kinematic questions online and then we have began making our own real life kinematic problem which we had to present and explain to the whole class on the board. My real life kinematic problem was given in the formula for speed(speed= distance/time) We also printed out our poster where we wrote the problem and then submitted it.
For the last class we were making notes on Friction and gravity from the science book, Science Explorer, sections 2,3 and 4.
Grade 10
Science
In the past week we have been doing a lot of kinematic equations and problems. We have also submitted our journal for the experiment in which we have included both our 4 graphs that we have made and our calculations for the average. We have ended the journal with a conclusion and a hypothesis.
After we have submitted the journal we began answering the 30 kinematic questions online and then we have began making our own real life kinematic problem which we had to present and explain to the whole class on the board. My real life kinematic problem was given in the formula for speed(speed= distance/time) We also printed out our poster where we wrote the problem and then submitted it.
For the last class we were making notes on Friction and gravity from the science book, Science Explorer, sections 2,3 and 4.
Sunday, 13 September 2015
Darija Djuraskovic
Grade 10
Science
During the last couple of classes we have been doing experiments on measuring motion and velocity.
Our first experiment didn't go so well, we needed time to do all the instructions and we had to repeat the experiment couple of times. We also had to watch videos for homework just to learn how to work with lab quest data logger operator. We had to learn how to calculate the velocity(speed) and to recognize precisely a graph.
On the other hand the other experiment went very well and we managed to finish it successfully. The experiment was set differently (Figure 1) but in groups we gathered all our knowledge and without any teachers help we managed to finish it in no time.
This is a picture of how the other experiment looked at:
Grade 10
Science
During the last couple of classes we have been doing experiments on measuring motion and velocity.
Our first experiment didn't go so well, we needed time to do all the instructions and we had to repeat the experiment couple of times. We also had to watch videos for homework just to learn how to work with lab quest data logger operator. We had to learn how to calculate the velocity(speed) and to recognize precisely a graph.
On the other hand the other experiment went very well and we managed to finish it successfully. The experiment was set differently (Figure 1) but in groups we gathered all our knowledge and without any teachers help we managed to finish it in no time.
This is a picture of how the other experiment looked at:
Figure 1 |
Saturday, 5 September 2015
Science Blog
Matija's Science Blog
I am going to explain how an article on the Bloomberg Business explaining about slow-motion money relates to what I have learnt about in Science class. Firstly velocity is what I have learnt about in science. The article named "Slow motion money" relates to velocity because there is a graph (shown in Figure 1 below) showing the speed of money and how it has changed the US economy over the 20th and 21st century. Velocity is involved with speed of something in a given direction which is what the graph showed. Normally if you were to figure out the speed of anything you would use the equation Speed= Distance/Time. However on the graph from "Slow motion money" it claims that: "Money velocity measures how quickly one dollar moves through the economy by tallying the number of times it gets spent per year."
I am going to explain how an article on the Bloomberg Business explaining about slow-motion money relates to what I have learnt about in Science class. Firstly velocity is what I have learnt about in science. The article named "Slow motion money" relates to velocity because there is a graph (shown in Figure 1 below) showing the speed of money and how it has changed the US economy over the 20th and 21st century. Velocity is involved with speed of something in a given direction which is what the graph showed. Normally if you were to figure out the speed of anything you would use the equation Speed= Distance/Time. However on the graph from "Slow motion money" it claims that: "Money velocity measures how quickly one dollar moves through the economy by tallying the number of times it gets spent per year."
Figure 1. A graph representing the speed of money (US dollars)
The highest point that the US dollar reached is 2.19 (distance), 1998 (time). The lowest point that the US dollar reached is 1.59 (distance), 2014 (time).
Tuesday, 31 March 2015
Acid Rain
Kora Saint-Lot
Mr. Youell
Acid Rain
17th March 2015
Causes, Effects & Remedies of Acid Rain
According to US. E.P.A acid rain is a mixture of dry and wet deposited material that comes from the atmosphere containing a higher amount of nitric and sulfuric acids (nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide). The sources of the oxides that cause the acid rain are natural, volcanoes and decaying vegetation, and man made, combustion of fossil fuels (as seen in figure 1 and 2).
When those previously mentioned oxides are found in the atmosphere they will react with the water in the clouds or the already falling rain and create weak acids known as acid rain. When that rain falls it causes lots of damage to many different things. Such as: buildings, forests, lakes, oceans, rivers and humans. The effect is not limited to only the areas where the most pollution occurs but carried by the wind the gasses can travel great distances and cause damage further away. In highly polluted areas the gasses can be incorporated into the dust and smoke and fall onto the ground. This is called dry deposit, which can be washed away by falling rain and this also increases the acidity.
When the acid rain falls onto any stone buildings or statues it corrodes it and bit by bit the rock fades. Famous limestone and marble monuments (building and statues from ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt...) are especially in trouble of being eroded.
Entire forests are being affected because the acid in the rain "weakens" the trees, making it easier for them to catch diseases. It also removes nutrients that the tree needs from the soil such as calcium and magnesium. Acid rain deposits nitrates that can lead to increases in nitrogen in forests. Nitrogen is an important plant nutrient, but some forest systems may not be able to use all they receive, leading to nitrogen saturation. In the Eastern United States, there is evidence of nitrogen saturation in some forests. Nitrates can remove additional calcium and magnesium from the soils. Continued nitrogen deposition may alter other aspects of the nutrient balance in sensitive forest ecosystems and alter the chemistry of nearby lakes and streams. The acid that falls directly into lakes and rivers causes the acidity of the water to fall and all living organisms inside the water are affected. Some types of plants and animals are capable of tolerating the change in pH. Some, however, are not able to survive and decrease biodiversity.
Acid rain is a major problem and solutions are already being found and put into action to help with the pollution in the air that is one of the main causes of it. For example: Scientist have come up with various ways of cleaning the toxic gasses that are being released when fossil fuels are burnt. One of the methods is a machine called "scrubbers". The machines are basically devices that control the pollution by using liquids to wash toxic "pollutants" from the gasses released into the air (see figure 6 for more detailed diagram).
Figure 1: Factories producing lots of nitric and sulfuric acids. |
Figure 2: Volcano spewing gasses into the atmosphere. |
Figure 3: Diagram of dry and wet deposition. |
When the acid rain falls onto any stone buildings or statues it corrodes it and bit by bit the rock fades. Famous limestone and marble monuments (building and statues from ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt...) are especially in trouble of being eroded.
Figure 4: Effect of the acid rain on limestone statues. |
Figure 5: Deforestation because of acid rain. |
Figure 6: Diagram of the inside of a scrubber. |
Monday, 30 March 2015
Science in the News 2014
Noah Meine
Mr. Youell
Science in the News 2014
March 30th, 2015
Science in the News 2014
The year 2014 was a packed one for science in general and over the last 12 months scientists have made huge advances in all fields of science, but this year has been especially busy for astronomical sciences. In 2014 there was historic growth in the study of the Mars, dark matter, and scientists may have even found evidence to support the big bang. However even as busy as 2014 was for space science, some of these stories are still more prominent than others. Therefore the stories which really caught my eye over the course of 2014 were the stories which have global and long-lasting implications.
Early in the year (April),
NASA announced the discovery of planet Kepler-186f, an alien planet approximately 490 light years away from Earth. Using the Kepler Space Telescope, astronomers were able to see how Kepler-186f orbits another star in the “Goldilocks Zone”, (also known as the habitable zone) which is the range of distance from the star which would allow liquid water to exist on Kepler-186f’s surface and would allow for Earth-like atmospheric conditions (see Figure 1). This astronomical discovery goes to prove that planets which are similarly sized to earth can exist in the habitable zones of suns other than our own.
Kepler- 186f resides in the Kepler-186 solar system, which is home to four other companion planets, Kepler-186f being the outermost of these planets. NASA quotes that “on the surface of Kepler-186f, the brightness of its star at high noon is only as bright as our sun appears to us about an hour before sunset.” Therefore, Kepler-186f is placed on the outer edge of the habitable zone. And although we know Kepler-186f’s size, we are still trying to understand the mass and composition. Previous research and observations, however predict that a planet with all the known features of Kepler- 186f is likely to have a rocky surface, which allows the possibility of liquid water being found on its surface.
So, what makes the discovery of Kepler-186f so much more prominent than the discovery of other Earth-like planets? All other worlds found inside the habitable zone are at least 40% larger than Earth, whereas this planet has a radius that is 1.1 times the radius of Earth, making it very similar in size to our planet. In addition, all other planets found inside the habitable zone have a makeup which is hard to understand for scientists whereas Kepler-186f is more reminiscent of Earth than any other planet found so far.
Paul Hertz, a NASA lead scientist and the “Astrophysics Division director at the agency's headquarters in Washington” says that "The discovery of Kepler-186f is a significant step toward finding worlds like our planet Earth.”
Figure 2: Artistic
Impression of dark matter around
the Milky Way Source: http://www.iflscience.com/physics/
has-first-dark-matter-particle-been-found
|
Another hot topic for scientists studying space and the cosmos which really came to light in 2014 was the issue of dark matter. As an article from Space.com explains, astronomers may have finally detected dark matter, a mysterious substance which contributes to the majority of matter in the universe (see Figure 2).
This article describes how a team of scientists observed an “odd spike in X-ray emissions” while looking at data collected by the XMM-Newton spacecraft, operated by the European Space Agency. This spike in X-ray emissions were said to have come from the Andromeda galaxy and the Perseus galaxy cluster. The signal picked up corresponds to no known particle or atom in the universe, and therefore could have been created by dark matter, researchers say.
Figure 3:
"Supposed Dark Matter Cluster"
picked up by NASA's Hubble Telescope
Source: http://www.sci-news.com/astronomy
/science-x-ray-signal-andromeda-other-
galaxies-evidence-dark-matter-02338.html
|
"After having collected thousands of signals from the ESA's XMM-Newton telescope and eliminated all those coming from known particles and atoms, we detected an anomaly that caught our attention," a lead researcher in charge of collecting data from the XMM-Newton named Dr. Alexey Boyarsky says.
Although the data is not absolute, researches have come up with came up with numerous particles though to make up dark matter. These hypothetical particles include axions and sterile neutrinos, the cousins of normal neutrinos (confirmed particles).
Dr. Oleg Ruchayskiy a team member and contributor to the study quotes that, “Above all, the signal's distribution corresponds exactly to what we were expecting with dark matter, that is, concentrated and intense in the center of objects and weaker and diffuse on the edges.” She also goes on to say that, “If the discovery is confirmed, it will open up new avenues of research in particle physics. Apart from that, it could usher in a new era in astronomy."
Figure 4: An image
taken from the ROLIS instrument
of the Philae lander of comet 67P/C-G
Source:http://www.space.com
/27740-rosetta-comet-landing-success.html
|
In greater depth, the Rosetta mission’s purpose is to help scientists study and understand comets in more detail. Comets are so intriguing to scientists, because they are physical travelers left over from the origin of our solar system. Various studies also suggests that comets could have delivered water to early Earth. Planetary scientist Stanley Cowley from the University of Leicester states that "Comet impacts are thought to have been one of the principal means by which water was delivered to the early Earth, around 3.6 billion years ago, possibly contributing half the water in our oceans”. Regardless, the Philae probe’s touchdown on comet 67P/C-G marks a historic feat where humans, for the first time were able to land a probe on a comet speeding through outer space.
With more scientific discoveries concerning outer space happening every day, it is important to reflect on previous breakthroughs, such as the stories listed above, and realize that we as a race are approaching the peak of discovery. In other words, the scientific leaps which occurred in 2014 are fascinating, and with each discovery the scientific knowledge of space is improved, and we become ever closer to being able to fully understand the universe.
Science news in 2014
1.
Young blood recharges ‘old brain’ new
mouse study shows
In May 2014 Stanford shared the results of their mouse study
test. What they have done is they injected 18 month old mice with the blood of
3 month old mice. What they found out was that this increased the brainpower in
the older 18 month old mice. That mouse then made new blood vessels that made
him better on memory.
After these results have been announced, scientists have
been wondering if this could also work on humans, but no one yet knows, the
experiments would start maybe in 2 to 3
years from now. (Figure 1)
Figure 1: Could injecting older people with ‘young blood’ reverse the
effects of aging?
Quote: "There are factors present in blood from young
mice that can recharge an old mouse's brain so that it functions more like a
younger one," said Dr Tony Wyss-Coray of Stanford University School of
Medicine.
2.
Scientists hope that this could also lead to discovering
new treatments for Alzheimer’s.
Harvard University scientists also discovered that the new
blood could also be used to keep the brain and muscles young and strong. They
discovered something called a ‘youth protein’ known as GDF11 which is in blood in
large amounts and as we get older that increases slowly. Last year they discovered that the protein
could repair damaged and unhealthy hearts. However, the new study showed that
in mice the protein could repair the whole body not just the heart.
Alzheimer’s is a very heart-breaking and difficult disease
that goes for older people. It is said according to the Alzheimer’s Click here that around 36 million
people in the world have this disease. A person with Alzheimer’s has memory
problems, first they start forgetting small things like where they left the
keys and later as the disease goes on the person can forget family members and
even who they are.
It is known that our
brain works by sending signals like chemical messengers to let the brain cells talk
to each other but people that have Alzheimer’s have less of these chemical
messengers. Over time brain cells also begin to get smaller to size and slowly die.
There is an example in figure 2. Click here
Figure 2: A scan of a healthy brain compared to a brain
affected with Alzheimer.
This is very difficult for the
person suffering from the disease because they will usually have moments when
they realize and are aware of their horrible condition. It is also very
difficult for the family members that have to watch someone they love suffer
and not recognize his/her own children.
Even though medicine has allowed
us to live longer, but diseases like Alzheimer’s are becoming more common in
people over the age of 65. What makes this disease so cruel is that people can’t
have also a proper goodbye.
So far they have only made medicine that slows
down the disease but there has never been a cure. This would be a very
important discovery that would affect millions of people around the world.
3. Stem Cells Could Hold a Cure to Type 1 Diabetes
In October a
huge discovery was made by the Harvard researchers. Their team tried to use
stem cells as to cure the awful disease diabetes type 1. Of course, it has been
announced that this is one of the most important and successful discoveries
by now.
The researchers used the stem cells to create
beta cells. Beta cells are cells which produce something called insulin; the
insulin protects the organism from getting a disease. But those beta cells
would be made in much bigger quantities.
Stem cells are cells in the body that have the
ability to turn into anything, such as a skin cell, a liver cell, a brain cell,
or a blood cell. Which means stem cells may also turn into beta cells. (Figure
1)
Beta cells
are cells that make insulin, they are found in the pancreas that helps keep the
blood sugar levels equal and in balance. People that have diabetes type 1 their
beta cells get destroyed by the immune system.
People then
used human Embryonic stem cells (Embryonic stem cells are cells that are made
when a fertilized egg starts to divide itself) to create beta cells that work just
like the normal beta cells in our human bodies. At the moment animal trials are
taking place and hopefully human trials can begin in the next couple of years.
Figure 1 above:
human-stem-cell derived beta cells.
People or
victims with this kind of disease can have serious problems. They might get
heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness and early death. What people
do is they inject insulin for the people that have diabetes type 1 to survive
and live. And I found out that according to the statistics there are currently
around 384 million people in the world suffering from diabetes.
By 2035 they are expecting that another 205 million people will be
affected with diabetes. This is a huge problem for the whole world and it would
be an incredible discovery to find a way to cure this horrible disease by then.
Figure 2- cell
transplantation for diabetics
Science in the News 2014
Brodie
Feeney
Mr
Youell
23/3/2015
THE FUTURE IS NOW
The future is now. It really seems to be.
After searching over some amazing articles, I found some of the greatest
inventions and achievements of 2014, may it be as comical as the first Hover
board or something as extreme as landing a spacecraft on comet.
This is something that many people
including myself have been wishing for since they have seen Back to the Future
2. It is the Hover Board; it may not be as slim and fast as the one seen in the
movie but I still want one. The writer of the article
in GIGAOM, Signe Brewster had the chance to ride and talk to the founder of the
Arx Pax company and creators of the Hendo Hover Board (see figure 1) Greg and
Jill Henderson. She described her short ride “As if I was standing on a giant
air hockey puck hovering three quarters of an inch above the ground.” At the
time she was not brave enough to try any sharp turns or anything more than
slowly moving between 2 instructors. After talking with Arx pax founder she
learned that they were not trying to create a new way to get across town, they
were really just taking a small step of their larger idea which was to create
hover technology for anything they want. Arx Pax is trying over the next year
to make the board smaller and stylish and expect to make it silent. I then read
over the comments of the story expecting people to be excited but found lots of
negativity. Many Complaints of its battery and shape, I see how the community
is slightly disappointed but I am excited, I wouldn't be surprised if in a few
years these will be what everyone dreamed for.
Figure
1 The Hendo Hover Board
In the past many soldiers have died from
blood loss in war but this will happen no more, thanks to the simple invention
called XSTAT. This article that I read by Popular
science by Rose Pastrose, is able to explain the use and application of XSTAT
very clearly. This syringe (see in figure 2) filled with tiny sponges is able
to seal a gunshot wound in 15 seconds and stop heavy bleeding. Steinburg the
creator of XSTAT says “By the time you even put a bandage over the wound, the
bleeding has already stopped.” Compared to earlier methods where the treatment
may be as painful as the wound itself the XSTAT is the obvious choice. This
syringe will inject tiny sponges coated in blood-clotting antibacterial
substance and these sponges will then expand in the wound causing the Bleeding
to stop. This invention will boost survival in the battlefield and spare
injured soldiers from additional pain. The company behind XSTAT, REVMEDEX was
given the seed grant, sponsored by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In
the future they Hope to be able to heal larger wounds and make the sponges
biodegradable so they do not have to take them out.
Figure
2 The XSTAT syringe
If getting to another planet wasn't hard
enough, well now we have managed to land a spacecraft on a comet. In the
article I first read by the Guardian
you are given a full insight into the entire mission. The Rosetta mission
currently hopes to unlock the secrets behind the comet and learn more of how
the solar system was formed. The idea of landing the probe on the comet was
already seen as impossible and only got harder overtime as they learned the
shape of the comet, making it hard for the probe to even land. They learned
quickly also that they would not be able to control the ship real-time and
would have to precalculate the entire mission, calculating every variable. The
situation only got worse when they learned that the probe did not land
correctly and are now scared that the stability of the probe will not last as
long as they hoped. But the probe is anchored down at the moment and will be
able take sample of the comet, thus revealing the entire internal structure of
the comet. This quote By Chris Hadfield the former Canadian astronaut and
commander of the International Space Station gives you a good explanation of
why this is so important “Comets are the original source of Earth’s water. That
lander is now in position, poised to re-write what we know about ourselves.”
This will show to be one of the greatest moments in our history.
Figure
3 the probe orbiting the comet
Overall this year was filled with many
exciting and important moments, many of which I did not get the chance bring up.
But these few will forever leave their mark in medical and space history and a little
bit of fun. I personally can’t believe that somewhere out there, someone is
riding their own Hover board or someone is having there life saved in record
time or a probe is mapping the movement of a comet. Each of these companies and
industries hope to do better and more things to change the world as we know it
in the coming years and this makes me feel that 2014 will act as the start of a
larger future.
Sources
Science in the News 2014
Da Kyung Lee
Mr. Youell
Science 9S
1/15/2015
What's Happening in the North Pole Region?
Since global warming has been a hot issue in the world throughout, such North Pole or South Pole which made by ice are seriously damaged.
Figure 1 |
(see figure 1) As the temperature in the Arctic is increasing, the surface made by snow and ice is melting quickly. In the past year, 2014, there were lots of articles about the situation on the Arctic. Among them, I have found three articles which come up with different researches. Especially one of the articles say the arctic stayed same without volume changes.
The first article from BBC News that was published on 15th of December, says that the Arctic held up its ice volume in 2014. In october, the spacecraft observed 7,500 cu km of ice cover when the Arctic traditionally starts its freeze-up. But this was only slightly less than 2013 which recorded 8,800 cu km. That is, the two cool summers have allowed the pack to increase and then hold on to a good deal of its volume. Rachel Tilling from the UK’s Nerc Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling at University College London, said “What we see is the volume going down and down, but then, because of a relatively cool summer, coming back up to form a new high stand,” and she added “So, what may be occurring here is a decline that looks a bit like a sawtooth, where we can lose volume but then recover some of it if there happens to be a shorter melt season one year.” This is really surprising that the some of volume which has been melting down can come back up to form a new high stand by low temperature.
The next article from NPR that was published on 18th of December, brought completely different research with first one. The researchers from the 2014 Arctic Report Card say that the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the average rise on the rest of the planet and the trend isn’t letting up. This is caused by arctic amplification. Jackie Richter-Menge who is a polar scientist collaborating with NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration, proved how it works, “the surface of snow and ice cool reflecting a lot of the sun’s energy back up into the atmosphere. But warming air temperatures melt snow and ice. And when they melt, they expose the darker region.” This also happens same when sea ice melts. (see figure 2)
Figure 2
The last article is from BBC News that was published a day ago from the second one. It says that the scientists have found that the animals could stay well on the arctic ground than their previous thought and were hastening the release of green house gases from a frozen store of carbon called permafrost.
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