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The Physics Factbook Edited by Glenn Elert -- Written by his students An educational, Fair Use website \|Rendle, Alfred Barton. The Classification of Flowering Plants. Britain: Cambridge University Press, 1930.\|\|"Genera over 400; species 17,000. Widely distributed in the temperate and warmer parts of the world."\|\|17,000 species\| \|"Orchids." The World Book Encyclopedia. 14th ed. New York: World Book, 1990.\|\|"There are over 20,000 species of these plants."\|\|20,000 species\| \|Allaby, Michael. Plants and Plant Life. Volume 9 Flowering Plants: The Monocotyledons. Danbury, Connecticut: Grolier, 2001.\|\|Number of Genera: 796 Number of species: 17,500 \|Spellenberg, Richard. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers. New York: Random House, 1979.\|\|"The 600-700 genera and 20,000 species are most abundant in the tropics, where they most frequently grow upon other vegetation."\|\|20,000 species\| \|Orchidaceae, The Orchid Family. BBC Gardening.\|\|"The orchid family includes nearly 900 genera, somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 species and over 70,000 hybrids or cultivars."\|\|20,000- 30,000 species\| The Orchid Family or orchidaceae are the largest family of angiosperms, or flowering plants in the world. Approximately twenty thousand species and nine hundred genera of orchids are known. The numbers of species vary from anywhere between fifteen thousand to thirty thousand and the number of genera range from seven hundred to one thousand. The orchidaceae consists of three subfamilies: apostasioideae, cyprepioideae, and cypripedium. Orchids can be saprophytic herbs, terrestrial, or epiphytic. In general, orchids are most abundant in the tropics and subtropics, but they are also common in the temperate latitudes. The tropical species are mainly epiphytic, meaning they are found growing above ground, usually perched in trees. In Australia and North America, the orchids are mainly terrestrial. They grow in the soil, and emerge each season to reproduce. The largest species of orchids are the spotted coral root. They are saprophytes, which live of decaying leaves. Wild orchids grow in all parts of the world except Antarctica. The largest number of orchids comes from Asia. Orchids are considered monocots because they only have one leaf that first emerges from the seed. Also, monocots typically have flower parts that are grouped in three or six, which is exemplified by the orchid. The orchid is irregular with its three sepals that are organized under and between its three petals. There are two lateral petals and a third petal that is single and different from the others because it forms a saclike lip or slipper, which is distinctive and common to most of the species of orchids. Orchids have bulbous or thick tuber-like roots. This specific characteristic is what gave Orchids their name. These tubers resembled paired testicles and in the Greek language, "orchis" (ορχις) means "testicle". Orchids are considered the most evolved of the flowering plants. The structure, the fragrance and the color of these plants have evolved to help them in the process of reproduction. The orchid's development of unique structures often permits cross- pollination only by specific pollinators and the relationships are highly specialized. Each orchid species will germinate and grow only under certain conditions. Pollen is usually held together in masses and in many cases must be positioned correctly on the insect for pollination of another flower to occur. This tends to prevent cross-pollination between different species. An orchid's fragrance, size and color may attract certain types of insects or birds as well. Orchids are very unique in their methods of fertilization, seed production, germination, and pollination strategies. Orchid seeds are so tiny that they need help from certain types of fungi. In order to germinate the orchid seed must be penetrated by fungus threads. These fungi supply the seeds with the substances they need to grow. The pollination processes of orchids have fascinated botanists for centuries. Bianca Nicoletti -- 2003 External links to this page: Author, Illustrator, Webmaster Chaos, E-World, Facts, Get Bent, Physics No condition is permanent.
Many people think only of the tragedy masks when they think of Greek theater masks. However, Greek masks were not merely the solid, plain masks often used to represent the theater today. From the origination of the masks to how they are still used in modern productions of classical Greek theater, there are many facts about Greek theater masks that most people do not know. Origination of Greek Masks Participants wore masks during certain worship ceremonies and rituals for the Greek god Dionysus. The Greek writer Thespis originally covered his face in white lead during performances. Eventually, Thespis took the idea of wearing masks during ceremonies and incorporated white linen masks into his stage performances. Reasons for Wearing Masks There are several reasons why Greeks wore masks during performances. Plays were performed in large, outside amphitheaters. Due to the size of the stage and the positioning of the seating, many audience members were not able to clearly see what was happening on stage. Masks were used as a way to convey emotion to every audience member. Each mask was designed to show a certain emotion through the use of exaggerated facial expressions, which were readable by all audience members. This ensured that all audience members understood the tone and emotion of each character. Greek performers also wore masks because a limited number of actors were allowed on stage. Initially, one performer was allowed on stage at a time. Through the use of masks, different characters and emotions were established during plays. Eventually, three actors were allowed on stage. Also, there were no women actors in Greek theater, so men wore female masks for female roles. Description of Masks Masks used in Greek theater were made of plaster-soaked linen, wood or leather. The masks featured exaggerated facial expressions portraying emotions such as happiness, sadness and anger. The mouths were large cut-out or carved openings that enabled actors to speak loudly and clearly. Eyes were clearly drawn on the mask. Pupil holes were punched out so actors could see. Animal or human hair was often added to the mask as facial hair. Masks used to represent female characters featured larger eyes and larger mouth holes. Finding Ancient Greek Masks Due to the types of materials used to make the masks, authentic ancient Greek masks do not exist. The masks decayed over time. Fortunately, Greeks depicted people wearing these masks on vases and in drawings. Through research and extensive study, historians have pieced together what the masks looked like. Greek Masks Today Greek masks are still used in certain theatrical productions. Many modern directors feel that using Greek masks during Greek tragedy and comedy revivals is essential in capturing the spirit and theme of the play. - Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images
On Sunday December 26, 2004, at 0h58, the worst earthquake in 40 years reached 9.3 on the Richter scale and caused the 10 meter wave of the “Boxing Day Tsunami”. The waters devastated the Indonesian province of Aceh, killing 170,000 there. Within 90 minutes they reached the southern beaches of Thailand, killing another 5,000+. In all, some 230,000 people died. Early Warning Signals In 2004, there was no global monitoring and warning system that could identify the threat and alert populations of the tsunami trajectory and time of impact. Today, a global network of 60 nigh-tech buoys helps measure the size, direction and speed of tsunami waves. The time of impact and the size of the floods are predicted based on mathematical models and past experience. Timely information is critical. In 2004, the Indian town of Madras was hit 2 hours after the quake but the authorities had not been informed because information was only shared every 4 to 5 hours. Today, 140 seismometers are present along the Indian Ocean coasts and three regional alert centers (in Indonesia, Australia and in India) are tasked with informing all relevant countries within 15 minutes. It took 12 minutes for news of the 2012 tsunami to be relayed. There is a cost however. It is estimated that the maintenance of the system alone costs up to $100 million a year. Education is Key Despite the improvements in technology and communication, risks remain and human factors may be to blame. While the 2012 tsunami alert arrived in time, most of the population of Aceh (Indonesia) tried to flee by car which blocked the entire town. The town was saved and the population survived because the announced disaster did not materialize. The population is also tired of hearing about tsunamis and often resists prevention measures – even criticizing education programs in schools and preparedness measures implemented by the authorities. Such attitudes were also present in some of the Japanese areas affected by the Fukushima tsunami – the protection walls proved insufficient. In New Orleans, people have also rebuilt their homes in zones considered at risk. A new Era of Global Vulnerability Until 2004, we experienced half a century with no major tsunami disasters. As a result, coastal areas have seen major developments in infrastructure and population growth – particularly in Asia. In the last decade, the two important tsunamis have caused major disasters (Boxing say in 2004 and Fukushima in 2011) in the region. This is no coincidence, most earthquake activity occurs along subduction zones. Particularly along the “Pacific Ring of Fire”. Human activity, often related to development and associated progress is partly to blame. The destruction of “mangroves” increases the vulnerability of coastal areas to tsunami waves by removing an important buffer zone. Rising sea-levels are another aggravating factor. Water levels are now 30 centimeters higher then a century ago along the New York coast. The unfortunate timing of Hurricane Sandy coinciding with a high-tide resulted in massive floods in New York and New Jersey. Technology can certainly help but will never be sufficient to overcome the shortcomings of human nature. The 2004 Tsunami in Aceh that killed 170,000 also allowed for the reconciliation of the authorities and rebel forces in order to rebuild their community. This is the kind of cooperation necessary to overcome the global challenges that are upon humanity – climate change, poverty, inequality… Let us hope that we will not need a global disaster to start moving in that direction.
The enormity of the global ocean over centuries of exploration has turned indigenous assessments into rough sketches rather than detailed portraits. Now scientists have developed a precise method for discovering one of the ocean’s more exotic creatures. Estimates of its global occurrence are likely to skyrocket. The organisms are called ctenophores. Although they look like jellyfish on the surface, they have no spines and none of the usual body pulsations and rhythms that drive jellyfish on. What moves them instead through the sea water are pulsating rows of feathery cilia. The tiny hair-like bundles resemble the teeth of a comb, giving the creatures their other name: comb jellies. Waves of cilia let the creatures slide forward to sweep up prey and fine dust. Adults range in size from a few centimeters to a few meters. Ctenophores live in the world’s oceans, from the abyss to the sunlit zone. About 200 species have been identified. Most are bioluminescent. Typically, the colors of their lights are bluish or greenish, often shimmering or iridescent. Four scientists introduced a new method for identifying ctenophores in an article published online last month and soon to appear in Molecular Ecology Resources, a monthly journal. Steven HD Haddock, co-author at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California, said the team worked on the problem for about five years, drawing on a wide range of specimens collected over decades. He said progress will give “much-needed precision” to biologists who want to learn the true dimensions of oceanic life. If used widely, the method could, according to Dr. Haddock, cause the number of known ctenophore species to increase from 200 to around 600 and possibly up to 800. “It’s like fingerprints,” said Dr. Haddock in an interview about the technology. “It’s one of the next big things in judging who lives in the ocean.” The new method applies a powerful new tool to animal identification in the world of ctenophore research. It is known as environmental DNA sampling. Instead of directly observing or testing an organism, it collects and analyzes DNA snippets that are given off by all living things in their environment. Scientists compare the environmental samples of the genetic code of shipwrecked people such as hair, skin and slime with DNA libraries and look for matches and identifications. The procedure has already been used for other identifications. For example, it helped uncover the hidden presence of endangered organisms, including an aquatic insect known as the rare yellow stonefly. Researchers also used it to show that Scotland’s famous Loch Ness was filled with more eel DNA than anything monstrous. But before these analytical tools could be applied to ctenophores, advances were required. Dr. Haddock’s team designed a battery of new molecular probes that made it possible to conduct deeper DNA studies. “It’s like being able to read a new language,” he said. In a series of tests, they identified 72 species of ctenophores based on their genetic signatures – about five times more than reported in previous databases and GenBank, a library of genetic codes from thousands of organisms maintained by the National Institutes of Health. The precise tools, say the scientists, will enable researchers to study the DNA sequences they recover from the wild with new precision and better understand the true diversity of marine life. And this, in turn, will help global conservation, fisheries management, and the assessment of things like the effects of climate change on ocean biodiversity. “Ctenophores are largely overlooked in diversity studies because most are too sensitive to be sampled with trawls,” said Dr. Haddock. “With this study, we are trying to overcome this and give people the opportunity to appreciate how special and diverse these creatures are.”
Have an Idea Scientists come up with an idea for a vaccine. They test their idea using experiments in the lab. The next step is clinical trials to determine if the vaccine works in these experiments. Vaccines have high safety standards, especially because they are being injected into healthy people. Vaccines are made in very clean, sterile environments in vaccine factories. The vaccine is tested in humans to make sure it is safe and effective (meaning, it can actually prevent you from getting the disease). These tests are called vaccine or clinical trials. There are 3 phases of clinical trials, and they can take months to years for each vaccine. The FDA sets the rules for companies to ensure that the people who volunteer to be tested are kept safe. Participation in these trials is completely voluntary. Volunteers agree to receive the vaccine and undergo any necessary medical testing to see whether it is safe or works to prevent disease. For the COVID-19 vaccine, a committee of scientists and public health professionals reviews the data from clinical trials and ensures that basic clinical trial standards are met. Grant an EUA If the data shows the COVID-19 vaccine to be safe and effective, an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) is granted. The EUA allows for medicines and vaccines to become available in emergencies when vaccine has to get out quickly and safely to prevent more deaths. Who Gets It? Next, an advisory committee looks at all the information again to see who should get the vaccine. If the advisory committee recommends the vaccine, the recommendation is sent to the CDC for final approval. The vaccines are then shipped off to pharmacies/health centers to be given to patients. Even after a vaccine is licensed/approved, the FDA, CDC, and other organizations continue monitoring it to ensure it remains safe and effective. For more information visit the following websites: This publication is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a Cooperative Agreement. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government.
The Core Knowledge Foundation provides open access to content-rich curriculum materials for preschool through grade 8, including the Core Knowledge Curriculum Series™, with many materials now available and many more in development. How to Get Your Free Resources Check the boxes below to sort by subject, grade level, or both. Click on the title to find resources for that unit. Submit your name and email address. You’ll only need to submit this information once. Click “Download” for each free resource you want. The materials made available for download are freely available for anyone to use, adapt, and share (with attribution), but no one is permitted to sell either the original program, an adaptation of it, or lesson plans that reproduce any part of it. For more information, see the Guidelines to Core Knowledge and the Creative Commons License. Core Knowledge Language Arts Core Knowledge History and Geography Core Knowledge Science - CKHG Unit 11: The Civil War Grade 5 History and Geography Spanish - CKHG Unit 12: Westward Expansion After the Civil War Grade 5 History and Geography - CKHG Unit 13: Native Americans: Cultures and Conflicts Grade 5 History and Geography Spanish - CKHG Unit 4: Medieval Islamic Empires Grade 4 History and Geography - CKHG Unit 5: Early and Medieval African Kingdoms Grade 4 History and Geography - CKHG Unit 6: Dynasties of China Grade 4 History and Geography - CKHG Unit 8: The United States Constitution Grade 4 History and Geography Spanish - CKHG Unit 9: Early Presidents Grade 4 History and Geography - CKHG Unit 10: American Reformers Grade 4 History and Geography - CKSci Unit 1: Energy Transfer and Transformation Grade 4 Science - CKHG Unit 3: Ancient Egypt Grade 1 History and Geography - CKHG Unit 2: Mesopotamia Grade 1 History and Geography - CKHG Unit 1: Ancient India Grade 2 History and Geography - CKHG Unit 2: Ancient China Grade 2 History and Geography
Consciousness remains one of the most bizarre phenomena in the universe. Though a well-researched field, science is still to reveal the fundamental nature of consciousness. This is perhaps due to the fact that consciousness is not entirely a biological phenomenon but rather an emergent process, rising out of complex interactions between simpler parts, in a large system. On the other hand, chaos theory is the branch of mathematics dealing with complex, dynamical systems. Chaos theory has wide-ranging applications – from weather prediction and market research to crowd management and heartbeat inequalities. Fractals form an integral part of chaos theory, and prove that it is possible to generate complex, real-life patterns mathematically. The question addressed in this article is whether chaos theory can reproduce the complex interactions that give rise to consciousness itself. Consciousness must be treated differently, at a fundamental stage. Once the fundamental nature of consciousness is clear, it is easier to predict its behavior. While it is beyond the scope of present science to achieve this feat, it is reasonable enough to assume that mathematics can, in principle, reproduce the complex patterns and interactions that give rise to consciousness. Introduction To Chaos Theory And Fractals Swirling water at the edge of a coastline, craters on the moon, turbulent phase transitions, population growth, and weather forecasting. What links and explains so many phenomena is an entirely-new science – the science of unpredictability, the science of order within disorder, the science of pattern, the science of chaos. Mathematics is, undoubtedly, the most fundamental subject. It can be referred to as “applied logic” or, in other words, the purest form of human thought. Chaos theory is one of the newest branches of mathematics. It was difficult to set up chaos as a mainstream science; however, today it is clear that chaos theory is a highly important, practical and complex science. It may seem that everyday objects, like fluids, are well-understood but on closer inspection, it is clear that even such simple objects show complex, chaotic behavior. As James Gleick says in his book titled “Chaos”: “Only a new kind of science could begin to cross the great gulf between knowledge of what one thing does – one water molecule, one cell of heart tissue, one neuron – and what millions of them do.” Chaos theory, as is evident from the name, deals with complex dynamical systems, which show chaotic behavior, that is, cannot be predicted easily. Chaos theory also helps in dealing with nonlinear perturbed systems, which can be dealt with by approximating linear perturbation techniques. In linear dynamics, we work on an idealized situation to get an approximate result, and try to incorporate small perturbations or disturbances in the system to account for the phenomena that were ignored initially. However, the complex world around us can hardly be understood this way. Prediction is a messy business, and nothing can be predicted with a 100% certainty. But still, prediction is important in modern science. While predicting complex behavior using a set of equations is not possible, we can run computer simulations to be able to make a good prediction. Above all, chaos theory is a new way of looking at nature. At one time, it was believed that it was, in principle, possible to predict the state of the universe at any time in the past or the future, provided that the positions and momenta of all the particles in the universe was known. However, modern physics has proved that it is actually impossible to know both the position and momentum of even a single particle with absolute certainty. One of the best ways to understand chaos theory is to look at animal population. Let us assume that the equation represents the growth of a population. Here, represents the population for the next year, while is the population for that existing year. represents a rate of growth, which may change. The term keeps the growth within bounds; as increases, falls. [It should be noted that, in this model, for convenience, population is expressed as a fraction between zero and one, where zero represents extinction, and one the maximum possible population.] If the population falls below a certain level one year, it is liable to increase in the next. But if it rises too high, competition for space and resources will tend to bring it within bounds. Any population, as it has been determined, will reach equilibrium after many initial fluctuations. The population gradually goes extinct for small values of . For bigger values of , the population may converge to a single value. For greater values still, it may fluctuate between two values, and then four, and so on. But everything becomes unpredictable for greater values. The line representing the population function, gradually, though initially single, breaks into two, four…… and then goes chaotic. The population-versus- graph for the situation produces a curious result. When is between 0 and 1, the population ultimately goes extinct. Between = 1 to = 3, the population converges to a single value. At about = 3.2, the graph bifurcates (breaks into two), since at this value of , the population does not converge to a single value, but fluctuates between two values. For greater values of , the bifurcation speeds up; and after a quick succession of period doublings soon the graph becomes chaotic. This means that, for those corresponding values of , the population fluctuates unpredictably between random values, and never exhibits a periodic behavior. However, on closer inspection, it is evident that the graph becomes predictable at certain points, between the chaotic portion. These can be referred to as “windows of order amidst the chaos”. After the initial chaotic region, suddenly the chaos vanishes, leaving in its wake a stable period of three. This, then continues to double – 6, 12, 24 and goes chaotic again… Figure 1: Bifurcation Diagram. This is what the graph looks like. Along the y-axis, the population (x) has been plotted; while along the x-axis, different values of r (or the rate of growth) have been plotted. The chaotic portion of the graph is actually a fractal. A fractal is a complex pattern that repeats endlessly on closing in. On zooming in, it is evident that the chaotic part, in the above graph, repeats the same pattern endlessly. To quote Lewis F. Richardson, “Big whorls have little whorls / which feed on their velocity / And little whorls have lesser whorls / and so on to viscosity.” However, a fractal might not always be self-similar, i.e., reveal similar patterns on zooming in. Even the coastline of Great Britain is a fractal. A fractal, roughly speaking, is a complex pattern which provides a way of measuring the roughness. Figure 2: Fractal. The shape of the graph of the bifurcation diagram becomes unpredictable and chaotic for greater values of r. The pattern is a fractal. On further investigations, mathematician Mitchell Feigenbaum found that, on dividing the width of each bifurcation section by that of the next one, the ratio always converges to a constant value, now known as the Feigenbaum constant, 4.6692016090.. What was curious was that, for all bifurcation diagrams, no matter what function has been used, this number remained the same. In chaos theory, the concept of scaling plays a vital role. Feigenbaum believed that scaling (across different ranges) was the key to understanding perplexing phenomena like turbulence. It was also proven that the rules of complexity are universal, and applies to all dynamical systems, regardless of their constituents. This behavior can be observed with dripping water. Initially, water will fall drop-by-drop. Then, on speeding up the flow of the water, it will drip in pairs and so on, and then it follows a chaotic behavior. Thus, the characteristic chaotic behavior, as shown in the bifurcation diagram, applies to uncountable real-life systems – from dripping water to the amazingly-complex Mandelbrot set. On a two-dimensional complex number plane, iterating a function produces many interesting patterns. (For instance, if the roots (both real and complex) of the equation are plotted on the complex plane, and a program is run to determine to which solution the numbers on the complex plane approaches, then a complex shape is generated, which is cut into three identical slices. The boundary of the shape, on closer inspection, reveals complex fractal patterns. The most notable of such patterns is, perhaps, the Mandelbrot set. The Mandelbrot set (named after mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot) is constructed from a two-dimensional complex number plane. It follows the equation: , where is a complex number. One starts by setting , and in this case, the equation becomes . Then, using as the input, one iterates the equation: , and so on. If, for a given value of , the corresponding results get bigger and bigger; the point (on the complex number plane) does not lie in the Mandelbrot set. Otherwise, it lies within the set. [For example, at = – 1, the results always fluctuate between two numbers: 0 and – 1. Thus, – 1 lies within the Mandelbrot set. At = 1, however, the results blow up to infinity.] Doing this for all the points on the complex plane produces the amazingly-complex Mandelbrot set. The bifurcation diagram, interestingly, is exactly what the Mandelbrot set resembles from the side, in three-dimensions. Figure 3: The bifurcation diagram is an integral part of the Mandelbrot set. Rotating the above picture sideways, and viewing it in two-dimensions reveals the Mandelbrot set. The pointy “needle” portion of the Mandelbrot set corresponds to the chaotic part in the bifurcation diagram; the smaller circle in the Mandelbrot set corresponds to the first bifurcation lines and the bigger heart-shaped portion corresponds to the single, non-bifurcated curve in the bifurcation diagram. Many similar patterns (like the original set) can be found on closing in on the Mandelbrot set. As one keeps zooming in at different parts of the set, infinitely-many beautiful, repeating patterns (which may be similar to the set itself, but never an exact copy) are revealed. (In fact, in principle, any shape can be generated from the Mandelbrot set, provided we could zoom in at the right places, and for long enough. The Mandelbrot set can be regarded as nothing less than the ‘face of God’. According to mathematician Roger Penrose, the Mandelbrot set is evidence for mathematical realism. It is so complex that it could not, possibly, be invented, but only discovered. Figure 4: Mandelbrot Set: This is one of the most famous and beautiful fractals. It is really wonderful that this pattern can be generated mathematically. Interestingly, the ratio of the radii of successive circles on the real line in the Mandelbrot set, is the Feigenbaum constant. Figure 5: Close-up view of the Mandelbrot Set reveals the endless, intricate patterns, especially near the boundaries of the set. One of the most important predictions of chaos theory is that systems with slightly-different initial conditions give rise to fundamentally-different results. The most popular example is the butterfly effect. A butterfly flapping its wings can give rise to a chain of events which might end up creating a thunderstorm in some distant place. This is only an example, and this idea applies to everything in our universe. Tiny changes in the initial conditions produce results that are very different from each other and are, thus, unpredictable. Even the Mandelbrot set reflects this. It is evident on zooming in that tiny changes in the positions of the numbers chosen (on the complex plane), ends up in entirely different areas. [The black portion of the set represents numbers that are predictable, while the function goes chaotic (that is, diverges) if the number lies in the blue region. The color gradients represent how close the numbers of that region are to the set. The use of different colors also reveals the detailed, intricate patterns.] Another way to visualize this is using topology. If a sheet of space is transformed by stretching and squeezing, then points that were initially close might end up far away in the transformed space. Also, points that were initially far might end up close to each other. The applications of chaos theory in weather prediction are widely known. Clouds are, undoubtedly, one of the most interesting fractals in nature. They are formed by the condensation of tiny droplets of water, which occur on a random basis under suitable conditions. However, once clouds are formed, they tend to attract more tiny water droplets at certain points around them. Clouds are one of the most uniform fractal objects present in the earth, and it is impossible to determine how far away a cloud might be by looking at it. They look the same at all scales. Mathematician and meteorologist Edward Lorenz wanted to predict weather conditions. He used three differential equations: Here, represents the ratio of fluid viscosity to thermal conductivity, represents the difference in temperature between the top and bottom of the system and is the ratio of the box width to the box height (the entire system is assumed to be taking place in a 3-dimensional box). In addition, there are three time-evolving variables: (which equals the convective flow); (which equals the horizontal temperature distribution) and (which equals the vertical temperature distribution). For a set of values of and , the computer, on predicting how the variables would change with time, drew out a strange pattern (now referred to as the Lorenz attractor). Basically, the computer plotted how the three variables would change with time, in a three-dimensional space. Figure 6: Lorenz Attractor. The lines curved out seem to be attracted to two points. In the above fractal, no paths cross each other. This is because, if a loop is formed, the path of the particles would continue forever in that loop and become periodic and predictable. Thus, each path is an infinite curve in a finite space. Though this idea seems strange, this can actually be demonstrated by a fractal. Essentially, a fractal continues infinitely; though it can be represented in a finite space. Attractors function in a phase space. A phase space pictorially represents dynamical systems. Each point on a phase space represents the state of the dynamical system at that time. Plotting such points for successive time intervals gives rise to an attractor. An attractor can be a simple one. For example, if we plotted a two-dimensional velocity-versus-position graph (the phase space) for a simple pendulum, we would see that the curve traced out on the phase space, as the pendulum swings, will be a curve that spirals inward to the origin. This is because, due to friction, the swinging pendulum will gradually come to a stop at its mean position (i.e., at this point, both the velocity and the position are zero.) Figure 7: Phase space for a pendulum with friction. It seems that the curve (on the phase space) is attracted to a fixed point. Also, no matter whatever disturbances this system is exposed to, it will always come to a rest, sooner or later, due to friction. Thus, such a system is predictable and is not sensitive to initial conditions. For more complex systems (like a double pendulum or a three-body gravitational system), the curve on the phase space becomes complex and chaotic. It should be infinite in length, i.e., no path should intersect and form a loop at any point. However, this infinite pattern must be capable of representation in a finite phase space. This is possible only if the curve is a fractal. Also, contrary to common misconception, a dynamical system does not always end up in a chaotic and unpredictable state. A system might have more than one equilibrium state, both acting like attractors. The intermediate stages might be chaotic, but a dynamical system might end up in a stable state, too, in which case the final state of the system always remains predictable. Turbulence, or the unpredictable behavior of fluids under certain circumstances, remained a problem in fluid dynamics. Turbulence, as was verified experimentally, was not taking place simply due to accumulation of complexity. The sudden change from predictable to turbulent behavior in fluids was most difficult to exactly explain. The concept of strange attractors, as it turns out, can explain such phenomena. A strange attractor is a complex attractor that is fractal in nature. The concept of strange attractor can explain numerous random phenomena in nature – and beyond. The Lorenz attractor is also a strange attractor. Even the orbits of stars in galaxies have been studied to show chaotic behavior. For complex and chaotic three-dimensional phase spaces, scientists use techniques like studying two-dimensional cross-sectional slices of the curve. Lorenz also found that even slight changes in the inputs can create drastically dissimilar outputs. (This is referred to as the butterfly effect, and is technically known as “sensitivity to initial conditions.”) He modelled a mini-weather in a computer, which functioned based on twelve nonlinear equations. Then, he considered the three nonlinear equations above. He also examined the phenomenon of convection, which is the fluid motion associated with the rising of hot gas or liquid. Complex, chaotic behavior was observed even in hot gases and liquids. When it gets hot enough to set the fluid in motion, chaotic behavior is observed. But what is interesting about chaos is that a system can, simultaneously, be chaotic, yet stable. As in the case of Lorenz attractor, no matter what perturbations the system is exposed to, one always gets back the infinite, complex fractal, which is, in itself, chaotic. A great example is the Red Spot in Jupiter. This swirling spot always remains, perfectly self-organized, among the surrounding chaotic atmosphere. A complex system can give rise to turbulence and coherence at the same time. The Sierpiński Triangle Fractals are, in fact, an integral part of nature. Fractals can be observed almost everywhere and can also be generated in many curious ways. An interesting way is the chaos game. Three non-collinear points (say, A, B and C) are chosen on a plane, such that they form an equilateral triangle. A random starting point (say, P) is chosen anywhere on the plane. The game proceeds by following certain conditions. A die is rolled. If the outcome is 1 or 2, the point halfway between the points P and A, is marked. Similarly, if the outcome is 3 or 4, the midpoint of the line segment joining the points P and B is marked. For outcomes 5 or 6, the midpoint of the line segment joining the points P and C is marked. For similar outcomes more than once, the midpoint of the line segment joining the last obtained point, with A, B or C (depending on the outcome), is marked. If this is continued for long enough, the collection of all the points resemble a beautiful fractal called the Sierpiński triangle. The Sierpiński triangle has an infinite length, because the fractal continues infinitely. However, the area tends to zero, since the black regions (figure 8) are not included in the fractal, and have zero area. This fractal, with an infinite length, is more than a one-dimensional pattern, but less than a two-dimensional figure, since its area is zero. The dimension of the Sierpiński triangle lies between 1 and 2, therefore it has a fractional dimension. Though this seems absurd, the dimension of a fractal is basically a measure of its roughness. [It should be noted that a fractal does not always have fractional dimensions. For instance, the Hilbert curve, on more and more iterations, covers up the area of a square, and is two-dimensional.] If a one-dimensional line is broken into two equal halves, i.e., if it is scaled by one-half; its mass is also scaled down by one-half, since two such halves will reproduce the original line. Similarly, if we scale the side of a square by one-half, its mass is scaled by one-fourths, since it takes four squares (each of a length one-half the length of the original square) to reconstruct the original square. One-fourth is just one-half raised to the power of two, and this number is the dimension of the square, which is two. Similarly, just as a line is one-dimensional and a square two-dimensional, a cube is three-dimensional because on being scaled by one-half, the mass is scaled down by one-eighth (or one-half raised to the third power), and it takes eight copies of the smaller cube to generate the original cube. For a Sierpiskiński triangle, on scaling it by one-half, we get a similar, but smaller pattern, three of which, when arranged in the right pattern, gives back the original triangle. Thus, the mass has been scaled by one-thirds. Following the above line of reasoning, this means that one-half raised to the power of (say) , should equal one-third. And is the fractal dimension of the Sierpiskiński triangle. Figure 8: Sierpiński Triangle. No points lie on the black regions, except the initial random point, which may be chosen to be anywhere on the plane. Interestingly, the Sierpiński triangle behaves like an attractor. All points on the plane seem to be attracted in a certain pattern, away from the black regions. Such a system, though, is not sensitive to initial conditions. This is because, no matter wherever we choose the starting point to be, they will always form the same pattern, provided we plot points as per the rules of the “chaos game”. This activity may be done with more than three points, to generate more complex fractals. The Koch Snowflake Something as beautiful and as complex as a snowflake can be constructed mathematically. The Koch snowflake can be constructed from an equilateral triangle. The sides of the triangle are trisected and the middle part is removed from each side. With the removed portion as a side of it, another equilateral triangle is constructed, which is again treated similarly. On continuing this process infinitely, a fractal is formed, which resembles a snowflake. What is interesting about the Koch snowflake is that, though it has a finite area, it actually has an infinite length. It is lesser than a two-dimensional but greater than a one-dimensional figure. Such things are described by a fractional dimension, which, though not possible in Euclidean geometry, is a characteristic of fractal geometry. The fractal dimension of the Koch snowflake lies between 1 and 2. (It is 1.2618.) Figure 9: Koch Snowflake: Fractal generated from a simple equilateral triangle. No matter how much we zoom in, the fractal will endlessly repeat its original pattern. Interestingly, if one of the angles of the original triangle is set to be very small (i.e., approaches zero), then the part of the fractal generated by that end of the triangle, will be a space-filling curve. This means that the pattern generated will fill out all of space (at that region). Indeed, even a one-dimensional line can be iterated repeatedly in a certain manner, to generate the Hilbert curve. Figure 10: Hilbert Curve. As the number of iterations tends to infinity, the one-dimensional line actually moves through all the points on the two-dimensional space, though the idea seems counter-intuitive. Space-filling curves might also have great applications. A high-resolution picture can be filled using a space-filling curve, and a computer program could be written to define a sound frequency to each point on the picture. This might be used to develop a device that would let blind people visualize pictures by ‘listening’. Even something as complex, as beautiful and as realistic as a fern can be mathematically generated. This fractal is called the Barnsley’s fern. Figure 11: Barnsley’s Fern: A beautiful and realistic fern-shaped fractal generated mathematically. Another interesting fractal is the Sierpiński carpet. It can be generated by dividing a square into a 3X3 matrix, i.e., nine squares. Then, the middle square is removed. This operation is then repeated on the eight remaining squares, and so on infinitely. When this same activity is carried out on a three-dimensional cube, the Menger sponge is formed. Interestingly, it has an infinite surface area but zero volume. Figure 12: Menger Sponge. The Study of Chaos The study of chaos has revealed that, underlying the chaotic randomness in nature, there lies order, which becomes perceptible only on the average. When, for instance, Lorenz studied random weather patterns, he discovered the Lorenz attractor. To quote Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, “while the individual man is an insoluble puzzle, in the aggregate he becomes a mathematical certainty. You can, for example, never foretell what any one man will do, but you can say with precision what an average number will be up to. Individuals vary, but percentages remain constant.” The study of chaos also revealed that chaos and randomness, in some sense, creates information. This is because, in the modern view, information depends on randomness. More the randomness, more the complexity, more the variation, more the disorder; more is the amount of information contained. This is obvious, since if everything were to collapse into an orderly, indistinguishable form, no information would, then, have survived; and one would have no way to perceive differences between things. Just as turbulence transmits energy from large scales to small scales, creating vortices; similarly information is transmitted back from the small scales to the larger ones. And this is done by strange attractors, which magnify the initial randomness into large ones, analogous to how the butterfly effect magnifies initial conditions and gives dramatically different outputs. Consciousness: What Is So Special About It? At the most fundamental stage, it is reasonable to assume that all possible phenomena must take place, probably in different systems. (The other alternative is that absolutely nothing should have taken place, which cannot account for the existence of the universe.) The universe, thus, is the result of the evolution of one such possible phenomenon. Consciousness is a fundamental property and at a fundamental stage, anything that can perceive the passage of time can be assumed to be conscious, where consciousness does not imply emotions and things characteristic of human consciousness. At the most elementary stage, consciousness must have been the inevitable process that must have formed in the process of evolution of certain phenomena among all the possible phenomena. It is evident that over time, the nature of consciousness has changed. The more a particular system (among all the possible systems) has evolved, the less fundamental consciousness has become. Any variation that causes an overall change in a system, as a whole, can be safely assumed to be a variation that has been accounted for, by the system. This means that this variation has been ‘observed’. By the above definition of ‘consciousness’, such a system can be assumed to be conscious. If there was no consciousness at that stage, the very existence of humankind would be questionable. It is probable, then, that there would only exist a superposition of all possible states. It is also a strong possibility that with the emergence of a greater number of, more complex, and thus less fundamental consciousnesses, different ‘illusions of reality’ are produced, with some trace of the ‘actual reality’. The argument can be that a consciousness can only perceive one state, yet the other states, as per our fundamental working hypothesis, are equally likely to occur. By this line of reasoning, it may be the case that all humans create their individual ‘illusions of reality’. In fact, rather than assuming consciousness to be a part of a greater system (like the universe), it might be more appropriate to assume that the consciousness exists as a whole, while the memories of the past, dreams of the future (etc.) are etched into the consciousness. Each human consciousness is a single system, with its own ‘version of reality’; and no two such versions can ever be the same. The actual reality might be an average representation of the different versions of reality. Schrödinger emphasized that consciousness can be experienced only in singular, and never in plural. As he put it, “Quantum physics thus reveals a basic oneness of the universe”. To a consciousness, it is evident on deeper thought, that only the present matters, and neither the past nor the future has any physical existence to it. To quote Schrödinger again, “Consciousness cannot be accounted for in physical terms. For consciousness is absolutely fundamental. It cannot be accounted for in terms of anything else.” Thus, we must not try to find certain conditions a system should fulfill to be conscious. It is important to realize that consciousness is fundamental and can be generalized, assuming the human consciousness to be a complex, special and less fundamental manifestation of the general consciousness. Thus, we may conclude that particles formed at that fundamental stage can be assumed to be ‘conscious’; rather their properties must be referred to as ‘fundamental consciousness.’ All particles exhibit chaotic behavior at such stages. Following this line of reasoning, it is obvious that chaotic behavior is characteristic of consciousness. Over time, as the system evolves into more complex systems, consciousness becomes less fundamental. How Are Consciousness And Chaos Related? The link between consciousness and chaos might not be apparent. The great physicist and philosopher Erwin Schrödinger, in his book “What is Life?”, quoted regarding consciousness that: “The reason for this was not that the subject [consciousness] was simple enough to be explained without mathematics, but rather that it was much too involved to be fully accessible to mathematics.” Schrödinger, so many years back, had already formed the then-unusual idea that life was both orderly and complex. He saw aperiodicity as the source of life’s special qualities. His ideas on life and biology also inspired Watson and Crick’s work on DNA. Chaos theory has numerous applications in physiology, especially cardiology. The idea is that mathematical tools could help biologists and physiologists to understand the complex systems of the human body, without a thorough knowledge of local detail. Chaos theory successfully explained the sudden, aperiodic and chaotic behavior of the heart, called ventricular fibrillation. According to chaos theory, the fibrillation is the result of disorder of a complex system, like the human heart. Though all individual parts of the heart seem to work perfectly, the whole system becomes chaotic, and eventually fatal. (This intuitively shows that the reductionist approach does not always work in science. Often, it is the entire system as a whole that is to be considered, instead of breaking it down to smaller and smaller parts.) Ventricular fibrillation is not a behavior that returns to stable conditions on its own; rather this fibrillating state is itself stable chaos. Research on the mosquitoes’ body cycle reveals that a burst of light at a special, certain time would cause the biological clock to completely break down and go random. However, bursts of light at any other random time, does not cause any long-time unpredictability in the mosquitoes’ biological clock. Fractal geometry also allows the formation of bounded curves of great lengths, and that is how the lungs manage to accommodate so large a surface area inside a small volume, which in turn, increases the efficiency of the respiratory system. Fractal geometry has also been used to model the dynamics of the HIV virus, which is responsible for AIDS. Bone fractures are fractal and even the surface structures of cancer cells display fractal properties, and this property can be manipulated to detect cancerous cells at an early stage. Another interesting application of chaos theory in the medical sciences is the phenomenon of mode locking. In this phenomenon, one regular cycle locks into another. This accounts for the ability of biological oscillators (like heart cells and neurons) to work in synchronization. The principles of chaos theory must also apply to the most complex, nonlinear and dynamic organ in the human body – the brain. The brain is not in an equilibrium state; it is dynamic and chaotic. Fractals might also be intimately connected to psychology. The world around us is complex and fractal. Thus, as Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon writes in his book “Introducing Fractal Geometry” , “It is entirely conceivable that the low level of fractal complexity in modern inner cities is a strong contributing factor to the high incidence of depression reported in these kinds of environment.” This may be why we still are fascinated by the complex architecture of the ancient times. This might also, scientifically, explain why poets have commented on the hopelessly materialistic world. The human mind is not satisfied with high buildings with a simple, rectangular design. It may also be the case that humans are fascinated by ancient buildings simply because they do not spend most of their lives in such places. But fractal geometry undoubtedly is intimately connected to nature, and possibly to our minds too. Consciousness is an emergent property. As neuroscientist David Eagleman explains in his book “The Brain: The Story of You”, the most appropriate way to look at consciousness is not to focus on the parts, but on the interaction between the parts. A single neuron among the millions of neurons in a human brain, is, by itself simple enough. It carries out its functions in a perfect, predictable manner, that is, sends signals via neurotransmitters across synapses. It is unlikely that consciousness can ever be understood by looking at a single neuron. What matters is the complex interaction between the neurons. Each neuron performs its own simple functions; but this large scale interaction, among the millions of neurons gives rise to something for which an individual neuron cannot account for: consciousness. There are, as with fractals, “windows of order” amidst the chaos in the brain. For instance, the overall pattern in the brain becomes similar and more predictable every night, when the person is asleep. But if all the interactions in the brain are examined at any given instance of time, the behavior is complex, unpredictable and chaotic. To quote Erwin Schrödinger, “…we find complete irregularity, co-operating to produce regularity only on the average”. It has been discovered that fractal patterns exist throughout the body – from the heart to the way blood vessels branch. As it has already been demonstrated in fractal geometry, a simple function, on repeated iterations, can produce an infinitely complex pattern. Thus, complex outcomes do not always require complex inputs. Large-scale, complex interactions between simple parts is not uncommon. Such interactions can be seen in anthills, cities etc.. It may be assumed that these interactions must be in a precise range to support consciousness and that anthills and cities are not conscious of their own because the interaction is not in the right range. But it may also be the case that anthills and cities are conscious of their own, in a very different sense. Once it is understood that consciousness is a fundamental property and may not require emotions, movement, or any physical support to function, then the link between consciousness and chaos becomes obvious. Most complex fractals are actually generated from simple movements. For instance, in the chaos game, the interaction of some simple points, in a particular way, gave rise to the Sierpiński triangle fractal. Even the amazingly-complex Mandelbrot set arises out of the interaction of simple points (representing certain numbers) in the complex number plane. The basic idea is the same: large scale interactions of simple units to give rise to something greater. Even in a complex system, like a city, chaotic behavior can be observed. During the morning, all students and teachers seem attracted to schools. In an anthill, all the worker ants seem attracted to food, and so on. It is probable that these movements might form a fractal. When the universe is considered as a whole, the movements of all the particles in it, and the presence of ‘attractors’ in the form of black holes, might give rise to a fractal. Finally, what is most notable about life and consciousness is the unpredictability. Life may take unpredictable turns at any moment. And the exact perception at any given moment, of a consciousness, is always different than the perception of that consciousness at any other moment. Due to life’s unpredictability, a loop is never formed; and this property is common among certain fractals, like the Lorenz attractor. No matter how close, no path in the Lorenz attractor intersects, and the behavior remains as unpredictable as ever. Immortality has been humankind’s long-lasting desire. In order to achieve immortality, modern neuroscientists propose to map the entire human brain (that is, cut it into ultra-thin slices and construct a map of each and every neuron and how they are arranged across the synapses, in high detail). This, in itself an insurmountable task, is only half the process. After this, a three-dimensional model of the brain (called connectome), with all the neural circuitry, has to be constructed and electrical impulses generated in the precise manner. Even after all this, it is questionable whether true human consciousness would emerge. But the idea is acceptable. In this view, consciousness does not need a physical support to survive; and in presence of the right interactions, can be run anywhere and forever . The impossibility of this idea can be accounted for by the amount of information stored in the brain. According to modern physics, entropy is analogous to information. Information can be assumed to be responsible for the existence of different objects in the universe. For instance, it is the information of the arrangement of atoms/molecules that differentiates a wooden plank from an iron rod, or water. More fundamentally, it is the difference in the arrangement of electrons and number of protons in an atom that defines what type of atom it is. Thus, it is evident that a huge amount of information is required to account for the complexity and uniqueness of each human brain. The above process, though not impossible, is definitely improbable considering current technology. We may, instead, conduct more research on fractals and try to understand how and what fractal patterns resemble the patterns formed in the human brain. Generating fractals using computers is a lot easier. Another important point is that self-similar fractals do not depend on the scale. No matter to what extent a self-similar fractal is magnified, it reveals the same pattern over and over again. However, the brain, with all its neural circuitry and complex interactions, cannot be assumed to be analogous to a complex fractal. This is because the neural circuitry does not go on infinitely. Also, the size of the brain is crucial to its functioning. The brain depends on the size to function properly, and if we happen to design an organism with a differently-sized brain, then the entire physiological structure of that organism needs to be altered, to ensure its survival. Thus, from this argument, it is reasonable to assume that consciousness does not depend on the physical (or biological) part. In principle, consciousness depends on complex patterns. These patterns might be fractals, or resemble fractal patterns to a certain finite extent. It might be the case that a certain, fixed amount of threshold complexity and chaotic behavior is a prerequisite for consciousness of the order of the human consciousness. Though the brain is a support for the human consciousness, it is not the only way consciousness can be generated. Consciousness is a chaotic system, and indeed, the human consciousness shows unpredictable behavior, with occasional regularities. The world is made of intricate details and patterns. Fractals are omnipresent; some of which are imaginable, while others are not. Even the universe might be a self-generating fractal, endlessly creating other universes out of itself. Thus, it is very probable that any natural object can be formed mathematically. Mathematics, thus, is not an abstract subject with minimal practical applications. Mathematics not only has great practical applications, but also may be able to recreate the entire universe. Mathematics must be the key to understanding the fundamental nature of reality. The world surrounding us is really built up of these endlessly-repeating, intricate patterns called fractals, which, though seem to be works of art, are actually the amazing works of mathematics. Mathematics, in particular, the study of nonlinear dynamics, has successfully addressed questions that biology had failed to do. Even the theories of natural selection and evolution can be studied in more detail, using the principles of chaos theory. As Joseph Ford said, evolution is chaos with feedback. The universe is randomness and dissipation; and randomness with direction can give rise to surprising complexity, while dissipation is essentially an agent of order. Chaos theory has successfully proven the inherent ideas about complexity and unpredictability to be incorrect. Indeed, neither do simple systems always behave in a simple way, nor does complex behavior always imply complex causes. Also, most importantly, the laws of complexity hold universally, regardless of the constituents of the system. Chaos theory addresses the very questions scientists have been afraid to ask, due to the fear of being called a lunatic. It is reasonable to assume that chaos theory, combined flexibly with our present knowledge, might hold the key to understanding the fundamental nature of reality itself. To quote Doyne Farmer, “Here was a coin with two sides. Here was order, with randomness emerging, and then one step further away was randomness with its own underlying order.” Also, the idea of pattern is a fundamental property of nature. As mathematician Manjul Bhargava shows, the number of petals in a daisy must always be a number from the Fibonacci sequence, starting with 1: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34.. Such patterns are observed everywhere in nature. As my teacher says, “nothing exists randomly just for the sake of existing, patterns have a very good reason for existing.” Finally, if mathematics can generate something as complex as the Mandelbrot set, then it seems reasonable that, in theory, human consciousness can also be generated mathematically. To quote Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, “For strange effects and extraordinary combinations we must go to life itself, which is always far more daring than any effort of the imagination.” Though this feat is beyond the reach of science at present, the evidence is clear that it is surely possible. The question is not ‘if’; it is ‘when’. Matt DeCross, Satyabrata Dash, Christopher Williams et al. “Chaos Theory”. 2020. https://brilliant.org/wiki/chaos-theory/ The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Fractal”. 1998. https://www.britannica.com/science/fractal James Gleick. “Chaos: Making a New Science”. Viking Books. 1987. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. “Causal Determinism”. 2003. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/determinism-causal/#:~:text=Causal%20determinism%20is%2C%20roughly%20speaking,analysis%20in%20the%20eighteenth%20century. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Uncertainty principle”. 1998. https://www.britannica.com/science/uncertainty-principle Lewis Fry Richardson. “Weather Prediction by Numerical Process.” Cambridge University Press. 1922 Derek Muller (Veritasium). “This equation will change how you see the world (the logistic map)”. 2020. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovJcsL7vyrk William Harris. “How Chaos Theory Works”. 2014. https://science.howstuffworks.com/math-concepts/chaos-theory4.htm Ben Sparks (Numberphile). “Chaos Game – Numberphile”. 2017. www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbKtFN71Lfs Grant Sanderson. “Hilbert’s Curve: Is infinite math useful?”. 2017. https://youtu.be/3s7h2MHQtxc Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. “Sherlock Holmes: The Sign of Four”. Spencer Blackett. 1890. Bernardo Kastrup, Henry P. Stapp, Menas C. Kafatos. “Coming to Grips with the Implications of Quantum Mechanics”. 2018. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/coming-to-grips-with-the-implications-of-quantum-mechanics/ Erwin Schrödinger. “What is Life?”. Cambridge University Press. 1944. Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon, Will Rood, Ralph Edney. “Introducing Fractal Geometry”. Totem Books. 2020. David Eagleman. “The Brain: The Story of You”. Canongate. 2015. Jason Brownlee. “A Gentle Introduction to Information Entropy”. 2019. https://machinelearningmastery.com/what-is-information-entropy/ Manjul Bhargava (NDTV). “Poetry, Daisies and Cobras: Math class with Manjul Bhargava”. 2015. https://youtu.be/siFBqH-LaQQ Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. “Sherlock Holmes: The Red-Headed League”. George Newnes. 1892. Fig. 1: “Bifurcation Diagram”. https://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/psychology/cogsci/chaos/workshop/Fig2.9.GIF Fig. 2: “The logistic map – Fractal Forums”. https://nocache-nocookies.digitalgott.com/gallery/17/4917_25_05_15_12_10_12.png Fig. 3: “Mandelbrot 3D”. https://live.staticflickr.com/3053/2987125185_bbf85927d0.jpg Fig. 4: “Mandelbrot set – Wikipedia”. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Mandel_zoom_00_mandelbrot_set.jpg Fig. 5: “Mandelbrot set No. 82”. https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3773/33177249451_60805780fd_b.jpg Fig. 6: “The Lorenz Attractor, a thing of beauty”. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/y9k4p1MTviBDhTPojoYN7FGMHzBvh4OEZKh7NJTeS2S3ic2Ap2W9OtFW1P78hV-u0PDKVFEenmryiwHA6JPJqJBddt53kQ Fig. 7: “Pendulum with friction”. https://slideplayer.com/slide/3845649/13/images/2/Pendulum+with+friction.jpg Fig. 8: “Fractals”. https://www.sfu.ca/~rpyke/335/sierpinski_bk.jpg Fig. 9: “Koch Snowflake Zoom”. https://sites.google.com/a/maret.org/advanced-math-7-final-project-2014/_/rsrc/1468872090410/architecture-and-arts/fractals-koch-snowflake/koch_snowflake.jpg?height=300&width=400 Fig. 11: “Barnsley Fern – Album on Imgur”. i.imgur.com/DAxe2QL.jpg Fig . 12: “Menger sponge – Wikipedia”. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Menger_sponge_%28Level_0-3%29.jpg About the Author Arpan Dey, aged 15 years, is a student of Delhi Public School, Burdwan, West Bengal, India. He is interested in physical sciences and mathematics. He wishes to pursue quantum mechanics in the future. He is also an aviation enthusiast. His ideals in life, apart from his parents and teachers, include Srinivasa Ramanujan, S. N. Bose, Bohr, Einstein, Schrodinger, Dirac, Feynman etc.
Utah Skies: Measuring The Distance To Stars After sundown in the late summer, one of the first visible stars will be Vega. It will be almost directly over your head. At star parties I am often asked how far away objects are and the next question is, “How do astronomers know it is that far?” The method for measuring the distance is Trigonometric or Stellar Parallax. To get an idea of how this method works, hold you your thumb out at arm’s length. Now close one eye, pick an object that is directly in line of sight behind your thumb. Now switch eyes and the objects appear to move as you switch from eye to eye. Knowing the distance between your eyes and the angle of the shift, you can determine the distance from your eyes to your thumb. This is basic trigonometry. Astronomers use the same technique to measure the distance to a star. They will observe a star or object and note the stars in the background. To get the maximum Parallax, they then wait six months, when the earth is on the opposite side of the sun and observe the star or object again. They note the shift of the stars in the background and determine the parallax angle, measured in arcseconds. They know that the distance from the sun is approximately 93 million miles. The math works out such that the distance for 1 arcsecond of parallax angle results in a distance of 3.25 light years, also called a parsec. The farther away a star is the smaller the parallax angle. Earth-based telescopes are limited to parallax angles down to one hundredth of an arcsecond or stars that are 100 parsecs away (that’s 325 light years). Space-based telescopes have no atmospheric distortions and can measure parallax angles down to one thousandth of an arcsecond or stars that are 1,000 parsecs away (3,250 light years). The image shown here is of Vega on August 20, 2021. The image could be used as a starting step to do a rough approximation of the distance to Vega using Stellar Parallax. The next step would be to take another image on February 20, 2022 and to compare the images. The Parallax Angle should be about 0.130 arcseconds. For stars farther away than 3,250 light years, more sophisticated and complex methods are used to determine distance.
The centimeter (symbol: cm) is a unit of length in the metric system. It is also the base unit in the centimeter-gram-second system of units. The centimeter practical unit of length for many everyday measurements. A centimeter is equal to 0.01 (or 1E-2) meter. A foot (symbol: ft) is a unit of length. It is equal to 0.3048 m, and used in the imperial system of units and United States customary units. The unit of foot derived from the human foot. It is subdivided into 12 inches. An inch (symbol: in) is a unit of length. It is defined as 1⁄12 of a foot, also is 1⁄36 of a yard. Though traditional standards for the exact length of an inch have varied, it is equal to exactly 25.4 mm. The inch is a popularly used customary unit of length in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. - How many feet and inches are in 13576 cm? - 13576 cm is equal to how many feet and inches? - How to convert 13576 cm to feet and inches? - What is 13576 cm in feet and inches? - How many is 13576 cm in feet and inches? feetcm.com © 2022
Want to know how some of the 20th century’s most celebrated artists made abstract paintings? This course offers an in-depth, hands-on look at the materials, techniques, and thinking of seven New York School artists, including Willem de Kooning, Yayoi Kusama, Agnes Martin, Barnett Newman, Jackson Pollock, Ad Reinhardt, and Mark Rothko. Through studio demonstrations and gallery walkthroughs, you’ll form a deeper understanding of what a studio practice means and how ideas develop from close looking, and you’ll gain a sensitivity to the physical qualities of paint. Readings and other resources will round out your understanding, providing broader cultural, intellectual, and historical context about the decades after World War II, when these artists were active. The works of art you will explore in this course may also serve as points of departure to make your own abstract paintings. You may choose to participate in the studio exercises, for which you are invited to post images of your own paintings to the discussion boards, or you may choose to complete the course through its quizzes and written assessments only. Learners who wish to participate in the optional studio exercises may need to purchase art supplies. A list of suggested materials is included in the first module. Learning Objectives: Learn about the materials, techniques, and approaches of seven New York School artists who made abstract paintings. Trace the development of each artist’s work and studio practice in relation to broader cultural, intellectual, and historical contexts in the decades after World War II. Hone your visual analysis skills. Use each artist’s works as a point of departure for making your own abstract paintings.
A new discovery is casting doubt on the idea that a type of star explosion shines with equal brightness wherever it occurs in the universe. The finding could have implications for estimates of the size of the cosmos. Type-1a supernovae are typically used as standard indicators of distance in the vast expanse of the universe. But the discovery of a Type-1a supernova more massive than was thought possible could force astronomers to rethink their ideas about the luminous objects, scientists reported today. A star that has exhausted its nuclear fuel, a white-dwarf, starts to accumulate matter from a companion star until it reaches its maximum mass. When the white dwarf's mass reaches 1.4 times the mass of the Sun, known as the Chandrasekhar mass limit, it becomes unstable and blows apart in a titanic explosion, becoming a Type-1a supernova. It was thought that all Type-1a supernovae emit equal amounts of light at their peak and fade at the same rate afterwards. Because of this they are used as "standard candles" for figuring out cosmic distances. In 1998, using these Type-1a supernovae, astronomers found that the expansion of the universe is accelerating. But astronomers recently discovered a Type-1a supernova called SNLS-03D3bb that shines more than twice is bright as its counterparts, researchers report in the Sept. 20 issue of the journal Nature. This along with the low kinetic energy of the star, the energy of the flying objects from the explosion, implies that the supernova originated from a white dwarf more massive than the Chandrasekhar limit. "The ejecta was moving very slowly in this supernova, and we think it is because the star that exploded was unusually massive, so it had a higher binding energy," said lead study author Andy Howell, a University of Toronto postdoctoral researcher. " Basically if you have a certain amount of energy produced from fusion in an explosion, then part of that energy has to go into overcoming the binding energy of the star, and the rest goes into kinetic energy." Super-Chandrasekhar-masses should occur preferentially in young stellar populations, the researchers write. SNLS-03D3bb comes from a pack of young stars in a distant galaxy when the universe was much younger than it is today. The color of young stars and their host galaxies are generally blue. This, in addition to other methods, is how scientists determined the age of the star. "We fit galaxy models to the data and they indicate a young population," Howell told SPACE.com. "The galaxy also has emission lines that indicate that they are still forming stars." Another line of evidence from another study showed that the supernovae that take the longest to rise to peak brightness and decline only come from a young population. "This supernova has an exceptionally broad light curve." The new discovery could help astronomers weed out unusual Type-1a supernovas and improve their estimates of cosmic distances. "We are fortunate in that this one had several indications of being odd," Howell said. "It clearly didn't follow the relationship that we use to calibrate supernovae for cosmology, but also it had an unusual spectrum, with an odd balance of elements moving at slow speeds. So by looking at the spectrum we can screen wierdos like this out." Researchers do however worry that some extreme cases lurking in the data could go unspotted. "To show that that isn't the case we are going to split our future cosmology studies into the supernovae from elliptical galaxies, where there are almost exclusively old stars, and the supernovae from spiral galaxies that have more of the younger stars," Howell said. - Top Ten Star Mysteries - New Life in Dead Star: Supernova 'Changing Right Before Our Eyes' - Hubble Reveals Dramatic New Phase of a Supernova Explosion - Core of Supernova Goes Missing
How Solar Works 1) Photovoltaic (PV) cells convert sunlight to direct current (DC) electricity. 2) The inverter converts DC into alternating current (AC) electricity. 3) The utility meter measures the energy you draw and feed back to the grid. The electrical panel sends power to your lights and appliances. 4) The production of your solar system is monitored by SunPower and Renova Energy SunPower solar panels work simply and efficiently, giving customers the satisfaction and savings they deserve. Here are the 3 steps of a SunPower solar panel: - The energy produced by the sun is channeled through copper located on the back of the module. - The energy is directed to the inverter on the solar panel itself. - The current changes from DC to AC and allows it to power your home. This advanced technology avoids “screen-printed” metal on the front of your panel, which ultimately breaks down in extreme heat. What is the Life Expectancy of SunPower Solar Panels? Because of how solar works and SunPower’s advanced technology, the life expectancy of a SunPower solar panel is up to 40 years, and they are guaranteed to produce 92% of the original amount of power after 25 years. No other panel even comes close. Call 1-800-SAVE-POWER today!
Rhetoric is a discipline built on the notion that language matters. It’s a discipline that’s been around for over 2,500 years, and at different times, people who have studied it have been interested in different things. While their interests have led them to focus on different aspects of rhetoric, here at SLCC there are several common characteristics of rhetoric that we value. It’s about conveying ideas effectively in order to promote understanding among people. I.A. Richards, an early 20th-century philosopher, defined rhetoric as “the study of misunderstandings and their remedies.” Language is messy. It is difficult, contextual, and based on individual experience. We use language and privilege particular languages based on who we are, where we come from, and who we interact with. In essence, communicating with others is complicated and fraught with potential misunderstandings based on our experiences as individuals. Rhetoric gives you a way to work within the messiness of language. It helps writers think through the varied contexts in which language occurs, giving them a way to—ideally—effectively reach audiences with very different experiences. It’s about inquiring into and investigating the communication situations we participate in. Aristotle defined rhetoric as “the faculty of discovering in any given case the available means of persuasion.” Often, the word “persuasion” is emphasized in this definition; however, the concept of “discovery” is also key here. In order to have ideas to communicate, we have to learn about the case—or situation—we’re commenting on. Kenneth Burke likened this process to a gathering in a parlor, where you arrive with a conversation already in progress. You have to actively listen to the conversation—carefully observe the situation you will participate in and the subject(s) that you will comment on—finding out the different participants’ positions and justifications for those positions before you can craft an informed opinion of your own. Rhetoric is a tool that helps you think through and research the situation as you prepare to communicate with others. It’s about making things. Jeff Grabill, a contemporary writing teacher, asks, “What are people doing when they are said to be doing rhetoric?” In response, he argues that rhetoric is a kind of work that creates things of value in the world. In other words, rhetoric creates attention to the world around us and particular people, places, and ideas in it. Paying attention to others around us helps us identify and make connections with others and their ideas, needs, and interests, and ultimately this can deepen our relationships with others. Importantly, connecting with others leads to action that alters the physical world around us, leading to the production of art and music, protests and performances, and even new buildings and spaces for people to conduct their lives. Understanding that rhetoric makes things can provide a reason to care about it and motivation to practice it. It’s about methodically communicating, discovering, and generating with language. One characteristic that influences each of the previous three is that rhetoric is systematic. It provides both readers and writers with a purposeful and methodical approach to communicating, discovering, and generating with language. It provides a set of skills and concepts that you can consistently use in order to critically think, read, research, and write in ways that allow you to achieve your communication goals. It’s important to realize, though, that rhetoric is not a one-size-fits-all formula. It’s not a series of steps that you follow the same way every time. Every communication situation is different, with different goals, contexts, and audiences, and thinking rhetorically is a flexible process that allows you to adapt to, as Aristotle put it, “any given situation.” You can think of rhetoric like a toolbelt. When using your tools, you don’t always use a tape measure first, then a hammer, then a screwdriver. In fact, you don’t always carry the same tools to different jobs. Depending on the job, you use different tools in different ways and in different orders to accomplish your task. Rhetoric is the same way. It’s about successfully applying systematic ways of using language to new situations. Perhaps the most important part of rhetoric, and why we teach it in the writing courses here at SLCC, is that it’s transferable. Rhetoric isn’t just a tool that you use in English classes; thinking rhetorically is a way to methodically approach any writing situation that you may run across in your academic, professional, or personal lives. You use rhetorical analysis in the chemistry classroom to dissect complex equations and then to communicate that knowledge to others, just like you use it to decipher what a TV commercial is attempting to make you believe about a given service or product. You use persuasion to pitch business ideas just as you use it when constructing a resume. Considerations of audience are vital for Facebook posts as well as job interviews. Understanding genre helps you to create effective lab reports as well as office e-mails. Learning to think and write rhetorically can impact every area of your life. Rhetoric is everywhere that language is. And language is everywhere. Aristotle. On Rhetoric: A Theory of Civic Discourse. Translated by George Kennedy. New York and London: Oxford University Press, 1991. Burke, Kenneth. The Philosophy of Literary Form: Studies in Symbolic Action. Berkley: University of California Press, 1941. Grabill, Jeff. “The work of rhetoric in the commonplaces: An essay on rhetorical methodology.” JAC: A Journal of Composition Theory 34, no. 1 (2014): 247-267. Richards, I.A. The Philosophy of Rhetoric. New York and London: Oxford University Press, 1936.
The curriculum defines five basic skills: reading, writing, numeracy, oral skills and digital skills. These skills are part of the competence in the subjects and necessary tools for learning and understanding them. They are also important for developing the identity and social relations of each pupil, and for the ability to participate in education, work and societal life. The development of the basic skills is important throughout the entire learning path. For example, there is continuous progression, starting from when one first learns to read and write all the way to acquiring the ability to read advanced subject texts. In the teaching and training, the basic skills must be considered in connection with each other and across subjects. The basic skills are incorporated in all the subjects, but the subjects have different roles in the development of the five skills. Some subjects will have more responsibility than others. Developing subject competence must therefore occur in accordance with the development of subject skills as described in the subject curriculum. All teachers in all subjects must support the pupils in their work with the basic skills.
Basic Carbohydrate Counting Medically reviewed by Drugs.com. Last updated on Aug 31, 2022. Carbohydrate counting is a way to plan your meals by counting the amount of carbohydrate in foods. Carbohydrates are the sugars, starches, and fiber found in fruit, grains, vegetables, and milk products. Carbohydrates increase your blood sugar levels. Carbohydrate counting can help you eat the right amount of carbohydrate to keep your blood sugar levels under control. What you need to know about planning meals using carbohydrate counting: - A dietitian or healthcare provider will help you develop a healthy meal plan that works best for you. You will be taught how much carbohydrate to eat or drink for each meal and snack. Your meal plan will be based on your age, weight, usual food intake, and physical activity level. If you have diabetes, it will also include your blood sugar levels and diabetes medicine. Once you know how much carbohydrate you should eat, you can decide what type of food you want to eat. - You will need to know what foods contain carbohydrate and how much they contain. Keep track of the amount of carbohydrate in meals and snacks in order to follow your meal plan. Do not avoid carbohydrates or skip meals. Your blood sugar may fall too low if you do not eat enough carbohydrate or you skip meals. Foods that contain carbohydrate: - Breads: Each serving of food listed below contains about 15 g of carbohydrate . - 1 slice of bread (1 ounce) or 1 flour or corn tortilla (6 inch) - ½ of a hamburger bun or ¼ of a large bagel (about 1 ounce) - 1 pancake (about 4 inches across and ¼ inch thick) - Cereals and grains: Serving sizes of ready-to-eat cereals vary. Look at the serving size and the total carbohydrate amount listed on the food label. Each serving of food listed below contains about 15 g of carbohydrate . - ¾ cup of dry, unsweetened, ready-to-eat cereal or ¼ cup of low-fat granola - ½ cup of oatmeal or other cooked cereal - ⅓ cup of cooked rice or pasta - Starchy vegetables and beans: Each serving of food listed below contains about 15 g of carbohydrate . - ½ cup of corn, green peas, sweet potatoes, or mashed potatoes - ¼ of a large baked potato - ½ cup of beans, lentils, and peas (garbanzo, pinto, kidney, white, split, black-eyed) - Crackers and snacks: Each serving of food listed below contains about 15 g of carbohydrate . - 3 graham cracker squares or 8 animal crackers - 6 saltine-type crackers - 3 cups of popcorn or ¾ ounce of pretzels, potato chips, or tortilla chips - Fruit: Each serving of food listed below contains about 15 g of carbohydrate . - 1 small (4 ounce) piece of fresh fruit or ¾ to 1 cup of fresh fruit - ½ cup of canned or frozen fruit, packed in natural juice - ½ cup (4 ounces) of unsweetened fruit juice - 2 tablespoons of dried fruit - Desserts or sugary foods: Each serving of food listed below contains about 15 g of carbohydrate . - 2-inch square unfrosted cake or brownie - 2 small cookies - ½ cup of ice cream, frozen yogurt, or nondairy frozen yogurt - ¼ cup of sherbet or sorbet - 1 tablespoon of regular syrup, jam, or jelly - 2 tablespoons of light syrup - Milk and yogurt: Foods from the milk group contain about 12 g of carbohydrate per serving. - 1 cup of fat-free or low-fat milk - 1 cup of soy milk - ⅔ cup of fat-free, yogurt sweetened with artificial sweetener - Non-starchy vegetables: Each serving contains about 5 g of carbohydrate . Three servings of non-starch vegetables count as 1 carbohydrate serving. - ½ cup of cooked vegetables or 1 cup of raw vegetables. This includes beets, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, mushrooms, tomatoes, and zucchini - ½ cup of vegetable juice How to use carbohydrate counting to plan meals: - Count carbohydrate amounts using serving sizes: - Pasta dinner example: You plan to have pasta, tossed salad, and an 8-ounce glass of milk. Your healthcare provider tells you that you may have 4 carbohydrate servings for dinner. One carbohydrate serving of pasta is ⅓ cup. One cup of pasta will equal 3 carbohydrate servings. An 8-ounce glass of milk will count as 1 carbohydrate serving. These amounts of food would equal 4 carbohydrate servings. One cup of tossed salad does not count toward your carbohydrate servings. - Count carbohydrate amounts using food labels: Find the total amount of carbohydrate in a packaged food by reading the food label. Food labels tell you the serving size of the food and the total carbohydrate amount in each serving. Find the serving size on the food label and then decide how many servings you will eat. Multiply the number of servings you plan to eat by the carbohydrate amount per serving. - Granola bar snack example: Your meal plan allows you to have 2 carbohydrate servings (30 grams) of carbohydrate for a snack. You plan to eat 1 package of granola bars, which contains 2 bars. According to the food label, the serving size of food in this package is 1 bar. Each serving (1 bar) contains 25 grams of carbohydrate. The total amount of carbohydrate in this package of granola bars would be 50 g. Based on your meal plan, you should eat only 1 bar. Follow up with your doctor as directed: Write down your questions so you remember to ask them during your visits. © Copyright IBM Corporation 2022 Information is for End User's use only and may not be sold, redistributed or otherwise used for commercial purposes. All illustrations and images included in CareNotes® are the copyrighted property of A.D.A.M., Inc. or IBM Watson Health The above information is an educational aid only. It is not intended as medical advice for individual conditions or treatments. Talk to your doctor, nurse or pharmacist before following any medical regimen to see if it is safe and effective for you. Always consult your healthcare provider to ensure the information displayed on this page applies to your personal circumstances.
If anyone living in the village of Möggingen, Germany, had taken a close look at a bumblebee in the summer of 2009, they might have noticed something a little strange. Some of the bees were wearing what looked like small silvery backpacks with 3-inch antennae, zipping between trees and flower heads. A scientist followed discreetly behind. The bees’ accessory was a tiny transmitter with a radar-detection range over a third of a mile. For the first time, Dr. Martin Wikelski and his colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology succeeded in tracking bumblebees as they alighted on pear trees and nipped across meadows in idyllic and rural Germany. The study found that the bees flew up to 1.5 miles and explored areas over 100 acres, repeatedly visiting the same tree or flower patch to rest or forage. The poor bees were working hard. Given that a bumblebee weighs about 300 milligrams, packing the transmitter was the equivalent of a 150-pound person spending each day with a 100-pound barbell strapped to her back. The backpacking bumblebees were not only a curious sight but a potential model for solving a puzzling biological mystery, colony collapse disorder (CCD), which is decimating honeybees, the bumblebees’ smaller cousin. The seasonal epidemic eliminates at least one-third of all commercial honeybee colonies in the United States each year. This past winter, 45 percent of U.S. beekeepers, including backyard beekeepers, watched their bees abandon their hives, a 78 percent increase over the previous year, according to an annual survey funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In a recent interview, Wikelski says tracking honeybees with radio telemetry would allow scientists to identify trouble spots where the bees may come in contact with the viruses, bacteria, mites, and pesticides linked to their premature deaths. By monitoring the bees’ flights, scientists could determine a change in behavior and perhaps discover why the bees die. “The bees would tell us what they do and what they see out there,” Wikelski says. “We could use that information to protect them.” Some of the bees were wearing what looked like small silvery backpacks with 3-inch antennae, zipping between trees and flower heads. Current radio trackers aren’t small or light enough to attach to honeybees, which weigh roughly a twelfth of a gram, or 120 mg, slightly more than a fat raindrop. But Wikelski, who in a previous position at Princeton pioneered the use of radio tags to track cicadas and dragonflies, says tracking technology continues to shrink. He predicts transmitters could be small enough to track honeybees in about five years. Based in Germany, Wikelski is the founder and director of the Icarus (International Cooperation for Animal Research Using Space) Initiative. Beginning in 2015, Icarus will record animal movement, particularly that of small animals, via an antenna on the International Space Station. It will outfit 5,000 to 10,000 animals with GPS tags that relay data to the Icarus operations center. Wikelski explains that monitoring birds, bats, insects, and rodents will provide new insights into how animals spread diseases such as malaria and avian flu. When transmitters are small enough, he says, “we can track desert locusts and predict locust plagues.” Icarus plans to chart how animals alter their migration routes as the planet warms and how invasive species affect ecosystems. Discovering key stopover sites for endangered species, Wikelski says, could identify new habitats for conservation. It could also lead to unexpected discoveries. Last November, Wikelski learned about a telecom blackout in war-torn Syria when he lost contact with white storks wearing tracking devices that operate in a cellphone network. He had been tracking the storks across Africa and Western Asia. Despite years of analysis, scientists still can’t pinpoint the causes of CCD. A leading candidate is the Nosema virus, a fungal spore that forms in the gut and causes diarrhea, which spreads the virus. Researchers are sharpening their focus on a ubiquitous class of agricultural pesticides called neonicotinoids. Two papers from 2012, one by a group of scientists with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and one from the University of Florida, demonstrated that the nicotine-derived pesticide makes honeybees more susceptible to the Nosema virus and can alter the gene expression of honeybees exposed to Varroa mites, the leading cause of domesticated honeybee loss. Although lab results are mixed, several studies have shown that exposure to neonics, as they are called, can make bees dizzy and confused, shaky and hyperactive, and can affect their ability to forage under laboratory conditions. Scientists have shown that the bees are contacting the offending substances outside the hive and bringing them back to infect their broods. If they knew which bees brought the viruses back, they might be able to track the pathogens to their source. That is, when the bees do come back. “We don’t know where they go,” says Eric Mussen, an apiculturist at University of California, Davis. “They seem to go until they can’t go anymore and they just drop.” She catches bees and coats them in a glow-in-the-dark fluorescent powder, then releases them onto a hedgerow. Honeybees aren’t too difficult to follow. They tend to forage within a couple miles of the hive and to visit a particular food source—a field of flowers, say—again and again, loading up on nectar and pollen until the supply is exhausted. One-third of the food we eat—from beets and broccoli to apples and almonds—is pollinated by one species of commercially-raised honeybee, Apis mellifera. In 2007 and 2008, an international team of scientists based in Australia employed tiny RFID (radio-frequency identification) tags, a transponder that emits a signal using short-distance radio waves and requires no battery life. They glued the lightweight tags onto the bees and set up a scanner at the mouth of the hive. Bees sent a signal when they left and entered the hive. The readings showed how many trips a bee made each day. In one study, scanners were set up at a hive and an artificial food source was treated with pesticides. Pesticide-dosed bees reduced their foraging habits and took more time to fly between hive and food. The RFID tags, however, were not able to follow bees in the field, as the Icarus Initiative plans to do. Dr. Claire Kremen, a conservation biologist at University of California, Berkeley, has her own whimsical tool to follow bees in the wild. She catches bees and coats them in a glow-in-the-dark fluorescent powder, then releases them onto a hedgerow. She and her team wait until nighttime and hike out to the field with UV glasses, looking for traces of pink, blue, yellow, and green—sprinkles of dye on the flowers the bees visited that day. “It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack,” she says. “If we could catch them and put little backpacks on them and find out where their nests are—oh my god, that would be enormous as far as understanding the biology of these creatures.” Jeff Pettis, head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Bee Research lab in Beltsville, Md., says tracking bees with transmitters “sounds like a very valuable tool.” He suggests the best use for bee tracking could also be the simplest. When a bee colony collapses, the bees fly away to die—a natural instinct to avoid infecting the rest of the hive. But it makes postmortems a challenge. “If we were able to recover more dead bodies, we could see that the bees that died away from the hive had a higher virus load than those in the hive, or in nearby hives that appeared healthy,” Pettis says. And that would help determine where the problem started. Still, bee tracking has its skeptics. “I think it’s going to be extremely difficult to do,” Mussen says. With more than 1,000 eggs laid in a hive every day, he asks, how could a scientist choose which bees to track? Mussen says the tests may result in a lot of disappointed researchers, who will find transmitters attached to a bee thorax left behind by a praying mantis or in the stomach of a hungry songbird. Mussen wants to know how scientists would draw a correlation between pesticide exposure and bee behavior. Farmer A may grow a field crop with a certain pesticide, but what if the bee also alighted in Farmer B’s neighboring field? Scientists would need to follow a bee’s every move and intervene to avoid cross-contamination. “The only way you could isolate the pollen loads would be to continue netting the bees that are visiting Field A and keep knocking their pollen loads into a vial,” Mussen says. The tests may result in a lot of disappointed researchers, who will find transmitters attached to a bee thorax left behind by a praying mantis. Wikelski is only encouraged by the challenges. “You would just tag one bee and follow it, and you learn a hell of a lot,” he says. “Then you tag the next one and you learn almost twice as much.” Trapping bees between fields, Wikelski adds, is possible. Scientists should “just do it,” he says, and work out the details as they go. “The kinds of questions that are important now wouldn’t be important once you collect data.” While Icarus has tracking honeybees on its drawing board, it has to wait for the development of a radio transmitter that weighs no more than 20 percent of a honeybee’s bodyweight, an infinitesimal 24 mg, the weight of the RFID tags used by scientists in Australia. Fabricating a transmitter that small, with its own battery source to generate radio waves, would be difficult but possible, says Michel Maharbiz, an associate professor with the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at University of California, Berkeley. “At the moment there’s a practical limit to how small a battery you can get,” Maharbiz says. “There are a lot of research efforts that can make them smaller. But you can’t go buy a 50-milligram lithium polymer battery off the shelf.” However, adds Maharbiz, the market for personal telemetry transmitters, like bracelet pedometers that send a signal to your cell phone, is booming, and companies are racing to develop smaller and more powerful silicon chips for new applications. “We’re bringing nature and technology together,” Wikelski says. “People have told me we can’t follow songbirds. Well, we’ve done it. I have no doubt that we can rescue those bees. We just have to understand them.” Julia Scott is an award-winning journalist and radio producer whose work has been featured in Best American Science Writing. Her stories have appeared in the New York Times, Modern Farmer, and on Marketplace and the BBC World Service.
To be passive could be positive The passive adjective really applies only to the tags or labels and, in few words, just means that they don’t need any local power (e.g., a battery) to operate. Not having a battery on the labels have many advantages related to cost, maintenance and reliability making the passive characteristic a key point for the success of the technology. Anyway, RAIN RFID tags, even if highly integrated, are electronic circuits so they require to be powered in some way to work. Missing a battery, tags need to get the power from somewhere else using a technique called energy harvesting that capture energy from the environment, maybe the most famous example of energy harvesting is solar power where the solar radiation is converted in electricity. RAIN RFID technology uses instead the radio signal coming from the reader: the tag’s antenna gathers the signal and a circuit inside the tag’s chip converts that signal in electric current used to power all the rest of the circuitry. So, the first part of the communication between the reader and the tags is a “blank” signal, called carrier, that is used just to provide power, a signal that need to be maintained along all the time the communication is in place. The exchange of information is then realized using the same signal, just changing its shape with a technique called modulation so that the energy is maintained but the tag can recognize the changes in the signal shape and interpret them as data. It is something like the USB where a single cable is used both to provide power and to communication with the devices. So, now that the tag is powered and the reader is sending information that the tag can interpret, how it can reply to reader? RAIN RFID tags do not have any real transmit circuitry, there is not enough power for that. Again, the solution is on a passive technique called backscattering. Backscattering is basically a signal reflection: the antenna of the tag is a metal object and hence it reflects radio signals, furthermore it is designed to work with radio signals, so it is particularly efficient both on receiving and on reflecting signals. The way how the tag sends information back to the reader is again modulating the reflected signal, the antenna is connected to the chip circuitry that can decide if the antenna must reflect more or less signal (amplitude modulation). To explain this technique in an intuitive way, imagine two persons, Ann (the reader) and John (the tag), that want to communicate at distance. For doing that Ann has a flashlight and John has a small mirror. First, they need to agree on a language, let say they decide to use the Morse code to encode and decode information. Now they can start to exchange information: Ann emits short and long flashes according to the Morse encoding so that John can decode the light pulses and get the information. After that, Ann holds the flashlight powered to emit a continuous light beam so that John can use his mirror to reflect the light: holding the mirror in front of the light John reflects the light coming from Ann while turning it on a side the light is not reflected so he can send back information to Ann using the same Morse code. Obviously, this is just an intuitive explanation of a technology that is much more complex, but I hope it can give you a rough idea of how the technology works even to people, like me, that is not an electronic engineer.
Have you noticed that your child is guessing at words rather than sounding them out? It is very common for children to guess what a word is and keep reading when they are developing their reading skills and they encounter a word they’ve never seen before. They’re guessing by the picture on the page, or the context of the sentence that they’re reading, or what they think the story is talking about. They might say “mom” instead of “mother,” or they might say something very similar that has letters that look the same. If your child is guessing words, here is a tip to help them more closely match what they are reading: As they’re reading along, you can cover the word. When they get to the end of the sentence you can put your hand over the page and say “Hey, let’s talk about that word Mom. What letters make up the word Mom?” They would say “M-o-m.” Then you would say, “Let’s look at that word and see if that was actually the word on the page.” Then they realize the difference and say “Oh no, that is Mother.” Bring their attention to those words that they are guessing and then have them check to see if that is actually matching what they see on the page. This will help your child read more accurately. If you would like more tips for helping your child become a confident reader, keep scrolling and grab our free guide, 9 Simple Ways to Boost Your Child’s Reading Confidence.
Capacity for bonding Covalent bonding is a form of chemical bonding characterized by the sharing of one or more pairs of electrons, by two atoms. In order to produce a mutual attraction atoms tend to share electrons, so as to fill their outer electron shells. Such bonds are always stronger than the intermolecular hydrogen bond and similar in strength or stronger than the ionic bond. Commonly covalent bond implies the sharing of just a single pair of electrons. The sharing of two pairs is called a double bond and three pairs is called a triple bond. Aromatic rings of atoms and other resonant structures are held together by covalent bonds that are intermediate between single and double. The triple bond is relatively rare in nature, and two atoms are not observed to bond more than triply. Covalent bonding most frequently occurs between atoms with similar electronegativities, where neither atom can provide sufficient energy to completely remove an electron from the other atom. Covalent bonds are more common between non-metals, whereas ionic bonding is more common between two metal atoms or a metal and a non-metal atom. Covalent bonding tends to be stronger than other types of bonding, such as ionic bonding. In addition unlike ionic bonding, where ions are held together by a non-directional coulombic attraction, covalent bonds are highly directional. As a result, covalently bonded molecules tend to form in a relatively small number of characteristic shapes, exhibiting specific bonding angles.
Leptospirosis is a rare and severe bacterial infection that occurs when people are exposed to certain environments. Leptospirosis is caused by exposure to several types of the Leptospira bacteria, which can be found in fresh water that has been contaminated by animal urine. It occurs in warmer climates. It is not spread from person to person, except in vary rare cases when it is transmitted through breast milk or from a mother to her unborn child. Risk factors include: Leptospirosis is rare in the continental United States. Hawaii has the highest number of cases in the United States. Symptoms can take 2 - 26 days (average 10 days) to develop, and may include: Less common symptoms include: The blood is tested for antibodies to the bacteria. Other tests that may be done: Medications to treat leptospirosis include: Complicated or serious cases may need supportive care or treatment in a hospital intensive care unit (ICU). The outlook is generally good. However, a complicated case can be life-threatening if it is not treated promptly. Contact your health care provider if you have any symptoms of, or risk factors for, leptospirosis. Avoid areas of stagnant water, especially in tropical climates. If you are exposed to a high risk area, taking doxycycline or amoxicillin may decrease your risk of developing this disease. Weil disease; Icterohemorrhagic fever; Swineherd's disease; Rice-field fever; Cane-cutter fever; Swamp fever; Mud fever; Hemorrhagic jaundice; Stuttgart disease; Canicola fever
The holiday season can bring about changes in schedules, the lessening of familiar routine structure and often celebrations that include group family events and/or visitors to the home. These situations can pose challenges and increase anxiety in children with special needs. In today’s Teacher Tips newsletter, the Watson Institute shares strategies for reducing holiday stressors for your child with special needs. Employing a few simple strategies during the holiday can help promote positive outcomes and reduce stressors for your child with special needs. - Structuring the environment by creating a schedule of planned activities using pictures or words for each step in the schedule. - Using behavior stories to set expectations for what will happen during the holiday event, focusing on social cues and the schedule of events that will occur. Practice the story with your child before the event so they know what to expect. - Reinforcing positive behaviors by setting expectations such as: use your inside voice, use nice/appropriate words and language. When your child with special needs practices expected behaviors, provide a favorite toy or activity to reinforce positive behaviors. To learn more about how to prepare your child with special needs for family gatherings during the holidays, check out our YouTube video below. For more special education resources, visit Watson Life Resources.
Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion (Vsepr) Theory Table of Contents - Introduction to Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion Theory (Vsepr) - Shape of Molecules containing Bond Pair Only - Shapes of Molecules containing Lone Pairs and Bond Pairs - Molecules Containing Five Electron Pairs (AB5, AB4L, AB3L2, AB2L3) - Molecules containing six Electron Pairs (AB6, AB5L, AB4L2) In the year 1957 Gillespie developed a theory to improve the Sidgwick-Powell theory to explain molecular shapes and bond angles more accurately. This theory may be summarized in the following points: - Electron pairs tend to minimize repulsions and these are in the order lone pair-lone pair > lone pair-bond pair > bond pair-bond pair. (Here bond pair refers to a single bond.) Shapes of the molecules depend upon repulsions between bond pair and lone pair electrons. - The double bond is in need of more space as compared to the single bond. The repulsion order in relation to the bonds is as follows: double bond-double bond > double bond-single bond > single bond-single bond. - Keeping the central atom (having lone pair) same, Increase in electronegativity of the associated atom will result in decrease of the bond angle provided no other factors like size and back bonding play any role. - If the surrounding atoms are kept same, increase in electronegativity of the central atom (having the lone pair) results in increase of the bond angle. - Sometimes the lone pair may be transferred from filled shell of an atom to unfilled shell of the adjacent bonded atom. This phenomenon of transferring electron is known as ‘back bonding’. In this theory, no distinction is made between s-and p-electrons. Only those electrons which are present in valence shell of the central atom are taken into account. Thus, the number of electron pairs around the central atom decides geometry of a molecule. For Example, if there are two electron pairs around the central atom, the only way to keep them as far apart as possible is to arrange them at an angle of 180° to each other. The molecule in such a case will adopt linear geometry. Similarly, the molecule forms trigonal planar geometry for three electron pairs around the central atom, and for four electron pairs around the central atom, the molecule adopts tetrahedral geometry. The molecules will form trigonal bipyramidal geometry if they five electron pairs around the central atom. The molecules having six electron pairs around the central atom have octahedral geometry. The geometries of molecules based on the number of electron pairs is given in table below Fig. No. 1 Geometries of Molecules Let us illustrate this theory by considering a few examples: In BeF2, the central Be-atom (Z = 4; 1s22s2) has two electrons in the valence shell. In the formation of BeF2, each of these valence electrons is shared by two fluorine atoms. As a result, the Be atom is surrounded by two bond pairs of electrons [Fig 2]. Therefore, the geometry of BeF2 molecule is linear as shown below and the bond angle is 180°. Other molecules such as BeCl2, ZnCl2, HgCl2 have linear shape. The central atom, boron (Z = 5, 1s22s22p1) has three valence electrons. At the time of formation of BF3 molecule, each electron in the valence shell of B-atom forms a bond pair with F-atom. As a result, the central boron atom is surrounded by three bond pairs and the molecule adopts trigonal planar geometry. In this geometry, all the F-B-F bond angles are of 120°. This geometry is planar because the three F-atoms and B-atom lie in the same plane. Molecules such as BCl2, AlCl3, etc. have same shape. The central atom in methane that is, carbon (Z = 6, 1s2, 2s2, 2p2) has four valence electrons. All the four valence electrons are bonded to four hydrogen atoms forming four bond pairs around the central carbon atom. These four electron pairs, trying to remain as far apart as possible, adopt tetrahedral structure. In this geometry, all the H-C-H bond angles are of 109°28’ (or approximately 109.5°). Other examples of tetrahedral molecules are SiF4, CCl4, NH4 etc. In PCl5, the central atom, P (Z=15; 1s2, 2s2, 2p6, 3s2, 3p3) has five valence electrons. It forms five bond pairs with five Cl-atoms to form a molecule of PCl5. Since there are five electron pairs around the central phosphorus atom and therefore, it has trigonal bipyramidal geometry. In this geometry, all the bond angles are not equal. Three electron pairs are in the same plane at an angle of 120°, while other two are perpendicular to the plane, both making an angle of 90° with the plane. Thus, in this arrangement three bond angles are of 120° each and two are of 90° each. In this geometry, all five P-Cl bonds are not equal. The three bonds lying in the trigonal plane are called equatorial bonds. Of the remaining two bonds, one lies above and the other below the equatorial plane, both making an angle of 90° with the plane. These bonds are called axial bonds. It has been observed that axial bonds are slightly longer than equatorial bonds in this geometry. PF5 has same shape. The larger bond length of axial bonds than equatorial bonds can be explained in terms of the repulsive forces between electron pairs due to different bond angles. The axial bond pair faces greater repulsion from other bonds and therefore, the axial bond is slightly longer than equatorial bond. It may be noted that the structure of PCl5 molecule is unsymmetrical. As a result, it is less stable and is therefore, highly reactive. In SF6, the central S-atom (Z = 16; 1s2, 2s2, 2p6, 3s2, 3p4) has six valence electrons. Each of these six valence electrons forms bond with F-atom and therefore, the molecule has octahedral geometry. In this case, all the bond angles are same and are of 90° each. TeF6 molecule has same shape. Other examples of octahedral molecules are SeF6, TeF6 etc. In IF7, the central atom I (Z = 53, 1s22s22p63s23p63d104s24p64d105s25p5) has seven valence electrons. Each of these seven valence electrons forms bond with F-atom and therefore, the molecule has pentagonal bipyramidal geometry. In this case, all the bond angles are not equal. Five electron pairs are in the same plane at an angle of 72°, while other two are perpendicular to the plane both making an angle of 90° with the plane. Thus, in this arrangement five bond angles are of 72° each and two are of 90° each. Now, let us consider a few molecules containing bond pairs as well as lone pairs. If the valence shell of an atom contains three electron pairs, then the molecule has trigonal planar geometry (Example: BF3). However, the geometry gets distorted if it contains a lone pair in addition to bond pair. For Example, a molecule of the type AB2L (where L represents a lone pair), has V-shaped geometry as discussed for SO2 molecule. Shape of Sulphur dioxide (SO2) molecule In SO2 molecule, there are three electron pairs (two bond pairs and one lone pair). The three electron pairs should acquire a trigonal planar arrangement with bond angle 120°. Since one of the positions is occupied by a lone pair, the geometry may be described as angular or V-shaped or bent shape. Now, lone pair-bond pair repulsion is more than bond pair-bond pair repulsion. Therefore, bonded pairs of electrons are pushed closer and the O-S-O bond angle gets reduced to 119° from the value of 120°. As already learnt, the molecule AB4 has tetrahedral geometry. But if lone pairs are also present in addition to bond pairs, the geometry gets distorted. This may be illustrated by taking two examples: (a) Molecules containing 3 bp and 1 lp AB3L. e.g. NH3 (b) Molecules containing 2 bp and 2 lp AB2L2 e.g. H2O. (a) Shape of NH3 molecule: Pyramidal The central nitrogen atom (z = 7, 1s2, 2s2, 2p3) of NH3 consist of five valence electrons. Hydrogen atoms forms three bond pairs around nitrogen atom and there is one lone pair because of remaining two electrons. Therefore, nitrogen is surrounded by four electron pairs which adopts tetrahedral geometry. But all the four electron pairs around nitrogen are not equivalent as there are three bond pairs and one lone pair and therefore, it has distorted tetrahedral geometry. The bond angle is 107° unlike 109.5° as in tetrahedral geometry. The reason for distortion is the presence of one lone pair in addition to bond pairs. As lone pair-bond pair repulsion is more than bond pair-bond pair repulsion, the repulsion between the lone pair and bond pairs is strong and bond angle decreases to 107°. The geometry of ammonia molecule is also considered as pyramidal (Fig. 13). other molecules with same shape are PCl3, NF3, H3O+, etc. (b) Shape of H2O molecule: Bent or angular The central oxygen atom (Z = 8, 1s2, 2s2, 2p3) of water molecule has six valence electrons. At the time of formation of water molecule, the central oxygen atom adopts tetrahedral geometry because of the four electron pairs around it. But all these four electron pairs around O are not the same and therefore geometry of H2O is distorted tetrahedral. The bond angle in water molecule is 104.5° rather than is not of 109.5° (Fig. 11). The distortion is result of repulsion among two lone pairs and the bond pairs. The repulsive force between lone pair-lone pair is greater than the force of repulsion among two bond pairs of electrons. Therefore, the two lone pairs of electrons move away from each other while the two O-H bonds are forced closer to each other which decreases the H-O-H angle to 104.5°. The resulting geometry is considered as bent or angular.H2S, F2O, SCl2, are some other molecules with similar shapes. It may be noted here that the central atoms (C, N and O) in three molecules CH4, NH3 and H2O have four electron pairs around the central atom. Therefore, these molecules adopt tetrahedral geometries. But in methane, there is no lone pair, NH3 molecule has one lone pair while H2O molecule has two lone pairs in the total of four electron pairs. Because of lone pairs, NH3 and H2O molecules will have distorted geometries, while CH4 molecule will be of tetrahedron structure that is, of regular geometry. As larger lone pair-bond pair repulsion than bond pair-bond pair in NH3, the bond angle is reduced from 109.5° to 107°. The geometry of NH3 is pyramidal. Now, in case of H2O, two lone pairs force the O-H bonds more closely than the N-H bonds in NH3. So the bond angle decreases to a larger extent that is, to 104. 5°. The geometry of water is regarded as V-shaped or angular. When the central atom is surrounded by five electron pairs, the geometry is trigonal bipyramidal. However, the geometry gets distorted if one or more bond pairs are replaced by lone pairs. This may be illustrated by the following examples: (a) Molecules containing 4 bp and 1 lp. e.g. SF4 (b) Molecules containing 3 bp and 2 lp. e.g., ClF3 (c) Molecules containing 2 bp and 3 lp. e.g., XeF2 Let us take the example of SF4. In this case, Sulphur atom (Z = 16: 3s2 3p4) has six valence electrons. In the formation of SF4 four electrons form four bond pairs and leave two electrons as one lone pair. Thus, five electron pairs around Sulphur adopt trigonal bipyramidal geometry in which one position is occupied by lone pair. Therefore, SF4 molecule can have structure or structure as shown in Figure, in which the lone pair is present on axial or equatorial positions respectively. Nyholm - Gillespie modification has helped in predicting accurately the geometry of such molecules containing lone pair of electrons. In arrangement (a) the lone pair is in on axial position which has 3 lp-bp repulsions at 90°. In structure (b) the lone pair is in on equatorial position and there are only two lp-bp repulsions. Hence (b) will have lesser repulsions and will be stable when compared to arrangement (a). This shape is described as distorted tetrahedron or a folded square or a see-saw. The bond angles in SF4 are 89° and 117° instead of 90° and 120° respectively. Let us take the example of chlorine trifluoride, ClF3 molecule which is isoelectronic with SF4 The central chlorine atom (Z = 17: 3s2 3p5) has seven electrons in its valence shell. In the formation of ClF3, three electrons form three bond pairs and leave four electrons as two lone pairs. Thus, the five electron pairs around chlorine atom adopt trigonal bipyramidal geometry, in which two positions are occupied by lone pairs. As already discussed, the lone pair in trigonal bipyramidal geometry experiences more repulsions at axial positions, therefore, both the lone pairs are present at equatorial positions as shown in Fig. 16. The molecule is T-shaped and bond angle is 87.6° instead of 90°. Let us take the example of Xenon difluoride, XeF2 molecule. Xenon atom has (Z = 54: 5s2, 5p6) eight electrons in the valence shell, in this molecule there are two bond pairs and three lone pairs. These five electron pairs forms structure of trigonal bipyramidal geometry with three positions occupied by lone pairs. The net repulsion on the bonds due to lone pairs is zero due to the presence of three lone pairs at the corners of an equilateral triangle. Thus, it has a linear geometry. When the central atom is surrounded by six electron pairs, the geometry is octahedral. However, if one or more lone pairs are present in addition to bond pair, the geometry gets distorted. This may be illustrated by the following examples: (a) Molecules containing 5 bp and 1 lp e.g. BrF5. (b) Molecules containing 4 bp and 2 lp e.g. XeF5. Consider the example of Bromine Pentafluoride. The central bromine atom (Z = 35, 4s2, 4p5 has seven valence electrons. Br F5 consists of five bond pairs and one lone pair and the six electron pairs forms octahedral geometry out of which one of the positions is occupied by a lone pair. Since all the six positions in octahedral geometry are equivalent, therefore, lone pair may be placed on any position (Fig. 14). The geometry of Br F5 is termed as square pyramidal. IF5 molecule has same geometry. Let us take the example of XeF4. In this case, the central xenon atom has eight electrons. XeF4 has six electron pairs and octahedral geometry as there are four bond pairs and two lone pairs. (Fig. 15), out of which two positions are occupied by lone pairs. The structure is called as Square Planar.
Global warming on Mars, ice caps melting What the science says... \|Select a level...\|\|Basic\|\|Intermediate\| Mars is not warming globally. It is hard to understand how anyone could claim global warming is happening on Mars when we can’t even agree what’s happening on the planet we live on. Yet they do, and the alleged reasoning is this; if other planets are warming up, then there is some solar system-wide phenomena at work – and therefore that it isn’t human activity causing climate change here on Earth. The broadest counter argument depends on a simple premise: we know so little about Mars that it's impossible to say what trends in climate the planet is experiencing, or why changes occur. We do have information from various orbiting missions and the few lander explorations to date, yet even this small amount of data has been misunderstood, in terms of causal complexity and significance. There are a few basic points about the climate on Mars that are worth reviewing: - Planets do not orbit the sun in perfect circles, sometimes they are slightly closer to the sun, sometimes further away. This is called orbital eccentricity and it contributes far greater changes to Martian climate than to that of the Earth because variations in Mars' orbit are five times greater than the Earth. - Mars has no oceans and only a very thin atmosphere, which means there is very little thermal inertia – the climate is much more susceptible to change caused by external influences. - The whole planet is subject to massive dust storms, and these have many causal effects on the planet’s climate, very little of which we understand yet. - We have virtually no historical data about the climate of Mars prior to the 1970s, except for drawings (and latterly, photographs) that reveal changes in gross surface features (i.e. features that can be seen from Earth through telescopes). It is not possible to tell if current observations reveal frequent or infrequent events, trends or outliers. A picture is worth a thousand words, but only if you understand what it is saying The global warming argument was strongly influenced by a paper written by a team led by NASA scientist Lori Fenton, who observed that changes in albedo – the property of light surfaces to reflect sunlight e.g. ice and snow – were shown when comparing 1977pictures of the Martian surface taken by the Viking spacecraft, to a 1999 image compiled by the Mars Global Surveyor. The pictures revealed that in 1977 the surface was brighter than in 1999, and from this Fenton used a general circulation model to suggest that between 1977 and 1999 the planet had experienced a warming trend of 0.65 degrees C. Fenton attributed the warming to surface dust causing a change in the planet's albedo. Unfortunately, Fenton’s conclusions were undermined by the failure to distinguish between climate (trends) and weather (single events). Taking two end points – pictures from 1977 and 1999 – did not reveal any kind of trend, merely the weather on two specific Martian days. Without the intervening data – which was not available – it is impossible to say whether there was a trend in albedo reduction, or what part the prodigious dust storms played in the intervening period between the first and second photographs. Indeed, when you look at all the available data – sparse though it is – there is no discernable long term trend in albedo. At this time, there is little empirical evidence that Mars is warming. Mars' climate is primarily driven by dust and albedo, not solar variations, and we know the sun is not heating up all the planets in our solar system because we can accurately measure the sun’s output here on Earth. Basic rebuttal written by GPWayne Last updated on 1 August 2013 by gpwayne. View Archives
The largest black holes grow faster than their galaxies, according to new research. Two studies from separate groups of researchers find that so-called supermassive black holes are bigger than astronomers would have calculated from their surroundings alone. Supermassive black holes are enormous gravity wells found in the center of large galaxies. No stress, though: The black holes are generally no longer growing, and they aren't capable of eating their host galaxies for dinner. [Science Fact or Fiction? The Plausibility of 10 Sci-Fi Concepts] "The black hole is tiny compared to the whole galaxy, so we are very safe!" said Guang Yang, a graduate student at The Pennsylvania State University who led one of the new studies. Yang's study found that the larger the galaxy, the faster the black hole grew in comparison to the birth rate of the galaxy's stars. The other study found that the masses of supermassive black holes are about 10 times greater than would be expected if these central black holes grew at the same rate as the galaxies they inhabit. Galaxies and their black holes Astronomers are interested in the relationships between black holes and their galaxies for two main reasons. First, if they can calculate the size of one based on another, they can determine, say, the mass of a supermassive black hole even if they can't directly measure it. Second, any constant relationships between the two can help explain the laws that govern how galaxies are formed. In the first study, published this month in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society and available on the preprint site ArXiv, Yang and his colleagues used data on more than 30,000 galaxies from the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS). The astronomical survey combined observations from the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Spitzer Space Telescope, and more than 500,000 galaxies from the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS), which uses both space- and ground-based telescopes to explore the universe. The galaxies were between 4.3 billion and 12.2 billion light-years from Earth. The research team found that the larger the galaxy, the larger the ratio between its black hole's growth rate and its growth rate of stars. A galaxy containing 100 billion of Earth's sun's worth of stars (a measurement known as solar mass) has 10 times the ratio as a galaxy with 10 billion of the sun's worth of stars. [The Strangest Black Holes in the Universe] "Our paper suggests big galaxies can feed their black holes more effectively than small galaxies," Yang told Live Science. "So, those big galaxies finally end up with very big black holes. However, it is still an unsolved mystery whether the black holes can affect galaxy formation in return." A second study, also available on ArXiv and set to be published in April in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, similarly found that the larger the galaxy, the weirder its relationship with its black hole. That research, headed by astrophysicist Mar Mezcua at the Institute of Space Sciences in Barcelona, Spain, focused on 72 galaxies no more than about 3.5 billion light-years from Earth. The galaxies were all "brightest cluster galaxies," a term that refers to the biggest and brightest galaxies in the nearby universe. Using X-ray and radio-wave data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Australia Telescope Compact Array, the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array and the Very Long Baseline Array, the researchers compared the masses of supermassive black holes to estimates made using traditional methods that assumed that black holes and their galaxies grow more or less at the same rate. Instead of finding the two growing in lockstep, the research team discovered that the black holes in their study were 10 times larger than would have been predicted with traditional means. In fact, many qualified not just as supermassive black holes, which clock in at a few billion solar masses, but as ultramassive black holes, which can be up to 40 billion times the mass of Earth's sun. No one previously knew that brightest cluster galaxies could host such enormous black holes, the researchers reported. The black holes could have formed in two ways, they wrote. One possibility is that the black hole grew first and the galaxy grew later. Another possibility is that these black holes are the descendants of "seed" black holes that formed when the galaxies were much younger and more productive in star formation. The bottom line, though, is that black holes and their galaxies don't always grow as a matching set. Editor's Note: This article was updated to correct a statement saying ultramassive black holes can be up to 40 "million" times the mass of the sun; they are up to 40 billion times the mass of our sun. Original article on Live Science.
Helping Your Child With Mathematics “Parents are a child’s first and most enduring educators, and their influence cannot be overestimated.” Parental involvement in the form of 'at-home' interest and support has a major influence on pupils’ educational outcomes and attitudes. However many parents feel uninformed about current educational practices and how they can be more involved with their child’s learning. On this page, you’ll find information on • Activities using numeracy skills in everyday life • Documents and videos that explain how mathematics is taught in school • Activities that help to reinforce what your children are learning in school. We hope it will help! Numeracy in Everyday Life Learning in numeracy takes place all around us, not just in the classroom! Here are just some ideas how parents and families can help support and develop numeracy skills: Understanding Mathematics in School The following links provide guides and videos that show how basic mathematical skills are taught in the school: Reinforcing Learning in School In school, the children are assigned activities on our Active Learn and Purple Mash platforms, and they are encouraged to complete these at home as well as in school. They may also have been allocated a video to watch that explains a written procedure, for example column subtraction using decomposition. Logon with your child and have a look together at what they’ve been assigned. You will find their usernames and passwords for both sites in their home school diary. When your child is logged into Active Learn, have a look at ‘Maths at Home’ and ‘Calculation methods and mathematical models’ in the ‘Grown-ups’ section. There are some great sites out there. Here are some of our This is a great site for helping your child with times tables. https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/advice-for-parents/maths-at-home/ - a whole host of activities, simple ideas, top tips and eBooks to help your child with their mathematics at home. http://www.familymathstoolkit.org.uk/ - provides advice for families and activities for children. http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/highlights/curations/zsw3bk7 - BBC bitesize activities for KS1 mathematics http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/highlights/curations/zg6k82p - BBC bitesize activities for KS2 mathematics https://nrich.maths.org/ - check out the activities for KS1 and KS2 pupils, increasing in challenge from one star to four stars. https://www.theschoolrun.com/maths - tutorials, worksheets and games. However, many require subscription. Cooking or baking: How will we measure how much? Can you read the numbers? Can you help me count the spoons? How many cupcake cases will we need? How long will it take to cook? What time will it be ready? What if we double or halve the recipe? How many will we make? How many cakes will we get each in our family? How many chocolate buttons will we need if we put three on each cake? Shopping: How many will we need? How much? Will we have enough from this amount? What shape is this? Which is more or less? Which is bigger? How do we work out 20% off? What will it cost if we buy ten? Which is better value? Watching or playing sports – what’s the score now? What if they get two more goals? How much is the black worth? What is treble twenty? How much better have they done than last week? What do these statistics mean? How long is the game? What time will it be at half time? Recycling – how will we sort these? How many? What shape is this? Which is the longest? Can you find me a cylinder? Walking or driving to school – How long does it take? How many steps? How many number fours can you spot on the way? What number patterns can we spot? Are these numbers odd or even? What shapes can you spot? What directions are we taking? What would be the time difference if we walked or cycled?
Please find below Maths and English activities for you to complete, as well as some ideas for foundation subjects to choose from. We know that it isn’t easy to always feel motivated to learn when you’re not in school but try to do at least one English and Maths activity every day…and keep reading! Spellings: agent, challenge, dangerous, garden, garage, gate, disguise, guess, orange, edge, plunged, stranger, genuine, emergency, generous, grateful Read the spellings. Do you understand what they all mean? Can you notice any similarities between the words? Is there a pattern? Pattern – Some of the words have a soft ‘g’ whilst other words have a hard ‘g’. Task 1: Write the ‘g’ word to match the meanings below. 1) A reddish brown colour = 2) Allows a door to open = 3) Unusual = 4) The opposite of mean = 5) Used for separating pieces of land = 6) Hair that hangs over the forehead = 7) Someone who is very intelligent = 8) Another word for a spy might be a secret … = Task 2: Use the spelling words in sentences – verbally and then written. Reading comprehension activity: Planet Earth & Maya writing Have a go at completing these reading comprehensions (choose , * or * with * being the most challenging). Check your answers afterwards. Remember, you need to give specific answers from the text. Have a go at these grammar practise papers. Choose either the Yr4 or Yr5 paper (or both!). Answers provided at the end of each paper. Talk for writing – Mission Impossible! Have you ever wanted to go on an adventure? Have you ever wanted to be a spy? This booklet is all about two twins who have a special secret. Read the story, have a go at the activities and then write your own adventure story. Have a go at the tasks below. There are a lot of ideas in the booklet. You are not expected to do everything (unless you want to!). Task 1: Pages 7-11 – understanding the story Task 2: Explore characters Task 3: Explore settings Task 4: 24 – 28 SPAG activities Task 5: Plan and write your own story White Rose moves on to decimals this week for both year groups. As usual, there are daily video clips linking to BBC Bitesize. All of the worksheets and answers can be found at the end of this page. TYM4 – p72, p73, p75 TYM5 – p65, p66, p68, p70 Again, please look at Oak National Academy if you’d like a teacher-led lesson. See weekly workouts below. You should be on sheet 3. Don’t forget to check out mymaths if you need a reminder or some further information. As well as creating their own number system, the Maya also created their own writing system known as hieroglyphs (where have you heard that word before?). These hieroglyphs were made up of syllabograms (representing sounds) or logograms (representing whole words). Have a look at the Ppt attached below to find out more. Also attached are some Maya writing fact cards. Task 1: Use the information on the fact cards to help you complete the Maya Writing Fact Hunt Activity Sheet. Task 2: Logograms sometimes resemble the thing that they represent, so it is easy for us to see what they mean, but others can be quite tricky to interpret. Have a look at page 8 on the PowerPoint and try to copy some of the logograms. Can you make one of your own to represent a modern word? Geography – Physical geography of Mexico This week I would like you to research Cenotes. - What are they? - How are they formed? - What can you find out about them? - How are they connected to the Ancient Maya? - Draw and label a diagram of a cenote. Have a look at the world through a viewfinder (make one or use your fingers) and create a piece of art about what you see. The Tate Gallery website has some good ideas. Email your picture to us, as we’d love to see your creation! Watch Rocky planets, Gas planets and What is the Sun?: Do the online quizzes It’s hard to imagine how large the solar system is and how far the planets are apart. Make a two-metre strip of paper (about 5 cm wide) by sticking together thin strips of paper. Follow these instructions carefully: - At one end write the Sun and the other Pluto. - Fold the paper in half. At this fold write Uranus. - Fold Pluto to Uranus. At this fold write Neptune. - Fold the Sun to Uranus and this fold is Saturn. - Fold the Sun to Saturn. This is Jupiter. - Sun to Jupiter = Asteroid Belt - The Sun to Asteroid Belt = Mars - Fold Sun to Mars. This fold becomes Venus. - Sun to Venus = Mercury - Fold Venus to Mars. Label this Earth. - Draw an arrow from the Sun to Earth ’93 million miles’ When you open up your strip of paper, you’ll see that the Sun to Mars seem close together compared to the rest of the Universe. Refer to the pictures in the document below to help. DT – Rocky planet craft activities Use filter paper (coffee filters) to create blurred effects. Draw your patterns onto the paper with felt tip pens, then spray them evenly with water to see the colours blur and merge. Or if you have the resources, grate (carefully!) different coloured crayons and arrange the shavings inside a laminator pocket. Get an adult to iron the pouch (with a tea towel over the top) until the crayons melt. I’ve done this and it works and looks great! Can you put darker shavings to make the craters or red spot? See slide below for ideas. Music – Crescendo Gustav Holst’s the Planets Look at the attached powerpoint and: - Learn the rhythm. You need to clap 3 times to one beat. Speak the words then try and do it without the words. - Try the second one with lots of rests. - Can you play these rhythms with an instrument (if you have one). Play the note G if it is a tuned instrument. - Listen and watch the opening of Mars on the website – see link above (just the first minute or so). What happens to the volume? The technical term for music gradually getting louder is crescendo. - Can you play your patterns one more time and add in a crescendo? PHSE – adult guidance needed Our final unit of the academic year is ‘A World Without Judgement’. For the first lesson, look at the attached page below and read about Darlee’s ideas. You will need to be able to discuss these ideas with an adult. BBC Bitesize has some interesting clips about respecting differences: Watch and talk about how you feel about these children’s experiences.
Probability: It explained uncertainty of any event, and arise question about that event how much time they will occur, Such as we can take an example of any natural disaster like how many times earth will hit by any asteroid in next 30 years, then what you think may be one or two or three or may be never. This is the probability. It is never show certainty of any event and also shows randomness. Sample Spaces: When any random experiment is done, then all possible outcomes of experiment is known as sample space. This experiment is done with two ways one is Random, and another is Deterministic. Random show uncertainty, some examples like rainfall measurement, coin toss event etc. Events: E is event which is a collection of outcomes or we can say that it represents subset of sample space. When event E occur then collection of events are E1, E2, E3…..En are disjoint. It concerns about data collections, analysis and their interpretations. Here I am going to explain about two types of statics. Descriptive: It explained data summarization. In this type of statistics calculating number of data will measures for example percentages, sums, averages etc. It means data sets will describe through multiple ways. These categorized data is represented by frequencies and relative frequency to get some idea about these different type of data category. It depends upon types of data and data is categorized into these types: Inferential: It work greater than descriptive by including inferences with sets of data. To Schedule a Probability and Statistics tutoring session To submit Probability and Statistics assignment click here. Assignment Writing Help Engineering Assignment Services Do My Assignment Help Write My Essay Services
What is a Learning Disability? A learning disability affects the way children of average to above average intelligence receive, process, or express information and lasts throughout life. It impacts the ability to learn the basic skills of reading, writing, or math. What a Learning Disability is NOT: • Attention disorders, such as Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD). Learning disabilities often occur at the same time, but they’re not the same. • Learning disabilities are not the same as mental retardation, autism, hearing or visual impairment, physical disabilities, emotional disorders, or the normal process of learning a second language. • Learning disabilities aren’t caused by lack of educational opportunities, such as frequent changes of schools, poor school attendance, or lack of instruction in basic skills. Warnings – Areas of Concern: • Speaks later than most kids • Is unable to find the right word when carrying on a conversation • Can’t rapidly name words in a specific category • Has difficulty rhyming • Has trouble learning the alphabet, days of the week, colors, shapes, numbers • Is extremely restless and easily distracted • Can’t follow directions or routines • Is slow to learn the connections between letters and sounds • Can’t blend sounds to make words • Makes consistent reading and spelling errors • Has problems remembering sequences and telling time • Is slow to learn new skills • Has difficulty planning • Is slow to learn prefixes, suffixes, root words, and other reading strategies • Avoids reading aloud • Has difficulty with word problems in math • Spells the same word differently in a single piece of writing • Avoids reading and writing tasks • Has difficulty remembering or understanding what was read • Works slowly • Has difficulty understanding and/or generalizing concepts • Misreads directions and information Recommendations for speech, language or social services will be written here at RHLS. Recommendations may include a request for additional testing from your local school district or specialist. • Important: If you child has already been assessed by a speech language pathologist (SLP) or school district, please provide me with a copy of the assessment. I will do an initial assessment but will work off the goals that the SLP created. • The more information on your child’s background and testing you can provide will help us provide the best services for your child.
Trapezoid Midsegment Investigation How do you know the quadrilateral initially constructed is a trapezoid? (What postulate or theorem helps justify this?) The thick black segment (with three tick marks) is called a median (or midsegment) of a trapezoid. Define the term median of a trapezoid without looking up its definition on another site. What two facts/properties about the median of a trapezoid does this applet illustrate? Suppose the bases of the trapezoid above measured 14 inches and 26 inches. What would the length of its median be? Suppose a trapezoid has a median with length 35 inches and one base measuring 23 inches. What would the length of its other base be? Now move any point so that one of the trapezoid's bases has length = 0. Then re-slide the slider. What other theorem(s) previously learned does this applet now show?
View PDF (preferred for printing) - Tenaciously invades disturbed areas - Produces a heavy layer of thatch which suppresses other vegetation - Reduces diversity of native plants and insects - Provides little shelter or food for wildlife Reed canary grass is a perennial Eurasian grass originally planted for forage and erosion control. It grows from extensive rhizomes to form dense monocultures. The leaves are broad—as much as 0.4 inches—and are flat and rough. They are 31/2″ to 10″ long. Plants can reach to over 6-feet tall. A cool season grass, reed canary is one of the first grasses to sprout in spring. The plant produces leaves and flower stalks for 5 to 7 weeks after germination in early spring, then spreads laterally. Growth peaks in mid-June and declines in mid-August. A second growth spurt occurs in the fall. The shoots collapse in mid to late summer, forming a dense, impenetrable mat of stems and leaves. The seeds ripen in late June and shatter when ripe. Seeds may be dispersed from one wetland to another by waterways, animals, humans, or machines. Reed canary grass is found in dense stands along roadsides, in wetlands, ditches, stream and pond banks, moist fields, and wet meadows. It can grow on dry upland soil and in wooded areas, but it grows best on fertile, moist, organic soils in full sun, especially in disturbed wetlands. Orchard grass (Dactylis glomerata) is an alien with narrow leaves (<0.1 to 3 inch) and a wider, less pointed seed head with short, stiff side branches at the bottom. Blue joint grass (Calamagrostis canadensis) is a native that is shorter than reed canary grass and more draping rather than upright. It is not invasive. Control Methods for Reed Canary Grass Reed canary grass reproduces primarily through spreading rhizomes. It is much easier to control small populations than to try to remove large, established infestations. Reed canary grass can also spread by seed. Any control method requires 5-10 years of monitoring and follow-up treatment to deplete the seed bank. Re-infestation is likely unless there is a population or seed bank of native species to provide competition. Use care to protect native species. Prescribed burning in late spring should be followed by mowing or herbicide treatment to prevent seed production. It might be necessary to apply herbicide both in spring and in fall. Burning can enhance growth of reed canary grass if there are no native species present to provide competition. In wet conditions, first top kill reed canary grass with 1.5% active ingredient glyphosate, then burn. Mowing in early/mid-June and in early October removes seed heads and exposes the ground to light to encourage growth of natives (if present). Herbicide (glyphosate) applied in spring and fall (when other species are dormant) may be sprayed or wicked. In wet areas, be sure to use glyphosate which has been formulated for use near water. Use caution to protect native species. Cut back last year’s dead leaves in spring to improve effectiveness of herbicide. In the absence of native species or a native seedbank, remove severe infestations of reed canary grass 12-18″ deep with a bulldozer. Reseed with native species. In early stages of invasion, hand-pulling or digging may be successful. Remove new plants before they can reproduce vegetatively. Cover small patches with black plastic for at least one growing season. Be sure rhizomes don’t spread beyond the plastic. Remove plastic; then seed the area with appropriate native species. In July and August, tie large clumps of reed canary grass; then cut stems and immediately spray with glyphosate. Follow up with burning or mowing. Monitor for resprouting. Careful monitoring of wetlands, especially following disturbance, can prevent major infestations. Reduce infestation from seeds from surrounding slopes by using erosion control on hillsides or by using catch-basins. New plants are easiest to spot in spring. Protect native species when removing reed canary grass. Photos by CFC Community Education Committee. 459 West Highway 22 Barrington IL 60010
A massive shark that can grow up to 20 feet long and lurks beneath the chilling waters of the sub-Arctic ocean might be the longest living vertebrate. Scientists say the Greenland shark could easily live to 400 years old, or more than twice as much as Jonathan, a Seychelles giant tortoise from the island of Saint Helena, which holds the record for the oldest terrestrial animal at 183 years of age. A giant that lurks beneath the ocean Julius Nielsen, a marine biologist at the University of Copenhagen, estimates the oldest of the Greenland Sharks freely swimming in the open ocean might be anywhere between 272 and 512 years old. Despite the broad range, even the lowest estimate clearly positions the shark as the most longevic vertebrate. Though very large, rivaling the Great White in size, and known to eat animals like the polar bear, horse, moose, and reindeer these venerable sea beasts are quite non-aggressive and harmless to humans — unless you eat them. And because of its range and habitat, the Greenland shark is still a mysterious species for scientists. Of the 465 known species of sharks, only eight live in the Arctic, among them the Greenland shark which can grow to 6.5 meters (21 feet) in length and reach 900 kilos in weight. That makes it the biggest fish in the Arctic. [ALSO SEE] World’s tiniest vertebrate The sluggish Greenland Sharks can rarely be spotted, often choosing to live in deep waters, often as deep as 400-600 meters below the water’s surface. Which is why Nielsen and colleagues had to rely on specimens retrieved as by-catch in fishing expeditions. Fishermen don’t actively pursue the Greenland Sharks but catch them by mistake while setting their nets for more agreeable prey like cod or trout. They have a good reason, too — the Greenland Shark’s flesh is packed with toxins and eating it is considered highly poisonous. The team managed to retrieve 28 female sharks measuring 31 in. to 16.4 ft. (81 cm to 502 cm). Typically, to determine the age of fish scientists study the growth bands in a calcified tissue located in the ear called the otolith, sort of like measuring the rings of a tree trunk to see how old it is. Since sharks don’t have this tissue, the researchers turned to a very unconventional proxy: the lenses of their eyes. Eyeing the oldest vertebrate Shark lenses are formed in the uterus, which means whatever the shark mother ate made its way into the offspring. This means that by measuring the radiocarbon isotopes found in the core lens, we can determine what the environment was like before a shark was born and, hence, its age. For instance, the late 1950s saw thousands of atomic bomb tests which caused a spike in the amount of radiocarbon that eventually made its way into the sea — this is known as the ‘bomb pulse’. If a shark had high levels of Carbon-14 in its core lens, on par with bomb pulse readings, it clearly means the animal is at least 60 years old. In our case, two of the smallest sharks had a post-bomb pulse isotopic reading making them at most 50 years or younger. The third smallest shark though had radiocarbon levels right at the onset of the bomb, making it 60 years old. The rest of the 25 sharks all had pre-bomb pulse readings suggesting they were all at least 60 years old. By comparing these readings with known levels of radiocarbon in the ocean from various years published in a database, scientists could then estimate the age of the sharks. To make the estimates a bit better, the researchers also assumed that the larger the shark the older it was. When this was factored in, they found that the largest shark they studied, a 16-foot specimen, was about 392 years, give or take 120 years. Not only is the Greenland shark perhaps the longest-living vertebrate, it might also be a terribly difficult one to breed. Some of the smallest sharks studied measured 31 inches, making them juveniles — at age 50 to 60 years! Since Greenland sharks are known not to reach sexual maturity until they grow to 13 ft. (400 m), this means that this shark would have to wait for around 150 years before it’s ready to become a parent. Clearly, that makes them very vulnerable to extinction. Luckily they’re poisonous and smell really, really bad — this makes them very uninteresting for humans. Maybe they’re lucky. “Greenland sharks are among the largest carnivorous sharks on the planet, and their role as an apex predator in the Arctic ecosystem is totally overlooked. By the thousands, they accidentally end up as by-catch across the North Atlantic and I hope that our studies can help to bring a greater focus on the Greenland shark in the future,” Nielsen said. The groundbreaking paper was published in the journal Science.
Until the 1990s, it was generally accepted that only children can learn a second language to native-level. Kids, the argument went, are more receptive to new learning and particularly to languages. This made sense. Children need to learn language in order to function in society, therefore they must also find it easier to learn a second language. But when linguists started studying the data, they found that the situation was not as clear-cut as had been assumed. Research now suggests that while young learners have certain advantages when learning a language, the experience of maturing into adulthood gives older learners access to some tools and techniques not available to children. While kids are more naturally adapted to learning new things, adults use their life experience to learn. So learning a language doesn’t necessarily get harder with age, it gets different. What is an adult anyway? If you are convinced that music used to be better and that children today have no manners, it’s safe to say you are an adult. Chemical changes take place in the brain around puberty, but this doesn’t mean that your ability to learn a new language disappears with your first pimples. After a fairly rapid swing in your mid-teens, changes become more gradual and continue to some extent through your adult life. After this point, according to (the highly controversial) Critical Period Hypothesis, the brain becomes less receptive to new information, in turn making learning a second language more challenging. Many researchers find fault with Critical Period Hypothesis, especially when related to second language acquisition, but agree that young learners have certain advantages: Cognitive – memory is essential to learning anything and children really do “soak up” information more easily than adults. Some argue that this extends to languages and the evidence to support this is that adult learners are much less likely than children to lose a “foreign” accent in a second language. Motivational – technically, this is more of a disadvantage for many adults, who struggle to find the right motivation to learn a language. Kids are encouraged by a number of factors including parents, exams and the desire to communicate. Structural – in the developed world, most kids are free to focus on their education. With hours of time dedicated each week to learning a foreign language, progress is more-or-less unavoidable. In contrast, most adults are already busy and need to find time to dedicate to language learning. But adults have some advantages of their own: Cognitive – older learners have more highly developed cognitive systems and can integrate new language input with their substantial learning experience. By the time you reach adulthood, you know more about yourself and the learning techniques that work for you. Studies have shown that older learners often do better than young adults on vocabulary tests. Experiential – having life experience, you can make associations that are not available to most children, and these associations are particularly helpful when learning a foreign language. If you have knowledge of other languages, this can be a big help, but you will find that associations come from unexpected places, whether lines from a song, familiar slogans or even things not obviously related to languages. Contextual – you understand the significance of language more as you get older. Research has shown that adults learn discursive and conceptual aspects of language more successfully than children do. While young learners may be able to produce grammatically accurate sentences with a less “foreign” accent, adults can better grasp complex concepts and the language of these ideas. All this is to say, kids and adults learn differently. Research suggests that the only thing young learners can achieve that is almost impossible for adults is a convincing local accent. But, if you have the time and enthusiasm to commit, fluency is just as possible for adults as for children. How can you find the best environment for learning as an adult? If children respond well to language drills, adults typically do not. Learning a language as an adult, you need more than just classroom stimulation. By learning a language in a country where it is spoken, you immerse yourself in a culture, giving yourself the motivation to push harder with your study and reinforcing the practical value of the skills you are developing. What’s more, by placing the language in context, you will develop associations between the theory of the language you are learning and its everyday use. Learning grammar may be boring, but using those skills in conversation is not. When you are talking to someone in a café, chatting in the launderette or enjoying a drink in a local bar, the work you have put in during class becomes unavoidably relevant. You are also likely to come across some local phrases that would make a language teacher blush! The experience of travelling encourages confidence. When you have seen more of the world, you have more reference points. Confidence and life experience are essential to how you learn as an adult: that youthful spongy brain is gone, but your learning know-how offers another approach to language study. We believe passionately that studying abroad in immersion puts you in the best position to learn a foreign language as an adult. It works through combining quality language tuition with life in another culture, thus providing the essential stimuli for adults learning a language. Choosing a course We know from experience that while many learners enjoy being in mixed-age groups, some prefer learning alongside students closer to their own age. Research has shown that some mature students feel self-conscious in a group of wrinkle-free younger people, and that this can hinder their learning. A typical study abroad student is in their early to mid-twenties, but the age range is enormous and we regularly help learners of all ages. With this in mind, we recently launched a line of language courses designed for learners aged 30 and up. Some destinations are naturally more attractive to learners who would rather study in a more mature group. After the success of the English courses for over 30s in London and Malta, we have now added a school in Dublin, which we consider to be one of the finest destinations for anyone in their thirties or forties who wants to improve their English. We also offer courses for over 50s in a whole range of destinations and languages around the world. Even in destinations where we do not run dedicated courses for mature students, we know which schools are more attractive to different age groups and why. Our language travel consultants are here to help you find the destination and school that is right for you. So make the most of your potential: the one thing that is absolutely guaranteed to stop you learning a language as an adult is not trying in the first place. Have you learned a language to fluency as an adult? How was the experience? Genesee, Fred. “Second Language Learning through Immersion: A Review of US Programs.” Review of Educational Research 55 (1985): 541-61. Schulz, Renate A. and Elliott, Phillip, “Learning Spanish as an Older Adult”, in Hispania, Vol. 83, No. 1 (Mar., 2000), pp. 107-119 Swaffar, Janet K., “Competing Paradigms in Adult Language Acquisition”, in The Modern Language Journal, Vol. 73, No. 3 (Autumn, 1989), pp. 301-314 Tochon, Francois Victor, “The Key to Global Understanding: World Languages Education—Why Schools Need to Adapt”, in Review of Educational Research, Vol. 79, No. 2 (Jun., 2009), pp. 650-681 Wiley, Edward W., Bialystok, Ellen and Hakuta, Kenji, “New Approaches to Using Census Data to Test the Critical-Period Hypothesis for Second-Language Acquisition”, in Psychological Science, Vol. 16, No. 4 (Apr., 2005), pp. 341-343
Lung cancer cells. Credit: LRI EM Unit Almost all animals have sex. That’s to say, DNA from sperm and eggs is exchanged to create offspring with a mixture of both parents’ genes. It’s the norm in plants too, where pollen from one plant fertilises another. Even bacteria have a primitive form of sex, where they extend an appendage, called the pilus, to pass DNA from one cell to another. In evolutionary terms, this may seem counter-productive. Why would anyone want to pass on only half of their DNA to their offspring, instead of producing a clone asexually? But for many species, this exchange of genetic material is essential to survival and has been consistently selected for throughout evolution. And considering the alternative, it’s easy to see why. There are some organisms that have lost the ability to have sex – such as self-fertile roundworms, a fish called the Amazon molly and certain amoebae. Without the opportunity to reshuffle DNA between unrelated individuals, genetic errors build up. This phenomenon is known as Muller’s ratchet, and has been observed in many asexual organisms. Any bad mutation that’s picked up by the organism – a turn of the ratchet – will be passed on to its offspring, with no way to revert to the original version of the gene. When the offspring reproduces, these mutations are passed on again, along with any additional mutations acquired during its lifetime. With each generation, harmful mutations build up and the ratchet tightens, until the species is no longer viable. Cancer cells are asexual Cancer cells divide rapidly – picking up lots of DNA errors as they do so – and can be thought of much like an army of asexual amoebae. And our scientists working on TRACERx, our £14m project to understand lung cancer evolution, have used this comparison to explain a mysterious phenomenon observed in tumour cells. Looking at a cancer cell under a microscope, you won’t see the neatly packaged 46 chromosomes found in healthy tissue. Their DNA is in chaos, with sections of chromosomes exchanged, duplicated, or missing all together. And in some cancer cells, scientists have noticed something even more unusual, known as whole genome doubling. “When we look across tumours, and lung cancers in particular, we see that many of them have doubled their genome at some point in their evolutionary history. Almost every chromosome appears to have been duplicated, so there is far more DNA than in a normal cell,” explains Dr Nicky McGranahan, joint lead for the TRACERx team at University College London. Until now, the reason for this had remained a mystery. Cancer’s spare tyre “We thought there might actually be a survival advantage to cancer of doubling its genome. Cancer progression is an evolutionary process, and so the principals of Darwinian natural selection apply.” McGranahan and the team believed it could link to Muller and his ratchet The team’s theory was that having an extra copy of their genetic code, essentially a genetic spare tyre, could benefit cancer cells. If one copy of the genome gained a lethal mutation, the cell could continue to survive and divide, thanks to its second copy. To test this, the researchers created a computer model to recreate the conditions of cancer evolution and determine whether, in theory, natural selection could favour whole genome doubling. And it turns out it did. “Our simulations found that, given a sufficiently high rate of harmful mutations, evolution would favour genome doubling,” explains McGranahan. The results added weight to their theory, indicating that in the right circumstances, a second copy of the genome could benefit cancer cells by counteracting the negative effects of the DNA errors that build up as cancer cells divide. But to really put the theory to the test, they needed more than models. For this, the team turned to lung cancer samples from people enrolled in the TRACERx study. And almost immediately ran into a problem. Looking for bullet holes “What’s tricky about studying cancer evolution is that when we analyse a tumour, we’re only looking at the cancer cells that are alive. This is in contrast to studying evolutionary biology, when we can look at the fossil record, which provides a wealth of information about the evolutionary dead-ends that didn’t go anywhere.” According to McGranahan, it’s similar to a problem faced by engineers and statisticians analysing planes coming back from the second world war. “Many planes came back with lots of bullet holes in the fuselage, but instead of applying extra protection to these damaged areas, the statistician reasoned that the parts that were undamaged, such as the engine, needed to be reinforced. Planes that took a hit to the engine never made it back”. The team took a similar approach – looking at how many genetic bullet holes, or mutations, cancer cells could survive. Publishing their work in Nature Genetics, the researchers found evidence of more genetic bullet holes after cancer cells had doubled their genome. This provided the evidence they were looking for that whole genome doubling does allow cells withstand more DNA errors and is favoured by natural selection. The evolution of treatments Using theories and methods developed by evolutionary biologists, this research has shed light on the complex development of cancer. But these findings don’t only help us to understand the disease, they could also lead to new treatments. The opportunity is two-fold, as McGranahan explains: “Whole genome doubling is a way for cancers to escape the harmful effects of Muller’s ratchet. But this in itself is something we haven’t really explored before, whether mutations in cancer cells could be harmful to the tumour. We hope to identify more of these weaknesses that could be exploited by new cancer drugs”. “And what’s more, the fact that cancer cells so often double their genome is a key difference between cancer cells and healthy cells. A drug that specifically targets cells with doubled genomes, while leaving healthy cells unharmed, could lead to a new treatment for many different types of cancer”. Cancer has found a way to defy evolution and overcome the issues that afflict asexual amoebae as genetic errors build up. But with help from the TRACERx team, let’s hope this could become its downfall. Thomas Bullen is a science media officer at Cancer Research UK López, S. et al (2020) Interplay between whole-genome doubling and the accumulation of deleterious alterations in cancer evolution. Nature Genetics. DOI: 10.1038/s41588-020-0584-7
Since time immemorial, man has been fascinated by the heavens, watching and recording the regular cycles of the Sun and the Moon. At night he identified certain patterns in the stars onto which he superimposed pictures, perhaps of familiar objects or animals. The ancient Greeks, in particular, superimposed figures representing mythological persons and events. These groupings are now known as constellations. Many ancient cultures, including the Babylonians, Egyptians, Chinese and Hindus, kept elaborate records of astronomical observations. This was thousands of years before the Christian era, thus making astronomy the oldest of the sciences. From these records, man realised that the heavens followed certain regular patterns and he was able to use this information, for example, to determine the proper times for sowing of crops and for the celebration of religious festivals. It also made it possible to predict such regularly recurring phenomena as solar eclipses and lunar eclipses. However, from time to time something totally unexpected would happen, such as the appearance of an object we would now know to be a comet. This must have come as rather a shock and, perhaps understandably, people came to regard such appearances as presages of some momentous event. As such events were generally calamitous in nature, people came to fear these manifestations. Some peoples believed that the heavens were about to fall down. This early fear of comets may not be without good reason. It is quite possible that one hit the Earth in our distant past, and the memory of it has percolated through folktales into today's legends. We are very fortunate that comets in ancient times received such close attention, for frequently when one appeared both its track and its physical appearance were recorded. The ancient Chinese, in particular, thought that comets were 'celestial ambassadors', and because of this made very careful records of their appearances and positions in the heavens. These records have subsequently been of immense service to modern-day astronomers in tracing solar comets back through many centuries. What are Comets? There is confusion in the minds of many between asteroids and comets. Both asteroids and comets may be considered to be leftovers from the creation of the solar system. When the Sun and planets formed from the coalescence of dust and gas, there was some material left over. Material that was relatively close to the Sun formed asteroids, or minor planets - rocky bodies which move around the Sun between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Asteroids are, typically, a few miles across. Both asteroids and comets (collectively called bolides) have, in the past, collided with the Earth, and will continue to do so in the future. Modern Description of Comets A comet is a large ball of rock and ice, typically from 100m to about 5km in diameter, that orbits the Sun with an extremely elliptical orbit. When it is close to the Sun it gets hot; some of the ice melts and its water vapour and dust is lit up in the Sun's rays, visible as a 'tail' behind it, pointing away from the Sun. Indeed, the word 'comet' comes from the Greek 'kometes', meaning 'long-haired'. Because the orbit is elliptical, it means that the comet travels very quickly when close to the Sun, and very slowly when far away from it, usually out beyond the orbit of Pluto. Early References and Folklore References to 'fires from the skies' prevail in the myths and legends of most cultures. Some of these involve winged serpents battling in the sky before one crashes to Earth. In 500BC, the Persian prophet Zoroaster predicted that the world would come to an end with Satan hurling a comet at the Earth and causing a 'huge conflagration'. In the Bible, the Book of Revelation describes a vast burning mountain falling from the sky, dropping hail and fire on Earth while the Sun and the Moon are darkened; while in the Old Testament, Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by a rain of fire and brimstone from Heaven. Fireballs also featured heavily in Babylonian astrology. Cometary icons were apparently widespread throughout early civilisations, including the 'omega' symbol found throughout the Near East. Dr Bill Napier, astronomer at the Armagh Observatory, and others have also suggested that the swastika, a symbol with roots in Asia stretching back to at least 1400BC, could be an artist's rendering of a comet, with jets spewing material outward as the head of the comet points earthward. An ancient Chinese manuscript found during the 1970s at Mawangdui shows 29 images of comets, and each image has a distinctively different tail. One ancient comet evidently had four tails, making it look like a progenitor of the swastika (the Buddhist symbol, not the reversed Nazi version). Some Well-known Comets The most famous comet, documented by the astronomer Edmund Halley and popularly called Halley's Comet, appears in our skies roughly every 76 years. It is pictured in the Battle of Hastings portion of the Bayeux Tapestry, which means it was around in 1066; it was also with us in 1985 - 86. Hale-Bopp was discovered almost simultaneously (within 20 minutes of each other) in 1995 by Alan Hale, a space scientist from New Mexico, and Thomas Bopp, an amateur astronomer from Arizona. Observations from the Hubble Space Telescope have shown that the comet has an unusually large nucleus, reaching about 40km in diameter (25 miles) - ten times that of the average comet and seven times larger than Halley's comet. This makes it one of the largest comets ever recorded. Comet Hale-Bopp came within less than a million miles of Earth's orbit in early 1997. Fortunately the Earth was further along its journey round the Sun, so it missed us by about 122 million miles. It did give a spectacular display, however, and its dust and plasma tails were clearly visible from the northern hemisphere for a few months. Comet Hale-Bopp was the brightest since the Daylight Comet of 1910, and was clearly visible from even the most brightly-lit towns. Its orbit is very irregular compared to the other bodies in our solar system - it is tipped on its side, and will probably not be visible to us again from Earth. Hale-Bopp was previously visible from Earth during the Bronze Age in 214BC. Comet Hyakutake was first sighted in January 1996, by a Japanese astronomer using binoculars. It was visible to the naked eye from Britain in March 1996. It has a period of 18,000 years and was the brightest comet since Comet Westin 1976. In July 1994, astronomers around the world had the chance to watch something that may never have been seen before, and probably (fingers crossed) will never be seen again. A comet named Shoemaker-Levy 9, after its joint discoverers, decided to plunge straight into the side of Jupiter, with dramatic effect. As the comet entered the considerable gravitational field of the gas giant2, it fragmented into some 20 discernible chunks, each of about 2km in size. One by one, these huge rocks plummeted through the Jovian atmosphere at about 60km/s. Because Jupiter is a gas giant, and has no discernible solid surface, the results of the impacts were not as spectacular as they might have been, but they still created huge gas plumes thousands of kilometres high, and left dark 'scars' in the planet's atmosphere for many weeks. You can read all about it on NASA's website, which also includes some great pictures. The implications of this are immediately obvious - what if it had hit the Earth instead of Jupiter? Well, for a start, you probably wouldn't be reading this... However, fortunately for us, because of its huge size Jupiter acts as an immense magnet which attracts any comets which enter our solar system, thus preventing a great many from hitting the Earth. Chronological Catalogue of Catastrophes Caused by Comets Demise of the Dinosaurs A comet six miles (9.6km) across, hitting the Earth at the Gulf of Mexico 65 million years ago, is thought to have caused the demise of the dinosaurs. The evidence for this is the so-called 'Chicxulub Structure' in the Yucatan Peninsular in Mexico, which was discovered in 1978 by a geophysicist working for the Mexican national oil company. This looks just like a crater on the Moon; circular with a series of concentric ripples radiating outwards from its centre. This crater is between 180-280km across and is the largest known on Earth. It is buried under about 3km of more recent sedimentary rock. Supporting evidence for this comes from all over the world. In Haiti, on the opposite side of the Gulf of Mexico, geologists have found minerals that appear to have been thrown there after being violently heated. Others seem to have been dumped there by a tsunami3, thrown up by the meteor's impact. The most persuasive piece of evidence is that, at the same geological levels all over the world, geologists have found a layer rich in iridium - an element rare on Earth, but more common in meteorites and comets. This is called the K-T Boundary. Furthermore, in locations from Europe to New Zealand, scientists have discovered a layer of soot, apparently formed by gigantic forest fires that swept the Earth following a meteor strike. The debris from the strike, together with the smoke from forest fires would have been sufficient to block out sunlight for tens of years, and thus lead to the mass extinction of life forms on Earth, including the dinosaurs. Could a Comet Have Caused the Last Ice Age? Ice ages or 'glacial periods' are periods in the Earth's history when significant, extended cooling of the atmosphere and oceans occur. During such times, the polar ice-caps have occupied a much greater area than they do at present. Three such periods are recognised in geological history, separated by much longer periods of warm, uniform climate. The most recent such period began about 1.6 million years ago, at the beginning of the Quaternary period, and ended in North America and Europe about 10,000 years ago, at the end of the Pleistocene epoch. Some scientists believe that this most recent ice age could well have been caused by a comet. A study, published in Science in 1998, showed that a previously unknown impact from an asteroid or comet, impacting in what is now south-eastern Argentina, coincided with the disappearance of 35 different types of ancient mammals and a flightless bird 3.3 million years ago. This impact may have directly caused the regional extinctions or triggered a climate change that led to the disappearance of the animals. The scientific team studied an 18-mile-long narrow layer of greenish glass and red brick-like materials, called escoria found in the high ocean cliffs of south-eastern Argentina. The origin of this material had puzzled scientists ever since it was first described in 1865. Chemical analysis of the glass produces all the right impact signatures for a comet impact: unusually high levels of magnesium oxide and calcium oxide, significant amounts of iridium and chromium, and only the tiniest traces of water. The study showed that the glass occurs just below a layer of dusty deposits containing fossil evidence of a three-million-year-old disappearance of 36 local types of animals. Extinct species include large armadillo-like creatures, ground sloths, hoofed groups of related mammals and a flightless carnivorous bird. Other fauna later appeared in their place. Collapse of Bronze Age Civilisations Several advanced civilisations are known to have vanished or begun a rapid decline during the early Bronze Age, about 4000 years ago. These included the Old Kingdom of ancient Egypt, the Sumerian civilisation of Mesopotamia and the Harappan civilisation of the Indus Valley. Forty cities around the world are believed to have collapsed around this time. Evidence has been mounting that this may have been due to a giant comet which swept past the Earth about 4000 years ago, breaking up as it did so, resulting in multiple impacts and possibly a rain of other smaller meteors and dust. Dr Bill Napier (Armagh Observatory) estimates that the dust and meteors could have cooled the planet by 5° C for several years, thus causing widespread crop failures, leading to mass starvation and the collapse of societies. Napier has tied this in with findings from scientists at Queen's University, Belfast. By studying patterns of ancient tree rings from around the world they have found that the planet did indeed cool suddenly between 2354BC and 2345BC. In support of a cometary event at this time, archaeologists working in northern Syria have found evidence of a catastrophic event which caused mud-brick buildings to collapse at around this time. The most exciting new evidence comes from Dr Marie-Agnès Courty, a French expert in the microscopic study of soils and sediments. She has found that samples from three regions of the Middle East, taken from levels corresponding to the period around 2200 BC when there were abrupt climatic changes, contain tiny spheres of a calcite material unknown on Earth but found in meteorites. It is highly likely that a catastrophic event such as this, occurring as it did within recordable human history, entered folklore (including Greek mythology), and the Bible (see above). Consequently, the appearance of comets came to be associated with events of huge significance. As most such events are 'disasters', comets (see also Messier Objects) came to be seen as augurs of doom, being associated with catastrophic events such as war, pestilence, the deaths of kings and the fall of nations. Indeed, even the word 'disaster' is derived from the Latin - astre meaning 'star' (dis-astra, or 'out of sync with the stars'). Jonathan Swift wrote: Old men and comets have been reverenced for the same reason; their long beards, and the pretences to foretell events. - Thoughts on Various Subjects, 1728. The Tunguska Incident The greatest cometary impact of the 20th Century occurred in a remote region of Russia on 30 June, 1908, at Tunguska in central Siberia. With no warning, a small comet or meteor, estimated to be just 30 metres in diameter, struck the Earth and laid waste to an area of forest more than 30 miles across. The impact had a force of 20 million tonnes of TNT - equivalent to 1,000 Hiroshima bombs. It is estimated that 60 million trees were destroyed over an area of 2,200km2. Had this explosion occurred over London or Paris, hundreds of thousands of people would have been killed. For a more sceptical interpretation of this event, see The Tunguska Incident. Association of Comets with War, Pestilence and Fall of Nations The very first known record of a comet was by scribes during a war between two rival Chinese kings, Wu-Wang and Chou, around 1059BC. They describe an object (comet) with an eastward-pointing tail, which dominated the morning sky. Chinese recorders eventually noted two types of comet - the po and the hui; the po, or bushy star comet, generally meant a comet with a large fuzzy coma or atmosphere, usually without a tail; the hui, or broom star comet, had a tail. The Greek philosopher Aristotle called them fringed and bearded stars, respectively. A comet (now known to be the first recorded sighting of Halley's Comet) appeared in 239BC, towards the end of the First Punic War. Comets are thought to have accompanied the deaths of the Roman General Agrippa (12BC), Attila the Hun (453AD) and Emperor Valentinian (455AD). A comet is often said to have accompanied the death of Charlemagne (814AD), but this appears to have been a complete fabrication on the part of chroniclers who considered the appearance of comets to be de rigueur for the death of mighty rulers! The biography of Julius Caesar by the ancient author Suetonius says that a comet was seen over Rome just after the assassination of Caesar in 44BC, which was believed to be his soul ascending to heaven. Thus, in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar the Roman empress Calpurnia reminded her husband that: When beggars die, there are no comets seen; The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes. - William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar. When a comet hovered over Jerusalem in 66AD, it prompted the historian Josephus to warn that it heralded the destruction of Jerusalem, which did indeed happen four years later. William the Conqueror saw a bright comet, which we now know to be Halley's comet, in 1066. This was perceived by King Harold as a dire omen, but as a favourable one by William. Indeed, William's battle cry came: 'A new star, a new King'. Several months later, Harold was indeed killed at the Battle of Hastings and William had an image of the comet embroidered in the Bayeux Tapestry. A group of terrified Saxons is seen looking up at it; a legend reads, 'They are in awe of the stars.' In 1301 Halley's Comet again appeared - after which the Italian painter Giotto di Bondone immortalised it by depicting it as The Star of Bethlehem in his painting the Adoration of the Magi in the Arena Chapel, Padua. The appearance of a comet was also associated with the Great Constantinople Earthquake of 1556. In 1456 opposing armies of Turks and Christians faced each other at the Battle of Belgrade, when Halley's comet appeared. Its tail, shaped like an avenging sword, pointed towards the Turks; the Christians won. At this time the Turks had become masters of Constantinople and were threatening to advance into Europe. Hence the appearance of Halley's comet was regarded by Christendom with superstitious dread. Ecclesiastical authority saw Halley's comet as an agent of the devil and led to the myth that the pope had excommunicated it. At this time a prayer was added to the Ava Maria: 'Lord save us from the devil, the Turk, and the comet.' (Chambers Encyclopaedia, 1887). In 1607 Halley's comet was sighted by American colonists, who were subsequently plagued by rampant diseases, hostile Indians and near-starvation. The penultimate appearance of Halley's comet in 1910 coincided with the death of King Edward VII and the accession of George V. By this time most people had lost their superstitious dread of comets, but other fears had arisen. An astronomer reported that spectroscopic analysis showed that the comet's tail, through which the Earth would pass, contained a poisonous gas, and charlatans made a small fortune selling 'anti-comet pills', guaranteed to protect people from harm. Comets in Literature Andrew Marvell's poem The Mower to the Glo-Worms (see below) was published in 1681, and contrasts the welcome light of glow worms to the ominous presence of a comet. The Mower to the Glo-Worms by Andrew Marvell (1681) Ye living lamps, by whose dear light The nightingale does sit so late, And studying all the summer night, Her matchless songs does meditate. Ye country comets, that portend No war, nor prince's funeral, Shining unto no higher end Than to presage the grass's fall; Ye glo-worms, whose officious flame To wandering mowers shows the way, That in the night have lost their aim And foolish fires do stray; Your courteous lights in vain you waste Since Juliana here is come For she my mind hath so displaced That I shall never find my home. Duncan Steel, a British astronomer and expert on comets and meteors, believes that a passage in Coleridge's 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner' may have been inspired by the passage of Comet Temple-Tuttle in 1797. The debris of comet Temple-Tuttle is known to produce the spectacular annual meteor shower known as the Leonids, every November. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge The upper air burst into life! And a hundred fire-flags sheen. To and fro they were hurried about! And to and fro, and in and out, The wan stars danced between. And the coming wind did roar more loud, And the sails did sigh like sedge; And the rain poured down from one black cloud; The Moon was at its edge. In 1812, the comet mentioned by Tolstoy in War and Peace coincided with a particularly fine vintage of port, leading its merchants to call it 'Comet Port'. Subsequently, a notion has prevailed that the grapes in comet years are better in flavour than in other years, either because the weather is warmer and ripens them better, or because the comets themselves exercise some chemical influence on them. So as well as 1812, the wines produced in the years 1826, 1839, 1845, 1852, 1858, 1861, etc are considered to be particularly fine. (Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, 1894). What about the Star of Bethlehem? Several theories have been propounded to explain the Star of Bethlehem. The idea that it might have been a comet was first proposed as early as 248AD by the theologian and writer, Origenes Adamantius, better known as Origen. This also is the favoured theory of Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe, Professor of Applied Mathematics and Astronomy at Cardiff University. However, he thinks the comet was in a more spectacular form known as a fireball. This is a meteorite, or fragment of a comet, pulled into the Earth by gravity, which then explodes in the atmosphere or when it strikes the ground. The Russian newspaper Sibir reported of the Tunguska event: Early in the ninth hour of the morning of June 30, a very unusual natural phenomenon was observed here. In the village of Nizhne-Karelinsk the peasants saw a body shining very brightly, indeed too bright for the naked eye, with a blue-white light. Wickramasinghe compares this with another medieval account of a fireball over Germany and the Dutch coast: A very terrifying apparition and sign of wonder has been seen in Bamburg and Liechenfels. In the year 1560 on the 28 December, 1560 this apparition was seen in the sky which first had its beginning over Eberssberg in Franconia and rose directly over Zeyl, and then moved towards the town called Elpmann, and stopped still there for a long time. Therefore, this fulfils the requirements of something new, bright, unusual, spectacular, and which moves from village to village before appearing to stop still. Wickramasinghe says that such a comet would need to approach the Earth at a glancing angle, otherwise the fireball would come and go too quickly. In order to slow down, the comet would need to have been pulled into Earth's gravitational field and then travel at the same speed as the Earth so as to remain stationary. As it slowed it would have burned brightly, scattering showers of sparks - meteoroids - which might have been interpreted by watching shepherds as a 'host of angels'. The Spaceguard Project Due to the fact that approximately three-quarters of the Earth's surface is sea, most cometary impacts are likely to be over the oceans (or on relatively uninhabited land). However, it is inevitable that at some time an asteroid or comet will collide with the Earth in a populated area, with potentially calamitous consequences. Thus an asteroid measuring only 1km in diameter would cause a global catastrophe, releasing more energy in its impact than all the world's arsenals put together. Since 1990 well over 100 asteroids have been discovered with orbits that intersect the Earth's orbit. Dr Duncan Steel estimates that an asteroid large enough to kill a quarter and maybe as much as half of the world's population strikes on average once every 100,000 years. Given the number killed, this means that the risk of dying in this way to the average person is one in 5,000 - four times the chances of being killed in an air crash! For this reason The Spaceguard Foundation was officially set up on 26 March, 1996 with the aim of 'protection of the Earth's environment against bombardment of objects of the solar system (asteroids and comets)'. 'Halley's Comet is Coming' - Blake Clark. Reader's Digest, December 1983. 'Is this the signal that tragedy is about to rock mankind?' - Julian Champkin. Daily Mail, 20th March 1997. 'Comet guided Coleridge to the Ancient Mariner' - Robert Matthews, Science Correspondent for the Sunday Telegraph.
January, 1865. The peace on a regular English train journey from Carnforth to Liverpool is shattered by one man’s deranged laughter and erratic antics. Armed with a gun and attacking the windows to get to the other increasingly frightened passengers, he seems out of control. At the next train stop in Lancaster, the man suddenly becomes calm and serenity is returned. But as the train begins to roll again, his aggression returns . The motion of the train becomes the only means to gauge the man’s behavior. His mood changes from one stop to the next, twisting and turning with the carriage. The railway passenger prancing around with a pistol was by no means the strangest case of “railway madness” reported during the Victorian era in Britain. There seemed to be something about the railways that made people—particularly men—suffer mental anguish and unrest. As the railway grew more popular in the 1850s and 1860s, trains allowed travelers to move about with unprecedented speed and efficiency, cutting the length of travel time drastically. But according to the more fearful Victorians, these technological achievements came at the considerable cost of mental health. As Edwin Fuller Torrey and Judy Miller wrote in The Invisible Plague: The Rise of Mental Illness from 1750 to the Present, trains were believed to “injure the brain.” In particular, the jarring motion of the train was alleged to unhinge the mind and either drive sane people mad or trigger violent outbursts from a latent “lunatic.” Mixed with the noise of the train car, it could, it was believed, shatter nerves. In the 1860s and ‘70s, reports began emerging of bizarre passenger behavior on the railways. When seemingly sedate people boarded trains, they suddenly began behaving in socially unacceptable ways. One Scottish aristocrat was reported to have ditched his clothes aboard a train before “leaning out the window” ranting and raving. After he left the train, he suddenly recovered his composure. Regarding the specific type of mental condition believed to have been caused by the trains, Professor Amy-Milne Smith, a cultural historian at Wilfrid Laurier University, notes that “railway madmen would have all likely be seen as suffering mania.” Medical journals at the time were very concerned about how railway madmen could be detected when their madness might lie latent. Not all goings-on in the first- and second-class carriages involved eccentric rambling in the nude—vicious attacks with knives and other weapons that could result in death were reported as well. The trains themselves were considered to be ridden with perilous conditions that endangered passengers. Confined carriages were locked for privacy reasons, meaning people were at risk of being trapped in small rooms with “lunatics” who were ready to snap at any minute. The lack of suitable on-board communications meant that if attacked by such a person, you couldn’t easily call for help. The media did its part to whip up a frenzy over railway madness. One 1864 story, starkly titled “A Madman in a Railway Carriage,” gleefully related how a burly sailor became incensed, flailing around in an erratic manner first trying to climb out of the window , and then swearing and shouting at the other occupants of the carriage and struggling with everyone . A superhuman strength gripped this aggressor and four people were required to restrain him and he had to be bound to a seat. The conflict was not over yet though. When the sailor was released, he charged viciously at those who had restrained him and accusing them of stealing from him, it took railway officials and finally the police to subdue and arrest the sailor. The problem of railway madness did not just refer to those driven insane in the process of the journey. Another concern of the time was that the railway provided a swift and convenient getaway for patients who had escaped from the various mental-health institutions throughout Great Britain. In 1845, Punch magazine published a cartoon showing train tracks leading to an asylum. The logistics of the railways dotted around the countryside meant that a “mental patient” could evade the staff and hop on the next train to freedom. Stories of maniacs and terror on the tracks terrified many and delighted others. As Professor Anna Despotopoulou at the University of Athens says, “the train in the 19th century offered women an unprecedented opportunity to travel freely” but stories of madmen on the rails “often heightened the anxiety to travel.” After going on a particular train ride, female novelist George Eliot stated with tongue firmly in cheek that upon seeing someone who looked wild and brutish, she was reminded of “all the horrible stories of madmen in railways.” Elliot seemed to relish the excitement of a possible confrontation and sounded rather disappointed when the figure turned out to be an ordinary clergyman. Other members of the elite were more frightened than Eliot of the potential for being in a compartment with a maniac. However, there was no easy solution because of the trains’ design, which encouraged the form of physical isolation that increased fears of these fabled madmen. It was nevertheless agreed that something had to be done to protect passengers against railway maniacs. Attacks, according to the Scotsman newspaper, were becoming an everyday occurrence, and railway madness on British trains had become internationally renowned. One “American Traveller” spoke of carrying a loaded revolver on trains in England because of the prospect of encounters with a “madman.” The 1864 by-laws of the Victorian Railways stipulated that “insane persons” should be isolated “in a compartment by themselves.” If railway madmen could not be stopped then they might at least be contained. These regulations, of course, ignored those who boarded the train perfectly in control of their faculties and only displayed their erratic behavior once the train was in motion and the doors locked. Implementing these rules was a problem. Every time an invention was proposed to ensure greater safety, it was rejected on the grounds of protecting personal space. Case in point: “Müller’s lights,” windows within the train carriages designed to allow observation of other compartments and installed by several companies such as the South Western Railway. These portholes were meant to reduce seclusion inside the coach, but were regarded as an intrusion—and raised fears about Peeping Toms. In other areas there were calls for increased communication on the trains such as cables to signal an emergency but problems of logistics prevented this. The railways seemed to cause anxiety and concern about madness because of the noise and the unpredictable nature of the railways. There were also beliefs within the medical profession that the vibrations of the railway carriage could have a disastrous effect on people’s nerves. And it was impossible to predict who might be the one to be driven mad. As Professor Amy-Milne Smith wrote, “not only might you be attacked by a madman on a railway journey—you might become one.” As a result railways became associated with insanity. What might be thought of as more like post-traumatic stress disorder today was viewed as a form of nervous disturbance by Victorians. Eventually, the outrage over mental-health problems on the railways and the “railway madmen” faded out as inexplicably as it had appeared. The blood-and-guts-loving Victorian media moved onto the next story, though onboard disturbances still happened from time to time. In 1894, one naked individual even launched a full-on assault on the train by disabling the communications and then attacking those onboard, roaming around at will through the train. The whole affair was treated as puzzling, but not frightening—the attacker was battled and jabbed back with the pointy end of an umbrella.
プログラミング教育におけるパソコングラフィックス導入の要点 Effective points of introducing computer graphics to BASIC programming A teaching method using computer graphics as a tool in order to teach BASIC programming is presented. The method has the following 3 effective points. One point is that computer graphics help the students to understand the flow of their program by giving them visible results. The text is also easy to understand because example programs are always accompanied by the resultant graphics. Another point is that the students are allowed to talk freely and can teach each other during their exercise in programming. However, they cannot copy each other's program because this would be easily revealed by only a glance at the resultant graphics. The other point is that the method allows an exhibition of the student's graphics. They enjoy the exhibition and want to make original graphics, so they think out willingly and check the text eagerly. Some of the student's graphics and their opinions about the exercise are also presented. 図学研究 (73), 3-10, 1996-09-01
New Resources Support Tribes in Preparing for Climate Change Which Pacific Northwest streams will warm the most in the next 50 years, and where would restoration work make a difference for salmon? Where will wildfires and pests be most aggressive in forests as the Earth warms, and how can better management help? As the natural world responds to climate change, American Indian tribes across the country are grappling with how to plan for a future that balances inevitable change with protecting the resources vital to their cultural traditions. The University of Washington Climate Impacts Group and regional tribal partners have developed a collection of resources that may be useful to tribes at any stage in the process of evaluating their vulnerability to climate change. The project is a partnership among tribes, tribal associations, universities and the federal government. “This work really is to support tribes’ leadership in climate adaptation, and the goal is to make it easier for every tribe that wants to complete the process,” said Meade Krosby, a research scientist at Climate Impacts Group and the project lead. “This is a way to support the tribes that are leading the way, but also to make sure those that are having a harder time getting started have the resources to begin.” Many tribes are deeply tied to the natural environment for culturally significant practices and traditions, health and livelihoods. Most tribes have reservations and treaty rights that are connected to specific places and resources, making it a challenge to go elsewhere in response to future changes in climate. This new suite of resources is intended to support tribes in all phases of assessing the possible impacts of climate change — in other words, how a warming world might affect the things each tribe cares about most. The tools are tailored geographically to each of the 84 tribes in the Pacific Northwest and Great Basin regions of the western U.S., with the possibility to expand across the country. The resources, mainly online, include a climate tool that provides interactive summaries of projected climate change on annual precipitation, stream temperatures, growing season, fire danger and other variables. It also provides links to resources such as guidebooks and sample climate assessments, and a technical support line for tribal staff and members to call with any questions. Both Western science and indigenous approaches that draw on traditional ecological knowledge are featured in the resource toolkit. While other tools exist to help assess vulnerability to climate change, these resources present information about future predictions in a user-friendly format that focuses on areas of geographic importance to various tribes. Project leaders spent considerable time testing the tools with tribal staff and community members to make the resources more intuitive and responsive to their needs, Krosby said. “This is a way to get cutting-edge climate information directly into the hands of tribes,” she said. “Overwhelmingly, the response among tribes has been positive.” The project began about two years ago after an initial assessment led by Don Sampson, climate change project manager with the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, in partnership with the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center, found that a number of tribes didn’t have the resources or staff to plan for climate change. In response, the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center and Great Basin Landscape Conservation Cooperative funded the UW Climate Impacts Group — under the guidance of a tribal advisory group — to develop climate change resources that could help fill gaps for those tribes needing additional support. The Climate Impacts Group contacted all 84 tribes in the Northwest and Great Basin regions, asking what climate impacts they were most concerned about and which geographic areas are important to them. As responses came in, it was clear each tribe had specific factors they were most concerned about, including how stream temperatures, snowpack and habitat might change in the future in their location. “For some tribes just beginning to look at climate impacts on important resources to their communities, they can analyze quite quickly and begin to narrow their focus to some of the priority resources, whether it be salmon, deer and elk, or migratory birds,” Sampson said. “Our goal is for all of Indian Country to have a tool like this and get all of the tribes in the country able to assess the impacts of climate on their resources.” “The Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians and the tribes of the Pacific Northwest are leading tribal efforts nationwide to address climate change impacts in Indian Country. This project, in collaboration with the University of Washington, represents us using our traditional knowledge and the best available scientific analysis,” said Leonard Forsman, president of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians. As one example, the Makah Tribe in northwest Washington has started to form a plan to adapt to climate change, drawing on these resources as well as community surveys, elder interviews and staff input to consider aspects such as natural resource management, infrastructure, health, cultural activities and carbon mitigation. They have found the new tools to be particularly useful in analyzing potential climate impacts on their specific area, said Mike Chang, climate adaptation specialist at the Makah Tribe. “The downscaled climate models are able to provide information at locally relevant scales. This is super helpful because many regional climate models can’t provide hyper-local climate projections, which is crucial when making planning and adaptation decisions,” Chang said. Like the Makah Tribe, planning for climate change is underway for many tribes across the country, said Rachael Novak, Tribal Resilience Program coordinator with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. About 10 percent of federally recognized tribes have a plan drafted, but the remaining tribes — still over 500 — are at various points in the process, from implementing adaptation plans to assessing possible impacts to not having begun. Time and resources are usually the biggest barriers to creating a plan, she said. “There’s so much diversity across Indian Country and Alaska Native Villages in terms of staffing and resources,” Novak said. “It’s important to have tools to be able to connect and meet people where they are in planning for climate change.” Project leaders will continue to offer trainings on using the online assessment resources; Krosby already held a webinar to go over the climate tool and how tribes can begin using it. The project was funded by the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center and the Great Basin Landscape Conservation Cooperative. For more information, contact:
Crab Nebula: A supernova remnant and pulsar in the constellation of Taurus. Caption: The explosion was seen on Earth in 1054 AD. At the center of the nebula is a rapidly spinning neutron star, or pulsar that emits pulses of radiation 30 times a second. The image shows the central pulsar surrounded by tilted rings of high-energy particles that appear to have been flung outward over a distance of more than a light year from the pulsar. Perpendicular to the rings, jet-like structures produced by high-energy particles blast away from the pulsar. The diameter of the inner ring in the image is about one light year, more than 1000 times the diameter of our solar system. The X rays from the Crab nebula are produced by high-energy particles spiraling around magnetic field lines in the Nebula. The bell-shaped appearance of the Nebula could be due to the way this huge magnetized bubble was produced or to its interaction with clouds of gas and dust in the vicinity. Scale: Image is 2.5 arcmin on a side. Chandra X-ray Observatory ACIS / Image
Along with the behavioural guidance and the training of particular attributes, chess can also allow for the development of certain brain functions which may improve creativity, logic and proficiency in school. Chess is particularly vital during a child’s development years as physical changes to the brain can allow for neurological maturity at a younger age. This last section of The Benefits of Chess for Children series will focus on the modifications chess can have on the brain and the resulting advantages that would allow children to be potentially smarter and more creative. Changes to the Brain Dendrite ExpansionsJust as training the body improves strength and endurance, training the brain also has its benefits. Without delving too far into neuroscience, neurons are nerve cells that communicate signals. Between these cells are branches called dendrites, which allow signals to carry information between the neurons. These dendrites grow and shrink in response to stimuli. Actions such as alcohol consumption as well as specific diseases such as Alzheimer’s can cause dendrites to degenerate, however certain physical and mental activities cause the dendrites to expand. With more dendrites, information can be transmitted between different areas of the brain more efficiently. Imagine neurons are towns, having different purposes. While one town may be primarily residential, another may be agricultural or commercial. In order for people to travel and exchange services in the local area, roads must exist between the towns. As more people travel a certain route, the road will expand, allowing for the faster transportation of people, goods and services. Just as towns in this analogy have different purposes, neurons also have specializations as they can be sensory neurons, motor neurons or interneurons. The roads that connect each town are the dendrites that connect the neurons, allowing for signals to travel between them. Adding lanes to these roads is like expanding the branches of the dendrites. Wider roads allow for faster travel between the towns, and larger dendrites allow signals to move from neuron to neuron more quickly. In order for these roads to expand, there must be more people using them, usually for a particular reason. Perhaps a massive chess tournament takes place in one of the towns on a regular basis and the whole population of another town travels to see it! The burden on a small road would be too great, so the road expands, possibly even into a highway! Just as chess could be a stimulus for considerable traffic, chess is a powerful stimulus that leads to the expansion of dendrites. Some of the strongest stimuli for dendrite expansion are social interaction and challenging activities, and chess is both of these! Playing chess exercises the brain and actively causes dendrites to expand, allowing for your own mental highways to be constructed. Children who play chess are steadily training their brains and expanding the dendritic branches in between their neurons. Dendrites are often thought to be linked with memory and learning, as more and more research points to the structures playing a role in storing experiences as memories. With further research being made around the connection of dendrites and learning, in the near future we may know just how beneficial chess is with its promotion of dendritic growth. Left and RightOur brains are split into two cerebral hemispheres, left and right, which process information in unique ways. The left side of our brain focuses on aspects such as logic, memory, analysis and calculation, which are useful for language, science, strategy and mathematics. The right side of our brain is dominant in non-verbal, visuospatial aspects such as creativity and imagination as well as intuition, emotion and art. While significant controversy exists whether humans can be more dominant in one hemisphere than the other, in certain situations the brain can rely on one side more than the other. Lateralization is a function of the brain to use one side of the brain more than the other for certain activities. For example, classroom skills are more dependent on the logical, factual left side of the brain, while playing a musical instrument may harness the creative and rhythmic right side of the brain. While some activities use lateralization to prioritize the use of one side of the brain, some activities, including chess, activate both sides of the brain. Chess is powerful in its ability to demand the creativity and pattern-recognition from the right side of the brain to work in tandem with the logical, analytical left side of the brain to discover the best next move. A study by four German scientists proved that even at higher levels of chess play, the right side of the brain is still extremely active, showing chess depends on both hemispheres of the brain at all skill levels. This is important as it signifies that chess develops and trains not only the logical, left side of the brain, but also the creative, intuitive right side of the brain. The ability of chess to holistically train both hemispheres is very beneficial for children to ensure the unified development of cognitive functions. School ProficiencyOver the past few decades, a vast number of studies have been made on the correlation between playing chess and academic performance. Time and time again, students who play chess have proven to have significant improvements in their math skills, reading skills and cognitive development. Dr. Christiaen, a Belgian psychologist conducted a famous chess study with a group of fifth graders. Christiaen documented that the chess-playing experimental group experienced greater cognitive development and scored higher on both internal and external tests than the control group. Dr. Adriaan de Groot, another Belgian psychologist and chess master, also noted based on the study by Dr. Christiaen that the game had a significant positive influence on academic motivation. Problem Solving SkillsWhile chess is a wonderful instrument of cognitive development, it is also a game! Children are always keen to play games and have fun, and the playful aspect of chess can be a powerful motivator for building strong problem solving skills. While certain playstyles, strategies and tactics can be carried over from game to game, a new game of chess brings a whole arsenal of new problems and positions to analyze. These force children to dissect the puzzle that faces them with each move, while pulling useful strategies and tactics from memory to aid in their problem solving. The infinite variety of chess games ensure that children can enhance their problem solving skills with fresh positions bundled into an eight by eight board of fun. Math SkillsThe ability of chess to train the problem solving skills of children coincides directly with the improvement of math skills. Of all academic fields, math has been the highlight for studies involving chess and school as math is heavily integrated in chess in a multitude of ways. Each move in chess is a carefully calculated decision, bringing into account an array of potential responses by the opponent. Making proper exchanges and captures in chess involves logic and the comparison of piece values, and moving pieces uses board notation, a variation of the fundamental coordinate system in math. The benefits of the amalgamation of chess in math is apparent in a number of studies conducted over the years. A two-year study by Dr. Yee Wang Fung at the Chinese University in Hong Kong from 1977-1979 reported a 15% improvement in math and science test scores by chess players over non-chess players. In New Brunswick, Canada, a three-year study between 1989 and 1992 using 437 fifth graders found a proportionate increase in math problem solving skills to the amount of chess in the curriculum. Reading SkillsThe same study in New Brunswick also recorded a similar proportionate increase in comprehension with the amount of chess the test student group played. Another study conducted with the New York City Schools Chess Program from 1990-1992 found strong evidence that playing chess improves reading performance. The improvement of reading skills is likely due to the strong correlation between chess and comprehension, as both the positions on a board and the words on a page require analysis, decoding and understanding. Additional BenefitsThe benefits of chess in school programs is an often explored area of scientific research and has proven a strong link between the game and problem solving, math and reading skills as well as motivation and classroom focus. Apart from scientific studies, anecdotal sources have consistently shown that chess can improve a child’s confidence and aid in building friendships. Nearly all grandmasters began their love for chess at an early age and exposing your child to chess could also uncover a special talent or passion for the game. Over the years, extensive scientific research of chess has proven the existence of a multitude of benefits to cognitive functions and academic performance. Whether a child dreams of being the next chess world champion or simply enjoys playing a casual game, it is clear that the game provides much more than fun. During the key development years of childhood, it is paramount for children to have the opportunity to develop healthy, positive habits while being happy. While chess is a powerful tool with significant advantages, it is also primarily an extremely enjoyable and challenging game. Next time your child finds themselves with some spare time or entranced by the TV, why not pull out a chessboard?
LGBTQA 101 Guide LGBTQA: A common acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, asexual, and ally. In this context, it is used as an umbrella term for the entire community. We do acknowledge that there are many more identities not specifically called out in this acronym, however, which makes this practice problematic. As we have yet to come up with a better way of addressing the entire "non-heterosexual, non-cisgender" community without identifying ourselves as the negative of another group, this is what we will use for the time being. Lesbian: Used to describe women who are emotionally, romantically, sexually, relationally, or affectionately attracted to other women. Gay: Used to describe men who are emotionally, romantically, sexually, relationally, or affectionately attracted to other men. Women who are attracted to other women also may identify as "gay." Sometimes, "gay" is used to refer to the entire LGBTQA community as an umbrella term (i.e., "the gay community," "gay rights"); however, some people find this problematic because it is using the traditionally masculine term in a general way (in the same way that people may find using the word "guys" to refer to a group of men and women inappropriate). Bisexual: One who is emotionally, romantically, sexually, relationally, and affectionately attracted to members of both the same and opposite gender. Distinct from the term "pansexual," which includes people who identify on the gender spectrum somewhere between "man" and "woman" (i.e., "gender queer," "nongendered"). Transgender: Used to describe a broad range of people who's experience and/or express their gender differently from what most people expect. It is an umbrella term that can include people who are transsexual, cross-dressers, gender queer or otherwise gender non-conforming. Queer: 1) Originally used a pejorative, this term can now be used to describe the whole LGBTQ community. The level of comfort with using this word varies from person to person, with younger generations generally being more comfortable taking it on, because older generations still associate it with its original negative connotations. 2) A description for someone's sexual orientation. Sometimes people take this on for political reasons (to "trouble" traditional views of sexual orientation, a more radical ideology), or because they don't find the other labels fit them. It can also be thought of as an "anti-label," to rebel against the idea of being made to label oneself at all. 3) A description of someone's gender identity. These folks may consider themselves "gender queer," and find that they fall somewhere other than "cisgender" or "transgender." Questioning: A process of exploration by people who may be unsure, still exploring, and concerned about applying a social label to themselves for various reasons. Typically applied to people who are "exiting" heterosexuality, but can also be attributed to people who have identified as LGBTQA and are now questioning that identity. Asexual: Used to describe an individual who does not experience strong sexual attraction for other people, or experiences no sexual attraction for other people at all. Contrary to myth, asexual people are not broken, and their asexuality was not caused, in general, because they were the victim of abuse. There is a lot of new information available about asexual people, and a great resource to check out is the Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN). Ally: Anyone in a majority group that speaks out for a marginalized group. In this context, "ally" usually referes to a straight person who is speaking in support and equality for LGBTQA people. However, members of the LGBTQA community can be an allies to each other – i.e., a lesbian can be an ally to a transgender person, etc.. Sexual Orientation: This is your natural state of being. It is an enduring emotional, romantic, sexual and relational attraction to another person; may be a same gender orientation, opposite gender orientation or bisexual orientation etc. Sexual Preference: What a person likes or prefers to do sexually; a conscious recognition or choice not to be confused with sexual orientation. An example of a sexual preference might be considered your "type" of partner, moreso than that person's gender. Because it is a term that implies changeability, it is often used as a means of diminishing the lives of openly LGBTQA people. Coming Out: The process in which a person first acknowledges, accepts and appreciates their sexual orientation and/or gender identity and begins to share that with others. For many this is a continuing process, which occurs every time they meet someone new, get a new job, etc. Some choose to never come out, depending on a number of factors including cultural norms and understanding. In most cases, coming out is an act of self-empowerment, an active choice to share with others something critically significant to them. It is important to let people have the chance to choose their own manner and method of coming out. Outing: Exposing someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity without their permission. This is associated with a loss of power or control for the individual in question. It can have extremely negative consequences, depending on the situation the person is in. Heterosexism: The societal assumption that everyone is heterosexual, and that heterosexuality is somehow superior to homosexuality; the systematic and/or institutional oppression of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons. Examples may include: M/F checkboxes on forms; spaces on forms to enter a “spouse” with no options for “Domestic Partner”; in conversations, assuming that someone’s significant other is of the opposite gender; failing to mention a same-sex partner of an athlete/celebrity (such as when Australian and openly gay athlete Matthew Mitcham won gold for diving and his partner was not mentioned on news broadcasts of the event – however other athletes’ husbands and wives were frequently mentioned/shown). Homophobia: Encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. It can be expressed as antipathy, contempt, prejudice, aversion, or hatred, and may be based on irrational fear. Homophobia is observable in critical and hostile behavior such as discrimination and violence on the basis of sexual orientations that are non-heterosexual. According to the 2010 Hate Crimes Statistics released by the FBI National Press Office, 19.3 percent of hate crimes across the United States "were motivated by a sexual orientation bias." Moreover, in a Southern Poverty Law Center 2010 Intelligence Report extrapolating data from fourteen years (1995–2008), which had complete data available at the time, of the FBI's national hate crime statistics found that LGBT people were "far more likely than any other minority group in the United States to be victimized by violent hate crime." ( Source for definition)
Resources for Teachers ALEX has many lesson plans, videos, and Thinkfinity resources that are related to bullying. Students read a work of realistic fiction about bullying and gain understanding through writing, Readers Theatre, and discussion. "Bullies Beware" reminds students of all the people who have died because of bullying and that this is not the way to handle being bullied. Students sometimes find themselves in situations where they are uncomfortable and uncertain in relating to difficult peers. This lesson is designed to equip students with information they need not only to identify bullies, but to develop strategies to combat them. The goal of the FBI SOS is to promote cyber citizenship and help students learn about online safety while engaging in fun, interactive games. The program was designed to address current internet safety threats while keeping each grade level's internet usage and knowledge in mind. Get ready for Bullying Awareness Week! from Thinkfinity During this lesson, students start to recognize the different types of bullying, causes, and ways of dealing with it. Through literature and the Internet, students learn how to handle bullying. Students will develop presentations to teach other how to handle bullying. ( Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network) GLSEN is the leading national organization fighting to end anti-gay bias in K-12 schools. Click here for educator resources. One caring adult can keep a bullied student from dropping out of school. One caring adult may save a bullied student’s life. NEA's Bully Free: It Starts With Me campaign, is asking you to be that caring adult. Just take the pledge — to listen to bullied students who approach you and take action to stop the bullying. In return, NEA will provide you with free resources to help you support these students. Bullying negatively affects the atmosphere of a school and disrupts the learning environment. Bullying is not something educators have to accept. It takes the entire school community to create an inviting school where everyone feels they belong and are safe. Working together, administrators, teachers, school staff, parents, and students can help stop bullying in your school.
News Writing and Reporting (3) News and news values; legal and ethical problems of reporting; writing and reporting news for the mass media. COMM 260W News Writing and Reporting (3) COMM 260 introduces students to the basics of news reporting and writing. Through a combination of lecture, discussion, and writing assignments, students learn how to write news stories that are accurate, fair, clear, and concise. The goals of COMM 260 are to produce students who can: * Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of accurate, thorough, and fair news writing * Write concise, well-organized stories with effective leads that get the reader's attention and tell the most important news * Gather information through the use of interviews, documents, and basic reference materials * Generate story ideas that reflect an understanding of the elements of newsworthiness (timeliness, prominence, proximity, conflict, novelty, and impact) * Produce copy free of misspellings, grammatical errors, AP style errors, and factual errors * Understand the legal, ethical, and historical principles underlying journalism, including the role of journalists in society * Appreciate the joy and importance of being well informed Note : Class size, frequency of offering, and evaluation methods will vary by location and instructor. For these details check the specific course syllabus.
Experiment of the Month The plane of oscillation of the Foucault pendulum rotates clockwise in the northern hemisphere. At the north pole the plane of oscillation would make one complete rotation during one day. At other latitudes, the rate of rotation is slower. The slower rate is not difficult to derive if the initial motion of the pendulum is north-south. One such derivation is here. For this month's article, we take a different approach, which is applicable for any initial direction of oscillation. The focus of attention will be a vector v. v can represent the direction of a gyroscope axis, or is can represent the velocity of the pendulum bob. It will probably be easier to think of the gyroscope, because we will allow v to point in any direction, for our convenience. We will use three different coordinate systems to calculate the components of v: 1) The ordinary north-south, east-west system, with origin at some point on the earth's surface, lying in a plane tangent to the earth at that point. 2) A system with one axis parallel to the earth's axis, and another perpendicular to the earth's axis, going through the point of interest on the earth's surface. 3) An extension of (1) to include the vertical, an axis along the line from the center of the earth to our point of interest. Horizontal vectors are perpendicular to this vertical axis. This line and the earth's axis define a plane. The angle between this vertical axis and a line perpendicular to the earth's axis is the latitude, l, of the point of interest. We begin by considering two special cases for the direction of v. First, the direction of v is parallel to the earth's axis. This direction is not horizontal, unless we are at the equator. To visualize this direction in the northern hemisphere, lay a ruler on the floor, along the north-south direction. If you are at latitude 50 degrees north, pick up the northern end of the ruler, and raise it until the ruler makes an angle of 50 degrees with the floor. That ruler is now parallel to the earth's axis. v continues to point along the earth's axis as we rotate with the earth, and we carry the v along with us. (It helps to think of v as indicating the spin axis of a gyroscope.) We detect no change in the direction of this v as the earth rotates. Second, v is pointed in a direction perpendicular to the earth's axis. If we ignore the tilt of the earth's axis, and the progress of the earth in it's orbit, then we can imagine that v points toward the sun. Now, as the earth rotates, we can tell. At noon, v points more-or-less up, making an angle of l with the local vertical. At midnight, v points more-or-less down, making an angle of l with the local vertical. The picture shows a "top" view, looking down on the north pole. The dot represents the tip of the v vector in the first case, pointed along the axis of rotation of the earth. It does not change as it is carried along with the rotating earth. The arrow towards the distant sun represents v in the second case, pointing always towards the sun. Its direction relative to the earth changes as the earth rotates. Sometimes this arrow points towards the earth's axis (night time in this example). Sometimes it points away from the earth's axis (daytime in this example). It is this arrow that tells us the earth is rotating on its axis. As the earth makes one complete revolution, this arrow makes one complete revolution (relative to the laboratory). Neither of these arrows is horizontal: Neither lies in a plane tangent to the earth's surface, as they ride a particular location on the earth. To use this picture to understand the Foucault pendulum, we must understand how it connects to horizontal motion. Case 1: v "pointing north," and lying "horizontally" in a plane tangent to the earth. The sketch shows the idea. To follow the effect of the earth turning we consider two components of the vector, v: 1) the component parallel to the earth's axis. This component does not change as the earth rotates. 2) the component perpendicular to the earth's axis. As viewed by someone riding the earth while it turns through a small angle dq counterclockwise, this component turns the same amount, dq, clockwise. We calculate this perpendicular component using the latitude, l. Since v is perpendicular to the vertical, the angle between v and the line perpendicular to the earth's axis is (p/2 - l). This means that the angle between v and the earth's axis is l, so that the perpendicular component of v is v sin l The sketch at the right shows this component in detail. Look first near the bottom of the sketch. The dotted arrow is the observed direction of (vsinl), after the earth has rotated through dq. For small angles (in radians), dq= (dv)/(v sin l) where dv is the change in v sin l and also in v, since there is no change in the other component of v (the component parallel to the earth's axis). That same dv is shown added to the original v vector, near the top of the sketch. The vector v rotates through and angle df = (dv)/(v) = dq (v sin l)/(v) = dq sin l This leads immediately to the result that the rotation rate of the pendulum velocity vector is smaller than the rotation rate for the earth by the factor sinl. Case 2: v "pointing east," and lying "horizontally" in a plane tangent to the earth. The sketches below show the idea. \|v towards east, side view\|\|v towards east, view from above north pole\| v lies perpendicular to the plane defined by the earth's axis and the vertical. The line perpendicular to the earth's axis is also in that plane, and is also perpendicular to v. When the earth rotates (counterclockwise) through a small angle dq, an observer riding on the earth sees this vector rotate through exactly the same angle (clockwise). The reason is that in this case, v has no component perpendicular to the earth's axis. The change in velocity, according to the observer is dv = v dq for small angle dq measured in radians. The direction of this dv vector is along that dotted line which is perpendicular to the earth's axis. To apply the idea to the Foucault pendulum we must account for the fact that the pendulum motion is not allowed to change in the vertical direction. (The tension in the string can change, but to first order, the period is independent of the earth's rotation rate.) The pendulum acts to eliminate the vertical component of dv. To eliminate dv(VERTICAL), we must take the horizontal component of dv. This is most easily done from a point of view standing just to the west of the pendulum, as in the figure at right. Note that, by definition, horizontal is perpendicular to vertical. dv(HORIZONTAL)= dv sin l= v dq sin l When the horizontal component is added to the original v, the new vector makes an angle df = (dv)/(v) = v dq sin l/(v) = dq sin l This is exactly the same relation between earth rotation and observed rotation of the vector as for the north-pointing case. For a general horizontal vector, both the north and the east components rotate at the same rate, so that all horizontal vectors rotate at the same rate, for a given latitude, l. The rotation rate is given by df/dt = (dq/dt) (sin l) The time for one revolution of the Foucault pendulum at latitude l is given by (T(PENDULUM) )(sin l) = T(EARTH) Thanks to Hugh Rance for stimulating this version.
Mechanical engineers seem to model everything with a spring. Electrical engineers compare everything to a Resistor. Resistors are circuit elements that resist the flow of current. When this is done a voltage appears across the resistor's two wires. A pure resistor turns electrical energy into heat. Devices similar to resistors turn this energy into light, motion, heat, and other forms of energy. Current in the drawing above is shown entering the + side of the resistor. Resistors don't care which leg is connected to positive or negative. The + means where the positive or red probe of the volt meter is to be placed in order to get a positive reading. This is called the "positive charge" flow sign convention. Some circuit theory classes (often within a physics oriented curriculum) are taught with an "electron flow" sign convention. In this case, current entering the + side of the resistor means that the resistor is removing energy from the circuit. This is good. The goal of most circuits is to send energy out into the world in the form of motion, light, sound, etc. Resistance is measured in terms of units called "Ohms" (volts per ampere), which is commonly abbreviated with the Greek letter Ω ("Omega"). Ohms are also used to measure the quantities of impedance and reactance, as described in a later chapter. The variable most commonly used to represent resistance is "r" or "R". Resistance is defined as: where ρ is the resistivity of the material, L is the length of the resistor, and A is the cross-sectional area of the resistor. Conductance is the inverse of resistance. Conductance has units of "Siemens" (S), sometimes referred to as mhos (ohms backwards, abbreviated as an upside-down Ω). The associated variable is "G": Before calculators and computers, conductance helped reduce the number of hand calculations that had to be done. Now conductance and it's related concepts of admittance and susceptance can be skipped with matlab, octave, wolfram alpha and other computing tools. Learning one or more these computing tools is now absolutely necessary in order to get through this text. Resistor terminal relation The drawing on the right is of a battery and a resistor. Current is leaving the + terminal of the battery. This means this battery is turning chemical potential energy into electromagnetic potential energy and dumping this energy into the circuit. The flow of this energy or power is negative. Current is entering the positive side of the resistor even though a + has not been put on the resistor. This means electromagnetic potential energy is being converted into heat, motion, light, or sound depending upon the nature of the resistor. Power flowing out of the circuit is given a positive sign. The relationship of the voltage across the resistor V, the current through the resistor I and the value of the resistor R is related by ohm's law: [Resistor Terminal Relation] A resistor, capacitor and inductor all have only two wires attached to them. Sometimes it is hard to tell them apart. In the real world, all three have a bit of resistance, capacitance and inductance in them. In this unknown context, they are called two terminal devices. In more complicated devices, the wires are grouped into ports. A two terminal device that expresses Ohm's law when current and voltage are applied to it, is called a resistor. Resistors come in all forms. Most have a maximum power rating in watts. If you put too much through them, they can melt, catch fire, etc. Resistance is an electrical passive element which oppose the flow of electricity. Suppose the voltage across a resistor's two terminals is 10 volts and the measured current through it is 2 amps. What is the resistance?
The larynx is also known as the voice box and it can easily be found in the throat of mammal specimens (fetal pig shown below.) The larynx contains the vocal cords that are used for making sounds. In humans the location of the larynx allows for diverse sounds and eventually language, it also creates a choking hazard. Food must pass the larynx and go into the esophagus. If the epiglottis is open, food and liquids can enter the trachea and block the airway, or just cause a fit of coughing as your respiratory system tries to clear the obstruction. The larynx lies in front of the esophagus and is distinguished by the cartilage rings that keep it from collapsing.
How does your garden grow? In this BrainPOP movie, Tim and Moby examine how plants grow and grow and grow! You’ll learn why flowers grow on apple trees, and how plants reproduce through pollination. Find out the parts of a flower and what each part does, as well as how insects help in the reproduction process. Discover what seeds are and how they sometimes go on long journeys to make new plants. See what conditions can cause a seed to germinate into a seedling, and how that seedling can become a full grown plant. All this talk of plant growth really plants the seed of knowledge! \| About BrainPOP\| Can't see the movies? Download the Flash Plug-in here. Still need help? Click here. \| RELATED LINKS FOR PLANT GROWTH IN LIVING SYSTEMS
CS 101 Technology and Computer Science • 5 Cr. Introduces concepts of computer science through development of fluency in modern technology, while offering students an opportunity to increase skills in a variety of information systems. Computer lab work includes operation of computers on networks, programming fundamentals, logical reasoning, web searching, multimedia applications, basic spreadsheets, and database manipulation. Prerequisite: MATH 098 or higher. After completing this class, students should be able to: - Identify standard human-computer interfaces using industry standard terminology. - Describe network components of computers and associated storage systems. - Effectively search the Internet and use information to create a basic html web page. - Describe similarities and differences between binary and decimal systems. - Provide a descriptive algorithm for solving a problem. - Identify digital versus analog representations of pictures and sounds. - Identify and explain common spreadsheet functions and capabilities. - Identify and explain common database management functions and capabilities - Explain what a program is, and how a program is produced.
“The bigger they are, the harder they fall” might have applied to some individual behemoths during the hey-day of the dinosaurs, but it also held true for the rock from space that did them in. As best we can make out, a 10 kilometer wide asteroid struck the Earth along the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula back then and produced a shockwave and fireball of unfathomable scale. As tsunamis swept across the Gulf of Mexico and wildfires raged, huge amounts of sulfur (from rock vaporized by the impact) and soot were lifted into the air, blocking sunlight from reaching the surface. With the fires followed by cold and greatly diminished photosynthesis (sunlight might have dropped by 80 percent), ecosystems collapsed. To make things worse, when the skies cleared after a few years to a decade, the sulfur may have acidified the surface ocean. The long-lived greenhouse gases that came from the vaporized rock took over, producing sustained warming for millennia at least. Oh, and incredibly massive volcanic eruptions on the Indian subcontinent were already messing with Earth’s climate before the impact. It was a cruel pendulum of extremes. Some of this story is clearly written in the geologic record, but other details come from a theoretical understanding of the consequences of an impact of this scale. Take that long winter, for example. We expect it must have happened because of the amount of material that would have gotten kicked up into the atmosphere, but it’s difficult for the rocks to record a change in climate that would have lasted a few decades at most. It gets even trickier when you remember that many of the plankton that can contain climate indicators were busy going extinct. A study led by Utrecht University’s Johan Vellekoop, however, has managed to extract some details from rocks along the Brazos River in Texas that tell us about that "impact winter". Those rocks include sediments deposited in the aftermath of the impact. There’s a layer of tsunami-deposited sand beneath finer-grained sediments that settled slowly to the seafloor after that. It’s possible that the temperature contrast between the colder atmosphere and still-warm ocean fueled strong storms, and this may have stirred some of that sediment back up. That complicates the effort to figure out how long it took for those layers to be deposited. Still, other research has estimated that these storms should have died down within less than a century, so the layers were interpreted to represent the first few decades immediately following the impact event. Conveniently, there’s a climate indicator they could look for in those rocks. Although the calcium-carbonate-armored plankton usually used for this kind of thing are missing, the researchers could turn to an organism that leaves no preservable body parts. Microbes called Thaumarcheota may not build shells, but the composition of the lipids in their cell membranes depends on water temperature. And they’re chemosynthetic, deriving energy from ammonia rather than sunlight-driven photosynthesis. Those lipid molecules are pretty resilient and can be analyzed in marine sediments—even those that have turned to rock. The analysis indicated local sea surface temperatures of 30-31°C prior to the impact. The data from the post-tsunami layers are a little variable (possibly due to the stirring up of the sediment by storms), but it records temperatures fully 2-7°C cooler than that. After that, temperatures rose to 1-2°C higher than they had been before the impact. That matches the expected pattern of climatic upheaval and is the first direct evidence of a phase of colder temperatures, although there is also some evidence of cool-water plankton moving towards the equator. That helps increase our confidence that the terrible story we’re telling is the right one.
What’s the atmospheric density of carbon dioxide 200 miles off the East coast of Greenland? At this point we can’t accurately say, but that may soon change. The Greenhouse Gas Observing Satellite (GOSAT), expected to be launched one week from today by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, is planned to orbit the Earth for approximately 5 years while sending monthly reports of carbon dioxide and methane densities from around the globe. The satellite represents a major step towards gathering accurate GHG data in the atmosphere, which can aid the development of carbon-trading by improving accountability. The GOSAT will monumentally increase GHG data monitoring, increasing the number of global observation points from 282 to 56,000. The 282 existing observation points are stationary and primarily concentrated in populated areas. By moving from ground-level to space (and flying around the Earth in about 100 minutes), the orbiting GOSAT will be capable of creating observation points spanning the globe and covering both land and sea. Information will be provided by the GOSAT every three days and distributed free to scientists to help them address many unanswered questions about climate change, including how CO2 densities change over time at various locations around the planet. As the satellite soars through the atmosphere, two of its onboard instruments will measure CO¬¨2 and CH4 densities based on the absorption of infrared rays. This method will provide accurate readings as each gas absorbs the rays at a very specific wavelength. To increase the accuracy of the data, the satellite is also equipped with a sensor to detect cloud cover so that data is only recorded during clear weather. Initial data from the GOSAT, which will be analyzed internally and then distributed worldwide, is expected to be available approximately 3-6 months after the launch. A goal of the project is to create what the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is calling “commonly shared criteria” for measuring greenhouse gases. The acquired data from the GOSAT will be available for use by many organizations and countries providing a common dataset to work with. This may be essential to developing carbon-trading programs as it will facilitate trading between different nations, while increasing accountability and accuracy. Similarly, the acquired data may influence future climate change policy; specifically the successor of the Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012. With a better understanding of GHG levels across all regions of the globe, as well as improved insight into predicting future GHG changes, policy makers will be better equipped to implement appropriate actions. NASA has plans to put a similar system into orbit later this year, the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO), which will further aid scientists in understanding the carbon cycle. The Greenhouse Gas Observing Satellite will provide scientists with crucial data which was not previously available. Information from technologies like this will continue to educate scientists, policy makers, and the general public. While the greenhouse gas emissions produced from the development, launch, and operation of the satellite could potentially be calculated, they will be insignificant as the information provided by the GOSAT will be indispensible. ClimateCHECK is a greenhouse gas (GHG) management services and solutions company. The firm’s solutions support all facets of the carbon commodities market, including the verification, validation and consultation of GHG inventories and program portfolios, as well as quantification protocols for emissions reduction projects and clean technologies. ClimateCHECK is a sponsor and co-founded, with World Resources Institute and Carbon Disclosure Project, the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute (www.ghginstitute.org). Founded in March 2007, the company has locations throughout North America. For more information visit www.climate-check.com
Based on a NASA press release The first continuous global observations of the biological engine that drives life on Earth - the countless forms of plants that cover the land and oceans - were published in the March 30 issue of the journal Science. This study is based on the first three years of daily observations of ocean algae and land plants from the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor, or SeaWiFS, mission, creating the most comprehensive global biological record ever assembled. Scientists will use the new record of the Earth's surface to study the fate of carbon in the atmosphere, the length of terrestrial growing seasons and the vitality of the ocean's food web. Launched to Earth orbit on August 1, 1997, the satellite's daily observations of the ocean are helping scientists understand how to look at life on a planetary scale and how remotely to track the biological productivity of Earth's vast oceans, which cover seventy percent of the planet's surface. Researchers expect the detailed new record, which NASA plans to continue for a decade or longer, will reveal as much about how our living planet functions today as the fossil and geologic records have revealed about its past. "We've never been able to see the Earth this way before," said lead author Michael Behrenfeld, an oceanographer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. "These [SeaWiFS] images reveal the pulse of the planet," said Behrenfeld. "They show how the oceans drive plant life and in turn, our climate. This gives us one of the first global views of three major cycles: seasonal variations from winter to summer, nearly decadal variations from the ocean currents - like the cold El Nino and warming La Nina winds - and finally the very long period changes, like small amplitude human contributions and temperature changes." The new study presents a global assessment of the fundamental work that plants perform to make life possible - producing food, fiber, and oxygen - and how their productivity changes from season to season and year to year in response to our changing environment. "With this record we have more biological data today than has been collected by all previous field surveys and ship cruises," says Gene Carl Feldman, SeaWiFS project manager at Goddard. "It would take a ship steaming at 6 knots over 4,000 years to provide the same coverage as a single global SeaWiFS image." Fourteen times every day, SeaWiFS orbits the Earth from pole to pole, providing a complete global view every two days. From orbit, SeaWiFS can pick out terrestrial features as small as 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) across. The biological record from SeaWiFS indicates that global plant photosynthesis increased between September 1997 and August 2000. Photosynthesis by land plants and algae absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and ocean and thus plays a critical role in regulating atmospheric carbon levels. The initial increase in carbon fixation was largely due to the response of marine plants to a strong El Niño to La Niña transition, but the cause of the continued increase during the later portion of the record is not yet clear. "With three years of observations we can see seasonal changes in plant and algae chlorophyll levels very well, but we don't yet have a long enough record to distinguish multi-year cycles, like El Niño, from fundamental long-term changes caused by such things as higher carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere," Behrenfeld added. "The SeaWiFS record provides a baseline against which future estimates of Earth system carbon cycling can be compared," said Feldman. The new biological record benefits ongoing studies of desertification and changes in growing-season lengths by joining an existing 20-year record of land plant productivity based on observations from meteorological satellites with the new generation of spacecraft instruments. These records will complement ongoing observations obtained on land and at sea. "SeaWiFS not only adds finer detail to our observing capability, it supplies essential continuity between data records that is critical to long-term monitoring of changes in the biosphere," says biogeochemist James Randerson of the California Institute of Technology, a co-author of the study. Scientists are using the biological records from SeaWiFS to monitor the health of coral reefs, track harmful "red tides" and algae blooms, and improve global climate models. More han 1600 scientists representing 35 countries have registered to use the data. This research was conducted by NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, a long-term research effort dedicated to studying how human-induced and natural change affects our global environment. NASA plans to produce a five-year record using SeaWiFS observations and to extend the continuous biological record with two Earth Observing System (EOS) spacecraft, Terra, launched in December 1999, and Aqua, scheduled for launch later this year. This constellation of EOS satellites allows U.S. scientists to examine many different aspects of Earth's atmosphere, oceans and continents. These missions will help scientists answer questions such as how human activity contributes to changes in the Earth's environment, and how Earth's carbon cycles through the land, ocean and atmosphere. SEND THIS STORY TO A FRIEND The Colors of Life (NASA) The Carbon Cycle (Thinkquest) SeaWiFs Program (NASA) Monitoring the Earth from Space with SeaWiFS (NASA)
Animals and plants will move into and inhabit a newly formed area. This process is called succession and continues until climax communities develop. In other words, an ecosystem can only support a limited amount of life - be it plant or animal. Anything in excess of this limit will not be able to survive because of natural mechanisms for population control. This ecosystem may support the same species as other ecosystems that have developed in the same ecological region, depending on climate and geographical properties. There are actually two types of succession -- primary and secondary. Primary succession often takes place when a new piece of land emerges or comes into existence through events like the slow and steady retreat of a glacier or the drying up of a riverbed. Secondary succession is generally the result of the disturbance of an ecosystem. This can occur either through natural events such as a forest fire, or through man-made destruction such as One similarity between the two types of succession is that they both lead to an increase in the biomass of the area.
You are asked such a question? In our body contains a lot of salt or about 1 Cup of salt. In addition, all of our allocation in the body contain salt from sweat, urine and saliva to tears, reports Rus.Media. Tears are the lubrication for our eyes, without which our eyes would become extremely dry and we can lose the vision. Tears are salty, and it has physiological, evolutionary and immunological reasons. There are three types of human tears-basal, reflex and emotional. Basal tears are allocated continuously in small quantities, moistening the cornea and protecting the eye from dust and bacteria. Reflex is the body’s response to stimuli, for example, foreign particles, fumes from onions or tear gas. Third there are tears of emotion, both negative and positive — they stand out when people cry. They contain specific hormones prolactin and ACTH in a much higher concentration compared to basal and reflex tears that can be distinguished even by the smell. Despite the presence of salt in tears, she does not sting the eyes because they contain a regulated amount of salt, unlike sea water which contains about 3% salt. Finally, we found the answer to this question… Tears are salty due to the presence in them of salts of sodium and potassium. But they have a higher water content. If we talk about the biological composition of tears contain organic and inorganic chemical substances, such as lipids, lysozyme, mucin, lactoferrin, and many other enzymes.
An optical coating is one or more thin layers of material deposited on an optical component such as a lens or mirror, which alters the way in which the optic reflects and transmits light. One type of optical coating is an antireflection coating, which reduces unwanted reflections from surfaces, and is commonly used on spectacle and photographic lenses. Another type is the high-reflector coating which can be used to produce mirrors which reflect greater than 99.99% of the light which falls on them. More complex optical coatings exhibit high reflection over some range of wavelengths, and anti-reflection over another range, allowing the production of dichroic thin-film optical filters. Types of coating The simplest optical coatings are thin layers of metals, such as aluminium, which are deposited on glass substrates to make mirror surfaces, a process known as silvering. The metal used determines the reflection characteristics of the mirror; aluminium is the cheapest and most common coating, and yields a reflectivity of around 88%-92% over the visible spectrum. More expensive is silver, which has a reflectivity of 95%-99% even into the far infrared, but suffers from decreasing reflectivity (<90%) in the blue and ultraviolet spectral regions. Most expensive is gold, which gives excellent (98%-99%) reflectivity throughout the infrared, but limited reflectivity at wavelengths shorter than 550 nm, resulting in the typical gold colour. By controlling the thickness and density of metal coatings, it is possible to decrease the reflectivity and increase the transmission of the surface, resulting in a half-silvered mirror. These are sometimes used as "one-way mirrors". The other major type of optical coating is the dielectric coating (i.e. using materials with a different refractive index to the substrate). These are constructed from thin layers of materials such as magnesium fluoride, calcium fluoride, and various metal oxides, which are deposited onto the optical substrate. By careful choice of the exact composition, thickness, and number of these layers, it is possible to tailor the reflectivity and transmitivity of the coating to produce almost any desired characteristic. Reflection coefficients of surfaces can be reduced to less than 0.2%, producing an antireflection (AR) coating. Conversely, the reflectivity can be increased to greater than 99.99%, producing a high-reflector (HR) coating. The level of reflectivity can also be tuned to any particular value, for instance to produce a mirror that reflects 90% and transmits 10% of the light that falls on it, over some range of wavelengths. Such mirrors are often used as beamsplitters, and as output couplers in lasers. Alternatively, the coating can be designed such that the mirror reflects light only in a narrow band of wavelengths, producing an optical filter. The versatility of dielectric coatings leads to their use in many scientific optical instruments (such as lasers, optical microscopes, refracting telescopes, and interferometers) as well as consumer devices such as binoculars, spectacles, and photographic lenses. Dielectric layers are sometimes applied over top of metal films, either to provide a protective layer (as in silicon dioxide over aluminium), or to enhance the reflectivity of the metal film. Metal and dielectric combinations are also used to make advanced coatings that cannot be made any other way. One example is the so-called "perfect mirror", which exhibits high (but not perfect) reflection, with unusually low sensitivity to wavelength, angle, and polarization. Antireflection coatings are used to reduce reflection from surfaces. Whenever a ray of light moves from one medium to another (such as when light enters a sheet of glass after travelling through air), some portion of the light is reflected from the surface (known as the interface) between the two media. A number of different effects are used to reduce reflection. The simplest is to use a thin layer of material at the interface, with an index of refraction between those of the two media. The reflection is minimized when where is the index of the thin layer, and and are the indices of the two media. The optimum refractive indices for multiple coating layers at angles of incidence other than 0° is given by Moreno et al. (2005). Such coatings can reduce the reflection for ordinary glass from about 4% per surface to around 2%. These were the first type of antireflection coating known, having been discovered by Lord Rayleigh in 1886. He found that old, slightly tarnished pieces of glass transmitted more light than new, clean pieces due to this effect. Practical antireflection coatings rely on an intermediate layer not only for its direct reduction of reflection coefficient, but also use the interference effect of a thin layer. If the layer's thickness is controlled precisely such that it is exactly one-quarter of the wavelength of the light (a quarter-wave coating), the reflections from the front and back sides of the thin layer will destructively interfere and cancel each other. In practice, the performance of a simple one-layer interference coating is limited by the fact that the reflections only exactly cancel for one wavelength of light at one angle, and by difficulties finding suitable materials. For ordinary glass (n≈1.5), the optimum coating index is n≈1.23. Few useful substances have the required refractive index. Magnesium fluoride (MgF2) is often used, since it is hard-wearing and can be easily applied to substrates using physical vapour deposition, even though its index is higher than desirable (n=1.38). With such coatings, reflection as low as 1% can be achieved on common glass, and better results can be obtained on higher index media. Further reduction is possible by using multiple coating layers, designed such that reflections from the surfaces undergo maximum destructive interference. By using two or more layers, broadband antireflection coatings which cover the visible range (400-700 nm) with maximum reflectivities of less than 0.5% are commonly achievable. Reflection in narrower wavelength bands can be as low as 0.1%. Alternatively, a series of layers with small differences in refractive index can be used to create a broadband antireflective coating by means of a refractive index gradient. High-reflection (HR) coatings work the opposite way to antireflection coatings. The general idea is usually based on the periodic layer system composed from two materials, one with a high index, such as zinc sulfide (n=2.32) or titanium dioxide (n=2.4) and low index material, such as magnesium fluoride (n=1.38) or silicon dioxide (n=1.49). This periodic system significantly enhances the reflectivity of the surface in the certain wavelength range called band-stop, whose width is determined by the ratio of the two used indices only (for quarter-wave system), while the maximum reflectivity is increasing nearly up to 100% with a number of layers in the stack. The thicknesses of the layers are generally quarter-wave (then they yield to the broadest high reflection band in compare to the non-quarter-wave systems composed from the same materials), this time designed such that reflected beams constructively interfere with one another to maximize reflection and minimize transmission. The best of these coatings built-up from deposited dielectric lossless materials on the perfect smooth surfaces can reach reflectivities greater than 99.999% (over a fairly narrow range of wavelengths). Common HR coatings can achieve 99.9% reflectivity over a broad wavelength range (tens of nanometers in the visible spectrum range). As for AR coatings, HR coatings are affected by the incidence angle of the light. When used away from normal incidence, the reflective range shifts to shorter wavelengths, and becomes polarization dependent. This effect can be exploited to produce coatings that polarize a light beam. By manipulating the exact thickness and composition of the layers in the reflective stack, the reflection characteristics can be tuned to a particular application, and may incorporate both high-reflective and anti-reflective wavelength regions. The coating can be designed as a long- or short-pass filter, a bandpass or notch filter, or a mirror with a specific reflectivity (useful in lasers). For example, the dichroic prism assembly used in some cameras requires two dielectric coatings, one long-wavelength pass filter reflecting light below 500 nm (to separate the blue component of the light), and one short-pass filter to reflect red light, above 600 nm wavelength. The remaining transmitted light is the green component. Extreme ultraviolet coatings In the EUV portion of the spectrum (wavelengths shorter than about 30 nm) nearly all materials absorb strongly, making it difficult to focus or otherwise manipulate light in this wavelength range. Telescopes such as TRACE or EIT that form images with EUV light use multilayer mirrors that are constructed of hundreds of alternating layers of a high-mass metal such as molybdenum or tungsten, and a low-mass spacer such as silicon, vacuum deposited onto a substrate such as glass. Each layer pair is designed to have a thickness equal to half the wavelength of light to be reflected. Constructive interference between scattered light from each layer causes the mirror to reflect EUV light of the desired wavelength as would a normal metal mirror in visible light. Using multilayer optics it is possible to reflect up to 70% of incident EUV light (at a particular wavelength chosen when the mirror is constructed). Transparent conductive coatings Transparent conductive coatings are used in applications where it is important that the coating conduct electricity or dissipate static charge. Conductive coatings are used to protect the aperture from electromagnetic Interference, while dissipative coatings are used to prevent the build-up of static electricity. Transparent conductive coatings are also used extensively to provide electrodes in situations where light is required to pass, for example in flat panel display technologies and in many photoelectrochemical experiments. A common substance used in transparent conductive coatings is indium tin oxide (ITO). ITO is not very optically transparent, however. The layers must be thin to provide substantial transparency, particularly at the blue end of the spectrum. Using ITO, sheet resistances of 20 to 10,000 ohms per square can be achieved. An ITO coating may be combined with an antireflective coating to further improve transmittance. Other TCOs (Transparent Conductive Oxides) include AZO (Aluminium doped Zinc Oxide), which offers much better UV transmission than ITO. A special class of transparent conductive coatings applies to infrared films for theater-air military optics where IR transparent windows need to have (Radar) stealth (Stealth technology) properties. These are known as RAITs (Radar Attenuating / Infrared Transmitting) and include materials such as boron doped DLC (Diamond-like carbon). Current market and forecast Estimated at US$6.5 billion in 2013, the global demand of optical coatings is forecast to grow 6.5% annually over the next years. The largest application market of optical coatings is electronics and semiconductor combined, while the fastest growing one is fiber optics & telecommunication combined. - Hecht, Eugene. Chapter 9, Optics, 2nd ed. (1990), Addison Wesley. ISBN 0-201-11609-X. - I. Moreno, et al., "Thin-film spatial filters," Optics Letters 30, 914-916 (2005) - C. Clark, et al., "Two-color Mach 3 IR coating for TAMD systems", Proc. SPIE Vol. 4375, p. 307-314 (2001)
Bhutan is a paradise for bird watchers. On the world scale, the country is recognized as forming the major part of an area of especially high biological diversity known as the Eastern Himalayan “Hot spot.” Over 770 bird species have been recorded in Bhutan so far and many more species are likely to occur. This is a large number for the size of the country. There are ten bird species in Bhutan , which have been identified as globally threatened by Bird Life International. These include the Black-necked Crane, one of the World’s rarest and least known cranes, which traditionally winters in Bhutan , the Rufous-necked Hornbill, Blyth’s Tragopan, and Blyth ‘s King fisher, Ward’s Trogon, the chestnut-breasted partridge, the white-bellied heron, Wood snipe and Pallas’s Fish Eagle. In addition, Bhutan is also home to winter visitors which breed farther north, such as migrant thrushes and for many breeding summer migrants including cuckoos and flycatchers. Most of Bhutan ‘s resident birds are Altitudinal migrants, which move up and down the mountains depending on the season and weather conditions. Bhutan may also be internationally important for 114 species, which may have significant breeding population in the country. These birds have breeding ranges, which are restricted to an area encompassing the Himalayas, northeast India , northern south East Asia and southwest China.
for National Geographic News Scientists have looked into the eyes of rare bowhead whales and learned that some of them can outlive humans by generationswith at least one male pushing 200 years old. "About 5 percent of the population is over a hundred years old and in some cases 160 to 180 years old," said Jeffrey Bada, a marine chemist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California. "They are truly aged animals, perhaps the most aged animals on Earth," he continued. Bowheads, also known as Greenland right whales, are baleen whales, meaning that instead of teeth they have bonelike plates that they use to strain food from gulps of water. The whales live in the Arctic (virtual world: Arctic interactive feature). Adults can reach 60 feet (18 meters) long and weigh more than a hundred tons (89 metric tons). In the 1990s Craig George, a wildlife biologist with the Alaska Department of Wildlife Management in Barrow, was involved in a bowhead whale survey program for the International Whaling Commission. The regulatory body banned commercial whaling of bowheads in 1946. Inupiat Eskimos, however, have traditionally hunted the whales and are allowed to kill a certain number each year for food and oil (wallpaper: polar bear feasting on a bowhead killed by Inupiat hunters). George examined several whales killed during an annual Inupiat hunt and found stone harpoons imbedded in their flesh. According to the Scripps Institution's Bada, "Stone harpoons rapidly disappeared when Europeans went into the Arctic. That was around 1860, 1870." "All of a sudden we had whales killed in the 1990s with stone harpoons in them, suggesting they may be a hundred years old." George contacted Bada, who had done pioneering research a decade earlier showing that bowheads can reach a hundred years or older. At the time, Bada's work had been dismissed as nonsense. SOURCES AND RELATED WEB SITES
THE STRUCTURE OF THE SUN In Part I of this paper, we have endeavored to develp some important properties of matter at very high temperaturesthose that prevail in the stellar interiors. Utilizing the principles developed there, we will now attempt to deduce the internal structure of the sun. For ease of reference, the section numbers, the figure numbers, and the reference numbers are all continued from Part I. We have noted that the energy generation in the stars is by the thermal destruction process, and that preliminary calculations establish that the thermal destructive limits of the elements are in the ultra high temperature range. So the central region of the sun is composed of matter at the intermediate and the ultra high temperatures. The matter in the ultra high temperature core manifests as an ensemble of thredules, which we have seen to be thin, straight, continuous filaments (Section 3.3). We now note that both these thredules, and the embedded co-magnetic field lines that run along the length of these filaments are expanding in the longitudinal direction (Section 4.1). The directions of the thredules have to be randomly oriented in the three-dimensional space of the reference system when no factor providing for a preferred direction exists. But since the sun is rotating, the axis of rotation does provide such a preferential direction. As such, the great majority of the thredules form in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation. Once the general direction of the thredules is fixed, we can deduce that, by the operation of probability, half of these will have north magnetic flux lines threading through their length, while the remaining half will have south magnetic lines (the qualifications north and south being merely chosen for the sake of convenience of reference, and do not mean to point to any external magnetic field). For reasons explained in Section 4.2, the south and north thredules segregate into two principal domains of opposite magnetic polarity. Given no other factors, therefore, one would expect the ultra high temperature core to assume a configuration in which two co-axial, cylindrical sheaves of north and south thredules respectively occur. Since we have seen (Section 4.2) that two parallel co-magnetic lines of the same magnetic field direction attract each other, the minimum energy configuration for either of the sheaves mentioned in the preceding paragraph would be one in which all the thredules are mutually parallel. However, at the interface between the two sheaves we find thredules of opposite magnetic field direction occuring adjacent to each other. Since parallel co-magnetic lines of opposite field directions tend to repel (Section 4.2), we see that the above arrangement of the two sheaves does not yield the least energy configuration for the interface. Therefore, the above configuration would give way to another in which the interficial energy is also reduced. This could be readily achieved by tilting the adjacent thredules of the two sheaves in opposite directions, while, at the same time, keeping the adjacent thredules of any one sheaf mutually parallel. This would render the cylindrical shape of each sheaf into a hyperboloid. The final configuration of the two sheaves of thredules at the beginning of a solar cycle will be that of two co-axial hyperboloids, as shown in Figure 5. For the sake of clarity, only a few of the thredules of each sheaf are shown in the figure. Figure 5 - Formation of Thredules in the Solar Core Let us denote the angles of inclination of the thredules of the inner and outer sheaves with respect to the direction of the axis of rotation of the sun by øi and øo respectively. Remembering that the thredules tend to maximize their length (Section 3.3) and so do the co-magnetic lines (Section 4.1), one can easily compute that the optimal values of øi and øo would be ±45°. (More involved calculations point out that øi would be around 50°, and øo around -40°.) In Figure 5, the inner thredules are shown inclined such that øi = +45°, while the outer thredules with øo = -45°. The thredule structure does not extend beyond the ultra high temperature core. The co-magnetic field lines running along the thredules, however, jut out into the outer layers. When they emerge out into the low temperature regions where the magnetic effects are in the space of the reference system, instead of in equivalent space, lines of opposite field directions join in U-loops and start exerting attractive force. This tends to effectively anchor the tips of the thredules of opposite field directions. We might imagine the circular edges of the inner and the outer hyperboloidal sheaves respectively to be jointed at each end. Now while retaining these anchorages at the ends, if the inclination of all thredules is altered by some angle, say ø, then øi becomes ø + 45° and ø0 becomes ø - 45°. This means that the inner thredules would be pointing to lower latitudes and the outer ones to higher latitudes. The effect on the shape of the two hyperboloids would be such that the inner one gets more separated from the outer. Consequently, the repulsive interficial energy decreases further. Therefore, this is what happens with thte progress of the solar cycle, as shown in Figure 6: the inner thredules go on tilting toward lower and lower latitudes, and their average length increases, while the outer thredules of opposite magnetic polarity go on tilting toward higher and higher latitudes, and their average length decreases. Figure 6 - Change of the Thredule Orientation with the Progress of the Solar Cycle The suns atmosphere consists of three distinct layers; the lowest is the photosphere with an estimated depth of 200-400 km, followed by increasingly rarefied and transparent layers of the chromosphere and the corona. The bulk of the energy is emitted by the photosphere as continuum radiation. The opacity of the photosphere increases very rapidly with depth, producing the illusion of a sharply defined outline of the sun. The effective temperature of the photosphere, on the basis of blackbody assumption, is estimated to be 5780° K. Sakurai gives a graphic account of how sunspots form: At first, a localized magnetic field appears... In general, sunspots start out as pores, which are small regions much darker than the surrounding photosphere... the magnetic field strength increases significantly... and a full-fledged sunspot group develops. The sunspots are concentrated in the preceding... and the following... ends of the group... We will see that the explanation of the structure of the solar core we have delineated earlier logically leads to the explanation of the origin and properties of the sunspots and the associated phenomena. In the beginning of the previous section, we have noted that the thredules (as well as the co-magnetic lines embedded in them), tend to expand in the longitudinal direction. As they do so and penetrate into the lower temperature outer regions, they give up heat to the surrounding material and eventually drop into the intermediate temperature region and cease to exist as thredules. However, at times due to the local variations in the energy generation process, thredules with large enough energy shoot outwards with sufficient violence as to reach the top of the atmosphere before getting dissolved. As this ultra high temperature matter breaks through the photosphere, it makes its appearance as a sunspot of low temperature (for reasons explained in Section 3.3) and is seen as a sunspot. Thus, the sunspots are hotter and not cooler than the surrounding photosphere. The characteristic of the co-magnetic field lines to bunch together in the transverse direction naturally produces a field intensity sharply increasing toward the center or core of the spot umbra, which is the hottest (though ostensibly the coolest) portion. Between the two sheaves of thredules oppositely inclined to the rotation axis (Figure 5), the inner one is naturally at a higher temperature. Moreover, as the solar cycle advances, the thredules in the inner sheaf become longer, while those in the outer become shorter (Figure 6). Consequently, the great majority of the sunspots arise out of the shooting of the more energetic inner thredules. In fact, the magnetic polarity of the precursors of an emerging bipolar spot group is that of these inner thredules. Thredules of opposite magnetic polarity, being induced outwards by the action of the precursors, emerge to form the spots of opposite polarity of the sunspot group. As we will see presently, these latter always appear on the "following" end of the group, and a little while later than the precursors. As those of the thredules belonging to the inner sheaf, and which will be emerging at the photospheric level as the leader spots travel through the matter of the intermediate temperature shell surrounding the core, that matter in the immediate vicinity of these passing thredules gets heated up. Some of this matter in the line of travel rises to the ultra high temperature level and transforms into the thredule state (see Figure 7). The co-magnetic lines in these induced thredules will, of course, be of opposite polarity. These induced thredules, therefore, appear as the spots of the opposite polarity when they emerge at the photospheric level. The general finding that the preceding spot appears first, develops first, and disappears last, is exactly what is to be expected from our above theoretical account if we remember that the induced thredules are less energetic, as well as time-lagged, compared to the inducing thredules. Figure 7 - Preceding and Following Spots in the two Hemispheres The reason why the induced spots always form behind, with reference to the direction of rotation of the solar surface may not, however, be readily understood. We have already noted in Section 3.3 that the motion at the ultra high speed pertains to a scalar dimension altogether different from the scalar dimension that is coincident with the conventional reference system. Even though such motion does not produce direct effects in the reference system, being itself a motion in space it always acts to oppose the motion represented in the reference system. Inasmuch as the motion in the dimension of the reference system did produce changes of position in that system, the overcoming of that motion (by the ultra high speed motion in the second scalar dimension) reverses those changes of position. The position of the induced thredule, thus, would be located at a little angular distance backwards compared to the position of the inducing thredule relative to the direction of rotation of the sun. This produces the separation between the preceding and the following members of a spot group. Figure 7 illustrates one of Hales polarity laws of sunspot groups: namely, that the polarity of the preceding (following) spots in each hemisphere is opposite. We have just now explained its origin. Currently, the formation of spot groups is being attributed to the buoying up of toroidal magnetic flux tubes supposed to be subsisting below the photosphere. If this were to be true, all spot groups have to be bipolar. The occurrence of unipolar and those classified as complex groups cannot be accounted for. Large-scale, low intensity magnetic regions of the photosphere within which sunspots rarely appear are referred to as the bipolar magnetic regions (BMR), and the unipolar magnetic regions (UMR). Like the bipolar sunspot groups, the BM regions also are found to obey Hales polarity laws. It is not difficult to see that these regions arise as the thredules and the embedded co-magnetic lines shoot outwards, but the thredules give up heat and completely dissolve prior to reaching the visible layers of the photosphere, whereas the co-magnetic lines emerge out. Since they are no longer in equivalent space when they so emerge, these lines no longer bunch together, but tend to diverge and their intensity falls to a low value. This is the origin of the magnetic regions. Once again, in the conventional theory it is difficult to account for existence of the UM regions. The belts where sunspots most frequently appear migrate from high latitudes around 35° - 40° at the start of the new solar activity cycle, to the low latitude region around 5° - 10° at the end of the solar activity cycle. This migration of the sunspot producing areas occurs at almost the same time in both the northern and southern hemispheres. We have already arrived exactly at this finding by theoretical deductions toward the end of Section 6 above. Bray and Loughheed, who have done extensive work on sunspot studies, comment, The cause of the latitude drift is very obscure. Solar prominences are arch-like structures, which appear as dark filaments against the solar disk, but appear luminous at the limb. There are two types of prominences: one type appears in the region of 45° latitude where sunspot groups are born and migrates with them toward the equator, as shown in Figure 8. The other type is not associated with sunspots, and appears around 45° latitude and tends to migrate polewards, reaching the pole toward the maximum of the solar activity cycle. Both types of prominences are known to form along the borders between magnetic regions of opposite polarity. The magnetic polarity distribution around the polar prominences is opposite to that around the spot prominences, as indicated in Figure 8. Sakurai states, ... as yet we do not know the cause of this relationship... This subject is not yet fully understood in spite of extensive efforts to discover the cause of the formation of solar magnetic fields, both sunspot and general. Figure 8 - Migration of Prominences But our theoretical derivation correctly predicts this state of affairs: in Section 6 we have shown that the thredules of the outer sheaf assume higher latitude positions with the advance of the solar cycle. These thredules are shorter and less energetic and succeed in producing only the bipolar magnetic regions in the photosphere, and not the sunspots. It is evident that the polar prominences are associated with these regions. Since the inner and the outer thredules are of opposite polarity, the preceding and following members of the BMR associated with spot prominences (arising from the inner thredules) are of opposite polarity compared to the corresponding members of the BMR associated with polar prominences (arising from the outer thredules). The migration of the two classes of BMRs, one poleward, and the other toward the equator, is similarly explained (see the end of Section 7.2). Before leaving the subject of prominences, we should mention that scientists find it hard to explain why the gaseous material arching out in space sustains the filamental shape, when there is nothing to prevent its lateral expansion. Sakurai remarks, Even now we do not have a definite explanation of how the cool gas constituting the prominences is supported by the magnetic lines of force of the sunspots, because this gas may easily diffuse out without resistance from the magnetic lines of force. But we have already seen why the matter in the very high temperature range retains the thread-like structure and how expansion in the context of such temperatures is observed as contraction. We will now move on to the explanation of another observational facta fact which the conventional theories find most difficult to explainnamely, the reversal of the polarity scheme of the bipolar spot groups in both the hemispheres with each new cycle of solar activity. This is expressed as another of Hales polarity laws: The entire system of polarities remains unchanged during any one 11-year cycle of sunspot activity, but reverses with the beginning of the next cycle... The reversal... begins with the appearance of spots of the new cycle in high latitudes before the spots of the old cycle have completely disappeared. (See Figure 8.) The beginning of the next cycle of the energy generation process takes place at the center of the sun as the temperature there once again reaches the thermal destructive level of the element present there. This creates a fresh pair of inner and outer sheaves of thredules lying inside the pair of sheaves belonging to the old cycle. The thredules of either sheaf of the new cycle also will be inclined at nearly 45° on either side of the axis, respectively. In view of the fact that the co-magnetic lines of like polarity have an affinity to each other, two things happen. Firstly, the thredules of the outer sheaf of the new cycle will form inclined to the axis on the same side in which the thredules of the inner sheaf of the previous cycle happened to be inclined. Secondly, the magnetic polarities of the thredules of these two sheaves will be identical. Since the polarity of the thredules of the inner sheaf is opposite to that of the thredules of the outer sheaf, we have the final result that the polarity of the thredules of the inner sheaf (and hence of the preceding spots) of the new cycle is opposite to the polarity of the thredules of the inner sheaf (and that of the preceding spots) of the old cycle. Soon after the appearance of a sunspot, the surrounding material of the photosphere in its immediate neighborhood starts becoming darker and at some subsequent stage, thin filaments directed more or less radially outwards from the spot umbra form. These annular regions around the umbrae are referred to as the penumbrae. The lengths of these radial filaments are known to vary according to the spot size and complexity. The radiation intensity in the penumbra gradually decreases inwards from the photosphere to the penumbra-umbra border, where it falls very steeply. The filaments end abruptly such that this border is sharply outlined. Bray and Loughhead state: It must be admitted that neither the mode of origin of the penumbra nor the role it plays in the sunspot phenomenon as a whole is yet properly understood. However, we can readily see that the penumbra must comprise of the photospheric material heated up to the intermediate temperature by the thredules that form the spot unbra. Both its filamental configuration, and sharply demarcated interface with the umbra suggestive of the phase change that occurs on crossing the boundary between the ultra high speed region and the intermediate speed region, clearly point to this. Observations of sunspots near the solar limb show a marked asymmetry in the penumbral width (the Wilson effect) that seemed to suggest that the sunspots are saucer-like depressions in the photosphere. But recent observations with improved resolution never revealed such depressions when seen right up to the limb. The Wilson effect results if the umbra is much more transparent, rather than the penumbra, as compared to the photospheric material. This, of course, is what is to be expected. Opacity is a result of the absorption of radiation by the processes of photoionization and photoexcitation. With increasing temperature, more and more atoms are completely ionized, and the scope for the above absorption processes decreases. Therefore the matter in the penumbra is more transparent than the low temperature photospheric matter and that in the umbra more transparent than both of these. Radially outward motions in the sunspot penumbrae (parallel to the photospheric surface), named as the Evershed velocities (after their discoverer) are known to exist. No vertical or tangential velocities were ever observed in the penumbrae. The radial velocityradial to the spotincreases from about 1.0 km/sec at the boundary between umbra and penumbra, reaches a maximum of about 2.0 km/sec near the center of the penumbra and comes to zero at the outer edge of the penumbra. It is also known that the Evershed velocity increases with the depth. According to Bray and Loughhead: ... The simplest interpretation of the Evershed effect is that it consists of a laminar flow of matter outwards from the umbra along the filaments... All the above description of the Evershed effect exactly fits our theoretical conclusion that the penumbral matter is in the intermediate temperature range. The commencement of the radial velocity with a finite value (instead of a zero value) at the boundary of the umbra, the sustained laminar-like flow, despite the existence of a steep velocity gradient in the vertical direction, the apparent motion against the pressure gradient, all of these point to the same thing, namely, that the motions in the penumbra pertain to the region of equivalent space. In Section 3.2.4 we have shown that thermal motion beyond the unit level tends to contract a material aggregate. Therefore the decrease in the intermediate temperature with the increase in the penumbral radius involves a re-expansion that extends all along the radius. Although this manifests as a flow in the penumbral filaments, in reality, its true nature is altogether different. We shall let Larson explain it: At this time we will take a look at another of the observable effects of motion in time... its effect in distorting the scale of the spatial reference system. Thus at higher intermediate temperatures there will be a greater scale distortion (in the manner of contraction) and vice versa. The Evershed flow is not a genuine change of position of the particles of matter in the space of the reference system: it is, rather, the effect of the occurrence of a scale gradient accompanying the temperature gradient in the intermediate region. The radiation intensity of the sunspots is measured at several frequency ranges. The current practice of treating this radiation as conforming to the continuum spectrum of the blackbody radiation has lead to conflicting results. Bray and Loughhead remark, As a direct consequence of the umbra's low temperature, its spectral class is later than that of the photospheredKo as compared to dGo-2 for the photosphere. Then on making a comparison with the observed intensity values they conclude: It follows that the spectral class of the umbra is decidedly earlier than the temperature derived from intensity measurements made in the continuous spectrum would lead one to expect. The origin of this discrepancy is unknown. This must be so, as long as the true status of this radiation is not recognized. Quoting again from them: ... numerous weak [spectral] bands due to unidentified compounds have so far been seen only in spots, and ... unidentified bands in the sunspot spectrum are more numerous than those now accounted for. The entire surface of the photosphere appears covered with uniformly bright cells, called the granules, separated by the darker intergranular material. These granules are believed to be convection cells. Observations show that there is an increase in intensity at the Violet and UV wavelengths giving rise to the appearance of bright, ring-like regions around the spots. Bray and Loughhead report that it is found that the intensity of the bright ring is greatest immediately outside the penumbra and decreases slowly outwards... the bright rings are unusually intense around spots showing large Evershed velocities. No satisfactory explanation of the presence of the bright rings in the photosphere around spots ... has yet been given. Rightly so. But the moment we realize that the spots are hotter and not cooler than the photosphere, then enhanced brightness can be attributed to the energy transfer from the spot. Moreover, from heat transfer studies, it is known that an increased heat transfer rate is correlated with smaller size of the convective cells. We see from Bray et al that the size distribution of the solar granulation is extremely uniform over the solar surface... ... Several authors have observed a reduction in the granule diameter or mean spacing in the close neighborhood of sunspots..., which so far has received no theoretical attention. In addition, these areas of reduced granule size adjacent to the spots are found to coincide with the regions of enhanced brightness mentioned above. Polarization measurements on the integrated radiation from the sunspots indicates that it is partially plane polarized. This, of course, is what is to be expected (see the end of Section 3.1). We have already discussed some aspects of the magnetic fields, the prominences, and the granulation in association with the spots. In addition to the continuum and line emission, different other patterns of radiation emission are observed in conjunction with sunspot groups. Non-thermal radio emission in the metric frequency range is often found above spot groups and is known as the Type I continuum storm. Such sunspot groups with Type I emission are also found responsible for the generation of solar flares (sudden, local increases in the surface brightness of the sun). Emission of micro-waves, soft thermal X-rays, high energy particles (of MeV-BeV range), hard non-thermal X-rays, gamma rays, and non-thermal burst emissions at radio frequencies are all known to occur in the several phases of the solar flares. Some of the radiation is seen to be strongly polarized. The scientists admit that as yet no satisfactory and consistent explanation of the complex nature of these radiation phenomena is available. Larson discusses at length the processes that generate non-thermal X-rays and radio waves. He explains how stable isotopes become radioactive and emit radiation at radio wavelengths when they are transported from the low temperature region to the intermediate temperature region. In a similar manner, he shows that when matter which has attained isotopic stability in the intermediate temperature region is transported to the low temperature region, it again becomes radioactive and emits X-rays and gamma rays. As such, it is not difficult to account for the origin of the variety of the observed radiations in association with the sunspots, once the presence of the ultra high and the intermediate speed matter in and around them is recognized. We have shown that reasoning from the principles embodied in the Reciprocal System it is possible to explore the internal structure of the sun. The theoretical understanding so obtained is in consonance with the observations of sunspot and relevant phenomena. The main thesis derived is that sunspots are produced by the surfacing of the ultra high temperature matter in the solar core in the form of thredules to the photospheric level. It must be mentioned that the theoretical account of the solar interior herein reported is a simplified one that is meant to serve as the basis for further, more detailed, work.
Mirrored from Sudopedia, the Free Sudoku Reference Guide A horizontal line containing 9 cells. Together, the rows form one of the 3 main divisions of the grid. Rows are usually numbered from 1 to 9 from top to bottom. Alternatively, rows can be identified by letters A through I. To avoid confusion with digit 1, letter J or K are used for the bottom row. The row and column identifications are also used in naming cells. In solving techniques which affect either rows or columns, the term line is used to represent a house that can either be a row or a column.
Super Shear Earthquakes – Deadlier Than Deadly One of the enduring mysteries in the investigation of Earthquakes is why the damage done over a century ago by a 7.8 magnitude Earthquake in San Francisco far exceeded what would be expected by an Earthquake of that magnitude. It was, in fact, what launched the intensive study of the San Andreas fault. It has been known for some time that there are waves that are associated with ruptures in crustal fault systems. To review, there are the primary or P waves which are compressional waves that travel the fastest of all the known wave types and are the wave that reaches a seismic station first. There are the secondary or S waves which are transverse or shear waves–slower than the P wave but higher in amplitude and with either a lateral, shaking movement or an up and down, rolling type movement, depending on the waves orientation with respect to the surface. It is because of their greater amplitude, as well as their shearing action, that makes the S waves the most destructive of the two types. But in recent years, a revolutionary breakthrough has been made in understanding a new a kind of wave that is exclusive to strike-slip (lateral) faults. This new type of shock wave is what is known as super shear. So what exactly is super shear? Super shear, which was first hypothesized and experimentally verified by Professor Ares J. Rosakis (pictured above), the Theodore von Kármán Professor of Aeronautics and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at CalTech, is a type of sonic boom of S waves that occurs only in relatively straight sections of a strike-slip (lateral) fault. Usually, in a strike-slip (lateral) fault, the focus of an Earthquake is at one end or the other of the fault line. With crustal Earthquakes that result from a normal dip-slip fault or a reverse thrust dip-slip fault, the seismic waves propagate in a more or less uniform, omnidirectional fashion. But in the case of a strike-slip (lateral) fault, the waves will travel in a unidirectional fashion following the fault line rupture. And that’s where the trouble begins, as Professor Rosakis learned from his experiments with 5mm thick transparent blocks of photoelastic polymer with a hairline fracture in each of them (pictured below) containing a thin exploding wire that is transformed into plasma once triggered, thus simulating the San Andreas fault, i.e., a strike-slip (right-lateral) fault, during an Earthquake. So what is actually happening here? Well actually it’s all rather quite simple. Since the S wave is traveling along a line of weakness, namely the fault line itself, a sonic boom is being created as a rupture tip is formed in the propagating S waves. As the rupture overtakes the previously propagated S waves, the more recently created S waves overtake the previously created S waves, much the same way a supersonic aircraft overtakes the sound waves that it generates once its velocity exceeds the speed of sound, thus creating a Mach cone or shock wave. It is the overlapping of S waves in the Mach cone that gives the S waves so much more power than they would normally have in a normal rupture. And thus the century-old mystery of the devastation of San Francisco has finally been solved. But, 200 miles to the south of Los Angeles, along another straight line in the San Andreas fault there is another section of the fault in which the surface rocks are made of the tough, but brittle intrusive igneous rock, granite. Now, the last major Earthquake to have occurred in Los Angeles was 300 years ago. On average their is a major Earthquake in the Los Angeles area every 200 years, making a major Earthquake in the Los Angeles area statistically overdue by 100 years. But, these aren’t the kind of statistics that can be manipulated by any good statistician. These are statistics that are planted in (pardon the pun) rock-solid scientific data. The underlying plate has been steadily moving one inch per year towards the north for the last 300 years, as it has been doing along the entire stretch of the San Andreas fault, a strike-slip (right lateral) fault. Let me spell it out for you. The Pacific plate in this region has moved 300 inches or 25 feet in the last 300 years. Whereas, the overlying granitic rock, and this is according to the type of GPS survey that Bente Lilja Bye, Research Director for the Norwegian Mapping Authority talks about in her article, The Haiti Earthquake: Science, Early Warning And Mitigation, quite literally hasn’t moved an inch. So when that overlying granite does eventually snap, it’s going to be displaced by 25 feet within an instant over a distance of roughly 200 miles. And between this place in southern California and 200 miles north in Los Angeles there is a straight stretch of the San Andreas fault that is perfect for producing one of these deadlier than deadly super shear Earthquakes. So, not even structures that have been reinforced specifically for the expected “Big One” could withstand the force of a super shear Earthquake like the one that’s coming–not with a 25 foot displacement all at once! I don’t even want to think about the fatalities, injuries and utter destruction that will occur in Los Angeles when this finally happens. And it’s not a question of if, but when. It is going to happen! A highly recommended site to visit: USGS – Earthquake Science Center Seminars – a video of an in-depth lecture given by Professor Ares J. Rosakis with an accompanying slide show about his experiments creating laboratory Earthquakes and super shear. Copyright © 2010 Eric F. Diaz
posted by sam on . Through a pipe of diameter 16cm, water is pumped from the Colorado River up to Grand Canyon Village, on the rim of the canyon. The river is at 564m elevation and the village is at 2096m elevation. a) At what minimum pressure must the water be pumped to arrive at the village? The acceleration of gravity is 9.8m/s^3 b)If 4800m^3 are pumped per day, what is the speed of water in the pipe? c) What additional pressure is necessary to deliver this flow? You may assume that the free-fall acceleration and the density for air are constant over this range of elevations. a) (density)g(elevation change) = 1.0010^3 kg/m^39.8 m/s^21532 m = 15.010^6 Pascals That is about 150 atmospheres. b) Velocity = (Volume flow rate)/Area c) Add (1/2)(density)V^2 dynamic pressure to the answer in (a) The density here is the density of water . Air has a neglible effect on the difference between inlet and outlet pressure
Your preschooler may not tell you she wants to be a rocket scientist before she attempts math in elementary school, but helping your child set high standards and raise her aspirations is important. It may mean you receive a free ticket to Mars later in life -- courtesy of your daughter, the head of the Mars project. Children learn to dream and set aspirations by watching and taking encouragement from the adults around them. 1 Encourage your preschooler to do well in everything, but understand development plays a role in what your child can achieve at certain ages. Encourage her by saying, "That's a nice drawing, but it would look better on the refrigerator if we cut the rough edges off." The improved edge cuts might not end up as a perfectly smooth edge, but you've encouraged your toddler to pay attention to the details that she can easily handle. 2 Encourage your child to raise aspirations in things she hasn't done well and finish things she starts. When your toddler rushes through projects and leaves things unfinished, focus her on the first project by saying, "Let's see what you've done on this project and how we can finish it before moving on to do other things." 3 Allow your preschooler to dream big, and understand that life experiences will help your child shape more practical goals as she ages. Avoid saying things like, "It's too much work to be an astronaut," or "Uncle Eddie wanted to be a singer, but he couldn't cut it." 4 Talk to your toddler about what it means to aspire to be or do something. Ask, "Do you think the president planned to be the leader when he was your age?" Discuss how people make important goals and plan careers. 5 Read books about famous people and chat about their aspirations. Talk about how these people achieved their goals. This helps encourage your child to set high aspirations. Buy books or find picture books at the local library about regular, just-folks people, working in careers. Include books about the people your child sees everyday, like teachers, firefighters and doctors. 6 Talk with your child about people in the community you and your child know and how these people aspired to meet their goals, including friends and family members. This helps her understand that goal setting is an important part in meeting high aspirations. 7 Set high aspirations in what you do as a model for your child, and talk to her about how you set those goals. Ask your child, "Do you know what your mommy had to do to earn her college degree?" - Talk to your preschooler about setting goals in a casual way. Avoid putting too much stress on pushing to pick difficult goals or setting extremely high aspirations. This creates tension and anxiety in a time when your child should be focused on having fun with exploring different aspirations. - PBS Parents: Child Development Tracker -- Approaches to Learning - South Australia Women's and Children's Health Network -- Kid's Health -- Goal Setting - Slate: Why Can't Johnny Jump Tall Buildings? - Vanderbilt University Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning: Helping Children Make Transitions Between Activities - Reading Is Fundamental: 44 Proven Ideas Parents Can Use to Help Their Children Do Better in School - Brevard Community College: Parenting Exchange -- 20 Ways to Encourage Children's Resourcefulness and Creativity - ABC News: Famous Women Share Their Childhood Aspirations - Forbes: New Evidence the Gender Achievement Gap Starts in Childhood - University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education Cooperative Children's Book Center: Career Development Through Children's Literature - University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education Cooperative Children's Book Center: Great Expectations -- Books to Help Young Children Learn About Good Behavior - University of Michigan Health Systems: Developmental Milestones - BananaStock/BananaStock/Getty Images
Enzymes are amazingly fast at catalyzing reactions and without them chemical reactions in the body would be considerably slower than they are. More than a century ago, in 1894, Emil Fischer proposed that enzymes worked their magic via a model called the lock and key model, which is still used today. However, a more precise model proposed by Daniel Koshland in the 1950s, the induced fit model, is also used. Emil Fischer's Lock and Key Model The lock and key model describes a situation in which the enzyme and the molecule that it acts on in a reaction, the substrate, fit together perfectly. For this system to work, the enzyme has an active site, which is like a keyhole for the substrate. The substrate's shape, which is formed by the specific arrangement of atoms and bonds between the atoms, is like a key that fits exactly into the enzyme active site. This specificity means that like a house key, only the correct key will fit the lock. Daniel Koshland's Induced Fit Model The induced fit model is an elaboration on the basic idea of the lock and key model. In this model, though, the key and the enzyme active site do not fit perfectly together. Instead, the substrate interacts with the active site, and both change their shape to fit together. This still means that only particular substrates can fit each enzyme type though. Changes in Structure During the Induced Fit The basis of chemical reactions is a change in atom arrangement and bonds between atoms. When the substrate interacts with the enzyme it undergoes a chemical reaction that allows the atoms to move relative to each other, the bonds to possibly lengthen or shorten and the most reactive groups to move closer to each other, causing a shape change. This shape change makes the substrate more amenable to alteration, as it holds the substrate in a transitional state, which helps speed up the reaction that that enzyme catalyzes. Advantages of the Induced Fit Model With the induced fit model, the way that the substrate has to change its structure may be useful in terms of the catalysis itself. It may represent the beginning of the reaction that the enzyme is catalyzing. Conversely, in the lock and key model, the catalysis follows after the substrate fits into the enzyme. - Elmhurst College: Mechanism of Enzyme Action - University of Wisconsin-Madison: Biomolecules: Enzymes - Pearson Higher Education: The Induced Fit Model - BRS Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Genetics; Todd A. Swanson, Sandra A. Kim and Marc J. Glucksman - Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
The Earth's atmosphere today and in the past The atmosphere today: 0.037% Carbon Dioxide + traces of other gases such as water vapour. The early atmosphere of Earth: Scientists believe that the Earth was formed 4.5 billion years ago (the big bang theory). The Earth's early atmosphere consisted of mainly carbon dioxide and methane - quite like Venus and Mars' atmosphere today! The Earth's and continental drift The Earth's consists of: The crust (solid) The mantle (has properties of a solid but flows very slowly) Both the inner core and the outer core are made from liquid nickel and iron. The radius of the core is just over half way the radius of the Earth. Albert Wegener came up with this idea that the continents were once joined together (at the time of pangaea) but have gradually split apart over time. THERE IS EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THIS - IT IS NOW CONSIDERED A THEORY. Volcanoes and earthquakes There are two types of tectonic plates: - Oceanic plates. These occur under the oceans. - Continental plates. These are from the land. NB: Oceanic plates are denser to continental plates. Convection currents in the mantle cause tectonic plates to move. It is difficult to predict when an earthquake or volcano will happen or how big it will be, even in places known to have earthquakes and active volcanoes occur. Oxygen and CO2 - through photosynthesis Decreasing carbon dioxide: - dissolving in the oceans - the production of sedimentary rocks such as limestone - the production of fossil fuels from dead plants and animals. Burning fossils fuels is adding more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere faster than it can be removed. MORE CO2 = MORE GLOBAL WARMING Primordial Soup Theory The primordial soup theory states that billions of years ago, the Earth's atmosphere was rich in nitrogen, hydrogen, ammonia & methane. - Lightning struck, causin a chemical reaction between the gases, producing amino acids. - The amino acids gradually combined to produce organic matter, which eventually evolved into living organisms. The Miller-Urey experiment was to see if substances now made by living things could be formed in the conditions thought to have existed on the early Earth. The two scientists sealed a mixture of water (which was heated to get water vapour), ammonia, methane & hydrogen in a sterile flask. Electric sparks were passed through thhe mixture of water vapour and gases. After a week, amino acids, the building blocks for proteins, were found. THE MILLER-UREY EXPERIMENT SUPPORTS THE PRIMORDIAL SOUP THEORY.
Sarah Phillips, co-author of Incredible English second edition, talks about teaching students how the brain likes to learn. What do we know about the brain and how it learns? Well, what is clear is that we’re still only scratching the surface but we know some basics. We know that brains are designed to learn! In the past 20 years we’ve found out a lot about this and there is still a lot more to learn. The more we know about how the brain learns, the better we will be able to match how we teach (input) with how children learn (intake). We know that experiences shape the brain and those that involve strong feelings are more likely to be remembered. This can be both an aid and a barrier to learning, depending on whether the experiences were positive or negative. To state the obvious: as teachers we need to create positive learning experiences for children. If children enjoy the tasks we give them, it is more likely that they will learn and more than this – remember the learning. We also know that learning and remembering happens through different channels; it is multisensory. Our brains are literally shaped by our experiences. In addition, children are designed to make sense of the world around them and making sense is fundamental for learning and remembering. So, if children use their different senses when they are learning something, they are more likely to remember it later. It gives them different channels for recalling. All this should influence what goes on in the classroom. We can use it to guide us when we develop materials and lessons that are brain friendly for the children. We learn more efficiently if we know what we are meant to be learning. We learn less effectively if we are kept in the dark. So, it seems like a sensible idea to tell children what they are meant to be learning at the start of each lesson. Make a list and point it out to the children. We process information through three different channels, the visual, the auditory, and the kinesthetic. (We also process information through our sense of taste and smell but we will leave that to one side). There is some evidence to suggest that everyone has one channel that is stronger than the others. If we plan classes that deliver the content in a variety of ways we will engage all the learners in the class. We can also take into account the theory of multiple intelligences in our efforts to reach as many of the children as possible. Music has a profound effect on many of us. It can influence our moods and evoke memories. We can use this ancient response when we are teaching. If we can link language (words and structures) to rhythm and music we help children remember it. Using songs can have a beneficial effect on learning and in our case, language learning. Learning is more difficult when it is in isolation. We learn and remember far more efficiently when new information is linked to already learned information. The more links there are from the new to the old, the better our remembering will be. We need to ensure that our lessons are linked together. Reminding children of what we did before and where we are going next will help them make links. This is called ‘linked learning’. Many children enjoy a challenge. The brain thrives on being challenged. Material that makes children think, develops the capacity of the brain. We can help children by showing different ways, different strategies, for solving problems. Finally, children need time for feedback and an opportunity to reflect on what they have been doing. This will help the learning process to flourish. They need to be able to evaluate themselves, to think about what they have done effectively and less effectively. They need to think about what they can change. And finally they need to think about what they are going to do next and to set themselves future goals.
Turn the Color Wheel Color Theory Made Easy Color plays an important role in conveying information. Marketing experts, artists, and scientists know that the colors in our environment have profound affects on us physically and emotionally, and can even stimulate, relax, weaken, or empower us. This wheel consists of twelve hues arranged circularly in equal steps or intervals: Color and Basic TerminologyThere are three primary definitions to all colors, and with these attributes one can accurately designate or classify any noticeable color. - Value describes the relative lightness or darkness of a color. - Hue is the color family name and the aspect we generally associate with color. A change of hue occurs with movement around the color wheel. - Saturation (also known as chroma or intensity) is a measure of the purity of the hue (the brightness or dullness of a color). The color wheel is an artificial tool (it doesn't really exist in nature) that artists use to understand how to organize color. The color wheel is divided into cool and warm colors. Cool colors are those on the left side of the wheel between yellow-green and violet. Warm colors are on the right side of the wheel between yellow and red-purple. All other colors are achieved by mixing colors together. Tertiary or intermediate colors: Red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-violet, and red-violet are made by mixing equal parts of a primary color and its closest secondary color. Color HarmonyDo your color combinations soothe or sting? Some people may comment on a color as being ugly, but most likely the so-called ugly color is perfectly fine—it's just hanging out with the wrong crowd. An unappealing color combination is known as an inappropriate color harmony. Harmony indicates order and balance. In terms of the home, creating harmony involves choosing colors that work well together. An unbalanced scheme can be so bland that it provokes no reaction or be so chaotic that viewers cannot bear to look. There are several types of color harmony, and the color wheel can help you to use them effectively. Monochromatic harmony is based on one color family and uses variations of lightest saturation to create an effect. Darker shades reflect less light. It is typically better to reserve darker shades for accent colors and use lighter colors at the end of the range for larger areas. This scheme consists of two colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel: red and green, yellow and violet, or orange and blue (as pictured below). The challenge of a complementary color scheme is that it may become too bright. Flags, sportswear, advertising, and stage design make good use of this color harmony.
Here is a multiplication worksheet which invites learners to discover the commutative property by writing twp multiplication sentences using the three numbers in the balloon. 8 Views 53 Downloads - Activities & Projects - Graphics & Images - Lab Resources - Learning Games - Lesson Plans - Primary Sources - Printables & Templates - Professional Documents - Study Guides - Writing Prompts - AP Test Preps - Lesson Planet Articles - Interactive Whiteboards - All Resource Types - Show All See similar resources: Kathy Henderson’s book And the Good Brown Earth introduces the class to how a vegetables grows and changes over time. They use different types of lettuce to do a close study of this quick-growing vegetable. Learners consider the look,... K - 2nd English Language Arts CCSS: Designed Exploring Equivalent Fractions An extensive lesson explores equivalent fractions and is intended for three 60-minute periods. Young mathematicians compare and order fractions with like and unlike denominators. Included are worksheets, assessments, and answer sheets;... 3rd - 5th Math CCSS: Adaptable Skill Explored: Count Forward from a Given Number Step-by-Step Lesson It's warm-up time for your counters! Project this short learning exercise, covering up the explanation as learners try to solve the number sequence. They are given the beginning and ending numbers (four and 10), but have to complete the... K - 2nd Math How Do You Put Whole Numbers in Order From Least to Greatest? So you want to put some given values in order from least to greatest? The instructor starts out by drawing a place value chart. She then inserts all the numbers into the chart. This helps you visually see their value so you can compare... 7 mins 1st - 3rd Math How Do You Put Whole Numbers in Order From Greatest to Least? So you want to put some given values in order from greatest to least? The instructor starts out by drawing a place value chart. She then inserts all the numbers into the chart. This helps you visually see their value so you can compare... 7 mins 2nd - 4th Math Mix it Up! Exploring the Commutative and Associative Properties of Addition Examine commutative and associative properties with your class. They'll explore the relationships between addition and subtraction and investigate patterns as they solve addition problems. Links to an assessment and a table game are... 1st - 3rd Math CCSS: Designed Area Model of Multiplication Using Base 10 Manipulatives Explore two-digit multiplication with your class as they work in groups to build models of two-digit multiplication using base 10 manipulatives. They construct rectangles replacing standard numbers with equivalent place values using the... 3rd - 5th Math
\|Southern Flying Squirrel Glaucomys volans (Linnaeus) Photo courtesy of New York Zoological Park Description and Size: Southern flying squirrels (Glaucomys volans) are one of two species of flying squirrel found in North America; the other is the northern flying squirrel (G. sabrinus). Along with tree squirrels, chipmunks, ground squirrels, woodchucks and marmots, and prairie dogs, flying squirrels are members of the squirrel family, Sciuridae, which belongs to the order Rodentia, the rodents. Flying squirrels have long, flat, fluffy tails that make up almost half their overall length. They have soft, thick, dark brown-and-grey fur above with white undersides. Although they do not actually fly, these squirrels glide, and they are distinguished easily from other squirrels by the large, thickly furred membrane stretching between their fore- and hindlegs, attached at the wrists and ankles. The shape of the squirrel with its membranes outstretched is very distinctive; the contrast of the light underside against the night sky gives the squirrel a ghost-like appearance as it glides between trees. Additionally, as an adaptation for their nocturnal behavior, flying squirrels have very large eyes, which are ringed with black fur. Where the ranges of the two species of flying squirrels overlap, distinguishing the species can be difficult. However, southern flying squirrels are smaller, measuring about 23 centimeters (9 inches), while northern flying squirrels are about 30 centimeters (12 inches) in overall length. Range and Habitat: Southern flying squirrels occur in the eastern half of the United States and Canada, ranging to the Atlantic with its western limit running between central Minnesota and central Texas. It ranges south to the Gulf of Mexico and throughout Florida; the northern boundary of its range runs roughly from northern Minnesota to central Maine and southern Nova Scotia. In Mexico and Central America, two distinct populations are known. One occurs in southeast Sonora, southwest Chihuahua, and northwest Durango. The other spans the higher elevations of central and southern Mexico, including Tamaulipas, Jalisco, Veracruz, Oaxaca, and Chiapas, and parts of Guatemala and Honduras. The range of southern flying squirrels overlaps that of northern flying squirrels in its northernmost parts, including northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, New England, and southern Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. There are isolated regions in West Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina where both species can be found. In Kansas southern flying squirrels are found in the eastern third of the state, being fairly restricted to thick stands of deciduous forest. Populations are known from Cherokee, Doniphan, Douglas, Leavenworth, Sedgwick, Shawnee, and Wyandotte counties. Pine and hardwood trees provide suitable foraging and nesting habitat for flying squirrels, while dead trees, called "snags", are also important nest sites. The squirrels construct nests in tree branches or in cavities excavated by other animals, often woodpeckers. They also occupy artificial nest boxes. Nests are used by the squirrels on a daily basis, where various combinations of adults and juveniles may share a single nest, or as maternity sites, where a single female will keep her litter. Nests are lined with shredded bark, moss, lichens, leaves, and feathers. Flying squirrels tend to occupy cavities with smaller entrance holes, while other cavity-nesters, such as eastern grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) and fox squirrels (S. niger), prefer cavities with larger openings, reducing the number of cavities available to flying squirrels. As a strategy to reduce competition for nest sites, female flying squirrels may move away from higher-quality foraging habitat to construct maternity nests in snags. Differing preferences for sizes of nest cavities are just one example of resource partitioning displayed by the various squirrels coexisting within a forest. Another such example is that of partitioning of foraging habitat. Flying squirrels are the most arboreal of the squirrels, meaning that they are least likely to descend to the forest floor and prefer to occupy the highest levels of the forest. Consequently, only mature forest stands with complete canopies are suitable for these squirrels; flying squirrels are rarely found in younger forests. The most preferred forest types have relatively open upper levels, for ease of gliding, with complex, covered lower levels for protection against predators. Additionally, flying squirrels do not respond well to forest fragmentation; continuous stands of forest with an area greater than about 5 hectares are required for this species. Conservation of flying squirrels in the face of forest harvest requires the maintenance of strips of mature forest, known as "greenbelts", and significant numbers of snags for nesting habitat. Occupation of artificial nest boxes by flying squirrels increases near fragmented areas, and the addition of these boxes may be an important facet in the conservation of flying squirrels in compromised habitat. Reproduction: Southern flying squirrels experience two peaks of reproduction annually, with mating occurring once in late winter (February and March) and again in summer (June and July), with individual females reproducing during one or both of these periods each year. Young females may become pregnant as early as 10 or 11 months of age. Litters may be as large as seven pups, although the average size is three. Gestation is 40 days long, and the young are born hairless with their eyes and ears closed. Fur appears by the third week, and the pups are weaned at five weeks. Females raise their pups without the aid of other individuals. The life span of flying squirrels in the wild is about 5 years. Habits: Flying squirrels are similar to many other sciurids, or members of the squirrel family, by being granivorous and arboreal, but the two species of Glaucomys are unique among squirrels in two notable ways. First, these squirrels glide, allowing them a form of locomotion beyond climbing, an excellent adaptation for their arboreal lifestyle. Second, flying squirrels are nocturnal. Their large eyes indicate the importance of vision as they navigate and forage at night. Because of their small size and elusive behavior, flying squirrels are difficult to observe, and oftentimes their presence at night is indicated only by their high-pitched chirps. However, these squirrels avidly visit birdfeeders offering high-quality foods, such as sunflower seeds, and may be seen foraging at these feeding stations. Unlike some sciurids, flying squirrels do not hibernate. Instead, they congregate in nests when resting to conserve energy during the winter months. Food: Flying squirrels are primarily granivorous, or seed- and nut-eating, and include other plant material, such as fruits and flower buds, in their diets. The squirrels also are carnivorous and are known to feed occasionally on insects, bird eggs and nestlings, and carrion. These squirrels specialize on nuts from masting trees (those that produce large seed crops on a periodic basis) and make optimal use of this food resource by exhibiting a dynamic foraging behavior. For example, in the fall, squirrels are able to meet nutritional requirements by eating acorns, a mast nut. Therefore, at this time of year they eat acorns immediately upon finding them and cache, or store, other nuts, such as hickories, in nests, other cavities, and occasionally the ground. In the winter, however, when nutritional requirements are higher in lower temperatures, hickory nuts are eaten upon encountering them during foraging and are taken out of fall caches. By selectively eating some nuts and caching others on the basis of nutritional requirements, flying squirrels are able to make best use of both types of available mast nuts. Remarks: Cavities suitable for nesting are a limited resource not only for flying squirrels but also among other cavity-nesting animals. Flying squirrels may oust, or even kill, small birds in order to take over a nest cavity. However, larger birds are more formidable. Sometimes, large birds may exclude squirrels from an area. In other cases where squirrels cannot remove birds from their cavities, the squirrels and birds may allow each other to occupy adjacent cavities whereas such proximity is otherwise undesirable. Flying squirrels include animal matter in their diets, placing them among the most carnivorous of the sciurids. In particular, bird eggs commonly are eaten, and flying squirrels have been identified as significant nest predators for several species of tree-nesting birds, including thrushes and woodpeckers. Because flying squirrels are active at night, their highest risk of predation is posed by owls, another group of nocturnal animals. However, other significant predators of flying squirrels may be either diurnal or nocturnal, including raccoons, weasels, foxes, hawks, and snakes. The scientific name of the southern flying squirrel means "grey flying mouse"; "glaukos" comes from the Greek for "grey", "mys" is "mouse" in Greek, and "volans" refers to flying in Latin. Revised by Heather York Dec./2002 Return to the Mammals of Kansas index page.
Computational Thinking has become the buzz term for many teachers in England with the advent of the new Computing National Curriculum in September 2014. Computing At School (CAS) has been at the forefront of advising on this change and providing much needed support to both primary and secondary teachers faced with the challenge of bringing into being a new subject in our schools. No-one underestimates that challenge, it is not easy. New vocabulary needs to be learnt, new skills acquired and new ways of teaching adopted. At the heart of the new curriculum is computational thinking and the role it has to play for our 21st century learners: A high-quality computing education equips pupils to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world. (Computing Programme of Study, Department for Education) To help develop a shared understanding of the teaching of computational thinking CAS has published a guidance to teachers on Computational Thinking. It presents a conceptual framework of computational thinking, describes pedagogic approaches for teaching and offers guides for assessment. It is complementary to the two CAS guides published in November 2013 (Primary) and June 2014 (Secondary) in supporting the implementation of the new National Curriculum and embraces the CAS Barefoot and CAS QuickStart Computing descriptions of computational thinking. Readers of ‘The Voice’ will be only too aware that computational thinking provides a powerful framework for studying computing, with wide application beyond computing itself. The term was first used by Seymour Papert, though Professor Jeannette Wing popularised the idea in advocating computational thinking for all new university students (Wing, 2006): “… the thought processes involved in formulating problems and their solutions so that the solutions are represented in a form that can be effectively carried out by an informationprocessing agent” (Cuny, Snyder, Wing, 2010, cited in Wing, 2011, p.20) “The solution can be carried out by a human or machine, or more generally, by combinations of humans and machines.” (Wing, 2011, p. 20). Thus, computational thinking is the process of recognising aspects of computation in the world that surrounds us and applying tools and techniques from computing to understand and reason about natural, social and artificial systems and processes. It allows pupils to tackle problems, to break them down into solvable chunks and to devise algorithms to solve them. This development of thinking skills to support learning and understanding is at the heart of the curriculum in England. The guide discusses the computational thinking concepts, including: - the ability to think algorithmically; - the ability to think in terms of decomposition; - the ability to think in generalisations, identifying and making use of patterns; - the ability to think in abstractions, choosing good representations; and - the ability to think in terms of evaluation. It provides concrete examples of how these concepts are applied and recognised in lesson planning.
African-American History and Culture Celebrate the African-American History month with us by visiting resources provided by your library. Here are some samples: NetLibrary eBooks provides access to 373 electronic books in African-American History and 41 electronic books in African-American Culture. You can read these books from your dorm rooms, library, home or anywhere in the world. Black Thought and Culture (Selected Electronic Books) provides access to 619 sources with 246 leading African American authors. You have access to African-American History and Culture 2,953 titles at TSU Libraries 14,947 titles via Athena. VIRTUAL INFORMATION ( on Library's Webpage under Virtual Information) 1. Who is the only documented African-American woman who served in the US Army prior to the 1948 law, which officially allowed women to join the Army? 2. Who created and published New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia Almanac in 1795? 3. Who is the first Black graduate student in Mathematics? 4. Who is the first Black Ph.D. in Science (Physics)? 5. Who invented the belt fastener for sewing machines, the gas mask and the automatic traffic signal? 6. Who invented the cabinet bed? 7. When and in what Southern state did the Blacks cast their first vote in a state election? 8. Who is the first Black Miss World? 9. Who is the Black baseball player known as "Black babe Ruth"? 10. Who is the first Black Woman aviator? 11. Who is the first Black to speak in the Capitol, House of Representatives and what was the subject of his speech? 12. Who is the source of the phrase "the real McCoy"? 13. Who is the first Black major league umpire? 14. Who is the first Black awarded a Nobel Prize? 15. Who created Negro History Week? 16. Who is the first Black woman Ph.D. in Bacteriology? 17. Who is the first Black elected to Congress? 18. Who is the first Black to graduate college in America? 19. Who invented the straightening comb and hair care products? 20. What is the name of the first bank for Blacks? 1. Cathay William under the assumed name of William Cathay- Private, 38th US Infantry 1866-1868 2. Benjamin Benneker 3. Kelly Miller in 1887 4. Edward Alexander Bouchet in 1876 5. Garret A. Morgan 6. Sara E. Goode 7. August 1, 1867 in Tennessee 8. Jennifer Josephine Hosten December 3, 1970 9. Josh Gibson 10. Bessie Coleman 11. Hercy Highland Garnet, the subject was Abolition of Slavery 12. Elijah McCoy 13. Emmett Ashford 14. Ralph Bunch, December 10, 1950 15. Carter G. Woodson February 7, 1926 16. Ruth Ella Moore, Ohio State University 1933 17. John W. Menard November 3, 1868 18. John Brown Russwurm, Bowdoin College September 6, 1826 19. Madame C.J. Walker in 1905 20. Capitol Savings Bank of Washington, D.C. October 17, 1888
Click here for a free sample PDF Pockets of Time is a reading comprehension activity which uses a hands-on, rather than fill in the blank, approach. For every chapter in a story, there is a set of flashcards with that chapter's main events on them. The flashcards are all color coded. All the student does is color the correct borders and then cut out the flashcards. These cards are to be placed into the pocket in the order they happened in the chapter. The color coded answer key makes checking the comprehension of the child as easy as a glance. The cards can be placed in the pockets as the story is read, or after finishing reading to help develop a longer retention period. We have Pockets of Time for a large assortment of elementary levels books.
Teaching Adverbs, Noun of Direct Address, and Appositives One of my favorite ways to teach is to build a sentence. We began my class with a simple imperative sentence and then added the pieces we are practicing today. We started with “Sing a song,” which is a simple imperative sentence. I asked my class, “Who are we asking/commanding to sing a song?” Someone suggested Lucy, so I added that to the sentence, and we as a class noted that it was a noun of direct address. Someone added, “Can it be Lucy the dog?” Sure, I said. We need an appositive. Then, I asked the students to add an adverb (an -ly adverb) that answers the question how. Someone suggested “loudly.” Then, I asked for a prepositional phrase that is adverbial – that is, it must answer a “where” or “when” type question. I had several suggestions – such as “at the park,” “near the river,” or “after dark.” Students wrote down their own ideas on their boards, and I wrote “at the park” on my board. We also decided to change the verb to “howl” because we were addressing a dog. Then, I had students take turns coming to the board, and each student added one piece to the diagram. They knew the words and phrases were adverbs because I had asked them to come up with adverbs – no guesswork. Students had freedom to vary their sentences on their own boards, but knew how to diagram their own sentences because they fit the patterns on the board. Here’s a video of the process: You may also be interested in the Adverb song: Don’t forget to check out my other grammar resources!!! You can subscribe to free grammar and other learning resources below!
The big male nose Source - http://www.geneticarchaeology.com/research/The_big_male_nose.asp Male noses grow disproportionately larger than female noses beginning at puberty, a University of Iowa study has found. The reason: males need to breathe in more oxygen to feed muscle mass than females. - College of Dentistry, University of Iowa Human noses come in all shapes and sizes. But one feature seems to hold true: Men's noses are bigger than women's. A new study from the University of Iowa concludes that men's noses are about 10 percent larger than female noses, on average, in populations of European descent. The size difference, the researchers believe, comes from the sexes' different builds and energy demands: Males in general have more lean muscle mass, which requires more oxygen for muscle tissue growth and maintenance. Larger noses mean more oxygen can be breathed in and transported in the blood to supply the muscle. The researchers also note that males and females begin to show differences in nose size at around age 11, generally, when puberty starts. Physiologically speaking, males begin to grow more lean muscle mass from that time, while females grow more fat mass. Prior research has shown that, during puberty, approximately 95 percent of body weight gain in males comes from fat-free mass, compared to 85 percent in females. "This relationship has been discussed in the literature, but this is the first study to examine how the size of the nose relates to body size in males and females in a longitudinal study," says Nathan Holton, assistant professor in the UI College of Dentistry and lead author of the paper, published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology. "We have shown that as body size increases in males and females during growth, males exhibit a disproportionate increase in nasal size. This follows the same pattern as energetic variables such as oxygenate consumption, basal metabolic rate and daily energy requirements during growth." It also explains why our noses are smaller than those of our ancestors, such as the Neanderthals. The reason, the researchers believe, is because our distant lineages had more muscle mass, and so needed larger noses to maintain that muscle. Modern humans have less lean muscle mass, meaning we can get away with smaller noses. "So, in humans, the nose can become small, because our bodies have smaller oxygen requirements than we see in archaic humans," Holton says, noting also that the rib cages and lungs are smaller in modern humans, reinforcing the idea that we don't need as much oxygen to feed our frames as our ancestors. "This all tells us physiologically how modern humans have changed from their ancestors." Holton and his team tracked nose size and growth of 38 individuals of European descent enrolled in the Iowa Facial Growth Study from three years of age until the mid-twenties, taking external and internal measurements at regular intervals for each individual. The researchers found that boys and girls have the same nose size, generally speaking, from birth until puberty percolated, around age 11. From that point onward, the size difference grew more pronounced, the measurements showed. "Even if the body size is the same," Holton says, "males have larger noses, because more of the body is made up of that expensive tissue. And, it's at puberty that these differences really take off." Holton says the findings should hold true for other populations, as differences in male and female physiology cut across cultures and races, although further studies would need to confirm that. Prior research appears to support Holton's findings. In a 1999 study published in the European Journal of Nutrition, researchers documented that males' energy needs doubles that of females post-puberty, "indicating a disproportional increase in energy expenditure in males during this developmental period," Holton and his colleagues write. Another interesting aspect of the research is what it all means for how we think of the nose. It's not just a centrally located adornment on our face; it's more a valuable extension of our lungs. "So, in that sense, we can think of it as being independent of the skull, and more closely tied with non-cranial aspects of anatomy," Holton says. Thomas Southard, professor and chair of orthodontics in the UI College of Dentistry, is a contributing author on the paper. Other authors are Todd Yokley, from Metropolitan State University in Denver, and Andrew Froehle, from Wright State University, in Dayton, Ohio. The Department of Orthodontics in the UI College of Dentistry funded the research. Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by the University of Iowa
Now lets create a composition: We’ll start by composing in C major. The notes of a C major scale look like this: C¯ D E F G A B C^ (C¯ indicates low C and C^ indicates high C) - Assign the values that you can get from each possible dice roll to the notes in the scale. Make sure all values from 2 to 12 are assigned, so you may assign more than one value to a note. (For example, either a 9 or a 10 could mean the note G) - Suggestion: Assign the most probable rolls to C¯, E, G, and C^ to get a composition most likely to sound like it was actually written in the key of C - Suggestion: Assign one or more values to rests. (silence or pause). - Now we will write a 16-measure composition in 4/4 time. Begin rolling the dice. Write down the results of each roll. Each roll represents a quarter note or quarter rest. 4 rolls make up a measure of music. That means you must roll and record the dice 64 times. - After you’ve made and recorded each roll, write the corresponding note or rest beside each one. - Then, if you like, write the quarter notes and rests on a musical staff. (This can be done by hand, or using notation software.) - Finally, play your composition, or get someone to play it for you. Write a second 16-measure composition. Incorporate one or more of the following: - Write a composition in a minor key. (A minor is easiest, using no black piano keys.) A¯ B C D E F G A^ Suggestion: Assign the most probable rolls to A¯, C, E, and A to get a composition most likely to sound like it was actually written in the key of A minor. - Write a composition that uses the chromatic scale—all 12 notes, including both black and white keys on the keyboard. C¯ C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B C^ - Write a composition that uses a pentatonic scale—a five note scale common in Asian music C¯ D E G A C^ (for example) - Write a piece that randomly uses notes from eighth notes and rests through whole notes and rests. (each note will require two dice rolls—one for pitch and one for duration.) - Write a piece in 3/4 or 6/8 time.
Traditional 3D Scanning Methods Quite a number of methods have been developed for implementing 3D scanning, of which the optical methods employed with the DLP-based systems are just one type. Contact-based methods utilize a probe that physically touches the object to be modeled and is scanned across the surface. This proves to be a slow, invasive method that is costly and not well suited to fragile or delicate objects. Non-contact methods that do not use optical methods include industrial computed tomography (ICM), radar, and sonar. ICM measures X-rays transmitted through an object from several different angles, and the 2D radiographs are combined to produce the 3D model. Sonar and radar rely on time-of-flight measurements – converting the time it takes the sonar or radar signal to travel to the object and back – to map the surface of an object. ICM has proven computationally intensive and is not suitable to general use. Radar and sonar are well established technologies but do not provide high accuracy, and thus cannot resolve small features reliably. Therefore, many of the most capable and most widely studied methods for 3D scanning are based on optical approaches. The most promising optical approaches utilize active scanning methods. In general, the active method involves the projection of light from a known, controlled optical source (visible or infrared, typically) onto the object to be modeled, and the subsequent capture of the pattern by a camera or other optical sensor. The active optical methods can be divided into three approaches. Time-of-flight systems measure the time it takes a signal emitted from a transmitter to travel to an object and then return to the sensor or measurement device. Common systems used for this purpose are LIDAR (Light detection and ranging) and LADAR (laser detection and ranging). In order to detect signals from different distances, the measurement system must resolve the returning signal on very small time scales. For example, two objects just 1 mm apart will produce signals that arrive only picoseconds (1 trillionth of a second) apart in time. Illuminating the object from several different directions improves the accuracy of the method. Advantages of the method include the ability to work at very long distances (up to several kilometers) and the ability to scan very large objects, such as buildings and geographic features, or even whole towns if the measurement system is mounted on an aerial platform. Disadvantages include the high cost of equipment that can produce and analyze signals on picosecond time scales, the relatively low speed of data collection (10,000 to 100,000 points per second) compared to other methods, and susceptibility to losses in power due to optical properties of the object or the path to the object which can reduce accuracy. Phase Shift Measurements In this approach, the light from an optical source is amplitude modulated such that the power versus time is sinusoidal. The light travels to the object, is reflected, and then recaptured by the detection system. As a result of traveling this distance, the sinusoidal signal that is recovered is shifted in time with respect to the outgoing signal, which represents a shift in the signal phase. The shift in phase between signals recovered from different parts of the object can be directly related to the difference in the distances that the parts are from the transmitter. Since phase is cyclical, and thus is only unique over one cycle of the sine wave, multiple measurements are taken at different modulation frequencies to improve resolution and range of the technique. Advantages of the method include a fairly large range of operation (0.4 meters to 25 meters), high resolution, and higher data acquisition rates (500,000 points per second) than time-of-flight systems. The disadvantages of this method are similar to those for time-of-flight, namely the cost of equipment with the resolution required to accurately measure small changes in phase and susceptibility to losses that reduce accuracy. Active Triangulation Measurements In this approach, light generated by a source at one position is used to illuminate an object, and the illumination of the object is observed by a sensor or camera from another position. If the orientation and position of the source and sensor are known, a simple triangulation algorithm can be employed to locate the point in space where the source light strikes the object. When using a single, collimated laser as the source, the laser beam must be scanned across the object space, and the sensor must be synchronized with the scanning such that each frame captured by the sensor contains but a single point in the scanning process. This approach to making the measurements is limited to one data point per frame, and thus is relatively slow in capturing data. A more efficient approach is to project a pattern or series of patterns of light, such as a grid or a line, onto the object rather than a single point. By doing so, the sensor can capture data on many points simultaneously, and thus the number of points per frame that can be computed and added to the model increases significantly. Common patterns are lines, wire grids (vertical and horizontal lines), black and white stripes, phase-shifted gray-scale sinusoidal patterns, and a static structured pattern of pseudo random dots of different diameter (used by Kinect). Producing the more complex patterns requires either a very fast mechanical scanner to direct the laser beam over the surface or a projector that can produce the entire image at once without the need for scanning. The more complex systems utilize graphics processing units (GPUs) to take advantage of the highly parallel nature of the algorithm used to reconstruct the image from many simultaneously performed measurements. There are several advantages to the active triangulation method. Given the relatively simple and highly parallel algorithms, the method is quite fact and often very accurate if the positions of the sensor and the source, along with the source power, are properly chosen. Acquisition rates of up to 10 million points per second at resolutions as low as 50 μm have been obtained. In addition, the method has the potential to be implemented with relatively low-cost, robust components. Low cost, mobile scanning systems for use in a wide range of applications are thus possible. There remain some challenges with the active triangulation approach. First, the depth of field is strongly limited to distances of only a few meters, with the limit imposed by the resolution of the sensor (such as pixel dimensions in a CCD camera), the resolution of the source in terms of the number of angles and/or pattern sizes that can be generated, and the emitted power. The result is that high resolution models can only be produced at short distances, with the resolution decreasing with increasing distance, and that very large objects generally cannot be digitized. In addition, the color of the object, along with contributions from the ambient illumination, can interfere with the measurement. For example, using a red source to measure a red object reduces the contrast between the light and the background making it more difficult to accurately observe and locate the point with the sensor.
Extinction: When an observed behavior goes away entirely because of the reinforcement procedure that has been applied to the situation. An extinction burst, occurs when the reinforcement that caused a behavior has been removed, initially there will be an increase in the observed behavior. This is an attempt of the subject to try to obtain the motivational operant by causing more behaviors. After the outburst, the behavior then decreased to the point of extinction. An example of this can be seen at a vending machine that does not deliver a soda after you have paid and pushed the button. In previous experience, putting in money and pushing the button delivers the soda. This behavior has a strong history of reinforcement. When the situation changes and the soda machine stops delivering the soda, the reaction is to start pushing the buttons madly. The soda button pushing behavior previously delivered soda. Now it does not. More button pushing ensues. The mad button pushing is the extinction burst. After the extinction burst, the button pushing behavior is decreased and then stops. Warning: Thinning the schedule of reinforcement may actually entrench the behavior more effectively, making extinction more difficult to obtain in the future. Extinction involves reducing the maintaining reinforcers to absolute zero. Resistance to extinction refers to the amount of responding by an individual after reinforcement has been removed. Intermittent schedules of reinforcement, thinner schedules and variable schedules are associated with a greater resistance to extinction. Possible unwanted side effects of extinction: - Increased behavior (extinction burst) - Spontaneous recovery – the behavior comes back for a brief time for no apparent reason - Some desirable behaviors are sometimes accidentally “ignored” and may cease Note: Increasing the opportunities for extinction may actually reduce target behavior more quickly. Increasing the opportunities for extinction means that there are more offers for the chance for the behavior to be emitted and the reinforcement denied more often. This will speed up the extinction process. Resistance to Extinction: Refers to an individual continuing to respond even after reinforcement has been removed from the equation. Some things that can cause resistance to extinction include: thinner reinforcement schedules, intermittent schedules of reinforcement, and variable schedules of reinforcement. All these things cause behavior to persist. Extinction is highly recommended to use in any case where punishment procedures are implemented. Additionally, in any case of punishment or extinction, introduce the correct replacement behavior.
At the center of any group’s material culture is technology. Anything that a member of the group makes, as well as the process that is used when making that object, is technology. It is clear that an aspect of culture that is this broad will have a profound impact on society. Emerging technologies continue to advance how people interact, from daily conversation to mass broadcasting. Generally, emerging technologies are small changes to what is already in place. From time to time, however, these changes can have significant impact on society as we know it. These changes are defined today by the term “new technology”. In the early 1900s the new technology was the automobile. Today it’s generally related to computers and other mass media devices. The importance of this new technology, however, does not lie within the item itself. Rather, the technology that a society has gets the ball rolling for other nonmaterial culture. Technology impacts how people think and how they relate to one another. A good model of this is the technology of the telephone. Before this innovation, people had to wait days or weeks to transfer information via the post office or messenger. Often citizens living in the rural south would not receive news related to elections, war, or other important events. With the telephone, information could be transferred instantly, and decisions and progress could be made much faster based on the information. For much of human history, communication was slow. Because of this, certain sects of people tend to develop distinctive ways of life. An extreme example of this would be the Tasmanians, who were isolated on an island off of the coast of Australia. Their lack of contact with other humans resulted in a lack of knowledge of what clothing is, and how to make fire. Even today we can see the aftereffects of this type of isolation, as many cultures still hold dated customs and rituals that would not be considered relevant in modern American society. While the tribal dances and ritualistic drums of New Guinea seem ridiculous to Americans today, it is simply a result of staggered advances in communication. The rate at which a society advances largely depends on the rate of that society’s technological advances. Communication, chiefly, has a huge impact on how quickly a group of people advances. When information is exchanged at a higher rate, information regarding the newest fashions, political elections, and new media can be processed in a much more efficient way, reaching more people in a shorter amount of time.
What is glossary. A glossary (from Ancient Greek: γλῶσσα, glossa; language, speech, wording) also known as a vocabulary or clavis, is an alphabetical list of terms in a particular domain of knowledge with the definitions for those terms. Traditionally, a glossary appears at the end of a book and includes terms within that book that are either newly introduced, uncommon, or specialized. While glossaries are most commonly associated with non-fiction books, in some cases, fiction novels sometimes include a glossary for unfamiliar terms. A bilingual glossary is a list of terms in one language defined in a second language or glossed by synonyms (or at least near-synonyms) in another language. In a general sense, a glossary contains explanations of concepts relevant to a certain field of study or action. In this sense, the term is related to the notion of ontology. Automatic methods have been also provided that transform a glossary into an ontology or a computational lexicon. Poster un commentaire Les règles des commentaires └─ pour poster vos commentaires, s'il vous plaît.
Plural Nouns in German GrammarJust here for the exercises? Click here. A plural noun expresses that there is more than one person, object, idea etc. To form plural nouns in German, we can add -n/-en, -e, -r/-er, or -s to the end of the noun. The rules for plural noun formation in German grammar are listed below. Learn everything you need to know about the formation of plural nouns in German on Lingolia and test your knowledge in the exercises. das Geld (no plural) Plural Noun Endings in German Grammar German plurals are formed by adding -n/-en, -e, -r/-er, -s. Some nouns are the same in their singular and plural forms e.g. die Löffel whilst others are mostly used in the singular e.g. die Milch or plural form e.g. die Eltern. The ending of a nouns give us a clue as to which plural ending to use. Below is a summary of word endings and their typical plural endings. Be aware that there are many exceptions to these rules. Here is a list of German noun endings that form the plural with -n or -en: - masculine nouns with the endings -e, -ent, and, -ant, -ist, -or - der Student – die Studententhe student – the students - feminine nouns with the endings -e, -in, -ion, -ik, -heit, -keit, -schaft, -tät, -ung - die Nation – die Nationenthe nation – the nations in the case of feminine nouns that end in -in, the n is doubled - die Lehrerin – die Lehrerinnenthe teacher – the teachers - the endings -ma, -um, -us in foreign words are usually replaced by -en - das Thema – die Thementhe topic – the topics Here is a list of German noun endings that form the plural with -e: - masculine nouns with the endings -eur, -ich, -ier, -ig, -ling, -ör - der Friseur – die Friseurethe hairdresser – the hairdressers - many single-syllable feminine nouns - die Hand – die Händethe hand – the hands an umlaut is added to the plural form Here is a list of German noun endings that form the plural with -r or -er: - many single-syllable neuter nouns - das Wort – die Wörterthe word – the words an umlaut is often added to the plural form - To note: feminine nouns never form the plural with -r/-er. Here is a list of German nouns endings that form the plural with -s: - masculine, feminine, and neuter nouns with the endings -a, -i, -o, -u, -y - der Opa – die Opasthe grandpa - the grandpas - das Auto – die Autosthe car - the cars - die Mutti – die Muttisthe mum - the mums - das Hobby – die Hobbysthe hobby - the hobbies - family names - die Lehmanns he Lehmann family No Plural Ending Here is a list of German noun endings that don’t change in the plural form: - masculine nouns with the endings -el, -en, -er - der Löffel – die Löffelthe spoon - the spoons - neuter nouns with the endings -chen, -lein - das Mädchen – die Mädchenthe girl - the girls Singular or Plural - Most nouns can be used in the singular and the plural. - der Geldschein – die Geldscheinethe banknote - the banknotes - die Münze – die Münzenthe coin - the coins - Some nouns tend to be used only in the singular. - das Geldthe money, der Hungerthe hunger, die Milchthe milk There is a plural form, “die Gelder”, but this has a different meaning. - Some nouns are used only in the plural. - die Elternthe parents, die Leutethe people, die Ferienthe holidays
Here we provide NCERT Solutions for Class 12 History Chapter 1 Bricks, Beads and Bones The Harappan Civilisation for English medium students, Which will very helpful for every student in their exams. Students can download the latest NCERT Solutions for Class 12 History Chapter 1 Bricks, Beads and Bones The Harappan Civilisation pdf, free NCERT solutions for Class 12 History Chapter 1 Bricks, Beads and Bones The Harappan Civilisation book pdf download. Now you will get step by step solution to each question. \|Chapter Name\|\|Bricks, Beads and Bones The Harappan Civilisation\| \|Number of Questions Solved\|\|9\| NCERT Solutions for Class 12 History Chapter 1 Bricks, Beads and Bones The Harappan Civilisation List the items of food available to people in Harappan cities. Identify the groups who would have provided these. (a) The following items of food were available to people in Harappan cities : Wheat, barley, lentil, chickpea, sesame, millets, rice, fish, and goat. - Animals such as cattle, sheep, buffalo and pig were domesticated. So, they could get meat from these animals. - The evidence of a ploughed field at Kalibangan and knowledge of bull prove that harvesting was done by the Harappans. - Regarding hunting of wild animals such as boar, deer and gharial, there is no proof whether the Harappans hunted these animals themselves or obtained meat from other hunting communities. How do archaeologists trace socio-economic differences in Harappan society? What are the differences that they notice? Following examples can be cited to show the existence of social and economic variations : in the Harappan society: (i) Study of burials is one example. In the Harappan sites, the deads were usually laid in pits. There were differences in the Way burial pits were made. At some instances, the hollowed-out spaces were lined with bricks. But these may not be taken as an indication of social differences. (ii) In some graves pottery and ornaments have been found. Jewellery has been found from the graves of men and women as well. These findings can point out social and economic differences. ‘ (iii) The artefacts have been classified into two categories, Utilitarian and Luxurious. Objects of daily uses and objects made of ordinary materials made of clay or stone come under utilitarian category. Ordinary articles consisted of querns, pottery, flesh-rubbers and needles. These have been found distributed throughout settlements. (iv) Objects of luxuries were rare and made from precious, non-local materials. The technology used was advanced and complicated. Little pots of faience were considered precious. They were also not easy to make. These show the existence of social and economic variations in the Harappan society. Would you agree that the drainage system in Harappan cities indicates town planning? Give reasons for your answer. The drainage system in Harappan cities indicates town planning as is clear from the following reasons : - It was planned drainage system. In the Lower Town, the roads and streets were laid out along an approximate “grid” pattern, intersecting at right angles. - It seems from the plan of the Lower Town that streets with drains were laid out first and then houses built along them. - The drains of every house were connected to the street drains. Very long drainage channels were provided at intervals with sumps for cleaning. Drainage system has been found in smaller settlements like Lothal. List the materials used to make beads in the Harappan civilisation. Describe the process by which any one kind of bead was made. (a) The materials used to make beads in the Harappan civilisation were as given below: - Stones like carnelian of a beautiful red colour, jasper, crystal, quartz, and steatite; - Metals like copper, bronze, and gold; - Shell, faience, and terracotta or burnt clay. - The process or technique for making beads differed according to the material. For example, steatite, a very soft stone, was easily worked. Some beads were moulded out of a paste made with steatite powder. This permitted making a variety of shapes, unlike the geometrical form that were made out of harder stones. - Red colour of carnelian was obtained by firing the yellowish raw material and beads at various stages of production. - Nodules were chipped into rough shapes, and then finely flaked into the final form. - Grinding, polishing, and drilling completed the process. Look at figure and describe what you see. How is the body placed? What are the objects placed near it? Are there any artefacts on the body? Do these indicate the sex of the skeleton? (a) A dead body has been laid in a pit. (b) Some objects of pottery are placed near it. (c) There seems to be some ornaments on body but these do not indicate the sex of the skeleton because jewellery has been found in burials of both men and women. Describe some of the distinctive features of Mohenj odaro. Describe the features that justify that Mohenjodaro was a planned urban cetnre. Some of the distinctive features of Mohenjodaro were as given below : - Mohenjodaro is the most well known site. It was divided into two sections – one smaller but higher and the other much larger but lower. These are known as the Citadel and the Lower Town, respectively. Both the sections were walled. - Several buildings were built on platforms which implies that the building activity was restricted on the platforms. It seems that the settlement was first planned and then implemented accordingly. - The standardised ratio of bricks – sundried or baked – is also a sign of planning. The length and breadth of bricks were four times and twice the height, respectively. - There was well-planned drainage system. The roads and streets were laid out along an approximate “grid” pattern, intersecting at right angles. It appears that streets with drains were laid down first and then houses built along them. - Residential buildings were centered on a courtyard, with rooms on all sides. There were no windows in the walls along the ground level to have privacy. The main entrance too did not give a direct view of the courtyard. - There was a bathroom in everyhouse. The drains were connected to the street drains. - Some houses had staircases to reach a second story or the roof. List the raw materials required for craft production in the Harappan civilisation and discuss how these might have been obtained. Following is the list of materials required for craft production in the Harappan Civilisation: Stone, clay, copper, tin, bronze, gold, faience, shell, camelian, jasper, crystal, steatite, quartz, timber. Some of the raw materials were locally available whereas some were purchased from the distant places. Soil and wood were locally available raw materials. Stones, fine quality wood, metals were procured from distant places. Settlements of the Harappans were situated at such places where raw materials were easily available. Nageshwar and Balacot were famous for shell. Some places were famous for Lapis Lazuli like Shortughai in Afghanistan. Rajasthan and Gujarat were famous for copper. Lothal was famous for camelian. Another way of obtaining raw material was sending expeditions to different places. Evidences show that expedition was sent to Khetri region of Rajasthan for copper and to South India for Gold. Through these expeditions local communities were contacted. Harappan evidences found at these places indicate contacts between each other. Evidences found at Khetri region were given the name of Ganeshwar Jodhpura Culture by archaeologists. Huge reserves of copper products were found here. It is assumed that inhabitants of these area sent copper to Harappan people. Discuss how archaeologists reconstruct the past. It is the material evidence by which the archaeologists reconstruct the past. This material could be pottery, tools, ornaments and household objects. It is done in the following ways: - Classifying finds : The archaeologists classify their finds in terms of material, such as stone, clay, metal, bone, ivory, etc. and in terms of function i.e., an artefact is a tool or an ornament or both or something meant for ritual use. - The archaeologists try to reconstruct religious practices because certain objects which seemed unusual or unfamiliar may have had a religious significance. For example, terracotta figurines of women, heavily jewelled, some with elaborate head dresses were regarded as mother goddesses. - Religious beliefs and practices are reconstructed by examining seals, depicting ritual scenes, animals (one, horned animal) cross-legged yogic figure. - Many reconstructions are made on the assumption that later traditions provide parallels with earlier ones because archaeologists move from present to the past. The example is ‘proto-Shiva’ seal which can be compared with Rudra mentioned in Rigveda. Discuss the functions that may have been performed by rulers in Harappan society. The functions that may have been performed by rulers in Harappan society whereas mentioned below – - There are indications of complex decisions being taken and implemented in Harappan society. For example, the extraordinary uniformity of Harappan artefacts as evident in seals, pottery, weights and bricks would have due the authority of the rulers. A large building has been found in Mohenjodaro. It might be a palace for the rulers. A stone statute has been labelled as ‘priest-king’. Thus, he may be a ruler who exercised authority for taking various decisions. - Whether the ritual practices were performed by the ‘priest-king’ is not clear because these practices of Harappan civilisation are not well understood yet nor are there any means of knowing whether those who performed them also held political power. All Chapter NCERT Solutions For Class 12 history All Subject NCERT Solutions For Class 12 I think you got complete solutions for this chapter. If You have any queries regarding this chapter, please comment on the below section our subject teacher will answer you. We tried our best to give complete solutions so you got good marks in your exam. If these solutions have helped you, you can also share ncertsolutionsfor.com to your friends.
What is Normal Ankle Joint Anatomy? The ankle joint is composed of three bones: the tibia, fibula and talus, which are articulated together. The ends of the fibula and tibia (lower leg bones) form the inner and outer malleolus, which are the bony protrusions of the ankle joint that you can feel and see on either side of the ankle. The joint is protected by a fibrous membrane called a joint capsule, and filled with synovial fluid to enable smooth movement. What is an Ankle Fracture? Ankle injuries are very common in athletes and in people performing physical work, often resulting in severe pain and impaired mobility. Pain after ankle injuries can either be from a torn ligament and is called an ankle sprain or from a broken bone which is called an ankle fracture. An ankle fracture is a painful condition where there is a break in one or more bones forming the ankle joint. The ankle joint is stabilized by different ligaments and other soft tissues, which may also be injured during an ankle fracture. What are the Common Causes of Ankle Fractures? Ankle fractures occur from excessive rolling and twisting of the ankle, usually occurring from an accident or activities such as jumping or falling causing sudden stress to the joint. What are the Symptoms of an Ankle Fracture? With an ankle fracture, there is immediate swelling and pain around the ankle as well as impaired mobility. In some cases, blood may accumulate around the joint, a condition called hemarthrosis. In cases of severe fracture, deformity around the ankle joint is clearly visible where bone may protrude through the skin. What are the Types of Ankle Fractures? Ankle fractures are classified according to their location. The different types of ankle fractures are: Lateral Malleolus fracture in which the lateral malleolus, the outer part of the ankle, is fractured. Medial Malleolus fracture in which the medial malleolus, the inner part of the ankle, is fractured. Posterior Malleolus fracture in which the posterior malleolus, the bony hump of the tibia, is fractured. Bimalleolar fractures in which both lateral and medial malleolus bones are fractured. Trimalleolar fractures in which all three lateral, medial, and posterior bones are fractured. Syndesmotic injury, also called a high ankle sprain, is usually not a fracture, but can be treated as a fracture. How is an Ankle Fracture Diagnosed? The diagnosis of the ankle injury starts with a physical examination, followed by X-rays and CT scan of the injured area for a detailed view. Usually it is very difficult to differentiate a broken ankle from other conditions such as a sprain, dislocation, or tendon injury without having an X-ray of the injured ankle. In some cases, pressure is applied on the ankle and then special X-rays are taken. This procedure is called a stress test. This test is employed to check the stability of the fracture to decide if surgery is necessary or not. In complex cases where detailed evaluation of the ligaments is required an MRI scan is recommended. What are the Treatment Options for Ankle Fractures? Immediately following an ankle injury and prior to seeing a doctor, you should apply ice packs and keep the foot elevated to minimize pain and swelling. The treatment of an ankle fracture depends upon the type and the stability of the fractured bone. Treatment starts with non-surgical methods, and in cases where the fracture is unstable and cannot be realigned, surgical methods are employed. In non-surgical treatment, the ankle bone is realigned and special splints or a plaster cast is placed around the joint, for at least 2-3 weeks. With surgical treatment, the fractured bone is accessed by making an incision over the ankle area and then specially designed plates are screwed onto the bone to realign and stabilize the fractured parts. The incision is then sutured closed and the operated ankle is immobilized with a splint or cast. What is the Postoperative Care for an Ankle Fracture? After ankle surgery, you will be instructed to avoid putting weight on the ankle by using crutches while walking for at least six weeks. Physical therapy of the ankle joint will be recommended by the doctor. After 2-3 months of therapy, the patient may be able to perform normal daily activities. What are the Risks and Complications of an Ankle Fracture? Risks and complications that can occur with ankle fractures include improper casting or improper alignment of the bones which can cause deformities and eventually arthritis. In some cases, pressure exerted on the nerves can cause nerve damage, resulting in severe pain. Rarely, surgery may result in incomplete healing of the fracture, which requires another surgery to repair.
In late fall and winter you can see fruit still on some of the trees and shrubs. What kinds of trees still have fruit? Will the fruit be eaten by animals this winter? Here is an opportunity to do some scientific investigating. First, look around your school or neighborhood to see if there are trees still loaded with fruit. Can you find any? How will you figure out what kind of trees they are? One way is by using an identification key. Another is just to look through a book or Websiteand try to match the fruit you see with a picture. Start a journal with a page for each kind of tree or shrub you find. If you don’t know what kind of tree or shrub it is, at least make a drawing of the fruit. Show its shape, size, and color. Write down the date you saw it and some kind of note of how many are on the tree or shrub. Is it loaded with fruit or are there just a few? As fall turns to winter, make a note on your journal page for each kind of tree or shrub. Record how many of the fruits are left and whether you see any clues that birds or other animals are using them for food. How do you know animals are eating them? Are there fewer fruits? Are there partially eaten pieces on the ground? Do you see animals feeding? Do you find animal tracks? As the weeks go by, what conclusions can you draw from your observations? Do they tell you what fruits are most popular with local animals? Do they tell you what kinds of plants are best for helping local wildlife? Share what you have learned with your teacher or parent. Explain how your data helped you. Read more about helping wildlife with trees and shrubs. - A great reference is American Wildlife and Plants: A Guide to wildlife and plants, by A. C. Martin, H. S. Zim and A. L. Nelson. 1961 Dover ed. New York. - Another is Songbirds in Your Garden by John K. Terres. 1987 Harper and Row.
Supercurrents are scientifically strange. At super cold temperatures, they can give us electricity that moves through materials without resistance and use of light pulses at terahertz frequencies- trillions of pulses per second - to accelerate electron pairs, known as Cooper pairs, within supercurrents, led scientists to "second harmonic light emissions," or light at twice the frequency of the incoming light used to accelerate electrons. That, according to Iowa State University physics Professor Jigang Wang, is analogous to color shifting from the red spectrum to the deep blue. And it should not happen in superconductors. Artistic representation of light wave acceleration of supercurrents. Image courtesy of Jigang Wang/Iowa State University But lots of things happen in the quantum world that shouldn't happen. Forbidden Anderson pseudo-spin precessions Philip W. Anderson was co-winner of the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physics. He conducted theoretical studies of electron movements within disordered materials such as glass that lack a regular structure. Today, quantum terahertz spectroscopy can visualize and steer electrons using terahertz laser flashes as a control knob to accelerate supercurrents and access new and potentially useful quantum states of matter. Quantum everything has been just around the corner for decades now. The computer the data were collated on was supposed to be quantum by 2005 but it's still regular old Maxwell's equations. But finding ways to control, access and manipulate the special characteristics of the quantum world remains the first frontier for practical quantum information science. This second harmonic generation is a fundamental symmetry probe, a way to learn what we don't know about what we don't know.
Lesson plans, interactive activities, and other resources to help students learn about and explore our solar system Because the sole source of the Moon's heat is derived from its illumination by the Sun, its mean temperature would be about that of the Earth except for the lack of atmosphere. Its extremes are very different. The Moon's surface at its equator can reach 130° C (266° F), but it cools off rapidly and by dawn descends to -173° C ( -280° F) - a range extending from above the temperature of boiling water to that of liquid air. These extremes are, however, attained only in the lunar "tropics" and only on the surface exposed to outer space. Because of the insulating properties of surface material, the effects of the daily heat or cold wave do not penetrate deeper than about half a meter (half a yard). Thermal radiation from these depths in the radio spectrum remains constant day and night and corresponds to a mean temperature of about -30° C ( -22° F). Appears in This Collection
Chemical equilibrium—Part 1: forward and reverse reactions Understanding the concept of chemical equilibrium is critical to following several of the discussions that we have in BIS2A and indeed throughout biology and the sciences. It is difficult to completely describe the concept of chemical equilibrium without reference to the energy of a system, but for the sake of simplicity, let’s try anyway and reserve the discussion of energy for another chapter. Let us, rather, begin developing our understanding of equilibrium by considering the reversible reaction below: Hypothetical reaction #1: A hypothetical reaction involving compounds A, B and D. If we read this from left to right, we would say that A and B come together to form a larger compound: D. Reading the reaction from right to left, we would say that compound D breaks down into smaller compounds: A and B. We first need to define what is meant by a “reversible reaction.” The term “reversible” simply means that a reaction can proceed in both directions. That is, the things on the left side of the reaction equation can react together to become the things on the right of the equation, AND the things on the right of the equation can also react together to become the things on the left side of the equation. Reactions that only proceed in one direction are called irreversible reactions. To start our discussion of equilibrium, we begin by considering a reaction that we posit is readily reversible. In this case, it is the reaction depicted above: the imaginary formation of compound D from compounds A and B. Since it is a reversible reaction, we could also call it the decomposition of D into A and B. Let us, however, imagine an experiment in which we watch the reaction proceed from a starting point where only A and B are present. Example #1: Left-balanced reaction At time t = 0 (before the reaction starts), the reaction has 100 concentration units of compounds A and B and zero units of compound D. We now allow the reaction to proceed and observe the individual concentrations of the three compounds over time (t=1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 time units). As A and B react, D forms. In fact, one can see D forming from t=0 all the way to t=25. After that time, however, the concentrations of A, B and D stop changing. Once the reaction reaches the point where the concentrations of the components stop changing, we say that the reaction has reached equilibrium. Notice that the concentrations of A, B, and D are not equal at equilibrium. In fact, the reaction seems left balanced so that there is more A and B than D. **Common student misconception warning** Many students fall victim to the misconception that the concentrations of a reaction’s reactants and products must be equal at equilibrium. Given that the term equilibrium sounds a lot like the word “equal,” this is not surprising. But as the experiment above tries to illustrate, this is NOT correct! Example #2: right-balanced reaction We can examine a second hypothetical reaction, the synthesis of compound J from the compounds E and F. Hypothetical reaction #2: A hypothetical reaction involving compounds E, F and J. If we read this from left to right, we would say that E and F come together to form a larger compound: J. Reading the reaction from right to left, we would say that compound J breaks down into smaller compounds: E and F. The structure of hypothetical reaction #2 looks identical to that of hypothetical reaction #1, which we considered above—two things come together to make one bigger thing. We just need to assume, in this case, that E, F, and J have different properties from A, B, and D. Let’s imagine a similar experiment to the one described above and examine this data: Hypothetical reaction #2: time course In this case, the reaction also reaches equilibrium. This time, however, equilibrium occurs at around t=30. After that point, the concentrations of E, F, and J do not change. Note again that the concentrations of E, F, and J are not equal at equilibrium. In contrast to hypothetical reaction #1 (the ABD reaction), this time the concentration of J, the thing on the right side of the arrows, is at a higher concentration than E and F. We say that, for this reaction, equilibrium lies to the right. Four more points need to be made at this juncture. Point 1: Whether equilibrium for a reaction lies to the left or the right will be a function of the properties of the components of the reaction and the environmental conditions that the reaction is taking place in (e.g., temperature, pressure, etc.). Point 2: We can also talk about equilibrium using concepts of energy, and we will do this soon, just not yet. Point 3: While hypothetical reactions #1 and #2 appear to reach a point where the reaction has “stopped,” you should imagine that reactions are still happening even after equilibrium has been reached. At equilibrium the “forward” and “reverse” reactions are just happening at the same rate. That is, in example #2, at equilibrium J is forming from E and F at the same rate that it is breaking down into E and F. This explains how the concentrations of the compounds aren’t changing despite the fact that the reactions are still happening. Point 4: From this description of equilibrium, we can define something we call the equilibrium constant. Typically, the constant is represented by an uppercase K and may be written as Keq. In terms of concentrations, Keq is written as the mathematical product of the reaction product concentrations (stuff on the right) divided by the mathematical product of the reactant concentrations (stuff on the left). For example, Keq,1 = [D]/[A][B], and Keq,2 = [J]/[E][F]. The square brackets "" indicate the “concentration of” whatever is inside the bracket.
kidzsearch.com > wiki Explore:images videos games Amino acids are either synthesised or eaten in food. Then, after the transcription of polypeptide genes, the amino acids are put together. This is done by translation and RNA splicing which produces messenger RNAs. The splicing process produces the final proteins, which then fold up into their protein structure. Then they can function. The plural is used here because, with most genes, the splicing process produces more than one final working protein. One particular Drosophila gene (DSCAM) can be alternatively spliced into 38,000 different mRNA. - Schmucker D. et al. (2000). "Drosophila Dscam is an axon guidance receptor exhibiting extraordinary molecular diversity". Cell 101 (6): 671–684. . . - Science aid: protein synthesis For high school - Protein synthesis - Protein synthesis animation Wesleyan University Learning Objects animation of protein synthesis. - Interactive Java simulation of transcription initiation. From Center for Models of Life at the Niels Bohr Institute.
Dissociative disorders (DD) are conditions that involve disruptions or breakdowns of memory, awareness, identity, or perception. People with dissociative disorders use dissociation as a defence mechanism, pathologically and involuntarily. The individual experiences these dissociations to protect themselves. Some dissociative disorders are triggered by psychological trauma, but depersonalisation–derealisation disorder may be preceded only by stress, psychoactive substances, or no identifiable trigger at all. The dissociative disorders listed in the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-5 are as follows: - Dissociative identity disorder (formerly multiple personality disorder): the alternation of two or more distinct personality states with impaired recall among personality states. In extreme cases, the host personality is unaware of the other, alternating personalities; however, the alternate personalities can be aware of all the existing personalities. - Dissociative amnesia (formerly psychogenic amnesia): the temporary loss of recall memory, specifically episodic memory, due to a traumatic or stressful event. It is considered the most common dissociative disorder amongst those documented. This disorder can occur abruptly or gradually and may last minutes to years depending on the severity of the trauma and the patient. Dissociative fugue was previously a separate category but is now treated as a specifier for dissociative amnesia. - Depersonalisation-derealisation disorder: periods of detachment from self or surrounding which may be experienced as “unreal” (lacking in control of or “outside” self) while retaining awareness that this is only a feeling and not a reality. - The old category of dissociative disorder not otherwise specified is now split into two: other specified dissociative disorder, and unspecified dissociative disorder. These categories are used for forms of pathological dissociation that do not fully meet the criteria of the other specified dissociative disorders; or if the correct category has not been determined; or the disorder is transient. The ICD 11 lists dissociative disorders as: - Dissociative neurological symptom disorder. - Dissociative amnesia. - Dissociative amnesia with dissociative fugue. - Trance disorder. - Possession trance disorder. - Dissociative identity disorder. - Partial dissociative identity disorder. - Depersonalisation-derealisation disorder. Cause and Treatment Dissociative Identity Disorder Dissociative identity disorder is caused by ongoing childhood trauma that occurs before the ages of six to nine. People with dissociative identity disorder usually have close relatives who have also had similar experiences. Long-term psychotherapy to improve the patient’s quality of life. A way to cope with trauma. Psychotherapy (e.g. talk therapy) counselling or psychosocial therapy which involves talking about your disorder and related issues with a mental health provider. Psychotherapy often involves hypnosis (help you remember and work through the trauma); creative art therapy (using creative process to help a person who cannot express his or her thoughts); cognitive therapy (talk therapy to identify unhealthy and negative beliefs/behaviours); and medications (antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, or sedatives). These medications help control the symptoms associated with the dissociative disorders, but there are no medications yet that specifically treat dissociative disorders. However, the medication pentothal can sometimes help to restore the memories. The length of an event of dissociative amnesia may be a few minutes or several years. If an episode is associated with a traumatic event, the amnesia may clear up when the person is removed from the traumatic situation. Dissociative fugue was a separate category but is now listed as a specifier for dissociative amnesia. Dissociative disorders usually develop as a way to cope with trauma. The disorders most often form in children subjected to chronic physical, sexual or emotional abuse or, less frequently, a home environment that is otherwise frightening or highly unpredictable; however, this disorder can also acutely form due to severe traumas such as war or the death of a loved one. Dissociative disorders, especially dissociative identity disorder (DID), while being the result of extraordinary abuse and trauma in childhood, it should not be attributed exotic status. DID would be better examined through a more holistic lens, taking into considering the social, cognitive, and neural components, and how they interact with one another. There are no medications to treat dissociative disorders, however, drugs to treat anxiety and depression that may accompany the disorders can be given. Diagnosis and Prevalence The lifetime prevalence of dissociative disorders varies from 10% in the general population to 46% in psychiatric inpatients. Diagnosis can be made with the help of structured clinical interviews such as the Dissociative Disorders Interview Schedule (DDIS) and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Dissociative Disorders (SCID-D-R), and behavioural observation of dissociative signs during the interview. Additional information can be helpful in diagnosis, including the Dissociative Experiences Scale or other questionnaires, performance-based measures, records from doctors or academic records, and information from partners, parents, or friends. A dissociative disorder cannot be ruled out in a single session and it is common for patients diagnosed with a dissociative disorder to not have a previous dissociative disorder diagnosis due to a lack of clinician training. Some diagnostic tests have also been adapted or developed for use with children and adolescents such as the Adolescent Dissociative Experiences Scale, Children’s Version of the Response Evaluation Measure (REM-Y-71), Child Interview for Subjective Dissociative Experiences, Child Dissociative Checklist (CDC), Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) Dissociation Subscale, and the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children Dissociation Subscale. Dissociative disorders have been found to be quite prevalent in outpatient populations, as well as within low-income communities. One study found that in a population of poor inner-city outpatients, there was a 29% prevalence of dissociative disorders. There are problems with classification, diagnosis and therapeutic strategies of dissociative and conversion disorders which can be understood by the historic context of hysteria. Even current systems used to diagnose DD such as the DSM-IV and ICD-10 differ in the way the classification is determined. In most cases mental health professionals are still hesitant to diagnose patients with Dissociative Disorder, because before they are considered to be diagnosed with Dissociative Disorder these patients have more than likely been diagnosed with major depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, and most often post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It has been found from interviews with those who may be afflicted with dissociative disorders may be more effective at getting an accurate diagnosis than self-scoring assessments and scales. The prevalence of dissociative disorders is not completely understood due to the many difficulties in diagnosing dissociative disorders. Many of these difficulties stem from a misunderstanding of dissociative disorders, from an unfamiliarity diagnosis or symptoms to disbelief in some dissociative disorders entirely. Due to this it has been found that only 28% to 48% of people diagnosed with a dissociative disorder receive treatment for their mental health. Patients who are misdiagnosed are often those more likely to be hospitalised repeatedly, and lack of treatment can result in intensive outpatient treatment and higher rates of disability. An important concern in the diagnosis of dissociative disorders in forensic interviews is the possibility that the patient may be feigning symptoms in order to escape negative consequences. Young criminal offenders report much higher levels of dissociative disorders, such as amnesia. In one study it was found that 1% of young offenders reported complete amnesia for a violent crime, while 19% claimed partial amnesia. There have also been cases in which people with dissociative identity disorder provide conflicting testimonies in court, depending on the personality that is present. The world-wide prevalence of dissociative disorders is not well understood due to different cultural beliefs surrounding human emotions and the human brain Children and Adolescents Dissociative disorders (DD) are widely believed to have roots in adverse childhood experiences including abuse and loss, but the symptoms often go unrecognised or are misdiagnosed in children and adolescents. However, a recent western Chinese study showed an increase in awareness of dissociative disorders present in children These studies show that DD’s have an intricate relationship with the patient’s mental, physical and socio-cultural environments. This study suggested that dissociative disorders are more common in Western, or developing countries, however, some cases have been seen in both clinical and non-clinical Chinese populations. There are several reasons why recognising symptoms of dissociation in children is challenging: it may be difficult for children to describe their internal experiences; caregivers may miss signals or attempt to conceal their own abusive or neglectful behaviours; symptoms can be subtle or fleeting; disturbances of memory, mood, or concentration associated with dissociation may be misinterpreted as symptoms of other disorders. Another resource, Beacon House, informs us of dissociative disorder in children, suggesting that it is a survival mechanism that often goes unnoticed in children that have been traumatised. Dr. Shoshanah Lyons suggests that traumatised children often continue to dissociate even though they might not be in any danger, and that they are often unaware that they are dissociating. In addition to developing diagnostic tests for children and adolescents (see above), a number of approaches have been developed to improve recognition and understanding of dissociation in children. Recent research has focused on clarifying the neurological basis of symptoms associated with dissociation by studying neurochemical, functional and structural brain abnormalities that can result from childhood trauma. Others in the field have argued that recognising disorganised attachment (DA) in children can help alert clinicians to the possibility of dissociative disorders. In their 2008 article, Rebecca Seligman and Laurence Kirmayer suggest the existence of evidence of linkages between trauma experienced in childhood and the capacity for dissociation or depersonalisation. They also suggest that individuals who are able to utilise dissociative techniques are able to keep this as an extended strategy to cope with stressful situations. Clinicians and researchers stress the importance of using a developmental model to understand both symptoms and the future course of DDs. In other words, symptoms of dissociation may manifest differently at different stages of child and adolescent development and individuals may be more or less susceptible to developing dissociative symptoms at different ages. Further research into the manifestation of dissociative symptoms and vulnerability throughout development is needed. Related to this developmental approach, more research is required to establish whether a young patient’s recovery will remain stable over time. Current Debates and the DSM-5 A number of controversies surround DD in adults as well as children. First, there is ongoing debate surrounding the aetiology of dissociative identity disorder (DID). The crux of this debate is if DID is the result of childhood trauma and disorganized attachment. A proposed view is that dissociation has a physiological basis, in that it involves automatically triggered mechanisms such as increased blood pressure and alertness, that would, as Lynn contends, imply its existence as a cross-species disorder. A second area of controversy surrounds the question of whether or not dissociation as a defence versus pathological dissociation are qualitatively or quantitatively different. Experiences and symptoms of dissociation can range from the more mundane to those associated with PTSD or acute stress disorder (ASD) to dissociative disorders. Mirroring this complexity, the DSM-5 workgroup considered grouping dissociative disorders with other trauma/stress disorders, but instead decided to put them in the following chapter to emphasize the close relationship. The DSM-5 also introduced a dissociative subtype of PTSD. A 2012 review article supports the hypothesis that current or recent trauma may affect an individual’s assessment of the more distant past, changing the experience of the past and resulting in dissociative states. However, experimental research in cognitive science continues to challenge claims concerning the validity of the dissociation construct, which is still based on Janetian notions of structural dissociation. Even the claimed etiological link between trauma/abuse and dissociation has been questioned. Links observed between trauma/abuse and DD are largely only present from a Western cultural context. For non-Western cultures dissociation “may constitute a “normal” psychological capacity”. An alternative model proposes a perspective on dissociation based on a recently established link between a labile sleep-wake cycle and memory errors, cognitive failures, problems in attentional control, and difficulties in distinguishing fantasy from reality. Debates around DD also stem from Western versus non-Western lenses of viewing the disorder, and associated views of causes of DD. DID was initially believed to be specific to the West, until cross-cultural studies indicated its occurrence worldwide. Conversely, anthropologists have largely done little work on DD in the West relating to its perceptions of possession syndromes that would be present in non-Western societies. While dissociation has been viewed and catalogued by anthropologists differently in the West and non-Western societies, there are aspects of each that show DD has universal characteristics. For example, while shamanic and rituals of non-Western societies may hold dissociative aspects, this is not exclusive as many Christian sects, such as “possession by the Holy Ghost” share similar qualities to those of non-Western trances. 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This activity is suitable for ages 7 – 14, you can download a free, printable PDF version here. Working in groups or pairs, give students a set of images from our Revolutionary Collection. They could be from a particular theme, support a classroom topic, or a mixture from each theme to help generally introduce the Age of Revolution. Use the notes that accompany each image to make a set of labels, with the name of the object, event or person and how it/they changed peoples’ lives during the Age of Revolution. Students must match the image to the label. They could use our Revolutionary Collection to help them find the correct answers. Then give them a label simply stating how the object, event or person impacts on our lives today. Again, they match the label to the correct object. Or ask students to discuss and report to the class how they think it impacts in our lives today. Older students could use our Revolutionary Collection to make sets of objects and labels for each other to sort, with different groups working in different themes.
Energy changes occur between a system and its surroundings. SYSTEM—the part of the universe under consideration. Ex. Atom, or a lab set up Most common form of energy transfer involves heat Ex. A = 25ºC , B =20ºC What happens when we put them together? Energy transfers from A to B. (High to low). HEAT (q)—energy transferred as a result of a temperature difference. Represented by the letter q. If left undisturbed, energy will transfer until A and B are the same temperature. JOULE (J)—SI unit for energy = 1 kg m2 / s2 ENERGY AND CHEMICAL CHANGE Chemical changes are always accompanied by changes in energy. ENDOTHERMIC—if energy is absorbed. Since energy is taken in, the products of the reaction have higher energy levels than the substances that reacted. EXOTHERMIC—if energy is given off (usually in the form of heat). Products have less energy than the reactants. Rule of thumb, exothermic reactions usually occur spontaneously (without outside help). Lighting a match (friction is the activation energy). Both reactions take a certain amount of energy to get started (rolling a rock). This is called ACTIVATION ENERGY—THE MINIMUM AMOUNT OF ENERGY TO GET A REACTION STARTED. MEASURING ENERGY CHANGES Calorimeter—a device used to measure energy given off or absorbed during chemical changes. SPECIFIC HEAT (Cp)—the heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of substance by one Celcius degree. Every substance has its own specific heat. Heat required to raise the temp. of one gram of water, one Celcius degree is 4.184 Joules. The specific heat of water is 4.184 J/gCº
Sound waves collected by the outer ear are channeled along the ear canal to the eardrum. When sound waves hit the eardrum, the impact creates vibration, which in turn causes three bones in the middle ear to move. The smallest of these bones, the stapes, fits into the oval window between the middle and the inner ear. When the oval window vibrates, fluid in the inner ear transmits these vibrations to a delicate snail shape structure called the cochlea. The bending of hair cells in the cochlea sets off nerve impulses, which pass through the auditory nerve to the hearing center of the brain. Here it is translated into signals the brain can recognize.
Why is a Squirrel Belly White? You may wonder why is a squirrel’s belly white. This article will explain the reasons for this characteristic. Tree squirrels’ pale belly balances the amount of light that reflects off of their bodies, and their black back stabilizes them while they move. Additionally, tree squirrels are clumsy walkers. They have pale chests and dark backs to protect their nestlings and other young. To conclude, the white belly of a squirrel is an evolutionary adaptation that makes them less vulnerable to predators. Dark back stabilizes their bodies Squirrels are aerodynamic creatures with a little flap on the patagium, just like aircraft wing tips. These flaps reduce drag near the end of the wing and stabilize the body during flight. Unlike airplane wing tips, however, squirrel winglets are located far from the center of gravity, increasing flight efficiency. The flaps also help stabilize the glide, as they are located far from the center of gravity. Females protect nestlings from predators In their first few months of life, female squirrels protect their nestlings from predators. The babies are usually born naked, weigh fifteen grams, and develop their first few features such as a tail and a hairy head. During the next four weeks, they will also open their eyes and ears. By eight weeks of age, they will start venturing out of the nest. They are nearly adult-sized by this time. Male squirrels reach sexual maturity at fifteen to 18 months, while females reach sexual maturity at eleven to twelve months. Red squirrels are abundant and of low conservation concern. Their population tends to fluctuate in response to periods of cone and seed production. Large cone masts can increase their population. However, high squirrel populations can reduce nestling survival in several songbird species. Red squirrels are a particular threat to Bicknell’s thrush, a species with high conservation concern. The red squirrel also attacks the eggs of the titmouse, another endangered species. Tree squirrels are clumsy walkers Flying squirrels are among the most recognizable wildlife of the northern hemisphere. Although these animals are clumsy walkers, they are very elegant when flying. They often flutter along tree trunks and tops, and have large eyes that make them a target for predators. Flying squirrels feed mainly on nuts and fruit from deciduous trees, but they also eat insects, buds, and mushroom stems. Domestic cats and owls are also known to eat them. When threatened by a predator, squirrels will quickly run off to the other side of the tree trunk. This behavior allows them to hide and escape from a predator. However, if they are threatened on the ground, they will choose to hide. If you’re wondering how to protect your pet from a squirrel, follow these tips: They glide from branch to branch You might be wondering why a squirrel’s belly is white. Gray squirrels are notoriously clumsy walkers. Most of the time, they live in trees, gliding between the tree branches. Their flight can reach distances of up to 82 feet, which is about five to twenty-five meters. This white belly is a sign of the squirrel’s gliding abilities. The southern flying squirrel is a small, nocturnal creature found in several eastern states. It has a white belly and flattened tail. It weighs about 1.5 to three ounces and is completely nocturnal. Their wings are made of a thin wing-like membrane called a patagium. This membrane provides the squirrel with a smooth, gliding surface and allows it to glide from branch to branch. What is the function of a squirrel’s belly? The squirrel’s belly is used to store food. Why is a squirrel’s belly white? The squirrel’s belly is white to better camouflage it in the snow. When do squirrels need to use their belly storage? Squirrels need to use their belly storage in the winter when food is scarce. How does a white belly help a squirrel survive? A white belly helps a squirrel survive by camouflage. What type of environment is a squirrel’s belly best suited for? A squirrel’s belly is best suited for a snowy environment. What other function does a squirrel’s belly serve? A squirrel’s belly also serves as a place to keep its young warm. How big is a typical squirrel’s belly? A typical squirrel’s belly is about the size of its head. What is the average weight of a squirrel’s belly? The average weight of a squirrel’s belly is 4-5 ounces. What is the average lifespan of a squirrel? The average lifespan of a squirrel is 6-10 years. How many offspring does a squirrel have per year? A squirrel has 1-8 offspring per year. How often do squirrels have to eat? Squirrels have to eat every day. What do squirrels eat? Squirrels eat a variety of things including nuts seeds fruits and insects. Do all squirrels have white bellies? No not all squirrels have white bellies. Some squirrels have brown or gray bellies. How do you tell a male squirrel from a female squirrel? Male and female squirrels can usually be told apart by their size. Male squirrels are usually larger than female squirrels. Do all squirrels live in trees? No not all squirrels live in trees. Some squirrels live in burrows underground. Jessica Watson is a PHD holder from the University of Washington. She studied behavior and interaction between squirrels and has presented her research in several wildlife conferences including TWS Annual Conference in Winnipeg.
Grandparents have always been an important part of children’s lives. In fact, many schools celebrated grandparents day on Sept 9th this year. In celebration of grandparents and in keeping with the theme of school success for our September podcast and blog (www.scienceofparenting.org), here are a few tips on how grandparents can help children this school year. - Ask. But ask specifically! Rather than ask how school is going, be specific. Ask children what book they are reading, what their favorite part of the school day is, or what they are studying in a particular subject. - Praise. Not for their accomplishments but for their EFFORT! Praise them for the long hours they put into their studies. For eating that breakfast that helps their brain or simply for sharing their activities with grandpa and grandma! - Participate. Visit or volunteer for activities or functions. Be a guest speaker. Or even join the class online blogs and discussion boards. - Read. Share stories both written and verbal with your grandchild. Write them notes, letters or emails. - Plan. Encourage your grandchildren to think about their future plans and goals. Let your grandkids know you believe in them and the importance of trying their best. “If you as a grandparent are raising your grandchildren, remember that it is important to know the child’s school and teachers. Get involved in your grandchildren’s homework, make school work a priority and stay in contact with the school.” How have grandparents impacted your child’s school success? For more information see the link below on Grandparents and School Success: http://www.extension.org/pages/20318/grandparents-can-contribute-to-childrens-school-success Check out the recorded Parenting Webinar on Helping Children Succeed in School!
Computers started talking to us! They do this with so called Text-to-Speech (TTS) systems. With neural nets, deep learning and lots of training data, these systems have gotten a whole lot better in recent years. In some cases, they are so good that you can’t distinguish between human and machine voice. In one of our recent codecentric.AI videos, we compared different Text-to-Speech systems (the video is in German, though – but the text snippets and their voice recordings we show in the video are a mix of German and English). In this video, we had a small contest between Polly, Alexa, Siri And Co to find out who best speaks different tongue twisters. Here, I want to find out what’s possible with R and Text-to-Speech packages. How does TTS work? Challenges for good TTS systems are the complexity of the human language: we intone words differently, depending on where they are in a sentence, what we want to convey with that sentence, how our mood is, and so on. AI-based TTS systems can take phonemes and intonation into account. There are different ways to artificially produce speech. A very important method is Unit Selection synthesis. With this method, text is first normalized and divided into smaller entities that represent sentences, syllables, words, phonemes, etc. The structure (e.g. the pronunciation) of these entities is then learned in context. We call this part Natural Language Processing (NLP). Usually, these learned segments are stored in a database (either as human voice recordings or synthetically generated) that can be searched to find suitable speech parts (Unit Selection). This search is often done with decision trees, neural nets or Hidden-Markov-Models. If the speech has been generated by a computer, this is called formant synthesis. It offers more flexibility because the collection of words isn’t limited to what has been pre-recorded by a human. Even imaginary or new words can easily be produced and the voices can be readily exchanged. Until recently, this synthetic voice did not sound anything like a human recorded voice; you could definitely hear that it was “fake”. Most of the TTS systems today still suffer from this, but this is in the process of changing: there are already a few artificial TTS systems that do sound very human. What TTS systems are there? We already find TTS systems in many digital devices, like computers, smart phones, etc. Most of the “big players” offer TTS-as-a-service, but there are also many “smaller” and free programs for TTS. Many can be downloaded as software or used from a web browser or as an API. Here is an incomplete list: - Microsoft/Windows: includes Narrator and Microsoft Speech API - Mac: VoiceOver - Linux: different software can be installed, e.g. eSpeak - IBM Watson - Google Cloud - Microsoft Azure - Amazon Alexa - Siri on iPhone - Polly on Amazon AWS - Microsoft Cortana - Natural Readers Text-to-Speech in R The only package for TTS I found was Rtts. It doesn’t seem very comprehensive but it does the job of converting text to speech. The only API that works right now is ITRI (http://tts.itri.org.tw). And it only supports English and Chinese. Let’s try it out! ## Lade nötiges Paket: RCurl ## Lade nötiges Paket: bitops Here, I’ll be using a quote from DOUGLAS ADAMS’ THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY: content <- "A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools." The main TTS function is tts_ITRI() and I’m going to loop over the different voice options. speakers = c("Bruce", "Theresa", "Angela", "MCHEN_Bruce", "MCHEN_Joddess", "ENG_Bob", "ENG_Alice", "ENG_Tracy") lapply(speakers, function(x) tts_ITRI(content, speaker = x, destfile = paste0("audio_tts_", x, ".mp3"))) I uploaded the results to Soundcloud for you to hear: – audio-tts-bruce – audio-tts-theresa – audio-tts-angela – audio-tts-mchen-bruce – audio-tts-mchen-joddess – audio-tts-eng-bob – audio-tts-eng-alice – audio-tts-eng-tracy As you can hear, it sounds quite wonky. There are many better alternatives out there, but most of them aren’t free and/or can’t be used (as easily) from R. Noam Ross tried IBM Watson’s TTS API in this post, which would be a very good solution. Or you could access the Google Cloud API from within R. The most convenient solution for me was to use eSpeak from the command line. The output sounds relatively good, it is free and offers many languages and voices with lots of parameters to tweak. This is how you would produce audio from text with eSpeak: - English US espeak -v english-us -s 150 -w '/Users/shiringlander/Documents/Github/audio_tts_espeak_en_us.wav' "A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools." - just for fun: English Scottish espeak -v en-scottish -s 150 -w '/Users/shiringlander/Documents/Github/audio_tts_espeak_en-scottish.wav' "A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools." - even funnier: German espeak -v german -s 150 -w '/Users/shiringlander/Documents/Github/audio_tts_espeak_german.wav' "A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools." The playlist contains all audio files I generated in this post. ## R version 3.5.0 (2018-04-23) ## Platform: x86_64-apple-darwin15.6.0 (64-bit) ## Running under: macOS High Sierra 10.13.5 ## ## Matrix products: default ## BLAS: /Library/Frameworks/R.framework/Versions/3.5/Resources/lib/libRblas.0.dylib ## LAPACK: /Library/Frameworks/R.framework/Versions/3.5/Resources/lib/libRlapack.dylib ## ## locale: ## de_DE.UTF-8/de_DE.UTF-8/de_DE.UTF-8/C/de_DE.UTF-8/de_DE.UTF-8 ## ## attached base packages: ## stats graphics grDevices utils datasets methods base ## ## other attached packages: ## Rtts_0.3.3 RCurl_1.95-4.10 bitops_1.0-6 ## ## loaded via a namespace (and not attached): ## Rcpp_0.12.17 bookdown_0.7 digest_0.6.15 rprojroot_1.3-2 ## backports_1.1.2 magrittr_1.5 evaluate_0.10.1 blogdown_0.6 ## stringi_1.2.3 rmarkdown_1.10 tools_3.5.0 stringr_1.3.1 ## xfun_0.2 yaml_2.1.19 compiler_3.5.0 htmltools_0.3.6 ## knitr_1.20
In this unit we aim to specify and define the subject matter of social psychology, and how to approach from different theoretical approaches. It will differentiate between intrapersonal and interpersonal processes, structuring this part into three subsections covering both processes, and an intermediate that bridges the gap between them. The first of these, the Intrapersonal Process aims to help students to understand the mechanisms of socialization involved in social development and the construction of reality. Include social learning standards and norms, linking with the configuration of the structures and cognitive processes involved in social perception and people, and the causal explanations of their behavior. The next section is entitled attitudes, prejudices and stereotypes, and discusses how attitudes act as evaluative internal arrangements and its relationship to social behavior, prejudice and discrimination. The final section focuses on personal relationships and social behavior among individuals.
Lake Vida, a salty lake buried under a 60-foot-thick sheet of ice in Antarctica, has renewed scientists' hopes of finding alien life in space, even in the most inhospitable places. The lake, which has been completely sealed off from the rest of the world for thousands of years, is surprisingly teeming with microbial life. "By seeing what the boundaries of life are on Earth, that helps us when we go out and look for examples elsewhere," says Peter T Doran, a professor at the University of Illinois’ Earth and Environmental Science department. Here, a guide to this mysterious lake: Where exactly is Lake Vida? Victoria Valley in Antarctica. The lake is covered year-round by the thickest non-glacial ice on Earth, measuring at least 60 feet deep. This layer of ice has isolated the lake from the surface for 2,800 years, and as a result, the water contains no oxygen or light. It is seven times saltier than average sea water, which keeps the lake water from freezing completely despite its extremely cold temperature of roughly 8 degrees Fahrenheit. But scientists discovered life there? They sure did. After taking samples from the core of the ice, researchers were surprised to find previously unknown species of bacteria. The lake contains about one-tenth the amount of microbial life found in freshwater lakes. How could this bacteria possibly survive in this lake? Researchers aren't completely sure, but they suspect a chemical reaction between the salt water and the rocks below is producing hydrogen, which could serve as a fuel source. Whatever the answer, "the fact that things are alive in Lake Vida at all further extends the idea that where there is water, there is life," says Colin Schultz at Smithsonian. What does this have to do with alien life? If life can survive in Lake Vida's harsh conditions, imagine what that means in the hunt for life elsewhere in our solar system. "This provides us with new boundary conditions on the limits for life," says Doran.
If a crystal of a coloured chemical, eg potassium manganate(VII), is placed in water, the particles spread out and mix with the water particles. The particles have moved from a region of high concentration in the crystal to a low concentration in the water. This difference in concentration is called a concentration gradient. Particles will move down a concentration gradient, from a high concentration to a low concentration. As well as diffusion occurring between different regions, it also occurs across membranes, between the outside and inside of cells. The rate of diffusion can be affected by several factors: \|Factor\|\|How the factor affects the rate of diffusion\| \|Concentration gradient\|\|The greater the difference in concentration, the quicker the rate of diffusion.\| \|Temperature\|\|The higher the temperature, the more kinetic energy the particles will have, so they will move and mix more quickly.\| \|Surface area of the cell membrane separating the different regions\|\|The greater the surface area, the faster the rate of diffusion.\| In a bacterium, substances diffuse into and out of the bacterial cell across its surface. Once inside, because of the bacterium's size, substances will need to diffuse 1 μm or less to where they are needed, for instance oxygen for aerobic respiration. Substances move into and around the moss plants by diffusion and osmosis. Simple organisms therefore take in substances all over their body surface. Their needs are determined by their volume. As organisms increase in size, their surface area does not increase at the same rate as their volume. The surface area to volume ratio of a puppy is several times greater than that of an adult dog. Suggest why puppies are more at risk of losing body heat than adult dogs. Dogs lose heat over their body surface. Puppies have a larger surface area to volume ratio than adult dogs, so will lose heat more readily.
Some teens might experience a traumatic event and quickly recover. However, other teens need time to heal. Even an experience that seems like it would be easy to get over might be hard for some teens to recover from. There are many factors that contribute to the resiliency of a teen’s psychological health. And, likewise, there are contributing factors that can undermine the strength of a teen’s mental health. When a teen experiences a traumatic event and already has mental or emotional challenges, that teen may be more vulnerable to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). If A Teen Perceives an Event to be Traumatic, Then It Is Not all challenging events are traumatic. However, any event that a teen perceives to be traumatic can have the same influence as any trauma. Typically, a trauma is one in which a person experiences the threat to their own life. They might experience terror or fear for their life. Examples of traumatic events include: - escaping a fire - physical or sexual abuse - acts of violence, such as a school shooting - natural disasters, such as a hurricane or tornado - violent assaults - car accidents - experiences of war - witnessing another person experience trauma - being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness - chronic neglect (not getting your needs met on a consistent basis can become life threatening) However, there are many events that don’t fall within these categories that might feel to be just as traumatic. For instance, the loss of a loved one, being separated from a primary caregiver (especially at a young age), and a sudden change in lifestyle such as having to move into a foster home. Although some events may not necessarily threaten a teen’s life, they can be psychologically threatening. Even hearing about the trauma that a close friend has gone through can be traumatic. This is sometimes referred to as Secondary or Vicarious Trauma. 10 Factors that Influence a Teen’s Ability to Recover from a Traumatic Event In most cases, teens can recover from a traumatic event in less than three months, assuming that they have the resiliency to do so. However, some teens simply don’t recover and develop symptoms of PTSD or other mental illnesses, such as anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder. The following factors can play a role in how quickly a teen recovers from a traumatic event: - Severity of the event - Length or duration of the event - Level of a teen’s psychological health - A teen’s temperament and conditioning - A teen’s ethnicity and culture - Whether a teen has experienced trauma in the past - Whether a teen already has a mental illness - Tendency of a teen to dissociate during traumatic events - Level of family support a teen has - How a teen’s family or primary caregivers responded to the event Research shows that up to 33% of teens will develop psychological symptoms after experiencing trauma. As mentioned above, some teens might be more psychologically resilient than others. Furthermore, according to the US Department of Veteran Affairs, 5% of teens meet the diagnostic criteria for PTSD, and prevalence is higher in female teens (8%) than male teens (2.3%). Attachment Plays a Role in a Teen’s Resiliency Not listed in the factors above is the quality of attachment a teen has with their primary caregiver(s). Attachment is the bond that a child has with their parent. Recent research shows that the quality of attachment plays a significant role in a teen’s level of psychological health. Essentially, the theory states that when a child has a secure relationship with one or more parents they feel safe in the world. In fact, they feel so safe that they have the courage to be themselves, they are willing to take risks in life, they have healthier relationships, and they have the bravery to explore the world. However, when a child is raised without that secure relationship, they often experience anxiety and tend to focus on getting their needs met. A healthy and secure attachment also gives a child the ability to control and manage their emotions and inner experiences, a skill that they can take into adulthood and adolescence. When a teen who has a secure relationship with their caregiver(s) experiences trauma, they are more likely to recover compared to a teen who lacked a secure relationship with their primary caregiver. PTSD Symptoms to Look For As already mentioned, some teens might not necessarily develop PTSD. They might develop another set of symptoms that point to depression, anxiety, or another illness. The following are a list of symptoms that can develop as a result of experiencing trauma. However, even if you don’t see these symptoms and if you are concerned about your teen’s psychological health, it’s essential that you seek professional support. Some illnesses, such as depression and PTSD can get worse over time and even have fatal outcomes. For instance, untreated depression can lead to having suicidal ideation and possibly suicide. If you are a parent concerned about how your teen has been responding to an event, look for the following signs: - Chronic tension - Easily startled - Difficulty concentrating - Inability to sit still - Dissociation – zoning out or appearing as though they are daydreaming - Feeling numb or detached - Being emotionally unresponsive - Inability to remember important aspects of the traumatic event or forgetting the trauma entirely - Feeling as though the environment seems strange or unreal, known as Derealization - Feeling as though certain thoughts and feelings do not seem real, known as Depersonalization - Recurring images of the trauma - Inner experiences of reliving the traumatic event - Experiencing high levels of stress when an object or person triggers reminders of the event - Avoiding people, objects, and places that stimulate reliving the trauma - Trouble sleeping - Withdrawal from friends and family - Depressive symptoms, such as feeling low or sad - Excessive stress or anxiety, even when not being reminded about the event Ways You Can Help Your Teen Recover If you have any concerns about your teen’s ability to recover, getting professional support is essential. However, there are also significant ways that you can provide support. And if you are a parent or caregiver, then your unconditional and nonjudgmental support will be crucial in your teen’s recovery. Here are a few suggestions for helping your teen through the healing process: - Be a good listener. You don’t have to be a therapist to know that simply being present to what a person has to say can be healing. Providing a nonjudgmental listening ear can be a great support for someone who has gone through a challenging event. Being heard and understood can help relieve the burden of the experience. - Help your teen feel safe. One of the biggest impacts of trauma is the way a teen sees the world – one of safety to one of danger and anxiety. Your teen might be triggered by and afraid of the smallest thing. Talking in a calm and slow voice, avoiding any yelling or loud talking, approaching your teen gently and making sure they are accompanied when walking at night. These small acts of kindness can help create a feeling of safety for your teen as they recover from a frightening experience. - Give your teen a chance to exhibit their anger. As you can imagine, trauma can illicit anger and even aggression. You can talk to your teen about feelings of anger and discuss healthy ways your teen might exhibit that anger. You might also find a support group for your teen to participate in or find a therapist for your teen to work with as a means to work through the anger, as well as recover. - Encourage your teen to take good care of themselves. It’s important that a teen get a healthy amount of sleep, eat well, and exercise. Taking good care of the physical body can promote psychological health. Other self-care activities such as yoga, meditation, hiking, and participating in enjoyable activities can all help a teen recover from trauma. Take Good Care of Yourself Too As mentioned above, people who are close to those who have experienced trauma can begin to experience the signs of trauma themselves. If you are a parent or caregiver who is helping a teen recover from trauma, don’t forget to take good care of yourself and take a break when you need to. Fortunately, PTSD is not a life-long illness. Your teen can recover with the right tools, support, and healthy lifestyle habits. Eventually, your entire family can move on and enjoy life together. Dr. Nalin has provided training and mentoring to students entering the field of psychology at institutions of learning including Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology, UCSD, Pacific University, and Santa Monica College. He was also instrumental in the development of the treatment component of Los Angeles County’s first Juvenile Drug Court, which now serves as a national model. Dr. Nalin has appeared as an expert on shows ranging from CBS News and Larry King, to CNN, The Today Show and MTV. He was also featured in an Anti-Drug Campaign for the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). Dr. Nalin is a Diplomate of the National Institute of Sports Professionals and a Certified Sports Psychologist as well as a Certified Chemical Dependency Intervention Specialist. He lectures and conducts workshops nationally on the issues of teen mental health, substance abuse prevention, and innovative adolescence treatment. In 2017 Dr. Nalin was awarded The Sigmund Freud Foundation and Sigmund Freud University’s Distinguished Achievement Award in recognition of his work with youth in the field of mental health over the course of his career.
stuttering or stammering, speech disorder marked by hesitation and inability to enunciate consonants without spasmodic repetition. Known technically as dysphemia, it has sometimes been attributed to an underlying personality disorder. About half of all those who have speech and voice defects suffer from stuttering or stammering (the terms are used interchangeably). In 65% of people who stutter, there is a family history of the disorder, thus suggesting a genetic link. Studies with twins have also indicated that inheritance has an important role in stuttering; comparing pairs in which at least one twin stuttered, it has been found that identical twins were much more likely to be stutterers than fraternal twins (see multiple birth). Brain scans of stutterers have found higher than normal activity in brain areas that coordinate conscious movement, suggesting that in people who stutter speech occurs less automatically than it does in most people. In many instances the speech disturbance appears to be precipitated by such situations as a change of surroundings, the advent of a younger child in the family, or by a family environment in which parents are overly concerned with childhood speech interruptions, which occur normally. Negative reactions to the stuttering frequently create feelings of inadequacy and anxiety, which, in turn, intensify the condition. Parents with young children who stutter have been urged by specialists to help their children develop positive attitudes about themselves and their speech. Older stutterers are taught to understand what processes interfere with fluent speech and to speak without the disruptions caused by tension. Psychiatric treatment and group psychotherapy have been helpful for many. See M. Jezer, Stuttering: A Life Bound Up in Words (1997). The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. More on stuttering from Fact Monster: See more Encyclopedia articles on: Psychology and Psychiatry
Muqarnas is the term given to an architectural device unique to Islamic architecture. Its purpose is to provide a transition between, for example, a square base and a dome. Muqarnas is also frequently used to create a concave semi-vault above an entrance to a building or to provide a decorative cornice along the perimeters of a ceiling or beneath a balcony. Different regions in the Islamic world have used different styles of construction techniques in their history. Muqarnas compositions are very suitable for contemporary interpretations. They can be designed as ornaments for modern interiors and can be given new functions, such lamps or display cabinets. It is possible to make a plaster muqarnas coving for an interior. They have a unique beauty quite distinct from traditional two-dimensional geometry. The image on the right is a model that was made using the style that is typical for North Africa and Andalucia. It uses triangular elements of wood or plaster into which the downward curve of the element is carved out. The elements have different angles (for example 30° or 60°). There are two versions of each element: they will either have a flat surface of the section facing forward or facing backward. If it faces forward, the curve will move down and recede and taper until it reaches the bottom of the element. If it faces backward, the curve will recede but will get wider as it goes down. These different elements can be seen in the cardboard model to the right and the two photos of a wooden model from Damascus, below. By combining differently angled elements (e.g 30° or 60°) and having two versions of each, a great variety of designs can be made. The model shown on the right is a convex design but is equally possible to make a combination between convex and concave or to do a straight line, such as can be seen in wooden muqarnas covings along ceilings of buildings in North Africa and Andalucia. This shows a muqarnas composition using a construction style that is typical for Iran and Central Asia. It does not use triangular sections but rather tiers that are connected by curved sections. This particular composition has three tiers. The first step is to cut the tiers, then to fix them to a vertical backboard and lastly to connect the tiers by sections that are all of the same length and have the same curve. There are different traditions when it comes to what the curve of the muqarnas composition appears like. Some muqarnas semidomes will have a greater angle than others, this is achieved by changing the vertical distance between the tiers. If the tiers are close together, the angle of the overall muqarnas composition will be smaller and the muqarnas composition will be less high. The greater the distance between the tiers, the longer the vertical connecting sections will have to be and the greater the angle can be to connect the tiers. Small changes in design can have a larger than expected impact on the overall appearance. All the models on this page are made from card or cardboard. They do not appear exactly the same as the traditional muqarnas that can be seen in Islamic architecture, because the curved sections of the muqarnas elements have not been filled in. Construction-wise, they are true to the traditional design methods. Islamic Architecture Series: 4. POLYGONS5. Islamic geometric designs 6. Geeks Rule: Quasicrystalline Patterns in Mediaeval Islamic Architecture
2 Answers \| Add Yours Although it was the events towards the end of WWII that really got the Cold War started, the Cold War had its origins in the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 and its aftermath. When the Bolsheviks took power in 1917, they created a communist government. The communist form of government and communist ideology are completely opposed to the ideas of democracy and free markets that are the basis of US society. Because of this, the two countries would be diametrically opposed to one another in ideological terms. Because the US was so opposed to communism, it even sent American troops to Russia after WWI. These troops were sent to help fight against the communists in the Russian Civil War. Of course, they were not able to defeat the communists, but the Soviets would not forget that the US had tried to overthrow their government. The two countries would not even have diplomatic relations with one another until 1933. We should also note that communism is an avowedly expansionist ideology. It believes that communism will take over the entire world. After the creation of the USSR, the "Comintern" was created to try to spread communism across the world. This gave America more reasons to be suspicious of the Soviet Union. The start of the Cold War should not be a surprise. There had been tension and distrust between the US and USSR ever since the USSR came to exist. Once the USSR became an important player in world events, a Cold War was likely to occur. when did this happen "the Soviets would not forget that the US had tried to overthrow their government" We’ve answered 333,514 questions. We can answer yours, too.Ask a question
This is a new variation on my "Fire Hand" demonstration. I never did like the size of the methane bubbles that were produced, so I got an idea from a Mythbusters' segment on methane bubbles. They used a tube with many small holes to create the small methane bubbles. I decided to to do a variation of it using aquarium tubing. The result is a bigger handful of methane bubbles which means a bigger flame! Entries in demo (81) Students in my classes have to determine if a substance has changed physically or chemically. In order to do that, they need to know if the properties of a substance has changed. We can look at many different properties of a substance such as color, density, boiling point, melting point, taste, texture, hardness, etc. One of the most exciting properties of matter is the color in which they burn. In the video above I show color flame candles and then show a demonstration of two different compounds, strontium chloride and copper sulfate, mixed with denatured alcohol, that produce large colorful flames. I picked up this in a toy shop. Students are fascinated by it and always wonder how it works. Once they learn about density, they figure it out pretty easily. Eggs have an arch design in which compression forces are diverted from the top and bottom of the egg down to the sides. How much compression force can an egg take before it's smashed? Watch the video!
While no map can fully undistort the land, it can sacrifice distortion in some areas to clarify it in others. - Orthographic Projection-Displays earth from a distance - Gnomonic Projection-Has its center at the center of the globe - Lambert Azimuthal Equal-area Projection-True-Area properties - Conic Projection- A Globe made into a cone, layed out, and given grids to form a map. - Lambert Conformal Conic Projection-Two parallels that show a true global proportion. - Polyconic Projection-Uses cones to establish parallels - Mercator Projection-Most commonly used; flat, square map with more distortion near the poles. Different Map types show different things and different information

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