tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37981049752676025412024-03-14T10:24:27.248-07:00Share Science to Everybody!We are all responsible for the promotion of Science and Technology in this planet. We are all Ambassadors for the Public Understanding of Science. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03640764062564557234noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798104975267602541.post-67412305165912593942016-01-23T22:51:00.000-08:002016-01-23T22:51:07.754-08:00SciPub: The Mutation TheoryPublication: The Mutation Theory<br />
Date: 1901<br />
Author: Hugo de Vries<br />
Nationality: Dutch<br />
Why is it important? - Although de Vries' original mutation theory soon lost support, he is credited with having rediscovered Mendel's work on inheritance.<br />
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In the early twentieth century the rediscovery of Gregor Mendel's work with pea plants created a hotbed of activity surrounding genes, evolution, and inherited traits. The theory of evolution was rapidly advancing, not least thanks to the contributions of a Dutch botanist named Hugo de Vries.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0vL0N1OLmW7jUZQJ1x7EFOiy0-k1J8H7V9Em2GdNtNLIC22FAsEA156vcV4r31AvIHlnizSTG6tfmA7arkV0FyAElAqhZWuouzH3DdGIj4eotsld0gcwb7dgZ7RMPgB81AJM3BX3HFSg/s1600/Hugo_de_Vries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0vL0N1OLmW7jUZQJ1x7EFOiy0-k1J8H7V9Em2GdNtNLIC22FAsEA156vcV4r31AvIHlnizSTG6tfmA7arkV0FyAElAqhZWuouzH3DdGIj4eotsld0gcwb7dgZ7RMPgB81AJM3BX3HFSg/s320/Hugo_de_Vries.jpg" width="221" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hugo de Vries</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
De Vries' book <i>The Mutation Theory </i>suggested that new species could arise spontaneously. He had observed that new characteristics could appear within the space of a generation and he pinned the blame on mutations. De Vries began developing his theory during a succession of plant breeding experiments with evening primrose. He noticed that new varieties of the plant would occasionally occur, as if from nowhere, and he believed that these were the results of changes within particles that could be passed on from one generation to the next - what we now would call genetic material. He came to expect these new varieties to prosper - if the changes were favorable in terms of the plant's survival and procreation - and to remain until further mutations occurred.<br />
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The Dutchman's work seemed to contradict that of Darwin's theory of evolution and gained him support from anti-Darwin campaigners. However, the new plant varieties he observed turned out to be caused not by mutations, but by the rearrangement of DNA within an individual plant's reproductive cells. It is now accepted that mutations do indeed contribute to evolution, but the reality is a gradual selection of these mutations over many generations.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Source: Defining moments in Science p.23</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03640764062564557234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798104975267602541.post-53027683794048682402015-12-16T16:07:00.002-08:002015-12-16T16:07:20.756-08:00Language, Lingua, Wika, Lingvo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpf2ZK8e2wsE0aZ3BZgkfstbvfnkOL7P0BlIn8Hwj8YyEDl_KRc-eqYoeK6MENpuOkL9ovi5Sy0c83krGbzb1e5nKODXOhSUlCqV0Rt788eyZcyIPUBF8HqtH4VDjny66Qp6MQr8f7z20/s1600/multilingual.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpf2ZK8e2wsE0aZ3BZgkfstbvfnkOL7P0BlIn8Hwj8YyEDl_KRc-eqYoeK6MENpuOkL9ovi5Sy0c83krGbzb1e5nKODXOhSUlCqV0Rt788eyZcyIPUBF8HqtH4VDjny66Qp6MQr8f7z20/s320/multilingual.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
During my one year hiatus in writing, I became busy with work and family. But I also became interested in something else, something I think is difficult for one to master quickly - learning a language. For sometime now I was interested in studying Spanish because of my immense interest about Spain and its culture, since somehow my country's culture was a mix of native, Asian, and European (mainly Spanish) culture. Also it would be an economic advantage if I know how to speak the language.<br />
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But learning it proved difficult. For one, I am not quite familiar then with certain rules or structure of a language. I do know verbs, adjectives, subject and predicate, numerals, and other basic structure, but still, learning it proved very difficult. I've purchased a few books, including grammar books and dictionaries but I just don't get it.<br />
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I learned my first language - Tagalog since birth and English at school, English took a while before I became comfortable in using it, I would definitely give a toast to my English teacher in 2nd year high school for letting me join those Spelling bees. It really helped develop my vocabulary.<br />
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My third language - Ilocano (lingua franca of the Northern Philippines) came very late in life. We migrated there when I was 14 and the downside of it is this, when you speak Tagalog at home and your teachers know that you are a migrant from another region, they will speak to you in Tagalog too. Not good if you want to learn the culture and the language. Besides I don't have at that time a conscious awareness that you want to learn, or maybe I was just too lazy to learn it. So it took me until after college to speak JUST THE BASICS of the language.<br />
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During my hiatus in writing, I got a message from an old friend. He wanted me to translate into Ilocano a simple article. It is about a language called Esperanto. I read that article and it describes what the language is all about. I got intrigued and once we met he recommended that I study Esperanto to get a feel on language learning. Turns out, he already know the language for two years. Anyway, eight months later, I am now able to communicate using basic words and learned how to create sentences using that language.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Basic facts about Esperanto</div>
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(from http://esperanto.org/us/USEJ/world/index.html)</div>
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<i>Esperanto is an international language, created to facilitate communication amongst people from different countries. In practical use for more than a hundred years, Esperanto has proved to be a genuinely living language, capable of expressing all facets of human thought. </i>-<a href="http://wwwtios.cs.utwente.nl/esperanto/baza_informilo/en.html" style="text-align: start;">Axel Belinfante</a><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"></span></div>
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<i>Esperanto was created in 1887 by <a href="http://wwwtios.cs.utwente.nl/esperanto/zam.gif">Dr. L. L. Zamenhof</a> to be a second language that would allow people who speak different native languages to communicate, yet at the same time to retain their own languages and cultural identities. Zamenhof grew up in Bialystok, Poland, where different peoples were not separated by a geographical barrier, but a cultural and language barrier. While he realized that a common language would not end the cultural barrier, it would enable ordinary people, not politicians, to have cross national conversations. To this end, he created Esperanto, a language that would be easy for most people to learn, due to it's logical, regular design.</i></div>
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Other facts can be found <a href="http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/top-10-facts-you-didnt-know-about-esperanto-1533341" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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Language facts:<br />
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-There are between 6000 and 7000 languages in the world - spoken by 7 billion people divided into 189 independent states.<br />
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-There are about 225 indigenous languages in Europe - roughly 3% of the world’s total.<br />
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-Most of the world’s languages are spoken in Asia and Africa.<br />
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-At least half of the world’s population are bilingual or plurilingual, i.e. they speak two or more languages.<br />
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-In their daily lives, Europeans increasingly come across foreign languages. There is a need to generate a greater interest in languages among European citizens.<br />
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-Many languages have 50.000 words or more, but individual speakers normally know and use only a fraction of the total vocabulary: in everyday conversation people use the same few hundred words.<br />
<br />
-Languages are constantly in contact with each other and affect each other in many ways: English borrowed words and expressions from many other languages in the past, European languages are now borrowing many words from English.<br />
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-In its first year, a baby utters a wide range of vocal sounds; at around one year, the first understandable words are uttered; at around three years, complex sentences are formed; at five years, a child possesses several thousand words.<br />
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-The mother tongue is usually the language one knows best and uses most. But there can be 'perfect bilinguals' who speak two languages equally well. Normally, however, bilinguals display no perfect balance between their two languages.<br />
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-Bilingualism brings with it many benefits: it makes the learning of additional languages easier, enhances the thinking process and fosters contacts with other people and their cultures.<br />
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-Bilingualism and plurilingualism entail economic advantages, too: jobs are more easily available to those who speak several languages, and multilingual companies have a better competitive edge than monolingual ones.<br />
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-Languages are related to each other like the members of a family. Most European languages belong to the large Indo-European family.<br />
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-Most European languages belong to three broad groups: Germanic, Romance and Slavic.<br />
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-The Germanic family of languages includes Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Icelandic, German, Dutch, English and Yiddish, among others.<br />
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-The Romance languages include Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian, among others.<br />
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-The Slavic languages include Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovenian, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Bulgarian and others.<br />
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-Most European languages use the Latin alphabet. Some Slavic languages use the Cyrillic alphabet. Greek, Armenian, Georgian and Yiddish have their own alphabet.<br />
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-Most countries in Europe have a number of regional or minority languages – some of these have obtained official status.<br />
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-The non-European languages most widely used on European territory are Arabic, Chinese and Hindi, each with its own writing system.<br />
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-Russia (148 million inhabitants) has by far the highest number of languages spoken on its territory: from 130 to 200 depending on the criteria.<br />
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-Due to the influx of migrants and refugees, Europe has become largely multilingual. In London alone some 300 languages are spoken (Arabic, Turkish, Kurdish, Berber, Hindi, Punjabi, etc.).<br />
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Here are more fun facts:<br />
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-There are 50,000 characters in the Chinese language.<br />
You’ll need to know about 2,000 to read a newspaper.<br />
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-12.44% of the world’s population speaks Mandarin as their first language.<br />
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-There are about 2,200 languages in Asia.<br />
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-1/4 of the world’s population speaks at least some English.Learning another language is important<br />
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-50% of educational time in Luxembourg devoted to learning English, German, and French.<br />
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-There are 13 ways to spell the ‘o’ sound in French.<br />
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-There is a language in Botswana that consists of mainly 5 types of clicks.<br />
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-There are 2,400 languages classified as being ‘endangered’.<br />
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-231 languages are now completely extinct.<br />
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-One language dies about every 14 days.<br />
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-Eastern Siberia, Northwest Pacific Plateau of North America, And Northern Australia are hotspots for endangered languages.<br />
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-There are 12 imaginary languages in Lord of The Rings.<br />
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-Esperanto is an artificial language, but is spoken by about 500,000 to 2,000,000 people, and 2 feature films have been done in the language.<br />
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-There are 24 working languages of the EU.<br />
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-There are 6 official UN languages.<br />
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-The bible is available in 2454 languages.<br />
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-The oldest written language was believed to be written in about 4500 BC.<br />
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-South Africa has 11 official languages – the most for a single country.<br />
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-The pope tweets in 9 languages.<br />
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-The US has no official language.<br />
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-You can us an ATM in Latin in Vatican City.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">References:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">http://www.edudemic.com/language-quiz/</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">http://edl.ecml.at/LanguageFun/LanguageFacts/tabid/1859/Default.aspx</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/top-10-facts-you-didnt-know-about-esperanto-1533341</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03640764062564557234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798104975267602541.post-16152911355445649672015-11-21T00:01:00.001-08:002015-11-21T00:01:20.896-08:00Welcoming me back!<br />
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It has been more than a year since I stopped writing on this blog. Many things happened along the way, and now I think it is time to write a few more. Write the things in Science that I like, that I can grasp. Links and videos from other sources to share with you. One year of not writing here would not stop me to write more and share more.<br />
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First stop for this year, what is it like to speak after you inhaled helium? Very funny!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FRKVQcbIByo/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FRKVQcbIByo?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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And how about inhaling Sodium Hexaflouride? Check this out!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/u19QfJWI1oQ/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u19QfJWI1oQ?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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This would be my very first post for the year. I will plan do make at least a few more. Never ever stop loving the wonders of Science.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03640764062564557234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798104975267602541.post-72329514888546029612014-09-21T01:51:00.000-07:002014-09-21T01:51:59.410-07:00Popular Science: A Quick Guide<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6fmj1gwyjjBGVqckxL21VfGLbPRTaUyfALM-pCsbfh856z5SjhDzqK8y8WdSi_vjVwFoEjlt-CkG4LhdvkFBHu6eobDI8O7eYLGsHpjAmaJB2MOZt6tj0XED0Mvr22CXTRkAn4Dchfz8/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6fmj1gwyjjBGVqckxL21VfGLbPRTaUyfALM-pCsbfh856z5SjhDzqK8y8WdSi_vjVwFoEjlt-CkG4LhdvkFBHu6eobDI8O7eYLGsHpjAmaJB2MOZt6tj0XED0Mvr22CXTRkAn4Dchfz8/s1600/images.jpg" height="223" width="400" /></a></div>
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If you are a science buff or a scientist or somebody with a passion for science, you will say a resounding "yes" for that question. After all, most of what we are right now is because of science and the technology brought up by the scientific enterprise. Most of the things you use and apply in the real world is tied to a scientific principle or two.<br />
<br />
But is Popular Science important in our everyday life? When I say "everyday life", that means from the time you wake up till the time you sleep. That is an interesting question, considering that most of the earth's inhabitants are not scientifically literate. In western nations, there is a trend in the rising "decline" of science literacy among its populace. So is the rest of the world. Maybe in terms of the number of scientists and engineers, the west is lagging behind Asia, but that is not what's important here. What is important is that we have a possible problem here and that is the problem with the world becoming too scientifically illiterate.<br />
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What is Science literacy? What is Popular science? We need to know these terminologies first before we can actually tackle the importance Popular science gives us in reshaping peoples views about science and technology and its various principles.<br />
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First we have the word "literacy:.<br />
<i>*The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defines literacy as the "ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community and wider society".</i><br />
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And now we have Scientific Literacy:<br />
<i>** According to the United States National Center for Education Statistics, "scientific literacy is the knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts and processes required for personal decision making, participation in civic and cultural affairs, and economic productivity". A scientifically literate person is defined as one who has the capacity to:</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>- understand experiment and reasoning as well as basic scientific facts and their meaning</i><br />
<i>- ask, find, or determine answers to questions derived from curiosity about everyday experiences</i><br />
<i>- describe, explain, and predict natural phenomena</i><br />
<i>- read with understanding articles about science in the popular press and to engage in social conversation about the validity of the conclusions</i><br />
<i>- identify scientific issues underlying national and local decisions and express positions that are scientifically and technologically informed</i><br />
<i>- evaluate the quality of scientific information on the basis of its source and the methods used to generate it</i><br />
<i>- pose and evaluate arguments based on evidence and to apply conclusions from such arguments appropriately</i><br />
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You do not need to be a very smart person to be scientifically literate. In fact, most of the information that you learned in Science classes during your youth are still very valuable even a decade or two after your education. And more information is being presented and showed to us through Popular Science.<br />
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Popular Science is intended for the general audience. It is science, without the complexity and being shown to the public as simply as it can. As Wikipedia states:<br />
<br />
<i>Popular science is a bridge between scientific literature as a professional medium of scientific research, and the realms of popular political and cultural discourse. The goal of the genre is often to capture the methods and accuracy of science, while making the language more accessible.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
I think the role of popular science in today's world is to make sure that scientific news, discoveries, and breakthroughs will be shown, explained, and appreciated by the masses. By using all the different mediums possible, we can spread awareness of scientific literacy to the general public. This is a very good tool, in which we can actually make an impact to people.<br />
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Even though there is a lukewarm reception to science themed programs on the air and on cyberspace, we, who are responsible Scientifically literate citizens, has a mission, to spread awareness and appreciation of science and technology, appreciate the beauty of this planet and of the cosmos as a whole.<br />
<br />
Well Known English Popularizers of Science:<br />
<br />
***In alphabetical order by last name:<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje3EhelFMu_rT6YWpbdNPf7shMiB5EAXXzpmSLmtWvgOHKemZ-_piFu2TTfkBR4M2s6lxFe9AlaCj0HfYYh_wEdO9lEkqdhYXgHv1hnsYtiL3q1Nwx-lrKx07jIW5YMoavQcLmUtkUd0Y/s1600/slide_348565_3713168_free.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje3EhelFMu_rT6YWpbdNPf7shMiB5EAXXzpmSLmtWvgOHKemZ-_piFu2TTfkBR4M2s6lxFe9AlaCj0HfYYh_wEdO9lEkqdhYXgHv1hnsYtiL3q1Nwx-lrKx07jIW5YMoavQcLmUtkUd0Y/s1600/slide_348565_3713168_free.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DAVID ATTENBOROUGH</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
John Acorn, naturalist and broadcaster known as the "Nature Nut"<br />
Amir Aczel, author and mathematician<br />
Maggie Aderin-Pocock, space scientist and broadcaster<br />
Hashem AL-ghaili, biotechnologist<br />
Jim Al-Khalili, theoretical physicist, author and science communicator<br />
Alan Alda, actor<br />
Michael Allaby, writes on science, ecology and weather<br />
<br />
Elise Andrew, British blogger, founder and maintainer of the Facebook page "I Fucking Love Science"<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcxk-9GrmKcWXuvJuR9kyJVl_qrTju5wCmC_Ad6wfOuJvFZtUgYoFGWDlRl20iypX1F2J7RU_aAOyrFj_YKVUScpPVlibdcAgm0IJedy34omYR-PqLUx91BL-JIwY21DWF18gED9tEPmE/s1600/isaac-asimov.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcxk-9GrmKcWXuvJuR9kyJVl_qrTju5wCmC_Ad6wfOuJvFZtUgYoFGWDlRl20iypX1F2J7RU_aAOyrFj_YKVUScpPVlibdcAgm0IJedy34omYR-PqLUx91BL-JIwY21DWF18gED9tEPmE/s1600/isaac-asimov.jpg" height="166" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ISAAC ASIMOV</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Natalie Angier, science journalist and writer<br />
Isaac Asimov, biochemist, science fiction writer and author<br />
Peter Atkins, physical chemist and author<br />
David Attenborough, naturalist and broadcaster<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzzh_NEdBf0dVR6otoXl1VDO08g4kg48gLxw4fOFsHOD57Kez1_0h5vIbCjlvi7NFIsrPLdRhx6nyMHwGtvW_O_bJ-OOkvcINTOqhdtW-voiNzL9F3EuVl72K-DFWmz2-DNadXGPq6aos/s1600/Jim-al-khalili.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzzh_NEdBf0dVR6otoXl1VDO08g4kg48gLxw4fOFsHOD57Kez1_0h5vIbCjlvi7NFIsrPLdRhx6nyMHwGtvW_O_bJ-OOkvcINTOqhdtW-voiNzL9F3EuVl72K-DFWmz2-DNadXGPq6aos/s1600/Jim-al-khalili.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">JIM AL-KHALILI</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Francis Bacon, English philosopher, statesman, scientist, jurist, & author<br />
Johnny Ball, broadcaster and math popularizer<br />
John D. Barrow, mathematician, theoretical physicist, and cosmologist; author of numerous journal articles, and books for general readers<br />
Marcia Bartusiak, science journalist and author<br />
David Bellamy, broadcaster, author, and botanist<br />
Bob Berman, astronomer<br />
Adrian Berry, science author and columnist<br />
Howard Bloom, author<br />
David Bodanis, author<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3kcWL7qWiteMbaJay1oI9uaL1CwMnUxDELowKjfe3Kv_n1sE1Y51ZIeD4T415qWTryhwh5C_EmJIRdlaeIjsJJ2NV51wOUWGeq85QAvcGbpk4YeEPjnEVwpyfcP7f9iR210W9mR5dPtg/s1600/1477_254x191.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3kcWL7qWiteMbaJay1oI9uaL1CwMnUxDELowKjfe3Kv_n1sE1Y51ZIeD4T415qWTryhwh5C_EmJIRdlaeIjsJJ2NV51wOUWGeq85QAvcGbpk4YeEPjnEVwpyfcP7f9iR210W9mR5dPtg/s1600/1477_254x191.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RICHARD DAWKINS</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Liz Bonnin, biochemist and TV presenter<br />
Daniel J. Boorstin, author and Librarian of Congress<br />
Sir David Brewster, Scottish scientist<br />
John Brockman, specializing authorship in scientific literature<br />
Jacob Bronowski, mathematician, biologist, historian of science, author and pioneering science broadcaster<br />
Bill Bryson, author<br />
Rob Buckman, doctor of medicine, broadcaster, columnist, author<br />
James Burke, broadcaster, television producer, and author; best known for the science historian BBC TV series Connections<br />
Nigel Calder, broadcaster and journalist<br />
Fritjof Capra, physicist and author<br />
Sean Carroll, cosmologist, blogger, and author<br />
Rachel Carson, marine biologist, conservationist, author<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwErVIWOs5XiDou-rw88XpNuuq25LQtCJ7OXiuqP1c6hSXbofrtBjz9awF2OMVR_MZK7xhR9IlaIksTbaPe7b9TNaOp6plM3v8tjJ4dAx-XE4dUwD51oXZw9L0UlHmydH2HPE36fWrhPY/s1600/arthur_c_clarke_portre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwErVIWOs5XiDou-rw88XpNuuq25LQtCJ7OXiuqP1c6hSXbofrtBjz9awF2OMVR_MZK7xhR9IlaIksTbaPe7b9TNaOp6plM3v8tjJ4dAx-XE4dUwD51oXZw9L0UlHmydH2HPE36fWrhPY/s1600/arthur_c_clarke_portre.jpg" height="200" width="188" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ARTHUR C. CLARKE</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Marcus Chown, author and science journalist<br />
Arthur C. Clarke, science fiction author, inventor, and futurist<br />
Brian Clegg, author<br />
Jack Cohen, reproductive biologist<br />
Heather Couper, astronomer, broadcaster and author<br />
Brian Cox, broadcaster, musician and physicist<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-xcg5zWVDjwcImoZ6y5ajKGIJtjrtF6WT1xXQpBcLnAHTfzXoaYaifkBC7eneWIAGeQDX8v9MDAGbCZMQ9ameoEoKq2PvqM7DBOsUN-8NS-sslRyuYokgCtGN1RZuhI3c9Feq-aeog4o/s1600/Brian_Cox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-xcg5zWVDjwcImoZ6y5ajKGIJtjrtF6WT1xXQpBcLnAHTfzXoaYaifkBC7eneWIAGeQDX8v9MDAGbCZMQ9ameoEoKq2PvqM7DBOsUN-8NS-sslRyuYokgCtGN1RZuhI3c9Feq-aeog4o/s1600/Brian_Cox.jpg" height="200" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BRIAN COX</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Francis Crick, molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist; joint discoverer of the structure of the DNA molecule<br />
Paul Davies, physicist, author and broadcaster<br />
Richard Dawkins, evolutionary biologist and author<br />
Michael DeBakey, world-renowned cardiac surgeon, innovator, and author<br />
Daniel Dennett, philosopher, cognitive scientist and author<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXnX996eZgOVykuljP4M52uFLxQ9hyEOJXuL42J1HaQTAuX4EDs2MVtcyzR16Gm8mdPjvt23yuCWaUOkr4GVLP-yNryD0wEiFLoaiAeFOhELvm5i_Cifputw_1yIfiWgHpGgVGCPV1A-4/s1600/mn003210_w561.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXnX996eZgOVykuljP4M52uFLxQ9hyEOJXuL42J1HaQTAuX4EDs2MVtcyzR16Gm8mdPjvt23yuCWaUOkr4GVLP-yNryD0wEiFLoaiAeFOhELvm5i_Cifputw_1yIfiWgHpGgVGCPV1A-4/s1600/mn003210_w561.jpg" height="200" width="186" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RICHARD FEYNMAN</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Alexander Dewdney, mathematician, computer scientist and philosopher<br />
Jared Diamond, evolutionary biologist, physiologist and geographer<br />
Robin Dunbar, anthropology; evolutionary psychology, culture and language; and specialist in primate behaviour<br />
Marcus Du Sautoy, author, broadcaster, Professor of Mathematics<br />
David Eagleman, neuroscientist and author<br />
Sir Arthur Eddington, astrophysicist<br />
Gerald Edelman, from the immune system, analogously, to brain & mind<br />
Loren Eiseley, Professor of Anthropology and History of Science<br />
Peter Fairley, journalist and broadcaster<br />
Michael Faraday, scientist and lecturer<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4x_RH6pHytYcWvJZrY2ma6R2uvWGx3ifm7Rxj4MqFqE2aY03QOAQkUaCcJ3FmRx19bW5AA9itouETj62_rHLqCGRWyud0wLURWN1dYx0R4PlOZwIi1E6vwR2cqqxnJxF0BMOELuHrrcc/s1600/morgan-freeman-002.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4x_RH6pHytYcWvJZrY2ma6R2uvWGx3ifm7Rxj4MqFqE2aY03QOAQkUaCcJ3FmRx19bW5AA9itouETj62_rHLqCGRWyud0wLURWN1dYx0R4PlOZwIi1E6vwR2cqqxnJxF0BMOELuHrrcc/s1600/morgan-freeman-002.jpeg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MORGAN FREEMAN</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Kenneth Feder, archaeologist, skeptic, lecturer, and author<br />
Timothy Ferris, science writer and best-selling author of twelve books<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixMNwtgbEbSNZ9dcRi48aPzqoQBq0lqiic5eZI-iS1Fi6DfxHopoIfuYXL77OlEs06_59Lpj-P0SpJLFZtf6tY-5JhWhZ5gS29yWIAjFCAKsWOjZcsfKX57lI6QeuIxBBdUenEq_7h2Ao/s1600/Faraday-Millikan-Gale-1913.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixMNwtgbEbSNZ9dcRi48aPzqoQBq0lqiic5eZI-iS1Fi6DfxHopoIfuYXL77OlEs06_59Lpj-P0SpJLFZtf6tY-5JhWhZ5gS29yWIAjFCAKsWOjZcsfKX57lI6QeuIxBBdUenEq_7h2Ao/s1600/Faraday-Millikan-Gale-1913.jpg" height="200" width="141" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MICHAEL FARADAY</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Richard Feynman, physicist and author<br />
Brian J. Ford, biologist, lecturer and author<br />
Morgan Freeman, actor, host of popular science series Through the Wormhole<br />
George Gamow, physicist, cosmologist and author<br />
Martin Gardner, mathematician, author, skeptic & polymath extraordinaire<br />
Atul Gawande, surgeon and author<br />
Malcolm Gladwell, journalist and author<br />
James Gleick, author and journalist<br />
Ben Goldacre, medical doctor, psychiatrist and author<br />
Stephen Jay Gould, paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and science historian; author of numerous essays, articles, and books<br />
Steve Grand, computer scientist and roboticist<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghSjQ50Zzb_y8RGpOpOUXlM4NEXuBlcSBWUOF6p6pmkoVADJY4Xm7Zq1A85POCmZH-uCjPLXXeFJwWHI-36llTxmB0WlnXbz_FQ7743FYiQuYJO0QdCliNvMBdXga_EklGiNHYh8SueQk/s1600/hawking+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghSjQ50Zzb_y8RGpOpOUXlM4NEXuBlcSBWUOF6p6pmkoVADJY4Xm7Zq1A85POCmZH-uCjPLXXeFJwWHI-36llTxmB0WlnXbz_FQ7743FYiQuYJO0QdCliNvMBdXga_EklGiNHYh8SueQk/s1600/hawking+(1).jpg" height="185" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">STEPHEN HAWKING</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Brian Greene, physicist<br />
Susan Greenfield, brain physiologist, writer and broadcaster<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-I6fB0I7nxfHWBjZhKC0loqtL97tBkuLZPA_AO9Phps6z1DLHgMqd3UuEgRT2vviSfP1a7DQbgvoBO45rlfApIloigjWCFUH0SjxzJnACGGcQw-0OxrVZacv6R5qHxtHe0MysHHZtQf8/s1600/7998_254x191.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-I6fB0I7nxfHWBjZhKC0loqtL97tBkuLZPA_AO9Phps6z1DLHgMqd3UuEgRT2vviSfP1a7DQbgvoBO45rlfApIloigjWCFUH0SjxzJnACGGcQw-0OxrVZacv6R5qHxtHe0MysHHZtQf8/s1600/7998_254x191.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BRIAN GREENE</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Richard Gregory, neuropsychologist, author and editor of several books<br />
John Gribbin, astronomer and author<br />
Heinz Haber, physicist and author<br />
Thomas Hager, author and science journalist<br />
J. B. S. Haldane, biologist and author<br />
Bas Haring, philosopher and author<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5yqKs24dFeFDaoiH7rjudxdd6sPY_4BTJ31fp7AJvzJ6m7ERXCf88zGpPynjhRZpfMIvZKAqnbdCx7krW3kZspRAimVYtNL4f9td_WzEhtydS72QaqpNn_wIbyxnThl15UFzVPqhm7xc/s1600/lucy+hawking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5yqKs24dFeFDaoiH7rjudxdd6sPY_4BTJ31fp7AJvzJ6m7ERXCf88zGpPynjhRZpfMIvZKAqnbdCx7krW3kZspRAimVYtNL4f9td_WzEhtydS72QaqpNn_wIbyxnThl15UFzVPqhm7xc/s1600/lucy+hawking.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">LUCY HAWKING</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-xPDizNuUseAmD7paMaEywfuwy8IKGnL8YyjeSOHxrT7YCcSgJeESx8XZ8muaW1x0OhyphenhyphenNlGSvayd84rNITQqY4pQWZQM3nRTZNUAHrWJdVgqH3fJ6ra_31DNU8KXe4OntJX4tt6Bas_E/s1600/66817831.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-xPDizNuUseAmD7paMaEywfuwy8IKGnL8YyjeSOHxrT7YCcSgJeESx8XZ8muaW1x0OhyphenhyphenNlGSvayd84rNITQqY4pQWZQM3nRTZNUAHrWJdVgqH3fJ6ra_31DNU8KXe4OntJX4tt6Bas_E/s1600/66817831.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sam Harris, neuroscientist and author<br />
Lucy Hawking, journalist and daughter of Stephen Hawking<br />
Stephen Hawking, theoretical physicist and author<br />
Don Herbert, a.k.a. Mr. Wizard, broadcaster<br />
Christopher Hitchens, author, journalist and essayist<br />
Roald Hoffmann, chemist<br />
Douglas Hofstadter, computer scientist, cognitive scientist and author<br />
Lancelot Hogben, experimental zoologist and medical statistician, with many popularising books on science, mathematics and language<br />
Julian Huxley, eminent scientist, author, and first Director of UNESCO<br />
Jamie Hyneman, special effects artist and TV personality (MythBusters)<br />
Jay Ingram, broadcaster and author (Daily Planet)<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAywn6BM60qmTfybpo8dHQHoXgGsHrX7dEjKBCTJXsOWsu4pl1Bl3KN0-R9hD2HRrOSDp6GvH2budd_pT2CGSQHzXdCmWqzHP59dPTTa9UsqnHH4BoX-SLjFdZ456lSy-49FgFLE8vk3s/s1600/files-us-australia-people-irwin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAywn6BM60qmTfybpo8dHQHoXgGsHrX7dEjKBCTJXsOWsu4pl1Bl3KN0-R9hD2HRrOSDp6GvH2budd_pT2CGSQHzXdCmWqzHP59dPTTa9UsqnHH4BoX-SLjFdZ456lSy-49FgFLE8vk3s/s1600/files-us-australia-people-irwin.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">STEVE IRWIN</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Steve Irwin, wildlife expert and conservationist; TV personality of the worldwide-fame wildlife documentary TV series (The Crocodile Hunter)<br />
Ray Jayawardhana, astrophysicist and author<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxf0LS05o4G303N0LaaVtLyPkn_M8QFOSOfc1GPMQlYOeeAxPk4hlxQ6a5jejXvLyUXsKD7cjsQgoNF0eU7FM2PRf-oddfQ7uNpUuLY6cHzgn5wyd_cYnfVsinSlhH3u7nlM6o_JsmY7g/s1600/sam-harris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxf0LS05o4G303N0LaaVtLyPkn_M8QFOSOfc1GPMQlYOeeAxPk4hlxQ6a5jejXvLyUXsKD7cjsQgoNF0eU7FM2PRf-oddfQ7uNpUuLY6cHzgn5wyd_cYnfVsinSlhH3u7nlM6o_JsmY7g/s1600/sam-harris.jpg" height="200" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SAM HARRIS</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Steven Johnson, author<br />
Steve Jones, evolutionary biologist and author<br />
Horace Freeland Judson, historian of molecular biology and author<br />
Olivia Judson, evolutionary biologist, broadcaster and author<br />
Michio Kaku, theoretical physicist and author<br />
Lawrence Krauss, physicist and author<br />
Robert Krulwich, broadcaster<br />
Karl Kruszelnicki, a.k.a. Dr Karl, broadcaster<br />
Richard Leakey, Kenyan paleoanthropologist and conservationist<br />
John Lennox, mathematician and author<br />
Daniel Levitin, cognitive neuroscientist and author<br />
Roger Lewin, British anthropologist<br />
Richard Lewontin, evolutionary biologist, geneticist and author<br />
Chris Lintott, astrophysicist<br />
Bob McDonald, CBC journalist and host of Quirks and Quarks<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9zK0cccdyVxMUH97xbftLTsVUtoAEFdrTr2XpLy6m9MYLgCtaJMJMdn9GOJAgIwQqoopurI0bhSW1Lm2_bA8k47CN0tdQ_BugUNnvJVE7RGbWYHXARMDWr-gqZMlvg5tKZQKqQ7HXgS0/s1600/michio-kaku-0314-de.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9zK0cccdyVxMUH97xbftLTsVUtoAEFdrTr2XpLy6m9MYLgCtaJMJMdn9GOJAgIwQqoopurI0bhSW1Lm2_bA8k47CN0tdQ_BugUNnvJVE7RGbWYHXARMDWr-gqZMlvg5tKZQKqQ7HXgS0/s1600/michio-kaku-0314-de.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MICHIO KAKU</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Alister McGrath, molecular biologist and author<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHXAaGjjzSEfvZcie8_-5YIb2CAtfKjiBoy2edqO4kItrHoOJxityGMOQ7n9Ife8UnMJKPq1O-6jej0zb0UMaKdEs4K79M_El0ZTQtCTuPQT3TooAvP2cHnUMBqUnwERQtXHWirtPFxyk/s1600/krauss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHXAaGjjzSEfvZcie8_-5YIb2CAtfKjiBoy2edqO4kItrHoOJxityGMOQ7n9Ife8UnMJKPq1O-6jej0zb0UMaKdEs4K79M_El0ZTQtCTuPQT3TooAvP2cHnUMBqUnwERQtXHWirtPFxyk/s1600/krauss.jpg" height="200" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">LAWRENCE KRAUSS</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Lynn Margulis, evolutionary biologist and author<br />
Robert Matthews, physicist, mathematician, computer scientist, and distinguished science journalist<br />
Peter Medawar, biologist, called by Richard Dawkins "the wittiest of all scientific writers"[4] and by New Scientist "perhaps the best science writer of his generation".[5]<br />
Fulvio Melia, physicist, astrophysicist and author<br />
Julius Sumner Miller, physicist and broadcaster<br />
Mark Miodownik, materials scientist, engineer, broadcaster and writer<br />
Ashley Montagu, anthropologist and humanist, authored by over 60 books<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwaD5ZAimSHOrIGrEBqaSVLldCsUwD33P4_sm9i11aKLRp2mlv1MfcphuwNYW-IXtwJhwCn1TVMqOJ_FD55OISJofRDG5SjeJHZeRX60QCn3qVh5oQ9xPc0jYVGvP11c4YL3yvzDb4F0Q/s1600/220px-PZ_Myers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwaD5ZAimSHOrIGrEBqaSVLldCsUwD33P4_sm9i11aKLRp2mlv1MfcphuwNYW-IXtwJhwCn1TVMqOJ_FD55OISJofRDG5SjeJHZeRX60QCn3qVh5oQ9xPc0jYVGvP11c4YL3yvzDb4F0Q/s1600/220px-PZ_Myers.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PZ MYERS</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sir Patrick Moore, amateur astronomer and broadcaster<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXHlLr70znqjfK6GnyOw8MoPVi2qJ5Zc69PDM03SToDgCRNHtoYtK4AuFH1DtCQ-eZ8BOEwg5_qBBGFkSmkcRoI5L1EAUtLgplzyLjTZZcAOHz7uIbn8B_p546Y5CpJBqA6q3AGWIcArs/s1600/Bill-Nye_globe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXHlLr70znqjfK6GnyOw8MoPVi2qJ5Zc69PDM03SToDgCRNHtoYtK4AuFH1DtCQ-eZ8BOEwg5_qBBGFkSmkcRoI5L1EAUtLgplzyLjTZZcAOHz7uIbn8B_p546Y5CpJBqA6q3AGWIcArs/s1600/Bill-Nye_globe.jpg" height="200" width="151" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BILL NYE</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Desmond Morris, zoologist, ethologist and author<br />
Philip Morrison, physicist, known for his numerous books & TV programs<br />
Randall Munroe, writer of What if blog<br />
PZ Myers, professor and author of the science blog Pharyngula[6]<br />
Yoshiro Nakamatsu, Japanese inventor<br />
Jayant Narlikar, cosmologist and author<br />
Steven Novella, skeptic and advocate of science-based medicine<br />
Bill Nye, broadcaster and mechanical engineer, called the Science Guy<br />
Tor Nørretranders, author<br />
Sten Odenwald, astronomer, author, lecturer<br />
Robert Olby, author and historian of science<br />
Chad Orzel, physicist and author<br />
Linus Pauling, one of the most influential chemists in history and ranks among the most important scientists of the 20th century<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL5mumNkggLPgcN-Yvs-QXS3d8uni0Js4yOTqjkFEG7dz_dnqch2iDudaLY0UoIWWzD8CaDT_riewyKDpnEP85xvVfq3nyqbHext-Nw5YwtOxy_xb0iabeZWsPlIIjJ9lwEzAuori52a8/s1600/philplait_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL5mumNkggLPgcN-Yvs-QXS3d8uni0Js4yOTqjkFEG7dz_dnqch2iDudaLY0UoIWWzD8CaDT_riewyKDpnEP85xvVfq3nyqbHext-Nw5YwtOxy_xb0iabeZWsPlIIjJ9lwEzAuori52a8/s1600/philplait_500.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PHIL PLAIT</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
John Allen Paulos, mathematician and author<br />
Fred Pearce, journalist at New Scientist<br />
Yakov I. Perelman, author<br />
Steven Pinker, experimental psychologist, cognitive scientist and author<br />
Phil Plait, astronomer and skeptic who runs the Bad Astronomy website<br />
Martyn Poliakoff, British chemist, featured in the YouTube The Periodic Table of Videos series<br />
John Polkinghorne, physicist and author<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWe6wvfcH3fnHjql8_Qj6jxZxxXh3wnu-zgv_ZpYgFUGQmxdXCv9vaF4i7ZJ25H3C8WDEHHkFj05VMXEfutj6vHrxfCw0sZQ44YgP8b5dIO7r6iHoqHE1RESL1yik81v3NQKCsTqjjcZw/s1600/adam-savage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWe6wvfcH3fnHjql8_Qj6jxZxxXh3wnu-zgv_ZpYgFUGQmxdXCv9vaF4i7ZJ25H3C8WDEHHkFj05VMXEfutj6vHrxfCw0sZQ44YgP8b5dIO7r6iHoqHE1RESL1yik81v3NQKCsTqjjcZw/s1600/adam-savage.jpg" height="200" width="171" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ADAM SAVAGE</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Robert Pollack, biologist and author<br />
Carolyn Porco, leader of Cassini Imaging Team<br />
Roy Porter, prolific work on the history of medicine<br />
Christopher Potter, publisher, philosopher and author<br />
Magnus Pyke, food scientist, broadcaster and author<br />
V. S. Ramachandran, neuroscientist, cognitive scientist and author<br />
James Randi, stage magician, skeptic and author<br />
Lisa Randall, theoretical physicist and author<br />
Mark Ridley, zoologist, evolutionary scientist and author<br />
Matt Ridley, zoologist, journalist and author<br />
Alice Roberts, anatomist, anthropologist, television presenter and author<br />
Steven Rose, biologist, neurobiologist, broadcaster and author<br />
Oliver Sacks, neurologist and author<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDwdIJQuFUCa8pZWypF1zSctf_RzeFm_PivGxE6q8Nsb8SNyfcYSWsmjtILosbJaJwRKzpC-1AKm-4MTB2OGGVdQNSdfb4lUgu26RTAH-Ji_0FLz21heeE3sWyoUUXXuY6u-U6TTUL3Go/s1600/david-suzuki.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDwdIJQuFUCa8pZWypF1zSctf_RzeFm_PivGxE6q8Nsb8SNyfcYSWsmjtILosbJaJwRKzpC-1AKm-4MTB2OGGVdQNSdfb4lUgu26RTAH-Ji_0FLz21heeE3sWyoUUXXuY6u-U6TTUL3Go/s1600/david-suzuki.jpg" height="200" width="176" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DAVID SUZUKI</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Carl Sagan, astrobiologist, astronomer, broadcaster and author<br />
Kirsten Sanford, neurophysiologist and broadcaster<br />
Adam Savage, special effects artist and TV personality (MythBusters)<br />
Eric Scerri, chemist, historian and philosopher of science, and author<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxts6r93UyX8-YVAJ-agE3ykzM-ANdRP1AImzslJ80ApRHW9azIWkeo2RdCViU-GlhEZmS4DMLJbra2DwoCzfSFYFcynIT-I0Eady84NjRomFjjAOPmVCNlxUDk0eyNC_SGCjayOv42-g/s1600/sagancollection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxts6r93UyX8-YVAJ-agE3ykzM-ANdRP1AImzslJ80ApRHW9azIWkeo2RdCViU-GlhEZmS4DMLJbra2DwoCzfSFYFcynIT-I0Eady84NjRomFjjAOPmVCNlxUDk0eyNC_SGCjayOv42-g/s1600/sagancollection.jpg" height="200" width="140" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CARL SAGAN</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuwnvqVZaIZ5-WYjP4hvma3EO8rwgH7oN3PXPtZH5sj5PnasgSt_L7URl_tgJtpHNGz0__bFvDKV4ADHka0imvWgcZvvaO8e4cVC6MRDd17lyPYYJUTm0UPnOYM_h6Ahe_CXBLuF7MlQw/s1600/dr+robert+winston.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuwnvqVZaIZ5-WYjP4hvma3EO8rwgH7oN3PXPtZH5sj5PnasgSt_L7URl_tgJtpHNGz0__bFvDKV4ADHka0imvWgcZvvaO8e4cVC6MRDd17lyPYYJUTm0UPnOYM_h6Ahe_CXBLuF7MlQw/s1600/dr+robert+winston.jpg" height="200" width="197" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DR ROBERT WINSTON</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Seth Shostak, astronomer, broadcaster and author<br />
Neil Shubin, paleontologist, evolutionary biologist<br />
George Gaylord Simpson, paleontologist, zoologist and author<br />
Simon Singh, physicist, mathematician and author<br />
Edwin Emery Slosson, chemist, journalist and editor<br />
Iain Stewart, geologist and broadcaster<br />
Ian Stewart, mathematician and author<br />
David Suzuki, broadcaster, geneticist and environmental activist<br />
Lewis Thomas, physician, poet, etymologist, and essayist<br />
Chriet Titulaer, Dutch astronomer, author and broadcaster<br />
Colin Tudge, biologist and author<br />
Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist and author<br />
Kevin Warwick, biomedical scientist, roboticist and author<br />
Michael White, musician and science writer<br />
Norbert Wiener, mathematician, author; the father of cybernetics<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzWdA4Kwm1SqTviD-Ky_qYtp9M3EnGOlLzdYSLmX6j9v5pZumw40nGnNsHVcAQukP-Vo0MS-Pu5ImenepXgMaczPHTGpIZGdKUN_e1eWoUrlXQWFh8bIpT7WHdehIxTvlZWfnAZzeAb-g/s1600/NeilTysonOriginsA-Crop_400x400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzWdA4Kwm1SqTviD-Ky_qYtp9M3EnGOlLzdYSLmX6j9v5pZumw40nGnNsHVcAQukP-Vo0MS-Pu5ImenepXgMaczPHTGpIZGdKUN_e1eWoUrlXQWFh8bIpT7WHdehIxTvlZWfnAZzeAb-g/s1600/NeilTysonOriginsA-Crop_400x400.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Robert Winston, medical doctor, scientist, TV presenter and author<br />
Richard Wiseman, psychologist and author<br />
Stephen Wolfram, mathematics, theoretical physics, scientific computing<br />
Lewis Wolpert, developmental biologist, author and broadcaster<br />
Peter Wothers, chemist and author<br />
Carl Zimmer, science writer and author of the science blog The Loom[7]<br />
Marlene Zuk, evolutionary biologist and behaviorial ecologist<br />
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There are many different sources of Popular Science shows, articles, and websites:<br />
<br />
Of course we have the usual channels National Geographic, Science, and Discovery Channels. If I missed something please comment below!<br />
<br />
15 most popular science websites:<br />
<a href="http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/science-websites">http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/science-websites</a><br />
<br />
50 popular science blogs:<br />
<a href="http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060703/multimedia/50_science_blogs.html">http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060703/multimedia/50_science_blogs.html</a><br />
<br />
100 science blogs every student should subscribe to:<br />
<a href="http://www.forensicsciencetechnician.org/100-blogs-every-science-student-should-subscribe-to/">http://www.forensicsciencetechnician.org/100-blogs-every-science-student-should-subscribe-to/</a><br />
<br />
Partial list on Wikipedia:<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_science">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_science</a><br />
<br />
Partial list from Guardian:<br />
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2010/jun/03/wanted-best-science-blogs">http://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2010/jun/03/wanted-best-science-blogs</a><br />
<br />
10 Youtube channels that will make you smarter:<br />
<a href="http://mashable.com/2013/04/04/youtube-education/">http://mashable.com/2013/04/04/youtube-education/</a><br />
<br />
100 most subscribed Science-Tech channels on Youtube<br />
<a href="http://vidstatsx.com/youtube-top-100-most-subscribed-science-tech-channels">http://vidstatsx.com/youtube-top-100-most-subscribed-science-tech-channels</a><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03640764062564557234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798104975267602541.post-67071932399956752172014-07-01T08:29:00.000-07:002014-07-01T08:29:01.582-07:00Alchemy to Chemistry: A Brief History<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4xv6GS5rBPqSOOLFg2FYwjBLeSBqEKIf9YZJPf4FKqPPzrZ4I5Lvmwng7IT471a6W4ta2XcX2_SlmYZJmXTKg6SFa1BaLwjI8bA4m0u2Y9nMtvi0DEDzfRK89gTyByP5HYBWjh9fErdM/s1600/alchemy_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4xv6GS5rBPqSOOLFg2FYwjBLeSBqEKIf9YZJPf4FKqPPzrZ4I5Lvmwng7IT471a6W4ta2XcX2_SlmYZJmXTKg6SFa1BaLwjI8bA4m0u2Y9nMtvi0DEDzfRK89gTyByP5HYBWjh9fErdM/s1600/alchemy_1.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is said that the foundations in which Modern Science was built lies on ignorance. Before one can discover the truth of certain processes and principles, one needs to start from scratch in terms of finding that truth. And one of the best examples of that search lies in the foundations of Modern Chemistry - Alchemy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was called Alchemy back in the old days. For Western Civilization it was the search for processes that would turn any substance into Gold. For the East, it was the search for more potent medicines. Nobody knows where Alchemy was started, but it was said it all started in Greece. But the fact that it too started in China at about the same time as the ancient Greeks, with a very different purpose.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After the ancient Greeks and Chinese started their quests for gold and immortality, it was the Arabs in the 8th century CE, backed by their mightly Caliphs and Sultans, that took the next challenge. Strategically located between the east and west, their practitioners mixed the Chinese notion of medicinal benefit, while also putting emphasis in the concept of the "philosopher's stone".</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjwDnLPVhXNKhXq0OHkgREwrVugKbxiKAdEBzm8uLB8tWRbDL1mvzj1gIY6nyVhccX9KUvJRhCXbZPOLonjXAKqUoEUXD6kVtF3hrHCMrEkMCMIBOaY-lw1rjcvVeNuuPAjPlkl5Jkfrs/s1600/FE3-Ibn-Butlan-FPO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjwDnLPVhXNKhXq0OHkgREwrVugKbxiKAdEBzm8uLB8tWRbDL1mvzj1gIY6nyVhccX9KUvJRhCXbZPOLonjXAKqUoEUXD6kVtF3hrHCMrEkMCMIBOaY-lw1rjcvVeNuuPAjPlkl5Jkfrs/s1600/FE3-Ibn-Butlan-FPO.jpg" height="160" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alchemy in the Arab World</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wikipedia perfectly states what a Philosopher's stone would be:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The philosophers' stone or stone of the philosophers (Latin: lapis philosophorum) is a legendary alchemical substance said to be capable of turning base metals such as lead into gold (chrysopoeia) or silver. It was also sometimes believed to be an elixir of life, useful for rejuvenation and possibly for achieving immortality. For many centuries, it was the most sought-after goal in alchemy. The philosophers' stone was the central symbol of the mystical terminology of alchemy, symbolizing perfection at its finest, enlightenment, and heavenly bliss. Efforts to discover the philosophers' stone were known as the Magnum Opus ("Great Work")</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alchemy on its own is an impossible quest. Turning substances into Gold and giving the person immortal powers that cheats death, is somewhat unlikely. But it gave its practitioners - the Alchemists, so much time to think of ways to beat the challenge. They invented different processes, created step by step procedures, organized substances, named and discovered new chemicals either by accident or by experimentation, polished and blasted different glassware and other materials for its use. Therefore, it is safe to say that Alchemy laid the foundations of Modern Chemistry. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3N99_BRHLAJBAUew8zjBopRRQT58T0GLksXBb7L97rpxBN3I6dkm4QH_9Thoj3IFtfNDE6QY0aElHe_-Uy9EUBTnr3ataiNlu93SWWLeoIut2j0Muzvj8YFwPUT1Nn27yG_xCXqcIRdQ/s1600/lavapp.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3N99_BRHLAJBAUew8zjBopRRQT58T0GLksXBb7L97rpxBN3I6dkm4QH_9Thoj3IFtfNDE6QY0aElHe_-Uy9EUBTnr3ataiNlu93SWWLeoIut2j0Muzvj8YFwPUT1Nn27yG_xCXqcIRdQ/s1600/lavapp.gif" height="201" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Different Apparatuses used in Alchemy</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Partial list of Alchemists throughout history:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Zosimos of Panopolis</b> (300 CE) - Greek alchemist and Gnostic mystic. He wrote the oldest known books on alchemy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Elder Zhang Guo</b> - Chinese historical figure. A Taoist fangshi (occultist-alchemist). Also a Qigong master.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Jābir ibn Hayyān</b> - (721-815 CE) - a prominent Muslim polymath: a chemist and alchemist, astronomer and astrologer, engineer, geographer, philosopher, physicist, and pharmacist and physician. Paved the way for later Arab alchemists and is regarded with awe.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Albertus Magnus</b> (1193-1280 CE) - A Catholic Saint, German Dominican Friar and Bishop. Credited for the discovery of the element Arsenic. Legend suggests that he discovered the Philosopher's stone and passed it on to his pupil Thomas Aquinas. No evidence suggests that took place.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Tycho Brahe</b> (1546-1601 CE) - Danish nobleman known for his accurate and comprehensive astronomical and planetary observations. His interest in alchemy started when he lost his nose and tested different metals for an exact fit.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Isaac Newton</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Issac Newton</b> (1642-1727 CE) - English physicist and mathematician (described in his own day as a "natural philosopher") who is widely recognised as one of the most influential scientists of all time and as a key figure in the scientific revolution. His book Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica ("Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy"), first published in 1687, laid the foundations for classical mechanics. Also a known practitioner of Alchemy, trying to find the Philosopher's stone.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Fulcanelli</b> (late 19th to early 1920's) - name used by a French alchemist and esoteric author, whose identity is still debated. The appeal of Fulcanelli as a cultural phenomenon is due partly to the mystery of most aspects of his life and works; one of the anecdotes pertaining to his life retells, in particular, how his most devoted pupil Eugène Canseliet performed a successful transmutation of 100 grams of lead into gold in a laboratory of the gas works of Sarcelles at the Georgi company with the use of a small quantity of the "Projection Powder" given to him by his teacher, in the presence of Julien Champagne and Gaston Sauvage.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Terence McKenna</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Terence Mckenna</b> (1946-2000) - was an American philosopher, psychonaut, ethnobotanist, lecturer, and author. He spoke and wrote about a variety of subjects, including psychedelic drugs, plant-based entheogens, shamanism, metaphysics, alchemy, language, culture, technology and the theoretical origins of human consciousness.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">http://www.scienceandyou.org/articles/ess_08.shtml</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">http://www.lightforcenetwork.com/sites/default/files/List%20of%20Alchemists.pdf</span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03640764062564557234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798104975267602541.post-35534155891974313202014-02-15T22:09:00.001-08:002014-02-15T22:09:10.082-08:00Love, Science and the Brain<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglxEnM_gzwwGSCDrArgGkOOb50uBN_ir2lX3bLFAkKB-zCmACagtx4DVQpSm0a91bU5TzmGbtEAWDfyJEnvBbNGUcHXfoOIHQW4PXlbx0CO4vLTwrDdl1hyphenhyphenl-Czg2qwMi1bQRE9CVV3rM/s1600/logo-science-of-love.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglxEnM_gzwwGSCDrArgGkOOb50uBN_ir2lX3bLFAkKB-zCmACagtx4DVQpSm0a91bU5TzmGbtEAWDfyJEnvBbNGUcHXfoOIHQW4PXlbx0CO4vLTwrDdl1hyphenhyphenl-Czg2qwMi1bQRE9CVV3rM/s1600/logo-science-of-love.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This Valentines season, I would like to talk about a topic that is very intriguing to most but nevertheless essential in our understanding of the human body. This is something that we always do in our everyday lives but rarely thought of how it actually works and why we felt that way. It is an emotion called Love.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We love because we are fond of that person, wants to care for them and are sensitive to their needs and emotions. There are different ways to express love, depending on the type of relationship you have with that person. But, whether they are your parents, siblings, friends, special friends or your special someone, your body reacts with their surroundings and creates a cocktail of chemicals that would translate to love itself. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As of the moment, two scientific disciplines have so far attempted to explain the processes that leads to the emotion of love. The fields of Evolutionary Psychology and Neurochemistry. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>Evolutionary Phychology*</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">Evolutionary psychology has proposed several explanations for love. Human infants and children are for a very long time dependent on parental help. Love has therefore been seen as a mechanism to promote mutual parental support of children for an extended time period. Another is that sexually transmitted diseases may cause, among other effects, permanently reduced fertility, injury to the fetus, and increase risks during childbirth. This would favor exclusive long-term relationships reducing the risk of contracting an STD.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">From the perspective of evolutionary psychology the experiences and behaviors associated with love can be investigated in terms of how they have been shaped by human evolution. For example, it has been suggested that human language has been selected during evolution as a type of "mating signal" that allows potential mates to judge reproductive fitness. Miller described evolutionary psychology as a starting place for further research: "Cognitive neuroscience could try to localize courtship adaptations in the brain. Most importantly, we need much better observations concerning real-life human courtship, including the measurable aspects of courtship that influence mate choice, the reproductive (or at least sexual) consequences of individual variation in those aspects, and the social-cognitive and emotional mechanisms of falling in love." Since Darwin's time there have been similar speculations about the evolution of human interest in music also as a potential signaling system for attracting and judging the fitness of potential mates. It has been suggested that the human capacity to experience love has been evolved as a signal to potential mates that the partner will be a good parent and be likely to help pass genes to future generations.[5] Biologist Jeremy Griffith defines love as 'unconditional selflessness', suggesting utterly cooperative instincts developed in modern humans' ancestor, Australopithecus. Studies of bonobos (a great ape previously referred to as a pygmy chimpanzee) are frequently cited in support of a cooperative past in humans.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>In Neurochemistry</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the United States, Helen Fisher of Rutgers University has proposed 3 stages of love - lust, attraction and attachment. Each stage might be driven by different hormones and chemicals. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Three Stages of Falling in Love**</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Stage 1: Lust</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Lust is being driven by the sex hormones testosterone and oestrogen (estrogen). Testosterone is not confined only to men. It has also been shown to play a major role in the sex drive of women. These hormones as Helen Fisher says "get you out looking for anything".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Stage 2: Attraction</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is the real love-struck phase. People think of nothing else when they fall in love. Might lose appetite or have problems sleeping. They sometimes daydream of being together with the person they love. For family relationships, that also translates to tantrums or a "mini"-depression when they don't see their parents often. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In this stage, several groups of neuro-transmitters called 'monoamines' play an important role:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dopamine - Also activated by cocaine and nicotine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Norepinephrine - Otherwise known as adrenalin. Starts us sweating and gets the heart racing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Serotonin - One of love's most important chemicals and one that may actually send us temporarily insane.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Discover which type of partner you're attracted to by taking our face perception test.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Stage 3: Attachment</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If a relationship is going to last, this is the next phase. It is said that people could not possibly stay in the attraction phase forever, otherwise nothing will be ever accomplished.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Attachment is the bond that keeps couples together in a long lasting commitment when they move on to have children. There a two key hormones released by the nervous system, which is currently thought to have a major role in keeping social attachments:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Oxytocin - This is released by the hypothalamus gland during child birth and also helps the breast express milk. It helps cement the strong bond between mother and child. It is also released by both sexes during orgasm and it is thought that it promotes bonding when adults are intimate. The theory goes that the more sex a couple has, the deeper their bond becomes</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Vasopressin - Another important chemical in the long-term commitment stage. It is an important controller of the kidney and its role in long-term relationships was discovered when scientists looked at the prairie vole</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Find out how the three stages can feel even stronger for teenagers in love, experiencing first love and first sex.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">* Wikipedia</span><br />
** <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/hottopics/love"><span style="background-color: white; color: #006621; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;">www.bbc.co.uk/</span><b style="background-color: white; color: #006621; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;">science</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #006621; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;">/hottopics/</span><b style="background-color: white; color: #006621; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;">love</b></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03640764062564557234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798104975267602541.post-75380465086081346272014-02-12T12:58:00.002-08:002014-02-12T12:58:36.611-08:00Excerpts on Gamma Radiation<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Taken from the book "Defining Moments in Science". Article by Kate Oliver</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Key Discovery : 1900</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">While studying the properties of beta radiation, the French chemist Paul Villard made an intriguing observation. He noticed that in experiments where a beam of beta rays was refracted (passed through a medium of different density), there were often traces of another, unrefracted beam in the results. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Villard set up another instrument, using the newly discovered element radium as a source. He focused a beam of radiation from the radium through a series of glass plates and a magnetic field, to be recorded finally on photographic film. The unrefracted beam appeared again. It did not seem to respond to any external magnetic or electric fields, and would even show up on the photographic film when it was placed behind 0.2 millimeters of lead.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Villard suggested that the radiation he had found was a new type of more penetrating X-ray. He concluded that the three distinct types of radium beams - easily absorbed rays, a dividable stream of charged electrons, and his new super-penetrating X-rays - were analogous to the three types of radiation emitted by cathode ray tubes. With this observation, Villard correctly generalized radiation into the three types we now know as alpha, beta, and gamma. There was, however, very little interest in his discovery or theory, perhaps because it was outside the current scientific paradigm.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 1903, Ernest Rutherford, having studied the penetrative power of the beams, named them gamma rays and his term soon fell into common usage. Villard, however, remains pretty much forgotten.*</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Gamma Rays is a form of electromagnetic radiation. Of all forms of electromagnetic radiation, they have the shortest wavelengths and the greatest energy. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It can be produced either as a result of a nuclear reaction or by the annihilation of matter by antimatter. Nuclear reactions that result in the emission of gamma rays include some types of radioactive decay and the fission (splitting) of a nucleus.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Gamma rays are very penetrating; even a thick sheet of a dense material such as lead will not block them entirely. When these pass through matter, they eject electrons from the atoms they strike. This process, called ionization, is harmful to living cells. A living thing exposed to intense or prolonged gamma radiation can become seriously ill and die.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Gamma rays are used in industry to inspect castings and welds. The gamma rays are passed through the object being inspected onto photographic film. The image formed on the film can reveal defects that are invisible to the eye or hidden from direct observation. In medicine, gamma rays are used to destroy certain types of cancer. Cobalt 60 is a substance that is commonly used in hospitals as a source of gamma rays for this purpose.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Artificial satellites have revealed that a variety of astronomical objects, including the sun, clouds of interstellar matter, and remnants of supernovae, are sources of gamma rays. They have also detected strong, random bursts of gamma rays from unknown distant sources.**</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Source: *Defining Moments in Science: Over a Century of the Greatest Discoveries, Experiments, Inventions, People, Publications and Events that Rocked the World. Page 14.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">** science.howstuffworks.com</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Other sources:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.universetoday.com/73704/what-are-gamma-rays/">http://www.universetoday.com/73704/what-are-gamma-rays/</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.universetoday.com/26831/top-ten-gamma-ray-sources-from-the-fermi-telescope/">http://www.universetoday.com/26831/top-ten-gamma-ray-sources-from-the-fermi-telescope/</a></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03640764062564557234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798104975267602541.post-35180559642003762892014-02-10T23:20:00.001-08:002014-03-16T13:56:51.380-07:00Do I Need to Think Critically?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-JEOqtGMXwml7SFWgFMIpz7LBeGOsFnzF0DiyXVb_JdF8EgqQ4amzZDSVJhyIZRddpwXCBp5XB1r7BH2rC0GTD5K0wQ8MNcq3XUKNgbz5B9DO4FbKMD7DU0WylZa2VrZX0z10MgR7mk/s1600/critical-thinking-skills.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-JEOqtGMXwml7SFWgFMIpz7LBeGOsFnzF0DiyXVb_JdF8EgqQ4amzZDSVJhyIZRddpwXCBp5XB1r7BH2rC0GTD5K0wQ8MNcq3XUKNgbz5B9DO4FbKMD7DU0WylZa2VrZX0z10MgR7mk/s1600/critical-thinking-skills.jpeg" height="315" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">http://figures.boundless.com/17756/full/critical-thinking-skills.jpeg</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thinking critically is a challenging and fun (sometimes) way of - well, thinking things. Many people aren't really aware they are doing it. When a student does his homework or when a family man (or woman) budgets their income for the rainy days, they are already thinking critically. Think of anything you have done in the past that does not require that you think. I can bet you can only think of only a handful, and most of it has maybe not so good consequences. But still, come think of it. You've been thinking your way through life since you've been made aware of all these choices and decision that has come along your way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So what is critical thinking anyway? Is it just really, REALLY thinking hard? Not really. These are skills that all of us, young and old, need to learn to be able to solve problems and make better decisions. Information are gathered through observation, communication, experience, or through the use of our senses. This information is analyzed and evaluated, leading to the resulting decision or solution. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At its core, critical thinking is about being able to listen, and respond to any information and not just simply accepting any information at face value. To question that information is the most important part of critical thinking. "It is a part of scientific, mathematical, historical, economic and philosophical thinking, all of which are necessary for the future development of our society".*</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sounds complex eh? It's not. When you hear your neighbor rant about a thing or two gossiping another neighbor, do you instantly believe the person? I'm pretty sure it's not. In that scenario you have already exhibited basic critical thinking skills. You ask your neighbor one question after another and he or she answers it. Of course with every answer you analyse whether everything your neighbor said could be pieced together or makes sense. And it is totally up to you really whether you believe that story or not. Another example of using your critical thinking faculties is when you plan for your son's birthday party. You consider all the possible places to celebrate, the budget at hand or budget that needs to be saved for that event, inviting people, planning games and amusement, the food - who will prepare, was the dishes, cook, etc. Of course you get all the information and analyze it, coming up with all the preferable factors and put them into action. The culmination of all the planning is the party itself. There are still many things where we can practice critical thinking but I am not going to deal with that further. There's too many of them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Critical Thinking as Defined by the National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking, 1987**</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A statement by Michael Scriven & Richard Paul, presented at the 8th Annual International Conference on Critical Thinking and Education Reform, Summer 1987. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It entails the examination of those structures or elements of thought implicit in all reasoning: purpose, problem, or question-at-issue; assumptions; concepts; empirical grounding; reasoning leading to conclusions; implications and consequences; objections from alternative viewpoints; and frame of reference. Critical thinking — in being responsive to variable subject matter, issues, and purposes — is incorporated in a family of interwoven modes of thinking, among them: scientific thinking, mathematical thinking, historical thinking, anthropological thinking, economic thinking, moral thinking, and philosophical thinking.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Critical thinking can be seen as having two components: 1) a set of information and belief generating and processing skills, and 2) the habit, based on intellectual commitment, of using those skills to guide behavior. It is thus to be contrasted with: 1) the mere acquisition and retention of information alone, because it involves a particular way in which information is sought and treated; 2) the mere possession of a set of skills, because it involves the continual use of them; and 3) the mere use of those skills ("as an exercise") without acceptance of their results.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Critical thinking varies according to the motivation underlying it. When grounded in selfish motives, it is often manifested in the skillful manipulation of ideas in service of one’s own, or one's groups’, vested interest. As such it is typically intellectually flawed, however pragmatically successful it might be. When grounded in fair-mindedness and intellectual integrity, it is typically of a higher order intellectually, though subject to the charge of "idealism" by those habituated to its selfish use.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Critical thinking of any kind is never universal in any individual; everyone is subject to episodes of undisciplined or irrational thought. Its quality is therefore typically a matter of degree and dependent on, among other things, the quality and depth of experience in a given domain of thinking or with respect to a particular class of questions. No one is a critical thinker through-and-through, but only to such-and-such a degree, with such-and-such insights and blind spots, subject to such-and-such tendencies towards self-delusion. For this reason, the development of critical thinking skills and dispositions is a life-long endeavor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So is it really important to think critically? A resounding answer would be yes!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Also, here is a good video presentation about Critical Thinking by Qualiasoup.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">PS:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have created a facebook group about this topic. I am no expert but I will do what I can to learn more and SHARE more! Please like the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thinkcriticallybrand" target="_blank">page</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: red; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #eeeeee;">I would like to say thank you for the 4000 views I currently have on my website. I really appreciate everything and I will do my best to give more basic science information and share more from different media.</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">* http://www.wikihow.com/</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">** https://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03640764062564557234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798104975267602541.post-45305077749488059922014-02-09T12:15:00.001-08:002014-02-09T12:15:53.617-08:00A Maverick for Science: Nikola Tesla<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjypUdH1E6feBeLzkMMzO5VJJo8FKpvAJAGvu7s7UHrsgtyYRIASntfWy0uiW0Alf5DyCcLL2m1FMPv_dEjKWbq_02q5ZkGx7GFsNCe67wPMu_TmPFJvswCeYkZU1s4MVQ5G0VjIECrJuI/s1600/Colorized-Historical-Photos-25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjypUdH1E6feBeLzkMMzO5VJJo8FKpvAJAGvu7s7UHrsgtyYRIASntfWy0uiW0Alf5DyCcLL2m1FMPv_dEjKWbq_02q5ZkGx7GFsNCe67wPMu_TmPFJvswCeYkZU1s4MVQ5G0VjIECrJuI/s1600/Colorized-Historical-Photos-25.jpg" height="320" width="238" /></a></div>
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I never heard of this name when I was a kid. I can barely remember when I first heard his name. Must have stumbled upon his name maybe but did not really put his name in my list of personal heroes of Science, like Albert Einstein, Galileo Galilei, Isaac Newton, Pierre and Marie Curie, Alessandro Volta, and - I think that was it! I never imagined that during my youth I only know a handful of scientific heroes and heroines. But I am very sure I can't remember hearing or reading his name during those times. I do wonder that sometimes, Why is that?<br />
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Of course I am familiar with this person now that I am an adult. Who wouldn't? Any <i>Red Alert</i> player heard his name as a defensive tower for the Soviets, shooting lightning bolts on any allied soldier desperate for a quick kill. That name stuck in my mind ever since.<br />
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His name is Nikola Tesla. A Serbian American inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, physicist, and futurist. A brilliant inventor and at the same time a mysterious figure in his later years, he made significant and lasting contributions in the science of Electricity. His vision and his passion produced his greatest contributions in the field of Alternating Current electricity supply system (AC).<br />
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He lived during the time electricity was at its infancy. He went to the US as an immigrant. Worked with Thomas Edison for some time and then was able to find financiers for his projects and inventions. As Wikipedia gladly summarized for us:<br />
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<em>Tesla gained experience in telephony and electrical engineering before emigrating to the United States in 1884 to work for Thomas Edison. He soon struck out on his own with financial backers, setting up laboratories and companies to develop a range of electrical devices. His patented AC induction motor and transformer were licensed by George Westinghouse, who also hired Tesla as a consultant to help develop a power system using alternating current. Tesla is also known for his high-voltage, high-frequency power experiments in New York and Colorado Springs which included patented devices and theoretical work used in the invention of radio communication, for his X-ray experiments, and for his ill-fated attempt at intercontinental wireless transmission in his unfinished Wardenclyffe Tower project. </em><br />
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His Tower is being financed by one of the big giants of Wall Street at that time, J.P. Morgan. The death sentence to the said project was also when Guilliermo Marconi was able to transmit a letter wirelessly from Newfoundland to England, shattering hopes whatever Tesla have on accomplishing his goal of wireless communication. He also told Morgan that the tower can also provide wireless electricity. Ultimately after seeing that his project would not be profitable after all, he abandoned Tesla. He Tesla died poor and unknown in January 1943.<br />
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During the last few decades of the 20th century, due to the rising demand of energy and the almost endless quest for renewable and sustainable sources of energy, researchers, scientists and people from all walks of life rekindled their curiosity about the life of this maverick for science. I am not sure whether Tesla is the reason but there is a movement called the "free energy" movement that stemmed from this quest for free and sustainable energy. The mainstream scientific community is still skeptical of the claims of these inventors from this movement.<br />
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Thanks to the internet, there are lots of resources about the person behind that extraordinary brain. You can watch a simple documentary below.<br />
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Here is a toast to everybody who supports my blog since the start. Two tesla coils singing an all-familiar tune.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Links of Interest: Note, I am showing all the links that has a pro and con approach to the Edison-Tesla rivalry at that time. Not siding who, just finding it interesting that people still have a fondness for defending long time heroes. You decide.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://amasci.com/tesla/tesla.html">http://amasci.com/tesla/tesla.html</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.teslauniverse.com/">http://www.teslauniverse.com/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.tesla-coil-builder.com/Articles/july_11_1934b.htm">http://www.tesla-coil-builder.com/Articles/july_11_1934b.htm</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.pbs.org/tesla/ll/index.html">http://www.pbs.org/tesla/ll/index.html</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.neuronet.pitt.edu/~bogdan/tesla/bio.htm">http://www.neuronet.pitt.edu/~bogdan/tesla/bio.htm</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://listverse.com/2012/06/07/10-ways-edison-treated-tesla-like-a-jerk/">http://listverse.com/2012/06/07/10-ways-edison-treated-tesla-like-a-jerk/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://theoatmeal.com/comics/tesla" target="_blank">http://theoatmeal.com/comics/tesla</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml">http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.nj.com/middlesex/index.ssf/2013/02/oatmeal_comic_about_tesla_and.html" target="_blank">http://www.nj.com/middlesex/index.ssf/2013/02/oatmeal_comic_about_tesla_and.html</a></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.activistpost.com/2012/01/10-inventions-of-nikola-tesla-that.html" target="_blank">http://www.activistpost.com/2012/01/10-inventions-of-nikola-tesla-that.html</a></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nikola_Tesla_patents">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nikola_Tesla_patents</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/10/131003-nikola-tesla-surprising-facts-statue-museum-science/">http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/10/131003-nikola-tesla-surprising-facts-statue-museum-science/</a><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://science.howstuffworks.com/nikola-tesla.htm" target="_blank">http://science.howstuffworks.com/nikola-tesla.htm</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/5-things-you-didnt-know-about-nikola-tesla/">http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/5-things-you-didnt-know-about-nikola-tesla/</a><br /></span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03640764062564557234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798104975267602541.post-17363365760115132452014-01-30T09:17:00.000-08:002014-01-30T09:17:45.366-08:00Where's that particle? <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifIUtXTEP_Fg9gVC2M9Lw4xX3gQy-8ePexJN-ah5FJKl7VIQs7lC3xkIqFJs91uTrc6Box5xmH5FyU9ZkPXgKs4Y4M5Ztm7j0BPj2acRMEifL2fLJWSZ00rlIrNvRIGJGYtc-61r_ruQM/s1600/120704114742-higgs-boson-4-horizontal-gallery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifIUtXTEP_Fg9gVC2M9Lw4xX3gQy-8ePexJN-ah5FJKl7VIQs7lC3xkIqFJs91uTrc6Box5xmH5FyU9ZkPXgKs4Y4M5Ztm7j0BPj2acRMEifL2fLJWSZ00rlIrNvRIGJGYtc-61r_ruQM/s1600/120704114742-higgs-boson-4-horizontal-gallery.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The "reason of our existence" some scientists would call it. The particle that makes stuff for mystery stories. Hiding under the radar of science. Elusive and expensive to find. The "God" particle. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Their quest took them 40 years to complete. Time, effort and an unimaginable amount of money and resources has been allocated for this search, which, in that long period of time, would be called worthwhile.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXHSY1tqgikCqjAV6ZTess0IUROivm2LhclpQP-1r1xHTQjOCYwfzhMEDScdd26rtWndjUzMSGJI0pYV-DHxuHsaQqh1SznXRbO68PIbu-4MD_l03QKtm9g6vxaFdqA4L7akRvD4G9Sv8/s1600/09nobel-cnd01-popup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXHSY1tqgikCqjAV6ZTess0IUROivm2LhclpQP-1r1xHTQjOCYwfzhMEDScdd26rtWndjUzMSGJI0pYV-DHxuHsaQqh1SznXRbO68PIbu-4MD_l03QKtm9g6vxaFdqA4L7akRvD4G9Sv8/s1600/09nobel-cnd01-popup.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 13.999699592590332px; text-align: left;">Peter W. Higgs, right, and François Englert at a conference in Switzerland on July 4, 2012. Source: New York Times</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 1964, Peter Higgs, Francois Englert, and their colleagues theorized that there must be something that might explain why other particles have mass, why all things hold together, why we exist. That something is the Higgs boson. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It is popularized by the media as the "God particle". The nickname comes from the title of a 1993 book "The God Particle: If the Universe Is the Answer, What Is the Question?" by Leon Lederman, a Physicist, a Nobel Prizewinner and Fermilab director. Lederman wrote this as a response to the US government decision to halt the construction and support of the Superconducting Super Collider, partly constructed competitor of the Large Hadron Collider, that he championed since its inception in 1983 until its shutdown in 1993.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leon Lederman</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Lederman on explaining why he named it the God Particle:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"Today ... we have the standard model, which reduces all of reality to a dozen or so particles and four forces. ... It's a hard-won simplicity [...and...] remarkably accurate. But it is also incomplete and, in fact, internally inconsistent... This boson is so central to the state of physics today, so crucial to our final understanding of the structure of matter, yet so elusive, that I have given it a nickname: the God Particle. Why God Particle? Two reasons. One, the publisher wouldn't let us call it the Goddamn Particle, though that might be a more appropriate title, given its villainous nature and the expense it is causing. And two, there is a connection, of sorts, to another book, a much older one..."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">—Leon M. Lederman and Dick Teresi, The God Particle: If the Universe is the Answer, What is the Question p. 22</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was on July 2012 when the Higgs boson particle was discovered in the most powerful particle accelerator in the world, the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. And it has been billed as one of the biggest scientific achivement for the last 50 years. On March 14, coinciding with Albert Einsteins' birthday, they announced that, the particle they have been looking for has characteristics that looked more like the Higgs boson particle.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Both Higgs and Englert, now in their 80's, was awarded the Nobel Price for Physics for all their efforts in the Higgs boson on October 8,2013. Their prize of $1.2 million has been awarded last December 10,2013. The Nobel Prize is a set of annual international awards bestowed in a number of categories by Swedish and Norwegian committees in recognition of cultural and/or scientific advances.* The founder of the Nobel Prize is Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor of Dynamite.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One might be shouting expletives when one hear of this so called "God particle" and how it shaped our universe. This is the particle that actually gave particles mass. Without it, there wouldn't be any atoms, without atoms, no molecules, without molecules no DNA, without DNA, no living things would exist, and that includes us.As we look further into the vast void that makes up the cosmos, or look deeper into the "inner" cosmos of atoms, quarks and bosons, we help foster a new age of scientific discovery. Pushing us further advanced, further enligthened and the scientific enterprise will continue pushing forward, and there are no signs of stopping.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03640764062564557234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798104975267602541.post-54045401815359509132013-09-26T11:53:00.000-07:002013-09-26T11:53:25.243-07:00The Four Fundamental Forces<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Have you ever wondered what keeps our atoms from scattering all over the cosmos? What keeps our feet on the ground? What makes those wonderful gadgets and gizmos work? We as common people could only think of answers within our limits of thinking. We can easily say Gravity keeps our feet on the ground and that is correct. Electricity is making all these wonderful machines work and that too is correct. And that's it. We don't know what keep us being, well ... us! If most of the atom is entirely empty space, then why I can see you? Why I can see my monitor? Why I can touch it?<br />
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I heard it somewhere that Truth is stranger than fiction. Stranger is the fact that our entire cosmos is "governed" by these invisible forces. Right now there are four fundamental forces that shape us and the Universe as a whole. A force is a push or pull upon an object resulting from the object's interaction with another object. Newton defined a force as anything that caused an object to accelerate -- F = ma, where F is force, m is mass and a is acceleration.What are these so called fundamental forces of nature?<br />
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An article from HowStuffworks.com explains it clearly. Here is the link to the article:<br />
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<a href="http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geophysics/fundamental-forces-of-nature.htm">http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geophysics/fundamental-forces-of-nature.htm</a><br />
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Currently, there are 4 fundamental forces that have been identified.*<br />
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1. Electromagnetic Force<br />
2. Gravitational Force<br />
3. Strong Nuclear Force<br />
4. Weak Nuclear Force<br />
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The strong interaction is very strong, but very short-ranged. It acts only over ranges of order 10-13 centimeters and is responsible for holding the nuclei of atoms together. It is basically attractive, but can be effectively repulsive in some circumstances.<br />
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The electromagnetic force causes electric and magnetic effects such as the repulsion between like electrical charges or the interaction of bar magnets. It is long-ranged, but much weaker than the strong force. It can be attractive or repulsive, and acts only between pieces of matter carrying electrical charge.<br />
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The weak force is responsible for radioactive decay and neutrino interactions. It has a very short range and, as its name indicates, it is very weak.<br />
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The gravitational force is weak, but very long ranged. Furthermore, it is always attractive, and acts between any two pieces of matter in the Universe since mass is its source.<br />
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Sources:<br />
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* <a href="http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/cosmology/forces.html">http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/cosmology/forces.html</a><br />
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Further reading:<br />
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_interaction">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_interaction</a><br />
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<a href="http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/980127c.html">http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/980127c.html</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03640764062564557234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798104975267602541.post-17924184257008038292013-08-22T11:34:00.000-07:002013-08-22T11:34:08.553-07:00Science and my seeking spirituality<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYQlnC9-LEQz0ANpCFdTstyi7BjgSqGBWMxzJDhc1Ou2FyNKCumCoOO-zyqWiIWUltvbjuswjCl0Cdqd29psQi2sGd3oqUsKhOQFch-2hj9rb5bHGHLwT5AGyF7mVtJwZ9uKDJ0rv30Co/s1600/h_consciousness.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYQlnC9-LEQz0ANpCFdTstyi7BjgSqGBWMxzJDhc1Ou2FyNKCumCoOO-zyqWiIWUltvbjuswjCl0Cdqd29psQi2sGd3oqUsKhOQFch-2hj9rb5bHGHLwT5AGyF7mVtJwZ9uKDJ0rv30Co/s1600/h_consciousness.jpg" height="400" width="308" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Courtesy of: http://www.mi2g.com/cgi/mi2g/press/images/h_consciousness.jpg</span></td></tr>
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As a young boy, I was fascinated with so many things. My experience though is mainly appreciation of all things visual, things that I can see. I was fascinated with the image of Earth, pictured from outer space, I was fascinated by the Mona Lisa, that timeless painting of Leornardo da Vinci, a picture of a polar bear living the life in the Arctic. I also appreciate the natural landscape, as well as skylines of the urban jungle which is the Metropolis. Though this appreciation is not really spiritual in a sense. I find them beautiful and majestic, but that's it. I don't find anything spiritual in them. It is just late in my life that I wonder why? Then I asked myself, what is spiritual? How do I define a spiritual experience?<br />
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My teenage years brought me to a different level of appreciation, the Auditory kind. Like most teenagers living in the early 90's, I was introduced to music. The kind that you would hear on the radio. I don't have any explanation then, until now, as to why in the first 12 years of my life I don't have any liking to any music. I hear sounds and notes and melodies, but I have no liking. The Filipino band Eraserheads changed all of that. Though I am not thanking them for making me a music lover. It just happened that they have the right stuff for my ears. Maybe it's something else, or maybe it's really normal for teenagers to be introduced to music in their teenage years.<br />
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When I listen to music, with its different genres, I appreciate those that makes my brain shiver with delight. My friend called it an "eargasm" which I only heard late in my life. Rock music was the first of my attempts to find appreciation in music. As the years passed, it evolved to include appreciation in other genres like R&B, Trance, New Wave, 70's Disco and other styles of music such as Classical music and Eastern styles of music like Sufi and Japanese Zen style which is for the meditating kind. But I am not meditative in nature. I don't reflect and I don't meditate. But when I hear something for the first time, and I shiver and experience this kind of electric surge into my brain, then I start to cherish the melodies and close my eyes satisfied with what I am hearing.<br />
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This same appreciation in my Visual and Hearing faculties, helped me in appreciating Science more. Looking at a picture of a Galaxy, listening to a Science lecture, watching Carl Sagan's Cosmos, reading a 900 page Science book. All of these information gathering helped me gather more insights on what really is spiritual for me. I don't know why of all disciplines, Science is the one that earned my respect and liking. Is it because it answers my questions about life and its origins? Is it because of the sheer greatness of the technologies it brings to help man prosper?<br />
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As a kid, all information that I get is based on "Authority figures" like my parents, the teacher, the priest and mass media like television. At school, memorizing things could be a hard task, but I guess that is the only way we could get information permanently into our heads. At church, hearing sermons and interacting with your community's lay people helped you get their view of reality though the word of God. For my parents, well, their upbrining, their values, their beliefs, are also passed down to me. For mass media, anything goes (as far as I am concerned) good or bad information, misinformation they are all there, we just don't know how to filter the vast source of information we are getting there.<br />
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But as I grow older, as I experience the life outside of the Academe (that more than a decade of school), as I experience the "real world", I realize that living is not just about doing your best of your abilities to earn a living. I realize that living is not just about having friends and having a good time like it is your last, I realize that living is not just about loving and taking care of your family and working a job to survive. Life is really an extension of your learning years, a continuous learning experience. And part of this experience is to seek your inner peace. Seeking something that would make your life and that of your loved ones easy and satisfying to live with. Sure, money will solve most of that, but I think that this desire to learn more about the Universe is the most important thing that we have.<br />
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Many would ask me, why learn if that could not be used in our everyday lives. Sure they have a point, but I am not talking about Math and Chemistry or Engineering. I am talking about seeking to answer the questions you have and learn more from it. Seeking to understand why we are here? What is our purpose? And having a Scientific outlook in life would answer that for you. Learning the answers about the cosmos, or even thinking what the answer would be, is a profound experience. Staring at the night sky, seeing the Milky way, is a spiritual experience for me, just by looking at the grand scale of things, realizing that the photons of a star 2,000 light years away, reached my eye after leaving that very star and travelled the vast dark space between that star and my eye for 2 thousand years. How exciting that thought would be. Looking at an image of an atom, thinking that you are actually made of trillions of that one atom you are looking at, is an exciting thought.<br />
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Carl Sagan says best when he described what Spirituality in a Scientific outlook would be:<br />
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“Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality. When we recognize our place in an immensity of light‐years and in the passage of ages, when we grasp the intricacy, beauty, and subtlety of life, then that soaring feeling, that sense of elation and humility combined, is surely spiritual. So are our emotions in the presence of great art or music or literature, or acts of exemplary selfless courage such as those of Mohandas Gandhi or Martin Luther King, Jr. The notion that science and spirituality are somehow mutually exclusive does a disservice to both.”<br />
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― Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark<br />
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My quest for this inner peace. This spirituality is not yet over. Nevertheless, I am confident that our search for who we are and our place in the cosmos can be answered. These are valid questions Science could answer, but until that answers are questioned, I am comfortable that having a Scientific worldview would make that search less fearful.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03640764062564557234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798104975267602541.post-3703618535093355812013-07-05T11:59:00.002-07:002013-07-05T13:39:38.807-07:0020th post and something I have found along the way...... Strings!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Reference: <a href="http://digitalblasphemy.com/graphics/previews/stringtheory2_preview.jpg">http://digitalblasphemy.com/graphics/previews/stringtheory2_preview.jpg</a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Good day! It has been 5 months since I first started this Blog. I know this is not an amazing blog, compared to the most popular ones. But this is my own little attempt to reach out and help people see some of the things that I see. Put here some of the exciting things that I've learned and known. And there is no turning back!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is also for my kids. When they grow up, I will show them this blog and hopefully they would be inspired by the awesome reality that science has shown me and the wonderful future it will bring to us. I might not be around when the time comes that we could fully feel the true scope of what science and technology has to offer, but they will. I will continue to put here links, books, articles, websites, pictures and videos from different sources. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For those who have viewed and read this page and supported my blog by showing it to others...MY SINCEREST THANKS. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Here is the link I viewed yesterday. This is about a known but mysterious hypothesis about String Theory. I am new to this and I will try to fully understand what this is and how it affects us as humans. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The video is a lecture between two prominent scientists. Brian Greene (Theoretical Physicist and String Theorist) and cosmologist Lawrence Strauss.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The link below covers the basics of what String Theory is and covers more websites about the Topic:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.nucleares.unam.mx/~alberto/physics/string.html">http://www.nucleares.unam.mx/~alberto/physics/string.html</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You can also try complex terms by reading the Wikipedia article <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_theory" target="_blank">here</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This beautifully constructed article by Alberto Güijosa</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> gives us some basic understanding behind the principles of String Theory. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> <i>We live in a wonderfully complex universe, and we are curious about it by nature. Time and </i></span><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">again we have wondered--- why are we here? Where did we and the world come from? What is the </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">world made of? It is our privilege to live in a time when enormous progress has been made </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">towards finding some of the answers. String theory is our most recent attempt to answer the </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">last (and part of the second) question.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, what is the world made of? Ordinary matter is made of atoms, which are in turn made of </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">just three basic components: electrons whirling around a nucleus composed of neutrons and </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">protons. The electron is a truly fundamental particle (it is one of a family of particles </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">known as leptons), but neutrons and protons are made of smaller particles, known as quarks. </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Quarks are, as far as we know, truly elementary.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Our current knowledge about the subatomic composition of the universe is summarized in what </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">is known as the Standard Model of particle physics. It describes both the fundamental </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">building blocks out of which the world is made, and the forces through which these blocks </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">interact. There are twelve basic building blocks. Six of these are quarks--- they go by the </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">interesting names of up, down, charm, strange, bottom and top. (A proton, for instance, is </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">made of two up quarks and one down quark.) The other six are leptons--- these include the </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">electron and its two heavier siblings, the muon and the tauon, as well as three neutrinos.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There are four fundamental forces in the universe: gravity, electromagnetism, and the weak </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">and strong nuclear forces. Each of these is produced by fundamental particles that act as </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">carriers of the force. The most familiar of these is the photon, a particle of light, which </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">is the mediator of electromagnetic forces. (This means that, for instance, a magnet attracts </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">a nail because both objects exchange photons.) The graviton is the particle associated with </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">gravity. The strong force is carried by eight particles known as gluons. Finally, the weak </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">force is transmitted by three particles, the W+, the W- , and the Z.</span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The behavior of all of these particles and forces is described with impeccable precision by </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">the Standard Model, with one notable exception: gravity. For technical reasons, the </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">gravitational force, the most familiar in our every day lives, has proven very difficult to </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">describe microscopically. This has been for many years one of the most important problems in </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">theoretical physics-- to formulate a quantum theory of gravity.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the last few decades, string theory has emerged as the most promising candidate for a </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">microscopic theory of gravity. And it is infinitely more ambitious than that: it attempts to </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">provide a complete, unified, and consistent description of the fundamental structure of our </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">universe. (For this reason it is sometimes, quite arrogantly, called a 'Theory of </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Everything').</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The essential idea behind string theory is this: all of the different 'fundamental ' </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">particles of the Standard Model are really just different manifestations of one basic </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">object: a string. How can that be? Well, we would ordinarily picture an electron, for </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">instance, as a point with no internal structure. A point cannot do anything but move. But, </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">if string theory is correct, then under an extremely powerful 'microscope' we would realize </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">that the electron is not really a point, but a tiny loop of string. A string can do </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">something aside from moving--- it can oscillate in different ways. If it oscillates a </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">certain way, then from a distance, unable to tell it is really a string, we see an electron. </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But if it oscillates some other way, well, then we call it a photon, or a quark, or a ... </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">you get the idea. So, if string theory is correct, the entire world is made of strings!</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Perhaps the most remarkable thing about string theory is that such a simple idea works--- it </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">is possible to derive (an extension of) the Standard Model (which has been verified </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">experimentally with incredible precision) from a theory of strings. But it should also be </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">said that, to date, there is no direct experimental evidence that string theory itself is </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">the correct description of Nature. This is mostly due to the fact that string theory is </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">still under development. We know bits and pieces of it, but we do not yet see the whole </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">picture, and we are therefore unable to make definite predictions. In recent years many </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">exciting developments have taken place, radically improving our understanding of what the </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">theory is.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Reference:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.nucleares.unam.mx/~alberto/physics/string.html">http://www.nucleares.unam.mx/~alberto/physics/string.html</a></span><br />
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_theory">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_theory</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03640764062564557234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798104975267602541.post-63173794377831804852013-06-08T21:37:00.003-07:002013-06-08T21:37:32.077-07:00Hubble Ultra Deep Field : Humbling experience<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This image you can see below is that of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, taken over a period of 11 days in 2003. This image has around 10,000 galaxies in it. All points, smears and dots in this image is a galaxy. A galaxy has an average of a hundred billion stars in it. And it's impossible that not one of these billions of stars has a planet - with some form of life in it, Intelligent or not. <br />
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Makes you wonder about the real place of our planet in this vast and gigantic Universe that we live in.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSC3jaxU4zTpynNPnghZ47SQrab-hoHAECN3mkcjLlw65JDgbXXz52wY7mWN0dVDme7opdxxIlpeGMbhngXCIsU7MQ2fHcxWuLvSIotHwcO__d5SgPY2UqdY4Ho36ylOF-59TavJdEklQ/s1600/Hubble+Ultra+Deep+Field.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSC3jaxU4zTpynNPnghZ47SQrab-hoHAECN3mkcjLlw65JDgbXXz52wY7mWN0dVDme7opdxxIlpeGMbhngXCIsU7MQ2fHcxWuLvSIotHwcO__d5SgPY2UqdY4Ho36ylOF-59TavJdEklQ/s1600/Hubble+Ultra+Deep+Field.jpg" /></a></div>
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It all started from this image taken 18 years ago. In 1995, the Hubble Deep Field was taken in a span of 10 days, targeting a very small patch of seemingly empty space in the night sky. Only to found out that small patch has 3,000 galaxies in it. Taken from that point when the Universe is still very young.<br />
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Here is the video I found on Youtube. <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/mcBV-cXVWFw?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Contemplate that for a few minutes. Stare at this image of Ten thousand Galaxies. One trillion trillion stars. And an unimaginable number of planets. The human mind with all its power, could be humbled by the sheer vastness and endless spectacle.<br />
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I would strongly recommend to watch these videos. <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03640764062564557234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798104975267602541.post-1767696449913696202013-06-03T11:14:00.005-07:002013-06-03T11:14:54.239-07:00Our Atomic Snapshots<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtqU37h9CObiaHY3A4vZ8EGz_h15Ic13RthvlH0sdFYoLufbPFW2h7vM4lEPVEPuGOefTZA5UQGUX8sIaRGTrQp2OkGJLs18wBTe38v0zrTu1yJSEQpWLIxPoPTh0K0ICkm8kNXISH5AA/s1600/Atom_295.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtqU37h9CObiaHY3A4vZ8EGz_h15Ic13RthvlH0sdFYoLufbPFW2h7vM4lEPVEPuGOefTZA5UQGUX8sIaRGTrQp2OkGJLs18wBTe38v0zrTu1yJSEQpWLIxPoPTh0K0ICkm8kNXISH5AA/s1600/Atom_295.jpg" /></a></div>
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It would be I should say, a dream of every Chemist or Science buff in general, maybe humanity's, to live in a world and in a century, where it seems, many unthinkable things in the past are now part of our real physical lives. This century saw the changes the way we communicate with the rise of the Cellular phone and the Internet. The rapid accelerating achievements in the world of Computing that made way for faster and more powerful Computers. Advances in Medicine is seeking to eliminate even the most vilest of all diseases. Engineering feats that helps in human progress. Human societies coming together for the first time, to talk, gather information, to plan for the future. </div>
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But for me, no achievement would equal to that what happened a few days ago. When for the first time, humans were able to take an actual photo of an atom. Yes, you heard me right! The atom now has his own portrait. And what a glorious portrait that would be!</div>
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Here is a jpeg you can easily see online. </div>
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From the website:</div>
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<a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21829194.900-smile-hydrogen-atom-youre-on-quantum-camera.html?full=true">http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21829194.900-smile-hydrogen-atom-youre-on-quantum-camera.html?full=true</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPR0_qlZZI7oZrQhWLVxVTtEk7K572Q2aJskp_elD0rebGms5D1YOLST9Bbk8GCxAQcHvQgy5ihTadtpDYtPM_TsqozUNZqjCc1Hgaqle3YI-B6lOz9IjH9nX7_8z9HDOeQj8KGIUiyZE/s1600/29194901.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPR0_qlZZI7oZrQhWLVxVTtEk7K572Q2aJskp_elD0rebGms5D1YOLST9Bbk8GCxAQcHvQgy5ihTadtpDYtPM_TsqozUNZqjCc1Hgaqle3YI-B6lOz9IjH9nX7_8z9HDOeQj8KGIUiyZE/s1600/29194901.jpg" height="640" width="624" /></a></div>
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How cool is that!</div>
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I am cosidering myself very lucky to have live in this age of wonder. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7BJwM3TGTvgCtHIXAl12F30hgpaneUTJOdigSTXcTMo77a6PIaTJChsGyO9ec0niMUenMv5sqMeFEpnkDBgGt08bsOxLFV04ahXchQAjTxPjub-Zr3dNrKeieEdFg6ciq1TB7xMPsv_4/s1600/inside-atom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7BJwM3TGTvgCtHIXAl12F30hgpaneUTJOdigSTXcTMo77a6PIaTJChsGyO9ec0niMUenMv5sqMeFEpnkDBgGt08bsOxLFV04ahXchQAjTxPjub-Zr3dNrKeieEdFg6ciq1TB7xMPsv_4/s1600/inside-atom.jpg" height="640" width="580" /></a></div>
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Photo referrence:</div>
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<a href="http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/scientists-photograph-the-inside-of-an-atom-for-the-first-time">http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/scientists-photograph-the-inside-of-an-atom-for-the-first-time</a></div>
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Here is another interesting article. Molecules too are being photographed for the first time!</div>
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<a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/31/4382606/berkeley-lab-hi-res-photograph-of-atoms-forming-covalent-bond">http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/31/4382606/berkeley-lab-hi-res-photograph-of-atoms-forming-covalent-bond</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03640764062564557234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798104975267602541.post-61279997403322320462013-05-14T12:39:00.004-07:002013-05-14T12:41:15.986-07:00Nanotechnology: Industry of the very small<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmy_mJac09gV6EI0x5VsTshlEwMxyrAfU_QNxrKVbebRCKWsdVeDgXAnt49c4Gy4d0j45JrXBIqG04JLNYnmkJzfbTiJ80tTK3J2Y03dvS2g9CN-WUAHHzQGBy1Pr8aWAk1ttr64A6AcE/s1600/nanotechnology-kd-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmy_mJac09gV6EI0x5VsTshlEwMxyrAfU_QNxrKVbebRCKWsdVeDgXAnt49c4Gy4d0j45JrXBIqG04JLNYnmkJzfbTiJ80tTK3J2Y03dvS2g9CN-WUAHHzQGBy1Pr8aWAk1ttr64A6AcE/s1600/nanotechnology-kd-001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">First time I heard of this term, well that was only around a few years ago. Just around during the time I re-ignited my interest in Science and Technology. Sci-fi films also gave me some idea on how this works. It's like building a machine so small that you cannot see it with the naked eye, yet so powerful that it is still able to do its task. For newbies like me, this might seem impossible, but in reality lots of scientists are already engaging in a promising technology, that would shape this century.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlD6UgJbiE9rqKwUtgyzFMRaQ4HlWB0kz5pNIh6V6t1nAcmh1LfCTvJnF_HzKjk0YKJhadAm4h7PNBnu5UgN_11yTKBT7cY855Oe_6-8sI94Bp2OKWAnkDYrYfQNiugCsps22EEHkgPRM/s1600/srg-iii-pov-animation2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlD6UgJbiE9rqKwUtgyzFMRaQ4HlWB0kz5pNIh6V6t1nAcmh1LfCTvJnF_HzKjk0YKJhadAm4h7PNBnu5UgN_11yTKBT7cY855Oe_6-8sI94Bp2OKWAnkDYrYfQNiugCsps22EEHkgPRM/s1600/srg-iii-pov-animation2.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Theoretical model of a Nanotech machine</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So what excatly is Nanotechnology? *Wikipedia has a simple definition of that " is the manipulation of matter on an atomic and molecular scale. ". The Center for Responsible Nanotechnology (http://www.crnano.org/) defines Nanotechnology as the "engineering of functional systems at a molecular scale". The National Nanotechnology Initiative of the United States, gave a clearer view on what Nanotech should be. For NNI, it is the<span style="line-height: 19.1875px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span>manipulation of matter with at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometers.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">A nanometer is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one billionth of a metre. Imagine that! A billionth of a metre. It is like slicing a metre of wood in a billion equal parts. That is tremendously small. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">HISTORY OF NANOTECHNOLOGY</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It is not well known but the concept of nanotechnology was first proposed by the Nobel laureate Richard P. Feynman in 1959 at the Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJWcamOKHy91hLnXDh4bnNAIUHg6xmyQ7WNlyojZWu8ezy2y-ZvdxdV-L78R7q1ES1xBPo3oQEawt7lujvA-pqbwqoBEghgP-bJ4_I3DgMUPykzi1g9RJCsTRjSt9ADc880uSjxZPpjT8/s1600/Richard-Feynman-007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJWcamOKHy91hLnXDh4bnNAIUHg6xmyQ7WNlyojZWu8ezy2y-ZvdxdV-L78R7q1ES1xBPo3oQEawt7lujvA-pqbwqoBEghgP-bJ4_I3DgMUPykzi1g9RJCsTRjSt9ADc880uSjxZPpjT8/s1600/Richard-Feynman-007.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Richard Feynman</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> **Richard P. Feynman said that:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Now, the name of this talk is ``There is Plenty of Room at the Bottom''---not just ``There is Room at the Bottom.'' What I have demonstrated is that there is room---that you can decrease the size of things in a practical way. I, now want to show that there is plenty of room. I will not now discuss how we are going to do it, but only what is possible in principle---in other words, what is possible according to the laws of physics. I am not inventing anti-gravity, which is possible someday only if the laws are not what we think. I am telling you what could be done if the laws are what we think; we are not doing it simply because we haven't yet gotten around to it…..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> I want to build a billion tiny factories, models of each other, which are manufacturing simultaneously. . . The principles of physics, as far as I can see, do not speak against the possibility of manoeuvring things atom by atom. It is not an attempt to violate any laws; it is something, in principle, that can be done; but in practice, it has not been done because we are too big…”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> He talked about the problem of manipulating and controlling things on a small scale. Extrapolating from known physical laws, Feynman envisioned a technology using the ultimate toolbox of nature, building nanoobjects atom by atom or molecule by molecule.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiesldbw7OwAEGUHa9mUI73APCklRj-63rGAX6FAqj4amsCe7yJ9b_n1K_0QdtWMd64Ns37p-2OtexP5oXuEvVQ4hozY8clSgwLR4TZIb1R_m-9yjaEy_yN_J7y3wMGLnxgA22UbN6H_no/s1600/taniguchi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiesldbw7OwAEGUHa9mUI73APCklRj-63rGAX6FAqj4amsCe7yJ9b_n1K_0QdtWMd64Ns37p-2OtexP5oXuEvVQ4hozY8clSgwLR4TZIb1R_m-9yjaEy_yN_J7y3wMGLnxgA22UbN6H_no/s320/taniguchi.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Norio Taniguchi</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The term nanotechnology created by Norio Taniguchi in 1974 at the University of Tokyo. His definition was; "Nano-technology" mainly consists of the processing of separation, consolidation, and deformation of materials by one atom or one molecule." After years Eric Drexler published a paper in 1981 about the basic concepts of nanotechnology. By 1992, Drexler was using "molecular nanotechnology" or "molecular manufacturing" to distinguish his manufacturing ideas from the simpler product-focused research that was borrowing the word. This research, producing shorter-term results, came to define the field for many observers, and has continued to claim the term "nanotechnology."</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdpzIzsA2mBSN0Q6q3c1dYzGliJS1dMuGgQFmXpbVLZgJwMsBRQ7jdPE7y-5e6vAJcuLdH0lqqNTFBMpxaF5gR0Bxv-1hWLlLXjtajYcDtk-wp6n5GOr8uudHdr-P4jaF8ZoIyox5gyu4/s1600/drexler02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdpzIzsA2mBSN0Q6q3c1dYzGliJS1dMuGgQFmXpbVLZgJwMsBRQ7jdPE7y-5e6vAJcuLdH0lqqNTFBMpxaF5gR0Bxv-1hWLlLXjtajYcDtk-wp6n5GOr8uudHdr-P4jaF8ZoIyox5gyu4/s1600/drexler02.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">Eric Drexler</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Cylindrical nanotubes consisting of carbon atoms which were first suggested by Richard P. Feynman (the possibility of manipulating atoms to create objects new nanomaterials) were developed in 1991 by a researcher, Dr. Sumio Iijima, at the electronics maker NEC Corp and are now in use in applications such as sports stadium flood lights.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">By concerning the reality of nanotechnology, the National Science and technology Council (NSTC) of the White House created the Interagency working Group on Nanoscience Engineering and Technology (IWGN) in 1998.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In January 2000 at the same institute President Bill Clinton announced $500 million worth of funding in support of the U.S. government's investment in nanotechnology research and development.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Opinions differ about whether Clinton was influenced by Drexler's descriptions of advanced manufacturing. Instead of focusing on molecular manufacturing, the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) chose to fund nanoscale technology, which it defined as anything with a size between 1 and 100 nanometers with novel properties. This broad definition encompassed cutting-edge semiconductor research, several developing families of chemistry, and advances in materials.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">NANOTECH MATERIALS***</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Nanotechnology fascinated scientists in the search of materials that we know that shows quite different properties when they are reduced to nano size. Like inert materials such as platinum catalysts become, stable materials such as aluminum becomes combustible, rigid material such as gold at room temperatures in nano size it turns into a liquid state, and insulators becomes conductors as with the case of silicone. These new features allow the discovery of new materials, hence offering humanity overwhelming possibilities in the Advancement of Science. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">NANOTECHNOLOGY IN REAL LIFE APPLIANCE</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Techno enthusiasts most often mentioned example of manipulation at the nano level, the manufacturing process means that the processor in nanometers, and indicates the size of the transistor array. Smaller transistors mean more of them on a wafer, which entails a lower cost processors or more processors. Only two years ago the current processors were produced in 90nm process, and today begins production of 45nm processors, enabling a drastic increase in CPU power, but also reduce production costs. World GPU graphics processor chips that are almost always Kaskai for Intel and AMD CPUs in terms of miniaturization technology of production is now also in the 65nm process. We assume that development will continue in that direction because manufacturers still complain that they are not stuck, and somewhat slower progress of the processed volume of information dealt with parallel processing (more than one core per processor).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Visit this site for more real-life applications of Nanotechnology:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://weburbanist.com/2008/08/17/15-astonishing-real-life-applications-of-nanotechnology/">http://weburbanist.com/2008/08/17/15-astonishing-real-life-applications-of-nanotechnology/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Nanotechnology initiatives can take more than 20 to maybe 50 years to become commercial, however the development process may cause the next industrial revolution.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Moreover the development of nanotechnology will probably change the manufacturing process of almost every product. Whatever happens nanotechnology is likely to be the human race's greatest scientific achievement to date and will completely change all our lives.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">References:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">*Wikipedia</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">www.nano.gov (National Nanotechnology Initiative)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">www.nano.org.uk (Institute of Nanotechnology)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">**Richard P. Feynman, There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom, Engineering and Science (February 1960), California Institute of Technology.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">***http://motionperpetual.info/nanotechnology-real-life/</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;"><br /></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03640764062564557234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798104975267602541.post-15124103893912235482013-04-23T16:12:00.004-07:002013-04-23T16:13:50.664-07:00Exoplanets: Too interesting, though too far away<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's been a while since my last post. Been busy like everybody else. But that does not mean I will stop posting. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">During the past decade we have been hearing news about new planets being discovered. And these are newly discovered planets OUTSIDE of our own Solar System. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Simply put, an Exoplanet or Extrasolar planet is any planet outside the solar system. Wikipedia states that " A <span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">total of 871 such planets (in 682 planetary systems, including 130 multiple planetary systems) have been identified as of April 20, 2013". Since the first discovery of the first exoplanet in 1992 by </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">Radio astronomers Aleksander Wolszczan (Polish) and Dale Frail (Canadian), we as humans, specially the ones aware of this, has been reflecting about the possibility of alien life, our place in the cosmos, and where's God in this picture. It gives us this wonderful insight in the world of Astronomy and would make any amateur science supporter to pursue such a career path. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">The most famous extrasolar planet is probably Gliese 581c, because of its relative proximity (20 light years), Earth-like mass, and its location within the "habitable zone" of its star, a zone which could theoretically sustain life.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Gliese 581 c or Gl 581 c is a planet orbiting the red dwarf star Gliese 581. Second planet discovered in the system and third in order from the star. It has a mass at least 5.6 times that of the Earth. Known as a super-Earth (a planet of 1 to 10 Earth masses). It was the smallest known extrasolar planet around a main-sequence star. On April 21, 2009, another planet orbiting Gliese 581, Gliese 581 e, was announced with an approximate mass of 1.9 Earth masses.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Here are some facts about Exoplanets:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Most Massive: HD 43848</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Discovered in 2008, this exoplanet has a mass that is 25 times the mass of Jupiter. Orbiting around a star that is a just a bit smaller than our sun, HD43848 is nearly 8000 times as massive as Earth.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Smallest: CoRoT-7b</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This planet is less than twice the size of Earth, and its density is similar to Earth's. Discovered in February 2009, CoRoT-7b takes 20.4 hours to orbit a star that is slightly smaller, cooler and younger than our sun.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Most likely to Have Life: Gl 581 e</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Of the four planets that orbit the star called Gliese 581, two are near the edges of what astronomers called the habitable zone, where liquid water may exist. One of these planets is near the cool edge of the zone, but Gl 581 e, spotted in April 2009, is in a warmer spot.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Biggest Radius: CT Cha b</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This gas giant has a radius that is more than twice as large as our largest planet, Jupiter, and 17 times as massive.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Hottest: WASP-18b</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Although the data is still preliminary, this 2009 discovery may be the hottest, says University of Central Florida professor Joseph Harrington, stealing the title from another planet that Harrington calculated to be the hottest in 2007. This speedy planet, which is 10 times the size of Jupiter, hauls its mass around its star in less than an Earth day. But title of "hottest" may still be under contention—because it is so close to its star, WASP-18b is likely to spiral into it within the next million years.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Most Eccentric Orbit: VB 10 b</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A planet that orbits its star in a perfect circle would have an eccentricity designated as 0. The eccentricity of Earth's orbit is 0.0167—a very slight oval. The orbit of VB 10 b is the most elliptical orbit known—with an eccentricity of nearly 0.98, it is even more stretched out than the orbit of Haley's comet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Baby: Fomalhaut b</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Only 25 light-years away, Fomalhaut is a neighbor of our sun. In 2005, astronomers discovered the exoplanet Fomalhaut b hiding amid the interstellar dust surrounding Fomalhaut. The presence of the dust means that the system is still very young and is likely to have more planets form within it—Fomalhaut b may be just the first-born. And just like a baby, this planet is crawling; it takes about 876 years to orbit its star.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Farthest from its Star: UScoCTIO 108 b</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This planet, which has 14 times the mass of Jupiter, spends its days at about 670 astronomical units—about 64 billion miles—away from its star. That's about 17 times farther away than dwarf planet Pluto is from our sun.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Farthest from Earth: OGLE-05-390L b</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At 21,450 light-years away, this is the farthest exoplanet scientists have found. It is five times the mass of the Earth and twice the distance from its star and it trundles slowly around, taking 3500 days to orbit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVjTFg-HBMAvcAKEgZ85LmrXwUK7a2Fs54ajd0n28jcBgGM3vHvct6Elay-6i8kyEAMYlmm04YlYw-m0yi3PGf2IO9r1AldVsXd1Wmaw3hJugKncTMoRGh3IFnTDvTVzFosDPorrvXyFc/s1600/Study-More-Earth-like-planets-possible.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVjTFg-HBMAvcAKEgZ85LmrXwUK7a2Fs54ajd0n28jcBgGM3vHvct6Elay-6i8kyEAMYlmm04YlYw-m0yi3PGf2IO9r1AldVsXd1Wmaw3hJugKncTMoRGh3IFnTDvTVzFosDPorrvXyFc/s1600/Study-More-Earth-like-planets-possible.jpg" height="284" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Referrences:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">http://groovychk.deviantart.com/art/Gliese-581c-133733307</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">http://www.wisegeek.com/what-was-the-first-extrasolar-planet-discovered.htm</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extrasolar_planet</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/space/deep/4335269</span><br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03640764062564557234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798104975267602541.post-24465621776966066882013-03-30T23:50:00.001-07:002013-03-31T00:44:14.616-07:0026 Awe-Inspiring Reminders Of Just How Insignificant We Are<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><b><span style="font-size: large;">Prepare to feel tiny:</span></b></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Source: nasa.gov</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgroWu0AgEXPvk0sTcIyOO0JqIbwUUPdwAN3s3fC230vNTSF7XenXY9av6Yspawa0AG4GOcgE2zpJjs3YFYH_pjVC-16CFKSgVsSRjLCM-NYIUxNx7pPQJ8S1LD8ISWCyGTA-0KvWb81k8/s1600/Furthest+ever+image+of+the+universe.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="556" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgroWu0AgEXPvk0sTcIyOO0JqIbwUUPdwAN3s3fC230vNTSF7XenXY9av6Yspawa0AG4GOcgE2zpJjs3YFYH_pjVC-16CFKSgVsSRjLCM-NYIUxNx7pPQJ8S1LD8ISWCyGTA-0KvWb81k8/s640/Furthest+ever+image+of+the+universe.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Furthest ever image of the universe</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Source: Mike Read (WFAU), UKIDSS/GPS and VVV / via: ph.ed.ac.uk</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk0ILtPb-xWrNFwW3BwKNbnWS-Ug6qKx-7js6XaG9B0Me1DHqMGOBz7kSpINPiCiDtaE0YBPSGYKg59wWyqgGu9Mero13hsCRai_aHWYF1P66GtQkB62LJcOaaPsYXvbnr3Od__KVbAKw/s1600/One+Bilion+Stars.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk0ILtPb-xWrNFwW3BwKNbnWS-Ug6qKx-7js6XaG9B0Me1DHqMGOBz7kSpINPiCiDtaE0YBPSGYKg59wWyqgGu9Mero13hsCRai_aHWYF1P66GtQkB62LJcOaaPsYXvbnr3Od__KVbAKw/s640/One+Bilion+Stars.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">One Billion Stars in just one gala<span style="font-size: large;">xy</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Source: eso.org</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWjCmSUCQLPOXzMIm6_RKBswQ0b0mU9CRs1QteBfwwS6iD0FTuZ7mwS08CUKpref02Bv8hOVe38F_0srB42ZXLIQ0DRKoxduahnyNUIT9ogqQMYxdjCArR4hxB-Fy1qgvk0Zn3GiXiKMk/s640/9+Billion+Pixels+of+the+Milky+Way+Galaxy.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">The View 50 Million Light Years Away</span></td></tr>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Source: eos.unh.edu</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj9gpMoZ3djxI75zXNoeXYf7zsK0LoKwfyi3TKoXpsNEd2juel6CfRRD_k6U7I_R_zC0a0fjeOn4NglC6UoSuLJ6-zr4sNxSg4Q0xmNSWTNHZuYJgpfEVdnRVEHtmYuJO2ryIIO9grmjc/s1600/A+rocket+launch+over+an+aurora.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj9gpMoZ3djxI75zXNoeXYf7zsK0LoKwfyi3TKoXpsNEd2juel6CfRRD_k6U7I_R_zC0a0fjeOn4NglC6UoSuLJ6-zr4sNxSg4Q0xmNSWTNHZuYJgpfEVdnRVEHtmYuJO2ryIIO9grmjc/s640/A+rocket+launch+over+an+aurora.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">A rocket launch over an aurora</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Source: nasa.gov</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_q2uHTeqd_7ZoLoq51cr5laUn2mu_RVBXXw_Vb1rydDkJPY9_yFdy5dogq6SzSJ2tkuTeIcPxJieOyePiztMnuspiDcZp_O52xqdKgz2L3rTSVJTPLE-xao0Q6fkV5yMw2JhtuGOCOro/s1600/A+Not+so+dark+Dark+core.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_q2uHTeqd_7ZoLoq51cr5laUn2mu_RVBXXw_Vb1rydDkJPY9_yFdy5dogq6SzSJ2tkuTeIcPxJieOyePiztMnuspiDcZp_O52xqdKgz2L3rTSVJTPLE-xao0Q6fkV5yMw2JhtuGOCOro/s640/A+Not+so+dark+Dark+core.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">A Not so dark Dark core</span></td></tr>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Source: nasa.gov</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghnZux6JLwjuaXwRcMwP_5uGCP2SI4UxDptVaDWQ77m7V0rC2pdWL98klYpl3_RwEGcf0yKZVwlrsNosiXc-qy59n01g7UXGsNqJEGKxAV7fsYbImzt62vmoCcEz2LucnIRDP8I8t9gVE/s1600/Coronal+Hole+on+the+Sun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghnZux6JLwjuaXwRcMwP_5uGCP2SI4UxDptVaDWQ77m7V0rC2pdWL98klYpl3_RwEGcf0yKZVwlrsNosiXc-qy59n01g7UXGsNqJEGKxAV7fsYbImzt62vmoCcEz2LucnIRDP8I8t9gVE/s640/Coronal+Hole+on+the+Sun.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Coronal Hole on the Sun</span></td></tr>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Source: spaceflight.nasa.gov</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhActSW9hp_wSwdbowjEE3TZGJXXKijroKWIUufGwKKp-whHlCEDXIVK5y7znM8-qIlv2GVlGmXypOnpad99EUhQrFw2Su5B9eoBTBQC-RXUakiegLE3lr6lUYx6L1gLMLYnkQa0kAyNt4/s1600/European+Panorama+at+night+from+the+international+space+station.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhActSW9hp_wSwdbowjEE3TZGJXXKijroKWIUufGwKKp-whHlCEDXIVK5y7znM8-qIlv2GVlGmXypOnpad99EUhQrFw2Su5B9eoBTBQC-RXUakiegLE3lr6lUYx6L1gLMLYnkQa0kAyNt4/s640/European+Panorama+at+night+from+the+international+space+station.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">European Panorama at night from the international space station</span></td></tr>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Source: nasa.gov</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg84lWlqP9Ld_7Aqy14HGXaIQUNHwWVLTwy-1xDJPprHVBY73u-NG4_hb_2BwPgzAemUXUwfW5iB817LZ9AYnAGe4gOHJTAc35rFBtdUaMrXWfgT2Rr0BS5yTBCoZtbB55ISEAgSEc9tmE/s1600/Enterprise+flying+over+NYC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg84lWlqP9Ld_7Aqy14HGXaIQUNHwWVLTwy-1xDJPprHVBY73u-NG4_hb_2BwPgzAemUXUwfW5iB817LZ9AYnAGe4gOHJTAc35rFBtdUaMrXWfgT2Rr0BS5yTBCoZtbB55ISEAgSEc9tmE/s640/Enterprise+flying+over+NYC.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Enterprise flying over NYC</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgroWu0AgEXPvk0sTcIyOO0JqIbwUUPdwAN3s3fC230vNTSF7XenXY9av6Yspawa0AG4GOcgE2zpJjs3YFYH_pjVC-16CFKSgVsSRjLCM-NYIUxNx7pPQJ8S1LD8ISWCyGTA-0KvWb81k8/s1600/Furthest+ever+image+of+the+universe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgroWu0AgEXPvk0sTcIyOO0JqIbwUUPdwAN3s3fC230vNTSF7XenXY9av6Yspawa0AG4GOcgE2zpJjs3YFYH_pjVC-16CFKSgVsSRjLCM-NYIUxNx7pPQJ8S1LD8ISWCyGTA-0KvWb81k8/s1600/Furthest+ever+image+of+the+universe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Source: nasa.gov</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVGoF_KY0a3meyxLRt8_W72twXGUQiayuWLo8R0QX1GdpNhHnxezELrM9EDUrcMpzyQaQzCD5iuT9y94MZr7boHRVq5L7ZLPaQ5N6TQCcLpbYeRcGa9yAcOL7y9yZIgWY_FtJLAPDVjaw/s1600/Groundhog+day+on+Mars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVGoF_KY0a3meyxLRt8_W72twXGUQiayuWLo8R0QX1GdpNhHnxezELrM9EDUrcMpzyQaQzCD5iuT9y94MZr7boHRVq5L7ZLPaQ5N6TQCcLpbYeRcGa9yAcOL7y9yZIgWY_FtJLAPDVjaw/s640/Groundhog+day+on+Mars.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Groundhog day on Mars</span></td></tr>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Source: nasa.gov</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2DQMhZUP6RI_pJCgZ4afHHuxJ6jgVd65hRGjFezqh98pEVof3-Bhw5CDJEyKXvfvr1guCIulXFgahTEAC_p9WTv4e1WHyU2v4V8p3zYe4RbGg788pOHj0KzpwcfETzJRNReGfMgmpYT0/s1600/Janus,+one+of+Saturns+creepy+moons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2DQMhZUP6RI_pJCgZ4afHHuxJ6jgVd65hRGjFezqh98pEVof3-Bhw5CDJEyKXvfvr1guCIulXFgahTEAC_p9WTv4e1WHyU2v4V8p3zYe4RbGg788pOHj0KzpwcfETzJRNReGfMgmpYT0/s640/Janus,+one+of+Saturns+creepy+moons.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Janus, one of Saturns creepy moons</span></td></tr>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Source: eso.org</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXT4l0nqIoMUxen1Y_W2zkddZhNHTs9yG5M5sqy1PheLErrP4a_rD0oBaJK_34wRhWpME_3YZ2nOcTVdINyNsVvSC5j_CkaJNKLOrjlNzwUj5hhXyVDRt8MwJmF9WfYrCdP1tvbbGxSJ8/s1600/Moon+and+the+Milky+Way.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXT4l0nqIoMUxen1Y_W2zkddZhNHTs9yG5M5sqy1PheLErrP4a_rD0oBaJK_34wRhWpME_3YZ2nOcTVdINyNsVvSC5j_CkaJNKLOrjlNzwUj5hhXyVDRt8MwJmF9WfYrCdP1tvbbGxSJ8/s640/Moon+and+the+Milky+Way.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Moon and the Milky Way</span></td></tr>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Source: Michael Shainblum</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVms5msP99zcdA0QMKCYQVL7n9Pxa3Mm3YZB0yCxdH3q0T1oSRMKW9uAQhW1_gkN76dmXsuyn7pxeuD0Dn0FMYBYFD0SmxT4X6vvWwXdjSf3l8mskcr9os9ZKC9bS9ctTm_vZSu7rafj8/s1600/Michael+Shainblum+Photohgraphy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVms5msP99zcdA0QMKCYQVL7n9Pxa3Mm3YZB0yCxdH3q0T1oSRMKW9uAQhW1_gkN76dmXsuyn7pxeuD0Dn0FMYBYFD0SmxT4X6vvWwXdjSf3l8mskcr9os9ZKC9bS9ctTm_vZSu7rafj8/s640/Michael+Shainblum+Photohgraphy.jpg" width="425" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Milky way in all its Splendor</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Source: nasa.gov</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeh5m1UWVyMxugXiYwtJKWqZP_j4MPv8Mij3bsOcxa38aL227OkttnUH2J2MbuVa2FPZmqcZZED7s-gp7X3qV4s6BOMmImbB1nVICx2QndkIUsafRf7d0RD7mFZwx03hlj3sL1YQaqXDo/s1600/New+view+of+the+blue+marble.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeh5m1UWVyMxugXiYwtJKWqZP_j4MPv8Mij3bsOcxa38aL227OkttnUH2J2MbuVa2FPZmqcZZED7s-gp7X3qV4s6BOMmImbB1nVICx2QndkIUsafRf7d0RD7mFZwx03hlj3sL1YQaqXDo/s640/New+view+of+the+blue+marble.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">New view of the blue marble</span></td></tr>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Source: Stéphane Guisard / via: astrosurf.com</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIj1qr9R5gY79efcb82f2YG61EuZXSpsFdN7w2kfs2DAjWZXCKAy-CjwFE_He3QgzxuoKPC42AED5ZWrMiTy0X3ojHvf-C8VRw4KXVPY8rC1yuYaAye01Wha7VhFDXLxsdAM7oFfzbJs8/s1600/Orion+over+the+Temple+of+Kukulkan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIj1qr9R5gY79efcb82f2YG61EuZXSpsFdN7w2kfs2DAjWZXCKAy-CjwFE_He3QgzxuoKPC42AED5ZWrMiTy0X3ojHvf-C8VRw4KXVPY8rC1yuYaAye01Wha7VhFDXLxsdAM7oFfzbJs8/s640/Orion+over+the+Temple+of+Kukulkan.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Orion over the Temple of Kukulkan</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk0ILtPb-xWrNFwW3BwKNbnWS-Ug6qKx-7js6XaG9B0Me1DHqMGOBz7kSpINPiCiDtaE0YBPSGYKg59wWyqgGu9Mero13hsCRai_aHWYF1P66GtQkB62LJcOaaPsYXvbnr3Od__KVbAKw/s1600/One+Bilion+Stars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Source: nasa.gov</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJIjuHNkUOTbm9KnEg-5kwKmjAx1I-6mh_TZd1Wq5YTOUrPXrr61DwwWw-2NIn_ugX3saoL3_t6dkHZRFAJSq7boKPC1txvTouivz2LlmyK_vJxRH4P9A3bjXSAJUPnEVYcK6l2Q4o9p0/s1600/Overlapping+galaxies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="572" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJIjuHNkUOTbm9KnEg-5kwKmjAx1I-6mh_TZd1Wq5YTOUrPXrr61DwwWw-2NIn_ugX3saoL3_t6dkHZRFAJSq7boKPC1txvTouivz2LlmyK_vJxRH4P9A3bjXSAJUPnEVYcK6l2Q4o9p0/s640/Overlapping+galaxies.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Overlapping galaxies</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Source: 360cities.net</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwqhH1J9w1xFBsdXekxz2Vumm5QWC44S2BmlSyzW364QCqlyviuaO4m3BowmOHhF9pe8e8TbfchmOODWs0XrUuDafEZXKy00aVzVQAt-UM5Tlkq7I8s7juSylNXIeqQVwQIGGYXqg1nRw/s1600/Panorama+of+Mars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwqhH1J9w1xFBsdXekxz2Vumm5QWC44S2BmlSyzW364QCqlyviuaO4m3BowmOHhF9pe8e8TbfchmOODWs0XrUuDafEZXKy00aVzVQAt-UM5Tlkq7I8s7juSylNXIeqQVwQIGGYXqg1nRw/s640/Panorama+of+Mars.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Panorama of Mars</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Source: apod.nasa.gov</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggqKYGOMs_Es95b9Dkz_XQBbG7f8dKH0lamALGvWXIp-3zZhb3_5n0iTRNyPyFA7TDg2gPX-nCG-U7dTcFPoDK_491bD7LpCBzr_a9Hu-gwPtA3z6FT2odCkkxgG3NOZj34nCGyXSgmUI/s1600/Saturns+Storms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggqKYGOMs_Es95b9Dkz_XQBbG7f8dKH0lamALGvWXIp-3zZhb3_5n0iTRNyPyFA7TDg2gPX-nCG-U7dTcFPoDK_491bD7LpCBzr_a9Hu-gwPtA3z6FT2odCkkxgG3NOZj34nCGyXSgmUI/s640/Saturns+Storms.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Saturn's Storms</span></td></tr>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Source: eso.org</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7KNXEEye9vGqKXe44pQoY_92q9ArLGK6gnLy1XvCZ1Ihv4-QIkA0S_Xs6jLuHjbapQ1TzzGC16Ml2EyFPflcBNuwGYQ-tMDHCSLc7cHjWzplod3EUzb8ds900zcSafKuZzGEXZJ_QZVQ/s1600/The+Pencil+Nebula.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7KNXEEye9vGqKXe44pQoY_92q9ArLGK6gnLy1XvCZ1Ihv4-QIkA0S_Xs6jLuHjbapQ1TzzGC16Ml2EyFPflcBNuwGYQ-tMDHCSLc7cHjWzplod3EUzb8ds900zcSafKuZzGEXZJ_QZVQ/s640/The+Pencil+Nebula.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Pencil Nebula</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Source: Adam Block / via: skycenter.arizona.edu</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqsT5kRUJsVU4yvUoGyN70beZf3C1a7E_AGfQK7KQT2l15pSsJkajuZEjAr292nOVlVwKnYFFSlAVsoY-MpdJaQ4fXHsCytoP-Ktq0C80WoeF7qAGndc3ZzuMWbX4NCbhqY19wdTQ1ZrU/s1600/The+View+50+Million+Light+Years+Away.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqsT5kRUJsVU4yvUoGyN70beZf3C1a7E_AGfQK7KQT2l15pSsJkajuZEjAr292nOVlVwKnYFFSlAVsoY-MpdJaQ4fXHsCytoP-Ktq0C80WoeF7qAGndc3ZzuMWbX4NCbhqY19wdTQ1ZrU/s640/The+View+50+Million+Light+Years+Away.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">9 Billion Pixels of the Milky Way Galaxy</span></td></tr>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Source: sci.esa.int</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiS8pATkRictYm6EqzYxOAoD-mSHsiYzQWLWAk-ff8VQu0H02p9eXevtLZa2TcWNv2B9RQNj8mbv4FJ7KyE82hnziqcxMdlDs04ve3k_1pCNyyju7-0JoztrHbtVCOv0VEfFPILcaF4KI/s1600/The+remains+of+supernova+W44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiS8pATkRictYm6EqzYxOAoD-mSHsiYzQWLWAk-ff8VQu0H02p9eXevtLZa2TcWNv2B9RQNj8mbv4FJ7KyE82hnziqcxMdlDs04ve3k_1pCNyyju7-0JoztrHbtVCOv0VEfFPILcaF4KI/s640/The+remains+of+supernova+W44.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">The remains of supernova W44</span></td></tr>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Source: eso.org</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6JXKt2W03oi-wELHES84FsOAo0WBbxbJsN1fd0SzyRP7ubm-AYMI8t6AXABhhzPxTjOd-awjKjWnTCXGx-nsY2UJp6Ea61L5osvNXpkruiBceMbmoSAfDm0LD-sP1Sb2SkS9bVsc1oM0/s1600/The+slow+death+of+R+Sculptoris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6JXKt2W03oi-wELHES84FsOAo0WBbxbJsN1fd0SzyRP7ubm-AYMI8t6AXABhhzPxTjOd-awjKjWnTCXGx-nsY2UJp6Ea61L5osvNXpkruiBceMbmoSAfDm0LD-sP1Sb2SkS9bVsc1oM0/s640/The+slow+death+of+R+Sculptoris.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">The slow death of R Sculptoris</span></td></tr>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Source: eso.org</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1jIuTo9xJbo-G8ZRejHdFQyDyCu_Jr4zgdQCAFgGsPRlnqjT0I91otJ7tNbfQCMZwliUJEW7dULCteuggsuWTURuzuBbPNIAShQNKWvH3DarlFAeCEtUxGDz8UR_BJ1Ahxj9M0uKEl7Q/s1600/Thors+helmet+revisited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1jIuTo9xJbo-G8ZRejHdFQyDyCu_Jr4zgdQCAFgGsPRlnqjT0I91otJ7tNbfQCMZwliUJEW7dULCteuggsuWTURuzuBbPNIAShQNKWvH3DarlFAeCEtUxGDz8UR_BJ1Ahxj9M0uKEl7Q/s640/Thors+helmet+revisited.jpg" width="636" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thors helmet revisited</span></td></tr>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Source: Greg Scheiderer / via: seattleastronomy.com</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUx1Vb67bLDQYUi-RwImZu_rGRyd4hJbHY8dVTEYX6GLYlqHaYnpPYqE74pxVXen3OJNNC20qtA5v1v15KGajfaGMgKqG_uv0N4yQjubJvomDpXd5fpXtpBiAr5q55WQZvdHxtXldNd9U/s1600/Transit+of+Venus.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUx1Vb67bLDQYUi-RwImZu_rGRyd4hJbHY8dVTEYX6GLYlqHaYnpPYqE74pxVXen3OJNNC20qtA5v1v15KGajfaGMgKqG_uv0N4yQjubJvomDpXd5fpXtpBiAr5q55WQZvdHxtXldNd9U/s640/Transit+of+Venus.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Transit of Venus</span></td></tr>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Source: nasa.gov</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyldwNXGA6ZcWqRmKOhAtzxvj0Ih4boTw3ZbRGlowXWLY6zJwHI6N5byhQydhxI4jCzuls1SWfC11VVMWiMNaRq66yK8J0aYsub-kCPT-4CK0LhNrEdVfpL4JbRUPDIVlC8SZIIFDD1Ns/s1600/Transit+of+Venus+up+close.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyldwNXGA6ZcWqRmKOhAtzxvj0Ih4boTw3ZbRGlowXWLY6zJwHI6N5byhQydhxI4jCzuls1SWfC11VVMWiMNaRq66yK8J0aYsub-kCPT-4CK0LhNrEdVfpL4JbRUPDIVlC8SZIIFDD1Ns/s640/Transit+of+Venus+up+close.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Transit of Venus up close</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyldwNXGA6ZcWqRmKOhAtzxvj0Ih4boTw3ZbRGlowXWLY6zJwHI6N5byhQydhxI4jCzuls1SWfC11VVMWiMNaRq66yK8J0aYsub-kCPT-4CK0LhNrEdVfpL4JbRUPDIVlC8SZIIFDD1Ns/s1600/Transit+of+Venus+up+close.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUx1Vb67bLDQYUi-RwImZu_rGRyd4hJbHY8dVTEYX6GLYlqHaYnpPYqE74pxVXen3OJNNC20qtA5v1v15KGajfaGMgKqG_uv0N4yQjubJvomDpXd5fpXtpBiAr5q55WQZvdHxtXldNd9U/s1600/Transit+of+Venus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Source: nasa.gov</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh0x-lnI9ImADaAJTwXQe93D2cuVN91IqFrb0WoFOPcA_mc8eSzL0xHHibp93ZCoHnYTvb8dITc6yNaxU6cIqlbRcHPoSW12PxhmGfmJW02XYXi-ZsBNClJjtSa720dxznriTmmslCvTc/s1600/UFO+Galaxy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh0x-lnI9ImADaAJTwXQe93D2cuVN91IqFrb0WoFOPcA_mc8eSzL0xHHibp93ZCoHnYTvb8dITc6yNaxU6cIqlbRcHPoSW12PxhmGfmJW02XYXi-ZsBNClJjtSa720dxznriTmmslCvTc/s640/UFO+Galaxy.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">UFO Galaxy</span></td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3798104975267602541" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Source: nasa.gov</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCNhcaJCAZ12xdfb-DmqLFhdVLqwnejyn7SXVCv0Ak6sg9fz6T0y4y7SqY4c-Q4v68XhC5tuZWDQXlGJ8Q5vDPoEaL45kYtSMtNld385XJHcN4j93iPcqYNBdCFRmEKpm3cm-qDaTSVp0/s1600/Twister+on+Mars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCNhcaJCAZ12xdfb-DmqLFhdVLqwnejyn7SXVCv0Ak6sg9fz6T0y4y7SqY4c-Q4v68XhC5tuZWDQXlGJ8Q5vDPoEaL45kYtSMtNld385XJHcN4j93iPcqYNBdCFRmEKpm3cm-qDaTSVp0/s640/Twister+on+Mars.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Twister on Mars</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Reposted with permission <span style="font-size: xx-small;">from</span> myscienceacademy.com</span></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03640764062564557234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798104975267602541.post-47058962009175351252013-03-27T15:18:00.001-07:002013-03-27T15:18:45.516-07:00The Rockstar Scientist<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLJzyuLIo4nJj77Gvw4y-i8DOKiDr2sINPQqh7tbU1YH4OJ88OJDR1AZos8kc87zPJdNWau73U-TwdzfZ7Ih3w1o04xJpMav7o5wNZI_S_vIUMernvvCvfV-M_gpAHgWp-SBshgBpc3cU/s1600/syposium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLJzyuLIo4nJj77Gvw4y-i8DOKiDr2sINPQqh7tbU1YH4OJ88OJDR1AZos8kc87zPJdNWau73U-TwdzfZ7Ih3w1o04xJpMav7o5wNZI_S_vIUMernvvCvfV-M_gpAHgWp-SBshgBpc3cU/s1600/syposium.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Science Lecture - Can you imagine one speaker speaking to thousands of attendees?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I would like to imagine that we live in a world where:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1. Science documentaries are shown regularly in Movie theatres.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2. Science TV shows have more ratings than reality shows and other shows on national television. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">3. Schools and Universities concentrate in teaching Science and Math than any other school subject. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">4. Where the majority of people appreciate and wonder with awe about the Cosmos. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">5. Where Scientists are regarded as heroes and receives more popularity, wealth and recognition just like Movie persons and athletes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The last one is quite interesting. Do you remember any time in history that lectures are sold out and has lots of people attending? To be honest, I don't know one, maybe you know. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Scientists, most of the time depends on money from the government or from research grants from private individuals or private companies (aside from savings in their salaries from their respective Universities and Research facilities) in providing that boost in their research in terms of equipment, hiring staffs, and building infrastructure. As far as I can tell, most of these intelligent minds are not rich, some are struggling, and some does not even care about the money. Nikola Tesla, one of the geniuses of the 20th century, even died a poor man.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjtjQNvxipqcFUeuo5uatSfKeRJeo2iicGMLUdax2HQunO1D4FaL7MVLXJncmE4WrbrxiUtFQ4fja9d9mZHIfBvl7v68A7VPRLnN25-SdhvnXcLeeUVbZlTRwUUKdyEWUTv-BxN775LPg/s1600/life-sciences-breakthrough-prize-0064_620x620.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjtjQNvxipqcFUeuo5uatSfKeRJeo2iicGMLUdax2HQunO1D4FaL7MVLXJncmE4WrbrxiUtFQ4fja9d9mZHIfBvl7v68A7VPRLnN25-SdhvnXcLeeUVbZlTRwUUKdyEWUTv-BxN775LPg/s1600/life-sciences-breakthrough-prize-0064_620x620.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yuri Milner (right) with Mark Zuckerberg. Yuri is also a stock holder of Facebook.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But that changed in 2012, when Yuri Milner, a former physicist and Internet enterpreneur, created the Milner Prize, formally known as the Fundamental Physics Prize in which winners gets a lucrative $3 million, more than the Nobel and Templeton Prizes combined. This would be a great boost for physicists in terms of using the money for further scientific research or for projects in popularizing physics, specially science. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />Based on the Michael Brooks article "Can millionaire physicists draw masses to science?" for the website www.newscientist.com:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"As he told New Scientist recently, Milner plans to use his wealth to paint scientists as heroes, turning them into household names and stimulating an increase in research funding and in the number of young people wanting to become scientists. "The more attention you attract to science, the better off everybody will be," he said."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The three-million-dollar question is: will it work? Probably not. Rewarding scientists financially is easy. Turning them into household names is not so simple. As became clear during the ceremony (latest Fundamental Physics Prize ceremony), theoretical physicists make terrible celebrities."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The article also cited that physicists are "very human". They interact with students, pupils, co-workers, spectators - ordinary people. And for me, that seems to be the most noble of all traits - humility, which fame and fortune couldn't buy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So I guess, my perceived world where Science is pouplar and the people pursuing it are also popular might be impossible here or maybe in some other Universe, but we'll never know what's next for our dear intellectuals. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Referrences:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_Physics_Prize</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23319-can-millionaire-physicists-draw-the-masses-to-science.html</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03640764062564557234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798104975267602541.post-5293832026771927342013-03-22T13:43:00.001-07:002013-03-22T13:43:38.133-07:00Is there life outside of Earth?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikiObB0fkhEkmsUbsXOsalWxWeO7wZNUER2knGCBtQjm8L9HcySCK9TZehEAitJYK2jOdOnEM_aPdFkAPCIUrFQxHEtyKpw3CAnWii0uuodvWB-iMd-F7oEGBEQnBzQnTNLQ7QOJyQqxM/s1600/AlienGetty460.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikiObB0fkhEkmsUbsXOsalWxWeO7wZNUER2knGCBtQjm8L9HcySCK9TZehEAitJYK2jOdOnEM_aPdFkAPCIUrFQxHEtyKpw3CAnWii0uuodvWB-iMd-F7oEGBEQnBzQnTNLQ7QOJyQqxM/s1600/AlienGetty460.jpg" height="192" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Watching the film "E.T." and "My Stepmother is an Alien" when I was a kid gave me that idea. "War of the Worlds", "Independence Day", "Star Trek", "Aliens", "Paul", "Star Wars" and the various UFO conspiracies gave me a different viewpoint - the normal views on extraterrestrials. My re-ignited interest in Science and Astronomy, changed that view again. Is there really life elsewhere in the cosmos?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That, I think would be the greatest question being asked by millions of people, for thousands of years. Several documentaries has tackled these questions like Carl Sagans' "Cosmos", Morgan Freeman's "Through the Wormhole", and Stephen Hawking's "Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking". Though sadly, I have not seen any other documentaries maybe some forgotten titles from National Geographic or Discovery channel but the ones mentioned are the one's I clearly remember.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I think, Science fiction and conspiracy theories greatly contributed to the "belief" that aliens exist, PLUS that these aliens are intelligent, has a very high level of technology, and most of all, almost all of them want to conquer the Earth! I trembled before of these ideas, but I suspended ... or ignored these after I became aware of what the real deal with aliens is.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Since our technology brought us to the moon in 1969, we have been gazing to the stars ever since. Some are active in searching for life using radio waves, and some are using high-tech mobile explorers in Mars to find evidence of life, and some are simply trying to observe life here - specially ones that could survive in extreme environments to determine if there is a possibility that complex biological lifeforms might survive elsewhere in the universe. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5G78t_iGLeaFWPH6PofDzlvYb2iuT81yWoFXf_Lk5fRxjwtyJS03gyZG52jnAbY4E3n8oLXwiOisuBp8An78QQE5HacZSPUDlBTeI7CH8eMMRSd6YK_9IHGLpB8O16ig9m8VLRVbmPYg/s1600/giordano-bruno.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5G78t_iGLeaFWPH6PofDzlvYb2iuT81yWoFXf_Lk5fRxjwtyJS03gyZG52jnAbY4E3n8oLXwiOisuBp8An78QQE5HacZSPUDlBTeI7CH8eMMRSd6YK_9IHGLpB8O16ig9m8VLRVbmPYg/s1600/giordano-bruno.jpg" height="320" width="220" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Giordano Bruno</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Giordano Bruno (1548 - 1600), first gave the idea that there are infinite worlds populated by intelligent beings. His controversial concept (in a time where anybody who gives an idea contrary to the religious teachings of the Catholic church would mean instant jailtime and possible execution) cost him his life. Other revolutionary thinkers tend to be discreet at that time, fearing for their lives in the process.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The invention of the telescope and the acceptance of the Copernican or the Heliocentric system (where the sun is at the center of the solar system and not earth) are the main ingredients that fueled astronomers to think further and try to answer that question. William Herschel, the person who discovered Uranus is even convinced that the Solar System, as well as other systems are well populated with alien life. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZfEzCVFmPsUmGAKriyxgo9RjsJUL0Thyphenhyphenv3avsvpL3HoGV96DS_Kv9E8PdzWO4nkWz6SzyueMkMWjnBvdyXSx24ItnaTMjG5pYIvVLqcnE5kMS8tKI2CRefvOeSbw1u-lwdXi8n5iwp7Q/s1600/william-herschel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZfEzCVFmPsUmGAKriyxgo9RjsJUL0Thyphenhyphenv3avsvpL3HoGV96DS_Kv9E8PdzWO4nkWz6SzyueMkMWjnBvdyXSx24ItnaTMjG5pYIvVLqcnE5kMS8tKI2CRefvOeSbw1u-lwdXi8n5iwp7Q/s1600/william-herschel.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William Herschel</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Even this idea has been endeared with the religious establishment also. The Mormons believe that God has created Earth and all Earth-like planets for humans to live in. Though most mainstream religions does not believe that there are other worlds populated with alien-life as it is their belief that only the Earth is the only planet that was created by God for humans and that our species and life itself is unique in the cosmos. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Basis for possible life in the Cosmos:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1. That the biochemical components of life which is mainly Carbon-based, is abundant in the Universe. All the elements that make up the human body - mainly Carbon, Oxygen, Hydrogen and Nitrogen are abundant in the Universe, based on observations of the chemistry of stars and galaxies. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU-13lEoSNRfjveiOhGHVRD1u1YEd5V81myahXSqrqx-ZBKtD_PQX9omrRbcS4bdZH23bul2g_NwlxQTW0qm08GXKJRuSF6zGysKshLvBocbde3dQLRotTmq_Gia6V6IZLl8NXvrKdA-0/s1600/Gallery_Image_6314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU-13lEoSNRfjveiOhGHVRD1u1YEd5V81myahXSqrqx-ZBKtD_PQX9omrRbcS4bdZH23bul2g_NwlxQTW0qm08GXKJRuSF6zGysKshLvBocbde3dQLRotTmq_Gia6V6IZLl8NXvrKdA-0/s1600/Gallery_Image_6314.jpg" height="272" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2. That every solar system in the universe has a Goldilocks zone or a Habitable zone - named after the famous story where Goldilocks tried the porridge which is "not too hot, and not too cold". It applies to a region in the solar system where a planet is in a zone where the temperatures is not too hot for water to easily evaporate and where it is not too cold to easily turn it into ice. In our solar system Earth and Mars are considered in this zone. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">3. There is this hypothesis called Panspermia, wherein life on Earth was created by the seeds of extraterrestrial material (meteors, comets) coming from outerspace or from other planets, such as Mars. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">4. Water - an essential component in mixing different chemicals to form simple lifeform, could be found in large quantities in the Solar System. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">5. Extremophiles - organisms that can survive extreme habitats (extreme cold or hot environments) has been discovered and found that these are capable of living in these environments which can simulate extreme environments in outer space. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There are three major ways to detect extraterrestrial life:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxFbq-g5ghk2VEYHK8jtJpPtxym3oaiRuUQkWXHDnuq3EwnYXssNktRDMgk35jlR849UngNVPMMVuUsxDp7vIwAF6YxOYjBOqfFGDzi3O-TiScC_wy0E44fALNKT4kV9UKjmkB6HhxUU0/s1600/kepler-telescope.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxFbq-g5ghk2VEYHK8jtJpPtxym3oaiRuUQkWXHDnuq3EwnYXssNktRDMgk35jlR849UngNVPMMVuUsxDp7vIwAF6YxOYjBOqfFGDzi3O-TiScC_wy0E44fALNKT4kV9UKjmkB6HhxUU0/s1600/kepler-telescope.jpg" height="249" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kepler Space Telescope</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1. Kepler Spacecraft - already in space scanning the skies for planets, specially those in the Goldilocks zone. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrReWuhwhyN3T13n0PSHHpMCHPXkZfbpxK5GJExQYX35qHPfvmizxybS8RjkQfxNNGPvA9e0fXsxI7FuxYMBFUKk_57ia8YA00RS_cvtS0hS-kB252oiIDiL2nzLrqB4SAPec33XzqUmw/s1600/seti_farm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrReWuhwhyN3T13n0PSHHpMCHPXkZfbpxK5GJExQYX35qHPfvmizxybS8RjkQfxNNGPvA9e0fXsxI7FuxYMBFUKk_57ia8YA00RS_cvtS0hS-kB252oiIDiL2nzLrqB4SAPec33XzqUmw/s1600/seti_farm.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SETI Farm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2. SETI - Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. Uses an array of satellite dishes scanning for radio signals from outer space. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd9ocFMgyzmnxsZuDdWzxnsG4iK5b9jwdkcXeNkgenjr2N5ixyTrpvoljHA3XTDtk8hvxBwp1kvMhc46_3XcDhH_Gx9f3Hom6GPSa50LZG_FErgMkux7mAXP86ev1EMS4Fn9qrhTuB8S8/s1600/curiosity-landing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd9ocFMgyzmnxsZuDdWzxnsG4iK5b9jwdkcXeNkgenjr2N5ixyTrpvoljHA3XTDtk8hvxBwp1kvMhc46_3XcDhH_Gx9f3Hom6GPSa50LZG_FErgMkux7mAXP86ev1EMS4Fn9qrhTuB8S8/s1600/curiosity-landing.jpg" height="243" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Curiosity Rover in Mars</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">3. Robotic Exploration of the Solar System - Either in the form of a space probe (voyager 1 and 2 ) and robot explorers in other planets (notably Mars) like Curiosity. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So it might take more than our lifetime to determine if aliens exist - even in its primitive simple form. But at least, when the time comes we can truly say.... We are not alone!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Referrence:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraterrestrial_life</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03640764062564557234noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798104975267602541.post-91766317043175349822013-03-15T15:19:00.001-07:002013-03-15T15:19:18.989-07:00Dark as Night<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbBx626cuDtHiWgio7Yaz57BCUQ6YSWi9mcCTGEEQAuv2jzJJg4ahY5rnSB45QnnrYj9HqPMjoo4fFVTn7PhavOe90WPQLAJly5Dmu2pnrrunFCX9lBYQtQFY7ZPpPHHMwNgIn6kevdso/s1600/tumblr_m2q3qz2z1I1qzumnc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbBx626cuDtHiWgio7Yaz57BCUQ6YSWi9mcCTGEEQAuv2jzJJg4ahY5rnSB45QnnrYj9HqPMjoo4fFVTn7PhavOe90WPQLAJly5Dmu2pnrrunFCX9lBYQtQFY7ZPpPHHMwNgIn6kevdso/s1600/tumblr_m2q3qz2z1I1qzumnc.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A simple question, really. But the answer is so complex, you won't believe that it is the reason. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ask anyone this question, and you'll get somehow the same answer. Why is it dark at night? Everybody or maybe, just maybe almost everybody will give you the same answer. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"Because the Sun is not around, that's why it's dark."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"There is no Sun to shine down on Earth."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"Because it is night time! Duh!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You might get a scientific form of an answer, maybe:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"Because we are in a position where we are facing away from the Sun." \</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">These answers actually, is far from the real cause why the night is dark.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This question stemmed from something called the Olber's paradox. www.deepastronomy.com states, </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>"Simply stated, Olbers’ paradox says that if the universe is infinite and static, then at any given angle from the Earth the line of sight will end at the surface of a star. An infinitely old universe means that there has been plenty of time for the light from every star that has ever shined to reach our eyes. When we look up, there should be a star everywhere, in every piece of sky. Because of this, the sky at night should be just as bright as when the Sun is up."</i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU9ExkyZmvmZAnQdcS5hYdG0YCxVL_Wd2QhxhRN-klq6Zzlwaz6XiUIiW33ckCMRV8ClctRhSImmEvOPzzbkoa_JO1QWyLKJfjHNqBAAunbW6P3liOWN1ZC9um8hxw6xiTXqUQBoSuLI0/s1600/olbers_paradox.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU9ExkyZmvmZAnQdcS5hYdG0YCxVL_Wd2QhxhRN-klq6Zzlwaz6XiUIiW33ckCMRV8ClctRhSImmEvOPzzbkoa_JO1QWyLKJfjHNqBAAunbW6P3liOWN1ZC9um8hxw6xiTXqUQBoSuLI0/s1600/olbers_paradox.gif" height="226" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="background-color: #f0f5fb;"><br /></span></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">From the 16th to the 19th centuries, it is believed that we are living in an infinite static or unchanging universe. There are no big bangs, no expansion, just an endless sea of stars and that really poses a problem to them at that time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The answer to this seemingly endless question lies with some of the greatest discoveries of the 20th century - That the Universe had a birthday and that same Universe is expanding. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Simply put, because of this expansion, light from other stars, specially the distant ones does not have time to reach our eyes. And that the light that we see now, would not be able to illuminate the space between them since they are being stretched out. So in a sense, all the photons that was emitted since the beginning of time is being stretched out. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">All the light is there, all the photons are everywhere, our eyes are just not sensitive enough to see this. At least this is my point of view. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To dig deeper, below is an excerpt from the book Cosmic Horizons: Astronomy at the Cutting Edge, edited by Steven Soter and Neil DeGrasse Tyson.*</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>The oldest and simplest astronomical observation tells us something profound about the universe. The sky is dark at night. It isn’t obvious why this should be so. If you stand in a small grove of trees and look toward the horizon, you can see patches of sky in the distance between the tree trunks. But if you stand in a large forest, your view is everywhere blocked by a “solid wall” of tree trunks. Extending the analogy to three dimensions, if the universe of stars is large enough, your line of sight should be blocked in every direction by a “solid wall” of stars. If you could magnify that view sufficiently, the sky would everywhere look something like the image on the left.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>The entire sky would be about as bright, and as hot, as the surface of the Sun. The immense distance to the stars making up the “wall of light” would have no effect on the total amount of energy reaching us. We should be surrounded by a blazing oven of light. Instead the night sky is practically black. So where does the argument go wrong?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>The German astronomer Johannes Kepler first posed this problem in 1610. He also suggested a solution: the universe of stars, he believed, extends only out to a finite distance; once your line of sight passes that boundary, it encounters only empty space. But how far is that boundary? Why is it there? And what lies beyond it?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Astronomers after Kepler proposed various solutions to the problem of the dark night sky, which came to be called Olbers’ Paradox. In 1823, the German astronomer Heinrich Olbers suggested that starlight is gradually absorbed while traveling through space, and this cuts off the light from any stars beyond a sufficiently great distance. But that doesn’t solve the problem, either. Any absorbing interstellar gas or dust would simply heat up until it reradiated all the starlight it absorbed, and the energy reaching us would be the same. By analogy, sprinkling the air in a hot oven with absorbing dust won’t cool it for very long.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>So why is the night sky dark? The first scientifically reasonable answer was given in 1848 by the American poet and writer Edgar Allan Poe! He suggested that the universe is not old enough to fill the sky with light. The universe may be infinite in size, he thought, but there hasn’t been enough time since the universe began for starlight, traveling at the speed of light, to reach us from the farthest reaches of space.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Astronomers have concluded that the universe began some 12 to 15 billion years ago. That means we can only see the part of it that lies within 12 to 15 billion light-years from us. There may be an infinite number of stars beyond that cosmic horizon but we can’t see them because their light has not yet arrived. And the observable part of the universe contains too few stars to fill up the sky with light.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>But that is not the whole solution to the paradox. Most stars, like the Sun, shine for a few billion years or so before they consume their nuclear fuel and grow dark. Dying stars spew gas and dust back into space, and this material gives birth to new generations of stars. But after enough generations, all the nuclear fuel in the universe is eventually exhausted, and the formation of luminous stars must come to an end. So even if the universe were infinitely old as well as infinitely large, it would not contain enough fuel to keep the stars shining forever and to fill up all of space with starlight. And so the night sky is dark.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">References: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">http://www.deepastronomy.com/why-is-the-sky-dark-at-night.html</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olbers'_paradox</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">http://www.amnh.org/education/resources/rfl/web/essaybooks/cosmic/cs_paradox.html</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">* a publication of the New Press. © 2000 American Museum of Natural History.</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03640764062564557234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798104975267602541.post-52736283615001161622013-03-12T13:22:00.000-07:002013-03-12T15:00:43.552-07:00What is Astrophysics?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6NmHIgTB4plDATg6iLKMYStz-Wbu4s_HlDH10Ylkf1HWpf_HxJ50hxrVlZznHKE3_Rqd0aTgQylUOJ5hEAc78ucg1C2koM2gKwgMASs6zI7BYhqk3gu1cIPh96RdYOxLLml1M5cm9ZLE/s1600/800px-Andromeda_galaxy_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6NmHIgTB4plDATg6iLKMYStz-Wbu4s_HlDH10Ylkf1HWpf_HxJ50hxrVlZznHKE3_Rqd0aTgQylUOJ5hEAc78ucg1C2koM2gKwgMASs6zI7BYhqk3gu1cIPh96RdYOxLLml1M5cm9ZLE/s1600/800px-Andromeda_galaxy_2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Andromeda Galaxy</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As defined by Wikipedia:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"Astrophysics (Greek: Astro - meaning "star", and Greek: physis – φύσις - meaning "nature") is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Persons to remember:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Aristarchus of Samos (c. 310-250 BC) first gave the idea that the motions of the celestial bodies could be explained by assuming that the Earth and all the other planets in the Solar System orbited the Sun. It was deemed heretical at that time when most believed that the Earth is the center of the Universe.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ptolemy (83-161 AD) Develops the Geocentric model of the Universe where the Earth is the center of everything.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Seleucus of Seleucia - Babylonian astronomer who is said to have proved the Sun-centered hypothesis through reasoning in the 2nd century BC. He used the phenomenon of tides to support that, which he correctly theorized to be caused by the attraction to the Moon and notes that the height of the tides depends on the Moon's position relative to the Sun.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) - wrote the Maqala fi daw al-qamar (On the Light of the Moon) some time before 1021. He concluded that it "emits light from those portions of its surface which the sun's light strikes."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Nicolaus Copernicus - in the 16th century, revived the Heliocentric idea that the Sun is the center of the Universe. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Galileo Galilei - Discovered the four brightest moons of Jupiter in 1610, and documented their orbits about that planet, which contradicted the geocentric (earth-centered universe) doctrine of the Catholic Church of his time, and escaped serious punishment only by maintaining that his astronomy was a work of mathematics, not of natural philosophy (physics), and therefore purely abstract.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A Cornell University website explained the difference between Astronomy and Astrophysics in a simple way: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"Technically speaking, astronomy is the science of measuring the positions and characteristics of heavenly bodies, and astrophysics is the application of physics to understand astronomy. However, nowadays, the two terms are more or less interchangeable since all astronomers use physics to understand their findings."</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtaoWuNgt_SvdbEGQlYxGBK0FpzvlhMD9XtwQgABLWQJDIN9GQ7yzJbhTM3aLYr8JsBFrCDubml0gMDVlBp9VljhlEcXSEyrP2A-wkyOFpI8RBmq6ctXu5g4nL315fRPq5mdFG4Z93vUE/s1600/cosmic-microwave-background-radiation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtaoWuNgt_SvdbEGQlYxGBK0FpzvlhMD9XtwQgABLWQJDIN9GQ7yzJbhTM3aLYr8JsBFrCDubml0gMDVlBp9VljhlEcXSEyrP2A-wkyOFpI8RBmq6ctXu5g4nL315fRPq5mdFG4Z93vUE/s1600/cosmic-microwave-background-radiation.jpg" height="159" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image of the cosmic microwave background radiation</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Wisegeek.org gives us some insight on what Astrophysicists do:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Astrophysicists are known for studying such phenomena as black holes, galaxies, superclusters, neutron stars, quasars, the Big Bang, dark matter and energy, cosmic strings, stellar evolution, the cosmic microwave background radiation, and many others. The cosmos is a good arena for studying pure physics because on such large scales, the particular type of element making up objects becomes less significant, and more general variables such as mass and velocity take primacy. Sometimes astrophysics is called "the study of the very large and the very small."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Well known Astrophysicists</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicgNLAj4BztwWalUSYMAOt0Tfz4CcOcZyXb8cZ9aPEtkoAQwQwZ2_1q7NDOGHo2eXHT51SwHYFBDvwdIFgx0uRxadcfz21OEo05grH5lvv0EI2zpIft7RWy9GOP8jYOZOFFFWj4hgnK30/s1600/neildegrassetyson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicgNLAj4BztwWalUSYMAOt0Tfz4CcOcZyXb8cZ9aPEtkoAQwQwZ2_1q7NDOGHo2eXHT51SwHYFBDvwdIFgx0uRxadcfz21OEo05grH5lvv0EI2zpIft7RWy9GOP8jYOZOFFFWj4hgnK30/s1600/neildegrassetyson.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neil DeGrasse Tyson</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Neil DeGrasse Tyson - Neil deGrasse Tyson (born October 5, 1958) is an American astrophysicist and science communicator. He is currently the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space, and a Research Associate in the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8cHPG-uwEUmJgpz__J1HxSwbSCEg_wxARQSjN4mSxO-dmZhlOJtA91y3OeCCI3qiZiDw12n7xs9aFZpUhfgTmE8k32UKCACzgPTDYWopTksqjUjL5j4nwyzWcjLWau4DeWdQuvFRlxPI/s1600/brian_may.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8cHPG-uwEUmJgpz__J1HxSwbSCEg_wxARQSjN4mSxO-dmZhlOJtA91y3OeCCI3qiZiDw12n7xs9aFZpUhfgTmE8k32UKCACzgPTDYWopTksqjUjL5j4nwyzWcjLWau4DeWdQuvFRlxPI/s1600/brian_may.jpg" height="200" width="175" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brian May</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Brian May - Brian Harold May, CBE (born 19 July 1947) is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist, songwriter and occasional singer of the rock band Queen. As a guitarist he uses his home-built guitar, "Red Special", and has composed hits such as "Tie Your Mother Down", "We Will Rock You" and "Fat Bottomed Girls". He was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2005 for "services to the music industry and his charity work". May earned a PhD in astrophysics from Imperial College in 2007 and is currently the Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy9ZU0PB4GBUnVaCKXFfNjHWN-_F27_o5lg9voWvmmJAcTD4lcWjBszc4_fFujJdbaELezxjVWPOH8ZLq-mpDTmkwK1mvYnmwcDY3FNgI3mHimMvImVj2ysPk1JFO12Rcep7H8630GmbI/s1600/filippenko2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy9ZU0PB4GBUnVaCKXFfNjHWN-_F27_o5lg9voWvmmJAcTD4lcWjBszc4_fFujJdbaELezxjVWPOH8ZLq-mpDTmkwK1mvYnmwcDY3FNgI3mHimMvImVj2ysPk1JFO12Rcep7H8630GmbI/s1600/filippenko2.jpg" height="200" width="145" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alexei Filippenko</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Alexei Filippenko - Alexei Vladimir Filippenko (born July 25, 1958, Oakland, California) is an American astrophysicist and professor of astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley. Filippenko received a Bachelor of Arts in physics from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1979 and a Ph.D. in astronomy from the California Institute of Technology in 1984, where he was a Hertz Foundation Fellow. His research focuses on supernovae and active galaxies at optical, ultraviolet, and near-infrared wavelengths. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You can check out more astrophysicists by clicking the link in the reference section. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">References:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrophysics">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrophysics</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/question.php?number=30">http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/question.php?number=30</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-astrophysics.htm">http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-astrophysics.htm</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/famous-male-astrophysicists/reference">http://www.ranker.com/list/famous-male-astrophysicists/reference</a></span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03640764062564557234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798104975267602541.post-92227434627806995992013-03-11T13:17:00.000-07:002013-03-11T13:17:05.612-07:00Comet PAN-STARRS: Missed Opportunity<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2gpnyOub9D0kfGTL8BvRvtSSOVMDLWjuhCM5HGWfxmBKp9u8vnFr3Eznrho0G_qociIhpWWIFMhIxbfxRMWDSjHBSIu7yeedEPP60jidIwpE-TjFbtImecwThhCCgn6aG72tXHrPbDDs/s1600/PANSTARRS_Michael_Goh_Perth_western_Australia_early_March_2013.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2gpnyOub9D0kfGTL8BvRvtSSOVMDLWjuhCM5HGWfxmBKp9u8vnFr3Eznrho0G_qociIhpWWIFMhIxbfxRMWDSjHBSIu7yeedEPP60jidIwpE-TjFbtImecwThhCCgn6aG72tXHrPbDDs/s1600/PANSTARRS_Michael_Goh_Perth_western_Australia_early_March_2013.jpeg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Comet PAN-STARRS in Western Australia after sunset</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Last time I saw a comet was 16 years ago. It was the summer of 1997 and I was still a high schooler at that time. That comet - Hale-Bopp , was such an spectacle that it opened my eyes at that time to the wonders of the cosmos and of which made its way to my consciousness as one of the most cherished times of my life. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqNGxsRcoOPSVVvcqTNHvXDt2Ves_iYygn-qltoD0JN2n6MvjIj3mIt9C1Ii4fe-oeTod9hdy3bQP7gRlccyy0RoFKsBnm_2OQNax2Zl9uZZRdU-DWEAzK4wVRomI-A4tcUBDGtY66hYA/s1600/Hale-Bopp50400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqNGxsRcoOPSVVvcqTNHvXDt2Ves_iYygn-qltoD0JN2n6MvjIj3mIt9C1Ii4fe-oeTod9hdy3bQP7gRlccyy0RoFKsBnm_2OQNax2Zl9uZZRdU-DWEAzK4wVRomI-A4tcUBDGtY66hYA/s1600/Hale-Bopp50400.jpg" height="207" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Comet Hale-Bopp as it shows in April 1997, considered one of the most spectacular comets of the 20th Century</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The past few days would have been more interesting and would have been exciting if not because of the fact that the latest comet is difficult to get a glimpse with. The comets name is PAN-STARRS. It is named from the observatory that first discovered it. The comet was discovered using the Pan-STARRS telescope located near the summit of Haleakala, on the island of Maui in Hawaii.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you have not seen any comet in your life, better be ready since there is another great comet approaching our inner solar system and it is hoping that it would also give us a spectacular show every night within the next few months. That would be Comet ISON. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A comet is a small chunk of ice and rock that when is near the Sun, it shows off a tail, this is because of the solar "wind" blowing off the dust and ice particles off the comet and into outer space. Most of these objects comes from the farthest reaches of out Solar System, most of them comes from a place beyond the orbit of Neptune and most of the times beyond the Kuiper belt itself. A place called the "Oort Cloud" which is very, very far from Earth. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhchNMdWEyquzpd4y-SBQYRhJv7lJvKDoxnlWC99MP-jbkjCDG_VHelX4BqeNHBRvgVEYMbEYXxhwIWinSXmYOinKNMIYFUAYr9qWLjZOrpZrBozri7vZ3TE7LHFeQfmmy3Tla00e9MAsw/s1600/4_dc08febfcab194aed2ada6677c525dc62.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhchNMdWEyquzpd4y-SBQYRhJv7lJvKDoxnlWC99MP-jbkjCDG_VHelX4BqeNHBRvgVEYMbEYXxhwIWinSXmYOinKNMIYFUAYr9qWLjZOrpZrBozri7vZ3TE7LHFeQfmmy3Tla00e9MAsw/s1600/4_dc08febfcab194aed2ada6677c525dc62.jpg" height="211" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It is said that hundreds of these comets enters the Inner solar system, though only a few are bright enough to be noticeable on Earth. The ones being noticed, only a few have been designated "Great" comets, these are the comets that a big and very bright, though naming a comet as a great comet declined in the 20th century. Nowadays, comets are being named from the person who discovered it, or sometimes the person who has calculated its orbit, and at some instances the equipment or telescope observatory that first observed it. In some instances the comet is named from several persons, like Hale-Bopp. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I can't wait for the next great comet of this year 2013. And I am hoping I will be able to see many more in our lifetime. I may not be able to see PAN-STARRS, but that does not stop me from seeing many more.</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03640764062564557234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798104975267602541.post-47952151088739945802013-03-03T20:32:00.000-08:002013-03-03T21:17:52.044-08:00Nebulae: Bonfires in heaven<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Looking at a picture of a nebula gives me a "feel-good" attitude. The colors and the lights does not fail to amaze anyone. These are huge collection of gases that can be found between the vastness of space. Ancient astronomers took notice of these cloud-like features and called them Nebulae from the Latin word for clouds. Most of them are light years across and is thousands of times larger than our solar system. Some of them are birthplaces of stars. And some of them are remnants of stars that died out and emitted vast amounts of gases and different elements that we already know. The plural form is actually Nebulae though some use "nebulas".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">These are categorized as Dark Nebulae, Emission Nebulae and Planetary Nebulae. Dark Nebulae are simply the dark clouds that obscure light from other gases.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF6_5hftZVGd2ihCgkBPNdOgDa23B_BAOI-ECcpzFT_h3zs5B8SCbqX242mayo-aNIRA3AqUgOH5RWKVRtB8VHEh_7Kpb5WU1uft1K-3HvyMBlnjccQ2N9lJx8wRQeDZsysE2kjxRQxjg/s1600/52238main_MM_image_feature_89_jw4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF6_5hftZVGd2ihCgkBPNdOgDa23B_BAOI-ECcpzFT_h3zs5B8SCbqX242mayo-aNIRA3AqUgOH5RWKVRtB8VHEh_7Kpb5WU1uft1K-3HvyMBlnjccQ2N9lJx8wRQeDZsysE2kjxRQxjg/s400/52238main_MM_image_feature_89_jw4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Horsehead Nebula</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Emission nebulae are simply the glowing ones,. they appear bright against the black backdrop of space.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXX5FvJeyckZqgs7_H3ieI_qbVi62h7MajZDqOME8EsXZkRl8dRhShbhELYm9PN44leJivLWxtVASJCcadzgkz8ng0ePEof71GE115SroZSJo7NPy4WZk7i5Z0uxTIXrvSUpdAcsKWGBU/s1600/red-emission-nebula.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXX5FvJeyckZqgs7_H3ieI_qbVi62h7MajZDqOME8EsXZkRl8dRhShbhELYm9PN44leJivLWxtVASJCcadzgkz8ng0ePEof71GE115SroZSJo7NPy4WZk7i5Z0uxTIXrvSUpdAcsKWGBU/s400/red-emission-nebula.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Red Emission Nebula</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Planetary Nebula are called as such because most of the time they resemble a shape of a planet. They have stars in their centers and eventually the gas expands or form into planets, asteroids, moons and comets.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrzq8nywXyfBYGl6tkIBjCEUd8S1DVIObaGKSQJGKyaPNTv_xg5HxuV-FQZD71c0cymAbfGPQPDuXZPQFGZuHU91jgH2zkx4NQzTAfKTPEfo4JPElZfBgAnBnZb2mrd_G4S_EFwiraTYA/s1600/cats-eye-nebula-p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrzq8nywXyfBYGl6tkIBjCEUd8S1DVIObaGKSQJGKyaPNTv_xg5HxuV-FQZD71c0cymAbfGPQPDuXZPQFGZuHU91jgH2zkx4NQzTAfKTPEfo4JPElZfBgAnBnZb2mrd_G4S_EFwiraTYA/s400/cats-eye-nebula-p.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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Cat's Eye Nebula </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> The picture below created by an astronomy fan, has some interesting facts too about some nebulae.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwCyCxkgaRVCpu_lp5NmFATCLbTFq1AGTR4nDgj12NJCyRcQuzlwNI_NVEpiV1Ls9JEyJ2iJooNIKa1EK-uSiQvzRqiJzNojCocHzVa1VNdulOBO1nJsUk2RLCEAOYsPzxumrcF-qv2Zo/s1600/778830_415123775240704_331918453_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwCyCxkgaRVCpu_lp5NmFATCLbTFq1AGTR4nDgj12NJCyRcQuzlwNI_NVEpiV1Ls9JEyJ2iJooNIKa1EK-uSiQvzRqiJzNojCocHzVa1VNdulOBO1nJsUk2RLCEAOYsPzxumrcF-qv2Zo/s640/778830_415123775240704_331918453_o.jpg" width="572" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Here are other nebulas. For now no need to remember names just feel their majesty. Cheers!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmDoD33c_JsQImSqM3SDMInUHx_u-wARbqIlW0C1ntYLewlbUnkI1oLH5-kyVxNd3yo5GiMaZ2CM9lvOJ5VaJXEgPcixjvJH2c82G3cjIsUG77wRI8_xaJO4Yd6DGdiHpJMRRJJyEyyOo/s1600/183803-612x612-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmDoD33c_JsQImSqM3SDMInUHx_u-wARbqIlW0C1ntYLewlbUnkI1oLH5-kyVxNd3yo5GiMaZ2CM9lvOJ5VaJXEgPcixjvJH2c82G3cjIsUG77wRI8_xaJO4Yd6DGdiHpJMRRJJyEyyOo/s400/183803-612x612-2.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiltTFUxX-0TBGiEEyKsmkEN0Ka1CDVwM9IPyKOL7pAVW-PwQ28PvVn_GL7T9cm8Xr4NpFr3BM7RquLeP48GC82rufQsPE-uzYoNMs7Fcs1Ea41kNGncTWQldGmPMuvxY0iqrKJ-0hvE9E/s1600/209661-nasa-releases-image-of-merry-christmas-wreath-nebula-from-1000-light-y.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiltTFUxX-0TBGiEEyKsmkEN0Ka1CDVwM9IPyKOL7pAVW-PwQ28PvVn_GL7T9cm8Xr4NpFr3BM7RquLeP48GC82rufQsPE-uzYoNMs7Fcs1Ea41kNGncTWQldGmPMuvxY0iqrKJ-0hvE9E/s400/209661-nasa-releases-image-of-merry-christmas-wreath-nebula-from-1000-light-y.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz_ehDGeCi9byd2UbL8rAZIddBi91Ejjf9ijuHg-_3bHeesl4_2-uSYLiyGaLsbGZ9ycdBKb0Wr08-f5HMa2pphuj3ICNFjAwloi_sveh3ykggoYRYZEqvqhN3DReAO9n5UvTx6I-ibkk/s1600/090826-trifid-nebula-02_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz_ehDGeCi9byd2UbL8rAZIddBi91Ejjf9ijuHg-_3bHeesl4_2-uSYLiyGaLsbGZ9ycdBKb0Wr08-f5HMa2pphuj3ICNFjAwloi_sveh3ykggoYRYZEqvqhN3DReAO9n5UvTx6I-ibkk/s400/090826-trifid-nebula-02_01.jpg" width="310" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Resource: McGraw-Hill: Astronomy Demystified. p338-339</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03640764062564557234noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798104975267602541.post-78988592152204425782013-03-01T16:09:00.002-08:002013-03-01T16:09:53.856-08:00Theia and Luna<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We are now going to deal with the most commonly accepted hypothesis that would answer several questions. Why is the Earth's axis tilted? Why do we have the seasons? Why we have climate differences? Why do we have a moon? Now you will know why.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Many different theories have been put forward for how the Moon formed, but only the Giant impact hypothesis is widely accepted today. <span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">The giant impact hypothesis states that the Moon was formed out of the debris left over from a collision between the Earth and a body the size of Mars, approximately four and a half billion years ago. The colliding body is sometimes called Theia, for the mythical Greek Titan who was the mother of Selene, the goddess of the Moon*.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">Consequences of the Impact**</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">The cataclysmic impact between Theia and the proto-Earth, together with its result, the Moon, had some profound effects on Earth and its subsequent history. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">a.) The collision knocked the proto-Earth out of its position, producing the tilt in the Earth's axis, which is the cause of the seasons. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">b.) The moon's presence also helped stabilize this tilt, which is likely to have smoothed out climatic conditions over the whole course of Earth's history.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">c.) When the Moon was first formed, the Moon was closer to Earth than it is today and these forces were more pronounced. Their strength may have triggered the development of Eart's system of tectonic plates.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">d.) The Moon's gravitational pull produces the tides in our planet's oceans. By subjecting organisms that lived in tidal zones to daily (or twice-daily) fluctuations in their living conditions, the Moon may have influenced the pace at which life on Earth evolved.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_impact_hypothesis</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">** Robert Dinwiddle, Bite-Size Science. p.67</span><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03640764062564557234noreply@blogger.com0