Dear Kalpita,
A couple of days ago I mentioned how Bose-Einstein Condensat is made out of Bosons. Now is my time to explain
Everything is either made out of Bosons or Fermions. Two same types of Fermions CANNOT overlap. Bosons can.
Fermions interact by exchanging Bosons.
Apparently all mass consists of Fermions which can only interact by using Bosons. So a person supposedly would be made of fermions.
Oh yeah Bosons cannot spin.
That's all I learned on that. Itwas way too difficult for me. I'm going back to elementary Science.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
We're Getting Physical. Physical SCIENCE that is.
Dear Kalipita,
Please forgive my terrible pun. I'm taking a break from Biology to do a bit of research on Physical Science. We'll start out with the basics.
Matter
Matter is anything made of atoms and molecules. Everything around you is made of matter. YOU are made of matter. many people think that air is not made of matter but it is. So i should probably point out out that there are FIVE forms of matter. the obvious ones are:
Gas
Liquid
Solids
and it is quite possible that you have heard of Plasma
Plasma is superheated gas that has lost all of its' electrons. You may think that it would lose it's electric charge but it comes even more electrically charged. An example of plasma is Lightning. The sun and solar winds are also plasma.
For our Grand Finale we (apparently I am now a "we" I'm not sure when that happened) will present the Fifth State of Matter. Drumroll please.;
Bose-Einstein-Condensat. (also known as BEC)
BEC occurs at the opposite end of absolute zero.I'm not exactly sure what that means so i will study some more and get back to you on that
-☼☼-
It is still very hard to understand exactly what Bose-Einstein Condensat Is. I know that the element Rubidium is a BEC.
Rubidium is a soft silver metal that is quite radioactive. It vaporizes quickly and rusts even quicker. it has one stable isotope that has a half life of 49 billion years.. That is more than 3 times the estimated age of the universe. It is known to react very violently if it comes in contact with water and it ignites hydrogen very easily. Rubidium is famous for spontaneously combustion when it comes in contact with air. (Sometimes. not always)
My best guess on what BEC is: I am guessing that it is something between a solid and a gas. Apparently it is also very unstable since it seems to react violently with most of its fellow forms of matter.
I've done more research. BEC can only occur at extremely low temperatures or all of it's molecules tend to fly apart. BEC is made out of Bosons. (i will get to that next time)
Two examples of materials containing Bose-Einstein condensates are superconductors and superfluids. Superconductors conduct electricity with virtually zero electrical resistance: Once a current is started, it flows indefinitely. The liquid in a superfluid also flows forever. In effect, there is no friction. The nucleons in a neutron star9 are believed to form a superfluid. Scientists have been able to make superfluids in the laboratory by cooling materials to very low temperatures.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Scientific Method, BeriBeri and Penicillin
Dear Kalpita,
Aren't I fancy? I indented and everything. Anyway today I will be learning about scientific method. You might recall how yesterday I was asked about how Goldbergers experiments were not a good example of using Scientific method. The problem is that I don't really remember what scientific method is. Luckily i have the entire internet at my fingertips. I am guessing that this shall be an easy challenge.
When: 1928
Who: Sir Alexander Fleming
Fleming was studying different molds in Petri dishes. There was one mold with a clear area around it where there was no bacteria.This mold was called Pennicillium. He thought that it produced a chemical that killed the bacteria. So he grew a larger sample and put it in a colony of bacteria. All the bacteria died.
Question: Why is there no bacteria surrounding the mold?
Research: ?
Hypothesis: The mold is killing the bacteria
Test: Stated above
Analyze Data: All the bacteria died
Conclusion: The hypothesis was right. The mold is killing the bacteria
Sharing the Results: This data was used to start making Penicillin
Aren't I fancy? I indented and everything. Anyway today I will be learning about scientific method. You might recall how yesterday I was asked about how Goldbergers experiments were not a good example of using Scientific method. The problem is that I don't really remember what scientific method is. Luckily i have the entire internet at my fingertips. I am guessing that this shall be an easy challenge.
-☼☼-
The Steps of Scientific Method
1.Ask a Question
2.Research
3.Hypothesis
4.Test your hypothesis
5. Analyze Data
6.Draw Conclusion
7.Share your results
-☼☼-
Now we are going to combine scientific method with BeriBeri.
When: 1887
What: BeriBeri was a nerve disease that caused weakness, loss of appetite and heart failure
Where: The Dutch East Indies
Why: A lack of Thiamine (a vitamin) caused the disease
Who: Dr Eijkman helped find out that thiamine was what caused beriberi
At first scientists thought that beriberi was caused by bacteria A test was performed on chickens. There were two groups of chickens. Each group was kept separate of the other group so there could be no contact between the two groups. one group was injected with the disease and the other was not. however, both groups contracted the disease. Dr. Eijkman noticed that during the experiment both groups of chickens were fed polished rice whick lacks thiamin.
This is a good example of scientific method.
The Question: What causes Beriberi?
Research: I'm not sure what research they did
Hypothesis: Beriberi is caused by bacteria
Test: The previously mentioned experiment
Analyze Data: they discovered that both groups got the disease yet they had not been near eachother. However they both ate polished rice during the experiment
Conclusion: Beriberi is caused by a lack of Thiamin.
-☼☼-
Since we are still on the topic of scientific method and diseases we will talk about scientific method and PenicillinWhen: 1928
Who: Sir Alexander Fleming
Fleming was studying different molds in Petri dishes. There was one mold with a clear area around it where there was no bacteria.This mold was called Pennicillium. He thought that it produced a chemical that killed the bacteria. So he grew a larger sample and put it in a colony of bacteria. All the bacteria died.
Question: Why is there no bacteria surrounding the mold?
Research: ?
Hypothesis: The mold is killing the bacteria
Test: Stated above
Analyze Data: All the bacteria died
Conclusion: The hypothesis was right. The mold is killing the bacteria
Sharing the Results: This data was used to start making Penicillin
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Pellagra
Dear Kalpita,
I have made an impressive leap from- the subject of soap to the topic of Pellagra. What is pellagra? Well I'm not quite sure yet but I have been given several questions to answer about them. Based off of these questions I think it is safe to assume that pellagra is a disease (especially since it flat out says it is a disease). I think I have heard about it before but I can't quite place it....
red, white and bold = new additions to this post
What is Pellagra?
Pellagra is a vitamin deficiency disease. It is most commonly caused by a lack of Vitamin B.
What are the symptoms of Pellagra?
What were the early theories about the cause of Pellagra?
They thought it was an infectious disease
What types of people were most likely to get Pellagra?
What did Joshehp Goldberger think was the cause of this disease?
Where did he first experiment on Pellagra?
What was his treatment?
Why was his experiment NOT a good example of using the scientific method?
Most doctors thought that Pellagra was caused by ________________
germs or toxins in the corn they ate
Where did Goldberger next test his theory?
In a mental asylum (?)
How was his 2nd experiment better than the first?
It had a control (?)
What was discovered after Goldbegers death that can prevent Pellagra?
These questions will be answered once I study some more
I have made an impressive leap from- the subject of soap to the topic of Pellagra. What is pellagra? Well I'm not quite sure yet but I have been given several questions to answer about them. Based off of these questions I think it is safe to assume that pellagra is a disease (especially since it flat out says it is a disease). I think I have heard about it before but I can't quite place it....
red, white and bold = new additions to this post
What is Pellagra?
Pellagra is a vitamin deficiency disease. It is most commonly caused by a lack of Vitamin B.
What are the symptoms of Pellagra?
The most common symptoms are diarrhea, dermatitis ( a rash) and dementia If that isn't quite pleasant enough
other symptoms are:
Sensitivity to sunlight
Aggression
Tongue swells and changes color
Insomnia
Confusion
Paralysis of extremities
What were the early theories about the cause of Pellagra?
They thought it was an infectious disease
What types of people were most likely to get Pellagra?
Women and people who ate lots of corn
What did Joshehp Goldberger think was the cause of this disease?
Diet
Where did he first experiment on Pellagra?
In an orphanage.He tested on the children (?)
What was his treatment?
A steady diet or some brewer's yeast
Why was his experiment NOT a good example of using the scientific method?
There was no control. (and the inhumane treatment of people but that does not directly violate scientific method) (?)
Most doctors thought that Pellagra was caused by ________________
germs or toxins in the corn they ate
Where did Goldberger next test his theory?
In a mental asylum (?)
How was his 2nd experiment better than the first?
It had a control (?)
What was discovered after Goldbegers death that can prevent Pellagra?
Treating corn with lime
These questions will be answered once I study some more
Soap Bubbles and Qualative Observations ( Bonus: Inferences!)
Dear Kalpita,
You may remember how I was wondering about soap bubbles. Of course I was so wrapped up in hydrophylic and hydrophobic soap molecules/atoms/whatever , that I completely overlooked the obvious answer. Air gets trapped underwater. Air is lighter than water so the air bubble rises and gathers soap. The soap helps it stabilize and not pop the moment it comes out of the water. It breaks the waters surface and we have a bubble of air with a skin of water and soap.
Fun Fact: If you want to put anything in a bubble it must be wet.
I feel so idiotic now. Oh well. It is 11::32 and my mind is refreshed. I shall have to do a post about the difference between atoms and molecules. I KNOW the difference but not really. My new lesson is in observations.
Everyone knows what an observation is. But there are two types of observations, or so i am informed. They are:
Quantitative: These are observations using charts, numbers and/or graphs
Example: A tree is 15 foot tall
The average amount of water drops that fit on a penny is 16
Qualitative: This is an observation using one or more of the 5 senses.
Example: The leaves on a tree are turning brown
A fruit is turning rotten
If you want to go into some details to help you remember which is which, remember this
Quantitative is another form of the word Quantity which is an amount
Qualitative is another form of Quality which means: a property or attribute
Since you can not study an observation without having an inference be just around the corner, I shall talk about inferences and get it over with.
Inferences- The process of drawing a conclusion, using logic and statistics.
So I shall make some inferences on the following subjects
1. 3/4 of the leaves on a tree are dry, brown and shriveled.
My Inference: I infer that 3/4 of the tree is in a heavily shaded area. perhaps another tree is blocking out all possible sunlight on that side of the tree. This might explain the leaves being brown and shriveled. Another factor is,obviously, rain. The sentence says that the leaves are dry so the other tree probably blocks out a lot of the tree's valuable water sources. Or perhaps it is just a drought but this would not fully explain why only 3/4 of the tree's leaves are dead.
2. A cat played with a mouse for 15 minutes but didn't eat it.
My inference: The cat is probably a housecat, otherwise it would take any meal it saw. The cat is probably well-fed anyway and was practicing hunting. or perhaps it was just bored and wanted to play. After the cat had batted the mouse around for 15 minutes the mouse was probably in pretty bad condition, making it look much less appealing to eat.
You may remember how I was wondering about soap bubbles. Of course I was so wrapped up in hydrophylic and hydrophobic soap molecules/atoms/whatever , that I completely overlooked the obvious answer. Air gets trapped underwater. Air is lighter than water so the air bubble rises and gathers soap. The soap helps it stabilize and not pop the moment it comes out of the water. It breaks the waters surface and we have a bubble of air with a skin of water and soap.
Fun Fact: If you want to put anything in a bubble it must be wet.
I feel so idiotic now. Oh well. It is 11::32 and my mind is refreshed. I shall have to do a post about the difference between atoms and molecules. I KNOW the difference but not really. My new lesson is in observations.
Everyone knows what an observation is. But there are two types of observations, or so i am informed. They are:
Quantitative: These are observations using charts, numbers and/or graphs
Example: A tree is 15 foot tall
The average amount of water drops that fit on a penny is 16
Qualitative: This is an observation using one or more of the 5 senses.
Example: The leaves on a tree are turning brown
A fruit is turning rotten
If you want to go into some details to help you remember which is which, remember this
Quantitative is another form of the word Quantity which is an amount
Qualitative is another form of Quality which means: a property or attribute
Since you can not study an observation without having an inference be just around the corner, I shall talk about inferences and get it over with.
Inferences- The process of drawing a conclusion, using logic and statistics.
So I shall make some inferences on the following subjects
1. 3/4 of the leaves on a tree are dry, brown and shriveled.
My Inference: I infer that 3/4 of the tree is in a heavily shaded area. perhaps another tree is blocking out all possible sunlight on that side of the tree. This might explain the leaves being brown and shriveled. Another factor is,obviously, rain. The sentence says that the leaves are dry so the other tree probably blocks out a lot of the tree's valuable water sources. Or perhaps it is just a drought but this would not fully explain why only 3/4 of the tree's leaves are dead.
2. A cat played with a mouse for 15 minutes but didn't eat it.
My inference: The cat is probably a housecat, otherwise it would take any meal it saw. The cat is probably well-fed anyway and was practicing hunting. or perhaps it was just bored and wanted to play. After the cat had batted the mouse around for 15 minutes the mouse was probably in pretty bad condition, making it look much less appealing to eat.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
The Results
Dear Kalpita,
The results came in. You would think that dripping water on a penny wouldn't be that hard. At first I simply held a penny underneath a dripping faucet but the force of such large droplets falling on the penny simply made it splash over the edge on the first drop.
Fair enough, just get a little eyedropper The problem is I don't have an eyedropper. So I used a small straw instead. i simply dipped it in the water and held it above the penny. I was trying to be as careful as possible but somehow my brother must have super-hearing because he woke up. I managed to lock myself and my soap in the bathroom before he saw me. I did the experiment three times with both soapy and non soapy water and compared the averages of the two. However I encountered another problem that might affect the results. I couldn't find hand soap so I used dish soap instead
Average Amount of Water That Fit on a Penny: 16
Average Amount of Soapy Water Drops: 24
I learned something else about Surface Tension: it is NOT the same as Viscosity(the thickness of a liquid).
Another fun fact: The reason some bugs, like a water-strider, seem to be able to walk on water is because of Surface Tension. If the water has high Surface tension it bonds together better and makes a "skin" that the water strider, being extremely light, can stand on
I will hunt for the hand soap and see if that makes any difference.
The results came in. You would think that dripping water on a penny wouldn't be that hard. At first I simply held a penny underneath a dripping faucet but the force of such large droplets falling on the penny simply made it splash over the edge on the first drop.
Fair enough, just get a little eyedropper The problem is I don't have an eyedropper. So I used a small straw instead. i simply dipped it in the water and held it above the penny. I was trying to be as careful as possible but somehow my brother must have super-hearing because he woke up. I managed to lock myself and my soap in the bathroom before he saw me. I did the experiment three times with both soapy and non soapy water and compared the averages of the two. However I encountered another problem that might affect the results. I couldn't find hand soap so I used dish soap instead
Average Amount of Water That Fit on a Penny: 16
Average Amount of Soapy Water Drops: 24
I learned something else about Surface Tension: it is NOT the same as Viscosity(the thickness of a liquid).
Another fun fact: The reason some bugs, like a water-strider, seem to be able to walk on water is because of Surface Tension. If the water has high Surface tension it bonds together better and makes a "skin" that the water strider, being extremely light, can stand on
I will hunt for the hand soap and see if that makes any difference.
-☼☼☼-
I'm back with my Hand Soap results
Average Amount Hand Soap Droplets: 15.3
So we can come away from this knowing that Hand Soap mixed with water has a lower Surface Tension than water but Dawn Dish Soap mixed with water has a higher Surface Tension even though both had similar viscosity.
The Reason: I did some research and the reason that hand soap mixed with water has a lower Surface tension is because it disrupts the bonds between the hydrogen atoms (or molecules I'm not sure which) in water. If you really want to be fancy here is a full explanation:
Soap is like a magnet. Each soap drop has a positive and a negative side. One side of it is hydrophylic, which basically means that it likes water. The other side is hydrophobic meaning it has an aversion to water. So just imagine the soap as the magnet I mentioned earlier. The Hydrophylic side will try its best to face towards the water, which works out nice because the hydrophobic side wants to face the air. The Surface tension is lower because of the unbalanced force at the surface of the water.
Okay I'm getting a bit tired. Now the thing that confuses me is soap bubbles. How do Soap bubbles form. I know they are formed by Surface tension and that they must have soap to stabilize them. Regular bubbles dissolve. Is it possible that soap bubbles are caused when the hydrophobic end of soap faces water? After all, in the case of a magnet if one end is made to face the wrong side of another magnet it pushes the other magnet away. I'm thinking that the soap would be pushed out of the water, forming a bubble. i am probably wrong. i will post my notes on soap bubbles later.
Average Amount Hand Soap Droplets: 15.3
So we can come away from this knowing that Hand Soap mixed with water has a lower Surface Tension than water but Dawn Dish Soap mixed with water has a higher Surface Tension even though both had similar viscosity.
The Reason: I did some research and the reason that hand soap mixed with water has a lower Surface tension is because it disrupts the bonds between the hydrogen atoms (or molecules I'm not sure which) in water. If you really want to be fancy here is a full explanation:
Soap is like a magnet. Each soap drop has a positive and a negative side. One side of it is hydrophylic, which basically means that it likes water. The other side is hydrophobic meaning it has an aversion to water. So just imagine the soap as the magnet I mentioned earlier. The Hydrophylic side will try its best to face towards the water, which works out nice because the hydrophobic side wants to face the air. The Surface tension is lower because of the unbalanced force at the surface of the water.
Okay I'm getting a bit tired. Now the thing that confuses me is soap bubbles. How do Soap bubbles form. I know they are formed by Surface tension and that they must have soap to stabilize them. Regular bubbles dissolve. Is it possible that soap bubbles are caused when the hydrophobic end of soap faces water? After all, in the case of a magnet if one end is made to face the wrong side of another magnet it pushes the other magnet away. I'm thinking that the soap would be pushed out of the water, forming a bubble. i am probably wrong. i will post my notes on soap bubbles later.
Surface Tension, Soap and Variables
I'm starting out my first night of "fun" learning with a good bit 'o science. Science is my favorite topic so this should make this a bit easier for me and possibly a bit harder on all my imaginary readers. Instead of always calling them my Imaginary Readers I shall give them one single name to define them all. From this day forth my imaginary readers shall be known as Kalpita. I name you all Kalpita because it is an Indian name meaning "imaginary" which i found quite fitting. I'll stop rambling long enough to start talking a bit about what I';m going to learn about today.
Surface Tension
The all-knowing Wikipedia proudly tells me that Surface tension is a property of the surface of a liquid caused by cohesion of like molecules, which is responsible for many of the behaviors of liquids.
In Teenage terms surface tension is basically waters ability to hold itself together and stick to itself. It's like when you put two drops of water next to each other they tend to bond together into a larger drop of water instead of simply bumping up against one another like solids do.
Surface Tension can be measured by counting how many drops of water can be fit on a penny.
Surface Tension only applies to liquids. This should NOT be confused with Surface Energy which we will get to later. Maybe.
To make things funner (for me. not you.) I have a mission
Mission: Find out how soap affects the surface tension of water. At all costs.
Procedure: Count how many drops of soapy water can fit on a penny. Compare this with how many drops of normal water you can fit on a penny
Control: Counting how many drops of regular water can fit on a penny.
Independent Variable(The variable that changes.): Soapy water
Dependent Variable(the variable affected by the IV): How many drops of water can fit on a penny
It's midnight right now and my parents are sleeping. I must manage to go into the bathroom and perform my experiments without waking anyone. This should be pretty easy. I will report to you with my results later. Wish me luck.
Surface Tension
The all-knowing Wikipedia proudly tells me that Surface tension is a property of the surface of a liquid caused by cohesion of like molecules, which is responsible for many of the behaviors of liquids.
In Teenage terms surface tension is basically waters ability to hold itself together and stick to itself. It's like when you put two drops of water next to each other they tend to bond together into a larger drop of water instead of simply bumping up against one another like solids do.
Surface Tension can be measured by counting how many drops of water can be fit on a penny.
Surface Tension only applies to liquids. This should NOT be confused with Surface Energy which we will get to later. Maybe.
To make things funner (for me. not you.) I have a mission
Mission: Find out how soap affects the surface tension of water. At all costs.
Procedure: Count how many drops of soapy water can fit on a penny. Compare this with how many drops of normal water you can fit on a penny
Control: Counting how many drops of regular water can fit on a penny.
Independent Variable(The variable that changes.): Soapy water
Dependent Variable(the variable affected by the IV): How many drops of water can fit on a penny
It's midnight right now and my parents are sleeping. I must manage to go into the bathroom and perform my experiments without waking anyone. This should be pretty easy. I will report to you with my results later. Wish me luck.
Intro
WARNING: This shall be boring
Welcome to the blog of a typical geek. Perhaps "typical" isn't the word. I'm not cool enough to be a regular geek so i guess I'm a wanna-be geek. Anyway, i will start from the beginning:
I was sitting around stressing about school coming out and how I want to major in Marine Biology. Of course for that I need to study and since school hasn't started yet I am teaching myself with the help of a teachers study guide. If my extreme nerdiness wasn't bad enough I decided that what better place to keep notes than on a blog so that other people can learn about...stuff. Will anyone read this? Probably not but if they read it they would probably snicker (am I the only one who thinks of horses when I hear the word "snicker"?) and click to another page wondering to themselves "What kind of person has nothing better to do than put school notes on a blog?". A nerdy high school girl. That's who! A nerdy high school girl with horrible sentence structure.
This, my imaginary audience, is a teenagers quest to put science, math nd grammar in terms that she can understand. Otherwise they are my notes
Reader, i pity you. Have a cookie.
Welcome to the blog of a typical geek. Perhaps "typical" isn't the word. I'm not cool enough to be a regular geek so i guess I'm a wanna-be geek. Anyway, i will start from the beginning:
I was sitting around stressing about school coming out and how I want to major in Marine Biology. Of course for that I need to study and since school hasn't started yet I am teaching myself with the help of a teachers study guide. If my extreme nerdiness wasn't bad enough I decided that what better place to keep notes than on a blog so that other people can learn about...stuff. Will anyone read this? Probably not but if they read it they would probably snicker (am I the only one who thinks of horses when I hear the word "snicker"?) and click to another page wondering to themselves "What kind of person has nothing better to do than put school notes on a blog?". A nerdy high school girl. That's who! A nerdy high school girl with horrible sentence structure.
This, my imaginary audience, is a teenagers quest to put science, math nd grammar in terms that she can understand. Otherwise they are my notes
Reader, i pity you. Have a cookie.
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