3/14 is Pi Day!
By Linda | March 13, 2009
March 14th (3/14) is Pi Day. Whether you celebrate by eating pie, throwing a pie or just by reading this post, it’s a worthwhile activity to reflect on this remarkable number!
The diameter of the the above circle is 1 so its circumference = Pi
Pi is one of the most important mathematical constants. Approximately equal to 3.14159, Pi represents the ratio of any circle’s circumference to its diameter in Euclidean geometry. Pi is an irrational number, which means that its decimal expansion never ends or repeats. With the use of computers, Pi has been calculated to over 1 trillion digits past the decimal!
Here are a couple of interesting links exploring the greatness of Pi…
Tips for Mnemonically memorizing the digits of Pi
And here is a really catchy little tune about Pi - I’m sure you’ll be singing this one in the shower!
Topics: The Petri Dish | 1 Comment »
Topps in 3-D Technology
By Linda | March 10, 2009
Check this out!
Topp’s has launched a line of collector’s baseball cards that work with your webcam to bring players to life. The action unfolds right on your desktop!
The cards, called Topps 3-D Live, are built with technology created by augmented reality company Total Immersion. The images are not holograms. They are actually a digital overlay on the video stream itself, in real-time.”
To view the cards you must first download an ActiveX control from the Toppstown.com website. Once it’s installed, you simply click on the appropriate player, hold your card up to a webcam, and the player will appear to pop up in 3-D on your monitor’s image.
The card becomes fully interactive, too! Spin it around and the player spins. Tilt it and the player in your monitor tilts too. You can even use your keyboard to have him pitch, catch, or hit balls — and it all happens instantaneously as you send the commands.
Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi! You’re my only hope!
Topics: In the News, Technology, The Petri Dish, Toys & Games | 1 Comment »
Kingdom of the Blue Whale
By Linda | March 6, 2009
This week I previewed National Geographic Channel’s “Kingdom of the Blue Whale” which is scheduled to premier on Sunday, March 8 at 8PM ET/PT.
Blue Whales are among the most mysterious creatures on our planet. Our understanding of their migratory and reproductive habits is sketchy at best.
This program takes the viewer on a groundbreaking journey of discovery with a group of eminent blue whale scientists on a revolutionary mission: To find, identify, and tag California Blue Whales, use the DNA samples to study individual animals, then rejoin the massive creatures’ stunning migration. These experts have observed, firsthand, courtship behavior among the whales. Now, they hope to find and record the Holy Grail of Blue Whale science — the breeding and calving grounds of the biggest mammals in the sea.
To learn more about this program, view scheduled air times or set a reminder so you don’t miss it CLICK HERE
Interesting Facts about the Blue Whale
- Since 1966 it has been illegal to hunt Blue Whales, but their meat is still considered a delicacy in some places such as Japan.
- There are 9 distinct Blue Whale populations on Earth.
- Blue Whales make some of the loudest calls of any animal although we require special technology to hear them.
- Blue Whales are about twice the size of other better known whale species.
- An adult female Blue Whale can weigh almost 200 tons. That’s more than 25 times the size of an elephant!
- An adult Blue Whale’s heart is as large as a small car, weighing in at close to 1000 pounds!
- An adult Blue Whale can be as long as 2 city buses from bumper to bumper.
- Mother Blue Whales are the largest creatures to have ever lived on Earth (including dinosaurs).
- The largest creatures on Earth eat a diet consisting of some of the smallest - such as krill and plankton.
- It takes about 2000 pounds of food to fill the belly of a Blue Whale and they consume a total of about 7000 pounds daily!
- The markings on the dorsal area of a Blue Whale are unique to each animal - like a human fingerprint.
Topics: Animal Kingdom, Movies & TV, Nature | 1 Comment »
Rotten Science
By Linda | March 4, 2009
To see what happens to butter and margarine left out for 39 days CLICK HERE
Topics: Food Science, Nature, The Petri Dish | 2 Comments »
Are you game?
By Linda | February 27, 2009
Here are a couple of fun and enlightening games to challenge your scientific knowledge. These science games are geared for the 5th to 8th grade level.
Are you as smart as a 5th grader? Click below to find out!
Proton Don - Test your knowledge of the periodic table.
Order me Around - Sequence these science facts correctly.
Space Hopper - Can you recognize these stellar constellations?
Topics: Games, Quizzes & Word Searches | No Comments »
Is there a Feline Pesematologist in the house?
By Linda | February 23, 2009
This goes to prove that for every occurrence in nature there springs up a science to study it - and probably a government grant to fund it!
Pesematology is defined as the scientific study of falling objects. Feline Pesematology is devoted specifically to the physics of falling cats. And yes, there really is enough data to merit some study!
Not so terminal velocity
The regularity with which cats fall from high places resulted in the coining of the phrase in 1976 “Feline High Rise Syndrome”by Dr Gordon Robinson. In 1987 two veterinarians, Drs. Wayne Whitney and Cheryl Mehlhaff of the Animal Medical Centre in Manhattan conducted a study on Feline High Rise Syndrome, the results of which were published in the Journal of American Veterinary Medicine include the following:
- Of the 115 cats who were brought into the Medical Centre having sustained a fall of between two and thirty two stories 90% survived;
- 10% of the cats which fell between 2-6 stories died;
- Only 5% of the cats which fell between 7-32 stories died - the doubling of the survival rate as the height increased can be accounted for by the effects of terminal velocity;
- The most common injury following a fall is nose bleeds.
All earthbound falling objects (including cats) will accelerate only up to a certain speed known as “terminal velocity” at which point air resistance becomes strong enough to counter-balance gravity. For falling humans terminal velocity is around 130 mph but it’s less than half that speed for a plummeting pussycat. Once terminal velocity is reached, the sensation of falling diminishes. The cats are thought to relax once this happens causing them land in a better position and explaining why falls from higher floors seem to be more survivable.
A few more Interesting facts governing the aerodynamic tendencies of tumbling tabbies:
Cats possess a righting reflex, an innate ability to orient themselves as they fall, enabling them to land feet-first, often uninjured. The righting reflex begins to appear at 3-4 weeks of age, and is perfected at 7 weeks. Cats are able to do this as they have an unusually flexible backbone and no functional collarbone or clavicle (shoulder blade).
After determining up from down visually or with their vestibular apparatus (in the inner ear), cats manage to twist themselves to face downward without ever changing their net angular momentum. They are able to accomplish this with these key steps:
- Bend in the middle so that the front half of their body rotates about a different axis than the rear half.
- Tuck their front legs in to reduce the moment of inertia of the front half of their body and extend their rear legs to increase the moment of inertia of the rear half of their body so that they can rotate their front half quite far (as much as 90°) while the rear half rotates in the opposite direction quite a bit less (as little as 10°).
- Extend their front legs and tuck their rear legs so that they can rotate their rear half quite far while their front half rotates in the opposite direction quite a bit less.
Depending on the cat’s flexibility and initial angular momentum, if any, the cat may need to repeat steps two and three one or more times in order to complete a full 180° rotation.
And speaking of spinning cats… CLICK HERE
Topics: Animal Kingdom, Nature, Science Factoids | 4 Comments »
What’s in a Name?
By Linda | February 4, 2009
My husband and I have often observed that many first names that were popular in our childhood have become extemely rare in our children’s generation. Where are all the Karens, Steves, Glens and Cheryls? Gone are the Suzies, Donnas, Garys and Robs.
When we lived in Texas a few years back, “alternative” spellings were all the rage. My personal favorite was “Jaxon”. For some reason folks in the Lone Star State were also keen to use an ”i” at the end of any name that should have by all rights ended in either a “y” or an “ie” (Juli, Mari, Kerri, etc.)
Back here in the Midwest things seem to be much more conventional and I do still run across the occasional Kelly or Mark. By and large however, the current generation is mostly awash in a sea of Connors, Kylies, Rykers and Carleighs.
I remember reading about a scientific study that was conducted some time ago that measured the emotional response people had when they heard a particular name. I remember that Tom was a name that inspired feelings of trust, steadfastness, and loyalty. That same study found that Wendy was the name most synonymous with femininity. As I said, the study was done decades ago - in the 80s, I think.
The perceptions and associations a particular name engenders are ever-changing. The best illustration of this I can think of is the name “Forrest”. Up until a certain movie starring Tom Hanks was released in 1994, Forrest was a name people associated with rich east coast banker-types. Some names even jump gender over time. Just a few years back, Courtney, Loren & Sydney were strictly boy’s names. Of course, celebrities influence naming conventions as well. I’m sure we’ll see a spike in “Baracks” over the next year or two!
The idea has always intrigued me that a name could have the power to preceed any actual characteristics possessed by its owner. It seems absurd that merely hearing a name can set expectations, good or bad, that prejudice another’s perception of the character and even physical attributes of a person they have never met or spoken to.
Now it seems that a name can not only influence the perception of others but can determine the likelyhood of certain individuals to turn to a life of crime! Really!
Boys in the United States with common names like Michael and David are less likely to commit crimes than those named Ernest or Ivan.
David E. Kalist and Daniel Y. Lee of Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania compared the first names of male juvenile delinquents to the first names of male juveniles in the population.
The researchers constructed a popularity-name index (PNI) for each name. For example, the PNI for Michael is 100, the most frequently given name during the period.
The PNI for David is 50, a name given half as frequently as Michael. The PNI is approximately 1 for names such as Alec, Ernest, Ivan, Kareem, and Malcolm.
Results show that, regardless of race, juveniles with unpopular names are more likely to engage in criminal activity. The least popular names were associated with juvenile delinquency among both blacks and whites.
The findings, announced Wednesday, are detailed in the Journal Social Science Quarterly.
While the names are likely not the cause of crime, the researchers argue that “they are connected to factors that increase the tendency to commit crime, such as a disadvantaged home environment, residence in a county with low socioeconomic status, and households run by one parent.”
“Also, adolescents with unpopular names may be more prone to crime because they are treated differently by their peers, making it more difficult for them to form relationships,” according to a statement released by the journal’s publisher. “Juveniles with unpopular names may also act out because they consciously or unconsciously dislike their names.”
The findings could help officials ” identify individuals at high risk of committing or recommitting crime, leading to more effective and targeted intervention programs,” the authors conclude.
To see what the most popular boys & girls names have been over the last couple of hundred years CLICK HERE
Topics: In the News, The Petri Dish | No Comments »
Happy Birthday Darwin!
By Linda | February 2, 2009
February 12th marks the 200th anniversary of evolutionary biologist Charles Darwin’s birthday.
The National Geographic Channel is not letting the occasion pass without airing what promises to be some fascinating programs featuring intriguing looks at various aspects of evolutionary science. I am hoping to get a sneak peek at some of these prior to their initial air dates and will review them for you after doing so.
Morphed is a three-part series that employs advanced CGI, forensic examination of the latest fossil evidence and 3-D biomechanical animation to bring ancient creatures back to life recreating the most dramatic forces impacting their evolution from natural disasters to competitors and brushes with extinction. The three episodes are titled:
- MORPHED: FROM DINOSAUR TO TURKEY digs 230 million years back into the fossil record to witness the emergence of the first dinosaur and follows different dinosaur species as they respond to changes in the earth’s environment. Next Year at Thanksgiving dinner, imagine you’re eating a dinosaur. You won’t be far from the truth!
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MORPHED: WHEN WHALES HAD LEGS examines the environmental pressures that turned a wolflike creature that hunted in shallow waters into a leviathan of the seas.
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MORPHED: BEFORE THEY WERE BEARS travels back 30 million years to watch the bear’s doglike ancestor climb down from the trees of central Europe and set out on a journey that spanned the planet.
Morphed debuts on February 8th with three back-to-back episodes and a **live chat blogging session that features a panel of experts with professional and educational backgrounds ranging from hard science to theology.
You can participate in the live chat/blog in two ways:
1. Submit a question in advance and have it answered by the panel on the night of February 8th. To submit your questions in advance visit the forum at http://ngccommunity.nationalgeographic.com/ngcforums/evolution/
2. Join the NGC Blog on the evening of February 8th to see the discussion unfold live at http://ngccommunity.nationalgeographic.com/ngcblogs/inside-ngc/
**The discussion will begin at 7pm E/P and last about 2-3 hours as Morphed is airing that evening.
Topics: Animal Kingdom, In the News, Movies & TV, Nature | No Comments »
Zapped Pickle
By Linda | January 20, 2009
In case you were wondering what happens if you run household current through a pickle via an extension cord wired to 2 dinner forks that have been insterted into either end of the pickle - Well, here you go…
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One question, though: Just what did the pickle do to deserve this?
Oh, and needless to say, this is a VERY dangerous experiment! Never mess with household current unless you REALLY know what you are doing!
Topics: Projects & Experiments, The Petri Dish | No Comments »
January 2009 Hidden Picture Puzzle
By Linda | January 16, 2009
Here is the Highlights Magazine free printable Hidden Picture Puzzle Hotlink for January 2009. As always, this puzzle is courtesy of Highlights Magazine.
Click on the puzzle link below.
January 2009 Hidden Picture Puzzle (First Snow)
Topics: Games, Quizzes & Word Searches | No Comments »
