VirtualeScience

IQ Boost Anyone?

2007-12-10T08:08:00.001-08:00

How To Boost Your IQ by: Dr. Enigma Valdez, C.H.
You may think that you’re stuck with the current IQ that you have for good. However, there is a way that you can boost your IQ to a much higher level than you thought possible. A French psychologist by the name of Alfred Binet first published the modern intelligence tests to evaluate if special students need help in school classes in 1905. Then a few years later in 1912, a German psychologist by the name of William Stern came up with the term “intelligence quotient” or I.Q. After him, there was a formula developed to identify the intelligence level of a person that is used up to this day. The formula is as follows; 100 multiplied Mental Age divided by Chronological age. For example, if a 10 year old child scored as high as the average 13 year old, then the child would have an IQ of 130. (100 times 13 divided by 10) The best way to boost your IQ and to land high IQ test scores is to buy study versions of the standardized tests. There are many kinds of IQ tests and they do come in many forms. Some of them use several sub portions, and are divided into different sections, such as verbal, math, spatial, etc. Others use a single item or type of question. The typical IQ test will require you to solve a number of problems in a supervised setting. You may also be timed. The IQ test will include things from various domains, such as spatial visualization, perceptual speed, short-term memory, and verbal skills. There are other IQ tests, that are not supervised and do not have a time limit. These are usually geared for measuring very high intelligence. When you are preparing to study for your IQ tests, determine which kind you are going to take. The most widely used IQ test is the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale or WAIS. There are about 14 subtests within this IQ test, which include object assembly, symbol search, picture arrangement, matrix reasoning, block design, digital symbol coding, picture completion, letter & number sequencing, vocabulary, and numerical reasoning. So, you can search for study guides for the main IQ tests, such as the WAIS, Stanford-Binet, Miller-Analogies, Cattell Culture Fair II, and Raven’s Progressive Matrices. You can go to Amazon.com or to Barnes & Noble to find study guides. You can also buy brain teaser books and go over the exercises. Don’t just do them once or twice, but practice them over and over, until they are imprinted on your brain. What starts to happen is that you will subconsciously pick up a pattern of these IQ tests, and you’ll be able to easily solve almost any question or problem. The thing about standardized IQ tests is that that they all pretty much have the same questions over and and over again, except they are worded or arranged a little different. The main patterns and principles remain constant. You can also test for the Graduate Record Exam or GRE. This test is accepted by major High IQ societies such as MENSA. I have found that the Graduate Record Exam has a lot of the same questions and structures in it that the standardized IQ tests have. Getting a study copy of the GRE is pretty easy, and you could probably get an older copy at your local public library. Just do the exercises over and over again, so you can get used to the structures of the questions. Then, after you have taken your IQ test and scored high, you can take the results and join different high IQ societies. This can help you in your personal life as well as your career. A lot of people will list the fact that they are members of certain high IQ societies on job resumes, and it can mean the difference between getting hired or rejected. Boosting your IQ is nothing short than practicing IQ tests. The more you practice taking them, the easier they get, and pretty soon, you, too can have a genius IQ.
About The Author
Dr. Enigma Valdez, C.H., is an internet genius and visionary dedicated to helping people succeed. You can visit his site at http://www.highiq-university.com/.

Don't Waste Seeds..

2007-09-27T03:02:00.000-07:00

Simple Seed Saving by: Dr. Christopher Kline
Seed saving can be a rewarding and cost saving activity particularly if plants are selected for their good seed saving characteristics. This article will offer the beginning seed saver helpful advice on which plants to start with and how best to harvest, prepare and save the seeds. Bean/pea, lettuce, pepper, and tomato offer the beginning seed saver the best chance for successful seed saving. They produce seed the same season as planted and are mostly self-pollinating, minimizing the need to be mindful of preventing cross-pollination. Always harvest seeds from the best plants available. Choose healthy disease-free plants with desirable qualities. Look for the most flavorful vegetables or beautiful flowers. Because seed set reduces the vigor of the plant and discourages further fruit production, wait until near the end of the season to save fruit for seed. Seeds are mature when flowers are faded and dry or have puffy tops. Beans/Peas Toward the end of the season and while healthy pods are still being formed allow the pods on some plants to dry brown before harvesting. This is about six weeks after eating stage for beans and four for peas. If frost threatens, pull the entire plant, and hang in cool, dry location until pods are brown. Lettuce With lettuce you will need to take care to separate varieties flowering at the same time by at least 20 feet to avoid cross pollination. Some outside leaves can still be harvested for eating without harming seed production. Once half the flowers have gone to seed, cut off the entire top of the plant and allow it to dry upside down in an open paper bag for 2-3 weeks. Peppers Some care must be taken to separate different varieties by at least 50 feet help ensure purity. Most peppers turn red when fully mature and this is the time to harvest seeds for saving. If frost threatens before peppers mature, pull the entire plant and hang in cool, dry location until peppers mature. Cut open mature peppers and scoop out the seeds. Follow with a gentle washing in a mild 10% bleach solution, and lay the seeds out in a single layer on white paper towels until the seeds have thoroughly dried. Tomatoes If possible, allow tomatoes to completely ripen before harvesting for seed production. Slice open the tomato, squeeze out the pulp and seeds into a glass jar, add water up to about ¾ of the jar, and set aside for a few days. A residue will collect on the top of the water as well as some of the seeds (these are dead seeds). The water will clear and the viable seeds will sink to the bottom of the jar. After five days carefully scoop out the residue from the top and throw it away, pour off the water and then pour out the seeds from the bottom of the jar onto white paper towel for drying. Seed Storage Paper envelopes work well for storing each seed variety. Before storing test to make sure the seeds are dry enough by attempting to bend them. If the seeds snap instead of bending they are sufficiently dehydrated for storing. Large mason jars work well for storing your seed envelopes. Prepare a jar for seed storing by placing a small, cloth bag filled with dry, powdered milk in the bottom of the jar. This will help to absorb any moisture from the storage container. Place the seed envelopes in the jar, on top of the bag and tightly seal the jar. Next place the jar in the freezer for two days. This helps to kill any diseases that may be infecting the seeds. Find a place for long term storage that is a cool, dry, and dark where the temperatures remains fairly stable. A garage, storeroom, pantry, closet or even a drawer will work well. A few weeks before planting time perform a test germination of saved seeds by placing the seeds on three layers of moist white paper towels, roll the towels loosely and place them in a plastic bag. Keep the bag in a warm place until germination occurs. Depending on the type of seeds germination may take anywhere from 2-14 days. For more information on seed saving visit The International Seed Saving Institute at http://www.seedsave.org/issi/issi_904.html
About The Author
Dr. Christopher J. Kline is a master gardener and sunflower specialist living in Paradise Valley Arizona. He is also an editor for http://www.SunflowerOcity.com The Ultimate Sunflower Site has everything imaginable about sunflowers including great information, links to the best products, sites and discussion boards. You can reach Chris at Chris.Kline@sunflowerOcity.com.

How to Grow Crystals

2007-08-24T13:50:00.000-07:00

Growing Crystals by: Kevin Clement
Tip, Tricks, and Techniques Do you want to grow great crystals? These are general instructions for growing crystals that you can use for most crystal recipes. You can find the recipes and information on crystal structures in the Growing Crystals section. Here are the basics, to get you started and help you troubleshoot problems: What Are Crystals? Crystals are structures that are formed from a regular repeated pattern of connected atoms or molecules. Crystals grow by a process termed nucleation. During nucleation, the atoms or molecules that will crystallize (solute) are dissolved into their individual units in a solvent. The solute particles contact each other and connect with each other. This subunit is larger than an individual particle, so more particles will contact and connect with it. Eventually, this crystal nucleus becomes large enough that it falls out of solution (crystallizes). Other solute molecules will continue to attach to the surface of the crystal, causing it to grow until a balance or equilibrium is reached between the solute molecules in the crystal and those that remain in the solution. The Basic Technique 1. Make a saturated solution. 2. Start a garden or grow a seed crystal. 3. Continue growth. In order to grow a crystal, you need to make a solution which maximizes the chances for the solute particles to come together and form a nucleus, which will grow into your crystal. This means you will want a concentrated solution with as much solute as you can dissolve (saturated solution). Sometimes nucleation can occur simply through the interactions between the solute particles in the solution (called unassisted nucleation), but sometimes it's better to provided a sort of meeting place for solute particles to aggregate (assisted nucleation). A rough surface tends to be more attractive for nucleation than a smooth surface. As an example, a crystal is more likely to start forming on a rough piece of string than on the smooth side of a glass. Make a Saturated Solution It's best to start your crystals with a saturated solution. A more dilute solution will become saturated as the air evaporates some liquid, but evaporation takes time (days, weeks). You will get your crystals more quickly if the solution is saturated to begin with. Also, there may come a time when you need to add more liquid to your crystal solution. If your solution is anything but saturated, then it will undo your work and actually dissolve your crystals! Make a saturated solution by adding your crystal solute (e.g., alum, sugar, salt) to the solvent (usually water, although some recipes may call for other solvents). Stirring the mix will help to dissolve the solute. Sometimes you may want to apply heat to help the solute dissolve. You can use boiling water or sometimes even heat the solution on the stove, over a burner, or in a microwave. Growing a Crystal Garden or 'Geode' If you just want to grow a mass of crystals or a crystal garden, you can pour your saturated solution over a substrate (rocks, brick, sponge), cover the setup with a paper towel or coffee filter to keep out dust, and allow the liquid to slowly evaporate. Growing a Seed Crystal On the other hand, if you are trying to grow a larger single crystal, you will need to obtain a seed crystal. One method of getting a seed crystal is to pour a small amount of your saturated solution onto a plate, let the drop evaporate, and scrape the crystals formed on the bottom to use as seeds. Another method is to pour saturated solution into a very smooth container (like a glass jar) and dangle a rough object (like a piece of string) into the liquid. Small crystals will start to grow on the string, which can be used as seed crystals. Crystal Growth and Housekeeping If your seed crystal is on a string, pour the liquid into a clean container (otherwise crystals will eventually grow on the glass and compete with your crystal), suspend the string in the liquid, cover the container with a paper towel or coffee filter (don't seal it with a lid!), and continue to grow your crystal. Pour the liquid into a clean container whenever you see crystals growing on the container. If you selected a seed from a plate, tie it onto a nylon fishing line (too smooth to be attractive to crystals, so your seed can grow without competition), suspend the crystal in a clean container with saturated solution, and grow your crystal the same way as with seeds that were originally on a string. Keeping Your Treasures Crystals that were made from a water (aqueous) solution will dissolve somewhat in humid air. Keep your crystal beautiful by storing it in a dry, closed container. You may wish to wrap it in paper to keep it dry and prevent dust from accumulating on it. Certain crystals can be protected by being sealed with an acrylic coating (like Future floor polish), although applying the acrylic will dissolve the outermost layer of the crystal.
About The Author
Kevin Clement, Qianqi Crystal Ltd. Visit beautiful crystal gifts: http://www.cn-crystal.com

The Jason Project

2006-12-15T07:05:00.000-08:00

The Jason Project Takes Math and Science Education Out of the Classroom by: Stacy Andell
What It Is The JASON Project is headquartered in Ashburn, VA. Its mission is to inspire in students a life-long passion for learning in science, math, and technology through hands-on, real-world scientific discovery. It is named in the spirit of the Greek myth of Jason and the Argonauts. For middle-grade students, JASON's real-time, interdisciplinary science expeditions offer a unique opportunity to participate in real, standards-based, multidisciplinary research directed by leading scientists. For educators, JASON provides the content and tools to effectively teach middle-grade science. The JASON Professional Development program offers accredited online professional development courses in science, math, and non-fiction literacy instruction as well as on-site workshops and coaching to help teachers become highly qualified and make the best use of JASON programs in the classroom. In addition to the award-winning JASON Science curricula, the JASON Professional Development offers educators a full array of online courses and onsite workshops to increase content knowledge. JASON Professional Development, supported by the National Science Teachers Association, enhances teachers’ content backgrounds and provides them with the tools to help students learn more effectively. JASON Professional Development offerings provide numerous classroom applications with demonstrations and hands-on learning activities. JASON Math Some of the many math expeditions led by the JASON project include the Mysteries of Each and Mars, From Shore to Sea, and Rainforests at the Crossroads. Each of these expeditions integrate mathematics concepts and skills with scientific themes. In addition the Math Adventures curriculum includes such activities as Geometry and Return to Titanic, and Proportional Reasoning and Disappearing Wetlands. These programs can be stand alone classroom projects or used to complement a corresponding JASON Expedition. Students will be introduced to real researchers and their work and have an opportunity to conduct similar engaging activities in the classroom and outdoors. JASON is committed to giving educators exciting new ways to teach standards-based mathematics. As students use our hands-on approach to solving real scientific problems, the activities challenge them to learn important mathematics skills and concepts too. JASON Science Both JASON Expeditions and JASON Science Adventures provide teachers with a vehicle to implement new content and instructional practice in the classroom, and: • Make science real and relevant • Allow students to get to know and identify with real scientists • Introduce hands-on, technology-rich learning experiences • Help students ask better questions, and inspire an interest in science and a lifelong passion for learning JASON’s award-winning supplementary curricula are designed by the world’s leading scientists and educators. The curricula provide rich learning experiences using a hands-on inquiry based approach that mirrors the work of real scientists. The flexible instructional design allows for cross-curricular integration or single-subject implementation across disciplines. Not only are JASON Curricula based on national model standards for science, math, social studies, language arts, and technology; but they are also correlated to each state’s standards for science. JASON is proven to enhance middle-grade student learning outcomes. Participating Schools Currently the JASON project includes: • 26 Primary Interactive Network Sites (PINS) in the U.S., Bermuda, Mexico, and Panama • 22 regional networks • Over 1 million students reached annually • 12 Student Argonauts • 4 Teacher Argonauts • 6 host researchers • 3 student hosts • 3 guest researchers
About The Author
Stacy Andell is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. Stacy has a nose for research and writes stimulating news and views on school issues. For more information on schools visit http://www.schoolsk-12.com

Scientists Find Oldest Human

2006-12-04T00:23:00.000-08:00

Scientists Discover Oldest Skeleton Of Human Ancestor; Report Face Looked Like Hugo Chavez. by: Tom Attea
The most well-preserved skeleton of an ancestor of homo sapiens has been discovered in Ethiopia. The skeleton, dating back about 3.3 million years, is a member of the evolutionary group known as Australopithecus Venezuelas and had a face that looks remarkably like Hugo Chavez. Scientists have yet to determine if the homonid retained tree-climbing capabilities. Apparently, its arms hung below its knees, and it had a short neck like a gorilla. As they free more of the skeleton from the sandstone in which it was found, they will be able to determine if it did climb trees. Remains of an ancient manuscript were also found buried with the skeleton. It appears to be the work of an ancient medicine man who identifies himself as Neander Chompsky. Experts are attempting to decipher the language in which it is written. The scientists also discovered scratchings on a rock. So far they have been able to determine that the precursor of homo sapiens may have believed in the devil. One of the scratchings has been translated that states, "If you're looking for the devil, first look into a reflecting pool." Meanwhile, Hugo Chavez, on hearing about the remains, asked that they be turned over to Venezuela, because, if the ancient person did look just like him, he or she may be a distant ancestor, and so, he reasons, the remains belong to the Chavez family. He has also voiced the intention to lug the rock with the etchings on it to his next speech at the UN, where he plans to say he took its advice and looked into a reflecting pool to see the devil. He saw George Bush, because right before he looked, he tossed in a photograph of him.
About The Author
Tom Attea, humorist and creator of http://NewsLaugh.com, has had six shows produced Off-Broadway. Critics have called his writing "delightfully funny," "witty," with "great humor and ebullience" and "good, genuine laughs."

More On Global Warming

2006-11-22T09:31:00.000-08:00

Space Sunshade May One Day Reduce Global Warming by: Deepak Purang
Global warming is a reality and increasingly its consequences are upon us. We may think that global warming does not affect us but the fact is it has already started to have disastrous consequences. Flash floods, droughts, receding icebergs, cyclones are some of the manifestations of global warming. Although we are aware and worried about it and trying our best to control it but no significant impact could be seen. Scientists have come up with new strategies to tackle the problem. Now a scientist has suggested an ambitious idea to contain global warming. Put sunshades in space. That’s right. University of Arizona astronomer Roger Angel suggests putting sunshades in space and has detailed his idea in a paper “Feasibility of cooling the Earth with a cloud of small spacecraft near L1” in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He suggests launching a constellation of trillions of small free-flying spacecraft a million miles above Earth into an orbit aligned with the sun, called the L-1 orbit. This spacecraft would form a long, cylindrical cloud and would have a diameter about half that of Earth, and about 10 times longer. It is suggested that about 10 percent of the sunlight passing through the 60,000-mile length of the cloud, pointing lengthwise between the Earth and the sun, would be diverted away from our planet. This would result in uniformly reduced sunlight by about 2 percent over the entire planet and would balance the heating of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere. The use of space shade was first mooted by James Early of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 1989. "The earlier ideas were for bigger, heavier structures that would have needed manufacture and launch from the moon, which is pretty futuristic," Angel said. "I wanted to make the sunshade from small 'flyers,' small, light and extremely thin spacecraft that could be completely assembled and launched from Earth, in stacks of a million at a time. When they reached L1, they would be dealt off the stack into a cloud. There's nothing to assemble in space." Angel proposes to design lightweight flyers made of transparent film pierced with small holes and would be two feet in diameter, 1/5000 of an inch thick and weigh about a gram, the same as a large butterfly. He suggests using “MEMS” technology mirrors as tiny sails that tilt to hold the flyers position in the orbiting constellation. The weight of all flyers would be 20 millions tons. But conventional rocket launch system at $10,000 a pound would be too prohibitive. His alternative would cost only around $20 a pound. He suggests deploying a total 20 electromagnetic launchers launching a stack of flyers every 5 minutes for 10 years. The electromagnetic launchers would use hydroelectric power but even if it uses coal-generated electricity, each ton of carbon used would reduce the effect of 1000 tons of atmospheric carbon. Once propelled beyond Earth’s atmosphere the flyer stacks would be steered to L-1 orbit by solar-powered ion propulsion, pioneered by European Space Agency's SMART-1 moon orbiter and NASA's Deep Space 1 probe. "The concept builds on existing technologies," Angel said. "It seems feasible that it could be developed and deployed in about 25 years at a cost of a few trillion dollars. With care, the solar shade should last about 50 years. So the average cost is about $100 billion a year, or about two-tenths of one percent of the global domestic product." He added, "The sunshade is no substitute for developing renewable energy, the only permanent solution. A similar massive level of technological innovation and financial investment could ensure that. "But if the planet gets into an abrupt climate crisis that can only be fixed by cooling, it would be good to be ready with some shading solutions that have been worked out." Syndicated By : http://pressreleasegold.com Contact : syndication@pressreleasegold.com
About The Author
Deepak Purang writes on Science & Technology and edits Science & Technology website http://pressreleasegold.com.

Global Warming Discussion

2006-03-21T14:18:00.000-08:00

A New Science For A New Climate by: Jacob Fiennes
At first glance it’s hard to imagine how the proliferation of human activity upon the environment has been a major factor in climate change given that climate change alone is nothing new. Over two million years the earth’s history has seen enormous changes. Indeed, in the last ten thousand years the warming and cooling of the earth has been on a larger scale that what we see today.
The climate is however very changeable these days. Getting the politics right has been half the fight. Unfortunately, the right policy has been held at bay partially by having the right knowledge of what’s happening to the climate. The climate changes we see today are the result of only a century and a half of study, peanuts in comparison the huge shifts over the earths history.
The recent UN Climate Change Conference sought to put in place a policy to take over the Kyoto protocol. At its core were some recently publicised results:
The warming trend on the earth’s surface has been taking place since the early part of the twentieth century. The last ten years have been the warmest of that millennium.
There have been rapid signs of melting the Arctic circle. The sea ice there has fallen by around eight percent over thirty years.
The old inconsistency in the data between the temperature rise in the atmosphere and on the planets surface seems to have levelled out. They appear to rise in parallel.
The Scripps Institute of Oceanography in California noted that the ocean has been warming at different depths for over 65 years. These results match the predictions that warming has been induced more by greenhouse gases that as a result of small changes in the suns heat output.
There has been an observed and recorded link between the sea surface temperature and the frequency and intensity of tropical storms, typhoons and hurricanes.
The existing computer models of the change in ocean currents, in particular in the North Atlantic, are correct.
There are however still some unknowns. For example the solar hypothesis is now known to be a lesser contributor, the miniscule changes in the suns heat output over its eleven year sunspot cycle is adding to the mix. Also, the aerosol emissions from sulphurous fuel promote the formation of clouds, and as a consequence the sunlight reflected from the earths surface increases, effectively opposing the greenhouse gas effect.
Some even argue for the benefits of global warming, which include for example the opening up of new shipping lanes in the artic as the ice recedes, new oil drilling opportunities and longer harvest periods in Canada and Russia.
It seems climate change is inevitable and the small economic ideas such as banning coal subsidies bear little fruit as a means of curbing the problem. More than ever, political will must be demonstrated at first to show to industry and populations that it is even an issue. More importantly perhaps, the will of the politicians must be met with achievable methods from the technological and scientific community.
Professor Socolow is leading the way with what he calls “stabilisation wedges”. On a graph of climate change, the space between the trend line and the stability line is known as the “stabilisation triangle’. By dividing these triangles into wedges and assigning realistic goals to each wedge the massive problem is given a usable and effective solution.
The goals to assign to the wedges range from greater overall efficiencies, the decarbonisation of electricity, fuel displacement by low carbon electricity, methane management, and natural carbon sinks. By further subdividing each wedge into sub wedges, such as decarbonised electricity being subdivided into nuclear power, renewable energy, natural gas as an alternative to coal, and the storage of carbon dioxide – these problems are confounded into what everyone has been looking for. A short list of solutions that together will balance the problem.
It seems the technology for all this exists. It is merely in need of refinement. For example the management of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels could be dealt with through further carbon sequestration. A couple of power plants already employ this particular technique to good effect. The carbon dioxide is extracted at the source and is injected into porous rocks deep underground to prevent it escaping into the atmosphere.
Steam reformation is another technique. It is, in essence, a pre-emptive technique that reacts the fuel used with water to yield hydrogen. The hydrogen output is burnt to create electricity.
Of all the possibilities of reworking and inventing technologies, perhaps the best idea is the oldest idea. Replanting programmes. The idea of photosynthesis to combine carbon dioxide with water and sunlight is a relatively cheap and exponential idea and would be hugely effective.
About The Author
Jacob Fiennes is an enthusiastic traveller and photographer with a passion for discovery. He is a founder and regular contributor to the hugely popular worldwide hotel reservations site TravelBX.com. Visit the site for your next hotel room reservation, flight ticket, tailored holiday package and much more. >> http://www.travelbx.com.

What is Hydroponics

2006-03-19T13:20:00.000-08:00

Hydroponics - A Novel Blessing of Science by: Paul MacIver
The term hydroponics stands for the technique of cultivating plants in a nutrient solution rather than in soil. It’s a novel technique of growing plants in water which contains dissolved nutrients. This technique is also known as indoor gardening, aquiculture and tank farming.
Studies have proved the fact that plant roots are able to absorb the nutrients from the water even without soil. The new technique hydroponics is based on the concept that plants can be grown without any soil at all.
Professor Gericke of the University of California, Davis, is considered the father of hydroponics. Professor Gericke, in 1929, proved his invention by growing tomato plants in water to a quite remarkable size. The Professor coined the name hydroponics for the culture of plants in water.
Almost any plant can be made to grow through hydroponics. Today, the new techniques of hydroponics gardening and hydroponics farming are becoming popular.
Benefits of Hydroponics:
Hydroponics is a very useful technique when there is scarcity of land, and it is growing extremely beneficial and profitable to farmers. The positive aspects of hydroponics are listed below.
Hydroponics --
• Gets rid of soil-borne diseases and weeds. • Requires no soil tilling or ploughing. • Helpful in land scarcity; plants can be placed very close to one another. • Can be done in small spaces. • Highly productive; high yield, large amount of food can be produced from small spaces. • Requires only a small amount of water compared to traditional farming. • Allows the production of quality plants under controlled environmental conditions. • Makes it possible to grow plants all year round.
Future of Hydroponics:
The future of hydroponics seems to be quite bright. As plants are grown indoors, they can be made to grow almost anywhere, in any condition and any weather.
It’ll make it possible to grow plants in Antarctica. The techniques such as hydroponics or aeroponics may make it possible to grow vegetables and fruits in space in some near future.
About The Author
Paul MacIver writes articles on many topics including gardening. For further information on hydroponics go to http://www.howto-hydroponics.info or to read more about hydroponics gardening visit http://www.hydroponic-gardens.info.

The Science of Teaching

2006-02-24T10:11:00.000-08:00

Planning Your Homeschooling Effectively Takes Creativity by: David Black
Homeschooling is a growing trend across North America. An estimated 1.2 million children are home schooled on a part time or full time basis currently in the United States.
Many parents make the decision to homeschool their children, and in doing so are privy to some clear benefits. Homeschooling allows you to tailor a specific education to your child's individual needs, something that is often lacking in the public or private school systems. Homeschooling also allows you and your child to learn together, creating not only a valuable learning experience but strengthening family bonds. Add to this the fact that it is often prohibitively expensive to send multiple children to private schools, and we can see why homeschooling has become increasingly popular.
One of the most important aspects of homeschooling your child is coming up with a clear plan and set of goals. One of the greatest aspects of homeschooling - its complete flexibility - can also be one of the most difficult if it is not approached directly. Without a clear plan, you run the risk of creating a scattershot education that puts your child out of place with his or her peers.
So when you begin homeschooling, you should come up with a clear set of general goals. Think about why you want to homeschool your children, and what you want them to get out of the experience. What, generally, do you want your child's education to encompass? Once you have answered these general questions for yourself, begin to split your child's education into various subject areas. For each subject area, you want to come up with a timeline and set of goals.
A good place to start in terms of a timeline would be to look at the standard curriculum for your child's grade in a public or private school. While it is almost certainly true that one of these reasons you've selected to homeschool your child is to go beyond and outside this standard curriculum, you also want to make sure that your child does not fall behind his or her peers in a given subject area.
Come up with your plan by looking at the standard expectations for a given subject level and then working backwards: how do you want to achieve that level of knowledge? What are the targets for each week? By setting these targets you can establish a timeline and curriculum that allows for effective homeschooling.
Clearly, one of the points of homeschooling is its relative flexibility, and you by no means need to stick to a plan in a completely rigid manner, but don't let this tempt you into avoiding one: although it may seem wonderful to have an entirely "organic" education for your children, this can easily go awry. If you constantly let your child's learning be dictated exclusively by his or her interests, gaps will appear in her knowledge. Instead make a clear educational plan that allows for flexibility. Plan what your child is going to learn, but leave the "how she will learn it" some breathing room: as you begin the process of homeschooling you'll learn how your child learns best, and can begin to incorporate this into the lessons.
By coming up with a clear educational plan you arm yourself with one of the most essential tools to effective homeschooling.
About The Author
David Black is giving away a free report on Tips For Home Schooling Parents on his website http://www.yourhomeschoolingtips.com/teachme/index.htm. Over 1 million children are homeschooled across the United States.
usanaking@hotmail.com

How Rockets Work

2006-01-28T00:05:00.000-08:00

How a Rocket Works by: Peter Roberts
Most rockets have very few external parts, though internally some of them are extremely complicated. The body which encases the inner parts of a rocket is known as the air frame. This houses the combustion chamber, the fuel tanks, the devices by which the rocket is guided, and the nose cone.
The nose cone, which is located at the upper tip of the rocket, is where the warhead or payload is carried. At the lower end of the rocket are the exhaust nozzles through which the propelling jets of gases escape.
Rockets vary in shape and size, no two being alike. Some are tall and slim; others are short and stubby. Some have wings and fins and resemble jet fighter planes, while others look like enormous bullets.
The Titan is a United States Air Force surface-to-surface intercontinental ballistic missile. This two-stage rocket is launched by a 300,000-pound-thrust engine which separates and falls away when burned out. A second engine, with a thrust of 80,000 pounds, then drives the rocket into space at a speed of 17,000 miles per hour. Both engines are liquid-fueled.
The Titan, which is made of aluminum, is larger than the Atlas, but is lighter, weighing 220,000 pounds. Its length is 98 feet and it has a diameter of 10 feet. The first flight of the Titan was made on February 6, 1959.
About The Author
Peter Roberts - Staff writer at http://build-model-rockets.com All things to do with Rockets. Strictly for enthusiasts, with informative articles updated regularly
peter@build-model-rockets.com

Be a Scientist

2006-01-11T10:39:00.000-08:00

Who is a Successful Scientist? by: Chris Wells
Being little children we have dreams about whom are we going to be in their future. Though your dream was to fly into outer space, you chose to keep your feet on the ground and let your mind wonder and research. Being attentive, hard-working, intelligent and efficient you have every right to call yourself a scholar, but first of all you are to prove it to the others.
A scholar is a scientist researching the field of his interest and contributing to it. A scholar is doing a vital job: getting to the essence of things and makes an explanation, an outline, readable and understandable for the colleagues and interested individuals. Excellently written dissertation thesis (http://www.dissertationsexperts.com/dissertation_thesis.php) is not enough to call oneself a bright scholar, for your research may be covered with dust and buried under a pile of similar works. You have to be genuinely interested in what you are doing and get some of your writing into your head for further research. If you want your masters thesis (http://www.dissertationsexperts.com/master_thesis.php) to be read and forgotten you may formulate your thesis statement in a “keep it simple” kind of way. You won’t have to worry about your thesis drawing attention. But if you are concerned to show a completely new approach, or state a new point of view or you got luck and made an important discovery, your work can be published by mass media and bring you success. Top priority for every scholar is to help humans live in comfort, keep them informed and provide them with everything necessary for fair development and success. You are to create authority to communicate with other scholars on friendly terms and assist each other in doing research.
A scholar is never tired to investigate and try, experiment and risk. It can take years to come to a conclusion or a discovery, which, by the way, may turn out to be false eventually. A true scholar never gives up trying to find out the truth. Motivators are fame, recognition and a fortune if your discovery brings stable income. That is practically all, what ambitious people need in their lives. There is nothing more awarding than respect in your family, acclaim among colleagues, financial freedom and a bookshelf full of your editions that will make you famous forever.
About The Author
Chris Wells is a senior editor at DissertationsExperts.com - Thesis writing service. His advice in composing dissertation thesis and masters thesis is helpful to many postgraduates in becoming recognized scholars due to excellent thesis structure.

What is a Plasma TV

2005-12-30T07:59:00.000-08:00

What Are Plasma Televisions? by: Richard Gazzo
Televisions previous to the Plasma TV explosion used the (CRT) cathode ray tube to give users the ability to watch television. CRT televisions works by shooting out a beam of negative charged particles called electrons into a large glass tube. These negative electrons
For the past 75 years, the vast majority of televisions have been built around the same technology, the cathode ray tube (CRT). In a CRT television, a gun fires a beam of electrons (negatively-charged particles) inside a large glass tube. The electrons illuminate phosphor atoms inside the tube (screen), this allows the TV picture to be produced by illuminating different areas of the phosphor coating, this is what gives you the CRT television.
Now welcome to the new face of television, Plasma TV. Plasma has taken the home theater market by storm because of their amazing picture quality and very thin design. The idea of plasma display panels began in 1964 at the University of Illinois. The first displays were very primitive using only points of light created in the laboratory. As time went on digital processing, and other technology, made vivid plasma displays a reality.
Plasma televisions use a much different type of technology thatn CRT models, they use something called pixels. Using a video signal the pixels on the flat screen light up with a high-energy beam of electrons that are separated into the 3 primary colors, red, green and blue. From the illuminated fluorescent lights pixels you get the full color spectrum that produces a full range of colors that give you the image on the screen. Each pixel on the screen has three fluorescent lights in it, a green, red and a blue fluorescent light. Each fluorescent light in the pixel can produce 16 million colors, giving you amazing colors and overall picture quality that you can't finder in regular CRT televisions.
Another feature that you can't find in CRT TVs is the widescreen design found on Plasma televisions. The (16:9) aspect ratio is the same dimensions used in movie theaters. This feature gives Plasma flat screen high definition television models a cinematic feel, that is great for watching feature films, concerts, Monday Night Football or anything else you can imagine.
And unlike conventional television models, there are no scan lines on plasma televisions, so the picture is much sharper. The viewing angle is far superior than CRT, there is 170 degree viewing angle so you can basically watch the TV from any area in the room. As I mentioned before Plasma Tvs are very thin, only 3.3 inches in width. This makes them perfect for hanging on your wall, freeing up space in your home. Just like a picture frame, you can now hang your television on your wall!
So who manufacturers these thin TV displays? You can choose from numerous brand names which I'm sure you are familiar with such as, Sony, Sharp, Hitachi and Samsung to name a few. Plasma isn't the only technology available if you are a HDTV buff, you should also check out LCD televisions and rear projection TVs.
And if you want to find a cheap plasma TV, check out the discount deals available through internet, particularly Amazon.com and Ebay.com. Those 2 online merchants are trusted and can offer not only new, but used and refurbished models for even bigger savings.
About The Author
Richard Gazzo is a successful writer with info plasma tv reviews . Find information on Sony plasma TV, Pioneer, Samsung plasma TV models and more. Find reviews on models such as the Pioneer pdp-4350hd, and the Panasonic th-50phd8uk. http://www.hdtv-n-plasma-tv-reviews.com.

Lizard Induction

2005-12-13T09:26:00.000-08:00

Lizard Induced Schoolgirl Screams by: Abdul Nusrat
Let me just make one thing clear before I proceed. I am generally an animal loving person. If a dog comes to my house and goes number one on the fence, fine no problem.
Squirrels gather near the gate and perform acts sexual in nature, no big deal.
But if there is one thing you do not do...It’s lunging in the general direction of my head from above with the intention to kill.
This is exactly what a lizard attempted yesterday night. Luckily I managed to dive, in slow-mo of course, out of its path just in time. The beast was not able to get a choking grip on my delicate neck and instead just bumped against my shoulder and dropped down on the floor.
After my display of fast reflexes in the form of a cool matrix style dodge I thought it was all over, that I was safe. I thought the lizard would be too impressed, intimidated with my elite skills and would start to fear me. Boy was I wrong. This monster was no ordinary lizard. It was completely out of its mind. A true fighter!
After a rough landing on my kitchen floor the lizard ran towards me rather than away from me! Maybe this was an egotistical lizard and was not prepared to lose its pride. It ran with such a menacing look in its beady eyes and at such a pace it made me think for a millisecond that I may be dealing with something that is much stronger than me.
The feeling of helplessness and panic ran through me. I started scanning the place looking for a weapon, A chair...a spoon, anything!
But all I found around me was the hot and humid summer air.
At this point I knew deep down all was lost. I did what all sane men do when they are up against a ruthless killer. A killer that does now know the meaning of the words “mercy”, “compassion” and “love”, I ran.
I jumped up over the beast and sprinted towards the exit.
I did not dare look over my shoulders as I knew what was following me, death! I ran at full pace towards my bedroom door. Panting, shaking and screaming whilst I forced my legs to keep moving.
Oh why did I not take up my dads advice and join a gym.
When you are in such a situation as I was, when you are the one being chased by a predator as cheesy as this sounds...time does seem to slow down, your senses become sharper. Now I truly know what “eternity” means because that is exactly how long I seemed to have spent before I saw the warm light of my room, the rays danced on my tired and broken body bringing with it hope, hope of survival.
I dived towards the light, pushing the bedroom door behind me with full force.
*BANG*
Ahhh that sweet sound when wood crashes into wood. I knew I was out of harms way at last.
I did next what all men do when they know they’ve narrowly escaped certain death. I fell down on my knees and thanked god and then I changed my underwear.
About The Author
Abdul Nusrat is a self proclaimed genius who is taking a year out before he goes to university. He spends his free time working on his various websites a list of which you can find here: http://www.arahman.co.uk/list.html.

Allergy Relief For Us Science Geeks!

2005-12-12T09:07:00.000-08:00

Now You Can Control Your Allergies by: Juliette Pickup
Allergies of various types make millions of people's lives miserable everyday and the allergies control at least some aspects of the sufferer's lives. This is unnecessary since measures can be taken to keep your allergies under control. There are different types of allergies, determined by what causes the allergy. The most well known allergies are dust mite allergy, mold allergy, hay fever or pollen allergy and pet allergy.
Each of these different types of allergies creates a different reaction within the sufferer and has different sources, but allergy control measures can be applied to all of them. There are a variety of measures that you can put into effect, but they are intended to be back up measures for the allergy control products that it is advised you buy. There is a very large selection of products available currently. These products will help to reduce the allergic reactions of the sufferer by a large margin.
When focusing on the bedroom, there are eight main product types which are manufactured to decrease the effects of allergies. The bedroom should be the first area to be re-equipped since it is in there that the allergy sufferer spends a large portion of their time and it should be a refuge from the effects of allergies as opposed to aggravating the suffering. The different types of products are roughly divided into two groups, bedding products and air products.
In the group of bedding products there are the categories comforters, pillows and mattress pads. Comforters come in a variety of types and a variety of fills including down and a fiber fill. Most people with an allergy problem would automatically avoid down, but it is warmer than a fiber filled comforter, but you need to ensure that the comforter is hypoallergenic. People believe they are allergic to feathers, but they are in fact allergic to the dust and protein that attaches itself to the feather so if the down has been properly cleaned then it is not a problem. Fiber filled comforters are preferred by those in warm climates or during summer.
There are is a wide range of choices for people who would like a hypoallergenic pillow , whether it is foam, natural or synthetic. This choice is dependent on what you require from your pillow and your level of allergy. Mattress pads were the greatest thing ever invented by the bedding industry for an increase in comfort and support. Some of mattresses are created for hygiene, some are created for softness and some mattress pads are for back and joint support, but for allergy sufferers the important factor is whether they are hypoallergenic. The feather beds provided by Pacific coast are created to be an allergy control product. They come in every size to suit you and they are incredibly comfortable.
In the group of air products there are Air Purifiers, Dehumidifiers, Humidifiers, Steam Cleaners and Vacuum cleaners. These products all cater for different needs and different types of allergies. A dehumidifier would be the best option for a person suffering from a mold allergy, but a humidifier would be beneficial to a person with sinus troubles as a result of their allergies.
Dehumidifiers and humidifiers perform opposite functions, but they still perform well as allergy control products. Dehumidifiers lower the humidity level of the area around it in order to inhibit the occurrence of mildew, mold and damp. They are essential for any allergy sufferer who wishes to stop mold spores from growing within their house or in the basement and also wishes to keep the level of humidity low enough to ensure that dust mites are kept at bay.
Humidifiers come in two types, warm mist or cool mist humidifiers. These will both keep the air around them hydrated to a comfortable level to ensure that your allergies are not exacerbated. Warm mist humidifiers are more useful in cooler climates while cool mist humidifiers are better used in a warmer environment. The determining factors are ease of cleaning and noise levels.
Air Purifiers are very important allergy control products. They should be used in with either a humidifier or dehumidifier in order to get the best from them. A good quality HEPA air filtration device is an indispensable element to ensuring that an allergen free and healthy home is maintained. Air filters literally filter out harmful pollen and particles that will cause an allergic reaction in you. In order to ensure that you can select a high quality product we have circumspectly chosen the finest air purifiers to present for you to select from out of the numerous products we have tested.
Steam Cleaners often look like a vacuum cleaner but that is where the similarity ends. The use of a steam cleaner ensures that you can sanitize, deep clean and deodorize in one simple procedure without using any of the chemicals that can be found in supermarket cleaning equipment. For allergy sufferers, there is the built in benefit that the heat of the steam penetrates deep down into any material being cleaned and therefore the dry steam instantaneously kills any and all dust mites, viruses, molds, and fungi that may be there.
A HEPA vacuum cleaner is a highly effective allergy control product that will suck up all the allergens and dust which have become settled onto furniture floors and carpets. These settled allergens are the ones which keep getting stirred up and therefore consequently inhaled by people due to movement within a room.
One allergy control product will help you to lower the allergen level in the area of your bedroom, but it is recommended that you utilize a combination of products in order to bring the allergen level to it's lowest possible point and therefore bring your allergic reactions to an absolute minimum.
About The Author
All allergy control information has been researched and written by Juliette Pickup.
http://www.allergiesplus.com

I was looking for gifts such as art, collectibles, crafts, books, baked gifts and I found them shopping online.

My wife always shops for clothes, shoes, makeup and jewelry online.

My kids said to go online for Christmas toys this year.

Most of the time I shop online for electronics such as audio, tvs, cell phones, wireless digital cameras and pdas.

I found all the furniture and hardware I needed online.

My friend the chef said to look online for kitchen supplies and recipes.

Robots

2005-12-11T20:00:00.000-08:00

The Science of Robosapien by: RobonetiX
At a glance, Robosapien looks great versus the old school box on wheels with clear dome head. ‘Ooh,’ you say, looks kinda like a muscled storm trooper and the fart button now that’s a hoot. We nod in polite agreement, but behind your back, we snicker at your total lack of appreciation of the advanced robotic theory involved.
Robosapien is a modern day turning point in the evolution of robotics and is the first-ever robot based on the science of applied biomorphic robotics. (That’s what you should have been telling friends and family all this time rather than pointing out amusing cat-chasing ability.) Biomorphic robotics stems from Mark Tilden’s innovative new concepts in BEAM technology.
A New Philosophy for Robot Kind BEAM is an acronym for Biology, Electronics, Aesthetics and Mechanics. Dr. Mark W. Tilden founded this relatively new branch of robotic sciences in 1989, based on the premise that behavioral-rich robots need not be the wickedly complex projects reserved only for well-funded labs and cartoon villains.
Put another way, traditional approaches to creating robots have started with creating a sophisticated brain to maneuver the mechanics of the body. Though not discounting the incredible engineering feats of robots built this way, most notably the Sony Qrio and Honda Asimo, Mark Tilden strongly contends that this is the wrong approach to take.
It’s like trying to emulate a human when modern technology and research can’t realistically copy a bug from your garden. “[It’s] an evolutionary dead end,” says Tilden. BEAM robotics is about taking the bottom-up approach, to start from mastering the simple bug and moving up from there.
Rather than attempt to create a centralized robo-brain to process every variable input and spit out a decision (much, much harder than you may think), why not use a system known as "subsumption architecture.’’ Subsumption architecture is a clever technique where the actions of a robot are managed in layers, each layer controlling one facet of the robot’s operation.
For example, a low-level layer could be ‘Walk Forward,’ which the robot will happily do until it bumps into something. At this point, the slightly higher level ‘Lift Leg Higher’ kicks in, overriding the ‘Walk Forward’ layer until the robot successfully climbs over the obstacle, at which point ‘Lift Leg Higher’ stops, and the low-level ‘Walk Forward’ takes over again. *
Egocentric Bugs
So Tilden began building robot bugs on this principle, and more selfish creatures they could not have been.
Why’s that? Well Tilden decided that Asimov’s famous Three Laws of Robotics:
1. No hurt human.
2. Listen to human unless told ‘Do hurt human’.
3. Try to live with that.
were antiquated notions that left no room for a good practical joke at parties.
So one dark and stormy night he penned Tilden’s Three Laws of Robotics:
1. A robot must protect its existence at all costs.
2. A robot must obtain and maintain access to a power source.
3. A robot must continually search for better power sources.
informally known as*:
1. Protect thy butt.
2. Feed thy butt.
3. Move thy butt to better real estate.
1. He justified this robotic declaration of self-interest as the only way robots can start evolving the way humans may have came from guppies looking for a good time by leaving the ocean.
From Bugs to Sapiens
Needing to find a lighter-minded group of people from his government and NASA days, Tilden decided to go and join a toy company. Who better than one audacious enough to self proclaim themselves, Wow Wee! It was a great match, and they gleefully began working on toy dinosaurs and bugs based on Tilden’s now renowned expertise.
Then came the master project that one could fairly say would change the landscape of robotics altogether. FartDude, later named Robosapien after initial market testing, was to be the culmination of Tilden’s work, finally bringing to bear a humanoid (sapien-like, if you will) robot capable of an impressive list of moves and rude sounds.
In Robosapien, you see the basics of BEAM philosophy and technological research. It follows the B as a biomorphic rendition of humans, E for the fact you can’t throw it in a bathtub, A because it’s stylin the latest magazine covers, and one heck of a lot of M going into the robo dancing capability.
That’s Mr. Sapien
Like no robot ever before, the Robosapien is affordable to the unwashed masses. The Robosapien is a crowning accomplishment when it comes to mobility, power consumption, programmability, and maybe most importantly: hackability.
Each arm has full 360 motion ability allowed by the, ahem, biomorphic shoulder joints and flexible elbows. Ending in three articulated fingers, Robosapien is capable of picking up, gripping, and throwing objects. The genuine full walking motion (most robots don’t genuinely walk outside a lab) is made possible design of the large feet and well placed sensors.
And do you know how much power it usually takes to run a robot Fuggedabowdit. Regular robots are dishonorable little battery-eaters always hungry for more, more, more! And who’s going to pay for these batteries, hmmm’ Well Robosapien brings no shame to itself when consuming power, essentially due to the astounding mechanical physics. It runs a full 6 to 10 hours on just one set of batteries. In fact, if you move Robosapien’s arm you’ll actually generate power for it! Hey man, that’s shrewd.
For those of you who want a robot that will fetch you a frosty one from the kitchen, you lazy bums will just have to wait until later versions. But you can program your Robosapien to do some pretty cools things in the meantime, like wander around taking swings at things, guarding your bedroom while you sleep, and a hilarious game of ‘pull my finger’. Try teaching your dog that trick smart guy.
So what’s so hot about the hackability, and is that even a word you ask? You’ve got some nerve. Tilden went through some serious, serious effort to be sure that robot enthusiasts could take apart the robot, as he would have done as a child, and tinker with modifications. Everything’s color-coded in there to make things easy for those of us without PhDs, and by all accounts, there’s plenty of additional room and power to accommodate whatever Frankenstein thing you can think up. There are entire books written on the subject should you wish to learn, so go forth and hack away. If it’s a good one, send it in and we’ll publish for all too either mock or applaud.
And Another Thing
So the next time you look at your Robosapien give a respectful nod to the world’s first-ever robot based on the science of applied biomorphic robotics. Then go chase a cat with it.
* Graciously lifted from Dr. Tilden’s excellent ‘Junkbots, Bugbots & Bots on Wheels’ book.
About The Author
This article was created by RobonetiX with support from Mr. Sapien himself. Please feel free to reproduce this article. All reproductions of this article must provide an html link pointing to http://stores.ebay.com/Robonetix-Store.

Science of Science

2005-12-06T07:34:00.000-08:00

The Science of Science! by: Terry Connors
What is Science!?
First of all, Science! is not the same as science. Science! is the study and knowledge of all things scientific, quasiscientific, or pseudoscientific. Anything that is obscure, incoherent, or improbable is made clear by the purveyor of Science! (also known as the Scientist!). The Scientist! has access to knowledge that even scientists do not have access to. They are truly the masters of all that is True and Scientific!
There are 3 characteristics of the practitioner of Science!
They always work alone. Scientists usually have teams of other scientists and technicians working with them. The Scientist!, on the other hand, works alone, in their own, small, often home-built, laboratory. The laboratory will be filled with various whirring, clicking, blinking, or bubbling pieces of lab equipment which appear to have no purpose since the Scientist! never touches them.
They work fast. In real science, scientists develop theories, test their theories, and then modify or abandon the theories as the evidence evolves. The process often takes years, if not a lifetime. In Science! the Scientist! gets his or her answer in a matter of days (or hours, or weeks, or minutes, depending on what timeframe is most dramatic). Usually, the Scientist! gets a bright idea, runs to the lab to test the theory, and then comes back with an unexpected, but clearly genius, answer to the mystery/problem/question in record time.
They are always right. Everyone else is always wrong. In real science, peer review is a critical part of the scientific process. In Science! peer review is not only unessecary, but is detrimental. Mainstream scientists never accept what the Scientist! has to say until events prove them to be soundly (and often, fatally) wrong.
Television, movies, and literature are full of practitioners of Science! One of the best example is the Professor in the TV Series "Gilligan's Isle." Does anyone know what he was a professor of? That's right! He was a Professor of Science! The professor understood everything from primative cultures, to weather phenomena, to electromechanics, to astronomy. A master of Science!, he could do almost anything (except patch a hole in a boat).
Science! has evolved over time. In the 50's and 60's, the Scientist! was a non-specialist (and usually male). Science! gave him mastery over every possible field of study (much like the professor in "Gilligan's Isle"). In modern times, the Scientist! is more likely to be a specialist, to acknowledge that, in the real world, most scientists are specialists. What they get wrong, however, undermines the one thing they tried to get right. For example, in the TV show Stargate SG-1. The character of Sam Carter is a Scientist! specializing in physics, while Daniel Jackson is a Scientist! specializing in archaeology. They both (especially Sam) have the attributes of the Scientist!, however. 1) They work alone, 2) they solve the mysteries of the universe in a few hours or days, and 3) most of the other scientists (when they show up with a theory) are wrong.
Another example of a modern Scientist! is the protagonist, Robert Langdon, in The DaVinci Code. Although Langdon deviates slightly from the typical Scientist! (the typical Scientist! is alone in his beliefs, but Langdon actually has the support of many of his peers), in other ways he is the same. He manages to solve the great mystery in the course of an evening, and there is never, at any time, a question that he may actually be WRONG in his beliefs.
And so, this is Science!. It is a product of movies, television, and literature, and it is real, in the sense that perception is reality. People think that all real science is done by lone geniuses who try to buck the system that keeps them down. If you ask most people, they will probably say that we would have flying cars and robots by now if it weren't for the scientific community hobbling the handful of geniuses in their midst. It is this mindset that has led to the proliferation of pseudoscience, and theories such as Intelligent Design. The best defense against the growing misconception of what science is and what scientists do, is education. We need to teach our children, and our adults, that Hollywood is Hollywood, and that a Hollywood Scientist! has as much basis in reality as a Hollywood action hero.
About The Author
Terry Connors is a Gen-X family guy with 2 step-kids and a loving wife. He frequently blogs about current events, especially if there is a scientific angle to the news items. You can read more of his writings at: Another Stupid News Blog - http://news.virtualdominion.net.
All work is copyright, Terry Connors 2005

Microscopes

2005-12-05T10:17:00.000-08:00

A Close-Up Look At Microscopes by: Logan Pallas
The microscope is an important educational tool used in scientific research and education. It is used to produce a larger image of an object for projects ranging from medical discoveries to important educational training in schools across the nation. Microscopes use technology to allow humans to view objects as they could never be seen with the naked eye alone.
A conventional microscope was first developed during the last part of the 16th century, which lead the world of science toward a prospering future in the world of medicine and biology. In it’s earliest years, the microscope was primarily used as a recreational device and was found mainly in wealthier homes. It wasn’t long, however, before technology and research began to blend for a new discovery relating to blood circulation. In addition, advancements in the study of bacteria and diseases were among the discoveries that followed.
The majority of microscopes are called light microscopes, which uses a series of high powered magnifying lenses in order to bend light rays. Studies continued through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries while, at the end of the nineteenth century, an even bigger development occurred. With the realization that electrons could be used as a light source in microscopes, scientists were provided with a never before seen resolution. The first electron microscope was unveiled approximately 75 years ago, which allowed for even smaller things to be researched and viewed. Among the advancements, atoms were finally visible for the first time and viruses could finally be identified with the powerful magnification and resolution of the electron microscope.
A microscope is an important tool and should be treated carefully. Proper care should be exercised when handling, or transporting, a microscope in order to avoid damage to the unit. Always carry the microscope with both hands and in the upright position. If you have a special tote or a box, either will work fine for transportation. When the microscope is in use, always make sure that it is placed on a flat surface and one that is not shaky. A sturdy table is the best placement for a microscope, but avoid placing it close to the edge where it could fall off to the side. After each use, follow the manufacturer’s instructions in proper cleanup of the unit, as well as any slides. If you do not plan to view the slide’s contents again, they should be cleaned in order to avoid interaction with future items that are placed on the slide for viewing.
While much emphasis is placed on scientific research and the technical aspects of microscopes, it’s important to remember that children can also benefit from the tool’s educational teachings. When you’re a child, it’s fun to collect a sample of anything and check it out under a microscope. Of course, microscopes begin as toys for smaller children and advance to larger, and more realistic models, as the child ages and is better able to understand the importance of the tool. If a child learns to be familiar with a microscope at a young age, he/she will be much more prepared for biology classes and the various parts and styles of microscopes.
About The Author
Logan Pallas is a researcher and writer. Visit his microscope web directory at http://www.microscopex.com for more information. Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety as long as the links, and resource box are not altered in any way.

Pets for Kids

2005-11-27T15:41:00.000-08:00

Best Pet Picks for Kids by: Mark Haakonsen
Pets are great for kids and every child should have a pet at some point in their childhood. Not only do they make great friends but they also teach a child life lessons of care and responsibility.
A child’s first pet will depend a lot on their age and level of maturity, so as a parent, you will need to decide what level of responsibility your child can handle, unless you want to end up doing all the work. In order to help make that decision easier, we have compiled a list of the 6 best pets for kids, with the list starting from the easiest pet to care from and going through to more advanced.
Fish
One of the lower maintenance and cheaper pets can be fish. In particular, the guppy is a great starter for kids. Guppies are a very attractive fish and are not only cheap but easy to maintain. Upto 5 guppies can be kept in a 10 gallon tank with the ideal temperature ranging from 72 – 80 degrees fahrenheit. Guppies also breed quite easily (if the temperature is nice and warm) and they give birth to live young. It can be quite exciting for a child to find new fish in their tank. The complete setup including: 2 guppies, tank, filter and food could be achieved for under $100.
Hermit Crabs
The Hermit Crab is another great low maintenance pet that can be fun for kids. While the Hermit Crab is an introvert by nature, it is a step up from fish as there is more interaction with your child and Hermit Crabs can be tamed and handled.
Caring for Hermit Crabs is pretty simple but they do require daily watering and feeding. Hermit Crabs must be watered daily so that they don’t dry out and the gravel in their tank should be changed about once a month. Aside from that, just make sure that larger shells are kept in the tank, because as Hermit Crabs grow, they need to move house. The complete setup for a Hermit Crab would be somewhere in the range of $60 - $80.
Rats
Most people may be apprehensive when the word “rat” is mentioned, but domestic rats are truly great pets. Rats are very smart, they are friendly and they also have a lot of character and affection. Rats are easy to handle, and children can take them out of their cage and play with them pretty much anytime. Just be careful when letting a pet rat run loose in the house, as they have been known to chew through couches and other items of furniture. Don’t overlook rats because of the bad rep their street counterparts may have. A rat, cage, water bottle and toys can be purchased for under $100.
Budgies
If your child wants a bird as a first pet then one of the best options to consider is the Budgie. Budgies are great companions, they are a talkative and social bird. If properly taught, they will perch on their owners hand and they can learn many different words (patience is required)
Budgies do require more maintenance than the pets mentioned thus far. It is important that their cage is kept clean at all times or they can get sick. Getting setup with a budgie will set you back somewhere between $100 - $200.
Cats
Cats get into the more high maintenance pet category, but they are one of the best pets for children. While they are somewhat solitary and self sufficient animals, they will still socialise and can be very affectionate at times. As a kitten however, they are extremely playful and your child will enjoy it tremendously. If you feel your child is ready to handle the responsibility of changing kitty litter and daily feeding, then a cat will be worth considering. They are much more costly than the pets previously mentioned and will require a long term commitment.
Dogs
A dog is probably the single best pet that your child could own. They are great companions but do require a lot more care than any of the previously mentioned pets. Dogs require much more attention than cats and in particular they require: exercise, feeding, washing, discipline and cleaning up after. Buying a dog as a pet should not be taken lightly and should only be done if you think your child is ready and the family is ready as responsibility for the dog will generally end up with the parents and the child.
Some of the breeds known to be good with children include the following: Mastiff Boxer, Newfoundland, Boston Terriers, Bichon Frise, Beagles, standard Poodles, Pugs, Labrador Retrievers, Samoyed, Springer Spaniel, Irish Setter, Foxhound, English Setter, Siberian Husky, Keeshond, Gordon Setter, Bulldogs http://www.pethandbook.com
About The Author
Mark Haakonsen
We hope you enjoyed this article. You can find more great pet and pet care articles at Pet Handbook http://www.pethandbook.com.

Find your pet supplies at Virtual Catalog.

Science of DLP Television

2005-11-26T15:02:00.000-08:00

The Science Behind DLP Television by: Mitchell Medford
DLP televisions are based on a technology invented by Texas Instruments back in 1987 called Digital Light Processing. The technology is based on an optical semiconductor called DMD (Digital Micromirror Device) chip. It is a highly reliable, all-digital display chip that delivers the best picture across a broad range of products, including large screen digital TVs, and projectors for business, home, professional venue and digital cinema.
The chip consists of over one million mirrors to process light. They come in either single chip or 3 chip configurations. One-chip DLP systems use a projection lamp to pass white light through a color wheel that sends red-green-blue colors to the DMD chip in a sequential order to create an image on-screen. Only one DMD chip is used to process the primary RGB colors. Three-chip DLP systems use a projection lamp to send white light through a prism, which creates separate red, green, and blue light beams. Each beam is sent to their respective red, green, and blue DMD chip to process the image for display on-screen. One-chip models are said to produce a display of over 16-million colors. Three-chip models can produce a display of over 35-trillion colors. The result is maximum fidelity: a picture whose clarity, brilliance and color must be seen to be believed.
When a DLP chip is coordinated with a digital video or graphic signal, a light source, and a projection lens, its mirrors can reflect an all-digital image onto a screen or other surface. The DLP chip and the sophisticated electronics that surround it are what we call Digital Light Processing™ technology.
Benefits of Single chip DLP:
1. Fantastic color accuracy.
2. The best contrast ratios and shadow detail.
3. Generally very quiet.
4. Very little space between each pixel creates a very smooth image, even when using lower resolution projectors.
5. Light engine failures are very rare so repairs are less costly than other technologies.
6. Technology doesn't degrade over time. With proper routine maintenance, DLP™ projectors consistently provide just-out-of-the-box performance. (DLP™ is the only technology that makes this claim).
Benefits of Three chip DLP:
1. Good contrast; much greater than film theaters.
2. Good shadow detail.
3. Can provide high brightness compared to the limited brightness of single chip versions.
4. Overall image quality deemed as the best of any type of micro display technology.
5. Same technology as projectors installed in digital theaters.
6. Pure digital technology.
The bit-streamed image code entering the semiconductor directs each mirror to switch on and off up to several thousand times per second. When a mirror is switched on more frequently than off, it reflects a light gray pixel; a mirror that's switched off more frequently reflects a darker gray pixel. In this way, the mirrors in a DLP projection system can reflect pixels in up to 1,024 shades of gray to convert the video or graphic signal entering the DLP chip into a highly detailed grayscale image.
The white light generated by the lamp in a DLP projection system passes through a color wheel as it travels to the surface of the DLP chip. The color wheel filters the light into red, green, and blue, from which a single-chip DLP projection system can create at least 16.7 million colors. And the 3-chip system found in DLP Cinema™ projection systems is capable of producing no fewer than 35 trillion colors. The on and off states of each micromirror are coordinated with these three basic building blocks of color. For example, a mirror responsible for projecting a purple pixel will only reflect red and blue light to the projection surface; our eyes then blend these rapidly alternating flashes to see the intended hue in a projected image.
About The Author
Mitchell Medford is an author and product consultant for several consumer electronics manufacturers. Visit his website for more information on home theater, LCD TVs, and plasma televisions: http://www.newtechnologytv.com

Most of the time I shop online for electronics such as audio, tvs, cell phones, digital cameras, wireless and pdas.

Which Suppliments are Safe?

2005-11-25T12:26:00.000-08:00

3 Steps to Identify Supplements that Lack Scientific Evidence for their Reported Benefits by: Mark Worthen, Psy.D.
This article shows you a simple but reliable method to identify supplements that do not have scientific support for their alleged benefits.
Step 1: Go to
http://www.pubmed.org
which is a National Library of Medicine (United States) web site where you can search for articles published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
Why check PubMed? Because the National Library of Medicine carefully selects only high-quality journals that offer value to medical scientists around the world. Selection criteria are detailed on this web page:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/jsel.html
Step 2: Once on the PubMed web site, search for the generic (scientific) name of the supplement in question. Supplement manufacturers must list the scientific name for their supplement's ingredients on the label and in advertisements. Supplements often contain many ingredients but usually only a few provide the purported benefits. Those are the ingredients you want to evaluate--they are often the same ones the manufacturer highlights in advertisements.
Step 3: This is the step some supplement companies don't want you to know. Before you click on the "Search" button at PubMed.org, limit your search to studies that utilize the right research methodology with the right population.
The right research methodology is a randomized controlled trial (the double-blind, placebo control group design fits under this category) and the right population is human beings.
Specifying human subjects is important because you want to know if the ingredients in a supplement have been shown to produce the advertised benefits in real live human beings--not just in rats pressing levers for food pellets or in a "case study" with one person.
This is not to say that basic science research, which is often conducted initially with animals, is unimportant. On the contrary, such research usually serves as a crucial building block for subsequent clinical research with humans. But basic science research does not provide scientific evidence for a supplement's beneficial health effects on human beings. Only research with human subjects, using randomized controlled trials, can offer such evidence.
On the PubMed.org search page, click on the "Limits" tab located under the "Search" box. You will see a number of drop-down menus. First click on the Publication Type menu and then select Randomized Controlled Trial. Next click on the drop-down menu labeled, Humans or Animals and click on Humans.
An Example
Morinda citrifolia is the scientific name for a popular ingredient in a nutritional supplement. First search on PubMed for Morinda citrifolia, without placing Limits on your search.
How many results did you receive?
The count was 69 at the time I wrote this article. Looks impressive, huh?
But now search for Morinda citrifolia after first placing Limits on the search as described above, so that you receive only those studies which provide more definitive scientific evidence for the positive effects of Morinda citrifolia.
How many journal articles did you find searching with the specified limits? I found 1.
Thus, out of 69 articles found on PubMed.org, only one provides some evidence for Morinda citrifolia's beneficial effects. In addition, those results were obtained with a very specific patient population. Thus, in order to conclude that scientific evidence exists for Morinda citrifolia's efficacy, scientists would need to conduct additional randomized controlled trials with diverse patient populations.
Conclusion
The simple research method described in this article will help you determine if a given supplement possesses sufficient scientific evidence for its purported benefits.
About The Author
Mark Worthen is a Phi Betta Kappa graduate of the University of Maryland's Honors Psychology program. He was a Clinical Fellow, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and earned his Doctor of Psychology degree from Baylor University in 1990. Communicate with Dr. Worthen on the Contact page of http://www.Omega-3-Report.com.

Your Online Shopping Centre for art, books, collectibles, music, gifts, groceries and crafts at Virtual Directory.

All your software needs for isp services, websites, hosting, graphics, development, office, games and security software are found at Virtual Directory.

Employment services for working at home, job boards, freelancing, eCommerce shops, resume services and education are all at Virtual Directory.

Science Articles

2005-11-21T11:15:00.000-08:00

I found several articles on various science subjects for you:
The Science of Mother Loveby: Cori Young Click Here

Adaptogens for Life - The Science Behind the Discovery of Adaptogensby: Mair Gauthier Click Here

Taking photographs of trains is relatively simple if you follow just a few rules Click Here

Children and Science

2005-11-19T14:03:00.000-08:00

Science Toys are Educational Toys by: Ted Moryto
My son Jack had been quietly playing with his Meccano set when we heard him scream, sweet!
What a cool toy, my friend Dave said, it's a ferris wheel. It's a solar powered ferris wheel, said Jack.
Dave asked me, How did you get him to play with educational toys, my son only wants to play video games. I asked Dave whether he had ever played educational games or built rockets or space toys with his son. I'm not really a hands on guy was his answer. So I proceeded to demonstrate to Dave that educational toys teach skills that all successful adults use in everyday life. I told him that construction toys require imagination and planning. Robots require the use of logic. Strategy games require competitiveness and forethought. And of course crafts require creativity.
I think that's a bit too technical for my son, said Dave. Well, why don't you start with some magic. Most tricks are scientific illusions that require planning and practice. Or how about simply building a plane,train or automobile with him, a real mechanical toy. This way he can see how all the pieces interconnect to achieve a common goal, like a team of components.
My son likes to collect baseball cards, said Dave. Well how about starting a bug collection or rock collection. It just might inspire him to be a geologist or entomologist. Of course you could always get him some anatomy models, so he can be a surgeon like his dad.
About The Author
Ted Moryto is a professional engineer and proprietor of Brain Waves Toys.
http://www.brainwavestoys.com

Magazine Sale Nov 17 to Dec 31 2005;

Coupon code: MFL2010% OFF all orders of $20 or more
Coupon code: MFL50$5 OFF all orders of $50 or more

Coin Collecting

2005-11-17T20:59:00.000-08:00

Rare and Beautiful World Coins by: Charles Roman
Ideas for Collecting Coins from Around the World
Collecting world coins is a fun hobby that gives you the feeling of travelling the globe vicariously through your coins. A collection of world coins offers a unique insight into the culture and history of other countries, and encourages you to learn at least a few words of a variety of different languages. World coins can also be an interesting step into the world of coin collecting, because it is a relatively inexpensive pastime. Many of the coins are still in circulation, making them easy to find and light on the pocketbook to buy. Oftentimes, children start their coin collections with world coins for this reason.
Ideas for Collections of World Coins
While some people may enjoy collecting world coins haphazardly, simply enjoying whatever coins they happen to come across, others prefer more of a challenge. While it may be impossible to collect every coin from around the world, you can create a lovely coin collection that is challenging and fun to complete by selecting a particular theme to pursue.
The most obvious theme for a collection of world coins is a concentration on a specific country. If that idea seems a little bit stale, you can also broaden your collection by concentrating on a region or aspect of a country. For example, you could start a world coins collection from South American countries, nations where English is a national language, or from island nations.
Another interesting possibility is to combine two interests by concentrating on a favorite thing or hobby outside of coin collecting. For example, a coffee lover might collect world coins from countries that produce coffee beans, or an auto enthusiast might collect coins from countries that produce his or her favorite automobiles.
You don’t have to use countries as a central point of your world coins collection, however; you can also build a collection around a specific motif on the coins themselves. Some people have collections of coins featuring a particular animal, such as an eagle or a panda bear. Others concentrate on flowers, trees, or birds. Someone interested in military history might enjoy a world coins collection featuring famous fighters, for example.
Another idea for starting a collection of world coins is to concentrate your efforts on coins from a particular year. Some people really enjoy collecting world coins that were minted in their birth year, or which commemorate another date that is important to them.
If none of those ideas appeal to you, perhaps you’d like to concentrate on a specific metal used to make the world coins. While precious metals like gold and platinum are obvious choices, some people enjoy putting together collections of world coins minted from common nickel or copper.
If any of these ideas have inspired you to start a collection of world coins, you might want to pause a moment before you start building a collection, and check out the prices and availability of coins matching your desired theme. It won’t be much fun to start a collection of gold bullion coins, only to realize that you can’t afford more than one or two pieces. A few minutes with a world coins catalog will help you decide if your ideal theme for a collection is also feasible with your budget.
About The Author
Charles Roman
Coins and Coin Collecting http://www.coinsandcoincollecting.com : your guide to getting the very best from your coin collection.

Your Online Shopping Centre for art, books, collectibles, music, gifts, groceries and crafts at Virtual Directory.

Trains

2005-11-16T10:33:00.000-08:00

Taking photographs of trains is relatively simple if you follow just a few rules.The type of camera used is up to the photographer, I have used cameras ranging from $20to $900 and many of the same rules apply to all. The main thing is to make sure that the sunis shining on the train from the same side as you are photographing. If the sunis on the opposite side, you will get a blacked out train with no readable logosand basically a wasted shot. Getting used to the horn and noises while you shoot picturesis just a mind of matter thing. Be extra careful in railyards and around crossings wherecars pass through. Most of the cars don’t even notice the train, so don’t expect themto watch out for you, that is your job. To get a larger than life looking shot, justsquat down and let the front of the train fill the viewer from one end to the other.Night shots can be done with lower f stops or shutter speeds. On the old cameras youcan use a tripod and the B setting as you count to 1, 2, or 3 full seconds. The B settingor a low shutter speed will either give a full nightime view of a stopped train orthe moving streak effect on a moving train. You could also get nothing, but it’s fun to try.
The final rule is patience, the minute you leave the tracks and give up on the arrivalof a train is one minute too soon.

Science of Free Stuff

2005-10-31T08:54:00.000-08:00

PerfumeNStuff has a new perfume to give away for the Month of November 2005: Win a Full Size Bottle of CURVE For Women By LIZ CLAIBORNE! LIZ CLAIBORNE designed CURVE in 1996. Its fragrant nature explores essences of citrus, freesia and lily. Blended with notes of sandalwood, moss and vetiver, CURVE is a casual type of fragrance. We only require you to enter your email address, NOTHING else!
Enter to Win Perfume N Stuff!
Jewelry
Fabulous Gifting Ideas at Emitations Holiday Gift Center.

Science

2005-10-28T15:13:00.000-07:00

Simple Science by: Deborah Shelton
Help children develop a love for science, or nurture their already-growing interest, with these simple experiments.
Cloud Maker
Ever wanted to catch a cloud in a bottle? Now’s your chance! Pour just a splash of water into a 2-liter plastic bottle. Light a match (a grownup’s job) and drop it into the bottle. Immediately replace the lid and squeeze the bottle a few times to watch your cloud form.
Magic Flowers
Create your own unique flowers with this neat trick. Fill a vase with water and 8-10 drops of food coloring. Cut the stem of a white carnation at a diagonal, and place the flower into the vase. After a few hours you will notice a slight change of color in the petals. Let the flower soak overnight and observe the dramatic change in the morning.
Mouth Lightning
Don’t worry--this doesn’t hurt a bit! In fact, you may want to try this at your next sleepover party. Stand in front of a mirror and turn off all of the lights. Pop a wintergreen- flavored Life Saver into your mouth and chew. Can you believe your eyes? This “lightning” phenomenon is called triboluminescence. To find out more about triboluminescence, visit http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howthingswork/a/aa060601a.htm
About The Author
Deborah Shelton edits The Five Minute Parent email newsletter. For your free subscription, send a blank email to Five_Minute_Parent-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or visit FiveMinuteParent.com for more family-friendly ideas. deborah@fiveminuteparent.com

Palenque: Ancient Mayan City Rediscovered

2005-10-15T11:25:00.000-07:00

The ancient Mayan city, Palenque, has been re-discovered with the assistance of Nasa's Servir satellite system. With around 1500 buildings previously lost amoung the rainforest, Palenque was a thriving metropolis. Most of the city was estimated to have been built around 615 AD by King Pacaw (spelling?) using local limestone. Keep in mind, this was all done without the wheel or the keystone arch. Using circles and squares to create a "flower" pattern, buildings and homes were constructed on a version of geometry we are not so familiar with. The flower shape was used as a template with which the builder/designer could find the corners of the structure within the flower shape. For more, see Nasa and search for Servir, or just google it.

Shuttle Foam Problems

2005-10-14T14:43:00.000-07:00

Using newly developed radar, the popcorn and debris resulting from launch related vibrations can be better analyzed. Some popcorning cannot be avoided due to the properties of foam insulation, but larger debris remains a larger concern. At 10 to 20 seconds after launch a larger pattern of vibration is shown on the vibration level graph(derived from radar data collected during launch). Wind tunnel testing continues and the next launch date remains unconfirmed. Maybe we could just duct tape and saran wrap the outside surfaces! Where is that tape...

Great Deals on Computer Stuff!

2005-10-12T18:52:00.000-07:00

Check out these great deals I found at iSellSurplus.com:FREE Nero 6.6 Software Use Coupon Code: FREENERO Expires 10/19/2005 $4.99 Ground Shipping on All Orders - Use Coupon Code: 499SHIP - Expires 10/19/2005 10% off ALL Instock Motherboards - Use Coupon Code: MOBO10 Expires 10/19/2005

Taking the A Train

2005-09-28T07:54:00.000-07:00

A new part of the ATrain satellite system, Calipso and ClouldSat will add new capabilities in the studies of our atmosphere. This system of satellites will give us a look inside the clouds much like a catscan will your own body. A better understanding of the atmosphere and air quality related issues will result from the information gathered by the Atmospheric Services Data Center. We can look for concentration levels of various substances like water in clouds, dust and suspected pollution related materials. For more see nasa.gov.

Good Books

2005-09-12T08:21:00.000-07:00

I saw an interesting Author on Book TV last weekend. Author Harm De Blij wrote "Why Geography Matters" describes the possible upcoming glacierization of the world due to regular cycles of heating and cooling of the earth. Don't let it scare you, it probably won't happen until you are old. Hint: Find a nice house in Central America if you don't like cold weather..or glaciers.

Please Help

2005-09-03T11:50:00.000-07:00

Please help the victims of Hurricane Katrina if you can. If you have no money, like me, please cut and paste my charity links to your website or blog. Also, give a link to my site as well if you can. Thank you and may God Bless all.

Charities

2005-09-01T12:39:00.000-07:00

Charity Links
____________________________________________________
GUIDESTAR - Charities research site
____________________________________________________
PROJECT HOPE
____________________________________________________
SAVE THE CHILDREN
____________________________________________________
THE RED CROSS
____________________________________________________
DIRECT RELIEF
____________________________________________________
CARE
____________________________________________________
AHH-USA
____________________________________________________
MERCY CORPS
____________________________________________________
The people at GeminiSoftwareSystems wish to express their sympathy for all the victims
of Hurricane Katrina. Guidestar will help you with your research as
you look for the appropriate charity for you.

Hurricane Relief

2005-08-30T10:46:00.000-07:00

If you would like to give to the Red Cross or other charities for the hurricane Katrina relief effort, just follow this link: Charities .

Stuff from PBS morning science shows

2005-08-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

fact1: What is the difference between and electrolyte and a non-electrolyte? An electrolyte will conduct electricity.

fact2: Covalent bonds are formed when electrons are shared forming one molecule from two atoms. Breaking this bond generates a release of energy. This is why nitrogen is used in most explosives. Nitrogen has a very strong bond and releases a lot of energy when broken. Splitting atoms is another story.. (Don't try this at home!).

fact3: Salt is necessary for mammals to survive because salts allow ionization to occur in cells, therefore allowing you to live. So salt those fries and enjoy life!

for more facts watch PBS in the mornings before school and stay ahead!

Space Camp

2005-08-08T17:42:00.000-07:00

The Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama has a lot to offer Check it out.
The Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama is a great place to bring the kids. Science,
Math..everything a kid could want. Space Camp is really cool, simulated missions and just lots
of fun. Come on down to Huntsville..see the sites and set a spell. Ya'll come back now, ya hear.

VirtualeScience

2005-08-08T12:26:00.000-07:00

Welcome to VirtualeScience