Bloodhound SSC

As a new year begins more scientific tests will be conducted to break the existing records. Among these tests, the one that caught my eye is the Bloodhound SSC (Super-Sonic Car) project. Its goal? To break the land speed record.

It will be tested in early 2015 at South Africa Hakskeen Pan. The driver will be Andy Green. He is the one who drove Thrust SSC which is the car that set the previous land speed record. The project director is Richard Noble, the man who started the Thrust 2 and the Thrust SSC. The test will be conducted on a 12 mile track. The current land speed record is 763.035 mph. The aim of Bloodhound SSC is to reach 1,050 mph or Mach 1.4. The car is calculated to reach 1,000 mph in 55 seconds. At its top speed, the wheels will spin at 10304 rpm.  The car will travel 150 meters in the blink of an eye.  The car will be faster than a Magnum 357 bullet when the car reaches the maximum speed.

The main competitors of Bloodhound SSC are the RV1 from the bullet project, the Aussie Invader 5R designed by Australian drag race record-holder Rosco McGlashan and the North American Eagle which is actually based on the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter.

Summary: I am really, really excited about this project. I think that this is a great way to encourage youth to get into science. Good luck to all these projects!

Neutron stars

An artists depiction of a neutron star

Neutron Stars are the left-overs of stars that have died in supernovae. They are the smallest and densest stars ever found. They are very rare and very small. However, they are extremely interesting.

A supernova happens at the end of a giant star's life when they are unable to stop the heavy core of the star from collapsing under the gravity that it produces. This causes a huge implosion, which is the opposite of an explosion, often burning brighter than an entire galaxy. When all the materials from the outer shell is ejected, a lone neutron star, about the size of a city, shines dimly.

The inner structure of a neutron star.
The inner core's structure is unknown

This neutron star, approximately 140000 times smaller than the Sun, weighs up to 3 times as heavy as the Sun! A single teaspoon of neutron star weighs as much as a mountain. Thus, the strong gravitational forces and magnetic fields of the neutron star will destroy any object that comes too close to it.


In conclusion neutron stars are very strange and dangerous. However I am fascinated by them.


Credits for an artists depiction of a neutron star:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ANeutron_star_cross_section.svg
By Robert Schulze (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

Credits for the inner structure of a neutron star: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ANeutron_star_illustrated.jpg
By Casey Reed - Penn State University (Casey Reed - Penn State University) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Blue sky? Not!

The sky

The sky is not blue!
It's just light playing tricks on you!
(I knew I was never a good poet)






Sunset

A prism

The sun produces white light, but if you use a prism then the "white" light splits up into the colours of the rainbow. Blue light waves are shorter then red ones so they scatter more easily than other colours so the sky is blue. But, during sunset the sky is red in colour. Why is that so? Well, red has the longest waves so they are the hardest to scatter. During, sunset light has to go through more gas particles in the atmosphere so every colour except red gets scattered so the sky looks red.

Oh and in case you are wondering why the sky is not violet, the shortest wave length, it is because some of it is absorbed by the atmosphere and our eyes are not that sensitive to it. Clouds are white because they consists of particles larger than the wavelengths so all of the colours are scattered equally.

The structure of a type of terpene called Myrcene

Blue haze

                                    Mountainous regions sometimes have a
blue haze. This is because of terpene, which is a class organic materials from insects and plants, particularly conifers which is commonly found on mountains. These terpene chemicals react with the ozone layer and form particles around 200 Nano-metres across so they scatter blue light like the sky.




A blue moon

 Also there is the rare blue moon caused by forest fires or volcano eruptions on Earth. These events cause particles no more than 800 Nano-metres in diameter to spread out. These particles scatter out red light, so the only colour left is blue and that what makes a blue moon.





Conclusion: Because the science behind the topic is fascinating, I give it a 10/10!

Photo Credits:

The Sky: By Mohammed Tawsif Salam (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AAppearance_of_sky_for_weather_forecast%2C_Dhaka%2C_Bangladesh.JPG

Sunset: By Alvesgaspar (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASunset_2007-1.jpg

A prism: By Spigget (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ADispersive_Prism_Illustration_by_Spigget.jpg

Blue haze: http://www.flickr.com/photos/peasap/2152975621/lightbox/

The structure of a type of terpene called Myrcene: By Ben Mills and Jynto [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AMyrcene-3D-balls.png

A blue moon: http://spacefellowship.com/news/art17463/blue-moon-on-new-year-s-eve.html

HD 189773b: The Blue Planet that Rains Glass

HD 189773b

The planet named as HD 189773b looks cosy and Earth-like. Doesn't it? However, you would not like to live there. Firstly, the surface temperature there is 1,000°C (1,832°F) and secondly, it rains glass, sideways, at the speed of 4000 mph.

In space terms, this planet not far from Earth. It is actually a mere 63 light years (370,353,398,510,567 miles) away . So that is why Hubble and other telescopes that are orbiting Earth can see it in so much details. On October 5th 2005, an astronomer in France found this planet orbiting the star HD 189733a (note that our sun is also a star). It orbits the star at a speed of 341,000 mph (549,000 kph). In comparison, our Earth's average orbiting speed is 67,000mph(107,200 kph). This planet has a mass that is 13% more than the mass of Jupiter (which is the largest planet in our solar system and is made of gas). This makes it a hot Jupiter (which means it is a hot gas planet about the same size of Jupiter) and destroy almost all prospects of extra-terrestrial life. Every year on HD 189773b is equivalent to 2.2 Earth days because it orbits its star very closely.


A graph of the visible-light colours of planets 
including HD 189733b

On March 2010 it was found out that this planet is evaporating at a rate of 1,000,000,000 to 100,000,000,000 grams every second. In July (which, by the way is the month I was born in :-)) this year, NASA also found out that this planet blocks three times more X-rays than visible light.  

The blue colour of the planet is thought to have come from silicate particles which scatter blue lights. These particles, which are found in the planets atmosphere, then condense into glass due to very hgih temperature. That is why it rains glass.

Conclusion: It is very unusual to find a planet like this. However there is not a lot of interesting stuff about this planet because no extra-terrestrial life can survive there. I give it a 7/10



Image Credit:






HD 189773b: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AHD_189733_b_deep_blue_dot.jpg: 
By NASA, ESA, M. Kornmesser [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Visible-light Colours of Planets: The colour of HD 189733b compared to our Solar system. Credit: NASA [This file is in public domain because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright states that "NASA material is not pretected by copyright unless stated"] 

Europa: A Possible Source of Extraterrestrial (ET) life?

In our Solar system, the planet Jupiter has 67 moons. Europa is one of those 67 moons. It is the sixth largest moon in the Solar System. It was discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610. But what most people do not know was that Europa was possibly discovered by Simon Marius, a German astronomer, around the same time that Galileo discovered it. At that time people thought that it was just an insignificant and tiny dot in the sky, but recent studies suggest that Europa might be a potential harbour for life.

Europa

There is an ocean with liquid water beneath the icy crust! The reason? Tidal flexing which cause the ice to melt into water. What is tidal flexing? Well, it is hard to explain so click here to read an article about it. Anyway, scientists believe that life there could be similar to life found in the deep ocean (that region it also called the Hadalpelagic zone) on Earth.

The internal structure of Europa with Jupiter in the background

Now, if your looking at the labels of this blog post you may be wondering what bullets have got to do with Europa. Well, researchers at University College London  have designed a 19.6 kg bullet that is loaded with scientific equipments such as seismograph to measure tremors and a miniature chemistry lab to study the ice and the water beneath it. This giant missile could smash through the icy crust of Europa. This could be deployed around 2023 and it could answer one of the greatest mysteries in our solar system: Is there life on Europa (and if the answer is yes, whether it likes getting shot at by a giant bullet).

Conclusion: Europa is a very exciting natural satellite (moon) and I love the simplicity the research plan. I think if there is life up there then it would look very familiar to tube worms and other deep sea creatures. For this innovative method and awesomeness at the prospect of finding extraterrestrial life that is so close to our planet, I give this research and Europa a 10/10.

Image credits:

Europa: Wikimedia Commons: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Europa-moon.jpg 
The internal structure of Europa with Jupiter in the background:By Kelvinsong (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AEuropa_poster.svg

The late heavy bombardment: an important source of life on the Earth?

An artists impression of our moon during
and after the late heavy bombardment

You might wonder how comes there are so many craters on the planets and moons. Scientists say that this is due to the late heavy bombardment which is an hypothetical event that happened around 3.8 to 4.1 billion years ago. During this event a large number of comets and meteoroids would have collided with Earth and all the other planets and moon.

The late heavy bombardment had also affected our planet Earth. There had been 22,000 or more craters with diameters less than 20 km and about 40 craters with diameters that are about 1000 km and several craters that are about 5000 km in diameter on Earth. These collisions could have been the source of life on Earth because some of these comets that collided with Earth were made of ice and then the ice melted to form water which paved the way for life.


An artists impression of Eta Corvi and
a planet being hit by a shower of comets

Such event not only happened in our solar system. Evidence shows that another star from the constellation Corvus also had an event that is similar to our own late heavy bombardment. That star is called Eta Corvi. It is a F-type main sequence star which is similar to the sun in our own solar system. Eta Corvi is a white star that is in its main stage of life. It is 40% larger than the sun but 30% younger than the sun.



A meteorite

There are many theories on how this event had happened, but to me the most probable reason is the hypothesis put forwarded by Professor Brian Cox in my favourite BBC documentary "Wonders of the Solar System". He suggested that Jupiter and Saturn would meet up once every two years due to their different orbits. When they met up around 3 to 4 billion years ago, their combined gravity had pushed Neptune into the directions of some comets and meteorites. Neptune would have then knocked the comets and meteorites out of their usual orbits. These comets and meteorites disturbed by Neptune then hit all the planets and moons.

Conclusion: This solar system would have been very different and less interesting if this event had not happened. Also we might not be here if this event did not happen. For these reasons I give this event on the level of importance a 9/10.

Photo Credits:
An artists impression of our moon during and after the late heavy bombardment: By Timwether (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ALunar_cataclysm.jpg:

An artists impression of Eta Corvi and a planet being hit by a shower of comets: By NASA/JPL-Caltech [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AIt's_Raining_Comets_(Eta_Corvi).jpg

A meteorite: By NASA [Public domain], attraverso Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AGalileo_Gaspra_Mosaic.jpg

Mystery beetle with amazing defence machnism

This is going to be the first animal guessing competition. All you have to do is write the name of the animal in the comments section. I will notify you when the correct answer is in the comments. We going to start of nice and easy with this beetle which is 1.27cm to 1.9 cm long. It is named after the ingenious defence mechanism which it carries in its abdomen and that is why it is one of my favourite animals.

This beetle mixes two chemicals (hydrogen-peroxide and hydroquinone) and uses a muscle called the Sphincter's muscle to inject the mixture into a water filled explosion chamber. Then, the mixture is kept in the chamber until it is threatened.

When it is threatened, another chemical called catalase is added into the mixture causing steam. The steam, which can be as hot as 100 degrees Celsius, is then fired out of two nozzles at a speed of 20 metres per second (72 kilometers (45 miles) per hour) with pin point accuracy. This scorching and strong injection of steam is fatal to attacking insects and small creatures. It can even cause pain to human beings!

This beetle is carnivorous and hunts in the night. It lives in all the continents except Antarctica. You can find this beetle in woodlands or grasslands but they can be found in other places moist enough to lay their eggs.

Summary: I like this beetle because of the clever and brilliant defence mechanism it has. With further understanding, we can learn a lot from this fascinating beetle and we can apply the knowledge to engine technology which will improve our daily lives. So, I give this beetle a 10/10.

Image Credit:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/
By Patrick Coin (Patrick Coin) (Photograph taken by Patrick Coin) [CC-BY-SA-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons

My favourite microscopic creature: Tardigrades

In this weeks blog post, I am going to introduce you to my favourite microscopic creature, the tardigrade. This picture is a tardigrade or water bear.

To me it looks like a microscopic louse. The only difference is the name and the fact that this tiny creature can survive in outer space in the Universe. Yes, you heard me correctly. Outer space in the Universe. It can also survive being heated to a scorching 151 Degrees Centigrade and can withstand a chilling -271 Degrees Centigrade. This temperature is just 2.15 Degrees Centigrade above absolute zero which is the coldest possible temperature possible. It can also survive dehydration as there was reports of leg movement in a 120 year old specimen from dried moss! They can also survive 1,000 times more radiation than other animals and withstand dangerous toxins. Tardigrades and animals like them are called extremophiles.

This creature dates back to the Cretaceous period, which is about 65 million years ago. This was the time when dinosaurs were roaming around the Earth. Now dinosaurs are extinct but tardigrades survived. Tardigrades can be found on lichens and mosses. They are eutelic meaning all the adults have the same number of cells. Some species have 40,000 cells in their bodies while some tardigrades have far fewer. Most tardigrades are one millimetre long when they are fully grown. The biggest adults may reach a length of 1.5 millimetres while the smallest are less than 0.1 millimetres. Newly hatched tardigrades are less then 0.05 millimetres. Most tardigrades eat plants or bacteria but some, like Milnesium tardigradum, are meat-eaters. About 1,150 species of tardigrades have been discovered. Tardigrade genomes are about 75 to 800 megabase pairs of DNA which is not alot according to Broad Institute in the United States of America which is currently sequencing the genome of the tardigrade species.

I think tardigrades are special because they can survive outer space which is not an easy feat. They are amazing and interesting species that look like aliens. They might even survive a mass extinction! This animal is definitely one of my favourite microscopic species.

I would give this animal a 10/10 for their amazing survival capabilities.

Image credit:

Wikimedia Commons (by Darron Birgenheier from Reno, NV, USA [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AWaterbear_(Tardigrade)_from_the_drainage_of_a_hot_spring_in_Lassen_County%2C_California_-_Stacked_Macro_10x.jpg