Monday, December 16, 2013

Isaac Newton

      Hey guys, back again with a new post for you all. Well great news, we are now done talking about atoms and chemicals and we are now going to talk about something completely new. Before we begin let me ask you a question. Have you ever wondered why you must study calculus, learn the three laws of physics, and why we can see the planets in such great detail? Well, you can thank or hate Sir Isaac Newton. Now that we know who we're talking about today, let's learn more about this interesting man.

 
      Isaac Newton was born on Christmas Day 1642 in Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth, England. You may also see his birthday on January 4, 1642, and the reason why you would see Sir Isaac Newton with two birthdays is not because he was born on a leap year. The reason is that during this time period there were two calendars used in this time period, the Julius and the Gregorian calendar. Well, ok you think that is interesting, wait till you hear the next part of his life's story.


 

      Isaac Newton was also born premature. In those times, being born premature would almost insure that you would die due to the lack of modern technology. Another major problem facing the young Newton is that his father died three months before his birth, and his parents were very poor. With these two factors in play, Isaac Newton had no chance of surviving, but he somehow did. The next major obstacle for him is that his family was poor and his mother could not afford his education, but a weird stroke of fate got him the resources needed for his education. Isaac Newton's mother married a sixty plus year old man named Reverend Barnabus Smith when Isaac was three years old. Because of his mother's choice, Newton was able to get the education he needed to go to Cambridge University and work on his more important pieces of science later on in life.  On the flip side, Isaac Newton had to live with his grandparents on his mother's side. He would not see her for some time until the next major disaster befell him.

Cambridge University
 
 
 
 
      In 1653 after the death of Isaac Newton's mother's second husband, she yanked the young Newton out of school to become a farmer. Luckily for him, he was a terrible farmer and returned to school at King's School at Grantham. After years of studies he finally made it into Cambridge University in June 1661. During his time at Cambridge, he got a Bachelors degree without honors or distinctions. Then, a tragedy of epic proportions struck the school and forced it to close its gates for two whole years.
 
 
 
      In 1665, a plague hit the schools and it was forced to close its doors for two whole years. Isaac Newton then had to return back home. During this time, he made some remarkable discoveries. It was during this time, he created his 'method of fluxions' or better known as calculus. So, he is the reason you will or already have sleepless nights trying to learn this "fun" mathematical principle. He also created his theory on light and his theory on planetary motion. His most famous piece of scientific discovery was his theory of gravity.


 
      After many more discoveries, he was elected President of the Royal Society in 1703 and was reelected every time before his death on March 20, 1727.  He was also knighted by Queen Ann in 1705 for some work he did for the Royal Mint. He finally died on March 20, 1727 in London. He was buried at Westminster Abbey. He is one man that has truly changed science forever.


 

 
      Thanks for reading my post, please leave a comment in the comment section down below, also check my ten facts about Isaac Newton.
 
  1. Isaac Newton was very religious
  2. He believed that he committed a sin by eating an apple at church
  3. He stuck a needle in his eye
  4. He worked for the Royal Mint
  5. He was knighted by queen Ann for his work at the mint
  6. He had no children
  7. He never married
  8. He created the first reflecting telescope
  9. He was able to predict the flight pattern of Halley's comet correctly
  10. Was known to have two major temper tantrums in his entire life
 

Sunday, December 8, 2013

The Transfer of Heat

      Hey guys I'm back again with a new post for you all! Well, since its Diciembre and for those in the northern hemisphere it's a bit on the cold side, this post will be on a fun new topic. This topic keeps you warm, it has three ways of transfer, and you can't live without it. If you haven't figured it out it, it's heat! Now that we know what our topic is for today, get in your blankets and turn up the heat, because I'm going to talk about HEAT!


 
 
      Before we can learn anything about heat, we must learn what heat is. Heat is the transfer of thermal energy from object to object when the objects are of a different temperature. Heat is also one of the major reasons why life can survive and thrive on this planet, because without heat, we would not be able to cook food, clean clothes, wash dishes, and we would not be able to survive without it. Heat keeps us warm, keeps us clean, and is a major driving force of life. Now that we covered what heat is, let me tell you a secret. Heat can be transferred, and there are three ways that can happen.
 
 
 
 
      The first type of heat transfer is conduction. Conduction is when heat is transferred from one object to another by direct contact. This type of heat transfer occurs mostly with solids and is best seen when cooking. Here is a real life example. You ( the cook) are making a nice hot pot of tomato soup. To get the soup to heat up, you turn the stove's temperature from low to high. As the heat stays on, the heat from the stove is transferred to the pot which then heats the soup in the pot. By the way, pots are made of metal because metals are conductors of heat. Conductors are objects that transfer heat energy well from one object to another like water and metals, but insulators like feathers and plastic are not good conductors because they reflect heat rather than absorb it. This is why you stay warm when you are wrapped up in a blanket.
 
 
 
      The next type of heat transfer is radiation. Radiation is when heat is transferred through electromagnetic waves. An example of this is the sun. When  you are outside on a hot summer day, and you notice that your ice cream has started to melt, but you haven't licked it: this is due to electromagnetic waves. The waves travel through the atmosphere and then travel through the ice cream causing it to melt. Pretty cool stuff right, but we still have one more to talk about.
 
 
 
      The final way that heat can be transferred is convection. Convection is the transfer of energy by the movement of liquids and gases. An example of this form of heat transfer is when you have a pot of boiling water. The hot water at the bottom of the pot rises to the top of the pot where it gets cooler, and due to the water getting cooler, it sinks back to the bottom of the pot where the process repeats itself. This is why you should put heating vents near the floor. The reason is because heat rises, so putting the heat near the ceiling is not a good a idea, because the heat would only heat the top of the room and not the bottom.
 
 
 
 
     Thanks for reading this week's post and also check out this video about heat transfer. Please leave a comment in the comment section down below.
 

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Antiboitics NOT for kids?

      Hello, I'm back again and I have a new post for your enjoyment. Before I tell you what the article is about, let me ask you a question. Would you stop using antibiotics because of these new superbugs that have been just discovered? If you haven't figured it out yet, the article is about new guidelines that the CDC is trying to enforce. These new guidelines would make it harder for doctors to prescribe antibiotics to children! Ok, before you go and start a riot over these new guidelines, let's all learn why this is happening in the first place.
 
      The CDC has just released new guidelines that would make it more difficult for kids to be prescribed antibiotics. They have released these new and controversial guidelines for a few different reasons. The first one, which is their main concern, is that antibiotics are being overly prescribed to patients that don't have a bacterial infection at all. Many children who are prescribed antibiotics have ear or sinus infections, which are often caused by a virus and not by bacteria. Since you can't kill a virus with antibiotics, it is a futile effert to try and fix the situation. The best way to fix the problem based on new CDC guidelines is to let the virus run its course. Anther reason for the new guidelines is so that doctors can stop the development of super bugs (bacteria that is immune to antibiotics). The over prescription of antibiotics and people being negligent and not taking the full course of the medication and stopping when they feel better has caused certain strains of bacteria to evolve and become immune to certain antibiotics.
 
  
      Another major problem with antibioctics is that it has some negative side affects in both children and adults. The first one is that antibiotics kill probiotics or bacteria in your digestive system needed to break down certain foods. Without these good bacteria, people have reported stomach aches, nausea, shakes, low blood sugar, vomiting, and diarrhea. Another major problem with antibiotics is that your body can become resistant to the medication, which means that when you take the antibiotics, the body rejects the medication and the infection that you have will continue to grow.
 
 
 
 
      After all this, I find these new guidelines to be a great idea and should be a great benefit to the publics' overall health. I found it funny, but also sad that doctors are giving children antibiotics for what is most likely a virus and not a bacterial infection. This fact alone tells me that doctors have become lazy and are using antibiotics as a way to give parents a way to make them feel good that their child will get better, and also help drug companies make their bottom line. With these new guidelines, it would make it harder for doctors to use antibiotics as a scapegoat and it would make doctors have to do their work more diligently.
 
 
 
      Thanks for reading this week's post, and please leave a comment in the comment section down below.