Science Memes

Tornado In A Bottle- Lab Experiment

        First of all, a tornado is a natural storm disaster created when a front of hot, humid air and a front of cool, dry air collide in the atmosphere. The warm air is pushed upward, which causes winds carrying water droplets to rotate into a vortex, speeding at up to 300 miles per hour in the center. This spinning column of air and water droplets then begins to stretch between the earth and a convection cloud (made up of water droplets) to create a tornado. The water droplets form from the condensation of water vapor in the area within the funnel where there is low temperature and pressure. This makes the funnel visible to our eyes, because the large number of water droplets block out the sun's light, just like a thunder cloud.

       In this lab, you will be able to see what a tornado looks like on a very small scale. This experiment shows water moving through a small hole in a manner that simulates the spiraling behavior of the tail of the tornado. The condensation funnel, or tail, causes great destruction for anything in its path, as it touches the earth and sweeps objects and debris up into its vortex (the spinning center). You will be able to analyze this phenomenon and describe some of its characteristics using this model.

         Materials:

• 2 cleaned-out 2-Liter plastic bottles (other types of bottles will also work, especially for testing to create the most effective set-up).
• 1 roll of duct tape
• water
• scissors
• paper towels
  Procedure:
• Remove labels from the plastic bottles.
• Cut a piece of duct tape.
• Fill one bottle three-quarters (3/4) of the way with water.
•  Take the tape and wrap it around the mouth of the bottle.
•  Place the two mouths of the bottles together (the empty one upside-down on top of the water-filled one), and tape them carefully together with the duct tape. Test for leakage by carefully rotating the bottles. Use more tape as needed.
•  To create the tornado affect, turn the bottles upside-down so that the water should be flowing through the two bottles. Swirl slowly to help create the funnel.
•  Repeat this procedure using different materials and techniques, such as different bottles, liquids, and swirling techniques, and compare the different effects between the set-ups. Look at the size of the hole in the bottle, and the difference in the vortex.

Sources: Photos

http://www.disastersafety.org/blog/post?blogPostId=7270

http://www.flickriver.com/photos/bob007/3256505612/

Current Events: Can a Solar Eclipse Really Blind You?

        Though many have not seen a solar eclipse, it is said that it's dangerous to see it with the naked eye. This statement is true, however it is also said that staring at a solar eclipse can blind you. This statement, is false. When watching a solar eclipse, the damage you can do to your eyes is often painless, so people won't even realize they're injuring themselves which can leave a long-term effect without blinding you. 
        This condition is called solar retinopathy. Solar retinopathy is usually caused by the staring at the sun, regardless of the phase, but people can stare at the sun for so long without pain and this happens occasionally. "But during a solar eclipse, more people are at risk. With the sun partially covered, it's comfortable to stare, and protective reflexes like blinking and pupil contraction are a lot less likely to kick in than on a normal day". 

       Scientists do not have a good aim on the currency of eye damage after a solar eclipse. But in one of the studies that were conducted in the year 1999, after a solar eclipse in Europe, forty-five patience with possible solar retinopathy came to an eye clinic after viewing the eclipse. Forty were confirmed to have some kind of damage or symptoms and five had visible changes in the eye. Twenty of the patients also reported eye pain while the other twenty reported problems with vision.

        Research has also shown that while many of the damage may heal, some may be permanent. So while it might be tough to go completely blind by looking at a eclipse, doing it without the right protections could leave a long-lasting injury on one's vision. "The only safe way to view an eclipse, according to NASA, is to use specially designed sun filters, often available at telescope stores, or to wear No. 14 welder's glasses, available at welding specialty stores. 

  This information is very helpful to me. Though I have never seen a solar eclipse before, I have always thought that you could go blind if staring at one with the naked eye. This will also help if I ever see a solar eclipse, because then I will know what to do in order to keep away from damage to my eyes. This information can also help others in order to keep them away from damaging their own eyes as well, and if they suspect something, they can get it checked by a doctor.


Sources:
http://www.livescience.com/20433-solar-eclipse-blind.html
http://www.hoydalsvik.net/astrofoto/eclipse2008/index.html
http://eye-make-up.tumblr.com/colours

Collapsing Can Lab- Class Response

       After drinking a can of soda, many just crush the can and throw it out in the garbage. However, have you ever thought about the air pressure you apply to it? To understand it better, try the collapsing can lab.
       Procedure:
1. Fill a bowl with cold ice water.
2. Heat a hot plate or stove.
3. Fill a soda can with a little bit of water and wait for the water to boil.
4. When the water boils, a cloud of condensed vapor will escape from the opening in the can.
5.Allow the water to boil for about thirty seconds.
6. Using tongs, grasp the can and quickly, and carefully, invert the can and invert it into the bowl of ice water. The can will collapse almost instantly. 


       What Caused the Can to Collapse?

When the can was heated, it caused the water in it to boil. The vapor from the boiling water pushed air out of the can. When the can was filled with water vapor, it cooled suddenly by inverting it in ice water. Cooling the can caused the water vapor in the can to condense, creating a partial vacuum. The extremely low pressure of the partial vacuum inside the can made it possible for the pressure of the air outside the can to crush it.

   A can is crushed when the pressure outside is greater than the pressure inside, and the pressure difference is greater than the can is able to withstand. For instance, you can crush an open aluminum can with your hand. When you squeeze on the can, the pressure outside becomes greater than the pressure inside. If you squeeze hard enough the can collapses.

  Usually, the air pressure inside an open can is the same as the pressure outside. However, in this experiment, the air was driven out of the can and replaced by water vapor. When the water vapor condensed, the pressure inside the can became much less than the air pressure outside. Then the air outside crushed the can.

  When the water vapor inside the can condensed, the can was empty. You may have expected the water in the bowl to fill the can through the hole in the can. Some water from the bowl may do this. However, the water cannot flow into the can fast enough to fill the can before the air outside crushes it.

Source:

http://jetsfan21.blogspot.com/2010/04/collapsing-can-lab.html

Current Event; The Bigger the Eyes, the Faster the Beast, Study Finds

        Everyone know that cats, like cheetahs and lions, are one of the fastest animals on Earth. However, no one really wondered why. Study's show that their eyes are what helps with their speed, mainly because it helps with the detail vision, and the vision in dim light.
     With this in mind, studies show that animals with larger eyes allow them to run faster. Because animals need better vision in order to run, larger eyes benefit acuity and sensitivity, allowing them to run faster.
     So if you look closely into fast animals, such as horses, they have large eyes, so it gives them the better vision to avoid collision into other objects when moving quickly.
     Scientists then wanted to figure out what influences the eye size. So they collected measurements of eye size, body size, and speed in running from fifty animals. They then found that eighty-nine percent of the animal's eye size variation was due to the body mass and their maximum running speed. However, body size always influences eye size. So "an elephant is always going to have bigger eyes than a mouse." Then, the researchers adjusted for body size and then found that when looking at maximum running speed in isolation, or when you keep the body mass constant, speed is still greatly related to the eye size. Therefore, speed in animals depend on their eye size.
     However, this theory and observation does not apply to humans. So "at least in the case of humans, it's safe to conclude that fast running was not the selective factor that led to the evolution our large eyes."
     I personally never thought about something like this. I knew that certain animals were faster than others, but I never tried to relate it to eye size. This information is beneficial to me, because now I understand why certain animals have certain characteristics. This information can also benefit scientists in the future, mainly because if we were to discover a different animal, or learn more about different species of animals, knowing this will help, even if it's a small detail.


Sources:
http://www.livescience.com/20062-eye-size-running-speed.html
http://www.rachelinafrica.com/
http://animalszooguru.blogspot.com/2009/04/beautiful-white-horses-wallpapers.html

Is Science A Way of Life?

"The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking."
               ~Albert Einstein

       The funny thing is that most people don't notice that science is a way of life. Everything we do has something to do with science, and it's amazing, but sometimes confusing, just to think about it.
       This quote by Albert Einstein basically means that science isn't something complicated; it's all a form of common sense. Science has nothing magical or bizarre about it that would make people get lost, but it's about figuring out what you do everyday and relate it to science. Now, of course things like atoms and equations tend to confuse people when figuring it out. But when you understand the concept, then you will able to figure out anything that comes your way.
       Many of us do things that don't much mean common sense. However, if you change that, and make your thinking change to common sense, everything will become clearer. Science is the same way, but not at this simple of a level. Science is like a harder and newer way of common sense, by not only explaining yourself, but everything around you as well.
       After realizing the thinking part of it, there is still the "do". Use this quote by guiding your life. Just how science uses common sense to explain itself, using common sense in your life can change many things and solve many problems.
       And remember, Albert Einstein was a genius but still a human, and by using this and many other quotes, it might have helped him figure out things in his life as well.


Sources:
http://teachers.vestavia.k12.al.us/guroskyks/PM/Homework_Blog/Homework_Blog.html
            

Current Event; Book Review: Can Science Determine Which Foods Taste Best Together?

        To start off, science explains many things in the universe and so helps us understand how we and everything else around us are made.      
        Now scientists have found a book that was said that when any two or more foods have a same flavor compound, then they are bound to taste well together. So scientists set out to see if it was true. They then found that beef and jasmine both contain the compound skatole; and so they were had to taste well together. However, when scientist tried it out, it was a complete failure! They didn't taste well together at all!! And so I was surprised to see that. They went into some research and found a beverage that blended mint and caraway. However, it devised the principle and both herbs only had the same structure and not the same flavor compound. This surprised the scientists and they hoped to find more information on connecting foods with science. This article was posted on the 21st of March.

       However, scientists spent amounts of time on this in order for them to find a way to figure out how to make foods without all the trial and error.

       I believe that the idea was a great one especially because it gave a person a way to connect to science while doing something they enjoy to do. The only problem is that for people who like to cook, like me, wouldn't get to make anything without learning from it. I believe that a person cannot make something without actually making a mistake first; and so even though this experiment didn't go well for the scientists, I still hope the find another way to make foods and how to make us remember that science is all around us.

Sources:

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-03/book-review-taste-buds-and-molecules
http://www.kerriganmeats.ie/
http://www.aroma-pure.com/jasmine.htm