Article on whether there is doomsday in 2012

Link to article: http://www.astroengine.com/2008/06/no-doomsday-in-2012-the-reason-why-science-will-not-win/


The author thinks that the idea of the world ending in 2012 is not real and feels angry that science is actually combined with doomsayers beliefs, such as the beliefs from the Mayan Calendar, Ancient Chinese, and the Bible. He also feels that the doomsayers are using fear to make people believe that the world will end in 2012. Personally I believe this theory because there are just so many explanations from different sources and they really convined me. I think I will just live on to see if it is true for myself.

Alfred Nobel and the dynamite

 Alfred Nobel was a Swedish industrialist, engineer, and inventor, and built bridges and buildings in Stockholm. His construction work inspired Nobel to research new methods of blasting rock. In 1860, Alfred Nobel first started experimenting with nitroglycerine,  a heavy, colorless, oily, explosive liquid.
 
  In 1863, Alfred Nobel invented the Nobel patent detonator. Itused a strong shock rather than heat combustion to ignite the explosives. The Nobel Company built the first factory to manufacture nitroglycerin and dynamite.
 
  Alfred Nobel discovered that mixing nitroglycerine with silica would turn the liquid into a malleable paste, called dynamite in 1866. One advantage of dynamite over nitroglycerin was that it could be cylinder-shaped for insertion into the drilling holes used for mining.

  In 1867, Alfred Nobel received a U.S patent for his dynamite and alsoimproved his detonator so that it could be ignited by lighting a fuse.

  In 1887, he was granted a French patent for blasting powder "ballistite".

Extras:
  When he died in 1896, Alfred Nobel left behind a nine million dollar endowment fund. The Nobel prize is awarded yearly to people whose work helps humanity. In total, Alfred Nobel held three hundred and fifty-five patents in the fields of electrochemistry, optics, biology, and physiology.

                 

2012 will not be the ned of the world-proof

For those who are worried that the world will end in like one year's time:

In 5 billion years the Sun will turn into a Red Giant

  It is said that in 5 billion years, the Sun will turn into a Red Giant. A Red Giant is a very large star of high luminosity and low surface temperature. Red giants are thought to be in a late stage of evolution when no hydrogen remains in the core to fuel nuclear fusion.

  When the Sun turns into a Red Giant, it will fuse the last of its hydrogen into helium, turn into a red giant and expand to 250 times its current size. At first, the Sun's loss of mass will loosen its gravitational pull on Earth, which will allow the planet to migrate to a wider orbit.

Some people think that the Earth might escape destruction - but survival now seems impossible, according to Peter Schröder of the University of Guanajuato in Mexico and Robert Smith of the University of Sussex in the UK. Earth's orbit will indeed widen, but Earth will also induce a "tidal bulge" on the Sun's surface, with its own gravitational pull. The bulge will lag just behind the Earth in its orbit, slowing it down enough to drag it to a fiery demise.

  There is still a little hope for humans. It is said that Earth's orbit could be tweaked by arranging the fly-by of a nearby asteroid to tug at it. This method could potentially maintain Earth's speed enough to keep it in a widening orbit, they say.

  However, people reading this post right now need not be too worried as this incident will only happen billions of years later, and we wont live to see it. Hopefully by then technology allows humans to do something to save the Earth.

                                           

Humans Pushing Up Extinction Rates Faster Than Species Can Evolve

Hello everyone, now let’s talk about a sad and serious topic: humans are pushing up extinction rates faster than species can evolve. Simon Stuart, who is from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) say that predictions made by biologist EO Wilson that the extinction rate could hit 10,000 times the background rate by 2030 are bearing out.

Of the 40,168 species that the 10,000 scientists in the World Conservation Union have assessed, one in four mammals, one in eight birds, one in three amphibians, one in three conifers and other gymnosperms are at risk of extinction. The peril faced by other classes of organisms is less thoroughly analysed, but fully 40 per cent of the examined species of planet earth are in danger, including perhaps 51 per cent of reptiles, 52 per cent of insects, and 73 per cent of flowering plants.

The eminent Harvard biologist Edward O Wilson predicts that our present course will lead to the extinction of half of all plant and animal species by 2100. As we learnt in science, extinctions of species can cause the whole ecosystem to collapse and this in turn affects we humans who get our food and resources from the natural environment.

Try one or all of these suggestions to help preserve the Earth's endangered species.

1. Join one of the organisations about saving our animals.

2. Refuse to buy products that contain animal ingridients such as fur, ivory, and tortoiseshell.

3. Refuse to buy products that have been tested on animals.

4. Think about what you eat.

5. Start or join a local community effort to save an area of land used by wildlife.

6. Buy recycled paper and save paper for recycling to help conserve forested habitats. And many more!!!

Reflection on 1 1/2 years of science lesson in school

After 1 1/2 years in school, I feel that science is a relatively interesting subject to study compared to some other subjects. However, it is still quite hard to study science and much effort must be put in in order to do well in this subject. I have not been doing very well for science all the time in school and always got an average score, so I think I should work harder for science now since the next exam is the year end exam.