Friday, November 21, 2008

Typing

I am trying to learn to type 80 wpm. If any of you have suggestions or links, please post them in comments. Thank you.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Newton's Cradle

The physics toy Newton made is called  "Newton's cradle" and is also called "colliding balls", "Newton's spheres", "counting balls", "impact balls", "ball-chain", the "executive pacifier", and even, believe it or not, "Newton's balls."When the ball on one end is pulled aside and allowed to swing as a pendulum, it hits the next ball. But the outcome is fascinating, the one ball on the far end is knocked away from the others with the same speed as the first ball had initially and all of the other balls remain nearly at rest. If you pull back two balls and let them strike the others, two balls are knocked from the other end, and all the other balls remain nearly at rest. Why does this happen? Why are these the only outcomes that occur? Why not others? This happens because: When a ball is lifted, it is given potential energy. When it is dropped, it is given kinetic energy. This kinetic energy is passed on through the balls and given to the last ball which rises and the cycle starts all over again. If you do not own a Newton's cradle, then please play with this interactive flash animation demonstrating the behavior of this toy. For more information go to http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/scenario/cradle.htm



Wednesday, November 5, 2008

The Atom

The word atom is comes from the Greek word atom which means indivisible. The Greeks thought that matter could be broken down into pieces too small to be seen. These particles were called atoms. Atoms are composed of three types of particles: protons, neutrons, and electron. Protons and neutrons are responsible for most of the atomic mass e.g. in a 150 person 149 lbs, 15 oz are protons and neutrons while only 1 oz. is electrons. The mass of an electron is very small (9.108 X 10-28 grams). Both the protons and neutrons reside in the nucleus. Protons have a postive (+) charge, neutrons have no charge --they are neutral. Electrons reside in orbitals around the nucleus. They have a negative charge (-).The electrons of an atom are bound to the nucleus by an electromagnetic force. Likewise, a group of atoms can remain bound to each other, forming a molecule. An atom containing an equal number of protons and electrons is electrically neutral, otherwise it has a positive or negative charge and is an ion. An atom is classified according to the number of protons and neutrons in its nucleus: the number of protons determines the chemical element, and the number of neutrons determines the isotope of the element.

 

Costal Redwoods

 This is some information about Costal Redwoods I dug up. Coast redwoods are truly amazing features. They grow only in California due to glacial activity. A redwood tree is considered an adult when it has lived a millennia! People come from the other side of the world to see them. Coast redwoods do not die of old age. In fact, they may produce 600,000,000 seeds per year! Coast redwoods grow in a narrow strip on the coast of California, 150 miles north of San Francisco. The strip is 500 miles long, and 20 to 50 miles wide, but the conditions have to be perfect for a coast redwood to survive. There needs to be frequent summer fog, and considerable rainfall. Redwoods usually grow with Douglas fir, Tan oak, Madrone, Grand oak, and Bay lourel. However, there can be redwoods that grow by themselves. Some animals that live near redwoods are: raccoons, skunks, elk, deer, squirrels, and birds. No wonder birds live near redwoods, because they are huge.Redwoods grow up to 360 feet tall in good conditions. They can be easily named the tallest tree species on Earth. Redwoods grow so big, because they grow very fast. A 20 year old tree grows 50 feet tall and 8 inches thick! The average size for mature redwood tree is 200-275 feet tall. The biggest trees are 200-275 feet tall. The tallest tree on Earth is named Hyperion and is 370.1 feet tall. However, in order to succeed these massive things need to reproduce.  

Raccoon Report


Raccoons are truly amazing creatures. Here are some facts about them. Raccoons climb very easily, and are not bothered by a drop of 35 to 40 feet.  Both captive and wild raccoons have been known to live up to 16 years. However, the species' life expectancy in the wild is only 1.8 to 3.1 years, depending on the local conditions in terms of traffic volume, hunting, and weather severity. It is not unusual for only half of the young born in one year to survive until their first birthday. There are seven species of raccoon, five of which live on tropical islands.  Raccoons can swim as fast as 3.0 mph and are able to stay in the water for several hours.  The raccoon has short legs compared to its own body, so it is not able to run fast or to jump far. Raccoons are extremely adaptable, being found in many kinds of habitats and easily living near humans. Raccoons are considered the most omnivorous animals on the planet! They are very intelligent. In studies, raccoons were able to open 11 of 13 complex locks in less than 10 tries and had no problems when the locks were rearranged or turned upside down, also they can distinguish boxes containing two or four grapes from those containing three. Raccoons are commonly associated with washing their food. Their Latin name, Lotor, means "the washer." People sometimes keep young raccoons as pets, because they are curious and intelligent. Once grown, however, raccoons can be quite destructive in and around homes. I hope you enjoyed these facts!

 

Google's new browser: Google Chrome


As many of you probably already know, Google has made a ney browser called Google Chrome(this post is proudly made using Google Chrome). This browser is better than Safari, Firefox, Operah, and Internet Explorer combined. Firefox users, your browser has so many buttons that I don't know about you but they get me confused! With Chrome, all of the options are stored in a little button that says, surprisingly enough, "Options". Same with settings and bookmarks. Operah users, your browser is so...........well.............boring. I mean the buttons are so ugly! Chrome is new. It has it's own buttons, even it's own theme! I have nothing bad to say about Sarari, exsept that it dosent have tabs. Chrome has tabs so you can open many windows at a time by just clicking on the plus! Internet Explorer users, your browser is so plain and gray! So many confusing buttons and is slow(also depends on your router). To download thin amazing brpwser, follow this link:http://www.google.com/chrome
And the best part: Its FREE! I assure you this browser has no bugs.