3441

General Science / Re: Science Photo of the Week

« on: 18/06/2004 19:23:41 »

Insect enjoys warmer UK climate

Experts say its arrival in the UK is a clear sign of climate change




An insect that normally inhabits warm countries has been found living and breeding in the UK, entomologists say.
The green "shield" bug, which attacks a broad range of crops, is usually seen in the Mediterranean, Middle East, Australia, North America and Africa.

Its arrival in Britain is a clear sign of climate change, claim experts from the Natural History Museum, London.

"I'm always reluctant to invoke global warming but it's the only explanation," said curator of beetles, Max Barclay.

Stink bugs

The green vegetable bug (Nezara viridula) is similar to the UK's native green shield bug (Palomena prasina), but is paler in colour and has a longer, narrower shape. Also, unlike its British cousin, the green vegetable bug has no brown markings.

The insects - sometimes known as "stink" bugs, because of the foul odour they emit when threatened - are regular stowaways to the UK.

They often get shipped in with imported vegetables but, until recently, they have not been able to stand Britain's cold climate.

Now three healthy colonies have been found in London - two in the Queen's Park area and one in Kings Cross.


SOURCE BBC NEWS

I've seen these little critters the last couple of years...I just figured they were an insect I hadn't seen before......well...in a way I was right. I've never smelt the pong but that's probably because I'm an angel, and I've never threatened one !![}:)]

'Men are the same as women...just inside out !'  

3442

General Science / Re: Science Photo of the Week

« on: 31/05/2004 05:50:46 »

electron micrographs6.jpg (6.86 kB . 150x182 - viewed 41335 times)

corona virus.gif (87 kB . 510x451 - viewed 41330 times)

Sources : Genome News Network (top), CDC (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention) (below).

Electron micrographs showing particles of the 100 nm diameter SARS coronavirus, so named because the particles carry a corona (crown) of glycoproteins around their envelope

The virus is a relative of the common cold and first appeared in China in late 2002.

3443

General Science / Re: Are we on course for a Nobel Prize For Guessing?

« on: 19/03/2004 16:30:33 »

Actually, gravity and elasitc don't work on the same principle.  Elastic works by the electromagnetic forces between molecules holding together and allowing some "give".  Cannibinoid or one of the chemistry types can give more detail.

Gravity on the other hand is an attractive force between any two masses that acts across a distance.  For any given distance, the electromagnetic forces are several orders of magnitude greater than the gravitational force. However, electrically charged particles come in pairs (electrons and protons) and normally cancel each other out on scales larger than molecules.  An exception to this is when you develop a static charge relative to some other object - your hair stands up because of the electric field forces.  Gravity on the other hand does not cancel out - it is always attractive.  Thus we stay on the earth.  Moons and planets stay in orbit.  The galaxy stays together.  

Quantum mechanics is truly bizzare, but as qpan says, it is not in-comprehensible if you build up your understanding by getting the necessary training.  I understand your statement about learning more results in having more questions.  It teaches you to not just accept things, but to really learn how they work.  This leads to knowing about the uncertanties in scientific knowledge.  It also leads to knowing more about what really is known and why we know it.

Quantum mechanics is not the end of the line in our understanding of physics.  Relativity is not either.  They are both very accurate descriptions for what they describe. They have some fundamental incompatabilities that they should not have.  Also, quantum mechanics cannot explain (or predict) gravity.  There si something deeper that we don't understand yet.  But that is part of the thrill of science.  Trying to understand something that no one else has ever figured out.

----
John - The Eternal Pessimist.

3444

General Science / Re: Are we on course for a Nobel Prize For Guessing?

« on: 19/02/2004 00:13:22 »

Well, i don't know...
Some things are quite reasonable in quantum mechanics (although a lot of it is incomprehensible). For example, the indeterminancy of the true position and velocity of any particle. Whenever you measure something, you affect its position and/or speed by a completely miniscule amount. For example, when measuring the temperature of a hot cup of tea, some of the tea's heat must be transferred to the thermometer in order for you to record its temperature, thereby decreasing the tea's temperature and giving you a measurement just under the tea's actual temperature when you measured it. For macroscopic entities (things on our scale), this is not much of a problem as this does not cause much error at all. However, when you have a particle and want to measure, lets say its position, you have to bounce some small particles or waves off of it and record how long it takes to bounce back. However, due to the particle's small mass, just by measuring it you would have changed its course and it will now be moving at an unknown speed at an unknown position (you can, at any given time, either know its velocity or position exactly, but not both).
Science may seem incomprehensible at times, but things certainly are not just guessed (although sometimes luck has something to do with it- e.g penicillin). You just need to learn the background knowledge and build up your understanding step by step, thats all, and all will become clear(er).


"I have great faith in fools; self-confidence my friends call it."
-Edgar Allan Poe

3445

General Science / Are we on course for a Nobel Prize For Guessing?

« on: 04/02/2004 02:22:25 »

The Nobel Prize for Guessing.

I think they've finally lost it. The Magic Roundabout boffins and their particle accelerators. They are colliding to confusion, faster all the time and more and bits are flying off. Their conclusions are roughly as follows...

One cat can be in two boxes at once. 

Light from a galaxy knows when we are looking at it.

When you stir your tea, Betelgeuse makes it go up the sides of the cup. 

These are not hypotheses, they are facts from Zebedee and Florence.

They say 'Don't try to understand, just accept it.' Well that isn’t reasonable is it. We can't help trying to understand everything.  If we paid a 'Beyond our Comprehension' Tax, we wouldn't like it. Sorry, that example's like VAT.

Science has been jumped into the realms of nonsense and enough is enough.  The world law as enacted by yours truly now categorises Quantum Mechanics to the Forbidden Mystery status. Like Devil Worship. Put all that effort and money into the making of cars and pizzas.

Alternatively, we can all join in and have a go and get ourselves a Nobel Prize for Guessing.

If it’s right one day, they can’t  ignore you, you thought of it first.

I claim the following insights....

Light is not a wave or a particle it is an ointment.

There are six billion parallel universes, i.e. one for each of us. The proof here is that when someone else puts something away for you, you can't find it.  Of course not, it's in their universe.

Gravity is elastic painted with invisible ink.

There are more particles in an atom than stars in the sky. Just.(A sure fire winner)
 
That'll do. They all sound so reasonable.

Our scientists will say, look at the advantages we've already got from them, microwave ovens, cyberpets, etc. Ok but we've got them now and it's like pontoon. Lets stick unless we twist and bust.

3446

Physiology & Medicine / Re: Is the world I see the world I live in, or a construct of my brain's making?

« on: 08/01/2004 19:45:16 »

Reality is what you perceive it to be.  Every person's reality is different.  The mentally ill are only ill in the sense they perceive reality in a way different from what we do.  Insanity is a minority of one!

Common reality would be the group consensus on perception.  For instance, person sees a flying saucer hovering over New York City.  9 million others do not.  The common reality is that there is no flying saucer.  For that 1 guy though, there sure as hell is.  Which is reality?  Does the group perception dictate reality?  In most cases, sure, but I think it's fallacy to always accept that.  

Then there are the people with sollipsism who think that everything is a creation of their mind and that when something is outside of their perception, it ceases to exist until perceived again.  I know someone who really thinks like that...truly bizarre.



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3447

Chemistry / Re: InOrganic Chemistry

« on: 06/11/2003 04:26:02 »

Ok, I asked a couple different people (physical chemists, way too smart for their own good) about this reaction today.  

In a nutshell, here's your answer:  

This reaction, the decomposition of concenrated HCl to component hydrogen and chlorine, would probably not occur.  The TiCl4 is not reactive to acids (or much of anything considering it has neither lone pair electrons or empty orbitals) so  would not catalyze this reaction.  Additionally, one of them seemed to think that given sufficient activation energy, the water in the HCl (even conc. Hcl has water in it) would decompose into hydrogen and oxygen (liberating HCl gas) before HCl would decompose.  

Hope this helps.  Inorganic chemistry is interesting, but a pain.  Wait til you get to physical chemistry.  =P

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3448

Chemistry / Re: InOrganic Chemistry

« on: 01/11/2003 22:46:14 »

Dear Kari

no, you are not in the guestbook now because we moved your post for you - no one would have seen it in the guestbook and we didn't want it left unanswered. Sorry if we confused you !

TNS

3449

Chemistry / Re: InOrganic Chemistry

« on: 28/10/2003 11:58:21 »

Dear Kari

you posted this in the GUESTBOOK ! That's not the best place to get a question answered quickly - please post your enquiries in the relevant place - in this instance under "science" and I'm sure someone will help you out !