Popcorn Popping (Science Menu)

Today is science class, we made popcorn, As interesting at it is, science is a big part of these delicious little treats. In fact, science is huge part of life in every aspect. Well lets get back to popcorn. Heat transfer is a big part of this process. Heat transfers into each kernel and makes them pop. Radiation causes this to occur. "Radiation describes any process in which energy travels through a medium or through space, ultimately to be absorbed by another body." In simpler words, it is the transfer of heat energy through an empty space. The heat is transferred from the microwave through empty space and hits the another body, the kernels. This makes the water in each kernel turn into steam. The steam pushes outwards and expands the small kernel into a relatively larger piece of popcorn. The process continues until all the kernels are transformed. Their popping gives them the name "pop-corn." After that the popcorn is all ready to be devoured. Add a little butter and your snack will be perfect. Enjoy!

Welcome to CoRoT-9b

Recently, scientists have discovered a temperate exoplanet that size is closely related to Jupiter. "CoRoT-9b is the first transiting extrasolar planet that is definitely similar to a planet in our solar system, namely Jupiter." Named CoRoT-9b after the CoRoT space telescope that discovered it, the French found the planet in the constellation, Serpens Cauda, which is located 1500 light years from our home planet. Unique to this planet, it is both transits a star and is a temperate planet. The transit of a star occurs when a celestial body passes over a star, blocking some of it's light. CoRoT-9b is unique in many other ways too. "The planet is mostly made of hydrogen and helium, but may contain up to 20 Earth masses of heavier elements including rock and water under high pressure." CoRoT-95 takes much longer than other planets to orbit its star, an approximate 95 Earth days compared to just one Earth day back on our planet. "The CoRoT satellite identified the planet after 150 days of continuous observation in the summer of 2008." All in all this planet it is an extraordinary achievement as discovering a planet is always an awe inspiring thing. "Only 25 years ago no extrasolar planets were known, and today we know of more than 400." Thats all for now on CoRoT-9b! Come back later for more science related news (:

Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100317144644.htm

James Cameron's Blockbuster A Bit Too Good?

James Cameron is known for his plethora of imaginative movies. Recently, his new movie Avatar flew into theaters worldwide. Taking place on Pandora, Cameron takes you through a world immersed with hope, beauty, and adventure. The spectacle flew up charts everywhere, but good things don't last forever. "'Avatar' is on track to be the highest grossing film of all time, but some viewers say it leaves them depressed." Why this happens is a mystery to me, but some viewers found Cameron's work of art to be too wonderful to want to leave the world of Pandora. On a fan forum site, people are posting ways to cope with the depression. In my honest opinion, I find that this a ridiculous way to feel about an imaginative world. But if I went back into the shoes of one of the depressed movie watchers, I could see how they could be depressed. Avatar gave people a world with so much beauty and imagination that we don't have here on Earth. The fact that many viewers watched the film in 3-D doesn't help to add to the depression. But not all feel that way. "Other fans have expressed feelings of disgust with the human race and disengagement with reality." Since the film shows the Na'vi, the inhabitants of Pandora, as the good guys while the humans are bad I can understand how people may feel that humans are not good. Also, Pandora doesn't have global warming, something that is omnipresent in our planet. "Compared with life on Earth, Pandora is a beautiful, glowing utopia." Earth has something for all of us and we should accept the fact that this is our home planet. But for people whos life isn't going too well, Pandora jumps out at you like an oasis in a desert. Stay strong everybody. Life is great and live it to the fullest. Earth is our Pandora, so lets keep it safe and enjoy every minute we have on it.

Link: http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/11/avatar.movie.blues/index.html

Forensic Scientists (Podcast)

Explore the wonders of forensic scientists as this in depth discussion takes you farther through forensics then you ever have went before. Enjoy! Forensic Scientist (Soccerfan7)

Microsoft's Windows Mobile Doing So Well?

Microsoft first blew there Windows Vista project, and it seems that they have done it once again. Except this time, they did it on the nation's mobile phones. Windows Mobile is not doing so hot in the market. As the article where I found my information states, " Microsoft is getting beat up worse than a mustachioed villain in a Jackie Chan movie." They seemed to be doing fine with this inventive project, when there sole rival came into the picture. Apple, known for there different assorted technology, came up with a new tool to beat Microsoft into the ground. We call this the iPhone. With over 100,000 apps, this new smartphone has the capabilities of doing virtually anything. This includes games, tools, information, humor, and much more. The many people who have obtained this smartphone knows that I am speaking the truth. How does this compete with Microsoft's Windows Mobile? The different apps hold more then Windows Mobile capabilities, sparking eager customers to buy the phone. "Google, Nokia, Research In Motion, Palm and others have opened app stores and begun recruiting developers to compete." Microsoft was the first in this vast market of electronics, with there brilliant PC software. What went wrong this time around? My opinion on the matter is that Apple and Microsoft both have great software, but Apple's idea of appealing to the consumer as much as possible takes the cake. I love when a company takes a challenge and tries to make their product the best. Apple did this and I am quite disappointed in Microsoft. My family and I are loyal Microsoft customers, using Microsoft Excel, Word, and Office for years. "The sad part for Microsoft is that in terms of operating systems, they have a great one, and they had it long before anyone else did." Microsoft is a strong brand, still in my opinion better than Apple, but this project was a disappointment just like Vista was. For now, I will have to stick to using the apps on my iPod Touch. Hopefully in the future, Microsoft comes back strong like they were when the had a monopoly over the electronic dynasty. Good luck Microsoft!

Link: http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/11/19/microsoft.windows.mobile/index.html

TV Show "Lost" Connects To Science

Just the other day, I decided to take a break from school work and relax, so I turned on the TV. Surprisingly, there on the television screen was more science. The show "Lost" is about a bunch of people who survive a plane crash and have to survive on an island with limited resources. The episode I was watching was about the survivors trying to blow up a mysterious hatch. They were trying to find what to blow it up with when they stumbled upon a wrecked ship. The ship had crashed into the island because of the weather patterns around the island. The weather's forces are science. Inside they saw skeletons bound in chains, realizing that this once was a slave ship. The chains had rusted and lost their color because of chemical changes, relating to what we learned in class today. As the survivors came upon the end of the ship, they spotted dynamite and decided to use it to blow up the hatch. As they carried it, they held the dangerous explosives with care. Any quick movements or wrong chemical imbalances could explode these ancient peices of dynamite. Sadly, one members of the group died because he did not carefully hold the dynamite. From then on, the survivors wrapped the dynamite in mud to prevent it from exploding. This shows that the mud cooled the explosives from exploding, another chemical change. Finally, the members of the survivoring group went to the hatch and exploded the hatch. What happens next you will have to watch and see. Whether you like it or not, science is there everyday in all of our lives, from exploding dynamite, to rusting, even weather patterns.

Windows 7 Better Than Vista?

Today on October 22nd of 2009, Microsoft released their new computer operating system. The new Windows 7 takes all the problems of Vista, the previous software system, and removes them. Vista caused many problems for people and that led to a development of a new computer operating system they called Windows 7, supposedly better then the not so successful Vista. It is still a wonder if Windows will take on those technical bugs and stop them since this is the first day of release. Thanks to Vista, Microsoft can gain more cash for solving there customers problems and needs. "If consumers like the new Windows 7 operating system, they'll have the much-maligned Windows Vista to thank.", says CNN. "Until Vista, Microsoft was fully thinking on their own and implementing their own ideas and then releasing it." Thankfully before shipping out a new product, they heard their customers problems and they decided to make a change. The product has been given good review so far, but who knows what might happen? Bugs and glitches can take time to show up and that can waste time, money, and electricity, which are all very important in today's economy. Many different changes have been added to the new software like less clutter on the desktop leaving room for more options. "The result is that Windows 7, in many cases, can boot up more quickly and go in and out of sleep in a matter of seconds." All in all Windows 7 seems successful so far.

The new Windows 7 seems to make me uneasy. I predict that some kind of bug will show up one day and prove to be as unreliable as the previous Vista. Microsoft changed their whole design, going for something newer, adding to the risk. I still look forward to buying the software and testing it out to see if my guess was correct. The quote, "Microsoft, too, still has room for improvement," added to my suspensions because it seemed like the company wasn't too sure if they were going to be successful with their new launch. Technically, a company should be confident in their work and hope for the best. You might say that it is just my opinion and you are probably right, but I have a feeling Windows 7 won't be worth all the hype. I wish the Microsoft company good luck with their productivity rates and let us see how things turn out. There past products have been outstanding and have helped many people complete their work, including me type this blog post with Windows Vista. An example of one problem Vista has is that when a family member tried to open a document from a flash-drive, the program did not regester in Vista and the memory on the flash-drive deleted. I hope Windows 7 is better than Vista for the sake of the company, and for myself. Look out for more coverage on the topic on their website-http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/. For now, keep learning fellow bloggers!

Link- http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/10/22/windows.seven/index.html