Song lyrics you just Can't Get out of your Head...

To quote a famous song, Kylie Minogue's Can't Get You Out of My Head to be precise, there are just some song lyrics that you just can't get out of your head. They just play and replay over and over. Scientists call this phenomena an 'ear worm' (sometimes called involuntary musical imagery)- it can last for minutes or sometimes hours. They say these can be triggered through a whole number of ways, from stress to simply recalling a memory where perhaps the song was last played. Polls across the internet name Kylie, Adele, Abba and Queen as some of the worst offenders. A scientist called James Kellaris conducted research which found that up to 98% of individuals experience earworms  although they tend to last longer in women and are more irritating! Although we might see these as intrusions, songwriters love them because after all, it's what makes us buy the record!

Kylie Minogue one of the worst ear worm offenders performing on her Aphrodite Tour
in 2010

What Altitude Can You See the Curvature of Earth?

From Felix Baumgartner's daredevil skydive to teddy bears we've sent into space we're all familiar with the Earth's characteristic curvature. 100km from the Earth's surface is usually taken as where space begins - but Felix's jump was at around 24 miles (39 km), well under the height that space is considered to begin. So the answer is - no one really knows! Although passengers on board Concorde did see the curvature of Earth at altitudes of about 60,000ft. Although this gives a pretty clear indication of the figures, this can be distorted by plane windows for example. Because of this debate, research has taken place to determine the real figures. After much deliberation the real altitude is around 35,000 ft  - so next time you take a plane ride see if you can see the curvature of Earth! 

Follow the rest of my #SummerofScience and me on Twitter @Sci_Sparks. Don’t forget to download my charity eBook, Science Bites: A Short Tour of the Universe HERE. 

#SummerofScience 

What would happen if an asteroid hit our Moon?

Most asteroids are small and slow enough that they just hit the Moon to create a new crater. Even the largest asteroid, Ceres - with  a diameter of 975km (605 miles) wouldn't cause lasting damage. On the other hand, it would cause a spectacular explosion that would be visible from Earth! To remotely displace or break up the moon, it would take an object of roughly the same size  - which won't happen!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Science-Bites-Short-Tour-Universe-ebook/dp/B00LHOXRO4

Follow the rest of my #SummerofScience and me on Twitter @Sci_Sparks. Don’t forget to download my charity eBook, Science Bites: A Short Tour of the Universe HERE. 

#SummerofScience 

Why do we get used to smells?

The city people out there, might wonder why the heck farmers get used to that "countryside" smell. Although our nervous system has evolved to become progressively less sensitive to a stimulus (in this case a smell). This enables us to concentrate more on the new sights/smells that might pose more of a "danger" to us. We also have what's called an olfactory memory that discards smells that we've experienced recently - so you don't notice the smell of your house when you come back from work, but it smells different when you come back from your holiday!

Follow the rest of my #SummerofScience and me on Twitter @Sci_Sparks. Don’t forget to download my charity eBook, Science Bites: A Short Tour of the Universe HERE.

#SummerofScience  

Science through the eyes of a 16 year old

I went to the Big Bang Fair Eastern, presenting my project - communicating the science of space and space travel. Although I didn't win anything, I came back to the amazing news that my eBook that I'd made free for the day had reached the top 100 in free science books. By the end of the night my eBook reached number 3 on free science books!

I absolutely love science communication - but many teenagers are put off by what they're taught in science lessons. I reckon this is partly due to the fact revision for the GCSE's always seems to become learning huge lists of bullet point information. To a lot of teenagers - they often don't know or understand the point of what they learn.

So what can be done?? In my opinion it's about getting teenagers and school aged children to see beyond the classroom which what I've tried to address with my eBook, Science Bites. I've covered many topics that you do in school up until GCSE level - I've then adapted them to make it fun for people of all ages to read, you can download my eBook here - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Science-Bites-Short-Tour-Universe-ebook/dp/B00LHOXRO4. 

Follow the rest of my #SummerofScience and me on Twitter @Sci_Sparks. Don’t forget to download my charity eBook, Science Bites: A Short Tour of the Universe HERE. 

What would wi-fi look like if we could see it?

How do we know what the Milky Way looks like?

You're right, it's really difficult to deduce the shape of the Milky Way, the main reason of course being that we're in it! On the other hand, astronomers can map the distribution of the stars and motion of them really easily. This research indicates that we're orbiting a 'central bulge' , this means the planets and stars are distributed along a thin plane. The most convincing evidence for the structure of the Milky Way comes from the studies of gas clouds - here they measure the velocities and positions of these clouds. So although we know we have spiral clouds - we have no idea how many spiral arms there are!

Follow the rest of my #SummerofScience and me on Twitter @Sci_Sparks. Don’t forget to download my charity eBook, Science Bites: A Short Tour of the Universe HERE. 

Making Straw Rockets!

Over Space Week, I made Straw Rockets with year 7's who absolutely loved them, so I thought I would share with you how to make them! 

 1. This is all the equipment you'll need.

- Paper (I used lined just because it's easier to cut in  a straight line, but use any paper you like. Some people where using card which is okay, but difficult to roll)

- Post it Notes These just make it really easy to make the fins with as it's manipulatively VERY easy.

- Scissors

-A Straw (it's not shown in the picture as I don't have any)

- A pen (or wooden pencil) to roll your straw rocket around

2. Cut the ripped bit of the paper off if it's from a notepad :)

3. Cut a strip of paper, about the width of your little finger. The length isn't too important, just make sure it's not too short! If necessary you might need to chop it down. Get your pen ready as I've shown in the picture. 

4. Have the paper at an angle then begin to roll it around you pen/pencil. Make sure it's not too tight. Once you've reached the end of the pen/pencil and if you have paper left over then chop the excess off. 

5. Add sticky tape in three places ; each end and the middle. This should keep things secure. 

6. If you take it off the pen/pencil, at one end you should be looking at something like the picture. 

7. Pinch the end and fold over the triangle, then secure it with sticky tape. 

 8. Get 3 of the Post it Notes ready.

9. Fold them in half diagonally, then cut it. This should leave you with three right angled triangles with one of the shorter sides all sticky. 

10. If you've made your rocket quite small then you might want to cut down the size of the fins, do this by cutting down the longest side of the triangle. 

11. Stick each of the fins on so it should look something like the picture. It's easiest to do this with the pen/pencil still in place. 

12. The post it notes may not be too secure, if that's the case then secure it with a piece of sticky tape. 

13. Your finished! Feel free to decorate it! You can either use it as you would a paper rocket/plane or put a straw in then blow into the straw to launch it! 

Keep following my updates on #SummerofScience (@Sci_Sparks) and download my charity kindle book - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Science-Bites-Short-Tour-Universe-ebook/dp/B00LHOXRO4

http://howsciworks.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/summer-of-science.htm

An Athlete's Diet...

We've been launched into the days of continuous health warnings, from not drinking too much fruit juice to too much salt. The Commonwealth games start tomorrow - but what do athletes really eat?

Food means different things to different people. Although to athletes, it means fuel - essential for exceptional athletic performance. It's surprising the amount of variety and quantity of food they actually need. Even Wimbledon Champion, Andy Murray recently revealed that his girlfriend, Kim Sears, cooks him chicken, salmon or steak during the Wimbledon championships, so really, athletes aren't that restricted.

Anyone who followed Mo Farah's astonishing performance at London 2012 - probably didn't realize the secret of his success; consuming as many as 12,000 calories a day. Of course, most of us only need somewhere in the region of 1,600 to 3,000 calories. However, combined with training and the races themselves Mo Farah burned the 12,000 calories through blistering down the track at lightning pace.

It's not just swimmers for example that pound pancakes and pasta before competition, cyclists, marathon runners and rowers also have huge amounts of carbohydrates before competition - all in an effort to fuel their super intense continuous activity.

Although athletes follow their own specific routine, surprisingly wrestlers don't eat much before competition - they're at the completely opposite end of a pretty broad spectrum. So overall - what the athletes eat depends on their sport, even within sports, male an female athletes may eat very different amounts.

Prince George turns 1 today, so the members of the Royal family will be gathering at Kensington Palace - Happy Birthday George! Follow the rest of my #SummerofScience and me on Twitter @Sci_Sparks. Don’t forget to download my charity eBook, Science Bites: A Short Tour of the Universe HERE. 

#SummerofScience Day 5

The Great British Weather - Thunderstorms!

It's fair to say Britain isn't best known for its excellent weather and roaring sunshine. Over the past week or so, we haven't been far off the roaring sunshine - it's just it's quickly followed with rather dramatic thunderstorms! Thunder causes lightning - this is essentially a stream of electrons flowing either between clouds or from a cloud to the ground. The air surrounding this electron stream is heated to around 50,000 degrees Farhenheit. It's a staggering three times hotter than the surface of the sun. When the lightning is within our sight, we see it first as the speed of sound in air is considerably slower that that of the electron flow. The light from the flash reaches us in a fraction of a second, whereas the sound lags along like a snail following an interplanetary rocket.

Follow the rest of my #SummerofScience and me on Twitter @Sci_Sparks. Don’t forget to download my charity eBook, Science Bites: A Short Tour of the Universe HERE. 

Summer of Science

Over my summer holidays, I'll be posting an article every day (starting from  tomorrow)  on here about all things science - so keep an eye on my blog!

Also take a look at my eBook that's currently on the kindle store- Science Bites : A Short Tour of the Universe. It's a charity eBook, so all the profits (around 50p per eBook sold) go to Keech Hospice. (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Science-Bites-Short-Tour-Universe-ebook/dp/B00LHOXRO4) It's sold around 140 copies, I now just need feedback and more sales! :)

Here, I'll be adding links to all of the posts, although please  be aware these might be a couple of days behind! :)


Follow me on Twitter @Sci_Sparks


#SummerofScience 

Does your brain shink with age?

It actually does, aged 80 your brain typically weighs 15% less than it did when you were 20. Neurones aren't normally replaced with minor damage also, your neurones get less effective with age too. This is one of the consequences of our extended lifespan, like arthritis and cancer. But studies have shown that if you remain physically active in your seventies then brain shrinkage slows down!
 

Why is yawning contagious?

As promised... here is my #WeekofScience post 4 of 7.

Take a look at this video - see if the chimps can make you yawn!

To many people's surpise yawning becomes contagious around age 4, if you have autism yawning is less likely to be contagious for you. If you watch somebody yawn or sometimes even read about yawning it can be impossible to resist, a new study now offers an answer as to why yawning is so contagious.
Scientists say that yawning might eventually help doctors diagnose developmental disorders and it could allow us to gain a better understanding into how people communicate and connect.
A graduate student in clinical psychology has done  a study at the University of Connecticut said her inspiration for the study came when she tried to get her own autistic son to clear his ears on an aeroplane. She repeatedly yawned at him hoping he would yawn back and he never did.

Foetuses begin yawning in the womb as early as 11 weeks old. For reasons scientists still can't explain, spontaneous yawning continues throughout life. (Studies have shot down theories about yawning to bring in more oxygen.) In fact, all vertebrates yawn, including snakes and lizards.

Contagious yawning is a different story. Only humans, chimpanzees and possibly dogs have been shown to do it.
Like contagious laughter and contagious crying, scientists have theorized that contagious yawning is a shared experience that promotes social bonding. Specifically, the founder of the study said that it could diffuse stress after a period of being on high alert and spread a feeling of calm through a group.

Waves have been detected on Titan's surface

Researchers believe they have detected the first liquid waves on the surface of another world. Cameras have shown isolated ripples in a sea called "Pugna Mare" on the surface of Saturn's moon, Titan.

However these seas aren't filled with water but with various hydrocarbons like methane and ethane. On Titan they exist in their liquid state, where the surface temperature averages about -180C

Scientists view Titan as kind of like a looking-glass version of Earth with a substantial atmosphere and a seasonal cycle. Wind and rain shape the surface to form river channels, seas, dunes and shorelines. You could say that it's like our moon combined with some features from Earth.

The vast majority of Titan's lakes and seas are concentrated around the north polar region. Just one of these bodies of liquid - Ligeia Mare - is estimated to contain about 9,000 cubic km of mostly liquid methane, equating to about 40 times the proven reserves of oil and gas on Earth.

• It is the only moon in the Solar System with clouds and a substantial atmosphere
• Titan is Saturn's largest moon and the second biggest in the Solar System
• Wind and rain create similar features to those found on Earth, such as dunes, lakes and rivers
• But on Titan it rains liquid methane, filling the rivers, lakes and seas with hydrocarbons (molecules made up of just hydrogen and oxygen)