Happy Christmas! #SciSparksAdvent Day 25

Here's the last installment of my advent calendar for this year, I hope you are all having an amazing Christmas, while you are all tucking into your Christmas dinner here's some of the science behind Rudolph the Red nosed Reindeer.

How did Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer get his red nose?

In 1939 an illustrator and author of children's books Robert May created the character of Rudolph (sorry kids!!) which  became an instant hit, in the decades to come Rudolph had a song, TV special, all of which cemented him in Christmas tradition. Although it's not all TV, Reindeer's do in fact have red noses!

To many people's surprise this has actually been researched and the results have actually been published in a science journal. There are  many reasons why this is the case, one of which being that they have densely packed blood vessels in their nose near the skin's surface. This in fact, is what scientists call "nasal microcirculation". Every Christmas Eve Rudolph pulls Santa's sleigh through every climate - so this kind of circulation is essential for all kinds of extreme temperatures. The tiny blood cells which are known as micro-vessels in the nose which mean the reindeer can control the amount of oxygen delivered and inflammation, as well as regulating temperature. Scientists even used infrared thermal imaging to show that reindeers really do have red noses!

Merry Christmas!! :)

SANTA DOES EXIST! #SciSparksAdvent Day 24

Christmas Eve really wouldn't be the same without Santa, but here's why Santa definitely DOES exist!

Let's assume that all 2.2 billion people are both "nice" and they all want a "typical" toy off of somewhere like Amazon. So if each toy weighs around 200g that means Santa would be hauling 500,000 tonnes of toys. So Santa stays up for around 36 hours in a row all in the same red coat, all in complete extremes of temperature, in some parts of Russia it can reach below -50 degrees Fahrenheit and as much as 70 degrees Fahrenheit in Dubai. But that doesn't make it impossible - even though Santa has one of the most dangerous jobs in the world!....

Post of the Year #SciSparksAdvent Day 23

Here is my most viewed post of all time on my blog!

Albert Einstein pencil sketch
 that I have drawn

"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them"

 ~ Albert Einstein 

The German born physicist Albert Einstein was born on March 14th 1879 in Württemberg, six weeks after his birth he moved to Munich, where he later on began his schooling at Luitpold Gymnasium. As a child he enjoyed classical music and even played the violin. 

One story that Einstein enjoyed telling about his childhood was of a wonder that he saw when he was about four or five years old: a magnetic compass. Okay this may not seem much with today's technology but the compasses needle's northward swing, guided by an invisible force fascinated Einstein, this wonder could even have been what inspired him to bigger and better things in his adulthood. 

In 1896 he entered the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich where he trained as a teacher in physics and maths. Later, in 1901 he gained a diploma which went on to earn him a Swiss Citizenship. Unfortunately he was unable to find a teaching post so he accepted a position as a technical assistant in the Swiss Patent Office. This led him to work towards a doctor's degree in 1905. 

During his time at the Swiss Patent office, and his spare time he produced a lot of his remarkable work including his famous equation. He also became 'Professor Extraordinary' at Zurich. In 1911 he became 'Professor of Theoretical Physics' at Prague. When he returned to Zurich he was appointed Director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Physical Institute and a Professor at the University of Berlin. 

When anyone mentions Einstein, his famous equation - E= mc squared is probably one of the first things to jump into your head, but what does it mean? 

This famous equation pops up everywhere, it even appears as the title of one of Mariah Carey's 2008 albums. For starters the 'E' part of the equation stands for energy and the "M" mass (which is a measurement of the quantity of matter inside something). The C squared  part of the equation stands for the speed of light squared. The whole equation breaks down into this: Energy is equal to matter multiplied by the speed of light squared. 

The speed of light is a colossal number, illustrating just how much energy there is in just a tiny amount of water. One common example that physicists use is just 1 gram of water (1 ml). If the entire mass of the water (1 gram) was converted into pure energy using Einstein's equation, then the water could contain as much energy as 20,000 tons of TNT (which is an explosive) exploding. This is why such a small amount of Uranium or Plutonium can create such disastrous effects, such as the 1986 Chernobyl disaster where one of four nuclear reactors at the Chernobyl power station exploded. 

Einstein's equation does actually have relevance to twenty first century science. Einstein has provided, via his equation, a huge advancement in various fields of science including nuclear power. He has also allowed us to discover more about the inner workings of the Sun. This equation has shown us the relationship between Energy, matter and the speed of light like we have never before and this could well help us research into other areas of science in the future. 

10 tips to beat the new year sales! #SciSparksAdvent Day 22

Now is the time of year where billions are spent on buying that perfect Christmas present - but the only trouble is, how do you beat the crowds?? Many psychologists have actually published in research journals all to help you beat the crowds and bag the best bargains - or at least the stuff you actually want to buy!

1. Choose the right time
2. Read reviews
3. Don't be fooled by the packaging!
4. Leave the real world - shop online!
5. Shop around
6. Shop by yourself not in a group - you are less likely to be influenced!
7. Do your maths! Discounts can be deceptive!
8. Don't be controlled by the shop
9. Don't be a hoarder.... :)
10. Don't even bother - it's Christmas after all!!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas trees are home to tarantulas.. Part 2 #SciSparksAdvent Day 21

Before I go any further I'll make it clear that there will be no tarantulas scuttling around your home... :)
Far south of Siberia - tarantulas and Christmas trees go together like bread and butter. In North Carolina some 1,645 meters above ground level the spruce trees are home to the smallest and tiniest tarantulas, the spruce-fir moss spider. They even say that too much sun will dry the spiders out- the spiders are small, only about a quarter of a centimeter in length and also endangered, on one mountain in North Carolina they're only found on a single rock - but these spiders do absolutely no harm - the Christmas trees act as their home, without them these spiders would be extinct. 

Things you never knew about Christmas Trees... Part 1 #SciSparksAdvent Day 20

Every year millions of people across the UK gather round Christmas trees - fake or real to celebrate the festive period. Although what people don't realize is how incredible your Christmas tree actually is.These evergreen conifers can survive drastic changes in temperatures and even create there own ecosystem housing the most unique of creatures. So here's an insight into the tough life of the Christmas tree.

• Christmas trees can turn into glass

In this sense we talk about glass as the structure of the molecules inside the tissue of the tree - really its a solid without a crystalline structure (P.S don't try this at home) but if you drop a sprig into liquid nitrogen at a temperature of -196 degrees C and providing you've chilled the plant to -20C beforehand the sprig will survive. For example the Siberian Spruce 'lives' where winter temperatures regularly get down below -60C so it's adapted to survive. 

Basically once the molecules are in this glassy state they can't move around - so they can't react. This means that they're basically pre frozen so the tree's metabolism drops to nothing so the cells can't be damaged by the extreme cold. When the winter approaches trees also pull water from their cells into their surrounding tissue so the swelling of the ice crystals don't burst the cell walls. 

Friday, 19 December 2014

What country shops online the most? #SciSparksAdvent Day 19

Number 1 - The UK...

It may come as a suprise but over 60% of adults shop online spending over £68bn. These figures are the most up to date as they've come from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published in 2012. The UK is over double the OECD average - and second is actually Denmark where 53% of people shop online. In third and fourth come Germany and France respectively. 

Thursday, 18 December 2014

3D Printing in Space #SciSparksAdvent Day 18

NASA scientists have managed to use a 3D Printer to make a spanner in space all from instructions sent up by email to the International Space Station. This marks the first time that this has ever been achieved, it happened because NASA were responding to a request from Barry Wilmore for a spanner. This even marks the first time a sequence of 21 prints were combined to make the first products manufactured off the surface of Earth. More objects were designed before the 3D printer and now have been shipped on a supply flight!

Wednesday, 17 December 2014

The Science of Chocolate #SciSparksAdvent Day 17

A considerable number of studies are in agreement that dark chocolate has pronounced health benefits—provided you eat it in moderation (one to two ounces is recommended by some researchers). The same cannot be said for milk chocolate, however. There's a big difference between your average chocolate bar and what could be referred to as "therapeutic" chocolate. To understand this better, here are some definitions:

• Cacao: Refers to the plant Theobroma cacao, cultivated for its seeds, known as cacao beans or cocoa beans. Cacao is naturally high in antioxidants and other natural compounds that are beneficial for cardiovascular health and weight management. In all, about 40 distinct health benefits3 have been linked to dark chocolate

• Cocoa: Refers to the powder made from roasted, husked, and ground cacao seeds, from which most of the fat has been removed • Cocoa butter: The fat component of the cacao seed

• Chocolate: The solid food or candy made from a preparation of cacao seeds (typically roasted). If the cacao seeds are not roasted, then you have "raw chocolate," which is also typically sweetened. Generally speaking, the darker the chocolate, the higher the antioxidant content. Milk chocolate has few if any health benefits, as it contains limited amounts of cacao Knowing the meaning of these terms is important, because if you think you're improving your health by eating typical milk chocolate candies, you're fooling yourself.

Cocoa and cacao is typically quite bitter and rarely fancied by self-proclaimed chocolate lovers who are really craving sugar added to most chocolate bars and candy.

That said, certain types of dark chocolate, as well as raw cocoa powder and cacao, are powerful superfoods, ranking among the most anti-inflammatory and antioxidant-rich foods known to mankind. Interestingly, recent research has shed new light on the mechanism that makes cocoa powder (and dark chocolate) so beneficial for your heart and blood vessels. These benefits, it turns out, are largely dependent on the action of beneficial bacteria in your gut.

from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/12/08/gut-microbes-make-dark-chocolate-healthy.aspx