Reptiles Leopard Geckos

Part 1

When Joe checked the clock again, there were still several hours to go before his spaceship arrived at the Frontier space station. Joe was a little bored since his job for now was basically to fly straight, and then wake up the pilots of the next shift for approach and landing. At the moment, the instruments indicated a speed of 200 Mmps (our sci-fi unit, Million meters per second) AWAY FROM the sun. Joe seemed to remember that the speed of light was about 300 Mmps, but he forgot a lot of the stuff he learned in school. Then he thought: "300-200=100, so if I measured the speed of sun light, I should get a reading of 100Mmps. How clever I am!" Out of curiosity, Joe measured the speed of sun light, and got a reading of 300 Mmps relative to the spaceship. He was confused.

Several minutes later, another spaceship entered the communication range. Joe soon recognized that it's the ship his friend Peter flew. Peter was on his way home from the Frontier station, and his instruments indicated a speed of 200 Mmps TOWARDS the sun. Upon Joe's request, Peter also measured the speed of sun light, and he got a reading of 300 Mmps as well. Now Joe was even more confused.

After the flight, Joe talked with his friend Nicole, a physician (not physicist) in the Frontier station, about this puzzle in his mind. Nicole spent a few moments to think about it and said: "I know that you went to many different elementary schools since your family moved so often back then. And let me ask you a question: Did people teach you 1+1=2 in one school, and say that 1+1=2 is not true in another school?"

Joe: "Now this is confusing. What are you talking about?"

Nicole: "Alright, alright. I just thought some examples might help. Anyways, a special property of light is that regardless of how fast the observer is moving relative to the light source, the observer always observes the same speed of light*. And I think it's called the invariance of the speed of light."

Joe: "That's strange. But it sounds familiar."

Nicole: "I guess it is a little strange. As you told me, from our daily experiences and some simple arithmetic, you thought you would get a reading of 100Mmps, and you also thought Peter would get a reading of 500 Mmps."

Joe: "So what's wrong with our daily experiences?"

Nicole: "When you measured the speed, you actually measured a distance and a time. Then you divided the distance by the time and got the speed, right?"

Joe: "I guess that's what the instrument did."

Nicole: "But the measurements of time and lengths change with the observer's speed relative to the things to be measured. At a high relative speed, things look very different. For example, when Peter's ship passed by your ship, did you notice that his ship looked shorter compared to what we usually see at the terminal?"

Joe: "Yeah, his ship did look shorter. I thought that was just my illusion."

Nicole: "When the relative speeds are high, not too slow compared to the speed of light, these effects become noticeable. And under the circumstance, we can no longer use simple arithmetic to calculate the relative speeds. I thought they taught you these in the Space Academy."

Joe: "Uh... they probably did."

Nicole: "You better review your lessons if you still want to be a pilot. And I think I'll take someone else's ship home next time."

Part 2

Three days later, Joe and his ship were on the way back to the Earth Orbit Station. When his shift was done, he left the cockpit and went to the ship's lounge with his old text books. His off-duty colleague, Jill, was there, too. Joe wanted to have some coffee even though he is still not used to drinking coffee in a low gravity environment.

Joe: "Hey Jill, can you show me again how to use this coffee machine?"

Jill: "Just push that red button, but don't open the lid. We don't want to have coffee drops floating all over the place."

So Joe got some coffee and fixed himself on the wall close to a reading lamb.

Jill: "What are you reading?"

Joe: "Just our old textbooks. I am reading the part about Special Relativity. I guess I never really understood it, and it still doesn't make sense to me now. Wanna help me out?"

Jill: "Well, I haven't studied that part for a while, but I'll see what I still remember."

Joe: "That'll be great. Thanks."

Jill: "Let me see the book."

So she took a few minutes to scan through several pages, and said: "This chapter talks about the Maxwell's equations. I think the equations describe the behaviors of electric fields, magnetic fields, some relationships between them, and so on. The equations can also be used to describe how electromagnetic waves, such as light, traveling through space. On the other hand, do you still remember the term: invariance of the speed of light?"

Joe: "I think so. I just talked with Nicole about that a few days ago."

Jill: "Okay. Any particular part you want to review?"

Joe: "How about the Lorentz transformation."

Jill: "Let me think about how to explain this... Let's talk about the Galilean transformation first. For example, assume I am on a train going east at 200 km/h, and you are standing beside the tracks 4 km east of me. You and I are two different inertial reference systems. Assume at that moment, you see another train 3 km east of you, heading west at 150 km/h. Then you can conclude that, if I can see that train at that moment, I should see it 7 km east of me, moving at 350 km/h relative to me. Make sense?"

Joe: "Yeah."

Jill: "This is basically an example of the Galilean Transformation."

Joe: "This one is easier to understand."

Jill: "Galilean transformation and Lorentz transformation are two examples of reference system transformations. If you are reference system A, and I am reference system B, then a transformation between you and me basically describes the relationships between your measurements and mine. So if you take some measurements from a physical event, and know the correct transformation between you and me, then you should be able to know what measurements I will get from the same event, just like the example I just mentioned."

Joe: "That makes sense."

Jill: "Now let's talk about conditions at high relative speeds. We are flying at 67% of the speed of light away from the Frontier station. If now we measure the properties of the navigation laser beam shot out from the Earth Orbit Station, such as its speed and wave length, do you think the measurements will be consistent with the Maxwell's equations and the invariance of the speed of light?"

Joe: "I believe so. Physics rules should work regardless of where we are."*

Jill: "I think so, too. By the way, do you know Mike, the engineer at the Frontier station? He is in charge of examining these navigation signals."

Joe: "Yeah, I know him, a boring guy."

Jill: "No he's not. Anyways, if you ask him to measure the properties of the same laser beam now, some of his measurements will be different from yours. The speed of light should be still the same, but the wave length he sees should be different. Anyways, do you think his measurements will be still consistent with the Maxwell's equations and the invariance of the speed of light?"

Joe: "Sure, I think any physics rules valid for me should be valid for others as well*. I am not so special in the universe."

Jill: "No offense but I think you are right. On the other hand, assume now you measured the laser beam and got a speed of 300 Mmps relative to our ship, and you also know that we are moving at 200 Mmps away from the Frontier station. If you apply the Galilean transformation in this case, you would expect Mike to see the laser beam traveling at 100 Mmps towards him. But then he will tell you: 'That's not right. It contradicts the results from the Maxwell's equations and the invariance of the speed of light.'"

Joe: "I guess that the Maxwell's equations and the invariance of the speed of light are still right, but the Galilean transformation is no longer valid in this high relative speed condition."

Jill: "I think that's right, and if Mike is really to measure the properties of that laser beam, his results should support this point."

Joe: "You haven't really talked about the Lorentz transformation."

Jill: "Okay, okay. Then the Lorantz transformation was derived. At a low relative speed, the Lorentz transformation works just like the Galilean transformation. But the Lorantz transformation is valid for both low and high speed conditions. If you want to predict Mike's measurements of that laser beam, use your measurements and the Lorentz transformation, and this time I believe he will tell you the prediction is consistent with both the physics rules and the measurements."

Joe: "Sounds good."

Jill: "Oh, do you remember last time there was an accident of a cargo ship, and the crew had to abandon the ship. The Frontier station issued a warning to all ships in that area. The warning message included the calculated trajectory of the abandoned ship relative to the Frontier station. I input the data into the Lorentz transformation computer along with my location and velocity relative to the Frontier station, and told the computer to detect the time reporting signals from the station. Then the computer came up with the trajectory of the abandoned ship relative to me. That was how I managed to stay away from that ship. Was your ship around that route as well?"

Joe: "Yeah... so that's the procedure I was supposed to follow?"

Jill: "What!? You didn't? I am going to tell Chief about this."

* This discussion is for inertial reference systems only.

Steve Wu

http://Toys-And-Things.com

Family: Rubiaceae
Genus: Calycophyllum
Species: spruceanum
Synonyms: Calycophyllum multiflorum, Eukylista spruceana

Common names: ashi, asho, capirona, capirona de bajo, capirona negra, corusicao, escorrega-macaco, firewood tree, mulateiro, mulateiro-da-vrzea, naked tree, palo mulato, pau-marfim, pau mulato, pau-mulato-da-vrzea, uhuachaunin, haxo, huiso asho, nahua

General Description: Mulateiro is a rainforest canopy tree. It produces small, white flowers from June to July. This species has the noted ability to completely shed and regenerate its bark on a yearly basis. This fascinating feature makes the bark a completely renewable resource. The bark has been used for generations in tribal medicines and rituals. The bark will also change color as the tree matures from a green tone to a brown tone.

This tree stands an average of 30 meters high with a tall, straight trunk. This has made it a valuable rainforest hardwood tree. Its genus, Calycophyllum, is small with only six species spread throughout tropical America, all of which are medium-sized trees.

Location: Mulateiro is indigenous to the Amazon basin in Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador and Peru. Often this rainforest tree is located by bodies of water because it can survive periodic flooding that is common in the area.

Uses: Besides a lumber source, Mulateiro is widely used in tribal and herbal medicines throughout Amazonia. It was used to treat cuts as well as used for anti-aging affects. It is used by Peruvian tribes as an antifungal medicine and to remove skin parasites such as the "sarna negra" bug. The bark contains a great deal of the chemical tannin, which is an astringent and has a drying effect. Recent studies are helping to prove this plant's chemicals having antifungal, antibacterial, and insecticidal activities.

Indigenous communities of the rainforest are not the only ones currently using Mulateiro. It has most recently been approved by the European Union and employed as an ingredient in cosmetics. It can currently be found in lotions where it is mixed with Acai and Rosewood and as an extract to soothe skin.

Disclaimer: The statements contained herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.

Any reference to medicinal use is not intended to treat, cure, mitigate or prevent any disease.

Tony Mandarich

What a great way to make a science project to learn how to create crystals.

A quick and beautiful crystal formation can be processed with a few simple items. If you want to prepare this science experiment you will need to go shopping for the following items or look for some of the pieces in your home.

You will need the following:

• 1 tall glass jar with a wide mouth. If you have a canning glass jar this would work well.
• Boiling water
• Copper sulfate (you can get this at a store that has agriculture products as this chemical is used for herbicide and fungicide. It usually is sold in a 50 pound large bag but you can explain to the sales person you are using it for a school science project and they probably sell you a small amount such as pound)
• A pipe cleaner
• A string about 1 to 2 feet long.
• A pencil
• Rubber gloves

1. Put your gloves on and take the pipe cleaner and form a circle and twist the ends together forming a circle.
2. Take the string and attach the end of the string to the circle of the pipe cleaner.
3. Squeeze the pipe cleaner slightly and twist a few times to create a different shape.
4. Set your glass jar on the counter and place some newspaper underneath to avoid spills.
5. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of copper sulfate into the jar.
6. Pour about cup boiling water into the jar and stir well with a spoon.
7. Add another heaping tablespoon of the chemical and another cup boil water. Do this until the jar is at least 2/3 full or almost full.
8. After the water is all in you may add 1 more spoonful of copper sulfate and stir until dissolved.
9. Tie the other end of the string to the pencil with the pipe cleaner tied to the opposing end. Make sure it is short enough so that the pipe cleaner can hang suspended in the center of the jar of water and the pencil will sit on top of the jar.
10. Lower the pipe cleaner into the hot water and lay the pencil horizontal on top of the glass jar.
11. Leave the jar alone for 24 hours.

In one day get the jar and remove the pencil from the water. You should see a beautiful dark blue crystal formed on the pipe cleaner. Depending on the amount of copper sulfate in the liquid will depend on the amount of crystal formed. Of course, a large amount means a large crystal and a small amount should be smaller crystals.

You can discard the liquid in a safe place. You may want a parent to dispose of it. Do not pour it down the sink.

Get more science project ideas and easy science projects at http://scienceprojects.fetching.us

Lesa Bolt is a contributor to science projects.

Cheetahs history as pets can be dated back to the Ancient Egyptian civilization. Scientifically classified as Acinonyx Jubatus, they were initially used for hunting, since they are fastest of the wild cats and all the animals within the animal kingdom. Unlike other cats they aren't good at climbing trees. They can accelerate from zero mph to seventy mph within a mere three seconds. The cheetah's body length ranges from forty five to fifty five inches and they usually weigh between ninety to one hundred and forty pounds.

Contemporary scientific studies show that they originated in Africa, but can be found in other parts of the world such as Central Asia and Iran. Their bodies are elongated with a small head and narrow waist, which facilitates the aerodynamics for their great speed. Cheetahs have semi-retractable, blunt claws that help them to get good grip during fast pursuits. The color of their coarse fur is tan and has small black spots. A rare cheetah, referred to as the King Cheetah is larger in size than other cheetahs and has big merging spots. Its thirty three inch long tail that is encircled with five to six black circles helps the King Cheetah to take sharp turns, since the tail acts like a rudder. The black lines which start from their eyes and run along the sides of the nose towards the mouth are called tear marks. These black lines enable King Cheetahs to see long distances and minimize the glare of the sun.

Cheetahs are usually trained very easily and they can also be very affectionate animals. They can make noises like a chirp, yowl, yip, growl and hiss. When they purr it can be deafening. Though they can make many sounds, they do not have the ability to roar like other big cats and they are also diurnal, where as other wild big cats are nocturnal. They are carnivorous animals that hunt for small mammals and young ones of larger mammals. Cheetahs typically hunt when it isnt hot, during dawn or dusk. They also do not go after animals which they cannot get hold of easily and they dont hunt by smell, but by vision. Nearly fifty percent of their hunting attempts end in failure since they give up fast. Scientists think one of the reasons they do give up the hunt quickly is the immense heat which they generate while running, which can be serious health problem for the animal. They rest for at least one half hour after an intense chase. They also have the ability to make the sounds of some birds, in order to lure and catch them.

Cheetahs always search for an animal which has strayed from the herd. It chases the animal and then trips it. After the animal falls, the cheetah suffocates the animal by biting underneath the throat, since it does not have the strength to break the neck. For reasons unknown they do not hunt weak and old animals. During high speed chases, cheetahs get adequate oxygen with the help of their big nostrils. They also have enlarged hearts and lungs which utilize the oxygen they intake, at maximum efficiency, by increasing their respiratory rate while running.

Cheetahs are also an endangered species. Many organizations and acts have been established to conserve them. One of the reasons for their endangerment is that they are environmentally sensitive and are most vulnerable when held in captivity; they should be provided with their natural habitat. Studies have proven that there is a lack of genetic diversity in cheetahs that are held in captivity. They dont reproduce regularly like other felines and their lifespan decreases, so their rate of survival is low. In residential areas, they have been killed by farmers on a large scale to protect cattle. Such farmers are now being provided with dogs that can guard the livestock and scare away the wild cheetah. It has also being hunted for its fur.

To obtain a permit to keep cheetahs as pets is very difficult for individual owners and also for big zoos. People who have a love for cheetahs but cannot get permission to own them can always donate generously to conserve the species.

Art Taylor has been a successful internet marketer for 10 years. He publishes general articles about various topics, credit cards and other internet marketplace products and services. Visit his website at OnlyTheBestProducts