School For Independent Learners

One of the more directly applicable units in math is the idea of interpreting data and then presenting it in the proper graphical form. We’re introduced to scatterplots, histograms, pie charts, line graphs, among a plethora of others, but which one should be used given a particular set of data? The graphic below gives us a good idea!

Researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have genetically engineered a bacteria to take in carbon dioxide gas and produce isobutanol, an organic solvent currently used as an additive in paints and varnishes, but also holds potential as a fuel. The modified cyanobacteria is powered by photosynthesis, making it literally cutting edge “green” technology.

As one might imagine, the applications of Synechococcus elongatus are quite staggering, especially given our current trend towards green technology, and is perhaps the most direct path from carbon dioxide to a usable fuel yet. Current methods involve biodiesel and other fuels obtained from algae, oils, and other sources, requiring several intermediate steps before a consumable fuel is obtained.

The process of engineering the bacteria is described below:

Using the cyanobacterium Synechoccus elongatus, researchers first genetically increased the quantity of the carbon dioxide-fixing enzyme RuBisCO. Then they spliced genes from other microorganisms to engineer a strain that intakes carbon dioxide and sunlight and produces isobutyraldehyde gas. The low boiling point and high vapor pressure of the gas allows it to easily be stripped from the system.

Read the full article at Science Daily.

One of the mythical functions of mathematical lore is the ubiquitous y=e^x, with broad-reaching applications well beyond the realm of high school mathematics. Here’s a simple, visual way to describe how e^x, and other exponential functions behave:

(if only my bank account would do that!)

[source]

If you think about it, coffee isn’t just a common beverage – it’s quite significant in many different academic fields, including economics, history, biology, health…

[via The Oatmeal]

Letters of Note is a collection of letters, telegrams, and other various forms of written communication that have found their way into a scanner and onto the internet. Typically written by celebrities or historical figures, the correspondences aren’t so much historically important as they are interesting; often times showing a previously undocumented or more intimate side of famous people that never made it into the history books.

The description for the letter shown above:

Here’s a 1924 telegram from then Chief of U.S. Naval Operations, Edward W. Eberle, instructing all Naval stations to monitor the airwaves for any unusual transmissions due to anticipated contact from Martians. August 22nd of that year was witness to the closest Mars opposition since 1804 (a mere 55,777,566 km), and as such provided desirable conditions in which to receive radio signals from the Red Planet. The man tasked with clearing the airwaves – a Professor David Todd – somehow managed to persuade both the Army and Navy to report any findings for a three day period, but failed to silence the country’s private radio broadcasters for even two days. Needless to say, the three day exercise produced nothing but static.

Visit the Letters of Note blog HERE

The immense particle accelerator that will allegedly annihilate the universe continues to experience technical difficulties – first was a coolant leak that destroyed some giant magnets, then some additional safety measures were put in place, then Tom Hanks had to track down the secret organization that stole some antimatter, but all those seem to be flights of trivial fancy when compared to the havoc wreaked by a bird and its tasty baguette lunch. Apparently the bird bit off a more than it could pinch between its toothless beak and dropped some baguette-bits onto external portions of the LHC, causing severe overheating and subsequent shutdown.

An inspired commentator had this to say:

Well, CERN doesn’t consider a small bird to be any threat, or they’d have a tighter defense. An analysis of the plans provided by Princess Leia has demonstrated a weakness in the LHC. But the approach will not be easy. You are required to maneuver straight down this trench and skim the surface to this point. The target area is only two meters wide. It’s a small thermal exhaust port, right below the main port. The shaft leads directly to the reactor system. A precise hit will start a chain reaction which should destroy the collider. Only a precise hit will set off a chain reaction. The shaft is ray-shielded, so you’ll have to use baguette slices.

[PopSci via The Register]

When you shine a laser perpendicularly through a prism face, it bounces off the inside of the opposite face, coming out perpendicularly to the third face. That much most of us have already seen, but what happens when you attach a second prism to make a rhomboid?

Magic!

This particular video also demonstrates that the idea of “transparency” isn’t just what our eyes can see – it’s whatever allows an electromagnetic wave through, whether it be visible light, gamma rays, or microwaves…

Sixty Symbols is a collection of YouTube videos made by experts at the University of Nottingham about the often-overlooked subtleties of physics and astronomy. Anyone want to let us borrow their microwave gun?

Once in a blue sun? NASA’s “Astronomy Picture of the Day” frequently has some amazing shots of the sky, space, and various celestial bodies that capture the imagination and inspire a universal sense of being in all of us – here’s a great example of one. Photo credit to Alan Friedman.

The description from the page:

Explanation: Our Sun may look like all soft and fluffy, but it’s not. Our Sun is an extremely large ball of bubbling hot gas, mostly hydrogen gas. The above picture of our Sun was taken last month in a specific red color of light emitted by hydrogen gas called Hydrogen-alpha and then color inverted to appear blue. In this light, details of the Sun’s chromosphere are particularly visible, highlighting numerous thin tubes of magnetically-confined hot gas known as spicules rising from the Sun like bristles from a shag carpet. Our Sun glows because it is hot, but it is not on fire. Fire is the rapid acquisition of oxygen, and there is very little oxygen on the Sun. The energy source of our Sun is the nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium deep within its core. No sunspots or large active regions were visible on the Sun this day, although some solar prominences are visible around the edges.

Check out NASA’s other picture of the days here!

The editor of education hub SmartBean recently visited our school to do a piece on our establishment and the work we do – many thanks to SmartBean for a well-written and well-researched article!

Check it out here!

Might be a bit tough to pull off in our cubicles, though!