We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.

Aesop



Random Acts of Science

What this world needs are a few more random acts of science in the world. Hehe. In fact, I would like to see more science in the media! (you do see the play on words here, right?) Below you will find random bits of scientific knowledge that I have found interesting, and that you might as well.

This Periodic Table is Awsome! I wish I had it when I was in college.

Periodic Table of the Elements

H He
Li Be B C N O F Ne
Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar
K Ca Sc Ti V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn Ga Ge As Se Br Kr
Rb Sr Y Zr Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd In Sn Sb Te I Xe
Cs Ba La Hf Ta W Re Os Ir Pt Au Hg Tl Pb Bi Po At Rn
Fr Ra Ac Unq Unp Unh Uns Uno Une
Ce Pr Nd Pm Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lu
Th Pa U Np Pu Am Cm Bk Cf Es Fm Md No Lr
Name Number Weight
Melts Boils

Legend
Metals A solid substance that is a good conductor of heat and electricity. Can be formed into many shapes.
Metalloid "Middle elements" - conduct heat and electricity better than nonmetals, but not as well as metals. Easier to shape than nonmetals, but not as easy as metals. Solid at room temperature.
Nonmetals A poor conductor of heat and electricity. Not easily formed into shapes.

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The Linnean Taxonomic Hierarchy

Ever wonder how we classify so many plants and animals? The order is determined by going from generalities (it's a mammel) to specifics (It's a wolf). I always thought the classification system was easy and fun. Just remember to do it in the following order:

  • Kingdom: (plant, animal, mineral)
  • Phylum: (the most basic body structure is the same, such as vertebrates)
  • Class: (like Kingdom, but starting to get picky: mammals that eat meat, mammals that eat plants, plants that eat meat)
  • Order: (specific type of plant, animal or mineral that can still be broken into smaller groups: horses, butterflies, whales)
  • Family: (even pickier than Order, often involves time-line: dog, cat, man)
  • Genus: (even picker than Family: domesticated dog, wolf)
  • Species: (smallest basic unit: Siberian Tiger, Modern Man, Doberman)
Or, if you cannot remember: King Phillip Came Over From Germany Saturday. (Its a mnemonic thing.)

So, Let's say you are trying to figure out how to classify a gray wolf...You would classify as follows:

Kingdom Animalia (all animals)
Phylum Chordata
(animals with notochords)
Subphylum Vertebrata
(animals with a skeleton of bone or cartilage)
Class Mammalia (mammals)
Order Carnivora (carnivores)
Family Canidae (dog family)
Genus Canis (dogs)
Species lupus (wolves)

The gray wolf's scientific name is Canis lupus.

Did'ja ever wonder what the types of clouds were? There are the low, medium, and high levels all cleverly depicting where they are located in the atmosphere. (gasp!) I love cloud watching, animal shapes aside, and I also like knowing what weather these clouds bring.

High-Level Clouds

  • cirrus: Ahhh. Fair weather is usually signalled by these whisps of smoke. These clouds only cruise in heights over 20,000 miles and are therefore mostly ice crystals.
  • cirrostratus: It's amazing how see-through several thousand feet of cloud can be, but there ya go. These clouds are so clear you normally only see them as the ring or halo about the moon.
Mid-Level Clouds
  • altocumulus: Ooooh, these cottage cheese looking clouds come in clumps and groups, ever single clouds. They come before a High pressure system and in the summer generally signify rain is ahead.
  • altostratus: These are like looking at the sun through wax paper or frosted glass. Can signal rain ahead, so check the weather report.
Low-Level Clouds
  • nimbostratus: Thick dense fog like clouds, these are generally full of rain or snow. I always get the sense that these are sitting on the ground. Thunderboomers can come from these.
  • stratocumulus: If ya live in Indiana, these cover the sky all winter. Low and thick like wool, if you are lucky they will break and let the sun shine through. May or may not rain.
Other types of clouds
  • fair weather cumulus: cotton candy in the sky! At least, that is what they look like to me. About mid level, but if too many gather they can turn into a storm.
  • cumulonimbus: These are your standard super cell types. Big, tough and UGLY. Picture tens of thousands of feet of pure wind, ice, rain and tornados. Impressive...from a far distance.
  • mammatus: Look rather like a overstuffed quilt. You tend to find the after a large thunderstorm, and are rather rare actually.
  • contrails: Airplane exhaust tends to produce these, and have been known to cause major changes in weather patterns since they tend to act as a cloud magnet.
  • pileus clouds: If the cumulonibus is the king of storms, this is his crown. You can also find this smooth looking cloud hanging out about mountains, but most of us see it at the top of a super cell.

When you eat a strawberry, do you realize that you are watching evolution in action? Most people can remember seeing the small wild strawberries found wherever birds (mostly thrushes) tend to forage as kids, and we adults know about buying the large berries in the market. So why do we have these different sizes? The small size of the wild berry was the normal size of the berries for the past however-many-thousands of years until humans figured out to put nets over the strawberry fields. Once we did that, we could select for bigger berries and forced the plants to adapt to us instead of birds. Now over time we have berries to chew on and we can leave the small wild ones to the birds. Just something to think about the next time strawberry season rolls around.

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