I am reading an article from Nature about the geomagnetic reversal. Apparently, there looks to be a correlation between the cooling and solidifying of the Earth's inner core and the polarity reversals. The article is not very specific. It is likely that as the inner core solidifies a new layer, the planet's polarity reverses as a side effect. A nickel iron core could conceivably do this, in theory. But we also know that theory and reality are typically two different ball games. In science, the theoretical is merely the ideal situation and the ideal is rarely ever the reality - at least not exactly.
There was also mentioned the Cretaceous Normal Superchron [CNS] a long span of time when there were no reversals. Why this is the case, I do not know - but I believe comparing that time interval to times when reversals are normal might shed some light on the situation. It may even give us some clues about the cause of the reversals. Interestingly enough, the CNS ended around the same time as the K-T event. A possible correlation, perhaps?! Could a meteorite cause this no-reversal time to switch back to normal geomagnetic flip-flopping? If it was an iron asteroid, this would be likely. Like two magnets hitting each other. But what exactly started the CNS in the first place? Another previous iron asteroid meteorite - switching the field off?
Also, as I was skulking about on the Google Scholar site looking up solar forcing articles - I noticed one that said something about the reversals being correlated with glacial periods. Unfortunately, the article itself was not accessible - but I am hopeful that more are out there - maybe I can look at the references of that article and at least peruse the abstract. Just the info I was hoping for. Toodles!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
Incoming Asteroids and How to Deal with Them
An interesting conversation w a friend of mine turned to the likelihood of an asteroid hit at some point in the future. What we were talking about was the larger - world altering asteroids - say, one the size of New Jersey slamming into Earth.
What are we to do when this happens? Yes, I said when! This is NOT an if scenario - it is reality - it WILL happen at some time. If folks are so unconcerned about this - may I remind them that this DID happen about 65 million years ago - killing off the dinosaurs. It happened before that time, as well. Granted, we are still unsure about whether it was an asteroid or a comet - but the situation is almost the same and the outcome certainly is.
So, whether we're talking about a giant dirty snowball from hell - or a giant rock made of iron, quartz, or carbon - the end point is still the same - WIPEOUT. This is for those greedy bastards out there more concerned about their wallets and their little fantasy world that they prefer to live in - like the jackasses who so kindly helped evacuate New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina. Rules and laws are all very well - but they are there to protect people - NOT make it necessary for thousands of people to die - just for some politicians' laziness. And if I hear another religious nutter out there saying that God punished those poor folks for their sins - then I'll let them sit while a hurricane hits their sorry asses. Who died and made them God, anyway?!
OK, so what do we do about this situation when it becomes a reality? Well, how many nukes do we have? Yeah, yeah, I know they exist for one reason and one reason only - to kill our fellow humans with. My friend pointed this out by mentioning that all nukes on the planet are set to hit locations on this planet - not to go flying out into space to hit asteroids and comets. We need to alter their trajectories. It would also be nice to be able to make course corrections after launch if need be.
How exactly would this work? Well, it all depends on what is heading for Earth in the first place. If it is a comet - hitting it enough times to break it up into smaller fragments that will just burn up in the atmosphere - like a regular meteor shower.
With asteroids - this would be different. Iron and carbon asteroids would be a worse case scenario - because breaking them up would be realistically impossible. It would not matter how many nukes you hit it w directly - it won't be destroyed. Even silicate [quartz] meteorites might not break up w nukes - not into small enough fragments fast enough to avert catastrophe. It would be like trying to break a giant marble. Imagine a giant marble the size of New Jersey! By the time we see one of these puppies coming - we will not have years to break it up. Months maybe - if we are lucky. Weeks to days, more likely! Oh, and for those thinking that we could deal w a carbon asteroid - think again. Carbon asteroids are not just big charcoal brickettes - they're giant black diamonds. Think about it, folks - think real hard!
In the event that it is an asteroid - we will only have one course of action to take. The best way to deal w asteroids intent on crash landing in our back yard is to change their trajectory. If we can't move us out of its way - BAD IDEA even if we could do such a thing - then we have to MOVE THE ASTEROID so that it passes by without wreaking havoc on our home turf - we are the only ones allowed to do THAT. Anything we send to head off an asteroid would have to be done in such a way as to hit it from one side, so that its orbit is changed - enough to keep it from hitting Earth.
And we won't have time to take it up w Congress and the committees. Congress would have to ACT IMMEDIATELY! They'd likely say we can't afford to do this - then everyone dies because of their stupidity. We might want to think about educating those folks we put in office. It's apparent that their education is sorrowfully lacking - especially in common sense. Maybe the first order of business would be to force them all to take a good logic class - since that is where they need the most help. Common sense is definitely not every politician's strong suit - unfortunately for the rest of us who have to suffer for their lack. I am not speaking about all politicians - since there are a few - albeit only a few - who have enough upstairs to do what needs doing the right way when things like this come up. Unfortunately, they are in the minority - and I am not talking about majority/minority as in democrat/republican here. There are logical and intelligent guys and gals on Capitol Hill on both sides of the political divide - just not all that many compared to the ones who refuse outright to use the braincells they were born with.
With that being said, I will sign off...until next time...
What are we to do when this happens? Yes, I said when! This is NOT an if scenario - it is reality - it WILL happen at some time. If folks are so unconcerned about this - may I remind them that this DID happen about 65 million years ago - killing off the dinosaurs. It happened before that time, as well. Granted, we are still unsure about whether it was an asteroid or a comet - but the situation is almost the same and the outcome certainly is.
So, whether we're talking about a giant dirty snowball from hell - or a giant rock made of iron, quartz, or carbon - the end point is still the same - WIPEOUT. This is for those greedy bastards out there more concerned about their wallets and their little fantasy world that they prefer to live in - like the jackasses who so kindly helped evacuate New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina. Rules and laws are all very well - but they are there to protect people - NOT make it necessary for thousands of people to die - just for some politicians' laziness. And if I hear another religious nutter out there saying that God punished those poor folks for their sins - then I'll let them sit while a hurricane hits their sorry asses. Who died and made them God, anyway?!
OK, so what do we do about this situation when it becomes a reality? Well, how many nukes do we have? Yeah, yeah, I know they exist for one reason and one reason only - to kill our fellow humans with. My friend pointed this out by mentioning that all nukes on the planet are set to hit locations on this planet - not to go flying out into space to hit asteroids and comets. We need to alter their trajectories. It would also be nice to be able to make course corrections after launch if need be.
How exactly would this work? Well, it all depends on what is heading for Earth in the first place. If it is a comet - hitting it enough times to break it up into smaller fragments that will just burn up in the atmosphere - like a regular meteor shower.
With asteroids - this would be different. Iron and carbon asteroids would be a worse case scenario - because breaking them up would be realistically impossible. It would not matter how many nukes you hit it w directly - it won't be destroyed. Even silicate [quartz] meteorites might not break up w nukes - not into small enough fragments fast enough to avert catastrophe. It would be like trying to break a giant marble. Imagine a giant marble the size of New Jersey! By the time we see one of these puppies coming - we will not have years to break it up. Months maybe - if we are lucky. Weeks to days, more likely! Oh, and for those thinking that we could deal w a carbon asteroid - think again. Carbon asteroids are not just big charcoal brickettes - they're giant black diamonds. Think about it, folks - think real hard!
In the event that it is an asteroid - we will only have one course of action to take. The best way to deal w asteroids intent on crash landing in our back yard is to change their trajectory. If we can't move us out of its way - BAD IDEA even if we could do such a thing - then we have to MOVE THE ASTEROID so that it passes by without wreaking havoc on our home turf - we are the only ones allowed to do THAT. Anything we send to head off an asteroid would have to be done in such a way as to hit it from one side, so that its orbit is changed - enough to keep it from hitting Earth.
And we won't have time to take it up w Congress and the committees. Congress would have to ACT IMMEDIATELY! They'd likely say we can't afford to do this - then everyone dies because of their stupidity. We might want to think about educating those folks we put in office. It's apparent that their education is sorrowfully lacking - especially in common sense. Maybe the first order of business would be to force them all to take a good logic class - since that is where they need the most help. Common sense is definitely not every politician's strong suit - unfortunately for the rest of us who have to suffer for their lack. I am not speaking about all politicians - since there are a few - albeit only a few - who have enough upstairs to do what needs doing the right way when things like this come up. Unfortunately, they are in the minority - and I am not talking about majority/minority as in democrat/republican here. There are logical and intelligent guys and gals on Capitol Hill on both sides of the political divide - just not all that many compared to the ones who refuse outright to use the braincells they were born with.
With that being said, I will sign off...until next time...
Thursday, June 5, 2008
WARNING: Magnetic Field Reversal is Coming
An update: While doing a bit of preliminary research for a possible paper to make up the work for paleoclimatology class, I read a relatively recent article that mentions that before a reversal - the Earth's magnetic field decreases by 10% - then reverses - and finally restrengthens in the south direction. The same article mentions that the field has decreased 10% over the past 150 years.
Scientists still do not know enough about what the consequences will be. Heck, we are not all that sure about what causes it, yet. Time is running out. One point made in the article mentions something about the field disappearing altogether - exposing us to cosmic rays. This cannot be a good thing. This phenomena must be researched and dealt with immediately - so that preventative measures can be taken.
Scientists still do not know enough about what the consequences will be. Heck, we are not all that sure about what causes it, yet. Time is running out. One point made in the article mentions something about the field disappearing altogether - exposing us to cosmic rays. This cannot be a good thing. This phenomena must be researched and dealt with immediately - so that preventative measures can be taken.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Teachers Who Don't Teach and Don't Really Care
This topic is a real serious peeve of mine. I have had mostly decent and fair teachers all throughout my educational experience - but there have been a few who were absolutely awful. There are some who care nothing about their students' success. There are those who justify their lack of appropriate instruction as just the way professionals do it. They care nothing about the consequences of their actions. Then there are the teachers that reward students who kiss their backsides and reward those who do favors for said teacher rather than grading based on the work the student does in class. I have had my share of all three types and because I was expecting to get graded on my abilities in class with the material covered - I ended up getting burned - I failed or was forced to withdrawal when it was possible for me to do so.
In my Junior year in high school I started out with good grades - with some room for improvement. Then around November of that term - I came down w pneumonia and was out sick for about two weeks. When I came back - most of my teachers were considerate and understanding and gave me the chance to make up the work I missed, gave me extra time to study for exams/quizzes, or gave me extra credit to keep my grades up. In essence they gave me a chance to succeed. Unfortunately, two of my teachers were not nearly as decent or understanding. They refused to give me a chance because they could not be bothered and did not give a damn about a student who was initially doing well in their classes. Both of these teachers expected me to take the exams coming up at the same time as the rest of the class - claiming that I had as much time as everyone else to study for them. And my chemistry teacher downright refused to let me make up the missed lab assignments. Before I got sick - my guidance counselor was so impressed with how well I was doing she encouraged me to look into some good colleges and universities for after I graduated. However, because of these two teachers refusing to give me a chance - my guidance counselor changed her tune - saying that I'd have to make up the missed work, etc., over the summer - and that I might want to consider going to community college. So, in essence, I was severely punished for getting pneumonia.
Then there was the college English teacher who gave the good passing grades out to the students who did a special favor for her - and started flunking everyone who did not do so. I just thought the woman had it in for me only - and I could not figure out why - until I talked to another student who was in the same boat as me. My essays for the class started out w passing grades. First a C, second paper got a B, and the third an A. At this point, it was just past midterm. Then she mentioned that she needed some folks to help her paint her house if anyone was available. Those available decided to help her out - since she seemed like a decent and good teacher, giving fair grades, etc. After this event took place, she started giving all those students who did not show up to paint her house F's on every paper for the rest of the term. I ended up getting an F, and another girl got a D, only because she had straight A's since the first paper. That's how I knew the teacher was a fake. As a matter of fact, when she looked at the rough draft of the paper she gave me the F on - she said it looked really good and well written and that I would likely get another A. The rough draft was almost identical to the final paper.
Then there's the physics professor who just did not believe in teaching the material we needed to know in order to take and pass the exams. He actually said as much to the entire class - after most everyone in class failed the first exam. He even insulted everyone for being losers and for not studying - except we all studied what he went over in class and read the text as instructed to do so. The point is - he did not test on the material he went over in class. This makes no sense. Why teach a class in the first place - unless you're going to teach it in the best way for students to learn the material - so that they have a chance to learn and pass the exams. Again, a teacher who did not believe in giving students a reasonable chance at success. Very inefficient and ineffective teaching style. The most disturbing about this professor's teaching tactics is twofold. First, the head of the physics department later told us that unfortunately most physics, math, and chemistry professors at major universities teach this way. Secondly and the most disturbing, most engineering students are taking these exact same classes and are not learning what they really need to be learning - like gravity, tension, pressure, and other major natural forces and processes in nature. These engineering students get severely curved grades so the professor doesn't lose tenure. This lets the students pass but without the knowledge they took the class to learn in the first place. Now we have engineering mistakes and disasters that are costing people their lives because of the failure at the educational level.
Hey, if you don't want to be a teacher - then don't be a teacher. But, if you want access to the goodies - the perks - that come with the teaching position - like labs available for your research and experiments - then you may have to teach - but at least do it the right way. Students and their families are going into severe debt to pay for and take these classes. The least a college or university professor can do in return is teach the material that the students need to know for the exams and for their careers. The best professors I ever had - did teach this way - the right way.
In my Junior year in high school I started out with good grades - with some room for improvement. Then around November of that term - I came down w pneumonia and was out sick for about two weeks. When I came back - most of my teachers were considerate and understanding and gave me the chance to make up the work I missed, gave me extra time to study for exams/quizzes, or gave me extra credit to keep my grades up. In essence they gave me a chance to succeed. Unfortunately, two of my teachers were not nearly as decent or understanding. They refused to give me a chance because they could not be bothered and did not give a damn about a student who was initially doing well in their classes. Both of these teachers expected me to take the exams coming up at the same time as the rest of the class - claiming that I had as much time as everyone else to study for them. And my chemistry teacher downright refused to let me make up the missed lab assignments. Before I got sick - my guidance counselor was so impressed with how well I was doing she encouraged me to look into some good colleges and universities for after I graduated. However, because of these two teachers refusing to give me a chance - my guidance counselor changed her tune - saying that I'd have to make up the missed work, etc., over the summer - and that I might want to consider going to community college. So, in essence, I was severely punished for getting pneumonia.
Then there was the college English teacher who gave the good passing grades out to the students who did a special favor for her - and started flunking everyone who did not do so. I just thought the woman had it in for me only - and I could not figure out why - until I talked to another student who was in the same boat as me. My essays for the class started out w passing grades. First a C, second paper got a B, and the third an A. At this point, it was just past midterm. Then she mentioned that she needed some folks to help her paint her house if anyone was available. Those available decided to help her out - since she seemed like a decent and good teacher, giving fair grades, etc. After this event took place, she started giving all those students who did not show up to paint her house F's on every paper for the rest of the term. I ended up getting an F, and another girl got a D, only because she had straight A's since the first paper. That's how I knew the teacher was a fake. As a matter of fact, when she looked at the rough draft of the paper she gave me the F on - she said it looked really good and well written and that I would likely get another A. The rough draft was almost identical to the final paper.
Then there's the physics professor who just did not believe in teaching the material we needed to know in order to take and pass the exams. He actually said as much to the entire class - after most everyone in class failed the first exam. He even insulted everyone for being losers and for not studying - except we all studied what he went over in class and read the text as instructed to do so. The point is - he did not test on the material he went over in class. This makes no sense. Why teach a class in the first place - unless you're going to teach it in the best way for students to learn the material - so that they have a chance to learn and pass the exams. Again, a teacher who did not believe in giving students a reasonable chance at success. Very inefficient and ineffective teaching style. The most disturbing about this professor's teaching tactics is twofold. First, the head of the physics department later told us that unfortunately most physics, math, and chemistry professors at major universities teach this way. Secondly and the most disturbing, most engineering students are taking these exact same classes and are not learning what they really need to be learning - like gravity, tension, pressure, and other major natural forces and processes in nature. These engineering students get severely curved grades so the professor doesn't lose tenure. This lets the students pass but without the knowledge they took the class to learn in the first place. Now we have engineering mistakes and disasters that are costing people their lives because of the failure at the educational level.
Hey, if you don't want to be a teacher - then don't be a teacher. But, if you want access to the goodies - the perks - that come with the teaching position - like labs available for your research and experiments - then you may have to teach - but at least do it the right way. Students and their families are going into severe debt to pay for and take these classes. The least a college or university professor can do in return is teach the material that the students need to know for the exams and for their careers. The best professors I ever had - did teach this way - the right way.
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