October Sky

While watching the movie, October Sky, I came across many scientific connections. For instance, when the boys in this movie were framed of setting a forest on fire due to their rocket, they used an advanced equation involving a parabola to prove that the destination of their rocket was not where the authorities believed, and thus proving their innocence. Other than that, the movie was introduced with the sight of Sputnik, a space probe launched by the Russians, flying through the night sky. This movie took place in Coalwood, West Virginia. In Coalwood, there were many coal mines. In fact, the town revolved around coal mines. However, the mines exposed its workers to a very hazardous health problem called Black Lung Disease. Black Lung Disease is caused by exposure to coal dust, which is what the coal workers breathed in while they mined for coal. The main characters in this movie were high school students, and they built functioning rockets. This was a surprise and extreme accomplishment, because in that time period and in that environment, the only chance of college was on a sports scholarship. Not many people accepted this group of teens for being different, and trying hard to earn a scholarship by relying on their smarts and science. I too, was surprised that this group of teenagers took part in creating a rocket. Three of those teenage boys were not very intelligent, and their life had revolved around sports. When Homer Hickam, the main character, chose to build a rocket, they were made fun of. It was almost like everyone doubted their ability, and at first, I too, was doubtful of their abilities. When they finally built their rocket and it worked, I was proved wrong, and I was completely astonished.
Other than science and math connections, October Sky also connects to Character Education. The characters in this movie display cooperation by agreeing to work with a 'nerd'-like student. This surprised because those three boys who had cooperated with that one student, were apart of a completely different clique of friends. It was funny when Homer sat down with the boy in the cafeteria because the entire cafeteria gasped in surprise. Assertion was another attribute displayed by these boys because no matter what others said, they continued building their rockets and studying. Even when Homer's dad had yelled at Homer for wasting his time studying, Homer stood up for his interest for science, and stood up to his father. As a result, I believe that this movie was both inspirational and educational. It showed both scientific and character education. October Sky was based off of a true story, and a book written by Homer Hickam himself.

Response Blog

When I read glowriter54's blog on Phenylketonuria, or PKU, I learned that it's most likely diagnosed in White and Asian newborn infants. The cause for PKU is an excess amount of protein in the infant's body. When an infant is born with PKU, and the infant is not instantly treated, then the infant may get brain damage. I feel bad for the infants who are born with PKU, because from the moment they take their first breath, they have the risk of getting brain damage and a very hard life ahead of them full of physical struggles. For instance, patients with PKU may have intellectual disability, seizures, delayed development, behavioral problems, psychiatric disorders, musty or mouse-like odor, eczema, and lighter hair and skin color. Although this is a genetic disorder, we hope that this disease will begin to die down. I feel sympathy and concern for those infants born with Phenylketonuria who have to constantly struggle with difficult physical conditions.

Cri-du-Chat

In 1963, Jerome Lejeune discovered Cri-du-Chat syndrome. This genetic disease affects between 1 in 20,000 and 1 in 50,000 babies. Cri-du-Chat is only diagnosed in infants, because the cause of this disease is the missing piece of Chromosome #5. Chromosome #5 is usually missing in the male sex cell when fertilization occurs. Children born with Cri-du-Chat have physical properties such as a cry that is high-pitched and sounds like a cat, a downward slant to the eyes, partial webbing or fusing of the fingers, wide set eyes, micrognathia, microcephaly, and a low birthweight, and abnormaly shaped ears. However, the mental effects of Cri-du-Chat are mental retardation, which results in an inabilty to care for themself and an inablity to function in society. There is no treatment for this genetic disease. However, the child born with Cri-du-Chat may need certain counseling and support from their family and various therapists. This disease is also very rare. For instance, if one child is born with Cri-du-Chat, there is a very, very low chance of Chromosome #5 to be missing again in another fertilization process. In eighty percent of the missing chromosome is from the male sex cell. Sadly, children diagnosed with Cri-du-Chat do not survive into adulthood. I believe that perhaps if society had acceptance for children with Cri-du-Chat and their appearance or mental stability, then it would be much easier for them to function in society. To think that it was only a missing chromosome that cause this genetic disease, is quite frustrating.

Sources: link, link, link

Filipino Veterans

In 1946, President Truman signed the Rescission Act. His action of doing so, resulted in the Filipino Veterans of WWII to not recieve the 'full benefits' that the U.S. had promised these soldiers. Truman wrote to the leaders of the House and Senate, stating that "The record of the Philippine soldiers for bravery and loyalty is second to none. Their assignment was as bloody and difficult as any in which our American soldiers engaged. Under desperate circumstances they acquitted themselves nobly." Therefore, the U.S. did not pay the Filipinos for their services. Today, out of the 250,000 Fillipino soldiers who volunteered to fight, only about 15,000 are alive. "We were loyal to the United States. Even up to now, we are loyal to the United States, except that the United States has forgotten us in many ways. It's only now, because of the insistence of Sen. [Daniel] Inouye in the Senate, he was able to act on this." Franco Arcebal, another leader of the American Coalition for Filipino Veterans, said. "Now we are only 15,000. And the amount that they're giving us is a small amount. But we appreciate that. Because it will finally recognize our services ... as active service in the armed forces of the United States," he added. The Veterans who now are U.S. citizens are recieving $15,000 and the non-citizens will recieve $7,000. Repaying those Veterans is the right thing to do. Although it is so long ago, the U.S. had promised them benefits, and for those reasons, the soldiers joined WWII fighting on our side. "For a poor man like me, $15,000 is a lot of money," said 91-year-old Celestino Almeda. With that in mind, although the Filipinos had waited for this payment, they are still grateful that the U.S. had decided to pay them. I think that this is good that we had finally decided to pay them back because they are 'loyal to the United States'.

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My Roller Coaster Website

The Elephant

Roller Coasters

When riding on a roller coaster, people don't consider why the roller coaster makes their stomach lurch and fly up into their chest. And no one considers Newton's laws of motion. Those people are just in it for the pleasure and the excitement of the speed and the thrill. Well, the workers and scientists who build these roller coasters most definitely consider these laws. The reason for why a stomach lurches into one's chest, is because of inertia. Inertia is when an object of matter suddenly stops or accelerates at a fast pace and the other object is not stopped, so it continues on at that current speed. For example, when a car suddenly stops, the passengers slide forward because their bodies are not stopped by the force reacting against the car. In our science class, we demonstrated Newton's laws by building roller coasters. Not the kind that you may think of that are fifty feet high, but roller coasters made from toilet paper tubes and recyclable items. Most roller coasters started from a high point, to attain a gravitational force. The marble, which simulated as the roller coaster cart, also gained rolling force which caused it to continue on. When the marble came to a hill in our roller coaster, it would slow or either fall back. This was because the force was not great enough, and the hill was too steep. Because of this, the marble would fall back because of the lack of energy. By having done this project, I have learned the laws of motion clearly. Building a model roller coaster set a model for myself of how these laws applied to what we see as just a ride. When looking at a roller coaster, people just think about how fun it will be, or how scary. Yet, they do not consider why it looks fun or scary. It could be how high the hill is, or the speed at which the roller coaster travels. Therefore, roller coasters are much more complicated than what we think. In fact, building it requires much thought and knowledge of Newtons Laws of Motion.

Food Pantry.

As more people become unemployed in South Brunswick, the food pantry is trying their best to take care of those families. This past year there has been an intense increase in families that need to have financial help. The food pantry has been trying their best in trying to help these families with the economic slump. ”We spent $23,000 more last year than we did in 2007 in total expenditures including spending and gift cards for places like Stop&Shop,” said Social Services Director LouAnne Wolf. “In total we gave out $73,000 last year alone.” Fortunately, donations have been strong this year, with someone donating food almost everyday. But food donations are still critical. "We’ve seen people who normally would be donating who have come to us for assistance," Ms. Wolf said. "We’ve also had people come to us for referrals to figure out what they can do." In the past year, the number of families who used the pantry went from 25 to 40. And for that many families needing to resort to the pantry only in South Brunswick, imagine how many families nationally need help from their local social service! I think that because of economic times, everyone should pitch in and consider what others need. Even in school we have had a period of days where students can bring in canned goods to bring to the pantry. I believe that contributing to our community is really helpful to those families who need it.

For more information, click this link.

HD80606b

In Paris, astronomers have discovered a distant planet for a few hours, burns 1300 degrees Fahrenheit hotter every time its orbit brings it close to its sun. "The results are very exciting because they give us important clues to the atmospheric properties of the planet," says Gregory Laughlin, the leader of a group of researchers in Santa Cruz at the University of California. They have even generated the most realistic image of this exoplanet, which is the term that identifies planets outside of our solar system. They have named this planet HD80606b. In the generated image, one side of the planet is completely red from the scorching of the sun and a very thin blue crescent to show the 'dark' side of the planet, or the side that is unaffected by the sun's heat. "This is the first time that we've detected weather changes in real time on a planet outside our solar system," said Laughlin. HD80606b swings around its sun in an elliptical orbit every 114 Earth days. From the telescope's angle into space, the planet passed behind the sun, something called a secondary eclipse, just before reaching its highest temperature of 2240 Fahrenheit which is hotter than molten lava. I believe that the discovery of this planet is a very interesting one. With no life found in any other planet in our solar system, it is really surprising to find temperature changes on a planet.

To read the article, click here.

In 2012...

The world is going to end. An apocalypse is predicted to occur on December 21, 2012. According to a Mayan Long Count calender, that date marks the end of a 5126 cycle. (Some scholars think that the date of the Earths expiration is on December 23, 2012.) Theories about this occurrence can go from a solar storm that will trigger volcanos, or a polar reversal that will cause the Earth to spin in an opposite direction. Even in internet search engines, when the numbers 2012 are typed in, there are links explaining what 'official gear' to wear when this occurs. Personally, I think that this will just be another fraud like Y2K. Everyone said that the world was going to end in 2000, but look at the world now. Although Global Warming has occurred because of pollution and other such situations harmful to the environment, Earth is still well and alive. If this prediction is, in fact, true then I find it very unfortunate. I was going to graduate in 2013! But besides that, I still believe that this is another hoax.

The 44th President!

"Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin again the work of remaking America," said Barack Obama.

On January 20th, 2009, Mr. Barack Obama became the first African-American of the United States. People nationwide, and even worldwide, tuned in, to witness this historical moment in our nation's history. From the bonds of slavery, to segregation and violent beatings which string those two together, the African-Americans have officially climbed to the  highest branch of leadership.

When Mr. Barack Obama took his place before the waves of crowds in Washington, D.C. that morning, the deafening cheers slowly faded away, as every ear in the bevy of supporters listened intently to his voice recite the oath. Looking noble and professional in a navy suit and red tie, he afterwards, spoke to the nation with a speech, that seemed to be empowered from within his very heart. It is said that those who have witnessed this ceremony, have witnessed a very historical moment in the path of this nation. The words that he had spoken that morning, will be forever remembered. He vowed to leave Iraq, and promised to end ridiculous arguments at Capitol Hill. For more on Mr. Obama's speech, click on this link.

Despite Mr. Obama's foreign name, his nobility to our nation is true. He is truly going to bring change to the United States, and help us in the situation that we are bound to now. Although change will not be taking effect immediately, it will gradually develop into what will change our country for the better. However, in order to do that, we need to stick together and try to make this change happen rather than just sitting around, waiting for it to happen on its own. Basically, everyone should have an opportunity to contribute. To read about the entire inauguration, click on this link.

I believe that our president's leadership will bring us back from the ruins that we have crashed into. He said, "It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their ours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that will finally decide our fate." That quote, taken from Mr. Obama's speech on Tuesday morning, was to me, very inspirational words to hear. It causes us to think deeper into our hearts, and act more generously towards others. 

photo credit : http://www.sciencedebate2008.com/www/index.php?id=42

What?! Levitation?!

Usually, levitation was just apart of those magic shows. A thrilling thing to see, when the magician uses his mind to lift a spoon, or even a person. However, scientists from our nation have discovered a way to levitate that smallest objects. With the use of quantum mechanics, they were able to discover a force that comes into play when they used certain combinations that repelled one another. With this, the tiny objects will levitate, and create friction-free parts for tiny devices. Scientists hope that with this new technique, they may use it to create small nanotechnology machines. Although they have not yet levitated an object, Federico Capassoa physicist at Harvard University said that, "This is an experiment that we are sure will work." I think that modern technology and science has come such a long way. Levitation used to just be entertainment for amazed viewers in a magicians show. But now, we can use it for much, much more than that.

To learn more about this discovery, click on this: U.S. scientists learn how to levitate tiny objects.