Recently, a relatively close (16,000
light-years away) magnetar called CXO-JI64710.2-455216 with 40 solar
masses, has been discovered. Normally, such a star would be a black
hole, according to the commonly accepted black hole model.
But
not according to my new temporary-stage model. Over millions of years, a
black hole will collect hundreds of tons of matter in its singularity.
Finally, just as in a normal, main-sequence star, it will begin to
collapse upon itself. It cannot contract anymore, however, having
already an infinite density, so the pressure will cause it to implode.
Then, it will become a neutron star. This decodes the life cycle of
neutron stars: stars that were once black holes. However, some black
holes will maintain their stability, and they are called permanent-stage
black holes.
BANG!
The story of the universe starts with
black holes and burned-out white dwarfs. Not a star exists that is
still shining, and no new stars are created. Slowly these dark galaxies
are spiraling inward towards their central black holes, over a process
of millions of years.
Finally, all of the extinguished white
and brown dwarfs are concentrated into the singularities. Then, the
black holes start merging. This last stage of this old universe is
causing it to contract. Then, after billions of years, the black holes
are concentrated into one singularity: a cosmic calamity. But the black
hole's center is a temporary-stage singularity.
So then it
explodes in a "meganova": the Big Bang has begun. Within microseconds of
the explosion, the matter and antimatter levels are determined, the
critical mass value has been deter-mined, and the beginning (and the
end) of the entire macrocosm has been decided. The universe as we know
it has been created.
Recently, a relatively close (16,000 light-years away) magnetar called CXO-JI64710.2-455216 with 40 solar masses, has been discovered. Normally, such a star would be a black hole, according to the commonly accepted black hole model.
But not according to my new temporary-stage model. Over millions of years, a black hole will collect hundreds of tons of matter in its singularity. Finally, just as in a normal, main-sequence star, it will begin to collapse upon itself. It cannot contract anymore, however, having already an infinite density, so the pressure will cause it to implode. Then, it will become a neutron star. This decodes the life cycle of neutron stars: stars that were once black holes. However, some black holes will maintain their stability, and they are called permanent-stage black holes.
BANG!
The story of the universe starts with black holes and burned-out white dwarfs. Not a star exists that is still shining, and no new stars are created. Slowly these dark galaxies are spiraling inward towards their central black holes, over a process of millions of years.
Finally, all of the extinguished white and brown dwarfs are concentrated into the singularities. Then, the black holes start merging. This last stage of this old universe is causing it to contract. Then, after billions of years, the black holes are concentrated into one singularity: a cosmic calamity. But the black hole's center is a temporary-stage singularity.
So then it explodes in a "meganova": the Big Bang has begun. Within microseconds of the explosion, the matter and antimatter levels are determined, the critical mass value has been deter-mined, and the beginning (and the end) of the entire macrocosm has been decided. The universe as we know it has been created.
When you look at the sky on most days, you'll see a few clouds slowly drifting past, pushed by the wind. You might see the shape of a camel in one and a flower in another. You probably already know why clouds exist: water evaporates in the sunlight and rises into the sky, where it again forms tiny water droplets. When the droplets are too large to stay in the air, they fall to the ground as rain and the cycle begins again. But did you ever wonder why clouds are white, and why they become gray during a storm?
Katrianna wrote about why the sky is blue in a previous article, which explained how light is made up of many different colors. White light is a combination of all of the colors. Clouds are white because the water droplets or ice crystals (at a certain altitude, the water freezes to become ice) reflect all of the colors of light in a process called Mie scattering. (All of the colors are reflected in the same way, so they combine to become white light.)
Clouds are dark when they are so thick that the sunlight is blocked by the moisture. When you look down on dark clouds through an airplane window, the clouds will always look bright white. This is because the water or ice on the surface of the cloud is still reflecting the light. Thus, every cloud will have a silver lining -- if you view it from an airplane!
We have to take a look at wavelengths of light to answer this. Here it is:
The blue wavelengths are shorter than the red, as you can see in the diagram above. So the shorter wavelengths (with higher frequencies) can reach us when our part of the planet is facing the Sun, as we orbit around the Sun (proposed by Copernicus' scientific model). Sunsets are red because the red wavelengths are longer. So when the Sun is shining on the other side from us, only the red wavelengths reach.
In astronomy this is called the Doppler Effect. When a galaxy is moving away from us due to the expanding universe, its wavelengths are shifted toward the red side of the "redshift lines" and it appears to be redder. The Milky Way is redshifting towards a distant galaxy cluster. The opposite, when a galaxy is approaching the Milky Way, is named "blueshift."
When you double-refract white light, the colors split. That is because white light is all the colors put together. The primary colors of light, unlike those of paints, are Red, Green, and Blue:
Everyone’s heard of chimpanzees using relatively sophisticated tools to perform everyday tasks, like to eat their food or to hunt. But other animals, like elephants, octopuses, and even some species of fish also use tools to perform common actions. Here are twenty such silly animal anecdotes. In Depth Measure Gorillas and orangutans have been observed using sticks to measure the depth of bodies of water. And when an orangutan saw local humans spear fishing, he was spotted using a stick to catch fish from a net. “Checkmate!” Rooks are more than just a chess piece. They are large, raven like birds which, as in Aesop’s fable, can drop stones into a narrow glass of water to reach the worm floating inside. Good Neighbors According to the elephants, Robert Frost was wrong when he asserted that fences make good neighbors. They have been known to take huge stones, carry them to an electrical fence, and drop it down! That either breaks the fence or cuts off the electricity. Elephants also use branches as fly-swatters or back-scratchers. Can Openers Sea otters have been observed using stones to dislodge their prey. Once they have caught it and are again floating on the surface they also use stones to crack the shells of their dinner.
Stepstools Honey badgers, which live in Africa and parts of Asia, can use logs as tools. One was seen rolling a log through an underground cave. It then climbed on top of the log to reach a kingfisher fledgling trapped in the roots coming through the cave’s ceiling.
Modified Toy Common bottlenose dolphins blow bubbles, which they form into rings and play with, using their noses and bodies to keep the ring from floating to the surface. That’s a fun kind of tool to use!
BettyIn an experiment with “Betty,” a laboratory crow, scientists laid an assortment of wires, some straight and some with hooked ends, in her cage. Then, they put a basket-shaped metal piece in a narrow glass for Betty to pull up. The scientists did not expect what the crow did: she picked a straight wire, bent it into a hook, and used it to hoist the basket out of the glass.
Handmade PocketknivesCaptive capuchin monkeys were given a flint stone and a closed box containing fruits. The capuchins broke the rock into sharp shards which they used to cut into the box.
Built-in Water Guns Archer fish live in freshwater ponds, where they can surprise unsuspecting insects by squirting jets of water at crickets and other small insects sitting on leaves above the water. Their lower jaws have evolved to become larger to help them do this impressive feat. Getting Into A Scrape Do you remember how much it hurts when you fall on concrete and graze your knee? When I learned to inline skate, I had to wear elbow and knee pads. Similarly, when dolphins forage for food on the ocean floor, they wear nose pads! They tear off pieces of sponge which they wrap around their noses to prevent getting scraped.
Ostrich Eggs Egyptian vultures use small rocks to crack the thick shells of ostrich eggs. Vultures that have never seen other birds using that technique are still able to manipulate the stone to get inside the egg, proving that it is a genetic trait and not learned. Fishing for Insects A common practice in the animal world, using a stick to draw hard-to-reach insects from their homes, is not only for chimpanzees. Although the primates have perfected the art of termite-fishing, chewing the stick’s end so that it splits into paintbrush-like bristles, Green jays and brown-headed nuthatches also probe into tree bark to extract the insects lurking within. Woodpecker finches, which live on the Galapagos Islands, have short tongues. They make up for the lack by using sticks, twigs, or even cactus spines in the same manner.
Coconut Housing Veined octopuses have been seen picking up empty coconut shells, carrying them around, and then hiding inside. Although there is debate about whether this really qualifies as tool use, it is advanced cephalopod behavior.
Monkey Missile White-headed capuchins use tools to defend themselves. They can use sticks to hit snakes either in self-defense or to reclaim their stolen baby. But a human observer got the most absurd treatment. The capuchin picked up a much smaller squirrel monkey and hurled it at the human!
Cracking Up Waiting at a traffic light on a Japanese university campus, carrion crows watched cars run over their freshly-picked walnuts. A tragedy? No. The lights changed and the cars halted. The crows walked across the road, eating the exposed meat of the nuts. The cars were cracking the nuts! Similar behavior has been observed in American crows. (To find out more, see PBS’ article.)
Oyster Drive Like the crows with their walnut-dropping habits, seagulls drop live, unshelled oysters onto roads so that passing cars will crack them open. They drop so many that driving along waterway roads is sometimes hazardous! Underwater DiscoveryIn a recent experiment, captive stingrays were found using water as a tool in a manner similar to that of the archerfish. Scientists gave the stingray a tube, which was sealed on one end, containing some food. The stingray used jets of water to move the food through the tube towards them.
Well Diggers Despite their not having hands, elephants use their trunks as a tool. Elephants dig holes to drink water, but after they’re done they don’t leave the hole to evaporate. Instead, they use a special technique to keep it from drying out! They rip bark from a tree, chew it into a ball, drop the ball into the hole and cover the hole with sand. The elephants remember where their well is so that they can go get free refills whenever they like.
A Heron’s Bait Green herons, which live throughout North and Central America, drop insects, food, or other small things into the water to attract fish. Hooded crows behave similarly. Stopping the Hole American badgers are carnivores who eat prairie dogs, some kinds of ground squirrel and other burrowing creatures, which live in underground tunnels. The badgers have developed a technique to catch them: they use stones and other objects as corks to stop the burrows’ exits. The hunted animal will have no emergency escape route, enabling the badger to catch it.
In 2006, lab scientists grew hog meat from stem cells. Although they said the pork was too squishy, the untasted meat still seemed to be a success.
NASA decided to give it a try, because they thought their astronauts would be able to eat meat in space that way. They began a research program, but the scientists just got a layer of pig tissue -- astronauts would just have to be vegetarian.
To build meat on Earth, they separate stem cells from muscle cells. They then put it in a nutrient-rich jelly. It might not work, however. Making a small pork chop would require letting the cells sit for 30 days. However, we may be able to develop advanced technology such as "Cell Incubators" to breed fake meat.
Is it really humane to do this? Although it allows some pigs to be saved, it still makes for an unlucky few to be killed for their cells. Vegetarianismis definitely a better policy, as it doesn't allow any pigs to be killed (for cells or meat).
This is still important, however, as a million pork cells = 999,999 pigs saved from the slaughterhouse......
Do fish cough? Do dogs and cats sneeze? Do lizards sneeze? Do mice sneeze?
Yes, yes, yes, and yes. Iguanas sneeze to rid their bodies of excess salt (sodium chloride). Dogs sneeze if they sniff something offensive. Mice sneeze with a tiny, dainty cough. Fish only cough, as they have gills.
Below is a funny animal video of a baby panda and its mother-the baby panda sneezes.
A small plant lies far out on a sand dune near the British Coast. You can tell that the brown and withered buds on the plant used to be beautiful white flowers.
Sea Rockets are incredible sibling plants. They can tell whether the plant next to them was sprouted from an unrelated seed or from the same mother tree.
When they sense that the foliage next to them belongs to a sister plant by using chemical signals, they don't compete with the others. But when they are in a place alone with other species, the Sea Rocket sends out more and more roots so it can become more established than its competitors.
There is a theory that plants can see, think and have some kind of communication, and this is proof. It seems that plants should be able to know what they're doing if they are able to droop when touched (The Shy Plant) or dance in the windowsill (Dancing Grass).
It’s not a new idea that crickets chirp by rubbing together their toothed wings, but new studies suggest that birds also vibrate their wings to attract mates. Although an animal singing by rubbing together parts of its body is a practice common among arachnids and insects, only one vertebrate is known to “sing,” or even to make noise, in that manner.
Male club-winged manakins, found in the rainforests of Ecuador, make a series of high-pitched notes, so fast that the individual tones are indistinguishable, every time they flap their wings. Other birds’ flapping may sound like clapping or wind, but this songbird’s sound is unique. To the manakins, which are territorial, the noise is used to attract female birds and to tell other male birds to leave their region.
Manakins flap their wings over 100 times a second, or twice the speed of a hummingbird. On one wing, one feather had seven bumps and on the other wing one feather was stiff and curved, serving as a bow for the bird’s ridged feather. Every time the bird flaps its wings, the stiff feather vibrates against the ridges, producing the unusual sound. The surrounding feathers, which also quiver when the feathers are struck, strengthen the noise.
Trees and bushes colored bright shades of orange, yellow, red, and brown are a familiar sight in fall. They light up the hillsides for a few months, until the leaves fall from the trees. But why does this happen?
When maple trees' leaves are green, they are absorbing sunlight and carbon dioxide. The chlorophyll in the leaves enables them to turn those two ingredients into glucose, a kind of sugar which gives them energy and helps them grow, using a process called photosynthesis. When the photosynthesis stops, the glucose is trapped in the leaf. Sunlight and cold weather turn the glucose red. Oaks turn brown because of the wastes left in their leaves, but the brown leaves don't actually drop from the tree. Instead, they stay on the branches until late winter or early spring, when the new leaves replace the old ones. Other pigments found in leaves called carotenoids are yellow-colored, which is why aspen and larches turn golden. You can't see the colored pigments in summer because the chlorophyll's
green coloring is stronger than the others. It is only when the chlorophyll fades out of the leaf that the others are visible.
Later on, in late fall or winter, the deciduous trees lose their leaves because, although their trunk and branches will not freeze, the leaves cannot endure such frigid temperatures. Also, because winter has less sunlight than the other seasons, the leaves cannot make very much energy. It is more efficient for the tree to live off of the energy it stored, just as many hibernating animals live off of the food they ate in the warmer seasons.
Evergreen trees have their own system of coping with winter so that their needles don't freeze. They have a waxy coating on the needles and their cells have fluids that prevent freezing inside them. So while the deciduous trees aren't producing any oxygen, the evergreens take over. This is yet another reason why it's important to conserve these valuable resources.
This is how trees produce the colors commonly termed "fall color" before shedding the leaves, a beautiful annual phenomenon.
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