Thursday, October 26, 2006

Pair of Satellites Will Document Sun in 3-D Article

This article talks about how scientists are constructing two satellites that will study the sun. To get the satellites into the necessary orbit, they will use the pull of the moon's gravity to help position them. They will be in slightly different orbits so they can get a 3D picture of the sun.

The sun is a perfect example of enery. You can tell it is using energy because of the heat and light it gives off. It also gives off enery in coronal mass ejections, where it sends out supercharged particles outward. The energy that these particles have is enough to cause the northern and southern lights in the sky. It is also powerful enough to mess up electrical equipment in outer space.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Numbers are male article

This article is about how physics and mathematics have been dominated by men in the past and it still seems that way today. Back in the day of Pythagoras, it was thought that working with numbers was a male task and was a part of the gods, and women were to not be a part of that. Today, the idea that math is from god is still thought by people like Stephen Hawking. In modern times, there has been prejudice against women in physics. Emmy Noether helped work on parts of relativity, yet she received no pay or recognition at the time. Slowly, women have been gaining ground in the field of physics.

A lot of these physicists and mathmaticians mentioned have a direct effect on physics today. Without Pythagoras relating the real world with numbers and without the pythagorean theorem, physics today wouldn't be nearly as advanced as it is. It would have definitely been more difficult to perform many of the calculations in the lab this week without the contributions of all the past scientists. But just think how much further we would be if women were allowed and recognized in the field of physics. For all we know, many of the mysteries that confront us today would have been able to be solved years ago if females could contribute.