woodchurch science

here’s a link to the guardian’s tech page which in this episode discusses smart materials and nanotechnology applications. good for a listen while you’re doing something else. you can even download it for your mp3 player.

start here, your first stop

nasa scientists think they are on the verge of being able to predict earthquakes. they are looking at electrical signals in the atmosphere linked to seismic activity in the earth’s crust. just such a signal was received before last months china earthquake. they are working on a possible space based early warning system. read more here.

the what? the gaia hypothesis (first postulated by james lovelock in the 1960s) is an ecological hypothesis that proposes that living and non-living parts of the earth are a complex interacting system that can be thought of as a single organism. it postulates that all living things have a regulatory effect on the Earth’s environment that promotes life overall.

lovelock’s writing makes for gloomy reading. his latest book ‘the revenge of gaia’, predicts that by 2020 extreme weather will be the norm, causing global devastation; that by 2040 much of europe will be saharan; and parts of london will be underwater.

lovelock believes catastrophe is inevitable, carbon offsetting is a joke and ethical living a scam. so what would he do? find out here

i met this bloke on a train yesterday who just happened to be professor peter f smith special professor in sustainable energy at the university of nottingham who said that lovelock’s outlook is too pessimistic and wrong when it comes to the answer to the problem. he wrote a letter to the guardian which I just happened to be reading which says:

james lovelock is right to suggest we have already crossed the tipping point into irreversible climate change. the time lag between cause and effect means that the momentum in the climate system will inevitably propel us over the critical CO2 threshold of 450 parts per million in the atmosphere. he is right to be sceptical about offsetting schemes and the potential of wind power, but he is wrong to put his faith in nuclear energy. like all fossil fuels, uranium reserves are limited and some put exhaustion of stocks at 2030. nuclear will never be sufficient to power the uk economy after oil begins to run out in about 2040 and gas a decade or so later. even peak coal is put at 2025.
the uk will survive provided it: legislates to achieve dramatic reductions in energy use; embarks immediately on harnessing the power of tidal energy; and changes building and planning codes to cope with everything that escalating climate impacts will inflict on us over the coming decades

i had an interesting conversation with prof smith about climate change, and how we teach it in schools at ks3 and gcse. He agrees with lovelock that we have gone over the ‘tipping point’ and we are now in a period of damage limitation. all is not lost but we must seek out new efficient technologies and pray for more joined up thinking from our leading scientists and government leaders. any thoughts?

the aqa website has isa specimen papers with isa questions in that you can try. these are for y11. i can’t find year 10 isa past papers as they usually run for a 2 year period so may not be published.

join schools across the country taking part in the uk carbon footprint project. here are some lesson plans to help integrate this project into the curriculum. in addition to this particular activity, the lesson plans explore the topic of climate change more broadly, with ideas for how to use google tools such as google earth, google maps and search to bring the subject to life.

how science works leaflet

the very latest method (using categoric independent variable: weak, medium, strong emulsifier solutions).
technician guide
pupil method

here are the links to other versions of the emulsions isa method:
technician guide
teacher guide
pupil method

and just for good measure here’s the original versions using egg yolk:
technician guide
teacher guide
pupil method

enjoy. feedback greatly appreciated.

[slideshare id=200658&doc=hydrogels-ppt-1197453439717395-2&w=425]

here’s a two page document download of all the important ‘how science works’ key words and phrases.