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Infrared Headphones

Infrared headphones use infrared light to carry an information signal from a transmitter to a receiver. Sounds simple enough, but the actual process is very complicated. The human ear gathers sound as compression waves pass through and distort the air. These sympathetic distortions produce resonant vibrations in parts of the ear, which in turn ...

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InfraredHeadphones
Biology

Respect Your Nose

Our language seems to indicate that we think of the world as divided up into things that 'smell' and things that don't. Garbage smells. Groceries don't. A dirty sock smells. A clean one doesn't. That ... Continue reading

NoseScience
Astronomy

The Big Bang Model

The Big Bang Model is a broadly accepted theory for the origin and evolution of our universe. It postulates that 12 to 14 billion years ago, the portion of the universe we can see today was only a few ... Continue reading

TheBigBangModel
Biology

How Biological Clocks Work

Anyone who has traveled has experienced jet lag—that groggy realization that while your day is beginning in Washington, DC, the night you just left in San Francisco is hardly over. Jet lag is an ... Continue reading

HowBiologicalClocksWork
Chemistry

Nitrogen Gas and Compounds

Nitrogen is a very interesting element. It is the seventh element of the periodic table, with seven electrons in its atoms. The somewhat unique combination of electronic structure and small atomic ... Continue reading

NitrogenGasandCompounds

Sibling Rivalry: A Mars/Earth Comparison

MarsEarthComparisonScientific understanding is often a matter of making the right comparisons. In terms of studying the Earth, one of the best comparative laboratories exists one planet over--on Mars. In many ways, the study of Mars provides Earth bound scientists with a control set as they look at the processes of climate change, geophysics, and the potential for life beyond our own planet. In January of 2004 NASA landed two extraordinary research probes on Mars as part of an international armada of exploratory vehicles sent to Earth's dusty neighbor. Much of the technology and scientific methodology built into those missions directly relate to the sophisticated research efforts currently being used to study our own planet.

The similarities are striking. Each planet has roughly the same amount of land surface area. Atmospheric chemistry is relatively similar, at least as Earth is compared to the other planets in the solar system. Both planets have large, sustained polar caps and the current thinking is that they're both largely made of water ice. The sibling planets also show a similar tilt in their rotational axises, affording each of them strong seasonal variability. The neighbors also present strong historic evidence of changes in climate.

Some Basic Facts about Mars: Ave. Solar Distance: 227,940,000 km (1.52 AU) Diameter: 6,794 km - Rotational Period (one day): 24.622 hours Mean Surface Temp: -63_ C - Orbital Period (one year): 686.98 days - Moons: 2 (Phobos and Demios) - Gravity: 38% Earth. Some Basic Facts about Earth - Ave. Solar Distance: 149,600,000 km (1AU) Diameter: 12756.34 km - Rotational Period (one day): 23 hours, 57 minutes Mean Surface Temp: 14_ C - Orbital Period (one year): 365.242 Earth days Moons: 1 (Luna) - Gravity: 9.78 (m/s2) Earth