ScienceIQ.com

Solar Spitwads

Take a piece of paper. Make a little wad. If you're a kid, spit on it. Put it in a straw and blow hard. If your teacher sends you to the principal's office, here's your excuse: you were making a model of relativistic protons accelerated in the shock front of a solar coronal mass ejection (CME). It was done in the name of science. Really. Solar ...

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SolarSpitwads
Medicine

What is Herd Immunity?

No vaccine is 100% effective and usually does not work in 5% of those immunized. In addition, another 5% lose immunity after time. That means that, even after you are immunized, you could contract the ... Continue reading

WhatisHerdImmunity
Physics

Ultraviolet Light

Ultraviolet light is a form of radiation which is not visible to the human eye. It's in an invisible part of the 'electromagnetic spectrum'. Radiated energy, or radiation, is given off by many ... Continue reading

UltravioletLight
Medicine

Ultrasound In Medicine

In medical testing, ultrasound equipment is used to produce a sonogram, or a picture of organs inside the body. Ultrasound scanners do not use X-rays. They use waves of such high frequency that they ... Continue reading

UltrasoundInMedicine
Physics

The Equivalence Principle

Four hundred years ago--or so the story goes--Galileo Galilei started dropping things off the Leaning Tower of Pisa: Cannon balls, musket balls, gold, silver and wood. He might have expected the ... Continue reading

TheEquivalencePrinciple

The Mineral Chalcedony

TheMineralChalcedonyChalcedony is a catch all term that includes many well known varieties of cryptocrystalline quartz gemstones. They are found in all 50 States, in many colors and color combinations, and in sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks. Chalcedony includes carnelian, sard, plasma, prase, bloodstone, onyx, sardonyx, chrysoprase, thundereggs, agate, flint, chert, jasper, petrified wood, and petrified dinosaur bone just to name a few of the better known varieties.

Because of its abundance, durability, and beauty, chalcedony was, except for sticks, animal skins, bones, plain rocks, and possibly obsidian, the earliest raw material used by humankind. The earliest recorded use of chalcedony was for projectile points, knives, tools, and containers such as cups and bowls. Early man made weapons and tools from many varieties of chalcedony including agate, agatized coral, flint, jasper, and petrified wood.

The move from using certain items as weapons and tools, to using the same items for ceremonial and personal adornment is very easily made. It was only natural for early man to use his finest looking knife for special occasions or to attach a special lance point or arrowhead to his tunic. In fact, agate and petrified wood may have simply been elevated to gems from common and functional weapons or tools. All 50 States produce some variety of chalcedony, but the material from some States is better known than that from others.