ScienceIQ.com

Our Most Abundant Fossil Fuel

Coal is our most abundant fossil fuel. The US has more coal than the rest of the world has oil. There is still enough coal underground in this country to provide energy for the next 200 to 300 years. But coal is not a perfect fuel. Trapped inside coal are traces of impurities like sulfur and nitrogen. When coal burns, these impurities are released ...

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OurMostAbundantFossilFuel
Biology

What Is A Coccolithophore?

Like any other type of phytoplankton, coccolithophores are one-celled marine plants that live in large numbers throughout the upper layers of the ocean. Unlike any other plant in the ocean, ... Continue reading

WhatIsACoccolithophore
Chemistry

What Is Reduction?

Long ago, in a laboratory far, far away...before the development of the atomic theory we now use, scientists believed in a principle called animism, and that the chemistry of different materials was ... Continue reading

WhatIsReduction
Biology

The Handsome Betta Fish

The Betta fish is possibly the most handsome tropical fish out there. We say handsome because the male of the species is the bigger and more exotic one. Referred to as the jewel of the Orient, Betta ... Continue reading

BettaFish
Biology

If You're Bringing Cows, Bring Your Own Decomposers

Living organisms create a lot of waste products. Every year they deposit millions of tons of dead plant and animal matter on almost every corner of the earth - and they make dung, lots of dung. Where ... Continue reading

CowsAndDecomposers

Starburst, No, Not The Candy

StarburstAstroA starburst galaxy is a galaxy experiencing a period of intense star forming activity. Although this activity may last for ten million years or more, that is like a month in the life of a ten billion year old galaxy. During a starburst, stars can form at tens, even hundreds of times greater rates than the star formation rate in normal galaxies. Many of these newly formed stars are very massive and very bright, so starburst galaxies are among the most luminous galaxies.

The burst occurs over a region a few thousand light years in diameter. The most popular theory for the cause of a starburst is that it is triggered by a close encounter or collision with another galaxy. This collision sends shock waves rushing through the galaxy. These shock waves push on giant clouds of gas and dust, causing them to collapse and form a few hundred stars. The massive stars use up their fuel quickly and explode as supernovas, which produce more shock waves and more star formation. In this way, a chain reaction of star formation and supernovas can sweep through the central region of a galaxy, where most of the gas is located. When most of the gas is used up or blown away by the explosions, the starburst ends.

The infrared satellite IRAS discovered thousands of starburst galaxies. Many of the new stars remain surrounded by dust and gas for a million years. Their light is absorbed by the dust, which radiates away the heat as infrared radiation. The 'heat radiation' produced by hot sidewalks on a summer day is infrared radiation. Starburst galaxies are rare among nearby galaxies, but they were common many billions of years ago. The universe is expanding, so galaxies were much closer together in the past and collisions or close encounters were more frequent, causing more starbursts.