ScienceIQ.com

It's Hay Fever Season!

If spring's flying pollen is making you sneeze, you are not alone. Some 40 to 50 million people in the United States complain of respiratory allergies, and experts estimate that three to four million workdays are lost annually to them. To blame for all this misery is an overreacting immune system. The allergic response begins when T cells in the ...

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HayFever
Astronomy

Sputnik and The Dawn of the Space Age

History changed on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I. The world's first artificial satellite was about the size of a basketball, weighed only 183 pounds, and took ... Continue reading

Sputnik
Engineering

Guide to Propulsion

What is propulsion? The word is derived from two Latin words: pro meaning before or forwards and pellere meaning to drive. Propulsion means to push forward or drive an object forward. A propulsion ... Continue reading

GuidetoPropulsion
Medicine

Is Heartburn a Heart Burn?

Heartburn is a bad name for a complaint that has nothing to do with the heart. TV ads call it acid indigestion. It's a burning sensation that begins under the breastbone and moves up into the throat. ... Continue reading

IsHeartburnaHeartBurn
Geology

Hurricanes, The Basics

There is nothing like them in the atmosphere. Born in warm tropical waters, these spiraling masses require a complex combination of atmospheric processes to grow, mature, and then die. They are not ... Continue reading

HurricanesTheBasics

Mobius Strip

MobiusStripA Mobius Strip is an amusing three-dimensional object whose surface has only one side. Huh? Well, most objects you can imagine have a surface with two sides. For example, an ordinary piece of paper has two sides; you can paint one side blue and the other red. Now, a Mobius Strip has no other side! Don’t believe me? Try it yourself: cut a piece of paper about 1/2 inch (1 cm) wide and about 10 inches (25 cm) long. Close this strip of paper on itself - almost making a ring; however, rotate one end of this strip by 180 degrees. Tape the joint. Now take a red pen and start painting. You will very soon realize that you will be able to paint the whole Mobius Strip with red color without ever lifting the pen off its surface.

Mobius strip was named after the astronomer and mathematician August Ferdinand Mobius (1790-1868). He came up with his strip in September 1858. Independently, German mathematician Johann Benedict Listing (1808-1882) devised the same object in July 1858. Perhaps we should call it the Listing Strip?