Science World British Columbia

Be as Healthy as the Wealthy

Social class is simply the best predictor of health. If you could know only one thing about a person and predict that person’s health and longevity, you’d ask about social class. It’s even more important than family history.

In cases where someone has bothered asking poor people about their health, research confirms the trend: the poorer you are, the less healthy you’re likely to feel. That’s the finding of a recent Columbia University study. And results of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health Interview Survey make the case even stronger. In 2006, nearly nine times as many lower-income adults reported being in fair or poor health as affluent adults. Wealth and health go hand in hand.

Here’s epidemiologist and author of The Status Syndrome Dr Michael Marmot’s way of thinking about it: our society is a gigantic Titanic. First-class passengers on that ship disproportionately survived. In second class, fewer did. Third-class passengers… yikes. Many died before their time. And many of their modern counterparts still do.

The connections between status and health are hugely complex and only partly understood. No matter where you are, money and status make it easier for you to live in a restful place, go out for a Saturday morning jog and buy lean protein instead of fast food. It’s more likely you’ll enjoy a wide circle of friends, more job opportunities and more control over your schedule. And there’s more social pressure to stay away from blood-sucking vices like alcohol, tobacco and drugs.

If socio-economic status tells us so much about health, why didn’t we know this? In the past, many researchers felt obliged to avoid questions about socio-economic status when they designed public-health surveys. As a result, they had very little data until about a decade ago. Then the field exploded.

Adler recalls the study that got her hooked. It was one of Marmot’s, a landmark British study that scientists refer to by its shorthand, Whitehall I. Whitehall is the wide street in London where many key government departments are located, and the name is synonymous with the British civil service. In 1967, Marmot’s team began a huge survey of 18 000 male civil servants. The men were grouped into quadrants based on office hierarchy, with administrators who set policy at the top, followed by executives, clerical workers and finally office messengers at the bottom. All the workers had safe office jobs and high job security. The most surprising finding of the study was that not much about the disparity in health outcomes could be explained away by nasty habits or access to care. And in a follow-up study 25 years later in the Nineties, the men at the bottom were found to be not only unhealthier as a group, but three times as likely to die an early death as the men at the top.

Those results started Adler thinking. What is it about higher social class that matters? How does class affect the body? With that, she switched her field from adolescent risk behavior to class and health. (As she notes, ‘I switched taboos from sex to money.’) In 1997 she gathered a dozen like-minded researchers together into the MacArthur Research Network on Socio-economic Status and Health, and became its chairwoman. Since that time, network members have used nearly $9-million in grant money to swop ideas, start pilot studies and tack their questions onto larger, longitudinal studies. Their collective research provides much of the scientific basis for the information you’re reading here.

Can you take enough action to save yourself from the ill effects of social class? The researchers can’t say for sure. But they’ll encourage you to try your damnedest. After all, small lifestyle changes accomplish a lot. A whole lot. They’re simple, they’re easy, they’re appallingly obvious – and they have a stunning impact on longevity and health.

The latest proof comes from a 2008 Cambridge study published in the journal Public Library of Science Medicine, which examined 20 244 men and women, ages 45 to 79, living in the same English county. The researchers gathered baseline data in the mid-Nineties, asking the participants if they engaged in any combination of four common healthy habits: exercise, moderate alcohol use, daily fruit and vegetable intake and abstention from tobacco. Eleven years later, they followed up to see who died in the interim. Result: the people who engaged in none of the healthy behaviors were four times as likely to have died as those who engaged in all four, regardless of social class.

Practicing four simple healthy habits, concluded the researchers, ‘was equivalent to being 14 years younger in chronological age’. Be mindful about one or two things you can’t do anything about – your parents, for instance. You can’t choose your mother’s social class. And low birth weight, which is more common on lower rungs of the ladder, increases the risk of slow cognitive development in early life and heart disease decades later. Socio-economic status even affects physical strength and function. In one British study, men born in 1946 were contacted at age 53 and presented with a few challenges, including this one: close your eyes and stand on one leg for 30 seconds. Sound easy? Less than half of the men were able to do this for longer than five seconds. Disproportionately, their fathers were working-class blokes.

One last caveat: money changes everything, but the trend has a limit. Not a single scientific study has shown that being ridiculously rich will make you ridiculously healthy. Wealth didn’t save Donald Trump’s hair, for instance. Extra money simply translates into a desire for more stuff, which leads to the need for more money. A golden treadmill, yes, but a treadmill all the same.

With less money and status, all aspects of a healthy lifestyle are harder to achieve – but not impossible. In essence, you can live the good life by acting rich. You don’t even have to wear a cravat. The seven lifestyle changes below will help you hit your marks.

Make your Mark

If you can’t be rich, settle for famous. In a very cool study out of the University of Toronto, researchers analyzed 72 years’ worth of Academy Award winners. They looked up the age at death of actors who won Oscars, and compared that with (1) co-stars of those Oscar winners and (2) actors who were nominated for but never won Oscars.
 
Amazingly, the Oscar winners lived four years longer than their co-stars and fellow nominees. Stars who won multiple Oscars enjoyed an extra two-year survival boost. That longevity isn’t due to a difference in wealth. It’s due purely to status.

Researchers are finding out that status is not measured by bread alone. Yes, there’s the objective ladder of socio-economic status, which ranks people by annual income, net worth and educational level. But there’s also a ladder of subjective social status, on which people rank themselves according to how much respect they are given by members of their peer group or community. And both ladders are valid indicators. Your health is predicted by a combination of the two, says Adler, who pioneered the idea of measuring subjective social status. In one of her studies, the subjective ladder did a better job of predicting heart rate, body-fat distribution and stress responses than the objective measures of socio-economic status did.

Her advice: ‘If you can pick your niche and succeed in that, that’s probably going to be good for your health.’

Yes, obesity is bad for you; it leads to type-2 diabetes. And yes, spreading wide is widespread. But like most things, obesity is not spread equally across social classes. The CDC’s National Health Interview Survey found the highest 2006 obesity rates in the groups with the lowest income and educational levels.

Let’s not blame the victims. It’s a sad fact that a proper diet is harder to maintain in poorer neighborhoods, which lack supermarkets and the wide variety of healthy choices they offer, but which have plenty of outlets providing cheap, fattening, fast food. And if you’re working two jobs, who has time to cook or schedule exercise sessions?

But your neighborhood isn’t the only problem. In one of the most bizarre findings of 2007, Harvard researchers reported in the New England Journal of Medicine that obesity is ‘contagious’ – that your friends are making you fat. Indeed, your closest friends influence your weight more than your genes or your family members.

The researchers studied 12 067 interconnected people who had participated in the Framingham Heart Study from 1971 to 2003. They organized them by their social networks and found the big ‘whoa’: when a participant’s friend became obese, his or her chance of becoming obese increased by 57 percent. (Using data from men only, the risk nearly doubled.) If it’s a close friend, your chance of bursting your buttons increases by 171 percent.

Ensure Domestic Tranquility

Where you live shouldn’t predict the state of your health. But it does. In one study of 3 617 adults, simply living in a city increased the risk of premature death (by 62 percent) when compared with suburban or small-town life. And of course, living in a disadvantaged neighborhood within that city is really bad for you. What’s so bad about the big city? There’s more pollution, leading to an increase in respiratory diseases. Also, there’s more fear of crime, which results in chronic stress, social isolation, anxiety and depression.

We need to worry about the postmodern killers: jobs with a deadly combination of high demand and low control, high effort and low rewards. Crime-fearing participants in Britain’s late-Eighties sequel to the first Whitehall study, Whitehall II, were nearly twice as likely to be depressed as the less-fearful civil servants. And then there’s the noise. Noise exposure has been linked to poorer long-term memory, higher stress, sleep deprivation and even heart disease. In 2005, the World Health Organization estimated that long-term exposure to traffic noise in Europe might account for three percent of deaths from heart disease and strokes. Noise at night can create chronic stress, even while you’re sleeping because you continue to react to sounds; this can raise your levels of stress hormones.

What’s true for real estate investing is also true for your health: better to live in the worst house on a nice block than the nicest house on a bad block. You don’t need a mansion to get a good night’s sleep.

Back in the day, when Humphrey Bogart lit up on the big screen, everyone smoked. Tobacco use was spread evenly across all social classes. That’s no longer true. The class differences are dramatic: in 1995,40 percent of men who were not high-school graduates smoked. Only 14 percent of male varsity grads smoked. And here’s the sorry part: those people on the bottom rungs who try to quit are less successful at it than people at the top. It doesn’t mean they lack will power; it probably means they’re surrounded by more smokers in their daily lives.

Smoking is responsible for the most preventable deaths. And because it has become a low-status behavior, it is a major factor in explaining the different health outcomes of haves and have-nots. So, if by chance you get your hands on a box of good Cuban cigars, don’t smoke them. No, no, no. Send them along to us.

Find a Job that Fits

Even though we live in the twenty-I first century, we still carry around nineteenth-century images of workplace health. As in the physical hazards. But fewer of us are miners or shipyard workers or mill workers anymore. We don’t worry about black lung. What we need to worry about are the postmodern killers: jobs with a deadly combination of high demand and low control, jobs that require high effort and dole out low rewards. As Adler’s MacArthur Foundation report, Reaching For a Healthier Life, puts it:

Jobs that are plagued by time pressure, conflicting demands, low control over how and when tasks get done, worker/management conflict, threats of pay cuts or job loss, and conflicts between family obligations and work requirements can create damaging levels of stress that surface in disease.

The biggest proof of that came from the first Whitehall study, which found that a greater incidence of heart disease at the bottom of the bureaucratic pecking order was due mainly to a lack of job control – that is, limited permission to solve problems and make decisions. Other diseases associated with low job control cited by both Whitehall studies are type-2 diabetes and alcohol dependence. That’s no surprise. Men who have a hard time coping with stress tend to turn to alcohol.

But perhaps the most stunning finding from Whitehall II came from 6 000 civil servants who were asked to agree or disagree with this statement: ‘I often have the feeling that I am being treated unfairly’. Those who agreed moderately or strongly were clustered on the lower rungs of the British civil-service system. And by following this group for 11 years, researchers learnt that those who felt the most shabbily treated were 55 percent more likely to have had a heart attack in the interim.

Several small studies in various countries have all confirmed these findings to some extent, says Dr Mark Cullen, a professor of medicine at Yale University. But he thinks the real issue isn’t low control; it’s psychological stress. ‘It’s the burden that matters,’ he says. ‘How much they want from you, how fast they want it, how perfect it has to be.’ And in his opinion, the amount of stress you feel from your job has a lot to do with whether the job fits you – that is, whether it matches your personality and style and the other demands in your life. Some people actually like low-control jobs, after all – they just want to punch in and punch out. But if you come home at the end of the day feeling angry, alienated and exhausted, maybe you need more than a new job; you need a new line of work. ‘The biggest problems,’ says Cullen, ‘are with a misfit.’ If you’re a misfit, fix it – or you’ll die trying.
 
Call your Favs

Do this: in the next two weeks, call people in at least six of these categories: 1. wife; 2. parents; 3. in-laws; 4. children; 5. other family members; 6. neighbors; 7. friends; 8. colleagues; 9. school chums; 10. fellow volunteers; 11. members of your social or recreational group; 12. religious friends from your church, synagogue, mosque, ashram or cult hideout.

If you run low on minutes, face time is perfectly acceptable. Facebook is not. Do this, and you won’t catch a cold. Okay, that’s not a guarantee. Put it this way: if your social ties are so frayed that you regularly call three or fewer people on that list, you’re three times as likely to catch a cold as someone with a diverse set of social ties, someone who would regularly call or talk to people in at least six of those categories.

A man who is socially isolated has a relative risk of death between two and five times greater than one with better social connections. Why that is, scientists don’t know. Social isolation is deadly. In France, the leading cause of death among middle-aged men and women is cancer. In the Nineties, a Harvard study of social integration and mortality among French subjects found that the men who were most isolated were 3.6 times as likely to die of cancer as their well-connected peers.

And, like everything else, social class may play a role here, too. The higher yours is, the less vulnerable you are to loneliness.
 
Go Back to School

‘Socio-economic status’ is a big, squishy term with several components: the amount of money you earn, the amount of money you have (two different things), your job’s prestige and your level of education. But when push comes to shove, the most important predictor of health is your education.

The most convincing evidence comes from Sweden. One study based on the country’s 1990 census tracked 25- to 65-year-old adults who died in the ensuing six years and found that each and every step up the educational ladder conferred added longevity. For example: among men who were 64 in 1990, about 14 percent of those with the bare minimum of education had died by 1996. But just six percent of men with PhDs had died.

What was most intriguing was the difference between men with doctorates and the next step down – men who were slightly less schooled, but nonetheless were professionals like lawyers and engineers. The PhDs were surely no richer – but they had a 33 percent lower mortality rate.

The experts come away from these numbers with this conclusion: more education gives you more control over your life. And more control means less stress. So stop watching Law & Order reruns and start thinking about going to night school and earning your law degree, so you can kick butt for real, tough guy.

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE Pt. II

WHAT IS THE SLENDERNESS RATIO?

Columns used for construction have a definite value called the crippling load or buckling loadthe load at which the column bends or buckles but does not break. The effective length of the column is the length of an equivalent column of the same material and cross sectional area with hinged ends and having the value of the crippling load equal to that of the given column. The least radius of gyration is the radius of gyration where the least moment of inertia is considered. The ratio of effective length to the least radius of gyration is called the slenderness ratio of the column.

WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT TEMPLE SQUARE?

The Temple Square in Utah is very religious place for the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It’s symbolic of the holy ordinances or covenants that take place there To Mormons, the Gospel of Jesus is not complete without temples The Temple Square is special because it reminds the Mormons of the sacrifices by the pioneers who erected it. It is also the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

WHO DISCOVERED SATURN’S RINGS?

Christian Huygens, a Dutch physicist and astronomer, found out that Saturn has rings. He also discovered the Titan, the moon of Saturn.

IS THERE ANY MAGNET WITH A SINGLE POLE?

Magnets found in nature and those made by man, are found to have two poles without exception. In contrast, electrical charges can be separated from each other. Several experiments to detect magnetic monopoles have been inconclusive.

WHEN DID THE FIRST MANNED BALLOON FLIGHT TAKE PLACE?

In the late eighteenth century two French    papermakers, the Mont golfer’s brothers, began experimenting with hot air balloons. On Oct 15, 1783, a French scientist, Francois de Rozier became the first person to make a balloon ascent. He rose to a height of 80 ft in a balloon made by the Mont golfers.

WHAT IS VSAT THE ACRONYM FOR?

VSAT stands for Very Small Aperture Terminal. VSAT nodes are networked together, using an antenna directed at a geo-stationary satellite. VSAT technology is used for transmission of information and is extremely popular in banking and financial services, Multisided manufacturing and for linking government offices.

HAVE YOU HEARD OFBUCKYBALLS?

Buck balls   are   microscopic spheres of 60 carbon atoms that resemble a dome. They have cavities large enough to hold other atoms — even full molecules. Unless heated to a very high temperature, the contents of the cavities do not emerge. This has enormous potential in the fields of medicine, miniature mechanics, battery technology and high strength materials.

WHAT IS ‘NUCLEAR WINTER’?

‘Nuclear winter’ is used to describe the aftermath of a nuclear explosion caused due to a nuclear war or a nuclear accident. The impact of this explosion would be so devastating that unquantifiable amounts of dust and smoke would be released into the earth’s stratosphere. This would block the sun’s energy from reaching the surface of the earth, thereby lowering the temperature. The period of this effect would be determined by the intensity of the explosion. ‘Nuclear winter’ would threaten the existence of life on Earth.

HOW DOES A GAS LIGHTER WORK?

Certain crystalline materials (like quartz, |Rochelle salt and certain ceramics) have piezoelectric behaviour. When you apply pressure to them, you get a charge separation within the crystal and a voltage across the crystal that is sometimes extremely high. For example, in a barbecue lighter, the popping noise you hear is a little spring-loaded hammer hitting a crystal and generating thousands of volts across the faces of the crystal. A voltage this high is identical to the voltage that drives a spark plug in a gasoline engine. The crystal’s voltage can generate a nice spark that lights the gas in the grill.

HOW DOES A PILOT KNOW THE ROUTE TO A DESTINATION HE IS FLYING?

Pilots rely heavily on computerized controls and with the assistance of the autopilot and the flight management computer, steer the plane along their planned route. They are monitored by air traffic control ‘stations they pass along the way. They regularly check their fuel supply, condition of their engines and the air-conditioning, hydraulic, and other systems. Pilots may request a change in altitude or route if circumstances dictate.

WHAT KIND OF HEALING DID DR EDWARD BACH PIONEER?

Dr Edward Bach pioneered a kind of healing called flower remedy therapy. This treats predominantly mental and emotional manifestations of disease, relying on administration of remedies derived from the flowering parts of plants. Dr Bach considered total 38 remedies sufficient to treat the most common negative moods that afflict mankind. After his death, many remedies were added and now the total is more than 200. He believed that the remedies were divinely enriched.

WHY DO WE FEEL THAT THE AIR IS FRESH AFTER IT RAINS?

PEOPLE living in cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore are bound to feel that the air is fresh after the first heavy monsoon showers. This is because the bowers bring down from the sky, gases like sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, etc. These first monsoon showers, however, cause harm to many freshly planted saplings in these cities.

THE FILAMENT OF AN ELECTRIC BULB IS HEATED TO VERY HIGH TEMPERATURES. HOW COME IT DOES NOT BUM?

THE filament does not bum because the bulb is filled with inert gases like argon and nitrogen. Oxygen is necessary for any combustion.

WHAT ARE ASTEROIDS? WHO INVENTED THE BICYCLE?

THE first known patent of a machine that resembled a bicycle was given to Jean Theson in 1645. It had four wheels and was driven by two men. The first two-wheeled machine was invented by a Frenchman, Baron Karl de Drais (Baron von Drais) in 1818. But it did not catch on. What caught on was the bicycle, invented by a blacksmith, Kirkpatrick Macmillan of Scotland.

HOW DO FORESTS HELP TO PREVENT FLOODS?

ONE of the major reasons for floods is erosion of soil from the area near thd banks of

the river. Forests have a dense cluster of trees in them. The roots of the trees hold on to the soil and prevent the erosion. It is therefore important that trees should not be cut indiscriminately, particularly near the banks of the rivers.

DO VOLCANIC EXPLOSIONS AND EARTHQUAKES OCCUR INSIDE OCEANS ALSO?

The waves that we see in the seas and oceans are mainly caused by air currents. The size of the sea waves depends on the speed of the wind and for how long the wind has been blowing. Tide and ebb are caused by the pull of the moon (and to some extent, the pull of the sun) on the water. Mighty waves like tsunamis are caused by earthquakes below the water surface in seas and oceans.

WHAT IS VISCOSITY?

Viscosity is a property seen in fluids that offers resistance to a body moving through them. It is equivalent to friction. Whenever a body falls through a viscous fluid, it reaches a terminal velocity or uniform speed due to the viscous force that balances gravity.

WHY IS IT THAT WE CAN WALK MORE EASILY ON WET SAND THAN ON DRY SAND?

Have you not come across the Newton’s Laws Of Motion? Everyone continues in a state of rest or uniform motional, unless compelled to do otherwise by an impressed (external) force. Walking is possible because the ground on which we walk offers some resistance. Assuming the resistance is zero, the foot that is placed forward will keep moving forward and you will fall. Even dry sand offers some resistance. That is why you can walk on it, if you are careful. Wet sand offers much more resistance and hence you can walk more easily on wet sand.

WHAT IS A RETRO-ROCKET?

Newton’s first law of motion governs a spaceship travelling in space: It continues to travel at uniform speed. Since there is no reaction in space, a retro-rocket fired in the direction opposite to that of the motion, reduces the speed of the spaceship.

WHAT IS TORQUEWRENCH? AN OTOLARYNGOLOGIST IS A PHYSICIAN. WHAT DOES HE SPECIALISE IN?

An otolaryngology’s is a physician who specializes in the problems of the ear, nose and throat (ENT). Myocardial infarction is the technical term for…? Unique is the application of liquid nitrogen to destroy warts.

WHAT IS THE WIND CHILL FACTOR?

Wind chill is the rate of loss of body heat due to the motion of air. In simple parlance, a strong wind can make it much colder than the ambient temperature. Paul Siple coined this term in 1939 during an Antarctic expedition.

WHAT IS EUTROPHICATION?

The process by which water becomes more nourished either by the natural process of maturation or artificial processes.

WHAT IS A DIAMOND MADE OF?

A 100 million tears ago, when the Earth was cooling carbon deposits were exposed to extreme heat and pressure by molten rocks. These deposits crystallized to form diamond mines. Incidentally, the diamond is the hardest material known to mankind. If so, then how is the diamond cut to various shapes for use in jewellery? Saws made from diamond dust cut the diamond. Over 80 per cent of diamonds are used in the industry itself.

WHAT IS A RE-ENTRY VEHICLE?

Whenever a spaceship returns to earth, it encounters tremendous friction from the atmosphere that generates heat. In order to ensure the safety of astronauts and the expensive apparatus, the spaceship is shielded by using heat resistant material. Scientists from the former Soviet Union were the first to deploy the re-entry vehicle successfully in the early Sixties.

WHAT IS OZONE?

Ozone is the allotropic form of oxygen. It is used-in water purification and in treating gangrene. Its presence in the upper atmosphere is crucial as it absorbs energetic ultra-violet radiation. Industrial and vehicular pollution has resulted in the depletion of this life- saving molecule and is a cause of worry for the environmental scientists.

WHAT IS HYDROPONICS?

Hydroponics is often defined as the cultivation of plants in water. Since many aggregates or media support plant growth the definition has been broadened to read the cultivation of plants without soil Growers use hydroponics techniques due to lack of water supply or fertile farmland. Home gardeners have used it to grow fresh vegetables year round and to grow plants in smaller spaces. Greenhouses and nurseries grow their plants in a soilless, peat- or bark-based growing mix.

WHAT IS SIDEREAL TIME?

A sidereal year is the length of time it takes the Sun to move from a position relative to a fixed star and back to the same position again, as observed from the same location on Earth. It is equivalent to 365 days, 6 hours, 9 minutes and 11 seconds.

WHY THE BALLOON IS CALLED THE POOR MAN’S SATELLITE?

Unlike hot air balloons, which are used in sports, the hydrogen filled is used for scientific, metrological and military purposes. They can carry payloads of a few tons. They are extensively used for astronomical observations, especially to study X-Ray emissions from stars.

WHAT IS CORIOLIS FORCE?

Whenever a body is moving in a circular path, it experiences centripetal force towards the center of the circle. If you walk within a bus that is taking a turn, an additional force acts upon you. It is called the Coriolis force, a force that emanates from two simultaneous motions of the same body.

WHO IS THE FATHER OF GAS-FILLED LAMPS?

Irving Langmuir studied chemical reactions at high temperatures and low pressures. One of the spin-offs of this research was the development of gas-filled lamps.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ATOMIC AND A NUCLEAR BOMB9

Nuclear bombs are of two types — those that depend on fission, like atomic bombs, and those that depend on fusion, like hydrogen bombs. The former get their explosive energy from the splitting of atoms in materials like uranium or plutonium, which takes place automatically. On the other hand, hydrogen bombs, which are also known as thermonuclear bombs, depend upon the fusing together of atoms, as is taking place in our sun, to release much vaster quantities of energy than atomic bombs. The fusing requires very high temperatures; hence atomic bombs are generally used as triggers for hydrogen bombs. Hence, every atomic bomb is a nuclear bomb, but every nuclear bomb is not an atomic bomb.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CYCLONE, HURRICANE, TORNADO AND TWISTER?

Technically, a cyclone is any kind of circular wind storm. But now, it is only used to describe a strong tropical storm found off of the coast of India. Hurricanes and Typhoons are the same thing, but in different places. On the coast of Florida it is called hurricane. In the Philipines, it is called typhoon. Hurricanes occur in the Atlantic and typhoons, in the Pacific. Basically, hurricanes and typhoons form over water and are huge, while tornados form over land and are much smaller in —size. A tornado is a violent windstorm characterised by a twisting, funnel-shaped cloud. In the United States, twister is used as a a colloquial term for tornado.

WHEN DOES RESONANCE OCCUR?

Resonance occurs when two or more objects naturally vibrate at the same frequency and the sound produced by one object, causes the other to vibrate. Strings or air columns tuned to vibrate at particular frequencies result in the generation of music. Resonance’s can be destructive too. Making individual parts resonate can damage Bridges. This happens when a strong wind blows or a mechanized army convoy passes over it.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ANTI PARTICLES CLASH?

Every elementary particle is known to have an anti particle with opposite properties. Whenever the two meet, they annihilate each other and give out energy twice the mass of the particle.

WHO DISCOVERED PIEZO-ELECTRIC EFFECT?

Modern kitchens are equipped with piezo-lighters. Certain substances produce currents when they are subjected to pressure. Pierre Curie, husband of Marie and co-discoverer of radium, was the one who discovered piezoelectricity.

WHAT IS INERTIA? It is the property of a body to stay in a state of rest or uniform motion unless acted upon by an external agency. It is believed that the mass of a body is the total measure of its inertia. Scientists are conducting experiments    to    distinguish between inertial man and gravitational mass. WHO DEVISED THE PRECISE NATURE OF PLANETARY MOTION?

Johannes Kepler, the German astronomer, devised major laws of planetary motion. After 17 years of observation, Kepler found that orbits, of planets around the sun are ellipses and not circles.

WHY ARE QUARKS IMPORTANT?

“Three quarks to muster mark,” said James Joyce. Indeed, three quarks fuse together to form nucleons: Protons and neutrons that make the atomic nucleus. Quarks are believed to be the basic building blocks of matter.

WHERE ARE TRANSURANIC ELEMENTS FOUND?

Transuranic elements are not found in nature but have been created artificially in the laboratory. They represent atomic numbers 93 to 109, listed after the last stable element, uranium.

IN WHAT WAY IS THE NAME DE BROGLIE CONNECTED WITH WAVELENGTH? In modern physics, wave-particle duality of the microscopic world continues to battle the scientists. Light is made of waves but it can also be described as consisting of tiny particles called photons. A sub-atomic particle   can be described as having wave properties. De Broglie, a French physicist, was the first to give a formula for the “wavelength” of the particle. WHY THE ROBOT IS NAMED SO?

The word originates in the Slavic “Robota7, meaning compulsory work. Robots are used in hazardous environments. Now robots have also been powered by artificial intelligence.

WHAT IS PARAFILAX? Parallax is the apparent displacement of an astronomical object due to the change in the field of the observers. The very fact that we observe stars from the surface of the earth instead of its center causes geocentric parallax while heliocentric   parallax   occurs because the observation is carried out from the earth and not from the sun. In modern photography, this term is used to describe the difference between the view of an object through the lens of the camera and one seen through a separate viewfinder. WHICH IS THE BIGGEST MISSILE TEST CENTRE IN THE WORLD?

Poker Flat Research Range (PFRR) is the world’s largest, land-based rocket range. It has a chain of downrange flight monitoring, observing and recovery stations from inland Alaska to Spitzbergen in the Arctic Ocean. Poker Flat is a sounding rocket launch facility 30 miles northeast of Fairbanks used for auroral and middle to upper atmospheric research. The Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, operates it.

HOW DO FORESTS HELP TO PREVENT FLOODS?

ONE of the major reasons for floods is erosion of soil from the area near the banks of the river. F’orests have a dense cluster of trees in them. The roots of the trees hold on to the soil and prevent the erosion. It is therefore important that trees should not be cut indiscriminately, particularly near the banks of the rivers.

WHY ARE NOBEL PRIZES GIVEN ONLY IN NORWAY AND NOT IN ANY OTHER COUNTRY?

THE Nobel prizes were founded by Alfred Nobel,    Norwegian chemist, engineer and industrialist.

WHY IS SOME SPACE LEFT BETWEEN RAILS ON THE RAILWAY TRACK?

YOU must have learnt in school that heat expands and cold contracts. This means that as a result of heat, all bodies expand. (There are rare exfor this expansion, a little space is left between rails.

HOW IS THE INSTRUMENT FOR MEASURING THE INTENSITY OF EARTHQUAKES CALIBRATED?

`The Richter scale is used to measure the magnitude of an earthquake. Magnitude is a measure of an earthquake’s size, but rather than being a direct measure of the intensity of the ground shaking, it is a reflection of the strength of the seismic sound waves emitted by the earthquake, a phenomenon that can be detected at great distances from the earthquake’s epicentre. Because an earthquake’s magnitude can be determined solely

by routine measurements made by seismometers, magnitude has become an important measurement commonly recorded on seismograms. The scale is logarithmic — this means that a factor-of-10 difference in actual earthquake energy corresponds to a difference of one whole number on the scale.

WHAT ARE SUNSPOTS?

The dark spots on the surface of the sun are called sunspots. These areas are locations for sudden changes in the magnetic environment or the ‘magnetic storms’. They appear darker in contrast to the surrounding areas, hence, the name.

WHY IS A TRACTOR’S EXHAUST PIPE BENT UPWARDS?

As the exhaust gases of an automobile are hot and tend to rise upwards, an upward bending pipe is the most natural shape, hi a tractor, the driver’s seat is directly behind the engine and usually open. So, a backward-bending exhaust pipe will throw the exhaust gases directly at the driver. The rear part of a tractor is broader than its engine. Even a sideways-bent exhaust pipe will have the same effect. As a tractor has various agricultural attachments and a trailer, the exhaust pipe cannot be extended behind its rear tyres from below its chassis. A tractor works mainly on rough terrain which could damage an exhaust pipe protruding downward from the chassis.

WHAT IS FUEL CELL TECHNOLOGY?

Fuel cell technology uses the fuel cell, an electrochemical energy conversion device. A fuel cell converts hydrogen and oxygen into water, and in the process it produces electricity With a fuel cell, chemicals constantly flow into the cell so it never goes dead — as long as there, is a flow of chemicals into the cell, the electricity flows out of the cell. Most fuel cells in use today use hydrogen and oxygen as the chemicals.

WHAT IS THE CAUSE OF DELAY IN SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS?

The communication satellites are normally geosynchronous. In other words, these satellites have the same period of revolution as that of the earth — 24 hours. To attain this, the satellite is launched at an altitude of 36,000 kms from the earth. The messages, sent by means of radio waves, travel this distance to and fro. Radio waves are transmitted at the speed of light, about 3 lakh kms per second. Therefore, approximately, one quarter of a second is lost in traversing the distance between the earth and the satellite.

WHAT CONTRIBUTION DID LUIS ALVAREZ MAKE TO MODERN SCIENCE?

This American physicist developed the linear accelerator in 1946 for which he won the Nobel Prize in 1968. He and his son, Walter, first proposed that massive extinctions around the Jurassic — including that of dinosaurs, were caused by the impact of a large space object.

WHAT IS SPELEOLOGY?

It is the science that explores and studies caves found under the earth’s surface.

WHAT IS WAVE-PARTICLE DUALITY?

In classical physics, all the physical phenomena concerning light, viz. reflection from a glazed surface, refraction through a prism, interference when two or more sources of light were put together and diffraction, the bending of light along edge of an object, could be explained with the wave theory. But this description does not hold for the microscopic world. In modern physics, light is made of discrete packets of energy.

WHAT IS THE FARADAY CAGE?

The Faraday Cage, also known as Faraday Shield or Screen, is a network of parallel wires connected to a common conductor at one end to provide electrostatic shielding without affecting electromagnetic waves. The common conductor is usually grounded. It attenuates an electrostatic field, designed to prevent the passage of electromagnetic waves, either containing them in or excluding them from its interior space. It is named after physicist Michael Faraday, who built the first one in 1836.

WHAT IS A PILOTLESS AIRCRAFT?

A pilotless aircraft, usually an MAV (micro air vehicle), is one which is programmed to go somewhere or do something on its own, or is a remote controlled aircraft piloted from the ground. Most pilotless aircraft are rather small in size. Pilotless aircraft used for dangerous jobs such as spying or exploring new places with a camera, which transmits the data back to the ground. They can be very useful as many are shot down or crash, and thus saving a real pilot’s life.

WHERE WAS INDIA’S FIRST ELECTRICITY-GENERATING STATION LOCATED?

The 4-5 megawatt hydroelectric power station near Sivasamudram falls of the Cauvery in Karnataka was the first major power station in India. Owned by a few British companies, it was set up by General Electric of the US. It was commissioned in 1902, and its output was mostly meant for the Kolar gold mines, located about 90 miles away much smaller power plants started functioning earlier in different parts of India. The first small hydro power plant, a 130-kilowatt plant, started functioning in 1897 at Darjeeling.

WHY IS VENUS THE HOTTEST PLANET EVEN THOUGH MERCURY IS CLOSEST TO THE SUN?

The degree of hotness of a planet does not depend on as much on closeness to the Sun as on its atmosphere. Carbon dioxide has the tendency to absorb heat, which in turn increases the temperature. Mercury’s atmosphere does not contain carbon dioxide (because of which all the heat is returned to space). Venus contains a high percentage of carbon dioxide due to which it is hottest planet.

IS IT TRUE THAT THE SAHARA DESERT EXPANDS BY HALF A MILE SOUTH OF EVERY YEAR?

In the 1970s and 1980s, it was reported that the Sahara desert was expanding southward at a rate of 5 kms per year. But during the last decade USAs NOAA meteorological satellite observed that this ‘desertification’ was a myth. It is not so severe as earlier suspected. The deserts reflect much of the incoming solar radiations as compared to land with vegetation (during cloud-free days). Satellites measure this reflected radiations daily, from which the type of land cover or greenness can be inferred. Analysing such data for several years, it was observed that the Sahara was not expanding.

IS IT TRUE THAT THE SAHARA DESERT EXTENDS BY HALF A MILE SOUTH EVERY YEAR?

It is true that the Sahara desert is expanding, but not just half a mile. It is extending at a rate of 30 miles south per year! Its stretch is engulfing degraded grasslands. Due to the extreme heat, the vegetation of the area is dying out, which results in more desertification. Thus, every year the area of the Sahara desert is increasing and scientists are working out methods to stop or decrease the rapid change. They say that if this continues, the whole of Africa will turn into a desert one day. Global warming is also a big threat in the expansion of the Sahara.

WHICH IS THE SMALLEST SUB-ATOMIC PARTICLE?

The smallest particle is the quark, the basic building block of hadrons. There are two types of hadrons: baryons (three quarks) and mesons (one quark, one antiquark). Protons and the neutrons are stable baryons. There are also leptons, a family of elementary particles that includes electrons, muons, tauons, and neutrinos. Neutrinos were originally believed to have zero mass, but they have been found to have a very tiny mass, smaller than any subatomic particle. Calling someone a ‘hadron head’ is considered an insult among physicists.

WHAT IS THE KUIPER BELT?

The Kuiper Belt is disk-shaped belt of billions of small, icy bodies orbiting the Sun beyond the orbit of Neptune, mostly at distances 30-50 times the Earth’s distance from the Sun. Modern computer simulations show the Kuiper Belt to have been strongly influenced by Jupiter and Neptune.

WHAT IS A ‘NUCLEAR WINTER’?

The nuclear winter theory, proposed by scientists in 1983 and later on established by the US National Research Council in 1984, states that if only half of the collective nuclear weapons of Russia and US were to explode, they would release such enormous amount of dust, smoke and soot into the at- mosphere that sunlight would be completely blocked. This would continue till these clouds settled and consequently the earth’s temperature would fall, creating a period of abnormal cold and darkness. A nuclear winter is also believed likely after a nuclear war. Essential life processes like photosynthesis would also be fatally affected, endangering plant and animal life.

WHY IS A TRACTOR’S EXHAUST PIPE BENT UPWARDS?

As the exhaust gases of an automobile are hot and tend to rise upwards, an upward bending pipe is the most natural shape, hi a tractor, the driver’s seat is directly behind the engine and usually open. So, a backward-bending exhaust pipe will throw the exhaust gases directly at the driver. The rear part of a tractor is broader than its engine. Even a sideways-bent exhaust pipe will have the same effect. As a tractor has various agricultural attachments and a trailer, the exhaust pipe cannot be extended behind its rear tyres from below its chassis. A tractor works mainly on rough terrain which could damage an exhaust pipe protruding downward from the chassis.

WHAT IS FUEL CELL TECHNOLOGY?

Fuel cell technology uses the fuel cell, an electrochemical energy conversion device. A fuel cell converts hydrogen and oxygen into water, and in the process it produces electricity With a fuel cell, chemicals constantly flow into the cell so it never goes dead — as long as there, is a flow of chemicals into the cell, the electricity flows out of the cell. Most fuel cells in use today use hydrogen and oxygen as the chemicals.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IRON AND STEEL?

The difference is percentage of carbon, the main alloy element. Those irons containing less than 2% carbon are known as steels while those containing more than 2% carbon are known as pig iron. Pig iron is obtained from iron pre by processing it with coke in a blast furnace. This pig iron is then further processed to reduce the carbon content in different furnaces to obtain steels. These steels can be then further processed to obtain alloy steels, stainless steels by adding elements such as silicon, manganese, chromium, nickel, etc.

WHAT IS CRUSH DEPTH AND HOW IS IT MEASURED?

Crush or collapse depth is the submerged depth of the ocean at which a submarine will collapse due to the surrounding water pressure. A submarine’s hull is normally constructed of steel or steel alloys to increase the diving depth of submarines. This is normally mathematically calculated; however, it is not always accurate.

WHAT IS M-THEORY?

The String theory is currently the most promising candidate for a unified theory. It describes free particles as vibrations in strings in space and solves the problem of the

incompatibility of the two fundamental theories (GR & QTF). There are, however, five different string theories. The M-Theory is a theory of which all the five string theories are only different aspects. The M-Theory is an 11-dimensional theory that looks 10 dimensional at some points in its space of parameters. Such a theory could have as a fundamental object a membrane as opposed to a string.

WHAT ARE MILANKOVITCH CYCLES?

The Pleistocene period in earth history, 1.8 million years to about 10,000 years ago, witnessed profound changes in the earth’s climate characterised by repeated glacial and interglacial events. There were as many as 30 glacial intervals during this period. Milutin Milankovitch, a Serbian astronomer and mathematician, calculated in the early 1930s that the orbital parameters of the earth changed with frequencies of roughly 1,000,00 to 20,000 years. These were responsible for variations in the of solar radiations received on the surface thus causing glacial interglacial climatic changes. The exploration of the ocean floor since the 1960 has indeed identified the above periodicities and proved Milankovitch right.

WHAT ARE MILANKOVITCH CYCLES?

Astronomer Milutin Milankovitch developed the mathematical formulae upon which these orbital variations are based. He hypothesised that when some parts of the cyclic variations are combined and occur at the same time, they are responsible for major changes to the earth’s climate (even ice ages). A 1976 study, published in the journal ‘Science’ examined deep-sea sediment cores and found that Milankovich’s theory corresponded to periods of climate change. Indeed, ice ages had occurred when the earth was going through different stages of orbital variation.

o        WHEN WAS THE FIRST SPACE SHUTTLE LAUNCHED?

The first space shuttle Columbia was launched into space on April 12, 1981 and landed on Edward Air Force base, California on April 14, 1981. Officially, it’s called the Space Transportation System (STS) and it was the first reusable spacecraft. These shuttles carry payloads for scientific experiments, etc. 

WHICH PLACE ON EARTH HAS NEVER RECEIVED ANY RAINFALL?

The Atacama Desert, spread between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes mountains in northern Chile has not experienced rain in its entire recorded history. Made up of salt

basins, sand and lava flows, it lacks vegetation or animal life. Its landscape is desolate

and moon-like and has been used to simulate the moon’s surface in some experiments. The Quillagua meteorological station located in this desert has recorded an average annual rainfall of only 0.5 mm during 1964-2001.

WHAT ARE CFCS? HOW ARE THEY RESPONSIBLE FOR DEPLETION OF THE OZONE LAYER?

THERE is a layer of ozone in the zone 10 kilometre to 50 kilometre above the surface of the earth. This layer of ozone protects life on earth from the harmful ultraviolet radiation in sunlight. CFC stands for chlorofluorocarbons used in refrigeration, air-conditioning, aerosols, etc. When these gases rise up in the atmosphere and reach the ozone layer they destroy it. Over the past ten years, in particular, the debate has been held again and again on this issue and steps have been taken to correct the situation. Many nations have agreed to discontinue the use and production of chloro-fluro carbons for the purpose of refrigeration or air-conditioning.

I HAVE READ THAT SUN WILL BECOME A RED GIANT AFTER CONSUMING ITS SUPPLY OF HYDROGEN. WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE SUN AFTER THIS PHASE?

YES, according to astronomers, the sun is about 5 billion years-old; It is expected that the sun mil consume all the hydrogen in it and become a Red Giant. It will be so big then that it will engulf even the planets around it. Then there will be nuclear reactions, involving the vast Supply of Helium in it (formed from Hydrogen) and the heavier elements. As a result it will become a white dwarf, a star of small radius. It is estimated that the radius will be a hundred times smaller than the present radius. Slowly it will lose its luminosity and become a black dwarf. But stop worrying. It will take at least five billion years for this to happen.

DIAMOND AND COAL ARE BOTH CARBON. THEN WHY DOES ONLY DIAMOND SHINE?

DIAMOND is carbon in its pure form and is made of the same element as coal. But there is a difference. Diamonds are formed at places at least 120 km below the surface of the earth under the enormous pressure of the rocks and the crust above them. It is true that diamonds have been found in levels higher than this, below the surface of the earth. But it is believed they too were originally formed deep below and shifted to higher points due to erosion of the soil or glacial action. There are diamonds of black colour too. They are not used as ‘gems, but they are useful in making cutting tools in industry.

WHAT IS THERE BETWEEN THE EARTH AND MARS?

SURROUNDING the earth is its atmosphere. Then there is space. Again as your spacecraft approaches Mars, it will have to pass through the atmosphere around Mars. Unlike the moon, Mars has an atmosphere.

WHAT IS THE ALTERNATIVE TO PETROLEUM? FROM WHERE SHALL WE MEET OUR ENERGY REQUIREMENTS WHEN THE PETROLEUM RESOURCES ARE EXHAUSTED?

DESCRIBED above is one such resource: solar power. Automobiles which^run on batteries, charged by exposing them to sunlight, already exist. You must be aware that nuclear power reactors are also being established all over the world. Many scientists have expressed the possibility of using hydrogen as a fuel. We are yet to find a cheap way of separating hydrogen from water, which has two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen in its molecule. In Holland and Denmark, power is being produced from windmills. In countries like. Japan, power is being produced on a small scale from tidal waves. Let us hope that tomorrow’s generation will learn how to meet its requirements of power.

WHY IS THERE NO GRAVITATIONAL FORCE ON THE MOON?

THE moon has gravitational force too. The gravitational force exerted by a body depends on its mass. The gravitational force on the moon is about one sixth the gravitational force of the earth.

WHAT IS THE MACH NUMBER?

The Mach number, in aerodynamics and fluid mechanics, is the ratio of the speed of an object through a fluid (gas or liquid) to the speed of sound in the fluid. The Mach number was named after the Austrian physicist and philosopher Ernst Mach. An airplane travelling at less than Mach 1 is travelling at subsonic speeds; at about Mach 1, transonic, or approximately the speed of sound; and greater than Mach 1, at supersonic speeds.

WHAT IS A MACH NUMBER? WHAT IS THE CHANDRASHEKAR LIMIT?

The maximum limit of 1.44 times the solar mass (or sun’s mass) of a star, to end its life as a white dwarf star, is known as the Chandrashekar Limit. This is the basic principle to determine the future of a star after the red giant phase. The stars with a mass more than 1.44 times the solar mass go through supernova explosions and end their lives as neutron stars or black holes. This limit was discovered by Indian astrophysicist S

Chandrashekar and hence it has been named after him.

o        WHAT IS PLANETARY ALBEDO?

Planetary albedo is the fraction of the incoming light reflected from a surface. A bright surface, such as ice or snow, has a very high albedo (close to 1, which would represent total reflection), whereas a dark surface, such as coal or soot, has a very low. albedo (close to 0, which would represent complete absorption). In the solar system, the Moon, which has a bare, rocky surface, has an average albedo of 0.12 (reflects 12 per cent of the light hitting it). The Earth, which is partly cloud-covered, has an average albedo of 0.37, while the albedo of Venus, which is completely cloud-covered, is O.65.

WHAT IS THE CHANDRASEKHAR LIMIT?

In the 1930s, Subramanya Chandrasekhar, now recognised as the founder of relativistic astrophysics, address the important question: What happens to a star once it has burnt all its nuclear fuel? Chadrasekhar’s answer was that it depends on the mass of the burnt core left behind. If the mass of this core (mind you, not the mass of the shining star) is less than 1.4 times the mass of the sun, the core will retire as a white dwarf star. Immediately above this limit, say up to three times the solar mass, the core will become a neutron star. If the mass of the core is still higher, a black hole will be formed. In an ordinary shining star, the force of gravitation is balanced by nuclear reactions. In white dwarf and neutron stars, by complex quantum forces. In a black hole, gravitation dominates. For this pioneering work Chandrasekhar belatedly received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1983.

HOW MANY PERSONS HAVE SET FOOT ON THE MOON?

Only twelve people have walked oh the Moon, each on one mission only. Nobody has walked on the lunar surface since 1972. The lucky astronauts are: Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, Charles Conrad, Alan Bean, Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, David Scott, James Irwin, John Young, Charles Duke, Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt.

IS A RAY OF LIGHT VISIBLE IN VACUUM?

No, rays of light cannot be seen in vacuum. When a ray of light enters an enclosed dark room through an opening, light is scattered by dust particles suspended in the air and thus we see the path of the ray Actually we see the dust particles falling substance which can scatter the light. This explains the darkness in space though there are many light sources. We can see only the light sources and the objects, which fall in the path of rays.

ON WHAT PRINCIPLE DOES AN ALTIMETER WORK?

There are basically two types of altimeters— pressure altimeters and radio altimeters. Pressure altimeters are aneroid barometers calibrated to indicate altitude instead of pressure. It is based on the principle of drop of atmospheric pressure with gain of height. The corrugated capsules inside the casing expand with gain of height. This expansion is magnified with the help of gears and levers to move the indicator over the dial. The mean sea level pressure is 1013.2 millibars or 29.92 inches of mercury which is taken as zero altitude and there is drop of 1 millibar for every 32 feet (approximately) gain of height. The instrument is calibrated accordingly to indicate loss/ gain of pressure in terms of height gained or lost. Depending on the pressure setting or datum, the instrument reads altitude (above MSL) or absolute altitude height (above ground level — AGL). A radio altimeter is a radar aid, which is effective only from 20 ft to 2,500 ft. It is basically used as a ground proximity warning system in mountainous terrain.

o        WHAT ARE PSEUDOHALOGENS?

Pseudohalogens are groups formed by combination of two or more P block elements (in the periodic table) with a unit negative charge e.g. CN- (CN Minus) cyanide group a combination of carbon and nitrogen with nonnegative charge. They are called pseudohalogens as they form covalent compounds, complexes similar to the halogens, the 17th group elements in the periodic table. They differ from halogens as they are able to polymerise unlike halogens and their complexes are not paramagnetic.

HOW DOES THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION MANAGE ITS WATER AND OXYGEN NEEDS?

The ISS’s Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) helps in water and oxygen management for the astronauts. The ECLSS Water Recycling System (WRS) reclaims waste water from the shuttle’s fuel cells, from urine, from oral hygiene and hand washing, and by condensing humidity from the air. Without such careful recycling, 40,000 pounds per year of water from the Earth would be required to resupply a minimum of four crewmembers for the life of the station. The primary source of oxygen is water electrolysis, followed by oxygen in a pressurised storage tank. Hydrogen left over from splitting water is vented into space. In ECLSS hardware racks, there is a machine that combines the hydrogen with excess carbon dioxide from the air in a chemical reaction that produces water and methane.

HOW IS ZERO GRAVITY CREATED ON EARTH?

Zero gravity conditions result in weightlessness and the body begins to float in an enclosed space. A more precise term is microgravity or reduced gravity NASA’s C-9B aircraft and Zero Gravity Corporation’s modified Boeing 727 create these conditions by flying in long, parabolic arcs. By changing the flight path, they are able to create different values of g-force and therefore varying degrees of apparent gravity. More individuals are experiencing these conditions in preparation for space tourism or for adventure.

WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE TENTH PLANET?

The tenth planet in the outer solar system was discovered recently. Right now, it’s about 97 times further from the sun than the Earth and it’s the farthest-known object in the solar system. Mike Brown (California Institute of Technology) along with colleagues Chad Trujillo (Gemini Observatory, Hawaii) and David Rabinowitz (Yale University) discovered it. It goes under the temporary name of 2003UB313; a new name has been proposed to the International Astronomical Union.

WHAT EFFECT DO OCEAN CURRENTS HAVE ON THE EARTH’S WEATHER?

Ocean water and currents affect the climate. Because it takes far more energy to change the temperature of water than land or air, water warms up and cools off much more slowly than either. As a result, inland climates are subject to more extreme temperature ranges than coastal climates, which are insulated by nearby water. The ocean’s surface layer, so surface currents move a lot of heat, absorbs over half the heat that reaches the earth from the sun. Currents that originate near the equator are warm; currents that flow from the poles are cold.

WHY DO STARS TWINKLE AT NIGHT?

Stars seem to twinkle or change their brightness all the time. In fact, most stars shine with a steady light. The movement of air (sometimes called turbulence) in the Earth’s atmosphere causes the starlight to get slightly bent as it travels from the distant star through the atmosphere to us on the ground. Some of the light reaches us directly but some gets bent slightly. This gives the illusion of twinkling. Stars closer to the horizon appear to twinkle more than others. This is because the atmosphere is a lot denser near the horizon than between the Earth and a star higher in the sky.

HOW DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE EXISTENCE OF PLANETS MILLIONS OF MILES AWAY FROM US?

Planets like Pluto in the outer reaches of our solar system can be viewed and photographed by powerful optical telescopes. Distant extra-solar planets, many light years away from our Sun, cannot be captured even by high resolution telescopes. Big planets orbiting close to a star can exercise a very small gravitational pull on the parent star. This causes a minute wobble in the rotation of the parent star which can be detected by highly sensitive spectroscope monitors. The existence of the planet can thus be only indirectly visualized.

HOW DO ASTRONAUTS COMMUNICATE IN SPACE? HOW IS ZERO GRAVITY SIMULATED?

Simulation of zero gravity while still within the pull of the earth’s gravity is achieved in a similar manner to that of a man-made satellite. When a body moves in a circular path, it experiences centrifugal force acting on it. This force points radially outwards and depends on both the speed and the radius of trajectory. Given this factor, if a plane flies in a circular arc trajectory, then passengers experience a centrifugal force pointing away from the earth. At a certain velocity, this force exactly counterbalances gravity, and passengers experience weightlessness or zero gravity.

HOW MANY SATELLITES ARE CURRENTLY REVOLVING, AROUND THE EARTH?

Although anything in the Earth’s orbit is technically called a satellite, the term is typically used to describe a useful object placed in orbit purposely to perform some specific mission or task. Approximately 23,000 items of space junk objects that were inadvertently placed in orbit or have outlived their usefulness are floating above the Earth. The actual number varies depending on which agency is counting. Pay loads that go into the wrong orbit, satellites with run-down batteries, and leftover rocket boosters all contribute to the count. This count is almost 26,000.

WHY DO SOME PEOPLE HAVE ‘RED EYE’ IN PHOTOGRAPHS?

Light, usually from a camera flash, enters the subject’s eyes and reflects it back into the lens. The red colour comes from the colouration of the retina which is lined with blood vessels. To prevent ‘red eye’, the feedback chain of light should be interrupted. The most effective way is to use indirect or off-camera lighting, which causes reflection from the eye to veer away from “^the lens. Another cure is to reduce the size of the pupils of your subject’s eyes, effectively preventing the bounce-back syndrome. This is why some camera models fire one or more pre-flashes before taking a picture; the smaller flashes are meant to adjust the eyes to bright light, decreasing the pupil size.

WHAT IS THE COMPOSITION OF SAND? Sand is a non-cohesive, loose granular material which comes from rocks as a result of attrition of bigger rock pieces by water or wind in favourable weather conditions. The composition of sand depends   on   the   parent rock; the most common minerals being silica and feldspar. Less common minerals are iron. Silica comes in the form of quartz and feldspar consists of plagioclase. Additional mineral fragments are rare and include Muscovite, chlorite, epidote, garnet and zircon. Some deposits of sand may contain magnetite, glauconite or gypsum. Sands rich in magnetite are dark in colour, while those rich in gypsum have a green tinge. WHAT’S THE ORIGIN OF THE WORD MONSOON?

The word monsoon comes from the Arabic word mausim, which means weather. Owing to the yearly appearance of torrential rain, indicating a marked shift in weather, mausim gradually became monsoon.

WHAT ARE FULLERENES?

Fullerenes are one of the three allotropes (same element in two or more forms) of carbon. The other two are diamond and graphite. Scientists Kroto, Smalley and Curl discovered fullerenes in Rice University in September 1985. One of the fullerenes — Buckminsterfullerene — consists of 60 carbon atoms linked together to form an almost spherical C60 molecule of joined hexagons (20) and pentagons (12). The bonds have the same arrangement as the panels on a football. Fullerenes can be prepared by passing an electric discharge through graphite rods in an atmosphere of helium. It is now known that a buckminsterfullerene is likely to be formed in sooty flames.

WHAT IS MICROLENSING?

According to Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity, light possesses mass. When light passes close to a massive object, it is attracted towards it and its direction changes towards it. Therefore, when an astronomical body is between the earth and another bigger, more distant astronomical object, the light coming towards the earth from the distant body gets focused on the earth because of the gravitational attraction of the intermediate body This is somewhat similar to focusing light from the sun on a piece of paper through a lens, and hence called astronomical microlensing. Astronomers use microlensing in their search for new planets, and to observe distant, faint objects and neutron stars.

WHAT IS WATER MEMORY? ,

Water is said to have the power of memory — if certain chemicals are dissolved in water and then completely removed through a chemical process, the water may still retain some properties of the dissolved chemicals. Although this concept seems difficult to accept or comprehend, French scientist Jacques Benveniste allegedly proved it. However, other scientist could never replicate this experiment.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SECOND GENERATION AND THIRD GENERATION TECHNOLOGY?

The main difference between second generation (2G) and third generation (3G) technology is data. 2G services were developed with mostly voice services in mind, but are capable of providing relatively slow (14.4kbps) speed data services. Most US service providers offer some data services, including limited wireless Internet access. For 3G, the data speeds are expected to be much higher; up to 2 mbps for fixed applications and 384 kbps for mobile applications. This will support advanced features including audio and video streaming, remote access to company databases, and a wider variety of entertainment and information services. 3G will also support a range of devices, including phones, personal digital assistants, and laptop computers.

WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF RED RAIN?

Five years ago, scarlet rainfall was reported in a town called Chenganacherry in Kerala’s Kottayam district. Research scientists at the Mahatma Gandhi University in Kerala investigated this peculiar phenomenon and discovered that the rain contained cell-like particles, which they claim, are not from Earth but from outer space. The scientists conjecture that a comet that exploded over the sky caused the airburst that created the red rain

WHY HORSE POWER IS CALLED SO?

When the steam engine began to do the work of horses in the mines during the early 1800s, the mine owners began to ask how many horses an engine would replace. James Watt, who invented steam engines, figured out a mathematical way to equate horses to engine power. Thus the term horsepower was invented. Watt measured the capability of a big horse to pull a load and found it could pull a weight of 150-pounds while walking at 2.5 miles per hour. This works out to 33,000 foot-pounds per minute or 550 foot-pounds per second.

WHAT IS LIQUID OXYGEN USED FOR? WHO INVENTED THE ESCALATOR?

The basic mechanism of an escalator f was. first invented by Jess W Reno of ‘the US in 1881. It was used mainly for riding on masts of wooden or iron poles in ships to fasten ropes or belts to support the sails. The name ‘escalator’ was applied to a moving stairway in 1900and first shown in a Paris exhibition. Charles Seeberger, with a company named Otis Elevator Company, built the first commercial escalator.

WHY IS NASA’S DAWN MISSION SIGNIFICANT?

The Dawn Mission is important because it will study Ceres and Vesta, two of our solar system’s largest asteroids in the belt between Mars and Jupiter. The spacecraft is scheduled for launch in July 2007 and will capture images of the surface of these asteroids and probe the composition, density and magnetism. The project almost got scuttled because of cost considerations but got a fresh lease of life recently

HOW DOES THE GROUND PROXIMITY WARNING SYSTEM IN AN AIRCRAFT WORK?

Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) is designed to alert pilots if their aircraft is in immediate danger of Hying into the ground. Another common name is Ground Collision Warning System. Don Bateman is credited with inventing GPWS. This system monitors an aircraft’s height above the ground as determined by the radio altimeter. A computer tracks these readings, calculates trends, and warns the captain with visual and audio messages if the aircraft exceeds certain thresholds or defined flying configurations also known as modes. The modes are: excessive descent rate, excessive .terrain closure rate, altitude loss after take-off, unsafe terrain clearance and excessive deviation below glidescope. Corrective action is then taken.

WHAT IS A PYROMETER?

A pyrometer, invented by Josiah Wedgwood, is an instrument which measures relatively high temperatures, like that of a furnace. Many pyrometers work by measuring the radiation from the body whose temperature is to be measured. There is another device known as the optical pyrometer. It measures the temperature of glowing bodies by comparing them visually with an incandescent filament of known temperature. Another type is the resistance pyrometer in which a fine wire is in contact with the object and its temperature is determined by measuring its electrical resistance.

WHAT IS WHITE COAL?

White coal is a form of fuel produced by drying chopped wood over a fire. It differs from charcoal which is carbonised wood White coal was used in England to smelt lead ore from the mid-16th to the late 17th centuries. It produces more heat than but less than charcoal and thus prevents lead evaporating. White coal was produced in distinctive circular pits with a channel, known as Q-pits They are frequently found in the woods 7f South Yorkshire.

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF GEOSTATIONARY SATELLITE?

A geostationary satellite means a satellite, which moves in space at the same speed and in the same direction as the earth. As a result, its position is fixed in relation to any spot on the earth.

IF THE SUN IS A STAR, WHY DOESN’T IT TWINKLE?

THE sun is an ordinary star. There are stars many times bigger than the sun. The stars that you see twinkling are so far away, that the light from them takes thousands of years to reach us. Even the light from the nearest star, Proxima Centauri, takes about three to four years to reach us. The light from the stars seems to twinkle because it comes through the constantly moving air currents around the earth. The sun does not twinkle because it is very close to us —just about 150 million kilometres away.

HOW DID THE OZONE LAYER GET DEPLETED?

THE ozone layer got depleted because of chemicals released into the atmosphere by man, particularly chlorofluoro carbons used in the refrigeration industry and air conditioners.

WHAT IS A TRANSDUCER?

A transducer is a contraption by instrumentation engineers to convert a physical action into an equivalent electrical signal.

WHAT IS AN EXOTHERMIC REACTION?

Exothermic is an adjective pertaining to a chemical change that is accompanied by liberation of energy in the form of heat.

WHAT ARE CONIC SECTIONS?

In geometry, circle, ellipse, parabola, hyperbola and a pair of straight lines are called conic sections as these geometrical entities can be obtained by slicing a cone.

WHAT IS MARCODONTIA?

It is rare case of unusually large teeth found in otherwise normal person.

WHAT IS RESIDUAL STRESS?

It is a stress in metal, on a microscopic scale, resulting from nonuniform thermal changes and plassic deformation.

WHAT IS A GM COUNTER?

GM or Geiger-Mueller Counter is an instrument used in measurement of radioactivity. It is a cylindrical structure filled with inert gas and a central wire maintained at ultra-high voltage. The impinging radiationionises the inert gas and creates a shower a charged particles. This change can be electronic gadgets such as a computer.

WHICH FLOWER IS KNOWN AS THE FLOWER OF THE NIGHT?

The flower of a type of cactus called orchid cactus, (Epiphyllum oxypetallum), is known as the “flower of the night” or the “queen of the night”. This cactus is native to Central and South America. It possesses what appear to be flat leaves, which are actually stems, on which the flower blooms directly In Greek, “epiphyllum” means “upon the leaf”. This cactus flowers once a year, and the flower opens only for one night. When the flower blooms, it fills its surroundings with a strong scent, and hence the name.

WHAT IS GODEPS THEOREM?

Austrian-born American mathematician Kurt Godel proved that within a rigid logical mathematical system, there are certain questions that can neither be proved nor be disproved on the basis of the axioms of the system. Godel’s theorem, in essence, goes beyond the realm of .

DO YOU KNOW THE MEANING OF CHIRALITY?

If the mirror image of a natural object is different from the object itself, the object is called a chiral / objects. A perfect sphere is not chiral. Scientists are studying basic building blocks of matter to understand the fundamental reason for this amazing property.

IS THERE ANYTHING YELLOW ABOUT THE YELLOW SEA?

The Yellow Sea is an arm of the Pacific Ocean that extends inland for about 400 miles between the east coast of China and Korea. The Chinese named this area the Huang Hal (Yellow Sea) because the waters along the banks are a yellow, muddy color. The Huang River carries deposits of yellow earth (huangtu) to the Yellow Sea, which thereby gets its name.

WHAT IS BLACK ABOUT THE BLACK SEA?

The deep water of the Black Sea is supposed to be darker than the water of a normal sea, because the Black Sea has rich concentration of micro algae. Further, the Black Sea was called so in olden times, perhaps because it was very stormy and hence difficult to navigate. It was considered an inhospitable sea because barbarians occupied its shores. According to another theory, the Black Sea is called so because it is on the northern side of the Mediterranean Sea, and in ancient times the colour black was used in the compass to mark north.

IS THERE ANYTHING RED ABOUT RED SEA?

The Red Sea is not actually red in colour. The Red Sea, located between the African coast and Saudi Arabia, contains a type of algae called Trichodesmium eythraeum. As they die, their remains end up on the ocean floor. THEIR COLOUR CHANGES TO REDDISH-BROWN AND THIS GIVES THE SEA A ‘RED’ COLOUR.

WHAT’S UNIQUE ABOUT SPACE VEHICLE ORION?

Orion is the new moonship that NASA plans to develop. This was revealed when US astronaut Jeff Williams inadvertently mentioned the name of the vehicle while taping a message for a space agency when floating 354 kms above the earth in the International Space Station. It was transmitted by accident over space-to-ground radio.

WHAT IS A PUFFER MACHINE?

A puffer machine, formally named an explosives detection trace portal, is a security device that detects explosives at airports and other sensitive facilities. The machine operates by releasing multiple puffs of air at a passenger standing upright in the machine. The cool air blasts are felt by the passenger, but are not painful or otherwise damaging. The purpose of the series of air blasts is to release microscopic particles into the air, such as gunpowder or residue from bomb-making materials, which would then be detected by the machine. If such particles are suspected, the passenger may be retained for further screening. The entire process takes approximately 15 seconds.

WHY IS THE TRAJECTORY OF PLUTO DIFFERENT FROM ALL OTHER PLANETS?

The peculiarity of Pluto’s trajectory is that both its eccentricity and inclination to the ecliptic, the approximate plane in which the orbits of the other planets lie, are extremely high. As Pluto was discovered only in 1930, astronomers haven’t been able to fully explain the peculiarity of its orbit. A hypothesis proposed that it was originally a moon to Neptune, and later somehow escaped from Neptune’s gravity In 1978, when Pluto’s moon, Charon, was discovered, new theories were proposed regarding the origin of both Pluto and Charon. It is now believed that *both of them were formed independently, but after some time there was a collision between Pluto and the original Charon. From the debris of that collision,

THE PIT BULL PROBLEM

THE PIT BULL PROBLEM
TRENTON — They were in the attic for days. Chardonnay Evans paid no mind to the ruckus up there because the noise makers were just a couple of dogs barking and scratching and doing whatever else doggies do.

Read more on The Trentonian

Law School Q&a

To sir with love?
Im 22 and a frosh at law school and I have this huge crush on my professor. The man is sooooo hot! I mean i admire him really. I do rather well in his class which is so out of character for me. He isnt really giving me special attention because i dress rather horribly.

Types of law? Degrees?
I’m an undergrad student aspiring for law school. Shamefully though, I dont really know all the different types of law there are. Also I would like to know if there are different law degrees to get. Can anyone help me here maybe even showing me a link to go to, to help me answer these.

what are the chances of getting accepted into UC Berkeley law school with a lower than average LSAT score?
Check out www.LSAC.org for the LSAT and GPA that Berkley takes. But I will tell you, I had an LSAT score in the 95th percentile, and a 3.4 GPA and I didn’t get in. It is a very competitive.

What are the differences between an ABA law school and reginally accredited law school?
I’m planning to study law in the states and I’m not sure how things work as I am from New Zealand, abit confuse there when it comes to choosing law school, as some non ABA law school do not require LSAT, and most ABA law.

What are the three most significant Legal cases in United States history?
Row v. Wade – Abortion Brown v. Board of Education – Civil Rights Marburry v. Madison – Power of Judical Review Those are the ones that we, in law school, are supposed to know inside and out. – Roe v Wade Brown v Board of Education.

what can i do for areal job?
I did my undergrad in political science and world issues and have a diploma in police sciences (dont want to be a cop anymore) and have just completed my first year of law school (but dont want to continue down this path) I need a real job now, anyone have any suggestions.

what do attorneys make?
How much do typical ligiation attorneys make in large market area right out of law school? Um. Around 150,000-200,000 ish. – what do they make? they make a lot of hardship for other people. Your question hints at what the problem is with lawyers: it’s all about the money. You just want to become a.

What do I need to do to get in to law school?
First, work hard on your bachelors. It can be any major, just make sure you enjoy it and do well. You need to get the best grades you can to be competitive – the admissions process is getting more and more competitive every year. In your.

What do people mean when they say that in law school you have to learn to ‘think a different way?’?
If you answered my other question, you know what I am talking about. Please help. ‘Thinking like a lawyer’ involves two different sets of skills. The first is the ability to formulate general rules that function as templates. Sometimes.

What do you exactly learn at law school for 3 whole years?
im just curious to know why is there a professional school specifically for law. I mean how would it help me out in my career? Law school teaches you more than just ‘the law,’ it teaches you how to think like a lawyer. Legal professions approach problems.

What do you have to do to become a lawyer?
Please tell me!! I’m desparate! In Ca. you need an AA Degree with 36 units of law credits then you can go to law school, which only a few are accepting just an AA. Most times, a BA degree is needed first which is four years at college, then.

What does it take to be a good lawyer at a law firm?
Skills of a good lawyer generally: understanding of basic legal principles, ability to research, to be organized, to write coherently, to follow directions — all the stuff they talked about in law school; still applies in a firm. The thing about a big firm, as.

What does it take to become a lawyer? How many years at college, etc.?
PLease don’t spam. In the U.S., most law schools will tell you that you need a four-year degree from an accredited college or university, then most states require a juris doctor from an accredited law school before taking the bar exam. Law School is usually.

what does JD or LL.B. OR LL.M. mean when someone is taken law ?
JD is Juris Doctor. It’s basically what you get after going to law school. LL.B is not use in the united states. It’s mainly used in countries where British rule once existed. It’s sort of like a Bachelors degree in law. an LL.M is.

What high schools classes do you need for a lawyer carrer?
None, really. Law school is a graduate-level school, so that means you have to go through a four-year university first. Thus, no law school is going to look at your highschool transcript. That said, you’ll probably want to take as many A.P courses as you can in.

what is a good major if you want to go to law school and become a lawyer?
im going to college Political science, philosophy, history and English have been traditional ‘pre-law’ majors, but these days law school admissions are much more competitive, so more and more students seeking law school admission are seeking to distinguish themselves by majoring (and.

What is a good medium priced laptop for a student entering law school.?
my daughter is entering Law School. She doesn’t have a whole lot of money to spend,probably between 600-799. She will want to be able to do multi-tasking and will need a wireless one. Is there anything wrong with a refurbished one? I tend to shy away.

what is the average first year law student like?
what are the main skills taught in first year law school? example: finding the issue of a case, argument techniques? Most schools teach the socratic method, where after you read a case in class, they will ask students for the facts of the case, the issue presented, the courts reasoning,.

What is the best way for a lawyer to break into the finance world?
Given that you’ve already been through three years of law school, I think the ‘best way’ would enable you to spend the least amount of time in another program while maximizing your training in finance prior to entering the job market. Here are two.

What is the difference between a JD, JSD, or LLM applicant for law school?
A JD is a Juris Doctor, a Doctor of Law, which allows someone to sit on the bar exam, and is the basic degree that all lawyers have. The LL.M is the Legum Magister, Master of Laws, which requires a JD and is an.

what is the tort law and economic?
Tort law is a basic subject, usually taught to law students in their first semester of law school. It is the major field of law in which a person can seek a remedy for an injury or loss of some sort that they have suffered outside the context of a contractual.

What job qualifications do i need to be a lawyer?
You need to pass the bar in the state in which you want to practice. This generally requires going to law school. – You need to be a dirty, money grubbing scumbag. with no morals or ethics for oter people. – The basic qualifications for becoming a lawyer.

What should I get my brother for his graduation from law school in may?
If you know any essential/necessities please help me. I am not very good at choosing gifts for him. I usually give him money but that is getting kinda monotonous. Please help or give me some suggestions. He just turned 30 so I hope that little.

What should one major in if you plan to go to law school?
In today’s competitive environment, majors OTHER THAN the typical choices of political science and philosophy can make a law school candidate look appealing, especially if the major has something to do with the area of law in which the candidate hopes to specialize (as outlined.

What site can i go to a online law school courses?
Im done with college and just dont have time to go to law school but i need something I can afford ad do at home on my laptop. Sites for Online Law School? You may want to check out theses sites: 1) Concord University School of Law. Concord.

What suggestions can anyone give,about becoming a lawyer,who is visually impaired.?
I am 51,going to college for the first time,what kind of jobs can I apply for with a Juris Doctor Degree? After four years of law school,what will be my next educational move? My aunt had a friend in law school who was visually impaired. She went to.

Whats the best major for getting into law school?
I hear alot of people go into political science, criminal justice, some go into history, english economics etc. I know there is no set requirement, but what major do they accept the most of. Don’t worry about what they accept the most of—what interest YOU? Think of something that interest.

What’s the most important thing to know in order to succeed law school?
Starting law school May 10th. I’m currently a 2L taking my 4th semester of exams, and here’s my advice: 1) Learn how to take law school exams. At least look up some sample exams in Contracts, Property, and Torts on-line before the first one slaps you.

When a person graduates law school.?
is the degree considered to be masters? one of my friend’s said that it is considered master’s, since u have already completed the 4 yr degree n got a BA, which i think is true!! what do u think?? The J.D. is a juris doctor degree that is a graduate degree. It involves.

Which law schools have the best programs in constitutional law?
I’m planning on applying to law school this fall, and I’m wanting to take alot of courses on con-law. I know obviously the top tier schools like Harvard, Columbia, Yale, etc are all going to have good constitutional law programs but what other schools have good programs, and where.

Why do law students think they are so special?
I go to a top 15 law school, and all of the students are self centered spoiled brats. Any idea why? I work for lawyers and every summer a law student will clerk at our office. Law students like to treat the paralegals and legal assistants like we are trash..

More Law school questions please visit : LawFreeFAQ.com

National Geographic’s Darwin Error

The November edition of National Geographic magazine (NG) posed the question “Was Darwin Wrong?” on its front cover. Natural scientist David Quammen, author of the article by the same name, replied “No” to that question from his own perspective, and claimed that Darwin’s theory of evolution was today backed up by powerful scientific evidence. Quammen repeated the main claims from Darwin’s book The Origin of Species, but overlooked one important detail.

Darwin added another chapter to his book, one called “Difficulties on Theory,” and openly admitted the existence of difficulties in these terms:

Such is the sum of the several chief objections and difficulties which may justly be urged against my theory… I have felt these difficulties far too heavily during many years to doubt their weight. 1

The fact is, however, that the NG article discussed not one of the phenomena that Darwin regarded as a problem for his theory, and even ignored their existence. For example, although Darwin referred in his book to the way the fossil record failed to back up his theory and to the complexity in the eye, NG magazine did not even touch on such subjects which the theory of evolution is unable to account for as the Cambrian Explosion, biological complexity and the origin of genetic information.

Quammen, who thus appears to be more of a Darwinist than Darwin himself, emerged as the defender not of a theory that can account for difficulties, but of a “dogma” that needs to be shielded from criticism.

In this article, Quammen’s so-called evidence is analysed and the Darwinist propaganda embarked on by NG magazine refuted.

An Example of NG Turkey’s Dogmatic Stance

The English language edition of the NG article “Was Darwin Wrong?” also devoted space to Harun Yahya’s works about the theory of evolution. In the section describing worldwide reactions against evolution the following words appeared in reference to Harun Yahya:

Their discomfort is paralleled by Islamic creationists such as Harun Yahya, author of a recent volume titled The Evolution Deceit, who points to the six-day creation story in the Koran as literal truth and calls the theory of evolution “nothing but a deception imposed on us by the dominators of the world system.”

Interestingly though, Harun Yahya did not appear in NG’s Turkish version, and this section was altered, assuming the following form: “This unease displays a parallelism among those who support the Islamic idea of creation.”

As someone who states his primary aim as being that of describing the philosophy and scientific invalidity of Darwinism, Harun Yahya has closely monitored Darwinist propaganda in recent years and has responded, in the light of scientific findings, to the pro-evolutionist writings and broadcasts of media organisations, of which NG is one. (see www.darwinism-watch.com)

If Darwinism really were supported by a mass of evidence, as claimed in this NG article, then why is NG Turkey trying to prevent Harun Yahya’s scientific criticisms from being heard? Could it be that NG Turkey was concerned that Darwinism will be unable to withstand such scientific criticism? In fact, this attitude by NG’s Turkey desk not only shows that the magazine is unwilling to inform its readers of the source of effective criticism of evolution, but also confirms the criticism that it is seeking to keep Darwinism on its feet as an ideology.

NG Is Unwilling to Face the Modern Scientific Facts

There can be no doubt that in order to provide a realistic response to the question “Was Darwin Wrong?” one needs to look at what Darwin actually said and to compare this to modern scientific facts. In his book The Origin of Species, in which he unveiled his theory of evolution, Darwin provided a very important criterion by which to test his theory. So concrete is that criterion that in Darwin’s own words it could “absolutely break down” the theory. Darwin wrote:

“If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down.” 2

Darwin maintained that organs evolved during a gradual process. Thinking of this imaginary process in reverse, it appears that Darwin assumed that these organs possessed reducibility. However, advances made in the field of biochemistry, especially over the last 40 years, have revealed that the cell possesses a superior complexity, the details of which were unknown in Darwin’s time, for which reason it was equated to a “black box,” and that certain structures within the cell actually possess the feature of “irreducible complexity.”

“Irreducible complexity” is a phenomenon based on empirical evidence and literally constitutes the antithesis of Darwin’s theory. The most important figure to bring this concept onto the agenda of the scientific world is the biochemist Michael J. Behe from Lehigh University in the USA. In his 1996 book Darwin’s Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution Behe examines the irreducibly complex natures of the cell and certain other biological structures, and reveals that these cannot possibly be accounted for in terms of evolution. Behe sets out the effect that irreducible complexity has on the claims of Darwinism thus:

“To Darwin, the cell was a ‘black box’ — its inner workings were utterly mysterious to him. Now, the black box has been opened up and we know how it works. Applying Darwin’s test to the ultra-complex world of molecular machinery and cellular systems that have been discovered over the past 40 years, we can say that Darwin’s theory has ‘absolutely broken down’.” 3

Irreducible complexity has demolished Darwinism, and proved that life is the product of intelligent design, in other words that God has created all living things. The way that NG seeks to keep this from its readers constitutes a flight from reality.

NG’s biogeographical tales

In his article in NG, Quammen begins his account of the so-called evidence for Darwinism with biogeography, and it may be of use to provide a description of this concept at this point. Biogeography is a branch of science that investigates the geographical distribution of species and seeks an answer to the question of how they came by these habitat regions by drawing up maps of their locations on the Earth.

Most books in the field of biogeography are full of facts that say nothing, neither in favour nor against, the theory of evolution: such as maps of living species’ habitat areas, the features of those areas, questions regarding the spread of organisms, and the grouping together of species on the basis of geographical area … 4

When their distribution on the Earth is examined it can be seen that species do not generally exhibit a global distribution. Species have rather spread in large groups in areas possessing specific climatic and environmental conditions. Ever since Darwin, evolutionists have sought to portray this spread as evidence for evolution, though with regard to the “fundamental” living categories of geographical distribution their efforts have failed to come up with a consistent evolutionary scenario.

In their book Systematics and Biogeography, G. Nelson and N. Platnick of the New York American Museum of Natural History analysed the studies performed in this field and set out their conclusion:

We conclude, therefore, that biogeography (or geographical distribution of organisms) has not been shown to be evidence for or against evolution in any sense. 5

If evolutionists really wish to offer evidence for their theory then what they need to do is to abandon their fairy tales about “if this living thing is found here then it must have evolved here, and if that living thing is found there then it must have evolved there,” and instead scientifically document their own responses to the question of how living things came into being in the first place. (It is an indisputable fact that the mechanisms of random mutation and natural selection cannot account for the origin of species.)

The fact that evolutionist claims based on biogeography are myths devoid of any scientific evidence clearly emerge on inspection of NG’s claims about palaeontology. The fossil record clearly reveals that the idea that living things spread by evolving is a myth.

NG’s palaeontology deception

NG makes a generalisation about the fossil strata, telling its readers that so-called closely related species are generally found side by side in consecutive strata, and that a life form going back millions of years in one stratum is followed by a similar, though not identical, one in the subsequent stratum. As an example of this generalisation it cites the equine sequence that even evolutionists abandoned years ago; it maintains that the modern-day horse emerged at the end of the sequence Hyracotherium, Orohippus, Epihippus and Mohippus, fossils of which are found in consecutive strata.

What NG is doing here consists of a blatant deception. The equine sequence is an unfounded one, the invalidity of which has now been demonstrated. That being the case, putting it forward as a generalisation regarding the fossil record cannot be described as anything else than an attempt to verify that generalisation with a deceptive example.

Life forms emerged with no evolutionary progenitors, but in a single moment, and with flawless bodily structures

Darwin, who maintained that living things emerged through graduated evolution and who hoped that the fossil record to confirm that claim would be obtained in future excavations, was mistaken. The fossils obtained in endless excavations carried out by palaeontologists all over the world have produced findings that openly refute the idea of gradual change in consecutive strata. These facts concern the phenomena of sudden appearance and stasis.

Species emerge suddenly, with no evolutionary progenitors but with flawless bodily structures. In his 1999 book Fossils and Evolution, Tom Kemp, Curator of the Zoological Collections in Oxford University Museum of Natural History, admits this:

In virtually all cases a new taxon appears for the first time in the fossil record with most definitive features already present, and practically no known stem-group forms. 6

Fossils hundreds of millions of years old that bear no

trace of evolution invalidate neo-Darwinism

Furthermore, species exhibit no gradual change as suggested in the NG generalisation. Species with natural histories of hundreds of millions of years exhibit a “stability” demonstrating a permanency throughout geological strata. The shark, coelacanth, ant, salamander and many other species, fossils of which have been found and which have remained unchanged for hundreds of millions of years, have led to palaeontologists accepting stasis as one of the most striking aspects of the fossil record. This phenomenon refutes Darwinism’s prediction of gradual change and invalidates the theory. Professor of Geology Peter J. Williamson describes this in Nature magazine:

The principal problem is morphological stasis. A theory is only as good as its predictions, and conventional neo-Darwinism, which claims to be a comprehensive explanation of evolutionary process, has failed to predict the widespread long-term morphological stasis now recognized as one of the most striking aspects of the fossil record. 7

In short, NG’s claim of graduated change throughout geological strata is a myth supported in the face of the science of palaeontology. The way that NG seeks to support that myth with the equine sequence only makes matters worse.

The truth in the equine sequence that NG seeks to conceal from its readers

The equine sequence is based on various hoofed fossils unearthed in North America. Darwinists set these out in such a way as to establish a sequence, according to the fossils’ dental characteristics and numbers of toes, and for years put this forward as evidence for Darwinism. Continuing palaeontological excavations, however, definitively revealed the inconsistencies within that series. NG, known for its blind devotion to Darwinism, has no qualms about concealing this development from its readers and writing that the alleged evolutionary ancestors of the horse follow one another in consecutive geological strata.

Former BBC science editor Gordon Rattray Taylor describes how the equine sequence constitutes no evidence for Darwinism:

But perhaps the most serious weakness of Darwinism is the failure of paleontologists to find convincing phylogenies or sequences of organisms demonstrating major evolutionary change… The horse is often cited as the only fully worked-out example. But the fact is that the line from Eohippus to Equus is very erratic. It is alleged to show a continual increase in size, but the truth is that some variants were smaller than Eohippus, not larger. Specimens from different sources can be brought together in a convincing-looking sequence, but there is no evidence that they were actually ranged in this order in time. 8

At a meeting in November 1980 at the Chicago Museum of Natural History, attended by 150 evolutionists, one speaker, Boyce Rensberger, stated that there was no basis in the fossil record for the scenario of equine evolution, and that no gradual equine evolution ever took place:

The popularly told example of horse evolution, suggesting a gradual sequence of changes from four-toed fox-sized creatures living nearly 50 million years ago to today’s much larger one-toed horse, has long been known to be wrong. Instead of gradual change, fossils of each intermediate species appear fully distinct, persist unchanged, and then become extinct. Transitional forms are unknown. 9

Discoveries that living things included in the imaginary sequence of equine evolution actually lived at the same time, and even together, totally refute Quammen. One of the most striking examples of this came to light in 1981. Fossils of thousands of living things, 10 million years old, that had been buried under lava as the result of a volcanic eruption and whose skeletons had been preserved down to the present day, were dug up in the US state of Nebraska. With that discovery it emerged that three- and single-toed equines assumed to have lived at different periods and to have ancestral relationships with one another in the framework of evolutionists’ imaginary equine sequence, actually lived side by side. Interestingly the source of this information is NG magazine. 10

The myth of whale evolution

I can see no difficulty in a race of bears being rendered, by natural selection, more and more aquatic in their structure and habits, with larger and larger mouths, till a creature was produced as monstrous as a whale. 11

From watching bears fishing along a river bank, Darwin set out his ideas on the origin of whales in these words in his book The Origin of Species, though he elected to remove that section from subsequent editions of the book. Yet evolutionists who came after Darwin had no hesitation over adopting this myth, with various minor amendments, that came down as a monument to the unrestricted nature of his imagination. They continued to propagate the myth that the whale evolved not from the bear but from other land mammals, as if this were a scientific fact.

It can now be seen that NG, one of the main representatives of Darwinian mythology, is behaving no differently, and is seeking to portray this great myth, supported for the sake of the dogma of evolution, as representing evidence for evolution.

There are enormous differences, in terms of such basic physiological characteristics as water conservation, sight and communication, between whales and the land mammals alleged to have been their progenitors. Let us now consider the scientific dilemma facing the myth of evolution by examining the design in whales:

The special water conservation design in whales’ bodies

Although they live in water, whales are unable to meet their water requirements from salty sea water. They need fresh water to live. Although it is not known exactly how they meet their water needs, it is thought that a large part of it is obtained by eating sea creatures that contain levels of salt that are 30% lower than those of the ocean water.In such an environment, where fresh water is exceedingly scarce, the maximum conservation of water in living things’ bodies and minimum consumption thereof are critical. Water levels are of great importance to whales, for which reason, just like camels, whales do not perspire. Their kidneys regulate urine concentration in such a way as to supply water.

Why is whale milk fatty?

Another delicate balance with regard to water needs appears in the fat level in the female whale’s milk. The mother whale feeds her young with a very thick milk, of the consistency of cheese. This milk is ten times fattier than human milk. There is a chemical reason why this milk contains such a high level of fat. Water is produced as a side product as fat is processed after being consumed by the baby. In this way the mother meets her offspring’s need for water with minimal water loss.

The design in whales’ eyes

There are complex arrangements in the design of the whale eye and its communication systems, no examples of which are to be found in terrestrial mammals. Land mammals have eyelids to protect against dust and impact. Whales, on the other hand, have a hard layer to protect against a different danger, the pressure under the sea. Moreover, the refractive index in the design of the whale eye makes it possible for a killer whale to leap up and catch a fish six metres above the water level in an amusement park with considerable accuracy. In addition, whales’ eyes are on either side of the head, unlike terrestrial mammals, thus protecting them from the current. Thanks to the levels of rod and cone cells in the eye, their sensitivity levels to light, colour and other details are very high. In addition to that ratio, the presence of phosphorus in the eyes is a design that facilitates their ability to see in the dark depths of the oceans.

The mathematical calculation employed by whales

The sense used by whales in the location of sources of food and of one another is not actually sight, but rather hearing. Many whales hunt at the dark regions at the bottom of the sea thanks to a form of natural “sonar.” The whale’s brain emits clicking sounds, in a way not yet fully understood by scientists. The distance of an object is determined by means of a mathematical calculation. The whale brain multiplies the speed at which the sounds it emits strike an object and bounce back by the time necessary for this, and divides the result by two. The result is the distance of the object from itself. Furthermore, the whale also possesses the ability to focus the sound waves with its brain on a specific point and to emit these like a light impulse. The returning waves are analysed and interpreted in the animal’s brain. This interpretation determines the shape of the body in front of it, its size, speed and position. The animal’s skull is sound-proofed to protect it from the bombardment of powerful sound waves it constantly emits and which could even seriously damage the brain itself. The sonic system in the animal is unbelievably sensitive, so much so that the US Navy imitates the sonar design in sea mammals in developing its own technology. 12

Special designs for whale calves

The perfect designs in whales are by no means limited to these. The shape of a whale calf’s mouth has been designed in such a way as to be ideally suited to fit its mother’s teats, so that the calf is able to suckle without losing a drop of milk and without taking in a drop of sea water. Moreover, they possess lungs capable of storing high levels of oxygen for protracted dives and an ear membrane designed to protect them from high pressure.

These arrangements, every one of which indicates an evident design, are particular to whales and are not to be found in any terrestrial mammal. NG, however, expects it readers to set reason aside and believe that these all came about by chance. NG denies that whales were intelligently designed, maintaining instead that one fine day a land mammal decided to live in the sea, and that the whale evolved as the result of unconscious mechanisms such as random mutations and natural selection.

Yet what mutation could possibly produce sonar in a mammal that was allegedly the progenitor of the whale? Bearing in mind the effect of mutations and the importance of the brain to the whale’s survival, it is clear that mutations would damage the brain, crippling or killing the whale. Could the brain, that produces sound waves, be able to focus these on a particular point and determine the location of objects using a mathematical calculation, acquire a perfect sonar in an area that would be damaged during this random process? By what coincidence could it produce sonar of such a high quality that even the US Navy’s technology development units have been unable to match it? What mutations could turn a land mammal’s feet into fins and a tail capable of propelling several tons of weight?

There is no doubt that these questions may also be asked with regard to the systems that make it possible to use water so productively, the suckling system and the protective systems in the eye and ear. However, NG has no reasonable response to give to these questions. There is but one answer. Whales were created fully formed in a single moment. God created whales to be flawless, endowed with all the systems for their needs, just as He did all other living things. In one verse of the Qur’an it is revealed that:

Mankind! remember God’s blessing to you. Is there any creator other than God providing for you from heaven and earth? There is no god but Him. So how have you been perverted? (Qur’an, 35: 3)

(For a more detailed reply to NG’s fantastical whale story see http://www.harunyahya.com/70national_geographic_sci29.php)

NG’s error regarding embryology

Another error in Quammen’s article in NG is the repetition of a myth once known as the “law of recapitulation.” This belonged to the German biologist Ernst Haeckel and in his claim regarding embryology Darwin was to a large extent “inspired” by Haeckel. The law of recapitulation maintains that the embryological development of living things repeats the imaginary stages undergone during the descent of the alleged evolutionary ancestors.

The fact that Quammen devotes space to this in his article reveals a wide gap of knowledge on his part. Objections along the lines that Haeckel’s claims were devoid of any scientific justification and that the evidence he offered was forged began 136 years ago13, and the end of the law of recapitulation as the subject of scientific debate came as far back as 80 years ago 14. Even George Gaylord Simpson, one of the founders of neo-Darwinism, admitted this fact 42 years ago in the words:

Haeckel misstated the evolutionary principle involved. It is now firmly established that ontogeny does not repeat phylogeny. 15

Moreover, the myth of recapitulation, which NG has no qualms over recapitulating itself, involves what one British embryologist referred to in 1997 as “the best known fraud in the history of biology.” In his book Natürliche Schöpfungsgeschichte (The History of Natural Creation), written in 1868, Haeckel deliberately distorted the pictures of human, monkey and dog embryos in such a way as to support his claim.

One striking aspect of this fraud is that it also constitutes a “centennial monument” to Darwinist dogmatism. Until recently, a number of Darwinist sources, including text books, continued either to use the counterfeit drawings as they were, or else to repeat the myth of recapitulation. The Harvard University professor and evolutionist Stephen Jay Gould displayed great common sense and offered the following criticism:

… [W]e do, I think, have the right to be both astonished and ashamed by the century of mindless recycling that has led to the persistence of these drawings in a large number, if not a majority, of modern textbooks! 16

NG has not used counterfeit drawings. Yet it has no hesitations over using recapitulation, the invalidity of which emerged at least 80 years ago, as support for Darwinism.

We urge NG to consider Stephen Jay Gould’s words.

NG’s errors with regard to morphology

Quammen exhibits a most thought-provoking attitude in that section in which he deals with Darwin’s claims on the subject of morphology. The way that a zoo is organised into birds, monkeys, big cats, crocodiles or fish in the aquarium is interpreted as evidence for evolution. According to Quammen, the fact that living things can be classified under a hierarchical system in families, orders and kingdoms must be the product of an evolutionary process.

However, Quammen’s portrayal of hierarchical classification as evidence for evolution is nonsensical. That is because the fact that forms of life can be classified hierarchically is not a prediction first put forward by evolutionists and then subsequently confirmed. The Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus, the father of the modern system of classification, was a scientist who believed in creation from nothing and regarded that classification as the product of intelligent design. That is compatible with what we see with our own eyes and is grounded in common sense. The ability to be hierarchically classified is a well known hallmark of intelligent design. Means of transport, for example, can be classified as land, air and sea vehicles, and may be broken down into subcategories and even smaller subgroups. Yet this classification does not show that the modes of transport in question came into being through evolution.

Indeed, in an article published in the magazine New Scientist, the prominent evolutionist Mark Ridley makes the following statement:

The simple fact that species can be classified hierarchically into genera, families, and so on, is not an argument for evolution. It is possible to classify any set of objects into a hierarchy whether their variation is evolutionary or not. 17

Quammen’s preconception

In the same way that what Quammen writes on this subject are far from supporting his claim, it also reveals how he relies on preconceptions rather than scientific evidence:

Such a pattern of tiered resemblances?groups of similar species nested within broader groupings, and all descending from a single source?isn’t naturally present among other collections of items. You won’t find anything equivalent if you try to categorize rocks, or musical instruments, or jewelry. Why not? Because rock types and styles of jewelry don’t reflect unbroken descent from common ancestors. Biological diversity does. The number of shared characteristics between any one species and another indicates how recently those two species have diverged from a shared lineage. (p. 13)

Quammen placed the hierarchical categorisation in living things in a separate place, on the grounds that it reflects a continual chain of descent from a common ancestor. That term, however, is helpless labelling in Quammen’s desperate attempts to prove Darwin right.

As is made clear above, there is no fossil record capable of being proposed as evidence of any evolutionary link between living categories. The words of the prominent evolutionary palaeontologist Stephen Jay Gould that “The evolutionary trees that adorn our textbooks have data only at the tips and nodes of their branches” are an admission of the fact that there is actually no evidence for the evolutionary links assumed to exist among living things. 18

In short, the origin of the evolutionary chain of descent that Quammen claims exists among living categories is not scientific fact such as the fossil record, but rather his own dogmatic mentality.

The five-digit skeletal structure error

Quammen maintains that the way that various vertebrates such as the bat, the dolphin and human beings all share the feature of having five digits stems from descent from a common ancestor. This claim rests on the fact that although there is the same basic plan in the front and rear legs of the living things in question, these can still be easily differentiated (the homological claim). This claim of Quammen’s can of course only deceive those readers who are unaware of the facts of modern science. Advances in the field of molecular biology definitively invalidate this morphology-based claim. One striking discovery that led to this is that the production of these organs, assumed to be a legacy from a common ancestor, is in fact controlled by different genes in different creatures.

The evolutionary biologist William Fix describes the collapse of the evolutionary thesis concerning pentadactylism (having five digits) in this area in the face of this discovery:

The older textbooks on evolution make much of the idea of homology, pointing out the obvious resemblances between the skeletons of the limbs of different animals. Thus the `pentadactyl’ limb pattern is found in the arm of a man, the wing of a bird, and flipper of a whale, and this is held to indicate their common origin. Now if these various structures were transmitted by the same gene couples, varied from time to time by mutations and acted upon by environmental selection, the theory would make good sense. Unfortunately this is not the case. Homologous organs are now known to be produced by totally different gene complexes in the different species. The concept of homology in terms of similar genes handed on from a common ancestor has broken down. 19

NG’s vestigial Darwinism

Quammen displays a striking determination not to grasp the fact that Darwin’s claims have been demolished by modern science. One of the indications of this is his repetition of the claim regarding vestigial organs, a claim which is utterly illusory. It is maintained in the article that organs such as the male nipple, structures claimed to be the vestiges of rear legs in certain snakes, or the covered wings in coleoptera that are not actually used, are redundant, functionless organs left over from the evolutionary process. Quammen is clearly ignoring the definitive results from scientific developments:

The list of up to 180 supposed vestigial organs at the beginning of the 20th century eventually shrank to almost none in the face of discoveries from scientific research. One by one it emerged that a great many organs, such as the appendix and the plica semilunaris, once supposed to be vestigial organs, do actually have functions.20 “Science” is in any case the process by which human beings come to know what was previously unknown. The gradual emergence of the functions of organs that were once regarded as vestigial shows that, logically, the functions of the last few remaining organs whose functions are still unknown will soon be revealed.

Indeed, a great many present-day evolutionists have admitted that the myth of “vestigial organs” is an argument rooted in ignorance. In an article headed “Do Vestigial Organs Represent Evidence for Evolution?” published in the journal Evolutionary Theory, the evolutionary biologist S. R. Scadding admits this fact:

Since it is not possible to unambiguously identify useless structures, and since the structure of the argument used is not scientifically valid, I conclude that ‘vestigial organs’ provide no special evidence for the theory of evolution. 21

Evolutionists’ claim on the subject of vestigial organs stem not from any vestigialism in these organs, but from the vestigial nature of their own perspectives. The existence of any living thing proves only the existence of God, its creator. The way that inanimate and unconscious atoms combine to produce a hearing, smelling, touching and seeing human being is proof of God’s flawless creation. That it is because it is impossible for atoms, which cannot smell, hear or see, to wish to have perception and to combine together for that purpose. For a collection of matter to stand and look at itself in front of a mirror, or for matter to taste and touch itself, has no place in evolutionary logic. These feelings can only be explained in terms of a superior creation, in other words the existence of God and His flawless creation. Despite this self-evident truth, evolutionists hold to the irrational and blind belief that they themselves are the product of matter and blind chance, which shows that their claim regarding vestigial organs is one based on this prejudiced and dogmatic perspective.

The realisation that the organs regarded by evolutionists as vestigial do actually have functions is a proof of this. For example, the structures portrayed as the vestiges of rear legs in certain species of snake are now known to help them to grip one another during mating. To regard the male nipple as the product of an evolutionary process also rests on a distorted logic. If the male nipple were a leftover from an evolutionary process then males must have evolved from a population consisting solely of females, which is a scenario so unimaginable that no evolutionist has felt able to accept it. Coleoptera, another example cited by Quammen, also constitute no evidence for evolution. Insect species which do not develop a functional wing are generally seen in open habitats with strong winds, such as ocean islands. In an environment where strong winds blow and surrounded by large masses of water, insects’ being able to fly is by no means an advantage, and may even represent a danger. That is because insects flying in the air are exposed to the effects of the wind and can be hurled into trees or rocks, ending up crippled or dead. There may, therefore, have been a tendency for them to move towards a ground-based lifestyle. Over time, the insect population that lives near the ground comes to consist of individuals that do not develop fully fledged wings. That is because, unlike flying insects, mutations that prevent insects that live near to ground level developing wings may not be damaging to the insect (on the provision that they do not cause a total interruption in its physiology).

A mutation that prevented wing development in a flying insect living in a habitat uninfluenced by winds would be harmful and maybe even lethal. That is because normally an insect that uses its wings to feed and to avoid predators would possess functionless wings because of that mutation and would be unable to survive and thus eliminated from the population.

On the other hand, in insects living in a habitat affected by winds and that used their feet to move about in the same way as non-flying insects, a mutation in the wings might not have lethal consequences. That is because the insect will already have grown accustomed to a life style in which it does not use wings, and it will make no difference whether its wings are healthy or else lose their function due to mutation (as long as the mutation in question is not one that affects the insect’s general physiology). In short, a destructive mutation leading to the loss of an insect’s wings may not be lethal in an environment where wings are in any case of no consequence.

However, it cannot be said that the coleoptera that are assumed to have undergone such a process represent evidence of evolution. The theory of evolution proposes that organs gradually assume a more complex form. The genetic change proposed in support of this claim must be of such a kind as to add new genetic information to creatures’ DNA. It is evident, however, that coleoptera do not gain any new genetic information during this process and that, on the contrary, they suffer a loss of information in the genes that control wing development.

Can this acquisition of genetic information, which is not seen in coleoptera, be observed in any other living thing? Definitely not. Evolutionists have been unable to show the emergence of a new organ, or even a new protein, by means of random mutations.

In short, the theory of evolution maintains that living things acquire new organs with the addition of new genetic information to their DNA, but the vestigial organ argument is one that concerns a loss of function, in other words a loss of genetic data. Therefore, vestigial organs provide no scientific support for the theory of evolution. The reason for evolutionists’ determination to place this claim on the scientific agenda is psychological rather than scientific. Their display of blind devotion to materialism leads them to adopt a vestigial perspective towards the evident truth of creation. (You can read Harun Yahya’s article that demolishes evolutionists’ vestigial viewpoint here. http://www.darwinism-watch.com/hurriyet_science0407.php)

James P. Gills, M.D., founder of St. Luke’s Cataract and Laser Institute in Tarpon Springs, Florida, is a creationist scientist. He is also a world-renowned ophthalmologist. In his book Darwinism Under the Microscope, Gills cites a great many proofs of creation that totally undermine evolution, and writes that the only reason why scientists still insist on evolution is the spiritual cataract of thinking of themselves as the product of blind chance. 22

The error of thinking that resistance to antibiotics and DDT is evidence of evolution

The NG article seeks to show that bacterial immunity to antibiotics and insects’ resistance to such pesticides as DDT constitutes evidence for evolution. On the subject of the resistance that microbes appear to develop to drugs Quammen confidently states:

There’s no better or more immediate evidence supporting the Darwinian theory than this process of forced transformation among our inimical germs. (p. 21)

However, Quammen’s excitement in portraying bacterial immunity as evidence for evolution is totally misplaced. It is explained below why these two phenomena do not represent evidence for Darwinism.

The first of the “deadly molecules” employed against micro-organisms was penicillin, discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928. Fleming discovered a molecule that killed the Staphylococcus mould bacterium, after which antibiotics taken from micro-organisms were used against various bacteria. Although it appeared at first that definitive results had been obtained, the truth later emerged: bacteria gradually acquire resistance to antibiotics. The great majority of bacteria exposed to antibiotics die, but since a small minority remain unaffected this rapidly multiply and eventually come to constitute the entire population. Thus the entire population becomes resistant to the antibiotic.

However, there is no question of bacteria developing through mutation here, because the bacteria already possess the characteristics in question before being exposed to antibiotics. Despite being an evolutionist publication, Scientific American magazine admitted these facts in its March 1998 edition:

Many bacteria possessed resistance genes even before commercial antibiotics came into use. Scientists do not know exactly why these genes evolved and were maintained. 23

Insects acquire resistance to pesticides such as DDT in the same way, and, again in the same way, this represents no evidence for evolution.

The prominent evolutionary biologist Francisco Ayala accepts the truth of this in the words:

The genetic variants required for resistance to the most diverse kinds of pesticides were apparently present in every one of the populations exposed to these man-made compounds. 24

One of those to carry out the most detailed research on this subject is the Israeli biophysicist Dr. Lee Spetner. In his book Not by Chance, published in 1997, Spetner showed that bacterial immunity is brought about by two different mechanisms, but that these offer no support for the theory of evolution. For more detail on this subject see http://www.harunyahya.com/20questions05.php#q19 and http://www.darwinismrefuted.com/embryology_01.html)

Another so-called piece of evidence in the NG article, in addition to the resistance in bacteria and insects, concerns genetic similarities.

The deception that evolution can be observed

NG claims that evolution can actually be witnessed in nature and in the laboratory. This, however, is a fantastical and groundless claim. In an article titled “How Are New Species Formed?” published in the 14 June, 2003, edition of New Scientist, George Turner made the following significant “admission”:

Not long ago, we thought we knew how species formed. We believed that the process almost always started with complete isolation of populations. It often occurred after a population had gone through a severe “genetic bottleneck,” as might happen after a pregnant female was swept off to a remote island and her offspring mated with each other. The beauty of this so-called “founder effect” model was that it could be tested in the lab. In reality, it just didn’t hold up. Despite evolutionary biologists’ best efforts, nobody has even got close to creating a new species from a founder population. What’s more, as far as we know, no new species has formed as a result of humans releasing small numbers of organisms into alien environments. 25

As we have seen, evolutionists do not actually know how new species are formed. In other words, Quammen’s claim about being able to witness evolution in action is totally unfounded. The fact that the long years of study carried out by the Grants into chaffinch beak lengths on the Galapagos islands is cited in support is the result of Darwinism misrepresenting variations to represent evidence for itself. (For further information, see http://www.harunyahya.com/nas04.php)

Conclusion

As we have seen, Darwin was wrong. National Geographic’s posing the question whether he was wrong is as ridiculous as asking “Was Freud wrong?” or “Was Marx wrong?” That is because, like Freudianism and Marxism, Darwinism is a theory that has come to the end of its life. We call upon NG magazine to abandon its support for this outdated myth and to accept that creation is the true origin of life.

What NG needs to do is to set its preconceptions to one side and cease supporting Darwinism as a dogma, and to face up to the scientific evidence that undermines this theory. Discoveries in the last 40 years in particular have definitively revealed the invalidity of the naturalist philosophy at the heart of Darwinism. If NG does face up to that fact it will see that the organised complexity of life and the genetic information on which it depends point to intelligent design, in other words that life did not evolve on its own through chance and natural events, but was “created.”

NG – and all other Darwinists – have so far avoided facing up to this, and may therefore have resorted to covering up the difficulties facing their theory. Yet they must be aware that this avoidance will be of no use in keeping their theory alive. That is because a major development in the world of science is serving notice that the age of sweeping matters under the carpet has come to an end.

The way that the intelligent design movement, that has been sweeping through the USA over the last 10 years, has one by one unmasked the dogmas of Darwinism, has made it the focus of wide interest. The intellectual basis of this movement is the “Theory of Intelligent Design.” The theory in question maintains that complex biological structures containing large amounts of information can only be explained in terms of intelligence-based causes, and that these causes can be empirically studied in the field of biology. 26

One indication that the intelligent design movement may represent the dynamic for major cultural changes is the way it is effectively and in a widespread manner revealing that the evidence for so long taught as evidence for Darwinism in schools actually consists of mythology, deception, misrepresentation and even fraud. California Berkeley University’s Professor Phillip E. Johnson, the leader of the movement, stresses that Darwinism will pass into the dustbin of history sometime in this century. 27

It will be of use here to remind NG of the damage from a determined persistence in its policy of uncritical defence of Darwinism. It will be remembered that NG announced the discovery of the Archaeoraptor fossil discovered in China as definitive proof that birds evolved from dinosaurs, without waiting for it to be described in referred scientific journals. Later, however, it was realised that the fossil did not represent a missing link at all, but was a counterfeit “produced” by a Chinese peasant.26 Because of its blind devotion to Darwinism NG had no hesitation in embracing this fossil as “proof” by unscientific methods, and later found itself in “modern paleontology’s greatest embarrassment.” 29

According to the ornithologist Dr. Storrs Olson, “National Geographic has reached an all-time low for engaging in sensationalistic, unsubstantiated, tabloid journalism.” 30

The portrayal of the claim of recapitulation, which died at least 80 years ago, as evidence for evolution in NG’s article “Was Darwin Wrong” shows that it is devoid of the seriousness required by science and is continuing with its “unsubstantiated, tabloid journalism.” NG is not behaving intelligently. Maintaining this approach does not provide any support for Darwinism. On the contrary, NG is documenting its own dogmatism in an ever more obvious way.

We invite NG to consider these points and to accept that creation is the true origin of life.

There is no doubt that the Lord of all living things, on Earth, in the Sky, and between, is God. In one verse of the Qur’an God reveals that:

Your God is One God. There is no god but Him, the All-Merciful, the Most Merciful. (Qur’an, 2: 163)

Under the pen name of Harun Yahya, Adnan Oktar has written some 250 works. His books contain a total of 46,000 pages and 31,500 illustrations. Of these books, 7,000 pages and 6,000 illustrations deal with the collapse of the Theory of Evolution. You can read, free of charge, all the books Adnan Oktar has written under the pen name Harun Yahya on these websites www.harunyahya.com

1. Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library.

2. Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species: A Facsimile of the First Edition, Harvard University Press, 1964, p. 189.

3. Michael Behe, Darwin’s Black Box, 1996

4. For more information about the evolutionist theses on biogeography, please see Walter J. Remine, “The Biotic Message: Evolution Versus Message Theory”, Saint Paul Science; 1st ed edition, 1993. page 538.

5. G. Nelson & N. Platnick, Systematics and Biogeography: Cladistics and Vicariance, Columbia University Press, 1981, p. 223.

6. Fossils and Evolution, Dr TS Kemp – Curator of Zoological Collections, Oxford University, Oxford University Press, 1999, p. 246.

7. Peter G. Williamson, “Morphological stasis and developmental constraint: real problems for neo-Darwinism,” Nature, vol. 294, 19 November 1981, p. 214; Stephen E. Jones, http://members.iinet.net.au/~sejones/

8. Gordon Rattray Taylor, The Great Evolution Mystery, Abacus, Sphere Books, London, 1984, p. 230.

9. Boyce Rensberger, Houston Chronicle, November 5, 1980, p. 15.

10. Voorhies M.R., “Ancient Ashfall Creates a Pompei of Prehistoric Animals,” National Geographic, Vol. 159, No. 1, January 1981, pp.67-68,74 ; “Horse Find Defies Evolution” Creation Ex Nihilo 5(3):15, January 1983, http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs/3723.asp

11. Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species: A Facsimile of the First Edition, Harvard University Press, 1964, p. 184.

12. Spotting Mines With Dolphin Sonar , ScienceNOW 1998: 2

13 L. Rutimeyer, “Referate,” Archiv fur Anthropologie, 1868

14 Keith S. Thompson, “Ontogeny and Phylogeny Recapitulated”, American Scientist, vol. 76, May / June 1988, p. 273

15 G. G. Simpson, W. Beck, An Introduction to Biology, Harcourt Brace and World, New York, 1965, p. 241.

16 Stephen Jay Gould, “Abscheulich! – Atrocious! – the precursor to the theory of natural selection,” Natural History, March 2000, p. 45.

17 Mark Ridley, “Who Doubts Evolution?” New Scientist, vol. 90 (25 June 1981), p. 832.

18 Gould S.J, “Evolution’s Erratic Pace,” Natural History, May 1977, p. 13-14.

19 William Fix, The Bone Peddlers: Selling Evolution, Macmillan Publishing Co., New York, 1984, p. 189.

20 J. Bergman & G. Howe, Vestigial Organs are Fully Functional, CRS Books, Terre Haute, IN, 1990.

21 S. R. Scadding, “Do ‘Vestigial Organs’ Provide Evidence for Evolution?,” Evolutionary Theory, vol. 5, May 1981, p. 173.

22 James P.Gills, M.D. & Thomas Woodward, Ph.D., Darwinism under the Microscope, Charisma House, 2002, p. 39.

23 Stuart B. Levy, “The Challenge of Antibiotic Resistance,” Scientific American, March 1998, p. 35

24 Francisco J.Ayala, “The Mechanisms of Evolution,” Scientific American, vol. 239, September 1978, p. 64

25 George Turner, “How Are New Species Formed?,” New Scientist, vol. 178, issue 2399, 14 June 2003, p. 36

26 http://www.arn.org , http://www.discovery.org/csc/

27 Phillip E. Johnson, “Mothballed Science,” Touchstone Magazine, December 2003

28 For more information about Archaeoraptor forgery, please see http://www.harunyahya.com/20questions03.php#q7

29 Tim Friend, “The ‘missing link’ fossil that wasn’t”, USA Today, 02/01/2000

30 Open Letter to National Geographic Society by Storrs L. Olson, Curator of Birds, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution

Probing Pavilion Lake

Probing Pavilion Lake
A team of scientists and astronauts return this week to Pavilion Lake in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The scientists will be continuing their effort to understand what role biology plays in forming the strange structures that line the lakebed, while the astronauts will be learning how to do field science.

Read more on PhysOrg

North Pole

Precise definition

See also: Polar motion

The Earth’s axis of rotation and hence the position of the North Pole was commonly believed to be fixed (relative to the surface of the Earth) until, in the 18th century, the mathematician Leonhard Euler predicted that the axis might “wobble” slightly. Around the beginning of the 20th century astronomers noticed a small apparent “variation of latitude,” as determined for a fixed point on Earth from the observation of stars. Part of this variation could be attributed to a wandering of the Pole across the Earth’s surface, by a range of a few meters. The wandering has several periodic components and an irregular component. The component with a period of about 435 days is identified with the 8 month wandering predicted by Euler and is now called the Chandler wobble after its discoverer. The exact point of intersection of the Earth’s axis and the Earth’s surface, at any given moment, is called the “instantaneous pole”, but because of the “wobble” this cannot be used as a definition of a fixed North Pole (or South Pole) when metre-scale precision is required.

It is desirable to tie the system of Earth coordinates (latitude, longitude, and elevations or orography) to fixed landforms. Of course, given plate tectonics and isostasy, there is no system in which all geographic features are fixed. Yet the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service and the International Astronomical Union have defined a framework called the International Terrestrial Reference System.

Expeditions

See also: Arctic exploration, Farthest North and List of Arctic expeditions

Pre-1900

As early as the sixteenth century, many eminent people correctly believed that the North Pole was in a sea, which in the nineteenth century was called the Polynia or Open Polar Sea. It was therefore hoped that passage could be found through ice floes at favorable times of the year. Several expeditions set out to find the way, generally with whaling ships, already commonly used in the cold northern latitudes.

One of the earliest expeditions to set out with the explicit intention of reaching the North Pole was that of British naval officer William Edward Parry, who in 1827 reached latitude 8245 North. In 1871 the Polaris expedition, an American attempt on the Pole led by Charles Francis Hall, ended in disaster. An 18791881 expedition commanded by US naval officer George Washington DeLong also ended tragically when their ship, the USS Jeanette, was crushed by ice. Over half the crew, including DeLong, were lost.

Nansen’s ship Fram in the Arctic ice

In April 1895 the Norwegian explorers Fridtjof Nansen and Fredrik Hjalmar Johansen struck out for the Pole on skis after leaving Nansen’s icebound ship Fram. The pair reached latitude 8614 North before they abandoned the attempt and went southwards, eventually reaching Franz Josef Land.

In 1897 Swedish engineer Salomon August Andre and two companions tried to reach the North Pole in the hydrogen balloon rnen (“Eagle”), but were stranded 300 km north of Kvitya, the northeasternmost part of the Svalbard Archipelago, and perished on this lonely island. In 1930 the remains of this expedition were found by the Norwegian Bratvaag Expedition.

The Italian explorer Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi and Captain Umberto Cagni of the Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina) sailed the converted whaler Stella Polare from Norway in 1899. On March 11, 1900 Cagni led a party over the ice and reached latitude 86 34 on April 25, setting a new record by beating Nansen’s result of 1895 by 35 to 40 kilometres. Cagni barely managed to return back to the camp, remaining there until June 23. On August 16 the Stella Polare left Rudolf Island heading south and the expedition returned to Norway.

19001940

The American explorer Frederick Albert Cook claimed to have reached the North Pole on April 21, 1908 with two Inuit men, Ahwelah and Etukishook, but he was unable to produce convincing proof and his claim is not widely accepted.

Peary’s sledge party “at the North Pole,” 1909. From left: Ooqueah, Ootah, Henson, Egingwah, Seeglo.

The conquest of the North Pole was for many years credited to American Navy engineer Robert Peary, who claimed to have reached the Pole on April 6, 1909, accompanied by American Matthew Henson and four Inuit men named Ootah, Seeglo, Egingwah, and Ooqueah. However, Peary’s claim remains controversial. The party that accompanied Peary on the final stage of the journey included no one who was trained in navigation and could independently confirm his own navigational work, which some claim to have been particularly sloppy as he approached the Pole.

The distances and speeds that Peary claimed to have achieved once the last support party turned back seem incredible to many people, almost three times that which he had accomplished up to that point. Peary’s account of a journey to the Pole and back while traveling along the direct line the only strategy that is consistent with the time constraints that he was facing is contradicted by Henson’s account of tortuous detours to avoid pressure ridges and open leads.

The British explorer Wally Herbert, initially a supporter of Peary, researched Peary’s records in 1989 and concluded that they must have been falsified and that Peary had not reached the Pole. Support for Peary came again in 2005, however, when the British explorer Tom Avery and four companions recreated the outward portion of Peary’s journey with replica wooden sleds and Canadian Eskimo Dog teams, reaching the North Pole in 36 days, 22 hours nearly five hours faster than Peary. Avery writes on his web site that “The admiration and respect which I hold for Robert Peary, Matthew Henson and the four Inuit men who ventured North in 1909, has grown enormously since we set out from Cape Columbia. Having now seen for myself how he travelled across the pack ice, I am more convinced than ever that Peary did indeed discover the North Pole.”

The first claimed flight over the Pole was made on May 9, 1926 by US naval officer Richard E. Byrd and pilot Floyd Bennett in a Fokker tri-motor aircraft. Although verified at the time by the US Navy and a committee of the National Geographic Society, this claim has since been disputed.

The first undisputed sighting of the Pole was on May 12, 1926 by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his American sponsor Lincoln Ellsworth from the airship Norge. Norge, though Norwegian owned, was designed and piloted by the Italian Umberto Nobile. The flight started from Svalbard and crossed the icecap to Alaska. Nobile, along with several scientists and crew from the Norge, overflew the Pole a second time on May 24, 1928 in the airship Italia. The Italia crashed on its return from the Pole, with the loss of half the crew.

19402000

In May 1945 an RAF Lancaster of the Aries expedition became the first Commonwealth aircraft to overfly the North Geographic and North Magnetic Poles. The plane was piloted by David Cecil McKinley of the Royal Air Force. It carried an 11-man crew, with Kenneth C. Maclure of the Royal Canadian Air Force in charge of all scientific observations. In 2006, Maclure was honoured with a spot in the Canadian Aviation Hall Of Fame.

Discounting Peary’s disputed claim, the first men to set foot at the North Pole were, according to some sources, a Soviet Union party. These are variously described as including Pavel Gordiyenko (or Geordiyenko) and three or five others, or Aleksandr Kuznetsov and 23 others, who landed a plane (or planes) there on April 23, 1948. According to Antarctica.org, three Li-2 planes landed, carrying a total of seven men.

On May 3, 1952, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Joseph O. Fletcher and Lieutenant William P. Benedict, along with scientist Albert P. Crary, landed a modified C-47 Skytrain at the North Pole. Some sources consider this (rather than the Soviet mission) to be the first ever landing at the Pole.

USS Skate at the North Pole, 1959

The United States Navy submarine USS Nautilus (SSN-571) crossed the North Pole on August 3, 1958, and on March 17, 1959, the USS Skate (SSN-578) surfaced at the Pole, becoming the first naval vessel to do so.

Setting aside Peary’s claim, the first confirmed surface conquest of the North Pole was that of Ralph Plaisted, Walt Pederson, Gerry Pitzl and Jean Luc Bombardier, who traveled over the ice by snowmobile and arrived on April 19, 1968. The United States Air Force independently confirmed their position.

On April 6, 1969, Wally Herbert and companions Allan Gill, Roy Koerner and Kenneth Hedges of the British Trans-Arctic Expedition became the first men to reach the North Pole on foot (albeit with the aid of dog teams and air drops). They continued on to complete the first surface crossing of the Arctic Ocean and by its longest axis, Barrow, Alaska to Svalbard a feat that has never been repeated. Because of suggestions of Plaisted’s use of air transport, some sources classify Herbert’s expedition as the first confirmed to reach the North Pole over the ice surface by any means.

Memorial in honor of icebreaker Arktika conquest of the North Pole in 1977 in hall of museum of local lore of the Murmansk region

On August 17, 1977, the Soviet nuclear powered icebreaker Arktika completed the first surface vessel journey to the North Pole.

In 1982 Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Charles Burton became the first people to cross the Arctic Ocean in a single season. They departed from Cape Crozier, Ellesmere Island, on 17 February 1982 and arrived at the geographic North Pole on 10 April 1982. They travelled on foot and skidoo. From the Pole, they travelled south towards Svalbard but, due to the unstable nature of the ice, ended their crossing at the ice edge after drifting south on an ice floe for 99 days. They were eventually able to walk to their expedition ship “MV Benjamin Bowring” and boarded it on 4 August 1982 at position 80:31N 00:59W. As a result of this journey, which formed a section of the three-year Transglobe Expedition 19791982, Fiennes and Burton became the first people to complete a circumnavigation of the world via both North and South Poles, by surface travel alone. This achievement remains unchallenged to this day.

On September 7, 1991, the German research vessel RV Polarstern and the Swedish ice breaker Oden reached the North Pole as the first conventional powered vessels.. Both scientific parties and crew took oceanographic and geological samples and had a common tug of war and a football game on an ice floe. Polarstern again reached the pole exactly 10 years later together with the USCGC Healy.

21st century

USS Charlotte at the North Pole in 2005

In recent years, journeys to the North Pole by air (landing by helicopter or on a runway prepared on the ice) or by icebreaker have become relatively routine, and are even available to small groups of tourists through adventure holiday companies.

In 2005, the United States Navy submarine USS Charlotte (SSN-766) surfaced through 155 cm (61 inches) of ice at the North Pole and spent 18 hours there.

In April 2007, Dutch performance artist Guido van der Werve performed a work of art at the North Pole. By standing exactly on the Pole for 24 hours and turning slowly clockwise (the earth is turning counterclockwise), just by following his own shadow, Van der Werve literally did not turn with the world for one day. This performance is called: ‘nummer negen [Dutch for Number Nine], the day I didn’t turn with the world’. Van der Werve time-lapsed the 24 hours to 9 minutes.

In July 2007, British endurance swimmer Lewis Gordon Pugh completed a 1 km swim at the North Pole. His feat, undertaken to highlight the effects of climate change, took place in clear water that had opened up between the ice floes. His later attempt to paddle a kayak to the North Pole in late 2008, following the erroneous prediction of clear water to the Pole, was stymied when his expedition found itself stuck in thick ice after only three days. The expedition was then abandoned.

A 2007 episode of the BBC motoring show Top Gear, in which the presenters were described as journeying to the “North Pole,” was in fact an expedition to the 1996 position of the North Magnetic Pole.

2007 descent to North Pole seabed

Main article: Arktika 2007

On August 2, 2007, a Russian VASU[clarification needed] made the first ever manned descent to the ocean bottom at the North Pole, to a depth of 4.3 km, as part of a research programme in support of Russia’s 2001 territorial claim to a large swathe of the Arctic Ocean. The descent took place in two MIR submersibles and was led by Soviet and Russian polar explorer Arthur Chilingarov. In a symbolic act, the Russian flag was placed on the seabed at the exact position of the Pole.

The expedition is the latest in a decades-long series of moves by Russia intended to show that it is the dominant influence in the Arctic. The warming Arctic climate and summer retreat of sea ice there has suddenly turned the attention of countries from China to the United States toward the top of the world, where resources and shipping routes may soon be exploitable.

Day and night

See also Midnight sun and Polar night

At the North Pole, the sun is permanently above the horizon during the summer months and permanently below the horizon during the winter months. Sunrise is just before the vernal equinox (around March 19); the sun then takes three months to reach its highest point of about 23 elevation at the summer solstice (around June 21), after which time it begins to sink, reaching sunset just after the autumnal equinox (around September 24). When the sun is visible in the polar sky, it appears to move in a clockwise circle above the horizon. This circle gradually rises from near the horizon just after the vernal equinox to its maximum elevation (in degrees) above the horizon at summer solstice and then sinks back toward the horizon before sinking below it at the autumnal equinox.

A civil twilight period of about two weeks occurs before sunrise and after sunset, a nautical twilight period of about five weeks occurs before sunrise and after sunset and an astronomical twilight period of about seven weeks occurs before sunrise and after sunset.

These effects are caused by a combination of the Earth’s axial tilt and its revolution around the sun. The direction of the Earth’s axial tilt, as well as its angle relative to the plane of the Earth’s orbit around the sun, remains very nearly constant over the course of a year (both change very slowly over long time periods). At northern midsummer the North Pole is facing towards the sun to its maximum extent. As the year progresses and the Earth moves around the sun, the North Pole gradually turns away from the sun until at midwinter it is facing away from the Sun to its maximum extent. A similar sequence is observed at the South Pole, with a six-month time difference.

Time

In most places on Earth, local time is determined by longitude, such that the time of day is more-or-less synchronised to the position of the sun in the sky (for example, at midday the sun is roughly at its highest). This line of reasoning fails at the North Pole, where the sun rises and sets only once per year, and all lines of longitude, and hence all time zones, converge. There is no permanent human presence at the North Pole, and no particular time zone has been assigned. Polar expeditions may use any time zone that is convenient, such as GMT, or the time zone of the country they departed from.

Climate

Arctic shrinkages of 2007 compared to 2005 and also compared to the 1979-2000 average.

The North Pole is significantly warmer than the South Pole because it lies at sea level in the middle of an ocean (which acts as a reservoir of heat), rather than at altitude in a continental land mass.

Winter (January) temperatures at the North Pole can range from about 43 C (45 F) to 26 C (15 F), perhaps averaging around 34 C (30 F). Summer temperatures (June, July and August) average around the freezing point (0 C, 32 F).

The sea ice at the North Pole is typically around two or three meters thick, though there is considerable variation and occasionally the movement of floes exposes clear water. Studies have shown that the average ice thickness has decreased in recent years. Many attribute this decrease to global warming, though this conclusion is disputed by some. Reports have also predicted that within a few decades the Arctic Ocean will be entirely free of ice in the summer months. This may have significant commercial implications; see “Territorial Claims,” below.

Flora and fauna

Polar bears are believed rarely to travel beyond about 82 North owing to the scarcity of food, though tracks have been seen in the vicinity of the North Pole, and a 2006 expedition reported sighting a polar bear just one mile (1.6 km) from the Pole. The ringed seal has also been seen at the Pole, and Arctic foxes have been observed less than 60 km away at 8940 N.

Birds seen at or very near the Pole include the Snow Bunting, Northern Fulmar and Black-legged Kittiwake, though some bird sightings may be distorted by the tendency of birds to follow ships and expeditions.

Fish have been seen in the waters at the North Pole, but these are probably few in number. A member of the Russian team that descended to the North Pole seabed in August 2007 reported seeing no sea creatures living there. However, it was later reported that a sea anemone had been scooped up from the seabed mud by the Russian team and that video footage from the dive showed unidentified shrimps and amphipods.

Territorial claims to the North Pole and Arctic regions

Main article: Territorial claims in the Arctic

Under international law, no country currently owns the North Pole or the region of the Arctic Ocean surrounding it. The five surrounding Arctic countries, Russia, Canada, Norway, Denmark (via Greenland), and the United States (via Alaska), are limited to a 200-nautical-mile (370 km; 230 mi) Exclusive Economic Zone around their coasts, and the area beyond that is administered by the International Seabed Authority.

Upon ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a country has a ten year period to make claims to extend its 200 mile zone. Norway (ratified the convention in 1996), Russia (ratified in 1997), Canada (ratified in 2003) and Denmark (ratified in 2004) have all launched projects to base claims that certain Arctic sectors should belong to their territories.

Cultural associations

In some Western cultures, the geographic North Pole is the residence of Santa Claus. Canada Post has assigned postal code H0H 0H0 to the North Pole (referring to Santa’s traditional exclamation of “Ho-ho-ho!”).

This association reflects an age-old esoteric mythology of Hyperborea that posits the North Pole, the otherworldly world-axis, as the abode of God and superhuman beings (see Joscelyn Godwin, Arktos: The Polar Myth). The popular figure of the pole-dwelling Santa Claus thus functions as an esoteric archetype of spiritual purity and transcendence (). As Henry Corbin has documented, the North Pole plays a key part in the cultural worldview of esoteric Sufism and Iranian mysticism. “The Orient sought by the mystic, the Orient that cannot be located on our maps, is in the direction of the north, beyond the north.” The Pole is also identified with a mysterious mountain in the Arctic Ocean, called Mount Qaf (cf. Rupes Nigra), whose ascent, like Dante’s climbing of the Mountain of Purgatory, represents the pilgrim’s progress through spiritual states. In Iranian theosophy, the heavenly Pole, the focal point of the spiritual ascent, acts as a magnet to draw beings to its “palaces ablaze with immaterial matter.”
Fantasy flights often refer to a flight to the North Pole for these same reasons.

See also

South Pole

Arctic exploration

Polaris

Inuit Circumpolar Council

Arctic Council

Arctic Circle

Biome

North Pole, Alaska

Global warming

Santa Claus

References

^ Russian sub plants flag at North Pole, Reuters, Aug 2, 2007

^ John K. Wright Geographical Review, Vol. 43, No. 3. (Jul., 1953), pp. 338-365 “The Open Polar Sea”

^ Henderson, B. (2005) True North W W Norton & Company ISBN 0 393 32738 8

^ http://www.heritage.nf.ca/exploration/pearyfrontis.html

^ Obituary, The Independent June 16, 2007

^ Tom Avery website, retrieved May 2007

^ The North Pole Flight of Richard E. Byrd: An Overview of the Controversy, Byrd Polar Research Center of The Ohio State University

^ The Aries Flights Of 1945, Hugh A. Halliday, Legion Magazine

^ Guinness Book of Records, 1998 edition

^ Concise Chronology of Approaches to the Poles, R. K. Headland, DIO Vol. 4 No. 3

^ Concise chronology of approach to the poles, Scott Polar Research Institute

^ Antarctica.org

^ Aviation History Facts, U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission

^ Obituary of Sir Wally Herbert, Times Online, 13 June 2007

^ a b Obituary of Sir Wally Herbert, Guardian Unlimited, 15 June 2007

^ northpolewomen.com

^ Ftterer, D. et al. (1992) The Expedition ARK-VIII/3 of RV Polarstern in 1991, Reports on Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, 107, 267 pp, hdl:10013/epic.10107.d001 (pdf 6.4 MB)

^ Thiede, J. et al. (2002) POLARSTERN ARKTIS XVII/2 Cruise Report: AMORE 2001 (Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge Expedition), Reports on Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, 421, 390 pp, hdl:10013/epic.10426.d001 (pdf 8 MB)

^ USS Charlotte Achieves Milestone During Under-Ice Transit, Navy NewsStand website, retrieved May 2007

^ Website of the artist

^ Swimmer rises to Arctic challenge, BBC news, 15 July 2007

^ BBC Top Gear Production Notes (Polar Special)

^ (Russian) Press release of the AARI, July 9, 2007

^ a b Russia plants flag under N Pole, BBC News, 2 August 2007

^ (Russian) News video of Russian descent to North Pole seabed

^ BBC News video of Russian descent to North Pole seabed

^ Russia North Pole Obsession, The New York Times, August 2, 2007

^ The Big Melt, The New York Times, October 2005

^ “Science question of the week”, Goddard Space Center

^ Beyond “Polar Express”: Fast Facts on the Real North Pole, National Geographic News

^ a b The Top of the World: Is the North Pole Turning to Water?, John L. Daly

^ “Arctic ice thickness drops by up to 19 per cent”, Daily Telegraph, 28 October 2008

^ Arctic sea ice “faces rapid melt”, BBC news story, December 2006

^ Polar Bear – Population & Distribution, WWF, January 2007

^ Explorers’ Blog, Greenpeace Project Thin Ice, 1 Jul 2006

^ Ringed seal makes its home on the ice, Antti Halkka

^ The Arctic Fox, Magnus Tannerfeldt

^ a b Farthest North Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus)

^ “North Pole sea anemone named most northerly species”, Observer, 2 August 2009

^ “United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Annex 2, Article 4)”. http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/annex2.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-26. 

^ a b c d http://www.un.org/Depts/los/reference_files/status2007.pdf

^ The Battle for the Next Energy Frontier: The Russian Polar Expedition and the Future of Arctic Hydrocarbons, by Shamil Midkhatovich Yenikeyeff and Timothy Fenton Krysiek, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, August 2007

^ “Canada Post Launches 24th Annual Santa Letter-writing Program”, Canada Post press release, November 15, 2006

^ Corbin, The Man of Light in Iranian Sufism, trans. N. Pearson, 1978

^ ibid., p. 44

^ ibid., p. 11

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: North Pole

Arctic Council

The Northern Forum

North Pole travel guide from Wikitravel

North Pole Web Cam

The short Arctic summer of 2004

The puzzling Arctic summer of 2003

Review of surface melting from 2002 to the present revealed by the North Pole Web Cam

FAQ on the Arctic and the North Pole

Polar Controversies Still Rage article by Roderick Eime

Magnetic Poles locations since 1600 Download the KMZ file. For Google Earth Users.

The Polar Race a biennial race to the 1996 certified position of the Magnetic North Pole

The Polar Challenge an annual race to the Magnetic North Pole

Daylight, Darkness and Changing of the Seasons at the North Pole

Video of scientists on sea ice at the North Pole as it begins to crack underfoot

Experts warn North Pole will be ‘ice free’ by 2040

Goudarzi, Sara, “Meltdown: Ice Cracks at North Pole.” Sept 2006, LiveScience, <Web Link>, Accessed 29 January 2007.

“The North Pole Was Here: Puzzles and Perils at the Top of the World (first chapter)”

Video of the Nuclear Icebreaker Yamal visiting the North Pole in 2001

Polar Discovery: North Pole Observatory Expedition

Categories: Extreme points of Earth | Geography of Canada | Navigation | Poles | Geography of the ArcticHidden categories: All pages needing cleanup | Wikipedia articles needing clarification from March 2009