Interested in Climate Modeling, but don't know how to code? Check out EdGCM!!

Here is a wonderful resource for students and teachers to use for climate science interests. You can run a professional climate simulator without having to know the vast levels of science or coding that go into such simulators. The Educational Global Climate Modeling site at Columbia University, EdGCM, takes an old NASA climate model and has developed a GUI for user friendly accessibility for running the simulations.

Run and analyze your own simulations using parameter sets of your choice, to 'discover' the effects of all sorts of physical processes on the global climate. I believe you can even run simulations for past climates, such as ice age periods, to learn how natural physics processes cause cycles in climate patterns.

This could be a game changer both for learning about the actual science of climate, as well as the science research process used to study climate!! Have phun!

Relevant to Juniors: New Star-Exoplanet system found close to us

Especially juniors, check out this article about a large gas giant planet, similar to Jupiter, orbiting a small dwarf star. There are many questions astronomers are asking about how a small star could form large planets, but regardless it is there! This is a new binary system like we have been studying. Enjoy!

This is the link to the binary star simulation we used in class.

Seniors, Sept. 11 work

Unfortunately, I had to leave with illness; very sorry about this. Happy hump-day!

Please be sure to talk with others to go through the practice problems from last night on electric potential and the use of energy, and have consensus on those.

For today, check out a video on an electrical analog to projectile motion, where we imagine an electron moving into a constant, uniform electric field. This electric force will play the role of gravity for a ball rolling off a table. Take notes on it, along with writing down any questions that come up.

Also, to begin getting a sense of scale for electricity, check out two short introductory videos on the power grid. Click here and then for this second one. Again, take notes and make any comments or questions so we can chat about them.

After the videos, make good use of time to work through practice problems:
        AP Problem from 2000, from the Substitute Teacher;
        Ch. 21 #33, 92     these are in the initial unit packet
        Ch. 23 #4, 11, 13  these are in the small potential pack from yesterday

For SAT II people, we'll meet Thursday during periods 5, 6.

Seniors - Check out Band Theory

As we get into electricity, materials become important, with the big 3 being insulators/nonconductors; conductors (usually metals); and semiconductors. To begin understanding why there are different electrical properties, we have something called Band Theory, coming from quantum mechanics and the notion of energy levels for atoms. Check out this video to get a hopefully clear conceptual understanding of what these 'bands' are that we'll refer to.

ActivPhysics motion simulations

For the Juniors

Click here to get to the ActivPhysics simulations. We need to go into Newton's Laws, and then simulation 1.3 Predicting motion from graphs.

WELCOME BACK, the 2019-20 School Year!!!

Welcome back to ETHS!! I hope you had a wonderful summer, and are looking forward to a fun, eventful and promising year!!

For juniors, everyday class materials will be on Doc V's school website, while the blog holds things like links to our how-to videos, research links and materials, extracurricular information, and more.

Looking forward to working with every one of you, as we pursue some physics and much more!!

Good research topic: Anything related to water-use efficiency

We now have one in four people on the planet living in regions that have dangerously high levels of water use compared to their water supply. This means some countries, including India with some 1.3 billion people, use 80% or more of its annual water resources each year. If there were to be an extended drought, for example, where the water resources do not refill from one year to the next, think about the consequences for the people living there. This has gotten to the point where organizations, including the U.S. military, run simulated war games to think about possible scenarios and consequences of mass migrations of people should water supplies literally dry up for major cities and regions. They also run similar simulations for coastal regions affected by rising oceans.

Clearly this is serious. Keep in mind that while climate change will be affecting plays some small role in this, the major factors are actually population growth and continued economic growth of the major countries along with increasing economic growth from developing and smaller countries. Since 1960, global population has gone from 3.0 billion to 7.5 billion presently. This is a 250% increase in population who need fresh water. Developing economies use enormous amounts of water for manufacturing plants of all kinds, as well as for agriculture and animals for our food supplies. Climate change will assist in making this a bigger challenge, but it is most heavily driven by population and economic factors.

If you want to help make the world better, any type of work or research into clean, fresh water resources and its efficient use are critical areas necessary for our survival that need smart, caring minds working on it!

Satellite technique to more accurately measure Antarctica ice movement

An interesting technique is now being used to measure the ice movement across the Antarctica continent, revealing a more accurate picture of what is happening over time. Check out this article and the map that has been produced. In the past, other techniques had large uncertainties, and therefore a range of best guesses of what would result over time. This satellite technique has greatly reduced uncertainties and scientists should be able to better predict and monitor what is going on with climate change and polar warming.

Planting LOTS of trees may help capture carbon from atmosphere

Many have suggested planting lots of trees to help alleviate the effects of too much carbon in the atmosphere, and computer simulations and recent studies support that concept.

While this is likely to happen to some degree, such as our Malawi friend Andrews Nchessie's effort with his students to plant several million trees in their African homeland to help maintain water supplies in lakes that have dried up, this is something I have not heard anyone seriously discuss yet: are there unintended consequences we should be considering before doing this on a massive scale?

This is an important question to ask before starting ANY major project in any field. Unintended consequences. I'm not sure what they would be for a tree project such as what people are talking about, with billions of new trees that could be planted, but I suspect there are some things to worry about longer term. For example, literally off the top of my head, suppose hundreds of millions of new trees have been growing and capturing carbon for the next few decades. What if the growth and reproduction rates of the trees declines over time, for whatever reasons. If all those trees eventually die, and there are smaller numbers of younger trees to 'replace' the dead trees, all that carbon would be reintroduced to the atmosphere as the dead trees decay. Another possibility is more forests, the potential for more forest fires and the pollution and carbon the fires would release. Depending on the types of trees being planted, what are the effects on animal life on those and surrounding regions of the planet? Species that have been living in 'tree free' areas, could those adapt to trees being added to the ecosystem, or would they be selected for diminishment and possible extinction as new species take over the region? How would water tables be affected in those regions where suddenly there are new, dense forests, and would it be sustainable? How would these new regions affect local economies?

And I suspect you can think of even more questions to at least ask, before the world goes off on a new tree planting fad, without thinking through longer term consequences. Always remember one of the important scenes from 'Jurassic Park' - "The scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should." Remember this as your generation takes off with virtual and augmented reality, robotics, artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, expansion of the Internet and cybersecurity, computer chips embedded into human brains, nano-machines in human bodies, next generation weaponry and space/satellite technologies, truly unbreakable computer encryption with quantum computers, humans transplanting civilization to other worlds (the moon and Mars), and numerous other STEM fields and projects.

Structure to collect water from air

Check out structures that started to be built a few years ago in parts of Ethiopia, that collect ~25 gallons of water overnight via condensation or moisture from the air.

Can we think of other cheap ways to do this? Are there natural structures or organisms that can do this? Keep in mind that these structures cost about $1000 US, but that is a fortune in local currencies in poor parts and countries of Africa and other continents. But clearly this is the type of thing that is necessary with population growth and climate change. This could be a new path of research in our research center!