Video on black holes

 This video gets into how black holes have now been photographed and directly observed! Cool! You'll notice some things Prof. Tchekhovskoy talked about and showed us in class!!

Ethics of AI in Education report

 I was very fortunate to be invited and involved in a couple different ways to provide thoughts and input into The Institute for Ethical AI in Education's report on ethical concerns of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in schools and classrooms. The Institute is at the U. of Buckingham in the U.K. We also had two students, Nora Miller and Aidan Goodman, contribute in a student panel (just one of two US high schools involved in this global student participation). AI is already here in various capacities, and the unleashing of 'intelligent machines' into classrooms, with which children will be interacting with them at a variety of different levels and capacities and at all stages of human development, is already happening and will only continue to ramp up exponentially around the world. 

But how many are thinking about the ethics and potential unforeseen consequences of these technologies? With SO many possible benefits as a tool in the teaching and learning portions of education, what are the possible downsides we are not considering? How do we do this to maximize benefits to students and teachers, while respecting the human condition, morality, and health of the whole person who is using the technologies? 

The Final Report is here. There is also an Annex that outlines the key takeaways the Institute had from panel discussions and working groups. 

Some thoughts on what AI is, and some already existing applications: 

Check out UIUC's Engineering Open House...it's online & free!!

 If you want to get a sense of what goes on at arguably the top engineering college in the world (seriously, I am biased but there aren't many that compare), check out the U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's Engineering Open House. Go here to check it out and anyone can 'attend.' I've been to the live ones, and when those come back, it is worth going to...very cool stuff to see! 

It is March 26-27. You can also sign up to see the keynote speaker, Girls Who Code founder Reshma Saujani, who is awesome! 

A wonderful orchestra performance involving one of our own

 Check out a performance of Midwest Young Artists Conservatory orchestra, which includes August H. A wonderful job! The main performance begins around the 15 minute mark. Thanks for sharing, August. If other students want to share any performance, whether in the arts or athletics, just let me know! Let's celebrate all the talent and interests we collectively have, as everyone has something to share with the world!

A layperson's way of thinking about 'Space.'

 Space, and time, are challenging, abstract ideas in modern physics. There are no good ways of putting these ideas into words, certainly that a person not trained in general relativity would understand. Mathematically there are elegant, well-known ways of explaining how space and time behave and change, etc. 

Check out this more humorous way of thinking about space. It may help clear some ideas up for you.

The Essence of Calculus channel

 There is a channel with 12 videos that do a wonderful job of more visually explaining the essence of the calculus! It looks to be very nicely done, and may be useful for students learning about and being curious about the workings of this top tool we use in physics. 

Thank you to Ezra for finding this. 

A Weakened Magnetic Field 42,000 yrs ago caused global disruptions and extinctions

 New studies seem to have linked a severely weakened global magnetic field (below 6% of its average strength) to global climate changes that caused known extinctions and almost certainly altered the behaviors of humans at the time. Neanderthals also became extinct around that time, likely because of changes in the environment they could not adapt to. A second article in Science News. 

Scientists are using preserved trees in bogs to study levels of certain atmospheric gases and isotopes that would change with the intense increases of radiation bathing the atmosphere and surface of the earth. 

A related article to this explains the need to have better forecasts about solar storms on the Sun, which eject the solar wind and additional onslaughts of charged particles that sometimes hit the Earth. Big ejections have caused problems with everything from global communications to overcharged power grids, and satellite damage and issues with aviation. 

This all fits in with what we were just studying in 4 Chem/Phys! And we need to learn from such studies because of the present decline in the earth's magnetic field, and signs of a global reversal of the field. Check out the solar flare below: 

MinutePhysics on General Relativity

 In 3 Chem/Phys, we are into gravity at the moment, and discussed some of the key concepts of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, the modern theory of gravity. Turns out that in the past few days, a new MinutePhysics came out about this theory - it is WORTH checking out if you find this sort of topic interesting! Have fun with it! 

First videos of Mac & Cheese creation by Indonesian students, who got the recipe from ETHS

 Let's have some fun by sharing recipes with students in Indonesia! There is a class of teacher Diana Herawati where the students are looking to do some cooking of foreign meals as something new to do during pandemic shutdowns. Thanks to Erin for sharing her homemade Mac & Cheese recipe, which inspired these two videos from Indonesia! My students can find a link to add your own American or family heritage recipes in the post in our Google Classroom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?fbclid=IwAR3h5f8Epz6IL9jAJDyQC7eD9c-JcXqFxQBpg-MbpoOIAaLil1fMd6EZoVU&v=npbW0fA5LHI&feature=youtu.be 

and

High Speed Video capturing the formation of a lightning bolt

 This short video appears to catch the 'stepped leader' of electrons, coming down from a discharging cloud, connecting with a positive streamer coming from something on the surface of the earth. When that connection is made, it is like closing a switch to a circuit, and we see the bright flash of what we would see as the lightning bolt. Very cool!! And remember that the current will be on order of 10,000-15,000 Amperes.