Is there a relationship between metal lattice distances and resistivity?

What a great site Web Elements is !
The red ones are the d block standard metals.
Copper, silver gold are in a line copper silver gold
Iron is dark grey, mercury light grey.
The last period is has many null values

What do you think? Does a large r (top) lead to low resistivity (bottom)?  

Do magnetic field lines exert a pressure?

There is a model of magnetic field taught in New South Wales schools that predicts how two magnets or a magnet and wire will behave:

Step 1: For two devices draw independent field.

Step 2: Draw the resultant fields.

Step 3: The resultant diagram has area of high and low field density, the field lines are given the properties of gas molecules that exert some sort of packing pressure against items in the diagram.

So in the above diagram there are

(A) 6 lines outside 4 lines inside ....outside wins the wires attract.

(B) 6 lines outside 12 inside  ..... to crowded inside repel.

Here is for a motor from Electrical Science Fundamentals Handbook

This is a neat visualization guide,  if the lines where springs they would push the conductor.

Comment 1: The maths F = BilSin(theta) considers the field only at the conductor.
Comment 2: The fields do not interact, but sum.
Comment 3: Faraday was completely non mathematical, and offered "lines of force" as a non scientific guide.  Maxwell tried to develop this into "tubes of force" to attempt a mathematical explanation. This was abandoned some 150 years ago.
Comment 4: The discovery of the electron and special relativity means magnetic fields from currents are understood as an extension of electrostatics.  Magnetic fields from permanent magnets are explained by Quantum Mechanics and special relativity. This presents a problem to a high school teacher as this is outside the breadth of school physics.
Comment 5: This path back to electrostatics still does not clear away for deep understanding.  Force at a distance can be managed by the construct of fields, which is a mathematical device that overlays an answer field.  The exchange of virtual particles radiating over distance is used by Quantum Field Theory and Feymann
diagrams.  The curvature of space, created by mass or charge, then telling the other particle how to move has been developed by Einstein's General Relativity. The most up to date theory is 'bane' theory, string theory or M theory.


This a to look at

How to Study Lectures

Space Physics Brain Teasers

Can you figure out the Rocket Science Equation that goes with this picture?

..... or this one ?

... or this one ?

Chemicals on the web - Cubane.

Computer simulated molecules are a great way to learn Chemistry.  When I found out about Cubane C8H8 I thought it was time to review how to "Surf" the web and see new molecules.


There are a number of great web rendering of  molecules: 

1. JMOL  
How?  Search your molecule on Google + "JMOL"
Good things - any browser, any molecule
Bad - can bend bonds


2. CHIME
How? 1. Download Chime plugin,  send in info to publisher
then search Chime + Molecule.
Good things: Can "Scupt" molecules and get a real feel for them
Bad things: you can only show your class on your data projector/ IWB

3. CanvasMOL
How? Just follow this link
Good things: Fast and molcule focused.

Cubane!

Gravity acts through out an object in free fall !

Penrith High reaches + 9 g force in Lab.

Actually it was just swirling a marble in a mop bucket.

The bucket wall was 84 degrees. g x 1/cos(84) = 9.5 g.

Students were asked to calculate the mass required to cause this acceleration at 15 cm in the center of the bucket.

The difference between the bucket and gravitation is that the bucket applies a force at the point of contact of the marble and force pushes and stress through out the marble, where as a gravitational field would tug uniformly throughout the marble. Gravitation gently accelerates the whole marble.

If you were in the marble, in the bucket you would be crushed to death, were as in the gravitational field as the force is spread evenly through out your body you would feel "Weightless". This is also why comets are not crushed as they swing near the Sun.

I am always looking for this explanation in Textbook, as without it it is most confusing.

Eating Sunshine! -Lesson Transcript

Ecology - Transcript

Living things and life; an ecosystem is something that relies upon all of its workings units. Eco means home. An ecosystem is the mechanism of a home. Ology means 'love of'. An ecology is then, by definition the love of or study of mechanisms within an environment or home.
All living things have to eat. I worked out that all life ultimately eats sunlight, or light provided by the sun. Therefore, what is the very first thing you draw in any ecosystem? Answer: The Sun.

Arrows always come from the sun and follow to the grass and continues on the largest predator.

The first thing in an ecosystem is the sun. The first stage of an ecosystem is photosynthesis. This means eating light. Photosynthesis is basically the reason life works and how flora eats light, takes in carbon dioxide or CO2 and emits it back into the atmosphere.

Trees are formed when water and oxygen are 'knitted' together in straight out air.

Technology on the move with a classroom Rover named "Violet".

Specifications:

Manufacturer	prototype built by Dr Hill
Weight	36 kg
Power	mains
Terrain Capability	unsealed surfaces / grass / 25 degree slopes
Deployment time	30 seconds average door to lesson start
Integrated Hardware	1) Data projector (3D) - adjustable mount
	2) Fujitsu Lifebook Tablet PC + docking station
	3) Gyro - mouse for full classroom interaction
	4) Bluetooth Key board
	5) Mobile IP camera
	6) High speed document dual head scanner
	7) 140 W sound system
	8) Technology draw
	- USB microscope
	- USB document camera
	- light, temperature meters
	- DSO nano
Safety:	Passive air cooling
	Industrial Wiring/Earthing
	Ergonomic Design
Pedagogic Advantage	Technology is central in classroom, and moves to student by Keyboard and  mouse.
	Technology goes from store to student more transparently, faster training
Price	$ 8,360 USD

I have built work stations for laser labs, and high technology production lines. "Violet" is ahead of fixed infrastructure IWB on a number of factors. The value is in the bundled and integrated systems.

For more info contact peter.hill26@det.nsw.edu.au

Heads up on Rainbows

Rainbows are polarized - rotating a polarizing filter shows that the only light coming from a rainbow has an electric field oscillating at 90 deg to the rainbow.

Note the Mie scattering white under cloud "holding up the rainbow" is also removed.

The US navy has an excellent article showing the size and uniformity of drops determine the number of rainbow cycles ROYGBIV-ROYG... occur in a rainbow

Q How many pots of gold?
A 2 on the horizon at +/- 38 deg from viewer

Q. Where are they?
A. Step 10 m to the side and see where the lines intersect. They are skew due to the radius of curvature of the earth, so they point they come closest is probably the viewer, meaning the pot of gold is probably the maths you have just done.



These rainbow Mie scattering clouds most days at around 4 pm over the Blue Mountains, when viewed from Penrith. You need polarized sunnies.

I'm as terrible as everyone else not seeing them. I first saw the rainbow in CsS film in 2006, then it was 2008 when I first spotted one.

Schools that share resources!

Personalities in Physics

In HSC Physics you have to learn about at the minimum

Space - von braun -link
I2I - Planck and Einstein - link - video
M&G - Edison and Westinghouse -link

Watch the complete story of Von Braun on this documentary online

Track Your Own Video!

We have seen how scientists pack more into symbols with subscripts

Now you will use a state of the art tracking tool on your laptop.

http://www.cabrillo.edu/~dbrown/tracker/

Download Tracker 4.05 jar  should down load to DER labtops

For preloaded experiments go to tracker_sampler.jar

Newton on Ipod

This is a free iphone ipod touch app link  that measures acceleration

This cost $1.20 link  for "awesome ball"
This is the link to the free version

This is a link to paper toss

Celestia How to

H 1 2 3 .... to get to planets then G, Ctl G to land

Copy to get URL of location

cel://SyncOrbit/Sol:Earth/2012-01-04T17:01:41.47345?x=NW83VhB4Hf7//////////w&y=KBY3Fnp3+v///////////w&z=qbdeBs8S0f3//////////w&ow=-0.348623&ox=0.0139336&oy=-0.937159&oz=-0.00118535&select=Sol:Earth&fov=65.3691&ts=10000&ltd=0&p=1&rf=3987347&lm=2050&tsrc=0&ver=3

F10 to screen grab

JKL to control time

Here is my Youtube Playlist

See Dr Hill Youtube Playlist For Electricity In the Home!

Electricity in the Home Lesson Two

Click to Run

Visit these links draw as a cartoon what happens and why for each of these links.

If they don't work Google "Phet simulations"

Exciting Jobs in Aerospace!

Imagine space!

Imagine going there, the adventure!

Imagine finding a job that takes you on a thrilling mission!

The reality is working through job applications and getting the team together.

See who NASA is looking for .....

"Jobs In Aerospace - Space FlightThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the central federal agency associated with U.S. space exploration. NASA conducts its work in four principal organizations, called mission directorates:

• Aeronautics
 pioneers and proves new flight technologies that improve our ability to explore space while also having practical applications on Earth.

• Exploration Systems
 develops new capabilities for affordable and sustainable human and robotic exploration.

• Science
 explores the Earth, moon, the other planets in our solar system, and beyond - charting the best routes of discovery while reaping the benefits of Earth and space exploration for society.

• Space Operations
 provides key enabling technologies for much of the rest of NASA through the space shuttle, international space station, and flight support.

Jobs In Aerospace - Going ForwardNASA's vision for future space exploration includes safely returning the space shuttle to flight, completing the International Space Station, returning astronauts to the moon, continuing exploration of Mars and the Solar System, to name a few."
from http://www.jobsaerospace.com/Jobs-In-Aerospace-Space-Flight.html

You are to write your job application for first round selection.  You will be in a team that visits three planets.

For your application you need:

Page 1: Title + You will sell your personal qualities, and skills you have gained after graduating and working in industry. (You are now 25!) 

Page 2: Because the Employer is looking for someone who can think strategically and scientifically, you will demonstrate this by outlining a mission,route, type of spacecraft with objectives.

Page 3: Due to the nature of missions you have to show you understand the requirements of everyone's job by discussing (2 - 4 sentences on each)

a) commander

b) space risk specialist (radiation, depressurization, object impact)

c) space medicine specialist

d) interplanetary navigator (fuel, orbit considerations)

e) planetary science specialist

f) media reporter

h) team analysist (will read applications and select teams)

Page 4+ Add some additional pages headed the Job title and key factors relating to the science of the position. Include any information from the Internet.

Remember you have to plan your time to cover each point.


Share you ideas but add a little extra.


Your applications will be reviewed by an Australian aerospace recruiter and positions offered to further develop you vision.

The most important thing to learn at school....

The most important thing to learn at school is a "Do culture".....



1. Size up the benefit of giving it shot.
2. Set a Goal
3. Make a start
4. Self talk, pilot yourself forward
5. Think strategies, contingencies and develop a campaign narrative.
6. Don't be identified taking on "Can't do that objectives"
7. Think of how tomorrow plays out.
8. Build the mind structure for a new direction.
9. Value intrinsic worth that reshapes the future
10. Provision, Process, Promote among doers.

HSC Marks explained

then follow this link.....

http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/hsc-results/determining-achievement.html#moderating

So now look at the standards package and write out what you think are the basic habits of a Band 6

http://arc.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/standards-packs/SP01_15330/
http://arc.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/standards-packs/SP02_15050/

Electricity In the Home Lesson One

New directions - A separate blog will soon appear for Lessons.
Feeds and Mobile Phone Apps will give instant access

Now to E.2.a  Electrical Charges, Field and Currents

Textbook Ref Excel 50 - 55 Jacaranda Preliminary Physics - 92 -98

Write down what you know about charges and electricity (Prior Knowledge)

Looking back we can see ancient "brushes" with static electricity, and jolts from electric eels.

One Scientist made the creative jump to invent the concept of charge (electrons) this is a surprisingly good summary Link  Dr Gilbert - he invented the electroscope that shows charge is something that can be put on objects.

Some Youtubes for You:- an electric eel lights up a christmas tree, and a Dr Gilbert style eletroscope - It was Ben Franklin that worked out the - and + aspects







Charged objects can be charge + or -,  like repel, unlike attract.
Objects are shown with the charges + and - , for insulators they are put on and stick, for conductors the move apart from each other

Rub Perspex and rod is Positive
Rub Ebonite and rod is Negative

Click to Run

Note you draw charge as + or - and place it in a circle for a free charge that can move
Note because there is a Force and Distance, FORCEDISTANCE = work
Note Insulators - charge stick, Conductors charge moves inside.
Note Insulators can shuffle charge and become polarized

- non syllabus Practical  - Charge electroscope
- non syllabus Practical  - observe Van de Graff.

Click to Run

E.2.b  -1 C = 6.25E18 electrons

Homework

E.2.F    gather and process secondary information to identify materials that are commonly used as conductors to provide household electricity

LCL worksheet exercises

1. Find the errors in the following answer to "What is the charge on an electron?"
a) 1.609 c   b) 1.60728E-19C  c) 1.6 E -19 C d) -1.6E-19

2. Find the errors in the following drawings

Click to Run

Year 9 Practice lesson

Instructions

1. Place a single charge and tabulate the Voltage vs Distance (use Voltmeter)

2. Place second opposite charge a small distance away and tabulate and plot separation

Dr Hill

Earth Surface

North Pacific Gyre Junk from 5 Gyres on Vimeo.

Some stellar calculation

  These are the formulae provided in the HSC,

1. Draw a table that identifies each symbol , its units, and typical values
2. The following is a calculation relating to the brightest star in the sky




Visit this link to see a photo of stars with the m value calculated  If Cybele is 50 parsec away what is it the absolute magnitude

Personality of Rocks

Ask most people and they will typically tell you rocks are solid (Solid as a Rock) and that they are brown and boring.

Some observation and knowledge and rocks can almost speak to you telling their story....

But first we will look at this diagram which is almost the social story of a rock.  Any rock you meet will have come to you after wandering back and forth along the arrows.

Brown labels are types of rock, three basic groups. Green labels are for the dust and molten states of the material in between being rocks. Blue, and there is a lot of them, are events that happen to the rocks in their journey.

Best practice the old memory drill of taking notes from the diagram, clarifying your understanding, draw from your notes, and test again soon using notes of your notes.

When this is done its time look at themes like 'how plants ate the planet', 'Sydney a city on the bed of the biggest river in history', and 'Sticky particles, scintering sand'

Circuit Role Play

Analogies help understand Electrical Circuits. It is easy to show that if unlike charge attract, when you separate them chemically, through friction or by using a moving magnet, they then try to get back together.

Wires create an easy path for charge and it is possible to imagine electrons as trail of ants.

Getting Voltage, Current and Resistance requires a little more.....

The best role play is have students as conductors and resistors and join up as a circuit. The +ions are paper tokens that are passed around the circuit.  At the start of the battery the voltage of the charge is written (eg 10 V) they are passed through conductors at a rate so they don't accumulate.  Resistors are rated in Ohms, in modern symbols (eg R10 means that if +ions are rated 10 V and drop to 0 V they will pass at the rate of 1 a second)

Role play will explore series and parallel configurations. - Sequence

1. leader organize role play.
2. Write understanding
3. Construct Circuits and record on Excel after Quality control drill on components. 

Click to Run

Technology Lets Us See in the Dark!

Lessonlookup orienation - Chemical from lines, Two filters CI =  B-V  (-0.6 -2)

Course Notes

• Earth based observation

• Parallax
• Spectroscopy

• Determining distances
• Learn
• Do
• A.4.A solve problems and analyse information using:
   and to calculate the absolute or apparent magnitude of stars using data and a reference star
• A.4.B perform an investigation to demonstrate the use of filters for photometric measurements
• A.4.C identify data sources, gather, process and present information to assess the impact of improvements in measurement technologies on our understanding of celestial objects

Now in Australia we have the "Echidna" Telescopes

1. Robots place lenses with Optical Fibres on a live image taken by telescopes

                  a. While viewing, the robots place the next fibres down on the location of stars in galaxies, then swap plates.
2.The light is gathered and placed in a strip/line

3.The light is then sorted into colours by a diffraction grating. (2D)

4. The optical fibres bundle the star light into strips and deliver it to an image intensifier

5. The intensified light is the converted to electrons that are stored in pits,
6. After the electrons have accumulated the charge is bleed off in a linear queue to form the final image

What is the Difference between CCD and CMOS
CCD - charge builds up and is then drained out
CMOS - is a memory chip that allow read while expose, but extra memory read wires reduce active area.

Summary

Star                                                                    Generates light
Telescope                                                           Concentrates
Optical Fibre a star pick up                                 Picks out stars from image
Sky to line shaping                                              Generates line
Spectrum line to image                                         Creates spectrum
Image intensification                                            Intensifies
Image to digital signal                                          Collects and converts to digital image

Advantages
Spectra, and magnitudes taken all at once for comparison
Unwanted space filtered out
Light amplified, and stored, Image does not get over exposed
Image can be time sliced to take out drift and momentary disruption. (CMOS)
.

Scroll through this article and have a look at how the Japanese are Cherry picking and multiplexing the spectra, You can see the advantage of simultaneous scanning.

Homework Feeds

In a nutshell the teacher emails a contact called "homework" with a subject line outlining Who When What and it gets syndicated instantly to RSS feeds, Widgets and Apps of Students and Parents.

Why innovate an age old practice?

Well one answer is: the whole world is changing with the information revolution, moving information to people so they can access it when they need it.  This is opposed to people moving to the information.  Information is cut up, mixed and moved as needed. Students need to have this modeled rather than just hear about it.

Another answer is that the innovation is just part of a broader "Business Process Re-engineering" process.  The mobile technology station is a substantial advance on Interactive White Boards, using lessons learnt from High Tech manufacturing.  The in-class log system streamlines lesson planning, rolls, student feedback, lesson feedback and registration, cutting hours of administration time.  Lessonlookup.com merges programming with lesson delivery, exploiting folding lists which also builds on the understanding things are different with the information revolution.

As a researcher, I have had a few breakthroughs and this is one. I have really learnt to celebrate them at the time simply because it is fun.

Astrophysics with Pictures?

In 2005/6 I produced over 1000 images based on Science and Mathematics. I had finished up running a robotics company and was about to embark on a couple of degrees to become a classroom teacher.  They were a kind of personal notes as I finally got a chance to catch up on reading....

This is an picture of two planet transiting a rapidly rotating star, showing a blue shift on the section of star coming towards you and a red shift on the receding edge. This is a bit more relevant for pulsar and stellar cores - white dwarfs that can spin 100 - 1000 times a second.

This covers how we know the universe underwent faster than light expansion in cooling off in under 15 minutes after the big bang. We have been underdone with most of the starting fuel unused.

This shows the nuclear powered implosion wave that forms a black hole.

Mustard Gas in Glenbrook Tunnel

Mustard Gas in Glenbrook

A good 'angle' can really deepen understanding of any topic. A good context, can really unpack learning issues uncovered in class quizzes.  From a starting point of my class's general interest in dangerous gases, and there are general issues applying chemical equations.

Glenbrook is a village in a hidden valley 200m above Penrith and is absolutely full of history, even ghosts! Mrs Cook told me in 1997 about the day in WW2 the Army told every one to stay in doors due to a Mustard Gas accident.

Glenbrook's first train route was changed after a terrible accident with a run away train.  The museum at Valley Heights tells the story of casualties started up the Emu Plains Cemetery you first pass on the train.  The old train tunnel was so long (> 1 km) and small, the drivers would run out of air.

My personal experience of Gas Warfare was being briefed for the Gas Hut in Pukapunyal.  By 1983 the Army dropped the requirement just in time.

Frankly, I was shocked in 2009 to read that the British were the main driving force behind gas warfare in a plan to take Sevastopol in the Crimean war. Stories of prevailing winds being from German lines to Allied in WW1 just built a picture of a really insane practice.  In 2011 I found out during a visit to the Australian War Memorial that Australian Gas masks were full of asbestos.

I have just read "Chemical Warfare In Australia" by Geoff Plunkett  http://mustardgas.org/
With an article on the current use of the tunnel http://mustardgas.org/First-The-Military-Treated-Us-Like-Mushrooms-So-Whats-Changed.pdf.  It is simply an outstanding book.

I will return to this blog to write comments on a few of the accidents at Glenbrook, the Dumping of munitions at sea and later by Union Carbide that has rendered all of Sydney Harbor behind the Bridge unfit for fishing, and the thinking behind Gas and Nuclear Warfare.

Deep Space Travel to find a Better Earth -Play Dough

Twenty eight Western Sydney students (names changed for this article) are on a mission to find a better planet. They have been selected not because they are experts, but have been profiled as "Can do problem solvers".

"The Japanese Tsunami chucked an entire country, mountain ranges and all, 2 meters to the right.  This planet is definitely alive" said Jane Mitchells  leader of the "Planet Mechanics Team".  "We were expecting to hear the usual "The earth is a lump of solid rock", but were shocked to hear "The earth a lump of solid play-dough wrapped around a liquid center with a giant ball bearing in the center"

"At first it is was hard to think of solid rock as 'Plastic' but heat and tremendous pressure can get rock to squeeze about the mantle like tooth paste. It is only in the top 300 km, the so called weak layer rocks, that things stick and shatter creating earthquakes." commented Brodie who spends his weekends canyoning and caving. "The Blue Mountains, a hour out of Sydney is the world's second biggest Canyon system is my back yard."

"Abseiling then lie-lowing down the canyons is action packed. But in winter its colder, there is less light hours and you look out for dry canyons like Tiger Snake just up from my friends house.  It was here we got stuck behind so Sydney Uni Geologists back from Antarctica. Here is the quick story of Sydney:

1: 250 Million years ago, Lithgow was higher than Mt Everest but was near the South Pole.

2: Rain fall was x10 today, and a slow river ten times todays Amazon laid down 1 km thickness of river bed on top a a sizable seam of forest (now coal)

3. Australia drifts to the equator over a mantel uplift, creating the oldest volcanoes in Qld, working its way down to Victoria now creating the continental North- South Great Dividing Range. Including the Blue Mountains."

Many students travel down from the Mountains each day through Glenbrook Gorge.

They travel right through a mountain peak that has lift gently in last few million years, with the original creek still in place. A result of the Mantel hotspot.

Staff Development - Positive approach to teaching

Some high lights:

1. Enabling space for innovation can allow imitation. Positive thinking is Contagious Since the posting of this You Tube many wedding ceremonies have continued to build on this theme.



2. Enable students to develop projects, follow this link

3. Make teaching fun

Beautiful Vortex

In this Youtube a DC radial ion current, in an axial magnetic field creates a rotating fluid current of vortex.



From motors and generators HSC

or F = i l B Sin(Theta).  Here the X or cross product is a more advanced way of saying the force is a right angles to both the current and the field (Right hand slap rule)

Now looking at this situation, the deeper your beaker, the more spread out your current or the same current pushes a larger mass of water. So a shallower beaker will have a more dramatic effect.

A smaller central electrode will mean a higher central current.

A laminated core will just increase the magnetic field through the device.

You can use an AC current if the magnetic field also alternates and is suppled by a solenoid. This is a form of a "Universal Motor". With AC there is no bubbles produced.

An electric field in an liquid with ions will produce gas. The aNode is negative having excess electrons meaning H⁺   H⁺   converts to H₂ which leaves with the extra electrons.

Bees keep you safe

Ecosystems (the mechanisms working to make our home) need to be maintained.

You need to understand the big ideas:

1) Energy comes from the sun, and everything needs energy

2) Big fish eating little fish, extends to a food chain.

3) Things eating more than one food source are more flexible and the entire ecosystem and adapt.

4) introduced species (cane toads) can be a real pest.

5) we can monitor our environment by Bioindicators to stop disasters, and protect ourselves.

Today I visited ANSTO at Lucas Heights. ANSTO gives Australia Nuclear knowhow for good. It may be to protect us from polluters, cure cancers, or basically put smarts into how we run Australia. Henk is an ANSTO scientist who is giving back to Australia by working with teachers and students at Penrith High. He read our Science Blog about Bees and their ecosystem and explained how ANSTO used local bee hives as ultra sensitive industrial waste scouts.

Imagine a map of an area covering a 2 km radius and the bee hive in the center. Imagine areas with particular flowering plants highlighted, and then imagine this animated to cover different areas as the year progresses and  different plants come into flower.  Henk's team collect the pollen that drops as little balls as the bees land at the hive.  Analyse the pollen for pollution and you have a great detector, and free honey.

There is only one problem,  pollution to flower to bee means that you get only the tiniest samples, and you want to nail the tiniest traces. You want super early warning.  Classic chemistry will loose these traces, you want to find atoms that jump up and down and wave at you... atoms that tell you they are there.



Here you can see the radiation rays shot out of ordinary rocks. A pollen clump will have much less than this, but by watching the radiation it is as if the pollen can mobile phone the information, some information gives the type of pollution, some the source, and some the date.  ANSTO plays "Cludo" with the periodic table, to keep your food and water safe, put polluters behind bars, and remove some of the guess work from saving the planet.

You can look at the population of bees as an indicator, move to looking at how they act as a bioindicator, or go even one step further get them working for you as field researchers.

Ecosystems - Jane Austin and Hives

You can look at Ecosystems through big ideas, or follow the lives of a particular species like bees.  Both ways bring together structure and content for a deep insight into the Science of Life's home.

But first some key terms..........

Eco - Home

Systems - Mechanics behind how something works, components and how they work together. Systems have inputs outputs and controls. - Novels, Stories, and Sports have systems that are communicated so we can understand how characters and players interact and we watch how the system evolve. We can empathize with characters and players, placing ourselves in their shoes. Their actions will determine their relationships in the system and the health of they system. It is my opinion that the current generation appear to be less committed but are in fact deal makers with a keen sense of systems.

The world of Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice was set in the social system of 1800's England.  

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that any man ...."

ology - love or study of

Ec + ology - study of (our or an living organism's) home

Eco + systems - mechanics working behind the scenes to create an animals home

Population - the number of a species (type of animal or plant) living in an Environment

Bioindicator - Something you see in the environment that tells you how it is going. Animal behavior can be incredibly sensitive.


Things to get you thinking. Watch this ecosystem we build for bees.  See how the keepers put in a metal "Queen excluder" that imprisons her in the third story of the hive, but allows worker to feed her and tend the young. This keeps the hive put, and means that lower floors have no eggs and larvae and honey only for clean harvesting.



( you many like to install www.youtube.com/html5 to view at different speeds)

European honey bees have been introduced to the Australian environment.

Australian bees are stingless and keep unusual spiral honey combs. (http://www.aussiebee.com.au/keepingstinglessbees.html)

Ecology -Ecosystems - Where Science is taking us.

It is my opinion that:

a) we should have a Carbon Tax



b) the next logical choice is to change our life style to a low use, low waste slower pace life

c) nuclear power is beneficial, as part of a power solution for high population densities.

In many circumstances, it is best to decide to act early so we are in good shape to manage everything. In monetary terms, spending a basic amount on dental checks or maintaining a car, is a sound investment. The underlying reality is a good diet or sensible driving really impacts the general situation you find yourself in. I don't drink or smoke, so the closest parallel in my personal life it the amount of milk I drink that I know will lead to a heart condition.

I have a profound sense that people profiting from supporting unsustainable living, have made parallel decisions in the real and moral world detaching themselves from the consequences. I don't discuss the model ... its up for discussion, but there must be something that explains why my opinion and that of many others are ignored.

In my life situation, the closest to the current situation of a shared future, and people living unsustainably is group houses during Uni. I am keenly aware, we are facing a different situation: we are in this group home forever.



As I see it we are going to have to talk our flatmates around, we can't pick up the phone and dial Dominoes for Planet Earth. Aussieecospheres  makes this point. Youtube

School Science that I teach is great, but at the end of the day it is not set up by practicing scientists. In my heart it feels a little two dimensional, and you have to spend so energy in diplomacy. The School Science point made at this point is that the name for a home, or place of life is "Eco". "ology" means the study of, or more closely " a love of" and as a consequence a body of knowledge. The group student home, could be an "Eco" but the term to capture the idea is "Ecosystem". The passionate point I am making is that what matters is both at a global scale and in the group home is the social inputs that feed into the behaviours or "Sociology".

My interest, is trying to research strategies, to reprogram the sociology, that will reset the "Ecosystem". Can I bring my knowledge to bare on this situation? Origin energy has this interesting social reprogramming strategy:




 Quite rightly, the school approach is to build the foundation ideas upward. To build, scaffold the ideas and concepts that are then filled in. However, in this case, it is the surrounding logic, that lock us into a very sequential approach. In a nutshell there is a view that there is a correct or best way of approaching a problem. It is here, I would like to share my experience from years of studying Quantum Physics has tapped me over into thinking in parallel. I discovered the smallest molecule, by fusing passion and curiosity to take me in areas I was ignorant. I had remember leaving the old way of thinking (very much black board chalk drawings, and pin ball machines) and moving onto waves, beautiful curves travelling through each other slowly becoming the new reality. As knowledge brought colour and depth to the night sky, quantum mechanics gave me a heighten sense of bulk (heisenburgs uncertainty principle) and feel for materials.

To be continued