What is volcanic ash?

(picture from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8621992.stm)

If you were planning on traveling to Europe today it looks like that's not going to happen. An erupting volcano in Iceland appears to have thwarted plans of many travelers. The volcano located under a glacier in the Eyafjallajokull region of Iceland erupted emitting volcanic ash. This ash drifted as a high-altitude cloud south to east. Now you may be asking yourself why can't the planes travel, and why is this volcanic ash considered so dangerous?

Volcanic ash is actually made up of small pieces of rock and glass emitted by volcanic eruptions. These materials are very fine particles less then 2 millimeters in diameter. You may ask yourself how do these rocks and glass get so small. Well, you see ash is created when solid rock shatters and magma separates into little bitty particles during explosive volcanic activity. Because eruptions are usually violent, steam that is involved results in the magma and solid rock surrounding the vent being torn into particles of clay to sand size.

How does an eruption in Iceland affect travel all over Europe?

The eruption started Wednesday and sent ash up into the air. The ash cloud continued to rise and spread over Scandinavia and as far north as Great Britain and is likely to spread over the whole island by the end of today. As the plume continues to rise and spread it will loose intensity.

Why can't plans fly through?

If the ash gets into the engines of a plane it can block up the ventilation holes and even stop engines. Also windows become abraded by ash and can't be seen through. So as you can see its pretty dangerous for planes.

soooo... it is pretty crazy to see how things work and how different things are effected by what happens in one place on earth by something in the earth!

Attention Alien Lovers:

The first every multicellular animals found in an oxygen-free environment. No multicellular animal capable of living without oxygen has been discovered in the 236 years since oxygen was identified (http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-04/first-ever-multicellular-animals-found-oxygen-free-environment). Researches have discovered thee new species that life there entire life in an oxygen free pit beneath the Mediterranean Sea. Prior to this discovery the only organisms capable of life in oxygen-free environments were viruses and bacteria. The newly discovered animal species have some sort organelle that resembles a hydrogenosome, a cellular component used by some microbes to produce energy with complex enzymatic reactions. If these strange creatures can live without oxygen there is potential for many other species to be out there.... makes you wonder!

Is breakfast important?

You may ask yourself is it really important to eat breakfast? Researches say yes!! Researchers found people that eat breakfast every day where a third less likely to become obese compared to those that skipped the meal. Of course it depends what you eat for breakfast. If you are eating slabs of bacon and sausage it is not exactly the healthiest options. But a bowl of cereal and some fruit is a perfect option that benefits your health.

So remember.... EAT BREAKFAST!!

Island lost at sea!!

An Island lost to rising sea levels?? Crazy much? A tiny island claimed by India and Bangladesh disappeared under the ocean due to rising sea levels.
Check it out
and some people say global warming doesn't exist.....

Atom Cookies

As I enjoy baking I came across these wonderful cookies on Not So Humble Pie blog and thought they were great as well as creative (and semi-scientific). She makes some Delicious looking atom cookies you can see in her picture. Although they are not the perfect replica of an atom the do show some aspects of them. What is an atom you may ask?

Well an atom is the most basic form of matter which contains a dense center called the atomic nucleus which contains the positive protons and the neutral neutrons. Around this nucleus is a cloud of negatively charged electrons which are bound by electromagnetic force. Atoms are present in everything from your body to the chair you are sitting in. Atoms are even present in these yummy cookies which you can make by following the recipe on Not So Humble Pie.

2010 Winter Olympics

Friday was the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. I have been avidly watching the events, seeing many different countries duke it out for a medal. From a science viewpoint the Winter Olympic events contain tons of information. From the aerodynamics of the ski jump to the physics of figure skating. I find it fascinating how much thinking goes into these events and how much science is involved with many aspects of them. NBC teamed up with the National Science Foundation and made videos dedicated to the science of the Olympics so check it out!
Science of the Olympics

Walking in a winter wonderland.....

Anyone who has been living in the North East this winter has heard the term "Snowmageddon" as uttered by President Obama. This winter Washington DC has set a winter record for total snowfall as it broke its previous record from 1898-1899 of 54.4 inches, by receiving a total of 54.9 inches and winter is not even over yet! Here in the metro NY area we received a bunch of snow on Wednesday which shut down much of the businesses here including schools. Why am I posting this you may ask yourself?

Well, weather is caused by science. If you where watching the news you may have heard the term "nor'easter" or "blizzard" uttered, but what exactly are they? Well a Nor'easter are named by their winds that blow from the northeast and drive the storm up along the Gulf stream. They occur any time between October and April when there is moisture and cold air a plenty. They are known for causing heavy amounts of rain and snow, producing hurricane-force winds, and creating high surf. As your reading this you are probably saying to yourself "what?" and "I don't get it?". Well they are caused by two components.

Component #1
A gulf stream low-pressure system which you can think of a big mass of air with winds moving counter-clockwise that causes it to move up the east cost.

Component #2
An Arctic high-pressure system which is another big mass of air with winds rotating clockwise. The northeasterly winds pull the storm up the east cost and then bang! it meets with the air blowing down from Canada. When these two collide they produce a mix of precipitation.
Here is a cool animation showing what nor'easter's are:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7052182/ns/weather

and now...

drum roll please....

Blizzards! Blizzards are a blinding snow storm with cold, high winds. Although I don't enjoy blizzards or nor'easter's they are great displays of science at work!

Here are some links you can visit to find out more about blizzards and nor'easter:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/question595.htm
http://science.howstuffworks.com/blizzard-info.htm