2013 Lyrid Meteor Shower

Streaming Live by Ustream
Above is the NASA UStream of the meteor shower. You will not miss anything from this spectacular event, and the best part being, is you don't need to go outside and look high and low for them. So kick back, get some popcorn and grab a drink and prepare for a show.
Below I will be going into some details regarding this shower.

When Does This Shower Occur?

The Lyrids meteor shower occurs generally April 16th through the 26th. This occurs every year and the peak time being changed every year. Sadly this year it was April 20th so we all missed that day.

Characteristics of the shower.

This meteor shower is known to create "fireballs" which is any meteor that is brighter than the nearby planets. These can cast shadows on the earth but do not last long and will eventually burn up in the atmosphere. However, they do leave a very long trail of smoke this trail will last a few minutes and then dissipate into the night.

What Do I Do If I Find A Meteorite?

If the shower is in your area and you do go to a crash site DON'T pick anything up and don't touch the meteorite. The best thing to do is contact your authorities who will get the area under control and likely send the meteorite to a research center.

You May Also Watch the Video On Any Of Our Sister Sites

http://thedailyexpository.blogspot.com/

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If the site is lagging or the video is lagging try one of the other sites above to limit lag. You can also try the NASA site here!

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/watchtheskies/lyrids_2013.html

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What Is A Black Hole

A black hole is a theoretical concept in astrophysics that is the remains of a start after it has gone through a super nova. These are thought to be constructed by the very dense core of the star which in turn results in a singularity. The singularity is known as one of the most interesting and confusing ideas in physics because it does not make sense but when does anything in physics make sense or work for that matter (this was a joke, there is one person who will take it seriously and I don't want to give that person satisfaction).

What Is A Black Hole?

To make it simple a black hole got its name because no light can escape from a black hole once it reaches the event horizon. The idea of a black hole is something that has been explored and rethought by many physicists. The reason is because they are so strange in nature and they are so full of questions and awe however there is still a lot of mystery that surrounds these mysterious objects. Their exact composition is still questioned because if the gravitational pull caused the star to collapse in on its self then what is left for it to be made from?

How Is A Black Hole Created?

A black hole is created when a star goes into its super nova stage. Now that is what a lot of people know but it is a little bit more complex. A star when it goes into a supernova has such a large amount of compression inside that is swells outwards and is fighting the strength of its own gravity. While it is doing that its core is changing its elements. Now their becomes a point that the internal temperature that is causing this expansion weakens and the star collapses in on its self. Now the center of the blackhole is thought to be the remnants of the core. This center item is known as a singularity now this is were logic goes out the window spins around the yard comes back and hits you in the head.

What Is A Singularity?

The singularity is a theoretical concept that is a point that takes up no space at all, but has infinite gravity. Now think about that for a second the point is so small it takes up no space (or very little space) and yet its pull stops time. This is were it is truly theoretical because this can't be tested and the equations no longer make sense. They can't calculate this with QM or Einsteins Equation it just gives them an infinity. So this is where i am wanting more exploration into the field because these objects don't make any sense.

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What Is A Diatomic Element

Most people when you ask them what a diatomic element is they answer with something along the lines of  "How would I know?" this is sad because it is in the name. I will break it down in a simple manner and give you the 7 diatomic elements. You will also know why it is they are called diatomic elements.


What Is A Diatomic Element?
Let me break the word down when you see the prefix DI it means 2 and atomic comes from the root word atom. So 2 atoms is what you will end up reading. Then an element is anything on the chart above and possibly other items that have not been discovered yet. So this word in a more scientific sense means that a Diatomic Element is any element found in nature that is paired with it's self. So you can't have 1 H atom you can have an HO but not 1 H. So it would be an H2 if found isolated.

What Are The Diatomic Elements
Remeber Cl-I-F-Br-O-H-N
The seven Diatomic Elements are Chlorine, Iodine, Fluorine, Bromine, Oxygen, Hydrogen, and Nitrogen. These are the only elements that cannot be found isolated in nature they all have the subscript of 2. The easiest thing to do is remember the saying above and you are bound to get them memorized.

When Will I Use This In Life?
This question is annoying but to be honest if you are not planning on getting a science major then you will never need this and will never use this. So one student reading this is why am I learning this? the answer to that is simple you are reading it because your school district requires it to be taught and to be taught a certain way. So don't go blaming your teachers they are supposed to follow the rules set forth by the district.

  

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What Is Absolute Zero

Many of us think that the term absolute zero meant that nothing can have any temperature lower than 0 Kelvin. However, that may not be true according to some physicists at the Planck Institute of Quantum Optics. They say that they have created an atomic gas that has negative Kelvin in temperature. Now what does this mean for us and why is this such a big deal.  This is a big deal for scientists but many of them are claiming it is a fluke?

What Is Absolute Zero?

Zero Kelvin as I stated above was thought to be the coldest any object could be. The reason this was so is because if any atom reaches this temperature they are supposed to stop moving they no longer have any energy to move. An easy way to put this is as we all know when you are cold outside you will wear a jacket. You wear this jacket to insulate your body by keeping your body heat in and keeping the cold out. Since the heat transfers to a cold surface never the other way around which is why penguins always huddle together, so that body heat is not being taken by the snow, but it is being shared between them. But back on the molecular scale since heat is a form of energy the atom is losing it in a way to keep its self warm. So the atom has lost all of its energy once it reaches absolute zero which is why it is no longer capable of moving. All of the energy of the atom has left, and it is completely "frozen" meaning it has very little movement so little that it is practically none.

What Does This Mean?

Now what does this mean if the atom can have   a lower temperature than absolute zero well I would think that it means the atom might have another form of energy. Maybe there is a relationship between this and dark energy. There might be the possibility of an atom having negative energy which might allow it to go below absolute zero. However what would the properties of negative energy does that idea even starts to make sense? How can something have no energy but yet have negative energy. Could you harness this power? And where does this power actually come from? So I am going to be very interested in where this discovery will lead us I am hoping that it can help us understand some things in the universe such as dark matter and dark energy. However, these are just ideas that I think could happen, but I am not a physicist so I can test it. 

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