Pistol Shrimp

When I first saw this clip I was amazed. It looks like magic to me, but after a little explain science manages to prove how this phenomena works. As this video explains, the pistol shrimp manages to snap it's claw so hard that it create bubbles in the water that reach approximately 4700 degrees Celsius. This creates such a strong blow that it knocks out it's prey from a distance. Check out this clip and watch the pistol shrimp take out its prey with a simple snap of it's claw.

Chemistry through Cooking

I've always loved baking; It may be the smell of something sweet, the sneaky fingers that try to steal my cookie dough, or the bonding I get to do with my family. Although it could be any of those reasons, I believe I'm driven by the science of it; measuring the ingredients, mixing them together, heating them up and getting a result that looks completely different than what I started with. I love the chemistry of it.

It seems as though I am not the only person to make the astonishing correlation between cooking and chemistry. Harvard University is offering a Chemistry and Physics course that is taught through cooking experiments. When you think about it, that's exactly what the basics of cooking are: chemistry!

Here's the article The New York Times has published about it: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/20/dining/20Harvard.html?pagewanted=all

Now, I believe this novelty idea is not just meant for the "Ivy Leagues." In fact, Purdue's Chemistry Department is quite well respected (Purdue Professor of Chemistry, Ei-ichi Negishi just won the Nobel Prize this year for his discovery) and has the potential to be as succesful. Purdue's already strong Chemistry Department could become even more powerful by taking a few tips from it's suitor. Why not turn our Chemistry classes into something that non-traditional science majors will enjoy as well? Chemistry can be as educational and as fun a school makes it. Purdue can keep up with the best, this novelty idea would be a great addition to our Chemistry Department.

Yoga

Stress. And a hint of fun. College life is stressful at times, and in high school I experienced this as well. I took a Yoga course my senior year and found that it was much more rewarding than I expected. It was a nice break from the daily routine I went through of work, study, eat, sleep. One of my favorite poses, Marichyasana B, is a bit challenging, but none the less relaxing. It's worth a try (or a least a break from anyone's daily routine).

Sanskrit name: Marichyasana B
English Translation: Maricha Posture B
Meaning: Marichi-the name of a sage, the son of Brahma (the creator), Asana-pose

MARICHYASANA B -

1. To begin this asana, you mus first Exhale. This allows you to bring the left foot in half lotus over the right thigh. Once you have achieve this position and can relax for a moment, then bend your right leg up and place the right foot flat on the floor, and bring you right heel as close to the buttocks as you can. Next you raise your right arm up and around the right bend leg, grabbing the left hand or wrist.
2. Inhale before continuing. Look up to the horizon while keeping your grip. Lengthen your spine.
3. Exhale and bend forward. Remain in this position for 5 long, deep breaths. forward.

4. Inhale. Look half the up to the horizon. Lengthen your spine.
5. Exhale and release leg. Vinyasa.

Benefits of Marichyasana B:

• This asana helps to calm the brain and stretch the spine and shoulders.
• It also stimulates the abdominal organs, including the liver and kidneys.
• It can improve digestions, flatulence and constipation.
  

My awareness: This pose was initially more difficult than it first appeared to me. I had trouble getting into the half lotus pose and holding my foot on my inner thigh while the other leg was bent up. But although my ankle was sore in the beginning, I began to readjust to get into the asana. Finally, after practicing I was able to get into the full posture. The posture was a great way to lengthen my spine and it was very calming to my brain. Since the head is facing downward there aren't many distractions and I was able to fully focus on my breathing.



Resources:
http://www.thesecretsofyoga.com/Hatha-Yoga/Marichyasana-B.html
http://www.thesecretsofyoga.com/Ashtanga/MARICHYASANA-B.html
http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/1731

Why do we even learn Calculus anyways?

Ever wonder who actually uses calculus after college? As I was studying for my Calculus II exam this week, I began to think about this. I decided to look into it and found that a multitude of jobs do actually use it on a daily basis! These careers include: engineers, physical scientists, life scientists and some computer and mathematical occupations. I found that some common jobs are chemical engineers, electrical engineers, astronauts, mathematicians, medical scientists and physicists.

Here's a neat website that gives descriptions about how each job uses it:

http://www.xpmath.com/careers/topicsresult.php?subjectID=5&topicID=1

I was glad to see that chemical engineers do use it because this is what I aspire to be. One chemical engineer from that website says,

"I am an Analytical chemist at a biopharmaceutical company. I use it to calculate concentrations for buffers and sample preparation. I use it to calculate the kinetic energy and heat imparted to drug components during formulation to determine the effects of heat inactivation based on different rotational speeds. I use to process data. But most importantly, I use it to when devising investment schemes to make a profit off the money I set aside for a future retirement to have a seven figure 401K and savings/stocks."

image from http://www.boydogcomics.com/2007/07/127_concavity.html

Sun Reactions

It's been about a month now of my college life and I've been beginning to realize some of the perks, as well as disadvantages of college life. Since I've been living in a dorm and have no TV, I've been checking CNN lately (it's actually my homepage!). I recently found this article about the reactions of the sun: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/10/07/solar.study.climate.change/index.html?hpt=C2

The article talks about how the reactions on the sun haven't been acting as predicted over the past couple years. Although this may come off as alarming at first, it may not be as bad as it sounds. The new technology that exists currently to measure the reactions on the sun, are no where near as high-tech as they were even 10 years, let alone 300 years. With this said, the reactions from that long ago may have been much the same as they are now, and these little blips or alterations aren't anything out of the ordinary.

(image from CNN.com)