SUMMER 2014
TECHNOLOGY BEHIND THE
SMART PHONE
MYSTERIOUS DISEASE KILLS
THOUSANDS OF SEA STARS IN THE PACIFIC
INTERVIEWS WITH NATHAN HAN & VERNOR VINGE Science and Technology | Boston Latin School
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Editorial Board
Editor-in-Chief Michael Gao (III)
Editors’ Note
Associate Editors Jiayi Chen (III) Neil Sun (II) Kevin Yang (III) Layout Editor Yinyu Ji (IV) Assistant Layout Editor Randy Chen (IV) Layout Committee Hayden Codiga (V) Greta Gaffin (III) Melisa Lee (IV) Masha Leyfer (VI) Nate Power (VI) Christopher Zhou (VI) Treasurer Daniel Sherman (III) Webmaster Michael Lee (III) Jeffrey Zhou (IV) Task Manager/ Outreach Director William Gao (III) Faculty Advisor Ms. Bateman Special Thanks Mr.Smith
3 Interview with Nathan Han
4 Technology: How It All Works
5 6
Extinction
Nikola Tesla 7 A Dimming of the Sea’s Stars
8, 9 10
The Shaping of Our Blue Planet
Interview with Vernor Vinge
11 The Mystifying
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Moon
13 Earth’s Cousin
Geological Time
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15 The Energy Cycle 3-D Printing: The New Age of Technology
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16, 17 Survey
Tent caterpillars (Malacosoma sp.) Photographed in County Clare, Ireland
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Dear Reader, Welcome to Catapulta’s Summer Edition! In this issue, we have a lot to share with you, from an article about a deadly disease harming sea stars to an interview with the Intel International Science Fair top winner, our very own Nathan Han. This issue features articles from a wide array of students in several grade levels. We are also pleased to announce that Catapulta received the Meritorious Award from the New England Scholastic Press Association (NESPA). We hope you enjoy the articles, try the puzzles at the end (for a chance to win a gift card), and learn something new and exciting! Email us at catapultasciencebls@gmail.com if you have any questions or comments! Lastly, we would like to thank Ms. Bateman, our faculty advisor, for her constant support and help throughout the year. BLS Catapulta Editorial Board
INTERVIEW WITH NATHAN HAN At the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, held in Los Angeles, California from May 12 to May 16, Nathan Han’s (IV) project, placed first from over 1600 projects. For his work in developing a machine learning software tool to study mutations of gene linked to breast cancer, he was awarded the Gordon E. Moore Award of $75,000. Nathan also received 1st overall at the Boston City Science Fair and the Micheline M. Roth Award and 1st prize at the Massachusetts State Fair. We are very pleased to present an interview with Nathan Han. __________________________________________ Q: What got you interested in the topic of breast cancer?
A: In my project, I used the BRCA1 gene, which has been identified as a primary risk factor for breast and ovarian cancers, to establish a procedure theoretically applicable to any other gene. There are a couple reasons for this choice, the first being practicality: there is just so much data out there on BRCA1 for me to use, as it is one of the most studied of all human genes. Also, a few years ago, I visited a close family friend who had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer out of the blue, and that is what first ignited my curiosity for creating a tool that can predict whether unknown mutations will cause cancer, especially in the BRCA1 gene. Q: What do you think possible applications of your project could be? A: As you can probably imagine, there are tons of immediate applications for a system like the one I created. These range from
identifying specific mutations that will cause disease and improving gene screening for example, to prioritizing assays in the lab and the large-scale analysis of entire populations' genomic data in the up-and-coming fields of bioinformatics, big data, and genomics. Down the road, I could also imagine using my sort of approach to develop accurate personalized genome-wide assessments, similar to 23andme. Q: What was your Intel experience like? A: My Intel experience has been absolutely incredible! The Massachusetts delegation this year was filled with brilliant, super fun people, and we had tons of great times over the week. Plus, in addition to the many Nobel laureates, I also met Troian Bellisario! Q: Do you have future plans for your science fair project? A: I'd love to expand my project and make it more rigorous and directly applicable to solving current problems. To do that, I'd probably need a mentor at a laboratory, which I am currently searching for. Q: Has this project helped you think about a career or a subject you would like to major in? A: Definitely! This project introduced me to the field of bioinformatics, which I find incredibly fascinating since it is everything I love combined into a single field. Other than that, I am really interested in medicine and the sort of interdisciplinary approach that I've been doing for the science fair many years now.
nathan han
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Michael Lee, III In the 21st century, we have become tech-dependent. Everywhere we go, there are Apple, Microsoft, and Android devices. Anytime we talk to anyone, it is always through online social networking: Gmail, Twitter, and Facebook. Can we even live anymore without our touchscreen phones, our Facebook accounts, or our deckedout AlienWare laptops? If we cannot live without our new and fancy gadgets, then we might as well learn how to use them to the best of our abilities. The first step to that is to understand our shiny LED screen trinkets. The most attractive and most useful element of all these devices is their ability to connect to the internet, the underlying network between all modern devices. Not only do our phones and our computers connect to the internet, but nowadays even our music players, our printers, and even our cars do so. But how does it work? A general definition of the internet is a network of connected transmission lines that communicate with each other. Some examples of transmission cables are satellites, modems, landline phone cables, and wireless routers. There are millions of connected devices in the world, so how do we distinguish between devices?
The Ag
“tech
Each device, once connected to the internet, has a numerical label called an IP Address. Considering the huge number of devices, will we ever run out of addresses? Yes we will. There are two different protocols for the assignment of IP Addresses: IPV4 and IPV6. IPV4 is capable of distributing 4,294,967,296 distinct addresses but we are starting to run out. Our diminishing supply of IPV4 Addresses has forced computer has forced computer scientists to construct a new protocol called IPV6 which has the ability to assign 340,282,366,920,938,463,463, 374,607,431,768,211,456 distinct addresses. That might be a colossal number of addresses and therefore a humongous number of devices, but at the rate we are inventing, manufacturing, and purchasing these devices, we might run out again.
Socia
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IP Adr esses Securit y
Devices that are looking for information are called clients, and devices that store and communicate information are called servers. Information is sent between the two parties in strings of bytes called packets. Bytes are integers between zero and two-hundred fifty five Once a server is initialized, it will be open for communication with a client. This processs
e of T
How
cess of “handshake” establishes and confirms a stable connection between the server and the client. Now the server and client can talk about whatever they want. With the internet constantly expanding, we might want to worry about our security. The more devices and the more advanced their capabilities are, the more exposed we are to threats from various things on the internet. You might recall that last year, there was the “Snowden” incident, in which Edward Snowden, a former NSA agent, revealed that the National Security Agency had been collecting private information on US citizens and prominent foreigners. As technology grows, we must keep in mind that the more technology advances and penetrates into our society, the more our privacy becomes less private and the more a growing third party has power over our lives.
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Duy Nguyen, III Less than one hundred years ago, a great inventor lived in Edison dismissed him, saying that he did not understand his America. He was a stereotypical “mad scientist” by the name “American humor.” Tesla promptly quit and hated Edison of Nikola Tesla. for life. In 1931, when Tesla was asked about his thoughts on Edison’s death, he took his revenge on Edison, saying, “He Nikola Tesla was born on July 1856, in a small village called had no hobby, cared for no sort of amusement of any kind Smiljan of the Austrian Empire (currently Croatia) to a family and lived in utter disregard of the most elementary rules of of Serbian origin. He had quite a humble family, his father an hygiene.” Orthodox priest and his mother an intelligent but uneducated woman. As a young boy, Tesla demonstrated quite Tesla’s alternating current brought him a large amount of exceptional intelligence. It is said that during gymnasium (an money. He also invented the radio-controlled toy boat, which equivalent for high school), he was able to do integral calculus excited the public very much. One of Tesla’s foci was in his head, making his teachers think he was cheating. After wireless power transmission. Out of this endeavour, he graduating at the age of seventeen, he went home, contracted invented the “Tesla coil”. In addition to this, Tesla also made cholera and was bedridden for months. His father, who had major discoveries in radio transmission. Unfortunately, in originally wanted his son to be an Orthodox priest, promised 1895, a fire burned down Tesla’s lab, and a large amount of Tesla that if he got well, he would send him to an engineering his notes and equipment were destroyed. school, which was what Tesla really wanted. Fortunately, Tesla Tesla was a quite an eccentric and unpredictable person. In recovered from his illness and went to college. His college the beginning of 20th century, Tesla began a project called days, however, were not very smooth and he ended up Wardenclyffe Tower, a wireless transmission tower. At first, dropping out. Then, in the year 1884, at age twenty-eight, he the project was funded by the wealthy banker J.P. Morgan. moved to New York, working for Thomas Edison. However, Morgan backed out as Tesla was asking for more Tesla had a rough ride coming to America. On the way, his and more money to complete the project. The project also luggages and money were stolen, thus leaving him in New drained Tesla’s money, as he was in debt trying to realize his York with four cents and a letter of recommendation in his dream of wireless energy transmission. pocket. He was hired to work for Thomas Edison. In his final years, Tesla became even more eccentric. He was When Tesla came to America, he discovered that people reported to be “in love” with pigeons. He died quietly in the were using direct current electricity (electricity out of New Yorker Hotel in 1943, at eighty-six years old. Despite batteries), an invention of Thomas Edison. However, direct his popular inventions and fame, he died without money. current dropped in voltage over distance, was hard to After his death, the FBI seized all of Tesla’s property looking maintain, and was costly. Hoping to improve it, he for “sensitive material.” This is because he once claimed that suggested using a new “type of electricity” called alternating he was working on a “death ray” that was able to bring down current, which solved the problem of inefficiency in a myriad of airplanes over two hundred miles away. Some of distribution and was safer to use. When he pitched Tesla’s papers are still kept secret; others were destroyed. this idea to Thomas Edison, he Tesla’s name is used for many things too. Tesla was offered fifty thousand dollars Motors is a new car company that created quite to realize his idea. a buzz recently with their innovative “green” After months of hard car. Tesla is also honored on Serbia’s work, Tesla produced a currency, and some museums and generator to make statues are dedicated to him. Most “alternating current.” importantly, “tesla” was made a When he inquired unit measuring the strength of Edison about the magnetic field. Tesla was a man of money, however, mystery, and today, he still is.
NIKOLA TESLA
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Masha Leyfer, VI
the Baiji What is it? A type of freshwater dol phin found only in the Yangtze River of China. How many are left? In the 1950s, there were an estimated 6,000. Since then, the baiji population has seen a rapid decrease. Only one has been sighted since 2007. What are the reasons for its endangered state? The large amount of fishing going on in the Yangtze. Illegal fishing methods have greatly harmed the baiji. Legal fishing and the baiji also collided, as the dolphins got entangled in nets intended for fish, and suffered deadly collisions with ships. The construction of the Three Gorges Dam reduced the baiji’s habitat, and increased ship traffic. These combined factors are considered the main ones in the extinction of the baiji. Are there any conservation efforts? In the 1970s, the Chinese government prohibited deliberate fishing of the baiji, as it was nearing extinction. Then, in 1996, the Baiji Dolphin Conservation Foundation - the first Chinese organization to protect an aquatic species was founded. Since 1992, five areas of the Yangtze have been set aside as protected baiji reserves, where fishing is banned, and the rules enforced by daily patrols. In 2001, the total cost estimated to fully protect the baiji for 3 years was 1,000,000 USD, and China was unable the receive this funding. Although the plan was a good one, it was put into action too late to save the baiji. Could there still be baiji left? The answer to that has yet to be determined.
Over 99.9% of species that ever existed are now extinct. There have been five known major extinctions in history (In chronological order): Ordovician-Silurian, Late Devonian, Permian, Triassic-Jurassic, Cretaceous-Tertiary. Most of the causes remain unknown, but some of the suspected causes are meteorite attacks, sudden climate change, major floods, continuous volcanic eruptions, and the dying out of a plant species which a major ecosystem is dependent on. Major extinctions can be extremely damaging, with over half the life dying out. During the Permian Mass Extinction, nicknamed “The Great Dying”, over 96% of the life died out. An endangered species is one that is at risk of dying out. A threatened species is one vulnerable of becoming endangered in the near future. A species is deemed extinct after no sightings for many years. Because of this, many species could already be extinct that have not been acknowledged yet. Major factors leading to gradual extinction: damage or destruction of the habitat, overuse of the species for recreational use, disease spreading throughout the entire species, lack of protection, or man-made and natural hazards to the habitat.
EXTINCTION
Daniel She
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A DIMMING
The sea star, more commonly called the starfish, is one of the most recognized of all marine organisms. Its presence in the aquatic world is expected, and few would think that its continued existence, at least in some areas of the ocean, is in question. Yet, along the west coast of the United States, from as far north as Alaska to the warm southern coastlines of California, tens of thousands of sea stars in the ocean and along the seashore are being lost to a mysterious new disease. Does the mass death of sea stars represent a major ecological crisis in the making?
between the East and West coast oc- helianthoides. However, scientists currences. have now found that twelve species of sea stars are the victims of The disease that is affecting the sea Sea Star Wasting Syndrome. Pisaster stars is known as Sea Star Wasting ochraceus, the intertidal Ochre Sea Syndrome. This affliction causes le- Star, is among the dozen species of sions to form on the ectoderm, or the sea stars affected. A seemingly orouter layer of cells of the sea star. As dinary sea star, P. ochraceus serves the skin deteriorates, the limbs move a critical role in its ecosystem – it is in opposite directions, causing them- a keystone species, a species, which selves to wrest away from the actual has a disproportionate impact on the sea star body. The sea stars’ limbs diversity of its ecosystem relative to detach from the organism and crawl its numbers in the environment (sigaway, leaving open areas in the central nificant impact, small numbers) and body through which its guts exude. whose removal spells disaster for the Ordinarily, sea stars regenerate lost community of organisms, as certain limbs. And conversely, a fragmented species will die out, and others will The disease was first observed limb plus a bit of the central body overpopulate and take over the area. at Starfish Point on the can regenerate into an entire new sea Robert Paine, a famous ecologist, in state of Washing star, a process that exemplifies a form the 1960s proved that the Pisaster ton’s Olympic of asex ual reproduction. However, ochraceus sea star was a keystone Peninsula. this reproductive process does not species. He removed P. ochraceus Although occur in individuals afflicted with this from experimental sites along the some disease, which means that there is coast of Washington State. The reof the no chance of recovery for either the sult was a massive overpopulation of deaths have been dismembered sea star or the dismem- a genus of mussels known as reported on the bered limbs. Mytilus. The main East Coast, the food source for majority of deaths Death is a certainty of the disease sea stars, these are occurring along and occurs within one to three days. mussels the Pacific, and Horrid scenes of the dead, dismem- no scientists say that bered, deformed, distorted, and disit is too early to integrated bodies are now the reality tell whether in dozens of locations along the West there is an Coast. Aquatic areas, once teeming association with vigorous and thriving sea stars, now are lacking in any significant population. At first, the disease only affected the Sunflower Sea Star, Pycnopodia .
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OF THE
longer had a natural control for their population, which exploded and outcompeted numerous other organisms along the shore, such as snails, barnacles, and algae, resulting in a drop of diversity from 15 to 5 species of mussels. Because of their predatory nature, many species of sea stars, including the Sunflower Sea Star and the Ochre Sea Star, serve as keystone species and are necessary for their environments. Therefore, the recent mass mortality of Pisaster and other species is especially worrying..
Scientists are looking for possible causes of the Sea Star Wasting Syndrome. Some speculate that a virus or bacteria is behind the disease. Others suggest that the nuclear disaster at Fukushima in 2011 is contaminating the waters of the West Coast of the United States and producing the disease. Another proposed theory is that the warming ocean waters due to global warming and the increasing acidity levels of the ocean are the reason. because similar
case in 1983 and 1984 resulted in decline of P. ochraceus populations was ultimately attributed to that. After that incident, P. ochraceus was almost completely extirpated. Its numbers have recently recovered, only now to be obliterated again. Research still must be conducted to determine the ultimate cause of the disease. Researchers are encouraging the public to send in photographs to scientists and databases in order to document where sea stars are appearing dead or sick.
Hopefully, researchers will soon discover the source of the disease and the populations of sea stars will rebound either with the help of humans, by the sea stars’ own strength, or with the guiding hand of nature.
Many Sea Stars Are
twelve species Keystone Species are victims In conclusion, scientists fear that the many ecosystems along the West Coast will soon experience drastic changes with the disappearance of keystone sea star species. At one time, the sea stars’ presence in the ocean was unquestioned. Imagine the tremendous decline of biodiversity that would ensue with sea stars’ disappearance.
SEA’S STARS
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Kevin Qi, VI
The Shaping of Our ... Four and a half billion years ago, our blue planet was born from the excess material from the Sun’s formation. Like globs of glue, dust particles collided and melded together to form larger and larger objects. Eventually, the planets were formed, along with over one hundred moons. The Earth is special because it is the only planet in our solar system to support life. But why? Scientists have already come up with a smart hypothesis for this. The fact that the Earth’s heaviest metals are in the core suggests that while the Earth was forming, it went through some molten stages. The heavier metals would sink through the lava and settle in the core of the Earth. Eventually, Earth’s surface hardened permanently. Only when Earth was not covered in a moisture-evaporating surface would water be able to collect into the vast oceans Earth has today. Scientists know that during its formation, and to this day, Earth has been assaulted by meteors numerous times. It is very likely that meteors from outer space would have traces of moisture from the region now known as the Kuiper Belt, which is similar to the asteroid belt, but contains mostly frozen bodies of water. Therefore, many meteors would have brought enough water to form our oceans. Another appropriate question to ask would be “How did life start?” The answer to this is probably the basis of thoughts and conjectures about life on other planets. With a decent environment for life to flourish, Earth still did.. not have any life. Obviously, life could not have just started on its own. The meteors that have crashed into Earth over the years not only brought water, but also very intriguing and essential building blocks of life: amino acids. Once everything was set for Earth to support life, early bacteria such as prokaryotes began to develop and grow. Eventually bacteria evolved enough to develop photosynthesis. These bacteria added oxygen to the mix. Then, for three billion years, life on earth evolved and developed, until animals crawled out from the ocean depths and came onto land. Over time, mammals came to climb their way to the top. Humans have the capacity to learn, imagine, and create. Homo Sapiens Sapiens is the only species in the 4.5 billion years of Earth’s history to invent. However, everything can go wrong in an instant. The dinosaurs were the rulers of the Earth until a single meteor blocked out the sun. A thing we ca n lea r n from dinosa ur s is to hold onto every moment that we have.
Blue Planet
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Interview With Vernor Vinge
A former Professor of Mathematics, Vernor Vinge is both a computer scientist and a science fiction author. Among the works he has written, the most famous are A Fire Upon the Deep, A Deepness in the Sky, Rainbows End, and The Cookie Monster, all of which were awarded the Hugo Award, a distinction given only to the best science fiction works of a particular year. We are very honored to feature an interview with Vernor Vinge. Be sure to check out some of his works at your local library or bookstore!
Q: Where do you get all your ideas/inspirations from? A: I keep an idea file and make entries in it of ideas and observations. These are largely inspired by things I encounter in everyday life, as well as the news, and whatever I’m currently reading. When it comes time to think about a new story, I play mix and match with the items in this file. Q: Is there any particular technology that you think has great potential for the future? A: Computation remains the high level enabler of magic (that is, many different tech areas!), but computational progress depends on research in materials science, math and statistics, and bio science. (There is a weird circularity here of course. :-)
Q: What’s your favorite part of being a science fiction writer? A: The part I dislike the most is writ-ing the first draft (anyone who en-joys this has an advantage). I en-joy almost everything else about writing science fiction, but I’m not sure which I enjoy the most. Q: What other things are you inter-ested in besides writing stories? A: I like to track science and technology in general, but astronomy in particular (and lately exoplanetary research such as you see at http:// exoplanet.eu/bibliography/ ).
inspired by what he encounters in daily life
VERNOR VINGE
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Catherine Flynn, VI
The
Mystifyng Our moon is 363,104 kilometers away from Earth. Since it does not have enough of a gravitational pull, it cannot support an atmosphere. It takes 27.5 days for the moon to complete just one rotation around Earth. The phases of the moon change when a shadow of Earth changes the appearance of the moon by making the moon appear to be growing or shrinking. The moon becomes a new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, third quarter, and waning crescent, before the cycle begins again. About once a year, there is a solar eclipse, which is when the moon is between the Sun and the Earth and directly on the elliptical. The sun shines on the moon and the moon casts a shadow onto Earth. The total shadow area is called the umbra, and is where a person can see a solar eclipse the strongest. The partial shadow area is called the penumbra. In this area, you could possibly notice the sky slightly darker, but you cannot see the eclipse as clearly. The next total solar eclipse is on March 15, 2015. Another occurrence that happens a bit more frequently than a solar eclipse is a lunar eclipse, which is when the Earth is between the Sun and moon, and are all once again on the elliptical. However, instead of the moon’s shadow hitting the Earth, the Earth’s shadow hits the moon. The Earth is much larger than the moon, so when the Earth’s shadow reaches the moon it covers the entire moon. This causes the normally full, foggy white moon to become a slightly red color. Our moon is very interesting and we can still discover many things about our mystifying moon.
Moon
Have you ever wondered what Earth was like before humans dominated? The truth is, we humans were not the first things to happen on this planet. Earth’s geological history started 4.6 billion years ago with the Hadean eon, when Earth was a newly formed planet with no forms of life. The planet was simply a giant ball of hot molten lava. By the beginning of the Archean era the Earth had cooled down a lot, but it was lacking oxygen and an ozone layer. Nevertheless, around this time the first single-cell organism appeared on Earth. Fast forward a few million years to the Cambrian period, when Earth exploded with life! The most commonly preserved Cambrian animal is a crablike invertebrate called a trilobite, but scientists have found at least 120 animals from the Cambrian are preserved in fossils. During the next few million years in the Ordovician, Devonian, Silurian, Mississippian
and Pennsylvanian periods more and more species evolved, including amphibians and reptiles. Plants also continued to evolve, starting with small sea plants evolving all the way to larger trees. A mass extinction, however, occurred in the Permian period, wiping out 95% of all species, a huge set back in Earth’s progression. The famous dinosaurs finally walked on the Earth in the Triassic and dominated in the Jurassic. Unfortunately, they were all extinct by the end of the Cretaceous, and the first mammals arrived afterwards. Earth’s most recent history includes the Paleogene, Neogene and Quaternary periods, when the land plates moved into their current positions, mammals started to dominate, and humans finally evolved. Earth’s geological history before humanity is long and complex. There are many events that occurred during those 4.6 billion years which all led up to now.
Time
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Elizabeth Garrity, VI
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Frankie Linso, VI
Earth’s Have you ever wondered if life on another planet existed, or if it is even possible? Well, a planet circling a star 500 light years away has been announced to be the closest match to our Earth. This planet, named Kepler 186f, or Kepler for short, has all the proportions and properties to be like our home planet. Kepler has a diameter of 8,700 miles, which is about 10% wider than Earth’s. Kepler’s temperatures are suitable for liquid water to flow at its surface, which is another reason why life could exist. This happens because Kepler lies right in its star’s “Goldilocks zone.” This zone provides enough atmospheric pressure so that the planet can have liquid water. Kepler’s geological surface is predicted to have an Earth-like rocky surface, which is another similarity to Earth’s geology. This could be because it is made out of the same materials as Earth, such as iron, rock, ice, and water. Additionally, Kepler’s gravity is about the same as Earth’s. You could almost say that they are completely identical, but not quite. Kepler is closer to its star than Earth is to the sun; therefore it only takes 130 days for Kepler to take one full orbit opposed to Earth’s 365-day orbit. Kepler’s star is a small, red dwarf that is much fainter and weaker than Earth’s sun. For plants, however, Kepler only receives about a sixth of the amount of light that earth does. Earth’s plants, however, are fine with that, because those are the wavelengths that plants need. Kepler 186f is an interesting planet with many new similarities waiting to be discovered.
Cousin
Many people know Earth is a planet, but what they overlook is that Earth is a complex system with many processes and cycles, such as the Water Cycle, the Carbon Cycle, and so on. However, the lesser-known process, the Energy Cycle, is perhaps the most important of these cycles. It is important to note that although the Energy Cycle is called a cycle, it is actually more like a scale, with energy coming into Earth on one side, and energy emitted or reflected into space on the other. Concerning the percentage of energy absorbed by Earth, there are three main sources: the Sun, the Earth, and the tide. The percentages from each source are also predictable: almost all is from the Sun, at 99.985 percent, and the rest is divided between the tidal energy, created from the movement of the moon drawing earth’s water (0.002 percent), and geothermal energy, which is caused by radioactive elements decaying in the core of the earth (0.013). The next part, the energy reflected back or lost, is more complex. As I mentioned before, the Energy Cycle is more like a scale, and for Earth not to fall into disarray, or, as I put it, break the scale, the energy that Earth absorbs must be equal to the energy that is lost or emitted or reflected by Earth. All of these laws are governed by thermodynamics, which contend with the movement of heat and its conversion into energy. The principles of thermodynamics are also reasonably simple. The first law states that energy is never destroyed, it merely changes form. The second law is that energy, when converted, loses efficiency. This is called entropy. Entropy is the reason why perpetual motion is impossible, but that is for another time. The reason that Earth loses energy is due to the surface of the Earth. Different colors and features which are more reflective, such as snow, or sand, have a higher albedo. The albedo is the percentage of energy which is reflected back to space. This is very important to Earth because our atmosphere would hold too much heat, and several biomes and species would be lost. Another reason that this affects Earth is that as humans change their landscape, we reduce the area’s albedo. Asphalt and tarmac, which are used in urban areas, reflect virtually no energy, and therefore have an extremely low albedo. This leads to an accelerated rate of global warming, and causes the Heat Island Effect, which causes urban areas to have a drastically lower albedo than that of the surrounding natural environment. Modern efforts to reduce the Heat Island Effect have proved very useful towards stopping global warming, but there still is room for improvement. The Heat Island Effect is one of the most unrecognized environmental hazards, and measures must be taken to stop it.
“Sun, Earth, Tide”
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The Energy Cycle
Owen Sullivan, VI
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John K
3-D Pri Until recently, the 3-D printer was a heavy machine with staggering price tags that was only slowly revealing its potential as time went by. Around 2010, however, it became accessible to anyone who had a couple of thousand dollars to spare. The device itself is quite revolutionary, although the technology behind it is not novel. In fact, it had already existed by the time computer began to become mainstream. The person responsible for the idea of 3-D printing is
“Revolutionary but technology not novel” 74-year-old Chuck Hull. In the early 1980s, Hull was an engineer in a company that produced ultraviolet lamps. While working for the company, he realized that he could cut the surface of plastic using ultraviolet light to produce layers in certain shapes and stack them to create 3-D objects. Little did Chuck know that his invention would thrive thirty years later and revolutionize the world, as an innovation pragmatic to society.
3-D printing is now widely recognized by diverse areas of interests and the manufacturing industry. Designers and medical professionals are a few that are particularly inclined, due to the economical and straightforward process, which 3-D printing provides. As the materials get cheaper, the application of 3-D printing will appeal to numerous designers and manufacturers. The promptness and accuracy of the 3-D printer propose yet another innovative breakthrough in medicine. In the medical world, human body parts can be replicated by 3-D printing with materials such as organic inks and thermoplastics. For instance, at the University Medical Center Utrecht in Holland, doctors have successfully performed the first surgery to apply a 3-D printed skull to a patient’s head. There are more evolutionary advances, however, in medicine than just prostatic skulls. At Cornell University in New York, a team printed a patient’s ear with inks that contain living cells. In addition, prostatic eyes printed in 3-D have become available, fully functional for human transplants. Above all, the availability of 3-D printed mechanical limbs is the highest. Soon, companies companies like Bespoke,
The New age o
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Kim, III
inting established by Scott Summit and his partner, an orthopedic surgeon, will sell limbs that are wholly customized and cost a lot less tna those made by traditional manufacturing.
Michael Weinberg, a senior staff lawyer at Public Knowledge, digital advocacy
group in Washington, pointed out that “if an object is purely aesthetic it will be protected by copyright, but if the object does something, it is not There is no doubt that the world will the kind of thing that can be prooperate radically differently as the 3-D tected.” printing industry, worth about three billion dollars annually, flourishes at Despite some of the hindrances that a prompt pace. Yet it is certain that confront the new era of 3-D printthe business would not benefit each ing, its looks bright, as it continues and every aspect. It seems that in to reveal and demonstrate its capaChina, the labor force will soon have bilities. Surely, the revolution of 3-D no choice but to capitulate to the 3-D printing will inspire people’s ingenuprinting revolution. Due to 3-D print- ity and creativity, allowing them to ing’s economical and liberal ways to produce things original and unique. accommodate independent manufac- Like other revolutionary inventions turers and businesses, China would in previous decades, it will contribhave to embrace it--at the price of ute further to the development and losing the value of its adamant work force. As the dawn of the age of the 3-D printer draws near, problems will certainly rise, similar to revolutionary inventions in the past. For example, 3-D printing challenges the copyright fabrication of our world. The techconcept. As a newcomer to the range nology is certainly significant, as it of copyrighted materials, it faces legal will let us distribute ideas in a more issues because it is essentially copying open and convenient manner, and a property of someone. It should be will assist in evolving mankind. After noted, however, that most of the 3- all, the sky is the limit. D printers are used to strucutre and improve upon original designs.
“Inspire ingenuity and creativity”
of Technlogy
catapulta asked: “My favorite science subject has always been Medicine and Health Sciences. Since an early age, I have been interested in becoming a doctor in the future, and reading about the different diseases and disorders is something that I find interesting to “I like physics. read about” It is one of those George Lopez (I) subject have just the right amount of math and other stuff. The knowledge of physics can be as the backbone of other used “Human genetics major sciences.” “I enjoy the mathematcombines biology and - Anonymous ics of quantum mechanical medicine and I just find it “The science of medicine chemistry.” fascinating.” and health concerns humans - Maya Lu (IV) - Jack Caldwell (V) “Many things you do directly. In an age when medical in life actually involve issues are growing due to a lack of chemistry. These simple nutrition, the science of health is a topic things include cooking, and that is key to our survival and must be “Astronomy “Astronomy even eating.” Randy pursued so that that we may all lead is interesting, because there is Chen (IV) because there is so longer and healthier lives.” - Daniel so much out there, much yet to be discovSherman (III) in the galaxy, that we ered. It opens new doors, have not learned about. and a superior understanding New life forms, stars, and of it could change our planets seem mystical world forever.” and so cool.” “Medicine and Health, - James Davis (V) - Anonymous because it is the field helps people that are sick.” - John Liang (VI) “I have always been interested in astronomy. Even when studying our own solar system, there are constantly new things being discovered everyday. I hope to make astronomy at least a hobby in my life. My favorite exoplanets are Kepler186f and Gliese 436b.” - Nate Power (VI)
What is your favorite science subject?
YOU
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