The Barometer Half Term 1 2022-23

BAROMETER

CONTENTS:

Frieze Sculpture - Jonathan P, Year 10

Sports Day 2022 - Kaveh K, Year 11

Year 7 Residential - Samar C and Zade S, Year 7

Year 9 Residentail - Ishan A, Year 9

Why I Think the Democrats Will Pick Up Seats in the MidTerms this Year - Felipe E, Year

UK Politics - James S, Year 11

Europa League This SeasonPanos K, Year 9 Champions League Team of the Season - Gio G and Tommy S, Year 9

A Summer in Sub-Saharan Africa - Ben D, Year 13

Life in Sixth Form - Paul C, Year 12

The SLS Programme - Jasper H, Year 11

Internal Combustion EnginesJeremy B, Year 13

The Story of the A-300Stepan K, Year 13

Arjun’s Science Update - Arjun D, Year 12

Typesetting Before Computers - Daniel W, Year 9

The Science of Deduction and

Hypothesis - Frederick B, Year

The GOAT - Adam PeatyMarty V, Year 8

The iPhone 14 ReleaseMaksims K and Ian S, Year 10

Social Media: A History - Jake P, Year 9

Undertale: Game ReviewDanny F, Year 7

Razer Blade 14 Review - Zane S, Year 10

Cover photographKaveh K, Year 11

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Frieze Sculpture

Jonathan P, Year 10 writes...

On Tuesday 4th October I visited Frieze Sculpture in Regent’s Park with my art class. This exhibition is part of the Frieze London art fair which takes place every year and exhibits a range of contemporary and traditional artists.

The sculpture exhibition is made up of 19 large scale works, which are scattered throughout an area in the park. We were most interested in the sculptures that were inspired by natural forms as they are related to the project that we are doing at the moment. We will be designing our own natural forms-inspired sculptured next half term.

My favourite sculpture was Tunnel-Tell (Ceci Sera), 2020 by Alicja Kwade. I liked how it distorted the natural surroundings of the park, and the way in which it used a simplified man-made form of a tube that contrasted with the natural shape of rock. The man-made tube punctures the rock with ease, perhaps to convey

how manufactered objects and human input can overpower the elements.

I also liked Drench, 2022 by Ro Robertson. I liked the way the material the artist used reflected the erosion of rock by water. The rusted corten steel shows how the landscape can erode over time when battered by the ocean. The painted water on the sculptures covers the steel, mimicking the behaviour of the sea. The forms are inspired by the negative spaces left by a figure. The sections of the sculpture get smaller, which ephasises the movement of waves

and also abstracts the form further, making the viewer wonder if it is a person or, perhaps, a sea monster.

Freize Sculpture runs until 13th November 2022.

Kaveh K, Year 11 writes...

Wetherby Senior’s first proper Sports Day in two years took place on 4th July. With over 25 events, a food stall arranged by the PTA, and plenty of activities, it certainly made up for the absence last year due to Covid. All pupils took part, and the day opened with Year 7, 8 and 9 1500m sprints.

Henry B made a temporary return to narrate the event, helpfully announcing the next races that were occurring. This first event saw 17 people take part. Succeeding this, there was 200m, 800m and, finally, 100m events. Each had members of different year groups, and Tribs taking part. The 100m races were some of the tensest.

Whilst these races were occurring, field events were taking place elsewhere on the field. From 12:30pm, the first round of these events began, with Year 7 long jump, Year 8 triple jump, Year 9 high jump, and Year 10 shot put. Rounds two and three consisted of these events for other years, with Zach Z (pictured, right) beating the Year 10 and 11 record in high jump. Matthew M’s Year 12 high jump record of 180cm remained untouched, and time will tell whether this will be Wetherby Senior’s highest jumper.

Sports Day ended with the relays. Each runner ran 100m to complete a full loop of the 400m track, carrying batons which they would pass to the

next runner. These were the biggest deciders in the Trib points, so stakes were high.

In the Year 10 relay, Oliver B won points for Effra in an incredibly tight finish with Alex T, the result being disputed so much that VAR had to be used to determine who passed the finish line first. Many Year 12 boys were unavailable for the events, so younger members of the same Tribs stood in instead.

The end was marked with Mr Sullivan announcing the winners. The results were very close, but it was conclusive that Fleet had won and the Trib Prefect collected the award from Mr Silvester. Overall, it was a great day and plenty of fun for all.

Year 7

M. Hapgood (2019) - 13.31 secs

H. Willett (2022) - 26.52 secs

M. Hapgood (2019) - 1 min 16 secs

100m

200m

Year 8

M. Qureshi (2022) - 13.07 secs

I. Aslam (2022) - 25.46 secs

400m I. Aslam (2022) - 1 min 1 secs

A. Cobb (2017) - 2 min 50 secs 800m

L. Tomlinson (2022) - 5 min 30 secs

M. Hapgood (2019) - 4.08 metres

K. Kaemmerer (2022) - 1.37m

M. Mwangi (2019) - 7.93 metres

M. Mwangi (2019) - 8.22 metres

1500m

B. Beale (2017) - 2 min 37 secs

G. Gerson (2017) - 5 min 17 secs

L Jump I. Aslam (2022) - 4.61 metres

H Jump A. Fourtou (2022) - 1.45 metres

Shot Putt F. Baxter (2022) - 9.03m

T Jump M. Fraser (2019) - 7.89 metres

Year 9 Year 10

N. Hammad (2017) - 12.00 secs

J. Impleton (2022) - 24.98 secs

100m

200m

N. Hammad (2018) - 11.44 secs

J. Saeger (2018) - 24.18 secs

N. Hammad (2017) -1 min 1 secs 400m JP. Cairaschi (2017) - 56.31 secs

M. Bykov (2017) - 2 min 30 secs 800m B. Beale (2019) - 2 min 26 secs

S. Lind (2018) - 5 min 15 secs 1500m S. Lind (2019) - 5 min 07 secs

J. Saeger (2017) - 5.42 m

J. Kirby (2021) - 1.67 metres

L Jump N. Hammad (2018) - 5.31 metres

H Jum Z. Zbar (2022) - 1.75 metres

Shot Putt N. Pantazopoulos (2019) - 10.95 m M. Mwangi (2021) - 10.65 metres

Y. Aubakirov (2018) - 11.03 metres

T Jump M. Mwangi (2022) - 11.42 metres

Year 11 Year 12

JP. Cairaschi (2018) - 11.53 secs

100m

M. Monaghan (2019) - 12.47 secs J. Saeger (2019) - 24.50 secs 200m L. Jegou (2019) - 25.53 secs

J. George-Oppong (2018) - 1 min 8 secs 400m W. Bratvedt (2019) - 1 min 1 secs

N. Stick (2018) - 2 min 31 secs 800m W. Bratvedt (2019) - 2 min 24 secs O. Lind (2018) - 4 min 53 secs 1500m O. Lind (2019) - 4 min 58 secs

J. Saeger (2019) - 5.40 metres

J. Saeger (2019) - 1.65 metres

M. Monaghan (2018) - 9.88 metres

L Jump M. Monaghan (2019) - 5.39 metres

Shot Put M. Monaghan (2019) - 1.80 metres

T Jump M. Monaghan (2019) - 12.15 metres

YEAR

RESIDENTIAL

Samar C and Zade S, Year 7 write...

Food was probably my favourite part of the trip. I loved the food, they had lots of choices including sticky rice, slim crispy chips and a huge salad bar. I would rate the meals with four stars because it’s not like restaurant type of food.

For breakfast, the food was indeed exceptional, they had yogurt, cereal, bread, a small variety of English breakfast and squash. I realised that none of the food was homemade but it was good, cosy, warming food. Enough about food! Let’s review the evening activities that filled up our residential trip

The evening activities were very memorable and fun. On this trip, I made three friends, all from the evening activities. I feel that, if it wasn’t for those adventures, I wouldn’t have had the friendships I have today.

One of the pursuits I enjoyed was ’Ambush’. You basically have five minutes to hide from the opponents and then you must find them and, if you secretly surround them, you win. You can also win by hearing your enemies and finding them.

Another fun activity was the campfire. It was somehow calming, I made a few friends and I felt like I fitted in with the rest of the group.

After these joyous, relaxing but perhaps tiring activities, we went to our clean fresh cabins to wrap up for bedtime. These evening

activities made me sleep better and wake up full of energy.

The day activities were joyous and one of my favourites was the giant swing and obstacle course. While I was on the giant swing, we were harnessed safely, and it was very exhilarating.

On the obstacle course I learned to focus more on my mental side and less on my physical side. Other pursuits include fencing,

abseiling, sensory trail, raft building, zipwire and trapeze. All felt momentous and special. The cabins were nicely put together, and very cosy and comfortable. And the bathrooms at PGL were outstanding!

Overall, the whole experience was superb and magnificent the reproduced so many memories and I can’t wait for the next journey.

YEAR

ResidentIal

Ishan A, Year 9 writes...

On Wednesday 14th September, Year 9 set off to Dorset for their welcome residential. We came back on Friday 16th September. As a pupil that attended the trip, I can say it was just so much fun! The trip was cleverly placed on the calendar so that it would be at the beginning of the year. Therefore, it’s clear that a main reason for the residential was for us boys to bond with one another, as more than half of the year was new! Let me tell you, it worked!

On the day of arrival, our phones were taken away from us! Many didn’t like this idea at all! Post the hassle of settling in, we were treated to a session of rock climbing and abseiling. We walked about half an hour to a small cliff edge, where we were set up with harnesses and lots of safety talk! It was a beautiful view into the distance of the sea. Personally, and this was the opinion of many others, I thought it was wonderful because it’s something I’ve never actually tried before!

On the second day, Wetherby Senior walked to a local lake and completed many activities there, such as building our own rafts and racing on canoes. After that, we went on the coach to a huge

climbing area! We did things like monkey bars and running across logs in the air. Don’t worry parents - we were 100% safe!

On our final day, my group did archery, catapult building and rifle shooting. Again, don’t worry parents - we were 100% safe!

Our residential trip was so much fun, but I think it also showed us that it’s not an easy lifestyle. I lost my toothbrush on the morning before we left so that was difficult.... I’m sure everyone faced their own dilemmas, but I think we all bonded and had a wonderful time!

WHY I THINK THAT DEMOCRATS WILL PICK UP SEATS IN THE MIDTERMS THIS YEAR

Felipe E, Year 8 writes...

I think the Democrats will pick up seats in this year’s midterm elections because they have a number of factors heading in their way.

First of all, the Supreme Court made a decision to overturn Roe v Wade which had been settled law for 50 years. This law protected abortion access in the United States and held the law as a constitutional right for all Americans. The reason why I think this helps Democrats is that it really motivates women, from all sides of the political spectrum. More than half the country has a Republican as it’s Governor, and some states also have a Republican legislature which lets them have total control over the state’s laws and the budget. What this means is that, unless the governor is a very moderate Republican or a very extreme Republican, most bills will not get vetoed by the governor, meaning that they pass easily. This means that, no matter how much opposition there is to the bill by people in the state, it still becomes law. And the states that have full Republican control have largely ended with huge and overreaching abortion bans. Democrats know that the public will be in support of abortion rights and so they will target the Republicans on that issue. The issue with that is that most people are on the extremities of both parties: they are in the middle, supporting abortion but also not allowing it right until birth (a radical left wing idea).

Another reason is the man

himself - former President Donald J Trump, who still refuses to acknowledge the results of the 2020 election which made Joe Biden the president. This has galvanised his main supporters but many moderate Republicans have either gone to the Democrats or have not voted. In Georgia, the theory that the election was stolen and that Republican ballots were not going to be counted, ended up costing Republicans their Senate majority, as not as many Republicans turned out as needed to prevent Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossof from clinching the Senate majority for the Democratic party which gave them full control of government.

The third reasons is Democrats racking up huge amounts of legislative victories for the American people. Biden’s climate and economic passage passed, which made record investments in climate change and in the IRS, which helped fund the bill by making sure that tax dollars that were owed to the government were actually paid. Biden also signed a chips and semiconductor manufacturing, so more chips and semiconductors were able to be made in America, boosting jobs and the economy. The list goes on and on. The point I’m trying to make here is that, six months ago, it didn’t look like Democrats were going to be able to campaign on anything substantial. It looked like Democrats, at the very least, were trying cut losses so that it might be possible to take it back in 2024. Republicans thought at one point that they could take 60 seats in the House and have a massive majority.

Poor candidates on the Republican side means that Democrats could look to expand their Senate majority by up to five seats, which would nullify the votes of Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. This would mean they would be able to pass bills on more controversial topics such as voting rights or gerrymandering, and to codify the right into law to an abortion in the United States or whether to ban all sales of assault rifles in the US. The reason why they currently can’t do that is because the only way to pass bills in the Senate (unless they are passed under the reconciliation process) is to have 60 votes. In a 50-50 Senate, you need to get ten votes from the other side to get a bill passed, otherwise the bill gets ‘filibustered’ (another way of saying that it gets blocked).

In the next edition of The Barometer, I will be writing a comprehensive review of the midterm elections.

James S, Year 11 writes...

With the appointment of Liz Truss as our PM on 6th September, people are wondering - what now? The UK political system has been in extreme turmoil since the Brexit vote, which has led to three being a magic number, with the resignation of three PM’s, terms being no longer than three years, and three votes of no confidence in the past six years. This has been extremely traumatic for the pound aterling, which has decreased in value from 1.6 US dollars to a pound to 1.12 US dollars. This has resulted in widespread issues in the country and caused a cost-of-living crisis, as prices are increasing but wages are staying the same. When combined with the Russian invasion of the Ukraine causing gas prices to skyrocket, the UK is in the weakest financial situation it has been in since the crisis of 2008.

Liz Truss plans to put a plug in this money sink as soon as possible, by capping gas prices this coming winter, so that homes, workplaces, and schools can keep running. Furthermore, she plans to decrease taxes and deregulate wherever possible, while tackling

inflation and putting a stop to the liberal spending that has been crippling this country’s economy.

However, Liz Truss’s administration was not voted in, in a general election, and it is seen as quite controversial that Truss is not following the manifesto formulated by Johnson’s administration. Normally, a general election would be held within a year of a change of leadership within a party. However, the declining economy, combined with hard numbers showing Labour as the favorite, may lead Truss to postpone an election. This may not be possible however, as hundreds of thousands of people sign a petition calling for a general election. Yet, with Labour’s clear lead holding one of the largest majorities (as seen in polls) since Boris Johnson took us out of the first wave of the corona virus, it seems that a change of government is imminent. The question simply is: when?

What does this mean? The future is uncertain when it comes to the Labour party. Currently, Labour has no official policies, with the closest possible things to a Labour

manifesto being the one created for the 2019 General Election, which was formed under the leadership of Labour’s old party leader, Jeremy Corbyn. These included calling for a re-vote on the referendum and raising the budget for the NHS. This makes it difficult to speculate on possible policies. However, basic Labour ideals, such as distributing wealth and taxing corporations more heavily, should be seen as a given.

When it comes to UK politics, nothing is certain, and now is a time where everyone should keep their ear to the ground and get involved wherever possible. Strike up debates at dinner, and try and challenge your parents’ views. The debate clubs at our School are another great way to get involved and discuss what you believe in.

Disclaimer – This article may hold bias. Even when measures are put in place to prevent such events from occurring, we cannot be certain that they have not slipped through our nets. Therefore, I urge you not to view this as a purely unbiased source of information, and to take everything into consideration, or to conduct proprietary research.

Europa league this season

Panos K, Year 9 writes...

In my opinion, the Europa League this season looks better than ever. All attention usually goes to the Champions League which is, of course, top quality, but the Europa League this season could be just as good. Teams such as Arsenal, Roma and Manchester United all have a very high chance of going all the way. With teams in the Champions League coming third, they drop into the Europa League, so you can expect even more exciting football. For me, the dark horses are Lazio, who play quick and entertaining football with Ciro Immobile leading up top. Immobile has plenty of experience in these types of competitions and a good chance of being top goal scorer. We can’t forget the super Milinkovic-Savic, who can produce magic anywhere on the pitch.

Combined eleven of best players in Europe League

In goal, Aaron Ramsdale is the best for me. He is a top goalkeeper signed by Arsenal for only 30 million. De Gea and Provedel are also special mentions.

For the right back position, Takheiro Tomiyasu takes it as he was only bought for 19 million. Unfortunately the Japanese fullback is currently injured but will be returning shortly.

In terms of the left back position, Leonardo Spinazzola goes in for me. The Italian was mostly recognised after the Euros, where he suffered a horrible injury. Spinazola has come back this season and is already doing magnificently for Roma.

William Saliba and Raphael Varane have taken the two centreback positions. Both Frenchmen have been brilliant so far in the Premier League and have both received a call up to the French national team.

Moving to midfield, Ibrahim Sangare is a magnificent player that PSV are very lucky to have. He can play in many positions and is very talented and composed on the ball. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic also slots in at the centre mid role and enough has already been said about his quality. Finally, Orkan Kocku is the final midfielder. The Turkish international is mostly unrecognised because of the league he plays in. He is still only 21 and has the potential to become to become a great midfielder.

Moving on to the attack, Mikel Oyarzabal has taken the left winger position. The Spaniard is a very talented and fast playing footballer. He is going to smash it in the Europa League this season, with Real Sociedad behind him, and I believe he has a very good chance of getting most assists in the Europa League.

The right winger position is fairly tight but Bukayo Saka has just edged it over Anthony. The youngster racked up a total of 18 goals and assists, and is ready for the Europa League this season.

And, finally, the hardest decision of the team. Ronaldo, Immobile and Gabriel Jesus are all fantastic strikers and are always getting compared to each other. Going off from Ronaldo is not the question but I think we all know what he can do. If I had to pick one, I would say Gabriel Jesus. I believe he will get the top scorer and lead Arsenal all the way. Maybe the trophy?

Predictions

Manchester United, Arsenal and Roma all have a very strong chance of going all the way and are all capable of it. Going off of this year though, Arsenal look the strongest and for that reason I am going to put Arsenal to win it. All around have a quality team and are my chosen team to win it. Jesus to win top goalscorer and Milinkovic-Savic to get the most assists.

Champions league team of the season

Gio G and Tommy S, Year 9 writes...

The Champions League this season looks very exciting. From the first few group stage fixtures, we can already start to tell which teams are looking the strongest and who could be making their way towards an early exit. In this article, we are going to be mentioning our predictions for top scorer, top assister, winners and dark horses for this 22/23 Champions League campaign.

Top Scorer Predictions

Looking at the start of the season, and the first few group stage games, the obvious candidate for this award would be Earing Haaland, who has already managed a staggering 14 goals in only ten games for Manchester City. Although, we can’t rule out the likes of Mbappe, Benzema, Neymar, all nightmares for many keepers due to their incredible ability to score outrageous amounts of goals, with Neymar looking unstoppable right now with nine goals and seven assists in only ten matches! Lastly, we would also like to give honourable mentions to Lewandowski, Harry Kane and Salah, who we all know are lethal finishers on the big stage. So, overall, we think Manchester City’s big man will end up on top of the goal scoring leader board, as Man City looks like a serious contender for this year’s Champions League.

Top Assisters Predictions

With Manchester City’s João Cancelo leading right now in the top assister leader board, we think De Bruyne is going to win this year’s top assister. His

capacity to always pick out goal scoring opportunities, and his incredible vision, are what make him the man for this award. He has already got a plausible six assists in all competitions and a passing accuracy of 81%. He is an exceptional player overall and, with players like Haaland and Foden making great runs, he will bag loads of assists this campaign. We think a dark horse for this award could be Milan’s danger man Rafael Leão. If Milan do well in this competition, we think the Portuguese International could be a real threat for this award. He manages an average of eleven completed dribbles per game. What really makes him a serious competitor is that he is top five in key passes in the Serie A and top three in assists via open play in the major Italian league. Therefore, we think he is a serious competitor for this award.

Dark Horses Barca and Tottenham look like teams that could really surprise us this year, even winning the Champions League. But our dark horse for this year is Italian giants Napoli. We’ll start off speaking about two clubs that have completely changed the way they play and what their goals for the season are. Barcelona’s ex-player Xavi Hernandez has come back to the club not to play but to manage them. He has completed a huge turnover since joining Spanish Giants. He has a clear style of play and knows the players that he needs. He has brought in the likes of Polish goal machine Robert Lewandowski, and reinforced the backline and midfield with Jules Kounde and Franck Kessie. They have a very young team looking

towards their way to glory. A similar team is Antonio Conte’s men. Conte has got big ambitions over this season and, as they did in 2019, they could be on for deja-vu. The team that we think are going to do very well in this campaign is the team from the south of Italy. They also have a very young squad with an average age of 25.5 years. They have shown they want to impose their style of football and it has, so far, impressed many fans. With their excellent transfer business during this summer’s window, two players that have, so far, really stood out are ex-Fulham star Zambo Anguissa and, with possibly one of the best signings this summer, Georgian wonderkid Kvichva Kvaratskhelia. Both have really impressed.

Winners

There are many teams that can win the UCL but, this season, a team that stands out above the rest is PSG. From goalkeeper to striker, they look too good to be knocked out. They have recently changed system by sacking their previous manager Mauricio Pochettino and replacing him with Christophe Galtier. The French manager won the league two years ago, with French side OSC Lille, and has proven to be a worthy coach by having a fantastic season with OGC Nice. He has jelled the team very well and made them play in a very good way with precise and direct passes. The team is packed with quality and knows each other well. PSG are yet to prove themselves in the big stage, but this could well be the year. Could Messi win number five?

IN SUB SAHARAN AFRICA

Ben D, Year 13 writes...

This summer, I was lucky to visit both Botswana and South Africa, and have the experience of a lifetime on a week-long safari. This trip has not only given me lifelong memories but also a small insight into the cultures of both nations and how their history shapes the countries seen today.

In Botswana’s Okavango delta, I was spoiled with the sheer number of animals that I saw; from lions to leopards, and from zebras to newborn elephants. It felt as if there wasn’t one point in the whole week where there wasn’t some kind of animal just waiting around the corner. This trip opened my eyes not only to

the wildlife that these countries have to offer but also to the deep history that defines parts of their culture. This historical impact was made apparent when I spoke to our guide in Botswana. I began to learn about how Botswana has always been a society that is very accepting of inter-racial relationships. Interestingly, this tolerance was influenced by the first Prime Minister, Seretse Khama, and his marriage to a white British woman.

Throughout my trip, I experienced nothing but complete kindness from everyone that I interacted with. Overall, I had a fantastic time and highly recommend that everyone reading this visits at some point in their life!

LIFE IN SIXTH FORM

Life in Sixth Form is very different in several different ways. When you get to Sixth Form, you unlock a lot more liberty, which is great in central London. Part of that freedom is the free periods, which you can take advantage of to get work done. You get treated like an adult as you begin to carry more responsibilities and conduct yourself like one.

Almost like university, once a week, we have lectures with Queen’s College from people who have either gone through crazy experiences or have had very successful careers. It’s a very cool experience. There are aslo activities like Young Enterprise, where you learn to develop your own business under the supervision of professionals. We also volunteer at a primary school, where we help teach lessons to younger years.

Sadly, when you get to Sixth Form, the workload triples. Yet, by this time, you have chosen subjects which you enjoy and are passionate about. This makes the work you do tireless, and you feel more determined to be successful in your subjects.

However, most importantly, you become a role model to the years below. You set the example for how everyone in our School should conduct themselves.

THE SLS PROGRAMME

Jasper H, Year 11 writes...

Artemis I, NASA’s $23.8 billion moon-shot project, has been rolled back to the VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building) on 26th September, ahead of Hurricane Ian’s landfall on 28th September, after the third launch attempt was scrubbed due to an engine bleed failure and a liquid hydrogen leak on one of the fuel lines connecting to the SLS (Space Launch System) from the launchpad. Artemis I’s mission is to certify the Orion Spacecraft, as well as the SLS, for future crewed missions, such as Artemis III, which will perform the first lunar landing for over five decades, since Apollo 17 in 1972.

The SLS programme was started by the Obama administration, after the cancellation of the expensive Constellation programme, started by the Bush administration in 2010. This would have replaced the ageing space shuttle in 2010 as a means

of launching astronauts to the ISS (International Space Station), as well as to explore to the moon and beyond. After the project was scrapped in 2010, only the Orion spacecraft remained for deep space travel. The Orion spacecraft, and Ares V designs, were modified and reauthorized in 2011 as the SLS (Space Launch System), and the program was partially revived as the Artemis program in 2017.

The Artemis program is designed to have six variations (three cargo variants and three crewed variants), three of which will be used for ferrying interplanetary cargo. This is essential for future Mars colonies, which includes Martian habitats for the growth of plants which could sustain early human life on Mars. The second variation of the SLS, the Block 1Bm can carry 11 tons (24,640 lbs) more payload than the first iteration of the SLSm and is due to roll out in late 2027. The Block 2 will further the cargo carrying capacity of the SLS with new booster rocketsm as NASA is re-using parts from solid rocket boosters to make Frankensteinlike boosters. to help save money on an essential part of the rocket. These new and more efficient boosters will aid the SLS Block 2 to potentially carry 46 tons into Martian orbit. The Block 1B crew and Block 2 crew also differ only by boosters, with the Space shuttle boosters set to be phased out by the early 2030s. This is the only change that is occurring as the height for the crew variant will be identical, whereas the Block 2 cargo will only differ by 10 metres.

Jeremy B, Year 13 writes...

Internal combustion engines have progressed massively since their inception. When Nicolaus Otto created the first petrol engine in 1876, engine lubrication was inexact, to say the least, so, for the 60 or so years following, the norm was essentially to buy whatever the local shop was selling, squirt it into your engine, wait until almost all of it leaked out, and repeat. This total loss lubrication was the norm until the mid-1930s, hence the saying ‘if it ain’t leaking oil, it’s out of oil’. For this reason, engines were unable to reach rotate quickly, as this fast rotation would fling oil off too fast, meaning the engine would run out of oil far faster and could seize at any point. If this happens, at the very least you are looking at dozens of hours spent rebuilding it and, at most, you may need to buy an entirely new engine, so it is fair to say that high rpm was to be avoided. Modern engines are lubricated constantly, a little oil is squirted in, and a little is taken away. This process means engines can run and maintain oil levels. After a while, the oil will get old and solidify a bit but this process takes years, meaning service intervals can be far more infrequent.

To increase the power of an engine, you must do one of two things. You either increase the force with which it turns (torque) or increase the speed at which it turns (rpm). If you are in a situation where there is a limit on the rpm of an engine, (like an old fashioned Harley engine), and you want to increase power, the only other alternative is to increase the torque.

If we were to use a fat piston with a high bore and low stroke, our explosion, which originates from the centre, would have to travel quite some distance to fully combust, meaning the power of the explosion is slower, and spread thinner. Additionally, our piston is still exerting its low force on a stubby lever that is the piston rod. This will mean that torque is reduced further. However, if we make our piston taller and thinner, our explosion has far less distance to travel, and our explosion is immediate in its power. This increased power is also transferred through a longer rod, which increases the torque further by acting as a lever. This is why most old-fashioned engines tend to be taller, as their long stroke allows for sufficient power while maintaining a low rpm. While we can, of course, make all these modifications to an engine to extract a few extra Newton metres of torque, its far easier to add a few thousand rpm instead. After all, we can just spin the pistons as fast as we want, provided we don’t melt them.

Unfortunately though, explosions only move as fast as they want.

In a tall cylinder, our piston has to travel further, and therefore faster, as the rpm increases. At high rpm this piston will be travelling very fast, almost outrunning the expanding fireball pushing it down. This means that the strong pushing force normally provided by the explosion is almost useless, as it can barely catch the piston, let alone exert a force on it.

This is why in a lot of undersquare engines, for example a Harley Davidson, torque will fall as rpm increases. This is a bad thing, and heavily decreases the horsepower from its true potential.

The solution? Choose the fat piston. Even when at high rpm, it doesn’t need to cover a large distance, which means it can travel slower, and take its time in doing so. These slower speeds mean that the explosion can exert more force on the piston, as it wastes less energy trying to catch up to it.

These are two graphs comparing a large Harley Davidson motorbike to a pretty standard street bike, a Yamaha MT-09. The Harley Davidson has over double the displacement and, unexpectedly, produces just over double the torque. (blue line). However, when it comes to horsepower, the MT09 not only matches the brute that is the enormous Harley Davidson engine but beats it comfortably, with room to spare. If you look more closely, you may notice that the MT-09 is also going at double the rpm of the Harley Davidson, something it is able to do because its pistons do not outrun the explosion of fuel.

Of course, Harley Davidson knows this and, if they so pleased, could make a similar engine tomorrow, but they don’t. Why?

Our oversquare engine has far less surface area to absorb heat. The

two hottest points of an engine are the middle of the piston, and the centre of the cylinder head, where combustion acts and where combustion begins. It is the cylinder walls that are cool (relative to the rest of the engine). On an oversquare, not only is there less surface area to absorb the heat, but it is also further away. This means that the same heat takes far longer to dissipate. OK, not great, but not horrible, lets just compensate by liquid cooling. But Harley Davidsons need to have air cooling fins! Its iconic!

Our over-square engine also spins so fast that it needs overhead camshafts to open and close the valves. They can’t use pushrod actuators because they are too heavy, and heavy things are don’t like to change direction at all, let alone 165 times a second, like they would be required to do in

the Yamaha engine. But Harley Davidsons need to have pushrod actuators! Its iconic!

And therein lies the rub. To their credit, Harley Davidson has tried to make more efficient and more powerful engines; but they didn’t

sell.

For that reason, when the marketing department says the new bike must have push rods, then the rpm is already capped. And if they say the bike must be air cooled, it helps to build a tall piston that doesn’t need much cooling in the first place. If Harley already starts with an engine that cannot reach high rpm, then increasing torque is the only other option.

Doing exactly the opposite is exactly how Yamaha are able to have an over square, liquid cooled engine that can reach high rpm, and make all the horsepower with none of the displacement, and with better fuel efficiency too. Harley Davidson don’t make modern engines, but it’s not their fault. Their customers are all for taking steps forward, but only if they get nearer to where they began. Making a good engine is simply not financially viable.

The Story of the A-300

Stepan K, Year 13 writes...

In the 1950s, Europe introduced the world to jet travel. Yet, whatever lead they had made was quickly dwindling because, by the mid-1960s, the world was flying American. As people demanded more travel, and the world was becoming more and more connected, industry giants like Boeing and McDonald-Douglas were becoming household names. By the mid-1960s, Americanmade commercial airplanes were making up over 80% of the world plane market, and no one could even try to compete. Even once great European manufacturers struggled to keep up with the Americans.

However, a solution was already making a breakthrough. The Concord was a joint project by the British and the French, and the way it was being built would set a path towards a new beginning for the European commercial aviation sector. Most European manufacturers had already made

concepts for the future of people movers called Airbuses. However, most wouldn’t dare to try and create one, as the risks were enormous and resources thin, meaning that the risk to reward for making a plane was too great to try.

Yet, late into the 60s, Britain, France and Germany decided to try and, soon after, Spain and the Dutch joined them. They chose to leverage each other’s expertise and divided up the work to ensure the production was as cheap as possible, each nation could do what they were best at. The British would build the wings; Germans would oversee the fuselage; the French made the cockpit and control systems; the Dutch made control surfaces; and Spain took on the tailplane. This was cooperation on an unprecedented level. But, to compete, the Europeans had to build a plane that airlines couldn’t miss, something so good it would send the American offerings into the past.

To get the aircraft built, Airbus had to pull off a feat of logistical measures, often shipping in parts from thousands of kilometres for them to arrive at final assembly just in time. The first A-300 would be able to carry more passengers and cargo thanks to its widebody cabin and raised floor; a supercritical wing would enable the A-300 to outclimb any aircraft of the time and, as a result, it improves efficiency dramatically. Yet the most striking difference in the A-300 was the engines. There were only two of them whereas, on an aircraft of the same size, there would be at least three, if not four.

On 28th September 1972, the first Airbus was shown to the public. However, the challenge then wasn’t building the aircraft but selling it. So far, the company had only sold a hand full of jets and was primarily unproven, and nowhere was the scepticism more prevalent than in America. To try and convince the western companies, Airbus sent an A-300 with a slick team of salesmen and

engineers, as well as the finest champagne available, to tour all of the major cities around South and North America and show off the plane. Over the next six months, the aircraft performed over forty demonstration flights for countless airlines.

If there were any doubts that Airbus was determined to break into the American market, the A-300 was designed with the imperial units and not the Europe metric system, and the functional language of the plane wasn’t German or French. It was English, and powering the aircraft were American-built mighty General Electric turbofans. Onethird of the plane was made up of American-made components. This plane was meant to impress American airlines, but it didn’t. All thought this was just another government-incentivised project that would fail after a few years.

Between December 1975 and May 1977, Airbus could not sell a single jet and it was starting to look like a total failure.

In the greatest deal of airline history, Airbus gave away four of its A-300 to Eastern Airlines; they were allowed to try the planes at no cost for six months. The move was nothing short of genius, as the A-300 was able to prove itself very quickly and made the American public more particular about the aircraft. Supported by this exchange, Eastern ordered 23 jets at the cost of $778 million which, up until this day, is the single large order for foreign-made commercial jets in the history

of US airlines. By the 1980s, the plane had finally caught on, and well over 100 orders had been placed.

For Airbus, the A-300 was more than just a plane; it was the catalyst of their meteoric rise to the top of the aircraft game within the next several decades, bypassing all odds and becoming the largest aircraft builder in the world.

SCIENCE UPDATE

Arjun D, Year 12 writes...

Lizard Tail Secrets Unlocked!!!

Lizards can extraordinarily detach their tail when faced with dangerous predators. This detached moving tail confuses the predator, leaving the lizard enough time to escape danger.

But how can lizards lose their tail at just the right moment?

This simple-looking question has stumped scientists for a while until recently ...

Dr Song (a biomedical engineer) and his colleagues tried, and suceeded, in answering this burning question!

What they did:

Bravely using fishing rods with small loops, the team collected lizards from two different species of geckos and Schmidt’s fringetoed lizard (a desert lizard). The

team carefully studied these lizards in a lab, starting by pulling the lizard tails enough for them to detach while filming the action in 3,000 frames per second. After releasing the lizards where they were found, the scientists studied the moving tails using an electron microscope.

Structures found: The site where the tail detached from the lizard body was carpeted by mushroom-shaped structures. Further zooming in revealed tiny openings in each structure.

How can lizards can lose their tail?

The team was astonished to discover the mushroom-like structures only touched the lizard body lightly, instead of the tail overlapping with the rest of the body. So, the taild of lizards are barely connected to the body! And that is how lizards can lose their tails!

How can lizard tails stick to lizard bodies?

The team’s computer modelling discovered that the mushroomlike structures were very efficient at releasing accumulated energy. This is because of the many openings between mushroom caps which absorbs energy caused by a tug meaning the tail is still attached to lizard.

So, how do lizard tails detach at the just the right moment? The team identified that these mushroom-like structures were able to break with a small twist.

The scientists concluded the tail was 17 times more likely to detach as a result of bending than pulling. Therefore, in the previous recording of the lizards, the lizards cleverly turned their tails!

Big Big Big Bacteria?!

No microscope? No problem when seeing the largest bacteriaThiomargarita magnifica (Magnifica) - ever discovered!

Context:

Bacteria are living one-celled organisms which normally live close to each other, like a family. Recently, in a Caribbean mangrove forest, scientists uncovered the largest bacterial species ever discovered. Oliver Gros (biologist) first identified this bacteria in 2009, in Guadeloupe (part of France). He was not able to identify what he found, which appeared to be white noodles clustered around dead leaves from trees in the water. Oliver then collaborated with Dr Volland, as well as other scientists, to uncover its secrets.

Discoveries and hypothesis:

With the aid of electron microscopes to view the bacterial structures, the team discovered each structure was a new enormous cell!

Inside each cell, the team identified an intricate structure of various spaces in each of the cell membranes. Some appear to be areas where respiration takes place from various substances, eg nitrate that bacteria eats. Surprisingly, Magnifica also has spaces that appear similar to our nuclei and every space (pepin) has a loop of

ARJUN’s SCIENCE UPDATE

DNA! Usually bacteria have one loop of DNA but Magnifica has more than a hundred thousand, which each live in its own pepin like a person living in their house.

Even more surprising is that each pepin has the ability to construct its own proteins from it’s own DNA. It is like having common bacterial cells in a big bacterial cell. Each space (pepin) could create its own protein from DNA already inside it.

The bacteria discovered, (Thiomargarita magnifica), is equal in size and shape to one of our eyelashes. Discovering a bacteria this size is like finding a person the size of a big hill!

Why is this even more surprising?

Plants, fungi and animals have a nucleus (eukaryotes) which contains characteristics which help them grow to a big size. Bacteria do not.

For example: Eukaryotes contain mitochondria in each cell to release energy from aerobic respiration, while bacteria don’t have mitochondria so release energy from substances in their cell membrane. This supports the thought that bacteria are small cells because they can’t generate enough energy for big cells. Scientists concluded, as a result of all these eukaryote adaptations (like the one above) and bacterial cells, lack of these adaptations explained why bacteria are small and eukaryotes are big.

This generalisation was too early to be made, especially with the majority of bacterial cells being unknown to scientists.

What’s next?

The next step for the team is to grow this bacterial species in the lab to support the team’s hypothesis (above) about the bacteria’s size and to uncover more secrets (e.g. the ones below) ...

Mysteries still waiting to be uncovered:

How does a cell keep structure, even if removed from water using tweezers?

How does Magnifica obtain an eyelash-like shape?

How is Magnifica hard, despite the lack of molecular design which eukaryotes have?

BEFORE COMPUTERS

together, which led to the scientific revolution and debut of modern science as we know it.

Hot-Metal Typesetting

Hot-metal typesetting was invented late into the 19th century. It involves depositing molten metal into a mould of characters, which were used on paper to press ink into and operated with a keyboard or paper tape. This solved an issue of the printing press, namely that it required heavy amounts of labour to individually position letters into the frame for each page.

There were two major hot-metal type systems - Linotype and Monotype. Linotype machines positioned moulds of text so molten metal could be deposited to create “slugs,” to print onto paper or reuse for later use. Linotype found extensive use in newspapers because of their speed of production.

Daniel W, Year 9 writes...

Typesetting, the practice of printing words, was subject to radical change with the advent of computers. No longer was typesetting shackled to the constraints of physical type, as computers simply generated characters on screen. While typesetting digitally is more practical in the modern day, we can really appreciate its utility when looking at previous iterations of typesetting machines.

Printing Press

The printing press was not only revolutionary for typesetting but also for printing. It is a rudimentary machine that functions by pressing down on a frame that holds sets of blocks that has letters to make

sentences, arranged in reverse. While appearing in China since 6th-10th century (Tang Dynasty), Johannes Gutenberg is responsible for introducing the printing press to Europe, in addition to his book, the “forty-two-line” bible, which is considered a masterpiece.

While developing the printing press, Gutenberg had several conflicts with his financer (Johann Fust). While this resulted in a court battle, supposedly, the “forty-two-line” bible was still printed.

The influence of the printing press cannot be understated. It had kickstarted the production of books and circulation of information throughout Europe, it also let communities of scientists discuss and share discoveries

Monotype, however, divided the process into two devices. You would first enter text onto a Monotype operator which, when reaching the end of a line, would punch holes to paper tape, that would tell a Monotype caster how the text should look when producing a slug to print. Monotype systems found popularity due to how easy it is to edit and correct text.

Hot-metal typesetting would be the standard of typesetting for

the late 19th century but had numerous drawbacks, such as the fact that you had to find accessible areas to store slugs and heavy type metal, in addition to the loss of materials from oxidation, when re-melting slugs if they were no longer needed.

machine will pass light through a disc which holds the font, the exterior of the machine will show characters that you can hover over with grips, which corresponds to rotations and movements of the disc. A lens that scales, spaces and focusses the letter will have light exposed to it, and the light will then enter a small hole in the cassette to reach the paper which is moved from side to side so it can catch any light. The photographic paper is then moved into a dark room for it to be developed.

single columns was later removed, and multiple columns became standard to reduce the headache of paste-up.

Although it had a short life span, phototypesetting arguably influenced fonts in the digital age, as more font families were introduced with the more convenient equipment and the altered character designs may have encouraged designers to transition to the computer.

Conclusion

Phototypesetting

Phototypesetting is a process of typesetting that uses photographic methods to produce text onto photographic paper. Phototypesetting was used from the 1960s to the 1980s, and considered obsolete when computers and desktop publishing became dominant.

Early phototypesetting mainly involved the projection of light to film negatives of individual characters in a font. The negatives of characters came in numerous formats, such as plates of letters, tapes or even discs that rotated inside machines like the Diatype. Phototypesetting could also scale letters which was an impressive advancement from early typesetting techniques and was more suitable in office environments, in comparison to hot metal typesetting machines.

For the Diatype phototypesetting machine, it operates by inserting the photographic paper into a cassette, absent of light, and then into the machine itself. The

There was an element of extensive tweaking that was born from limitations of old phototypesetting machines, such as the limitation that they could not exceed more than a column at a time, therefore, layout became a critical part of the process. Drafts of magazines and newsletters were displayed on layout boards to produce the final page and even pasteup artists were hired to aid in production art. The limitation of

While there is no practical value in these methods of typesetting in present day (especially with modern printing devices and the internet), it gives us room to not only appreciate the widespread utility of the internet, but the widespread access of information that typesetting digitally and physically have given us.

of DEDUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS

Frederik B, Year 8 writes...

The reason why I have decided to write about these topics today is because they all fall under the same category of “mind games” and they are related since hypnosis is, in a form, deduction. Deduction is a form of inferring ones’ attributes, whether it be mental or physical. One person who executes these attributes (at least, the science of deduction) is Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes has been portrayed as a genius, a man of many talents and I, myself, think that he is one very inspirational fictional figure.

The science of deduction, by definition, is “a process of reasoning from the general to the specific, in which a conclusion follows necessarily from the premises”. To understand this

definition, I had to read it quite a few times. It basically means that the science of deduction is a process of reasoning, where one has a general concept or idea, and then pinpoints the details, and reads the details, to come out with a conclusion. This science can be learned but, in the words of Mr Holmes himself, “like all other arts, the science of deduction and analysis is one which can only be acquired by long and patient study”. It is a very hard skill to learn but it can be immediately learned by simply looking at people and noticing change and habits, making a deduction and eliminating the impossible.

Sherlock Holmes is an eight book series which was written from 1887-1915 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It is about Sherlock, who is looking for a friend, and

finds John Watson, who has just returned from the first Afghan war with the royal army medical corps. Sherlock invites John to live with him at the famous 221b Baker Street. Now the BBC series has a modern take on this classic and has added extra episodes and plots - a great show.

Hypnosis is a different kind of mind game and done by making someone focus on one specific thing and switching their focus. Then simple orders can be performed like ‘sleep’ or ‘forget your name’, but not many physical things can be done like ‘walk’ etc... When told to ‘sleep,’ it is usually a slight head drop but that’s about it. The reason why hypnosis starts with quotes like this is because, to start hypnosis, one must really focus on one thing like a ‘single drop of water’ or the swinging pocket watch etc. This is because you relax and focus, so that the hypnotist can rapidly change your focus and ‘control’ you.

A classic example of hypnosis is the trick where one can’t lift one of their hands and the other hand is up in the air. This is done by making the recipient of the hypnosis imagine a red balloon. The recipient will usually imagine a memory related to a red balloon and the other hand will be controlled by imagining concrete being poured over - this usually doesn’t trigger any immediate memories and if it doesn’t, gravity supports the difficulty of lifting your hand. Anybody can stop themselves being hypnotised but their minds are too occupied with imagining the scene and the feeling with their senses. That is basic hypnosis in a nutshell.

Marty V, Year 8 writes...

Adam George Peaty, the 27-yearold swimmer from Great Britain, specializes in breaststroke and has bagged multiple gold medals to date.

Adam Peaty was born on 28th December 1994 and raised in Uttoxeter, East Staffordshire. He was the youngest of four children. Peaty began taking swimming lessons when he was four years old with his friend, Craig Benson. He attended a primary school in Uttoxer and went to Painsley Catholic College in Derby. Peaty’s first swimming club was Dove Valley Swimming Club which he joined at the age of nine. His first record broken at the club was when he was around 12 years old. Adam Peaty started his swimming career when he was 17 and, when his friend, Craig Benson got into the semi-finals for the 100m breaststroke in the London Olympic Games, he realised that he could be just like him.

Adam Peaty Records

Just three years later, Adam Peaty debuted at the senior level for Great Britain at the 2015 World Championships in Kazan, Russia. The 20-year-old breaststroker was the first Brit to win three gold medals in a single world Championships.

Making his first Olympic debut at Rio in 2016, Adam Peaty beat his own record by 0.37 seconds, lowering his record to 57.55 on his 100m breaststroke heats. He continued to the semi-finals, 1.36 seconds clear from his Dutch rival, Cameron van der Burgh. Adam Peaty then showed his consistency

The GOAT, ADAM PEATY

in the semifinals by getting a time of 57.62. Then, in the finals, Adam Peaty destroyed the rest of the field with the time of 57.13.

In that same Olympic Games, in the 4x100m medley relay, he got the fastest breaststroke split in history, getting a whopping 56.59, 2 seconds faster than the second fastest breaststroke split.

Not long ago, Adam Peaty was also the first Brit to defend his 100m breaststroke Olympic record.

Fun Facts About Adam Peaty

Did you know that a friend of Adam Peaty stopped his fear of the water? When Adam was a toddler, during school, he would have swimming lessons, but would not dare to go inside the water. A bit ironic that he is now the world’s

best breaststrok swimmer of all time! Then, one day when he went into the water with his friends, he suddenly loved the water.

Also, not long ago, he was on Strictly Come Dancing getting into the semifinals.

During Covid, to keep up with his intense training, Adam Peaty was provided with a portable pool in his back garden.

About Me

My name is Marty. While I was writing this, it made me think on how I could be the best person

I could be. I am a very keen swimmer and train six times a week, in two-hour sessions. I want to be just like Adam Peaty and be the best in the world.

Maksims K and Ian S, Year 10 write…

On 16th September, we were introduced to a new, larger 6.7-inch, when iPhone 14 Plus joined with the popular 6.1-inch design. The iPhone 14 features a new dual-camera system, crash detection, a smartphone industryfirst safety service with emergency SOS via satellite, and the best battery life on iPhone yet.

As said previously, Apple released an iPhone 14, however there was a pro model released too, which will be mentioned later. The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro have groundbreaking new safety capabilities, also known as the emergency SOS via satellite. This feature will only be available for

users in the US and Canada, and the service will be free for two years. Whenever you need help and there is no service, you can use the emergency SOS feature, which will officially launch in November for these two North American countries.

Without a doubt, the new iPhone 14 has an even better camera which can take stunning photos and videos, with a powerful camera system presenting new main and front true depth cameras, the ultra-wide camera for unique perspectives, and photonic engine. A photonic engine is an enhanced image pipeline.

While we’re ranting about performance, both the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus models include the

A15 bionic chip with a five-core GPU, which offers incredible performance and efficiency for demanding workloads, and is designed with privacy and security built in, making the user feel comfortable when using the phone.

iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus will be available in midnight, blue, starlight, purple or red finishes. Although the basic models still start at a hefty price, we were introduced to a 6.7-inch display for a significantly lower price, rather than buying the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which has a base price of £1,199.

This is an exciting new step to a full screen iPhone.

Before social media:

In 1978, a student at the University of Essex called Roy Trubshaw created a program that allowed him and his friends to play an online interpretation of the game Dungeons and Dragons together. This program was nicknamed MUD (Multi-User Dungeon). People were inspired by Trubshaw and created their own forms of MUDs. This was the very first forms of chatrooms on the internet. Then, in 1988, Jarrko Oikarinen created ‘Internet Relay Chat’ for the purpose of discussing news, tech and sports. However, many IRCs became places for misinformation about the USSR and the Cold War. Some of the first fake news on the internet ever.

That quick rundown was what came before the 2000s and is nothing like what we have today. So, how come connecting online is now one of the biggest online industries?

SOCIAL MEDIA: A HISTORY

MySpace and The Facebook: Picture this: its 2003, Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe are cooking up ‘My Space’. A site were you were able to create a profile and some of the first ‘algorithms’ would connect you to people of similar interests. There was infinite space to talk about things that you wanted to, with anyone in the world. MySpace, in the imaginary records of social media evolution, was the first globally used social media ever. And it was the dominating platform for four or so years after.

Now three years went by after My Space’s release, and an eager Mark Zuckerberg founded The Facebook with his Harvard dorm mates. Originally, they created it for university students and were more shifted to the idea of a dating site, instead of a social media. Then, after it became extremely popular, it was released publicly as Facebook, the first social media to gain one billion users. While I write this, Facebook has two billion active monthly users, it is the most used social media ever.

The iPhone, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube: 2007. Steve Jobs, the CEO, chairman and co-founder of Apple Inc, debuts iPhone. Apples highly speculated smartphone, it could connect to cellular, make calls, browse the web, take pictures, and play music. But, most importantly, it was portable. Now as you watch Keynote in 2007, Apple had served up all the premises of a computer into a compact handheld device.

This was revolutionary for social media, everyone could now easily access it in seconds, from wherever they wanted. This made the new age of social media, even though Twitter was released in 2006 and YouTube 2005 (they did not achieve high success until a few years after release). Then we have Instagram, TikTok, vine, and Musically, which are highly tailored for use on a smartphone.

Now, nearly 4.5 billion people use a social media platform, which deems social media as the most important websites accessible on the internet.

UNDERTALE: GAME REVIEW

Danny F, Year 7 writes...

Undertale (NO SPOILERS)

WARNING: GAME CONTAINS MIDLY UNPLESANT SOUNDS AND IMAGES, ALTOUGH IT IS OKAY FOR AGE 10+ IT STILL MIGHT BE A SHOCK TO OLDER PEOPLE

Undertale is an RPG indie game created by Toby Fox and Temmie Chang in 2015.

However, it doesn’t follow the standard RPG game style. In classic RPGs, the antagonist has to kill many monsters, however in Undertale, you have a choice! You can either decide to be a merciful pacifist… or… do the exact opposite. In Undertale, all characters have distinct personalities and, if you decide to do the bad route, you are likely to feel genuinely sorry (I know it is hard to believe but the game is crafted in a way to makes this so).

In this game, you are put through some very difficult choices. It is hard to explain without spoiling major parts of the game’s story.

This game has a very large amount of storyline and I am certain you will be hooked.

Also, there are a few somewhat challenging encounters, so be prepared for some difficulty spikes. (Not THAT hard)

Though, if you don’t harm anyone you will avoid those encounters. Another interesting thing is that some characters know they are in a game, and remember what you did during your last playthrough.

I think this quote from the wiki summarises it well: “When players participate in a boss battle on a second playthrough the dialogue will be altered depending on actions in previous playthroughs.”

Now I will explain how encounters work.

In battles, you get your turn first (with one exception not being listed, for the sake of no spoilers).

You have the option to FIGHT –which damages the monsters you are fighting.

You can ACT – you have options to CHECK the monsters’ stats. Then there are other options that vary from battle to battle and can be used to interact with monsters, eg TALK, PET (if fighting a dog).

You have the option to use an ITEM – this allows you to use an item to heal or, alternatively you can equip armour and “weapons” (some of them aren’t even proper weapons, eg a stick).

Finally, you have the MERCY option – which allows you to FLEE (run away from the encounter) or SPARE (spare the opponent. This only works if they are willing to end the battle peacefully – it is possible to SPARE every single encounter, as long as you don’t harm anyone).

The expected playtime to complete the true ending is five hours. So it isn’t long but should take you about a week.

If you want to get Undertale, get it on steam for PC: https://store. steampowered.com/app/391540/ undertale/

Zain S, Year 10 writes...

The Razer Blade 14 2022 model is a sleek, modern laptop with Razer’s traditional, clean font. Its design is reminiscent of a MacBook Pro, but in a black matte finish. It has a 14-inch screen, which is available in FHD (1080p) or QHD (1440p) with 95% colour accuracy.

It doesn’t just look amazing; it is super powerful. It is the only laptop to contain the AMD Ryzen 6900HX CPU. It also contains up to an RTX 3080 graphics card. Combined with an efficient vapor chamber cooling system, this makes the laptop super powerful.

The Razer Blade 14 features an RGB backlit keyboard with tactile keys, that feel nearly as good as mechanical keys. The keys are well spaced out, making it comfortable to use. Beside the keyboard, there are speaker grills. In the previous 2021 model, the speaker grills were indented but, for this version, they used lasers to etch the speaker holes into the chassis itself. The speaker quality is decent, but not as good as the speakers on a MacBook

RAZER BLADE 14 REVIEW

Pro. However, I usually use headphones, so this is not a problem for me. On one side of the chassis, there is the charging port, a USB-A port, a USB-C port, and a headphone jack. On the other side of the chassis, there is an HDMI port, another USB-A port, another USB-C port, and a Kensington lock.

The only downside of this laptop is that the CPU is AMD Ryzenbased instead of Intel-based. The CPU is powerful but having a Ryzen based CPU over an Intel based CPU means the laptop can’t charge through Thunderbolt 4. This is because Thunderbolt is owned by Intel, so it would be a disadvantage for them to allow laptops with an AMD Ryzen CPU, or a CPU by their competitor, to use Thunderbolt 4. Even though it cannot charge using Thunderbolt 4, with a recent update it can use other Thunderbolt devices, such as the Razer Core X Chrome eGPU or the Razer Thunderbolt 4 dock.

However, through its USB-C port, it can charge with chargers between 50 and 100 watts. It also comes with a 230W charger but the charging brick is massive so, if you are travelling with it, or taking

it somewhere, and you don’t need a higher wattage charger to do anything very CPU or GPU intensive, I would recommend buying a GaN (Gallium Nitride) charger from either Razer itself or Anker and charging it through USB-C. GaN chargers are great as they are heat efficient and can charge multiple devices at once with a high wattage, meaning they will charge fast. Razer’s GaN charger also contains adapters for sockets in other countries.

However, one advantage of having an AMD Ryzen CPU is that it requires less power, so the battery will last longer on devices with a Ryzen CPU, over an Intel CPU.

The Razer Blade 14 is a great and super powerful laptop. If you need this kind of power for gaming, video editing, programming or any other tasks that are CPU or GPU intensive, this is the best laptop to get, unless you want a bigger screen size. Razer also sells models with bigger screen sizes. However, all other sizes come with Intel chips rather than AMD Ryzen chips, so the battery efficiency is going to be lower, and the battery will last for less. However, if you don’t need as much power, I would recommend getting a laptop, like the Razer Book 13, a Dell XPS, or an M2 MacBook Air.

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