The science of time

This weekend Europe has adapted its time to spring and summer. Up to the coming of railways, people kept the time using the sun.This was known as local mean time. It was in 1880 that the GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) was adopted across the UK. In San Sebastian our local time is GMT+1.

Time zones sometimes seem positively eccentric, affected by political, geographical and social changes in the real world. But as irregular as they are, if you want to divide the world up into time zones, you need a way to measure time.

Do you know how TIME is measured? Watch this video to find out.......

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12787502

CAMBRIDGE EXAMS

Would you like to take your Cambridge Exams in May?
You still can. Go to the school office before the 4th April.

Would you like to take First in April? What about a computer-based exam?
Yes, you can! Go to the school office as soon as possible.

British Press

For all of you interested in the British Press this is the link to wikipedia that will take you to all online newspapers....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_newspapers_in_the_United_Kingdom

this is a link to some newspaper's front pages:
http://www.frontpagestoday.co.uk/

Nuclear Fusion Alternative Energy

Nuclear Fusion Alternative Energy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSi-zSeS0_Y
Listen and watch the video. After having listened to it once, try to write down vocabulary related to the topic:

Nouns verbs
___________ fields
Sustainable energy __________
Unlimited __________ of cheap energy
The power of ____________ the atom
Power __________
Main d_______________
Radioactive m____________
___________ water
Plutonium, U___________, H_________
The sun’s _____________
Positively charged ____ __
F_________ fuel
Concrete and _________
____________ light
Super___________ gas
The U_________ energy source
Experimental ___________
Commercial ________ power plant
Scientists and E_____________
R_________clean energy solutions

To S_________ atoms
To F_________ atoms
To _______ into plasma
To R__________ energy
To _________ no damage



answers
______MAGNETIC___________ fields
Sustainable energy __SOURCE________
Unlimited ____SUPPLY ______ of cheap energy
The power of __SPLITTING______ the atom
Power __PLANTS________
Main dRAWBACKS_______________
Radioactive mATERIAL_____________
_GROUND__________ water
Plutonium, URANIUM___________, HYDROGEN _________
The sun’s _CORE____________
Positively charged __PLASMA____ _IONS_____
F_OSSIL________ fuel
Concrete and _STEEL________
___GLOWING_________ light
Super___HEATED________ gas
The ____ULTIMATE______ energy source
Experimental ___STAGE________
Commercial _FUSION_______ power plant
Scientists and ENTREPENEURS___________
Renawable clean energy solutions


To S_plit________ atoms
To F__use_______ atoms
To __turn_____ into plasma
To R_elease_________ energy
To ____ensure____ no damage

FISSION

Watch the video in "http://aldapetalovesscience.blogspot.com/p/mcm-2-bach-fisica.html
17. Introducción a la física del núcleo. Fisión nuclear" and fill in the gaps:
Here is a tiny atomic nucleus. How can these nuclei provide enough _____________to supply electrical power to cities as large as Toronto or Montreal?
In 1939 scientists discovered that a large nucleus such as uranium-235 would become unstable when struck by a neutron. This could cause it to split into two nuclei of about the same size and release two or three neutrons. Nuclear fission was the name eventually given to this process.
If we place the reactants on one side of a balance and the products on the other, we will find that the ______ are always lighter. Clearly a mass has disappeared in the _______reaction. What happens when a ________like this is lost? Einstein’s mass-energy equation predicted that a large amount of ______ should be released when the mass is converted to kinetic ________ of the fission products. The fission of a uranium nucleus releases more_______. These, in turn, can collide with other _______nuclei. A chain reaction then becomes a definite possibility.
What we need now is a contraption that takes advantage of these chain reactions. A contraption which uses fissional material as fuel and harnesses ________ released through a nuclear fission for practical everyday applications. Today we have those _________: Nuclear reactors of several designs which harness nuclear fissions throughout the world. Most reactors use uranium 235 as a _____. It has 92 protons and 143 ________. Less than one per cent of natural uranium is U-235; more than 99 %is uranium-238. Among so many U-238 nuclei, what happens when a lonely U-235 nucleus undergoes fission? A chain reaction is unlikely because many of the ________ released are gobbled up by the U-238 nuclei to form U-239, an extremely radioactive isotope of ________. Other neutrons simply escape from the sample because they are travelling too fast to fission another ________. Only a slow moving ________ stands a fairly good chance of initiating ________ in a uranium-235 nucleus. A fast neutron speed can not be reduced through collisions with other uranium _______. But if a relatively small mass like a water molecule is present, the ______ molecule can absorb a large amount of ________ from the neutron. The process slows down the _________. A number of these collisions will reduce the neutron’s speed, until ______ is likely to occur. The name moderator is given to the material used to ______ down the neutrons. Ordinary water is a good ___________ but it sometimes absorbs neutrons and so removes them from the reaction. .Heavy water is a very effective _________. It contains an isotope of hydrogen called deuterium, which has a proton and a neutron. It slows down the _______ but rarely absorbs them. But with slow neutrons, a nuclear reaction can get too much of a good thing. Too many slow ______ means too many fissions and too much ________ released as heat A chain reaction that is uncontrolled could produce so much ______ that the reactor could literally melt down. A safety feature is necessary: within the core of the reactor, surrounded by the uranium field, control rods can be lowered and raised.


Here is a tiny atomic nucleus. How can these nuclei provide enough energy to supply electrical power to cities as large as Toronto or Montreal? In 1939 scientists discovered that a large nucleus such as uranium-235 would become unstable when struck by a neutron. This would cause it to split into two nuclei of about the same size and release two or three neutrons. Nuclear fission was the name eventually given to this process.
If we place the reactants on one side of the balance and the products on the other, we will find that the products are always lighter. Clearly a mass has disappeared In the nuclear reaction What happens when a mass like this is lost? Einstein’s mass-energy equation predicted that a large amount of energy should be released when the mass is converted to kinetic energy of the fission products The fission of a uranium nucleus releases more neutrons. These, in turn, can collide with other uranium nuclei. A chain reaction then becomes a definite possibility. What we need now is a contraption that takes advantage of these chain reactions. A contraption which uses fissional material as fuel and harnesses energy released through a nuclear fission for practical everyday applications. Today we have those contraptions: Nuclear reactors of several designs which harness nuclear fission throughout the world. Most reactors use uranium 235 as a fuel. It has 92 protons and 143 neutrons. Less than one per cent of natural uranium is U-235; more than 99 %is uranium-238. Among so many U-238 nuclei, what happens when a lonely U-235 nucleus undergoes fission? A chain reaction is unlikely because many of the neutrons released are gobbled up by the U-238 nuclei to form U-239, an extremely radioactive isotope of uranium. Other neutrons simply escape from the sample because they are travelling too fast to fission another nucleus. Only a slow moving neutron stands a fairly good chance of initiating fission in a uranium-235 nucleus. A fast neutron speed can not be reduced through collisions with other uranium nuclei. But if a relatively small mass like a water molecule is present, the water molecule can absorb a large amount of energy from the neutron. The process slows down the neutron. A number of these collisions will reduce the neutron’s speed, until fission is likely to occur. The name moderator is given to the material used to slow down the neutrons. Ordinary water is a good moderator but it sometimes absorbs neutrons and so removes them from the reaction. .Heavy water is a very effective moderator. It contains a isotope of Hydrogen called deuterium, which is a proton and a neutron. It slows down the neutrons but rarely absorbs them. But with slow neutrons, a nuclear reaction can get too much of a good thing. Too many slow neutrons means too many fissions and too much energy released as heat A chain reaction that is uncontrolled could produce so much heat that the reactor could literally melt down. A safety feature is necessary: within the core of the reactor, surrounded by the uranium field, control rods can be lowered and raised

Satellite Photos of Japan, Before and After the Quake and Tsunami

These pictures are from The New York Times newspaper. They are amazing....

Move the slider to compare satellite images from before and after the disaster.


http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/03/13/world/asia/satellite-photos-japan-before-and-after-tsunami.html
 

Kristau Eskola is an Open Centre

Kristau Eskola ya es oficialmente Centro Abierto de Cambridge con lo que puede ofrecer exámenes de la prestigiosa universidad a toda la sociedad a través de sus 141 centros.
Kristau Eskola ofizialki Cambridge-eko zentro irekia dela jakinarazten dizuegu. Honenbestez izen handiko unibertsitatearen azterketak eskaini ditzake gizarte osoari bere 141 ikastetxeen bitartez.
A partir de este momento Kristau Eskola puede ofrecer, a través de todos sus centros, exámenes oficiales de Cambridge a toda la sociedad y no sólo a su alumnado.
Hemendik aurrera Kristau Eskolak, bere ikastetxeen bitartez, Cambridge-eko azterketa ofizialak gizarte osoari eskaini ditzake eta ez bere ikasleriari soilik.