Return to Links of the Week Archive

SCIENCE

Page 2

Science Reviews -- Page 1, Page 2, Page 3

Erratic Impact Philosophy Research Base
This meta-index features thousands of annotated links and text resources for philosophy research and teaching. Resources are categorized by history, subject and author, and cover ancient, medieval, and modern philosophy. Additional resources include films, music, and community services for students and teachers in the field of philosophy. http://www.erraticimpact.com

ES2000 - Endangered Species of the Next Millennium
Scientists have catalogued more than one and one-half million species that exist on Earth today, but it is estimated that 20 times that many species inhabit the planet. Up to 100 species become extinct every day; this rate far exceeds the rate of extinction in the last 65 million years. Unfortunately, human beings are the main cause of the disappearing Animal Kingdom. This comprehensive website on endangered species aims to instill a sense of responsibility in human beings to help preserve other living species on earth. The site contains profiles of many animal species throughout the world, enhanced with pictures, videos and sounds. Visitors will get a definition of endangered species; learn some basic biology and taxonomy; and find out how species become endangered and what we can do to save them. Species communication panels allow users to track the latest developments of profiled species through other users. There is a large collection of facts and quotes to ponder about wildlife and conservation. Users can take a quiz at the end of each section. The site also features an interactive adventure story, in which users take on the role of animal protectors. This beautifully-designed, thoroughly researched ThinkQuest site was created by students and is in English and Dutch. http://library.advanced.org/25014/

SciCentral
SciCentral is a gateway to over 50,000 handpicked resources covering over 120 specialties in science, engineering, and medical research. This science metadirectory is maintained by professional scientists, who find the most valuable science research, health, and educational resources on the Web and list them for teachers, students, science enthusiasts, and science professionals. These resources satisfy the needs of K-12 and higher education teachers and students as well as professional research scientists and engineers. Visitors can sign up for a free personalized weekly Science News Alert. http://www.scicentral.com

Mission to Mars
This ThinkQuest site provides a history of Mars and in-depth information on Earth missions to the red planet. But the main attraction is the chance to go on a simulated mission to Mars, after planning your trip using information available on the site. The leader of each mission must decide what the goals of the mission are, what materials and instruments to take, what area of the planet to explore, how much money is available for the mission, and so forth. This is a great educational adventure designed by high school students.
http://library.advanced.org/11147

The Science of Boiling an Egg
Did you know that adding vinegar or salt when boiling an egg helps to plug any cracks, by causing the emerging liquid to coagulate more rapidly? The research here originated when the webmaster was challenged to derive a formula for the boiling time of a soft-boiled egg, given its weight and initial temperature. This website presents the physics, chemistry, and more than you will ever need to know about boiling eggs. Here you can learn fascinating facts about the structure, composition, and nutritional value of each part of the egg. Learn why why very fresh eggs require more time to cook than older eggs, how to calculate the extra time required to boil an egg at high altitude, and how long eggs can be stored without loss of quality. And if you don't know, you can get instructions on how to cook a soft-boiled and hard-boiled egg, and even how to steam eggs. The site also has links to related cooking and science sites.
http://newton.ex.ac.uk/teaching/CDHW/egg/

Loch Ness Live-Cam: Nessie on the Net
One of the fruits of modern communications technology is that now you can watch for the Loch Ness Monster without leaving the comfort of your home. The combined pictures from four micro-miniature cameras located beside Loch Ness are sent over a digital wireless link to a central digital colour signal multiplexer. The output from the multiplexer is fed into a video capture card and converted into a JPEG image. The JPEG is sent by dedicated digital radio link to the Official Loch Ness Monster Exhibition in Drumnadrochit. After further processing on a dual processor Pentium II PC, the final image is uploaded via ISDN2 onto a high performance Unix-based webserver, thus making available this World Wide Web site. The image updates every 120 seconds. An infrared night camera will eventually be added. Maintainers of the Loch Ness LiveCam claim it is the world's most sophisticated multi-image webcam installation.
http://www.lochness.co.uk/livecam/

Explorezone.com
This website has exciting articles on the earth, space and weather sciences, but even better, it uses the technology of the World Wide Web to best advantage in communicating the ideas. Daily science news articles and feature stories are accompanied with animated illustrations that make them easy to understand. We can see, for example, how earthquakes move the ground along different kinds of faults, and how a solar wind changes the magnetic field of the Earth. The site is easy to navigate, and is divided into zones that represent different topics. Earthzone has stories about earthquakes, volcanoes, geologic time, and gravity. Weatherzone covers subjects like tornadoes, hurricanes, global warming, weather satellites, and lightning. Spacezone has articles about asteroids, meteors, space exploration, signs of life on other planets, and the future of commercial space travel. 101zone answers common science questions on subjects like what is inside an atom, why the sky is blue, and how planes fly; visitors can post questions. The ez Science Index has definitions of science terms. A section called The Edge explores the more farout reaches of science. Surfzone contains links to WWW references.


The Canadian Museum of Flight
This website showcases the Canadian Museum of Flight's collection of restored aircraft, many of which are in flying condition. In addition, there are inspiring stories of "the people, the machines and the visions" that made aviation history, including prominent Canadian aviators. The Aviation Art Gallery shows limited and open edition prints, and the online gift shop has aviation-related gifts. The extensive list of annotated aviation links (including museums, airports, manufacturers, schools, and airlines) makes this site a very useful resource for anyone interested in aviation.
http://www.canadianflight.org

SETI@home: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence at Home
SETI@home is a scientific experiment to harness the power of hundreds of thousands of Internet-connected computers in the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. You can participate by running a screensaver program that downloads and analyzes radio telescope data. There's a small but captivating possibility that your computer will detect the faint murmur of a civilization beyond Earth. The program is scheduled to start in April 1999. Once the project is underway, a website will keep users up to date on the status of the search. Learn about the background and science behind the project here, including how to download the free software; versions for PC, Mac, and Unix will be available. SETI@home is based at the University of California at Berkeley, and sponsored by The Planetary Society, Paramount Pictures, Sun Microsystems, Fuji Film Computer Products, Informix, Engineering Design Team, Inc., and private donations. The website can be read in 27 languages.
http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/

Ocean AdVENTure!
Hydrothermal vents are geysers on the ocean floor that may be up to 4 billion years old, but were discovered by scientists less than 25 years ago. The hot, mineral-rich water from these vents nurtures a wide variety of life forms, some very ancient. Some scientists believe the first life on Earth formed in these vents. In addition to producing fantastic geological formations, the vents are thought to regulate the temperature and chemical composition of the oceans and provide an outlet for the earth's inner heat. These vents also may be rich sources of minerals. This website takes visitors on a multimedia journey to explore hydrothermal vents in the sunless depths of the world's oceans. Here students can learn about how scientific research is conducted, meet some of the oceanographers who study vents, and view an MPEG movie of a vent in action. Interactive features include demonstrations on water pressure, mapping the ocean floor, converting temperatures, and how submersibles stay on course. A forum is open for discussion on the science and ethics of vent exploration. New terms introduced within the text are conveniently linked to a glossary. This website was designed for ThinkQuest 1998.
http://library.advanced.org/18828/

Astrophotography - Jeff Stys
Astrophotography can be a fascinating hobby, whether you have a low-cost camera and tripod setup, a moderate-sized telescope, or an expensive large-aperture refractor and research-grade mount. Here you will find everything you need to know in order to start photographing the night sky with your telescope. Beginners can get some pointers on what equipment to buy, how to set it up and operate it, and how to take photographs. A photo gallery here shows deep sky objects, the Helix Nebula, the Andromeda Galaxy, a lunar eclipse, planets, comets, and many other wonders of space. The astrophotography FAQ provides additional information, and there are also pointers here to related websites and books.


Ken's Bio-Web Resources
This site has links to WWW resources for teachers and students of biology, grades 7 through college. The pages are divided into nine popular biological subject areas: cell chemistry, cell structure and function, ecology, evolution, general biology, genetics, human physiology, microbiology, and plant physiology. Over 850 website references are listed in these pages, and each page is checked for access each month.


The Soundry
Here's a fun place to learn all about sound. Graphics and interactive features both entertain and teach about the human ear and how we perceive sound; the physics of sound; applications of sound in real life; and the history of sound (with a timeline covering the acoustic, electrical, and digital eras). In the Interactive Sound Lab, visitors can explore further, playing with Java applets to draw different wave formations and hear how they sound, or learn about harmonics and other sound effects. For example, the Doppler applet has an illustration of a man and a jet. The user can set the speed of the jet, move the man to different locations, then see and hear the sound waves as the jet passes, thus getting a hands-on experience of the Doppler effect. This site was created for the International ThinkQuest contest for students.
http://library.advanced.org/19537/

Dolphins: The Oracles of the Sea
This beautifully-designed website introduces visitors to the grace, beauty, and intelligence of dolphins, with visual, audio, and text-based scientific information about these fascinating creatures. Visitors can learn about the different kinds of dolphins, how they evolved, details of dolphin anatomy, their interactions with humans, and their behavior among themselves. Photos, diagrams, movies, and sound files help make the subject come alive. A forum provides a place for technical questions and further discussion. The site was made for the international ThinkQuest contest for students.
http://library.advanced.org/17963/

Aviation Resource Center
How does an airplane fly? The explanation many of us learned in school has been proven wrong. You can read about current theories here, and then browse through a wide variety of information on aviation. Trace the history of flight, beginning long before the Wright Brothers and continuing up to the present, and find out some of the important records set in aviation. Study the anatomy of an airplane, and access profiles of all major commercial airliners from the Boeing 707 to the Airbus 3XX. Visitors can participate in a message board here, and sign up for aviation mailing lists.
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/4294/

Extreme Science
Kids like to learn about extremes and world records: the highest mountain, the deepest cave, the greatest river, the strongest animal, the biggest snake, the oldest living thing. Here kids can read about these extremes in science, while incidentally learning a lot about earth science and the animal kingdom. A bit of geography is offered, too, in the handy collection of maps showing the places described. The website provides a chance to visit with scientists in various fields, to learn about their jobs, the skills they require, their educational backgrounds, and the places they work; their stories may inspire some kids to consider careers in science. Look here also for links to many great science websites.
http://www.extremescience.com/

Wilton High School Chemistry
Schoolteacher Bob Jacobs has put a lot of thought and classroom time into developing both a website and a teaching philosophy. This experienced teacher shares reflections on the nature of science, art, and religion; how students can approach their work with the spirit of scientific inquiry; having students discover principles themselves by doing experiments; shifting the focus from answering to questioning; reducing student stress while maintaining rigorous course standards; and reducing language barriers between disciplines. Teachers will find practical ideas on how to interest students in learning, a creative approach to Halloween chemistry, challenging ideas like "Why Every English Classroom Should Have a Periodic Table," and a list of "great chemists who aren't dead white guys." The website provides resources for chemistry students including a collection of classic papers from greats like Benjamin Franklin, Lucretius, Boyle, Lavoisier, Maxwell, and Planck. There are 700 online chemistry tutorials, hundreds of categorized links to educational and chemistry sites, biographies of chemists including all the Nobel Prize winners, science history links, and thousands of science and education quotes.
http://w3.nai.net/~bobsalsa/

Water Science for Schools
Why is the ocean salty? What shape are raindrops? How much water does a dripping faucet waste? Learn everything about water at this website from the U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Division. Learn about water properties and how they are measured; the many forms of water on and in the Earth; how urbanization affects the water system; acid rain and other ecological issues; water shortage and irrigation systems; hydroelectric power; wastewater treatment; the chemistry of water. Study oceans, rivers and lakes, rain and snow, glaciers and icecaps, and follow a single drop through the water cycle. Bring your questions to the Water Q&A; forum, test your water knowledge in the interactive activity center. Get data on water use in the United States. The site includes a picture gallery, water maps, a water glossary, a data library, a list of schools conducting water studies, and links to other water websites.
http://water.usgs.gov/droplet

Black Holes: Portals into the Unknown
This website, created by students for the international ThinkQuest competition, presents a clear, understandable, and very readable introduction to the phenomenon astronomers call black holes. The graphic design is well-done, and many astronomical photos and diagrams are provided. Learn here how black holes are found, what happens in and around a black hole, and all about the different kinds of black holes, white holes, wormholes, and singularities. See how the existence of black holes is proven by Hubble telescope. A glossary, bibliography and Internet links are provided for further exploration, along with references to black holes, white holes, and wormholes in fiction.
http://www.bigfoot.com/~benscent

New Scientist Planet Science
This website has news, features, reviews, and comment drawn weekly from the pages of New Scientist magazine, as well as extra material exclusively published online. The 18 pages of science, technology, and health stories each week delve into such subjects as gene research, computing, health and medicine, economics, mathematics, nuclear energy, physics, and technology transfer. Science questions from readers are welcomed, and the answers posted. Some special features are The Rex Files, with the latest dinosaur discoveries and controversies; The Clone Zone, which keeps readers up to date on cloning; a science jobs database with more than 300 listings each week; and a calendar of science courses and events.
http://www.newscientist.com

Science Hobbyist
This website communicates what's fun and exciting about science, for both kids and adults. Look here for science experiments, amateur science resources, science projects for kids, static electricity, Vandegraaff generators, "weird" science, how to draw holograms by hand, magnetic levitation, electronics hobbyist projects, Tesla coils, science classified ads, science museums, and more. The site is generating a lot of enthusiastic traffic from students asking questions, sharing science fair ideas, etc. with each other. In addition to supplying substantial original content and excellent WWW links, the author takes a penetrating look at what is wrong with science education today, and offers positive suggestions to improve it. "In reading the books I was totally stunned. The electricity chapters were wrong. . . . The authors of those books clearly had many typical student misconceptions regarding electricity. . . . I slowly realized that my own understanding of electricity was flawed and incomplete. I sat down and started re-teaching myself the subject. . . ."
http://www.eskimo.com/~billb/