Working With The Power Of Wind
Wind power is growing in popularity as an alternative to fossil fuel and one of the best of the renewable energy sources. The use of wind power requires wind turbines. Wind turbine generators do little to harm the environment and are far preferable in this regard to fossil fuel. The only disadvantage is that they cannot be used everywhere. In order to effectively use turbines to generate natural power you would need an average wind speed of at least 13 miles per hour. Obviously, that is not found everywhere.
Palm Springs California is ideal for wind turbines that generate power and as you pass through there along highway 10 you will see these wind turbines in various sizes. Called a wind farm, This San Bernadino Mountain area has over 4000 windmills in its San Gorgonio Mountain Pass. These turbines provide enough natural energy to provide electricity to all of Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley area as a whole. Most of the current natural energy generation in the U.S. resides in California.
The largest of the naural power windmills is 150 feet in height with blades that stretch halfway across a football field. There are compartments at the windmills top that house its generators, its hub and its gearbox. These weigh at least 30,000 and as much as 45,000 pounds. At this size the turbine for wind power may cost more than 300,000 but will provide 300 kilowatts each hour. This amount of wind energy is enough to keep one typical household in electrical power for an entire month.
The American Wind Energy Association AWEA is a U.S. wide non-profit organization promoting air power as a clean electrical source for consumers the world over. AWEA represents developers of wind power projects, those who are in the business of supplying wind energy equipment, natural energy service providers, manufacturers of air power parts, utilities that provide wind power for electrical power, scientists researching green energy resources that include the use of wind energy and others involved in any way in the wind power industry. Hundreds of advocates of wind power are also members of AWEA.
The American Wind Energy Association provides the latest information on the operation of current or potential wind power projects, the ongoing development of new wind projects, companies who work in the burgeoning industry, the development of new wind energy technology, and government legislation and policies that pertain to the use, production and funding of air power and other renewable energies.
AWEA acts as a clearing house for the wind energy industry, and as such communicates the pertinent statistics, facts and news. From AWEA consumers and others can find out the latest legislative decisions and efforts, including the best information on grants and loans to aid in the implementation of residential, commercial and governmental wind power projects.
AWEA publishes and disseminates the only weekly wind power newsletter that exists anywhere. It also hosts an annual wind power conference, with presentations on the latest technological developments and trends as well as access to businesses offering help in its implementation.
James Copper is a writer for http://www.newcareerskills.co.uk/domestic-energy-assessor-training.htm
A History of Science Fairs
Back in October, 1828, The American Institute of the City of New York, “incorporated for the purpose of encouraging and promoting domestic industry in this State and the United States in Agriculture, Commerce, Manufactures and the Arts”, held its first industrial fair. The exhibition was held in New York at a time when the 416 “watchmen” that comprised the city’s “Finest” were busy keeping the streets clear of stray cows, horses and pigs. Travel to the other 27 states that made up the Union was by boat and stagecoach, as the locomotive was as yet unknown.
At that first fair, the iron plow had its first public showing, and the exhibits included, among others, a black veil “made by a girl of eight years of age”. So, to stretch a point, perhaps this is where the idea of a fair for students had its start.
The science fair as we know it, a collection of exhibits designed by school students of pre-college age, had its origin in 1928 when the American Institute, satisfied that the original purpose of the organization had been accomplished, turned from industrial fairs and sponsored the first Children’s Fair, It was so successful that it was scheduled as an annual event, and science clubs, informally organized as a result of this activity, were officially encouraged.
When, in 1941, the American Institute found that it could no longer support the non-profit clubs, publications and a Student Science Laboratory, the science club movement at the national level was transferred to Science Service of Washington, D.C, a non-profit institution for the popularization of science.
Instrumental in organizing and expanding Science Clubs of America were Dr. Harlow Shapley, Joseph H. Kraus, Watson Davis and Miss Margaret Patterson. Together with G. Edward Pendray of Westinghouse, the first Science Talent Search was launched in 1942, and in 1950, a plan was set up to hold a national science fair as another activity of Science Service. All of these activities had to be self-liquidating and dependent upon public-spirited organizations and individuals.
Today, a number of organizations present awards to students doing outstanding work in science. In addition to the National Science Fair-International “Wish Awards” and the Westinghouse scholarships, awards are presented by the American Chemical Society, American Dental Association, American Heart Association, American Institute of Biological Sciences, American Medical Association, American Pharmaceutical Association, American Veterinary Medical Association, National Committee for Careers in Medical Technology, Optical Society of America, Society of American Bacteriologists, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army and the Association of the United States Army, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and the U. S. Navy.
The first National Science Fair was held in Philadelphia with 13 regional fairs participating. In 1964, finalists from 208 affiliated fairs held in this country and abroad participated in the National Science Fair-International in Seattle, Wash. Their projects represented the best work of almost a million students.
If you have an idea for a project it is worthwhile trying to enter it into a Science Fair.
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The Magnificent Planet We Call Home
Our home planet Earth is the third planet out from the Sun and is the largest and densest of the four inner planets. Earth is also the first planet out from the Sun that has a Moon and is the only planet in our Solar System where liquid waters exists in large quantities on the surface. It is generally agreed that the existence of liquid water is the main reason why Earth is the only place in the known universe where life exists.
The structure of Earths interior consists of rock and metal arraigned if layers. At the center is the solid inner core which is composed of nickel and iron and is 1200 kilometers in diameter. Remarkably, the inner core of the Earth is actually hotter than the surface of the Sun. The next layer out is the outer core and it is compose of liquid nickel and iron. The mantle sits on top of the outer core and is made mostly of dense, solid silicate rock. The crust of Earth rests on top of the mantle and is thin, solid layer of mainly silicate rock.
Earth orbits the Sun at a distance of about 149.6 million kilometers and its axis is tilted 23.45 degrees away from the plane of Earths orbit. The result of this tilt is the change in the climatic seasons here on Earth with the Moons gravity providing the ocean tides. The Earth has an average diameter of approximately 12,742 kilometers with a slight bulge around the equator created by the centrifugal force caused by the Earths rotation on its axis. This bulge makes the Earth about 43 kilometers great in diameter at the equator than if you measured pole to pole. The highest point on Earth is Mount Everest at 8,848 meters above sea level but due to the equatorial bulge the summit of Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador is actually farther away from the Earths center.
The atmosphere surrounding planet Earth is composed of 77 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen and 2 percent traces of other gases including argon and carbon dioxide. Earths atmosphere is divided into five layers starting with the troposphere which begins at sea level and rises up to an altitude of about 16 kilometers. The troposphere is where the weather patterns form and the temperature in the troposphere is relatively mild with a global average temperature at the surface of 15 degrees centigrade. At the top of the troposphere is the tropopause which is the boundary layer between the troposphere and the stratosphere.
The stratosphere starts at the tropopause and extends up to an altitude of about 50 kilometers. Unlike the troposphere which is warm at the bottom and gets cooler as you go up, the stratosphere is cool at the bottom and gets warmer higher up. Within the stratosphere is the ozone layer that absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. Without this ozone layer life would not be able to exist here on Earth. At the top of the stratosphere is the stratopause which has a temperature of about 3 degrees centigrade, just above the freezing point of water.
Above the stratopause is the mesosphere which starts at 50 kilometers up from the surface of the Earth to an altitude of 80 to 90 kilometers. The mesosphere is too high to be reached by aircraft and much of what we know about it was gained by launching sounding rockets up into it. The data from these rockets tells us that the temperature in the upper mesosphere can fall as low as -100 degrees centigrade. We also know that countless meteors burn up in the mesosphere every day and at night we see them as meteoroids. The mesosphere ends at the mesopause.
The thermosphere rests atop the mesopause and rises up to as much as 1000 kilometers above the surface of the Earth. The thermosphere is also where the ionosphere resides, which allows some radio waves to propagate far over the Earth by reflecting them back down. The thermosphere has a very low density and the International Space Station orbits right through it at an altitude of about 320 to 380 kilometers. Beyond the thermosphere is the exosphere that simply blends into outer space.
Burl Collins is the owner of http://www.msrdinc.com and invites you to visit the MSRD Inc Forum at http://www.msrdinc.com/forum
The Earth When Dinosaurs Roamed
The dinosaurs have always thrilled humans and held them spell bound for their variety of species from small to huge and gigantic dinosaurs. They are no more in existence but their presence is still felt in the museums, books and films.
The dinosaurs first appeared on this earth around 230 million years ago and showed their existence for complete 160 million years. Some dinosaurs were herbivorous whereas some were carnivorous.
The dinosaurs existed in Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous period. The late Triassic period witnessed some genera of dinosaurs like Coeophysis with double hinged lower jaw and small sharp teeth showing its carnivorous nature.
The one who came in the herbivorous category was the Plateosaurus with nine meter long and four meter tall body weighing about 4 tones and there were others like melanorosaurs, Anchisaur, prosauropod and early sauropod
But the end of this period witnessed mass extinction; about 95% species disappeared from this earth and with this went the early dinosaurs. The late Triassic period marked the beginning of the age of dinosaurs which further developed in the Jurassic Period.
The Jurassic period lasted for 30 million years where reptiles were the dominant figures and so this age is known as The age Of Dinosaurs. The dinosaurs existed during this period were different from those of other periods.
Dinosaurs evolved during this period. The largest herbivorous and carnivorous dinosaurs came into being during Jurassic period. The biggest meat eater of the Jurassic was the Allosaurus better known as the different lizard.
It was about 40 feet long and many dinosaurs of this period were scared of him. Another colossal size dinosaur was a herbivore known as Apatosaurus but which was formerly known as Brontosaurus. It measured between 70 to 90 feet but its head was too small as compared to the enormous body.
It is really shocking to know that on one side we had huge dinosaurs but on the other side their existed the smallest dinosaur of the size of a chicken called Compsognathus. Dinosaurs of different features and characteristics were found in this period.
Even the early known bird Archeoptyx had similar characteristics of a dinosaur.
The Diplodocus dinosaur was 90 feet long and was one of the longest land animals. The long neck of Mamenchisaurus dinosaur about 46 feet was its distinctive feature which made it different from other dinosaurs. Stegosaurus existed in the late Jurassic period had a gargantuan body of three ton but the brain of the size of walnut.
The third period was the Cretaceous period when the growth of the dinosaurs was full blown. This was the time when some unique dinosaurs were there on the earth. Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus rex, Parasaurolophus, Carnotaurus Anatosaurus, Monoclonius, Tarbosaurus Gallimimus Corythosaurus, Albertosaurus, were some the dinosaurs of cretaceous Period.
They were the one who came out with more distinct features and some of the exceptional characteristics which made them different from those of other period. But with the end of this period ended the existence of dinosaurs from this earth altogether.
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