23 minute read
Primal Science
The Constants of Physics
In the world of physics, there are quantities that we call ‘physical constants’ or just ‘constants’. Let's define what a physical constant is and learn what makes it special.
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A physical constant is a physical quantity that's both universal in nature and completely constant in time. Let's break down each part to make some sense out of it.
First off, a physical constant is a physical quantity: an amount, number, or measure. As an illustration, picture some apples on the floor. Your friend asks you to tell him the exact number of apples. You count them and tell her there are five apples. Therefore, your quantity is five. It's simply how many of something there is.
Next, a physical constant is ‘universal in nature’, meaning, in this context, that the constant occurs absolutely everywhere. Here's a quick example. A sports league puts a new rule into effect that applies to every single division. Since it applies to every part of the sport, the rule would be universal. So if a constant is universal in nature, it means that it occurs throughout nature, with no exceptions.
Finally, we have ‘constant in time’, meaning that the constant never changes — it had the same value 10 years ago that it has now and will have the same value 10 years hence. In fact, the constant will have the same value for the rest of eternity! That can be hard to conceptualise, but it's true of the physical constants.
Let's put this all together. A physical constant is a measurement (of something) that is true EVERYWHERE (universal) and ALWAYS (constant in time).
In 1849, French physicist Armand Fizeau used this method to achieve the first terrestrial measurement of the speed of light.
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Dennis Nilsson/ CC BY 3.0
The gravitational constant G is a key quantity in Newton's law of universal gravitation.
Let’s look at the most widely known physical constant: the speed of light in a vacuum. Its universally recognised symbol is the lower-case letter ‘c’ and its value is 299,792,458 m/s. We say it is a physical constant because: a) a constant has to be universal in nature (check: no matter where we are in nature, the speed of light is always the same); and b) a constant must stay constant in time (check: we know its speed hasn’t changed one bit since the discovery of light, which implies it’s unlikely to change in the future, either).
Two other well-known constants include ‘standard gravity’ or 'g' (~9.81 m/s 2 ) and ‘standard atmosphere’ or 'atm' (101,325 Pa).
There are several unsolved cosmology or physics puzzles. Solving them may require additional constants.
It turns out that there are 26 fundamental physical constants that define our Universe (you can find them at physics.info/constants/). These have either been observed in nature or appear in the basic theoretical equations of physics. It takes all 26 to completely describe the Universe. What this means is that given the laws of physics and these 26 constants, a computer can pretty much (but not completely) simulate the Universe we have today, from the smallest, subatomic scales to the largest, cosmic ones.
The qualification in brackets in the previous paragraph is important. There are several unsolved cosmology (a branch of astronomy concerned with the studies of the origin and evolution of the Universe) or physics puzzles. Solving them may require additional constants.
Various laboratories throughout the world, such as the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), determine and refine the precise values of these physical constants. As we improve our experimental methods and techniques, the precision of these values improves.
We’ll end with one final thought: some questions theoretical physicist Paul Dirac asked back in 1935. Just why is a physical constant a constant? Is it the same value everywhere in the universe? And how really constant is it? Physicists are still asking these questions today.
© Jzehnder1 | Dreamstime.com
The National Institute of Standards and Technologies in Boulder, Colorado, USA, 31 July 2016
?Point(s) to Ponder Don’t you find it remarkable that we have physical constants that haven’t changed despite the very different states of the Universe from the Big Bang to today? Can you find something else that doesn’t change?
Sources / Further Reading
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5. 6. Physical Constant | Encyclopaedia Britannica, www.britannica.com/science/physicalconstant Are the Constants of Physics Constant? | Scientific American, blogs.scientificamerican.com/ guest-blog/are-the-constants-of-physics-constant/ It Takes 26 Fundamental Constants To Give Us Our Universe, But They Still Don't Give Everything | Forbes, www.forbes.com/sites/ethansiegel/2015/08/22/it-takes26-fundamental-constants-to-give-us-our-universe-but-they-still-dont-giveeverything/#31e3d5584b86 Introduction to the constants for nonexperts | NIST, physics.nist.gov/cuu/Constants/ introduction.html Physical Constants | The Physics Hypertextbook, physics.info/constants/ blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/are-the-constants-of-physics-constant/
Jane Goodall
(1934 - )
Chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans have been living for hundreds of thousands of years in their forest, living fantastic lives, never overpopulating, never destroying the forest. I would say that they have been in a way more successful than us as far as being in harmony with the environment. Jane Goodall
Dame Jane Morris Goodall (‘Dame’ is a senior rank As a child, Goodall was passionate about animals. in the British order of chivalry, with men using It started with getting a stuffed chimpanzee named the title ‘Sir’) is considered the world’s foremost Jubilee from her father, even though her mother’s friends expert on chimpanzees. She has spent 55 years studying all thought it might frighten young Jane. Today, Jubilee the social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees in still sits in Goodall’s room in London. the Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania.
Goodall’s research at Gombe Stream is best known for two discoveries: chimpanzees use tools, and Unlike academic researchers, Goodall used chimpanzees are omnivorous. Before she came along, unconventional observation methods that ran it was believed that only humans constructed and used contrary to strict scientific doctrines. tools, and that chimpanzees were vegetarians.
Goodall observed chimpanzees using stalks of In 1957, at the age of 23, Goodall went to the Kenyan grass to fish for termites from a termite mount. She also highlands to work on a farm. She boldly contacted Louis recorded chimpanzees stripping off leaves from twigs to Leakey, a notable Kenyan archaeologist (person who use as tools — a form of object modification that marks studies human history and artefacts) and palaeontologist the beginning of toolmaking. This certainly challenged (person who studies fossils), to discuss animals. He the notion of humans being the only toolmaker of the sparked off her life-long work with chimpanzees and animal kingdom. turned out to be her greatest mentor. Leaky was looking for a chimpanzee researcher at that time and found Goodall to be a good fit for the role. He sent Goodall to London to study the behaviour of primates (mammals of an order that includes monkeys, apes, and humans), then raised funds for Goodall to go to Gombe Stream in 1960. Scientist Jane Goodall In 1962, Leaky once again studies the behavior of a chimpanzee during her arranged funding for Goodall research February 15, to study at the University of 1987 in Tanzania. Cambridge. Goodall obtained Penelope Breese/Liaison/Getty Images a PhD in ethology (the science of animal behaviour) from
Newnham College in Cambridge in 1965, with a thesis detailing her first five years of study of free-living chimpanzees at Gombe Reserve.
She was the eighth person to be allowed to study for a doctorate degree there without first having obtained a bachelor’s degree.
Unlike academic researchers, Goodall used unconventional observation methods that ran contrary to strict scientific doctrines. For example, researchers typically numbered their subjects to prevent emotional attachment and to remain objective in their observations.
However, Goodall gave names like Fifi and Davis Greybeard to the chimpanzees she was observing and noted their unique personalities, forging close relationships with them.
She also installed feeding stations in the reserve so that she could observe the chimpanzees up close, a method deemed interfering with the chimpanzees’ natural feeding habits and social relationships. It was believed to cause aggression and even cannibalism among chimpanzees.
Despite the criticisms, Goodall inspired the world by devoting her life to the protecting of chimpanzees and the conservation of the natural world. She stated, “the least I could do is speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves.” She founded the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) which supports the research at Gombe Stream, and the Roots & Shoots programme, which is the JGI global youth programme. The JGI is widely recognised for communitycentred conservation and development programmes in Africa.
Today, at the age of 86, Jane still travels 300 days a year to lobby governments, visit schools, and give speeches about conservation and animal-welfare issues. She has appeared in more than 40 films. A documentary about her life and work, Jane, was filmed and screened by National Geographic Documentary Films in 2017.
?Point(s) to Ponder It was through unconventional research methods that Goodall made breakthroughs with the studies of chimpanzees. What kinds of problems do can think can happen when researchers use non-standard methods?
Sources / Further Reading
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About Jane | the Jane Goodall Institute, www.janegoodall.org/our-story/ Jane Goodall | Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Goodall Jane Goodall | Britannica, www.britannica.com/biography/Jane-Goodall Chimps with everything: Jane Goodall’s 50 years in the jungle | The Guardian, www. theguardian.com/science/2010/jun/27/jane-goodall-chimps-africa-interview How Jane Goodall changed what we know about chimps | National Geographic, www. nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/10/becoming-jane-goodall/
Relationships Matter
by Vinay Kumar Rai
‘Growth Mindset’ is a set of underlying beliefs that our abilities for, for example, skill acquisition, learning achievement, professional success, and personal relationships, can be developed through hard work and effort. Several studies have shown that your mindset can have a profound effect on many aspects of your life.
© Cecil Dzwowa | Dreamstime.com
A primary school teacher interacting with his students in Zimbabwe D o you think relationships matter? More importantly, do you behave in life as if relationships matter?
We rarely talk about the importance and value of human connection. But — take this from someone who has learned from both common sense and experience — relationships and learning go together. Research backs this up. You will learn more, engage more, and gain more confidence from teachers you like.
You’ll be more likely to get your voice heard, to influence people to your point of view, when you already have a good relationship with them.
James P Comer, one of the world’s leading child psychiatrists, says, “No significant learning occurs without a significant relationship”. George Washington Carver, a US scientist, botanist, educator, and inventor says, “All learning is understanding relationships”.
At this point, you probably have a question: What can I, a student, do? I can pick my friends but I (usually) cannot select my school or pick the teachers I like to teach me!
That’s true. There’s little you can do (except show this article to your teachers). But some factors are within your control, now that you better appreciate the value of relationships.
You can participate more in class. You can do this by asking more questions or volunteering more to answer questions. You can work with your classmates to foster (promote or nurture) a classroom environment that is more conducive to (tending to bring about) learning.
At this point, you probably have another question: OK, I believe relationships matter, but what do relationships have to do with the Growth Mindset? After all, my mindset depends only on me, doesn’t it?
Yes. Your mindset can be changed only by you. But now that you are beginning to understand the power the Growth Mindset gives you, you can also start to appreciate the responsibility this knowledge brings.
Very often the conditions for change need to be created. In a classroom, this would conventionally be the teacher’s responsibility. At home this would typically be your parents’ responsibility.
There’s no reason, however, you cannot contribute to creating these conditions. There’s a marvellous saying: all change begins with you. Mahatma Gandhi put it as “Be the change you want to see in the world”.
People with a growth-mindset outlook are more intentional (purposeful) about creating meaningful, mutually-beneficial relationships in the course of whatever they do. They believe that they get out of the relationship what they put into it. They make it a point to learn about others and to share about themselves, ie they communicate more often and more honestly.
If your teacher understands the idea of Growth Mindsets, she will be more intentional about building meaningful relationships with you, the student.
But if she doesn’t, why wait? Why not start by being more intentional about developing meaningful relationships with her, your parents, your fellow students, etc?
Rita F Pierson, a teacher for 40 years, recommends saying the following mantra to yourself (in her class, she and her students say this together).
“I am somebody. I was somebody when I came. I’ll be a better somebody when I leave. I am powerful, and I am strong. I deserve the education that I get here. I have things to do, people to impress, and places to go.” Rita Pierson, “Every Kid Needs A Champion”
Every one of us needs a champion. And you don’t have to wait for someone else to be your champion. Start championing yourself and the people around you that you care for.
© Sjors737 | Dreamstime.com
Two Mayan Indian girls in Guatemala, South America, reading together
Sources / Further Reading
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6. 7. The Growth Mindset Coach (Book), 2016, Annie Brock and Heather Hundley, Ulysses Press Mindsets, Mindful By Design, mindfulbydesign.com/category/mindsets/ 25 Ways to Develop a Growth Mindset | Open Colleges, www.opencolleges.edu.au/ informed/features/develop-a-growth-mindset/ The Importance of Mindset | Skills You Need, www.skillsyouneed.com/ps/mindsets.html Dr. Dweck’s discovery of fixed and Growth Mindsets have shaped our understanding of learning | Mindset Work, www.mindsetworks.com/science/ Mindset Online, mindsetonline.com Every Kid Needs a Champion (Video) | TED Talks Education, www.ted.com/talks/rita_ pierson_every_kid_needs_a_champion
Multititre plates used in laboratories to culture (grow) cell samples
© Duke-NUS
Viji Vijayan
Associate Professor and Associate Dean, Safety, Health and Emergency Management Department, Duke-NUS Medical School
What Do You Do?
I am a specialist in biological safety and security. I deal primarily with infectious agents such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites, especially those that cause disease in humans (pathogens). My work takes place in laboratories that focus either on diagnosis or research.
The research side involves learning everything we can about infectious agents. This includes which environments they thrive in, how they spread, what their biological makeup is, etc. By studying infectious agents we learn how to fight them more effectively. This kind of research is what leads to the discovery of vaccines for viruses.
The diagnosis side involves identifying infections and diseases. For example, let's say that an animal gets sick on a farm. It's an unusual illness that the farmer hasn't seen before. That's when he contacts a lab such as the one
I work in to have a diagnosis performed. Once we can identify the illness, we can start thinking about how to treat it.
My work involves biological safety and security. Let's take a closer look at both to get an understanding of the difference.
Duke-NUS Medical School
© Duke-NUS
What is Biological Safety and Security?
Let’s say there's an infected animal with a strange disease that no one has seen before, and it needs diagnosing. It's not as simple as walking right up to the animal and performing tests. Infectious agents such as viruses and bacteria are contagious. This means that the infection can spread from animal to person and vice versa.
What I have to do is consider how to keep my researchers SAFE from infection. I also have to make sure they keep the virus CONTAINED, ie not get out to the general population. This is the safety side of my job.
Now let's tackle the security side of things. Infectious agents such as viruses and parasites are incredibly dangerous if they fall into the wrong hands. If an infectious agent fell into the hands of someone with malicious intent, it could spell disaster. That's why my team and I have to keep these biological agents SECURE. As long as they're locked up, they can prevent any incidents from occurring.
Let's make it really easy to remember:
Biological Safety = Containment
Biological Security = Prevention
What’s Your Educational Background?
I am a classically trained medical doctor, ie I attended and completed medical school. It was during my time at medical school that I discovered infectious agents. I found them so fascinating — you could say I got bitten by the bug — that I decided not to practice medicine and instead pursue a Ph.D. in microbiology.
Why did I find infectious agents so intriguing? Two reasons: their size and impact. A virus is something that's so tiny that it can't be seen even with a microscope. It's so small and yet it can have such a devastating impact. As we're currently seeing with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, one infectious agent can bring the world to its knees!
Becoming a microbiologist was a long road. It took me around 10 years to complete my training (including taking time off to look after my kids). During this time, I did mainly research-oriented work, immersing myself in the study of biological agents.
One day I took on a supporting research job. It dealt with ensuring the safety of the labs I worked in. That's how I transitioned into the biological safety and security field. My experience as a scientist and researcher helped immensely: I understood how labs work and the problems that people in the labs faced. I’ve now spent 15 years in the field of biological safety and security.
What Do You Currently Do?
I currently shoulder several responsibilities at my medical school. For one, I’m in charge of ensuring procurement is being handled correctly. For instance, the school needs to order a chemical for a lab. I will have to make sure that the school has the proper license for it, that the staff is trained on how to handle it, etc.
I’m also in charge of creating policies and standard operating procedures for my labs. As a rule of thumb, I always include staff members in forming these policies and rules. That's because they're the ones that the policies will directly affect. They should have a say in matters that will affect their day-to-day duties. It wouldn't make sense for me to write a bunch of policies in my office without understanding the ground realities.
In addition to these duties, I help organisations come up with safety systems. I’m a consultant for WHO and the European Union in the field of biological safety and security. For example, I recently did some consulting work in a Southeast-Asian country. Their labs were looking at diphtheria, an infection of the nose and throat. To do so, they needed to put into place a strong safety infrastructure. That way they could ensure that their researchers wouldn't become exposed to the bacteria. Also, they needed to figure out a way to keep the bacteria secure and away from the wrong people. The system we put into place, a collaborative effort between the lab employees and me, addresses both of these issues and more.
What About Biosafety in Singapore?
Singapore is a highly developed country with excellent safety standards. In 2006, the Biological Agents and Toxins Act came into effect. This regulates the import, possession, transfer, and transport of biological agents and toxins. The Biosafety Branch of the Ministry of Health is in charge of enforcing the Act.
Singapore also utilises a Matrix Risk Assessment for hazards. This is a color-coded chart that lists risks in several different categories of severity. Any risk in the severe category needs mitigating before work can continue.
Any Concluding Thoughts?
In conclusion, I'd like to highlight two points.
First is the importance of setting up a no-blame culture. This is also referred to as a 'just culture'. It means that when something goes wrong, you don't assign blame to someone. After all, we're human beings and we make mistakes. There's a crucial reason for doing this. Let's say someone makes a mistake at your organisation. If you blame, shame, and punish your employees for mistakes, they will not want to share. In future, they'd much more likely try to bury the mistake to avoid the blame.
On the other hand, if you have a just culture in place, the opposite will happen. Since they know that they will receive no blame, they will be far more likely to call attention to their mistake. In the field of biosafety, this is especially important. If things go wrong, we need to know! As such, employees should feel open to sharing mistakes or accidents. That way we can go about forming a system to ensure they don't occur again. Being safe and secure is all about open and clear communication.
Second, workplaces always come with the conflicting goals of safety and productivity. I like to say that the safest airline is the one that doesn’t fly — but then what good is it? My point is that safety people like me should always sit with the people doing the actual work (called shop-end workers in safety science) and come up with a suitable compromise to ensure people are kept safe while work gets done.
Working in the fume hood
Jia He / iStock / Getty Images Plus
Four Technologies That Humans Got from the Animal and Plant Kingdoms
Evolution gave animals and plants some handy tools. Now humans are starting to use them too!
Since the beginning of life on Earth, animals and plants have adapted to their environments by developing unique body parts, behaviours, and skills. Now, scientists are studying the animal and plant kingdoms to apply some of those features to modern technology.
Biomimetics, also known as biomimicry, is the study of the use of synthetic materials to create artificial versions of natural mechanisms and processes. By recreating some of the tools animals and plants use to survive, we can take advantage of the efficient solutions nature took millions of years to come up with.
Shark Skin – Germ-free Surfaces Sharks, unlike many other marine animals, are not prone to other organisms, such as algae or barnacles, growing on them. This phenomenon is thanks to their unique skin, which looks smooth but feels rough to the touch, like fine sandpaper. Up close, shark skin is covered in tiny v-shaped scales called dermal denticles, which prevent barnacles and even bacteria from attaching to the shark’s skin, keeping them streamlined and efficient in the water.
christels/pixabay.com
Now, scientists are creating new synthetic materials modelled after shark skin to keep germs and barnacles from attaching to the surface of ships, reducing drag by up to 60%, thus making the ships faster and more energy-efficient.
Termite mounds, Australia hbieser/pixabay.com
Termite Mounds – Ventilation The African desert has one of the hottest climates on the planet, yet one organism has come up with a way to build structures that stay cool even in direct sunlight. Termites build their mounds with an ingenious ventilation system consisting of a central air tunnel that is surrounded by smaller buttresses (structures built against a wall for support or reinforcement). As air is heated in the surrounding columns, the warm air is pulled into the central chimney and out of the mound, keeping cool air inside.
The Eastgate Centre, a large shopping centre in Zimbabwe, was modelled after the same principle. It uses no traditional air conditioning or heating but stays at a comfortable temperature year-round by following the termites’ clever design.
OrnaW/pixabay.com
Bru-nO/pixabay.com
Seeds – Velcro The ubiquitous (commonly seen) hook-and-loop fastener known by the brand name Velcro was created in 1941 by Swiss engineer George de Mestral after walking his dog. After examining under a microscope the thistle burrs that had gotten attached to his Irish pointer’s fur, he found that the plants had hundreds of tiny hooks that easily latched on to animals’ hair fibres.
De Mestral created a fastener that had one velvety side of soft loops, and one coarse side of tiny hooks shaped like the ends of crochet needles. The words ‘velvet’ and ‘crochet’ make up the name Velcro, the easy-to-use fastener we can find on everything from athletes' shoes to space suits.
Kingfisher – Bullet Trains The Japanese have been traveling by bullet trains, known as Shinkansen, that can go faster than 200kph for over 50 years. However, when they were first invented, the trains’ designers had not anticipated the intense air pressure that would build up at such high speeds. When
the Shinkansen exited a tunnel, the air pressure at the nose of the train collided with the air outside the tunnel, creating a loud ‘boom’ sound that disturbed passengers.
An engineer named Eiji Nakatsu, who also happened to be a bird enthusiast, reasoned that the train needed to cut through the air instead of pushing it, like a diver cutting through water. Nakatsu took inspiration from the kingfisher, a bird that dives to catch fish. The kingfisher’s beak has a unique ability to cut through the water without causing ripples, which would otherwise scare away fish.
Today, the Shinkansen has a long, beaklike nose shaped like the kingfisher’s, allowing it to operate almost silently, even through tunnels.
?Point(s) to Ponder Sometimes discovering the secrets behind animals’ survival skills involves experimenting on them. Do you think we have the right to do that?
Sources / Further Reading
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7. 7 Animal-Inspired Pieces of Technology | Baba-Mail, www.ba-bamail.com/content. aspx?emailid=27612 10 Technologies We Stole From the Animal Kingdom | www.mentalfloss.com/ article/22702/10-technologies-we-stole-animal-kingdom Biomimetic design: 10 examples of nature inspiring technology | Science Focus, www. sciencefocus.com/future-technology/biomimetic-design-10-examples-of-nature-inspiringtechnology/ Biomimetics | Wikipedia, www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomimetics Biomimicry: 7 Clever Technologies Inspired by Nature | Live Science, www.livescience. com/28873-cool-technologies-inspired-by-nature.html Five animals that have inspired modern technology | BBC, www.bbc.co.uk/ newsround/34592574 How Animals Shaped Our Modern World | Popular Mechanics, www.popularmechanics. com/science/animals/g28912650/animal-inspired-technologies/
