How to Build a Sun Scope

A Sun Scope is so easy to make that it sometimes happens just by accident. If the geometry is right all you really need is a darkened room with a small hole in the wall to let the sunlight in. In fact during the last solar eclipse in our area grandma Oddball simply pasted some paper with a small hole in the middle over her kitchen window to form a makeshift Sun Scope which projected an image of the Sun about a foot in diameter on the far wall of the kitchen. She was then able to safely watch the eclipse while doing the dishes.

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Backwards Mirror Image

Why do words appear backwards in a mirror?

A very interesting question. I think you also noticed that the words and letters in a mirror's reflection while backwards are not upside down. Looks like very strange behavior, so why does this happen?

Very profound questions you're asking and the answer illustrates a very advanced concept variously called mirror-symmetry, inversion symmetry or P-symmetry (the P stands for the word parity). Understanding symmetries turns out to be one of the key or fundamental ingredients needed to understand the Universe we live in.

Can a human survive in a space suit on Mars?

The following question was emailed to me by my grandson, "Can a humun sirviev in a space suet on mars?" This is my answer.

Yes, humans can survive in a space suit on Mars but only for short periods of time as long as the space suit has enough air and batteries (or power). The suit also needs a few other qualities too

Rampin’ Hotwheels

Since I was in the hospital this week's post will be shortened. My grandson recently devised a science experiment for school. It consisted of studing how hotwheels behaved while rolling down a ramp under different weights. This was my impression of his experiment.

Are there aliens in space?

That's a very good question and I had to think about it a bit before answering.

The quick answer is that nobody knows for sure. By aliens I am assuming you mean extraterrrestial intelligent (or sentient) beings. Not only are we not sure if aliens exist but nobody can even be sure that extraterrestial life exists elsewhere in the universe. We know that no higher forms of life exist in our solar system and, so far, we haven't found any other forms of life anywhere but here on Earth.

Is outer space empty?

This turns out to be a very profound question. And the answer has two parts. You might have to ask your mom or dad to help you with some of the videos.

Let's start with trying to figure out what "empty" means. Imagine you have a box of some kind. For example like this

What is gravity?

Good question! Both interesting and intriguing! Some of history's greatest scientists have struggled to answer this question. The history alone is facinating. Well, enough preliminaries, let's get right to the answer. If you don't understand any of the words I am using ask your mom or dad to explain them. In science words are important and we have to use the right words so we can convey our meaning properly to others.