Komar,+Kathryn

2/25/11 Motion Detectors

Well due to the fact that in class the other day when we were discussing radiation we hit the color spectrum briefly when we were trying to describe how harsh gamma radiation is. This article states three ways that motion sensors work and on of them includes using a light source which usually is infrared radiation. Obviously this type of radiation is no where close to being as harmful as gamma radiation (otherwise we'd all die when we strolled through our garage doors), but it is stated as a type of radiation regardless. Another method for motion sensors included infrared radiation as well, but this method was referring to as listening to warmth. Of course that statement seems completely ridiculous since warmth has no sound to it, but it refers to reading the measure of warmth that all warm-blooded mammals give off. Lastly this relates to our class because it describes the phenomenon known as the "photoelectric effect", which is a fancy word for describing how electrons may be ejected when light is shined on a surface and if you have been paying attention at all in class, then you would know that we've been more or less studying electrons, protons, and neutrons.

Kathryn, Awesome post! Funny too. You really nailed down some great points. I like the gamma radiation comment. :) 5 stars. MW

2/8/11 Redefining the Kilogram

This article relates to our class because recently we have been working with different units of measure. Measurements such as the kilogram, milligram, and gram have been commonly used in the past couple days and this article directly relates to such a topic because it involves the "master" kilogram, however I doubt we will be referring to it as that for much longer due to the slight decrease in weight that has occurred. Another relation is the scientific notation which was mentioned several times in both our class and the article. I understand why it appears in the article due to the fact that the author probably did not want to write out the rather lengthy number associated with Avogadro's constant, which is one of the options scientists are considering using for the standard kilogram instead of using an object. Lastly, this article relates to our class because if none of the standards that we have in the world (kilogram, meter, etc.) then non one would be able to measure anything accurately and most scientific data would be various and show no comparison to similar data.

Kathryn, Well done! Your writing style is entertaining and you hit on three good points! 5 stars! MW

1/24/11 Could Cell Phone Radiation Damage Our Brains?

So basically this article had no exact answer on whether or not Cell Phone Radiation can or ever would cause damage to our brains. It spoke mostly about how the microwaves from a cell phone are so far spaced apart that the energy that is produced has no real effect on the electrons that are in the atoms and molecules on our skin. It continued on to compare the microwaves from cell phones to those from x-rays just to support the reasoning previously given. The last bit of the article spoke about the different experiments that some scientists have conducted on this topic; however the results from such experiments have been so random that no one has been able to prove whether or not cell phone microwaves can affect our persons. They seem to believe that the experiments are so inconclusive due to the amount of uncontrollable variables such as people changing their cell phones, the fact that the experiment would need to last for about 10-20 years, and that majority of the data collected was based on the subjects’ recollection of their cell phone usage. Could microwaves from cell phones damage our bodies, I believe that its possible, however the person that is affected by this would have to be using their cell phone or another similar electronic device constantly.

Kathryn, Very thorough and well-written. With everything else in the world I'm not going to worry about cell phones! 5 stars. MW