Science has changed much since the space age.
In Kelowna we are spinning about 700km per hour
Near the equator, they are moving about 1600 km per hour. That is why space shuttles launch closer to the equator - more 'free' speed
Time travel. We are moving 30 km per second around the sun. In the clap of a hand, the earth has also moved in space. To travel back in time, you would have to transport the earth back millions of kilometers.
An amazing speaker that shared some interesting anecdotes including how speaking and hearing a speaker involves the vocal cords, air pressure, a microphone with a membrane that moves a crystal that is converted to an electrical impulse, that is transmitted as radio frequency that is received by an antenna that converts back to electrical impulses, to wires to speakers to move a magnet attached to a cone that moves the cone and creates a pressure wave that hits us in the head and hits our ears, moves 3 small bones, to the cochlea to liquid to hairs that create electro chemical pulses that move to the brain to be interpreted and thought.
That kind of interest is what we want to inspire in our students.
He then showed us a video doing zero-g (and mars / moon g)
It was neat to see the experience of 1/3, 1/6 and 0 G. Students can also relate to this from going on a roller coaster.
The stories engage.
Only 24 people have been far enough from the earth to see 'earth rise.' It allowed
a new perspective that the earth is one entity
The earth is really a big rock with a thin layer "like that of dipping a ball in and out of water" , the land, then a similar layer of atmosphere. At the top of Mt Everest you can basically walk out of the atmosphere.
A really cool way to explain water crisis to students is fill a glass with water, then pour out the 90% that is salty, the 9% that is frozen, the 0.9 % that is not accessible, and then the 1 drop that is drinkable. But neat to note that the water we drink has been around since the earth began and been through Romans and dinosaurs.....
The solution - an evolution not a revolution - Revolutions get people excited to change but little happens. Evolution changes the way things are done. To listen to Mozart you need to listen live, then came phonographs, record players, CD, MP3, iPod. You are still listening to music but the method has evolved.
The new Tesla in the US is a fully electric car that has 250 HP using LiOn batteries. It only has 2 gears - forward and reverse - it is 80% efficient. It can run 300 km on a charge
The secret to take care of this planet is to help our children have a sense of hope about tomorrow and engineer our way through our crisis.
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