Science blog

In todays modern economy, Gas & Oil, have become such important aspects, that it would be safe to say that we rely on them. A few examples are gas in our cars, for our furnaces, and the production of plastics. How much do you really know about Gas though? A gas is one of the different phases of matter. Similar to liquids and plasmas, gases are fluids. This means that they have the ability to flow and that they will not usually return to their prior stage after they have been deformed. This doesn't mean that they don't have viscosity. A property of a gas that is different from that of a liquid is that; a gas does not occupy a fixed space or volume, but will instead expand to fill whatever container it is in, this is opposite of a liquid that will remain the same. After Plasma, gas has the second highest energy per molecule. Due to this extreme amount of kinetic energy, gas atoms and molecules of gas will usually bounce off any container they are placed in, and even off of eachother. This bouncing will occur with more power as the kinetic energy of the gas is increased. Many people, incorrectly believe that when these molecules collide provide the main basis in explaining gas pressure. This is not true because the random velocities of the gas are enough to define the gas pressure. Not to leave these collisions in the dark, as they are very important in establishing the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution of the gas. It's interesting how we use the word "gas" every single day, and all that we relate it to is the rising gas prices, or something that we get when we eat too many beans. There is alot more to gas then that, and is an important part of our everyday lives.

Global warming and rising sea levels, yet a water shortage. As the earth heats up and the ice caps melt, the sea levels start to rise - and what do we have - hose-pipe bans and a situation of "water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink"! After every long winter, the warm and sunny weather finally arrives - together with hose-pipe bans for many of us. I am lucky to live in an area that has not banned the use of hose-pipes, but because I have a water meter, I am very conscious of how much water I use. I would like to be able to say that my concern is only for the environment, and that does matter to me, but the amount of my bills is a factor that is rather more important at the moment. I already have three water-butts and 2 plastic dustbins for storing rain water, but they do not last very long when you are watering thirsty runner beans. So I have started to save my shower water! Any recycled water is known as "grey water" and can be bath or shower water, washing up water or water from your washing machine. You can use this water in your garden for plants and shrubs, but it is not a good idea to water your fruit and vegetables with this water saving method because of the chemicals used in the various soap products. Also, if you want to save the water from your washing machine, then you need to change to non-bio washing powder or liquid. Washing up water needs to be filtered first - but this can be done by pouring the saved water into a watering can or bucket through an old pair of tights (is there no end to the use of old tights?) So, my shower water is now collected & saved instead of going straight down the drain. My next door neighbour has been very helpful and put an extension piece onto the pipe that is connected to the outlet from my bath so it now empties into a large container. But he has done it in a way that means I can re-divert back to the drains during the winter. I should add that I live in a bungalow, so this has not been too big a job. The container was given to me and my neighbour had a piece of plumbing pipe in his garage, so there has been no cost involved in saving this water. I am managing to save about 50 litres of water per shower, which is enough to water my shrubs and plants that are not established and whose roots have not yet grown down far enough to obtain enough moisture by themselves. I have never thought it worth watering the lawn, although I realise some people want their grass to be green, not patchy and brown like mine. If your drains are situated in a place that means you cannot put a container nearby, and you don't want to carry watering cans through your home, there is a gadget now available from many gardening stores and on the internet. It is called a "drought buster" and is, basically, a length of hose-pipe with a "bulb" near one end and uses atmospheric pressure to draw the water up from the bath and through the hose pipe. A few squeezes of the bulb will start the water flowing and, if the pipe is long enough, you can put the other end out through a window into a container. The hose can be lengthened by using standard hose pipe connectors. I know you can also purify water with certain plants, so after I've watered the garden with the saved water i think I'll look up my books to see which reeds will clean up the water from my washing machine - then I'll be able to top up the pond!

Young earth creationists commonly point to the fossil record in order to support their position. In one instance, the article "The Fossil Record: Becoming More Random All the Time" by John Woodmorappe, has some very good points to it (Footnote 1). Read it if you like, (its a long one), but you don't have to much farther than the abstract to see problems. Actually, some are problems, and some are deceptions. The abstract states that "The reality of the geologic column is predicated on the belief that fossils have restricted ranges in rock strata." Of course it is...this has been the "reality" all along. His wording makes it sound as if the geologist has been up to some deceit...but this is not the case. He goes on to claim, "as more and more fossils are found, the ranges of fossils keep increasing." Welcome to the world of science! This is nothing new. As new discoveries are made, the timelines that we thought species were living is extended. So what! He states that stratigraphic-range extension is not the exception but the rule. OF course it is, by its very nature it HAS to be. You are not going to "shorten" ranges...the only way to go is to extend them. It has always been this way, and always will be this way. It in no way makes dating through the use of fossils invalid. Does it make "it easier for the Genesis Flood to explain an increasingly-random fossil record" as the author claims? Yes, if it were "increasingly random," but it is not. Because you increase the range of an organism's lifespan on earth does not prove more "randomization." He states further down, when expressing questions from evolutionists, "why a layer of rock containing trilobites is never found to contain dinosaurs," and vice-versa. Great point...if we are to suddenly find a trilobite in a dinosaur layer...great, they lived longer than expected. If we find a trilobite with a human fossil, then great. It has no implications for young or old earth creationism. The author is trying to establish credible proof for a completely random fossil record. A completely random fossil record should have been created from the Flood, if you follow the model proposed by young-earth scientists. What is meant by "random?" If the fossil record was random, we should have humans, and dinosaurs, and trilobites all together...but we don't. In fact, look at the Grand Canyon...you would expect many fossils in the rocks at the bottom, but starting from the bottom, you have to go thousands of feet up the rock strata before you even get to any vertebrate fossils. Why are they not lower down? By the flood model, while these thousands of feet of strata were laid down, all the vertebrates were busy "treading water" for months, until they finally died and sank? Not only is this not possible, it is not supported in the fossil record. The fossil record shows increasingly complex organisms, as you go upward (or, younger) in the geologic column, which is exactly what you would expect in an old earth. Boundary Fossils Many points on the geologic time scale were made with the use of boundary fossils. This is a means of dating a rock, albeit not precisely, by using the range that an organism existed as a boundary. In other words, for instance, the Cretaceous period ended 65 million years ago. You could use a dinosaur fossil in a rock layer, and state with certainty that the rock is older than 65 million years. Yes, boundary fossils are used to create imaginary timelines, so that earth history can be better understood. Does finding a boundary fossil outside their previously-believed range invalidate the timeline...no, it just increases that organism's life range. So what if new timelines are made. That's just science reacting to a change of the "evidence" in the rock record. Is it a perfect system? No. Is it a reliable method that considers all the evidence fairly, and reaches a logical, reliable conclusion? Yes. What's So Hard to Understand? That's what we call science...something familiar to a scientist, but for some unknown reason it is a hard concept to grasp for a young-earth scientist. When new discoveries are made, theories change, textbooks re-written, research articles published. It is a great process. Why do young-earth scientists like to disavow scientific methods? Mud-slinging, mis-statements, and controversies over ages which are taken out of context are all the weapons that a young-earth scientist has left, because they can't prove a young earth from science. The author claims, "Creationists, including myself, have provided a variety of alternative explanations for fossil succession." Have they been accepted by the scientific community...NO, because there are no facts to back them up from the geologic record. They are only accepted within the small community of young-earth scientists, and their devoted followers. They say the world scoffs at them, because the Bible says they will be persecuted for holding to their faith...no, that's not true. The world scoffs because they hold to an unprovable, unbelievable theory based on an inaccurate interpretation of the Bible and science. The God of the Bible is real, and yes, the earth is old. God's creation testifies to this. The Bible says, "speak to the earth, and it will teach thee" (Job 12:8). Let’s all listen to what the earth has to say. Conclusion The author assumes that the fossil record is becoming more random, and will eventually prove the flood. Unfortunately for him, this is far from the truth. Randomness will never be proved. In fact, the rock record has already disproved it. Footnote 1: "The Fossil Record: Becoming More Random All the Time" (answersingenesis.org/home/area/magazines/tj/v14n1_fossil-rec.asp)

If you are one of the nearly 200 million American cell phone users, you probably signed a contract to get a steal of a deal on your phone. While this contract might be fine and dandy if you stay in the same town or city, travelers risk high roaming and per minute fees if they venture out of service area. This is where unlocking your cell phone comes into play. So how will you know if your phone is locked? And how do you unlock it if it is? Cell phones providers AT&T/Cingular and T-Mobile are GSM (Group Special Mobile) and can technically be used worldwide if unlocked. Sprint, Nextel and Verizon are not GSM providers and cannot be unlocked. If you have a SIM chip in your phone, then it is GSM and you can perform a mobile unlock on your cell. Once you’ve determined your phone number and account are tied to your SIM chip, not your actual phone, you can then perform the following test to see if your phone is locked: • Borrow an activated SIM chip from a friend using a different wireless service provider • Install the borrowed SIM chip in your phone and turn it on • Try calling your friend’s phone number from a LAN or other mobile phone • If it rings on your phone, it is unlocked. • If your mobile with the borrowed SIM does not have service or issues an error message, your phone is locked. Once you have determined your cell is locked, there are two basic techniques to perform a mobile unlock. You may have to try both of them to accomplish a mobile unlock. Some phones may be unlocked by entering a code into it. The code is usually unique for your particular phone based on the IMEI (serial number) and provider. The phone’s IMEI is usually found in the battery case. Don’t confuse this number with the SIM number, they are separate. You can search online for an online “unlock code calculator”, then will enter your IMEI and phone model. Other phones need software to “talk” to their operating system to unlock. You typically connect your phone to your PC, run a software program and flash your phones memory. We can sell you cables and software programs for your phone for a mobile unlock.