[Pictured: A rendition of the Curiosity Mars Rover. Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons]

February: IBM’s Watson computer defeats Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, two (human) Jeopardy champions. This year, Watson will begin using its analytical skills to help improve patient diagnosis and treatment options.

March: Following the Japan earthquakes, the nuclear reactor in the Fukushima power plant becomes compromised, sparking fears of a massive meltdown akin to Chernobyl. Thanks to the tireless efforts of plant workers, a large-scale disaster was averted – although it will take years to properly clean up the site.

June: Taking a page out of science fiction, scientists at University of Southern California (USC) and Wake Forest University were successfully able to “insert” memories into the brains of rats via injection. This may be applied to humans in the decades to come – making it theoretically possible to master a task in a matter of minutes.

October: Apple inventor and CEO Steve Jobs dies. Widely described as a “genius”, Jobs is likely to go down in history as one of the greatest inventors of our time. Praised as a trailblazer for his conviction that electronics can be functional and aesthetically pleasing, Apple was the first company to successfully market touch screen devices – and the iPhone has revolutionized the smart phone industry.

November: NASA sends Curiosity – a $2 billion unmanned robotic probe to Mars. Equipped with a lab to drill and analyze soil samples on the Red Plant, Curiosity will reach its destination in August, 2012.

December: NASA telescope Kepler finds this first planet in the “habitable zone”, which means the planet could harbour temperatures that allow for the formation of liquid water, and possibly human life. The planet has been named Kepler 22b, and it is approximately 600 light years away.

December was also the month that physicists at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) announced they are close to discovering the Higgs particle – which may provide information crucial to understanding the big bang theory.

We’ve seen light flurries here in Oakville, Ontario – but the real winter weather is yet to come. And when it does, we’re likely to receive a dumping of snow!

While we start to mentally prepare for the wintery weather, here’s some background information on one of the season’s biggest players: the snowflake.

How snowflakes are formed

There’s a lot more to snowflakes than most people realize. They’re formed when the water droplets in a cloud freeze. As more droplets condense and freeze around it, a snowflake is eventually created. When the snowflake becomes heavy enough, it leaves the cloud and falls to the ground.

Snowflake characteristics

There are as many as eighty different types of snowflakes, but they typically fall into eight main categories (which you can read about here). No two snowflakes are alike, and their size and shape are determined by the manner in which the water molecules freeze while up in the clouds, along with the weather conditions present in the atmosphere.

Studying snowflakes

Young scientists can study snowflakes at home with a magnifying glass and a piece of black felt that’s been cooled in the refrigerator half an hour prior to use (this will prevent snowflakes from melting too quickly). Catch a few snowflakes from outside on the felt and use the magnifying glass to study their characteristics.

Happy snowgazing!

[image credit]

Researchers from the University of Northern Colorado and the United States Olympic Committee have determined that the PASPORT visual accelerometer is a viable training tool for professional weight lifters.

While the velocity and trajectory of a barbell has been well-documented, a large body of acceleration data had been difficult to find, largely due to the belief that the task was cumbersome and labour-intensive. In a 2009 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, researchers set out to determine if a barbell’s acceleration could be accurately measured with the use of a commercial accelerometer.

Using PASCO’s visual accelerometer, researchers tested the accuracy of barbell acceleration data that was derived in compliance with the U.S. Olympic Committee’s testing protocols.

The data collected from the PASCO accelerometer was “nearly identical” to the acceleration data collected from a kinematic analysis of a movement sequence captured by high-speed video.

Because of its ability to capture accurate data and then display it in real-time, researchers determined that PASCO’s visual accelerometer is a valuable (and inexpensive) practical tool for monitoring training progress.

You can read more about the study here. To learn more about the PASPORT accelerometer, click here.

Photo Credit

You’ve seen them on TV: bungee jumpers tumbling from the sky while bound to a long, elastic-like cord.

Bungee jumping is a popular activity in Canada but here at Ayva, we prefer to keep our feet rooted firmly on the ground.

When Dr. David Kagan from Chicago State University accompanied a student on a bungee jump, he videotaped the event and was surprised to learn that his student’s acceleration was greater than the acceleration due to gravity.  This inspired PASCO employees to use their own Rotary Motion Sensor to simulate the jump in the lab.

PASCO product development specialist John Hanks headed the experiment, which was conducted by connecting a thick rope – used to simulate the bungee cord – to the motion sensor.  When Hanks dropped the rope, the sensor recorded the fall, which collected results similar to that of Dr. Kagan’s.  According to the Rotary Motion Sensor, the rope accelerated at a speed of approximately 12 m/s² near the end of the fall – once again faster than that of gravity.

Click here to learn more about the Rotary Motion Sensor.

Easter is right around the corner and with it comes chocolate, bunnies and family gatherings.

A turkey with all the trimmings is a staple this time of year, and the PASCO team has food on the brain as well.

Inspired by the upcoming holiday, two PASCO scientists set out to determine exactly how much damage a frozen turkey could make if it came into contact with the floor.

Motivated by a segment from the popular television show Mythbusters, Brian Perone and Robert Morrison decided to use PASCO equipment to conduct their own in-house experiment.

Using a 78 N (or 17.5 lb) frozen turkey, Brian and Robert dropped the large bird onto a PASCO force platform from a height which simulated a drop from the freezer section of a refrigerator.  An Xplorer GLX was used to record the data, and it was determined that the turkey exerted a maximum force of 4667 N.  This translates into approximately 1000 lbs of force, which could easily flatten any object that crosses its path.

Interestingly, PASCO’s equipment was found to be more accurate than that of the Mythbusters gang.

According to the PASCO website:

“Mythbusters … came to the same general conclusion [as PASCO]. However, their equipment did not sample fast enough, causing them to miss the peak force. They reported only 1900 N, less than half the actual maximum force.”

Click here to see a video of the PASCO turkey drop.

In case you were wondering, no food was wasted in the making of this experiment.  In fact, we were informed that the turkey made a lovely dinner for Robert and his family!