Tag: sciencemadefun

Science Goes for Gold with New NBC Series: The Science of the Olympics!

science of olympics

Tomorrow the quest for Olympic Gold begins as the best athletes in the world gather in London to battle it out for their chance of athletic glory. If all goes well, the organization and technology that runs the event will be seamlessly invisible, allowing fans both at the event and at home to follow every step, every run and every jump.

But for those who like to know about the behind-the-scenes technology, NBC has posted a 10-part series that delves into the mechanics of London 2012. The National Science Foundation has collaborated with NBC for this incredible series ‘Science of the Summer Olympics’ which delves into a variety of different parts of the Olympics, from the biomechanics of the athletes, to the dedicated effort that goes into making the split-second timers.

The NSF’s assistant director for engineering Thomas Peterson said: ‘The work of engineers not only affects Olympic sports, it also helps us perform ordinary activities in better ways. ‘This series will illustrate how engineers can impact both sports and society, and we hope it will inspire young people to pursue engineering. Some of the questions explored in the series include:

  • How does swimmer Missy Franklin use the principles of fluid dynamics to move more quickly through water?
  • What are the unique biomechanics that have helped make sprinter Usain Bolt the world’s fastest human?
  • What does weightlifter Sarah Robles have in common with a high-tech robot?
  • How do engineers build faster pools, stronger safety helmets, and specialized wheelchairs for disabled athletes?

Each video segment will be available to NBC affiliate stations, and for free on the Web accompanied by an engineering-focused lesson plan for middle- and high-school teachers developed by the National Science Teachers Association.

‘The Olympic Games are a time when the world gathers to watch the best athletes compete for gold, and with this new video series, people can see and learn exactly what it takes to reach the top,’ said Soraya Gage, executive producer of NBC Learn. ‘We’re thrilled to continue this successful partnership with NSF and NBC Sports, to provide students and teachers with engaging content that makes learning about engineering both relevant and fun.’

The first episode is available below, and the rest of the five-minute films are available here.

Learn More About The Science of the Olympics at NSF.gov

The Physics Of “Brave”‘s Curly Red Mane Brings Hair-Raising Animation to Life!

The one thing you can depend on with Pixar is that they will continually up the visual ante in their film.  For their latest film, Brave, Pixar has taken on the task of taming the wild red mane of Merida, a princess in the Scottish Highlands as willful and troublesome as her head of incredible red curls.  As it turns out, Pixar had to invent a system to depict Merida’s stubborn curly hair.  Forget the beautiful balloon house from Up, Merida’s mop is Pixar’s crowning achievement. 

“I have become obsessed with curly hair.  It is truly fascinating; curly hair defies physics in the way it moves and behaves,” said Claudia Chung, the simulation supervisor who worked on Brave‘s wild mane.  ”We used 1,500 hand-placed, sculpted individual curls.  There is this weird paradox where a ‘spring’ of hair needs to remain stiff in order to hold its curl, but it also has to remain soft in its movement.”  Added Chung, “It took us almost three years to get the final look for her hair, and we spent two months working on the scene where Merida removes her hood and you see the full volume of her hair.  When I first saw the storyboards for ‘Brave,’ I drooled; I had no idea how I was going to do it, but I knew this was going to be so much fun.”

How they did it was a revolutionary new system for animating hair on film.  Dubbed a core curve and points, the computer model looks like a beaded necklace.  As Merida moves, her hair moves with her, but retains its general shape.  Her curls, a mass of individual springs of hair ranging from tight pincurls to fat wavy spirals, came from two distinct sources.  One of these sources was a curly wig the staff members took turns wearing; the other was an actually curly-haired Pixar employee, who found herself getting soaked down by the team so they could study how curly hair looks and moves wet.

More about the science of animation:

Celebrate Leap Day – The FUN Science of Telling Time!

Thirty days hath September…but why on earth does February have 29 every four years?

This year is a leap year, making the length of the 2012 calendar 366 days, instead of the normal 365.  Every four years an extra day is added to the month of February, but have you ever wondered why this happens?  In celebration of 2012 being a Leap Year, we invite you to hop back in time with us for a brief history of our modern day calendar and discover the FUN science of telling time! 

The calendar is supposed to match the solar year, in other words, the length of time it takes for the Earth to orbit the Sun once. But things aren’t quite that simple. It actually takes Earth 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds to complete its orbit (about 365 1/4 days). Those extra hours gradually add up so that after four years the calendar is out of step by about one day.  Adding a day every four years allows for the calendar to match up with the solar year again.

However, because the solar year isn’t exactly 365 days, even adding a leap day every four years means that the calendar is still out of step by 11 minutes and 14 seconds each year. Over the course of 400 years this would add up to three extra days. In order to solve this problem it was decided to leave out the leap year three times every 400 years. So the new rule was, a century year (1600, 1700, 1800, etc..) would only be a leap year if it was evenly divisible by 400.  This means that the year 2000 was a leap year, but 2100 will not be.

Phew! So, who figured all this out?

The Egyptians were the first people to think of adding a leap day to the calendar. Later, the Romans copied the idea and in 1582 Pope Gregory XIII reformed the Julian Calendar (introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 BCE). By Pope Gregory’s time, the calendar had drifted 14 days off track. He neatly solved this by wiping ten days off the calendar, telling everyone that the day after October 4th was going to be October 15th. Bad luck for people with birthdays during that time, including famous scientist Sir Isaac Newton. His birthday according to the Julian calendar, used during the year of his birth, was Christmas Day, 1642. However, once the Gregorian Calendar went into effect,Newton’s birthday changed to January 4th, 1643. 

The early roman calendar originally began the year in the month of March. It consisted of ten months, each lasting about 30 days, ending with December. This ten month calendar completely left out the winter months.  It is thought that the two extra months, January & February, were added sometime around 715-673 BCE. This would have made February the last month of the year, which might explain why a leap day was added to that month. Later, it was decided to start the year with January.

Other nations have different leap year rules and different methods of keeping their calendar in line with the solar year.  Countries may have a day, or in some cases a month, that gets added every few years in order to balance the time. The Chinese, for example, add a month about every three years, whereas in the Islamic Hijri Calendar a day is added 11 times during a 30-year cycle.

It can be pretty confusing keeping track of our modern day calendar, but just remember…

            Thirty days hath September,

            April, June and November;

            All the rest have thirty-one

            Save February, she’s alone

            Hath eight days and a score

            Til leap year gives her one day more!

 

Did You Know?

There is a tradition that women are allowed to propose marriage to men on leap days! One day in the 5th century, St. Bridget complained to St. Patrick about the unfairness of the system which only allowed men to propose, so he decided to let women do the asking once every four years!  Today, we refer to this special day as Sadie Hawkins Day!

 

Learn more about Leap Years & Leap Day with these Resources!

FUN BrainPOP Video about leap year

Leap Year 2012

Take The Leap: FUN Leap Year Quiz! 

Happy Leap Day! 

 

 

 

ScienceMadeFunKids Announces the “Name That Site” Contest!

Hey Parents, Teachers & Kids – We need your help!

The NEW premier section of ScienceMadeFunKids is looking for an exciting & compelling name! The new section will debut in 2012 & offer amazing and engaging activities where science & imagination collide!

If your entry is chosen you could win one of these exciting prizes:

– a FREE 1-year subscription to the NEW premier section of ScienceMadeFunKids!
– a FREE in-school field trip for your entire class!
– a FREE Sizzlin’ Science Birthday Party!

Simply log on to ScienceMadeFunKids to submit your “Bright Idea” today!




Good Luck!