Heat, Sponges, And The Laws of Thermodaynamics

                                                      (Photo from fashionablygeek.com)



You may have heard of them before; The Three (sometime four) Laws of Thermodynamics. What are they? Why are they so important? What do they have to do with sponges? These questions and more will be explained.

The Laws:

(I have slightly abridged the basic laws so they are easier to understand.)

1. Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred. This means that your magical infinite energy machine is impossible. (I learned this the hard way in a science class)

2. Isolated systems spontaneously evolve toward thermodynamic equilibrium - Heat flows from a hotter object to a colder object spontaneously in all directions. When a flame burns in a room, the heat spreads, trying to equalize the temperature in the room so that the whole room is the same temperature.

3. It is impossible for any process, no matter how idealized, to reduce the entropy of a system to its zero point value in a finite number of operations. Basically, it is impossible to remove all heat from an object. This would cause an object be at Absolute Zero, when there is no heat present in an object. Absolute Zero is 0° Kelvin, -273.15° Celsius and -459.67° Fahrenheit.

What Is Heat?

Heat is a form of energy that causes molecules to vibrate. You may not feel this vibration, but heat is all around you. As stated in the Third Law of Thermodynamics, you will never find anything that dose not have heat. 

Before we move to the next section, this video from minutephysics may help explain things.

Now what does all this have to do with sponges?

The Sponge Analogy is my way of explaining how heat works.

Imagine that heat is water, and all objects are sponges. When a sponge comes into contact with water, the water is very quickly absorbed by the sponge. However, some sponges don't absorb water as well as others. These objects take longer to absorb heat. As demonstrated in the above video, a book absorbs and disperses heat slower than, say, a piece of metal.

There is much more to heat! I did not cover everything, as this would become a very long blog post, but I hope you enjoyed! I'd also like to apologize in advance for any mistakes.

Google/Code.org Promo Video Submission

The Code.org video is finally finished! Click Here







Google and Code.org are partnering up to find kids from 5th grade to high school to feature on the Google home page in a video about learning to program. There will be appearances at the shoot by celebrities such as Taylor Swift, Jay-Z and Michelle Obama, just to name a few. Here is my submission to casting:

What do you love about programming?

Programming allows me to express my ideas in an interactive format. Programming turns my ideas into games and my stories into interactive adventures. Programming allows me to communicate better, build cool things, record data and process information. It’s fun to create my own kingdoms, where my imagination is the king. Programming really allows me to put my imagination to the test. But I like working on mostly proof-of-concept programming. I can create gigantic battles between thousands of players inside a fantasy world, simple text-adventures or an algorithm that solves a problem. I love programming because it’s a limitless tool for my imagination.

How did you learn programming?

My interest in programming started with Scratch. I was at a tech “summer camp” about three or four years ago that was using Scratch to teach the basics of programming. Within a few days I was already ahead of the class, and I knew I loved programming. I continued Scratch for the next few years and mastered advanced concepts with it, such as online networking and 3D. I eventually outgrew Scratch and decided it was time to start on something bigger. I knew I wanted to start programming in C++ and Java, but I needed a stepping stone to get there. Two years ago I took a class on Multimedia Fusion 2. I instantly loved it, and got pretty good at it. I knew it was time to start on some of the “real” languages. Last year, I took classes on C++ and Java. While my knowledge of Java is fairly limited, I instantly understood C++. I am now intermediate at C++. This year I decided to expand my knowledge with online classes in Javascript and HTML, but I am still a beginner at both, as I am most focused on improving my C++. These days, I carry around a Programming in C++ for Dummies book as reading material at school. I also refer to it if I need to learn new concepts. Some of the biggest resources I am using right now are Google, Stack Overflow, Code Academy and cplusplus.com. Any of my questions can usually be answered on these websites. I also belong to a coding club in Los Angeles called Coder Dojo and I occasionally attend Hackerthons.

What do you do in your free time?

I like to play videogames such as Starcraft 2, Minecraft and Kerbal Space Program. I attend and teach classes at LA Makerspace, and I am currently a facilitator for the classes on Scratch. I am the webmaster for my Boy Scout Troop (At 11 years old, I am the youngest webmaster my troop has ever had.) I have a blog, kigabit.blogspot.com which highlights my interest in science and has some old games I programmed. I’m also getting into Arduino and Raspberry Pi and I like to tinker and practice my soldering by making small electronic projects. Of course one of my biggest hobbies is programming! I like listening to electronic music by Daft Punk or Approaching Nirvana. I also like fencing, Boogie Boarding and taking apart computers and selling the parts. I am an avid reader and a Doctor Who geek.

What level of programmer are you?

Intermediate. Scratch, C++, Java, Autodesk Maya, Bloodshed Dev C++, Eclipse, UDK, Multimedia Fusion 2.

How comfortable are you with teaching someone to program? Tell us what you would teach and how you would do it.

I am very comfortable with teaching someone to program. As I have mentioned above, I currently teach Scratch classes at LA Makerspace and enjoy teaching as much as learning. I am working on developing my own programming language using C++,  in an effort to teach people to code and to overcome the daunting syntax that scares people away from coding. I love explaining scientific theories to people. I once explained Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity to my aunt (a teacher) now she says she “finally gets it!” If I got the chance to participate in your video, I would teach basic programming in C++. I would start with a Hello World program and then transition to teaching variables. I could also show how to gather input from the user in the command line. If you wanted me to go more basic, I would teach Scratch. We could work on making a custom object move across the screen - even add music and sound effects!

Example of something I programmed (link above and here: K9 Calculator): I programmed in C++ what I call the K9 Calculator. This program calculates a dog’s true age. The user inputs their dog’s age in human years and my program calculates their dog’s true age in “dog years.” My algorithm allows for these variables: 1) Dogs age at varying speeds during different stages of their lives. 2) Different sized breeds of dog age at varying speeds. Have fun!

Sci-Fi Science: Ender's Game

Ever wondered how the artificial gravity in battle school works? Or how the battle rooms can change gravity at will?


Part One: Artificial Gravity

Above is a photo of all the Ender's Game gravity secrets. The way the "artificial gravity" works is simple. You see the giant ring in the picture? Inside that ring is where all of the various rooms such as bunks, mess hall , etc are placed. The rooms are all attached, according to this orientation, sideways. Then the ring spins super fast and experiences a type of kinetic energy that is known as centrifugal force. Have you ever done the trick where you grab a bucket of water, spin around, and nothing falls out? It's the same principal. The only difference is that it's people inside, not water. This type of ship is called a Stanford Torus. Voilà! Artificial gravity! Fast Fact: Did you know that astronauts experience 90% of Earth's gravity when in orbit? To find out how this works Click Here.

Part Two: Battle Rooms

An Ender's Game Battle Room would probably be something of circular shape and consist of walls made of powerful magnets. Instead of the hub that you see in the center of the stanford torus picture above, the battle room would be suspended in a sphere of electromagnets that would repel the room; therefore not letting it into the "centrifugal energy well" of the rest of the torus. When someone wants to enter the room, the sphere of magnets would somehow change their polarity, and the room would extend a collapsible corridor towards the opening in the torus.

The Singularity: An Uncertain Future

The Singularity is approaching, and there is no way of telling what it means for humanity. The singularity is a theoretical time when computers will become just as smart as humans, and then even smarter. The singularity is based off an idea that originated in the 1970s, widely known as Moore's Law. Moore's Law states that every two years, the processing power of the CPU will double. This creates an exponential increase in computer intelligence and capabilities, and studies show that CPU transistor count has and probably will continue to follow this rule. When computers reach this singularity, they will not automatically be as intelligent as us, because they will need to be programmed. But, once they are programmed with a fully functional artificial intelligence, no one can tell what will happen. Some people believe that robots should be programmed with a variation of Issac Asimov's Three Laws, which state that:

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Spacetime, Black Holes and Wormholes

Since the time of the Incas, there have been theories of space and time existing as a single continuum. This "Spacetime", as scientists call it, is the result of countless mathematical theories. Spacetime works like this; imagine a stretched piece of suspended fabric; this represents Spacetime. If you place a marble on the fabric to represent a planet, the fabric will create a small divot under the marble. This is a major principle of Spacetime. If you place smaller marbles near the large "planet" marble, they will fall towards the planet because of the divot in the fabric. This is how gravity on Earth works. The Earth creates a divot in Spacetime, attracting smaller bodies. But, because of the fact that space and time are a single fabric, the Earth not only distorts space, but also time. This is why astronauts in space are slightly younger than what they would have been on Earth. Time works much like gravity; where it is distorted, it will flow faster. Spacetime is also a principle behind wormholes. Imagine a piece of paper with "point A" on one end and "point B" on the other. Instead of traveling across the paper between points, a wormhole is a way of folding the paper in half, and jumping from A to B. A black hole is created when something with a huge amount of mass, such as a star, collapses into a single point; Thus creating so much gravity that it rips a hole straight through the Spacetime. This creates infinite gravity, which should be impossible. Some scientists believe that this black hole is a gateway into another parallel universe, while others believe it is a form of wormhole. I hope you enjoyed! I'm only eleven :P

In Vitro Meat: Truth or Fiction?

In Vitro Meat

Possibly a solution for global warming? In vitro meat is an idea proposed by scientists to grow 100% of the world's meat in a lab. It may sound like a scam, but Peta, (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has announced a one million dollar fund to the first lab to get in vitro chicken and sell it in supermarkets. However, critics suspect that since chicken would be hard to make because it contains skin and fat, that this is simply a marketing ploy to raise awareness for the "Testube Meat". Whatever the reason, I strongly advise you to watch the above video, for it may clear up some things.

Mind Upload: How it Works and Why

                                           Mind Upload

The thoughts on mind upload are mostly a mixed bag. Aside from ethical or religious views, it is largely regarded as one of the biggest "question marks" about the human brain. The reason for this is because it addresses a huge problem in science: what is consciousness? Some believe that it is simply a complex network of electrical data that functions much like a computer. Others believe that it is a soul, which is not tangible and cannot be transferred. Another large question is this; if you transferred your mind, would your same consciousness stay intact, or would you just be a copy of yourself, with the same memories? These are all intriguing questions asked in the above video by acclaimed theoretical physicist, Michio Kaku.