From Senator Stevens:
Either the man cannot construct a sentence to save his life [1] or what he means is that he has submitted a false disclosure form (A) knowingly, (B) in a case where an honest form wasn't required by law, or (C) as a private citizen [2]." I have never knowingly submitted a false disclosure form required by law as a U.S. senator."
John
[1] Surprisingly, this is the most likely answer. Oratory and ex tempore speaking are lost arts in the body politic.
[2] This is the second most likely answer. Most of those forms pertain to his finances and such and are part of his duties as a citizen, not his duties as a senator.
What is the meaning behind your birth name?
Submitted by turtlegod.
Amusingly enough, I didn't have a birth name, at least not a legal one, for nearly seventeen years. My folks argued over how to spell my middle name [1] so the hospital left my name blank on the birth certificate. We didn't discover the problem until it was time for me to get my learner's permit and the state of Oregon said I didn't exist [2]. So we trundled out to Portland and got me two birth certificates: one with the name blank and one with my "real" name.
John
[1] "Evans" after my paternal grandfather. For the record, my mother had the spelling right; my father wanted to leave off the "s".
[2] The error lay for so long because my folks moved about a lot when I was younger. Two weeks after my birth, we moved to Seattle, then six months later it was Ada, then Guthrie (where my little sister was born), then Moore (where my littler sister was born), then Oklahoma City, then Norman. There are probably a few stops in the middle that I don't remember.
You can tell a lot about a person by how he/she/whatever deals with dissent. For example, the current administration has a proven track record for punishing those who disagree with their world-view, from the "outing" of Valerie Plame to the firing of Justice Department workers who weren't "republican enough" to the sliming of Max Cleland.
In science, we are supposed to be above such things [1]. So I am always sad when someone claiming to be a scientist shows that they are incapable of considering, much less accepting, critical feedback. Maya is an example of that sort of person - the "neocon scientist" who is incapable of allowing dissent with her particular world view.
In our last discussion (on Queen of Fractal Beauty's blog about six months ago), Maya told me that I was welcome to comment on her blog. Until recently, she hadn't said anything that I cared to comment on. However, she posted a piece on the Mississippi oil spill yesterday. There were a couple of points raised in the post and comments that I felt were worth commenting on, so I sent the following:
MAYA: In fact I was just discussing this with J last night, the people in Alaska were waiting for compensation from Exxon this whole time, but Exxon just kept appealing and recently a court reduced their fine from millions to just tens of thousands, so the Alaskan fishermen took a huge loss!
Maya, the fine for Exxon was reduced to $500,000,000 (the original award was twice deemed to be excessive by the US Supreme Court). That's considerably more than "tens of thousands".
As for spills, we are required to report and mediate any spill that leaves a sheen on the water. That includes drilling mud spills as well as oil spills, gasoline spills, and other hazardous materials, and can come from as little as a gallon of contaminant. Every well I've drilled has had a "zero-zero-zero" policy (Zero spills. Zero fatalities. Zero lost time accidents.) - if we don't make those goals then we get no bonus even if the well is a bigger hit than we thought economically.
PAKO: Oil-related businesses are highly profitable. So, that spill doesn't even make a dent on their profits. Oil companies want to drill oil from the sea and the arctic, I don't think the environment's well being is in their agenda.
Pako, we in the oil biz make no apologies for wanting to make money. However, the companies that I've worked for (majors and independents both) all make a strong point of following the letter of the law simply because it makes us more money in the long run. (Fines are expensive and terrible public relations.) Do some folks break the law? Sure. That's just the nature of people. But that's true of any business.
As for the environment not being on our agendas, please check out both the words and the deeds of the oil companies before you start throwing stones.It just makes good sense to be as ecologically sound as we can.
John
(Yes, I work in the oil industry)
This morning, Maya deleted the comment (and Madtante's reply) and sent me the following email [2]:
And with that, I was blocked. So much for being "welcome to comment on her blog" [3]. And so much for being a scientist, much less a good one. Maya appears to be one of those who can only accept those who agree with her views; should you disagree in the slightest, even if your disagreement is couched in the politest terms, she will ban you from her presence.Hi John -
While I'm flattered by all the attention you've given me in the past year or so, I feel uncomfortable with your presence. I am asking you nicely, to stay away from my blog. Feel free to post anything you want about me on your blog, but you are not welcome on mine. I'm sorry.
Maya
So it appears that Maya is not a scientist, but a neocon/"true believer" in the guise of a scientist. And woe betide you if you point out that the garments are ill-fitted indeed.
John
[1] Of course, there are exceptions. Just look at how Oppenheimer was treated after the war for one egregious example, or Turing for another. But they are notable for their rarity and shock value.
[2] During our last exchange, I made the following statement: "based on your past
behavior, I reserve the right to post any and all emails that you send
to me. You may, of course, do the same with any emails that I send to
you."
[3] As for "all the attention", what I've given her is replies to two posts on other blogs (not hers) blogs and two posts on mine. And the two on mine were more on the order of case examples of how not to be a scientist than anything else...
Share your favorite poem.
My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends--
It gives a lovely light!
John
[1] Another great poem
This is a reboot of the previous post, which got tangled in hidden formating codes.
Yep - here we go again! A new version of Chapter 4, in which we discover Earth's minerals, rocks, and layers.
Please - be brutal! The more you help me improve this, the better it will be for the students who have to use it!
4.1 Earth’s Composition
Most of our information about earth’s interior and its composition comes from indirect observation; the deepest drill hole to date has penetrated less than 25 km into the earth, or about 0.004% of the distance from the surface to the center. Nevertheless, we have learned much about the chemical makeup of earth's interior from komatiites, which are believed to represent upwellings from the mantle, and meteorites, which are believed to represent earth's starting composition. Similarly, earth tides, gravity, magnetism, and inertial measurements tell us much about earth's mechanical properties. However most of what we know about earth's interior comes from seismic energy released by
earthquakes, as we saw in chapter 3.
The thickness of the layers and their velocities (fig.4.1, center) may
be found using the arrival times at stations around the globe; in
certain instances, the behavior of the energy at the layer boundaries
is also informative (e.g., at the D’’ layer that is believed to be the
core-mantle boundary).
The challenge before us is to interpret these curves in terms of the geology. Changes in the curve may represent places where the material suddenly changes from one chemical to another. Or they may be places where the composition is constant but the material suddenly becomes denser. Each boundary seen in the seismic data may represent either of these situations, and various lines of evidence need to be studied to determine their nature.
What we do know is that each layer has consistent properties (Fig. 4.1), from the high water content of the aesthenosphere to the absence of S-waves in the outer core. The properties of each layer come from its physical conditions (pressure and temperature) as well as from its chemical composition. But how the layers are defined depends on which property is most important. Geochemists study earth based on its chemical properties and so define a different set of layers than do geophysicists who divide earth’s interior based on mechanical properties. Mechanically, the layers are the lithosphere, the upper mantle, the lower mantle or D’’ layer, the outer core, and the inner core. These layers have been primarily defined by their seismic characteristics, including P-and S-wave velocities. We will examine this in more detail in later sections.
For now, let us consider earth’s chemical layers. Chemically, earth’s interior is subdivided into the crust, the aesthenosphere, the mantle, the core-mantle boundary, the outer core, and the inner core. Each chemical layer is made from a specific set of rocks or materials with a consistent chemical composition (Table 4.1-1). For example, the mantle consists primarily of peridotite and the oceanic crust is primarily basalt and gabbro.
The rocks in each layer are made up of naturally-occurring compounds which form molecules known as minerals. Though more than 100,000 different minerals have been identified, the bulk of earth’s interior is made from only thirteen compounds (Table 4.1-2) that combine in various ways to make fewer than fifty minerals. Similarly, each compound is made up of atoms with consistent properties known as elements. Earth’s main elements are oxygen (O), silicon (Si), iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), aluminum (Al), calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), potassium (K), cobalt (Co), and nickel (Ni). The distribution of these elements is different for each planet and follows a distinct pattern (Chapter 10). For now, we will focus on the distribution of these elements in earth’s interior.
Each element is a specific type of atom with a defined number of positively-charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons in a central nucleus which is surrounded by concentric, non-spherical regions called orbitals that act as holding tanks for negatively-charged electrons. An electron must gain or lose specific amounts of energy in order to move from one orbital to another [1]. The number of neutrons in an element can vary. This changes the mass of the atom, creating isotopes which have the same chemical reactions but at different rates. More neutrons creates a heavier atom which reacts more slowly than one with fewer neutrons. As we will see, this effect creates a "thermometer" that can be used to determine the formation temperature for a mineral. The mass of an atom is shown as a superscript to the left of the chemical symbol. For example, carbon (C) is commonly found as with six protons and six neutrons, for an atomic mass of twelve (12C). However, it also has isotopes with seven neutrons (13C) and eight neutrons (14C).
It is the number of electrons that determines how each element reacts chemically, and the number of protons that determines how many electrons an atom can hold. Initially, these are equal. However, this can change in two ways. The number of protons and neutrons can change by nuclear decay (chapter 5) or fusion (chapter 10). If the number of protons has changed, the atom becomes a new element. The number of electrons can change when they gain so much energy that they leave the atom entirely and join another atom forming ions. The number of electrons lost or gained is shown by a superscript on the right of the chemical symbol. For example, when hydrogen (H) gains an electron it is written as H− but when it loses one it is written H+ . Protons and neutrons are more than 1,000 times more massive than electrons. Thus, gaining or losing electrons only changes an atom’s mass by an insignificant amount.
There are four main ways of joining atoms together to form molecules (Table 4.1-3). The electrons can be shared between atoms in a covalent bond. Glass is a material with strong covalent bonds. Alternatively, an atom can become a positively-charged cation by losing an electron or it can gain an electron and become a negatively-charged anion. The electrical attraction between cations and anions creates an ionic bond. Salt is a common material with an ionic bond. Electrons can also move between atoms, forming a metallic bond. Not surprisingly, iron and gold have metallic bonds. Weak bonds known as van der Waals bonds can also form between molecules. The exact nature of these weak bonds is complex and beyond the scope of this text. Ice is an example of a material with van der Waals bonds (and covalent bonds).
Covalent bonds are the hardest to break. Covalent bonds reduce solubility (as this depends on ionic bonds) and create materials with higher melting points (stronger bonds require more energy to break). Materials made with covalent bonds do not break easily or smoothly. Ionic bonds create materials that are poor conductors of electricity and that dissolve easily in water. They are not as strong as materials made with covalent bonds and will break along well-defined lines. Materials with metallic bonds conduct electricity easily and can be hammered into a new shape without breaking. The weakest bonds are those formed between molecules with the van der Waals force. These materials have little strength and will break evenly along a plane.
The number of each element in a molecule is given by a subscript to the right of the chemical symbol. For example, the main component of air is two nitrogen atoms (N2) held by a covalent bond. The size of the orbitals and the atomic bonds create molecules with distinct shapes and sizes. A crystal is formed when these bonds create a solid from molecules, ions, or atoms in a repeating pattern. For example, salt (NaCl) is a crystal with alternating sodium (Na+) and chlorine (Cl−) ions held together by ionic bonds. Similarly, ice is a crystal formed from covalently bonded H2O molecules linked together by van der Waals forces. Because atoms are three-dimensional and can form multiple bonds, the resulting molecules can have different sizes in each direction.
One common tool for finding the bond size is X-ray diffraction. X-rays are simply a type of light not visible to the naked eye. In 1670, Isaac Newton discovered that visible light could be split into colors using a simple prism. In 1800, Frederich Herschel discovered a color of light that could not be seen. Because it lay beyond red, he called the color infrared. Since then, we have discovered that visible light is just a tiny fraction of the whole electromagnetic spectrum, which ranges from long radio waves to short gamma rays (fig 4.1-2).
Though the spectrum contains both "waves" and "rays", light is actually neither. Instead, it is a photon that sometimes acts like a wave and sometimes acts like a particle [2]. Photons can create interference patterns, like waves, but individual photons can carry only discrete amounts of energy. The amount of energy (E) that a photon carries is:
where c is the speed of light, λ is the wavelength of the photon, and h is Planck’s constant (6.626x10−34 Js). The photon's wavelength also determines both its frequency and its color. Blue light has a wavelength of 400 nanometers (10-9 m, abbreviated nm) and an energy of 5 x 10-17 J. Red light has a wavelength of 700 nm and an energy of 3 x 10-17 J. UHF radio (the sort used for television) has a wavelength of 0.1 m and an energy of 2 x 10-24 J. X-rays have wavelengths between 0.1 nm and 10 nm, and energies from 2 x 10-15 J to 2 x 10-17 J.
From chapter 3, you will remember that the frequency f of a wave is simply the velocity divided by the wavelength. For light, the velocity is always the speed of light c. Thus, a photon with wavelength λ has a frequency of:
In 1850, M. Bravais predicted that short-wavelength light could be used to determine the internal structure of crystals. He was proven correct when W. H. Bragg and W. L. Bragg (a father-son team) published an X-ray analysis of crystalline structure and Von Laue was awarded the 1914 Nobel Prize for Physics for his discovery of the diffraction of X-rays by crystals. Because a crystal contains repeating patterns, it has internal planes that can act to reflect light (Fig. 4.1-3a). The angles that the planes make to each other are known as the crystalline axes. When the internal planes are illuminated by a beam of X-rays (Fig. 4.1-3b), some of the beam will reflect from the top surface (path ABC) and some from the bottom (path DEF). The difference in the path lengths GEH is:
where θ is the angle the beam makes to the crystal plane.
Remember that X-rays have some of the properties of waves. When two waves meet, if they are in phase the total amplitude increases (constructive intereference), and decreases when they are out of phase (destructive interference).
To be in phase, the path length difference must be an integer multiple of the wavelength:
Combining these two equations, we get Bragg's Law:
The Bragg angles can be found by crushing a crystal into a fine powder in which the crystalline axes are randomly oriented. When the powder is illuminated by a beam of X-rays, most of the diffractions cancel out. However some will be at the Bragg angles and will form a cone, which can be recorded on film (Fig. 4.1-3c). From the angles and the wavelength of the X-rays, we can find the crystal cell size. And once we have discovered crystal sizes and shapes, we can use that to discover the properties of the minerals and rocks that make up earth's interior.
[1] Einstein won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921 for his description of this effect.
[2] This is similar to the "cameleopard" which has the hump of a camel and the spots of a leopard. Despite the name, it is neither a camel nor a leopard. The modern name for a cameleopard is "giraffe"
4.2 Earth’s Minerals
Minerals are naturally occurring, inorganic materials with characteristic
crystalline structures and defined chemical compositions
and physical properties. A mineral's composition
determines its chemical bonds, which in turn define its
crystalline structure and physical properties.
Changing any of these changes the mineral.
For example, the minerals graphite and diamond
have the same composition but different
crystalline structures whereas augite and hornblende
have the same structure but different compositions.
Earth is mainly made up of silicate minerals, which form around groups of four oxygen (O) atoms covalently bonded to one silicon (Si) atom. The chemical notation for this is SiO4 . The silicon atom’s radius is about 1/3 that of an oxygen atom, so the silicate forms a tetrahedron with the silicon in the center. Aluminum is about the same size as silicon and frequently substitutes for it. Silicate tetrahedrons can form covalent bonds, or may gain up to four electrons to form ionic bonds. Common silicate cations include Na+ , K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Fe2+ (ferrous), Fe3+ (ferric). In general the cations are smaller than the anions. Thus, most of the crystal's volume is anions with cations put into the gaps.
I spent last weekend with Ken. His mom was happy to see me [1], as was Ken. John had come down for Friday, so we had one last "boy's night out" before Ken went to Florida for a month [1]. We went to a "Young Active Professionals" party [3], where Ken managed to lure a couple of young ladies to a table in the back that we had staked out. We spent the evening in small talk [4], and had a good time.
The next day we went to see "The Dark Knight" [5] and lunch before John went home. Ken and I spent the evening getting his will ready. He's leaving everything to his parents and wants a Roman Catholic funeral - but has made me pay for my sins by being his executor [6]. But that is one less task to accomplish [7].
Sunday we went to mass, where I collared the priest and read him the riot act for not putting Ken's name in the "pray for me" list and for not coming by to offer thanotic counseling [8]. Ken was amused and apalled, but that is another thing taken care of, as the priest has promised to start the ball rolling.
So that's how my weekend was. The week, now that's another matter...
John
[1] For some reason, she thinks I'm a good influence. Little does she know, eh?
[2] His parent's idea. They need some time in their home, and are probably hoping that they can convince Ken to move back there with them. It would serve me right; they live an hour away from Miami...
[3] Our standard line was "Ken's young. John is active. The other John (me) is professional."
[4] The young ladies were amazed that I was a geophysicist [a]; it seems they had never met one before. That's odd - I see some every day. And, just to be clear, I let them do most of the talking. I'm not a complete clod...
[5] Great movie, but not for kids. Not even if you pronounce it "K-nig-it" [b].
[6] Even though I tried to show how little I knew about it by pronouncing the word "executor" instead of "executor".
[7] Why did I push so hard on this? Because it is necessary, both from a legal standpoint (keeps misunderstandings about Ken's wishes to a minimum) and from a moral one (helps Ken with the grieving process). By giving him a concrete example of how life will go on after he's gone, a will keeps him connected to life. This helps to combat depression and isolation (two endemic problems in care for the dying). It also assures him that he can control his life, at least to the extent of saying what happens after it is over. And maybe that will keep him from buying that 2-seater convertible he's been talking about [c]...
[8] I'm going to hell! I'm going to hell!
[a] And more amazed at my NASA background (brought up when they said "it's like meeting a rocket scientist"). Why is that so unusual?
[b] Geek points for the reference!
[c] He blames it on me and my new car, but it is a typical reaction to a near-death experience: doing something silly just to prove that you are still alive and in control. It could be worse - he could have decided to get married!
What is the most important technology every businessperson should understand to make his/her business successful?
Sponsored by HP.
The smile, followed closely by the handshake. Businesses are social, if they want to succeed. But too many treat customers as interchangeable units, there to be milked and then sent away.What businesses (especially big businesses) don't understand is that today's economy is a commodity-driven one [1].
Very few businesses offer something that I can't get elsewhere. So the deciding factor is almost always going to be the quality of customer care they offer. Treat me well, and I will continue to spend money with you. Treat me badly, and I will leave you. Treat me very badly, and I will make certain that my friends know why I've left you!
So if you want to make me a happy consumer, liable to buy more of your stuff, make it easy and pleasant to buy things. Make the inevitable problems [2] something that gets smoothed over quickly and with a minimum of fuss, not something that I spend ten hours tearing my hair out over. Make using your product something I enjoy, not something I dread. If you want to use my data, ask me politely and let me control how it is used [3]; if you insist that your need to know how I found your website is more important than my order, then you will get neither order nor information [4]. And don't sell my information to anyone else. If you are a business, I'll start shopping elsewhere. If you are a charity, I'll stop giving [5].
Remember that I can do without you. You can't survive without me. And that will be the best technology that you can have.
John
[1] I.e., one in which the goods from Sears look just like the ones from WalMart - except for the price tag.
[2] No product, ever, has been put out without flaws and defects. Heck, look at man...
[3] Don't force me to join a "club" to buy from you. I'll just go elsewhere. You aren't the only source for music (Amazon), books (Cafe Press), flights (Expedia), or food (Kroger's).
[4] A sad-but-true story - the Calyx and Corolla web site will not allow you to place an order unless you tell them how you heard about them.
[5] Another sad-but-true story - I have stopped giving to several charities (including Feed the Children and the ACLU) because they sold my information to other groups who then solicited funds from me.
Have you ever broken a bone? If not, what's the worst injury you've sustained?
Amusingly, I never broke a bone until I was in grad school - and then I broke four in two years! My right radius in a freak slip on ice in Chicago. My collar bone and a cracked skull in an absurd bike accident [1] in Monterey, CA. My left ulna in an absurd bike accident [2] in Alexandria, VA.
You know what's really unfair about all of this? Four broken bones, and I've never gotten a cast! My little sister had had three casts by the time she was six [3], and would hit us with them and then go crying to our mother that we had hurt her!
John
[1] I hadn't wanted to take the bike, but the people that I was house-sitting for insisted. On the way back from work, I ended up at the bottom of a 30-ft deep bike path/ditch with traffic whizzing by on the street overhead and no way that anyone could see me. So I climbed out of the dicth and across to a motel where I asked the manager to call an ambulance for me. The folks on the ambulance were worried because I was too rational following the accident (I gave them my pulse rate, pupil dilation, and medical diagnosis on the phone) and refused to give me any painkillers until five hours later when they were sure I didn't have a concussion.
[2] Biking back from Mt. Vernon, the front tire folded when I put on the brake to slow down. Naturally, this happened at the bottom of a hill more than a mile from anything. The lesson: Never allow me to ride a bike in a city; especially if that city has hidden places where I can break something and not be found...
[3] Fell out of a tree, run over by a car she put into drive, fell out of another tree. I got dropped from the car into highway traffic and only got a small scar on my lip. She trips over a piece of paper and gets a cast. It is't fair!
Looking at the exchange rate for euros today and swirling that together with the national debt figures gave rise to the following:
On May 25, 2001, the Euro was worth US$0.8591; that is, you could buy $116.28 in Euros for US$100. At that time, the US national debt was a mere US$5,660,883,342,386.72 [1].
On May 25, 2008, the Euro was worth US$1.5669; that is, you could buy $63.69 in Euros for US$100. On that date, the US national debt had increased to US$9,492,245,770,788.70 [2].
Converting the debt into Euros is interesting - in 2001, the debt was the Euro equivalent of $6,582,422,491,147.35 whereas today it is a mere $6,046,016,414,521.46 in euros. In other words, the value of the United States (as measured by the worth of our debt) has decreased by nearly 9% since 2001.
This isn't the only indicator of the drop in the value of the US. The Euro is now the world's most popular currency. Foreign investment into US debt has slowed. And exchange rates continue to climb.
So ask yourself one simple question the next time you talk to your politician: Have the past eight years improved the US or made it worse? And then vote appropriately.
John
[1] That works out to $19,855.64 for every US citizen alive in 2001.
[2] Or $31,169.40 for every US citizen alive today.
For the 7th day of the 7th month, show us 7 of something - OR - something lucky.
It would be lucky to remember that 7 is not lucky in all cultures. In parts of China, it sounds like a vulgar word and so is very unlucky.
John
