Monthly Archives: May 2007

Canadians Have Less Gravitational Pull

yupApparently living in Canada ensures I weigh less because Canada has less gravity (and I thought I was naturally thin). Different parts of the world have endure different levels of gravitational pull, some even witness gravity waves. Neat stuff!

A German-American team has figured out why Canada has less gravity and it has something to do with the Ice Age. The results of the observations can be applied to more than the average weight of a Canadian.

Ultimately, scientists hope to use such data to learn how continents form and evolve over time. “With this information, people could infer better whether the North America plate is actually predominantly stable,” says C K Shum, an expert on the Earth’s gravity at Ohio State University in Columbus, US, who was not a part of this study.

Using this same set of data, researchers have also found that there were two ice domes in the ice sheet on either side of Hudson Bay, given the features in the gravity field that have been left behind. The way the thickness of any ice cover changes at different periods could be used by climate modellers to understand past climate change.

Art From Ambient Electricity

electric art

Power lines kind of ‘leak’ energy that isn’t being fully utilized, which maybe why you hear buzzing when standing under the lines. Some groovy artist has used this energy to power a thousand fluorescent lights.

Richard Box, artist-in-residence at Bristol University’s physics department, got the idea for Field (2004) – 1,301 fluorescent tubes powered only by the electric fields generated by low overhead powerlines – after a conversation with a friend. ‘He was telling me he used to play with a fluorescent tube under the pylons by his house,’ says the artist. ‘He said it lit up like a light sabre.’

iSave Shower Power

I’m a sucker for nice long hot showers and I can’t help but think that it’s wasteful and an exercise of pure luxury that a lot of the world can’t afford. This all doesn’t stop me from spending 10 minutes enjoying hot water. A new invention may help me ween off my wastefulness though.

The iSave is a shower head (or a faucet fixture) that tracks how much water you’re using. It’s powered by the water itself, genius!

neat-o

Child soldiers may be reduced in Chad

This one doesn’t feel like good news but I don’t think I need to say anything here…

Chad’s government has signed a deal with the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) to begin demobilising child soldiers from its national army.

The agreement is a U-turn for the government, which as always denied that it has had under-age fighters.

In a recent Unicef investigation more than 300 child soldiers were discovered in one town alone.

Mother’s Day Gifts That Make a Difference

Granted, Mother’s Day may be a “Hallmark Holiday” (or not), but that doesn’t mean that the holiday can’t be used fro good.

OneWorld US has launched a gift guide for Mother’s Day that let’s you purcahse gifts that can make the world a better place!

If you have any ideas on gifts for Mom that make the world better, leave a comment to let everyone know!