Saturn's Unsusal Rotation

A New Spin on Saturn
David J. Stevenson
Nature May 4, 2006
Volume 441 Issue 1

Saturn has a completely different planetary rotation than other planets in this solar system. “According to the International Astronomical Union Saturn rotates once every 10 hours, 39 minutes and 22.4 seconds.” The rotation of a planet is a fundamental property and can help scientists accurately measure the inner core and discuss the dynamics of its atmosphere. What is really interesting about Saturn is that its equatorial radius is 10% greater than its polar radius, making Saturn the most distorted planet in the solar system.

Saturn is made of mainly hydrogen and helium but it has an inner core made of rock and ice. The knowledge of the conformity of the planet will help scientists understand how it was formed. Saturn has a rotation unlike any other planet in the solar system and this may have something to do with its atmosphere and magnetic field. The winds on Saturn have been measured up to 400 m/s in the easterly direction, though scientists do not see how strong winds can have such an impact a planet’s rotation. The magnetic field of a planet is generated deep in the core and small changes can be influential to the rotation of the planet.

This is related to the vectors we are discussing in class. The planet’s rotation is in a uniform state of motion, but changes in that motion cause the velocity to speed up or slow down which is acceleration which is Newton’s 2^nd law, F=ma (with vectors). The rotation of a planet causes gravity and gravity is explained in Newton’s 4^th Law. The planet itself is not in a uniform state of motion because it is rotating around the sun, which is Newton’s 1^st law.

Scientists are unsure as to why Saturn has such a unique rotation, but they continue to research in hopes they will better understand the planet and how it was formed.

Speed of the Spread of Flu is Linked to Airline Travel

Speed of the Spread of Flu is Linked to Airline Travel

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/12/health/12flu.html

Scientists believe that the amount of airline travel is directly related to the amount of people who are affected by the influenza virus. Influenza is a pandemic that affects millions of people a year. A study was done to determine the correlations between the numbers of influenza cases each year around the peak season from 1996 to 2005. “They found that changes in the rate of spread and the timing of peak mortality each year correlated with yearly fluctuations in monthly airline passenger volume.”

This is similar to what we have been doing in lab. The faster something travels a distance, the steeper the slope is to the peak. If there is more airline travel, there are more people being exposed to influenza and if there are less people traveling, less people are exposed to influenza. This would be shown on a graph as an increase in the number of people getting influenza in a set time. The slope would be positive and start out gradually increasing into a steeper slope until the peak. The peak occurs in late February when more people die from influenza than in any other month. After the peak, the number of individuals who are infected with influenza will slowly decrease creating a steep to gradual negative slope.

This article is related to Newton’s first law because there are equal y-directional forces on the lift and weight/gravity of the airplane and a net force of forward motion in the x-direction. The airplane is in an equal and uniform motion in the liner direction.

This is believed to correlate with the number of individuals who travel via airlines in November. This was visualized in 2001 after air traffic was suspended after September 11^th. This year the peak for influenza was two weeks later, showing that air flight travel may play a significant role in the number of individuals infected with influenza.

The information gained from this correlation could be used to aid in the creation of more flu vaccinations. If there are restrictions on air travel, more vaccinations could be produced in time to immunize individuals who are likely to be affected. This will lessen the amount of contact between individuals who are possible carriers, since not everyone will be allowed to travel. This could be a way to control the influenza pandemic.

Venusquakes

Venus de Seismo: New Orbiter Begins to Listen for Venusquakes

Scientific American August 2006 (also at www.sciam.com)

Our planet earth is not the only planet to have earthquakes, Venus has them too, but surprisingly enough they are called Venusquakes. Scientists believe that Venus was capable of sustaining life around 500 million years ago, but volcanism could have changed the surface and made it impossible for life to survive. If the interior structure of Venus could be understood, scientists believe they could begin to comprehend what happened to the planet Venus and why it is now inhabitable. Measuring seismic activity from Venusquakes just may be the answer by discovering what is beneath the surface.

Venusquakes cause tremors that in turn, like earthquakes, cause low-frequency sound waves. Since Venus has a much denser atmosphere, it can pick up a larger amount of the seismic energy created from these tremors. The sound is amplified because Venus’ atmosphere is farther from its surface than Earth’s. The amplification occurs because the sound spreads out longer into the thinner air and deposits energy in the upper atmosphere. This amplification will cause the pressure and temperature to rise and a spectrometer can detect this change. In Physics amplification is the process of increasing the magnitude of a variable quantity without altering any other quality. Because of the amplification the spectrometer can detect changes on the surface and send the information back to Earth, it would not be able to do otherwise. A spectrometer is a device used in both physics and chemistry that can measure wavelengths. Scientists are hopeful that this expedition will lead to some new and exciting research about Venus and may even help in the understanding of the Earth’s core.