The Nitrogen Cycle

We all know that Nitrogen constitutes approximately 70% of Earths atmosphere.

Did you know that it's very important in our everyday lives and a key part of proteins?

Nitrogen is an INERT gas so fundamentally it's unreactive and not necessarily a danger to us.

However, without it, our way of life would cease to be.

I'm going to start with how Nitrogen gets from the atmosphere to the ground/surface. Lightning has the ability to COMBINE Nitrogen and Oxygen to make weak nitrous acid which can fall to the ground as ACID RAIN.

Bacteria! Are found anywhere and everywhere! When the Nitrous acid hits the ground it forms NITRITES in the soil. BACTERIA convert the Nitrites into nitrates.The bacteria in question is known as NITROGEN-FIXING BACTERIA.

Planets can only take in Nitrogen in liquid-form and absorb it through their roots. Hence why it must be a nitrate.

DENITRIFYING BACTERIA also exist and they do the opposite to the NITRIFYING BACTERIA. They convert Nitrates to Nitrogen which is then released back into the air. These bacteria are largely the sole way that Nitrogen is restored to the atmosphere. We owe them quite a lot as they MAINTAIN the atmospheric balance that helps us sustain are way of life.

Other important aspects of the NITROGEN CYCLE are that once the nitrates are in the PLANT, the plant may be eaten and digested by an ANIMAL which could see the NITRATES return to the soil/ground either via faeces from the animal or the animals tragic demise. If it's faeces or the dead animal then DECOMPOSERS will break them down and this RELEASES Nitrogen compounds.

Now Nitrifying bacteria will convert the Nitrogen compounds into NITRATES or the Denitrifying bacteria will convert the compounds to NITRITES. Quite the battle. The cycle is perfectly balanced as the amount of Nitrogen in our atmosphere does not alter. REMEMBER! You CANNOT DESTROY AN ATOM! X

Thanks, Adam King :-) X

Here's a pic to summarise my text:

 

Special Relativity

The results that flow from the principles of special relativity are remarkable. Using thought experiments, Einstein showed that the speed of light is the same in all frames of reference, that means anywhere in the Universe.
The measures of space and time in one reference frame must be transformed to those in another reference frame. These transformations show us that when an object moves at a high speed relative to an observer, the observer sees LESS of its length - this is know as LORENTZ CONTRACTION. Also, TIME for such an object appears to run more slowly - an effect called TIME DILATION.

TIME DILATION:

Special relativity predicts that an Earthbound observer sees time slow down on board a spacecraft travelling at close to the speed of light relative to EARTH. At 90% of light-speed, the passage of TIME is halved - a clock on the spaceship advances only 10 minutes while more than 20 minutes pass on EARTH. This effect is symmetrical and can be reversed. This is because there is no absolute frame of reference. It's impossible to see everything as it is, when it is/was.

So measurements of time and space vary between moving reference frames. Einstein also showed that an object gains mass when its energy increases and loses it when its energy decreases. This ultimately led him to realise that mass and energy have an equivalence, which he expressed in his infamous equation E=MC2.

Space and Time

We all share some common-sense notions about the world. One is that a second in London is a second in Melbourne - time passes at the same rate for everyone. Another is that the length of a rigid object such as a car, does not change. The truth is that space and time are not absolute but they stretch and warp depending in relative viewpoint. What is more, the presence of matter distorts BOTH space and time. If Earth wasn't where it is then there would be no GRAVITATIONAL PULL present. Look at it this way, SPACE IS A GIANT BLANKET AND STARS AND PLANETS "dent" this blanket when present, this "dent" is their gravitational influence on space and time.

It does MATTER!!

Everything around you - your phone/computer/body, even the air you're breathing - it's all MATTER. Matter is the word for ATOMS whether it be a single Hydrogen atom or a huge POLYMER - this is a vast collection of atoms that are BONDED together by the ELECTROMAGNETIC force. In fact, you, me and evryone else are all POLYMERS as our bodies are BONDED together by the ELECTROMAGNETIC force.

Matter is the ATOM!

from Hydrogen:






















To Uranium:










Both atoms are from opposite ends of the PERIODIC TABLE - Hydrogen:1, Uranium:92. The number is a refernce as to how many PROTONS the atom has.

Every single piece of MATTER anywhere in the entire Universe is made of the SAME 92 types of MATTER. Some ATOMS are more common than others E.G you won't find some of them in the human body but as far as we know, these ELEMENTS have laws to abide by such as BONDING, MELTING POINTS, ELECTRONEGATIVITY etc. These laws are the SAME ANYWHERE in the Universe.

So the next time someone says to you "it doesn't matter! Maybe it doesn't, unless its made of ATOMS.

Thankyou.

Adam King

Much love. XX

Why does it get hot in my car?

If you've read any of my previous blogs you will now be accustomed with the knowledge that LIGHT comes in the shape of PHOTONS. PHOTONS come in different wavelengths which denotes their "type" - IE really long wavelength is a RADIO wave and really short wavelength are GAMMA waves.

Next up - how PHOTONS are ABSORBED by ELECTRONS. Electrons absorb photons then emit them. When a PHOTON is absorbed by the ELECTRON, the electron "jumps" to an atomic orbital of higher energy and then "drops" back down when it emits the PHOTON - this happens exceptionally fast.

If you've read my BLOG on GLASS you'll know why it's transparent and why PHOTONS pass straight through the GLASS.

So picture a PHOTON - a massless particle travelling from the Sun to Earth. This PHOTON is of the VISIBLE LIGHT WAVELENGTH. Now picture the PHOTON passing through the windscreen of your PARKED car. It is then absorbed by an electron in an atom of the drivers seat. The PHOTON is then emitted by the ELECTRON but it CANNOT pass back through the GLASS! WHY?

If a PHOTON gives an ELECTRON ENERGY, that means it must be CARRYING energy - PHOTONS ARE ENERGY! So if the PHOTON gives its energy to an electron who then "uses" it to move up and down then gives the energy back - PART of the energy has been USED. The PHOTON that is emitted is of a LONGER WAVELENGTH as it has "lost" energy. The PHOTON is now of the INFRA-RED category. This means that the PHOTON HAS LESS ENERGY and is not able to PENETRATE the windscreen. The PHOTON CANNOT "leave" the car and causes HEAT build-up as it is absorbed and re-emitted by atoms in the inside of the car.

This principle is the SAME for GREENHOUSES and many other similar scenarios.

Thanks.

Much love, Adam. XX

FAT = ENERGY

Yes it's true! Your body wants and need ENERGY to function - whether it be OXYGEN or CARBOHYDRATES, PROTEIN OR LIPIDS (FATS).

Your body will "borrow" calcium from parts of your body and transport it to a site where it is needed. It's all done for you and you don't have to even think about it. Your part in the process of meeting ENERGY needs is taking in food that will GIVE you energy then BURNING it off (exercising) or just generally living your life.

Most people think that FAT is bad, truth is you need some for a balnced BMI and for your body to function and be protected. There's nothing wrong with a bit of "cushioning"to protect your organs.

Here's the main point - YOUR BODY MAKES FAT. Fat is ENERGY that is STORED by your body. FAT is the only form that ENERGY can take if it is going to be stored for the LONG-TERM. Your body will have a SHORT-TERM supply and a LONG-TERM supply. It is obvious that if you TAKE IN a lot of energy 9food etc0 and don't BURN it off, your body will MAKE FAT as it is storing this energy - that is how people gain FAT to their body.

Genetics DOES have an influence as METABOLISM ans natural MASS/WEIGHT are hereditary to an extent.

Next time you see/meet a person that you may observe as having a bit of excess FAT (I'm sorry if that isn't PC), you can instead think to yourself - WOW this person has lots of STORED ENERGY.

Adam King XX

Some relevant temperatures

Here is a short list of temperatures that are applicable to our Earth, Solar System and Universe (in Celsius)

6000: Surface of the Sun
2861: Iron boils
1538: Iron melts
230: Paper catches fire
100: Water boils
58: Hottest weather on Earth
0: Water freezes
-39: Mercury freezes
-89: Coldest weather on Earth
-196: Air becomes liquid
-219: Air freezes
-270: Outer space
-273: Absolute zero

Absolute zero:
This is the lowest temperature possible, atoms have no kinetic energy and stop moving. It's impossible to get to -273 but you can get close. Very strange things happen within a millionth of a degree of absolute zero. Atoms lose their individuality and slide into each other, forming a single atom-sized "blob" - this is referred to as a state of matter known as "Bose-Einstein condensate".