Ann M Tirado Padilla: Time Travel -- Fact or Fiction?

Time travel is a concept that has fascinated many people for centuries. It is a recurring theme in many science fiction stories. The ability to perhaps revisit our past and change the outcome of our actions or to take a look at our future and escape the present is very tempting. But, can human beings challenge the laws of nature and make time travel possible? In a manner of speaking, time travel is part of our daily lives!

To better understand what time travel means one must first understand the concept of time in physics. As per defined by the Oxford dictionary, time is: “the indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole”.  However, the concept of time in physics is similar to the x, y and z dimensions in a coordinate system. These are our first three dimensions, that can be plotted and replotted to show a change in position. We can equivalently think of time, our fourth dimension, as a quantity which can be plotted to represent its passage, in a manner akin to a timeline. Our position in space is dependent on time, and can be changed as time progresses. However, time is independent of our position, and is perceived as linearly progressing regardless of where we are located. Time is the dimension in which events are ordered from past to present and then to future. 

Sometimes we can think of ordinary occurrences as examples of “time travel”. In an elementary example, we all travel in time every single day. During the last month, we have moved a month forward in time. Another way to put this is that we travel in time at a rate of one hour per hour. Another basic example of daily time travel could be a very long flight across time zones. For example, a flight leaving Australia at the early hours of the morning, say 3:00 A.M. on December 31st would arrive to New York twenty four hours later, at approximately 11:00 A.M on December 31st. How is it possible, though, to arrive on the same date if the time of travel was a whole day? This is because of the difference in time zones. A person aboard that flight would technically travel in time to the past. Similarly, a person flying in reverse, from New York to Australia, would “travel into the future”, thanks to the difference in time zones. These daily events wouldn't ordinarily be thought of as examples of time travel, but it is indeed travel in the fourth dimension.

Astronauts in the International Space Station (ISS), in a way, experience “time travel” in the more traditional sense. Time actually passes slower on Earth in relation to time in space, in a phenomenon called “time dilation”.  Time dilation is the difference of elapsed time as seen by a stationary observer vs. an observer moving relative to the other. In space, time appears to pass slower than here on Earth. This is what astronauts on the ISS could experience as “time travel”. On average, for every six months that pass for humans on Earth, astronauts on the ISS experience about 0.007 seconds less. Although it is a small difference, in a way it can be considered “time travel” because of the difference in perceived time.

Time travel is indeed a daily fact. Its hard to think about ordinary events as time travel, even though we are in fact traveling in the fourth dimension. Classic examples of time travel, such as massive time machines and complex paradoxes are unfortunately yet unobtainable with modern physics, although it is fun to think about it and theorize. Meanwhile, we can sit comfortably with the thought that every day we travel in time, and as such, we are all time travelers.

References

“Is Time Travel Possible?” Nasa.gov.

travel.html> 1 December 2013.

Bonsor, Kevin, and Robert Lamb. "How Time Travel Works" 20 October 2000. HowStuffWorks.com. 30 November 2013.

Toothman, Jessika. "How do humans age in space?" 28 September 2010. HowStuffWorks.com. 4 December 2013. 

Janice M. Vargas Rodríguez: String theory

Even after a whole century, Albert Einstein’s efforts to find a unifying theory are still appreciated and continued. Some physicists share his same curiosity and have even sacrificed their careers in order to turn Einstein’s vision into a reality. Their sole purpose is to find a grand theory that unifies every theory explaining our universe already discovered. For string theorists this theory is known as the string theory, which unites our theories of the interactions of large objects, known as general relativity, and the theories of interactions at micro scale, known as quantum mechanics. It is used as a way of describing all force and matter. Its basis is unbelievably small vibrating strands of energy called strings, which vibrate in different ways.

Such theory surfaced when scientists realized that our understanding of the universe is set on two groups of laws that disagree, therefore there had to be someway to unify them because our universe is so perfectly arranged. The consequences of this theory are a parallel universe and eleven dimensions, which are difficult to accept. In my research I read that we already know of four dimensions, so it is believed that the other six dimensions are curled up and that all of these dimensions determine the constants of nature. Explained like this, the theory doesn't sound so far out. However physicists encountered two mayor problems, which were a massless particle and anomalies, but after various years they were able to explain both. The massless particle is thought to be a graviton, a particle obeying gravity at the small scale, thus unifying every force, because gravity was the only force that did not seem to fit in the interactions of small particles until then. Afterwards, the anomalies were reduced, if not eliminated, by making corrections to the mathematical formulas.

The major problem string theory faces till this day is that there is very small hope of seeing the strings, at least with our technology, therefore this theory can be thought of as a philosophy simply because it cannot be tested. This is why physicists are mostly divided into physicists and string theorists. Just when string theory was gaining credibility it decomposed into five theories, which meant that the probability of someone smarter creating even more theories was high. Therefore, the theory took a step backward, because it included too many possibilities. It has not been discarded, but if physicists or young physicists to be do not take an interest in it, it will be forgotten.

To this day the theory is too safe and too hard to proof, reflecting more of a philosophy rather than a theory. Also, recent discoveries and experiments are ruling out super symmetry and with it string theory, because of their relationship. Therefore, string theory is facing too many challenges. The most important one is that it cannot be proven. If string theorists do not find a way to make their theory more believable it might be forgotten until years from now when someone encounters it by accident and finally proves it. The previous is very probable because there are so many theories that in their time seemed improbable, even crazy, but later on they became very important in our understanding of the universe. It is possible that we are not ready to open our minds to this theory and accept its consequences, just like our predecessors who did not want to accept that the world was round.

Carina Iglesias Ng: Amazing Physics

It is amazing how every single thing in life can be traced back to one thing, a simple explanation that is mind blowing yet beautiful, this is physics. When one has the urge to fully understand how everything around us works, to be able to idealize what happens within us and in our surroundings, it is always due to physics. Physics involves the study of motion, particles, matter, time, energy, force, everything that makes up anything; this is what makes it such an important stem in out lives, it is the base to every branch of science. When taking a course such as physics, many doors are opened, it enhances our understanding about how and why things function. Without it we wouldn’t be able to walk, have cars, buildings, airplanes, boats and so much more. If one thinks about it, without physics there wouldn’t be engineers, chemists, doctors, pharmacists, biologists, you name it!  

With physics so many quest ions can be answered, from how was the universe created, how were we created, to how does a radio work for example. The idea of the universe is such a fascinating thing; we are part of it, yet we know so little about it. A couple of days ago I stumbled upon an article that read: “Kepler 22-b: Earth-like planet confirmed” and then it hit me; how discoveries like this one, can change our lives. For many years we have wondered: are we alone? Is there a possibility that there are aliens in other planets outside our galaxy? The answer to these and many other questions are more close to us know than they were many years ago. The article explains how astronomers have confirmed the existence of a planet in the “habitable zone” it is 2.4 times the size of the Earth and is 600 light years away. This planet was discovered by the Kepler Space Telescope, this telescope can stare fixedly at 1/4000th of the sky, look at more than 155,000 stars, and has found about 207 planets that are shaped similar to Earth. It is amazing to understand how physics can shape our lives, discoveries such as this one can help us learn more about the universe which can in turn help us understand more about us. Discoveries like these are the ones that make us wonder, how can a simple idea be molded to help us understand our world and discover new ways to expand our knowledge and help us be better human beings.

It is the evolution of science, the understanding of physics, for example how particles function, how waves can be transmitted, how everything works that has allowed such important discoveries to be made. The evolution of science is very important for our survival in the Earth, we humans have revolutionized to become beings that can rationalize, and with this constant evolution we have discovered ways to be more efficient, and ways to better our planet. We have learned more about who we are and about the universe that surrounds us, this allowing us to be better at what we do and to make a difference in the world.

Giancarlo Báez Mercado: Semi-conductors

Almost all that we see every, such as mechanical and electric need to have material that helps to conduct the energy, the heat, etc. This is the main use for the semi-conductors. There are more efficient calls super-conductors like fabricated metals. The materials engineering study all the materials that are specialized to the use of conductors. We can see the conductors in the chips, computer, and batteries and almost all the semi-conductors are created of silicon. All the new discovery or achievement are computerized and need to have electrical material for it to work, and always will need a conductor.

The principal function of the semi-conductors is to conduct or transport in a right way the energy. Metal are the best semi-conductors that is why almost all the electronic devices have metals because need to have material that receives, conduct and release the energy. Another function of the semi-conductors is the quantity of the heat that can be transfer to the object. This make the semi-conductors very important because some of them have the ability to conduct heat in a regulate way and this doesn’t affect none of the material, doesn’t receives fatigue or damaged. That is why the semi-conductors have large thermoelectric power factors that make them very important in thermoelectric generators.

The materials engineering study the composition, the function, and the electronic configuration to conclude which materials can be used for different problems, investigation or for a new material. In this case they study which material is better to used it in the cars, tv, computer, cell phones, etc. To use correct semi-conductors there need to transfer an exact energy and an exact heat that doesn’t damaged any of the material. This studies helps to use a correct semi-conductors and thus allow us to achieve faster and more efficient technology such as beauty like the LEDS, solar cells, and other extraordinary discover.

One the most important element of the semi-conductor is the silicon. Almost all the semi-conductors are created of silicon. The silicon is the main element for sands and quartz and this is a very common element, easy to find it and is for the nature. The silicon has unique properties in their electron structure because each has four electrons in its outer orbital and this allows them to form crystals. And the four electron forms create a lattice and this is why the silicon is a good material to the semi-conductors.

We can say that with the creation of the semi-conductors the world evolved because thanks of this we have the foundation of the modern electronic. Without semi-conductors we could not have most of the modern day luxuries that we enjoy. The semi-conductor is one of the most important achievements that a human created and helps the world to enjoy a modern world with new car, new entertainment, new extravagant technology that makes the world a new one, and one more time we know that the human being is able to created unbelieving things.

Karla M. Cruz Rodriguez: Yet Another Physics Essay -- Softball

The world of physics is not one that I have spent the time of day to stop and think about. Now having to put some effort on studying the subject I can perceive it like, it’s not me who has to revolve around physics; physics revolves around me. I am just one unit in a vast world, where multiple psychics’ phenomenon’s have been explained and discovered by scientists creating laws, to give a purpose to all, to let the people know how they were able to explain a sort of action that, like gravity for example has taken a toll over the universe. I cannot change or explain how the world has been working for so many years, and it’s not that I am not capable of explaining, discovering something new or differing on a law that for years has been stipulated; so many people need to not ask themselves on who things occur, we should just let it be.  Or let the minority of scientist in the world continue on discovering and making questions. We all have a role in life. 

My weekly routine includes waking up, going to the university, and before the sun sets I start softball practice with my team. While talking to my teammates on how I could apply physics to softball, we concluded that in the game, force, momentum, direction, velocity and many other physics concepts fit the descriptions. Of the many questions I asked myself, the ones that most intrigued me were: Why when a runner that is heading towards first base has to keep going instead of stopping instantly? When hitting a ball with a bat, it should be hit in the “sweet spot” so the batter doesn’t feel the residue vibration that the contact of the ball and bat creates. Why is this? When catching a ground or fly ball, or bating a ball, what forces are applied to it? 

The first question can be answered easily; it is difficult for a runner heading straight towards first base to make an easy stop because of the momentum that the body carries. Momentum is mass times velocity, they are combined and act as a unit. So, the weight of the person at a high velocity to get to the base makes it hard for the runner to stop. The second question on why should a hitters hit the ball in the bats “sweet spot”, this is because in that sweet spot  where there is minimal vibrations, the reaction force will always be zero so it doesn’t matter how hard the ball is thrown or how hard the bat is swung  you will not feel it.  The last question that asks what forces are applied in some actions of the game?  While hitting a ball the forces that are applied are the velocity of the hitters swing (the force of the bat), and the balls mass and velocity which is thrown with; also when there is an action, there’s a reaction, were the force exerted by the bat on the ball is equal to the force of the ball exerted on the bat. When catching a ground ball there’s are two forces exerting on the ball, first the bat and then the ground exerts friction force on the ball for it to lose velocity. When fielding a fly ball there are two very important forces acting on it, gravity and air resistance. This is the most interesting and a very good example to explain because as the air resistance that exerts an upward force against the ball clashes with the gravity, they become equal; so the net force of the ball falling is zero, this is how we calculate how much we need to move to be in the right position at the right time to catch the ball. 

I am sure that there are more concept that I could apply physics to, like the time a hitter needs to see the ball and hit it when there is less than 0.5 seconds to recognize if it’s a good ball to hit or not. But the questions that are answered previously are some common topics on softball or even baseball because they are similar, and for people that don’t have complete knowledge on the sport, from a simple action of running can understand part of it. It is very interesting how sports are so connected with physics and, sports were not made according to physics principles but were just made to have fun and have something to do in spare time. The persons that created early sports didn’t know of all the laws that are now known to humanity, and this is why the people don’t revolve around physics, physics revolve around us. The world revolves around us; the world is physics. 

William Y. Arzola: Real World Physics in Sports

Physics plays a dominant role in the way athletes perform and the way the sport is played. To excel at any sport, mere athleticism is not enough, and competitors need to develop good technique to run, swim or row faster than their opponents. A lot of the time, good athletic performance is based on proper control and coordination of movement. Other times, it helps to have a good understanding of the physics taking place, and then using this knowledge to your advantage.

Imagine a world where Newton’s law did not exist. As a sports fan, I sometimes think while watching a professional baseball game, what would happen if the basic laws of physics would cease to exist. Taking into context the parabolic trajectory of a fly balls, if no gravity acted as a force on the ball, fielders would have to guess where the ball would land. Every ball hit would basically be a home run due to the lack of forces acting on the ball hit. 

Every football player would tackle with the same force, because their height and weight wouldn’t come into play.  Swimmers would never have to move their arms or legs for their initial diving force would be enough to take them from one side of the pool to another due to the lack of friction and the opposing force of the water.  A tennis ball would hit the racket and just fall to the floor instead of flying over the net and received by the player’s opponent. Every athlete would have an equal chance and their skills and effort will become independent of their victory.  The pure competition of the game would rendered useless and the world of sports would become just a series of identical plays.  The thrill would be gone.

Newton’s laws are what give sports and athletes life.  Properties like momentum, friction, mass acceleration, action and reaction are what provide the element of surprise.  For many of us, these laws are obvious and we tend to take them from granted.  By default the 130 pound boxer is no match for the 180 pound challenger.  Assuming a constant acceleration, the force of the punch would be lethal on the smaller body just because of the amount of mass.

If physicists did not know with what angle a turn at a racetrack must be built with, racecars would simply drift and sweep off the tracks. This phenomena is explained by circular motion. Not only includes car racing, it also includes track and field, baseball running or ice-skating, the motion of objects in circles is a common observation of sports viewers around the world. Like any object moving in a circle, the motion of these objects that we view from the stadium bleachers or watch upon the television monitor are governed by Newton's laws of motion.

It is interesting to apply everything we learn in class into real world applications. The laws of physics not only give competitiveness and excitement, but they provide safety to the players and athletes involved. They make the overall experience enjoyable to every fan around the world. 

Adriana González Lebrón: Why do we weight less underwater?

Physics surrounds us every instant of every day of our lives, even though we do not notice it. A common event that almost every child gets to experience is the fact that even though you are a heavy person (in weight), when you are in a pool anyone can grab you in his or her arms.

How does physics relate with this? The answer is that physics is the reason why anyone can grab you underwater. The person who discovers why a person weights less underwater was a Greek physicist, mathematician, engineer, inventor and astronomer called Archimedes of Syracuse. Archimedes invented a method to determine the volume of an object with irregular shape. There is a legend that says that he invented the method when he was asked if there was some silver in the gold crown made for King Hiero II. Because he cannot damage the crown he then noticed that when an object is submerged into water its level rose and that effect could be used to determine the volume of the crown. Since water is incompressible, the submerged crown would displace an amount of water equal to its own volume. Therefore, dividing the mass by that volume will give the density of the crown. If the density were less than that of gold, the silver would have been used.

A more concrete definition for Archimedes’ principle states that a body immersed in fluid experiences a buoyant force equal to the weight of the fluid it displaces but opposite in direction. Since the legend of the crown does not appear on Archimedes’ works, Galileo considered that the method that will soon be explained was more accurate since it was based in demonstrations made by Archimedes. The method was to compare the density of the golden crown with the density of solid gold by balancing the crown on a scale with a piece of solid gold as reference and then immersing them in water. The difference in density will tell whether the crown was pure gold or not.

It is important to recall that Archimedes’ principle does not only explain the buoyancy of an object in water but also the apparent loss of weight of objects underwater. When determining whether an object will float in a fluid, its weight and volume must be considered. This is likely known as the relative density or the weight per unit volume of the object, which compared to the fluid, determines the buoyant force exerted. When the object is less dense than the fluid, it will float. If the object is denser than the fluid, it will sink. The relative density also helps determining the proportion of a floating object that will be submerged in the fluid. In the case of a submerged body, the apparent weight of the body is equal to its weight in air less the weight of an equal volume of fluid. That is why we weight less underwater. It is not because we have loss weight, but because the buoyant force exerted on us is equal to the weight of the displaced fluid and makes our body weight less. 

Karla Valcárcel Martínez: The Multiverse: Parallel Universes

In 1895, American philosopher and psychologist developed a term for describing the hypothetical set of infinite or finite possible universes that, together, comprise the entirety of space, time, matter and energy: a “multiverse” or “meta-universe.” Theoretically, within this multiverse, there exist various universes, known as “parallel universes.” According to cosmologist Max Tegmark and theoretical physicist Brian Greene, there are various types and levels of parallel universes.

On one hand, Max Tegmark hypothesized that parallel universes are subdivided into four distinct levels, one leading to the next. Level I parallel universes, according to Tegmark, are described as, in an infinite universe, there would be an infinite amount of planets, some of which would have the exact same events occurring in the exact same manner. For example, in a Level I parallel universe, there would be an infinite amount of planets identical to Earth, on which an infinite amount of people are reading this article, just as you are.

Following a Level I parallel universe is the Level II parallel universe, in which, according to Tegmark, the regions of space between universes is expanding faster than the speed of light, causing parallel universes to be virtually unreachable from our current universe. However, the second possibility for a Level II parallel universe is that each universe is colliding at distinct multiple locations with an infinite amount of universes, where each collision creates its own universe based on the initial conditions of the collision. Either possibility will lead to the conclusion that other universes are in other locations, mostly unreachable ones. 

Furthermore, after a Level I and Level II parallel universe, there is the Level III parallel universe, which is the most commonly known level. According to Tegmark, this level of universe will be in continuous contact with our current universe; every single moment in a person’s life, every small or large decision that person makes, will create a parallel universe. For example, if, today, you decide to drink water, instead of Coca-Cola, a parallel universe will be created, in which you decided to drink Coca-Cola, instead of water. This implies that there are an infinite amount of universes, as many decisions are not as simple as having two options, and each decision will imply more and more decisions along the way. 

Finally, after a Level I, Level II, and Level III parallel universe, one will find the Level IV parallel universe, which, according to Tegmark, is the most bizarre occurrence, as it is based on the mathematical democracy principle: “Any universe that is mathematically possible has equal possibility of actually existing.” Basically, these distinct universes would follow different mathematical laws of nature, as opposed to our current universe, implying that any imaginable universe (that is, indeed, possible by nature) has a large possibility of existing. 

Regardless of how interesting and well-developed these theories may be, many scientists and the general public tends to believe that the possibility of a multiverse is far-fetched, if not ridiculous, seeing as though there is no concrete form of explaining or providing evidence for the theories, mostly due to the statement parallel universes would be virtually unreachable.  Thusly, the theories of multiverses are at many times deemed “unscientific” and more of a philosophical speculation. 

However, in my opinion, the existence of parallel universes is possible, as the universe is vast and unexplored, there could indeed exist undiscovered evidence of a multiverse interaction, or maybe even possibilities of actually reaching these other universes. Why not? 

Isamar Alemán Sánchez: The Two Faces of Antimatter

As I researched for interesting articles about physics, the ones about antimatter and its different applications caught my attention. What is antimatter? As it name suggests it is the opposite of matter.  All the particles in the universe have an antiparticle counterpart. As we know particles have a mass and a charge; antiparticles conserve the mass but have the opposite charge. Even the neutron that is known for being “neutral” has a counterpart in antimatter, this is because its constituent quarks do have a charge and there exists a counterpart particle known as an antiquark.  Antimatter is not as common as matter, but according to Stéphane Coutu, Penn State particle physicist, “there was a time when it was as prevalent as matter itself”. Some physicists study these particles by creating them in a particle accelerator. When ordinary particles are accelerated they reach high velocities and collide with each other, these high energy explosions result in the antiparticles.  These antiparticles (antimatter) are short lived, and the process of annihilation turns them back to particles (matter).

One of society’s biggest concerns is health. Thousands of people every day are diagnosed with cancer, and scientists haven’t stop working for a cure. Antimatter has been proved useful in medicine.  The positrons, that are the counterparts of electrons, are used in the Positron Emission Tomography (PET). This technique is used to detect cancer by injecting a small amount of radioactive substance to the patient, which produces positrons as a result of the decay. When the annihilation process occurs the scan detects the high-energy photons (gamma rays) and creates a tridimensional image, therefore detecting cancer tumors. At the time scientists from CERN, the main European particle-physics laboratory near Geneva, are conducting experiments to determine whether it is possible for an antimatter beam made of antiprotons to destroy cancer tumors. They are using tumors in hamsters’ cells and if this therapy works there are plans to conduct it in humans. Unlike common radiotherapy the antimatter beam can be precisely calibrated to destroy only cancer cells, and because antimatter doesn’t travel far, patients wouldn’t need much shielding. There is another hope for cancer patients, and as a matter of fact antimatter has a bright future in medical diagnostic tools for the sake of those who need it.  

In the other hand antimatter is not only being used for good. The U.S Air Force has been researching antimatter for decades and nowadays there is a special division call ‘Revolutionary Munitions’ in charge of this job. They are seeking the development of an antimatter bomb that would be much more lethal than a nuclear bomb. How? Why? Well, just one-millionth of a gram of positrons would contain as much energy as 37.8 kilograms of TNT. The U.S. Air Force could make bombs powerful enough to destroy a large city. They also emphasize that this devices would be “clean” because there wouldn’t be radioactive fallout to worry about. They could wipe out entire nations and not make a mess, leaving their oil-fields intact. As we could see, antimatter can be used for many different purposes. It is in humanity’s hands to decide whether to create weapons to destroy each other or anti-weapons to survive. 

Roberto Cruz Monroig: Life in other planets

Since my childhood, I always wondered if there’s any type of life outside our planet. Several films and documentaries through the years suggest the existence of extraterrestrial life, but there is no evidence in our real world to support it. Everything suggests that we are alone in the universe. Why would Earth be the only planet in the entire universe with life? Why we would be alone in such a big universe? What makes us special? Maybe the form of life we are expecting to find is not which in reality exists.

Through the years, I have watched how scientists, with the employment of tools like the telescopes Hubble, Kepler and others, have been discovering new planets with possible conditions to support life on it. Many of them may have things in common with Earth; for example water in its surface, a star in their solar system, or even an atmosphere. Unfortunately, they are light years away from us, making it impossible to determine such conditions or whether life exists or not. But a little more closer to the Earth, Jupiter’s fourth largest moon Europa have many of these conditions. Scientists have discovered that Europa is covered by a thin layer of ice, which covers oceans that can reach the 50 kilometers of depth. Such information led scientists to believe on the existence of a type of organisms that can interact with water. Another system being investigated is Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. Titan has an atmosphere mainly composed by nitrogen and methane. It has a higher pressure than Earth on its surface and a colder temperature. The reasons of study given by scientists are organic molecules compounded by ammonia and methane mixture, which also includes hydrogen cyanide, a compound of synthesis of amino acids. The only thing that makes improbable the presence of organisms is the low temperatures on its surface. 

Another place that we possibly find life is on galaxies with same conditions of star formation as the Milky Way. Galaxies with low-rate of star formations are less probable to find any type of life. Andromeda, one of the nearest galaxies from the Milky Way, has a similar rate of star formation, so it is a candidate to find a form of life. But finding life on another galaxy, in this case Andromeda, is a big challenge because of the distance from the Milky Way; about 2.54 ± 0.11 megalight-years. This is an extremely long distance to travel for any type of machine that we have with today’s technology.   

I hope that the future improvements to our actual technology for space explorations focuses on determine specific conditions to support life or even life itself. Also, the reach capacity of a future instrument will play an important role with explorations of far away planets or galaxies. It would be very interesting to discover a form of life outside of Earth; for example bacterias, a species of intelligent life, a human-like form of life or a new type of life never studied before. A discovery of this magnitude would revolutionize the entire world of science.

William O. Mendoza: Where Do Lightning Come From?

When we are little kids we ask older people many questions about our surroundings to understand better what we see, but when I was 4 years old I saw something that attracted my attention.  I ask a different question: “Where does lightning come from, and what are they made of? But the answer I received wasn’t enough because I didn’t understand.  So I develop this fascination with what I think is nature's perfect expression of beauty, magnificence and power: the lightning. But it wasn’t until I studied physics and chemistry in university that helped me to understand the specific phenomenon that make the conditions for lightning to occur.  So my question now is, how can so much power and energy can come down from the sky in a beautiful and simple way known as lightning? 

Nature is a very interesting creator of many wonderful things we know and study, but also it has some very specific ways to make things.  To be able to form lightning, there must be certain conditions in the atmosphere; the sky, filled with electric charges, negative and positive accommodate the positive charges on top and the negative charges on the bottom; called updraft and downdraft to basically make a polarized cloud.  Since opposite charges attract themselves, these two highly charge clouds try to be together, but the charge is too big that they need a neutral way to discharge the energy, so the electrons of the air between them are accommodated and the flow of energy is transferred to the current of electrons given place to liberate energy and land in a positively charge object in form of light, power and sound leading place to what we know as a lightning.  

The physics of the electromagnetism is defined as: “The science of the interactions of charges, electric fields and electric currents” is where the topic of the physics that studies lightning; since in the process of a formation there are generated many electric fields, electric currents and changes into other forms of energy. The lightning is a pure example of energy and different types of electromagnetism physics in nature, generating a big fascination to physicists, inspiring them to study the behavior of it.  One of nature’s most extraordinary aspects of lightning is the energy that it produces; with an incredible 5 GW of power, lightning leaves anything it touches incinerated in a matter of 0.2 seconds.  Another very interesting aspect of lightning is its form; the way the electrons manage to form a neutral path for the energy to come through makes it look like a crack in the sky. 

Even with all the advances in technology and researches to find new methods for clean and non-damaging energy, I’ve never heard of a way to manage the electric fields of a lightning.  It would be a good idea to harness the energy from it in places that thunderstorms are very frequent, but I’m looking forward to developing great jobs with lightning.  A possibility would be to create crystal sculptures with the lightning; the lightning melts the sand by channeling the electromagnetic energy, and allows people to create a magnificent crystal sculptures.  Using this concept, we can use lightning's energy to make goods for humanity. 

Erika Montalvo Villafañe: Physics in Baby Steps

Physics! A topic many people avoid such as mathematics or chemestry. I have met a significant amount of people in my student career who doesn't even want to star a conversation that have something to do with physics. The unawareness that lies among many students about physics concepts and principles is significant. People is unaware that in every single thing they do, from the moment they wake up to the moment they go to sleep, is thanks to physics.

Something as simple as walking includes basic concepts of physics and people doesn't even notice.  From the moment we start walking for the first time we are dealing with physics. In that exact moment when, as babies, we try to stand up we start working our way around physiscs laws. When we reach to balance our weight in proportion to the separation of our legs and have the necesary  force to hold up our weight times the gravity acting on our bodies is the moment when we can stay standing. When we take our first step there is a transfer of body weight to one of our legs, a change in position, a velocity, an acceleration and many other phenomena that are studied in the physics class that so many students try to avoid.

"What allows you to move? your legs or the floor?". Many people will answer this question without thinking that what allows our own movement is our legs. They're wrong. What allows movement is the floor. You can move your legs while sitting on a chair and stay in the same position. Once you are standing in the floor and you move your legs you start moving from one place to another. But it goes further. Friction between the floor and the bottom of your shoes or feet is what really allows you to move. Friction  is the force that acts against motion. Friction allows that every object stay still while standing on a surface. Thats why when we take a step forward while we transfer our wheight to one of our legs, friction allows that leg to stay still in that position while we transfer our body weight to the other leg so we can complete the step. Friction an important phenomena in our daily basis. Without friction objects in our world would be constantly moving as in an air hockey table.

Balance, movement, displacement, gravity, force, friction, among others are part of the physics concepts that forms part of the most essential things that we do on daily basis. A baby taking his first step was enough to mention almost half of the concepts that are discussed on physics class. Not forgetting every law that have been stipulated by famous scientifics such as Isaac Newton.  The class or topic that many students avoid just because they are driven by the stereotypes of a person who have knowledge in physics is the class that influence in every movement we do. Once you are aware that physics is everething around you it will be easier to understand every concept. It could even be exciting to know the "how" and "why" of everything you see in your daily basis. 

Mónica Martínez: Galileo Galilei

What is physics? Most people ask themselves this question and don't realize the importance of physics, and how much it influences our daily lives, since the moment in which we wake up until we go to sleep. Physics comes from the Greek, meaning "knowledge of nature", because physics, in a basic definition, studies matter, energy, and the interaction between them by observing, experimenting and analyzing nature. All of these studies are with the purpose of finding physical laws to explain everything, from simple things in our daily lives to the complicated things that happen in the vast universe. 

In this article, we are going to talk about the physicist Galileo Galilei and his tremendous contributions to the physics to our understanding of the solar system and the laws of physics. Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa, Italy on February 15, 1564. At a very young age Galileo promised so much mentally as manually, he was seventeen when he enrolled in the University of Pisa, where he specialized in medicine as his father, Vincenzo Galilei, wanted him to do. His studies of the pendulum began when he watched a suspended lamp swing back and forth in the cathedral of Pisa. He used his pulse to time large and small swings. It was then when he made his most distinguished discovery about the pendulum, something nobody had realized. The period, time in which a pendulum swings back and forth, of each swing was exactly the same. It is then when he created the law of pendulum which eventually would help him in the development of his idea of a pendulum clock and the accuracy in its time keeping. As a result of losing interest in his studies, he did not acquire a degree, but left the university with a vast knowledge of Aristotle. 

When a debate started because one of Aristotle's laws of nature, heavier objects fall faster than lighter objects, Galileo started doing experiments in which he dropped balls of different sizes and weights from the Tower of Pisa, a building of 54 meters tall. As a result, all of them landed at the base of the building at the same time. He also experimented rolling balls down an inclined plane and then determined their positions after equal time intervals, where he discovered the mathematical expression of the law of falling bodies: the distance increases as the square of the time. After realizing these experiments he proved that Aristotle was wrong, the velocity of free falling objects does not depend on their weight, meaning that objects with same shape and volume, but of different mass, would take the same time to arrive to the floor. 

Galileo built his first telescope which was a 3-power telescope. Later he made a 20-power telescope, with which he was able to look at the Moon and demonstrate that the surface of the moon was not crystalline, but instead it was covered in craters; discover the four satellites of Jupiter, showing that not all celestial objects orbit around the Earth; observe a supernova; verify the phases of Venus; and discover sunspots with which he was able to determine the period of the sun's rotation and the direction of its coordinate. His discoveries proved the Copernican system which says that the earth and the other planets orbit around the sun. Galileo's belief in the Copernican System got him into trouble with the Catholic Church, where he was warned by Cardinal Bellarmine, under the order of Pope Paul V, that he could not discuss or defend Copernican theories unless it were a mathematical proposition. When Galileo published his book, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, it was a total hit with the public except for the Church. The Church banned the book and ordered Galileo to appear before the Inquisition in Rome. Galileo was found guilty of heresy because of his book and was sent to his home, where he was to remain under house arrest in his house near Florence. He got old and sick, so he was allowed to move to his house in Florence so he could be closer to his doctors. Until his death in January 8,1642, at the age of 78, he continued to investigate in different areas of science and even published a book on force and motion. 

Galileo Galilei, who was a philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician, gave important contributions to the sciences of motion and astronomy. Thanks to his invention of the telescope and his discoveries, many thoughts revolutionized and paved the way for the acceptance of the Copernican System, as we all nowadays know. If it weren't for him who knows if no one would have discovered what he did and we would still believe the wrong theories. 

Yaireliz Dávila Figueroa: The Universe -- An Unexplored Bounty

One of my first memories is of me standing outside my house at night during the winter months and looking up at the sky. While there were many beautiful stars, I would focus on three of them in particular. These three stars would align together perfectly, but only during winter. My mom would watch them with me, and she would tell me those stars were the three wise men mentioned in the bible. She would say they were watching over us, making sure we were safe. Those three little stars were the things that first sparked my curiosity about outer space and the universe. As I grew older and found more information, I came to realize how truly amazing the universe is, how little we know about it, and how much there is still left to explore.  

There are, for example, parts of our universe that remain mostly unknown to us. This happens because those parts are simply too far away – billions of light years away, in fact – so the light emitted there will never reach us. That means that no matter how advanced the telescope we use, we will never be able to see the entire universe. We can, however predict some of what lies outside the boundaries of our observable universe by analyzing the way objects inside those boundaries react to and are affected by the outside bodies. Using this technique scientists have theorized that there may even exist another undiscovered planet in our solar system, one that lies beyond Neptune and could possibly be more massive than Jupiter. This existence of this planet – which has been named Tyche – was proposed as a possible as a possible explanation to some inconsistencies observed in the orbits of objects in the Kuiper Belt, a conglomeration of smaller icy bodies that orbits the sun. 

More recently, astrophysicists have found evidence that there may exist a massive body on the border of our universe. They observed that large groups of galaxies, also known as galaxy clusters, were moving through space at incredibly high speeds. While it is true that the universe is constantly expanding and, therefore, all the objects in it should be moving as well, these galaxy clusters were not following the flow of the expansion of the universe and were moving in a very specific direction. For now, scientists have given these moving clusters a name: dark flow. By the incredible speed at which this ‘dark flow’ is hurtling through space, it can be deduced that the object causing the movement is massive. So massive, in fact, that it could possibly be bigger than anything we have ever seen before. Some speculate that it could even be another entirely different universe. 

There are many more interesting theories out there about how our universe works and what may or may not lie beyond what we can see of it. Most of them will need to wait decades or centuries before they can be either validated or falsified because we do not yet possess the technology to test them out. Even so, it is unfortunate that more persons are not aware of these incredible theories and discoveries. I believe physics courses all over the world should make them part of the curriculum so that the students can see and better understand how the formulas they study in the classroom are applied in real life. Furthermore, including them in physics courses could potentially make more students interested in physics, and an interested student is a student who learns more and learns faster. 

Luis Lugo: Higgs Boson

As we all know the science of Physics is involved in everything during our life, whether it is by velocity, acceleration, gravity, mass of objects and any type of force existent in our planet involves physics. Although thanks to physics we can describe, explain and prove many things, there was always one particular thing that physics could not simply grasp… Why some fundamental particles have mass when the symmetries controlling their interactions should require them to be massless? Why the weak force has a much shorter range than the electromagnetic force? These two questions could be simply answered with one theory: Higgs boson or commonly known as “God particle” because it's said to be what caused the "Big Bang" that created our universe billions of years ago.

Higgs boson, an elementary particle, was first mentioned and made a theory in 1964 by six physics who proposed it. This theory was finally discovered after forty eight years on July 4, 2012. "The preliminary results with the full 2012 data set are magnificent and to me it is clear that we are dealing with a Higgs boson though we still have a long way to go to know what kind of Higgs boson it is" said CMS spokesman Joe Incandela. This discovery has been very important in physics history since it confirms the existence of the Higgs field, which has very important role in the Standard Model of particle physics which concerns the electromagnetic, weak and strong nuclear interactions, and many other theories within particle physics. The confirmation was crucial because the model explains how the basic pieces of matter act with each other. This discovery is a huge step for physics since now any scientist missing some essential values in the field of particle physics, quantum mechanics or basically in any field of physics can now deduct and use this discovery in their advantage. If this great discovery would have backfired there would have been a serious problem in particle physics and quantum mechanics since many assumptions were made in base of this theory and a lot of technological advances would have been false.  Kyle Cranmer, an assistant professor of Physics at New York University, sent an email to CBS News with the following words:

"Quantum mechanics is about as esoteric as it gets, and it's the subject of several philosophies of science books focusing on determinism and physical reality, but it was also led to the invention of the transistor, the key ingredient for all modern electronics. Quantum mechanics also led to the invention of the laser and other medical technologies like MRI's, PET scans. The list goes on and on, and none of these practical applications were anticipated by those that developed quantum mechanics."

The statement made by this person demonstrates how important the discovery is for the human race. Still CERN says that the research is not finished since the detection of the boson is very rare and in order to clarify exactly what kind of Higgs boson was discovered they'll have a lot more research to do.

Personally, I am very grateful since they did an MRI to my left knee showing a serious problem I have and if this theory would have been false I would have to live with this problem for many years. Not only me but many important health issues are discovered thanks to the “God Particle”. Also as an engineer-to-be I love when these great discoveries are done. These discoveries show and explain many things and will help in the future for the discovery of many other mysteries still waiting to be discovered. 

Wilniady Sepúlveda López: Satellites

Knowledge in physics can describe almost everything in the modern world. One of the most important fields in physics is the study of the universe. Theories and laws, like The Theory of Relativity , are very significant for the understanding of the mechanism behind the working and existence  of the planets surrounding the Sun, other solar systems, and galaxies in general. Since 1957, when the Soviet Union sent the first artificial satellite into space, the Sputnik 1,  the history of the world was change. The first satellite sent to space was launched during the years of the Cold War between United States and the Soviet Union. Citizens in the US were fearful. This satellite meant that the Soviet Union had gained a tactical advantage over the US. In response the US sent their first artificial satellite in 1958 named Explorer 1. 

Until 2012, the number of artificial satellites in space exceeds 2,250 satellites, all of these being launched from many different countries over the decades.  The year 2013 was the first time the country of Ecuador sent a satellite into orbit. Satellites can be separated into many categories. For example: “assassin satellites” which are designed to eliminate enemy satellites; spy satellites; astronomic satellites;  communications satellites;  satellites for terrestrial studies; solar energy satellites and Spatial Stations. Is important to highlight that when the functional life of a satellite ends, it become space trash.  In November 29, 2013 ESA (European Space Agency) sent three satellites into space to explore Earth's magnetic field. Swarm, the three satellites, are equipped with high end magnetometers and were elaborated with carbon fiber; no iron or additives were used which might have contain ferric impurities. The functional life of the satellites will be four years approximately.  

Artificial satellites are interesting for me since part of how they work is related to gravity and orbital forces in the Solar system. The physics analysis involved in the development of each satellite is unique to each satellite since each one of them is sent to a specific destination in a different environment. A failure calculation implies the loss of millions of dollars, work efforts and time. All these satellites are sent with specific purposes and have a determined lifetime. Not all of the satellites in space are functional right now. We may ask ourselves; why is it that countries do not invest in new technology to clean up space debris?  If technology exists to send artificial satellite into orbit, why not invest in research and development for new technology to clear space orbits? Satellites are made and develop faster and in a more efficient way but no one seem to care about space pollution. In a future, not far away from the 21st century, satellites could cover an entire orbit space above Earth.

Over the years, Hollywood has created many movies about space, missions to the moon, etc. One of my favorite movies, related to this field, is Wall-E. There is a scene when the main character, a little robot named Wall-e,  flies outside of a spacecraft and passes between a huge amount of satellites debris in orbit. In the future satellite's space orbits will probably look like this movie scene. Physics might help solve this problem, but will countries and governments take decisive actions to engage this problem that puts in danger the future of our space? 

Carlos D. Santiago: Electricity

During our daily life we encounter many problems that involve physics.  These types of problems can be as simple as if a surface can stand the weight of a certain object to the internal force that are being applied to a system.  Physics can be defined as a natural science that consists on experiments, measurements, and mathematical analysis with the purpose of finding some physical laws for everything from the nanoworld to the planets, solar systems, and galaxies that occupy the universe. During this article I am going to talk about electricity, the most common power source used in our daily lives, from making our foods to watching television with our family members, but not many people know who discovered this useful resource we so much use. The person that discovered this was Benjamin Franklin, in 1752, on a stormy day, he raised his kite with a key tied near his hand and lightning struck the kite. The whole basic concept of the experiment was for the lighting to travel thought the kite in form of electricity. He could feel the electric shock go through his body. Ben had finally proven and understood lightning/electricity, so based on his knowledge later that year, he invented the lightning rod. The lightning rod, during that time, was a brilliant invention since by the time many of the structures where people used to live were made entirely out of wood and lightning used to burn there structures down. With the lighting rod, the lighting struck it and it would be conducted to the ground without harming anyone or anything. Thanks to Benjamin a lot of structures use this rod so any accident caused by lighting can be avoided. A structure without his invention is completely exposed to be struck by lightning and, in worst case scenario, could cause a fire to the structure, and depending the use that the structure was given for, whether it be shielding the homeless or jobless, leaving all the investment that were made on the structure to waste. In addition to all those damages, it could be guilty for the death of innocent people. Thanks to Benjamin Franklin for his discovery we are able to do our jobs and live our daily lives more easily and more successfully since many of the machines we use require electricity to work like the computer, the stove, the refrigerator, and many other appliances. Also, thanks to Franklin, we found even a greater power in the electricity and the many uses it has, for example, we have made developments in medicine with machines like the x-rays, the electrotherapy and the defibrillator.  Even thought Benjamin Franklin discovered electricity, what would have happened if he did not?  So I imagined a world without any computers, cellphones, nor electric appliances and how people would communicate if there was no electricity available. The only forms of communication would include mail, and the mail would be sent by horses and mail going from town to town. In addition to not being able to use any electronic appliances, the life span of a person from that society will be shorter than nowadays since the hospitals would be filled of bacterial diseases and the doctors will not have machines to benefit the health of their patient. What we know today as a simple disease thanks to machines, would have been a major viral disease in the past. For this reason, the discovery of Benjamin Franklin needs to be greatly appreciated by society. Thanks to his simple discoveries, we have all a lot of complex machines that simplify our daily lives.

Coralys Colón Morales: Daily Physics

From the moment we wake to the moment we go back to sleep, we are surrounded by physics. We find it in every noise, collision, conversation etc. It’s amazing how every detail in our lives has its way of working and its explanation in physics. As I read several articles, which explained the relationship between physics and our daily life, I found myself interested in understanding how everything works. There is one particular article that I enjoyed best: “This is a love song: the physics of music and the music of physics”. This article explains several things like the frequency and vibration of a moving swing, how to break a glass of wine using resonance, how standing waves work in musical instruments. 

When you push a swing at a faster or slower rate than the rate of vibration it already has (its natural frequency), nothing happens (there is not difference in the speed at which it moves); but if you push it with the same rate it has, then there will be a change and large oscillations will be created. So by altering the natural frequency of the swing, we create resonance. 

We have all seen videos or heard of a person breaking a glass of wine by singing with a high and strong voice and it’s hard for us to believe that it’s even possible to achieve since no matter how hard we try, we can’t do it. Well the author of this article explains the way it is done. It is simply physics. The sound of the voice is what breaks the glass, but it’s not the volume of the sound, it’s the matching of the sound of the voice with the natural frequency of the wine glass. So if the natural frequency is 791Hz, then the sound of the voice has to be 791Hz, not even 790 nor 792. 

A standing wave is one that is produced when the reflection of a wave runs into the next wave. Standing waves can be found in different musical instruments. This article gives the example of a guitar, which is a musical instrument with strings. The string has no vibration at its ends and has maximum vibration in the middle. So as the vibration moves, it creates a repetitive pattern and that is a frequency that depends on the wavelength. A short string has a short wavelength and a high frequency. A long string has a long wavelength and a low frequency. That’s how the guitar emits a sound, by playing a sequence of frequencies at a time. If it’s a sequence of single frequencies, then the music will be in its simplest form. If it’s a sequence of different sequences, the music is polytonic and it can be played in a harmonious way. 

Therefore, whether you go to the park, sing or listen to music, you will find physics in everything you see or do. The more concepts you know, the better you will understand the things that surround you and that should be our goal. 

Bryan R. Delgado Ruiz: God Particle

This first course of Physics is about studying diverse types of forces. Everybody on Earth uses and manage them every single day of their lives, although not everybody know them as well. These forces are: normal force, tension, weigh, friction, elastic and inelastic force. But even though this sounds very hard to understand, we can say that forces are results of four fundamental interactions. Numerous scientists had tried to fuse all this four elemental interactions in a single theory; trying to put together: the weak and strong nuclear force, gravity, and electromagnetic force. 

All of these forces have a very long range, except for the weak nuclear force. By the way, the refereeing particles are the bosons W and Z. Bosons are the smallest form that matter can actually decomposes. These minuscule particles can arrange energy and are very significant in quantum mechanics’ field. Peter Higgs and his coworkers uncovered the Higgs Mechanism in 1964. This theory is about explaining the origin of the elemental particles’ mass. This particle has no color and even has no electric charge or spin and because of these, the particle cannot interact with any photon. Nevertheless, with particles from the Model of Physics which have mass as: charge leptons, quarks and bosons W and Z that are relatively heavy, it has the possibility to interact. 

The discovery of this boson will be a very controversial explanation to the origin of the Universe; and this particle is popularly known as the God Particle. In March 14, 2013 the existence of this elemental particle was partially confirmed. At the moment, some data have to be amended because of the complexity and very high speed of proceedings, the Higg’s boson interacts in zepto seconds: 10-24 s. This makes the procedure of measuring the mass of the Higg’s boson a very difficult one. Likewise, the parameters that depend of it as: the force required for two bosons to interact between them and the half-life of the particle. With the discovery of this particle, the World as we know it and its origin will be exposed after thousands of years and it will probably set a very big intrapersonal and interpersonal conflict.

On the other hand, Higgs said, “…this does not explain everything.”, however, it will open path to new investigations about the origin of the Universe. So indeed, every fundamental force was present in the development of the Universe. Every single day of our lives can be explain in terms of all these forces which makes our Universe the one we know and the one we live.

Saúl Ruiz Roldan: Physics in lifestyle

Physics is more than just a science. Physics is defined as the science that studies the properties of matter and energy, considering only able to measure the attributes. Today everything is ruled by physics, so that science is used daily by each and every one of the human beings as well as for every living being. Thanks to the great physicists we have had great technological advances like many advances in studies on everything involving the unknown. Humanity has had great scientists as are Newton, who discovered the law of gravity, Einstein, which stipulates the theory of relativity, and many other great scientists who have helped to understand the mysteries of nature within and outside our planet.

Every action, movement or reaction, involves the physics, from the simplest to the most complex. On a walk, throw a ball into the air, accelerating a vehicle and even a tiny particle react, involve careful studies which are viewed or studied in labs every day. So us are involved in daily physical? The answer is simple and is answered as follows; each of the discoveries made during the course of human life on this planet, were always present, only the technology of our ancestors did not allow them to make significant progress in a short time. Therefore, everyone is always using the concepts of physics although does not know the science. Thus the question about physics in our daily lives is answered. For years we have had the most brilliant minds of this planet to the constant discovery of innovative and useful things to stimulate progress to the things which we have come. Some of the best minds on the planet were: Albert Einstein, Newton, Galileo, Pythagoras and today Stephen Hawking who has contributed greatly to studies regarding black holes and cosmology.

At one time in history, the sciences were the subject of punishment and oppression, and studies were censored in a way which caused a delay in technological advances. With the opening to free inquiry a thought about inventions, which was concerning to say that everything was discovered and there was nothing they had discovered. Hundreds of years later have come to have a number of technologies that have ever dreamed. These advances were made by great physicists and scientists who have us left a more comfortable lifestyle to live as light technology, transportation, and communication. The question is this, everything is already discovered, or are things to discover? Let that answer in the hands of physicians and scientists of today, who are experts at making new discoveries and putting them in the hands of humanity.

Physics is certainly one of the most important and influential science today, and its uses concepts we put into practice every day since we got up in the morning until we go to bed at night. Physical, rather than a matter of education, it is a lifestyle that with the passing of time have become part of us as people, and therefore is considered one of the most important sciences today.