At the Envoys meeting we viewed the video clip from Cosmic Connections on the Powers of Ten. This video reinforced Jessica’s session about units of measure and scientific notation. I think it would be even more interesting to see the entire film in an IMAX setting. Still, this one is interesting. Turn up the volume on your computer and enjoy the show!
I have an application on my phone that tells me not only the phase of the moon, but how far away the moon is from the earth on any given day. It tells me the distance in miles and kilometers. It even tells me how many Eiffel Towers it is from the earth to the moon.
I love things like that. I am a fan of the Charles Eames film, the Powers of Ten. If you are not familiar with this classic, I recommend it and you can see it here.
I came across an interesting and related infographic the other day on LiveScience. I think that it also is a fascinating look at the scale of things on earth, man made and natural.
2013 is the International Year of the Mathematics of Planet Earth
ABC Science has a recent article about mathematics, algorithms and applications in our lives, quoted here:
“Algorithms are amazing
How does Facebook find friends for you? How do you discover the links you want on Twitter? These are all based on proprietary algorithms developed by mathematicians and computer scientists. And the effects have been staggering. They have altered the way society works with information about just about everything available at the touch of a smart phone.
When it comes to the mathematics of planet earth, one of the most striking examples of mathematics in action has been the development of Google Maps, which uses advanced imaging algorithms to enable us to find places, directions, zoom in and out, change the level of detail, and find a restaurant we’d like to dine at.”
Albert Einstein, Blaise Pascal and Isaac Newton were hanging out one day and they were bored.
“I know,” said Albert Einstein, “let’s play hide and seek.”
So Einstein closed his eyes and began counting back from 100.
Pascal took off running to find a place to hide.
Newton just stood where he was and drew a box around the area where he was standing.
When Einstein finished counting, he looked up and exclaimed, “Newton, I found you!”
Newton calmly smiled and said, “No, you found one Newton per square meter – you found Pascal.”
If you would like to know more about scientific measurements and conversions, I suggest you look at Kyle’s Converter. This website is an interesting reference guide, as well as a handy tool.