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ENVIRONMENT TECHNOLOGY TRANSPORT
to
HOW ITWQ
BOOK OF.
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W o r l d M a g s . n e t W o r l d M a g s . n e t
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W o r l d M a g s . n e t W o r l d M a g s . n e t
Hungry for knowledge? Then The How ItWorks Book OfAmazing Answers To Curious Quesions is here o hepyou feed your mind full of fascinaing facs and figures
and indspensable informaon. No subjec is too small or oo big from whas inside a iny mosquio o how the universe began.
Wih answers o quesions from six all-encompassingsubjec areas including science he environment, hisoryechnology, ranspor and space, Te How I Works Book OfAmazing Answers o Curious Quesions is a fun accessible
companion for inquisiive minds wih each secion feauringinricae cuaway diagams ha detail the worings of
everyday iems and massive mechanisms. From how imeworks o wha's inside a black hole inside are the amazing
answers o al he curious quesions you could ever ask abouhe word in which we live.
Eno the book
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A
BOOKOFo
ANito CurQUTIONS
Iagine Publihig LtdRihond House33 icmod Hill
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AMG ANSWRS TO COUS QSTIONS
*sce How does me work?Is no qe as consan asyo ay hnk
16 Can anythng stop the body clo
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Ermt50 Wich are the wold's fastest
anmals?The cheetah the peegine falcon an thesaiish all feaue
5 How does a volcano erupt?Devastating emines that the Eath's sufaceis activel evolving
55 Why are geysers so rare?These founans nee a ae comnaon oconiions o fom
56 How do blue whales live?All ou nee o know aout the giants othe oceananfinouhowthesuvive
58 What causes earthqual
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AMG ANSWST CUOS QU TIO
ehng__108 What is nuclear power?Ecological saviour or looming catastrophe?
1 How do theymal
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C u l165
56 Howdopany?How plane remain airorne for hour on en
58 WhamkhBombro ahy?The tech ehin the extraorinar B-2
59 How do biir kphip lvl?The et wa to keep hip upright
60 How do a hovrcraf hovr?Fin outhowtheeunuual machine work
62 Howcomplxann?It can't e impler than a car engine can it?
64 Wha h ound barrir?An how to reak it!
65 How do combn wo?There more thanut overgrown lawn mower
65 How do ubmariniv?What enale thee vee to ecen?
66 Bi Q&AHanrake, hri an hot air alloon
!72 Wha happnd a h Big Bang?An elegant explanation of our origin
76 Howaarbo?t a rather rawn-out proce
78 Whail
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AMG ANSWSTCOS QUSTIONS
How does
timeorl
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S i n*-What is special relativity?How Einstein changed our perception of time
Enstens they fspecaI elatvy eles n
ne key fact the speed f lght s the same
n matte hwyu lk at t T put ths nt
pactce, magneyuae tavellng na caat
32km/h 2mph, and yu dve past a fend
wh s standng stll .
As yu pass them, yu thw a ball ut n fnt
f the ca at 16km/h 10mph. T yu fend, the
ball's speed cmbnes wth that f the ca, and
s appeas t betavellngat 8km/h 3mph
elatve t yu, weve, the ball tavels at ny
.ere yo're raelig i aaceca a almot theee o lgt. Yo ie aligt beam p into a ror.
16km/h 0m ph, as yu ae aleady tavellng at
32km/h 2mph.
Nw magne the same scena but ths tme
yu pass yu statnay fend whle tavellng
at half the speed f lght !teetcally, f
cuse Thugh sme magnay cntaptn,
yu fend can bseve yu as yu tavel past
Ths tme yu shnea beam fghtut ftheca
wndsceen. Pevusly we added tgethe the
speed f the bal and the cat fnd utwhat
yu fend saw, s n ths nstance, des yu
4. Flybyor yor rien, yo aretraelli ng ieway atalo e ae peea the light, o he lightake a agonal a
ne secnd t the next wth n
dffeence between the length f any
tw secnds. Ths s smethng thatyu pbably thnk t be tue. Evey day
has ughly 24 hus; yu dn't have
ne daywth26and anthe wth 23.
dffeng masses and velctes, and
theefe ne secnd n Eath was
fend see the beam f lght tavelng at ne and
a half tmes the speed f lght? Accdng t
Ensten, the answe s n. The speed f lght
always emans cnstant and nthng can
tavel faste than t. Theefe, n ths
ccasn, bth yu and yu fend bseve the
speed f lght tavellng at ts unvesally
ageed value c, ughy299,7928 metes pe
secnd. Ths s the they f specal elatvty,
but why s t mptantwhen talkng abut
tme? ead belw. .
lt appear o yo ienta te ight bea ha
taen l onger to copleteit p an ow oion
tan it i or yo
7. DistanceYor e ee heligt trael a geaer
iace, bt er thetheoy o peareatiiy te pee othe ligh eam i heae o oth o yo
G. ongeri iagonal path iloger than e erticalpath yo obere theligt bea o trael
Hweve, n 190, Ensten asseted
that the speed f lght desn't vay, but
athe t was a cnstant !ughy
299,7928 metes pe secnd. He
pstulated that tme was me lke a
ve, ebbng and flwng dependng n
the effects f gavty and spacetme.
Tme wud speed up and slw dwn
aund csmlgcal bdes wth
nt the same length f tmeeveywhee n the unvese hs psed
a pblem I f the speed f lght was
eally a cnstant then thee had t be
sme vaable tha t alteed ve lage
dstances n the unvese. Wth the
unvese expand ng and planets and
galaxes mvng n a galactcally
humngus scale, smethng had t
gve t allw f small fluctuatns. And
ths vaabe had t be tme.
109 - 7 - S 4 2 0 +1 2 +5 +6 + 90+11
t was ult mately Enstens they
that was nt nly beleved t b e the
Time ones are separated by a distance ofJloitude extendingfrom ple to pole,butfor plitcal reasons some countries and provces have chosen to belong to aderent tme zone than the one in which they aregeographical located
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AMG ANSWS T COS QUSTIONS
truth, but al prved t be entirely accurate. n
Octber191, tw phyic named Hael e and
Keating et abu prving it validity. T d thi,
they lew fur caeium amic clck n plane
arund he wrld, eatward and hen
pecicaly with hi thery time dilatin
and that ime did indeed uctuate thrughut
the univere.
Newn and Eintein did agree n ne hing,
thugh hat time mve rward. S ar there
want t mve frm w t high entrpy, r frm
unirmity t dirder, beginning with
implicity at the Big Bang and mving t he
am randm arrangemen f galaxie and
heir inhabiant in he preen day. Th
wetward Accrding tEintein thery, when
cmpared with grundbaed
atmic clck in thi intance
a he US Naval Obevary in
Wahingn DC, Hafele and
Keating' airbrne cl ck
I the universe were to contractthen time would reverse, a paradoxfor scientists and tronomers
knwn a the arrw f time,cined by Briih atrnmer
Arthur Eddingtn in 1927. He
uggeed that time wa n
ymmerical, ating " f a we
flw the arrw we fnd mre and
mre f he randm elemen in he
wuld be abu40 nanecnd lwer ater
their eatward trip and abut 27 nanecnd
ater aer travelling wet, due the
gravitatinal efec the Earh n the velcity
the pane. ncredibly, he cck did indeed
regiter a difference when ravelling eat and
wet arund the wrld, abut 59 nanecnd
lwer and 273 nanecnd ater repectively
when cmpared the US Naval Obervatry.
Thi prved that Einein wa crrect,
Gty Pe B wsble iecly oberee wpg of
pceie o eEt ue t s gity.
14 How It +r
n evidence anyhing n the univere that i
able t ddge tim e and mve rward and
backwad at will. Everything ulimately mve
rward in ime, b e it at a regular pace lighly
warped if appraching the peed f ligh. Can
we anwer why tme tick rward, thugh? Nt
quite, althugh there are everal herie a
why it de. One f hee brng in the law f
thermdynamic, pecicaly he ecnd law.
Thi tae that everything in the univere
tae the wrld, hen the arrw i pinting
ward the fuure; if the randm element
decreae, the arrw pint tward the pat.
F example, i yu were t berve a tar i n
amt unifrmity, but laer aw it explde a a
upernva and becme a cattered nebula, yu
wuld knw that time had mved frward frm
equalty t cha
Anther thery ugge that the paage f
ime i due t the expann the univere. A
Giy Pbe B e esesetis y itig istt st IM Pegsi wle
i p or o e r, ne ces i s
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S i n*-he unvese expands it pull s ime with it as
space and time are linked as ne (see belw
bu this wuld mean that if the universe were
reach a theretical limi t f expansin and
begin t cnact hen time wuld evese, a
slight paadx scientists and astnm esWuld time eally mve ba ckwads with
everyting cming back t an era f simplicity
and ending with a Bg Crunch as ppsed t
he Big Bang? Its unlikely well be arund t
find u but we can pst uate n what we
hink might happen.
ts incredible t hink f the pgess we
have made in u understanding time
ver the past century Frm ancient sundias
mdern atmic clcks we can even tack
he passing f a secnd me clsely han
eve befe
ime emains a cmplex tpic but hanks
scientific visinaies we a re getting clse
unlcking he secrets f hs ns
cnstant univesal cnsantH d rntl oim.7=Age ofthe universe
4 5BIWON YE ARS
Age ofthe Earth
65NTime since extinction ofdinosaurs
365242 DAYSEarth's orbit around the Sun
1 SECONDAveage length ofa heartbeat
ONE HUNDREDTH OF ASECOND (CENTISECOND)Eyes blinking
ONE TENTH OF ASECOND (DECSECOND)Lightni strike
ONE TRIWONH OF ASECOND (PICOSECOND)Shortest measurable length oftime
i t wm accT mo cct clock in thiee wol obably e a otatingt lik (lthogh ti eatable), bt o a i tomic clocht oie cct tck of ime
ti GP yem i oit aonthe Eath e atomic cloc tocctly tc hi oition n l y
ata to te at, while etie cietific
HeatedAtom ae oileot of cium byeating it an aebqutlyet thoug tub wit a highcuum
ct t o clcul t h motaccate meaue of time ally bymig nitio within cimtom Whil mot atomic cloc ely onmgtic fiel mo cloc uigle to mo cctly tc antec engy anition witi caeimtom k mo fii muof tme
Magnet Microwaves Fequency
Altoug cium clock clyue o ke time aon the wolotim cloc (tonium tom inia lae g) omie twice a mucccucy, while eximntl ignb on cg mcuy tom couleuce icacie een fte to let o co lo o gin i 400
million y
Separationom atom wil
chang tei engytt t ti xc
fequecy, a aeco magetic fie
e the ot
A magetic fiel i ableo ic btwnatom of ayig e egyt n ick th ohat e t e igt lel
Te electe atom a ogh
micowae fel of ighinnity tht flcting fequcy
A cya ocillao allow temcow fi to cctly
eac 919,631770 etz eonnt cy of cim tom
CountA eteco mea the nume
of tom chgig thi t ti feqecy a o nce t etect9192610 of t tiion
con i i to he ae
How It Jrks 15
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AMG ANSWS T COS QUSTIONS
anatebo
0900 1000NOON
ghe eerne gh lere1200
ere
08.30Bwel veen lkey
0730Mel ere end
0645Seep e ldere Her ke re lkely u he rg yher e de e n bld prere
06.00
04.30 nerve enegy durngeep dy epeuedrp I lwe juee wn g
C cadan hythm ae bologcalchange that occu at oughly 24-hounteval whethe wee awae of thetme on ou watch o not Thee change
whch ae contoled by ntena bologcal
tme-keepng ytem affect u phycallymentally and behavoually.
ocated behnd the eye n the
hypothalamu a egon of the ban called
the upachamatc nucleu o lage than
a gan of ce the SC a k nd of mate
body clock that contol all ou othe ntenal
clock whch n tun contol ou ccadan
hythm o daly wake-eep cycle
C ad an hythm epond man y to ght
and dak cue but even f the body wa
montoed unde condton devod of day o
nght gnal ou ccadan hythm tll
16 How It +r
02.00Deepe leep 00.00MNIGH
cycle n a peod of aound 24 hou The etna n
the eye ene lght level n omaton whch
elayed to the SC whch end a gnal to the
pnea gland Th pea-zed gland located
beneath the thalamu eponbe fo the
eceton of melatonn a homone that tel the
body to leep and o at nght when lght level
faII the poducton of melatonn nceaetellng u to head to bed
How the crcadiance afects our lves
14.30Be rdn
22.30
Bwel veeppreed
tgteTe v he u
el ereed by he bdy ree dly ry rg d lg hrne
leve Thee re lg w heNC, e pee bdy eperure
d l ele
2100
10Fe ren e
100ge rdvulr eenynd le eg
1800
18.30ghe bdpree
19.00Bdy eperre ghe dugerly eveng
Wh e dng ulgh nhe evenng, el ereegn - d ree ed- kg u eepy
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S i n * -How do boats stay aoat?Dispacement enabes huge ships to stay above the wate
A t rst dsplacement appears to be farfrom fascnatng. Smply put thevolume o an obect when submerged nwater pushes asde the same volume of water.
Ths smple process alows anyone to measure
the precse volume of any obect by then
measurng the am ount of flud tha eher splls
ou of the top othe contaner or rses by sad
amount n a m easurng cylnder. ts all very
scence textbook.
becomes a ltle more nerestng when you
consder that ts ths effect that enables
enormous supertankers weghng up to 400000
UnladenThe shp s1k s untl the water1
dislaces eqals 1 ts own weght
tons to float. or example when a supertanker s
launched no the sea t wll snk f the waer
dsplaces s equal to or exceeds the weght of the
shp t sef. However f when launched ts weght
s less than that ofthe water t dsplaces and ts
shape allows t to dsplace the weght faster than
the water wll reach the tankers submergng
pont no matter how large or ull of cargo hen
wll oa
Of course f you were to drop a sod ron bar
nto a swmmng pool t would snk sragh
away because: rstly ts weght far outweghed
that o f he waer was dsplacng and secondly
Fully loadedIt wl cotue todsplace more ad
more water as t's loaded wh cargo
even f ts weght was ess than that of the water
ts shape would no alow t to dsplace the
weght fas enough. Ths s why shps hulls ar e
shaped how they are
So whle the scentfc prncple mght lack
wow actor t does enable fantasc feas of
engneerng ke the TI class superankers the
largest ocean gong-shps n the world. They're
an ncredble 379 meres long 68 metres wde
and have a deadweght of some 8 metrc
ons and float thanks o the law of dsplacement
dscovered by Archmedes n the orgnal
ureka moment How do fsh breathe
underwater?
Wterfows vergils, hn ou
They don't beathe' the wate-it's much cooe than that
Fshl
T he process of absorbng oxygen and therelease of carbon doxde s called gasexchange Fsh need oxygen n the sameway humans do the yust go about gettng t n a
dfferen way.
A sh has glls behnd ts mouh on the sde o
the head unless youre a bottom dweller k e a
stngray then your glls are on he top of yourhead ach gll begns wh a g ll arch whch
then splts nto two filaments much lke a
wshbone. Those flaments are lned wth
lamellae whch are le dscs that are filled
wh capllar es hose caplla res have
oxygenated blood runnng through them whch
s why he nsde of glls ar e red h e more actve
a sh s the more oxygen t needs and the more
lamellae t has
As a fsh swms he waer moves nto the
mouth and flows hrough the glls. When a fish s
staonary t can stl push water through the
Werfows nhrgh mouh
glls by openng and closng ts mouth When
waer passes over the lamellae he oxygen n the
waer dffuses nto the capllares oxygenatng
he blood
sh have a countercurren system o f ow
whch means that the blood flows n the opposte
drecon o the water. They need hs clever lle
rck because the dfuson only works f there s
less oxygen n the blood han here s n h e
water. So he blood wth the least amoun of
oxygen s meetng the oxygen depleed water
firs takng whats left and then movng on to
fresher more oxygenated water
Lke humans sh must get rd of the carbon
doxde created by absorbnga nd usng oxygen.
Gl s are multtaskers they dffuse the carbon
doxde out of he body and no the waer. sh
are then free to focus on swmmng
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AMG ANSWSTCOS QUSTIONS
How do you perform CPR?The proper way sn't exactly the Holywood method, but t's no ess dramac0 n televson, cadopumonayesusctaton CPR is like
the Fonz hitting the jukebox on HappyDay whack a dying peson in the ight spot andhis o he heat wll stat beatng agan.
Howeve, th s hadly eve woks n eal le,
and it snt actually the point o adm nisteing
CPR. he eal goa hee is to buy some valuable
time untl ts possble to evve a nomal
heatbeat, typcally by usng an electc jolt
om a debillato.
he cells n you body need oxygen to convet
ood nto usable enegy. You heat delves the
goods. t pumps oxygenated blood om the
lungs out to the body, and pumps deoxygenated
blood back to the lungs. you heat isnt
pumpng sucent blood a condition called
cadac aest you bodys cells will al. Most
1. Cea he aiway . Pepae3 Begin chescompessions
signcantly, you ban cells neuons wl l stat
dyng ou to sx minutesa te cadiac aest
begns. en mnutes wthout esuscitaton
eots and the chances o evval ae almost nil .
he idea oCPR is to hod o death by ocing
the lungs and heat to povde oxygenated blood
to the bain. Exhaling ai into the victims lungs
povdes the oxygen, and egulaly compessng
the chest oces the heat to pump blood.
Celly oll e v on
h bk Gely pe
oeed o l ed
bk we lg h
Th wll le he wy
Wh he ovee
d len o o
behg I he v
behg nolly, do o
de CPR I youe ue whee he
v begnolly ue he no.
fo compessionsBeoe begnng epoe you u k
oeoe o ll nule. I youe lone
ll one youel Keel
bede he v nd pe
oe hd ove e oe,
elokng yo ge.
Ple e ee o you lowe
hnd e ene o e
v' e, b obove e b
Wh you g,pe dow 4 o he
e nd e eleeCoue openg d
eleg e o lle
le wo ll
opeon evey
eod e o 1
opeon pe ne)
Oddly enogh gopeon o he be
o e Bee Gee' Stayi'Alve wok peely.
4. Adminiseescue beahse opeoneope e v wy
nd p oe loed
ke be pe yo
lp od he v'
oh d blow no he
v o. Wh o
e o e, heeove yo o
llown g o epe
g epe he poe
o eond e, e
dne 30 oe e
opeon Connee ye ul help ve
ow doe
execise
worl
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S i n*-What is
'brain freeze?Tecnica caed spenopaanegangioneuaga ice ceam eadaces aeeaed o miganes
Ophhamic Mandibuar Optl r
ry g
r t yll, tr glnd
ppr , ppr yl,
, lp.
Mdl r r rr
ry g r t k ,
nd gu lwr w,
gu , lw lp n
tpl rg.
The pain of a bain feeze also
know as an ice ceam headachecomes om you bodys natual
eaction to cold. When you body senses
cold it wants to conseve heat. One o
the steps it takes to accompish this is
consticting the blood vessels nea you
skin. With less blood lowing nea you
skin Jess heat is caied away fom you
coe keeping you wam
The same thng happens when
somet hing eally cold hits the back of
you mouth The bloo d vesses in you
paate constict apidly. When the cold
T Mxlry
r r
ry g
r t k
g d t
t ppr jw
k ppr lplw n d
lw yld
goes away (because you swallowed the
ce ceam o cold beveage they apidydilate back to thei nomal state.
This is haml ess but a mao facial
neve called the tigeminal lies close to
you palate and this neve intepets
the constiction/dilation pocess as
pain. The location of the tgeminal
neve can cause the pain to seem like its
coming fom you foehead. Doctos
believe that this same mi sintepetaton
of blood vessel constiction/dilation is
the cause of the intense pain of a
migaine headache
How safe
arex-rays?With a mall doe of x-ray energy,your dotor an examine yourbone or irulatory ytem toohigh of a doe and you're doomedto a ainful death from aner
A
nayisa fomof
enegywithina
cetain ange o
wavelengths. ny adiation
between 3 x 16 Hz to 3 x 119
Hz 3 petahetz to 3
eahetz is consideed ay
adiation. These ae vey
shot wavelengths ust beow the ultaviolet egion of the
spectum. The actual wavelength is about 1oooo times
smalle than the wavelength ofvisible light. Shot
wavelength ays have high enegy which is why -ays pass
though most things The high enegylevel of an ay
photon doesnt it with othes atoms electon obits
making it diicult fo atoms to absob ays unless the atom
is lage enough to accommodate the ay photons enegy
The ay machine at you doctos office geneates ays
by canking a bunch of electons up to a vey high speed
using a highly chaged cathode These electons ae thendawn to an anode made of tungsten Thee the electons
stike tungsten atoms and ae eithe defected o knock
othe electons out o obit. The collisions em t photons at
the wavelength of -ays which ae channelled using a smal
window and lots of lead shielding.
Fom thee the ays ae passed though some potion o
you anatomy. Many of the them go ight though but you
bones ae made fom lage atoms (calcium mostly than
you othe bits and these atoms have a geate chance of
absobing some ays On the othe side ofyou the ays
stike a photosensitive plate The moe ays that stike the
plate the dake that potion of the plate Thats why the
esulting image is a negative with you bones the bightest
they absobed the mostays. Doctos can ay image you
blood vessels o othe soft tissue by inecting o making youdink a specia contast dye that absobs -ays
The ays that ae absobed by you body aent entiey
hamless. he -ay photons can knock electons away fom
the atoms ceating ions and stating a mino chain
eaction. Ricocheting ions alte substances in you body at
the atomic eve destoying o alteing the D ofyou cells.
This ionisi ng adiation is what did the damage sufeed by
those who endued unshielded vey long o fequent -ay
eposues in the days befoe the danges of -ays wee
undestood. Todays medical ays ae vey safe when used
popely and vastly supeio to being cut open evey time a
docto needs a look inside you.
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AMG ANSWSTCOS QUSTIONS
How do l
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S i n * -Nephrons - he flraionu z k PoximalubueN
epo e te unt w lte ll blood tt pe toug te dey ee e oud m! on n e kdn ey ed n the enl medul
pymd ute A w ell leg wte, ephon egulte wte nd
mnel lt by eiulng wh eeded nd eeng te e
Lk Bowmn
pue nd e loop
o Henle nd wll
eletvely ebob
mnel om te
lte poded byBowm' ple
h tey upple te
dey wt blood he
blood vel o
nto teole
you tvel nto tedey tl te blood
ee te glomelu
Renal venh emove blood
tht h been leed
om e kdey.
Loop of Henlehe loop o Hel e oto te mel d
we onentton level wthn the k dney
to d ltton o ld neey t lo
otol ne onetton
de p o tee pt te poml
ble the loop o Henle d e dtl
onvoted ble. ey emove wted ebob mnel om e ltte
ped on om Bowmn ple
Collingdu sysemAog ot
elly p o the
nepon th ollet
ll wte podutlteed by e
nepon nd
ltte t emovl
om e kdey.
GomeuusHg pee n e
glomeulu ued
by t dng o
eole ned o
venle oe
ld nd olble
me ou o the
plly nd nto
Bowmn ple.
Bowman'sapsueAo kown e
glomeul pule,
lte te d
been
expeled om te
glomeulu eultng
lte ped
long te neo
nd wll evelly
mke p ne
Disalonvoluedubuety epoble o
he egulto o
mne n te blood
lnkng to e
olletng d
ytem Uwted
m nel e exeed
om e epon
What is urine andwhat is it made of?U
ne mde p o nge o
og ompound
poten nd homoneogn l nd meoumebolte ee bypodu
e oten toge ndneed o be emoved om te
blood tem toug uton
e pHlevel o une typlly
ond neu (pH7 bt ve
dependng on det, hydto
evel nd pyl tne. he
olou o ne lo detemned
by tee to wth
dk-yellow ne ndtng
dehydon nd geen uebeng ndtve o eeve
pg onumpton
94%wate
6% othe rganicompounds
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AMG ANSWSTCOS QUSTIONS
What s th iv The human liver is the utimate mutitasker -it performs manydiferent functions al at the same time wihout you even asking
The lver s the larges nternal organ n
he human body and has over 500
functons In fact, t s he second most
comple organ after the bran and s nvolved n
almost every aspect of the body's metabolc
processes Its man functons are energy
producton, removal of harmful substances and
the producton of proens These tasks are carred
out wthn lver cells called hepatocytes whch s
n comple arrangements o ma m se effcency
The lver s the bodys man powerhouse,
producng and storng glucose as a key energy
source t s also responsble for breakng down
comple fat molecules and buldng them up no
choleserol and tglycerdes whch the body
needs bu n ecess are bad
The lver a kes manycomple protens,
ncludng clottng factors whch are vtal n
arrestng bleedng Ble, whch helps dgest fat n
the ntestnes, s produced n the lver and stored
n he adacent gallbladder
The lver aso plays a key role n deofyng
the blood. Waste producs, tons and drugs are
processed here nto forms whch are easer fort wo halveshe lve mlly pl n
w hve: le d gh Tee
e lbe d e be
e lge
he gallbaddeThe gllblde d lve
e nmely eled Ble wh
help dge pded e
lve nd ed n e g llbldde.
he commonbie ductTh d mll vl n
he hm dy. e ble
m e lve nd gllbldde
n he dden wee
help dge
Feel you lverke dee beh n d eelju nde he gh lwe
edge yu b me
pele e lwe edge e
lve be el
22 How It r
he biggestorganTe ve he
lge he enl
g g he
g pe dn
he bdme junde he b ge
n hed endede he
dg
the rest of the body to use or ecrete The lver
also breaks down old blood cells produces
antbodes to fght nfecton and recycles
hormones such as adrenalne Numerous
essenal vtamns and mnerals are stored n the
lver vamns A, , E and K, ron and copper
Such a comple organ s also unfortunately
prone to dseases Cancers !most often metastac
from other sources nfectons !hepats and
crrhos s a form of fibross often caused by
ecess alcohol consumpton are us some of
those whch can affect the lver 0
Eght segmentsnlly hee e egh
egmen he lve whh e
bed n he b
ve ng hee egmen
The pota tadThe mm ble du
ep ey d
ep pl ve mhe pl whh
e e vl w d
DigestonOe nuen m d
hve bee bbed
e ml nene, hey
e nped he lve
v e he pl ven
n wn ee)
eegy pdun
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W o r l d M a g s . n e t W o r l d M a g s . n e t
S i n 3. SinusoidsT bld-ld
ld by
yt d pvd
t t
mlu btw
bld d lv ll
4 Kue cels pld l
wt ud
d dy y
bt w
tm bld
9 Cenra veinBld m d,
w t ll
w mll
lw t tl
v w lw
t pt
v d
t v
v v
8 e poa iad
1 The lobuleT mt
bd v b
dt d yt
m t tl
t v
2 hehepaocyteT ly tv
l ll v' y
mtb
T pt ty, ptl v d bl d w
t t td t t t d v lbld m y d xt ut t lv
Why i the
ier a 'highdemandrgan?
The lve deals wth a massve amount of
bood t s unque because t has two blood
supples. 75 pe cent of hs comes dectly
fom the ntestnes !va the hepac poal ven
whch caes nutents fom dgeston, whch the
lve pocesses and tuns nto enegy The est
comes fom the hea va he hepatc atey
whch banches fom the aoa) c ayng oygen
tha the lve needs to poduce th s enegy The
blood flows n tny passages n between he lve
cells whee the many metabolc uncons occu
The blood then leaves the lve va the hepatc
vens o flow nto he bggest ven n the body the
nfeovena cava 0
Lv lobulsThe funcona un haperforms he l ver's asks
The lve s consdeed a c hemcal acto
as t oms lage complex molecules om
smalle ones bought to t fom the gut va
the blood steam. h e unctonal unt of the lves the lobule these ae hexagonalshaped
stucues compsng o blood vessels and
snusods Snusods ae the specalsed ae as
whee blood comes nto contact wth the
hepatocyes, whee the lves boogcal
pocesses ake place. 0
5. Hepaicaery banchBld m ppl
xy t pty d
mtb wtw t v xtt.
6. Bile duct w lp d md
ptyt d d bl
d t lw t t
lbldd t b b
d t t dudum
7. Poa vein v ut
bld dtly m ttt w lw t
d v ty wt ptyt.
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AMG ANSWSTCOS QUSTIONS
How do we
ge drunl
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S i n What exactyis a l
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AMG ANSWSTCOS QUSTIONS
How does thebrai thil
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W o r l d M a g s . n e t W o r l d M a g s . n e t
S i n*-Cosists o wo ererl
sphs t ono oto
ivy, e pl in oovnts, o-ordnion, d
ohe body ntons Th seon
o h bin ws bo 200
rs (oprd to ,300 rs
or the in ortex
Lmbic sysemThe rt o the bri n t ontols
iitive thinkin, eotionl
rspos, ss o sll nd tst.
Cerebral corexThe rey ter o e bri onrols onitio,otor tivity sestion nd other hier level
nions Inluds th ssoition rs whh hlpproess inotion Thse ssoition res r e wt
disti ishes te un bin ro ohe bins.
Thi combination oneuron might help you
compoe a ymphonyor pedal a bike
Fntal obePimaily controls
senses suc as tase,heaig, and smell
Associaion aeasmight lp usdtmi laga g
an th o o
soon's oic
Tallal says anthe way t thin k
abut the ba in is by lwe and
uppe aeas The spinal cd
mves infmatin up t the
bain stem, then p int the
ceebal ctex which cntls
thghts and memies
nteestingly, the ban
eally des wk like a
pweful cmpute in
detemining nt nly
mvements but egisteing
memies that can be
qickly ecalled
Accding t
Rbet Melill, a nelgist
and the funde f the Bain
Balance Centes www
bainbalanceentesm, the
ban actually pedeteminesactins and calculates the esults
abut a hal fsecnd bee pefming
them even faste in sme cases
This means, wh en yu each ut t
pen a d, yu bain has aleady
pedetemned hw t
mve yu elbw and clasp yu hand
maybe even simulated this
mvement me than nce bee yu
even pefm the actin
Anthe inteesting aspect t the
bain is that t hee ae sm e vluntay
mvements and sme ivlntay
Sme sectins the ban might
cntl a vluntay mvement such
as patting yu knee t a beat Anthe
sectin cntls invlntay
mvements, such as the gait f yu
walk which is passed dwn fm
yu paents Reflexes, lngtem
memies the pain eflex they ae allcntlled by sectins in the bain 0
r d t cProblemolvi
Hearing
Prefrontal cortexExcui ucios sc as compx
paning mmoisig, social ad balsklls and aytig that rquis
avaced tinig and nteractions. Iauts, elps us deermie whete aacio maes sese o is angeous
Skltal movmn Parietal obeWhee the ai
snss touc ad
anything at iacts
wt t surac o sk, maes u s awaeof he eeligs ofourbody an where we
ae in space
Tuch and s kn
sensa
Lauage
Reeessgnalsfrom
eyes
Analyss sgalfromeyes
Temporal obeWha disingss uma
bain- h abiiy o pocssand itpt w othr pas
o te bai are heagsensig, o tasng addetermie a espose
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AMG ANSWST COS QUSTIONS
A hin synapse n ynpe (e ew nnee) beween e
Neuon nen neve ell e bn
be ved ully by
le e w e
ne nd f bd
Neuroansmie eune e
eleel
e e nl f e en
ne l e x
What's a
neuron?Neons e ike eecicactN
euons ae a kind of cell in the bain humans
have many cells in the body including fat cells,
kidney cels, and gland cel ls. A neuon is essentally
like a hub that woks with neaby neuons to geneate an
elecical and chemi cal chage ikosky of the Swedish
Medical nstitute says anohe way of thinking about
neuons is tha they ae like a baskeball and the
connecions (called axons) ae like electi cal wies that
connect to othe neuons. This ceates a kind of cicuit
in the human body.
Paua alla l explained that input fom he ve
senses in the body causes neuons to fie: he moe
ofen a collecion of neuons ae stimulated
ogethe in time the moe likely they ae to bind
ogehe and the easie and easie it becomes fo
hat paten o f neuons o fie in synchony as
well as sequentially
How iportie sp cordI's actually pat of the bain and plays a majo oe in how yo body woks
Scientiss have known fo the past100 yeas o so that he spinal cod
is actually pat of he bain.
Accoding to Melillo while the bain
has gey matte on the outside (poected
by he skull) and potected white
matte on the inside, the spinal
cod is the evese the gey
matte is inside he spinal cod
and the white matte is outside.
Grey mae cellsGey e ell e pnl
d n eenee w
wy peple w eu
pnl d juy n
eve ve e We eell eenee
Whe mae cesWe e ell e pnl d
y e eleel ple
p e bn F exle wen
yu e ked n e n y feel
e pn n e nd y bn
e ell yu ve yu nd
ve e
Neuopasicy
Nerve oot
I e nl d e bn, ell n
ejvene ve e wen yu exee nd bee
enened pe lle neply
28 How It r
Spna cord coreIn e e e pnl d ey e ke e knd e e lye f e b
pen neve ell ,
p nd vee
Spinal nere
Neuogenesis l, by epen bn ve
en d en e yu
w ew el e pl d
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S i n-How do patches
hep smol
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AMG ANSWST COS QUSTIONS
Why do boomerangs come bacl
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It lile sCreaes mre elaborae burss
. FuseThe irst fuse sets eveyhg i
moion. After the shll is in he
mortar, t fus is lt and th fa
makes ts way o e lifig charge
3. Time-delayedfsWl th sell soas p ito th ar
he ie-delayed fse coties to
br byig nog i m to gt e
shll a its highs t point bfor
eacg te bsting carge
4 Bursting chargeThe bstig charge is ore blac
powdr, sord gh up t sll.
Onc h ti-dlayd fus
eaces he busig cage, e
combstion ss of t sars
5. Stashe stars begin heir heat-duced
chmical reactions he shll ca
o logr contain h powr of tcombstion, ad th sars ae set
flying, creatig he traditional
fiworks shaps
2. Lifing chageBlack powdr (also cald
gpowder) is ig ited by te fse,
ad th xplosio can sd a shel
p o 1000 ft ito h a
O-sProduces spherical bursts
How do frewor
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T rna is a
transpare layer
rng th ppl is
ad aqueus hr It
lps rra the ight
twads the eta s
at light is reeed i
te rre area
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S i n*-How doesdiabetesworl
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AMG ANSWSTCOS QUSTIONS
What's insideyour nervoussystem?Lovey as you may be, you ould be onsideed anoganisaon of not espeally taented ells
Lke any rgansatn yur success
epens n cmmuncatn between
yur nvual members. n a sense
yu acually are hs cmmuncan snce s
the magc tha makes yu a sngle clever
creature. Yur bultn cmmuncatns
newrk knwn as the nervus system
perceves the utse wrl keeps all by
pars wrkng n harmny an frms the
thughts an memres tha make yu unque.
The nervus system cmprses hunres
f bllns f specalse cells calle neurns.
A ypcal neurn cnssts f a cmpac cell
by prtrung flamens calle enrtes
an a lng sngle bre calle an axn. The
axn can transmt sgnals ther neurnsan muscle cells whle the enrte can
receve sgnals frm her neurns an
sensry cells A neurns axn may exten
acrss the bran r by an branch ff
hunres f tme s
When smehng exctes a neurn the c ell
by wll sen an elecrcal charge wn he
lengt h f an axn trggerng an termnals
t release chemcals calle
neurtransmtters. These neurtransmtters
can travel t receptrs n enrtes f an
anng neurn acrss a small gap calle a
synapse. Depenng n the type f
neurransmtter an recepr the sgnal
may excte he ajnng neurn re an
electr ca charge wn s wn axn r the
sgnal may nhbt the neurn frm rng.
The cmplex cnnectns an sgnal paterns
amng the hunres f bl lns f neurns n
yur bran frm thughts memres an all
her mental actves.
Smla rly axns hat exen u frm yur
bran an spnal clumn n yurbyc an
release neurransmers t trgger muscle
mvement an rgan actvty. Ths s hw
yur bran cntrls the res fy urby.
Neurns als carry sgnals frm the byback t he bran. Yu perceve sghts
suns smells an taste when sensry
cells n yur eyes muth nse an ears
excte nearby neurns The neurns
sen an elecrcal sgnal up t the bran
whch nterprets them. Sensry
neurns near yur skn an ther
parts f he by fre an eectrc
sgnal n respnse t pressure
whch yur bran perceves as
the sense f tuch.
Lk y , yu ucc
cuc yu u
. Cerebelumi fo "i bi, h
cbu co-oins
n fis ski
os bs on
inoi oy
nfoion Is soino i iinn
n po
2. Faca nerveni oy fib
o s bs
h fo of h o,
whi oo s
onn o yo iy u fo
fi sions
3 Vagus neveA ciic n ni
fo bi o k
ho h on ,
h s i ky oconoi n yo
swowin iion
piion
A n cis
u oo on
h o you bow,
wi fis
7. Una neveA ky io ibi yo fi
wis
e auoar nevos system(N) woksbehnd the Cnes to keep you body unnng
smoothly The ANS s a of yo pPi a
nevous system made up of scns0y neve
fbes t onst;y eay nfoon about
he state o you body and he moto neves tJ
Piay omans fom the ban . spa od
o vos gl"ds, he otay smooth
aeeao rn you a he moto ons
exe you body by neasq you et ae
and podug 5tes o mnes among othe
thngs he pJasympathc dvon s kc he
b
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S i n*-Wa danl
Nerve ascicleA bun f as.
Perineuriumah f nti
iss that ptsah fasi
AxonTh na fib that ais
ia sinas psi t
as a ssy fati
Myelin sheah
Fatty nsai tha ksans f s-iuitin
Bl vesselsSupy f b that is
nus with ny
EpineuriumOt nti tissu
that tts th n
. Commonperoneal nerveCnts t uss iyu w whih if t
yu ft
0. Sciaic nerveYu st nwih ais t
sias t ss that
bn y
9 emoral neeA ky n wth any
sa n banhs
tha ay tans t
uss, as w assnsy infain f
th thi a w
i hefunn aj1nM
st f th a ns in y by ainsa by us, bns a tss
h b pti is th na wih ns
w yu a, by way f yu bw
n as t ans t yu in an
pnk fis a ays snsy inati
ba t th ta ns sys I f yu ba
y bw us bn bs thn jan th ans ins wi yu bain
intpts as a iin snsat
W v ?You neurons ae fagile ces, and for the most
par can't be repaced if they get damaged So,
instead of bare axons unning through your
body, we have neves
A nerve is ke an electrica cabe housing
thousands (or mions) of axons n a potectve
sheath of tissue Neves extend out fom ur
bain and spna coumn, known as the centra
nervous system to the rest of you body
There areUpairs of nerves extending rom
the brain and 31 pairs extending om the
spina cod e neves banch of n youbody, forming a networ called the pephera
nervous system.
The aerent dison of the peripheral
nervous system reays signas from
sensory neurons back to the cental nevous
system whie the eferent division relays
instuctons rom the centra neous system
to musces and gands. Most nerves cary
both tys of signas
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AMG ANSWSTCOS QUSTIONS
Supero and nero vena cavah ag in ay b bak t t
hat f gan ab an bw th at
ptiy Thi b a aay b
stip f its xygn spy a thu s is a
ak bui u
What's inside
B f t a
aa nt thi
hab f t
ha w i
ts pasiy
Ticuspd vaveWhn th gt ati tats, tpuss b tug th tisi
a, a way a ag wn
int t igt nt
Right venricle nt th ig nt un u h ati tai,
giig it a bst ik t tubag in a ighpfa a h
i at an u gh t pay a int
puay ay an twa t ng.
8 How It r
the heart?Your heart s a turbocharged double
pumpng muscle that beats more than 40mllon tmes every year
Pumonary veinsft th b txygn f t ngs, it
tn t th at iat punay i
Le arumB biing wit
xygn an
nutints ts
W t aiutats th b
pa thug th
ita a an
t t ft ti
Le ventriceT ft nti ust sn
b n a g jny
than t ight t s t
a thik wa an u
abut th tis as uh
ngy Lkiy th f
atis ntain gis
th ft nt uput a
20 p b
No only does your heart do
amazing things, it does so
tirelessly every minue of every
day from the moment you're born (actually,
even a bit before then o the instant that
you die t weighs somewhere beween
eight and1 ounces slightly more if you're
male, less f youre female s sole purpose
is to push blood through your circulatory
system, providing crucial oxygen and
other nutriens to all your organs
The heart is considered a double pump
because the right half sends used blood
to your lungs here, he blood drops off a
load of carbon dioide and picks up some
fresh oxygen, which you have helpfully
provided by breathing Then he
oxygenated blood returns to te left halfof the heart T his heartoungstoheart
again' trip is known as pulmonary
circulaton The eft side of the hea r then
pumps his oxygenated blood to every
organ in your body other than your lungs
Your brain, your skin, he muscles in your
thigh, your spleen hey all ge blood
(and herefore oxygen) by virtue of your
beating hea rt
Even he heart itself gets blood, via a
special set ofveins and arteries known as
the coronary system he myocardiaI
muscle wihin the wal of he heart needs
oxygen and other nutrients o keep
beaing Unfortunatey, he coronaryareries that do this job are very narrow,
beween 17 and 22 millimeres in
diameer If they become clogged with
choleserol or other fatty deposits, he
hear stops workng This is bad for you
Of course he relatvely simple concept
of the double pump is fairly complex in
practice A series of valves control blood
ow to the heart's four chambers, alow
for the buildup of enough blood pressure
to get the job done, and direct the blood to
the correct veins and areries
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S i n * -What mal
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AMG ANSWSTCOS QUSTIONS
What's in our ears?The er performs a range of ncons,senng messages to the bran whena sound s made whle aso prodngyour body a sense of baance
The thing to remember
when learning about the
human ear is that sound is
all about movement.
When someone speaks or bangs
a drum or maes any kind o
movement the air around them is
disturbed, ceating a sound wave
oalternating high and low
requency. These waves are
detected by the ear and then
interpreted by the brain as words
tunes or sounds
Consisting o ar-illed cavities,
labyrinthine uid-illed channels
and hghly sensitive cells, the ear
has external middle and internal
parts. The outerearconsists o a
sin-covered exible cartilage lap
called the auricle, or pinna. This
eature is shaped to gather sound
waves and ampliy them beorethey enter the ear or processing
and transmission to the brain. The
irst thing a sound wave entering
the ear encounters is the sheet o
tightly puled tissue separating the
outer and middle ear. Ths tissue is
the eardrum, or tympanic
membrane, and it vbrates as sound
waves hit it.
Beyond the eardrum, in the
airilled cavity o the middle ear
are three tiny bones called the
ossicles. These are the smallest
bones in your entire body Sound
vibratons hittng the eardrum pass
to the irst ossicle, the malleus
(hammer). Next the waves proceed
along the incus (anvil and then on
to the (stapes stirrup. he stirrup
presses against a thin ayer o tissue
caled the oval window', and this
membrane enables sound waves to
enter the luidilled nner ear.
The inner ear s home to the
cochlea, which consists owatery
ducts that channel the vibrations
as ripples along the cochleas
spiralling tubes. Running through
the middle o the cochlea s theorgan o Corti, whch is lined with
minute sensory hair cells that pick
up on the vibrations and generate
nerve impulses that are sent to the
brain as electrica signals. he
brain can interpret these signals
as sounds. tvr ?Ini in hvtibu iin wi ft ny
. iiu
n u inftin
b whi wy ivi i p pt
whi ii th
nv ipu
MacuaA y
v i
tiy i
CiaA f h iiu
n tiny i-fi
ny p i
40 How It r
Semiciular canalTh th piti t i n t
t u f ui th tpt
un vibti t th it
Vestibuar neveS ii b
uib f h
ii i
Vestibuleni th
fifi
vtib tw
hb (th
ui n u)
bt f wi
in t
u
whh i v i
ny hi
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S i n -URmblingi lder thelessfd present in the smallintestine whih is partl whpeple assiate rmblingtmmies with hnger
Oesophagushis sua i nsth at t stah
Stomach is a i
ith asic jcs t
ak .
Smal intestineH iqi b1n
ith a asss an
ak f s
baassin iss.
arge intesti;e F asss f t
sa itstin t t
a intsti h it is
tun int fas
What mal
-
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AMG ANSWSTCOS QUSTIONS
42 How It Jr
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S i n Q,
How I lrks 4
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AMG ANSWSTCOS QUSTIONSW iradzation sodangerous?here ae any different types o
adiaton; o exaple, visible light s a
or o radiation Soe are ore harul
than others, howeve, as there ae on
average 5000 radioactve partcles
travelling though your body every second!
Wth all ths radiaton exposre, why aent
we all dying o cancer? Wel it is not the
aont of radaton whch yo coe into
contact wth, as every sng le one of these
patices has the potential to cause cancer
ts jst the pobability of that occrng is
abot one n 30 quadilion!
Only appoxiately one per cent o fata
han cancer s cased by these 30 tllio n
radioactve partices whch pass throgh or
bodies in a typical ifetie. Ionsing radiaton
has the enegy to detach eectrons fro ther
associated atos, thereore causing the ato
to becoe positivey charged These chaged
particles are eerred to as adicals and ae
highly reactive due to thei unstable nate.
Radical s ae vey ipotant for certain
pocesses in the body sch as the kllng o
bactea. However, any unwanted effects
sch as tation of cels can be a poble.
Scentsts have fond ots o evdence to
sggest that these adcals cause utationsn cells which can give rise to cance.
44 How I r
How dopainkillers cureeadachese al eel pain differently dependingon the severity of the njury o acheas wel as or health and ou pa in threshod
When yo are in pain, nerve endings
tanst the pain signal to the bain va the
spnal cord. he bran then inteprets the
level of painhee are two key types o pa nkle rs that
are coony used. he fst nclude
ibpoen and paracetaol, which block the
bodys prostaglandins (cheicas that
produce sweling and pain) at the souce o
the pan, redcng sweing in the area and
edcing the intensty o pain hese asprin
edicines are sed freqently fo ld to
oderate pain, bt they can ony wo up to
a cetain intensity o pai n. Thee are d iferent
types of pankiles wthin this gop, sch as
ant-inlaatoy edicnes, le ibpofen,
which ae coony sed to treat arthritis,
sprains and stains. Aspirn is used to hep
lowe the sk o blood cots when sed in alow dosage as they thin the blood.
Paacetao is whats nown as an
analgesic which is sed or reducng pan
and lowering a tepeature.
he second type of pankles inclde
orphine and codeine (nacotic edicnes),
which bloc the pan essages n the spina
cod and the bran Ths is for ch ore
severe pan As both types o panklers use
slightly different ethods to treat pan, they
can be cobine d, such as n co-coda o,
which blends codeine and paracetaol.
Wy does icehave the enerto burst pes?ate is different to ost othersbstances as pon tuning nto icets vole expands by oughy nine per cent
causing it to becoe ess dense. This s de
to natre o the bon ds between the
olecles and the shape o those olecles.
pon changing state a substance needs to
absob or release a certain aount o energy
to undego the phase transiton Fo a sold
trning i nto a liq d this enegy is needed to
break the bonds in the solid theefoe needs
to be absobed by the syste. For a liquid
trning into a solid, this energy s reeased as
the bonds or
For kg of water at reezing point to
change nto ice, it ust give o 333.55kJ to
the soundngs jst to undergo the phase
transition his lage aont o energy is
noally gven o as heat, which eans it
gives the oeces n the atosphere oe
kinetic energy Howeve, i wate is
contaned in a stee pipe at reeng point,
the enegy gven o wil be passed on to the
olecles and bonds in the ppe, causing the
pipe to bust.
Wy does minttaste cold'?ere sue yo have all experienced thecoo sensation induced by eating aint and the reason why this happens is due
to the active ingredient caled enthol. When
we perceive soethng to be hot or cold, ths
is due to eectrcal signals o the nerves
which coe nto contact with the hot o cod
thing Our bain then nterpets these
eectrica signals as instrctions such as
that is hot, dont touch! o that s codMints usaly contain enthol. Menthol
has the abi ity to aect the pores on our
nerve cells which changes the electrcal
actvty o the cel This change in electrcal
actvty corresponds to the sae change that
woud tae pace i soething cod cae nto
contact wth the cell The cell intepets the
change in activity due to enthol as a
change in teperatue and sends that
inoraton to the bra in. This accounts or
the codness which we experience when
eatng a int.
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Science* _QCan glass be made from lightning hitting sand?
his is indeed possibe as gass and sandare both made om the same chemca,
silicon dioxide. Silicon dioxide has an
extremely hgh melting point so rst the
sand has to be heated past ths o it to
become a iqid. n sand the siicon and
oxygen atoms ae aanged n a very ordely
way. When the sand is heated to vey high
tempeatues, this arrangement breaks down
and the position o the atoms becomes
dsordely and random I the sand is cooled
quick enough then the atoms o oxygen and
silicone dont have enogh time to revert
back to ther nce oderly arrangement sothey om the sbstance we know as glass.
When ightnng occrs, the strike pont can
reach temperatres o p to 30,000C which
is mch hotter than the sace o the Sun.
Provdng the sand is o the ight ind then it
is possibe that gass w orm ulgurite s the
tem gven to what is let ove which is a
hollow gass tbe and can sometimes
penetrate up to 15 metes below the sace
o the sand
he type o sand the ightning stries is a
majo actor as to whether t wll trn into
gass or not. Meteorte impacts have alsobeen known to reease a large enough
amont o energy to convert sand nto gass
De to the npredctable natue o lightning
stkes and given that they can be hi ghy
dangeous t mght be a sky business
opportunity in moe than just the nanca
sense On aveage thee can be moe than
00 lightning sties happenng every second
acoss the globe but the chances o these
being over the right type o sand at exacty
the right moment ae very ow so dont get
yor hopes up
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AMG ANSWST COS QUSTIONS
At whattemperaturei water at itsdensest?D esit y s a easre of how uch assa ateria has a specifc voe ofspace Theefore the ore atos pe ut
voe a aterial has ad the oe ass
those atos have the higher the desity will
be Whe yo heat soethg p it takes up
ore space ad therefoe becoes less
dese. Most ateials wil be at ther desest
whe they are a solid ie whe ther atos
are closest together. Wate does ot folow
this e as we al kow that ice foats o
water theefoe ice s less dese tha water!
So whe s water at ts desest Wel, it
turs out this happes to be arod 4C. This
s whe the water oeces ae closest
togethe Coolg water fthe tha 4C
causes the desity to decrease p to the
pot whee it becoes a solid which is less
dese tha the lquid This happes de to
the sual way that the water olecules
arrage theseves whe trg ito a
solid, it s kow as a crystalie strcture
ad it s sch a arageet that the
olecles are futher apat fo each othe
as a sold tha whe they were a iqid
-
How doesde-icer work?D e-cers work by lowerg the freeigpoit of wate casg it to t backfro ice to lqid wate. Usally this is de
to the addito of a cheical copod su ch
as sod chloide (ofte caled rock salt) o
calc iu choride Most deicers ae't
desged to et evey piece of ice they coe
to cotact with they break the bod
betwee the ice a d the su face alowig for
easier aa eoval of the ice.
46 How I r
How are ball bearings made?here are few diffeet parts that ake
p a ball beaig icldig aces a
cage, ad the the coverig to potect the
beaig he first stage the process is a
cod o hot forig opeatio; a thic k piece of
wie is fed to a achie where t is ct
dow by slcig sectios off each side
The ache the sas two heisphere
cavtes (a bit ike a old) ito the piece of
wire to ake a ball shape. As a esult of this
process the ball wi have a rig of excess
etal arod it caled a fash, which eeds
to be reoved The ball also eeds fther
poishig to ake t pefectly oud ad
sooth. The ball with the fash is the fed
ito aother achie which ols the ball
aoud betwee two ll plates. Ril pates are
two had pates of steel which wear away the
flash ad sooths the srface of the ball. he
ball is the heated to hade it after which it
degoes a gidig pocess siiar to that
of the ll plates til it is grod dow to its
fia, very accurate easureets which
ofte reqie toeraces as sal as a
iloth of a ch.
The last process is called appi g, which
requies a sia ache that exerts less
pessure cobied with a polishg paste to
gve the balls their perfect shiy fiish
without frthe edcig thei size
It gound down to i nal, ve accuratemeasuremen which oen require tolerancas small as a millionth of an inch
Ho mucctrc do tbran produc?he bai reqires a reatively low powe
to operate aod 2 0 watts which
woud be eogh to powe a weak ight bub
20 watts correspods to 20 jo les of eegy
per secod The geeratio of electcity
the brai esults fro the oveet of os
(charged atos) though the bai as
opposed to electros ovg throgh a wire.
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Science _Qw he hlesge Swiss heeseo ak chs you nd th h p o
bactria. Diffrt typs of bactria in
difrnt cobinatons gv rs to th distinct
varity o flavours i ay chss. hr ar
various dirnt typs o bactra usd or
akig Swiss chs th on rsposib for
th hols is calld Propionibactriu
shrai. Onc this bactria s hatd slghtly
t racts, foring bubbs of carbon dioid
that bco th a h ols i th product
h tchical tr for ths hols is ys'
h s o ths ys ca b controlld by th
chsakrs by altring th acdity,
tpratur and curig ti of th itur.
Gnrally in ost foods which rquir
frntation bubbs of carbon dioid wl b
ford but ost of th t thy scap Th
procdur which gos nto akig Swss
chs ans thos bubbls rain trappdisid which as thr will b ys i th
fna product.
o dobooratay arbo?o wv covrd why thy co back buthow do boorags stay up i th frstplac? Th two ars of th boorang arlik th wigs o a plan n that th fastr
thy ov through th ar th or lift thy
grat. lik pa wings thy spin as thy
ov through th ar ad this cobinatio of
spin and ovnt ans that so parts
of th boorang ar oving quckr
Bcaus th boorag s spng th
arodynaic lit occurs at dfrnt rats on
difrnt parts o th boorag, as th
wigs o th boorang ar thrown at a
angl th nt lt s towards th ctr o th
crcl that th boorang ovs o.
Wy do we hiccup?hr ar ovr 100 physologica rasos
as to what sts hiccups o, th ost
coon bing panson o th stoach and
ovt of stoach acid into th
osophagus. Aftr this thn it could b an
irritatio of th thora or th phric nrv
(th nrv to th daphrag).
Th chans of a hccup usually
involvs a strong contractio o th
daphrag th ck uscs a d so othr
surrounding uscs. J ust atr th
contraction bgis w start to nha at which
poit th gottis (a kid o lshy trap door
whch sparats th ood ad ar tubs in your
throat) shuts o th widpip ad th is
producs th hi nois.
Scntists ar trying to find th purpos of
hiccups. O thory s that thy ay hav
bn usful for a ancstor of ours. Standing
o two gs givs us th advatag of usig
gravty to hp dgst our ood, but our-lggd
craturs hav to digst horizotally which
as it's asir or ood to gt stuck. So
scitists thik th lodgd food coud hav ht
a rv rsponsibl or trggring th hicc up
alowng th ood to b swalowd. I f this is th
cas th hiccups coud hav bn highy
usful rathr than just aki g you o ok dat
One theo that hiccups may have beenusel for an ancestor of ours
.
Wy use saltto melt ice onthe roa? alt lowrs th frzing/lting point owatr/ic. h tg pot o ic undrora codtios is ro dgrs Clsius.
Sa watr howvr rs/ts at -2.2
dgrs Csus du to its high saity
As to why sat lowrs th tig/
fring pont o watr this is a bit or
difcult to pan wthout going ito so
cop chistry. Basicaly watr s adfro Hp, ad aythg ls whch gts nthr, such as sodiu th cas o sat, gts
in th way ad aks it hardr or th p tobond as c.
pon sprnkling salt onto ic th sat rst
dssovs to th iqud watr surroundng
th ic causg th ic to t. h salt can
oy lowr th ltig/ring point of
watr up to aroun d 16 dgrs f th
tpratur is bow this point th salt is
inctiv and t would b bttr to pour
sad ovr th ic to hlp cras tracton.
Wy do wesometimesremember ourdreams?his is a vry good quston ad t s on
or which thr is no satisactory
aswr basd on our currt undrstandg
of th brain On thig studis hav told us,
though, is that dras s to happn or
vvidly ad frqunty during th REM (Rapid
Ey Movnt) stag of th sl p cyc,which tds to occur roughly our to iv
tis in a noral ghts slp.
t has b rportd by svral studs
that you ar uch or lky to rbr
th dra you wr having f you ar
wokn i th iddl of this REM cycl. So f
you would ik to rbr your dras
or rqutly, you could try stting your
aar cock to go o in th idd o your
REM sp cycl (liky to b nar th d
of your ights slp) and writ down what
you rbr.
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AMG ANSWSTCOS QUSTIONS
Pawse pws e bt spt
epse cws h pvespe gp, esg thew hs f ech ste
50 How I r
Egge gs stsw f fst eep tke Mtg hgh eve fyge s ctc whe theheeth s hse s sbeth-e ceses thee-f
The cheets g t cts teweght,mg bce gshp ts hgh spee
he spe s cebyfebe hs evve s
The ceeths eyes e pve we-ge vef ts suugs Thspves them w ecee
vs whe stkg chsg pey the vehbtt f pe ps.
The het s egecmpe t he msf ts sze, pmpg ss mt f b
Te vege weght f eeth s 57 kg (125b) ts b s see It hs sm he, ftee ge g, egs th
mmse esste
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Environment _Q0 esCheck ot te tree stages a cheetah undertakes to reach 40mph i jst tree strides
1. Brce 2 Snp 3 KickTe eea eys s har re fasan n, nn-rraa aws axsran wh he rn Is sne ures,-k an ha s a fra
Te sne ns an snas srah rn e ns h arh a sh h ha frwar Thne sener uses exa njun aar asy a r frwar hrs.
Te bne sne a e ses e e eea an nreby braswn an an 6 s (25 f) r h a n a ssabn. A e unan f e u ne f s reane n he earan rss s a T ha s hr srs a s
Th sash's na b ssar a sws's anarns an n ary fsh
With a top speed on pa with that of a
cheetah the sai lfish is lightning fast
and one o the most difficult-to-catch
fish in the wold.
Thanks to its stifened tapeed body and
scissoshaped caudal in the sail fsh is built fo
spee d a speed that comes coutesy of a apid
and feocous icking of its tail ndeed duing a
Cpble o swimming or lon eriods o tme tover 40mh, nd witf recoredtop speed o over70mp te silsh s the ocen's stest nimlchase to consume ish custaceans o
cephalopods the saifish will flick ts tail back
and foth hundeds o times utiising the
poweful muscles which un down its
compessed body
As with a peegine falcon the sail fish's speed
is also aided by its ability to etact pats
o its body in this instance its vaious fns
(notably the lage dosa fin that adds ove a foot
on to its oveall heght his featue helps it
educe the efects of dag and minimise
esistance to its movements
Its spine is also vey fexible and as wth the
cheetah allows it to geneate inceased thust
though the apid cuves it bends its toso into
while swimming
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vu V TION Ill
he eegne falconis incedby quick
fou thought the cheetah was fast, been finel honed to maxmse speed ,
then think again The peregrine
falcon blows its top speed out of
the water b over 130mph Capable of
hitting a monumenta 2oomph during astoop (dive, the falcon has the highest
top speed of an animal on Earth
The peregrines speed is caused b a
combination of factors irstl it makes
use of gravit, diving upon its pre from
great height, evenwhen the
themselves are airborne Secondl, its
anatom as with the cheetah's has
52 How I r
evolving over mill ions o ears into the
swift and eficient killer it is toda For
example, the peregrine's keel which
s ocated at its breastbone issignicantl larger than average birds',
allowing for bigger muscles and a
greater number to attach its wings to its
bod This all ows it to generate far more
power per thrust when building speed
urther, the peregrine's wings have
evolved to be incredibl pointed, with
slim, stiff and unslotted feathers,
which helps streamlining and reducing
air resistance signifcantl.
Unlike the cheetah, however,
arguabl the peregrine handles its
awesome speed much better irst l,
while having the same enlarged heart
and lungs, the peregrine does not suferdamage from oxgen deprivation at the
close o its stoop This is partl due to
gravit's beneficial aid in generating its
killer speed but also due to the
peregrine's abili t to absorb oxgen
through its red muscle bres, o which
it has man. This allows it to keep a
stead oxgen low a t all times and
means that, consequential l, it does
not need to rest postkill, reducing its
vulnerabilit to scavengers
SightPey pe le ag a he hepeegne beg a ng y. a ea al a ck fee y
StremlineThe g ae ug g e fal ea, ak e pe lm, ff a uefeae, begn aply ee a eae
Velitypee ceae a he ac mb hllee ag, eag pee up 200m p I g keel hep maa ucualy ug e e a eye ae ep clea byang memae, a e a eyel
CntPey b uck acape mai. epeegne ke i pey a clece fhch e e mmenepee ehe n kll, befe hen pgu ach lage cla Pey alaycnume n e gun
Iyou thought the cheetahwas fast, then think again
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EnvironmentQPhysique
Un BThe fastest human aive, Usain Boltrecently broke the word 100-metrerecord with a st geringly quicktime of 9.58 seconds0
ne of te most successul species of anima on e
planet, Homo sapiens ave evolved over e las120,000 years nto creatures wit formidable
pysical abilities. Currenly, te fastest um an is sa in
Bolt, a amaican-born spriner wo as won te world 100
and oomere gold medas.
Bolt epitomises e ideal uman anatomy needed to
produce suc ig speeds: a all eig (19m) balanced
weigt (939kg) a nd long, powerful muscles wit an
excelent metabolism muscles canno uilise energy-ric
fuels' suc as glucose, instead tey must convert i into
ATP (adenosine tripospate wit te amount of ATP a
muscle produces directly correlating to te amount of
power it can generate
i mocMuscle power is common o all ese creaures, so eres an expanaon ofow muscles provde e power ta n turn provdes e speed
2 Power strokeT myos had n
plls flan bypo backwads ad
da no acompssd poso.
Cross bdge
deaches
4. Energy elesenal ly P ass
ny o conv hyosn ad fo s bn
lowy poson back os al y
confuao ady fo h cycl
1 Attchmentsly a yosn hadak o a oachoo) aacs sl oa posd bdn so h sclflamns, ppn a coss bd.
Atin filament
is puled
3 Detchment olcl of Padnos pospa)n bnds o yos,las s p o hflan so ha h cossbd dacs
Energised yosin
headThe fest nim 1on Eah are. . .Here's a list of the mostsuperfast critters on the planetASEST ISHSalfs 68mp (okp
Marlin 0mp (8okpWaoo 48mp (78kp)
Tunny 46mp (74kp)
Bluefs tuna 44mp (7 okp)
ASEST LAND INS TTiger beete .6mp (84kp)
Cockroac 34mp (4kp)
ASEST REPILESSpnytailed iguana
Black mamba
1mp (34kp)
mp (okp
eregrne falcon
Spine-tailed swftrigaebirdSpur-wnged gooseRedbreasedmerganser 8omp (129
-
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AMG ANSWS T COS QUSTIONSHow does a volcano erupt?Breathtalng and oen devastang reminders thatthe Earth's sace is actively evolving
!anoes are rare loations on the
Earth's rust where molten rok
magma spews to the surfae as
lava often aompaned by superheated
gas and debrs
his fresh magma, whih is lighter than
solid rok, perolates upward through
issures in the rust, eventually exploding
to the surfae when trapped gasses in the
magma rush to esape.
W t df Geologists see volanoes as otward
evidene of the inner workings of plate
tetonis, the theory that the rust is
fragmented into 15 oeani and
ontinental plates that diverge, onverge
and slide beneath one another over time.
Approximately400 of Earth's 500 known
ative volanoes lie atop subdution zones,
plaes where an oeani plate slips
beneath another oeani or ontinental
plate. he Ring of re' traes a irle of
highly ative subdution zones around the
Pai Oean
n a subdution volano, magma is
formed 100 to ookm beneath the surfae
when water and arbon dioxide seep from
the sinking oeani shel lowering the
melting pont of the surrounding rok.
3 CraterCraers onain sevea hineys
ha ei lava and debis In rare
ases a eendous eupion
auses he volano o ollapse on
iself reang a adera a gian
raer kiloeres in diaeer
Rift volanoes form along the great
seams of two separating plates. he
midAtlanti ridge, whih separates the
North Amerian and Afrian plates, is one
of these seams. As the plates pull apart,
magma bubbles p through hundreds,
even thousands of small volanoes to ill
the raks, reating new oean loor
ive per ent of volanoes are loated far
from the seams of teton plates
Soalled hot spot volanoes are fuelled by
deep soures of magma pumped to the
surfae through powerful onvetion
urrents in the molten mante Sine the
deep fuel soure remains fxed while the
plate slides above, the result is often a
string of volanoes, muh ike the
awaiian slands
4. Cinders, blks andmbs.. oh my!Dung erupions, volanoes an ei
louds of ash, red-ho ndes bloks
of disodged rok and even volani
bobs gobs of airborne lava ha
soidfy beore hiing he gound.
ShieldWe, sspe esfm by y f
M L H)
Composite seepspe es mefm y f ebs ke sh bmb M j Jp)
Over enuries a oose voano wil lay
down alernaing ayers of ooled ava and
opaed ash and debis Ohe voanoes ae
bui enely of lava ayes o ounds o indersA oun of aga rses u
hrough he ain ven. Ove
illennia eosion an expose
he ain ven of a long
donan volano as a h
54 How I r
CinderSm, see esmp f p f h
s Pu Me)
FissureF fe s f h emee fm k ' fzes Ls Ps in N)
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EnvironmentQWy are geers rae?Wa drves hese founans ofsuperheaed waer, and whyaren here more of hem?
Water trcklesundergundSw i iv wk u f y ik uh fuk ph f w h kims
6.Silca sealSii iv f hyi vi k n wy bui p h pip ws usi bnk
8. Sky-hgh waterTh w bv hsup w is hw up i i s j Th pssu sui uph w s.
7. A sudden rushW psu w b u i n vm hwih f vyi w sh h sf.
;': . 4 :
.
3 Superheated water 4. Plumbng system 5 Hghpressure aea 2. Hot rksT w i vy hips bu i ' bib f h ps u f vyin w k. hs is ph
T h w ius pwsvi p u sys fu pips ps s is, h vy pss sss pn n i
ys f, s b i sp i h nupip y Thi s ik inpss k
Th w i wih hks sni piy
y ny fw bw hE's suf
Geysers form when waer is superheaed by
volcanic aciviyunderground, bu can'
move freely as i circulaes owards he
surface. nsead, pressure builds up unil he
waer explodes upwards in a gian gush.
Since waer needs o encouner ho rock, some
geyser fields are found above upwellings of ho
rock from deep wihin he Earh. Ohers are
found near crusal plae boundarieswhere here
is volcanic aciviy and broken, fracured rock.
Rivers snow or rainwaer rick ing hrough he
Earh can provde a consan source of waer.
Mos geysers form where here's a silicarich
rock known as rhyolie. Risng ho waer dissolves
he silica in he rhyolie and carries upwards
hrough naural pipes in he rock where i's hen
deposied as a rock caled geyserie. The silica
seals he pipe agains waer pressure and
narrows is walls.
Every geyser has a differen plumbing and
reservoir sysem, bu here are wo main ypes.
Cone' or column' geysers like Old aihful erup
in a seady column from a beehiveshaped nozzle
of geyserie. They end o have one reservoir of
wae wih a single pipe leading from i o he
surface. ounain' or pool' geysers erup from a
large pool of waer in a series of powerul burss.
They are hough o have a reservoir fed by wo
waer sources descending shallow cold waer
and ho waer rising from below.
As geysers need a rare combinaion of
geological condiions o form, hey're found in
jus a handful of paces. There are around 0
geyser fields worldwide and mos have jus a few
geysers. he biggesYelowsone USA has
almos hal f he worlds geysers.
How It Tr 55
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AMG ANSWS T COS QUSTIONS
56 How I r
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EnvironmentQHow It Tr 57
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AMG ANSWSTCOS QUSTIONSNoal fault Reverse or
thrust faultMountains Split river
T rock sl ab lyig abovte slopig falt lie sides
dowwards as t plas
spara. Yo g t sam
effec removing e
booknd fom a slf of
slopig books
Slabs lyig aove he
slopig falt lie lft p
alog a vrs faul Plat
collisions ps a rock slab
p ad ovr anor along
a trust fal
Trs faults a commo i
ge motain ranges like e
Himalayas, wh two
continal plats a collidig.
is ivr asi as n slit
wo by te roc slabs o
ith sid o h alt,
movig in oosite d ectios
Basins and rangesS moutai rangs ad avaly basi ns form wr rocblocks are lited ad lowered by
orma faultg Dat Vally,
Califoria i e western UitedSats is a goo xamp
Plates moving apa Plates collidingCrsal plats ar movig aart
fracturig e Earhs bitle
cst along falt lins cracs
where sabs of roke ock gindpast ac othe
Crustal lats ar colliding utg
pressre on te Eart's cust As e
plas slowly crc togr, t
crst bends folds ad factues lie a
car bont in a crash
What causesearthqual
-
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Environment _Qmoe poweful than a magnitude two Quie anunimaginale thought.
t's inteesting o note that eathquake damage
isn't diectly eated to magnitude. Deep, distant
eathquakes shake the gound less han close,
shalow eathquakes ecause the enegy eleased
a the focus has had a chance to dispese. Big
eathquakes often cause longe temos Fo
than uan aeas ui on loose deis andsediments. Watesatuated sedimens can
ehave like quicksand when shaken, whee loose
gains move apat and ow like a liquid. n
Niigata, apan, 1964, eathquake-esisant
uildings tumled onto hei sdes when he
gound undeneah liqueed. he populaion
faces additional hazads once he shaking stops.
it sAn earthqake's size can be calclated on the familiar
Richter scale which makes use of logarithms for
comparing the scae of one eahquake to another, or
the more scientifc Moment Magnitude scae which
uses sophistcated seismology equipment to measuean eathquake's actual enegy.
CSTROPHICRichr magniude: >8Moment mnideN/A
Affects areas housans ofmi lesacross. Complete devastao
VERY DIUSRichr magnide8Moment manideN/A
Damage oeundes omles Masny esroye, iges downlarge cracks apear te go
DISASTROUSRichtr mniude:-8Moment mnideN/A
Majoraage oldngs ased(asory a rames destroye)
Grond susidence ras et pesrken, andsdes possbe.
VERY DESTRUCERichr magniude:7Moment mgnide 0
Seos amage ossibe oer ageareas rcres ad grod se
DESTRUCnERichr magnitude:6Moment mnide69
MetrdamageoingsHevfmtreoao
VERY STRONGRichr magnide56Moment magni6.0Possibe srctua damage obildgs i ppulated areas Nticedby eole g
STRONGERRichter magnitu5Moment magnide59
Fel beeyoe Mio o modeadamage case
STRONGRichter magnitude4Moment mnitude 5.0
Fel by most eoe ossbedamage urs Wnws ancrocke e o rea a treedsted
MODERERichter magnituN/AMoment mnitude9
Teseare oftefelt idoos
eslg n crockery bengdsturbed Cracs ay aear walls
SIGHTRichter manitude3Moment manitude:.0
Noceabe raios noos
EGIGBLERichter magnitude2Moment magniude:3.
Can e el o pper oos ta buidgs
INSTRUMENTALRichter maniude2Moment mnitude:103.0
Amicoearquakedeee sumeaio Bael etbmas
dops ove ime. oweve hey can happenmonths, yeas o decades afte the quake.
Undesea eathquakes can e as devasating as
those on land, if not moe. Fault movements can
dsplace hugevolumes of wae, which cash to
shoe as kille waves called tsunamis. An undesea
eathquake nea nothen Indonesia iggeed the
Indian Ocean tsunami in 24 he wold's iggest
example, an eathquake in
949, which had a magntude
of 7.1, shook the gound fo 3
seconds, while a magnitude
8.3 eahquake in 964lasted
Unstoppable and terring, big quakesstrike with little or no warning
fo at leasoyeas. At eas
2, people in ndonesia
alone wee killed y he gian
waves Rescue teams cleaed
up odies fo weeks
five minutes.
he majoity of he shuddeing duing an
eahquake is caused y Rayleigh waves hesesuface waves oll along, convulsing he Eath's