BLACK HOLE BABY SPOTTED BEING BORN

For the first time, a black hole has been seen being born out of an exploding star 20 times the mass of our sun. The baby black hole is located 50 million light-years from Earth. IT has not been possible before to study a black hole anywhere especially from so close. In perspective the back hole was born almost in our backyard. What is important is that scientists have pinpointed its' birth date. The discovery is also important because it could help research the fates of other stars. Theoretically, stars that are greater than about 20 times the mass of our sun are thought to collapse inward and become neutron stars. Astronomers don't really know the dividing line between black holes and neutron stars,but the x-ray data will help narrow that down. Researchers prefer the baby black hole theory over the newborn neutron star, but only time and more data will tell.

I believe that this is a very significant event for astronomers that study the life span of all different kinds planets. They will be able to study the way plants end and what happens to them afterwards. They could use this knowledge to predict a similar fate for earth in the future. I will also help scientists study the importance and roles of black holes in the universe. They could also study the out come of the black hole that is in the middle of our universe. I believe that this is a big step in the study of astronomy.

Dark matter hunt deepens at Ont. mine

Researchers from Canada, the U.S. and Europe have recently set up new experiments at SNOLAB(Sudbury Neutrino Observatory), located two kilometres underground near Sudbury, Ont. they are trying to figure out the composition of dark matter — invisible mass that makes up at least 25% of the universe. To make dark matter show itself, They are using a four-kilogram dark matter particle detector,called the bubble chamber and running it remotely. Scientists think dark matter is made up of a theoretical type of subatomic particle called a weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP). WIMPs don't have any electrical charge and only interact with other particles by gravity. That makes them very difficult to detect. Physicists believe there are so many of these particles that, occasionally, they should crash into the nucleus of an atom and create a detectable signal. The problem is, the tiny, faint signal would be drowned out by the roaring din of signals generated by cosmic radiation at the surface of the Earth. That's why they are doing the experiment underground-the level of cosmic rays is reduced 10 millionfold

This is a great experiment on the same scale as the super-collider in switzerland. It must be an unbelievable facility and i would love to see the computers they are using. If the facility can prove the existence of dark matter it would be a great step forward in physics and Canada would be recognized internationally. I will follow this story with great interest.

Canada could become a key supplier of rare earth metals for high-tech devices

Flatscreen TVs, laptops and Apple's iPhones all use rare earth metals. It's a market that a many Canadian companies are trying to compete in. Rare earth metals are also used in wind turbines, iPod earbuds, hybrid electric cars and in the military. China controls 97% of the production of rare earth metals and they just cut-off exports to Japan. Though they're called rare earth metals but they're not actually in short supply. There are a group of 17 similar metallic elements whose names are cerium, terbium, dysprosium and neodymium. The "heavy" rare earth metals are critical to the production of magnets found in wind turbines, computer hard drives and electric motors. They can tolerate very high temperatures. The Chinese have cut back on exports because they have to meet their own domestic demand. Luckily,Canadian companies could be the closest to producing an alternate supply of "heavy" rare earth metals. South Africa and Australia are right behind.

In my opinion, Rare Earth Metals are very important for the future and now. In the future, more and more of our energy is going to be Eco friendly. To do this we will need and rely on a safe secure source of Rare Earth Metals. I also think that we should not allow China to own 97% of the market. It is rumoured that China completely destroyed their environment around the mines when extracting the metals. They wanted the metals at any cost. The U.S. in contrast, have tough environmental regulations that have, so far, prevented them from mining the rare earth's in Utah, Wyoming and in Colorado. Hopefully that will change. When you extract the metals there are very toxic chemical byproducts. There were also rumours that China was using slave labor to mine the metals. Thankfully, Canada has large potential to mine rare earth metals including the "heavy metals. Mines in Saskatchewan and Labrador are moving ahead.

Moonshot last year splashed up lots of water

NASA blasted a hole in the moon last year in search of water. Results from the moonshot reveal lots of water in a crater where the sun never shines. There was 155 litres of ice and vapour and is twice as much as researchers had expected. The Mission chief scientist Anthony Colaprete thinks there could be four billion litres of water in the crater. He called it an "oasis in a lunar desert." There could be more craters at the moon's poles. The Moon could be a possible future outpost where water on site could be used for drinking or making rocket fuel. The $79-million moon mission known as "LCROSS" was launched October 9th 2009. The crash carved a hole about one-quarter the size of a football field and a trailing spacecraft then flew through the cloud of debris and used its instruments to analyze what was inside before it also struck the moon. Besides water, it also contained carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, ammonia, sodium, mercury and silver.

We have always thought that the moon was a desert but it turns out it isn't. Scientists have found tons of water and other valuable elements that could be used if we were to build a base on the moon. I think the Americans the Japanese and the Chinese plan to build bases on the moon in the future, to deploy solar panels to meet surging power demand in 2030-2050.

Microsoft unveils new Windows phones

Microsoft has finally launched a new smartphone called Windows Phone 7. The compation is tough against iPhone, Android and BlackBerry. Microsoft has been supplying its' Mobile operating system to Motorola and LG for years. Apple, RIM and Android have prospered at the expense of Microsoft. In the United States, the key smartphone battleground, RIM is the market share leader, with 39.3 per cent, followed by Apple’s iPhone at 23.8 per cent. Android is third with 17 per cent, followed by Microsoft with 11.8 per cent. The newly redesigned Windows operating system features a “tile” interface. Microsoft is hoping that its Xbox Live online video-game platform will win business. In the U.S., the first Windows Phone 7 will be available through the AT&T network on Nov. 8 with a list price of $200 US. Canadian pricing has not been announced.

I don't like the looks of the phone and the layout is not appealing. The competition is also very tough. The ability to play COD and NHL 11 on your phone would be awesome. I would buy the phone just for that. But it has to work well with no annoying glitches. Microsoft has a reputation for being virus prone so what would make the phone any different? Virus are bad enough on my computer never mind my cellphone. But Microsoft is big and rich so you can't count them out. I'm curious to see how they do.

Hungary sludge flood kills 4

Hungary declared a state of emergency in three counties. A flood of toxic red sludge from an alumina plant engulfed several towns and burned people through their clothes. Plaster is being poured into the Marcal River to bind the toxic sludge and prevent it from flowing. One million cubic metres of sludge has leaked, affecting 40 square kilometers. 390 residents had to be relocated and 110 were rescued, from the three flooded towns. Firefighters and soldiers are cleaning the mess up. The sludge is a waste product from aluminum production and is toxic. The chemical burns caused by the sludge could take days to emerge and what may seem like superficial injuries could later cause damage to deeper tissue. The red sludge is, by volume, the largest amount of toxic waste in Hungary. The company responsible denied that it should have taken more precautions to shore up the reservoir.

I cant believe that a environmental disaster of this size could happen today. Government and the aluminum smelter should have taken proper precautions to prevent this from happening. Death and destruction will now cause the government to act. IT will take a very long time for the country to clean this mess up. There will a permanent affect on the land and it would also cost millions to clean it up. Both the government (taxpayers) and the company will bear the cost. There will also be a lot of law suites. I hope the company has insurance. What do you do with the sludge? Is it just kept in a reservoir.

More rain forecast for flooded West Coast

Residents of B.C.'s Central Coast and northern Vancouver Island are bracing for more flooding as forecasters predict as much as 80 millimetres of rain could fall across the region by Tuesday. A weekend deluge washed out roads and cut off several communities near Bella Coola and Port Hardy after 100 to 200 millimetres of rain fell on some coastal areas north of Vancouver. At least 120 people were still out of their homes on Monday morning and many more people remained stranded by the rising waters, said Steven Waugh with the Emergency Operations Centre in Bella Coola. At least 120 people were still out of their homes on Monday morning and many more people remained stranded by the rising waters, said Steven Waugh with the Emergency Operations Centre in Bella Coola.

I personalty think that Vancouver and B.C could have been a lot more prepared in this kind of situation. They new that the storm was coming but they really did not prepare for the worst. I think that they could have set up relief camps for people who had lost there home and also have medical help increased for the time that they new the storm would hit.

Igor kicks up dangerous surf along US East Coast

Hurricane Igor produced dangerous surf along the eastern U.S seaboard. The hurricane knocked out the power t0 half of the population in Bermuda. This hurricane has already killed 3 people that were near or in the water. The Hurricane had winds that clocked in at about 120kmh. The storm toppled trees and utility poles and it also moved several boats in-land including a ferry. The hurricane is currently moving toward Newfoundland at around 44mph. A tropical storm warning has been put out for the cost of newfoundland.

During a hurricane you really want to use common sense and stay out of the water. Make sure you are prepared when you are notified about a natural disaster. You want to make sure you have lots of food and water because the town you are living in is most likely going to be flooded. It also would be a good idea to get a generator, some flash lights, batteries and maybe a propane stove for cooking and heat. Be prepared when you know a disaster is coming your way.

Bus driver caught reading Kindle

For the second time this year another bus driver has been caught reading a book wile driving the bus on the highway. The kid that was filming the bus driver said that he was holding the wheel with one hand and using a kindle with the other. The reason that the passenger filmed the bus driver was because he was paying more attention to the kindle then the road. He would read on straightaway's and even in the middle of turns. The driver mentioned that the kid was not allowed to take his picture wile driving but the thing is he really wasn't driving by definition.

Hers a question for you to think about Just because driving a bus may not be the most exciting thing in the world would you risk the lives of 25 kids for your own boredom? I personally think this is a serious issue reading wile driving is up there with driving drunk or watching a movie will driving. In this case it is even more serious because there is a bus full of kids. You think you would have the common sense to be extra carful just because of that fact that there are kids in the bus. Thankfully the kid who had taken to video showed someone and it was reported and the bus driver was fired so he would no longer put tons of kids lives on the line.

Allow cellphones in classrooms, McGuinty says

Premier Dalton McGuinty thinks school boards should allow students to use cellphones in the classroom. He won’t even let his ministers have cellphones during cabinet meetings, because they can be distractting. He thinks there is a “right way” to use them in class-teachers could use cellphones to show students how to access information online. Now the Toronto District School Board is rethinking its ban on cellphones.

I think that this is an illogical idea because, as we all know, internet on cell phones costs a lot of money . Parents will be complaining about cell phone bills is through the roof . The other thing is that cell phone usage in class would lead to kids being very distracted because they would text during class and not pay attention to the teacher. Because of this kids will have more work at home and they would not do as well in school.

Sources:
http://www.parentcentral.ca/parent/education/article/861343--allow-cellphones-in-classrooms-mcguinty-says

Baby in airplane trash spurs search for mother

In the PHILIPPINES a plane landed at the Manila airport. One on the maintenance workers was taking out one of the garbage cans from the air plane and he noticed something moving inside the garbage bag. He opened the bag and started looking through the garbage and he found a newborn baby at the bottom of the bag. Airport staff named the mystery baby George Francis after the name of the flight. They also bathed him and wrapped him in cotton. A search is on for the mother who is believed to be Filipino. Manny Filipinos work as domestics around the gulf. In the end if the mother can not be found the baby will be taken in by there relatives or put up for adoption.


I think that this incident is very tragic and I can't even imagine doing anything like this but you have to look at this from her point of view. This women worked as a domestic so it was probably a pretty hard life. She was probably poor so she wouldn't be able to afford health care or even be able to take care of the baby. Life may have been very difficult working in the Gulf. The child might have been illegitimate or even worse, she may have been raped. It's hard to imagine what was going through her head. She must have been very upset and probably afraid. Thankfully, the baby has been rescued and is healthy and strong.

Sources:
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/860213--baby-in-airplane-trash-spurs-search-for-mother?bn=1