Photons are defined as particles representing a quantum of light or other electromagnetic radiation. The light from the Sun is composed of photons that are born in the core of the Sun. Once the light leaves the Sun, it takes around 8 minutes to reach Earth.
Due to the Sun’s mass, photons bounce around within the Sun for about 100,000 years as they try to reach the Sun’s surface.
Light is composed of the entire color spectrum. If you take a prism, such as a triangular prism, and place it in sunlight, it breaks the sunlight into different spectral colors. A rainbow would be an example of the prism effect.
When sunlight travels through Earth’s atmosphere, particles in the atmosphere momentarily “capture” the blue spectrum then scatter it in all directions causing the sky to appear blue. This is referred to as Rayleigh scattering after the British physicist Lord Rayleigh. So why are sunsets a vivid yellow, orange, and red? Because the sky is blue to the west. At sunrise and sunset, sunlight travels further through Earth’s atmosphere than during the day. This means more of the blue light is captured to the west, leaving the beautiful yellow, orange, and red to mark the end of the day. The same is true of sunrises, but this time it’s because the sky is blue to the east.
Earth has a long history of evolving new lifeforms but also of extinctions.
Mountains are phenomena caused by three different geological events related to tectonic plates. Fold mountains form when two plates collide with each other causing the surface to thrust upwards. Examples of Fold Mountains are some of the highest globally and include the Rockies and the Himalayas. Volcanic mountains are formed by volcanoes when magma erupts to the surface then hardens, increasing the mountain’s size. Examples of Volcanic mountains include Mount Rainier and Mount Fuji. Finally, Fault-Block mountains form along faults when one side is thrust upward while the other is forced down. An example of Fault-Block mountains is the Sierra Nevada mountains.
The Mid-ocean ridge system is formed by plate tectonics when one plate moves away from another in a process called seafloor spreading. When the seafloor spreads, underwater lava is forced up from the Earth’s mantel creating new ocean crust and adding to the Mid-ocean ridge system. These mid-ocean ridges are connected along the tectonic plates to create a mountain range 40,000 miles long. Pretty impressive, given Earth’s circumference is only 24,901 miles!
One of the issues facing us today is the threat of global warming. Global warming refers to the general increase in Earth’s temperature due to increased atmospheric pollutants causing a greenhouse effect. The main culprit is carbon dioxide which is directly related to industrial activity. When these pollutants gather in the atmosphere, they absorb solar radiation and sunlight that bounced off Earth and usually escape into space, increasing Earth’s temperature.
Carbon dioxide currently is at 410 parts per million, or .04% (.0004). Many people believe it’s much higher, but when you consider Earth’s atmosphere is 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, there’s not much room for other stuff. But don’t let this small number fool you. This is an alarming amount that has steadily increased since the industrial revolution began in the mid 18th century.
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Some people were born to be writers; I wasn’t one of them. What I do have is a great sense of curiosity and adventure. As a kid, I built miles of paths through the woods, always searching for what was just over the next hill. I don’t know how many miles of trails I created or the number of forts I built, but I remember the fun I had imagining new worlds in my mind….