Month: June 2016
On Average, How Many Of Our Muscles Do We Use Regularly?
Just about all of them! But our least-used muscles are probably the lumbar multifidus muscles in the lower back. Studies have shown that prolonged slumping in front of the TV can inactivate these muscles. This can lead to back pain, and once inactivated they can take months to recover.
How Does Earth Maintain A Constant Level Of Oxygen?
It doesn’t! The oxygen level of the planet has varied quite dramatically in the last 500 million years. It was 35 per cent during the Carboniferous period, around 300 million years ago; as the climate cooled and land plants died off, oxygen fell to as low as 12 per cent by the beginning of the …
How Does Earth Maintain A Constant Level Of Oxygen? Read More »
Could We Exist On Earth Under A Red Giant Star?
About five billion years from now, the Sun’s usual source of nuclear energy will be depleted. It will begin to expand and cool significantly, becoming a ‘red giant’. Its outer layers will be thrown off into space. As the Sun loses mass, its gravitational pull will weaken and the planets’ orbits will widen. We know …
How Do Waterfalls Freeze?
Water turns to ice when its molecules move slowly enough to form rigid bonds. Normally, the molecules in the waterfall move under the influence of both the flow and thermal agitation. But if it gets cold enough, the heat effect becomes so low that not even the waterfall’s motion can stop ice forming, gradually at …
Why Do Giant Tortoises Live For So Long?
Yes, giant tortoises are still on the first place when it comes to life expectancy! The oldest living giant tortoise and, of course, the oldest animal in the world, is Jonathan, a 184-year-old cutie that lives on St. Helena Island. Scientists have not been able to discover the source of their longevity but, their slow …