Planetarium Science Center newsletterth st 6 year | 1 edition Science For All! 1st SCHOOL SEMESTER 2012/13 In this edition... The Origins of the Four Elements 2 Four Elements: The Powers of the Four Elements 4 The Fifth Element on the Big Screen 5 By: Maissa Azab Journey to the Moon 6 Roots of Life Plasma: The Uncharted Element 7 The Four Elements; the Epitome of Life 8 The Elements’ Wrath 11 Here we start a new year for the PSC and how they can devastate life just as much as The Four Elements that Make Your Body 14 Newsletter; the fourth for the Newsletter as a they sustain it. Nano-Elements of Nature 16 popular science publication. In what has become In this new cycle, we re-introduce sections Lessons from the Lorax 17 a tradition, in the first issue of every new cycle, such as “ZoomTech”, where we discuss how Antimatter: Mirror of the Universe 18 we go back to the roots. Last year, we started by nanotechnology can change the four elements as we know them. In this issue, we also introduce The Marvels of the Elements 20 discussing Planet Earth; this year, we focus in this new sections and columns. In the newly-introduced Fire Breathing Dragons 22 issue on the classical Four Elements of Nature, which were the core of all humanities and sciences “Science in Sci-Fi” section, we have a column on for centuries, if not millennia of human history. the fantastical action motion picture “The Fifth Element”, and a fascinating film review on the Earth, Water, Air, and Fire are indeed the four surprisingly insightful animation movie “The Lorax”. The corners of life; life could not possibly flourish or On the other hand, in our new section “Top sustain itself without each and every single one of Ten”, we count down the top ten marvels of the these elements, which we can thus rightfully call elements of the periodic table from our perspective. Four Elements the Roots of Life. In “In-Depth Science”, we dive into the mystery that In this issue, we will discuss at length why is antimatter; and finally, in “Fact or Fiction”, we of Nature; the Four Elements are in fact the roots and investigate the possibility of fire breathing dragons foundations of life. We will delve into their origins, ever existing. For How Long? track them all the way to the Moon, explore their As always, we hope you will enjoy the selections powers, find out how they make up our bodies, we offer you; we also look forward to receiving your By: Prof. Boshra Salem discover how they shape and impact our daily life, feedback at [email protected]. Chair, International Coordinating Council of Man and Biosphere Program (MAB-ICC), UNESCO A system can be described as “anything which This transformation of the planet has contributed takes its integrity and form from the ongoing interaction to substantial net gains in human well-being and of its parts”. Companies, nations, families, biological economic development. But not all people benefited niches, bodies, television sets, personalities, and from this process; in fact, many were harmed. atoms are all systems. What all of these systems have Governments and people must view the sustainability in common is that change in one part of the system will of ecosystems as essential to human life. There must affect another part or parts of the system. be a call for an approach to manage the world's critical Systems thinking is based on the idea that the resources, which means evaluating decisions on land forces in a system are complex, and their interaction and resource use in light of how they affect the capacity cannot be predicted in any mechanistic way. Systems of ecosystems to produce goods and services. thinking helps you think, and act more effectively In order to reach sustainability, all parts of the towards desired goals, no matter what problems and system have to change. In this quest, individuals are opportunities you may face in the future. Systems major leverage points. Being more efficient in engaging thinking is needed because over the past 50 years, them to act strategically towards sustainability is and humans have changed ecosystems more rapidly and will be of critical importance for those who wish to extensively than in any other time before, largely to accelerate societal change. Human well-being can The ancient Greeks believed that there were four meet the rapidly growing demands for food, fresh water, be enhanced through sustainable human interaction elements that made up everything: Earth, Water, Air, timber, fiber, and fuel. with ecosystems, with the support of appropriate and Fire. This theory was suggested around 450 BCE, The four elements of nature are in danger; instruments, institutions, and technology. and it was later supported and elaborated by Aristotle. environmental problems such as climate change, There are many examples from businesses, Let us add one more element; the ‘Systems’ energy crisis, water shortage, and pollution are NGOs, and other institutions showing possible paths element. We all depend on Earth's ecosystems jeopardizing the consistency of such elements in forward and the benefits of being proactive. But then, and the services they provide, such as food, water, supporting our livelihoods and wellbeing. Every why is not everyone engaged in taking action towards fiber, and wood, in addition to disease management, measure used by scientists to assess the health of sustainability? Why is change so slow? climate regulation, spiritual fulfillment, and aesthetic ecosystems indicates that we are degrading them at For change to take place, the commitment and enjoyment. The Five Elements function as a principal an accelerating pace. For too long we have focused on actions of individuals are critical. One way to accelerate structure for information, and as a guiding overview how much we can take from our ecosystems, with little the needed change towards sustainability is to find for aspects that should be considered when engaging attention to the services they provide, such as climate answers to the following question: How can individuals individuals to act strategically towards sustainability of control and nutrient recycling, which we cannot replace be engaged to take actions leading strategically the four elements. at any reasonable price. towards sustainability of the earth’s four elements? 1st School Semester 2012/13 By: Maissa Azab in cooperation with Sara Khattab & Reham Elbannan The Story Behind the Science The he idea that the four Some 5 billion years ago, a The oldest rocks, dated by the During a period around 4 billion Telements—Earth, Water, Air, supernova exploded, pushing a uranium-lead method at about years ago called the “Late Heavy and Fire—made up all matter was the lot of its heavy-element wreckage 3.96 billion years old, show that Bombardment”, massive objects, cornerstone of philosophy, science, into a cloud of hydrogen gas and there were volcanoes, continents, probably from the outer solar and medicine for 2000 years. interstellar dust. The mixture grew oceans, crustal plates, and life on system, hit Earth and the inner Historians believe that Greek hot and compressed under its Earth in those days. While the eons planets. It is possible that these philosophers began formulating own gravity; at its center, a new that followed were full of strange objects were filled with water, and theories of the four elements as early star began to form, around which stories and far-reaching changes, that these collisions could have as the 8th century BCE. Although swirled a disk of the same material the Earth had taken on its basic delivered gigantic reservoirs of they believed the four elements were that grew white-hot from the great structure long before. water that filled the Earth. unchanging, everything was made compressive forces. The new star For a long time, astronomers up of these elements, held together became our Sun, and the glowing Where Water Came From thought that comets were the or pushed apart by forces of attraction disk gave rise to Earth and its sister The exact origin of our planet’s likely culprit. However, remote and repulsion, causing substances to planets. water, which covers about 70% of measurements of the water appear to change. This is similar to While the Sun grew in size and Earth’s surface, is still a mystery to evaporating off of several major what really happens with molecules energy, the hot disk slowly cooled. scientists. Many researchers think existing comets—Halley, Hyakutake, at an atomic level. This took millions of years, during that, instead of water forming at the and Hale-Bopp—revealed that their To the Greeks, the four elements which the components of the disk same time as Earth, objects in the water ice was made of a different outer solar system delivered water described not only physical began to freeze out into small type of H2O, containing a heavier manifestations of the material world dust-size grains. Iron metal and to Earth in violent collisions shortly isotope of hydrogen than Earth’s, after its formation. History of Science Museum but essential qualities of human compounds of silicon, magnesium, suggesting that these comets could nature as well: Earth, solid and aluminum, and oxygen came out Researchers speculate that any not be the source of our water. substantial, was associated with the first in that fiery setting; bits of water conglomerating on the surface With major comets crossed physical and sensual aspects of life. these are preserved in chondrite of the planet as it formed would off the list, astronomers began to Water, flowing and ever-changing, meteorites.