SATROClub Extended Work Placement

Student Sagar Jaiswal from Strode's College has been involved in a SATROClub Extended Work Placement over the past few weeks at Technotomy, a specialist software development business. Here is what he had to say about his experience after only just a few days in...

"Having started my placement in Technotomy just a few days ago I have already learnt so many things. From overcoming complex problems to the art of coffee making, Technotomy has involved me at every step.

So far, this placement has provided me with a chance to learn new programming skills that will prove vital for my chosen degree at University. It has also given me an opportunity to implement and enhance my programming skills already learnt.

It has given me a chance to be independent on a big project and helped me to realise my true potential. In this placement, everyday is different where I have not found a task challenging. This further motivates me to complete the task with in stipulated deadline. This is one of the main reasons for me to look forward to the placement.

Lastly, it proves to portray itself like a job and provides me the taste of how it would be to work in a real company. All in all I am having a very good experience."

THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE DIMPLES OF A GOLF BALL

With the PGA Championships beginning today, we thought it would be topical to have a blog about a bit of the science behind golf! So here goes the science behind the dimples in a golf ball… About a century ago, golfers began to realise that a scuffed-up ball with dents and dimples from long use, travels further than a smooth new ball, so, golf balls gained dimples. Gold ball manufacturers now invest millions each year to design the best performing golf balls. The dimples in gold balls create turbulence, or ‘mixed air flow’ which, if designed correctly, reduces drag on the ball. There are two main types of airflow – laminar and turbulent. Laminar movement creates less drag but it is susceptible to ‘separation’ – where the air layer that ‘clings’ to the ball as it moves to the air separates from the ball. Turbulent flow creates more drag initially, but is less vulnerable to separation. At high speeds, like that of a golf ball, you will want this air layer to cling to the ball as possible, and the dimples in the ball allow this to happen! 

ON THIS DAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY - 7TH AUGUST

On this day in 1979, several tornadoes struck the city of Woodstock, Ontario in Canada. A tornado is am extreme, destructive, rotating column of air which descends from a thunderstorm down to the ground. No other extreme weather incident can match the frenzy and destructive power of tornadoes. A tornado can be strong enough to destroy large buildings, leaving only the bare concrete foundations.  The strength of a tornado is measured by the Enhanced Fujita Scale. Scientists don’t fully understand how tornadoes form. A ‘parent super cell thunderstorm’ is needed to start a tornado. Some research suggests that it has to do with how strongly the wind changes direction along with height, how much moisture is in the air or the difference between the temperature of the surrounding air and the temperature of the cold down-drafts coming from the storm. 

ON THIS DAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY - 6TH AUGUST

On this day in 1996, NASA announced the discovery of potential evidence of an early life form on Mars. It came in the form of an alleged tiny fossil found on a meteorite in Antarctica, which was believed to have come from Mars. The fossil could only been seen as a highly magnified image, as a microscopic tube-like form, less than 1% of the width of a human hair. Some believed that it could perhaps represent a simple Martian organism that lived over 3.6 million years ago. A huge impact 16 million years ago could have blasted the rock into space, and it landed in Earth’s Antarctica only 13,000 years ago. The meteorite ‘ALH 84001’ also carried organic molecules and mineral features which are characteristics of biological activity. At best, the evidence is inconclusive, and other scientists often entirely dispute the interpretation.  

NEIL ARMSTRONG'S BIRTHDAY

On this day in 1930, Neil Armstrong was born. He was an American astronaut, and the first person to ever walk on the Moon. He was also an aerospace engineer, naval aviator, test pilot and a University Professor. Before becoming an astronaut, Neil Armstrong was an officer in the U.S. Navy and served in the Korean War during the 1950’s. When the war had ended, he earned his bachelor’s degree and became a test pilot at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (which then became NASA), where he logged over 900 flights. Armstrong joined the NASA Astronaut Corps in 1962, and made his first space flight, as command pilot of Gemini 8, becoming NASA’s first civilian astronaut to fly in space. His second and last space flight was as mission commander of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing in July 1969. During this mission, Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin descended to the lunar surface and spent two and a half hours exploring.

SATROClub Extended Work Placement

Today, a student from Guildford College will be starting her SATROClub extended work placement, which will last for four weeks, at The Surrey Wildlife Trust. The trust is one of 47 individual Wildlife Trusts covering the whole of the UK. They are the UK's largest people-powered environmental organisation working for nature's recovery on land and at sea. They currently manage 82 sites, together covering almost 8,000ha, which is 5% of the land area of the county. They work with many partners and other landowners to advise on land management for conservation, with particular emphasis on woodland, wetlands, and heathland. Good luck on your placement, Lauren!

ON THIS DAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY - 1ST AUGUST 2014

In a series of experiments concluding in 1774, Joseph Priestley, British Presbyterian minister and chemist found that “air is not an elementary substance, but a composition,” or mixture, of gases. On this day in 1774, he found that among them was the colourless and highly reactive gas he called “dephlogisticated air,” to which the great French chemist, Antoine Lavoisier would soon give the name “Oxygen.” Priestley found that mercury heated in air became coated with ‘red rust’ of mercury, which, when heated separately, was converted back to mercury with ‘air’ given off. Studying this air, he observed that candles burned very brightly in it, and that a mouse in a sealed vessel could breathe this gas much longer than ordinary air.