Grasp It

Why can’t you use your phone on airplanes? M any airlines will now allow passengers to  use phones in-flight following a  relaxing of regulations. Previously, there were concerns that radio  signals transmitted by phones could interfere  with aircraft communications, flight control  or other onboard electronic devices. There was much never clear evidence of this,  but the introduction of new technologies has  reduced the risk of further interference.  Picocell devices act as a mini cell tower on  a plane, collecting signals from phones on  board and sending them down to a  communications satellite or base stations  that stay on the ground. Why does airplane food taste so bad? I t’s challenging enough to serve up meals  in flight, but these can seem even  more  unappetizing due to the impacts of low  humidity, lower air pressure, and background  noise on our sense of taste. Dry ...

How do trams work? Hop aboard and discover how these green vehicles stay on track T he first trams were powered by horse and then steam, but the systems we have today are driven by electricity. Each tramcar has a long pole on its roof called a pantograph, which uses a spring-loaded  device  to keep contact with an overhead wire called a  catenary, running above the track. An electric current  passing through the wire is flown down the pantograph  and to the tram’s motors, which propel the wheels to keep it  moving. To regulate the speed of the vehicle, the driver simply  changes the amount of electricity that reaches the motors,  increasing it to go faster, and decreasing it to go slower.  After flowing through the motors, the electricity is carried  through the wheels to the rails of the track, where it flows  back to the main power supply to close the electric  ci...

What causes wind patterns? Wind paths, ocean currents, and even airplanes are governed by the same invisible force W inds in our atmosphere do not travel in straight lines due to a phenomenon is known as the Coriolis effect. As the Earth spins on its axis, the motion deflects the air above it. The planet’s rotation is faster at the equator because this is where the Earth is broadest. This difference in speed creates the deflection – for example, if you were to project a ball from the equator to the North Pole it would appear to curve off-course. If Earth didn’t spin like this, air on the planet would solely circulate back and forth between the high-pressure poles and the low-pressure equator. When the rotation of the Earth is joined into the mix, it causes the air in the Northern Hemisphere to be deflected to the right, and air in the Southern Hemisphere to the left, away from the equator. As a result, winds circulate in cells. It’s this effect that causes the rotat...

What is the world’s fastest bird? Discover why you really don’t want to be a pigeon in peregrine falcon territory      F ound on all of the world’s continents apart from Antarctica, the peregrine falcon is one of the most numerous birds of prey out there. And there’s a purpose for its phenomenal success: blistering speed. Pigeons in mid-flight can’t escape the claws of this plummeting speed demon, which can exceed over 320 kilometers per hour. Known as the stoop, this movement sees the falcon climb in altitude before dive-bombing like a feathery torpedo. Peregrine falcons are able to perform this move thanks to some precise physical adaptations. A streamlined body and tapered wings provide unique velocity and thrust, and a razor-sharp beak and talons rarely let prey escape. A special third eyelid protects the bird’s eyes at high speeds, and tubercles in their nostrils stick out like small, bony cones to deflect the rushing air, letting the peregrine to c...

The rock cycle The forces of nature are constantly  morphing rocks into different forms 1   Igneous rock Igneous, which means ‘born of   fire or heat’, is the rock type   formed when molten magma   cools enough to become solid.   Intrusive igneous rock forms   when the magma cools slowly   under the Earth’s surface, and   extrusive igneous rock forms   when the magma cools rapidly   on the surface, such as after a   volcanic eruption.  2   Rising heat The intense heat found below   the surface – sometimes   stemming from the planet’s   superheated core – can   generate temperatures up to   1,300 degrees Celsius, causing   the rock to melt into a molten   form called magma, which   rises towards the cooler   surface via convection. The Rock Cycle   3   Metamorphic rock The combination of intense pressure   and high temperatur...

What’s Inside a Single Stream Recycling plant ? The machine that separates your recyclables so you don’t have to 1   Tipping floor A steady stream of recycling collection vehicles arrives at the facility, dumping their cargo of various recyclables out onto the tipping floor. Drivers look out for any oversized things like car engines that would cause destruction to the plant machines. 2  Loading Powerful loaders shunt heaps of mixed recyclables into a large hopper, where they are tumbled over a rotating drum to loosen compacted materials. They then flow onto a giant conveyer belt, which speeds the jumble into the main facility. 3  Manual pre-sort Teams of human sorters pick out non-recyclable items from the fast-moving stream, including crisp packets, plastic bags, shoes, and nappies, as well as big items like scrap metal that might block the machines. 4  Star screen sorting A series ...

How CristalACTiV Works This clever coating can be painted on structures to help cleanse the surrounding air 1) Pollutants Photoreactive atmospheric pollutants like VOCs, NOx, and Sox come into contact with the depollution coating. Working of CristalACTiV coating 2) Depollution coating Under the sun’s UV light, the titanium dioxide (TiO2) coating forms highly reactive free radical particles, capable of breaking down pollutants. 3) Chemical reactions Photocatalytic reactions involving the free radicals convert pollutants to carbon dioxide, water, and harmless compounds that stick to the depollution surface. 4) Self-cleaning surface The soiled surface is washed clean whenever rain falls, or it is hosed down. Photocatalysis In some cases, airborne pollutants convert to harmless materials when they react chemically with other atmospheric gases. These reactions happen naturally in the presence of light but on a slow timescale...