SIR FRED HOYLE: HIS WORKS
The stars in the sky have consistently proved the enigma of the universe. Humans have always searched the skies above them out of both curiosity and wonder. Throughout the centuries, several people have studied celestial objects in hopes of discovering a bit more of not only the world but also the universe they live in. The fascination for such a topic has undeniably continued well into the 1900s. One of the most innovative astronomers of the twentieth century was an English astronomer, Sir Fred Hoyle. With a career spanning over six decades, Hoyle has become an eminent astronomer and recognized for his contributions to the field. He is principally remembered today for his involvement in the creation of the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis and his views opposing the theory of the “Big Bang” – an expression he himself had created. The purpose of this paper is to inform the reader of some of the main astronomical theories and works of Sir Fred Hoyle, > such as his work on star formation and interstellar structure, stellar nucleosynthesis, and his works on stellar structure and evolution, particularly those of red giants. It is also imperative to consider his cosmological work with the controversial Steady State Theory, which shall be done at the end of the paper. In addition to this, a brief overview of his life will be shortly discussed with other inputs not directly related to the astronomical field.
Fred Hoyle was born and raised in Gilstead, a village near the town of Bingley in West Yorkshire, England. Hoyle was born as the first son on June 24th, 1915, just before his father was conscripted into the British Army for World War One. His mother had a great passion for music, which allowed her to earn a living by working as the piano player for silent films at the local theatre. Although Hoyle was born into a modest family, his parents worked hard to earn money for the family.
During his earlier childhood years, Hoyle had some difficulties in school. After concluding his teacher was unable to count past five (for he brought in a flower with six petals and his teacher insisted there were only five), Hoyle shirked his responsibility of going to school. However, he was still keen on learning and taught himself concepts from a Chemistry book that the family had owned. His mother was adamant in giving a proper education for Hoyle and soon decided to enrol him at a primary school in a nearby village, Eldwick. He had flourished there and was granted acceptance into a well-known Bingley grammar school in 1926. During his years at the school, he prepared for the Cambridge scholarship exam, with the aid of a professor, Alan Smailes. Although he received no financial support, he did gain acceptance into Cambridge at the Emmanuel College in 1933, where he went on to complete his Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics three years later. Within those three years, Hoyle was awarded the Mayhew Prize for his top performance in applied mathematics. In July 1936, Hoyle was now a research student. He worked on an essay on Beta (β) decay, for which he was honoured with the Smith’s Prize in 1938. Seeing that this was a monetary award as well, it was sure to eradicate a good portion of his financial burden. It was also during this period when Hoyle met Raymond Lyttleton, a student at the St. John’s College working in astrophysics. Lyttleton at the time was researching the accretion of stellar matter. During one of Lyttleton’s seminars, Hoyle had met the senior student and through this episode, he had become interested in astrophysics. The concept of accretion was the first topic in the field that Hoyle had delved into for further research. In 1939, both the events of his marriage and World War Two took place. Hoyle and Barbara Clark married in December 1939, and shortly after went to work for a naval radar research establishment. Here he met another two of his future colleagues, Thomas Gold and Hermann Bondi. Bondi, Gold and Hoyle met while working at a naval radar research establishment in Chichester, England. It appeared that they shared similar principles that funded their involvement in the creation of the Steady-State Theory. Subsequent to the war, Hoyle returned to Cambridge and continued his research. The period following the war was one where Hoyle would have propounded some of his most important theories and works.
One of Hoyle’s first ventures in astronomy was through the study of accretion in the 1940s. Accretion is the term given to describe the creation of a celestial object by pulling together the encompassing objects and gases through gravity. Both Hoyle and Lyttleton had developed the concept that the accretion of stellar matter was vital to stellar evolution in two papers in 1939 and 1940. They had determined that if a star were to move in rectilinear motion through a cloud of gas initially at rest, the orbits of the gas particles would meet with the “accretion axis,” a line behind the star. Collisions on this line would reduce the momentum of the particles, which would leave them with negligible kinetic energy. With little energy, the particles are now unable to avoid being captured by the star and thus they become a part of that star. Bondi had also later worked on the concept of accretion with Hoyle, and because of this the Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton accretion problem was named after the three of them. The Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton accretion problem deals with the accretion rate of a body of particular mass that is moving at a constant velocity through a regular cloud of gas. Accretion is useful in possibly comprehending the creation of the first massive stars of the Universe, which were formed at redshifts of around z = 6-15 (z being the ratio and the 6-15 showing that they are of a great distance from us as a redshift indicates the object is moving away from us since a longer, red wavelength is detected). These stars are of interest as they probably produced the first heavy elements. Through computer simulation analysis, it was found to be probable that these stars first formed as a nucleus and then grew from the accumulation of intergalactic gas through accretion.
In the 1940 paper on accretion (Hoyle and Lyttleton), the problem that was dealt with was the cooling system of interstellar gas. Using a calculation by Arthur Eddington and the assumption that the interstellar matter had no chance for additional emission, the temperature of a pure hydrogen cloud was estimated to be 10000 K. This was too high for any significant accretion and through the paper, it was suggested that its cooling occurred through molecular hydrogen, H2. Two > options of cooling were considered: the free-free transitions (or Bremsstrahlung) in electron-to-proton collisions and the infra-red emission as a result of excited hydrogen molecules. The Bremsstrahlung (roughly translating to “braking rays” in German) is a term used to represent the process when a charged particle
decelerates when deflected by another charged particle, in which electromagnetic radiation is emitted. In the paper, it is explained that Bremsstrahlung does not reduce the temperature of the cloud to be of much consequence (after calculating the cross-section or the probability of the interaction to take place between those particles, as measured in barns). Through additional research, Hoyle and Lyttleton have concluded that between consecutive excitations of the hydrogen molecules, the molecules would have enough time to radiate away the energy that was obtained in the first excitation, thereby producing a cooling effect. Hoyle has been praised for his ability to have formulated the problem without laboratory assistance in determining cross sections. This paper was also the first to acknowledge cooling by molecular hydrogen.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Hoyle collaborated with Chandra Wickramasinghe in tackling the issue of the composition of interstellar grains. In 1962, their first paper on the subject proposed that the grains were composed of graphite formed in carbon stars and then, through pressure from radiation, emitted into the interstellar medium (ISM). This idea challenged the customary idea that the grains were mostly made of ice. A convincing argument to this theory is shown through the extinction curves for graphite and the normalized extinction curve (for interstellar grains). An extinction curve is also known as the interstellar reddening curve. Interstellar reddening is connected to the absorption (when the energy is consumed by matter) and the scattering (the deviation of the radiation when passing through certain objects) of electromagnetic radiation emitted by some object between the object emitting the radiation and the spectator. Interstellar reddening deals with the changes in the properties of the electromagnetic radiation spectrum (the range of all frequencies possible) and reddening will occur if light scatters off matter in the ISM. In the paper, an interstellar reddening curve for graphite flakes was calculated theoretically, which was shown to be quite similar to the observed interstellar reddening curve. This similarity suggests that the interstellar grains may indeed be composed of graphite, and not ice.
Both Hoyle and Wickramasinghe went on to further suggest that even more complex material composes interstellar grains and comets, including life in the form of bacteria. Hoyle was adamant in his belief that life did not originate on Earth as he viewed the probability of forming life from non-living materials on Earth is too small. The two also worked on the theory of panspermia, which states that the “seeds of life” already exist across the universe and life on Earth may have started through these seeds. Both Hoyle and Wickramasinghe have supported the theory and argued that the Earth is continued to be bombarded with various life forms, which may be responsible for epidemics and diseases.
Hoyle was the first to recognize that heavy elements can be produced in stars and then released into the interstellar medium by stellar winds or through various explosive methods from the stars. He also theorized that the massive stars, which have developed to have quite hot and dense centres, would generate the iron- peak elements (elements with 56 protons like Fe). This process was later named the “e-process,” with the “e” standing for equilibrium. It states that at temperatures greater than 5,000,000,000 K and with densities greater than 3,000,000 g cm-3, several collisions between the nuclei and the photons with great energy would occur. These collisions would disintegrate the nuclei and these pieces would then combine with other particles. In the long run, particles with iron-like properties would probably be trapped in the nuclei since the iron group of elements will have the largest binding energies. These elements would then be ejected into the interstellar medium by the means of an explosion (supernova explosion) as discussed in Hoyle’s 1946 paper.
Although the Nobel Prize for nucleosynthesis in stars was awarded to S. Chandrasekhar and Fowler in 1983, some believed that Hoyle should have been awarded it as well for his noteworthy contributions (including Fowler, an amiable colleague of Hoyle). Nonetheless, fourteen years later, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 1997 Crafoord Prize in astronomy to both Hoyle and Salpeter for their contributions to stellar nucleosynthesis, a prize comparable to the Nobel Prize. Hoyle had initially done some work on red giants with Lyttleton throughout the 1940s. In their 1949 paper, the pair discussed the structure of inhomogeneous stars (stars without a consistent composition). However, Hoyle’s most celebrated collaboration on the subject was with Martin Schwarzschild in 1955. The pair calculated the development of Population II stars from the stars in the main sequence (like the Sun) to red giants, as shown through Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. Population II stars are stars that are said to have comparatively little metal, or “metal-poor” and are some of the oldest stars in the Galaxy (the Sun is considered a Population I star because it is metal-rich, therefore depicting that it is a younger star). These stars are found in spherical clusters and are more common near the centre of the galaxy where the bulge is located. When the two met at Princeton University, they realized that the problem in the past works of stellar evolution was that convection was disregarded in the previous calculations of red giant models. Convection is the transport of heat by grand-scale shifts of gas. The currents flow upward and downward while carrying the hot gas outward and the cool gas inward. The cooler gas is reheated and then carried upward again. This process was already thought to occur in red dwarfs but Hoyle and Schwarzschild revealed that it was also effective in the structure of both red giants and supergiants. In fact, their first models that were calculated with the convection considered were shown to be more analogous to the observed spherical-cluster colour-magnitude diagrams than any of the previous models, which did not consider convection. Colour-magnitude diagrams are graphs that show the relation between the brightness (magnitudes) and colours of stars, which correlate to their temperatures and spectral variations. As a result of Hoyle’s and his collaborator’s work, red giants are often described as stars that have inert, constant-temperature cores, thin hydrogen-burning shells (where helium is formed), extended regions inside it where convection occurs, and are about 10 billion years old.
Later in the early 1960s, Hoyle and Fowler noted that heavy elements are emitted through Type I and Type II supernovae. They correctly deduced in their 1960 and 1964 papers that Type I supernovae are results of explosions of degenerate matter (highly compressed, dense matter where its normal atomic structure has broken down, such as the kind found in white dwarfs) and Type II supernovae occur due to the implosion and then explosion of non-degenerate stellar cores. For further classification, Type I supernovae have three subsets: Type Ia, which are explosions of white dwarfs, Type Ib and Type Ic are similar to Type II, in which they are explosions of massive stars but the Type Ib and Ic supernovae are caused by stars that are stripped of their outermost hydrogen layer (and most of the helium layer as well for the Type Ic).
It is wise to now note the “onion-skin” model, as explained by Hoyle in 1946. It is a model that is still used today and shows the composition of a star in its pre-supernova stage. There are seven layers to the star, with the outermost layer being hydrogen, the second layer being helium, and the innermost layer (or core) consisting of the iron group of elements. This shows that the star is inhomogeneous and, therefore, a very old star.
In 1948, Hoyle, Bondi and Gold developed the Steady-State theory, which opposes the Big Bang Theory. Although largely disregarded today (especially after the discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation in 1964), it was a strong idea in the mid-20th century. The theory relies on the perfect cosmological principal stating that the universe does not change with time or space. The theory allows the universe to exist for an infinite time as the same universe. Since the theory was created after E. Hubble discovered that the universe was expanding, it did take into account this expansion through what Hoyle called the “C-field” (“creation field”). This field was one that created matter from nothing at exactly the required rate to keep the density of the universe constant, even amidst expansion (but at only about 1 atom per m3, every 10 billion years). The theory had obvious flaws but was revised (as evidence supporting the Big Bang grew) during the early 1990s. The new Quasi-Steady-State theory was created by Hoyle, J. Narlikar and G. Burbidge, which suggested a continuous series of big bangs (known as “little bangs”) instead of one, initial Big Bang. Although this theory takes into account the ejection from active galaxies (as the Big Bang Theory does not), it still does not have much support due to lack of cogent evidence.
Sir Fred Hoyle died on August 20th, 2001 in Bournemouth, England at the age of 86. He started his career as a lecturer at his alma mater, Cambridge University, and then as the Plumian Professor of Astronomy. In 1967, he created the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy at the university. Hoyle was also an author of science fiction and has written many books alongside his son, Geoffrey. One of his most familiar novels is The Black Cloud (1957), a tale concerning the threat of a large cloud in the solar system blocking the sun’s radiation and foreshadowing the demise of the Earth’s creatures. He also branched out his creativity into television and wrote the popular British science-fiction drama, A for Andromeda (1961). Hoyle has had a profound effect on many aspects of astronomy and this paper only provides some of his more major works during his life. There are still many fascinating concepts he helped develop and after going through many of them, one truly realizes the passion and dedication of the astrophysicists in the world. Hoyle has indeed left a legacy not to be forgotten.
COLLECTED INFORMATION – BOOKS
I. Gough, Douglas, ed. The Scientific Legacy of Fred Hoyle. New York: Cambridge UP, 2005.
II. Mitton, Simon. Conflict in the Cosmos: Fred Hoyle’s Life in Science. New York: Joseph Henry P,
2005.
III. Osterbrock, Donald E. Walter Baade – A Life in Astrophysics. New York: Princeton UP, 2001.
COLLECTED INFORMATION – WEBSITES
I. http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/T/Type+Ib+Supernova
II. http://astrophysics.suite101.com/article.cfm/steady_state_cosmology
III. http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Hoyle.html
IV. http://www.chemistrydaily.com/chemistry/Triple-alpha_process
V. http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/energy/triplealph.html
VI. http://www.aps-pub.com/proceedings/1474/470411.pdf
VII. http://www.pas.rochester.edu/~rge21/research/bhl/
VIII. https://www.amazines.com/B%C2%B2FH_related.html
IX. http://www.csi.uottawa.ca:4321/astronomy/index.html#nucleosyntheticreaction
X. http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/supernovae/type1.html
XI. http://www4.nau.edu/meteorite/Meteorite/Book-GlossaryD.html
XII. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/126761/colour-magnitude-diagram
XIII. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1977AJ…..82..337S
XIV. http://astro.elte.hu/astro/en/library/padeu/padeu_vol_17/padeu_vol17_sipos_etal.pdf
XV. http://www.shodor.org/refdesk/Resources/Activities/InterstellarExtinction/
XVI. http://www.ndt-ed.org/EducationResources/HighSchool/Radiography/bremsstrahlung_popup.htm
XVII. http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/cosmic-microwave-background-anisotropy.html
February 1, 2009
Russian Novelist Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Dies at 89
Short biographical sketch
Russian Novelist Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Dies at 89
By Thamayanthi Giritharan
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is a recognizable name to those of the literature world. He recently passed away on August 3rd, leaving behind a great legacy. For those of you not familiar with him, Solzhenitsyn was primarily a Russian novelist, even receiving a Nobel Prize for his works (in the field of literature – of course).
Solzhenitsyn (Dec 11 1918 – Aug 3 2008) was immersed in a world of academics since a very young age. His family was well educated. He ended up going to the University of Rostov-na-Donu and graduating in mathematics. He also studied literature at Moscow State University. He not only witnessed WWII, but fought in it and eventually earned the rank of captain of artillery in 1945. He was soon after arrested for criticizing Joseph Stalin, which led to eight long, dim years in prisons and labour camps. One should think eight years is a good enough period for punishment, however, he was then forced to undergo three more years of exile. Finally, eleven years after the war ended, Solzhenitsyn was able to resettle in Russia. He became a mathematics teacher and it was at this time is passion for writing flourished.
In 1962, Solzhenitsyn had his short novel Odin den iz zhizni Ivana Denisovicha (One Day in the Life of Ivan Denishovich) published in the Soviet Union’s top literary journal Novy Mir (New World). His novel became an instant hit, giving him a sort of celebrity status. Solzhenitsyn had based this story on his own experience as an inmate of a labour camp during Stalin’s epoch. This piece was a new force to be reckoned with in the Soviet Union at the time. It created waves in politics and literature both in and outside of Russia. He continued to publish more works and more criticism followed. He then resorted to self-publishing his works and circulated them in secret and abroad.
In subsequent years, Solzhenitsyn had cemented his international literary standing with many published novels, like V kruge pervom (The First Circle) and Rakovy korpus (Cancer Ward). Several stories were somehow related to his life. For example, the first was obliquely based on his years as a mathematician working in a prison research institute. The latter was based on his treatment for terminally diagnosed cancer while being exiled in Kazakhstan in the fifties.
Solzhenitsyn was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1970 but didn’t want to leave to accept it in apprehension of not being allowed back into the Soviet Union. He did end up in possession of the award four years later – when he was exiled from the Soviet Union. (He was readmitted twenty years later)
Solzhenitsyn continued to produce great works which have expressed his views and beliefs. He was never one to shy away from articulating his thoughts – even if it meant being exiled and pounced upon by the Soviet press. He has become a great literary icon over the years and is sure to be a remembered literary icon for the years to come.
Information gathered from
http://www.almaz.com/nobel/literature/Solzhenitsyn.html
My Tour Of Toronto! By: Thamy Giritharan
Toronto is a great place to visit! And I should know, I live there! There are always tons to do for everyone, (that even includes grown-ups!). You can never get bored of Toronto, there’s always too much fun! And that’s exactly why I’m here, to talk about Toronto’s way of attracting the tourists. Toronto’s good at that. Oh yeah, before I forget, I should introduce myself. I’m Thamy, and I’ll be your tour guide (until the end of this report). I’ll tell you about some of the best attractions in Toronto: Casa Loma, Sky Dome, and the CN Tower. And I’ll also talk about the tourists and visitors that do come to Toronto. So, don’t be lazy, and come along for the tour!
Our first stop is Casa Loma! Casa Loma is so cool! Especially because of the fact that Casa Loma is Toronto’s only castle! Really! I’ve never seen any other castle around, have you? But, who could have built this huge castle, you ask. Well, a very rich man, that’s for sure. Sir Henry Mill Pellate is the man you’re looking for. He spent 3.5 (3,500,000) million dollars to build this castle! But that wasn’t a problem for Sir Pellate, he had seventeen million dollar, (that’s something I’d want!).
Now, enough talk on the man who built this castle, let’s find out what the castle is like! To get there, you’d first have to climb up a 100 steps! Boy, that’s tiring. Casa Loma had ninety-eight rooms, like the Oak Room. The name came from the fact that everything in that room was made of oak! The library also had 100,000 books! I wish that I had that library! There are also tons of secret passageways that will definitely confuse you. What a dream castle, eh?
If you are a sports nut, here’s a perfect place for you! You might know the place I’m talking about. Yeah, the Sky Dome! It’s right beside the CN Tower (another attraction), but that’s not why the Sky Dome is so special. The Sky Dome is not like any other kind of ordinary dome, it’s a retractable dome! That means the top can slide open and close again. I think that’s pretty unique. That makes a great ball game, don’t you think?The construction of the Sky Dome started in April, the year 1986. Three years later, the Blue Jays held its first game there. And of course, the Sky Dome must have been real expensive to build. It took $500,000,000 to build! And I bet you didn’t know that the “Jumbotron” (that’s the HUGE screen TV in the Sky Dome) measures 33 feet by 115 feet and has 420,000 light bulbs! That’s the largest in the world! I have to go there some time.
Before I move on, I want to tell you a little bit about the tourists and visitors that visit Toronto. Most of the people, who come to Toronto instead of any other city in Canada, come here because they think Toronto is a place full of surprises! In fact, after touring Toronto, many of them decide to move here! The reason why many people come here is not a secret. It’s because of the sights to see and the great things to do! And not many places have so many records like Toronto! If you were a tourist, you’d want to see these special places, now won’t you? As I said earlier, Toronto’s never boring! But the main reason people move here, is because your main needs close to you. If you live
here, there’s a school, a mall, a library and other important needs are always close by. If you go on a farm, you’d have to drive kilometres to get to a shop! I think I proved my point!
Finally, our last, (but never the least) visit of the day, the CN Tower! The CN Tower is Toronto’s pride and joy. Many people come to this attraction the most. Over 2 million people visit the CN Tower per year! That’s a lot of people! This tower was even recognized by the Guinness World Records for the World’s Tallest Building. And not only that, it was recognized for having the Longest Metal Staircase and the Highest Wine Cellar! Who knew? In 1995, it also added to the Wonders Of The World. You can do so much in this tower, like eat, play, buy things, or even go on the glass floor! The glass floor is specially designed for the CN Tower. It’s totally safe, and can withstand 14 large hippos! I think nobody weighs that much!
The tower is exactly 553.33 m tall and weighs 130,000 tons! It took 40 month to build, and $63 million was spent in the process. In today’s finance, that would cost $300 million! Not only the CN Tower is a fun place to visit, it helps us watch TV! Well, kind of. Its antenna picks up satellite signals. I love this tower!
In conclusion, Toronto is a great place to visit! I told you about some of the best attractions in Toronto: Casa Loma, Sky Dome, and the CN Tower. And I also talked about the tourists and visitors that do come to Toronto. I’m Tour Guide Thamy, signing off. And remember, you can never get bored of Toronto, there’s always too much fun!
Black Holes: The Mysteries Of Space!
By: Thamy Giritharan
You know, people are very curious creatures. Yes, I’m saying that you (and me) are very curious creatures. But hey! There’s nothing to be ashamed about. It’s natural! Really! Anyway, we wonder about all sorts of things. Like: Are there any black holes in the universe? Well, this question fascinates me a lot! I think there is a very good chance for black holes to exist. So, I decided to write about black holes: The greatest mysteries of space! In this paper, I’ll talk about black holes: what they are, the parts of a black hole, and how to find them and where they mostly are. Also, I’ll talk a little bit about quasars, which also interest me. So sit back, relax, and BEWARE OF BLACK HOLES!
Do you know what are black holes? Well, many people have heard of them but don’t know what they are. Some know a little bit about them, but have the wrong picture. If you’re confused, you don’t have to be. That’s what this report is for. I’ll tell you the real deal behind black holes.
A black hole is basically a place in space (hey, that rhymes!) where gravity is SO strong! Once something gets too close to a black hole, it can never ever, ever, ever, (you get the picture) escape. It’ll swallow it up! Nothing can escape from a black hole, not even the fastest thing on earth: light.
Black holes aren’t true stars, but are made of stars. Or should I say HUGE stars! See, our sun can never be a black hole; its mass is too small. It takes a star with a HUGE mass to become a black hole. And how do we know all this? It’s thanks to an Indian scientist, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. He was born on October 19, 1910 in Lahore, India (now Pakistan) and died on August 21, 1995 in Chicago, Illinois (USA). In 1930, he developed a formula; which helps us detect which stars can turn into black holes, and which ones cannot. He says that the heaviest possible white dwarf weighs 1.4 times the mass of the Sun. This number is called the Chanderasekhar Limit. It’s weird,
because a white dwarf is so small, but is heavier than the Sun! Anyway, that means any star that weighs 1.4 times the mass of the Sun can be a black hole. If a star weighs less, it’ll slowly drift into a white dwarf. Chanderasekhar even won the Nobel Prize for his theory!
Astronomers also think that strange things happen to an object when it’s near or inside a black hole. It’s a whole different world, (or universe!) in there. The accepted laws of physics no longer apply, space is warped and time begins to slow down. That’s the reason why many people think black holes can be used as time travel or you can travel through a black hole and come out its other “end” (which is called a ‘white hole’) and you can be in another part of the universe! But nobody knows for sure. Even if we can investigate a black hole, it wouldn’t be much help. Why? Well, nobody will ever return to tell us what he or she has discovered! Oh well….
So how does the process of a star turning into a black hole work? Well, it’ll only work if a star’s core is twice as heavy as the mass of the sun. Towards the MASSIVE star’s death, the core will squeeze itself and then BAM! It explodes! This explosion is called a supernova. The core still remains, and will keep collapsing and collapsing until it becomes SUPER small, but SUPER heavy and turns into the mysterious black hole.
Wait! If black holes swallow other objects in space, will it ever die? Or will it keep going and going and going and then reaches Earth and- I don’t even want to think about that!
You know, black hole isn’t a good name for a black hole. Black holes are neither black nor holes! But it’s too late to change the name now. Anyway, its previous name, frozen stars, is not as exciting as black holes. Black holes, it also sounds so mysterious, don’t you think?
Moving on. Black holes aren’t solid objects (like stars) but are in the shape of a sphere. The centre of a black hole is an extremely strange place. And I should know! Actually, nobody does know for sure, but work with me here. This “point” in space has an infinite amount of density. When I say that, it simply means that the amount of matter contained in the “point” is too big to measure! This “point” is called the singularity. The weird part is, that the singularity doesn’t have any size!
Alas, we still don’t know if this is true or not. If the theory about the singularity is right, then when a massive (and I mean massive!) star dies, all of its material will disappear into the singularity. And don’t ask me if it’s true or not, because I don’t know for sure, (nobody knows for sure!).
A black hole doesn’t have a surface, but it does have an event horizon. The event horizon is the surface that marks the outer edge of the black hole. At this point, nothing, and I mean NOTHING can escape from a black hole. Anything that crosses this point is gone, forever! But, anything outside the event horizon will rotate around the black hole, and has a chance of escaping. The area outside the event horizon is called the ergosphere. So if you come across a black hole, try to (at least) stay in the ergosphere. But it’d be much wiser to never end up face-to-face with a black hole!
Did you ever notice that it’s easy to find planets and galaxies in space (for the astronomers anyway) but it’s never easy finding black holes in space! Yeah, it’s not a piece of cake! The only way to find a black hole is to find clues of its effects on other objects in space surrounding it. But these effects should be easy to spot, because of the HUGE amount of gravity around a black hole. Right?
Many astronomers think that the best place to find black holes are in binary star systems. Okay, at birth, if two stars are made close together they’ll orbit each other throughout their lives! These stars are called binary stars, and they make up binary star systems. This sounds rare and unusual, but actually, most of the stars in our universe are made up of binary star systems! Weird, just plain weird, but cool! Then the astronomers realized that if a single star was moving as if it was in a binary system, then its partner could be a black hole! But, it still isn’t proof! The partner can be a type of dead star, like a neutron star. By the way, a massive star can end its life as a neutron star. Which is
so tiny, but has a huge density! A piece of a neutron star, say the size of a grain of sand can weigh a million tons! Boy, I would never want to carry that around!
In 1971, astronomers have found a possible place where a black hole can exist. It’s in a constellation called Cygnus (it looks like a pretty swan!). The possible black hole is called Cygnus X-1, which is about 6,000 light years away! 1 light year is the distance light travels in a year, which is 10 trillion kilometres! And I thought travelling from Toronto to Ottawa is far, try travelling a light year! There’s a blue supergiant star (which is 20 times the size of Earth!) that orbits its partner every 5 ½ days. Its partner is invisible, so it can be a black hole.
It’s thought that many black holes can be in the centre of galaxies, including ours! Yikes! In 1994, the Hubble Space Telescope photographed the M87 galaxy. The images showed strong activity in the middle of this galaxy. The activity was far greater than normal star activity. It can be a super massive black hole! Some of the biggest black holes can even swallow other black holes! Great, they swallow stars, they can swallow us, and now they swallow other black holes! What will they swallow next?
Now, to another weird space object: quasars. Quasars are larger than stars but smaller than a galaxy! That means it’s HUGE! They are very bright objects, but are thousands, no millions of light years away! We can still see them with, a strong telescope, even if it’s so far away. Anything else that far away can’t be seen with a strong telescope, only if they’re quasars, because they’re extremely bright. Yes, quasars aren’t as mysterious as black holes, I agree, but black holes can be in the centres of quasars! That’s a main reason why I like quasars! Yeah, many people think that. Also, many people think that quasars are at the edge of the universe. Well, if there is an edge of the
universe anyway.
In conclusion, I think there is a very good chance for black holes to exist. That’s why I decided to write about black holes: The greatest mysteries of space! In this paper, I talked about black holes: what they are, the parts of a black hole, and how to find them and where they mostly are. Also, I talked a little bit about quasars. The mysteries of space fascinate me, especially black holes. I wonder if they really do exist. But, I really wonder: Will the universe ever end? We’ll find out, one of these years, or millenniums! Or never! But, what I do know for sure is, that this is the end of my report!
Short Story: Thanks! By: Thamayanthi Giritharan
Short Story: Thanks!
By: Thamayanthi Giritharan
Downtown Toronto. It’s an extremely busy area. People of all kinds go this way and that; going to work, going to school, going anywhere to continue a blessed life. Have you ever observed all these people? Yes, I know it seems a bit nosy and meddlesome but I can’t help myself! There are so many people that comprise this city – people from all corners of this blue and green ball (it’s known as Earth). All these people have somewhere to go and something to do with life. Well, almost all; some aren’t as fortunate.
I walk on the cracked road in downtown while going to school. Just like everybody else, I’m going somewhere and I cannot be late – but it looks like I am going to be (again). Cars are honking while smoke is puffing out like mad; looks like another traffic jam. Hopefully, I am not late for school; hopefully I haven’t forgotten my homework (again). *Sigh* It sure is a humid day and it’s so hot – hey!
“Sorry miss. Here’s your backpack. You better get to school if you don’t want to be late!”
“Thank you,” I respond to a man of no interest. He looks like a businessman; another busy person in this hustling city. Hmm, there’s a man sitting on the street. I wonder why he’s sitting on the pavement on such a hot and sunny day (it’s 34 C you know!).
As I near the man I find he has no shoes. His clothes seem so tattered and aged. He’s wearing sunglasses – I wish I had some, it is super sunny! Next to his bare feet is a cane and a small baseball cap with a couple of quarters in it. Poor man, he must be homeless. It breaks my heart to see someone with no home and unprotected, yet virtually everyone passing by is living safely.
“Oh, Tessa! It’s a homeless guy! Don’t go near him – he might have a disease! Run away from him!” a little girl secretly and loudly whispers to her friend. I wonder how he must feel when he hears these things. He must be hurt but will never show it. I unzip my bag and search for some loose change. A loonie, three toonies and a couple of quarters, that’s all I have today.
“Hello. Um, I have something to put in your cap,” I timidly state. I briskly drop the coins into the cap and didn’t say another word. I patiently wait for a while to hear anything he might respond.
“Thanks,” is all he says. I nod politely and leave for school (even though I’m already much too late). He then says something else loud enough for me to hear but quiet enough so no one else would, “Now I have money to buy a decent meal to last for a couple of days.” I wonder how he walks with no shoes.
Today is another day; another busy day. I promised myself (and my teacher) that I wouldn’t be late today. However, I’m early enough to have a little chat.
“Hello. I have a bit more money today. You can buy a great meal of Chinese food with this,” I say to him without sounding too corny.
“Do you pity me?”
I was in jolt, “Uh, I just want to help you sir.”
“Ah, don’t say ‘sir!’ Call me Jacob.” He gestures a handshake and I accept. “It’s obvious to say you’re a girl; your hands are smooth and well moisturized – not like any self-respecting guy I know!” he heartily laughs. I was a bit perplexed. “Would you like to come in and buy food with me?”
I respond, “I’m sorry but I have school. Maybe some other day.”
“Yes, I remember when I was in school. I used to be a math professor, you know.” Wow, a math professor! Why is he on the street now? I decide its best not to inquire.
“Bye Jacob. By the way, my name is Terry. I hope to see you tomorrow!” I say.
“I might not see you, but you’ll definitely see me.”
Today I decide to visit Jacob again. I walk down the cracked road on my way to school and find Jacob sitting there once again on this hot and sunny day. Well, at least he has his sunglasses. Although, I went to a store and did pick up something.
I greet, “Hey Jacob!”
“Hello. What’s in the bag?”
“I wanted to get you something so I bought some –”
“Terry, before you say anything I want to ask if you can donate this money to a charity of any kind.”
“Yeah, do you really want to give this money away?”
“Yes.” He gave me $10.00 for charity. It may not be much but it’s all he has. Even in the midst of being homeless, he still has the heart to help other unfortunate beings.
“Don’t worry Jacob, I won’t disappoint you. Well, I bought some shoes for you. I know it’s not Nikes® or anything fancy, but I hope you like it!”
Jacob tried them on and looked very pleased. His face shone and happily said, “Oh thank you so much! It’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me in a long while! These shoes are comfy!”
I then ask out of curiosity, “Do you like the style?”
“Terry, I’m sure the style is wonderful but you see, I’m afraid I cannot enjoy it. I’m blind.”
I was in awe. With his kind heart and little supplies, he still gets through his life of hardships. I cannot believe how he survives, but I’m glad he does.
“You know what Terry, one day I’d like to have my job back.”
“Don’t worry, I’m sure you will soon.” I unzip my bag come across a five-dollar bill. “Here’s some cash to turn your dream into reality.”
He gently smiles with a twinkle in his eye. “Thanks.” I leave for school hoping to see him another day.
Courtesy: ‘Scarborough Youth Writers’, A collection of Short stories selected from the Short story Competition 2006, published by Scarborough Writers Association (Canada) with the support of Scarboroug Arts Council (Canada).
Book Review: The Spider Chronicles
By: Thamayanthi Giritharan
I love to read a lot of books, so I think I’m a pretty good judge of it too! And you’re in luck, because I’ll show you my opinion on a couple of books from the series that you might be familiar with, “The Spider Chronicles.” You may have heard these series before, or you might have been thinking, “Where on earth did these books come from? I never heard of them,” (because it just came out) like how I was thinking when I first received these books. If you never read these books before and want to find out what it’s about, or you just want to see someone else’s opinion, you’ve come to the right article!
There are five books in all in the series, which are written by Tony Diterlizzi and Holly Black. These books are 100% worth reading because they’re definitely interesting and mysterious, but in the second book, “The Seeing Stone” there is one sentence that I think is a little weird, “The goblin leaned back and urinated on the fire, making the flames blaze green.” You might not think it’s weird but I sure do. But hey! That’s what the authors want to write. The rest of the book was quite cool, though.
This book is also quite decorative too. You are probably asking yourself, “How can a book be decorative?” Well, I can answer that! The answer lies between the paragraphs on some of the pages. On some of the pages there would be mystical creature spacing the paragraphs. Those creatures would be elves. But why am I talking about the decoration of the book, well I say how the story is written is the most important part of a good book, and for a little extra touch, many authors love to have the cover page and the other pages exquisitely hand drawn by very good illustrators. Maybe for more people to buy it, but I don’t have any problem with that, because the writing is real good.
Still have no clue on what the book is about? Well, if you have read “The Series Of Unfortunate Events” (like I have) and the “Candlewick”, well “The Spiderwick Chronicles” is exactly a mix of the two. It’s mystical and magical, and about the creatures that aren’t usually seen or believed, but three children soon discover that the untrue has become the true. It kind of makes you wonder is it true or not? On one side you’re saying, “Nah! Am I going mad or what?” and on the other side you’re saying, “Could it be true?” (but of course we all say it’s untrue, or is it?).
I’ve never thought this book will make me read non-stop, because it did! I was reading day and night, (okay not the night part, but you know what I’m talking about), I wouldn’t stop until it was breakfast, lunch or dinner, even in school, when I had free time I would read the books! I couldn’t stop reading until the end; it was that exciting! So pick up this book at your local corner library, school bookshelf or your local bookshop!
Book Review: ‘The Heaven Shop’
Okay, I’m here to blab about a good book (which is a good thing, so don’t fret). The book I’m going to “blab” about is called The Heaven Shop, by Deborah Ellis. In this book, you find out how the children of poorer countries spend their life, if they do survive. See, you and I both hate school (except for the fieldtrips!), but in other parts of the world, children really like to go to school (not because of the fieldtrips), but just can’t go.
In this book, the author writes about a 12-year-old girl named Binti. She lives in Malawi with her dad, brother and sister (Malawi is a country in Africa). Binti’s mother died of AIDS, but she didn’t know that. AIDS is an extremely common disease that leaves many children in Africa parentless. Just imagine having no mother or father! Just the thought of it makes me feel as though I have ants in my pants. Luckily, Binti still has her father or “Bambo.” That’s what the children in Malawi call their dad.
Now, in the start of the book, the story is quite happy and you might think Binti is selfish because she thinks she’s SO important. She’s an actor on the radio, and plays one of the main characters. Her character is a girl named Kettie, and her mom has also died of AIDS. Many people across Malawi listen to it and enjoy it. This makes Binti feel proud, and selfish.
But she won’t feel happy for long, because Binti and her family’s life is about to change. One day her father dies (because he had AIDS as well). After his funeral, Binti and her siblings are all separated and placed into families full of hatred. When you read about them, you just think of them in disgust. Now, the three children are on their own, and are scraping to survive. Yes, it’s that gruesome. That’s all I’m going to tell you.
I would recommend this book to children between the ages of 11-14, but make sure you’re OK with calamities. I don’t want you to have a nightmare, and you be tossing and turning all night! That way, you won’t be scared, and your parents won’t blame me!
I say this book is a 100% worth reading. This book made me read non-stop! I would read 24 hours a day, (well …. not really, but just pretend!), and I couldn’t stop; it was that exciting! The reason why I kept on reading is because I kept on wondering what was going to happen next. Questions would just pop in your head, and you would keep on reading until there’s nothing left to read. You better pick up this book at your library, or the local bookshop! Or else you won’t ever enjoy this good book! Okay, that sounds kind of weird, but hey! It’S true!
Title: The Heaven Shop
Author: Deborah Ellis
Publisher: Fitzhenry & Whiteside
Book Review: ‘The Series of Unfortunate Events’ By Thamy Giritharan
YES! “THE END” is finally here! Hold on, when I say that I mean that regarding to the thirteenth and final book of “The Series of Unfortunate Events.” I don’t actually mean ‘the end’ – oooh, let’s not even go there! Anyway, “The End” was released on Friday, October 13, 2006 (woah, that is one scary date, eh?) and I had to get my hands on a copy right away! These novels are superb and well written. Yes, I do admit they are quite depressed and melancholy but hey! It’s not real, so I’m fine with that… I think. Okay, you might be wondering where I’m getting at. Well, I’m here to be that one person who is…is…IS going to briefly recap what the book is about! Am I a heroic person or what? Yes, I am. (NOTE: I will not give away the ending and yes, I can be a bit arrogant at times – only a bit!).
The glum (but great) story starts off with the Baudelaire siblings (the orphaned siblings that the story revolves around) in the same boat as Count Olaf (the menacing villain who thinks he’s ‘all that’ – which he IS NOT!). Now, when I say that they are in the same boat, I don’t solely necessarily mean that they are in the same situation, but they are actually drifting in the middle of an unknown body of water on a tiny boat. Yep, that statement was quite ambiguous. Alas, the whole story can practically be referred to be ambiguous as well.
The siblings and the count were hopelessly lost and were desperately seeking for land. Well, the Baudelaires were working and trying their best to keep the boat moving with spatulas they use for oars. Count Olaf on the other hand was busy peeling off the boat’s original nameplate entitled “Carmelita.” If you do not know who Carmelita is, you don’t want to find out (this wicked little and somewhat adopted daughter of Count Olaf isn’t really that important anyway). The nameplate revealed to be covering another one underneath it, which was entitled “Count Olaf.” This suited Olaf perfectly, for anything named after him is always superb!
With Olaf done prying off the original nameplate with his filthy fingernails, he had the time to look around him again and noticed a storm was coming – and it was. The storm didn’t do much harm but swirled the count and the orphans in eddies and quite ferociously as well. When it all ended, the Baudelaires seemed to have ended up on a nearby island, which had been noticed earlier. Their clothes were terribly wet and clung to their bodies and added to their weight and their level of uncomfort (like wet clothes usually do). The Baudelaires thought that the storm had finally got ridden of Olaf for them… but hey, Olaf washed up on the shore unconscious yet alive. As soon as Olaf’s baleful eyes opened he was overjoyed to see land and earnestly believing that he had discovered what he called “Olaf-land” (and he was to be king, of course).
The Baudelaires knew that they weren’t the first people to arrive on this land, due to the fact a little white figure was scurrying towards them at that instant, and it was surely not an animal – or a ghost. The little figure turned out to be a little girl of six or seven who wore big black sunglasses and was wearing a robe of white with a seashell (which was later found out to be filled with coconut cordial – a very sweet drink that made the Baudelaires dizzy). The little figure (isn’t that a cute way of describing a little figure?) introduced herself as Friday. It must be charming to have a name of a weekday. Although, I guess it’d be awfully confusing at times. Then again, I’m glad with my own name!
Count Olaf told Friday that he was to be the island’s new king. Olaf was really rude towards Friday that she thought he should left alone while she guided the nice Baudelaires to the inner island where the rest of the inhabitants lived. Olaf was actually perceived as the villain right away (which is very rare in this series) and is left alone to wander the island. I actually felt sorry for him, but that only lasted for the tiniest fraction a second (he is a BAD, BAD man after all!).
When the Baudelaires arrived where Friday led them, they discovered many of the awkward traditions that took place here. Some of them were: 1) Only wear white robes 2) The only drink around here is coconut cordial (no fresh water – sucks, doesn’t it?) or 3) Whenever things arrive on shore from the rest of the world, you have to bring them to ISHMAEL and allow him to virtually decide what to do with it (even though he doesn’t really say you must, but in a way, he is saying that). For those of you who are going, “Uh, Thamy, who in the island is ISHMAEL? Is he a big teddy bear?” No, he isn’t a teddy bear. He is actually a human being that is a male. He is the apparent ‘leader’ of the island, since he has been here the longest. Ishmael generated these silly rules and more (such as the one that states that one isn’t allowed to yodel – isn’t that something?).
So, the orphans play along the rules for a while and live safely on the island. Soon enough, Count Olaf comes back (as he always does) and is dressed up as a pregnant female trying to pretend to be Kit Snicket. Kit Snicket (if you’ve read the books, you’d know) is the nice lady who tries to help the Baudelaires and is pregnant. Olaf’s disguise actually does not work and is locked up in an ornate birdcage. You might be thinking that Olaf is finally through – which seems like that. Nevertheless, he convicts an act of pure evil!!! It is terrifying! It is – well, I think I’ll end it off there. What I will tell you is this: a deadly fungus, a bitter apple, one birth, two more confirmed deaths – but it is definitely possible that there were more – and the unlocking of a couple of mysteries (that sadly lead to a couple of more mysteries) are involved in the remainder of the book the thirteenth.
Ahh, when I completed this novel I was quite stimulated. It is definitely the best novel of the lot. Questions have been answered in this novel, yet many have not. This leaves us quite perplexed in life of the Baudelaires and the life of our own. If you franticly want to know the ending of the story, I will tell you. It is… NO WAY! I am not going to tell you (you thought I would, didn’t you?). Well, if you want to find out, you’d have to read the whole novel on your own! Trust me, if you have followed the lives of the orphans, you won’t be disappointed. I’d recommend this gruesome (but always great!) book to anyone over the age of nine – the younger ones might read this book, but it’s at their own expense! I really applaud Lemony Snicket’s expertise in writing skills and I found it written quite well and it had suspense. However, I must say, if you haven’t read the volumes preceding this one, I suggest you start from the beginning and work your way up, my friend! You’d be much less confused and those volumes will make you adapt to the desolation and despair that is an attribute to these novels. “THE END” is absolutely wonderful in a depressing way – but I LOVE IT! Don’t take my word for it; just ask your local librarian or anyone who cares to be asked! Go to ye local bookshop or the library for a copy – YEE HAW! Okay, I’m beginning to scare myself here… I sounded like a bad ad, and a bad cowgirl. Ah, who cares. To all those “A Series of Unfortunate Events’ lovers out there, I recommend you to read this book. Although, I am required to state (from the words of Lemony himself): “If I were you, I would likely drop this book at once, so THE END does not finish you.” Wow, those are wise words…
