Showing 1 - 10 of 12
Humans unabashedly steal secrets from animals
Learningpost, David Canavan, Published on 29/06/2010
» There is no doubt that humans are incredible designers, architects and builders. From the Taj Mahal to the new Burj Khalifa, to the Airbus A380 to nuclear submarines, Homo sapiens are incredible. But many of our technologies were either inspired by or simply stolen from animals. In many circumstances, animals are aeons ahead of us in the building and design world.
Maneaters
Learningpost, David Canavan, Published on 01/06/2010
» There are places we can go on this planet where we are not the dominant species or top predator, places where only brave men dare to venture and places where humans actually, and actively, get preyed upon. To be eaten alive, I think, would be the worst way to die, yet it happens to people every year, eaten alive by a few select animals. Let me introduce you to the maneaters.
Killers of the deep
Learningpost, David Canavan, Published on 18/05/2010
» There is something spooky and frightening about killers in the water. I think it is because we rarely see them, unlike aerial or land hunters. They are arguably among the most unknown and undiscovered hunters due to the difficulties in researching them.
The Eruption's disruption
Learningpost, David Canavan, Published on 04/05/2010
» You would have to be living under a rock (or a volcano!) to not know about Eyjafjallajokull - pronounced EYE-ya-fyat-lah-YOH-kuht and means "island-mountain glacier" in Icelandic - the Iceland volcano that, at its peak, spewed huge amounts of ash into the atmosphere, grounding much of Europe's air travel. Today we will explore volcanoes, the effect of the Eyjafjallajokull eruption on global air travel and its dangers to aircraft.
Lords of the air
Learningpost, David Canavan, Published on 06/04/2010
» Predators always arouse our interest whether we see them on TV or in the wild. What is truly amazing about predatory animals is their wide choice of lethal weapons and their varied techniques for catching prey. This article highlights some incredible aerial hunters. The next article will feature land predators, and following that we will review killers of the sea.
'Garbage Island': Lost at sea
Learningpost, David Canavan, Published on 23/03/2010
» Have you ever wondered where the litter you dispose of every day goes? Certainly much of it goes into waste sites and, sadly, precious little is recycled, but a large amount makes it to the oceans.
Mother Nature's clocks
Learningpost, David Canavan, Published on 23/02/2010
» Although the deck of this article says that it is about dating really old things, that doesn't quite do it justice. This article is about dating the oldest things on earth, even earth itself!
Do you see what I see?
Learningpost, David Canavan, Published on 09/02/2010
» The eye is an exceptional organ although the effectiveness of an animal's eye depends on how much it relies on sight and the environment in which it lives. Arguably, birds of prey, such as eagles and falcons, as well as scavenging vultures, have the most advanced eyesight, and they are able to spot tiny prey scurrying among the bushes or a carcass from kilometres away.
Sonar
Learningpost, David Canavan, Published on 26/01/2010
» I have a question for you, the answer to which I will give you at the end of this article. You are on a boat looking for a school of fish when your sonar finally finds a school. It emits a "ping" that travels at the speed of sound, which is about 1,500 metres per second in water, and the reflected sound is received half a second later. Using the formula distance equals to speed multiplied by time, work out how deep the fish are, but be careful - there is a catch (pun intended).
No emissions? No waste? No way!
Learningpost, David Canavan, Published on 19/01/2010
» Continuing on the green theme from the last two articles, I have decided to write an article on what I consider to be the future of living and how modern-day buildings can be adapted to become more environmentally friendly.