As mass goes faster and faster the energy being put into making the object go faster gets converted to mass according to the famous equation E = mc2. When a proton speeds up in an accelerator its mass increases. As a proton of mass 1 accelerates to a speed of 99.9997 the speed of light the mass ends up 430 times the mass of the original proton.
(Book – E=mc2: a biography of the worlds most famous equation : David Bodanis)
Some people think that the island of Santorini in the Aegean Sea might be the basis for the legend of Atlantis since it had a civilization before being destroyed by a volcano four times the destructive power of Krakatoa. Excavations of the city there have been going on for over 50 years now but no bodies have ever been discovered. That makes archaeologists thin that the people knew that the rumblings of the volcano were bad and they all evacuated before it blew.
(The Great Courses – Archaeology: An Introduction to the Worlds Greatest Sites)
93% of all soybeans today have been genetically modified.
(Understanding the Science for Tomorrow: Myth and Reality)
There are many different people who volunteer for archaeological digs. Some people are students who are getting experience and hope to have a career in the field but many other are just interested people like retirees who always wanted to help on a dig. You can be taught what you need to know in about 15 minutes. You will be provided all the equipment you need but it is suggested that you do bring your own trowel and maybe a pastiche (small handpick). Most people will find that the pickax is the most useful tool on a dig when used properly. The most common thing you will find are sherds which are pieces of pottery (shards are pieces of glass). You will be given three or four buckets. One bucket for the sherds, one bucket for dirt and one or two buckets for animal remains. If you think you see something unusual you will contact your supervisor who will inspect it and possibly takes pictures before you continue.
(The Great Courses – Archaeology: An Introduction to the Worlds Greatest Sites)
The Great Pyramid was originally about 480 feet high and 755 feet on each side. It has about 2.3 million blocks and weights about 6,000,000 tons.
(The Great Courses – Archaeology)
Human DNA has more than 95% of it which appear to do nothing and that is called junk DNA or non coding DNA. The more complex and organism the more junk DNA it has. Humans have by and far the most junk DNA of any organism we know about.
(Understanding the Science for Tomorrow: Myth and Reality)
Mt. Vesuvius in Italy is currently the only active volcano on the mainland of the continent of Europe.
(The Great Courses – Archaeology)
When light enters our eye each wavelength for the different colors is slightly bent. Fortunately this is not enough to cause our eye to have to make any adjustments to focus. For a hawk which can see 10 times farther this is much more of a problem so the solution nature used is that the hawk only sees in black and white.
(Understanding the Science for Tomorrow: Myth and Reality)
During the Union blockade of the South by the North the crew of the blockade ships were rewarded with proceeds of every capture. The government got about half, the captain about 7%, a little less for each officer and the 16% were shared by the rest of the crew.
(Book – Battle Cry of Freedom – James M. McPherson)
Gasoline powered engines only use 25% of the gasoline to make a car move. Electric cars use about 90% of the energy in their batteries.
(Understanding the Science for Tomorrow: Myth and Reality)