Using a series of very technical tests, scientists from the French research facility CEA have determined that the Earth's core is roughly 6,000 degrees Celsius. That is approximately 1,000 degrees hotter than the temperature obtained by tests in the 1990s.
These new figures show that the center of the Earth is just as hot as the surface of the sun.
The experiment that supplied the new temperature used X-rays to probe tiny samples of iron at extraordinary pressures to examine how the iron crystals form and melt. The BBC reported that "To replicate the enormous pressures at the core boundary - more than a million times the pressure at sea level - they used a device called a diamond anvil cell - essentially a tiny sample held between the points of two precision-machined synthetic diamonds.
Once the team's iron samples were subjected to the high pressures and high temperatures using a laser, the scientists used X-ray beams to carry out "diffraction" - bouncing X-rays off of the nuclei of the iron atoms and watching how the pattern changed as the iron changed from solid to liquid."
As we begin the new school year, stop and reflect on what new things you want to try. Ask yourself how you can make your lessons more engaging or hands-on. Do you need to try new ways of differentiation? What about researching engaging ideas online or observing colleagues? Is there a professional development you have been wanting to attend?
At the beginning of each new year and after each teaching day, I...
It is the most exciting time of the year as teachers start returning back to school. Teachers and administrators are looking forward to the new school year. Many administrators think that this is a time for team building and professional development in the short time before students arrive. As a former principal, I learned that teachers are anxious to get into their classrooms and prepare for school to start.
What I was told was that our teachers appreciated how I approached the...
Summer learning has a huge impact on accelerating your child’s success for the fall. When the last bell rings for children to be out of school, it is a time for sleeping, spending time with family and friends, playing in the water, taking vacations, AND LEARNING. Children love to learn. Keeping that spark of interest in mind, you want to make sure to work with your child this summer so that skills and topics are...
As teacher professionals, we are all leaders in some capacity. It is important as leaders that we show others how to be their best selves. We need to model for others and support choices and decisions. We must also build relationships that are reciprocal with faculty, staff, and families we work with. I have been in several leadership positions, from a cheer...
Family Forums are something that I did when I was teaching, and I decided that they would become a normal part of building successful relationships with the families in my classroom. I challenge you to take the parts of my Family Forums and incorporate them into your teaching practices. They work!
Family Forums should be just what the name says. They are a time when families...
I had the good fortunate of being a principal of seven schools in four states. Something I learned early in my career was unless the superintendent tells you to make these changes immediately or you are extremely familiar with the school, I would wait before I started to revamp what is already in place. If I had to guess a timeframe, perhaps a semester or a year might be a good rule of thumb. What I would consider minor changes could be implemented sooner of course.
I have seen too...
Supreme Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson
In 2022, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson made history as the first African American female being confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court. There have been 115 Supreme Court justices as of 2021! Justice Jackson becomes only the...