How Our Universe Works

Science knowledge sites are some of my favorites (and since I work in a scientific field, I will write about science sites frequently until I get loads of email crying "Enough already!" and asking me to desist or requesting columns on specific subjects).

I recently started regular visits to a wonderful site, filled with all levels of scientific facts and stories. It is the New Scientist site at http://www.newscientist.com. New Scientist is a United Kingdom print magazine.

The New Scientist site has regular feature stories, many of which are triggered by reader questions. These features are usually well written and use vocabulary that is easily understood, with a minimum of technical or "jargon" terms. Some articles have multiple sections answering the question posed by the reader, each written by a different respondent. Most sections of the site are updated weekly, the publication frequency of the print magazine.

The feature article at the time I am writing this column http://www.newscientist.com/features/features_22334.html is about gestures and communication, and points out that blind people use hand gestures, even when their conversation partner is also blind. This is very interesting reading.

Another article http://www.newscientist.com/news/news_223327.html posits reducing greenhouse gases by adding nitrogen fertilizer to the oceans, triggering increased plankton production, thus removing carbon dioxide from the air (another petroleum layer in the making?).

Most, if not all, of the feature articles on the website are taken from the print version of New Scientist magazine. But the website is very enjoyable on its own merits.

There are sections of the website for news (updated weekly, and with headlines of articles available only in the print edition, just to make sure web surfers who don't subscribe know they are missing something), editorials (directly from the print edition), letters from readers (usually about previous articles), science jobs (hmmmm, mine wasn't listed as being up for grabs, thank goodness), feedback (some rather interesting comments in there. If you enjoy a search challenge, find the occupation of W. W. Webb), keysites (hotspot science links and site of the day [five actually]), and over a thousand everyday scientific questions and their answers in the "Last Word." (If you know why muscles ache more on the second day after exercising than on the day immediately afterwards, claim your 15 minutes of fame and give the answer!)

The science books area of the New Scientist site has a top ten best-sellers list for different areas of the world. It is interesting to compare the lists from around the world.

The New Scientist site has a free email newsletter to keep subscribers informed of new subjects on the website.

In a different vein, but also brimming with science knowledge, is the USA's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) web presence. One of the better NASA sites is the collection of links at the NASA For Kids area http://www.nasa.gov/kids.html. It includes areas about airplanes, Earth, planets, space travel, stars and galaxies, and an assortment of miscellaneous stuff under "Other."

The different areas have virtual guided tours, activities, educational resources, and lots of other fun and useful stuff for kids, educating them in such an entertaining manner that they may not realize they are really studying and learning.

Another exciting area of the NASA web universe is the NASA Education area http://education.nasa.gov. It contains page after page of listing and links of educational sites, materials, resources, and activities. Younger kids may need some help navigating the first few pages till they end up in an area designed specifically for them, but the effort is well worth it.

Today@NASA.GOV http://www.nasa.gov/today/index.html is a NASA news site, which also has an email newsletter to keep you up-to-date on the latest NASA news.

The NASA pictures area http://spacescience.nasa.gov/images.html offers breathtaking images of the Earth, the solar system and planets, and deep space. The images are grouped into collections by subject in most cases. Expect to spend lots of time being amazed at the beauty of the universe if you venture to this area. Hard copies of many of the images are available from third-party companies if you want.

If you just want to explore the NASA educational areas, the site map http://www.nasa.gov/siteindex.html or the educational resource map http://education.nasa.gov/sitemap.html are great pages to visit.

Well, that's all for this month. Explore and enjoy the wealth of information available on the Internet. Send me email with subjects for which you would like to see Internet resources mentioned.

Next month we will see more of the best knowledge and information sources on the Internet.

And now, KnowledgeSpider's Knowledge/Information Resource recommendation of the month: Use the resources at these two organizations' websites to learn more about the world and universe in which you live.

In each month's column I will grab knowledge or information resources from the Internet and share them with you. If you have a learning or knowledge resource or a teaching technique that has proven particularly useful to you, share it with all of us by tossing it into my web! Send me email!

David E. Price
david@mymac.com