The eNotes Blog The Sound of Silence NASA Probes Record Earths Chorus

The Sound of Silence NASA Probes Record Earths Chorus Heres a question for Science teachers to ask their classes: If space made a noise, what would it sound like? The reverberations of Neil Armstrongs footsteps? Space junk clanging together?   The chatter of little green men? Or perhaps, early morning birdsong? An illustration of the earths magnetosphere, where our planets magnetic field collides with charged particles from the Sun. Yes, unlikely as it is, Earth actually gives off a noise that most liken to birds chirping. We know this because when NASA wasnt busy sending a rover to explore Mars, it created a device to detect the sounds of an atmosphere much closer to home. Surrounding our planet are rings of plasma which are pulsing with radio waves. Those waves are not audible to the human ear alone, but radio antennae can pick them up, and thats just what an instrument the Electric and Magnetic Field Instrument Suite and Integrated Science (EMFISIS) on NASAs recently launched Radiation Belt Storm Probes has done. Scientists have known of Earths chorus for several decades, but one of the missions of the Probes project has been to uncover the science behind the emissions. The sounds come from a part of Earths outer atmosphere called the magnetosphere (pictured above) an area where charged particles from the sun interact with the earths magnetic field. Fortunately for us, the radio waves emitted by Earths atmosphere occur in the same frequency of sounds we can hear. That means that, once the waves are picked up by a radio transmitter and translated into sound waves, we can listen to the hauntingly beautiful sounds of our home planet, recorded below: The project will continue for two more years and will also investigate the phenomenon of space weather, which actually affects us on the ground by knocking out satellites and power grids. Who knew space suffered weather like the rest of us? Idea for a Classroom Activity: Earths Song Objective:  To help students connect the concepts of magnetic fields and radio waves. Grade Level: 4-8 Time Needed: 20-30 minutes Dialogue/Worksheet:  Can you imagine what space would sound like if we could listen to it?  What kind of sounds do you think we would hear? (Have students draw Earth and its magnetic field. This activity should follow a unit on magnetism and polarity.) Did you know that the magnetic field makes a noise when tiny particles from the Sun hit it? We cant hear this sound just by listening with our ears. We need radio waves to be able to hear it. What kinds of objects detect radio waves? (Have students list the many different items that pick up radio waves. Ex. radios, baby monitors, garage door openers, cell phones, radio-controlled toys, TVs, wifi, airplanes etc.) Radio waves make up a a type of sound wave that travels through the air at a frequency humans cant hear. They travel much faster than the sound waves you hear when I speak. But we can hear them when we use a radio. The antennae pick up radio waves from the air and switch them into sound waves, which we can hear through the speakers.   Earths magnetic field gives off its own noise because radio waves are   electromagnetic. Using a radio antennae, we can pick up this sound and listen to the planet.   (Play audio of Earths chorus.) What did that sound like to you? Did its sound surprise you? If you could give Earths song a name, what would you call it? Resources: NASA explains Radio Waves Reference Guide: Electricity and Magnetism QA: Definition of radio waves

Coloring Carnations Science Experiment

Coloring Carnations Science Experiment This fun home or school experiment shows your child how water flows through a flower from stem to petals, changing the color of carnations. If youve ever had cut flowers in a vase around the house, your child might have observed the water levels dropping. Your child may wonder why you have to keep watering houseplants. Where does all that water go? The Coloring Carnations Science Experiment helps to demonstrate that the water isnt just vanishing into thin air. Plus, in the end, youll have a very pretty bouquet of flowers. Materials You Will Need White carnations (1 for each color you would like to try to create)empty water bottles (1 for each carnation)food coloringwater24 to 48 hoursColoring Carnations Recording Sheet Directions for Coloring Carnations Experiment Peel the labels off the water bottles and fill each bottle about one-third full of water.Have your child add food coloring to each bottle, about 10 to 20 drops to make the color vibrant. If you would like to try to make a rainbow bouquet of carnations, you and your child will need to mix the primary colors to make purple and orange. (Most boxes of food coloring include a bottle of green.)Cut the stem of each carnation at an angle and place one in each water bottle. If your child wants to keep a picture diary of what is happening to the carnations, download and print the Coloring Carnations Recording Sheet and draw the first picture.Check the carnations every few hours to see if anything is happening. Some of the brighter colors may begin to show results in as little as two or three hours. Once you begin to see visible results, its a good time to have your child draw the second picture. Just remember to record how many hours have gone by!Keep an eye on the flowers for a day. By the en d of day one, the flowers should really be taking on color. Its a good time to ask your child questions about what shes observing. Try questions along the line of:Which color is working the quickest?What color isnt showing up well?Why do you think the carnations are turning colors? (see explanation below)Where is the color showing up?What do you think that means about which parts of the flower get the most food? At the end of the experiment (either one or two days, it depends on how vibrant you want your flowers to be) gather the carnations into one bouquet. It will look like a rainbow! Recording Sheet for the Coloring Carnations Science Experiment Make a four-box grid for your child to draw pictures of what happened in the experiment. What we did first: After ___ hours: After 1 day: What my flowers looked like: Coloring Carnations Science Experiment Why the Carnations Change Color Like any other plant, carnations get their nutrients through the water they absorb from the dirt they are planted in. When the flowers are cut, they no longer have roots  but continue to absorb water through their stems. As water evaporates from the leaves and petals of the plant, it sticks to other water molecules and pulls that water into the space left behind. The water in the vase travels up the stem of the flower like a drinking straw and is distributed to all of the parts of the plant that now need water. Since the nutrients in the water are dyed, the dye also travels up the stem of the flower.