How Do Light Bulbs Work?

Although Thomas Edison is often credited with the invention of the incandescent light bulb, It really took a series of events to develop it. He is the one who discovered the best filament to use. But I guess I’m ahead of myself. Let’s talk about what a light bulb is first.

There are several kinds of light bulbs. Incandescent lights, the lights with the glowing wire inside, where the first. They contain a coiled wire filament, a clear bulb, and a screw type base to connect it to the electricity. Most of the air is removed from the bulb so that the filament doesn’t burn up. This makes the light last a lot longer. The filament is made of a metal, usually tungsten, that has a high resistance. That means it’s hard for the electricity to push through it. This causes the filament to heat up and glow. If you hold your hand by it, you can feel the heat. Sometimes they make the glass of the bulb have a frosted look. This makes the light spread out a little so it doesn’t hurt your eyes.

Fluorescent lights are usually a tube of glass that has a smaller filament on both sides. The inside of the tube is coated with a chemical called phosphorus. There is hardly any air inside, but they add a very small amount of mercury vapor.  When the filaments are electrified, they get the molecules of mercury vapor all excited. The molecules move around very quickly until they give off a burst of energy. This energy hits the phosphorus and causes it to glow. As long as the electricity is on, the molecules keep moving and releasing energy. This give you light.

Neon lights are glass tubes with a special gas in them, usually neon or argon. The light has a special device that gives them a high voltage shock, causing the gas to glow. Each gas has its own color.

A newer kind of light is the LED.

It stands for light emitting diode. They come in various shapes and colors. They are made with a special device called a diode that is a type of microchip. When a current of electricity passes through it, it gives off light. They do not need to use very much energy, but still produce a good amount of light. They are small and can last a long time. This makes them useful for many things. You see them in Christmas lights, flashlights, and all kind of computer stuff. Most of the new lightbulbs are LEDs.

If you still want to know more, here is a short video about it.

Hope you like it!

Until next time,

Love Papaw.

How Do Bugs Breathe?

That is a bigger question than you would think. When you hear bug, most people only think of insects. But not all bugs are insects. Rollie pollies are actually  crustaceans. Spiders and ticks are arachnids. Then there are centipedes, millipedes and all kinds of worms. Yet they all get put into the group called bugs.

Most bugs do not have lungs. The have tiny holes in their abdomens called spiracles. These can be opened and closed as needed. These lead to little channels called tracheae that carry oxygen to the cells. Some bugs just let air come in by itself; Others, like grasshoppers, can expand and contract their abdomens to obtain more oxygen. Bugs don’t have blood. They have a clear, yellowing fluid called hemolymph that carries nutrients and oxygen inside their bodies.

Some creatures, like spiders, have what are called book lungs. They are structures that have thin, stacked, membranes that look something like pages in a book. They can fan these and let oxygen in. Others like rollie pollies have gills! They need to always remain moist. That’s why the need to live in moist areas like under rotten logs.

Water insects like the larva of mosquitoes and midges have an air snorkel that they can use at the water’s surface to breathe while they look for prey under the water. Others have visible gills. Some insect even carry a bubble of air around their abdomens while they are diving under water.

There are even bugs, like worms, that can breathe through their skin. They also need to always stay moist so that oxygen can absorb into their bodies.

Because most bugs have to get their oxygen these ways, it puts a limit on how big they can grow. It is thought that back in history (probably before the Great Flood) oxygen levels may have been greater. This could help them to grow much bigger, something we can see in some fossils.

What amazing creatures we have around us! I hope you liked hearing about them.

Until next time,

Love Papaw.

Gardening with Papaw

 

Spring is here at last! This is the time of year that people start planting their gardens. Some grow flowers. Others like to grow vegetables and fruit. Papaw likes to do both! I like flowers because they look pretty and also make Mema happy. I like to grow vegetables and fruit because I like to eat them. This year I’m a little behind, because things have been very busy. I may not put out as many plants this year.

We started in the fall with a flower for Mema. It’s called hydrangea. They can be white, pink, blue or purple. She like the purple ones. It’s still kinda small but it really had a lot of flowers this spring. It’s right by the back door so we can see it if we go out in the evening.

I also planted 3 tomato plants. Two are called cherry tomatoes because they have tiny cute tomatoes. If you look close at the picture you can see little tomatoes already. One is red; The other is a golden yellow. They will taste really good in salads and on Mema’s homemade pizzas! The other tomato is called a “zebra tomato” because it has purple and yellow stripes. It think that might look good on a hamburger.

I still would like to plant a few peppers. Mema doesn’t like them hot, but I do! I’m going to plant some Jalapeños and some cayenne peppers. Cayenne pepper are really hot, but I think they taste good on almost anything. Auntie B likes hot peppers also.  Maybe Mema will make some of her homemade salsa for us. Yum!

You could also grow corn or beans, They are fun to grow. I may even try to grow some more pumpkins or cantaloupe this year. They take a lot of room so I’m going to have to look for a good spot.

Gardening as a family can be fun. What would you like to grow?

Until Next Time,

Love, Papaw.

Jumping Spiders!

 

I know that a lot of people don't like spiders, so you may not want mom to look at the picture for this one. There are some spiders that I don't want hanging around. I don't like black widows and I'm not really fond of cellar spiders either. Still, there is one spider that I find really cool. It's the jumping spider. They just look happy and don't really bother people so I don't mind watching them or having them hang around in the flowers. Well, as long as they don't eat the butterflies.

Like all spiders, jumping spiders have 8 legs and two body parts, a cephalothorax (they have no neck) and an abdomen. They are usually covered with fuzzy hairs and can often be very colorful. they are different for other spiders in that two of their eight eyes are really big. This helps them see what is around them. Most spiders cannot see very well. Because of this, they are hunting spiders. They can jump long distances to attack insects like flies and caterpillars. They would be very good ion the track team. Some can jump 50 times their length. I bet you can't do that!

They don't usually spin webs but instead use their silk as as safety live when they make long jumps. Kind of like spider man. They do make little silk tents to sleep in. 

Jumping spiders live in almost every country around the world. If you look at your flowers or even on the outside walls of your house, you can probably find one in no time. 'My favorite jumping spider is Lucas the Jumping Spider. I put a shots video of him on here. He can be pretty funny!

Until next time!

Love, Papaw.

https://kids.kiddle.co/Jumping_spider

How Do Birds Breathe?

This week my second oldest grandson ask me what a one-way breath loop was. My first response was, what? (They are getting too smart!) I had to look it up. I found out it was related to the way birds breathe. I’ve taught biology for years and never paid any attention to it. I mean, birds have lungs so they breathe in and breathe out. No big deal right?

Turns out, it’s a huge deal. Whereas humans and other mammals breathe in to fill their lungs and breathe out to empty them reversing the flow each time, birds on the other hand keep air going through the system in one direction all the time. It means there is fresh air constantly flowing through their lungs all the time. They do this by using a series of air sacks that keep the air moving through their lungs. Only after it goes through the whole circuit does it get exhaled.

Birds need this system because they need extra oxygen to fly and they also may spend a lot of time at higher altitudes where the air is thinner. They also breathe many times faster than most mammals. Smaller birds like canaries may breathe 60-100 times a minute! Larger soaring birds like vultures may only breathe 18 times per minute. (Humans average 12.)

According to https://www.birdfact.com/articles/how-do-birds-breathe:

A bird takes two breaths to complete one full cycle of breathing. Here’s a summary of how it works:

Inhalation: Air flows in through the nostrils, moves through the trachea, and fills the posterior air sacs.

Exhalation: Air leaves the posterior air sacs and travels into the lungs, moved by the contraction of muscles in the ribcage. Gaseous exchange takes place in the lungs, where the waste carbon dioxide is swapped for fresh oxygen.

Inhalation: Air leaves the lungs, flowing into the anterior air sacs.

Exhalation: Air passes from the anterior air sacs into the trachea, leaving the beak through the nostrils.

That seems like a lot of work, but if you are a bird, you need it. Isn’t it amazing how God has given each creature the things they need to survive? He sure is a great designer!

Well, my head is spinning from all that science stuff. Until next time!

Love Papaw.