#string bean world

[string-bean-77]

got done with drawing my little space baby. Love her

[nana-bean]

Negative calories?- 15.11.11

i'm perplexed by the so called "negative calorie" foods, like celery... is there such a thing as miracle foods? or is it just a way to get children to eat healthily and used as a promotional device for weight loss programs or other.

[nana-bean]

More of goldfish- 25.10.11

The history of a goldfish, Originally, people in china bred species of carp, in domesticated settings for food, and these were normally grey or silver, however they also had a tendency to produce red, orange or yellow colour mutations (this was first recorded in the Jin Dynasty). Which later became a favourable colour in personal ponds, etc...  And as time progressed these mutations (golden coloured fish) became, pets, or aesthetically pleasing beings rather than a food source.  Therefore the goldfish belongs to a genus group called carassius, which is commonly known as Crucian carps, however it specifically refers to C. carassius. Goldfish are known as C. auratus, which is bred from prussian carps (Carassius auratus gibelio) in China, which is the closest relative to our goldfish, in the wild.  Further mutations and selective breeding, has now further removed the similarities with the Crucian carp, for example, different body shapes, fin and eye configurations; where to the extreme these fish can only survive in a aquarium. An example of this are the Orandas who are sensitive to low water temperatures, and rough objects that could damage their wen (hood like mass on the head).

[nana-bean]

1. Current, Potential difference and Resistance

What do these weird words you see mean? Current- the rate of flow of charge.Q= I*t  I= Q/*t Q= the charge in Coulombs, I= the current in Amps, *t is the time in seconds.  Potential Difference (P.D. or Voltage)- is the energy converted per unit charged moved, (the energy per unit charge)V= IR V= W/Q V= voltage (P.D.), W= the energy in Joules, Q= the charge in Coulombs, I= the current in Amps, R= resistance in Ohms.  Resistance- "the amount of difficulty of getting a current to flow through a component."R= V/I R= resistance (measured in Ohms) N.B. a ohmic conductor will have a constant R.   What causes electrical resistance?The resistance of a component in a circuit is a measure of the difficulty of making current pass through the components. Resistance is caused by the repeated collisions between the charge carriers in the material with each other and with the fixed positive ions if the material. The resistance of any component is defined as the potential difference across component/ current passing through it.  When can we use Ohm’s law?Ohm’s law states that the Pd across a metallic conductor is proportional to the current through it, provided the physical conditions do not change. What is a superconductor?A superconductor is a wire or device made up of a material that has zero resistivity at and below a critical temperature that depends on the material. When a current passes through this material, there is no Pd across it because its resistance is zero; therefore the current has no heating effect.

[nana-bean]

Goldfish and Attachment- 23.10.11

Goldfish have strong associative learning abilities, as well as social learning skills. In addition, their visual acuity allows them to distinguish between individual humans. Owners may notice that fish react favorably to them (swimming to the front of the glass, swimming rapidly around the tank, and going to the surface mouthing for food) while hiding when other people approach the tank. Over time, goldfish learn to associate their owners and other humans with food, often "begging" for food whenever their owners approach. Which is an example of classical conditioning, like the experiment that Pavlov did with dogs, where he conditioned the dogs to salivate (conditioned response) to a bell (which was a unconditioned stimulus but become the conditioned stimulus) And as some of you might know i just brought two fancy goldfish, and already they are getting used to me, (e.g. coming round to my side of the fish bowl, whereas they would swim frantically when others approach). 

[nana-bean]

Goldfish- 21.10.11

As some of you might know i am a goldfish, and is obsessed with anything to do with goldfishes at the moment... so like always i thought i might go and research it. Look into it's species, genus, history etc...

Here is a glossary of words that i will use, when i next talk about the amazing goldfish, in the next post.

Anal fin

The lower fin just before the tail

Anterior

Towards the front of the fish

Body

A fish excluding the fins

Brown

Also described as chocolate

Calico

Mixture of colours and reflective qualities

Caudal fin

The tail

Condition

The apparent state of health

Cranial

Top of the head

Deportment

The way in which a fish carries itself

Dorsal

Of the upper surface

Dorsal fin

The single fin on top of the back

Finnage

The fin complement of a fish

Hood

Rasberry-like growth on the head

Infra-orbital

Below the eyes

Matt

Without a shiny appearance

Metallic

With the appearance of being shining metal

Mottled

Marked with patches of various colours

Nacreous

With a dull mother-of-pearl shine

Opercular

Over the gill plates

Pectoral fins

The first, forward pair of fins

Peduncle

Where the tail joins the body

Pelvic fins

The second, ventral pair of fins

Posterior

Towards the rear of the fish

Self-coloured

Having only a single colour, eg red

Standard

The ideal fish

Trailing edge

Posterior edge of caudal fin

Ventral

Of the lower surface

[nana-bean]

Water- what is it?- 19.10.11

Water is the chemical substance with chemical formula H2O: one molecule of water has two hydrogen atoms covalently bonded to a single oxygen atom. It covers approximately 70.9% of the Earth's surface and exists in liquid, solid, and gaseous states- but primarily a liquid under normal conditions. Whats more is that it is considered to be a universal solvent, as many substances can dissolve in water. Therefore it is rare to find truly 'pure' water in nature. Water is also vital for all known forms of life, for example;  The human body contains from 55% to 78% water, with some variation from person to person (size). To function properly, the body requires between several litres of water per day to avoid dehydration; the precise amount depends on the level of activity, temperature, humidity, and other factors. Therefore it is important to keep topping yourselves with water, or other fluids constantly. Nowadays their are also other forms in which water can come in, like carbonated (sparkling) water, flavoured water, etc... so it is not the end of the world if you have a disliking to plain water, as you can choose from other tastes, textures that can mask the water "flavour."Although, water is actually a tasteless and odorless liquid at an ambient temperature and pressure. So why is it that so many of us talk about water as if it had a taste ( or flavour)? 

[nana-bean]

Lead- 18.10.11

Continuing on from yesterday- As i mentioned things about lead yesterday, i thought that i may as well expand on lead, and find out about it's properties, uses, health effects etc...

Lead's symbol Pb is an abbreviation of its Latin name plumbum for soft metals, and is located in the post- transition metals category (group of heavy metals). It has a lustrous silver-blue appearance when freshly cut, but darkens to a dull grayish color when exposed to moist air (oxidation?) Lead is highly resistant to corrosion and can be toughened by adding a small quantity of antimony, or other metals to it and can be used as a pure metal, alloyed with other metals, or as a chemical compound.  [I WILL EXPAND ON THIS LATER]

Lead is harmful, and toxic to everyone, but unborn babies and young children have the highest risk from lead poisoning, as their smaller bodies (that are still growing) and are more susceptible in absorbing and retaining lead. Unsafe levels of lead in the body (blood stream) can lead to a wide range of symptoms, from headaches and stomach pain to behavioural problems and anemia (not enough healthy red blood cells). And in some cases it can affect a child's developing brain.