Personal Blogs

I had this business selling sheep pens. But it folded.

I've never been able to stand on my head. I just can't make my legs reach.

I was like totally out of breath. I'd like literally sprinted down this road, then found it was a dead end!!! I'd panted myself into a corner.

All the children were polite about the meal. Except Phil.
He said he'd tasted better swill.

All the children enjoyed their apple juice. Except Dee.
She said it reminded her of wee.

All the children liked the cake. Except Sam
He said the filling was like caterpillar jam.

All the children finished up their stew. Except Pat
She said it would be nicer without the cat.

When we were in America we visited Wheezy Anna.

The Pupil asked the Master: "What are your proudest moments as a teacher?"

'Dear Pupil!", replied the Master. "Why, they are when you show me I am wrong."

I've always assumed that meteorites are quite rare, and as far as ones of any size are concerned that's true. But I was surprised recently to find that thousands of very small "micrometeorites" land on the Earth's surface constantly. Typically they are less than a millimetre in size and weight only a tiny fraction of a gram. If they enter the atmosphere at the right angle and velocity they may suffer some heating but still survive to ground level.

How common are they? Very. A back-of-an envelope calculation suggests that one falls on each square meter about once a fortnight on average. Think of that! You have probably added one to your stock of meteorites during the course of today.

They have been collected in places such as polar regions and in certain geological strata. But finding them in inhabited parts of the world is challenging because of the swarms of other dust-sized particles, many of them of human origin. However recent painstaking research has found undisputed micrometeorites in urban gutters. These are promising sites, because they collect run-off, probably separate out heavier particles (think of panning for gold) and probably trap less contamination from road dust and the like.

If you wanted to find your own, how would you start? First get a neodymium magnet (like the one I mentioned in a previous post about iron in cornflakes, and easily obtained). Put this in a plastic bag and swirl it around in gutter gloop.

Then enclose this in another plastic bag, and pull the magnet out of the inner bag. Voila! Candidate particles will have been collected between the bags.

Now comes the hard part. Almost all will be metallic grains created by human activity. So you will have to examine your finds under a microscope and carefully pick out the stardust. Not at all easy, but luckily there is a book by a dedicated enthusiast.

Read more here about Project Stardust

https://www.facebook.com/micrometeorites/

Images from here

http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21711633-amateur-enthusiast-advances-planetary-science-finding-micrometeorites-city

Can I find it?

Yes Yukon!

My new watch doesn't only tell the time, it makes jokes as well. It's called the "Humorist".

As I was skipping down the lane
I met a troll with eyes of flame.
It showed two thousand tombstone teeth
On its forehead written grief.
Straightway it seized me at the throat
And crunched my bones down by the moat.
Oh Mother, Father, Mercy please,
Me preserve from dreams as these.