Science & Technology

Binoculars belonging to a Congressional Medal of Honor winner © Minnesota Historical Society (Flickr) What are Binoculars? Binoculars are, in essence, two telescopes mounted side by side in a hand-held device. However, unlike telescopes, binoculars are designed to be views…

Number of hours in a day, and number of days in a year Hours in a day Most people know that there are 24 hours in a day. This is the simple bit of the calculation. Days in a year…

© .shock young man ready for run on the start position ready to run © .shock Why should you want to know? There are all sorts of reasons for wanting to convert miles to kilometres, but here are the commonest…

History of a gallon A gallon is a measure of volume, equating to either 3.79L or 4.55L depending on its usage. The imperial (UK) gallon is equal to 4.546 L. It was made obsolete through The Units of Measurement Regulations…

© Sergey yellow ruler isolated on white © Sergey Introducing the metric system Before metric measurements were introduced, the length of something was measured using the imperial system which included feet, inches, miles, furlongs and others. The lack of common…

© aussiegall (Flickr) Measuring time © aussiegall (Flickr) Origins of the Imperial system The units in use in the imperial system were historically derived from units used by the Roman Legion, and were in use in England at the time…

© Semhur (commons.wikimedia.org) A Kilometre and Mile Unit Comparison Scale © Semhur (commons.wikimedia.org) Basics of kilometres and miles The kilometre (symbolised as km) is a distance unit in the metric system mostly used to express geographical distances. It is equal…

© Joe Shlabotnik (Flickr) Calculators © Joe Shlabotnik (Flickr) Useful conversion factorsThe UK still uses miles not kilometres, many people still think in degrees fahrenheit rather than centigrade, and weights are still sometimes given in pounds rather than kilograms.There are…

© qthomasbower (Flickr) Hearts (Explored!) © qthomasbower (Flickr) Muscles One of the key characteristics of the heart is its musculature. Skeletal muscle - those such as biceps and triceps that are attached to the bones via ligaments in order to…

© WikiMedia (Wikimedia) 1 Examples of filler (microspheres) or reinforcements (fibers or fabri © WikiMedia (Wikimedia) Material properties Fiberglass material on its own is almost useless. To get the best out of this material, it needs to be cured with…

© Socialbutterflyjewellery (flickr.com) Swarovski Stones © Socialbutterflyjewellery (flickr.com) What are man made diamonds? Synthetic or artificial or man made diamonds are gems produced in labs through various chemical processes. Their molecular structure is identical to the natural diamonds and their…

© Andrey Kiselev (Fotolia) analyze © Andrey Kiselev (Fotolia) Certain compounds when dissolved in water (H_2O) will cause it to dissociated into constituent hydrogen (H^^+) and hydroxide (OH^^-) ions. Solutions with more hydrogen ions than hydroxide ions are acidic; those…

© kevindooley (Flickr) Bowl of clouds © kevindooley (Flickr) What are clouds? There are many different types of clouds in our skies – but while each one varies in shape, size and density, all are made up of the same…

1. WARNING © SparkFunElectronics (Flickr) Dry Ice © SparkFunElectronics (Flickr) THIS EXPERIMENT IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. PROCEED WITH CAUTION, OR WITH ADULT SUPERVISION. DO NOT ALLOW A DRY ICE BOMB TO EXPLODE ANYWHERE NEAR YOURSELF OR ANOTHER LIVING BEING. 2. Items…

© Candie_N (Flickr) Pink rose without frame © Candie_N (Flickr) Roses typically infer love, joy, and beauty. They are the traditional symbol of love. There are roses that are a solid colour, bicoloured, striped, or even tipped. Most of the…

© Michael McCollum Harley is a food-allergic black Lab who eats only homemade food. © Michael McCollum Incessant itching may not seem serious, but it can turn very serious. You need to stop it.The first thing to do is make…

1. Praise over punishment © Pleple2000, Creative Commons Maltese going for a walk © Pleple2000, Creative Commons Need for attentionDogs are much like children and they prefer any attention, even negative attention, over no attention at all. The most effective…

© susan402 (Flickr) kittens © susan402 (Flickr) Litter training for a kittenWhen you first bring your kitten home:When you first get a kitten, it is essential that you allow the kitten to explore your house in its own time. Cats…

© mockstar Flickr Oslo The Dog © mockstar (Flickr) How does the wireless dog fence work? Components of the wireless fenceThe actual pet safe fence is a wire which is stretched around the perimeter of the area to be confined.…

© Tobyotter (Flickr) Abandoned (For a Photo) © Tobyotter (Flickr) What is the wireless pet fencing and how it works The components of the "fence"There are different systems of pet-safe wireless fencing, but essentially they all work in the same…

© London looks (Flickr) Kittens! © London looks (Flickr) What sort of kitten do you want? Do you want a moggy or non-pedigree kitten? Or would you prefer a kitten of a certain breed, or a pedigree kitten. A moggy…

© Lee Coursey, Creative Commons Dog and cats are able to get along © Lee Coursey, Creative Commons MalteseThese hardy little dogs, although hunters in days gone by, have an affinity towards cats as well as other dogs. This breed…

© KeeT little girl with puppy © KeeT Know the dog Every pet owner should learn as much about the breed of the pet dog as possible. Knowing the characteristics of the breed can help point to the right direction…

© Helen Krasner Kittens are absolutely gorgeous © Helen Krasner Do you really want a new kitten? Advanced thinkingYou need to think in advance about how to raise a kitten. If you have children, emphasise to them that a baby…