The World is Obsessed with Facebook

That statement in itself has become obvious, but do you want to share some really scary statistics?  Then take a look at this extremely well made animated infographic by Alex Trimpe.  You may have thought that Facebook had taken over the world already – this will not put your mind at rest that it hasn’t.  The conquest is almost complete.

Yet anyone who knows history knows that empires rise and fall, right? Right?

The Atom: Building Block of the Universe

This should, perhaps, be called Everything you ever wanted to know about atoms but were too afraid to ask.  It takes you from the ancient Greeks thinking that there had to be some really, really, tiny particles that could not be seem from which all matter was made.

It goes in to the nucleus of the atom as well as its component parts, the protons and the neutrons and how atoms can bebound together to make molecules.  All in all it is pretty cool.  It is this sort of inforgraphic that should be shown in more schools!

Stay tuned - next week we cover particle physics and quantum mechanics.

The True Power of the Sun

Image Credit Flickr User Chantry Bee

The sun is what we rely on for everything, really.  Without it we would be lost, an ice cold ball in the midst of darkest space.  So, this is why we usually study it at school and - wow - what a lot of facts and figures there are about the star which sustains us.

Did you know, for example, that our sun is so large that over one million of this planet we call earth would fit inside it?  That is pretty big by our standars, but in fact our sun is on the small side when compared with other stars.  Makes you feel pretty small.

If you want to learn more about the true power of the sun, click on this link and take a look at a fascinating article written by Mr Ghaz.

While we are on the subject of stars, Timon and Pumba from Disney's The Lion  King had one of my favorite discussions about stars, in fact let's reproduce it here...

Pumbaa: Timon, ever wonder what those sparkly dots are up there?
Timon: Pumbaa, I don't wonder; I know.
Pumbaa: Oh. What are they?
Timon: They're fireflies that got stuck up in that bluish-black thing.
Pumbaa: Oh, gee. I always thought they were balls of gas burning billions of miles away.
Timon: Pumbaa, with you, everything's gas.

(If that doesn't make you want to watch the movie again, then what exactly might?)

Population Growth - Infographic

Population growth is the elephant in the room.  In virtually all globally important meetings about the environment the human population is not mentioned.  However, the bald facts - as presented here by Kristy Graybill - are more than a little frightening.

The increase in population from now to 2050 will equal the entire world population in 1950.  While the birth rates of developed nations is slowing their populations continue to consume a disproportionate amount of the planet's resources.  If our standards of living are to be maintained or improved then this will mean the destruction of much of what remains of the earth's pristine habitats.  No one wants that, but still population is hardly ever mentioned by politicians.

The solution is fairly simple if unpalatable.  The developing world must curb its almost exponential population growth and in return those lucky enough to live in the developed world must learn to curb their excesses.  It is as simple as that - but do we have the will to make it happen?