826LA Good Times

Q&A with USC Professor Werner Dappen about dwarf planet Pluto
BY RUBY
Q: How cold is Pluto?
A: The average surface temperature on Pluto is 44 Kelvin (-229 Celsius or -380 Fahrenheit). For more, see www.universetoday.com/guide-to-space/pluto/temperature-of-pluto
Q: Is Pluto dusty?
A: No, we do not think so. Rather, we imagine the surface consists of frozen methane (which is a gas down here!), and so instead of ‘dusty,’ ‘icy’ is the better comparison, even if it is not water ice.
Q: Can people live on Pluto? If not, why?
A: Well, try to live at -380F … (of course, if you bring a full space habitat, with heating and air and water, sure, but I would not call it ‘live.’ Similarly, can I ‘live’ on the Moon? Normal speaking here implies a ‘no,’ even if we can build lunar bases, etc.
Q: How long would it take me to get to Pluto?
A: With current rocket technology, the trip can be done in four to 10 years, depending on if you are willing to burn more fuel to get less payload there or not. A NASA spacecraft—New Horizons—is actually on the way. Departed 2006 and arriving 2015.
Q: What is the surface like?
A: As said above, icy (but with frozen methane, not water).
Q: How many asteroids a year land on Pluto?
A: I would not speak of ‘landing.’ Next time an asteroid hits the earth and kills half of the human population (can happen every 100 million years or so), I would speak of an impact, not landing. But to your question, I have no clue (and depends on how small the asteroids are—dust grains? In that case, of course, many impacts. But if bigger chunks are meant (city size or larger), I do not know about the asteroid population there, and nobody knows, because out there, they are too small to be seen from here.
Q: Is Pluto a planet? If not, what is it?
A: On Aug. 24, 2006, the International Astronomical Union decided on a new definition of “planet,” which does not include Pluto. Pluto is now classified as a “dwarf planet” (or “Kuiper Belt object”). This renaming makes sense, because we believe there are many Pluto-class objects out there, and to be consistent, that would hike up the number of planets; demoting Pluto has prevented this. But we love its name, its history. For more, visit nineplanets.org/pluto.html

Q&A with seismologist Kate Hutton
BY ALANIS
Q: Why are earthquakes happening every month?
Hutton: There are earthquakes every day. Hundreds of them. Most of them are very small, but occasionally they are larger. Worldwide, there are normally up to ten 7.0+ quakes per year, a hundred 6.0+, etc. Often they are under the ocean or in unpopulated areas, so you don’t hear about them on the news.
Q: Where do earthquakes happen the most and why?
Hutton: Almost all earthquakes occur at or near the boundaries of large pieces of crust called tectonic plates. The plates move around at a rate of a couple of inches per year, so they rub together. This may cause some fault zone to break, which sends out sound waves in the Earth that we feel as shaking.
Q: National Geographic predicts the big earthquake will happen by 2037. Do you agree?
Hutton: We think we know something about how often earthquakes occur and we think there is at least a 50/50 chance of a 7.5+ quake in southern California in the next 30 years. Even more likely for a Northridge-sized quake (6.7+), maybe 97% chance. Since this study was made in 2007, that would account for the date quotes as 2037.
Q: Do you think Los Angeles is prepared for the big one? If not, what can we do?
Hutton: There is a wide range. Some people just don’t want to think about it.
Others have all their supplies and are ready for anything. Most are in between somewhere. Some of the city’s infrastructure, such as water mains, are by now quite old and breaking even without the help of earthquakes. These sorts of things could be a problem.
Q: How do you predict earthquakes?
Hutton: We have not figured out how to predict earthquakes, so people will just have to be prepared at all times. There is work being done on an “early warning” alarm system that would warn that a quake has started and the waves are headed your way, maybe some seconds of warning.

BY BIANCA
I know how to make chile rellenos. This is my grandmother’s recipe. My grandmother passed it to my mother, and my mother passed it on to me. It’s not that hard to make this; it’s pretty easy. Depending on how you make it, it can be spicy or not.

1. You have to cook the green chile peppers.
2. You have to peel off the skin on the peppers.
3. Stuff the peppers with cheese or whatever you want.
4. Put the peppers in a foam with eggs and flour.
5. Put the chile peppers on a pan to just cook the foam.
6. Put the peppers in tomato sauce to make it sweeter and cook it until it’s soft.

Monica asks chefs Casey and Anita about onions
I don’t cry around onions. I don’t know why. Don’t ask me­—talk to expert chefs who know about onions.
First I asked, “Why do onions make some people cry?” “They tend to make people cry not when they eat them, but when they cut them,” Anita said. “There is a chemical containing sulfur which reacts in the eyes that causes tears,” said Casey.
Then I asked, “What are onions made of?” And Anita said, “I guess the scientific answer is that they’re made out of cells, like every other organic thing is. When you cut an onion, you’re breaking open the cells and those cells contain a chemical called an enzyme. The enzymes are harsh smelling, and sensitive people can cry when they’re exposed. One solution is to use a very, very sharp knife when working with onions. That makes the break in the cell wall cleaner and less likely to release the enzymes. Other people have nutty ideas about having running water nearby, or chewing on a piece of bread while cutting, but I don’t believe any of that.” Then Casey said, “Just like any other vegetable, organic material.”
Next, I asked if onions were stinky. Anita said, “An old onion will have a worse smell than a fresh one. A cooked onion will have less smell than a raw one. But in my opinion, the worst smell of all is onions on somebody’s breath. Ew.” But then Casey said, “Onions should be sweet and earthy but still smell like an onion.”
I also asked, “Where do onions grow?” Anita answered, “One of the best, sweetest variety of onions is called the Vidalia onion, because it grows in Vidalia, GA.” Casey said, “The ground. Most any place with good soil can grow onions. They do like warmer places.”
I also wondered if onions are sour. Anita said, “Onions have a strong taste, but not a sour one. If it’s sour, it’s probably old and you should reconsider eating it.” Casey had a different answer. “No, they shouldn’t be sour,” he said.
Finally, I asked what their favorite recipe for onions is. Anita said, “I love french onion soup. It’s not very easy to make at home though. When I’m not in a restaurant kitchen with all the fancy equipment and expensive ingredients, I would probably just slice an onion very, very thin and cook it in a saute pan with a little olive oil for a very long time until it’s a deep mahogany brown, then serve it on top of a thick juicy steak.” Casey said he likes French onion soup.

BY JASON
The Dodgers could make it to the World Series if the team works hard.
The Dodgers center fielder, Matt Kemp, would be the ultimate hitting weapon, along with Andre Ethier and Manny Ramirez. The team’s closer, Jonathan Broxton, will be the best, if he keeps an ERA (earned run average) of 0.00. Clayton Kershaw might have an ERA of 0.00. Blake DeWitt and Ronnie Belliard are weak at plate, so they have to make it up by hitting.
Ramirez and Kemp have to avoid injuries. Ethier had one injury. He has to avoid that.
The Dodgers have a chance to win the National League Division Series, and then go to the National League Championship Series, and then off to the World Series with maybe the New York Yankees.
I think that the Yankees will also win because of A-Rod (Alex Rodriguez) and Derek Jeter, but that’s off topic.
Russell Martin had a big improvement with his hitting. Casey Blake has to regain his 2004 form with a lot of home runs.
So if the Dodgers are good this season, the team has a shot at the World Series.

BY SIERRA
Exterminated as vermin, gray wolves (Canis lupus) vanished from Mexico to the Arctic by the 1930s. The loss of habitat also caused lower numbers of wolves.
The wolves were listed as an endangered species in 1973.
In 1995, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service airlifted 66 wolves from Canada in an experiment to repopulate Yellowstone National Park and Idaho’s wilderness areas. It caused some controversy.
A few wolves have crossed the border into Montana by themselves and formed packs.
In February 2008, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the gray wolf was “thriving” in the northern Rockies. The organization removed the northern Rockies gray wolf from the endangered list on May 4, 2009.
The Interior Department reports that there are about 1,500 wolves now roaming in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.

BY JASON
Kim Yu-Na was born in Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. She was born with a talent that no other female skater has. Yes, she is pretty and a queen all over the world, but she also is the best skater in the whole world. She came to Toronto in 2006 to practice, because in Korea, she is a big, and I mean big, superstar.

She is the world champion skater and a queen to the entire nation of Korea and the whole world, except Japan. She entered the 2010 Vancouver Olympics with her coach Brian Orser. He helped Kim do better jumping, which is a very hard thing to do in figure skating.

Kim, who is 19 years old, brought the first gold medal to Korea while also breaking the world record for the highest score, 228.56.

BY BIANCA

In the 2000s, this is the thing that I remembered most: learning how to play football. The reason why I play football is because there is nothing else to do and I was bored, and everything else was boring.

I play with my friends Gaby, Jose, Jonny, Anthony, Angel, Ivy, Efron and sometimes April and other people too. It is half girls and half boys, and the best player of the boys is Jonny and the best of the girls is me. I am the quarterback, and I was the wide receiver. Jonny is too.

This summer, in one game, Jonny was the quarterback, and I was the wide receiver. I got the ball and made a touchdown in the last play of the game. That was the best win of 2009 in football.

The first game that I ever played was in April 2009. I don’t watch football; I just play it.

One time Jonny got a touchdown, and he did the SpongeBob dance to celebrate.

I threw about 10 touchdowns in 2009.

A few of the Good Times journalists write some thoughts on the future.

PENGUINS by Lena
Penguins eat fish and squid. The smallest penguin is called the fairy penguin. All of you are probably wondering how tall they are or on a daily basis, how much food do they eat. Well, Wikipedia does not know.

ROBOTS by Oscar
I think that robots are very cool devices. There is a microwave, but I want robots that move and ask you what you want. I also want a robot that does my homework, but it has not been invented. I also want a robot that does your chores.

KEYS by Bianca
In the future, you don’t have to carry a lot of keys. On some doors, you can scan yourself, so the door knows to let you in. On other doors, everything is in one key, so you don’t have to carry a bunch of keys. It will be like in the film Monsters vs. Aliens, in which they can scan your eyes and stuff will open. That’s the future of keys.

Ruby’s Future: Tooth Surgery! By Sierra
An 8-year-old named Ruby has to get surgery on two teeth. She’s my best friend. In 30 days, Ruby Jane has to have two teeth pulled out, because she has an infection. She feels nervous. It will be her third tooth surgery. As a baby, she had four teeth pulled out.

Sierra interviews science-fiction expert and History Channel producer Colin Campbell about life in a Jetsons-esque “Hover World.”

Will people walk in the future?
Indeed, people will walk in the future. Over time, humans have continued to grow bigger and bigger, and live longer and longer. Part of the reason for that has been improved health, due to increased food production, and the development of modern medicines and surgery. But another part has been an overall increase in the fitness of humans over time. And simple exercises, such as walking, help to keep humans fit. In the future, it seems unlikely that we will devolve into the overweight human-like “slugs” seen in the movie WALL-E. We’ll always need to walk, either for exercise, for fun, or to reach new and exciting frontiers.

How will they get exercise?
To look to the future of exercise, take a look back. Devices invented in the 20th century included those which simulate walking and running (“elliptical” machines), rowing a boat (a rowing machine) and riding a bike (the so-called “stationary bike”). In the future, these devices are likely to continue to improve in two key areas. One: Surroundings. Why not step into a “rowing machine,” which is encased by video screens. On those screens, you’d see a full 3-D image of a lake, or an ocean, all around you. You might even smell the ocean spray, or feel a bit of mist on your face as you row; similar technology already exists in theme park rides, such as “Soarin’ Over California” at Disney’s California Adventure theme park. Two: Mechanics. Instead of pumping your legs on the exercise bike, why not have the machine do the pumping for you? Is that as good a workout as doing the pumping yourself? No, but it likely would get your heart rate up, which doctors say is a key component of any exercise regime. In the future, maybe you’ll have the machine “exercise” your body while you watch videos or check e-mail…

How will they plant gardens?
Talk to any avid gardener, and you’ll know why this will always be a human activity. It’s peaceful and productive! Growing plants played a key role in the establishment of human civilizations, dating back to 7000 B.C. in Egypt and India. Evidence of purely ornamental gardens dates back almost as far. So when it comes to planting gardens, this seems likely to remain on humans’ “to do” list for a very, very long time. As to how: Get dirt. Plant seeds. Just add water and light! Plants predate humans on the planet Earth; they’re very adaptable. Whether in tiny boxes on back porches, luscious green fields behind homes, or even in outer space, plants will grow just about anywhere we give them the key ingredients they need to survive (heat/sunlight, carbon dioxide and water).

How will they play soccer?
Soccer will be outlawed in the year 2089 by an alien known as Grand Docent Zarman, the evil overlord of Earth. Docent Zarman, a reptilian Arthropod from the Crab Nebula, led a race of super-soldiers that took control of the planet in 2074. Zarman never much liked soccer—he reportedly found it to be “boring, low-scoring and what’s the deal with offside,” anyway? And will that guy ever stop crying about, “Oooh, he slid into my shin! Ouch!” Such babies! Thus, the game was banned, and soccer stadiums throughout the world were converted into giant food troughs. The wide green fields proved to be perfect breeding grounds for the megatons worth of worms needed to feed the super-soldier army from the Crab Nebula. If only we had shut down all the soccer stadiums earlier, there would be no food source for these soldiers, and we would have had a fighting chance at retaining our planet… Actually, the rules of soccer have changed a few times over the years, rules concerning how and when the goalkeeper can play the ball, and how many players can substitute during a game. Aside from continued tweaking to the rules, and changes in equipment (the players’ shorts levels go up and down according to fashions of the day; today’s jerseys are made of breathable nylon fabrics that are much lighter than the heavy wool and cotton shirts of the past), soccer in the future will probably look much like it does today. After all, you could take someone from the year 1900 to a baseball game today, and they would still understand most (if not all) of what was going on. (Although they might be frightened by the size of today’s steroid-enhanced players…)

How will they ride bikes?
Bikes over the ages have gotten lighter and lighter. (The first bicycles were made entirely of wood!) Assuming this lighter trend continues, soon, everyone should be able to pedal a 25-gear lightweight graphite-framed bike at speeds approaching 30 miles an hour. Be sure to wear a helmet!

How will they build their hover world?
Building a hover-world will require, at minimum, two things: a level of engineering expertise that we just currently don’t have… and a fundamental change in our understanding of the laws of physics. The reason things don’t hover now is, simply, gravity. The gravitational force of the Earth pulls things “down,” toward the center of the Earth. (Fortunately, the ground gets in the way, so we stay on the surface!) Everything—including people—has a similar gravitational force; it’s just that the Earth is so much bigger than you, you can’t get away from the influence of its gravitational field. Astronauts orbiting the Earth—in what we commonly call “Zero Gravity”—are actually still feeling a micro-gravity effect. But their velocity—their speed—is so great, they are, in essence, “falling” around the Earth continuously. Eventually, satellites, space stations and spaceships all will be pulled back down to Earth—unless they reach “escape velocity.” That’s the speed at which an object is able to escape the gravitational pull of Earth. So if you want something to “hover,” it needs to find an equilibrium—to simplify, the object will be pulled toward Earth with “X” amount of energy—so it needs to expend “X” amount of energy to get away, and “hover” in place. As it turns out, the amount of energy (manifested, say, as speed being generated by a rocket) that an object needs to escape from earth is about 25,000 miles per hour! That’s a lot of energy! So, if you could throw a baseball that fast, it would leave Earth, and continue out in to the solar system. But any slower—and it’ll eventually come back down to the surface. You see the problem with building a “hovering city,” which, it should be pointed out, is a lot heavier than a baseball! That’s not to say it’s impossible. After all, we sent men to the moon, we use incredible scanning devices to obtain precise images of the insides of human bodies, and we invented Velcro—all things that would seem like science-fiction to the people of the 18th and 19th centuries. The only limits on the world of tomorrow are those we ourselves impose. Our imagination will shape the future; our determination will make that world come to life.