REX'S EMAIL about Earth Science |
In a message dated 17/12/98 19:53:57, you wrote: <<HI REX!!! How is it going? I am 13 years old (hope that's not too old for the contest) :) and I have a question that no one will answer me. It is an age-old one (like you) as follows::: Why is the sky blue? I am being very serious and people just laugh at me when I ask them... Please try to answer it, because it has been bugging me for a LONG time. I really hope I win, but your answering this question is more important. Thanks a million!!! LUV YA!! Kim P.S. state: Arkansas>>
Hello Kim,
The sky appears blue because the sunlight passes through an enormous layer of atmosphere that bends or refracts the light waves to give a blue color.
Peanut was surprised to learn this!
REX
In a message dated 18/10/98 04:27:55, you wrote: < My name is Hannah and I live in Massachusetts. I am an 8-year-old home schooler. I have been trying to understand magnetism. The earth is like a big magnet with a north and south pole. That is why a compass works. But why is the earth like this and how did it get that way? Are other planets like this too? Does it have to do with electrons? I am trying to understand electrons and static electricity. I was wondering if you have this problem, that when you walk accross a carpet and touch a door knob, do you get a shock or are dinosaurs not bothered by this? Hannah from Waltham, MA>>
Hello Hannah,
Even scientists DO NOT totally understand magnetism or electricity!!
They say that the Earth has a VERY hot nickel-iron core, which is sort of liquid. It is thought that the heat is left over from when the Earth formed many scores of millions of years ago-- the rocks on top of it act like insulation and some of the heat was trapped in the core. This core moves around or spins slowly due to the rotation of the Earth, acting like a "dynamo" motor which produces our planets magnetic field. Some of the other planets also have the same metals in them and also have magnetic fields.
Static electricity has to do with a buildup of an "electric charge", meaning electrons. Electricity is thought of simply as a movement of these electrons. At school you may have seen a Van Der Graff generator, with a metal ball on top of a long tube. A moving rubber belt inside the tube rolls very fast and the static electricity is stored in the metal ball until you touch it-- then a spark jumps to your finger giving you a slight jolt, much in the same way as when you walk along a carpet then touch a metal door knob.
YES, even dinosaurs get a slight shock every now and then, especially IF it is VERY dry in the house.
REX
In a message dated 20/9/98 14:53:03, you wrote: <<Dear Rex, Hi! My name is Ashley and I live in Connecticut. I have a very weird question for you, but I hope you can answer it for me because I'm very curious. My science class is studying the Earth and one day in class, my teacher comes out of nowhere and says, "Did you know that toilets south of the equator flush in the opposite direction than they do here in the Northern Hemisphere?" She never explained why that happens and ever since, I've been real curious about it. First of all, is that really true? Do the toilets in the Southern Hemisphere really flush in the opposite direction than the toilets here in the Northern Hemisphere? Also, if that's true, do you know why that happens? Is it just that the toilets are made differently down there, or does it have something to do with the earth? I think that's really weird if it's true! Thank you for reading my question and I hope that you can help me understand why this happens!! Please give all of your Beanie friends my love!! Ashley from Connecticut :o)>>
Hello Ashley,
People say that water drains in a different direction in the Southern hemisphere than in the North, whether it is in the kitchen sink, bathtub or toilet. I have personally never been that far south, so I can not really say for sure if it is true.
In theory they explain that it is due to the rotation of the Earth being different in the north and south. If you take your hands, one on top of the other, and turn them clockwise-- then reverse your hands, you will see that the bottom hands do rotate counterclockwise.
It could be true, BUT I would have to see it to believe it.
Steggy, Peace and Princess send you their best!
REX
In a message dated 3/9/98 19:40:10, you wrote:<<Dear Rex, I am 12 years old and often hear a term I don't really understand: Global Warming. I hope you could explain to me what it is and how will affect us and what causes it. I also wanted to let you know I love beanies! Thanks so much! You are cool! :)-------> K, Baldwinsville,NY>>
Hi K,
Global Warming is a term that many people use to mean that the Earth is warming up and will eventually become so warm that some of the polar ice caps will melt and flood cities along the coasts around the world.
They say is it due to "greenhouse gases", cows belching, use of spray containers, the gas in many old air conditioners and refrigerators-- and many other things. Steggy even said he saw something in a paper recently that connected it with some insects or something like that.
Bronty suggests that we have seen many climate changes in our times, and that you should not worry about these things which are only a theory anyway!! And Sonny predicted over 10 years ago that the 21st Century will be notably colder than the one we are in now!!
REX
In a message dated 6/7/98 04:40:44, you wrote: <<Hi Rex, I'm my name's Christine. I'm 13 and from Ohio. And I have a question for you. Well, I know how nature is this one big balancing act basically. Ex. Caterpillars eat the plants, bird eats caterpillar, bird dies and gives nutrients to plants so it can continue to grow. It seems everything helps each other, EVERYTHING in the world.....except us, people. We are destroying the balances. My friend brought up an interesting point "We aren't part of nature because we don't have to be." So, my question Are we part of nature? It seems we think too much or take too much from it and don't give enough back to be part of it. Are we still part of the Earth which has been going on for millions of years even though we seem to be straying from it? I'm not sure if this is a science question or not but it has been knawing on my brain for as long as I can remember. Even you, 65 million years ago, were part of it, can you help me please? Very Confused, Chrisine,OH >>
Hello Christine,
YES, man is definitely a very important "part" of Nature and the world we live in, and MUST BE!!
The only difference between plants, other animals and man is that we humans are supposed to think and be able to understand our vital place in what you call the "big balancing act". We are supposed to use our intelligence to be able to find ways of not just removing important parts of our natural world, for example trees, BUT we also have the responsibility to restore that which we destroyed for the good of the planet and its environment.
Some French palaeontologists, friends of my human friend, Sonny, have a house in a dry area of Morrocco. They have some trees planted around the house. Even on very hot days they can comfortably sit under the trees and feel refreshed simply because the plants cool the area a lot!!
Man is beginning, very slowly it seems, to understand that polluted rivers and cutting down entire woodlands is NOT beneficial to the future of the planet, and many countries have said that they will try to clean up the environment for future generations what was damaged in years past.
REX
In a message dated 1/6/98 02:02:10, you wrote:<<You have the coolest site!!!!!! My name is Emily. I live in the Northwest corner of sunny Florida. I am 12 years old. I just had my birthday. My question is What is El ninyo and why is it changing the weather all over the place? My mom says after we stop worrying about El ninyo, then we have to worry about his wicked sister . Canwe do something about this besides worrying? You hear it on the news but nobody actually can tell me what it is, even the grown-ups don't know. Even if I don't win a prize, could you answer me? Really, nobody knows!!!!!!!!!!!! I've asked a lot of people. >>
Hello Emily,
El Niño is simply a current of water in the Pacific Ocean that warms up and cools off more or less regularly. This affects the way the atmosphere circulates and causes weather to change in weird ways around the world. It is one of many things that change the wind directions and moisture content.
This water current is NOT the only thing that affects the world's climate. There are also sunspots and their 11 year cycles, and the position of the Earth in its orbit and the wobble of the planet.
All of these things can not be controlled by us in any way. I never worry about any of them and don't think you should either.
REX
In a message dated 26/5/98 00:13:33, you wrote:<<Hi Rex! My name is Ashley Marcham and I live in Conneticut. Just last Thursday, I retured from a week long research trip at Bermuda. Me and 25 other students from my school stayed at the Bermuda Biological Station for Research and studied marine biology. It was really fun and a great experience...I wish I were still there!! Anyways, one day when we were down there, we went spelunking, or cave exploring, at Cathedral Caves. After an adventurous tour of the cave with our fearless chaperones, we were allowed to snorkel in a huge "cave pool". We were all very reluctant to dive in since the surface of the water was FREEZING! I gather that it was so cold because of the lack of sunlight, but what I found strange was that as you dove down deeper and deeper, the water got warmer and warmer...almost the total opposite of the ocean! My question is, why does this happen? Why does the water become warmer, not colder, as you dive down a few feet? I'm very curious about the concept and would love to know so that I can tell the rest of my group - I'm sure they would love to know, too! Thank you! :) Ashley>>
Hello Ashley,
WOW, my friend Sonny used to do a lot of spelunking and dive in caves years ago!
Waves tells me that he thinks colder water is somehow less dense than warmer water. That would mean that the colder water would be toward the surface.
I don't like that reasoning because the Gulf Stream is warm water and it rides ON TOP OF the colder Atlantic Ocean all the way up to Iceland. And the water at a depth of many thousands of feet is VERY cold.
The temperature inside a cave is usually the same all year round. The ones in New Jersey and Pennsylvania are around 50 degrees F. So it nice and cool during the summer, but feels sort of warm when there is snow on the ground outside.
Personally I think the water in your cave was warmer the deeper you went because the rocks are warmer the deeper they are located due to the insulation of the overlying rocks and the heat way deeper inside the Earth. The surface water would be about the same temperature as the cave air temperature.
Bermuda is also a great place for shells. Hope you found a lot. Sounds like you had loads of fun!!
REX
In a message dated 11/5/98 05:58:35, you wrote:<<Dear Rex, Kewl ( I like that) page, I have a question about caves. How do stalagtights and stalagmights form? I think that stalagtights form because stuff drips down from the ceiling of the cave, and then gets hard. but if that is true, how do stalagmights form? Beacause the stuff would have to drip up, wouldn't it? And that is impossible. Anyways, I was just wondering. Also I sure hope that Ty makes a new dinosaur beanie, because all of the other dino are so cute!!! Also, sorry but I have another question, I just got a beanie club kit, and was wondering if new beanies come out, how will they be added to the kit, will Ty send us updated stickers and a new list? The stickers are so KEWL!!!! They look real life. I love all of my Beanie Babies!! Thanks Rex, Love, Devin from Minnesota>>
Hello Devin,
WOW, seems as if you are a speleologist! Caves are kewl!
Caves are usually found in areas where there is limestone rock. Limestone dissolves when water that is slightly acid seeps through the soil and rock layers.
When the water with the dissolved calcium carbonate reaches an empty space like a cave, the water drips in contact with air and a tiny bit of the mineral calcite forms on the outside of the water droplet. This can make what is called a SODA STRAW STALACTITE, and they are hollow just like a straw.
Once some water begins to drip down the outside of the soda straw it builds up the walls of the stalactite and it grows thicker.
The drops that fall on the cave floor still contain some dissolved mineral and this is what forms the STALAGMITE. A stalactite and stalagmite and join together to form a COLUMN.
You can even find what is called FLOWSTONE when the water flows over a cave wall or floor.
There are many other types of cave formations, or SPELEOTHEMS. For more information you could do a net search for that word and you would probably get hundreds of links.
Look for another prehistoric animal in the new batch of Beanies.
That would be very nice of Father Ty IF the original BBOC members would receive FREE sticker updates. Did you notice that your Official Membership Kit says "First Edition"?? Wouldn't it be awful IF you had to buy a whole new "second Edition" Kit just to have the new stickers?? I guess we shall have to wait and see.
REX
In a message dated 14/4/98 13:42:53, you wrote: <<Dear Rex my name is Patrick and I live in Maine I am 8 years old and my question is I heard older people talking about some kind of layer around the earth that people are making very bad so that it will be hard for people to live on earth. It kind of scares me. can you tell me what it is and how we are hurting it. I just did not understand all they were saying. Thank you for your help. Patrick>>
Hello Patrick,
You must mean what they call the Ozone Layer in the upper atmosphere.
Ozone is a gas, a form of oxygen. It protects the Earth and its plant and animal life from the harmful effects of ultraviolet (UV) rays that come from the Sun. UV is a wavelength of light way at the end of the purple part of the rainbow.
Ozone if produced during a thunderstorm when lightening flashes through the air. There are air purifiers that produce ozone in the home to eliminate the odor of smoke or your pets.
Ultraviolet light can sometimes be seen along the ceilings of some doctors' offices. They are used to kill germs. My human friend, Sonny, uses a UV light in his pond filter because it kills all the algae that would normally cloud the water.
Violet Teddy tells me that UV can cause damage to the eyes, cause skin cancer and reduce certain crop yields.
UV light is also helpful because if you collect minerals there are some that are called "fluorescent". That means they produce bright colors under an UV lamp. Thet is kewl! Art collectors use it to check certain pigments that are used in paintings, or to find another painting under the one they normally see. And certain early American glass of an orange yellow color had Uranium in it, and this glows under an UV lamp. Even your fingernails and teeth glow!
There are some things that humans use that are said to reduce the ozone layer. These are the gas used in most refrigerators and air conditioners, and in some spray cans of different stuff used around the house.
There is what scientists call an Ozone Hole at the North (and South?) poles, and they increase and decrease all the time.
Violet Teddy also thinks that the Ozone Hole has always changed in size, even with the seasons, and that lightening and even the home air cleaners should help keep some sort of "natural" balance.
REX
In a message dated 8/4/98 21:07:58, you wrote: <<Hi rex - I think you are so kool. When I made a clay volcanoe at home I used baking soda and vinegar. it bubbled & oozed all over the place.How come this happens? What is real volcano lava made of? love Renee ps - i live in california >>
Hello Renee,
Thanks-- I bet your volcanoe was kewl too!
Baking soda and vinegar, which is a weak acid, form a chemical reaction which causes the volcanoe to bubble over.
Real lava is actually a very hot liquid rock that comes from deep inside the Earth. It is made of different minerals. Why don't you do a Web Search for "lava" and you would find thousands of references that you could use in a science project.
REX
In a message dated 3/3/98 20:02:10, you wrote: <<Hi Rex. You are so cute! I wish I had you at my house! I live in California, and in Danville, a town near me, is a mountain called Mt. Diablo. My question is is this mountain an inactive volcano that someday may erupt? And what happens to the houses that get covered with lava? Will someone be able to dig them up someday? Thanks Rex. I hope you can answer my question. Bye! signed, Tom >>
Hello Tom,
I do not know whether Mt.Diablo (which means Devil Mountain in Spanish) is a volcano, but I think that there are some in California.
Even "dormant" or inactive volcanos and even extinct ones have been known to erupt, and some without warning. Mount Saint Helens is a good example.
Depending on where the houses are built and which way the lava comes out would determine whether they would be destroyed or not. If they are made of wood, they would probably burn to the ground leaving any stone part of them, such as a fireplace, possibly standing.
As you probably know Mt. Vesuvius, not far from Naples in Italy, erupted in the year 79 and covered the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Since the walls of the houses were made of stone, they were buried by the fine ash and can now be seen. Even some of the great wall paintings have survived. If they had been covered by lava, they would probably have been destroyed completely, ot at least it would be more difficult to dig them out.
REX
In a message dated 1/3/98 07:46:26, you wrote: <<Hi Rex. My name is Renee and I live in californa. In my christmas stocking santa gave me a geode that I had to hit with a hammer and brake it open. It looked like a gray rock but inside it was pretty chrystals. how are these made and did santa find it at the north pole? I like reading your ansers each month. bye! love Renee>>
Hello Renee,
WOW, Santa was good to you! Geodes are kewl.
They are usually hollow ball shaped rocks of different sizes, from less than an inch to several feet across, that contain crystals of Quartz or related minerals that formed inside of the once empty cavity. They are common in Illinois and nearby States. The beautiful violet colored Amethyst crystals are mostly found in geodes from volcanic areas.
I asked Iggy about how they form and he said that scientists really do not know how they are made. He said that yours probably did not come from the North Pole, but everything that Santa brings is not from there.
REX
In a message dated 11/2/98 03:43:15, you wrote: <<Hi Rex, My name is Emily and I live in Colorado. I just learned about rocks and I can't memorize all the different names. Do you know of any way to help me memorize those names? Emily>>
Hi Emily,
WOW, even my friend Sonny never "memorized" ALL the rock names. There are hundreds of different kinds of rocks!
I guess you know that there are 3 main kinds of rocks. SEDIMENTARY, which were once loose particles like sand or mud.
METAMORPHIC, which means "change of form". These are rocks that started out as one kind of rock and because of very high heat and pressure, were changed into a different kind, much harder, usually.
And IGNEOUS rocks. These are the kinds you might find around a volcano. The word means "born of fire", so it gives you a clue to help you remember.
I asked Iggy who loves to be around rocks as much as he can, and he tells me there is no "easy" way to learn ALL of the rock names, sorry.
REX
In a message dated 9/2/98 23:56:38, you wrote: <<Dear Rex, What exactly are volcanoes, why do they erupt, and have you ever seen a real one? Sincerely, Deanne>>
Hello Deanne,
Volcanoes are simply places on the surface of the Earth with a crack that lets very hot liquid rock from far below the surface of the planet to come out onto the surface. Underneath the Earth is sort of like a bottle of soda. Shake the bottle, then open it. What happens? The soda shoots out all over the place. Pouch liks to do that at the nursery and the rest of the Beanies always laugh so much!
Under the Earth there is also a lot of pressure that pushes upward all the time. When the rocks over the pressure start to crack, then the molten rock, or "lava" as scientists call it, actually shoots way up into the sky, just like the soda bottle you shook.
Sonny, my human pal, took me to the Canary Islands once. They are volcanic islands near NW Africa, and there are many volcanoes on the seven main Islands. El Teide, the tallest one -- it is the highest point in all of Spain!-- was so high up you could see some of the other Islands from the top. And in the crater you could see steam coming up, and nice yellow sulphur crystals near the small cracks.
Volcanoes are kewl!
REX
In a message dated 10/2/98 19:32:00, you wrote: <<Dear Rex, I'm just wondering back in the Mesozoic Era, when a volcano exploded did it sometimes become exstinked? Your friend, Loraine Ruetz. P.S, I have 56 beanie babies. 12 Retired and 44 Currents!>>
Hi Loraine,
YES, many volcanoes are what scientists call "extinct", meaning that they don't think that they will erupt again. But they sometimes do anyway!
WOW, you have a lot my my Beanie friends in your nursery. I bet they like it there with you. Peace said to tell you hello.
REX
In a message dated 8/2/98 21:56:22, you wrote: <<what is the name of the man who discovered Plate Techtonics?>>
Hi geology whiz,
I had to ask my best human friend, Sonny, about this one. He is pretty up on geology stuff. So is Rainbow-- he likes to sit on rocks when the Sun is out.
He tells me that "plate tectonics" is closely related to what is called "continental drift", meaning that the continents appear to be moving in different directions relative to each other.
As with almost any other "new" idea, its origins go back to observations of Francis Bacon in about 1610, Elie de Beaumont in about 1850, and in particular to the theories of Alfred Wegener in 1912. Even Ben Franklin (who, like Sonny, was a Capricorn!) suggested that the surface of the Earth floated on some more liquid material far below.
Sonny was at at NATO Palaeoclimate Congress in Newcastle-On-Tyne, England many years ago and met Dr.Maurice Ewing, who presented a paper on plate tectonics and was presented with an award for his work.
Guess you couldn't imagine how the idea occured to Dr Ewing? He said that when he was younger he filled a Christmas tree ball with water and put it in the freezer. A day later he took it out and saw that the tree ornament was broken and the different pieces (=plates) had moved from where they originally were because when water freezes it expands. Most other substances shrink when they freeze! He then imagined that the continents might move, and tried to figure out how. That insight led to plate tectonics and continental drift.
Dr. Harry Hess of Princeton University also worked on plate tectonics.
Sonny met both of them! WOW, wasn't he lucky!
REX
In a message dated 14/1/98 19:04:38, you wrote: <<Rex, I have a question. I don't think that the world is millions of years old. Even if you say it is. Why do you think it is? I know you I thinking, "Because I've lived through." I don't beleive that either. TY Warner thought up the idea for beanies babies in Europe, not Illinois. It said so in a debate magazine all about beanies and TY Waner. That's all. Bye. Best Wishes, 'D is for Dotty'>>
Hello Dotty,
Scientists have ways to measure how old rocks are. It has to do with certain radioactive stuff in the rock. Radioactive elements have what is called a "half life", meaning that in a certain number of years half the element in the rock changes into a non-radioactive one. All you have to do is measure how much radioactive element is left in it, how much of the non-radioactive kind there is, and figure out how much was there when the rock formed.
Let's say that a certain layer of rock is 25 million years old. Right under it is another layer with fossils in it. The fossils would be OLDER than the rocks on top of them, if they weren't moved in any way. That is one method to tell the "relative" age of a fossil.
Sorry, I even asked Princess, who knows a lot about Beanies, who Mr.Waner was, but none of us has a clue! The name does sound European though. Maybe he immigrated to Illinois and worked as a lawnmower man?
We beanies "believe" in a whole lot of things. A human or a Beanie can only KNOW something if he studies a lot.
REX