24 kVolt voltage transformer I assembled for electricity experiments.Later on I managed to drop it in my lap while sitting on the floor in a dark closet! To this day I can’t remember why I even went in there!
I HAVE BEEN ASKED BEFORE ABOUT WHY I INCLUDE SCIENCE VIDEOS ON MY YOUTUBE TRAVEL PAGE, TOGETHER WITH MY TRAVEL VIDEOS. THE ANSWER IS VERY SIMPLE; I SEE TRAVEL AS EXPLORATION. I VIEW SCIENCE AS EXPLORATION AS WELL. TRAVEL IS EXPLORATION OF THE REALITY AROUND US, SCIENCE IS EXPLORATION OF HOW THAT REALITY WORKS. BOTH SUBJECTS, TRAVEL, AND SCIENCE, ARE DRIVEN BY THE DESIRE TO SEEK OUT THE UNKNOWN -TO EXPAND OUR KNOWLEDGE BASE, OUR FRONTIER OR THE MIND.
JUST AS AN EXPLORER MAY PUSH HIS WAY THROUGH AN UNKNOWN MOUNTAIN PASS, TO DISCOVER A FERTILE PLAIN BEYOND, A SCIENTIST MAY DISCOVER A NEW INSIGHT INTO MATTER -AN INSIGHT THAT LEADS TO A TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION BENEFITING EVERYONE.
OF COURSE, THE HISTORICAL CONNECTION BETWEEN SCIENCE AND EXPLORATION IS VERY STRONG. MANY OF THE FIRST ASTRONOMERS WERE EXPLORERS, OFTEN MARINERS AT SEA WHO DEPENDED ON THE NIGHT SKY FOR NAVIGATION. IT’S POSSIBLE FOR AN EXPERIENCED SEAMAN TO KNOW HIS APPROXIMATE LATITUDE ANYWHERE IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE -SIMPLY BY OBSERVING HOW HIGH THE NORTH STAR IS ABOVE THE HORIZON. AS LONG AS YOU’RE WITHIN SIGHT OF THE COAST, AND KNOW HOW HIGH THE NORTH STAR SHOULD BE AT YOUR DESTINATION -YOU CAN ESTIMATE HOW FAR AWAY YOU ARE.
IF YOU HAVE A BOAT AND ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE NIGHT SKY, YOU COULD REPEAT THIS FEAT TODAY -NO SPECIAL TOOLS REQUIRED. YOU WOULD NEED TO STAY WITHIN SIGHT OF A COASTLINE AS THIS TECHNIQUE ONLY MEASURES LATITUDE, NOT LONGITUDE. THIS IS THE MAIN REASON WHY EUROPEAN EXPLORERS TOOK SO LONG TO DISCOVER THE NEW WORLD -THEY HAD NO WAY OF NAVIGATING OVER THE OPEN OCEAN. AND IT WAS HERE THAT SCIENCE CAME TO THE RESCUE AGAIN, WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF ACCURATE TIME CLOCKS.
WHENEVER WE TRAVEL TODAY, WE ALWAYS NEED TO RESET OUR WRISTWATCHES TO REFLECT THE NEW TIME ZONE OF OUR DESTINATION. SO IF WE FLEW FROM LOS ANGELES TO BANGKOK, WE WOULD HAVE TO ADJUST OUR WATCH FIFTEEN HOURS AHEAD -SINCE BANGKOK IS FIFTEEN TIME ZONES AHEAD OF LOS ANGELES. BUT WHAT IF YOU DIDN’T RESET YOUR WATCH, BUT INSTEAD ALWAYS KEPT IT AT THE SAME TIME AS YOUR HOME PORT?
IN THIS CASE, WHEN YOU ARRIVE IN BANGKOK -ALL YOU WOULD HAVE TO DO IS CHECK A LOCAL CLOCK IN THE AIRPORT, AND COMPARE IT TO YOUR WRISTWATCH. YOU WOULD THEN KNOW WHICH TIME ZONE YOU WERE IN, AND THUS YOUR APPROXIMATE LONGITUDE. AS LONG AS YOU TAKE A TIME ZONE MAP WITH YOU, YOU COULD LOCATE YOURSELF IN ANY UNKNOWN BIG CITY AIRPORT. SIMPLY GET OFF THE PLANE AND CHECK YOUR WATCH. THEN LOOK FOR A LOCAL CLOCK, AND CHECK YOUR TIME ZONE MAP TO GET THE APPROXIMATE LONGITUDE. ONCE YOU HAVE THAT, GO OUTSIDE AND CHECK THE NORTH STAR FOR YOUR APPROXIMATE LATITUDE. PLOT THE COORDINATES ON YOUR TIME ZONE MAP -WHILE LOOKING ON THE MAP FOR THE NEAREST BIG CITY WITH AN AIRPORT. THAT’S IT! YOUR OWN GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM WITH NO TOOLS OTHER THAN A WATCH AND A MAP!
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electricity, experiment, explore, explorer, high voltage, lab, laboratory, moon, museum, science, space
