Belgium

Let's keep learning about the countries in Europe!

Last time we learned about Austria.

Next up is Belgium.

Belgium is a country just North of France, and West of Germany.

(from: wikipedia - belgium)

For breakfast in Belgium, you might have a Belgian waffle!

(from: wikipedia - belgium)

You can visit a giant 335 ft tall building of an iron atom, called the Atomium

(from: wikipedia - atomium)

The saxophone was invented by Belgian musician Adolphe Sax.

(from: wikipedia - saxophone)

Hundreds of years ago, people would visit the town of Spa in Belgium, to relax in cool water springs.

(from: wikipedia - spa)

Mark

Let's keep learning about the four Gospels in the New Testament.

Last time we learned about Matthew, next up is Mark.

Mark was another follower of Jesus who also told of the miracles he performed.
22 miracles are listed in the Gospel of Mark, and 19 of them are the same ones listed in Matthew.


(from: wikipedia - mark the evangelist)

Black Dwarf

We've now learned that our Sun is a Yellow Dwarf,
after it burns for 10 billion years it will turn into a Red Giant,
and after it burns for another 1 billion years it will turn into a White Dwarf.

That white dwarf will burn slowly for a very very long time,
over 10 Undecillion years (One undecillion is a 1 with 36 zeroes after it!),
then it will cool down and turn into a Black Dwarf.

That's such a long time, that no actual black dwarfs exist!
Scientists are just pretty sure that's what is going to happen some day.


(from: wikipedia - outer space)

French - counting to eighty nine

We just learned how to count to 79 in French, let's keep going!

Just like seventy was really sixty-ten, eighty is also a little different.
The word for eighty is quatre-vingts which means four-twenties because 20 times 4 is 80!

80 quatre-vingts - sounds like cat-uh-ah vah-n /?/
81 quatre-vingts-un - sounds like cat-uh-ah vah-nt un /?/
82 quatre vingt deux - sounds like cat-uh-ah vah-n doo /?/
83 quatre vingt trois - sounds like cat-uh-ah vah-n twa /?/
84 quatre vingt quatre - sounds like cat-uh-ah vah-n cat-uh /?/
85 quatre vingt cinq - sounds like cat-uh-ah vah-n sahn /?/
86 quatre vingt six - sounds like cat-uh-ah vah-n see /?/
87 quatre vingt sept - sounds like cat-uh-ah vah-n set /?/
88 quatre vingt huit - sounds like cat-uh-ah vah-n oo-ee /?/
89 quatre vingt neuf - sounds like cat-uh-ah vah-n nef /?/


(from: wikipedia - OIF)

Electroluminescence

Electroluminescence is a pretty fancy sounding word,
but all it really means is a way that some things give off light
when you run electricity through them.

Electro - for electricity
luminescence - a fancy way to say light

Some of the best chemicals for making this kind of light are doped semiconductors,
which we learned before are just two kinds of chemicals mixed together.

When the electricity flows through them, the photons (which are tiny particles of light)
go shooting off of the chemicals and make it glow.

(from: wikipedia - electroluminescence)

Hedgehog

Hedgehogs look kind of like tiny little porcupines.

And just like porcupines, they have poky hairs on their back (called spines) made of keratin.

Their spines don't come out like a porcupine's quills, they are just sharp.


(from: wikipedia - hedgehog)

Hedgehogs also do a funny thing called anointing.
When they find something with a new smell in the wild,
they will lick and bite that thing, and then spit on their spines.

Scientists aren't totally sure why they do this,
but some think it is so they can hide their smell from other animals that want to eat them!

Calf Muscle

We just learned about the Quadriceps muscle.

The muscle on your leg below your knee is called your Triceps Surae muscle,
but most people just call it your Calf Muscle.

You are using your calf muscle when you move your ankle.

(from: wikipedia - triceps surae muscle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Thoracic Cage

Austria

Let's keep learning about the countries in Europe!

Last time we learned about Romania.

Next up is Austria.

Austria is a country just East of Italy, and South of Germany.

(from: wikipedia - austria)

For dinner in Austria, you might have a Wiener Schnitzel,
which is a flat piece of meat covered in breading.

(from: wikipedia - austria)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart from Austria was one of the
most famous musical composers to ever live.

(from: wikipedia - wolfgang amadeus mozart)

A family of singers called the von Trapps were very famous through Austria,
and a movie called The Sound of Music was based on their life.


(from: wikipedia - maria von trapp)

Sigmund Freud from Austria is a very famous scientists who studied the way people think,
which is called psychology.


(from: wikipedia - austria)

Matthew

The first books of the New Testament are the four Gospels.
The word gospel means good news, and these books in the bible
all tell about Jesus and the miracles he performed.

The first gospel is the book of Matthew.

In the book of Matthew, he tells of 23 different miracles that Jesus performed.

He healed blind and sick people, walked on water, calmed a wild storm,
and fed thousands of people from just a basket of bread and fish.

He tells of the story of Jesus birth, tells of the wise men visiting baby Jesus.
He also tells of Jesus dying on the cross, and being resurrected three days later.

Matthew started off as a tax collector, but became one of Jesus followers.


(from: wikipedia - saint matthew)

White Dwarf

We've now learned that our Sun is a Yellow Dwarf,
and that after it burns for 10 billion years it will turn into a Red Giant.

After that Red Giant burns for 1 billion years, it will turn into a white dwarf

A White Dwarf is much smaller than a Red Giant or Yellow Dwarf, but very thick.

The big star Sirius A has a very small neighbor Sirius B that is a white dwarf.

It's measurements are:
stellar classification: A1 (white)
luminosity class: V (main sequence, or dwarf)

So we can call it an A1V star, or a white dwarf.

If you look in the picture of Sirius A, you can see a very small white dot
that is the small white dwarf Sirius B.

(from: wikipedia - white dwarf)

French - counting to seventy nine

We just learned how to count to 69 in French, let's keep going!

Seventy is a little different, because instead of a different word for seventy,
you just use the word for sixty (soixante) add ten (dix) and you get soixante-dix!
Seventy one is sixty-eleven, and so on.

70 soixante-dix - sounds like so-ay-sawnt dee /?/
71 soixante et onze - sounds like so-ay-sawnt ay ownz /?/
72 soixante-douze - sounds like so-ay-sawnt dooze /?/
73 soixante-treize - sounds like so-ay-sawnt tuh-ay-z /?/
74 soixante-quatorze - sounds like so-ay-sawnt kay tow-z /?/
75 soixante-quinze - sounds like so-ay-sawnt kay uh-nz/?/
76 soixante-seize - sounds like so-ay-sawnt sez /?/
77 soixante dix sept - sounds like so-ay-sawnt dee set /?/
78 soixante dix huit - sounds like so-ay-sawnt dee oo-ee /?/
79 soixante dix neuf - sounds like so-ay-sawnt dee nef /?/


(from: wikipedia - OIF)

Photons

We just learned about the Diode.

When you turn on a light bulb or use your flashlight, it makes things brighter.

But does light actually have parts?
Is it made up of little bits, or is it just light?

It turns out light is actually made up of something called photons.

Photons have no mass meaning they don't weigh anything like an atom does,
but they do move around and they are tiny little particles!

(from: wikipedia - photon)

Porcupine

We just learned about the Duck Billed Platypus.

Another fun animal is a Porcupine.

When you see a porcupine, it might look like a cute little animal,
but don't try to pet it unless you want to get poked!

Porcupines have quills, which look like long sharp needles that stick out from their backs.
The needles are actually made of keratin, the same as the spikes on a cat's tongue,
a turtle's shell, and rhino's horn.

The quills have little barbs on them, that are like small needles pointing the opposite way.
So when you get a porcupine quill stuck in you, it's really hard to get it out.
This helps the porcupine protect itself.


(from: wikipedia - porcupine)

What happens when a porcupine pokes itself?

The porcupines have antibiotic medicine built right into it's skin,
so even if it falls out of a tree and pokes itself with a quill, it will heal up fast!

(from: wikipedia - porcupine)

Quadriceps

Let's keep learning about the muscles in the human body!

Last time we learned about the gluteus maximus

Next up is the quadriceps.
These are the muscles on your thigh, sometimes just called quads.

You use your quads when you move your upper leg around, or when you bend your knee.

(from: wikipedia - quadriceps femoris muscles)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Sternum

Romania

Let's keep learning about the countries in Europe!

Romania is located just south of the Ukraine.

(from: wikipedia - romania)

For dinner in Romania you might have a plate of sărmăluţe cu mămăligă, which is stuffed cabbage rolls, with sauerkraut and porridge.

(from: wikipedia - romanian cuisine)

If you've ever heard the story of Dracula the Vampire it's a made up story about vampires,
but there was a real person person named Dracula (he just wasn't really a vampire).
He was a prince in a part of Romania called Transylvania.

(from: wikipedia - vlad dracula)

There is even a castle there that he used to live in, called Bran Castle.

(from: wikipedia - bran castle)

There is a wild and crazy winding road in the mountains called the Transfăgărășan.

(from: wikipedia - romania)

New Testament

We just finished learning about the last books of the Old Testament.

Let's move on to the New Testament. That is the time of Jesus.

The New Testament has 27 different chapters (called Books),
and you can divide those up into five groups:
- The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
- Books of History (Acts)
- Pauline Epistles (14 letters written by Paul)
- General Epistles (7 letters written by other people)
- Books of Prophecy (Revelation)

We'll go through each of these and what they all mean.

(from: wikipedia - new testament)

Red Giant

We learned last time that our sun is a Yellow Dwarf
and that it will burn for 10 billion years!

But what happens after that 10 billion years?
Well that's a long long way in the future, but once a Yellow Dwarf star burns up
it grows larger and becomes a Red Giant.

The closest Red Giant star to us is Gamma Crucis, it is 88 light years away.
Let's look at it's star measurements:
stellar classification: M3.5 (red)
luminosity class: III (giant)

So we can call it M3.5 III, or a red giant.

(from: wikipedia - red giant)

Red giants can be 4,000 degrees and 100 times larger than our Sun!
They usually last about 1 billion years.

French - counting to sixty nine

We just learned how to count to 59 in French, let's keep going!

60 soixante - sounds like so-ay-sawnt /?/
61 soixante et un - sounds like so-ay-sawnt ay un /?/
62 soixante-deux - sounds like so-ay-sawn-doo /?/
63 soixante-trois - sounds like so-ay-sawn-twah /?/
64 soixante-quatre - sounds like so-ay-sawn-cat-uh-ah /?/
65 soixante-cinq - sounds like so-ay-sawn-sahnk /?/
66 soixante-six - sounds like so-ay-sawn-see /?/
67 soixante-sept - sounds like so-ay-sawn-set /?/
68 soixante-huix - sounds like so-ay-sawn-soo-ee /?/
69 soixante-neuf - sounds like so-ay-sawnt-nef /?/

Diode

We've now learned about Doping Semiconductors, and how mixing some chemicals into
a semiconductor can turn it into a conductor.

Doped semiconductors can be used to make something called a diode.

A diode is something that you can put electricity through, but it only goes in one direction.
Kind of like pouring water down hill, it can't flow back up.

If you look on a circuit board you will see all sorts of diodes.
They are a very important part of how things like computers work!

(from: wikipedia - diode)

Duck Billed Platypus

We just learned a little about Squirrels.

When scientists first discovered the platypus and tried to tell
other people about it, everyone thought they were joking!

No one thought there could really be an animal with fur and a tail like a beaver's tail,
and also a bill, webbed feet and lays eggs like a duck!


(from: wikipedia - platypus)

Another interesting thing about the platypus is that they have a small claw (also called a spur)
on their back foot that is poisonous!

Gluteus maximus

Let's keep learning about the muscles in the human body!

Last time we learned about the rectus abdominis

Next up is the gluteal muscles.
The muscles on your back side (or your butt) are called your gluteal muscles.
There are three muscles there, the gluteus minimus, gluteus medius and gluteus maximus.

Sometimes people call those muscles glutes or just talk about the gluteus maximus
since it's the biggest of the three muscles.

You use those muscles when you lift your leg up and down,
or bend your body backwards.

(from: wikipedia - gluteal muscles)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Back Bone

Ukraine

We just learned about the Netherlands.

Let's keep learning about the countries in Europe!

The largest country in Europe by size is the Ukraine.

A popular type of food in the Ukraine is Borscht!

(from: wikipedia - borscht)

The Ukraine is on the Southeastern part of Europe, right next to Russia.

(from: wikipedia - ukraine)

Famous poet Taras Shevchenko is from the Ukraine

(from: wikipedia - taras shevchenko)

Kiev Pechersk Lavra is an ancient monastery that was built almost 1,000 years ago!

(from: wikipedia - kiev pechersk lavra)

Ukranians have a special type of folk dancing
(from: wikipedia - ukranian dance)

Other Prophets

We just learned about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

God called on many people to be prophets for him through the years.

We've learned about the ones who wrote some of the big books of the bible,
Daniel, Ezekiel, Jeremiah and Isaiah.

They are called the major prophets because they wrote the longest books of prophecy.

There are 12 other prophets called minor prophets not because they weren't important,
but because the books they wrote just weren't as long.

Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah,
Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi
all delivered prophecies from God to his people.

Some of them warned of the coming exile, some cautioned people to listen to God after the exile,
and some told about the future when Jesus would come along.

(from: wikipedia - malachi)

Yellow Dwarf

We've learned so much about how to measure stars now!

We now know that:
- stellar classification is how hot the star gets, and uses letters and colors, like M and red
- absolute magnitude is how bright a star is, and uses numbers from -15 to 20.
- luminosity class is heat and brightness together, and uses numbers and names like I and supergiants.
- Hertzsprung-Russel diagram is like a map for understanding all of those measurements.

Now that we understand all of that, we can understand more about the stars in our universe!

The sun in our solar system has a stellar classification of G (yellow)
and a luminosity class of V (main sequence or dwarf)

So some people call our sun a Yellow Dwarf,
and others call it a GV, but they mean the same thing!


(from: wikipedia - yellow dwarf)

Yellow Dwarf stars are about 9,000 degrees, and burn for 10 billion years!

French - counting to fifty nine

We just learned how to count to 49 in French, let's keep going!

50 cinquante - sounds like sank-awnt /?/
51 cinquante et un - sounds like sank-aw-nt ay un /?/
52 cinquante-deux - sounds like sank-awn doo /?/
53 cinquante-trois - sounds like sank-awn twah /?/
54 cinquante-quatre - sounds like sank-awn cat-uh-ah /?/
55 cinquante-cinq - sounds like sank-awn sahnk /?/
56 cinquante-six - sounds like sank-awn see /?/
57 cinquante-sept - sounds like sank-awn set /?/
58 cinquante-huit - sounds like sank-awn soo-ee /?/
59 cinquante-deux - sounds like sank-awnt nef /?/

Doping Semiconductors

We just learned about what a Anode and Cathode are.

We learned a while back that semiconductors are chemicals that do not conduct electricity very well.

Some scientists discovered a crazy thing, that if you mix up a semiconductor with another type of chemical,
then when you zap it with electricity it becomes a good conductor!

This is called doping or adding impurities into the semiconductor.

Remember we said silicon was a semiconductor.
The chemical arsenic can be added to silicon for doping.


(from: wikipedia - silicon)


(from: wikipedia - arsenic)

Squirrel

Squirrels are fun silly little animals, and exciting to watch as they run around climbing trees.

There are over 280 different types of squirrels, from the fox squirrels we see very often,
to the White tailed antelope squirrel and the Thirteen lined ground squirrel.

Squirrels live in pretty much every part of the planet, from super wet tropical rainforests to super dry deserts!
They pretty much only don't live in super freezing areas like Antarctica.


(from: wikipedia - fox squirrel)

When you see a squirrel running around burying nuts in the ground,
that's the way they save up food for the coming fall and winter.
They are called scatter-hoarders, because they scatter their food and hoard it.

Sometimes the squirrels forget where they bury the nuts, and the buried nuts grow and turn into trees.
If a squirrel thinks it is being watched by someone who is going to steal their nuts,
some smart squirrels will even just pretend to dig a hole and bury the nut,
and then move on to another place!


(from: wikipedia - squirrel)

Rectus abdominis

Let's keep learning about the muscles in the human body!

Last time we learned about the latissimus dorsi

Next up is the rectus abdominis.
These are the muscles in the front of your stomach, also called your abs or abdominal muscles.
You use them when you do bend forward, like you're doing a sit up.


(from: wikipedia - rectus abdominis muscle)

Since these muscles sometimes look like six bumps on your stomach,
some people call them a six pack.

Netherlands

We just learned about the country of Finland.

The Netherlands is a country just Northwest of Germany.
The language there is Dutch and sometimes the country is just called Holland.

(from: wikipedia - netherlands)

For dinner there you might have stamppot (mashed potatoes with vegetables) or snert (pea soup)!


(from: wikipedia - dutch cuisine)

People visit the Netherlands to go see their windmills and tulips.


(from: wikipedia - tourism in the netherlands)

Vincent van Gogh was a famous Dutch painter.

(from: wikipedia - vincent van gogh)

Wooden shoes are also an old Dutch tradition

(from: wikipedia - clog (shoe))