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Electrical Battery

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Electrical Battery

Store up facts like a battery.

  • Batteries are a power storage cell that are used to store power in the form of chemical or electrical energy to create electricity when placed in a circuit.
  • Batteries have a positive (+) and negative (-) pole to allow electricity to flow out of the battery.
  • Approximately USD $48 billion was spent globally in the battery industry in 2005.
  • Batteries were invented by Italian Alessandro Volta, a physicist, in 1800, who designed a structure of plates of copper, zinc and brine-soaked paper that is known as the voltaic pile.
  • The original battery invention was not suitable for everyday use, leading to more practical liquid wet cell designs in 1836, and, later in the 1800s, dry cell designs that use a gel substance instead of liquid.

Battery, 3 volt, 203E. AA+, AAA+, Circle, Reusable, Rechargeable, Green, Pink, Energizer, Industrial, Varta, Dry Cell, Electrical,

  • Batteries function by multiple electromagnetic reactions creating electrons in the negative pole, transferring into electricity in the positive pole.
  • There are two main types of batteries – disposable single use batteries; or rechargeable multiple use batteries that can be charged to restore power in the battery.
  • Disposable batteries can discharge by themselves, losing up to 20% each year when stored at recommended room temperature.
  • Batteries can be very dangerous, or even fatal, if used incorrectly, as can cause explosions via short circuiting, leak toxic chemicals, or cause tissue damage if swallowed.
  • Batteries can be made at home, but produce impractical currents, using everyday items such as potatoes, coins, vinegar or salt water.

 

Bibliography:
Battery (Electrical), 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_(electricity)
Brain M, Bryant C & Pumphrey C, How Batteries Work, 2011, How Stuff Works, http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/everyday-tech/battery1.htm

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Bran

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Bran

These facts are not discarded like bran.

  • Bran is the outside layer of unprocessed grains that are often used in cereals.
  • ‘Bran’ is also known as ‘miller’s bran’.
  • Bran is often removed from grains when processed, and later discarded, used in other products or sold as a separate item.
  • Bran is typically used in cereals for breakfast, bread items, and baked goods, and can be used to make alcoholic beverages, cooking oil and can be pickled.
  • Wheat bran is historically a common colouring ingredient in leather tanning solutions.

Bran, sticks, processed, wheat, homebrand, cereal, Ten Random Facts

  • Bran typically comes from wheat, rye, rice, barley, corn, millet and oat grains.
  • Bran is usually purchased from supermarkets as a coarse powder, however, with the addition of a few more ingredients, it can be bought in the form of small sticks known as ‘processed bran’, and as flakes known as ‘bran flakes’, that are typically used as a breakfast cereal.
  • Bran is commonly used in packaged animal food, in both pet and agricultural feeds.
  • Depending on the grain, bran can have a nutty or sweet flavour, and a dry, coarse texture.
  • Bran is very high in dietary fibre and high in a variety of vitamins and minerals depending on the grain.
Bibliography:
Bran, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bran
What is Bran?, 2014, WiseGEEK, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-bran.htm

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John F. Kennedy

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John F. Kennedy

“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country” – John F. Kennedy.

  • John F. Kennedy was the United States‘ 35th president, from January 1961 until his death in 1963.
  • ‘John F. Kennedy’ whose full name was ‘John Fitzgerald Kennedy’, was also known as ‘JFK’, ‘Jack’ and ‘Jack Kennedy’.
  • John F. Kennedy was born in the United States’ town Brookline, in Massachusetts, on 29 May, 1917, and was of Irish descent.
  • John F. Kennedy, as president, led the United States through the following events: Bay of Pigs Invasion, Cuban Missile Crisis, Berlin Wall construction, the Vietnam War, the African-American Civil Rights Movement and the Apollo Space Race.
  • John F. Kennedy came close to death a number of times during his life, contracted scarlet fever as a child, damaged a disk in his spine while playing football, had colitis, and during his time in office had Addison’s disease, hyperthyroidism and ongoing back pain.
John F Kennedy, Man, President, Male, United States, In Office, 1963, Oval Office, Colour, Ten Random Facts, Flickr
President John F Kennedy
Image courtesy of U.S. Embassy New Dehli /Flickr
  • John F. Kennedy worked in the US Navy from 1941, retiring as a lieutenant in 1945, and during that time he was in charge of a patrol torpedo boat that was split in two by a Japanese destroyer ramming into it, resulting in Kennedy earning a medal.
  • John F. Kennedy became involved in politics in 1946 after his politically orientated brother Joe was killed, first as a member for the United States House of Representatives, and later as a senator from 1953 to 1960.
  • John F. Kennedy was shot in Dallas, Texas, in the United States, on 22 November, 1963, murdered by Lee Oswald, previously a US marine who had Soviet connections, who was then killed by Jack Ruby, an operator of a nightclub, two days later.
  • John F. Kennedy was a Pulitzer Prize winner, and at age 43, was the youngest US president to be elected, the first Catholic US president and the youngest US president to die at age 46.
  • John F. Kennedy married Jacqueline Bouvier in 1953, and had four children, Arabella who was stillborn, Caroline who is still living, John who died in a plane crash in 1999 at age 38, and Patrick who died two days after birth.
Bibliography:
John F. Kennedy, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy
John F. Kennedy, n.d, The White House, http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/johnfkennedy

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Burj Khalifa

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Burj Khalifa

Can you stand the height of these Burj Khalifa facts?

  • Burj Khalifa, located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Middle East, was the tallest building and man-made structure in the world at its completion in 2010.
  • The Burj Khalifa, ‘burj’ meaning ‘tower’, was originally known as ‘Burj Dubai’, but it was renamed after the United Arab Emirates’ president and ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan at its official opening, which is said to be the result of Abu Dhabi bailing Dubai out of a financial crisis just before the building was completed.
  • Burj Khalifa is a centrepiece of an area developed in the city of Dubai, built for a variety of purposes including tourism and fame for the city, and the building has won numerous awards.
  • Burj Khalifa has the height of 829.8 metres (2722 feet), has 163 official floors, and has a floor area of 309,473 square metres (3,331,100 square feet).
  • Burj Khalifa is said to be able to house over 35,000 people at once, has over 24,000 windows and 900 apartments, includes offices and a hotel, and when it opened it had the highest nightclub, restaurant and observation deck, and was host to the highest fireworks display.
Burj Khalifa, Tower, White, Tall, Landscape, Scale, Dubai, Middle East, Arab, Ten Random Facts, Skyscraper, Tallest in the world, Flickr
Burj Khalifa
Image courtesy of Joi Ito/Flickr
  • It is believed that the Burj Khalifa was originally going to use the scrapped Melbourne, Australia’s planned Grollo Tower design, a 560 metre (1837 feet) skyscraper, but the building was later completely redesigned by United States architect Adrian Smith from Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.
  • Burj Khalifa was constructed by South Korea’s Samsung Engineering and Construction, mostly using thousands of migrant workers from south Asia, and during the building process, there was only one reported fatality although the number of actual deaths is believed to be much higher.
  • Burj Khalifa was constructed with 330,000 cubic metres (431,600 cubic yards) of concrete and 55,000 tonnes (61,000 tons) of steel and cost approximately US$1.5 billion.
  • Work on the Burj Khalifa site started in January 2004, and the building was officially opened with 10,000 fireworks and other light and sound effects, on 4th January 2010, although the interior was not complete at that stage.
  • The Burj Khalifa is based on the design of a Hymenocallis, a desert flower, and the spire at the top of the building is said to sway 1.5 metres (4.9 feet) and is visible 95 kilometeres (60 miles) away.
Bibliography:
Burj Khalifa, 2014, The Skyscraper Center, http://www.skyscrapercenter.com/dubai/burj-khalifa/
Burj Khalifa, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burj_Khalifa
Burj Khalifa, 2014, Burj Khalifa, http://www.burjkhalifa.ae/en/

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Komodo Dragon

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Komodo Dragon

Komodo dragons do not fly.

  • ‘Komodo dragons’ are also called ‘komodo monitors’ and ‘komodo island monitors’.
  • Komodo dragons are native to some of the Lesser Sunda islands of Indonesia, Asia, and were not known to the western world until the early 1900s.
  • Komodo dragons are from the family Varanidae, the family of monitor lizards, and have the scientific name ‘Varanus komodoensis’.
  • Komodo dragons are the world’s largest species of lizard not extinct, and are vulnerably threatened, particularly by human hunting, with approximately 3000 to 5000 in the wild.
  • Komodo dragons can grow up to 3 metres (10 feet) in length and 70 kilograms (150 pounds) in weight, although some are much heavier and can be more than double this in weight.
Komodo Dragon, Lizard, Islands of Rinca, Indonesia, Brown, Scale, Ten Random Facts, Flickr
Komodo Dragon
Image courtesy of Austronesian Expeditions/Flickr
  • Komodo dragons have bluey grey scales that are hard and sturdy and a forked tongue that is yellow, and numerous bacteria in their saliva that causes death in their prey.
  • Komodo dragons have an excellent sense of smell, one ear bone causing it to have a restricted hearing range, and it can see up to 300 metres (980 feet) away.
  • Komodo dragons live in habitats of grasslands, savannahs and forests, in areas that are hot and dry.
  • A komodo dragon’s diet consists of birds, mammals, reptiles, insects and the meat of dead animals, and can, in one feeding, eat up to 80% of its own weight.
  • Komodo dragon females lay an average of 20 eggs in a mound or a hole, that generally hatch in April.
Bibliography:
Komodo Dragon, 2014, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/reptiles/komodo-dragon/
Komodo Dragon, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon

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Hook and Loop Fastener

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Hook and Loop Fastener

Hook into these facts about hook and loop fasteners.

  • Hook and loop fasteners are two different textile strips or shapes that have numerous tiny hooks on one strip or shape, that grip onto tiny loops on the other strip or shape.
  • ‘Hook and loop fasteners’ are also known as ‘touch fasteners’, and are also commonly referred to by the original brand name of the product, ‘Velcro’.
  • Hook and loop fasteners hold together by pressure or can be detached from each other by force, and make a sound of ‘ripping’ when being detached.
  • Hook and loop fasteners were invented in Switzerland by native George de Mestral, an engineer, with the idea being born in 1941, although it took him ten years to produce a successful mechanical process to make the product and he applied for a patent for it in 1951.
  • Hook and loop fasteners are based on natural burr seeds, said to be from burdock plants (Arctium), that hook with strength on clothing and animal fur, and the brand name ‘Velcro’ comes from the French words ‘velours’, meaning ‘velvet’ and ‘crochet’ which means ‘hook’.

Hook and loop fastener, velcro, black, white, strips, rectangular, Ten Random Facts, Invention

  • Some brands of hook and loop fasteners can hold 79 kilograms (175 pounds) with only 26 square centimetres (4 square inches) of the material.
  • Hook and loop fasteners are generally made from nylon, usually with the addition of polyester, although they can be made from other materials like Teflon for special purposes.
  • Hook and loop fasteners sometimes have a self adhesive backing and can be attached to items with this method or other glue, or they can be sewn onto fabrics with thread, and sometimes they have hooks on one side and loops on the back.
  • Hook and loop fasteners did not become significantly popular until the 1970s and 1980s, and can now be found in most homes, on clothes, shoes and bags, although it has numerous other uses, in vehicles, toys, furniture, space shuttles, hospitals and more.
  • Hook and loop fasteners can unintentionally collect dirt, hair and fluff, and the loops and hooks can wear after excessive use.
Bibliography:
The History of Hook and Loop Fasteners, n.d, Speedtech International, Inc, http://www.speedtechinternational.com/history-of-velcro.aspx
Hook and Loop Fastener, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hook_and_loop_fastener
Velcro, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velcro

 

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