With the thunderous launch of the Delta II rocket this weekend, not only was the Kepler space telescope lofted into the sky, but also our hopes of finding a Second Earth. But now, after those few minutes of intense excitement, comes several months of impatient waiting.
Category: Science Writing
When you hear about near-misses from asteroids like 2009 DD45, so-called near-Earth objects, your first thoughts might be of the apocalyptic. Hollywood has ensured that we are all fully aware of the risks posed to planet Earth from such space rocks, perhaps not to extinguish all life on our planet
How astronomers could find a planet just like home in 2009
The first world beyond our solar system was discovered in 1992, and since then astronomers have been finding such ‘extrasolar planets’ (also abbreviated to ‘exoplanets’) at an ever quickening rate. As techniques and telescopes increase in sensitivity, the race is on to be the first to announce the discovery of a truly terrestrial exoplanet – a Second Earth.
Computer scientists are now using ‘Bayes’ theorem’ to build computers that are more intelligent and even able to learn for themselves. Here we’ll show how you can use just sweets and pots and a pinch of Bayes’ theorem to find out who stole a chocolate biscuit! You’ll discover how likely it is that someone with chocolate smudged on their fingers is the real culprit. You can run this is an activity with your friends at home or ask your teacher to run it in class.
Download pdf
One of the most exciting branches of computer science is called machine learning. Machine learning aims to find ways for computers to solve complex problems by learning for themselves. For instance, a computer can use trial and error when it is learning how to play games and win by learning from its mistakes.
Download pdf
Security is very important on the internet. You often need to prove to another person that you know something but without letting them know what the information actually is (because they could just copy and use it). For example, you might need toconvince an online music shop that you know your password for their website without sending them the password itself.
Download pdf
One of the most important concerns with using modern technology is how to keep your secrets secret. For instance, you wouldn’t want anyone to intercept your emails and read them or to listen to your mobile phone conversations. This is especially important when someone is sending their credit card details to an online shop. And it is crucial that banks, big businesses and governments know that any information they send through the internet stays safe.
Download pdf
Computers are essentially electronic machines for handling information: storing, processing and transmitting it.
Download pdf
Categories
Get it sorted
Computers don’t just automatically know how to do things – they need software programmed for them by people. Amobile phone, for example, has software installed to tell the on-board computer how to carry out different functions. This includes running the menus, digitising your voice to transmit it, and even playing music or games. The softwarebreaks down these functions into individual tasks, each of which is processed by a particular algorithm. ‘Algorithm’ may sound technical, but it is just a way of describing how to do something. An algorithm is a list of instructions, like following a recipe to bake a cake.
Download pdf
Nowadays, lots of computer display screens are of a type called an LCD screen. LCD stands for ‘liquid crystal display’. If you’ve used a calculator, MP3 player, mobile phone, laptop or flat screen TV today, you almost certainly would have been using an LCD screen.
Download pdf
A lot of what people use computers for involves images. Most web pages are now absolutely stuffed with colourful pictures, and we all love taking holiday photos on a digital camera or looking at pictures of our friends online. But all of this would be impossible if computer scientists hadn’t developed clever ways to store and transmit images digitally.
Download pdf