Far out! Article by Thibault P.

You probably don't know it, but you wake up in a Faraday cage, make your breakfast in another Faraday cage, phone a friend thanks to a Faraday cage, and drive a Faraday cage to go to work, and you use plenty of other Faraday cages during the day... But, what is a Faraday cage!?

Michael Faraday was a pioneer in the field of electromagnetic energy in the 19^th century. After studying the works of scientists such as Benjamin Franklin, he created a new theory which says that electromagnetic waves naturally flow around the surface of conductive materials, not through them as previous scientists thought. For example, if a metal box containing a mouse is placed directly in an electric current, the mouse won't be electrocuted because the electricity flows over the box.

In fact, a Faraday cage is a kind of a shield against the effects of electromagnetic energy. When a plane is struck by lightning, the metal frame becomes a Faraday cage and protects the passengers inside. The door of every microwave oven has a screen which acts as a Faraday cage in order to prevent waves from escaping outside the box. Even a concrete building reinforced with iron bars can be considered as a Faraday cage.

Nowadays, the Faraday cage principle is often used in electronic devices. Indeed, a lot of waves can disrupt these devices. It’s not very important for an MP3, but imagine the disastrous effects on electronic circuits in planes. That’s why most devices are protected by a Faraday cage called RF shields.

Faraday was a genious. Thanks to him and his amazing box, you can fly with safety, you can drive serenely, and above all you can read this article without being burned to a frazzle!

Dumb inventions... (click on this title!)

Lisa/LIZA/lyza/leezah's article...

You may think that I’m crazy after reading this article but if you are open minded enough, you will see that it is not entirely nonsense...

What are parallel universes, also known as multiverse or alternative reality? Many studies have been made about other possible universes. There are, apparently, six or more universes, with physical laws different from our own. They are called “bubbles”. Of course, all of this is hypothetical since we have no significant proof that they really exist, but wouldn’t it be great if they did?

Space, matter, time and energy are completely different in these parallel universes. For example, you can travel at the speed of light or go back in time. You can fly around to meet your friends or go to school; you can even walk on water or walk through walls unharmed! Of course, those are all possibilities, but I do believe that if we try hard enough we might be able to enter these other worlds!

Parallel universes are a stable of sci-fi books, movies, and TV shows. Alternative reality offers infinite possibilities for one’s imagination. Only quantum events separate (fictional) universes, but they change the way people think and act… I believe that there is a version of each one of us in the parallel universes. Someone that looks just like us, that is named like us, but has something different in his education, lifestyle, behavior, or feelings. Not only people would change, but events and architecture would also be different. Since people would react differently to situations or have a different kind of creativity, the world wouldn’t look the same. Maybe world wars would have never happened, maybe Paris wouldn’t have the Eiffel Tower or maybe New York’s Twin Towers would still be standing! Who knows? The possibilities are infinite!

Do you believe in the possible existence of other universes? What do you think the alternative version of you would be like? Write to this blog to share your most crazy theories!

If this topic interests you, and you want to see something really good about parallel universes, check out the TV Show called Fringe. It is the best science fiction series ever!

Article by Lisa Desjobert

У нас есть взлет!

Deaf on the road...

On the 14^th of September 1906, at about 8am, Mr. Lespinasse left his home in order to go to mass in Carmes church. While Mr. Lespinasse was crossing the road, a car with three tourists arrived from Arpajon. The driver beeped and tried to slow down his car. But, instead of stopping, he accelerated! Bystanders cried: “Stop him! Murderer!” Some people ran to the car, but it was useless because they couldn’t stop it. Mr. Lespinasse, in his eighties, being deaf, didn’t notice the car. The poor man died two hours after the accident.

The investigation allowed the authorities to find the guilty hit-and-run driver (a term which didn’t exist at the time). He was Baptiste Tixier, 33, from Rodez, a mechanic. But he didn’t confess that he had killed Mr. Lespinasse. According to him, the old man died because he fell. The autopsy, by doctor Cazals, showed that the victim died because of nine fractures and a crack in his skull. The driver and his car were undeniably the cause of the death of Mr. Lespinasse.

On the 17^th of November 1906, Mr. Tixier went to court. He admitted that his car was going too fast, but he didn’t know that Mr. Lespinass was totally deaf. As the automobile was a new invention, the judge decided to release the guilty person.

This accident was the first mortal car accident in the Cantal…

Article by Thibault P.

Lunatic lament...

« Avec ses caprices, la lune est comme une frivole amante ; elle sourit et se lamente, et vous fuit et vous importune... »

Théodore de BANVILLE (1823-1891)

The moon is a favourite topic of songs (Walking on the Moon by The Police), poems (Ballade à la lune by Alfred de Musset), books (De la Terre à la Lune by Jules Verne), etc…

I will not speak about Neil Armstrong and his first step on the moon, nor about NASA, or about the competition between the USA and Russia to be the first to land on the moon, etc., but about the moon’s affect on us...

A lot of scientists say that the moon can explain a lot of reactions that we have. For example, a French killer was called “The Moon Killer” because he killed people only during the full moon. During his trial, a few scientists defended the killer and said that it was because of the moon. Isn’t that weird?

Popular legend has it that the full moon brings out the worst in people: more violence, more suicides, more accidents, and more aggression. The influence of the moon on behaviour has been called "The Lunar Effect" or "The Transylvania Effect." The belief that the full moon causes mental disorders and strange behaviour was widespread throughout Europe in the Middle Ages.

But, this “Lunar Effect” is not scientifically proven! In fact, like I said, it’s more a popular legend. The existence of a relationship between two "variables" does not mean that one variable causes the other variable. For example, if you looked for a relationship between the number of points scored by a basketball team and the number of books checked out of a library on different days, you might find a significant relationship. This doesn't mean that the score of basketball games causes people to check out library books or that checking out library books causes the basketball team to score more points. The reason why these two activities vary in a similar fashion is completely unknown and untested.

However few scientists are determined to prove that the “Lunar Effect” exists...

Here you have a website which gives you different correlations between the moon and our behaviour :

http://22etoiles.com/lune/humain.htm

Careful! Like I said, the “Lunar Effect” is not verified, so do not take this site as seriously scientific!

Although most experiments fail to show a relationship between the phases of the moon and abnormal behaviour, the belief in the "lunar effect" is still strong among many people. the occasional newspaper story that describes strange behaviour during a full moon only reinforces this myth...

I myself don’t sleep very well these days... Do you think it’s because of the moon?!

Article by Marylou H.

Nuts about Apple

Wikipedia describes Apple Inc. (previously Apple Computer, Inc.) as “an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers.”

Apple was created on the 1st of April 1976 (no joke), and it became officially a firm on the 3rd of January 1977. Steve Jobs, one of the cofounders of the firm, was forced to leave in 1985, but he came back in 1996 and became the chief executive officer of the society in 1997.

The name of the company was inspired by the apple which hit Isaac Newton’s head while he was thinking about the laws of gravity; it symbolizes the flash of a great idea. Notice that the company logo has had a bite taken out of it… This is a reference to when Steve Jobs was crunching into an apple, and he said: “If we don’t find a name for our firm, we’ll call it Apple!”

The Apple cofounders invented the revolutionary Macintosh system which powers:

• the iMac, an all-in-one computer launched in 1998 when Steve Jobs came back to the firm (it still looks revolutionary...);
• the Macpro, the most powerful computer of the firm;
• the Macbook, a laptop with several versions;
• the iPod, a digital walkman;
• the iPhone, a revolutionary mobile phone;
• the iPad, a tactile tablet.

Apple has always privileged simplicity; a person who can’t use a PC can use a Mac because it is really simple to use! This is true for iPod, iPhone, and iPad too. Moreover, Apple products are well-designed and this makes them fashionable; it is “cool” to say you have a Mac!

“Think different” is the company motto. When Steve Jobs does a Keynote presentation of a new product he always starts by saying: “Say hello to...” be it the iPhone, or iPad.

Apple products are very expensive. But the Apple stock index keeps rising! Apple products are successful because they are high quality, simple to use and fashionable.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12216505

Article by Jules H.

Them bones, them bones...

When will osteopathy be considered seriously by the medical profession?

Osteopathy started in the United States more than a century ago.

It has been practiced in France for about twenty years.

It is an alternative medical method.

The word “osteopathy” comes from the Greek “ostéon” meaning “bone” and “pathos” meaning “affection”.

It’s a hands-on technique which takes into consideration the central role of the skeleton.

Osteopathy is not universally accepted by doctors and scientists.

However, osteopathy has helped many people recover their health.

Indeed, it is advisable to consult an osteopath twice a year as a means of avoiding health problems.

According to osteopaths, the various structures of the body have the capacity to move quite freely.

When a loss of mobility appears at the level of muscles, internal organs, the skull or envelopes (fascia), symptoms appear.

Osteopathy is both a science and an art.

It acts on the physical structure of the body in order to correct the cause of the disorder and thus helps the body to “cure itself”.

It is both preventive and curative; it aims at rebalancing the ostéo-articular and visceral structures that have lost their mobility.

It considers that all the parts of the body are connected to each other, and is useful for all parts of the body (cranial osteopathy for example).

Dr Andrew Taylor Still, an American doctor, pioneered osteopathy in 1874.

He was inspired by Ancient Greek and Egyptian medicine as well as by the medicine of the Renaissance.

Dr Still said: "the structure governs the function", the principle being that the preservation of health involves keeping the skeleton in good order, thus ensuring in turn the smooth running of the circulatory, nervous, and muscular systems.

The British school of osteopathy was created in 1918 in London by a pupil of Still: John Martin Littlejohn.

In France, it first appeared in the 1950s, and a national union of osteopaths was created, though real interest only began in the 1970s and has been slowly developing since.

To establish his diagnosis, the osteopath has to find where the pain is situated by analyzing the mobility of the various physical structures.

The treatment is based on techniques of pressure and strain, as well as on vertebral and sometimes cranial manipulations.

The pathologies are varied and are not limited to the affections of the vertebral column such as sciatica, lumbago, stiffness in the neck, or pain in the shoulders.

The diseases of the musculoskeletal system are many and include degenerative osteoarthritis, and the consequences of trauma.

Osteopaths can also take charge of problems as diverse as headaches or dizziness, anxiety, sleeping disorders, asthma, colitis, and troubles linked to pregnancy.

Osteopathy is not adapted to dealing with serious infectious or inflammatory states.

It deals more with functional pathologies, where the body and the psyche are in a state of imbalance.

Osteopathy is sometimes used for children who are hyperactive, or who have sleeping problems, or who have suffered cranial trauma through the use of forceps during childbirth.

Osteopathy is misunderstood by many medical experts.

Medical lobbies often exert pressure against it.

In the United States, it now is considered conventional medicine, though numerous practitioners (mainly surgeons) have hesitated for a long time in accepting it.

Criticisms are due to the fact that its efficiency has not been scientifically proved, certain tests showing that osteopathy is not more effective than other forms of treatment.

For some, osteopathy is based on nebulous theories, and they have even accused it of worsening patients’ conditions.

Most osteopaths are also qualified physiotherapists.

Jean Rochefort, the famous actor, has said: "Osteopathy is a medical specialization; with osteopaths, you are in safe hands!"

My physiotherapist is also an osteopath and he always begins a session with osteopathy in order to relax the body; only then does he start the physiotherapy.

As a patient, I can confirm that we all need small osteopathy sessions in order to help our bodies and minds and to keep in good shape for as long as possible.

Article by Alexandre P.

If you are in Bac S, click on this title!