Photo by Rebecca Holt

Every year, TJ Physics Teacher Nelson Vore, assigns his physics classes design projects where they use their physics knowledge to build something that will out-do the rest of their classmates.

Usually this project is a scrambler or a catapult; but this is the first year that an AP physics class has been in the picture at TJ, so Vore had to discover a newer, more challenging project for his advanced students. After much contemplation, Vore decided to have his students build canoes entirely out of cardboard and then physically get inside the boats and race them around the pool. “I was at a summer camp for AP teachers last summer when I met a teacher from Dougherty High School in Colorado Springs who has been doing the cardboard canoes for several years.  I had been looking for some really different unique project for the AP course.  I knew I would have to push the AP students pretty hard all year to adequately prepare them for the AP exam, and I wanted something that would just be pure fun – a way to let go a little of the studying stress.  As soon as I heard about the cardboard canoes I knew that that was the project I had been looking for,” exclaimed Vore.

There were three groups that participated in this extra credit project, and each group built its own canoe. This reporter was actually a part of one of the three groups along with Alexandra Kaufhold and Akaxia Cruz. The second group consisted of Andrea Shacklock and Stephanie Warren, and the third group was comprised of Gilbert Carino and Jordan Shelton.

The task at hand was for the students to build a canoe while following strict guidelines, then row their canoes the full 25 meter-length pool and then back to the starting point, while being timed. Each group performed this timed race individually. This reporter’s group was randomly chosen to sail its boat first. Kaufhold watched from the sidelines as Akaxia and I climbed in the boat to test what we had built. With the two of us in the boat, it successfully floated. However, the design of the boat was not stable, and it tipped as soon as we started to paddle. Therefore, this group did not complete the race successfully, and received third place. “Since the project was simply for extra credit, we were mostly just focused on the fun of it, and not on the points we would earn. We were in if for the experience, and even though we went down right away, I had an awesome time and I’m glad we decided to participate,” said Akaxia.

Carino and Shelton successfully floated in their boats, and were able row their boats to the end of the pool and back in about a minute and a half.  “We were happy to have our boat succeed. We worked really hard on it, but it is just really nerve racking when you have to enter a competition without being able to test anything. So even if we didn’t win we were still excited to be able to finish the race,” said Carino.

The two other groups were most intimidated by Shacklock and Warren’s sturdy and professional–looking canoe. Just as everyone had expected, the two girls were also able to propel their boats the required distance with the exact same time as Carino and Shelton. With this unlikely outcome, Vore made the decision to have the two boats race side by side in an intense tiebreaker. Both groups’ boats survived this race but the girls finished the race first, as Carino and Shelton had trouble steering their boats. “I was worried because our boat was so heavy we didn’t think it would even float,” said Shacklock.

After the victory, our previous opponents allowed Akaxia and I, along with whomever else we could pack into their canoe, to play around and navigate in the pool to test their boat’s limits. Eventually, after having six of us in there, the boat collapsed. “Being able to fit six people in our boat was possibly the greatest moment of my life when we didn’t even think with two of us it would float,” said Warren.

The project was generally a success, aside from this reporter’s failure. “Whenever you do something like this for the first time there are usually all sorts of things that can go wrong.  Fortunately, I was lucky to have the complete Dougherty rules, which turned out to have been very well thought out – so no major mess-ups occurred – it all went very smoothly.  It was amazing watching Gilbert and Jordan’s wide, flat-bottomed boat concept in action – I was thinking it might not be stable and might capsize, but it swam like a duck.  And Andrea’s and Stephanie’s cardboard ‘battleship’ was awesome – at the end it actually held six passengers (for a short while).  Alex, Rachel and Akaxia’s overnight wonder didn’t make it very far, but it was a lot of fun watching them make the attempt.   I am already thinking about how the event could be improved for next year,” said Vore.

Photo by Rebecca Holt

Senior Ben Makovsky is an AP scholar, Computer Magnet student, member of National Honor Society, an accomplished athlete, and has been named an Outstanding Senior in TJ’s Aristocrat Yearbook, so it is no surprise that he has been nominated for Student of the Week by TJ faculty.

Currently, Makovsky is working on an NHS project, wherein he visits with a senior citizen to help her out with tasks she has trouble with, and also to simply spend some time with her. At the end of this project he will write a biography on her and present it to her as a gift. “I’ve been in NHS since sophomore year. At first, I joined NHS because I wanted to be able to put it on a college application, but over the past couple years I discovered that I actually really liked to volunteer. And with this current project, I feel like I am making a real impact in this woman’s life,” said Makovsky.

Makovsky was also a participant in the school’s annual Mr. TJ competition and earned second runner up, so he is clearly well–liked throughout TJ. According to Ben, his athleticism from TJ sports throughout the year aided him in his talent performance at the show, which won the crowd over. “Flipping over five people is not something anyone can do, which is why, I think, I got as far as I did in Mr. TJ. I would say the fact that I am an athlete that practices jumping high and far all the time is what made me able to do my talent,” said Makovsky.

Makovsky runs cross-country and pole-vaults for the track team. “Even though I practice with the TJ track team, TJ doesn’t have pole vaulting equipment, so I have to go to Boulder to practice that. They have really good coaches up there that help push me really hard,” said Makovsky.

Ben’s teammate from the track team, Jared Lewis, said, “It has been an honor to have Ben as a teammate. He is a multifaceted athlete and has done great things for the team.”

Not only does Ben participate in sports here at TJ, but he has also has competed in various snowboarding competitions. He is a talented park rider and hopes to keep snowboarding as a hobby long in the future.

Ben has an older brother, Sam who goes to college at CU Boulder. “We get along really well; he challenges me a lot with athletics because we’re just really competitive like that,” said Makovsky.

Although Makovsky has a passion for his sports, his true interest that he wants to carry with him in the future are the skills he has learned from being in the Computer Magnet program. He plans to attend Colorado State University in Fort Collins next year and wants to go into either video production or TV broadcasting. Ben feels that his training from his Radio and TV Broadcasting and Video Intern classes really boosted his confidence for when he goes on to college. He stated,  “Spamp [Teacher, Matt Spampinato] has really taught me a lot about video production and I feel like because of everything I have learned, I will be ahead of the game at CSU. Being in Computer Magnet is a really good way to learn computer skills when it comes to any kind of media.”

“Ben is one of those rare talents. He sits down in front of the computer and can instantly make magic happen. He understands the way video works: he is ready to take it to the next level,” said Video Intern Teacher, Matt Spampinato. Clearly Ben has an enormous amount of support from his peers, teachers, and families to do great things with his life.

Artwork by Rachel Wilson

As spring is approaching, the stresses of the ACTs are becoming a reality for the juniors at Thomas Jefferson. Luckily for the class of 2011, TJ has been offering the first–ever ACT prep class in order to help the students become more prepared to get higher scores on the test that is coming up on the 28^th of April.

This class has been offered once per week since the beginning of February and has been taught by TJ Science Teacher, Kirk Hammond and Math Teacher Lispin Kuruvulla. “Even though the class is offered once a week, we are going to make the computer rooms available more often as we get closer to the test, but the students are able to access the website and training at any point on their own,” said Hammond.

ACT preparation classes are offered all over Denver through companies such as Kaplan, but tend to be a bit pricey. Therefore, the fact that prep classes are now available at TJ for free is an extreme money-saver for students and their families. “We are using a program on the College in Colorado website that has become available recently.  Ms. K and I are providing our time and help on a volunteer basis and the program is free, so it was just a matter of working with Mr. Lessard to organize a class list and times and get it going.” Said Hammond.

According to Hammond, the fact that students are being taught by familiar faces will also help improve students’ scores. “I would imagine that the curriculum for this class is not as extensive or detailed as other organized courses, but the students are getting support and help from teachers they know and know are interested in seeing them succeed.  It is also facilitated on site at times that are convenient for the students,” said Hammond who also believes that his expertise in science and Kuruvulla’s expertise in math makes them a good pair to run the class.

Kuruvulla and Hammond are having the students learn by immersion. “They are going through the tutorials and practice exams online, and getting first hand experience on what to expect from the exam.  It is an inquiry approach as to how they are going to handle each subject and type of question.  Then, they are encouraged to practice and repeat whatever they are struggling with.  The class is very much self-paced and self-guided,” said Hammond.

Students agree that this class has been helpful to their preparation for taking the ACTs. “I feel like taking this class has made me more confident in myself once the test rolls around. I have a feeling that I’ll get a better score now compared to the score I would get if I had just studied for the test on my own,” said Junior, Hayden Johnson.

Kuruvulla and Hammond have high hopes for students regarding their ACT scores. “Our goal is to get at least five students who weren’t projected to get 20 or above to reach that level and to improve the overall college readiness of our graduates.  This is the first year we are offering this, so it will be exciting to see how it impacts our scores,” Hammond said. “I think the class is going great. There are over 50 people signed up and 30 who regularly attend.  The students seem to be very engaged and learning a great deal about the exam, and even other college readiness skills such as vocabulary and studying.  We are hoping to get the numbers back up to 50 by the time the test rolls around on April 28th.” Also, all juniors are welcome to attend the class until the date of the ACT even if they are not already signed up.

Artwork by Rachel Wilson

The popularity of 3-D movies in theaters has grown tremendously over the past year. In 2010, it seems as if every big-time production can also be seen in 3-D.  Polar Express seemed to jumpstart people’s interest in 3-D entertainment as well as this year’s box office thrills, James Cameron’s Avatar and Tim Burton’s Alice and Wonderland. Now, this thrill that swept the movie theaters is headed for America’s living rooms.

Panasonic, Sony, and Samsung are all releasing home-theaters that can display high definition, full-length movies in 3-D. It is even probable that within a few years, live television will be broadcasted in high-def 3-D.

America has already become familiar with the Blu-Ray player, the DVD player that reads its discs with a blue laser, rather than a red one. This allows the disc to store a significantly larger amount of information than the regular DVD player. We see depth when images from our left and right eyes merge into one. The reason that a blu–ray player is needed for 3D movies is the fact that blu-ray discs have enough room to store separate signals for each eye, as well as the coding necessary to specify which image is meant for the left and ride sides. For the TV to be 3D capable, a converter chip and software is needed to break down the signal and separate the left and right images. Then, the polarization of the glasses allows the viewer to see the final effects of his or her favorite movies in eye-popping action.

One way of seeing images in 3D is through an active glass system. This is the system being used to create 3D TVs for people’s homes. In this system, the glasses work because the polarization of the lenses blocks one eye at a time so that each eye sees the frame meant for it. The glasses know when to change polarization when a radio or infrared wave pulses from the TV, signaling that the image on the TV is changing.

Another method is through a passive glass system. This system requires the red and blue lens paper glasses that come by the binful at theme park 3D theaters. The concept is simple and cheap: the screen projects both the left eye and the right eye simultaneously into the same space, and then use a special set of glasses, which shows each image to its intended eye while blocking out the unintended image from that eye. In these glasses every other line carries a clockwise or a counterclockwise polarization. Thus, each eye gets half of the visual information on the screen, but the brain puts it together to create one picture with the 3-D effect.

Philips has created a technology that allows viewers to see 3D without the need of any goofy glasses. Instead, the monitor incorporates a special lens that sends different signals to each eye, as long as the viewer is sitting in the right spot. The 3D effect is similar to that produced by those novelty postcards with a grooved plastic layer on top. However, this method, called lenticular viewing, is extremely limiting for home viewing because of the fact that the 3D effects can only be seen from one spot in front of the TV.

These revolutionary 3-D televisions can be purchased at any local Best Buy with prices ranging from $2,000 to $3,000 as well as the battery – operated glasses required, costing anywhere between $100 and $400.

Sport Science, the Emmy Award-winning TV series, hosted by John Brenkus, uncovers sports’ biggest myths and mysteries by using cutting-edge technology to measure momentum, friction and the laws of gravity.

One episode asks the question: which generates more power, an NFL running back or a diesel truck? The Sport Science crew recruited Buffalo Bills running back, Marshawn Lynch and a 6,700 lb truck to test the problem.

First, the crew strapped Marshawn Lynch with a breakthrough technology that uses wireless sensors to monitor the subject’s every move. Then, they put him in a harness attached to a 135 lb metal sheet topped with two 235 lb tires; a total of 585 lbs, about 2.6 times Lynch’s body weight. The Bills running back was able to pull the heavy load for five yards, but not without struggle. The technological equipment used calculated Lynch’s power-to-weight ratio as 573 watts per kilogram.

In order to match Lynch’s power-to-weight ratio, the 6,700 lbs and 325 horse power truck needs to pull about 17,000 lbs. They attached this weight in cement blocks to the truck, and Marshawn Lynch, himself, hopped into the truck and put the pedal to the metal. However, the truck didn’t budge. Instead, it just burned rubber. The truck maxed out at a power-to-weight ratio of 86 watts per kilogram. This means that Marshawn is almost seven times more powerful than the diesel truck.

It is astonishing that a man has been proven to be more powerful than a huge diesel truck. The Sport Science crew proved this using measurements from cutting edge technology, but how does this make sense in the realm of physics? The truth is, almost any high school student who has taken physics could prove that Marshawn Lynch is more powerful than the truck without using any expensive technology. However, the same answers are not reached using high school physics equations.

The definition of power is how much work is done in a certain amount of time (P=W/t). The definition of work is how much force is exerted over a certain distance (W=Fd). Lynch exerted some force over a distance of 5 yards. The force cannot be calculated without some sort of technology, because we don’t know Lynch’s acceleration, and force equals mass times acceleration (F=ma). Since Lynch did move the weight 5 yards, he did some amount of work. The truck however, exerted a force on the weight it was pulling, but since the weight didn’t move an inch, no work was done (W=F(0)=0). Since Lynch did some work on the weight he was pulling, he generated some amount of power, based on how long it took him to pull the weight 5 yards. Based on these basic laws of physics, the truck didn’t do any work, so it didn’t generate any power. Additional calculations could be made regarding friction forces, but it will still not be as accurate as the results generated by the Sport Science crew.

This result is based on physics laws that date back to Isaac Newton, and his laws of motion, which is primarily what high school physics students study. Since then, the study of physics has expanded tremendously, and there are tools to measure power generated even if no work is done. This is similar to the idea that a horse and an ant can do the same amount of work. A horse can move a thousand pounds of sand ten feet, and so can an ant. The only thing is the horse will do the work considerably faster; therefore the horse is more powerful. Even though the inner workings of this technology is unknown to most high school physics students, they could easily come to the conclusion that an NFL running back is more powerful than a diesel truck, simply by observing the experiment in action.

Seniors Andrea Shacklock and Demetrius Allen win Eros royalty on Saturday night. Photo by Rebecca Holt

Once again, Thomas Jefferson students got together with all of their friends, got all dolled up, enjoyed a nice dinner, and danced the night away at TJ’s Eros dance.

This year’s Eros  was unique because TJ was able to celebrate the school’s 50th anniversary with a week of fun spirit days, a second pep rally, and a visit from Mayor Hickenlooper at the TJ basketball game against rivals, George Washington High School. All of these special events led up to the annual Valentine’s dance at TJ.

Eros is the Greek equivalent of Rome’s cupid, so love was in the air this past Saturday. Couples got together for a special date and singles either found some new love interests or just enjoyed the company of their friends. One thing is for sure, everyone who attended Eros enjoyed their Valentine’s Day weekend.

The gym was full of rowdy teens dancing the night away and, as usual, sashes were given out at the dance. This year, our Eros Queen was none other than Andrea Shacklock, swimming guru and possible valedictorian for the class of 2010. The Eros King crown was given to Demitrius Allen, a member of TJ’s famous Allen family. In fact, his little brother, Marcus Allen, was crowned freshman royalty this very same evening.

“I was a little upset I didn’t win Eros Queen,” said senior nominee, Colette Hernandez. “But it didn’t matter because I had so much fun dancing with all of my friends.”

Eros 2010 was successful once again, and this year’s 50th anniversary celebration was the icing on the cake. “It’s weird to think that this was my last pep rally ever, and that I only have one more high school dance left. I never thought it would go by so fast!” said senior, Alexandra Kaufhold.

photo by Rachel Wilson

On Wednesday, January 27^th, Samuels Elementary School held a science fair where students from TJ’s AP Biology and AP Physics classes were invited to judge the young scientists’ hard work.

The judges arrived at Samuels at 8:00am to enjoy some free breakfast while they received information on how the science fair would run. Each judge received an official “Samuels Science Fair” nametag and a clipboard with scoring sheets for each student’s project.

The judges split up into groups of two or three and went to the classes of the students they were assigned to judge and pulled out a group of four or five and took them to the gym, where every project was displayed. The students would then explain their projects to their judges. The projects were judged based on the creativity of the subject, the presentation of the project, whether or not the student followed all the rules, if the project was the student’s own work, and the time and work put into the project.

Jeff and Danielle Schreiber, Samuels PTA members and sponsors for the science fair, organized the event. “The Science Fair is a great opportunity for kids to use the scientific process to answer questions that they may have thought about or research something to learn how it works. We are always amazed at the ideas the kids come up with each year,” Jeff said.

This was the first year that TJ students judged the Samuels Science Fair. “We were really happy this year to have 22 TJ’s AP Science students serve as judges of the Science Fair.  The judges from TJ did an excellent job working with over 200 Samuels students.  They evaluated the effort that was put into the Science Fair projects and assessed the presentation of the posters.  This year’s Science Fair was a success. We hope to have the TJ students back again next year,” said Schreiber.

The TJ judges seemed to enjoy working with the young scientists as well. “The kids were a lot of fun; I judged some of the 5^th graders’ work and was really surprised at some of the projects. One girl that stood out to me did a project on yeast, and I was truly amazed at how good it was, and I even learned a few things from it,” said, AP Physics Student, Alexandra Kaufhold.

The students with the best projects were recognized at a special science fair award ceremony. “We give awards to each grade level 5^th, 4^th, 3^rd, 2^nd, and a combined 1^st grade with Kindergarten (although we had no kindergarteners this year).  For each grade level, we give out 1^st place, 2^nd place, 3^rd place and Honorable Mention awards.  In addition, we give out Wizard Awards, which are for kids who had a great idea, but maybe didn’t get too high of an overall score.   We gave out 42 awards this year,” said Schreiber.

The awards given out were the following:

1^st grade –

Honorable Mentions: Cooper Banks – “Dried Beans” and Paul Valtierrez – “The Exploding Volcano”

2^nd grade –

1^st Place: Lily Ornelas and Nebria Duren – “How Much Water Can A Diaper Hold?” and Cristian Stancu – “Sink or Float”

2^nd Place: Enrique Engenio-Tellez and Gilberto Sandoval-Miranda – “Por que Erupcion los Volcanes?”

3^rd Place: Kyle McPheron – “Fightened Grasshopper”

Honorable Mentions: Taryn Martin – “Naked Egg,” Uriel Rojo-Mendoza – “Hot and Cold Water,” Rheanna Valiare – “Disappearing Colors”

3^rd grade –

1^st Place: Dorian Thomas – “Understanding Volcanoes”

2^nd Place: Macey Ciardella and Paige Venrick – “How Does Our Garden Grow?” and Maddy Ciardella and Delyla Posey – “Germier Than a 3^rd Grader?”

3^rd Place: Aidan Payne – “See a Sunset”

Honorable Mention: Micaela Stewart and Monica Flores – “Plants”

4^th Grade –

1^st Place: Mariah Bradford – “Sea Monkeys,” Dakshitha Pemma – “How Do Lungs Supply Oxygen to the Body,” and Keaton Scheiber – “The Capacitor”

2^nd Place: Jordan Laudan – “Thunderstorms”

3^rd Place: Kayla Gibson – “An ‘Egg’cellent Experiment” and Joshua Pichardo – “How to Make a Potato Clock”

Honorable Mentions: Z’HaiTae Duren – “Cells” and Denisse Garcia and Ariana Head-Cardena – “Dry Ice and Water”

5^th Grade –

1^st Place: Alyssa Vazquez – “What Fluffs Your Bread?”

2^nd Place: John Turner – “Smelly Smell Smells”

3^rd Place David Gilliam – “Inside the Earth”

Honorable Mentions: Jose Navarra Arriola – “First One to Rot is a Rotten Banana” and Ryan Failano – “The Precipitation Process”

Wizard Awards –

Christopher Jolas – “The freezing Creek”

Amanda Kerr – “How a Harp Works”

N’Dea Sweat – “Why is the Sky Blue?”

Zoe Bogle – “Simple Moving Machine”

Sara Gebretsadik – “How are Crayons Made?”

Genesis Jacobs – “Forest Canopy and Below”

Aaron Stottlemyer – “The Compass”

Mario Villalobos-Sanchez – “Cocinada con Energia Solar”

Jazz Write – “Homemade Instrument”

After the judges finished looking over and scoring all of their students, they were offered a free lunch and time to socialize and discuss each of the projects that stood out to them. The TJ students left around 11:00am. Then later in the day, an assembly was held, where each winner received their award and proper recognition.

Artwork by Mia Nogueira

Spartan Administration and Advanced Placement teachers invite parents to explore AP class curriculum.

On February 4^th, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., parents of students with AP potential will have the opportunity to get information on the advanced classes being offered at Thomas Jefferson.

The tradition of AP Night started after the PSATs were introduced to TJ. This is because the PSAT evaluates students’ scores and then helps to determine whether or not the student would be able to do well in one of TJ’s AP classes. “We discovered that there were more kids that were qualified to take AP classes based on their PSAT scores than the amount of students actually signing up,” said Principal Sandra Just. “We hope that through the information provided at AP Night, we will see a rise in the amount of students challenging themselves with more difficult classes.”

After the PSAT scores come out, the administration sends out letters to the homes of students who have shown promise for the AP program, inviting them to attend AP Night.

“Our hope is to promote dual enrollment. We want students to understand that these classes give students both high school and college credit,” said Just.

This informational night will be held in Room 108. There, AP teachers will be available to inform parents of the expectations and subject matter covered in their class. AP classes currently offered at TJ are: Biology, Calculus AB/BC, US Government, US History, Language, Literature, Music Theory, Psychology, and Physics B.

“AP parent night informs parents and students of the benefits offered by taking AP classes,” said counselor, Dawn Catalano, “I think it helps students make an informed decision on whether or not to take AP classes.”

Artwork by Rachel Wilson.

Dark matter is believed to account for about 80 percent of the mass of the universe; however, since it does not emit any light, the only proof it exists is the effects it has on objects around it. Physicists strongly believe that the amount of visible mass in our galaxy, the Milky Way, is not enough to keep it in the spiral formation that it sits in. There must be dark matter there, otherwise the galaxy would fly off in all directions out to infinity.

Astronomer, Fritz Zwicky first proposed the existence of dark matter in the 1930s when he calculated that the amount of ordinary matter in the Coma cluster of galaxies wasn’t enough to keep the cluster from flying apart. Additional, unseen material could provide the extra gravitational tug, he suggested. Since the 1970s, astronomers have accumulated further evidence that the Milky Way and other galaxies are bathed in dark matter.

“Many different measurements in astronomy now indicate that we really only understand 5% of what the universe is made of.  Of the other 95% of the mass/energy that comprises the universe we know almost nothing.  Of this 95% about 20% is dark matter and the other 75% is dark energy.  About dark energy we don’t have a clue – except that it is there.  We DO have ideas what the dark matter could be.  Some people think it could be made of MACHOS – massive compact halo objects – things like dark burnt out stars that we can’t see.  Other people think it could be made of WIMPS – weakly interacting massive particles that are extremely difficult to detect in any kind of physical experiment,” said TJ Physics Teacher, Nelson Vore.

Analyzing results of the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) experiment in the northern Minnesota Soudan mine, physicists report the possible detection of particles of dark matter. The experiment relies on thirty detectors made of germanium and silicon crystals cooled to just above absolute zero. The detectors record tiny vibrations imparted by a proposed type of dark matter called weakly interacting massive particles, or WIMPs, which are among the most popular candidates for dark matter. Recently, the detectors in the mine recorded two hits with characteristics consistent with those expected from WIMPs.

WIMPs streaming in from space would very rarely jostle the germanium nuclei, some 800 meters underground in the Soudan mine, generating a tiny amount of heat and slightly altering the charge on the detectors in a characteristic pattern. When such an interaction happens, a WIMP careens like a billiard ball off an atom, the theory goes. But the collision leaves behind a unique signature in the form of a small amount of heat, which can be detected, and also creates charged atoms, or ions, that are detectable.

The team behind the experiment cautions that there is a one-in-four chance that the particles detected are not dark matter but ordinary subatomic particles such as neutrons. Lauren Hsu, one of the members of the team said, “Physicists typically require a much lower chance that a signal is false before regarding a result as conclusive.”

Astronomer, Fritz Zwicky first proposed the existence of dark matter in the 1930s when he calculated that the amount of ordinary matter in the Coma cluster of galaxies wasn’t enough to keep the cluster from flying apart. Additional, unseen material could provide the extra gravitational tug, he suggested. Since the 1970s, astronomers have accumulated further evidence that the Milky Way and other galaxies are bathed in dark matter.

While astronomers need dark matter to explain the growth and motions of galaxies, particle physicists who subscribe to a theory called supersymmetry have proposed that every subatomic particle has an as yet undetected heavier partner. The least massive, electrically neutral of those partners might be the WIMP.

The Large Hadron Collider could also present further evidence of the existence of dark matter, ideally in the first half of 2010. “One reason the LHC in Switzerland is such a big deal is that it might answer the question of ‘what is dark matter?’” said Vore.

According to theorist, Craig Hogan, three or four more WIMP-like interactions recorded over the next few years by the experiment, now being upgraded with detectors containing three times as much germanium, would constitute proof of dark matter. This would give scientists an entire new form of matter to study. Vore said, “Whenever you get the first look at something, for the first time, often all sorts of huge revolutionary discoveries are made.”

Artwork by Rachel Wilson

Most like stability in their lives, especially when it comes to planet-wide phenomena, such as the daily appearance of the sun or the periodic change of season. So, it can be unsettling to learn of global phenomena that are inherently unpredictable, such as the Earth’s magnetic field. Every so often, our planet’s magnetic poles reverse polarity. Compass needles have always pointed to geographic north, or magnetic south; in a reversal, they will point to geographic south.

These reversals happen very infrequently, on average every 250,000 years. However, it’s been over 700,000 years since the last reversal, and the next one may be currently underway. TJ Science Teacher, Sharon Colbath, said, “The Earth’s magnetic pole is moving a few inches every year.  The current theory is the ‘convection cells’ in our planet are moving and transferring heat.  This movement is what is creating the magnetic field.  Since the material in the Earth is changing, the magnetic field is changing also.  I think the current theory is that the reversals are slow and not abrupt. “

In the Earth, the liquid metal that makes up the outer core passes through a magnetic field, which causes an electric current to flow within the liquid metal. The electric current, in turn, creates its own magnetic field—one that is stronger than the field that created the current in the first place. As liquid metal passes through the stronger field, more current flows, which increases the field still further. This self-sustaining loop is known as the geomagnetic dynamo. Earth’s magnetic field protects the planet from deadly radiation and “space weather,” which deals with phenomena involving ambient plasma, magnetic fields, radiation and other matter in space.

Every time the Earth’s magnetic poles go through a reversal, the magnetic field weakens. Today, the field is about 10 percent weaker than it was when German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss first began measuring it in 1845. Scientists are still unsure about what exactly drives the poles to reverse, but are studying it extremely in depth, as it is suspected that we are currently undergoing one of these mysterious reversals.

Some radicals with less of a science background believe that this reversal will happen in 2012, when it is predicted by the Mayans that the world will end. These people say that the reversal will cause Earth’s magnetic field to disappear and end the world. Although this probably will happen eventually, it is extremely unlikely – based on scientific studies – that this will happen anytime in the near future. “The reversal will not lead to the end of the world since it has occurred hundreds of times already,” said Colbath.