the mysteries of science

Sunday, April 25, 2010

i left what i needed to say here @4:13 PM

Stiletto heels are a fashion item that almost every woman adore and want to wear, even if it hurts their feet. It enhances their height and is also very fashionable. But is it really bad for women's feet?

Stiletto heels.

A stiletto heel, also known as a spike heel, is a long, thin heel found on some boots and shoes, usually for women. It is named after the stiletto dagger.

Stiletto heels may vary in length from 2.5cm to 25cm or more if a platform sole is used, ans are sometimes defined as having a diameter at the ground of less than 1cm.

Stiletto-style heels 5cm or shorter are called kitten heels. Not all high slim heels merit the description stiletto.

The extremely slender original Italian-style stiletto heels of the late 1950s and very early 1960s were no more than 5mm in diameter for much of their length, although the heel sometimes flared out a little at the top-piece (tip). After their demise in the mid-late 1960s, such slender heels were difficult to find until recently due to changes in the way heels were mass-produced.

A real stiletto heel has a stem of solid steel or alloy. The more usual method of mass-producing high shoe heels, i.e. moulded plastic with internal metal tube for reinforcement, does not achieve the true stiletto shape.

High heel shoes were worn by men and women courtiers. The design of stiletto heels originally came from the late Kristen S. Wagner but were not popular until the late 1950s.

As time went on, stiletto heels became known more for their erotic nature than for their ability to make height. Stiletto heels are a common fetish item. As a fashion item, their popularity was changing over time. After an initial wave of popularity in the 1950s, they reached their most refined shape in the earl y 1960s, when the toes of the shoes which bore them became slender and elongated as the stiletto heels themselves. As a result of the overall sharpness of outline, it was customary for women to refer to the whole shoe as a "stiletto", not just the heel, via synecdoche (pars pro toto).

Although they officially faded from the scene after the Beatle era began, their popularity continued at street level, and women stubbornly refused to give them up even after they could no longer readily find them in the mainstream shops. A version of the stiletto heel was reintroduced as soon as 1974 by Manolo Blahnik, who dubbed his "new" heel the Needle.

Why are stiletto heels bad for women's feet?

Stevenson's formula was primarily concerned with balance, but the awkward angles and high pressures associated with heels has been cause for concern in some circles.

For years now, orthopaedists, podiatrists and other medical sorts have been warning woman about the health risks of routinely donning high heels: bunionb, stress fractures, joint pain in the ball of the foot(because weight is shifted to the ball of your foot, rather than being distributed over the entire foot), corns and calluses, hammertoes, ingrown toenails, toenail fungus and something called "pump bumps"(enlargement of the bony area on the back of the heel).

High heels have been linked to injured leg muscles, lower back pain, and osteoarthritis in the knee, too, because when you wear heels, the foot slides forward, redistributes your weight and created those unnatural pressure points. You can pretty much kiss healthy spinal alignment goodbye.

High heels also mean your heel bones don't regularly come into contact with the ground, so the Achilles tendon can't stretch out properly while walking, and thus becomes shortened and, or tightened. Then there's a little thing called Morton's neuroma, a growth of nerve tissue in the foot--usually between the third and fourth toes-- that arises when you wear too-tight shoes, causing sharp burning pan in the ball of your foot and a stinging numbness in your toes.

The list goes on and on. In fact, thanks to high heels, the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society estimates that women account for 90% of surgeries performed each year for common foot ailments. That's about $3.5 billion annually in the US alone, according to a May 2007 article in the Washington Post.

source for picture: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrsQkrKuvQKWpYqq1iCz1blfi5ZyP7LAGEh4O5GkkcBDJBITU8FKGMixBetnXLOLvpDr32U8SzNxJHXyI6sLEzAG3W5-yg1K4gbHceb21F_UoerWEGoXDebyqEc8A2O9hbG8Mcrp6Blkc/s400/Stilettos2%5B1%5D.jpg

source for info: http://www.blogher.com/what-heel-why-i-hate-stilettos

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stiletto_heel

&the beauty of time is that once it starts ticking, it'll never stop.

i left what i needed to say here @9:29 PM

The word "tides" is a generic term used to define the alternating rise and fall in sea level with respect to the land, produced by the gravitational attraction of the moon and the sun. To a much smaller extent, tides also occur in large lakes, the atmosphere, and within the solid crust of the earth, acted upon by these same gravitational forces of the moon and sun. What are Lunar Tides? Tides are created because the Earth and the moon are attracted to each other, just like magnets are attracted to each other. The moon tries to pull at anything on the Earth to bring it closer. But, the Earth is able to hold onto everything except the water. Since the water is always moving, the Earth cannot hold onto it, and the moon is able to pull at it. Each day, there are two high tides and two low tides. The ocean is constantly moving from high tide to low tide, and then back to high tide. There is about 12 hours and 25 minutes between the two high tides.

Tides are the periodic rise and falling of large bodies of water. Winds and currents move the surface water causing waves. The gravitational attraction of the moon causes the oceans to bulge out in the direction of the moon. Another bulge occurs on the opposite side, since the Earth is also being pulled toward the moon (and away from the water on the far side). Ocean levels fluctuate daily as the sun, moon and earth interact. As the moon travels around the earth and as they, together, travel around the sun, the combined gravitational forces cause the world's oceans to rise and fall. Since the earth is rotating while this is happening, two tides occur each day. What are the different types of Tides When the sun and moon are aligned, there are exceptionally strong gravitational forces, causing very high and very low tides which are called spring tides, though they have nothing to do with the season. When the sun and moon are not aligned, the gravitational forces cancel each other out, and the tides are not as dramatically high and low. These are called neap tides. Spring Tides When the moon is full or new, the gravitational pull of the moon and sun are combined. At these times, the high tides are very high and the low tides are very low. This is known as a spring high tide. Spring tides are especially strong tides (they do not have anything to do with the season Spring). They occur when the Earth, the Sun, and the Moon are in a line. The gravitational forces of the Moon and the Sun both contribute to the tides. Spring tides occur during the full moon and the new moon. Neap Tides During the moon's quarter phases the sun and moon work at right angles, causing the bulges to cancel each other. The result is a smaller difference between high and low tides and is known as a neap tide. Neap tides are especially weak tides. They occur when the gravitational forces of the Moon and the Sun are perpendicular to one another (with respect to the Earth). Neap tides occur during quarter moons. The Proxigean Spring Tide It is a rare, unusually high tide. This very high tide occurs when the moon is both unusually close to the Earth (at its closest perigee, called the proxigee) and in the New Moon phase (when the Moon is between the Sun and the Earth). The proxigean spring tide occurs at most once every 1.5 years.


source: http://home.hiwaay.net/~krcool/Astro/moon/moontides/

&the beauty of time is that once it starts ticking, it'll never stop.

i left what i needed to say here @8:55 PM

What is absolute zero?

Absolute zero is the theoretical temperature at which entropy would reach its minimum value.

S.I Units of absolute zero

By international agreement, absolute zero is defined as O K on the Kelvin scale and as on the Celsius scale. Scientists have achieved temperatures very close to absolute zero, where matter exhibits quantum effect such as super conductivity and superfluidity.

History

One of the first to discuss the possibility of an absolute minimal temperature was Robert Boyle. His 1665 New Experiments and Observations touching Cold articulated the dispute known as primum frigidum. The concept was well known among naturalists of the time. Some contended an absolute minimum temperature occurred within earth (as one of the four so -called 'elements'), others within water and others, air. But all of them seemed to agree that, "There is some body or other that is of its own nature supremely cold by participation of which all other bodies obtain that quality."

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_zero

&the beauty of time is that once it starts ticking, it'll never stop.

i left what i needed to say here @9:49 PM

Why do oranges float? But when it is peeled, why does it sink?

Oranges will float because with their peel on, their density is less than one. The density of water is one, and anything with a density lesser than one, will float.

However, if the peel is removed, then the density of the orange would become more than one, thus, it will sink.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_do_oranges_float

How can a ship float even though it is so heavy?

The standard definition of floating was first recorded by Archimedea and goes on something like this:

An object in a fluid experience an upward equal to the weight of the fluid displace by the object. So if a boat weigh 1000 kilograms, it will sink into the water until it has displaced 1000 kilograms of water.

Provided that the boat displaces 1000 kilograms of water before the whole thing is submerged, the boat floats.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/question254.htm

How does submarine work?

Submarines are ships can operate both under and on top of water. One of the first submersible vessels was built around 1620 by a Dutchman named Cornelius van Drebbel.

Submarines are designed for use at great depths. Their rigid, double-walled hulls allow the crew live and work normally underwater for as long as air and power supplies last. Submarines are steered by turning a rudder left and right. A propeller moves the sub through the water, pushing water backward so that the submarine moves forward.

Submarines are a a mixture of metal (the hull), air, and water (the "ballast"). The secret of a submarine's ability to either sink or float lies in a special property of air. Unlike water or metal , air can be squashed into a tiny space. While the submarine is sinking, its air is compressed. Water fills the compartments called the ballast tanks. The combination of water and metal, with just a little bit of air in the centre for the crew to breathe, is more dense than the surrounding ocean water, and so the submarine sinks.

Once the submarine is underwater, air is pumped into the ballast tanks. The new combination of metal, water, and air is just dense as the surrounding water, so the submarine hovers, neither sinking nor rising. This is called "neutral buoyancy", and allows the sub to maneuver underwater.

When it's time to rise, even more air is pushed into the ballast tanks. This pushes water out, resulting in a mixture of air, metal, and water that is now less dense than the water surrounding the sub. Under these conditions, the sub rises to the surface.

http://www.islandnet.com/~yesmag/how_work/submarine.html

Why do we float when we hold our breath(with the air still in our mouth) in a swimming pool, but when we release the air, we sink?

The human body seems big and heavy, but it less dense than the water it displaces partly because our bodies contain fat, and because our lungs, are full of air.

When we hold our breath with the air still in our mouth, we become lighter than water. So, with the fat in our bodies, the air in our lungs and the air in our mouth, we are able to float.

However, when we release the air in our mouth, we also release the air in our lungs. So, with only the fat in our bodies to keep us buoyant, we start to sink.

http://wondertime.go.com/life-at-home/article/dreading-water_6.html

How do we measure the volume of irregular shaped corks?

1) Pour a measured amount of water into a measuring cylinder.

2)Attach a weight heavy enough to make the cork sink in water.

3)Allow the cork to sink in the cylinder and note the rise in the water level.

4)Remove the cork and the weight from the water. (Pour the everything out from the cylinder)

5)Pour in the same amount of water in step 1. (Make sure the now empty measuring cylinder is dry)

6)Put the weight into the water and note the new water level.

7)Take the water level taken from the weight and subtract it from the water level taken from the weight and the cork. The result will be the volume of the cork.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081015183719AAMnQsp

&the beauty of time is that once it starts ticking, it'll never stop.