Plasma

Many people know of plasma as the fourth state of matter. Plasma is a lot like a gas but plasma is actually made up of negatively and positively charged particles. Because of this, plasma is strongly influenced by electric and magnetic fields. Here on earth, there isn't much natural plasma. However, man made plasma is all around us. Have you ever seen a fluorescent light bulb? A florescent light bulb is a long tube with gas inside of it. When the light is turned on, electricity flows through the tube and charges the gas. The electricity actually converts the gas to a glowing plasma that can be used as light. This same process happens in neon signs. Different gasses display different colors when they are converted to plasma. Now what about natural plasma that isn't commonly found on earth. Did you know that about 99% of the visible universe is plasma. A star is a huge ball of gasses that are at a really high temperature. The high temperature charges the atoms in a star and converts the gasses to plasma. Plasma is a really cool thing that is not as common on earth as the other states of matter. 

Learn more about plasma:

http://www.chem4kids.com/files/matter_plasma.html

http://pluto.space.swri.edu/image/glossary/plasma2.html

That Sinking Feeling

Everybody knows that ships are supposed to float. Objects float because their weight is less than the buoyant force. A buoyant force is an upward force exerted by liquid on an object. If in object's weight is greater than the buoyant force, the object sinks. A chunk of steel would normally sink but a ship floats even though it is made with steel. That is because the ship has a lot of air in it and the weight of the air and the steel averaged out is less than the buoyant force which means the ship will float. If ships are supposed to float, why would they sink? Ships and many other objects sink because water is leaking into them. If water leaks into something, that object gets heavier and its weight could overcome the buoyant force. In a ship, water can leak into the bilge area which is the lowest point on the ship. Because water can leak into the bilge area, most ships have bilge pumps which pump the water out of the ship. There are a few different ways that a ship can sink and many steps to take to stay safe.

Check out http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/sinking-ship1.htm

for more information on what to do on a sinking ship.

Polar Vortex

A polar vortex is a large cyclone near either of the poles. It can also be called a polar cyclone, a polar low, or a circumpolar whirl. Polar vortexes are located from the middle of the troposphere to the stratosphere. Polar vortexes hover over the poles year-round and are strongest in the winter. An individual vortex can last for more than a month! Recently a polar vortex breakdown has occurred and caused polar vortexes to move down south from the North Pole. This is why it is so cold outside right now. Whenever a polar vortex breakdown happens, we get very cold temperatures. A polar vortex breakdown can happen a few times a year but it affects different places. I think polar vortexes are really cool...literally.