The Ekman layer refers to a layer in the ocean or atmosphere that is influenced by the Earth's rotation and characterized by a specific current profile due to the balance of forces acting on the water or air. It is named after the Swedish oceanographer Vagn Walfrid Ekman, who studied the effects of the Coriolis force on wind-driven currents.
Cloud forcing, also known as cloud radiative forcing, refers to the impact that clouds have on the Earth's radiation balance. It is a key concept in climate science and atmospheric studies, as clouds play a significant role in regulating temperatures and influencing weather patterns. Clouds can affect the Earth's energy balance in two main ways: 1. **Shortwave (Solar) Radiation**: Clouds reflect incoming solar radiation back into space, contributing to a cooling effect on the Earth's surface.
An ice nucleus is a small particle that serves as a substrate for the formation of ice crystals in clouds and atmospheric conditions. These particles can be made of various materials, including biological particles (like pollen or bacteria), mineral dust, or synthetic materials. Ice nuclei play a critical role in cloud formation and precipitation processes by facilitating the freezing of supercooled water droplets in a cloud, which can lead to the development of snowflakes or ice crystals.
Biomagnetism is the study of the magnetic fields produced by living organisms and the effects of external magnetic fields on biological systems. This field of research encompasses two main aspects: 1. **Magnetic Fields in Living Organisms**: All living entities, including humans, generate weak magnetic fields due to the electrical activity of cells, particularly those involving ion movements in nerves and muscles. For example, the heart generates a magnetic field as a result of the rhythmic electrical impulses that control heartbeats.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive neurological procedure that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain. It is primarily used for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes, particularly in the treatment of various mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety, and OCD, as well as neurological disorders like Parkinson's disease and stroke rehabilitation. The procedure involves placing a magnetic coil near the scalp, which generates short pulses of magnetic energy.
A biofilm is a structured community of microorganisms that adhere to a surface and are embedded in a self-produced extracellular matrix. This matrix is primarily composed of polysaccharides, proteins, and nucleic acids, which facilitate the attachment of the microorganisms to each other and to various surfaces, such as medical devices, natural aquatic environments, and industrial systems. Biofilms can form on a wide variety of surfaces, including natural surfaces like rocks in streams and artificial surfaces like pipes, implants, and dental materials.
Organ systems are groups of organs that work together to perform specific functions necessary for the survival and health of an organism. Each system is responsible for particular biological and physiological processes, and they interact with each other to maintain homeostasis—a stable internal environment. In humans and many other animals, the major organ systems include: 1. **Circulatory System**: Comprises the heart, blood, and blood vessels; responsible for transporting nutrients, gases, hormones, and waste products throughout the body.
"Living systems" refer to entities and processes that exhibit the characteristics of life, including growth, reproduction, response to stimuli, metabolism, adaptation, and homeostasis. Living systems can be found at various scales, ranging from the molecular level (such as cells and organelles) to ecosystems and the biosphere. Here are some key aspects of living systems: 1. **Cellular Organization**: All living systems are composed of one or more cells, which are the basic units of life.
A microcosm, in the context of an experimental ecosystem, refers to a small, controlled environment that simulates the conditions of a larger ecosystem. Microcosms are often used in ecological and environmental research to study various ecological interactions and processes in a more manageable setting.
"Svenska Spindlar," which translates to "Swedish Spiders" in English, is a term that may refer to a variety of contexts depending on the specifics. Generally, it could be associated with the following: 1. **Arachnology**: It could refer to the study or categorization of spider species that are native to Sweden. Sweden is home to a diverse range of spider species, and academic research may involve documentation and classification of these organisms.
"Systema Naturae" is a foundational work in the field of biology and taxonomy, written by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus. The first edition was published in 1735, and subsequent editions expanded upon Linnaeus's classification system. In "Systema Naturae," Linnaeus introduced a hierarchical system for classifying living organisms, which included three main kingdoms: Animalia (animals), Plantae (plants), and Mineralia (minerals).
"Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology" is a scientific journal that publishes high-quality reviews on various topics within the fields of biophysics and molecular biology. The journal focuses on the intersection of these disciplines, emphasizing advances in understanding the molecular mechanisms of biological processes through biophysical techniques.
The Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (MPIBPC) is a research institution located in Göttingen, Germany. It is part of the Max Planck Society, which is a prominent network of research organizations in Germany. The institute focuses on interdisciplinary research at the interface of chemistry, biology, and physics. The primary aim of the MPIBPC is to understand the fundamental principles of biological processes at a molecular level.
Electric fish are a diverse group of fish species that have the ability to generate electric fields or electrical discharges. These adaptations can serve various purposes, including navigation, communication, hunting, and defense. Electric fish are primarily found in freshwater environments, particularly in rivers and lakes. There are two main types of electric fish: 1. **Weakly Electric Fish**: These fish produce low-voltage electric fields for communication and navigation.
The idealized greenhouse model is a simplified representation of how the Earth's atmosphere and surface interact to affect temperature and climate. This model helps in understanding the fundamental principles of the greenhouse effect, which is a natural process that warms the Earth’s surface. Here are the key components and concepts of the idealized greenhouse model: 1. **Incoming Solar Radiation**: The model begins with the Sun emitting solar energy, which reaches the Earth.
Archie's Law, formulated by the geophysicist Maurice Archie in 1942, is an important principle in petrophysics that describes the relationship between the electrical conductivity of a rock and its porosity and fluid saturation. Specifically, it provides a mathematical model to estimate the resistivity of saturated rocks based on their porosity and the resistivity of the pore fluids.
BedMachine Antarctica is a research project that aims to create a comprehensive and detailed map of the bedrock topography beneath the Antarctic ice sheet. Utilizing a combination of radar, sonar, and satellite data, the project provides insights into the geological features that lie beneath the thick ice cover. The data generated by BedMachine is crucial for understanding ice dynamics, predicting ice sheet stability, and assessing how changes in ice mass may contribute to global sea level rise.
A core sample is a cylindrical section of soil, rock, ice, or another material that is extracted from the ground or a surface for geological, environmental, or archaeological analysis. Core sampling is commonly used in various fields, including geology, environmental science, and engineering, to obtain a representative sample of the subsurface materials and to analyze their composition, structure, and other properties. The process of obtaining a core sample typically involves drilling or boring into the ground to retrieve a vertical column of material.
**Erosion** and **tectonics** are two important geological processes that shape the Earth's surface and influence its landscape over time. ### Erosion Erosion is the process by which soil, rock, and other surface materials are worn away and transported by natural forces such as water, wind, ice, and gravity.
Geoneutrinos are a type of neutrino that are produced from the radioactive decay of isotopes found in the Earth's interior, primarily uranium and thorium. As neutrinos interact very weakly with matter, they can escape the Earth and provide valuable information about the processes occurring within the planet. The study of geoneutrinos has important implications for understanding the geothermal energy balance of the Earth, the composition and structure of the Earth's crust and mantle, and the heat production from radioactive decay.
Pinned article: ourbigbook/introduction-to-the-ourbigbook-project
Welcome to the OurBigBook Project! Our goal is to create the perfect publishing platform for STEM subjects, and get university-level students to write the best free STEM tutorials ever.
Everyone is welcome to create an account and play with the site: ourbigbook.com/go/register. We belive that students themselves can write amazing tutorials, but teachers are welcome too. You can write about anything you want, it doesn't have to be STEM or even educational. Silly test content is very welcome and you won't be penalized in any way. Just keep it legal!
Intro to OurBigBook
. Source. We have two killer features:
- topics: topics group articles by different users with the same title, e.g. here is the topic for the "Fundamental Theorem of Calculus" ourbigbook.com/go/topic/fundamental-theorem-of-calculusArticles of different users are sorted by upvote within each article page. This feature is a bit like:
- a Wikipedia where each user can have their own version of each article
- a Q&A website like Stack Overflow, where multiple people can give their views on a given topic, and the best ones are sorted by upvote. Except you don't need to wait for someone to ask first, and any topic goes, no matter how narrow or broad
This feature makes it possible for readers to find better explanations of any topic created by other writers. And it allows writers to create an explanation in a place that readers might actually find it.Figure 1. Screenshot of the "Derivative" topic page. View it live at: ourbigbook.com/go/topic/derivativeVideo 2. OurBigBook Web topics demo. Source. - local editing: you can store all your personal knowledge base content locally in a plaintext markup format that can be edited locally and published either:This way you can be sure that even if OurBigBook.com were to go down one day (which we have no plans to do as it is quite cheap to host!), your content will still be perfectly readable as a static site.
- to OurBigBook.com to get awesome multi-user features like topics and likes
- as HTML files to a static website, which you can host yourself for free on many external providers like GitHub Pages, and remain in full control
Figure 2. You can publish local OurBigBook lightweight markup files to either OurBigBook.com or as a static website.Figure 3. Visual Studio Code extension installation.Figure 5. . You can also edit articles on the Web editor without installing anything locally. Video 3. Edit locally and publish demo. Source. This shows editing OurBigBook Markup and publishing it using the Visual Studio Code extension. - Infinitely deep tables of contents:
All our software is open source and hosted at: github.com/ourbigbook/ourbigbook
Further documentation can be found at: docs.ourbigbook.com
Feel free to reach our to us for any help or suggestions: docs.ourbigbook.com/#contact