The Awesome Pacemaker                                                  
Hi everyone.Welcome to my post on the pacemaker!
      Firstly, the pacemaker is used on people who have abnormal heart rhythms.These people normally suffer from arrhythmia, a condition when a person's heart beats too fast or slow irregularly.
     Well, then who is the inventor of pacemakers? Some say it is Dr. Albert Hyman while others argue that it was a duo by the names of Mark Lidwell and Major Edgar Booth.However, whoever it is, this idea came about when it was realised that electrical impulses causes our heart to beat.To make things simple, it was not until 1960 did Wilson Greatbatch and William Chardack invented the first effective implantable pacemaker in USA.
     During an operation, the physician will first gain access to the vein under the collarbone and one or more leads,the thin wire-like tube shown on the right, is pushed into the heart.It sounds really scary and bloody right?Well, if it means a life, then it's not so bad after all.
     So what causes arrhythmia which result in the use of pacemakers? Some possible reasons could be caused by aging or heart diseases(look here for more information) that damages the body's ability to  set the correct pace for the heartbeat.Another cause could be the consumption of certain heart medicines like beta blockers.These medicines can slow the heartbeat of a person.Lastly, there could be heart muscle problems that cause electrical signals to travel too slowly through the heart muscle.
     Now the dying question.How do pacemakers work.Basically, the pacemaker consist of the battery, computerised generator and sensors at the tip of the lead. the sensors will send data to the computer in the generator. When the heart rhythm is abnormal, the computer will get the generator to send electric pulses to the heart.(more detailed information can be found here)

So here we have the pacemaker!

 Credits:
1. National Institute of Health
2.University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill  
3.Medical News Today 
4. Standford Hospital and Clinics

Hello everyone,welcome to my second post on my work samples.

This is what we did in this lesson.

Aim:To determine the relationship between the period and the length of the simple pendulum.

Apparatus:100cm thread, pendulum bob, metre rule, split cork, stopwatch, clamps, retort stand

Procedule:
1)Adjust the length of the pendulum to 15.0cm
2)Give the pendulum bob a small displacement,10 degrees, and set it into oscillation.
3)Count the number of complete oscillations in a 30 second interval.
4)Record the number of full swings in column 2 of the table below.
5)Repeat the procedure for 25.0cm, 35.0cm, and 45.0cm.
This video is an example of what we did.

 

Interesting,don't you think?

                                                   Term 1-Secondary 1   
 Hi all! This is my first post on my issues in learning in term 1.So far,I have learnt a lot of new science concepts.Be it Studying Scientific Methods (Observation, Question, Hypothesis, etc.), Difference between Science and Technology or Significant figures,Mr Tan,my Science teacher,always spices the lessons up with his funny antiques and enjoyable stories.Anyway,all these concepts are relevent to our world as these are the building blocks to problem solving in our future.
    However,there are some problems I face which I hope to bring up here.Firstly,and the most basic,I keep forgetting the difference between Scientific Law, Theory and Concept.To solve this problem, I keep revising my notes everyday just to recap.
Just For Information
Scientific Law: Used to explain a single phenomenon
Scientific Theory: Used to explain a broad range of phenomenons and have been repeatedly tested.
Scientific Concept: Many Scientific Laws
     Secondly,at times,I forget some part of the data when plotting graphs,like the heading or the best fit line,causing the loss of marks.I feel that this can be solved easily if I am more careful in the future and check my work more carefully.
     Lastly,which is one of the biggest problems,I keep getting jumbled up with all the prefixes(like Mega,Giga,nano,etc.) and units(like cm,kg,etc.)for the science physical quantities.Personally,the easiest way for me to solve it is to just remember it and put it to everyday usage.
     Despite all the setbacks,there are still times where I get to learn more, beyond the textbook.This year,also due to this science blogging,I get to pick up on how computer chips are made and new cures for cancer,which are quite interesting.(If you are interested,view here.)I also studied a bit on webpage designing, which is effective in the study of technology(a component of science!) and adds fun to all the stress you get in school.