Clara Barth 11/12/09
Core Chemistry H Blog - article review
I read an article entitled “Signature of Antimatter Detected in Lightning”. This article was about how, using a Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, high emissions of gamma-rays were recorded when the telescope was pointed at lightning here on Earth. (The telescope is usually used to find gamma-ray concentrations in the universe.) Fermi discovered that gamma-ray emissions of a certain type of energy were produced in lightning. This energy could only have been produced by the decay of energetic positrons. Positrons are the antimatter equivalent of electrons. What Fermi found was unusual because the normal orientation for an electric field in a lightning storm was somehow reversed. Now, scientists are trying to figure out how that could be possible.
Although the subject matter is very interesting, I don’t think that it will really affect anyone’s life other than the scientists involved. The finding of gamma rays in lightning will not affect humanity in any way, good or bad.
I liked this article. I thought it was a little bit short, but it was concise and to-the-point. It was written very well and I felt as if I really got the point after reading it. It also explained a little bit about the technology used to find the gamma rays in lightning. I found that helpful as I am not familiar with most of the terms they used.
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Firstly, Clara explained Fermi's discovery of gamma rays found in lightning very well. I also like how she defined the word Positron because it is an interesting word that some readers may not know. Clara also described what the telescope is used for in a clear and understandable way.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that Clara could have done was explain what exactly gamma rays are. I for one know what they are but if a reader didn't know what they were, he or she would be confused. Also Clara could have explained more about what the problem of the discovery was.
I learned that lightning is so powerful that it contains gamma rays, which are very short waves with a lot of energy.
I read Clara's review of the artice "Signature of Antimatter Detected in Lightning." I like that she defined "positron" so that people knew what she was talking about. She was also very clear that this wouldn't affect humanity. Her critique of the article was very clear and conscise. However, she didn't explain how the find was unusual very well - I got a little lost on that point. She also didn't explain why the scientists had pointed the telescope at earth.
ReplyDeleteI would like to find out if gamma rays are present in any other places on earth.
The first thing that I liked about Clara’s review was how she described the telescope in a very comprehensible way. I also liked how she defined the word positron which are the antimatter equivalent of electrons, because without that I would have had no idea what she was talking about. Lastly I liked how even though she was using big, confusing words she spelled them all right and made sure that the reader could understand exactly what the article was trying to say.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I didn’t like about her review was I thought that she could have elaborated on the article a lot more and given us more detail to understand it better. I also think she could have been clearer at certain points because for example the gamma rays I was a little confused about.
Overall I think Clara did a very good job with her review. Now I know a lot more about what a Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is and how high emissions of gamma rays were recorded when the telescope was pointed at lightning here on Earth.