Mari Mencuba Ilusi Frasa!

Cubalah!

1. Pertama sekali, tafsir frasa yang ditulis dengan menutup separuh frasa berkenaan  secara melintang.
2. Adakah anda dapat membaca frasa itu dengan mudah? 

Apakah yang berlaku ? 

Kebanyakan orang akan membaca frasa tersebut dengan mudahnya iaitu, “NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS”. 

Tahukah anda bahawa kita mudah membuat kesimpulan dengan cepat. Sebenarnya, mata anda telah terpedaya. Dalam waktu yang sama, otak anda pula bersedia untuk mentafsir maklumat yang tidak semestinya betul. 


Sekarang, cuba buang bahagian bawah frasa di bawah. 

Adakah jawapan anda sama seperti di bawah?

Cuba teroka lagi!

Anda juga boleh mencipta frasa rumit anda yang tersendiri. Berikut adalah kod yang anda perlukan. Syaratnya, puncak huruf yang sama dikategorikan sekali.

C = G | E = F | H = U | I = J = L

R = P = B | O = Q | X = Y

Contohnya, anda boleh cuba frasa di bawah dan kemudian gantikan huruf yang  mempunyai puncak yang sama seperti di bawah.

“JLHSJ” menjadi “ILUSI”

“BFJANCL” menjadi “PELANGI”

Bila anda mempunyai frasa yang baru, anda perlu menutup sebahagian daripada frasa itu dan lihat samada orang lain boleh membaca frasa anda. 

Melalui karya seni imaginatif, ilusi menunjukkan bahawa apa yang kita lihat sering berbeza daripada realiti sebenarnya. Inilah yang dilakukan oleh ahli silap mata dan fenomena ini dikaji oleh neurosaintis. Selain itu, Hukum –hukum Persepsi juga menyatakan yang pengguna melihat objek dalam persekitaran dan menafsir objek yang dipaparkan semudah yang mungkin. Ini juga adalah kerana kita mempunyai pengetahuan awal tentang apa yang biasa kita lihat.

Selamat Mencuba!  

Rujukan:

1. https://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chvision.html#escher

2. https://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/hidnfk.html

3. Philip G. Zimbardo, Robert L. Johnson & Vivian McCann. Pscychology Core Concepts. 7th Edition. Pearson. 

Shared by Nor

Guest Blogger

Mystery Of The Moving ‘Sailing Stones’

If you look at the picture below, you will see rocks with trails behind them. How do you think they moved?

Photo source: http://whenonearth.net/sailing-stones-death-valley/

These rocks which are commonly known as ‘Sailing Stones”, appear to have been mysterious dragged across the ground or rather appear like they have moved by themselves. What puzzles more was that some of the rocks are really heavy, reaching around 320kg.

Photo source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruggybear/6875285966/

They are located at dried lake in deserts but the most famous location is the Rock Playa Racetrack, Death Valley in the U.S.A. Throughout the time since research start in the 1940s, some suggested culprits were hurricane-forced wind, dust devil, aliens and magnetic field. 

No one, however, has ever seen the rocks moved – until recently. But, what do you think?

Mystery solved

At first, NASA scientist Ralph Lorenz put forward his hypothesis in 2006. However, only in 2013 that it was proven via GPS and time lapse video from cameras attached to a number of rocks. The scientists involved in the project revealed these findings in the Aug. 2014, issue #27 of the journal PLOS One.

What needed is a right combination or rather rare combination of temperature, wind, water and ice.

1. First, the dried lake must be filled with certain level of water. However, it needs to be shallow enough to expose the rock but deep enough to form floating ice sheet. 

2. As the night falls during the winter, the temperature drops to certain level to form ice layer. However, it must be thin enough to move freely but thick enough to maintain strength to move the rocks.

3. Next, the ice sheet cracks into huge floating panels. This happens as the temperature increases the next sunny day.

4. The last thing required is light wind to blow the ice panels across the lake. These huge ice panels then pushed the rocks in front of them with the help of slippery muddy base below. This action will leave trails in it.

The video below can also explains the phenomenon above;

Interestingly, Richard Norris, one of the scientist involved in the experiment mentioned that one of the most surprising aspect of the movements was that the thickness of the ice sheet was merely 2mm to 4mm only.

After decades of creating wonder, one world mystery is now solved. The moving rocks or more commonly known as ‘sailing stones’ can be explained by science. In other words, the right dose of temperature, wind, water and ice.

References:

1. https://scripps.ucsd.edu/news/mystery-solved-sailing-stones-death-valley-seen-action-first-time

2. http://www.sci-news.com/physics/science-death-valley-sailing-stones-02148.html

3. http://whenonearth.net/sailing-stones-death-valley/

Come over to #Petrosains to explore our latest theme 'Mission:Mystery' and find out the science behind the unknown!
Find out more at www.petrosains.com.my

Shared by Fizz Tahir

Guest Blogger

Creeping Water!

It’s a hot day, and you’re feeling thirsty. You poke a straw through a packet of iced lemon tea. As you suck the juice up the straw, it coolly flushes your throat and refreshes your body. Ever wondered how plants and trees drink?

In the stems of plants and the trunks of trees are specialized structures that are called the xylem. This structure acts like a straw in plants, whereby it sucks up the water in the soil and channels it upwards to the leaves where they are needed for food processing. Plants don’t take up water through their leaves, but through their roots which is in the ground. 

This action of water travelling upwards against gravity is called capillary action. Water molecules are sometimes attracted to molecules of other materials. This called adhesive forces. As they are attracted to other molecules, for example the molecules of a tissue paper, they will, at the same time, also pull the other water molecules along with them. This attraction of water molecules with themselves is called cohesive forces. Imagine that those water molecules are holding hands with each other. This combination of being attracted to other molecules as well as with themselves is what causes capillary action. 

Capillary action is also essential for the drainage of constantly produced tear fluid from the eye. There is a tiny duct at the inner corner of the eye that sucks up excess tear fluid; otherwise your eyes will be overflowing with tears. Another example is the kerosene lamp that we use for ‘Hari Raya’ celebrations. The kerosene in the container travels upwards in the wick to the top where the flame is. 

Experiment: To observe capillary action

Materials: 

bowl of water, food colouring, paper towel, coffee filter paper.

Steps:

1. Add 2-3 drops of food colouring into the bowl of water.

2. Cut the paper towel and coffee filter paper into strips of 3x15cm.

3. Place a mark on the strips of paper 2cm from the edge.

4. Dip each paper strip straight down into the bowl of water just to the mark.

5. Lift the paper strip and hang it to air dry. Do not let it come into contact with anything else.

6. Measure how far the water rises after 1 minute.

Glossary of terms:

Xylem [zahy-luhm] tissues in plants that conducts water and nutrients

Capillary [kap-uh-ler-ee] a fine tube with a bore

Adhesive  [ad-hee-siv] force between two unlike molecules

Cohesive [koh-hee-siv]force between two like molecules

Duct [duhkt] a tube, canal, or vessel that carries body fluid

Shared by Surain A. Victor
Guest Blogger

https://surainawesome.wordpress.com/

Charging About

You reach for a switch and click – your lights, fan, washing machine, toaster, television, laptop, hairdryer, and mobile phone charger can be turned on in a blink of an eye. What makes this possible?

Power stations turn one kind of energy (or power) into another. Hydroelectric power stations turn the energy of falling water into electricity. Huge dams are built at lakes and rivers that channel billions of gallons of water through turbines. As water rush down through giant pipes, it will hit against metal blades of the turbine and make it spin, just like a revolving door spinning when people push through it. This turbine will in turn spin a magnetic wheel, producing electric current that flows into wire cables. The electric current will then flow into a transformer to give the current a boost so that it could travel further along the power lines that you see from pylon to pylon. 

These thick power lines will eventually reach your home and be dispersed into many smaller wires that spread out all over your place and eventually reaching your power sockets and switches. Electric current zips along at three hundred thousand kilometers per second. This means that the electricity generated in as far up north in Perlis and as far down south in Johor will reach Klang Valley faster than you can blink!

Electric eels are a kind of fish that can generate up to five hundred volts of electricity. Such a shock could be deadly for an adult human! But these fish use their electricity to stun or kill other animals for food. Another interesting fact is that a single bolt of lightning has enough energy in it to keep a lightbulb lit nonstop for three months! Imagine if you can store all the lightning around your home, your electricity bill will be zero! 

Experiment: To generate electricity from a lemon

Materials: 

wires with clips at each end, lemon, 5¢ coin, 1¢ coin, and LED.

Steps:

1. Gently squeeze a lemon evenly.

2. Poke in a 5¢ coin and a 1¢ coin at two ends of the lemon halfway through.

3. Separately attach the coins to a LED using a wire with clips. 

4. Watch the LED light up.

Fact: 

Lemon juice is an electrolyte – which means it can conduct electrons from one type of metal to another type of metal. This forms a low-powered electric circuit.

Glossary of terms:

Turbine [tur-bayn] machines having a rotor, usually with blades, driven by the pressure, momentum, or reactive thrust of a moving fluid, such as water, steam or hot gasses.

Hydroelectric [hahy-droh-i-lek-trik] pertaining to the generation and distribution of electricity derived from the energy of falling water.

Transformer [trans-fawr-mer] an electric device consisting of two or more windings wound on the same core, which changes the voltage of the electric energy. 

Pylon [pahy-lon] a steel tower carrying high-tension lines, telephone wires, or other cables and lines.

Shared by Surain A. Victor
Guest Blogger

https://surainawesome.wordpress.com/

Mengapa Wujudnya Laluan Bercorak Timbul Ini?

Adakah anda pernah melihat laluan bercorak timbul di atas ketika anda berjalan di laluan pejalan kaki?  Pernahkah terlintas di fikiran anda apakah fungsi laluan ini? Atau juga anda mungkin tidak pernah terfikir yang laluan bercorak timbul disediakan atas sebab-sebab tertentu? Mungkin juga ada segelintir menganggap lantai yang bercorak timbul ini adalah hanya sebagai jubin hiasan lantai?

Laluan bercorak timbul ini ataupun 'tactile' ini bukan sahaja terdapat di laluan pejalan kaki tetapi boleh dijumpai di merata kawasan termasuk di stesen-stesen pengangkutan transit aliran ringan. Tetapi apakah sebenarnya fungsi laluan 'tactile' ini?

Rata-rata memberi jawapan yang laluan bercorak timbul ini bertujuan untuk mengurangkan geseran pada permukaaan lantai ketika permukaan lantai basah atau licin. Jawapan ini salah! Laluan 'tactile' disediakan bertujuan bagi memudahkan dan membantu golongan yang mengalami kecacatan penglihatan untuk berjalan dengan selamat di kawasan-kawasan awam dan di laluan pejalan kaki. 

Istilah 'tactile' membawa maksud 'sentuhan'. Atau lebih menjurus kepada deria sentuhan. Kerana itulah ia bercorak timbul untuk memberi amaran kepada mereka yang mengalami kecacatan penglihatan menggunakan deria sentuhan sebagai panduan untuk berjalan di tempat awam.

Laluan bercorak timbul ini mempunyai pelbagai jenis corak di mana ia memberi maksud amaran yang berbeza-beza. Melalui deria sentuhan, maklumat akan dihantar melalui sistem saraf manusia kepada otak untuk tafsiran maklumat. Dalam perkara ini, 'tactile' yang berbeza coraknya akan memberi maksud samada untuk berjalan lurus atau perlu berhenti kerana terdapat halangan di hadapan.

Anda boleh mencuba laluan ini! Pejam mata dan cuba gunakan deria sentuhan yang kita ada! 

Posted by Ayu

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