Need help with the Sciences

[Dark_Bomb]

I was told by a friend who pointed me to this forum that you guys were looking for this topic. Well, here it is. I'll be happy to help anybody. I am new to this forum. My name is Dark Bomb and I am da bomb!

Now, onto the topic. I am what you'd call the maximum science nerd or MSN. I specialize in biology, geology, geography, and environmental science.

For who that does not know, the topics of work and questions that can be discussed here are...

Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Geography, Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering, Astronomy, Geology, Psychology, and all of there many, many sub-catagories.

Are you having troubles in these fields? Here I am and hopefully othe helpful people to help you out.

Next up, if you I will list my direct special areas. If you see your area here in the following list, you may also PM me your questions and I'd be happy to help providing you don't get all jumpy and mad if I don't respond within a few hours though I will try to reply the second I see it.

Biology -
Anatomy
Cell & Molecular Biology
Genetics
Taxonomy
Invertebrate Zoology
Chordate Zoology
Microbiology

Geology -
Geophysics
Paeleontology
Seismology
Mineralology
Hydrogeology
Tectonics
Glaciation - Glacial and Pre-Glacial Morphology (More in depth specialized area)

Chemistry -
Organic Chemistry
Inorganic Chemistry
Electro Chemistry
Thermal Chemistry

Physics -
Motion and Waves
Optics
Kinetics and Potentials

Geography -
Cartography (Mapping)
Disasters
Global Diseases
Economics vs Environment
Resource Maintainence

Environmental Science -
Botany
Marine Biology
Entemology
Ornithology
Zoology

Environmental Engineering -
Rain Water
Wind
Waste Disposal

Astronomy -
Spacial Bodies
Astro-Physics

Psychology -
Neurobiology
Drugs and Medics
Cognition
Nervous System Anatomy and Functions


Yeah I specialize in a lot but hey, I'm a MSN. Also, to prove I am worth of helping out you all, I will list my past experiences with the sciences from grade 10 up until my present standing in university

G10 - Science, Biology, Chemistry, Marine Biology
G11 - Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Geology
G12 - Biology, Geology, Environmental Science, Psychology, Physics
UVB1 - Biology - 3 courses, Geology - 1 course, Physics - 2 courses
UVB2 - Biology - 4 courses, Physics - 2courses (Minor right there), Geology - 2 courses

I have also writting an intro thesis which alows me to procede towards an immediate masters providing I write a thesis EACH YEAR!

Year 1 -
The living species and living style of the coral reef emvironment. (Sea life that live in coral reefs and how they survive there.)

These thesis courses also proove I have out of class, self-studies done so I know out of caricular things as well.

That settles it, I hope you come here for help, I'd love to help.

 

[cF=)]

Not to bother you with really technical stuff, but as a physics undergraduate, I really need help understanding the Euler-Lagrange equation in a classical mechanic context. For example, the brachistochrone went 6 feet over my head last time my teacher explained it to me, and I still don't get the math behind. Could you be of some help?

 

[GoldShadow]

I made a thread for this a while back:
http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=201912

Also, while your enthusiasm for science and helping people out is great, I don't see the point of all the subdivisions and topics and such in the first post. If someone has a question, they can post it here and anybody who knows the answer will simply reply.

 

[Dark_Bomb]

Well I just want people to feel they can come to me for help. I know that isn't needed, but I'm trying to attract people to the place.

The Euler-Lagrange equations state that an action integral for a physical system is at an extremum, that we can say is

delta x S = 0 for every epsilon

HOWEVER, this can ONLY be as such if the situation is

Partial Lagrangian / Partial generalized coordinates - d/dt (just say t) multiplied by the partial lagrangian / Partial Generalized coordinates = ZERO.

Yes, it is confusing. I struggled at first with it myself. Thankfully that is in the past. Basicly it is

aL/ax^A - (d/dt)(aL/ax^A) = 0


I think that is what you're looking for. I was taught three equations for it.

 

[Nick A]

A group of people just won the nobel prize for something to do with DNA. Could you explain that a little more in depth in terms an infant could understand?

 

[Dark_Bomb]

Sure. If you won an award for the study od Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA), it was obviously because a discovery was made about it that can be extremely helpful in terms of medical procedures, recoveries, or something that can cause a major help to helping the progression of life rather than its minor facts such as it being a double helix or containing adenine, thyamine, guanine, and cytocine bonded in A-T and C-G held together by hydrogen bonds at a 5' 3' prime so it is an anti-paralelle shape.

 

[GoldShadow]

I'm pretty sure Nick A is referring to this:
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2009/

These researchers are receiving the Nobel in Physiology or Medicine because they discovered the functions of telomeres and telomerase.

As you may know, your chromosomes are made of strands of DNA. At the ends of chromosomes are stretches of DNA called telomeres (if you think of a chromosome as a snake or an eel, the telomere would be the tail end). The chromosomes are replicated when cells divide (so that a copy of the chromosome goes into each new cell).

Anyway, the telomere has a few functions. It protects the end of the chromosome from damage, for one. In addition, every time a cell divides, not all of the chromosome is replicated. Some of the tail end (some of the telomere) is lost with each cell division. After a certain number of divisions, the telomere becomes too short and the cell won't divide anymore. This is one of the causes of aging: cells with chromosomes whose telomeres are too short. What's the point of this? Well, one reason is that the more a cell divides, the more likely it is to have defects in its DNA (because DNA isn't copied 100% perfectly each time... there are a few mistakes. So it is in something's best interests to just stop those cells from dividing too many times, before too many defects accumulate).

Telomerase is an enzyme that makes the telomere a little longer, so it increases the number of divisions cells can go through. This is good when it works right. People with abnormally short telomeres, or people without telomerase, show signs of accelerated aging. On the other extreme, when telomeres are too long or when there's too much telomerase, cells keep on dividing without any limit; this is what you see in cancer cells.

Anyway, that's a real quick primer on telomeres/telomerase.


By the way Dark Bomb, the discovery of the double helical structure of DNA, the discovery of the nitrogenous bases and their ratios, the 5' -> 3' orientation of the strands, the discovery of the genetic code, etc are not "minor facts" by any means and were all major Nobel-winning milestones in the history of genetics.

 

[Chronodiver Lokii]

Okay I'm definatly going to ask you for help sometime this school year haha
Chem and bio can sometimes be a pain haha

 

[L__]

-subscribes-

I'll be using this later.

 

[Corpsecreate]

Since water is one of the few (if not the only one?) substances that decreases in density once frozen to ice, in which case it expands, then what would happen if you filled an iron cup COMPLETELY full of water and then put it into a freezer? I say Iron so that theres no chance the pressure will break the container.

 

[Crimson King]

Just bump the other topic.