By Sotirios Douklias & Evaggelos Tzefrios (A Class)

  Computers have been in our lives for years. Ever since Apple and Microsoft released the first ever computers for home and office use, back in the seventies, everyone experienced the need to have at least one computer. The question is, are computers as useful as they seem? 

Firstly, a computer does not really have a single use. Everyone uses their computer for different purposes: homework, video editing, graphic design and office work are some of these purposes. Nowadays, many jobs revolve around computers, so it would be an understatement to call computers useless.

Many people rely on computers for several reasons. These days, it is by all means difficult to live and work without the use of a computer. Even jobs that didn’t use to need one to be conducted now depend on computer use. A doctor for example, may use his/her computer to schedule appointments.

Apart from that, computers have also enhanced many jobs. For example, civil engineers can now design buildings without the traditional way (paper and pencil), which makes both their work and lives easier.

Computer variants also exist. Laptops and smartphones, though less powerful, are two proud examples. A laptop can do anything (almost) a regular computer can do, plus it can be carried around. Smartphones on the other hand, are less powerful than every computer or laptop out there but they are the easiest to carry around. They are also useful for scheduling appointments and for browsing the Internet.

Now, what about addiction? Of course, computers are there for our own good but addiction can always occur. Extensive use of a computer can result to eye damage and headaches. That said, computers should always be used with a “schedule”.

Dangers can also occur when someone is using a computer. Thousands of people get hacked every day, which leads to computers getting practically destroyed and personal data being stolen. The Internet is a very dangerous place and, although our computers are our guides for this particular purpose, one cannot always be safe behind his/her screen.

By Dionysios Gakis

          Nowadays, there is a lot of concern about these “black holes” in space. Many movies have as a theme people travelling in them or trying to escape from them. Some people believe that black holes are a danger for life on our planet. So what are really black holes and how dangerous are they?

          In fact, black holes are the final stage of life of some very massive stars, they are dead stars. They have huge masses and as a result, a very strong gravitational field. They can “swallow” every single object which is near them, even a star. When something is swallowed by a black hole, it cannot escape from it and stays inside forever. They are so compact, due to gravity, that even light cannot escape from a black hole. As light cannot escape from a black hole, we do not see black holes (they are dark). That’s why we call them “black” holes.

          So the definition which is given to black holes is regions of spacetime (according to Einstein’s relativity there are four dimensions in space: length, width, height and time) where gravitational forces are so strong that even electromagnetic radiations (light) or other particles cannot escape. These points in physics are called “singularity”. It is logically impossible but all the mass of black holes is broken apart to a single point, to what we understand as “nothing”. In these regions of spacetime, all our physic laws do not apply!

          As we do not see black holes, are we sure that they really exist? First of all, our cosmological models expect them. In addition, there are ways in which we can deduce their existence. One way is the detection of gravitational waves. These waves are emitted, as their name implies, when the gravitational field somewhere in space changes. Black holes change the gravitation and emit gravitational waves.

          Imagine an astronaut entering a black hole. What would happen? First of all, he would feel that he moves very fast. Then, the astronaut would become something like spaghetti (extremely thin) until he finally reaches the singularity point to become nothing. Journeys in black holes are not desirable! However, let’s suppose that the astronaut survived the journey; where would he go then?

          According to some theoretical views, the mass would be transferred through a four-dimensional bridge into another hypothetical space, parallel to ours. This bridge is called Wormhole or Einstein-Rosen Bridge. In that space, the mass would be entered through a “white hole”, something like an opposite of a black hole. This bridge and the two holes can be compared to a throat and two mouths. However, we should mention that such astronauts’ trips are not totally possible due to contradictions with theoretical models.

          Now, are we in danger because of black holes? Relax, no – or not yet. Our Sun will never become a black hole because it is a low-mass star. Even if it became, planets would continue to orbit the Sun. The death of humanity would come not from the existence of the black hole, but from the lack of the warmth and the beneficial rays of the Sun (photosynthesis, etc.). Nevertheless, we believe that a huge black hole is located in the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way, but the Sun is far away from it.

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_hole
• Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time
• Kip Thorne, Black Holes and Time Warps

By Tsakonas Chris, Tzolas John & Farmakis Zachary (A Class)

The Bermuda Triangle is a loosely-defined region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean, where many aircrafts and ships said to have disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Most sources believe that there is a mystery. The vicinity of the Bermuda Triangle is one of the most heavily travelled shipping lanes in the world, where ships often cross through it for ports in the Americas, Europe and the Caribbean islands. Cruise ships and pleasure craft regularly sail through the
region.

Persons accepting the Bermuda Triangle as a real phenomenon have offered a number of explanatory approaches such as paranormal explanations. One explanation is connected with the mythical lost continent of the Atlantis. Sometimes connected to the Atlantis story is the submerged rock formation known as the bimini road off the island of Bimini in the Bahamas, which is in the Triangle by some definitions.
There is also many natural explanations like methane hydrates, human error, gulf stream violent weather and compass variation.

By Menelaos Dendrinos, Xristos Zachiotis & Alkinoos Diamantopoulos (A Class)

The cheetah, the world’s fastest land animal, is headed towards extinction, largely due to unprecedented habitat loss. Scientists announced in a new study that only 7,100 cheetahs remain globally and that this speedy animal has lost 91 percent of its historic habitat range.

In Zimbabwe, where the cheetah distribution is well-documented, the population has plummeted from 1,200 individuals in 2000 to about 170 individuals in 2016, according to the study. Because of these dramatic losses, the study’s authors are urging scientists to change the cheetah’s conservation status from «vulnerable» (which means the animal is likely to become endangered unless threats improve) to «endangered» (which means the animal is facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild) on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species, which tracks at-risk species.

The threats cheetahs face are largely caused by humans. These threats include overhunting by people, as well as habitat loss, the exotic-pet trade and illegal trafficking of cheetah parts, WCS said in a statement.

Although there are some conservation measures in places for cheetahs, such as protected areas, these cats are one of the world’s most wide-ranging carnivores, and 77 percent of their habitat falls outside protected areas, according to the study. These geographical complications make the cheetah difficult to protect, and so scientists are looking for a more holistic conservation approach.

By Kepenos Alexandros & Andonopoulos Marios (A Class)

The Bermuda Triangle, is a loosely-defined region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean, more specifically, it is an area roughly bounded by Miami, Bermuda and Puerto Rico, where a number of aircraft and ships are said to have disappeared under mysterious circumstances, earning it the name “The Devil’s Triangle”. Most reputable sources dismiss the idea that there is any mystery. The vicinity of the Bermuda Triangle is one of the most heavily travelled shipping lanes in the world, with ships frequently crossing through it for ports in the America, Europe, and the Caribbean islands and commercial and private aircrafts routinely fly over it.

Cruise ships and pleasure crafts regularly sail through the region, The Bermuda Triangle’s bad reputation started with Christopher Columbus. According to his log, on October 8, 1492, Columbus looked down at his compass and noticed that it was giving weird readings. He didn’t alert his crew at first, because having a compass that didn’t point to magnetic north may have sent the already-on-edge crew into a panic. This was probably a good decision considering three days later when Columbus simply spotted a strange light, the crew threatened to return to Spain.

 Notable Incidents

·       USS Cyclops: the collier USS Cyclops, carrying a full load of manganese ore and with one engine out of action, went missing without a trace with a crew of 309 sometime after March 4, 1918, after departing from the island of Barbados. Although there is no strong evidence for any single theory, many theories exist, some blaming storms, some capsizing, and some suggesting that wartime enemy activity was to blame for the loss.

·       Carroll A. Deering: A five-masted schooner built in 1919, the Carroll A. Deering was found hard aground and abandoned at Diamond Shoalson January 31, 1921. Rumors at the time indicated that the Deering was a victim of piracy, possibly connected with the illegal rum-running trade during Prohibition.

·       Star Tiger and Star Ariel: G-AHNP Star Tiger disappeared on January 30, 1948, on a flight from the Azores to Bermuda; G-AGRE Star Ariel disappeared on January 17, 1949, on a flight from Bermuda to Kingston, Jamaica. Both were Avro Tudor IV passenger aircraft operated by British South American Airways. Both planes were operating at the very limits of their range and the slightest error or fault in the equipment could keep them from reaching the small island. One plane was not heard from long before it would have entered the Triangle.

·       Douglas DC-3: On December 28, 1948, a Douglas DC-3 aircraft, number NC16002, disappeared while on a flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Miami. No trace of the aircraft or the 32 people on board was ever found. A Civil Aeronautics Board investigation found there was insufficient information available on which to determine probable cause of the disappearance.

·       KC-135 Stratotankers: On August 28, 1963, a pair of US Air Force KC-135 Stratotankers aircraft collided and crashed into the Atlantic. The Triangle version of this story specifies that they did collide and crash, but there were two distinct crash sites, separated by over 160 miles (260 km) of water. However, Kusche’s research showed that the unclassified version of the Air Force investigation report stated that the debris field defining the second «crash site» was examined by a search and rescue ship, and found to be a mass of seaweed and driftwood tangled in an old buoy.

·       Flight 19: Flight 19 was a training flight of five TBM Avenger torpedo bombers that disappeared on December 5, 1945, while over the Atlantic. The squadron’s flight plan was scheduled to take them due east from Fort Lauderdale for 141 miles, north for 73 miles, and then back over a final 140-mile leg to complete the exercise. The flight never returned to base. The disappearance is attributed by Navy investigators to navigational error leading to the aircraft running out of fuel.  A tanker off the coast of Florida reported seeing an explosionand observing a widespread oil slick when fruitlessly searching for survivors. The weather was becoming stormy by the end of the incident.

Many people attribute these disappearances to anomalous phenomena like gigantic sea creatures/monsters or like giant squids or giant octopuses. Moreover, many people advocate that an amount of these disappearances are occurred by aliens or other unknown beings. Also, some people think that some defense mechanism of the Atlantis Island has contributed to these disappearances. All these are just myths and the reality behind the Bermuda Triangle myth is far more prosaic. They argue that a sometimes-treacherous Mother Nature, human error, shoddy craftsmanship or design, and just plain bad luck can explain the many disappearances.

 Natural Explanations

This and other reported compass issues in the region gave rise to the myth that compasses will all be off in the Triangle, which isn’t correct, or at least is an exaggeration of what is actually happening as you’ll see.  Despite this, in 1970 the U.S. Coast Guard, attempting to explain the reasons for disappearances in the Triangle, stated:

The majority of disappearances can be attributed to the area’s unique features. The Gulf Stream, a warm ocean current flowing from the Gulf of Mexico around the Florida Straits northeastward toward Europe, is extremely swift and turbulent. It can quickly erase any evidence of a disaster.

The unpredictable Caribbean-Atlantic storms that give birth to waves of great size as well as waterspouts often spell disaster for pilots and mariners. We should also consider that the area is in a hurricane alley. The topography of the ocean floor varies from extensive shoals to some of the deepest marine trenches in the world. With the interaction of strong currents over reefs, the topography is in a constant state of flux and breeds development of new navigational hazards.

Not to be underestimated is the human factor. A large number of pleasure boats travel the water between Florida’s Gold Coast (the most densely populated area in the world) and the Bahamas. All too often, crossings are attempted with too small a boat, insufficient knowledge of the area’s hazards and lack of good seamanship.

In addition, another natural factor that may contribute to these disappearances is the   large fields of methane hydrates (a form of natural gas) on the continental shelves. Laboratory experiments carried out in Australia have proven that bubbles can, indeed, sink a scale model ship by decreasing the density of the water. In this way, any wreckage consequently rising to the surface would be rapidly dispersed by the Gulf Stream. It has been hypothesized that periodic methane eruptions may produce regions of frothy water that are no longer capable of providing adequate buoyancy for ships. If something like that happens, the ships would be sunk rapidly.

 Paranormal Explanations

Triangle writers have used a number of supernatural concepts to explain the events. One explanation pins the blame on leftover technology from the mythical lost continent of Atlantis. Sometimes connected to the Atlantis story is the submerged rock formation known as the Bimini Road off the island of Bimini in the Bahamas, which is in the Triangle by some definitions. Followers of the purported psychic Edgar Cayce take his prediction that evidence of Atlantis would be found in 1968 as referring to the discovery of the Bimini Road. Believers describe the formation as a road, wall, or other structure, but the Bimini Road is of natural origin.

Other writers attribute the events to UFOs. This idea was used by Steven Spielberg for his science fiction film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which features the lost Flight 19 aircrews as alien abductees. Charles Berlitz, author of various books on anomalous phenomena, lists several theories attributing the losses in the Triangle to anomalous or unexplained forces.

To sum up, the myth that is behind the Bermuda Triangle is just a myth and many natural explanations have proven that.

SOURCES:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bermuda_Triangle

http://www.history.com/topics/bermuda-triangle

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/12/1205_021205_bermudatriangle.html

http://www.nytimes.com/fodors/top/features/travel/destinations/bermudaandcaribbean/bermuda/fdrs_feat_29_8.html?n=Top%2FFeatures%2FTravel%2FDestinations%2FBermuda+and+Caribbean%2FBermuda

By Stratis Georgiou (A Class)

Albert Einstein was born at Ulm in Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany, on March 14, 1879, in a non-observant Jewish family. Although considered a slow learner, possibly due to dyslexia, simply shyness or the significantly rare and unusual structure of his brain (examined after his death), Einstein built models and mechanical devices for fun. Another, more recent, theory about his mental development is that he had Asperger’s syndrome, a condition related to autism.

Einstein began to learn mathematics at around the age of 12. In 1894, his family moved from Munich to Pavia, Italy (near Milan), and this same year Einstein wrote his first scientific work, The Investigation of the State of Aether in Magnetic Fields. He continued his education at Aarau, Switzerland, and in 1896, he entered the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich to be trained as a teacher in physics and mathematics. In 1901, he gained his diploma and acquired Swiss citizenship. Unable to find a teaching post, he accepted a position as technical assistant in the Swiss Patent Office, obtaining his doctor’s degree in 1905.

In 1908, Einstein was appointed Privatdozent in Berne. The next year, he became Professor Extraordinary in Zurich, and in 1911 Professor of Theoretical Physics at Prague, returning to Zurich in 1912 to fill a similar post. In 1914, he was appointed Director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Physical Institute and Professor in the University of Berlin. He became a German citizen in 1914 and remained in Berlin until 1933, when he renounced his citizenship for political reasons and emigrated to America to take the position of Professor of Theoretical Physics at Princeton. He became a U.S. citizen in 1940 and retired from his post in 1945. In 1916 he published his paper on the general theory of relativity. During this time, he also contributed to the problems of the theory of radiation and statistical mechanics. In the 1920s, he embarked on the construction of unified field theories, continuing to work on the probabilistic interpretation of quantum theory, and he persevered with this work in America. He won a Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921 «for his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect.» He contributed to statistical mechanics and he also accomplished valuable work in connection with atomic transition probabilities and relativistic cosmology. Einstein initially favored construction of the atomic bomb, in order to ensure that Hitler did not do so first, and even sent a letter, dated August 2, 1939, to President Roosevelt encouraging him to initiate a program to create a nuclear weapon.  After the war, however, Einstein lobbied for nuclear disarmament and a world government. Along with Albert Schweitzer and Bertrand Russell, he fought against nuclear tests and bombs. As his last public act, and just days before his death, he signed the Russell-Einstein Manifesto, which led to the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. Einstein’s latter years were also spent searching for a unified field theory, for a universal force that would link gravitation with electromagnetic and subatomic forces, a problem on which no one to date has been entirely successful.

Einstein received honorary doctorate degrees in science, medicine and philosophy from many European and American universities. During the 1920s, he lectured in Europe, America and the Far East and was awarded Fellowships or Memberships to all of the leading scientific academies throughout the world. He gained numerous awards in recognition of his work, including the Copley Medal of the Royal Society of London in 1925, and the Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute in 1935.

Einstein married Mileva Maric in 1903 and they had a daughter and two sons. The marriage was dissolved in 1919, and that same year he married his cousin Elsa Lowenthal, who died in 1936. Einstein died on April 18, 1955, in Princeton, New Jersey. Element 99 was named einsteinium (Es) in his honor.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein

https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1921/einstein-bio.html

By Nick Diamandopoulos, Nickolas Andrikopoulos & Dinos Kalantzis (A Class)

  For students, the days of having to make copious notes in class may soon be over. A new invention – the smart pen – looks set to revolutionize classroom behavior. Though similar in appearance to a regular pen, this device boasts multiple functions. It has a minuscule built-in camera that captures handwritten notes as a digital image and stores them in an internal memory. In addition, an integrated microphone not only records the information being heard, but also synchronizes it with the handwritten notes a student makes.

While conveniently rechargeable on any laptop or cell phone charger, the smart pen does, however, require the use of specially manufactured paper, which is ingrained with unique patterns of minute dots. With the aid of these dots as points of reference, the camera tracks the handwriting and page position, enabling the time of the audio recording to be matched to the words as they are written. Tapping on any word with the pen triggers the playback of the part of the recording on a built-in speaker. Both audio and handwriting files can then be uploaded to a laptop to be viewed, archived, retrieved, or shared in video format on forums or blog.

By ensuring that no crucial data is missed, the smart pen simplifies and accelerates the note-taking process, allowing students to concentrate more intently on assimilating information during a lesson. When words are illegible or when the intended meaning of notes scribbled down during a discussion is in doubt, the playback function is particularly useful for classification purposes. Other applications include a calculator mode – having written down a math problem, a user can see the solution displayed on a small screen embedded in the pen. In addition, the translation function registers handwritten words and provides their equivalent in another language on the pen’s screen, with an accompanying audio version to aid in correct pronunciation. Given such versatility, this pen’s only shortcoming appears to be the absence of software that converts handwritten notes to edit a text on screen.

However, that smart pen would be utterly, rigorously and unarguably a good student’s tool; and who knows what the future will bring…

   THE SKY IS THE LIMIT…

SOURCES: HONORS-PREPARATION MATERIAL FOR ECPE, BURLINGTON BOOKS

By Maria Andonakopoulou & Emily Kiriazi (A Class)

You’re a typical teenager and you are returning home. I’m sure the very first thing you will do is to connect to the Facebook and Instagram, like we all do sadly. Social networking (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, MSN, etc.) nowadays affects more and more our lives. It has become an issue that has been a subject of controversy on whether it affects positively or negatively teenagers’ lives.

Using social networks has numerous advantages. First of all, it is an easy way of communication for all people and especially young people. Because of their limited spare time, communicating online with their friends is a much easier and quicker way of doing so. Moreover, it is an opportunity to express easier their feelings. Additionally, people have the ability to send pictures, videos, voice records that can make the conversation more enjoyable. Not to mention that social networking can help a teenager to boost his self-confidence by socializing and making more friends.

On its downside, it is commonly accepted that social networks affect negatively students’ life in various ways. Students end up being addicted to the use of such networks (Facebook) and spending several hours, more than they really should, resulting in setting aside their homework and studies. Furthermore, it is a common phenomenon nowadays students to be mislead by strangers. By using social networks you also expose private information to everyone; photos and data about you, where you live, your friends, your personal life and everything that is going on in your life leaks through the networks available for everyone to see. The majority of teenagers end up having no real-world life, as they feel forced to waste time exposing every minute of their life on the Facebook, for example.

     All the above considered, social networking can be beneficial for young people if used in an appropriate way and not uncontrollably.

(By Konstandinos Hantzis, A Class)

Nowadays, the most people in the civilised parts of the world own a computer, or something based on the invention of the computer (such as laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc.). The very existence of the computer continuously helps us in actions ranging from logging in social media to finding information about virtually anything on the Internet. However, very few people know the history of this extremely groundbreaking invention.

The earliest – as believed- computer was the Antikythera mechanism. It was a device used for astronomical purposes. It was used for predicting the movements of the sun and also for finding where the brightest stars and constellations rose and set during a year. It looked just like a modern day laptop.

Antikythera mechanism

 Scientists and inventors started becoming interested in making computational and calculating devices in the 17^th century, after the invention of logarithms by the Scottish mathematician John Napier. Even Pascal built a mechanical adding device back in 1640 based on a Greek design. The “Pascaline”, as this device was called, could add and subtract. The original “Pascaline” had 5 gears, but there were some variations which featured 6 or 8 gears and thus could do more difficult equations. The “Pascaline” was given its last form by Leibniz who modified it so it could multiply and divide.

The “Pascaline”

However, the first design that inspired the modern day computers was none other than the Analytical Engine made by Charles Babbage in 1837. This design looked very much alike a contemporary computer, concerning the hardware. Even though this design was constructed, there was not enough advancement concerning electronics that day for its implementation.

The 1^st generation of computers (1943-1956), began with the construction of the Turing Machine made by Alan Turing during World War II. The Turing Machine could solve any mathematical problem which was in algorithm form.

 Experimental prototype of Turing machine

Afterwards, the first programmed computer was made and it was called the Colossus Mark I. The Colossus Mark I was constructed for the sake of decoding the German machine called Enigma during WWII.

Colossus Mark I

 After the Colossus Mark I, the US needed some device which could make their weapons more accurate. This is when the first reprogrammable computer was built, called ENIAC. ENIAC was a huge piece of machinery. It filled a whole floor of space (!) During the 2^nd generation of computers (1956-1963), transistors appeared for the first time, which made faster and smaller computers possible.

  ENIAC

In 1956 the first computer using only transistors was made, called TX-0. The 3^rd generation is considered by many people as the most important generation of all since it was then that the circuit was made for the first time and it changed the history of computers forever.

TX-0

 From 1971 until today computers belong to the 4^th generation. The difference with the previous generation is that from then on, computers are equipped with a CPU unit, they have a screen and we can interact with them not only by switches but also with a mouse and a keyboard. Also during this generation there were some very interesting inventions such as the touch screen and the tablet.

To conclude, most people believe that the history of the computer began in the mid ’90s. That is completely wrong. Computers are older than you probably thought and their history is not over yet…

 Source: Wikipedia.org

By Myrsini Hamakioti (B class)

A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as twisters or cyclones.

The deadliest tornado

The most deadly tornado known to humankind is the April 26, 1989 Daulatpur-Salturia Tornado. Again, these areas are found in Bangladesh. The already drought-affected areas were smacked by another natural disaster. The estimated size of the tornado according to sources was 1 mile wide. In just a matter of minutes, the horrific twister claimed the lives of 1,300 people and left 12,000 others injured. The towns were completely destroyed and 80,000 were left homeless.

The drought that Bangladesh was experiencing for 6 months intensified the atmospheric conditions, which allowed a deadly massive tornado to form.

History shows that tornadoes are a natural phenomenon. Elsewhere in the world, countries are not spared from Mother Nature’s wrath. There are places in different countries that have seen and experienced the worst and deadliest in terms of twisters. Due to their regional topography, these areas are hotbeds for tornadoes. This is especially in the country of Bangladesh, which holds the most records of deadly tornadoes.

When Mother Nature strikes, she shows no mercy regardless how high-tech new equipment can be. While disaster preparedness is taught to many, natural disasters like tornadoes can wreck havoc on whatever comes along their path and fatalities often occur.

Sources:

• http://www.therichest.com/expensive-lifestyle/location/top-10-deadliest-tornadoes-in-world-history/?view=all
• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado
• http://www.weather.com/storms/tornado/news/deadliest-tornado-world-bangladesh-20140416