SQUIRREL! (eBook)

A gift of knowledge and wisdom

Jeff W. Godwin (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2024 | 1. Auflage
326 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
979-8-9906156-2-5 (ISBN)

Infos

'WOW!! I didn't know that!!' - this is what I predict you will say literally hundreds of times as you read this book. In fact, in the humblest sort of way, I am confident that you will learn more from this book about the world we live in and interacting with our fellow human beings than you did in all your years of high school and college. I really wish someone would have given me this book before I left school and entered the real world. This book is a GIFT from me to you. I have poured out onto these pages just the most Amazing, Profound, Funny, and Fascinating Facts I have learned and experienced during my journey on the planet. This book is a 'Knowledge Dump' - from my brain to yours. This is not my life story. In fact, it is not about me at all; it's all about the world we live in. It's about the Universe, about interacting and appreciating nature and her animals and understanding yourself, your mind, your body, and your fellow human beings. Why are the sky and ocean blue? How long can honey be stored? Did Albert Einstein believe in God? Why do teenagers become so rebellious? How and when should you start planning for your retirement? Why are 15% of people in our population dyslexic? How long does it take light to travel from the Sun to the Earth? How can you beat the game of Blackjack? Which vitamins should you take? How many possible positions are there in a chess game? How many times per minute does a Hummingbird's heartbeat? Yes - that was quite Random. I do indeed have my Squirrel! moments. I am passionate about giving back. In these pages, I have packaged the answers to so many questions that we all have - and then even answered some you didn't know you had. My goal was to provide you with what I call: 'Take-away Value' in Every Paragraph, Every Page and Every Chapter. Please enjoy... - Jeff W Godwin, CPA

Jeff W Godwin, CPA - Jeff was born in La Jolla, California and has remained a San Diego resident his entire life. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting from San Diego State University, has served as a College Professor and is often asked to present at public speaking engagements and live webinars. From the very young age of 7, Jeff has demonstrated an aptitude for strategy and intellect, consistently outpacing the adults in the game of chess. By the age of 14, Jeff was piloting a small airplane and by 22 had passed the CPA exam and started his career in finance. Jeff's inquisitive nature and his on-going fascination with this world we live in, has culminated in this gift to the rest of us that he has titled: Squirrel! With a zest for learning, a hyperactive thirst for adventure, and a gifted memory to retain it all - Jeff's passion to give-back is poured out on the pages of this book. Jeff and his wife T, enjoy a combined family of six grown children and one Grandson. Thanksgiving gatherings are epic! In Jeff's free time, he enjoys: writing, chess, playing sand volleyball at a nearby beach, cornhole, and he throws a mean frisbee. Jeff's inner confidence allows him to fill a room with his personality, which always includes a witty sense of humor and a dash of silliness.

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"e;WOW!! I didn't know that!!"e; - this is what I predict you will say literally hundreds of times as you read this book. In fact, in the humblest sort of way, I am confident that you will learn more from this book about the world we live in and interacting with our fellow human beings than you did in all your years of high school and college. I really wish someone would have given me this book before I left school and entered the real world. This book is a GIFT from me to you. I have poured out onto these pages just the most Amazing, Profound, Funny, and Fascinating Facts I have learned and experienced during my journey on the planet. This book is a "e;Knowledge Dump"e; - from my brain to yours. This is not my life story. In fact, it is not about me at all; it's all about the world we live in. It's about the Universe, about interacting and appreciating nature and her animals and understanding yourself, your mind, your body, and your fellow human beings. Why are the sky and ocean blue? How long can honey be stored? Did Albert Einstein believe in God? Why do teenagers become so rebellious? How and when should you start planning for your retirement? Why are 15% of people in our population dyslexic? How long does it take light to travel from the Sun to the Earth? How can you beat the game of Blackjack? Which vitamins should you take? How many possible positions are there in a chess game? How many times per minute does a Hummingbird's heartbeat? Yes - that was quite Random. I do indeed have my Squirrel! moments. I am passionate about giving back. In these pages, I have packaged the answers to so many questions that we all have - and then even answered some you didn't know you had. My goal was to provide you with what I call: "e;Take-away Value"e; in Every Paragraph, Every Page and Every Chapter. Please enjoy - Jeff W Godwin, CPA

Textauszug

Chapter Two

SCIENCE - THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH

Let’s start at a high point - the very highest point - The Universe and our Solar System:

➢Do you believe the universe is infinite? Meaning: does the universe just go on forever to infinity? If that is NOT your belief, and you believe that there is an end to the universe, then my question to you would be this: What's on the other side of that?

Everything in the universe is made of matter, and all matter is made of atoms. Therefore, everything is made of atoms.

Did you know that there are betvween 1078 and 1082 atoms in the observable universe? That’s between ten quadrillion vigintillion and one-hundred thousand quadrillion vigintillion atoms. (I cannot even mentally process that) But I stuck it in here anyway.

I love Chess. Amazingly, there are even more possible move variations in a chess game than there are atoms in the observable universe.” It is estimated there are between 10111 and 10123 positions in chess.

(WOW! No wonder I can't master that game.)

If the above doesn't completely blow your mind, then allow me to put the above into perhaps something with perspective:

There are more atoms in a grain of sand than there are grains of sand on the beach.

There are more atoms in a glass of water, than there are glasses of water in all the oceans combined.

When you think of something so so small that we cannot even see it, isn't it amazing that mankind has figured out how to split it? And to think that splitting something so incredibly small can react in such a huge and destructive way / the atom bomb! WOW!

Doesn't the structure of an atom look remarkably similar to our solar system? Amazing how the smallest thing and the largest thing look similar; it makes you want to scratch your head and say: hmmm…

The distance between the Sun and the Earth is 93 million miles.

It takes 8.3 minutes for light to travel from the Sun to the Earth.

The Largest planet in our solar system is Jupiter, and it's about 11 times bigger than the earth. Jupiter has 92 moons - with the largest of these moons being larger than the planet Mercury.

➢What is the hottest planet in our solar system? I think most of you will probably answer Mercury. I will confess that would be my answer as well because, logically, since Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, it would make sense that it would be the hottest, right? However, we would all be wrong. Well, not all of us, only those that guessed Mercury. The answer is Venus, and why? Because Venus has a thick atmosphere that traps heat, creating a runaway greenhouse effect - making it the hottest planet in our solar system with surface temperatures hot enough to melt lead. The greenhouse effect makes Venus roughly 870° F (465° C) hotter than it would be without a greenhouse effect. In comparison, Mercury's temperatures reach 840° F (449° C).

No - The planets are not all lined up like in this illustration, and No - they are not equidistant apart as they appear here. I assume (horrible word to ever use) that you already knew both of those facts, but when I was in elementary school, a classmate asked both of those questions, so I decided to just throw it in here just for grins and giggles.

When you are looking up at the stars - the light you see is what I call: “stale,” meaning - it was actually sent our direction millions of years ago. So, even at the speed of light (186,000 miles/sec), in some cases - that star you are looking at could possibly no longer exist. You were looking at the light it produced and sent our way millions of years ago.

The Planets you are looking at in the night sky - do not give off any light of their own. That is also true with our moon. The only reason you can see them is because they are reflecting the light from our sun.

For the most part - you can tell the difference between a star and a planet - because stars twinkle - and planets don't.

➢What is known as the Evening Star?

Answer: Venus - which is not a star at all.

Venus is the brightest planet in the night sky. Sometimes, Venus appears in the eastern sky before sunrise. Sometimes, it appears in the western sky just after sunset. Therefore, it is often called a morning or an evening star, although it is not a star.

The Moon

Waxing and Waning.

A crescent moon is sometimes called a fingernail moon. The whole Moon is really still there, of course - it’s just that the part you cannot see is a shadow being cast on the moon by the Earth. Meaning, the light on the moon is being cast by the Sun, and sometimes the Earth gets in the way. A waxing moon means that each night, you are gradually seeing more and more of it. A waning moon means that you are seeing less and less of it.

So why are all the heavenly bodies (Suns, planets, moons) round? - well, not actually round - they are spheres, right? I knew you knew that.

Answer: Because of gravity. Gravity pulls equally from the core / the center to the edges. This makes the overall shape a sphere / a three-dimensional circle.

There seems to be an enduring myth about the Moon, suggesting that it doesn't rotate. While it's true that the Moon keeps the same face to us, this only happens because the Moon rotates at the same rate as its orbital motion, a special case of tidal locking called synchronous rotation. (WOW!! I didn't know that!)

Now - Let's come down to Earth.

About 66 million years ago, a giant asteroid slammed into Earth. This caused a huge surge of sudden heat, followed by years of extreme cold as the sun's energy was blocked by the ash suspended in the atmosphere for years.

By the way, they gave this giant asteroid a name: The Chicxulub impactor. It was over 10 miles wide and left behind a crater off the coast of Mexico that spans 93 miles and goes 12 miles deep. Its devastating impact not only brought the reign of the dinosaurs to an abrupt and calamitous end, scientists say, by triggering their sudden mass extinction, along with the end of almost three-quarters of the plant and animal species then living on Earth.

The Earth is spinning counterclockwise on its axis and is tilted 23.5 degrees.

➢Maybe the tilt of the Earth was caused by that damn meteor slamming into us. (Just a theory) So - don't quote me on that one. Please and thank you!

Water will drain counterclockwise down the drain if you live in the northern hemisphere, and it will drain clockwise if you live in the southern hemisphere. This is caused by the spinning of the Earth and is called the Coriolis Effect.

The Tropic of Cancer is at 23.5 degrees north latitude.

The Tropic of Capricorn can be found at 23.5 degrees south latitude.

This tilt, combined with the rotation around the sun - is why we have four seasons. (Yes - without the tilt - no seasons)

In the northern hemisphere, the longest day of the year is always on or around June 21st.

One complete rotation of the Earth is 24 hours or one day.

The earth is spinning at 1037.69 miles per hour.

Just for perspective - The average cruising airspeed for a commercial passenger aircraft is approximately 547–575 mph.

Therefore, (if you do not take into account any wind factor, meaning that the airspeed and the groundspeed would be the same) you could be on a plane flying from east to west, directly towards the sun as it’s setting, and there's no way the plane could keep up with it because the Earth is spinning almost twice as fast as the airplane is flying, make sense? Then again, I guess you could make a U-turn with this hypothetical airplane, and you might see the sunrise before you land. Fun stuff, huh?

Wait - did I say the sun sets? Well, technically - it never really sets or rises - it is the spinning of the earth that makes it appear to set and rise. (Since we are being technical here)

➢How long does it take the earth to travel completely around the Sun?

Answer: Most people would say 365 days; that's almost correct. However, the correct answer is 365 and 1/4 days. That's why every four years, we add a day to our calendar, February 29th, leap year.

Lightning

There are approximately 1,400,000,000 Lightning strikes every year around the world.

Lightning is one of nature's most recurrent and common spectacles. Around the world, there are over 3,000,000 flashes every day. That's around 44 strikes every second.

The width of a thumb and hotter than the Sun

While the intensity of a lightning strike can make them appear as thick bolts across the sky, the actual width of a lightning bolt is only about 2-3 cm. The average length of a lightning bolt is about 2-3 miles.

➢Wait, I just mixed the metric system and the non-metric (called customary units). Sorry, I guess that is as bad as me mixing my metaphors.

The charge carried down this small channel is so intense that the temperature of the lightning reaches 30,000 °C - that's five times hotter...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 3.7.2024
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Gesundheit / Leben / Psychologie ► Lebenshilfe / Lebensführung
• ISBN-13: 979-8-9906156-2-5 / 9798990615625