Snworld

TEN BIGGEST BANGS ON EARTH Seattle Kingdome demolition  When: 26 March 2000 Holding up to 66,000 sports fans in its 19.821 million m3 capacity, this stadium became the largest building to be demolished by explosives when it was destroyed in 2000. Chicxulub Impact When: 65 million years ago The chicxulub crater in mexico, a staggering 180km wide, was created when a 10km-wide meteorite crashed into earth. the impact is believed to have been a major contributing factor in the extinction of the dinosaurs. Heligoland explosion When: 18 April 1947 The royal navy tried – and failed – to blow up a whole north sea island and the huge German naval base it carried by detonating around 4,000 tonnes of explosives, one of the world’s biggestever single detonations. Despite that, the island remained intact. Mt Toba When: 75,000 years ago When the supervolcano mt toba erupted, it launched at least 2,800km3 of magma and ash into the atmosphere, causing a six-year volcanic win...

TEN MOST EXPENSIVE EXPERIMENTS 01 $150 Billion International Space Station (£92 billion) Weighing nearly 420 tonnes and floating 370km above the earth, the iss has been continuously occupied by astronauts from various countries since the first crew docked on 2 november 2000. 02 $20.6 Billion International Thermonuclear experimental reactor (£12.3 billion) In 2010 construction began in france on what will become the world’s largest tokamak fusion device – a magnetically confined core in which fuel will be heated to temperatures greater than 150,000,000°c. 03 $8 Billion   James Webb Space Telescope (£4.9 billion) Scheduled to launch in 2018, this telescope – a nasa project with input from the european and canadian space Agencies – will investigate how galaxies form by peering out to the farthest reaches of space. 04 $6.65 Billion  International linear collider (£4.1 billion) A planned particle accelerator even bigger than the large Hadron collide...

TEN CRUCIAL PHYSICS THEORIES Falling objects of different sizes accelerate at the same rate Who: Galileo galilei When: 1589 to disprove Aristotle’s theory of gravity, Galileo dropped two balls of different weights from the top of italy’s leaning tower of Pisa. Everything is composed of atoms Who: Leucippus and Democritus When: 5th century bc Atomism proposes that everything is composed of an infinite variety of indestructible, immutable ‘atoms’ that collide or link up to form clusters. Atoms are composed of smaller particles Who: Joseph John thomson When: 1897 By demonstrating that cathode rays are composed of negatively charged particles, thomson effectively found the electron – the first of the subatomic particles to be discovered. Every event has a natural cause Who: Thales When: c 580BC Greek philosopher thales attempted to explain natural phenomena without reference to mythology. He was among the first to try to identify a substance from which all things ...

TEN BREAKTHROUGHS IN GEOLOGY Deep time  Who: Aristotle When: 4th century BC the Greek philosopher recognised that the earth changes at an indiscernably slow rate, writing: “the distribution of land and sea in particular regions does not endure throughout all time” – a concept dubbed ‘deep time’. Stratification of the earth’s crust Who: Abraham Werner When: 1774 As the creationist views of early geologists softened, German geologist Werner proposed a system of classification of rocks and divided them into five chronological formations. Geomorphology Who: Shen Kuo When: 11th century Ad chinese scientist shen Kuo (AD 1031–95) made observations of marine fossil shells in mountains far from the ocean, and proposed that the rocks were once on a seashore. He theorised that land formed from uplift and silt deposits, and is gradually eroded. Continental drift  Who: Abraham Ortelius When: 1596 though Alfred Wegener is credited with the idea of continental drift ...

TEN SCIENTISTS WHO EXPERIMENTED ON THEMSELVES Max Joseph von Pettenkofer  1818–1901 in 1992, this Bavarian hygienist drank the diarrhoea of a cholera-stricken man in an attempt to demonstrate that the microbes became harmful only after incubating in the ground. He discovered that he was wrong. William J Harrington 1923–92 the American researcher in autoimmune disorders transfused blood from a patient with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura into himself, showing that the condition causes the body to destroy blood platelets. Horace Wells  1815–48 An American dentist in connecticut, Wells pioneered the use of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) in dentistry by having one of his own teeth extracted while under anaesthesia. John Paul Stapp 1910–99 the American researcher made a huge contribution to air-crash safety by testing the effects of rapid deceleration on the human body, strapping himself to a rocket sled braking rapidly from up to 1,000km/h. Nicolae Mino...

TEN GAME-HANGING FOSSIL FINDS Marine fossils Discovered: 6th century Bc Where: Greece lived: various periods the Greek philosopher Xenophanes reasoned that the fossils of marine creatures found on land were evidence of sea covering the earth in previous eras. Mosasaurus Discovered: 1764 Where: maastricht, netherlands lived: cretaceous (around 70–65 million years ago) this aquatic reptile was the first to be identified as an extinct species, by Georges cuvier, and the first genus of such an animal to be named, in 1822 by William conybeare. Megalosaurus Discovered: 1676 Where: oxfordshire lived: Jurassic (201–145 million years ago) A fossilised femur from this carnivore (left) was discovered in 1676, but it was nearly 150 years later that William Buckland and colleagues named the ‘huge lizard’ – and recognised it as the first-known dinosaur. Iguanodon Discovered: c1821 Where: sussex lived: early cretaceous (around 125 million years ago) one of three genera inc...

TEN BREAKTHROUGHS IN BIOLOGY Cell division Who: Robert Remak When: 1855 By staining a cell’s membrane, remak was able to prove that new cells are formed by the division of existing cells. He also surmised that tumours grow and are spread in the same manner. Cell biology  Who: Henri dutrochet When: early 19th century the french physiologist pioneered the study of cells as the key units of function in life, and suggested that basic processes of life are similar across all organisms. Homeostasis Who: Claude Bernard When: 1854 Bernard stated that “all the vital mechanisms, varied as they are, have only one object: that of preserving constant the conditions of life.” this encapsulates the concept of homeostasis – the maintenance of a constant internal environment, key to most forms of life. Genetic inheritance  Who: Gregor Mendel When: 1865 By studying pea plants, mendel discovered that inheritance of many traits, such as height, could be explained through ...

TEN LONGEST WARS 01 Three hundred and Fifty Years’ War Belligerents: Isles of scilly, netherlands 1651–1986 this ‘conflict’ started during the english civil War, when a Dutch fleet declared war on the royalist scilly isles. A peace treaty was finally signed in 1986. 02 Arauco War Belligerents: Colonial Spanish, Mapuche people 1536–1820s this clash between the indigenous people of chile and spanish colonists ended in native victory when chile won its independence in the 1820s. 03 Hundred Years’ War Belligerents: england, France, Burgundy, Scotland 1337–1453 english attempts to seize the throne of france were foiled in this longrunning conflict that awakened french nationalism. 04 GrecoPersian War Belligerents: Greek city states, Persian empire 499–449BC the city states of Greece overcame seemingly impossible odds in repelling a series of invasions launched by the full might of the Persian empire. 05 Guatemalan Civil War Belligerents: guatemalan military, leftish r...

TEN BAFFLING HISTORICAL MYSTERIES Nazca lines Where: Southern Peru created: 300bc–ad 600 Discovered: 1930s these extraordinary ground markings depicting animals and plants – some over 200m long – have puzzled scientists for decades. some have even claimed they’re ancient runways for visiting aliens. Piri Reis map  Where: Topkapı Palace, Istanbul, Turkey Created: 1513 Discovered: 1929 How did a 16th-century Turkish mariner map northern Antarctica – the continent wasn’t visited until 1818? Just one of the questions posed by Piri Reis’ remarkable cartography. Chou Chou buckle Where: China created: around ad 300 discovered: 1956 Aluminium wasn’t isolated until the 19th century. So how was this girdle fastener – found in the grave of Chinese general Chou Chou – created 15 centuries earlier and made from 85% aluminium? City of Nan Madol Where: Micronesia created: 12th–13th century ad Discovered: early 19th century this once-great city – dubbed the ...

TEN DOOMED EXPEDITIONS North face of the eiger Led by: Toni Kurz and andreas hinterstoisser Date: 1936 Kurz and Hinterstoisser both lost their lives during this famous attempt on the formidable swiss peak, the former tragically dying from exhaustion just metres from his would-be rescuers. Imperial Trans-Antarctic expedition Led by: ernest Shackleton date: 1914–17 shackleton’s attempt on a land crossing of Antarctica ended in disaster when his ship, endurance, became trapped in ice and sank. the story of his epic rescue mission is legendary. the Donner party led by: the reed and Donner families date: 1846–47 When a party of pioneer families and their employees got trapped in the mountains of the sierra nevada, this journey west to california descended into cannibalism. Polaris expedition led by: charles Francis hall Date: 1871 it wasn’t the cold that scuppered Hall’s attempt on the north Pole, but arsenic poisoning, suggesting that he may have been murdered by another mem...

TEN ANCIENT ENGINEERING ACHIEVEMENTS The Colosseum  Where: Rome Date built: aD 70–80 It took an estimated 100,000 cube mtr of travertine stone to build the largest amphitheatre in the Roman empire, accommodating 50,000 spectators. Saksaywaman Where: Peru Date built: 15th century Ad Scientists still don’t know how the Inca transported the massive boulders used to construct this huge walled complex in Cusco. Aqueduct of Segovia Where: Spain Date built: 1st century aD it may have been constructed by the romans 2,000 years ago, but this 167arch masterpiece still carries water from the river Frio to the town of Segovia today. Great Pyramid Of Giza Where: Egypt Date built: c 2500BC the tallest man-made structure on earth for 3,800 years, construction of the pyramid of Khufu took 100,000 workmen up to 20 years. Stonehenge Where: England Date built: From c 2500BC Our prehistoric ancestors may have transported 82 huge stones more than 200km from the Preseli M...

TEN ENDURING HISTORICAL MYTHS Nero fiddled while rome burned the origin of this expression is definitely contentious. though nero was known as a musician, the fiddle wasn’t invented until 1,500 years after the fire of rome. Sir Walter Raleigh laid down his cloak for elizabeth the legend of chivalrous sir Walter laying his cloak over a puddle to keep Queen elizabeth’s feet dry stems from Walter scott’s romantic novel Kenilworth of 1821. romans deliberately vomited at orgies the ‘vomitorium’ was actually the entrance allowing crowds to exit and enter a stadium. american Independence was declared on 4 July the Pennsylvania evening Post published the news about the resolution declaring independence on 2 July. the actual document called the Declaration of independence was approved on the 4th. Albert einstein failed maths at school When he saw this claim published, einstein corrected it: “i never failed in mathematics. Before i was 15, i had mastered di...

TEN FAMOUS HOAXES A feathered missing link Discovered: 1997 Exposed: 1999 In 1999, the national Geographic society trumpeted the discovery, two years earlier, of the remains of a dinosaur covered in bird-like plumage. it was not a missing link, but a forgery created by a chinese farmer. Hitler’s diaries Discovered And Exposed: 1983  Historian Hugh trevor-roper was left with egg on his face after authenticating documents purporting to be the nazi leader’s diaries. they were actually the handiwork of Konrad Kujau, a notorious German forger. orson Welles caused panic across the us with his radio broadcast in 1938 Piltdown Man  Discovered: 1912 Exposed: 1953  A skull and jawbone discovered in Piltdown in east sussex were relics from a modern man and an orangutan – not a previously unknown form of early human, as amateur archaeologist (and the hoax’s perpetrator) charles Dawson claimed. The Fiji Mermaid  Publicised and exposed: 1842 the legen...

THE WORLD’S 10 OLDEST CITIES 01  Jericho Founded: c 9000bc the first settlers were attracted by the numerous springs around the site, now within the Palestinian territories. 02 Byblos Founded: c 5000BC Known as Gubal by the Phoenicians and renamed Byblos by the Greeks, this lebanese city is possibly the world’s oldest continuously inhabited settlement. 03 Aleppo Founded: c 4300BC founded as Halab, this syrian city was the capital of the Amorite dynasty of yamhad. 04 Damascus Founded: c 4300BC some argue that the syrian capital has been inhabited since 10,000Bc. 05 Beirut Founded: 3000bc the name of the lebanese capital is derived from the canaanite word Be’erot or wells. the underground water supply is still used to day. 06 Shush Founded: c 4200BC originally called susa, this iranian city was the capital of the elamite empire. 07 Faiyum Founded: c 4000BC this egyptian settlement is located on part of the site of the ...