Transcript NanoScale PlanetWalk: Presented by Robert E. Strong Elizabeth (Libby) Strong Richard J. Pollack [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Co-Sponsored by: SMART-Center, SMART Centre Market, Near Earth Object Foundation, ASTROLABE Astronomy Club, and NASA West Virginia.

NanoScale PlanetWalk:
Presented by
Robert E. Strong
Elizabeth (Libby) Strong
Richard J. Pollack
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Co-Sponsored by:
SMART-Center,
SMART Centre Market,
Near Earth Object Foundation,
ASTROLABE Astronomy Club, and
NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium
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NanoScale PlanetWalk
Question: What is a Planet Walk?
•A “Planet Walk”is an educational interactive
/ hands-on outdoor or indoor exhibit that
offers the public of Marshall County, WV the
opportunity to experience the relative
distances and sizes of the Sun, planets, dwarf
planets, asteroids, comets, moons, and other
solar system objects as scale models.
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NanoScale PlanetWalk
Question: What is NanoScale?
The Marshall County NanoScale PlanetWalk
utilizes a 1:10-9 (1 to 1 billionth scale or
NanoScale for the scale model)
•1 kilometer =
•1 meter =
•1 centimeter =
•1 millimeter =
•1 micrometer =
•1 nanometer =
1 billion (109) kilometers
1 million kilometers.
10 thousand kilometers
1 thousand kilometers
1 kilometer
1 meter
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NanoScale PlanetWalk
Why use NanoScale for the PlanetWalk?
•It is based in powers of ten, therefore easy
to scale up and down sizes and distances.
•It starts to acquaint the public with a “feel”
for the NanoScale and how small “nano”
really is by shrinking known “Big” stuff…
•…and how “big” the Solar System really is.
•Gives the sizes and distances of Solar
System objects in a scale 1 mm = 1,000 km!
•Best of all it is METRIC!!!!!
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NanoScale PlanetWalk
Why is the NanoScale PlanetWalk Metric?
•All of the reasons that the Metric system is the
universally accepted system of measure.
•Previous reasons.
•But most importantly …
•The United States is still after all the hype and
promise still using the same old tired and
broken down English system, that even the
English have abandoned as ridiculous, archaic,
and just plain silly in the 21st Century context.5
NanoScale PlanetWalk
NanoScale PlanetWalk ACTIVITY #1
The Sun
•Materials List:
–String, rulers, metric tapes, pennies
•The Sun is 1,392,000 km in diameter, or
1,392,000,000 meters in diameter, or
1.392 x 109 m in diameter.
•Create a NanoScale model of the Sun .
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NanoScale PlanetWalk
NanoScale PlanetWalk ACTIVITY #2
Size of “inner” Planets and Moons
•Materials List:
–String, rulers, metric tapes, paper, pens
•The following are diameters of planets and
moons (at the NanoScale 1,000 km = 1 mm)
–Mercury = 4,874 km, Venus = 12,104 km, Earth
= 12,742 km, Luna = 3,475 km, Mars = 6,772
km, Ceres = 942 km, Jupiter = 142,984 km
equatorial / 133,708 km polar, …
• What are their NanoScale diameters (mm)?
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NanoScale PlanetWalk
NanoScale PlanetWalk ACTIVITY #3
Size of “inner” Planets and Moons
•Materials List:
–String, rulers, metric tapes, paper, pens
•The following are diameters of planets and
moons (at the NanoScale 1,000 km = 1 mm)
–Mercury = 4,874 km, Venus = 12,104 km,
Earth = 12,742 km, Luna = 3,475 km, Mars =
6,772 km, Ceres = 942 km, Jupiter = 142,984
km equatorial / 133,708 km polar, …
• Create / draw NanoScale models of these.
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NanoScale PlanetWalk
NanoScale PlanetWalk ACTIVITY #4
“milli”NanoScale PlanetWalk to Neptune
•Materials List:
–String, rulers, metric tapes, pennies
• Using a metric tape, at 0 meters place a
penny to represent the Sun.
•At 4.5 meters place a penny to represent
Neptune, place pennies to represent other
planets at proper distances in this model of a
“milli”NanoScale Solar System for indoors.
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NanoScale PlanetWalk
NanoScale PlanetWalk ACTIVITY #5
“milli”NanoScale PlanetWalk to Neptune
PicoScale Classroom PlanetWalk
As inter-classroom Field Trip
•Materials List:
–String, rulers, metric tapes, pennies, pico page
•Use the PicoScale PlanetWalk page to
model a “milli”NanoScale Solar System in
your classroom.
•Notice “re-placement” of inner planets!!!
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NanoScale PlanetWalk
NanoScale PlanetWalk ACTIVITY #6
NanoScale PlanetWalk to
Mercury inside School Field Trip
•Materials List:
–String, rulers, metric tapes, pennies
•Mercury averages (semi-major axis) from
Sun 57,909,100 km (57.9091 x 106 km).
•1 million km or 106 km at the NanoScale =
1 meter.
•Create a NanoScale location for Mercury.
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NanoScale PlanetWalk
NanoScale PlanetWalk ACTIVITY #7
NanoScale Light Second “string” model
•Materials List:
–String, rulers, metric tapes, scissors
•The distances in the Solar System are often
in Light Seconds. Light travels 299,792 km
per second, or 299,792,000 m per second or
29,979,200,000 cm per second or 29.9792 x
109 cm per second (metric is soooo easy :o).
•Create a NanoScale light second model.
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NanoScale PlanetWalk
NanoScale PlanetWalk ACTIVITY #8a
NanoScale Light Second “paper” model
•Materials List:
–String, rulers, metric tapes, paper, calculator
•The distances in the Solar System are often
in Light Seconds. Light travels 299,792 km
per second, or 299,792,000 m per second or
29,979,200,000 cm per second or 29.9792 x
109 cm per second (metric is soooo easy :o).
•Create a NanoScale light second model.
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NanoScale PlanetWalk
NanoScale PlanetWalk ACTIVITY #8b
NanoScale Light Second “paper”
• The MATH…
•Using US typing paper 8.5” by 11” (21.59
cm by 27.94 cm)
•Make a hotdog fold, cut or tear, now have a
10.795 cm by 27.94 cm paper.
•The diagonal is c2 = a2 + b2
•Solve for c = 29.953 cm close enough to
29.9792 x 109 cm per second
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NanoScale PlanetWalk
NanoScale PlanetWalk ACTIVITY #9a
Proxima Centauri – closest star to Sun
•Materials List:
–String, rulers, metric tapes, metric knowledge
•Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf star
202,000 km in diameter or 0.202 x 109 m at
a distance of 4.243 light year (1 ly = 9.46 x
1012 km).
•What is the NanoScale size and distance of
Proxima Centauri on the Marshall Co. Trail?
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NanoScale PlanetWalk
NanoScale PlanetWalk ACTIVITY #9b
Proxima Centauri – closest star to Sun
•The MATH…
•Proxima Centauri is 202,000 km in
diameter = 20.2 cm at the NanoScale.
•4.243 light year = 40.14 x 1012 km, the
NanoScale distance of Proxima Centauri on
the Marshall Co. Trail is 40,140 km.
•Proxima Centauri is a 20.2 cm star the
entire circumference of the Earth away!!!!
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NanoScale PlanetWalk:
Presented by
Robert E. Strong
Elizabeth (Libby) Strong
Richard J. Pollack
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Co-Sponsored by:
SMART-Center,
SMART Centre Market,
Near Earth Object Foundation,
ASTROLABE Astronomy Club, and
NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium
www.smartcenter.org
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