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Real-world measurements
July 7, 2006
Over the long weekend, my 7-year-old got some hands-on measurement experience. We took a trip on a research boat out of Groton, CT into Long Island Sound. The trip is part of Project Oceanology, a marine science and environmental education program. This was no pleasure cruise, you had to work while at sea. Several of the activities involved taking water measurements such as temperature, pH, salinity, and oxygen content. We also measured water depth. Sure, the boat had a monitor that displayed depth, but you don't get a feel for it just by looking at a screen. You get a much better feel for the depth by dropping a marked line into the water. Old measurement methods still have value.
In addition to measurement experience, we had a living experience. We dropped a net into the water and pulled up lobsters, crabs, small fish, a squid, and a skate. It's one thing to see these creatures in an aquarium, but quite another to see them in the wild. We returned all the creatures to the water, although some of the small fish ended up as food for a few hungry (and rather large) stripers.
Upon returning home, I needed to make more real-world measurements.
The food in my refigerator spoiled. To troubleshoot the problem, I used a
wireless temperature/humdity transmitter and found the temperature at 61
oF. (I use the transmitter to monitor the humidity inside my guitar case during the winter.) Apparently, the door was open while we were away. Trouble is, now I have too much information about refigerator temperature. You don't realize how much the temperature fluctuates until you measure it. During the cool-down period, the temperature hovered around 50
o for nearly a day. After the temperature dropped to 38
o, I was convinced that the refigerator was operating properly. But, having too much information gave me concern that the temperature was too high. It now fluctuates between 38
o and 42
o even with the door closed for several hours. The food stays fresh again.
Posted by Martin Rowe on July 7, 2006 | Comments (0)
