Writing Feedback / TED Summary : Making sense of a visible quantum object - Aaron O'connell [3]

In his presentation, Dr O'connell, physicist from University of California, gave an example to audience that a large object that is visible to the naked eye can be in two places at the same time. In physics, only particles that follow the theory of quantum mechanics can be in two places at the same time. Dr O'connell also told that if everything is made up of a little particles and all the little particles follow quantum mechanics then everything should follow quantum mechanics, it is mean that every day objects should follow quantum mechanics. To explore his idea further, he made the tiny computer chip with a chunk of metal inside that has been in a mechanical quantum superposition. He then placed the object in a vacuumed cool environment while he turned off all the light. The fantastic result appears, the atoms that make up that chunk of metal are sitting still and at the same time, the same atoms are moving up and down and delocalized. That is mean that every atoms is in two different places at the same time which in turn means the entire chunk of metal is in two different places. Further, he talked that quantum mechanics is not about the interconnection, it is deeper, and our connections to all the things around us literally define who we are. It is namely the weirdness of quantum mechanics.

Writing Feedback / TED Summary : Google's Driveless car - Sebastian Thurn [2]

As a person who loved car, Sebastian Thurn, the director of Stanford Al Lab, decided to dedicate his life to save one million people every year after he lost his best friend, Harold, in a car accident when he turn 18. In his presentation, he told about self-driving cars. He saw the concept for the first time in the DARPA Grand Challenges where the US government would give a price to someone who can build a self-driving car which could navigate a desert. He started to build his self-driving car by building hardware and software in Stanford and focused on building driving cars that can drive anywhere. Their car has sensors by which the car magically can see everything around them and make decisions about every aspect of driving. Even though Sebastian cannot bring his friend back to life, but he can do something for all people who died and save the others.

Writing Feedback / TED Summary : How I fell in love with quasars, blazars and our incredible universe - Jedidah Isler [2]

Jedidah Isler, observational astrophysicist, told TED users about our wonderful universe. She said that everything we can see in galaxy comprised of billions of stars. She studied some most of the exotic objects in our galaxy. Supermassive, hyperactive black hole which had 10 billion times larger than the mass of the sun had captivated her. These gigantic black hole are also devouring material 1000 times larger than human average 'black hole'. These characteristics make them quasars and at the same time they produce particle streams namely jets that are moving at 99.99 percent of speed of light pointed directly at the earth. All of these called blazing quasars and become the universe's most efficient particle accelerators transporting incredible amount of energy throughout a galaxy. She was then curious about how the white blobs form and the relationship between the jet and the accretion disc material. She compared variations between gamma ray data and visible light data from year to year. The research shows that the blobs form much closer to the black hole.

source : ted.com/talks/jedidah_isler_how_i_fell_in_love_with_quasars_blazars_and_our_incredible_universe

Writing Feedback / Article Summary : Food made from natural gas will soon feed farm animals - and us [2]

The article from newscientist.com had revealed the food made from methane by a biotechnology company in UK. The most refreshment we have eaten was made by plants as a result from their photosynthesis process just a few months or year before we ate it. A biotechnology company namely Calysta, is set to announce the factory that uses microbes to turn natural gas, methane, into a high-protein food for the animals that human eat. In the European Union, the methane-made food has already been approved for feeding to farmed fish and livestock such as pigs. Now, there is a question that is it goo turning fossil fuels into food for livestock. That depends on what people think is more important when it comes to protecting environment. The process would reduce the demand for land to grow food for livestock if it done on a large scale. However, it would also increase emission of carbon dioxide. Calysta is using a bacterium called Methylococcus capsulatus. This bacteria are grown in vats, fed methane, and are then dried and turned into pellets. However, when methane is used for a food, then more CO2 are released into the atmosphere. This carbon emission could be reduced by using methane from a renewable source such as biogas, not from a fossil fuel.

Source : newscientist

Writing Feedback / TED Summary : The discovery that could rewrite physics - Allan Adams [2]

Allan Adams is a MIT associate professor who focus on Theoretical Physics. In his presentation in March 2014, he said that if we look at the night sky we will see stars, but if we look further and further we see nothing. In that nothingness is the afterglow of the Big Bang. Researchers mapped the afterglow with spectacular precision and found that it is almost completely uniform at 2.7 degrees and has started to cool slightly. These discontinuities are formed by quantum mechanics 'wiggle' in that early universe that have been stretched across the size of the entire cosmos. Before the Big Bang, the universe was extremely dense like a metal bell and then the form of the universe could be rung by quantum mechanics then which produce gravitational waves. Like a sound of ringing bell, these gravitational waves have faded nowadays. The predominant key was that in the first fractions of a second, the universe was expanding faster than the speed of light. Gravitational waves were a pivotal feature of bubble analogy model, but it could never be identified until recently.

Writing Feedback / Article Summary : First home brain implant lets 'locked-in' woman communicate [5]

HB is a fifty-eight years old paralyzed woman and wishes to remain anonymous. In 2008, she diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The disease ravages nerve cells, leaving people unable to control their bodies. The teams around the world have been working to develop devices that are controlled directly by the brain to help people like HB. This devices work by analyzing and reading brain activity and translating it into a signal that can control a computer. However, they found it has been difficult to make this devices fit into patient's daily lives. This devices use electrodes which is placed on the surface of the brain underneath the skull. When brain activity is recorded by the electrode, a signal is fed through the wire to a tiny device like pacemaker. This then wirelessly sends a signal to computer tablet which has been installed by software that can allow tablet to be used in various activities such as communicate. HB volunteered to have the system implanted. The teams implanted the system, and after multiple training sessions, HB was able to generate signal and started to communicate gradually. The teams now have improved the tablet's software and hope to trial the system in other individuals.

Writing Feedback / Recently, the world has new kinds of mania, mania for learning new languages, especially English [2]

TED Summary : English Manias

Being manias somehow can be good, alarmingly and even can be deathly. Recently, the world has new kinds of mania, mania for learning new languages, especially English. There are billions people learning English worldwide such India, Southeast Asia, and China - the largest English speaking country. English is consider to be a single opportunity for better life and jobs, and even to get a better food served in the table. Like mathematics and music, English is a language to solve problem and with English, people can have a comfortable conversation about global problems. English also represents hope for a better future where the world has a common language to solve its common problems.

Source : TED.com

Writing Feedback / Article Summary : Monday's bright supermoon will be closest to Earth in 68 years [2]

The article from newscientist.com explained about the special event that occurred on Monday Night, 14 November where the full moon would be the closest to the Earth. This phenomenon which occurred once in around 70-year period called a supermoon, means the moon was a bit bigger and brighter than it normally appears. A full moon happens when the sun, the Earth and the moon are all lined up in a row which is called a syzygy. When the full moon is at the point in its closest point to the Earth, supermoon occurs. This particular phenomenon, the supermoon, would be 356,511 kilometres from Earth - the closest it has come since 1984. Supermoons are approximately a third larger in area and 30 percent bright than the full moon in the furthest orbit. This phenomenon will occur again in 16 October and 14 December 2016.

newscientist

Writing Feedback / Article Summary : Ahok named suspect in blasphemy case [2]

The article from Jakarta post reveals the information about Ahok named suspect in blasphemy case. As we know that for the last few weeks Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, usually called 'Ahok', made a comment about Al-Quran verse when he visited Thousand Islands Regency to speech in late September. Regarding to his controversial speech, over 10,000 people which mostly come from several Muslim groups held a protest at Bundaran HI Jakarta to prosecute Ahok in the blasphemy case. On Tuesday, National Police's Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) had probed evidence from dozen witnesses during ten-hour case screening and previously, several Muslim figures had cited law enforces of protecting the governor, Ahok. Regarding to the outcome of Tuesday investigation, the National Police have named Jakarta Governor, Ahok, a suspect in that blasphemy case and banned Ahok from traveling overseas. Meanwhile, Ahok tells his supporter to accept police decision.

thejakartapost

Writing Feedback / Knowing and learning other language, beside your mother language, brings several benefits for brain [2]

TED Summary : The benefits of Bilingual Brain

Knowing and learning other language beside your mother language brings several benefits for our brain. The speaker said that the brain works differently when we speak or learn bilingual (multilingual). Children easily learn other language because they use both of their brain hemisphere while adult only use the left one. Having more than one language also brings some remarkable advantages for both children and adult. The children or adult learning more than one language will have less emotional problems and help them to prevent the brain diseases such as dementia. Although it is not make us smarter, our brain will be more healthy, complex and actively engaged.

Writing Feedback / Many people face the imbalance of their life and work. [2]

TED Summary : How to make work-life balance

People work to make their life better and because of that, many people face the imbalance of their life and work-life. Nowadays, certain jobs and career choices are fundamentally incompatible with young family flexy time. To balance work-life we should acknowledge the real situation we are in. The workers, as individuals, should take control and responsibility for the type of life we want to live. If they do not design their life, someone else will design it for them and may not like their idea of balance. They will never find a quality of life in the other hand especially in the hand of the commercial corporations. To balance the work-life, the workers should balance their intellectual, emotion, and spiritual side.

Source : youtube

Writing Feedback / Writing Task 1 : MAP - the alteration of the Stokeford village in an 80-year period [2]

The given maps illustrate the alternations that have been occurred in Stokeford's village for a 80-year period beginning in 1930 and ending in 2010. Overall, it can be seen that the most noticeable alternation is the replacement of many farmland with several residences.

To begin with, there are several predominant changes in houses between 1930 and 2010. All of the farmland in both the south-west and the north-east of the gardens was replaced by several residential areas. In the center part of the village, a retirement home and some settlements were developed replacing Gardens.

In addition, the only main street which can be seen in 1930, was restructured with some branches and intersection in front of a retirement home. There have been also changes in business sector. The shops which you can see in 1930 were demolished. The primary school was also altered, became larger than the former year. Only one place that remained unchanged for over 80 years which is a post office.

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Writing Feedback / MAP - The alteration of America's Town for a 62-year period beginning in 1948 and ending in 2010. [2]

The map below shows the changes in an American town between 1994 and 2010.

The given maps illustrate the alteration of America's Town for a 62-year period beginning in 1948 and ending in 2010. Overall, it can be seen that for over sixty-two years, several business sector and facilities had been built in the town.

Looking at the details, various changes was altered in the north-east areas from 1948 to 2010. The blocks of factories had been demolished and replaced by airport and some commercial buildings. On the left of this commercial buildings, a supermarket had been built replacing the lake which was surrounded by trees. Across the lake street, some settlements had been reconstructed as commercial property. It also happened to a local supermarket which was converted to advertisement buildings.

Moving to the bottom right-hand side of the canal, the church which can be seen in 1948, flattened and substituted by sport stadium. By contrast, the residential landscape in the south-east of the town and the petrol station in northern of the town remained unchanged.

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Writing Feedback / MAP - The alteration in Brandenburg for over 20-year period started in 1990 and ending in 2010 [2]

The maps below show changes that took place in Brandenburg in over a 20-year period from 1990 to 2010.

The map illustrates the alterations that have occurred in Brandenburg for over 20-year period started in 1990 and ending in 2010. Overall, it can be seen that many green fields were converted to several infrastructures.

To begin with, there are some changes in residential area in western side of the river. Almost all of the green fields in the south-west of the river replaced by supermarket and two block of flats. Between them the new road had been built. Moving to the north-west side of the river, block of flats had been built nearby the lake.

There were also a significant alterations in eastern part of the town where the airport had been built in the outer city behind the school. Turning to the south-west of the town, a large factory had been built behind a new railway which was constructed along the coast and continuing to cross the west side of the river. In addition to this, a ferry port was developed in eastern coastline.

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