A visit to the sun

Title

A visit to the sun

Language

English

Source

The Young Citizen. I (6) July 1935

Year

1935

Subject

Sun

Auroras

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

!54 THE YOUNG CITIZEN A V:U:SIT TU THU: SUN rial which reaches the earth may produce a display of Aurora Be>· realis. Passing over one of these spots in a rocket will be like passini'. over the funnel of a neamer in an airplane. The earth. the sun. and the stars an· probably made up of the same ekmenrs. The greatest difference between the sun and the earth, for instance, lies in the state of int£n&c heat in the sun. Just as ice can hi made fluid by melting. and waNr may be turned to steam by heating. and steam be broken uj> into mole·· Cllies by heating, so. in the sun, the ="-'-1.....::'--''-'-'-..I heat is sufficiently great to break I N the last issue of The Youug Citizen. you read about an imaginary visit to the moon. This time we shall take an imaginary trip to the sun. While the moon is smaller than our earth, tho:! sun is a million times larger thau the earth. Unlike the moon and the earth. the surface of the s~n is r.<ither solid like the rock, nor Ii· quid like water, but gaseous. Sunspots arc vent holes from which masses of hot gas are shot out at terrific speeds. They are a most important feature that a passenger in a rocket will see on the outer portion of the sun. The materia! ejrcted from the hole is of a blinding brightn~s . P.ut of this mat~up even the molecules into atoms, and the atoms themselves into pieces. The Pressure at the cente~ of the sun is so great we cannot even ima. gine its greatness .. If we.could takO? a pinhead of matter at the temperature of the core of the sun, it woulc! emit its radiation in the form of a terrific blast against which nothing could stand. Even a hundred yards away, the blast would be so strong as to blow over any fortifications which have ever been built. It would speedily shrivel up any man who venturrd within a thousand miles of it. NOTE:-This article is based on a work of Sir James H. Jeans, one of th:! f remost living astronomers. PHILIPPINE Fl/HEf-n. Popokol or Puqol In the rivers and seas in the Philippines we find many kinds of fishes. Some of them arc u '§eful. They give us food. Others are worthless an;J even dangerous. because they are poisonous. Among the poisonous Iii.hes, there is one which we find in parts of our seas where there are corals. In Tagalog these fishes an• called ''papakol", and in Visayan "pugot". . There are many kinds of fishes belonging to this clJss. Some of th-:·n have very brilliant colors, but the great majoritf are ugly-looking. One class has a d:uk-blue color. Their food cons.ists of snails, oystcrs, and other animals living ir. shells. When they find pearl-oystC'rs, they destroy them. In this way the "pugot" or "papakol" causes loss of money. Their strong t~dh and jaws enable them to crush the shells and thus get at the soft flesh inside. The body of one of these fishes is quite flat, slightly rounded. and covered with large rough scales. The mouth is small and low. It has short jaws where we find a single row of separate. stout. and powerful teeth. Its eyes ar.:- very far back and high up. Sometimes you see this kind of fi&h ~n the market. In some parts July, 1935 HEALTH SECTION THE DANGER OF GOING BAREFOOTED "Pablo, you used to be ve1·y bright and active. What has h.t(.I· ptned to you? Why do you look dull and sleepy?" Miss Mendoza remarked when she called on Pablo for the third time and caught him not paying attention. · A year ago. Pablo was one of the bright~st boys in the class. Miss Mendoza referred Pablo's C<'Se to the school nurse. who consulted the school physician.. The doctor examined Pablo. He w:as pale and thin. His eyes were dull and he had the feeling of being interested in nothing. His belly was a little too big for his body. He coughed sli~htly but persistently. The doctor prescri6ed a. medicine for.Pablo. A few hours after he had taken it, he excreted a bunch C'f worms knotted and twisted together. 00 Where did my boy get those ugly worms, Doctor." Pablo's mother asked. "From the ground." the doctor answered. "Perhaps your boy wdks barefooted. or plays with mud. The eggs of worms. which are found in the intestines. pass out with the human waste. These eggs hatch into tiny worms that remain in the dirt until they find entrance into the body through the pores of the skin. The worms are carried by the blood to the intestines. where they make their home. They suck the digested food· that should make the child"s bod) strong. Hence the child grows pale and weak." "I did not know such wont1s caused so much harm. I thought it was natural for everybody to have worms during childhood." Pablo's mother said. . She thanked the doctor and explained to Pablo the necessity of using some kind of footwear. of the Philippines those of moder.Jte size are eaten. But according to some scientists, they should not be eaten because their ftesfl is poisonous. (Pleaae turn to page 161)

Media