How High Is The Moon?

How do we begin to measure the distance from the earth to the moon? One obvious thought is to measure the angle to the moon from two cities far apart at the same time, and construct a similar triangle, like Thales measuring the distance of the ship at sea. Unfortunately, the angle difference from two points a few hundred miles apart was too small to be measurable by the techniques in use at the time, so that method wouldn’t work.

Nevertheless, Greek astronomers, beginning with Aristarchus of Samos (310-230 B.C., approximately) came up with a clever method of finding the moon’s distance, by careful observation of a lunar eclipse, which happens when the earth shields the moon from the sun’s light.

For a Flash movie of a lunar eclipse, click here!

To better visualize a lunar eclipse, just imagine holding up a quarter (diameter one inch approximately) at the distance where it just blocks out the sun’s rays from one eye. Of course you shouldn’t try this---you’ll damage your eye! You can try it with the full moon, which happens to be the same apparent size in the sky as the sun. It turns out that the right distance is about nine feet away, or 108 inches. If the quarter is further away than that, it is not big enough to block out all the sunlight. If it is closer than 108 inches, it will totally block the sunlight from some small circular area, which gradually increases in size moving towards the quarter.

Thus the part of space where the sunlight is totally blocked is conical, like a long slowly tapering icecream cone, with the point 108 inches behind the quarter. Of course, this is surrounded by a fuzzier area, called the “penumbra”, where the sunlight is partially blocked. The fully shaded area is called the “umbra”. (This is Latin for shadow. Umbrella means little shadow in Italian.) If you tape a quarter to the end of a thin stick, and hold it in the sun appropriately, you can see these different shadow areas.

Question: If you used a dime instead of a quarter, how far from your eye would you have to hold it to just block the full moonlight from that eye? How do the different distances relate to the relative sizes of the dime and the quarter? Draw a diagram showing the two conical shadows.
Now imagine you’re out in space, some distance from the earth, looking at the earth’s shadow. (Of course, you could only really see it if you shot out a cloud of tiny particles and watched which of them glistened in the sunlight, and which were in the dark.)

Clearly, the earth’s shadow must be conical, just like that from the quarter. And it must also be similar to the quarter’s in the technical sense---it must be 108 earth diameters long! That is because the point of the cone is the furthest point at which the earth can block all the sunlight, and the ratio of that distance to the diameter is determined by the angular size of the sun being blocked. This means the cone is 108 earth diameters long, the far point 864,000 miles from earth.

Now, during a total lunar eclipse the moon moves into this cone of darkness. Even when the moon is completely inside the shadow, it can still be dimly seen, because of light scattered by the earth’s atmosphere. By observing the moon carefully during the eclipse, and seeing how the earth’s shadow fell on it, the Greeks found that the diameter of the earth’s conical shadow at the distance of the moon was about two-and-a-half times the moon’s own diameter.

Note: It is possible to check this estimate either from a photograph of the moon entering the earth’s shadow, or, better, by actual observation of a lunar eclipse.

Question: At this point the Greeks knew the size of the earth (approximately a sphere 8,000 miles in diameter) and therefore the size of the earth’s conical shadow (length 108 times 8,000 miles). They knew that when the moon passed through the shadow, the shadow diameter at that distance was two and a half times the moon’s diameter. Was that enough information to figure out how far away the moon was?

Well, it did tell them the moon was no further away than 108x8,000 = 864,000 miles, otherwise the moon wouldn’t pass through the earth’s shadow at all! But from what we’ve said so far, it could be a tiny moon almost 864,000 miles away, passing through that last bit of shadow near the point. However, such a tiny moon could never cause a solar eclipse. In fact, as the Greeks well knew, the moon is the same apparent size in the sky as the sun. This is the crucial extra fact they used to nail down the moon’s distance from earth.

They solved the problem using geometry, constructing the figure below. In this figure, the fact that the moon and the sun have the same apparent size in the sky means that the angle ECD is the same as the angle EAF. Notice now that the length FE is the diameter of the earth’s shadow at the distance of the moon, and the length ED is the diameter of the moon.

The Greeks found by observation of the lunar eclipse that the ratio of FE to ED was 2.5 to 1, so looking at the similar isosceles triangles FAE and DCE, we deduce that AE is 2.5 times as long as EC, from which AC is 3.5 times as long as EC. But they knew that AC must be 108 earth diameters in length, and taking the earth’s diameter to be 8,000 miles, the furthest point of the conical shadow, A, is 864,000 miles from earth.

From the above argument, this is 3.5 times further away than the moon is, so the distance to the moon is 864,000/3.5 miles, about 240,000 miles. This is within a few percent of the right figure. The biggest source of error is likely the estimate of the ratio of the moon’s size to that of the earth’s shadow as it passes through.

How High Film

How High Film

How High understands the cultural difference between blacks and whites. If a black man wants to get his groove on with that rare breed of soul sister that actually likes Kevin Costner, a little weed goes a long way in keeping him awake during Field of Dreams. Everything comes at a price, though, which means SNL's Tracy Morgan might just make a cameo appearance during a brother's pot-induced version of the Costner film. The best stoner film since Friday, equal opportunity offender How High trades any semblance of plot in favor of ganja-stoked gags that crackle because they absurdly rework the college cliché through ghetto signifiers. While others may have used chocolate as a study aide, Silas (Method Man) and Jamal (Redman) ace their way into Harvard via smoking up. Their free-floating hallucinations are hysterical (occasionally witnessed by the sober sect), from a dwarf who dons Christmas attire to the Goliath-sized figure of Silas's mother hovering over a Harvard/Yale rowing match. Unlike the similarly themed Legally Blonde, How High's academic infiltrators are smart from the beginning (they're just unwilling to discard their Fubu for acceptance), suggesting academia should conform to the outsider rather than the other way around. First-time director Jesse Dylan has no real visual style yet he's in firm control of his hyper-extended jokes—Silas and Jamal take revenge out on a Pee-wee-esque student patrolmen's bike (which is put through the vehicular wringer). The filmmakers recognize only projectile vomit works nowadays while the Baby Powder pimp scene is about as wicked and honest a pot-moment since Ashton Kutcher tried to order Chinese food in Dude, Where's My Car?. That said, How High is perhaps best savored during that peak high where a Costner landscape begins to resemble a Malick existential crisis.


Director(s): Jesse Dylan. Screenplay: Dustin Abraham. Cast: Method Man, Redman, Lark Voorhies, Trieu Tran, Justin Urich, Al Shearer, Essence Atkins, Obba Babatundé, Fred willard, Anna Maria Horsford, Patrice Fisher, Sacha Kemp, Mike Epps, Chris Elwood, Hector Elizondo, Jeffrey Jones, Spalding Gray and Kathy Wagner. Distributor: Universal Pictures. Runtime: 94 min. Rating: R. Year: 2001.

How High Film

How High Film

Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins

Theatrical Release: Dec 21, 2001 Wide

Box Office: $31,155,435

Synopsis:
HOW HIGH is a raucous comedy about two underachieving potheads from the projects, Cyrus and Jamal (rappers Method Man and Redman), who, through bizarre circumstances, end up attending Harvard University. It all begins when Cyrus' friend Ivory dies, and Cyrus uses his ashes as fertilizer to... HOW HIGH is a raucous comedy about two underachieving potheads from the projects, Cyrus and Jamal (rappers Method Man and Redman), who, through bizarre circumstances, end up attending Harvard University. It all begins when Cyrus' friend Ivory dies, and Cyrus uses his ashes as fertilizer to grow marijuana. When the two are taking their college entrance exams, Jamal explains his philosophy: Study high. Take the test high. Get high scores. Smoking Cyrus' magical weed somehow summons the ghost of the brainy Ivory, who gives them all the answers to the exam. They are recruited by Chancellor Huntley (Fred Willard) to attend Harvard, where they use the weed to continue their academic success, but thanks to the machinations of the uptight Dean Cain (Obba Babatunde), they soon find themselves without Ivory's help, and are forced to maintain their scholarship grades on their own. The plot reaches its peak of comic ludicrousness when the hapless duo attempts to dig up and smoke the remains of John Quincy Adams. HOW HIGH features Mike Epps, Tracy Morgan, and Spalding Gray in supporting roles. The film is scabrously funny and refreshingly free of logic, reason, and political correctness.

Genre: Comedies

Starring: Method Man, Redman, Obba Babatunde, Mike Epps, Anna Maria Horsford
Director: Jesse Dylan
Screenwriter: Dustin Lee Abraham, Brad Kaaya
Producer: Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher, James Ellis

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE - How To Keep It In Control

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE - How To Keep It In Control

About Blood Pressure
There are number of people across the world who suffer from high blood pressure also called hypertension. It is easy to keep hypertension under control by following a few simple guidelines that we will discuss below:

1. LIMITED ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION: High consumption of alcohol affects high blood pressure. As per the Doctors studies it has been proved that those who do not drink or drink small amount of alcohol suffer less from high blood pressure than those who drink higher amount of alcohol.

2. TAKE CALCIUM: Consumption of calcium through normal diet seems to have a positive effect in controlling hypertension on some people. In other words calcium is generally good for people having high blood pressure.

3. BE VEGETARIAN: Vegetarians have been shown to have lower blood pressure than those who are non vegetarian. SO being a vegetarian may not be such a bad idea.

4. REGULAR WEIGHT CHECK: An obese person suffers more from hypertension than people having normal weight. If an obese person reduces a few kilos, they can achieve a near normal blood pressure even though they are still somewhat fat.

5. ADD POTASSIUM: Addition of the mineral potassium either through regular diet or through supplements may be valuable in controlling high blood pressure. Studies have show that maintaining a correct balance of the minerals sodium and potassium in your diet can help regulate hypertension.

6. CUT DOWN ON SALT: People should generally consume less salt in their diet. A little cut on the salt intake may produce a good effect on hypertension.

7. TRY AEROBICS AND AVOID ISOMETRICS: Studies have shown that aerobic exercise has a better effect on high blood pressure as compared to isometrics exercises such as weight lifting. Even including moderate amounts of swimming and walking into your exercise routine can be beneficial for hyper tension.

8. MEASURE YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE: People should take steps to regularly check their blood pressure at home. It provides feedback about how your diet, exercise and medication are affecting your blood pressure.

9. DON’T TALK MUCH: Arguing and fighting with people can leads to high blood pressure. So by being calm and quiet and talking less, you can improve your blood pressure.

10. CHECK YOUR SPOUSE’S PRESSURE, TOO: It is must for the people suffering from high blood pressure to check their spouse’s blood pressure because of their shared stress or other emotional factors. It is seen that the longer two people are married, the more similar their blood pressure readings become.

11. JUST BE HAPPY: Your emotions and health go hand in hand. Especially when it comes to hypertension. So leading a happy life can reduce high blood pressure.

How High To Pull The Foot Up In Running?

HOW HIGH TO PULL THE FOOT UP IN RUNNING?

To know the answer to this question, one has to understand the purpose of the "pull" in running.

In the Pose Method of Running, the pull is the last element of the technique that allows for the most efficient transition from one foot to the other. That's the purpose, now let's elaborate.

Running is nothing but "change of support". If all we need to do is change our support, then the ultimate goal is to do that action with the least possible effort. Actively working just one group of muscles - the hamstrings - fits the purpose. So to run is to pull your feet up with hamstrings, while leaning forward. What for? To change support to continue to move forward.

So how high and how intense is the pull? It should only be high enough and strong enough to break contact with the ground. Due to inertia the foot will naturally come up higher, if you're running at a higher speed. And it will travel lower at a slower pace.

You will notice that putting less intentional effort into pulling your feet up will help you do it correctly, by utilizing the hamstrings only. You will also notice that such an important thing as high cadence is easier to achieve, if you don't pull your feet all the way up.

The general rule is - you're better off "under-doing" it, than "over-doing" it. If you pull too high and too hard you will waste energy and will tire your hamstrings. The exaggerated motion of the pull, demonstrated in the running drills, is strictly for learning purposes, to help your body learn better patterns of movement required for running.

Article by Dr. Nicholas Romanov
Composed by L. Romanov

Investment Banking Salaries: Just How High Are They?

Just how much do investment bankers actually earn? Most of the people who want to break into investment banking have no idea how much money is really involved.

Sure, the Managing Directors and other senior people make several million a year on average; group heads can make $10 million or more. And the CEO of an investment bank can make upwards of $20 million, with Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein making over $70 million in 2007.

But what does an entry-level investment banker - an investment banking analyst - actually make? Making six figures as a 23-year old just out of college is nice, but if you have to work 120 hours per week, you can't possibly be making that much per hour, right?

I honestly didn't know, so I had to investigate this and do some math myself. Could you actually make more working at McDonald 's than you could at Goldman Sachs, at least on an hourly basis?

For investment banking analysts, the best case scenario ever happened in 2007. Base salaries were $60,000 and bonuses were $90,000, for a total of $150,000 in compensation. Again, not bad for a 23-year old 's first "real-world job."

But what about the hours? Typically, entry-level bankers work around 90-100 hours per week in their first year. This could be off by a bit, but we'll go with it for now.

With 52 weeks of work per year (nope, no vacation) and 90 hours per week, you would have earned $32.05 per hour in the 2006-2007 year. If you had worked 100 hours, that would have dropped to $28.85.

Even if you had worked 140 hours a week, every week, you would still be at $20.60 per hour. And realistically it 's impossible to work that much consistently, so you could have only done better than that.

But times have not always been that good. After the Nasdaq crash and at the start of the last major recession, investment banking took a turn for the worst and bonuses disappeared.

In 2001-2002, Analysts were lucky to get $10,000 for their bonuses. They still worked a lot, but mostly on marketing and pitching clients rather than doing deals and bringing in revenue.

A $10,000 bonus and $60,000 salary means $14.96 per hour at 90 hours a week. Believe it or not, that 's still above McDonald 's wages and is actually not even that bad relative to a lot of jobs in the US.

But if you had worked 140 hours per week, consistently, back then? You would have made 9.62 per hour.

According to a Wiki Answers page on McDonald 's , the wage is $9.30/hour for those under 17 and $9.57/hour after "4 months of training."

This is a very low wage, and it looks like even in the worst possible years of investment banking, hourly analyst wages never dropped this low.

Actually, the above is not strictly true. What if you earned $0 for the bonus and only made the base salary of $60,000 while working 140 hours each week?

That would be $8.24 per hour. Finally: below McDonald 's wages. So theoretically it is possible to earn less than a McDonald 's worker as an investment banking analyst, though not terribly likely.

It could only happen if you worked a ridiculous amount in the very worst years of investment banking and got absolutely nothing for your bonus.

Even with a looming US recession, this scenario seems unlikely to return anytime soon. So your hourly wages as an investment banking analyst should be safe.

About the Author

Ian Spellfield, a former investment banker, advises students and young professionals on understanding investment banking and how to earn high investment banking salaries.