Speak your mind…

 

11-year-old reader Henry has a passion for science

© Naomi Cearns

Rarest element 

◼  Dear HIW,

My son Henry (11) loves science and is just learning about the periodic table. He’d like to know all about the rarest element – what is it, what does it do and where can it be found?

Naomi and Henry Cearns

Thanks for your question and for sending in these great photographs. The elements on the periodic table make up everything that surrounds us, and as you’ve mentioned, some in higher volumes than others. On Earth the rarest of these elements to occur in nature is astatine. It’s found in the planet’s crust and is highly radioactive, with a half-life of just over 8.1 hours. At any one time, there is believed to be only one gram of this element in the Earth’s crust. Scientists have also made synthetic elements in the laboratory that are even rarer and more unstable, including oganesson. Only five atoms of this element have ever been made, with a half-life of a fraction of a second.

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Letter of the month

Python pets

◼  Hi HIW, 

I’ve been reading How It Works magazine for seven months and it’s so amazing. I love the sections about reptiles, like why is a snake’s tongue forked. I am a reptile lover and I especially think that ball pythons are the cutest and the most beautiful creatures on Earth. I really want a ball python, but unfortunately most of my family don’t think so. Do you have any ideas about how I can persuade them to love ball pythons and let me have one please? Thank you very much!

Ruoxin Li

Hi Ruoxin. We love how passionate you are about reptiles, but unfortunately snakes aren’t everyone’s favourite pet. Ball pythons are actually one of the most common snake species to keep as a home companion due to their handleability, docile nature and relatively easy maintenance.

Although you can’t force your family to buy one, making sure they know all the facts and don’t follow some of the misconceptions about snakes is a good start.

These snakes are pretty impressive, and we can see why you want one. It’s also important to know what these snakes want and need before buying one. They gain their name from their response to threats: curling into a tight ball shape. If you see your pet doing this, you know they are uncomfortable. You need to make sure it is  kept in temperatures of at least 27 degrees Celsius and check with veterinary experts before buying so you know how to keep your python happy. Getting all the facts will help your family to be fully informed when they make their final decision.

A good idea might be to take a trip to your closest reptile centre when you can. While there, you and your family can learn from the experts, ask any questions and maybe even get to hold one. This can help your family get to know the animal better. Good luck with convincing your family.

© Getty

Holly discovered the snow on her patio was melting to form a series of rings

© Holly Smith

Planetary puzzle

◼ Dear HIW, 

Is there a possibility of a star transforming into a planet or a planet to a star?

Laila Jones

Generally, stars are bigger and brighter than planets

© Getty

Stars and planets generally don’t change from one into the other, but there is an exception. Stars are hot, bright objects that generate their own energy. A planet doesn’t radiate its own energy, but reflects it from the parent star it orbits. A star can technically become a planet if it’s a brown dwarf. Brown dwarfs look like planets but  are called ‘stars’ because they form in the same way other stars do. But they don’t have enough mass to fuse hydrogen at their cores, which some scientists insist is the defining characteristic of a star.

Instead they carry out the nuclear fusion of heavy hydrogen. They begin life glowing like other stars, eventually running out of fuel and cooling and becoming planet-like.

Robot takeover

◼ Dear HIW, 

Will we have robots for everything one day? We could even have support worker and carer robots.

Matthew Garner

People are constantly working to improve the efficiency and human qualities of computers so that they can carry out roles that we currently rely on humans for. Robot carers could be of great assistance in the future for our ageing population, but at the moment robots are mainly programmed to carry out a single function effectively. To be cared for by robots in the foreseeable future, you might need a whole family of them with their own specific duties. There are already robots being introduced to care homes to take on certain tasks, like combating loneliness, but being able to fully depend on a mechanical being will remain in fiction only for some time yet.

Some robots are designed to look like humans, but their lack of emotion makes ‘carer robots’ difficult

© Getty

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