QUES: Sound waves are mechanical waves. They can travel only through matter. They cannot travel through empty space. This was demonstrated in the 1600s by a scientist named Robert Boyle. Boyle placed a ticking clock in a sealed glass jar. The clock could be heard ticking through the air and glass of the jar. Then Boyle pumped the air out of the jar. The clock was still running, but the ticking could not be heard. Thats because the sound couldnt travel without air particles to transfer the sound energy. Is there any other place where sound cannot be heard? Here is a hint: is there any other place that does not have air molecules? Thats right, in space sound cannot be transferred. So can astronauts hear each other? Yes, they can, because they are in enclosed space stations or pressurized suits.In both cases, they are surrounded by air molecules. If they left their space ship and did not use their electronics, they would not be able to hear each other. Next time you watch a science fiction movie, think about this factoid. When spaceships are destroyed by hostile alien beings, there would be no sound heard. Sound waves can travel through many kinds of matter.
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION: In Boyle's experiment, what did he do to make the clock stop being heard while in the jar?

QUES: The Domestic Violence Legal Assistance Program fills the gap of legal resources for domestic violence survivors who can't afford an attorney. Domestic violence survivors in Jackson, Vicksburg, Hattiesburg, Oxford and Pascagoula can all get help. Julia Crockett, deputy director of Central Southwest Mississippi Legal Services Corp., said the program expects to help nearly 1,000 domestic violence victims. Crockett said legal help gives domestic abuse survivors a way to rebuild their lives. "They have been made to feel by the abuser that no one is going to help them do anything, so when they come to us they are desperate," she said. "Those who need legal help and don't get it feel totally lost. Because then they feel like they are forced to stay in that situation." Crockett said the program, funded by a $300,000 grant from the U.S. Justice Department, has no economic restrictions on who can get help. Legal services typically helps the poor. Gladys Bunzy, who said she was in an abusive relationship with a boyfriend for eight years, said such a program is long overdue and could be a lifeline for those escaping violent relationships. "When I finally made up my mind to leave, I had a restraining order put against him and that was $50 but that was $50 well spent to me," said Bunzy, 40. "For people who can't afford it, this will be a godsend ... If a woman knows she is going to get some help that will be a burden off her mind, if the law will help her keep that person away from her." Gwen Bouie-Haynes, project director of the Domestic Violence Services Center for Catholic Charities Inc., said often domestic violence survivors do not have the money to seek legal representation. "Legal assistance is a major issue for women fleeing a domestic violence situation," she said. "Often times women are in need of immediate legal assistance services for the protection of the mother and the child. To get a protective order you need to be represented by an attorney." Crockett said the pilot program was launched in 1998 at the Haven House Family Shelter Inc., a domestic violence shelter for women and children in Vicksburg. The program has helped victims in 90 court cases, and 150 legal counseling sessions have been held there.
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION: What are some ways the Domestic Violence Legal Assistance Program can help a domestic violence survivor?

QUES: Even after Bin Laden's departure from the area, CIA officers hoped he might return, seeing the camp as a magnet that could draw him for as long as it was still set up. The military maintained readiness for another strike opportunity. On March 7, 1999, Clarke called a UAE official to express his concerns about possible associations between Emirati officials and Bin Laden. Clarke later wrote in a memorandum of this conversation that the call had been approved at an interagency meeting and cleared with the CIA. When the former Bin Laden unit chief found out about Clarke's call, he questioned CIA officials, who denied having given such a clearance. Imagery confirmed that less than a week after Clarke's phone call the camp was hurriedly dismantled, and the site was deserted. CIA officers, including Deputy Director for Operations Pavitt, were irate." Mike" thought the dismantling of the camp erased a possible site for targeting Bin Laden. The United Arab Emirates was becoming both a valued counterterrorism ally of the United States and a persistent counterterrorism problem. From 1999 through early 2001, the United States, and President Clinton personally, pressed the UAE, one of the Taliban's only travel and financial outlets to the outside world, to break off its ties and enforce sanctions, especially those relating to flights to and from Afghanistan. These efforts achieved little before 9/11. In July 1999, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hamdan bin Zayid threatened to break relations with the Taliban over Bin Laden. The Taliban did not take him seriously, however. Bin Zayid later told an American diplomat that the UAE valued its relations with the Taliban because the Afghan radicals offered a counterbalance to "Iranian dangers" in the region, but he also noted that the UAE did not want to upset the United States.
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION: How did the UAE both help and hinder anti-terrorism efforts?

QUES: A flood occurs when a river overflows its banks. This might happen because of heavy rains. Floodplains In very flat regions, flood water may spread out on the surface of the land. It then slows down and drops its sediment. If a river floods often, a floodplain develops. A floodplain is an area where a thick layer of rich soil is left behind as the floodwater recedes. Thats why floodplains are usually good places for growing plants. They are very flat areas and they have very rich soils. The Nile River valley is a great example of a floodplain. Each year, the Nile River rises over its banks. This floodwater carries a lot of sediment. This sediment has been eroded off areas of land from upstream. This sediment is dropped as the water slows down after spreading across the land. What is left behind is a very rich soil. Thats why crops can be raised in the middle of a sandy desert. Natural Levees A flooding river often forms natural levees along its banks. A levee is a raised strip of sediments deposited close to the waters edge.
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION:
What type of region might a floodplain develop into if a river floods often?