How Instant Photographs Work

The world of photography has changed since Edwin Land introduced a remarkable new invention to the world in 1947 - instant photography. Ever since the invention of the Polaroid camera, we could not imagine a world without it anymore.

I assume that nearly everyone knows how a Polaroid camera looks like and what needs to be done in order to take a picture, but do you actually know how the film is developed inside the camera? After pressing the shutter release button on the top of the device, the picture appears in a matter of minutes. In order to be able to fully understand the physics behind a Polaroid camera, it is essential to first be familiar with the basics of traditional photographic film.

Normal film is composed of plastic base coated with particles of light-sensitive silver compound. A black-and-white film has one layer of silver compound. When the film is exposed, the sensitive particles react to the light by changing their structure. To create an actual photograph, the film would then have to be treated with several chemicals. The instant film, however, already provides the developing chemicals in the different layers itself.  

The light-sensitive layer lies on top of the black base layer, which is under the image layer, the timing layer and the acid layer. This specific arrangement of the layers contributes a great deal to the quick developing, as it creates the environment for a chemical chain reaction. This reaction is triggered by the reagent, which is situated just above the light-sensitive layers. The reagent is composed of a mix of opacifiers, alkali, white pigments and other elements. As soon as the image is captured, the film sheet is ejected out of the camera through a pair of rollers, which spread the reagent material onto the sheet. As the reagent chemicals move through the individual layers, the exposed particles are changed into metallic silver. At the same time the developer dye is dissolved by chemicals and diffused up into the image layer. However, only the dyes from the unexposed layers will reach the image layer. The opacifiers and alkali in the reagent then react with the acid layer, making the opacifiers clear so that a visible image is created.

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How to Go Back in Time and Kill Hitler

What is needed:

• history book
• time machine
• a snack (preferably snickers, if there is danger to turn into a diva when you are hungry)
• ultra-bullet-proof-whole-body attire
• black leather gloves
• mask
• a gun
• enough cartridges
• hand grenade

Estimated time needed:

• four hours

Warning! In case you are not yet of legal age, ask an adult for help or forget that you have ever found this instruction!

Going back in time to eliminate one of the worst personalities of history is most probably one of the impossible missions that many would have done with a smile on their faces. Have you ever thought about actually doing this to save the lives of millions of innocent people? If yes, then you will be happy to read this instruction that will, most certainly, help you with achieving this.

Step 1:

Take your history book from school (in case you burnt it after graduation, borrow one from the city library) and choose a time and date you want to go back to. I would recommend choosing a special event you want to go back to. For instnance, 1933 in Rosenheim, when Hitler picks up friends from München. You know that he will be on the road between Rosenheim and the Obersalzberg.

Step 2:

Buy yourself a time machine and learn how to use it. If you do not know how, read the manual.

Step 3:

Place your snack, your gun and sufficient cartridges into your backpack.

Step 4:

Put on your ultra-bullet-proof-whole-body attire, mask and your black leather gloves and step into the time machine.

Step 5:

Turn it on and travel back to 1933.

WARNING!  Be sure to use your gloves before stepping out of your time machine, otherwise you will leave finger prints on the gun.

Step 6:

Park your time machine right on the road between Rosenheim and the Obersaltberg for Hitler to pass. Wait there until Hitler passes by with his car.

Step 7:

When you see the car from afar, aim for his heart or his head and pull the trigger.

Step 8:

In case you see him move after shooting him, throw your hand grenade in front of his car.

Step 9:

Run into your time machine and travel home immediately. Treat yourself with a snickers on your way home.

Congratulations, the impossible mission finally has became possible!

https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/178bVTnDfRD_0UxR3jsfQPFJ7c6fd70xwmPO_t4OUv1Y/edit

CAJ #7: Is space exploration a waste of money?

Space exploration means to explore different and new planets, galaxies, comets, satellites etc. in outer space. To be able to achieve great explorations, a proper technology is need to be invented and used. This technology, however, requires a lot of money. The explorer and campaigner Robin Hanbury argues that “The amount of money being spent on space research is in the billions and it has achieved extraordinarily little except for a bit of improved technology which would probably have come about anyway by other means.” The highly controversial issue whether money should be spent on space exploration or not has been discussed extensively in the last years.

It is not expensive, actually

It is known that an enormous amount of money is being spent on the discoveries of outer space and new planets, but this should not be considered as a wasteful activity. Compared to other areas of government spending, the cost of space exploration simply is not that high. How much is seven billion dollars compared to the expenses of the U.S government on military? Each year, 22 times the amount for space exploration is spent on alcohol, and over ten million dollars is spent in Iraq by the government each month. If you ask me, war and alcohol are not  better ways of spending/ investing money.

Colonization of new planets

Learning about the universe that surrounds us is crucial to understanding more about the world we live in. According to many scientists, this is very important for the survival of mankind since the species on a single planet would very much likely to become extinct in the long run due to various reasons. Lack of natural resources, occurrence of accidents such as comets hitting the earth, nuclear war and worldwide epidemic are some of these reasons. Therefore extending the human habitat out from Earth into the solar system may lead us into the future and eventually allow us to colonize and keep us from getting extinct. When space technology has advanced far enough, we will be able to provide normal life for our future generations. It may take centuries to get to this point, but we will not get the technology without experimenting with it.

Why explore space, when the earth itself is not yet fully explored?

Many people argue that it is better to explore our own planet, the Earth, rather than the space. Even though it is true that much of Earth, including the ocean and Antarctica, are unexplored, it's not as though we're exploring space instead of our own planet. The effort being made to explore the ocean is just a great as that of Space Travel. Money is not really wasted in the process of exploration; rather, it is invested into discovering new things, for the benefit of mankind.

Another discussion point is that the money that is being invested into space exploration should be given to the poor and needy. Money is already being donated and if you wish to rather donate to the poor, well then do it. But humanitarian organizations are “throwing money at their feet”. It would be more intelligent to teach them how to plant crops that survive in their harsh conditions and educate people who are illiterate. What will happen if the money runs out? When they send people to give them prepared food and medication, what will happen when they leave? Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime.

New discoveries are made through space exploration

The knowledge that space exploration provides is crucial for developing areas from medicine to scientific research in general. Many discoveries and products have been developed from the knowledge gained from space exploration. One major discovery would the forecasting of weather. (Satellites. Very important for hurricanes and dangerous storm systems, have saved lives and help us prepare for the worst. Another would be GPS (Global Positioning System) that helps man navigate through land, air, and sea. Even everyday items are discovered thanks to it. For example, non-stick pans and surfaces were also created as a result of space exploration.

There are nearly uncountable progress of exploration, and all are beneficial to us all.

Overall, space exploration has provided us with new knowledge and as a result of this, many new and intriguing inventions have been made. Considering all these arguments, is space exploration, then, really a waste of money?

CAJ #6: My very excellent mother just served us nachos

Hey everyone,

As you probably know from my first posts I chose to write about space exploration for ma Current Affairs Journal.

The solar system consists of the Sun; the eight official planets, at least three "dwarf planets", more than 130 satellites of the planets, a large number of small bodies (the comets and asteroids), and the interplanetary medium.

The inner solar system consists of the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.

The planets of the outer solar system are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune (Pluto is now classified as a dwarf planet)

Memorizing all the planets around our sun can be done easily. There are various funny ways of how to remember the order of the planets in our solar system. I, for myself, am an audiotory learner and remembered them by singing a song. :P Singing a song with a certain melody, helps me to remember things better.

My              M= MERCURY

Very            V = VENUS

Excellent     E = EARTH

Mother        M = MARS

Just            J = JUPITER

Served       S = SATURN

Us              U = URANUS

Nachos      N = NEPTUNE

Those are the eight planets that can be seen with a small telescope.

Some of you may think that I forgot to mention Pluto, but no, Plut is not a planet. It has been decided that Pluto should be classified as a dwarf planet, which is a category distinct from regular planets.

Rating of an instruction for building a camera

Instruction we rated: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwLKAovBanVLVEd6dnUtdGZzZEE/edit

We believe that the instructions of Tim Hunkin for building a camera lucida are barely understandable and could undergo many improvements. The instruction appears to be very confusing due to its design and the way it is constructed contentually. The reader is not really able to follow the directions properly as the instructions and the corresponding drawings do not have an order. To make it all more organised and chronological, the author could have, firstly, divided the instructions into points and, secondly, included numbers to the drawings. He also could have explained it more detailed, since it should be understandable for someone who never made a camera lucida before. The way it is written, it would take a long time for a beginner to build it, which is counterproductive. We also noticed that neither a list of what is needed to built it nor clear and detailed pictures of how to make it step by step can be found in this instruction. All in all, the instruction cannot be followed easily and therefore is, in our opinion, not one we would recommend reading.

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Emina Ribo, Monika Maric, Carola Ponjevic

CAJ #5: Avarage Joe Narrative Text

Narrative

Even though it was a day like every other in Neil’s life, he was very excited this morning. He was drinking his black coffee while watching the daily NASA-news on the Science Channel. “We need to answer one of the fundamental mysteries of the cosmos: Does life exist beyond Earth?”, said President Obama determined, while talking to the Space Administration Charles F. Bolden. Neil realized that this question needs to be answered as soon as possible. With this thought in mind he puts on his heavy spacesuit, which he had specially designed for this mission, and steps into his very own, modern rocket. He hoped that today he will be able to uncover evidence of life in outer space. Determined as he was, he decided to explore the second smallest planet in the Solar System –Mars. After a two-hour flight through the space, he finally arrived there. However, to his disappointment, Neil noted a fleet of robotic spacecraft and rovers already on and around Mars. Apparently, he was not the only one with the great idea to dramatically increase our knowledge about the Red Planet and pave the way for future human explorers.

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CAJ #4: How can I become an astronaut?

Personal connection to my CAJ

Once, when I was little, I said to my mum: “Mummy, one day, when I am grown up, I want to fly to the universe and look down upon the Earth from another perspective. I want to explore new planets and, who knows, maybe find new life there.”

I am lucky that I got the chance to write about a topic that has always been of great interest and importance to me. I have always been fascinated by the planets that are surrounding our Earth and have always wanted to study something in order to be able to discover new planets. As I have always been fascinated about space exploration, I imagined that working for a space exploring company would be quite interesting. How often have a just listened to the sentence that stayed in our minds like no other “That's one small step for a man, a giant leap for mankind” and thought about what would have I said if I was the first woman to be on the moon? This was, of course, me just daydreaming about flying around in space. I had no idea of the conditions and qualities an astronaut needs. To be able to bear tremendous responsibility while in orbit is not something that is learned overnight. According to ESA an astronaut needs: “A high level of education in scientific or technical disciplines, coupled with an outstanding professional background in research, application or education fields possibly supported by the use of computer systems and applications, is essential. Previous experience with aircraft operations is a bonus, particularly if it involved responsible tasks such as being a test pilot or flight engineer. The more skills and experience an applicant has the better, as this will increase their ability to undertake a variety of tasks.”

One out of a few thousand applicants manages to make a change. I guess that’s what discouraged me in the end and made me study languages (which I love btw). :D