Author Archives: John Pullen

China has its Great Wall, Donald Trump has his “large fence”, and Britain has Hadrian’s Wall. It was built by the Romans during their occupation of Britain between around 100 BCE to 350 CE. Although the Roman legions stamped their authority over most of the various kingdoms, Queen Boudica was a particular problem for them;Continue reading “All About Hadrian’s Wall”

In Part I, we discovered that there are probably at least 20 billion trillion planets in the observable universe. So, trying to find life might seem a sure thing. But how could we identify an exoplanet that shows evidence of at least sustaining life? Even before we reach that point, how do we identify anContinue reading “Alien Life Part III: Exoplanets and Life”

In the previous article, we took a look at the number of possible planets, not only in our galaxy, the Milky Way, but in the observable universe and came up with the mind-spinning number of at least 20 billion trillion. That is not a typo, just a huge number. Alien life does not mean meetingContinue reading “Alien Life Part II: The Close Candidates”

It is a tantalising or frightening thought that somewhere out in space, there are alien civilisations as advanced as us or vastly more advanced. Meeting them could mean that they might be able to reveal the secret of travelling faster than light, warping space and curing all of our deadly diseases.  We could even beContinue reading “Alien Life Part I: What are the Chances?”

This is not a joke. There is a team of scientists asking for up to 10,000 samples of various poos. What are they going to do to them, you might ask? They are going to label them and put them in a freezer. My only hope is that they do not hold any dinner parties!Continue reading “The World Needs Your Poo!”

It is often remarked, and with some truth, that the Amazon Rainforest are the Lungs of the World. It is the largest tropical rainforest on the planet and covers more than 2.3 million square miles. It is reported that it contains over 10% of all the animal and plant species in the world. With theContinue reading “The Lungs of the World are Dying”

We have all experienced it, although many of us are unaware of it happening. It is the few moments when our mind goes blank. At that moment, we are not consciously thinking of anything. You might be looking at a book or your phone and be unaware of what you are doing. In company, youContinue reading “When Your Mind Goes Blank”

We learned at school that there are three states of matter, solid, liquid and gas. Actually, there are four if we include plasma. This is found where there is intense heat, such as the atmosphere of the Sun. But for this article, we will consider the first three. We know that solid substances have aContinue reading “Hot Gold”

The title above is from an often-used phrase, “The next war will not be over oil, but over water.” Let’s face it, water is one of our most precious natural resources. Freshwater is vital to the survival of the human race. You might think that in your part of the world, there is no problem;Continue reading “The Next War will be Over Water”

The race to the Moon is on again. After America through NASA’s Apollo space program, 12 astronauts have walked on the lunar surface. No other country has sent anyone else there – yet. But now several candidates are in the race. And it is a race. Those who get there first and set up aContinue reading “The Nuclear Moon”