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Govoni · 09-17-2014, 07:13 PM

SPOILER!!: All this!

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

The professor listened carefully to each student as they spoke, nodding and mhmmming at all the appropriate places, but offered no specific reply just yet. Were they all listening to themselves? At how easily pop culture had made it seem the Earth was to be destroyed. How any planet for that matter could just go KABOOM with the flip of a switch. But that was what made science fiction so fascinating, wasn't it? The fact that there was no end to what the imagination could come up with with applied to scientific inquiry and loose theory.

While students' active imaginations were stellar to see working, some of them were also quite...terrifying in how methodical their 'plans' were. He wasn't trying to create the next army of Death Eaters or anything (although the thought of scientific Death Eaters was a rather amusing one) but he found himself hoping that none of them, especially some of the Ravenclaws, found their way to Knockturn Alley and befriended some of the more unsavory sort of witches and wizards.

"Alright alright, that is enough ideas for now," he announced, raising both of his hands to attempt to draw some more attention to himself after checking his sundial watch for the time. "While all of your apocalyptic ideas and methods are creative, they are just that. Ideas. Popular culture has created a vision that the Earth can easily be destroyed. The truth of the matter is that the Earth is a planet that has been built to last. It is already some 4.54 billion years old and is essentially a 5.972 sextillion, that's 18 zero's, metric ton ball of iron floating in space."

He took a few steps away from his desk and stood in the center of the room with a somewhat grim expression on his face.

"Now, several methods mentioned - fictional and not - were those that went on to talk about destroying the Earth's atmosphere. To make the planet itself inhabitable. Now the sad reality is that some of those methods are very real and is why the field of atmospheric sciences is so important. So, to go back to one of the very first questions of the lesson, why do we study astronomy, for some it is because they are trying to save lives. Knowing and understanding how humans can effect the Earth is vital, especially for you who are the future of the planet."

And all that was a bit dramatic, which is why his face then exploded into an overly exaggerated grin as he clapped his hands together firmly in front of his chest and rocked back on his heels.

He turned his attention towards Miss Kittredge and gave her a small nod. "However, those evil master minds among you who spoke of making Earth uninhabitable have, as Miss Kittredge has pointed out, failed the task at hand. Destroying life on Earth will not stop it from being a planet. Just for a bit of review, remember that a planet is defined by the following," he continued as he gave the blackboard another tap to make the images disappear and words appear in their place.

He turned his attention back to the semicircle of desks. "Most of you came up with concepts seemingly right out of science fiction. In fact, Mr. Baines and others who mentioned creating black holes have literally done that as that was Nero's method of destroying worlds." Using something called Red Matter, but there was no need to go into the fantasy science of things that were impossible to recreate but made for interesting plots. "You can read up on black holes in your textbook, and older students may recall our study of them in this classroom, but black holes eventually will evaporate due to something called Hawking radiation. For the average black hole out there, this will take a really REEEEEEEEALLY long time. But for something that could be 'created'," he said, using air quotes around the term because it was HIGHLY unlikely that such a thing would ever be able to be accomplished. "This would happen almost instantaneously, rendering your
method...well...impossible. Pushing the Earth into a black hole using tractor beams..." BEAMS, Miss Banner. BEAMS. "...or other technology is also impossible. Gravity alone would prevent this from happening not to mention that the nearest black hole is some 1600 light years away from us."

He paused again. "The same goes for blowing the planet up entirely, either from the outside or from within. To even hope to accomplish this one would need approximately 1,246,400,000,000 tonnes of antimatter to blast the planet apart so much that gravity could not pull the bits back together and reform it. Let's just say that humans are no where near that number." Debunked. Again.

There obviously was not enough time to go into everyone's theories and talk the science behind them, so he was going to put all that to rest for now.

"Now, asteroid impacts...the collision method for destroying the planet is a threat that is very real. Now, I use the term 'real' loosely here because the planet has already been struck by many over its lifetime and still continues its orbit around the Sun. Once when a Mars-sized object slammed into the Earth, billions of years ago...and of course the one that ended the dinosaur's time on Earth. An asteroid called 2014 RC was within one-tenth of the distance from Earth to the moon back in September of 2014, but NASA has an efficient asteroid detection technology in place as of 2065 that will give the Earth ample warning should anything threaten the Earth and, with the way technology is developing, we will have a means to take preventative measures."

And that was FAR too much talking. Yawning a little himself - and wishing he had some water - the astronomer looked down at his sundial watched and stretched his arms.

"But enough talk for now. Wands out everyone!" he commanded as he gave his desk a firm tap and made 4 boxes of what looked like house colored sand (blue, red, yellow, and green) wrapped up on small plastic parcels. "A few terms ago I had students create their own solar system as a laboratory exercise. Today, we will not exactly be doing that, but knowing how to create a planet-like object will be necessary. These bags," he said as he picked up one of the red 'sand' bags. "Contain ground up stone, iron, and a little something extra to help recreate a planet-like orb that will float in the air on its own if you perform the spell correctly. I would like each of you to come get a bag or two in your house color." Yes, Miss Wisteria, yellow. "And try to create a planet. Simply jab your wand towards the bag and say Fingere Elementi," he explained as he demonstrated. The clear plastic of the bag began to melt and float upwards in his
hand before spinning like a top. After a few moments, and with a loud POP!, a perfectly spherical "planet" was floating in the palm of his hand.

"Once you have created a planet please just sit tight. The real activity will begin after a few minutes of practice."

And for the record, HE could certainly live without having his personal bubble ruptured by hugs.

OOC: ACTIVITY TIME!

You will need a minimum of 1 post for this portion, but of course can do more if you want.

The steps you need to be sure to include are the following:
collect a plastic bag of colored "sand" in your house color

perform Fingere Elementi (wand movement is a jab towards the bag)

successfully create one house colored planet! (or not if your character is really bad at spells. That's cool beans too)

Minor explosions are fine, but nothing that would land your character in the hospital wing or without a limb, please and thank you!

Got a question? Please feel free to shoot me a VM or PM or ask Professor Flamsteed IC. Just be sure to title your post with something like "PROFESSOR HELP!!!" to make sure I do not accidentally overlook you!

You will have approximately 24 hours to complete this activity.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tegz

Extracting her hand from her brother's grip, Ruby went and fetched herself a green sand bag thing, and a blue one for Gabriel. She made a half-hearted attempt at the spell just so she could SAY she tried it...

"Fingere Elementi!" JAB.

... but obviously it didn't work, and then she simply passed her bag to Gabriel.

He'd do both.

That was the way they got things done.

When asked about the destruction of the planet, Gabriel kept quiet; not listening to everyone else's ideas...but in general deep thought. Of course when thinking about 'deep thought', he was reminded of the computer 'Deep Thought'...and then further reminded of Vogons and the Vogon Constructor Fleet.

If any conditions or scenarios were possible, that'd be his choice of untimely deaths for planet Earth. Quick, clean, painless...with a Vogon poem thrown in the mix.

So lost in his own amusements was he, that he'd actually relaxed completely; settling back in his seat; muscles sagging. When Ruby collected a bag of sand for him, as well as herself, Gabriel just grinned at her. A real one, too. It was so unusual that they were thoughtful of one another in public like this...

Of course, it didn't last.

"Ruby..." STARE. "...the professor is RIGHT there." There was some LOUD WHISPERING at her nerve...but because she'd told him about the detention and because he knew she struggled with things much easier, Gabe covertly pulled her sand closer. She'd attempted...So, he was merely assisting. Yes, that would be the story if asked...Anyway, the spell was simple enough. A jab...Transfiguration, too. So, more importance placed on the intent and focus...

He concentrated on the green sand, having completely blocked everyone else in the room out. To Gabriel, they currently didn't exist...which he preferred, really. If he were reminded, he would not be successful today. An anxiety attack would've ensued, causing him to fall into the floor, convulse...among other embarrassing things. So, yes...PLEASE LET HIM STAY IGNORANT TO OUTSIDERS. Just for the 'spell' duration.

"Fingere Elementi." Gabe jabbed his wand at the sand, eyes slightly narrowed with his singular focus. It was kinda like when he was just starting research on a new language. His eyes would zero in on the unfamiliar letters and words; attempting to process before actually knowing how to read them.

The sand slowly swirled itself into a small spherical shape before solidfying. POP!.....Was this right? It looked like a small...circular ball. Planets were circular balls...So...?

After a moment, he slid it towards, and then in front of, his sister. There.

Now for his...

SPOILER!!: Gabriel's Astronomy Notes!

09-17-2014, 07:13 PM	#245 (permalink)
Govoni MO & DMLE Blast-Ended Skrewt Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Dragonstone Posts: 15,583 Hogwarts RPG Name: Lyric Bayliss-Black Slytherin Fourth Year x12 x12	Zombie Apocalypse Team Leader ★ ★ in a crown of pepperoni and artisan cheese SPOILER!!: All this! Quote: Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie The professor listened carefully to each student as they spoke, nodding and mhmmming at all the appropriate places, but offered no specific reply just yet. Were they all listening to themselves? At how easily pop culture had made it seem the Earth was to be destroyed. How any planet for that matter could just go KABOOM with the flip of a switch. But that was what made science fiction so fascinating, wasn't it? The fact that there was no end to what the imagination could come up with with applied to scientific inquiry and loose theory. While students' active imaginations were stellar to see working, some of them were also quite...terrifying in how methodical their 'plans' were. He wasn't trying to create the next army of Death Eaters or anything (although the thought of scientific Death Eaters was a rather amusing one) but he found himself hoping that none of them, especially some of the Ravenclaws, found their way to Knockturn Alley and befriended some of the more unsavory sort of witches and wizards. "Alright alright, that is enough ideas for now," he announced, raising both of his hands to attempt to draw some more attention to himself after checking his sundial watch for the time. "While all of your apocalyptic ideas and methods are creative, they are just that. Ideas. Popular culture has created a vision that the Earth can easily be destroyed. The truth of the matter is that the Earth is a planet that has been built to last. It is already some 4.54 billion years old and is essentially a 5.972 sextillion, that's 18 zero's, metric ton ball of iron floating in space." He took a few steps away from his desk and stood in the center of the room with a somewhat grim expression on his face. "Now, several methods mentioned - fictional and not - were those that went on to talk about destroying the Earth's atmosphere. To make the planet itself inhabitable. Now the sad reality is that some of those methods are very real and is why the field of atmospheric sciences is so important. So, to go back to one of the very first questions of the lesson, why do we study astronomy, for some it is because they are trying to save lives. Knowing and understanding how humans can effect the Earth is vital, especially for you who are the future of the planet." And all that was a bit dramatic, which is why his face then exploded into an overly exaggerated grin as he clapped his hands together firmly in front of his chest and rocked back on his heels. He turned his attention towards Miss Kittredge and gave her a small nod. "However, those evil master minds among you who spoke of making Earth uninhabitable have, as Miss Kittredge has pointed out, failed the task at hand. Destroying life on Earth will not stop it from being a planet. Just for a bit of review, remember that a planet is defined by the following," he continued as he gave the blackboard another tap to make the images disappear and words appear in their place. He turned his attention back to the semicircle of desks. "Most of you came up with concepts seemingly right out of science fiction. In fact, Mr. Baines and others who mentioned creating black holes have literally done that as that was Nero's method of destroying worlds." Using something called Red Matter, but there was no need to go into the fantasy science of things that were impossible to recreate but made for interesting plots. "You can read up on black holes in your textbook, and older students may recall our study of them in this classroom, but black holes eventually will evaporate due to something called Hawking radiation. For the average black hole out there, this will take a really REEEEEEEEALLY long time. But for something that could be 'created'," he said, using air quotes around the term because it was HIGHLY unlikely that such a thing would ever be able to be accomplished. "This would happen almost instantaneously, rendering your method...well...impossible. Pushing the Earth into a black hole using tractor beams..." BEAMS, Miss Banner. BEAMS. "...or other technology is also impossible. Gravity alone would prevent this from happening not to mention that the nearest black hole is some 1600 light years away from us." He paused again. "The same goes for blowing the planet up entirely, either from the outside or from within. To even hope to accomplish this one would need approximately 1,246,400,000,000 tonnes of antimatter to blast the planet apart so much that gravity could not pull the bits back together and reform it. Let's just say that humans are no where near that number." Debunked. Again. There obviously was not enough time to go into everyone's theories and talk the science behind them, so he was going to put all that to rest for now. "Now, asteroid impacts...the collision method for destroying the planet is a threat that is very real. Now, I use the term 'real' loosely here because the planet has already been struck by many over its lifetime and still continues its orbit around the Sun. Once when a Mars-sized object slammed into the Earth, billions of years ago...and of course the one that ended the dinosaur's time on Earth. An asteroid called 2014 RC was within one-tenth of the distance from Earth to the moon back in September of 2014, but NASA has an efficient asteroid detection technology in place as of 2065 that will give the Earth ample warning should anything threaten the Earth and, with the way technology is developing, we will have a means to take preventative measures." And that was FAR too much talking. Yawning a little himself - and wishing he had some water - the astronomer looked down at his sundial watched and stretched his arms. "But enough talk for now. Wands out everyone!" he commanded as he gave his desk a firm tap and made 4 boxes of what looked like house colored sand (blue, red, yellow, and green) wrapped up on small plastic parcels. "A few terms ago I had students create their own solar system as a laboratory exercise. Today, we will not exactly be doing that, but knowing how to create a planet-like object will be necessary. These bags," he said as he picked up one of the red 'sand' bags. "Contain ground up stone, iron, and a little something extra to help recreate a planet-like orb that will float in the air on its own if you perform the spell correctly. I would like each of you to come get a bag or two in your house color." Yes, Miss Wisteria, yellow. "And try to create a planet. Simply jab your wand towards the bag and say Fingere Elementi," he explained as he demonstrated. The clear plastic of the bag began to melt and float upwards in his hand before spinning like a top. After a few moments, and with a loud POP!, a perfectly spherical "planet" was floating in the palm of his hand. "Once you have created a planet please just sit tight. The real activity will begin after a few minutes of practice." And for the record, HE could certainly live without having his personal bubble ruptured by hugs. OOC: ACTIVITY TIME! You will need a minimum of 1 post for this portion, but of course can do more if you want. The steps you need to be sure to include are the following: collect a plastic bag of colored "sand" in your house color perform Fingere Elementi (wand movement is a jab towards the bag) successfully create one house colored planet! (or not if your character is really bad at spells. That's cool beans too) Minor explosions are fine, but nothing that would land your character in the hospital wing or without a limb, please and thank you! Got a question? Please feel free to shoot me a VM or PM or ask Professor Flamsteed IC. Just be sure to title your post with something like "PROFESSOR HELP!!!" to make sure I do not accidentally overlook you! You will have approximately 24 hours to complete this activity. Quote: Originally Posted by Tegz Extracting her hand from her brother's grip, Ruby went and fetched herself a green sand bag thing, and a blue one for Gabriel. She made a half-hearted attempt at the spell just so she could SAY she tried it... "Fingere Elementi!" JAB. ... but obviously it didn't work, and then she simply passed her bag to Gabriel. He'd do both. That was the way they got things done. When asked about the destruction of the planet, Gabriel kept quiet; not listening to everyone else's ideas...but in general deep thought. Of course when thinking about 'deep thought', he was reminded of the computer 'Deep Thought'...and then further reminded of Vogons and the Vogon Constructor Fleet. If any conditions or scenarios were possible, that'd be his choice of untimely deaths for planet Earth. Quick, clean, painless...with a Vogon poem thrown in the mix. So lost in his own amusements was he, that he'd actually relaxed completely; settling back in his seat; muscles sagging. When Ruby collected a bag of sand for him, as well as herself, Gabriel just grinned at her. A real one, too. It was so unusual that they were thoughtful of one another in public like this... Of course, it didn't last. "Ruby..." STARE. "...the professor is RIGHT there." There was some LOUD WHISPERING at her nerve...but because she'd told him about the detention and because he knew she struggled with things much easier, Gabe covertly pulled her sand closer. She'd attempted...So, he was merely assisting. Yes, that would be the story if asked...Anyway, the spell was simple enough. A jab...Transfiguration, too. So, more importance placed on the intent and focus... He concentrated on the green sand, having completely blocked everyone else in the room out. To Gabriel, they currently didn't exist...which he preferred, really. If he were reminded, he would not be successful today. An anxiety attack would've ensued, causing him to fall into the floor, convulse...among other embarrassing things. So, yes...PLEASE LET HIM STAY IGNORANT TO OUTSIDERS. Just for the 'spell' duration. "Fingere Elementi." Gabe jabbed his wand at the sand, eyes slightly narrowed with his singular focus. It was kinda like when he was just starting research on a new language. His eyes would zero in on the unfamiliar letters and words; attempting to process before actually knowing how to read them. The sand slowly swirled itself into a small spherical shape before solidfying. POP!.....Was this right? It looked like a small...circular ball. Planets were circular balls...So...? After a moment, he slid it towards, and then in front of, his sister. There. Now for his... SPOILER!!: Gabriel's Astronomy Notes! Gabriel P. Banner Ravenclaw Fifth Year September 5th, 2084 Astronomy Classroom Astronomy One: Geocide (NASA name tags) What is Astronomy to you? SPACE SCIENCE!!! Textbook: The branch of science which deals with celestial objects, space, and the physical universe as a whole. Astronomy in Pop Culture (image provided) 4. Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z: "Furīza" Other names: Frieza / Freeza / Emperor Frieza / Emperor of Space / Occupation: Leader of the Planet Trade Organization Allegiance: Planet Trade Organization Ghost Warriors How would YOU remove Earth from being a planet? Vogon Constructor Fleet Lesson activity 1. Collect a plastic bag of colored "sand" in your house color 2. Perform Fingere Elementi (wand movement is a jab towards the bag) 3. Successfully create one house colored planet! __________________ We live in cities you'll *never* see onscreen..._______________________________________________ So very pretty, and we sure know how to run things..._______________________________ Livin' in ruins of a *palace, within our dreams...____________ We're on each other's team._____ Last edited by Govoni; 09-17-2014 at 07:21 PM.*