Science Corner!Day 5

Scientist of the Day

John Philip Holland

John Philip Holland (29 February 1840 – 12 August 1914) was an Irish engineer who developed the first submarine to be formally commissioned by the U.S. Navy, and the first Royal Navy submarine, the Holland 1.

He was one of four brothers who may have been born in Liscannor, County Clare, Ireland to an Irish speaking mother, Máire Ní Scannláin, and John Holland

As a child, he was very interested in flying and while he was in school in Cork he drew up designs for an aeroplane. A man of many talents, he was also musically gifted.

While in Cork he had an excellent science teacher in Brother Dominic Burke, a Limerickvman. Brother Burke encouraged him in his designs for a submarine (rather than an airplane) and as early as 1859 he completed his first drafts for a submarine design, a design he never radically changed.

In 1870, Jules Verne published his novel ’20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’.

Holland was inspired by this book and was determined to design an underwater machine that could make this book’s plot a reality.

After initially working with the Irish rebel Fenians, Holland designed and tested his first submarine. By 1898, he had perfected it and sold his designs to the British and American Navy.

Weather Facts• The most rainfall ever recorded in one

year is 25.4 meters (1000 inches) in Cherrapunji, India.

• Clouds can be categorized into a number of different types; these include cumulus, stratus and cirrus.

• The USA has more tornadoes than any other country in the world, averaging around 1200, mostly in an area of central USA called Tornado Alley.

• You can use thunder to tell how far away a storm is. Count the number of seconds between when you see the lightning and hear the thunder. Divide this 5 and that will tell you how far away the storm is in miles.

• The Atlantic hurricane season is from June 1 to November 30. The Eastern Pacific hurricane season is from May 15 to November 30.

Science Picture of the Day

So – just a bunch of wet leaves for the picture today…

No! Take a look again! It’s a chameleon in camouflage as a leaf!

Camouflage are the colours or patterns that help an animal to ‘hide’ in their surroundings. Most animal species in the world have developed camouflage that helps them find food and avoid being attacked by a predator e.g. the white fox in the North Pole.

Chameleons (like the one on the picture) are able to change their skin to adapt to wherever they are e.g. up a tree, in the middle of leaves etc.,