Gravitational Tractor for Towing Asteroids

Please answer the question below:
1. Why are scientists concerned about collisions between Earth and Asteroids? [1 pt]
2. Why are scientists concerned about having to land on asteroids in order to “move them out of Earth’s way”? (List at least 3 reasons) [3 pts]
3. Describe how the proposed “Gravitational Tractor” will work. [2 pts]

Here is another cute one

Now, there is a way to get to school!

This is really neat!

Educating future scientists

I'm going to comment on everyone's comments at once.
It seems, for the most part, everyone thinks science is important. We are all on the same page that it can only benefit us to know what's going on all around. Weather or not people think it's important to them, everyone has said that it's still important for the purpose of understanding. Human nature is to want to understand. We always want to know what is going on...science or gossip. People learning science in high-school might not be saying "I'm just dying to find out what's up with those hydrogen and oxygen molecules," but someone wanted to know in the beginning, and that's why we know these facts today. Someone wanted to know something other then gossip. They wanted to understand the world around them. So it's important for someone to want to know in the first place, or else we might not know half of what we know today.

You guys are being so earnest that I just can’t help but attempt to play devil’s advocate.



It is important to learn science for those who are going to use science in their future professions. The rest of us can live a million years without science. For example, as long as my doctor is able to accurately diagnose and treat the diseases when I get sick, I’d trust her to do what is right for me and advise me accordingly.

Similarly, I don’t need to know how my car works in order to drive it. Nor do I need to know how to fix it – that is why I hire car mechanics. I don’t need to understand the chemical composition of the drugs I take as long as there are competent people working for the pharmasutical companies who design those drugs. And I certainly do not need to know how to calculate the forces describing motion – things will continue falling and moving the same way regardless of what I know.

Thus, instead of spending money on people like me, who obviously do not need to learn science, our science education dollars would be better spent teaching science to people who plan to make it their future professions.

So, here you go – discuss this.