Unseen Wonders: The Invisible Science Around Us

Many things happen around us in a way that seems perfectly natural, but they are often things we're not even aware of, primarily because our senses are not equipped to detect them. As science progresses, various occurrences and phenomena are being discovered that we hadn't previously noticed.

Did you know, for instance, that the ground, which seems stable and secure, is in constant motion? The outermost layer of the Earth, the crust, is composed of several plates known as tectonic plates. These rest on a more viscous layer, and they are constantly in motion. The African Plate, on which Israel sits, moves southward continually. Because this movement is smooth and consistent, we don't feel it—unless there's a disruption, which results in an earthquake that makes us all aware of its instability.

We all know that the sun emits UV radiation, and we need sunscreen, right? You might think summer holds the greatest danger. But actually, the sun can burn the skin in winter too, even if you don't feel it. For example, when it snows and then the sun peeks out, it's more dangerous than the summer sun because the radiation is doubled—the direct rays from the sun and those reflected off the white snow, back to us.

Did you know that fruits and vegetables emit gases? Some continue to ripen even after being picked. While they sit in a bowl on your table, they release ethylene gas into the air—a flammable gas that's actually the only gaseous plant hormone in nature. When it interacts with various tissues in the fruit, it causes them to ripen; with flowers, it causes opening; with leaves, it influences growth or shedding; and with seeds, it encourages germination. We're witnessing its activity all the time, even if we can't smell it or feel it. What does it do? Think of green tomatoes that ripen to red, bananas or avocados that turn black, or potatoes and onions that sprout. Apples and bananas release a lot of ethylene, so it's best not to store them near items you want to last, as the gases emitted will cause everything around them to ripen.

And if you thought only the electric company could bring us power, consider this: plants also generate electricity. Through photosynthesis, plants use sunlight to create the energy they need to live. This is the only natural way an electrical current is produced. How does it happen? Inside plant cells, there's an organelle called the chloroplast, where photosynthesis occurs. Initially, light hits the chloroplast, 'awakening' some of the atoms that make up the chloroplast. This causes one electron to jump from one atom to a neighboring atom, and so on in a chain. This chain is essentially an electrical current generated within the plant, meaning that as long as the plant is in the light, electricity flows through it.