For today’s edition of “Deal of the Day,” here are some of the best deals we stumbled on while browsing the web this morning! Please note that Geeks are Sexy might get a small commission from qualifying purchases done through our posts. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Bear Grylls has survived the harshest places on Earth, but now he’s in Minecraft—where his toughest challenge is resisting the urge to punch trees forever. Dropped into a village full of unsuspecting locals (who clearly didn’t lock their doors), Bear goes full survival mode: raiding homes, stealing crops, and somehow calling it “resource gathering.” Check it out!
Experience immersive gaming with the Acer Nitro 31.5″ WQHD curved monitor, now available for just $199.99 (down from $269.99). Its 2560 x 1440 resolution delivers sharp, vibrant visuals, while the 1500R curvature enhances your field of view. With a refresh rate of up to 180Hz and a 1ms VRB response time, enjoy smooth, tear-free gameplay powered by AMD FreeSync technology. The zero-frame design, ergonomic tilt, and height adjustment ensure comfort, and built-in speakers add convenience. Equipped with 1 Display Port 1.4, 2 HDMI 2.0 ports, and an audio out, this monitor is perfect for gamers seeking top-tier performance at a fantastic price.
Gravity is the force that pulls you toward the ground. And that’s a good thing. Gravity keeps you on Earth; otherwise, you would float away into space.
But gravity also makes it difficult to leave Earth if you’re a rocket heading for space. Escaping our planet’s gravitational pull is hard – not only is gravity strong, but it also extends far away from Earth.
Like a balloon
As a rocket scientist, one of the things I do is teach students how rockets overcome gravity. Here’s how it works:
Essentially, the rocket has to make thrust – that is, create force – by burning propellant to make hot gases. Then it shoots those hot gases out of a nozzle. It’s sort of like blowing up a balloon, letting go of it and watching it fly away as the air rushes out.
More specifically, the rocket propellant consists of both fuel and oxidizer. The fuel is typically something flammable, usually hydrogen, methane or kerosene. The oxidizer is usually liquid oxygen, which reacts with the fuel and allows it to burn.
When going into space and escaping from Earth, rockets need lots of force, so they consume propellant very quickly. That’s a problem, because the rocket can’t carry enough propellant to keep thrusting forever; the amount of propellant needed would make the rocket too heavy to get off the ground.
So what happens when the propellant runs out? The thrust stops, and gravity slows the rocket down until it gradually begins to fall back to Earth.
Fortunately, scientists can launch the rocket with some sideways momentum so that it misses the Earth when it returns. They can even do this so it continuously falls around the Earth forever. In other words, it goes into orbit, and begins to circle the planet.
Many launches intentionally don’t completely leave Earth behind. Thousands of satellites are orbiting our planet right now, and they help phones and TVs work, display weather patterns for meteorologists, and even let you use a credit card to pay for things at the store or gas at the pump. You can sometimes see these satellites in the night sky, including the International Space Station.
Escaping Earth
But suppose the goal is to let the rocket escape from Earth’s gravity forever so it can fly off into the depths of space. That’s when scientists do a neat trick called staging. They launch with a big rocket, and then, once in space, discard it to use a smaller rocket. That way, the journey can continue without the weight of the bigger rocket, and less propellant is needed.
But even staging is not enough; eventually the rocket will run out of propellant. But if the rocket goes fast enough, it can run out of propellant and still continue to coast away from Earth forever, without gravity pulling it back. It’s like riding a bike: build up enough speed and eventually you can coast up a hill without pedaling.
And just like there’s a minimum speed required to coast the bike, there’s a minimum speed a rocket needs to coast away into space: 25,020 mph (about 40,000 kilometers per hour).
Scientists call that speed the escape velocity. A rocket needs to go that fast so that the momentum propelling it away from Earth is stronger than the force of gravity pulling it back. Any slower, and you’ll go into an orbit of Earth.
Escaping Jupiter
Bigger, or more massive, objects have stronger gravitational pull. A rocket launching from a planet bigger than Earth would need to achieve a higher escape speed.
For example, Jupiter is the most massive planet in our solar system. It’s so big, it could swallow 1,000 Earths. So it requires a very high escape speed: 133,100 mph (about 214,000 kilometers per hour), more than five times the escape speed of Earth.
But the extreme example is a black hole, an object so massive that its escape speed is extraordinarily high. So high, in fact, that even light – which has a speed of 370 million mph (about 600 million kilometers per hour) – is not fast enough to escape. That’s why it’s called a black hole.
Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to [email protected]. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.
And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.
Even after 10 years since The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt first enchanted us, it seems the game’s vast world still holds secrets waiting to be uncovered!
One dedicated player recently shared on The Witcher 3 subreddit that they stumbled upon something entirely new after logging hundreds of hours exploring the game. If you’ve ventured into the Blood and Wine expansion and thought you’d seen it all, think again. Did you know that the Duchess of Beauclair has a pet leopard?
Yes, you read that right. The regal Duchess, already surrounded by the elegance and mystery of Toussaint, casually owns a leopard, and somehow, this detail has flown under the radar for nearly a decade. Many players, both new and seasoned, were equally surprised to learn about this hidden gem of the game.
It’s discoveries like these that remind us why we love The Witcher 3 — its sprawling open world, layered storytelling, and countless intricate details. So, dust off your silver sword and dive back in. Who knows what other surprises await?
Have you come across this elusive leopard, or are there other secrets you’ve uncovered in the world of The Witcher? Share your tales in the comments!
For today’s edition of “Deal of the Day,” here are some of the best deals we stumbled on while browsing the web this morning! Please note that Geeks are Sexy might get a small commission from qualifying purchases done through our posts. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.