How surfers and insects become friends

I still remembered this one time when I was still in primary school. In exam, I got wrong for one question which asked on the reason why a pin would float on a bowl of water. We complained so much (okay, maybe it was just me who complained. lol) when we were marked wrong for putting lower density of pin relative to water as the answer. Instead, the real  answer was surface tension. We were not taught so much of surface tension back then, but as I grow up during my schooling years, my wonderment of surface tension also grows.

A bit of definition here (zzzz), surface tension is the force produced between molecules of liquid on its surface. 

Imagine water molecules now. Imagine them in bulk and those at the surface attracting one another (tarik.....tarik...). If the liquid is in container, you should imagine the water molecules at the surface (on top) would now act like a barrier or form a skin. 

That's why the pin in a bowl of water can float(say oooohh). 

That also explains why we can pour water a little bit above the glass rim(say aaaah). 

Not just that, surface tension is what permitting the insects like water striders to walk on the water( say fuyyo). Awesome sangat. As if what liquid to us become solid to them. 

But hey, human beings are smart too to utilise this special nature of nature by creating water surface sports like surfing! (which I am yet to try aside from boat paddling) Haruslah! Semua yang Allah ciptakan kat dunia ni kan untuk manusia :) 

Not just that, when you pour water onto a surface which is waterproof like tents or waxed mirror, you can see droplets of water scattered on the surface instead of water wetting the whole surface. This also goes down to attraction of water molecules which are pulled towards the centre, forming droplets. 

And for this past few weeks, in university, we have been taught about surface tension in the lungs. If without surface tension, when our chest expands, the lungs will not expand together. So, awesome and all-knowing Allah gave us thin layer of fluid between our lungs and our thorax cavity (lets just say the inner chest as nana's so called layman term). The force of attraction between the molecules of fluid/water causes the outer later of the lungs to be sealed to the inner chest, hence when we breathe in, it starts with chest expansion which leads into the sealed lungs being expanded as well. Only then, air can come in! 

Kenapa kena tahu ni? so that when we look at water droplets, we can know realise how amazing the creator of the water droplets is. So, that when we go surfing next time, we know that it isn't us being cool to surf, but it's the cool Almight who creates the ground for us to surf. 

And just so know, water surface tension in your lungs sangat berharga tahu? People who suffer from emphysema for instance have some of the tissues in their lungs damage, hence surface tension pun affected, causing structures like bronchioles to easily collapse and that makes it difficult to breathe. 

Hargailah setiap saat kamu mampu menarik nafas dan udara mampu untuk tertarik. Cuz behind that, lies thousands of His Wonder.

eid mubarak

Alhamdulillah, dua minggu sudah. Dua minggu sudah pulang ke Bumi Inggeris yang tak-berapa-nak-rasa-omputih ni. harhar. Baru pulang dari camp semalam- jumpa dengan jiwa-jiwa baru di UK (read Malaysian freshers). Baru pulang dari iftar petang tadi dengan orang-orang Leicester (read Malaysians). Alhamdulillah. Hee..It does feel homely. Yes, it does.

Baru dua minggu juga bergelak ketawa kembali dengan groupmates yg masing2 dengan karenah masing-masing (yes, you can read British locals this time). And am looking forward for an Eid Lunch with Muslim Pakistani friends this Friday insha Allah.

I had the task of chairing the sharing session this evening. Asked the freshers on their expectations. Cause I think the biggest mistake I made when I first arrived in UK was not setting up an expectation. Not doing any mindsetting. Mindsetting on what I wish to achieve. In my study. In my personal development. In my tarbiyah.

Thought I might share some points (or maybe personal views) here:

1. It's really important to plan on what you want to achieve. Seriously, plan. Plan seriously.

2. It's important to know that there are such things as good and bad things. Have self control on imposing good deed and restraining from bad things.

3. It's also vital to know that we have more than one role. A child, a friend, a student, a group mate, a naqibah (if you are), a sister, and many others. Ten persons you know in life make at least ten different roles for you.

4. And the third point also tells that, we should know how to prioritise. Priority changes according to situations. But, may it always be a priority that is deemed as priority in Allah's view.

5. Be principled. If you meet a thousand individuals outside there, you'll find a thousand principles. But in that crowd, trust me, majority of people tend to follow majority. In the end, principles combine and become homogenous and hence the majority's principle becomes mainstream. That has pros and cons of course. That tells how majority view can influence you a lot. But stick to what you think is right. But make sure what you think is right is really right. And it also tells how we, as human beings are in need of human support around us.

6. Be open minded. Now this seems to contradict the previous point. But we can be open minded whilst being principled. Just as how in human interaction, we sometimes can mix, but not blend.

I hope my points are not superficial, especially for my own self to practise. Arrr..

kerna diri ini cukup tahu bahawa berkata2 itu memang mudah. yang susah itu melangkah.

oh and... EID MUBARAK!