astronomy

Nathan Banks

Nathan Banks is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Nathan Banks rather than just read about it. In short: Nathan Banks (April 13, 1868 – January 24, 1953) was an American entomologist noted for his work on Neuroptera, Megaloptera, Hymenoptera, and Acarina (mites). He started work on mites in 1890 with the USDA.

Key takeaways

Nathan Banks belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Nathan Banks to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Nathan Banks from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Nathan Banks (April 13, 1868 – January 24, 1953) was an American entomologist noted for his work on Neuroptera, Megaloptera, Hymenoptera, and Acarina (mites). He started work on mites in 1890 with the USDA. In 1909 he reported many Costa Rican species with several new species saying "During the past few years the writer has received large series of spiders and daddy-longlegs from Costa Rica for identification". In 1915 he authored the first comprehensive English handbook on mites: A Treatise on the Acarina, Or Mites (Smithsonian Institution, Proceedings Of The United States National Museum, 1905, 114 pages). Banks left the USDA in 1916 to work at the Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ) where he did further work on Hymenoptera, Arachnida and Neuroptera. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1922. In 1924, he spent about two months in Panama, through kindness of Dr. Thomas Barbour and in company with Dr. W.M. Wheeler. Between mid June and mid August they divided time between forested regions on Barro Colorado Island and more open habitat at various points along the railroad in the vicinity of Panama City (See Banks, 1929 "Spiders of Panama" for details). He authored more than 440 technical works over the years 1890 to 1951. He was married to Mary A. Lu Gar and they had nine children: Ruth Agnes, Bessie Gertrude, Harold Bryant, Nellie May, Gilbert Shelley, Waldo Hawthorne, Dorothy Alice, Elsie Lucille, and Douglas Hartley (who had died by 1926).

References

Carpenter, F. M. & P. J. Darlington, Jr. 1954. Nathan Banks, A biographic sketch and list of publications. Psyche, vol. 61, pp. 81–110.

External links PDF linked here Archived 2013-11-11 at the Wayback Machine US National Mite Collection History—accessed 25 April 2007 Nathan BANKS - papers on Opiliones—accessed 25 April 2007 New England Naturalists: A Bio-Bibliography—lists obituaries in professional journals—accessed 25 April 2007 Checklist and Bibliography of the Megaloptera and Neuroptera of Florida—representative publications by Banks on neuroptera and megaloptera—accessed 25 April 2007 MCZ Entomology Department Archived 2007-06-09 at the Wayback Machine—discusses work on hymenoptera—accessed 25 April 2007 Works by Nathan Banks at Project Gutenberg Works by or about Nathan Banks at the Internet Archive

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Nathan Banks

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Nathan Banks claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Nathan Banks before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Nathan Banks ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Nathan Banks

In research: Nathan Banks appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Nathan Banks in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Nathan Banks is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1868 births, 1953 deaths, American arachnologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Nathan Banks outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Nathan Banks in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Nathan Banks means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Nathan Banks out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nathan Banks in simple terms?

Why does Nathan Banks matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Nathan Banks?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Nathan Banks.