Martin Jones, an Englishman had lost his power of vision and remained
blind for almost a decade. He has now regained his power of vision. This
has been accomplished by implanting a piece of tooth in his eye. The
tooth that was implanted was a canine tooth which is also known as the
"eyetooth". A living canine was pulled out of Martin Jones' own mouth.
They then placed a man-made eye lens into its base and placed it under
the lid of his eye and let the tissue grow over the canine. Also a lit
flap of his skin was taken from his mouth and implanted over the tooth
in his eye which later had access to its own supply of blood. The
doctors then cut a hole in the cornea that permitted light to enter the
eye. This very procedure gave six hundred people the power of vision.
Friday, 30 March 2012
Living Underground a Reality?
We explored what living underground offers and we found that it is not
as bad as it sounds. Living underground resolves various problems that
humans face today such as energy efficiency, comfortable temperature,
hideout from extreme temperatures, life without noise, natural shelter
from wars, tornados and hurricanes. Two problems that we stumbled across
were flooding and of course lack of sunlight. Flooding can be solved
with water pumps, but it seems that is impossible to penetrate sun rays
through the ground.
There is a town in South Australia called Coober Pedy, where people found that living underground can be great alternative for their needs. There are times when temperatures in Coober Pedy reach an amazing high of 43 degrees Celsius (109 F). These temperatures are very uncomfortable for a normal human being and can lead to various skin diseases. The people here try and avoid the sun by living underground during this period.
This area is commonly referred to as the opal capital of the world. One finds homes, churches and even hotels in the disused shaft mines.
The area, as expected, has become a tourist attraction. People travel long distances to come and see this amazing place. The town relies heavily on the income that they get from tourism just as much as they rely on the income that they get from opal mining.
The area also boasts of being the only place that has got an underground bar. So for those that love drinking beer you will have an amazing experience drinking it from below. Interestingly there is a underground Serbian Orthodox church in Coober Pedy. Serbian miners built it for their own religions needs.
There is a town in South Australia called Coober Pedy, where people found that living underground can be great alternative for their needs. There are times when temperatures in Coober Pedy reach an amazing high of 43 degrees Celsius (109 F). These temperatures are very uncomfortable for a normal human being and can lead to various skin diseases. The people here try and avoid the sun by living underground during this period.
This area is commonly referred to as the opal capital of the world. One finds homes, churches and even hotels in the disused shaft mines.
The area, as expected, has become a tourist attraction. People travel long distances to come and see this amazing place. The town relies heavily on the income that they get from tourism just as much as they rely on the income that they get from opal mining.
The area also boasts of being the only place that has got an underground bar. So for those that love drinking beer you will have an amazing experience drinking it from below. Interestingly there is a underground Serbian Orthodox church in Coober Pedy. Serbian miners built it for their own religions needs.
The Pyramids Were White
The stereotypical vision of the Egyptian Pyramids are large mountain
like brown piles of stone uprooting from the desert having a rough
contour. Though when first constructed around 2500 BC. The pyramids were
paper white and as smooth as glass, toping the pyramid was a golden
capstone that gleamed in the desert sun. It was an amazing spectacle.
The pyramids somewhat stayed in this state until the Arab invasion of
Egypt around AD 500. The Arab invaders stripped the pyramid of it's
smooth limestone and built a huge section of Cairo. Many of the Mosques
and Palaces of Cairo consist of the Ancient stones of the pyramids.
Quite sad actually.
Wednesday, 28 March 2012
Solved a Century Old Problem
Poincare conjecture is one of the mathematical theorems that has been
demonstrated recently passably to the point that it can be taken as a
full theorem. You can find various definitions for Poincare Conjecture
on different websites. For example, according to Wikipedia "In
mathematics, the Poincare conjecture (French, ) is a theorem about the
characterization of the three-dimensional sphere among three-dimensional
manifolds."
Poincare conjecture has been one of the seven Millennium Prize Problems and above all, this is the first ever and only Millennium Prize Problem that has been solved. The Poincare Conjecture states that if a compact 3-D manifold has no boundary and is simply connected, then it is said to be homeomorphic to a 3-D sphere. This conjecture is believed to have been formulated in 1904 by Henri Poincare, a French mathematician, as an elemental for achieving a perceptive of three dimensional shapes, 3-D sphere being the simplest one.
This conjecture was recently provided with a breakthrough proof by numerous new elements introduced by Perelman. He gained complete perceptive of singularity formation in Ricci flow, in addition to the manner of collapsing of the parts of a shape onto lower-dimensional spaces. He solved the problem by introducing entropy as a new quantity. This entropy measures the disorder in the space's global geometry instead of measuring the disarray at the atomic level. Besides, he also pioneered a related local quantity, the L-functional, which was used that proved that the time between the configuration of singularities could not become smaller and smaller.
Perelman has enriched mathematics by deploy his new ideas and methods with utmost technicalities and describing the obtained results with elegant succinctness.
The interesting fact is that Grigory Perelman declined the prize of one million dollars which comes with the Fields medal which is equivalent of the Nobel Prize for mathematics. Perelman is currently unemployed living with his mom in a small apartment near St. Petersburg. Interfax, a Russian news agency, quoted him as saying. "To put it short," he said, "the main reason is my disagreement with the organized mathematical community. I don't like their decisions; I consider them unjust."
Poincare conjecture has been one of the seven Millennium Prize Problems and above all, this is the first ever and only Millennium Prize Problem that has been solved. The Poincare Conjecture states that if a compact 3-D manifold has no boundary and is simply connected, then it is said to be homeomorphic to a 3-D sphere. This conjecture is believed to have been formulated in 1904 by Henri Poincare, a French mathematician, as an elemental for achieving a perceptive of three dimensional shapes, 3-D sphere being the simplest one.
This conjecture was recently provided with a breakthrough proof by numerous new elements introduced by Perelman. He gained complete perceptive of singularity formation in Ricci flow, in addition to the manner of collapsing of the parts of a shape onto lower-dimensional spaces. He solved the problem by introducing entropy as a new quantity. This entropy measures the disorder in the space's global geometry instead of measuring the disarray at the atomic level. Besides, he also pioneered a related local quantity, the L-functional, which was used that proved that the time between the configuration of singularities could not become smaller and smaller.
Perelman has enriched mathematics by deploy his new ideas and methods with utmost technicalities and describing the obtained results with elegant succinctness.
The interesting fact is that Grigory Perelman declined the prize of one million dollars which comes with the Fields medal which is equivalent of the Nobel Prize for mathematics. Perelman is currently unemployed living with his mom in a small apartment near St. Petersburg. Interfax, a Russian news agency, quoted him as saying. "To put it short," he said, "the main reason is my disagreement with the organized mathematical community. I don't like their decisions; I consider them unjust."
Help us make this fact better by commenting below.
Tuesday, 27 March 2012
Large Hadron Collider (LHC)
Large Hadron Collider
The large Hadron Collider is a massive particle accelerator used by
physicists to study the smallest known particles. Two beams of subatomic
particles protons or lead ions will travel in opposite directions
colliding the two beams head-on at very high energy. Some people are
afraid that it will create strange matter which turns everything it
touches into strange matter meaning everything, miniature big bangs.
The LHC’s 27km loop in a sense encircles the globe, because the LHC
project is supported by an enormous international community of
scientists and engineers. Working in multinational teams, at CERN and
around the world, they are building and testing LHC equipment and
software, participating in experiments and analysing data. The UK has a
major role in leading the project and has scientists and engineers
working on all the main experiments.
LHC 'Big Questions'
1) I have heard that the LHC will recreate the Big Bang, does that mean it might create another Universe and if so what will happen to our Universe?
People sometimes refer to recreating the Big Bang, but this is misleading. What they actually mean is:
- recreating the conditions and energies that existed shortly after the start of the Big Bang, not the moment at which the Big Bang started
- recreating conditions on a microscale, not on the same scale as the original Big Bang and
- recreating energies that are continually being produced naturally (by high energy cosmic rays hitting the earth’s atmosphere) but at will and inside sophisticated detectors that track what is happening
No Big Bang – so no possibility of creating a new Universe.
2) How much did the LHC cost and who pays?
The direct total LHC project cost is £2.6bn, made up of:
- the collider (£2.1bn)
- the detectors (£575m)
The total cost is shared mainly by CERN's 20 Member States, with significant contributions from the six observer nations.The UK pays ~£95m per year as our annual subscription to CERN.The LHC project involves 111 nations in designing, building and
testing equipment and software, participating in experiments and
analysing data. The degree of involvement varies between countries, with
some able to contribute more financial and human resource than others.
3) CERN stands for 'Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire' (or European Council for Nuclear Research); does that mean that CERN is studying nuclear power and nuclear weapons?
At the time that CERN was established (1952 – 1954) physics
research was exploring the inside of the atom, hence the word ‘nuclear’
in its title. CERN has never been involved in research on nuclear power
or nuclear weapons, but has done much to increase our understanding of
the fundamental structure of the atom.
The title CERN is actually an historical remnant. It comes from the
name of the council that was founded to establish a European
organisation for world-class physics research. The Council was dissolved
once the new organisation (the European Organization for Nuclear
Research) was formed, but the name CERN remained.
4) Why is the LHC underground? Is it because it is doing secret experiments that scientists want to hide away?
The LHC has been built in a tunnel originally constructed for a
previous collider (LEP – the Large Electron Positron collider). This was
the most economic solution to building both LEP and the LHC. It was
cheaper to build an underground tunnel than acquire the equivalent land
above ground. Putting the machine underground also greatly reduces the
environmental impact of the LHC and associated activities.
The rock surrounding the LHC is a natural shield that reduces the
amount of natural radiation that reaches the LHC and this reduces
interference with the detectors. Vice versa, radiation produced when the
LHC is running is safely shielded by 50 – 100 metres of rock.
5) Can the work at CERN be used to build more deadly weapons?
Unlikely for two main reasons. Firstly, CERN and the scientists and
engineers working there have no interest in weapons research. They are
trying to understand how the world works, not how to destroy it.
Secondly, the high energy particle beams produced at the LHC
require a huge machine (27km long, weighing more than 38,000 tonnes –
half the weight of an aircraft carrier), consuming 120MW of power and
needing 91 tonnes of supercold liquid helium). The beams themselves have
a lot of energy (the equivalent of a Eurostar train travelling at top
speed) but they can only be maintained in a vacuum, if released into the
atmosphere they would immediately interact with atoms in the air and
dissipate their energy in a very short distance.
6) Are the high energies produced by the LHC dangerous and what happens if something goes wrong?
The LHC does produce very high energies, but these energy levels
are restricted to tiny volumes inside the detectors. Many high energy
particles, from collisions, are produced every second, but the detectors
are designed to track and stop all particles (except neutrinos) as
capturing all the energy from collisions is essential to identifying
what particles have been produced. Very little of the energy from
collisions is able to escape from the detectors.
The main danger from these energy levels is to the LHC machine
itself. The beam of particles has the energy of a Eurostar train
travelling at full speed and should something happen to destabilise the
particle beam there is a real danger that all of that energy will be
deflected into the wall of the beam pipe and the magnets of the LHC,
causing a great deal of damage. The LHC has several automatic safety
systems in place that monitor all the critical parts of the LHC. Should
anything unexpected happen (power or magnet failure for example) the
beam is automatically ‘dumped’ by being squirted into a blind tunnel
where its energy is safely dissipated.
This all happens in milliseconds – the beam, which is travelling at
11,000 circuits of the LHC per second, will complete less than 3
circuits before the dump is complete.
How to book Aakash 2 (Ubislate 7+) Tablet
Aakash 2 Tablet
Akash 1st Gen tablet Akash has been sold
out in December, 2011. Now Datawind Company is launching its 2nd Gen
tablet Akash 2 or Ubislate 7 in the market. Ubislate 7 is a upgraded
version of Akash tablet with better features. The online booking of
Ubislate 7 has been started. You have another chance to buy Akash laptop
online. If you want to book Akash 2 tablet then this article is really
helpful to you. Here is the way by which you can book the personal Akash
2 tablet.
Government of India introduced Aakash concept especially for poor and
lower class persons. This tablet is made especially for student needs.
The Education Minister, Kapil Sibbal, said the following statement on
the launching of Aakash – “The rich have access to the digital world,
the poor and ordinary have been excluded. Aakash will end that digital
divide.”
How to Book Aakash 2 tablet
If you want to buy a Ubislate 7 tablet then you can pre book your Ubislate 7 by following steps:
- Go to the http://www.akashtablet.com/
- Then click on the Pre Book Button for booking of Akash 2 tablet.
- After that you have to fill the form with correct name, residential address and email address.
- Then submit your pre-book form.
Directly Book Akash Tablet by clicking these links:
- You can direct fill the Pre-book form by clicking this link http://www.ubislate.com/prebook.html
- You can also book Akash 2 tablet through sms. Pre-book Akash 2 by sending a SMS – AAKASHPC to 9870207070.
Ubislate 7 – Delivery & Payment Details
You will get your Akash tablet by these processes, after submitting the form.
- First submit the form and then you will get a particular Booking ID.
- By your Booking ID you will get Akash 2 tablet.
- Save your Booking ID because this ID code is very important at the time of delivery.
- You will have to pay Rs.2999/- at the time of delivery.
Alcatraz Prison
Surrounded by strong currents and fortified by steel and concrete, Alcatraz federal prison was meant to be the highest-security prison in America, a place no one could escape from. The island on which it rests shuns even plant life. Alcatraz is essentially a rock surrounded by water -- hence its forbidding nickname, "The Rock." The only creatures that don't mind being around are the great white sharks that troll the chilly water. Beyond the prison's security measures, the island itself provided a strong deterrent to escape.
The mystique grew further when Hollywood got hold of it. Movies depicted Alcatraz as haunted, dramatized life inside the prison and glorified the criminals that were sent there, giving Alcatraz a larger-than-life image. Escapees, kingpins and the most famous inmate of all, the Birdman of Alcatraz, continued to inflate the prison's reputation in the public eye.
Alcatraz has a history much greater than the almost 30 years it spent as a federal penitentiary. As a fort, a lighthouse, the site of a Native American occupation and a national park, Alcatraz has changed through the centuries, often reflecting changes in American society. In this article, we'll learn about the infamous federal prison, some of the notable people who were sent there and famous incidents in the prison's history. We'll also find out how Alcatraz became a prison and why it's an important location in the movement for greater Native American rights.
The
name Alcatraz at one time represented the worst side of American life,
home of the hardest criminals guilty of the worst crimes. It gained such
mystique that some gangsters actually wanted to go there to enhance their reputation among other criminals.
The mystique grew further when Hollywood got hold of it. Movies depicted Alcatraz as haunted, dramatized life inside the prison and glorified the criminals that were sent there, giving Alcatraz a larger-than-life image. Escapees, kingpins and the most famous inmate of all, the Birdman of Alcatraz, continued to inflate the prison's reputation in the public eye.
Reality at the prison was sometimes stranger than fiction --
there were several daring escapes, complete with a few missing bodies
and an account of chipping away at walls with spoons. In general,
however, the story was often more mundane, because conditions at
Alcatraz probably weren't much worse than at other prisons at the time.
Alcatraz has a history much greater than the almost 30 years it spent as a federal penitentiary. As a fort, a lighthouse, the site of a Native American occupation and a national park, Alcatraz has changed through the centuries, often reflecting changes in American society. In this article, we'll learn about the infamous federal prison, some of the notable people who were sent there and famous incidents in the prison's history. We'll also find out how Alcatraz became a prison and why it's an important location in the movement for greater Native American rights.
A Light In the Fog
San Francisco Bay is notoriously difficult to spot from the ocean,
even in daylight. At night in a typical fog, it can be very dangerous to
navigate. A 40-foot (12.2-m) lighthouse was built on Alcatraz in 1854.
In addition to the light, it had a bell that could be rung in dense fog
to warn ships.
In 1909, new construction obstructed the lighthouse, so the old one was razed and a new one built. It still operates today.Is Number 13 Unlucky!!
The fear of number 13 is called triskaidekaphobia and it was derived
from treiskaideka, the Greek word for thirteen and phobia. There were
thirteen people at Christ's Last Supper before his captivity, it is
recorder that Christ was crucified on Friday. Routine mission to the
moon goes drastically wrong on Apollo 13. Some hotels skip number
thirteen when numbering rooms. In Formula 1, there is no car with the
number 13.
Ancient Indian Astronomers
Rig Veda, the oldest and perhaps most mystical text ever composed in
India, says: "With deep respect, I bow to the sun, who travels 2,202
yojanas in half a nimesha." A yojana is about nine American miles; a
nimesha is 16/75 of a second. 2,202 yojanas x 9 miles x 75/8 nimeshas =
185,794 m.
So it says that sunlight travels at 186,000 miles per second! In 1387 A. D. They know the correct figure for the speed of light. Yogis were using the mala to keep track of the number of mantras. It has 109 beads, 108+1 Guru Bead. Why so? A] The mala represents the ecliptic. It is divided into 27 equal sections called Nakshatras, and each of these into four equal sectors called paadas, or "steps," marking the 108 steps that the sun and moon take through heaven. 2] They stop at the 109th "guru bead," flip the mala and continue reciting backwards. The guru bead represents the summer and winter solstices. Using a mala is a symbolic way of connecting ourselves with the cosmic cycles governing our universe. Yet there are another astronomical references to it : 1] The distance between the earth and the sun is approximately 108 times the sun's diameter. Distance between earth & sun is 149,597,890 km and diameter of sun is 1,392,000 km i.e. 107.45 times. 2] And the distance between the earth and the moon is 108 times the moon's diameter. Distance between earth & moon is 375,403km and moon diameter is 3,476 km i.e. 108 times. 3] The diameter of the sun is about 108 times the earth's diameter. Sun diameter is 1,392,000 km and Earth diameter at equator is 12756 km i.e. Sun is 109 times that of earth. That is why Gurumani is considered as of 109th.
So it says that sunlight travels at 186,000 miles per second! In 1387 A. D. They know the correct figure for the speed of light. Yogis were using the mala to keep track of the number of mantras. It has 109 beads, 108+1 Guru Bead. Why so? A] The mala represents the ecliptic. It is divided into 27 equal sections called Nakshatras, and each of these into four equal sectors called paadas, or "steps," marking the 108 steps that the sun and moon take through heaven. 2] They stop at the 109th "guru bead," flip the mala and continue reciting backwards. The guru bead represents the summer and winter solstices. Using a mala is a symbolic way of connecting ourselves with the cosmic cycles governing our universe. Yet there are another astronomical references to it : 1] The distance between the earth and the sun is approximately 108 times the sun's diameter. Distance between earth & sun is 149,597,890 km and diameter of sun is 1,392,000 km i.e. 107.45 times. 2] And the distance between the earth and the moon is 108 times the moon's diameter. Distance between earth & moon is 375,403km and moon diameter is 3,476 km i.e. 108 times. 3] The diameter of the sun is about 108 times the earth's diameter. Sun diameter is 1,392,000 km and Earth diameter at equator is 12756 km i.e. Sun is 109 times that of earth. That is why Gurumani is considered as of 109th.
Why is Universe so Dark??
Olbers' paradox, a part of astrophysics and physical cosmology, is
basically a squabble about the sky being dark at night. This paradox is
also phrased as the 'dark night sky paradox'. The paradox states that an
inert, considerably old universe with an equal number of stars
scattered in the proportionately large space should be bright rather
than being dark at night.
The question of sky being dark at night might seem ridiculous with a much obvious answer, and the topical answer might surprise you. This question has been studied by the best physicists who have reached an answer that is simple but not so obvious. In order to find an answer to the Olbers' paradox, the scientists and physicists had to struggle a lot to learn about the behavior of energy involved in the concept.
One argument given by the scientists against the dark night paradox is that the light of distant stars might be hidden by the dust clouds. But this answer is again contradicted by the statement that these dust clouds should reach the temperature of the stars by their heat. Another statement contradicting the Olber's paradox is that these distant stars might be too tiny and far that they can be seen in the vicinity. Besides, there might be numerous stars at increasing distances such that their smaller perceptible size is formed of by their bigger numbers.
Another theory is of the time and age of the universe. Universe is 13.73 billion years old which states that light of the starts had certain time to light up the universe. Most of the starts we see today, in our night sky, do not exist anymore. We can see their light because it takes ages for their light to travel around the universe. So we could say that stars in the universe had certain amount of time to contribute to the illumination of the whole universe.
IT STILL REMAINS A PARADOX
The question of sky being dark at night might seem ridiculous with a much obvious answer, and the topical answer might surprise you. This question has been studied by the best physicists who have reached an answer that is simple but not so obvious. In order to find an answer to the Olbers' paradox, the scientists and physicists had to struggle a lot to learn about the behavior of energy involved in the concept.
One argument given by the scientists against the dark night paradox is that the light of distant stars might be hidden by the dust clouds. But this answer is again contradicted by the statement that these dust clouds should reach the temperature of the stars by their heat. Another statement contradicting the Olber's paradox is that these distant stars might be too tiny and far that they can be seen in the vicinity. Besides, there might be numerous stars at increasing distances such that their smaller perceptible size is formed of by their bigger numbers.
Another theory is of the time and age of the universe. Universe is 13.73 billion years old which states that light of the starts had certain time to light up the universe. Most of the starts we see today, in our night sky, do not exist anymore. We can see their light because it takes ages for their light to travel around the universe. So we could say that stars in the universe had certain amount of time to contribute to the illumination of the whole universe.
IT STILL REMAINS A PARADOX
Monday, 26 March 2012
2012: Be what you want to be!
Thanks to New Year resolutions. Strange what a turn of a day can do, only one day though. Every other day of the year is as mundane as the one before.
High profile wedding. High profile passing away. Economy as low as it can be. Greece. Riots. 2011 in most ways, a year that will never be forgotten for a lots of reasons, more good than bad as I see it. I saw this nice 90sec video summing up the year that was. Pretty grim viewing I should warn.
But in a strange way there were redemptions to those grim events. India Winning the ICC Cricket World CUP,
Japan won the Women’s football (soccer) world cup. New Zealand won the
Rugby World Cup. Qatar was awarded 2022 FIFA World Cup hosting rights.
It was a big year for me personally as well. Finally took the step to do what I always wanted to do.
I always believe that each year will exactly be what you make it out
to be. The world was there before you came along, so lets not blame the
world for what it turns out to be. Its up to each of us to own up to our
obligation to ourselves to do what you like to do.
Stop complaining. Start doing something about it.
Stop blaming others. Start accepting changes and move on.
Stop living someone else’s life. Start a life of your own.
Stop being a pushover. Start to believe in yourself.
Stop being a coward. Start facing up to things.
Start to live you life.
Stay curious!
Curious Things That You Should Know!!
This world is full of interesting and curious things and we are fortunate to be able to know this days more than any other time in history, internet and websites exactly like this one are a big reason for that, thinking about that below are some of those things that we discover every day trough a click of a mouse, hopefully with time the list will get longer:
1- In 1997 the American Airlines had an economy of $40.000 by eliminating a single olive from each served salad
2- The giraffe can clean her own ears with the tongue
3- Million of trees are accidentally planted every year by squirrels that bury nuts and don’t remember where
4- Eat an apple is more efficient to keep you awake than drink coffee
5- Ants stretch themselves in the morning when they wake up
6- People use more blue toothbrushes
7- Pigs are the only animals that like man get burned under the sun.
8- Nobody can lick his own elbow
9- Honey is the only food that do not deteriorate
10- Dolphins sleep with one eye open
11- One third of all ice-creams sold in the world are vanilla flavour
12- The nails from the hands grow approximately 4 times faster than the ones from the toes
13- The Ostrich’s eyes are bigger than its brain
Oh.!! |
14- Right-handed people live approximately 9 years more than left-handed
15- Its impossible to sneeze with the eyes open
16- The most powerful muscle in the body is the tongue
17- The letter ‘J’ is the only one that is not in the Periodic Table
18- One drop oil make 25 litres of water unsuitable for consumption
19- The chimpanzees and the dolphins are the only animals capable of recognizing themselves in the mirror
20- Laugh during the day makes you sleep better during the night
21- 40% of people watching news will answer ‘Goodnight’ back to the presenter when the program ends
22- Approximately 70% of people who reads the number 8 information will try to lick their elbow.!!
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