Romance of Science…… 27 December 2007

(more than 300 words)

Top ten space stories of the year 2007 (copied from the World Wide Web)

1. Dazzling new images reveal the ‘impossible’ on the Sun

Japan’s Hinode telescope revealed the restless frothing of the Sun’s surface in astonishing detail.

2. Strange Martian feature not a ‘bottomless’ cave after all

An extremely dark feature on Mars was found to be just a pit, not the entrance to a deep cavern that future astronauts could call home.

3. Could black holes be portals to other universes?

A study suggested that the objects thought to be black holes could instead be wormholes leading to exotic cosmic locales.

4. Mars probe may have spotted lost rover

In 1997, NASA lost contact with its Pathfinder lander and tiny Sojourner rover, but a decade later, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s eagle eyes spied them both.

5. Satellites solve mystery of low gravity over Canada

A satellite pair called GRACE answered a weighty question: why does Canada have such low gravity?

6. Do black holes really exist?

A controversial study suggested that matter might never collapse completely into a black hole, an idea that would solve a troubling quantum paradox.

7. Satellite snaps first images of mysterious glowing clouds

NASA’s new AIM satellite took its first data on silvery blue ‘noctilucent’ clouds, which may be linked to global warming.

8. Strange alien world made of ‘hot ice’

The smallest planet known to pass in front of its host star was found. Intriguingly, it may be made of exotic hot ice and shrouded in steam.

9. Satellite could see shadow of extra dimensions

Researchers calculated if our 3D universe is floating in a higher dimensional space, the shape of those extra dimensions might be detectable by Europe’s Planck satellite, set to launch in 2008.

10. Atom smasher may give birth to ‘Black Saturns’

Physicists said tiny, ringed black holes resembling Saturn might be produced at the Large Hadron Collider, set to open in 2008.

S .Gopal ….Keying in is better than idling

Students and Satellites…… 20 December 2007

Two groups of students – one in Anna University, Chennai and the other in the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai – are designing amd building micro satellites.

Both the satellites would be launched into low Earth orbit (800 -1000 km above the Earth’s surface) by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) with the help of their Polar Space Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

ISRO encourages young blood to be a part of the space programme. The overall objectives are to foster interest in Earth observation and space technology among students and faculty and to provide hands-on training in all aspects of spacecraft building and operations.

The satellite being built by the Integrated Systems Laboratory of Anna University is known as ANUSat. It will carry a digital store and forward payload for amateur communication designed to conduct experiments on message transfer across the country. It will have a mass of 50 kg.

The equipment being made at the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai will have a mass of 10 kg and is designed for studying high-energy particles in space and Greenhouse Effect.

S .Gopal
….Keying in is better than idling

He transformed communication… 16 December 2007

He turns 90 today. Unfortunately he is wheelchair bound due to polio. He lives in Sri Lanka. Sir Arthur C Clarke was born on 16 December 1917.

He

· is an inventor and a futurist.

· is the person who proposed the revolutionary idea of using geostationary satellites for telecommunications.

· is the last surviving member of what was sometimes known as the “Big Three” of science fiction, which included Robert A.Heinlein and Isaac Asimov.

· is the author of the novel 2001: A Space Odyssey which was subsequently made into a movie – one of the greatest ever to be produced.

· formulated three `laws’ of prediction:

o When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.

o The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.

o Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

Happy Birthday to you, Sir.

S .Gopal
….keying in is better than idling

The Mall and Social Divide… 14 December 2007

The other day I went to one of the many shopping malls in Bangalore along with members of my family.

The multi-level car parking lot was almost full. Fortunately, we got a slot in a higher floor to park our car. That floor led us to the Food Court; it was overcrowded with people gorging food of all varieties – North Indian, South Indian, Chinese, Indian version of Chinese, American, etc.

We went to a regular restaurant on another floor to have a buffet lunch, each costing some Rupees three hundred. All the tables were occupied excepting one, which we occupied.

After lunch I strolled around the various sales outlets. I had no money in my pocket; I don’t have a credit or debit card either. I saw hundreds of people just milling around, buying and buying; most, I thought were impulse purchases. Tens of thousands of rupees were getting exchanged.

Is this the true face of India? Are we not sitting on a social volcano waiting to burst? Hope I am proved wrong.

S. Gopal

…. Keying in is better than idling

Sun Power… 13 December 2007

I recently read in the newspapers a few inter-connected pieces on solar power.

A study done by the Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune has shown that sunshine over India has reduced by five percent in the last 20 years due to smog created by industrial activity, biomass burning, vehicular exhausts etc. I wonder what the long term effects of this would be!

On a cheerful note, the government of Rajasthan and a private company Moser Baer have signed an agreement to set up India’s largest grid-connected solar farm in Rajasthan with an investment of Rupees one hundred crores.

Scientists in the UK are taking help of nano science to create alternatives to photovoltaic (PV) solar cells. The new products may be less efficient compared to the PVs but may be much cheaper to produce.

· Physicist Neil Greenham of Cambridge University is developing organic solar cells using semiconductor polymers.

· Professor Paul O’Brien of Manchester University is working on a hybrid solar cells using a coating of lead sulphide.

Exciting times in scientific research, indeed.

S. Gopal
…. Keying in is better than idling

foss.in…… 8 December 2007

about 250 words.

Yesterday I wrote about the five-day event foss.in which was held in the famous National Science Convention Centre at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. I attended the same for three days.

My observations:

· It was priced at just Rupees six hundred, which included 5 vegetarian lunches, 10 teas, 10 biscuits, and an event-kit consisting of a mug, pens, and a calendar. Gyan (knowledge) was free.

· The average age of the organisers and participants, as per my guess, was just 30. I was the oldest, only grey-haired fossil in that crowd.

· No politician or official was invited for inauguration and speechifying. Six or so persons from the crowd were called in to light the traditional oil lamp.

· Participants were dressed in a `don’t care attitude’ attitude but it was not obscene or vulgar.

· Many parallel sessions took place, people participated in them with great interest, and knowledge flowed freely.

· Attendees had fun and at the same time were serious when it came to exchanging knowledge.

· Everything went clockwork.

· The energy, enthusiasm, vitality, and good vibration of the event were infectious.

· Self-confidence oozed everywhere, but without a tinge of arrogance.

· Its time the older generation learnt from the younger ones and gave way to them. It will be good for the country.

S. Gopal

…..keying in is better than idling

FOSS…. 7 December 2007

A five-day event known as foss.in started in Bangalore on 4 December 2007. I attended the same for the first three days, that is until yesterday. I plan to write about the event some other day soon.

What is FOSS ? It is the abbreviation for Free/Open Source Software. It stands for full freedom for production, distribution, modification, and use of software as per the needs and wishes of the user. This free environment and open standards is triggering large scale collaborative development of software, unleashing creativity and productivity, ultimately leading to lower costs and higher quality of software (Source: National Resource Centre for Free/Open source Software, Chennai).

FOSS movement is gaining momentum and acceptance. Many FOSS products like Linux, Apache, Firefox are being used widely. Many companies are also releasing their own software under open source. One does not require any licence to use these software.

FOSS is establishing a brave new world, across borders and continents. Most people driving this movement are not older than 30 years of age. Indians are part of this juggernaut.

S. Gopal

…..keying in is better than idling

Uranium, thorium, and India…. 8 November 2007

Uranium and thorium are two terms that appear in discussions pertaining to nuclear energy. What are they ?

Uranium is an element found in many rocks. However, all of it is not of use; only a certain kind of Uranium, known as Uranium-235 can be used to generate nuclear energy. One more kind, namely Uranium-238 is available in small fractions; this has to be converted to Plutonium-239 before it can be used to produce energy.

Out of the 95 000 tonnes of Uranium available in India, only around 675 tonnes is U-235. This quantity is not sufficient and hence most nuclear plants in the country are running below their capacities. Other countries have imposed a ban on the sale of Uranium to India because it has not signed certain international treaties.

Thorium is available in plenty in the beach sands of Kerala and Orissa. This also is not useful as it is, but it can be converted to Uranium-233 which can be used to produce energy. This technology is still under development in the country.

S .Gopal
….Keying in is better than idling

Asia’s ambitions in Moon… (China, Japan, and India) 28 October 2007

A Long March 3-A rocket carrying China’s first lunar probe Chang’e I, named after a moon-dwelling goddess, streaked into space on 24 October 2007 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 6:05 pm local time.

This satellite is expected to enter the orbit of the moon on 5 November 2007 and beam back three-dimensional pictures of the moon by the second half of November 2007. It will orbit the moon for a year and analyse the elements on the surface of the moon.

China plans to put a probe on the moon’s surface in 2012 and to successfully return a second rover to earth five years later.

China and Japan have informally stated a goal of putting a human on the moon within 15 or 20 years

A Japanese probe began orbiting the moon last month. .

India’s lunar mission – Chandrayan I – is planned for the middle of next year 2008.

A tough challenge to the American supremacy in Space.

 

S. .Gopal …keying in is better than idling

BRICs……. 13 October 2007

BRICs is the acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, and China countries. This expression was coined by Jim O’Neill, the global economist of Goldman Sachs.

BRICs are expected to become the four most dominant economies in the world by the year 2050. These countries are forecast to encompass over thirty-nine percent of the world’s population and hold a combined Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) of US Dollars 15 435 trillion. On almost every scale, they would be the largest entity on the global stage.

Present status PPP in US Dollars trillion

(collated from various sources)

• Brazil: 1.8
• Russia: 1.75 (2006 estimates)
• India: 3.1
• China: 6. 4

How nice it would be if the three neighbouring northern hemisphere countries (see picture above) enter into a friendship treaty ! Good for them and Good for the world.

S.Gopal …. keying in is better than idling