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  • Review – AVATAR

    James Cameroon’s “Avatar” is not simply a sensational entertainment; it is a technical breakthrough. …\

    The story unfolds sometime around 2154 when the earth is on the threshold of ecological doom. The only solution is a mineral called Unobtainium, found in abundance in Pandora. To get this mineral, the US Armed Forces’ scientific team works towards creating humanoids (human beings whose DNAs are manipulated to make them hybrids) that resemble the Na’vis—pale blue creatures with thin, elongated bodies, wide-set eyes and a flat nose and let them loose in Na’vi land, to persuade the natives to leave their land. The film takes us deep into Pandora with Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a former marine who is crippled by war. As Cameron surges through the creeks, plateaus, fuming water streams and twinkling bushes with Jake, the film gathers momentum and ends in a catastrophic, morally loaded end.

    -Team ScienceNow

  • Do you know – Know the fascinating Facts….

    Why is Water clear?

    Water is entirely composed of hydrogen and oxygen. Both elements are gases in nature and are invisible. Being composed of such elusive and invisible elements is certainly a large reason why water has that crystal-clear appearance. However, any discoloration that may appear in water from a natural source such as a river, lake or underground streams such as a well is largely due to natural substances such as algae, leaves, dirt and numerous other particles typically brought in by rainwater.

    Why is air Invisible?

    Air is a mixture of gases, mainly nitrogen and oxygen with small molecules (particles) that are far apart. Wavelengths of light may pass by these molecules without hitting them. When they do bump a molecule, it absorbs some colour and scatters some, spreading it out in all directions. But this is too little to reach our eyes for us to notice, thus making air appear invisible

    Why do distant objects look smaller?

    The easiest way to understand this is by thinking about something called your field of view. This is how much you can see, without turning your head. When things are closer to you, they take up more of your field of view, so they seem bigger. When they’re further away, they take up less of your field of view, and so seem smaller.

    Why are vehicle Taillights usually coloured red?

    Functionally red light has less effect on human low light vision than any other visible colour. Red tail and brake lights are highly recognisable to the Rod cells in our eyes, while higher wavelength colours like green or blue are harder to distinguish.

    Team ScienceNow

  • Riddles

    Solve This

    A king once condemned a prisoner and wanted to give him a very harsh punishment. He keeps a glass containing some hydrochloric acid and another containing an equal amount of sodium hydroxide before the prisoner and asks him to drink both of them. The prisoner knows that the acid is highly corrosive and will destroy the mucous lining, as well as his oesophagus.

    The other solution is equally bad and will cause him to collapse. But he goes ahead and obeys the order. The king finds that the prisoner has survived without any ill effects. How did he manage it?

    Answer:

    The prisoner understood the chemical reactions well. He knew that an acid is always neutralized by an alkali. So he poured the liquids in the two glasses into a third empty glass. When they thus got mixed, they reacted producing salt and water. These were harmless, except for the salty taste!

    HCl + NaOH = H 2 O + NaCl

    -Team ScienceNow

  • QUIZ

    1)Gear up for the food for Brain…

    1. When you stand on the ground, what is the distance of the horizon from you?
    2. A) 500 km B) 5 km C) 15 km D) 50 km

    2) If we ever make contact with aliens, which of our fundamental units is likely to match them?

    1. A) Kelvin B) Light year C) Atomic Mass Unit D) None of these

    3) If a person beats drum on the Earth and an astronaut beats an identical drum in space, what

    will be the differences in the effects?

    1. A) There will be no vibration in the drum in space
    2. B) There will be vibration in space but no sound.
    3. C) The drum on Earth will vibrate for a longer time then the one in space.
    4. D) There will be no difference in terms of the vibrations or sound.

     

    4) A student fails to complete a presentation. The angry team leader launches him into a rocket

    far into space and then throws him out. The student just grazes the upper edge of the

    atmosphere during his trajectory. He will…

    1. A) Go around the Earth
    2. B) Crash on the Moon
    3. C) Get lost into deep space
    4. D) Reach the same place venue again.

     

    5) A star is seen rising from Kolkata (23.5-degree N 92-degree E) at 7:00 pm IST, at what time IST

    will it be seen to rise from Mumbai (19-degree N 72-degree E)?

    1. A) 5;40 pm B) 7:00 pm C) 7:20 pm D) 8:20 pm

    6) Which of the following physical quantity is useful to determine the purity of an element?

    1. A) Mass B) Volume C) Density D) Weight

    7) In the polar region in winter the aquatic creatures remain alive under water. For this which

    mode of transmission occur?

    1. A) Conduction B) Radiation C) Convection D) Above all three

    8) In which range of age human can hear sound up to 25,000 Hz from the following?

    1. A) 1 to 4 years B) 10 to 50 years C) 60 to 90 years D) 90 to 100 years

    9) Which of the following pair is not correct?

    1. A) Baking soda – Sodium bicarbonate
    2. B) Calamine – Zinc Carbonate
    3. C) Slaked lime – Calcium hydroxide
    4. D) Blue vitriol – Copper sulphate

     

    10) Which of the following has three chambered heart?

    1. A) Owl B) Shark fish C) Rat D) Toad

    11) Which of the following group is improper to make the magnet?

    (A) Iron, Cobalt, Nickel

    (B) Titanium, Nickel, Iron, Aluminium

    (C) Titanium, Bronze, Nickel

    (D) Aluminium, Nickel, Cobalt

    12) A lamp of 100 W was used 4 hours daily in February 2016. Then find out how many units of

    electricity was consumed in that month

    1. A) 11.6 B) 1.16 C) 116 D) 0.116

    13) Find odd one out according to pH value.

    1. A) Vinegar B) Black coffee C) Blood D) Urine

    14) The fluorescent tubes and neon sign bulbs glow because of ________

    1. A) High density of gases
    2. B) High temperature of gases
    3. C) High applied voltage
    4. D) Presence of charged particles

    15) Name the gas which turns moist lead acetate solution silvery black.

    1. A) SO 2 B) H 2 C) CO 2 D) H 2 S

    16) Who am I? I am clean and pollution – free energy. I provide uninterrupted energy to the

    space shuttles.

    1. A) Solar energy B) Wind energy C) Atomic energy D) Tidal Energy

    17) Germs in water can be killed by __________

    1. A) Condensation B) Boiling C) Filtration D) Decantation

    18) Ban on plastic bags is justified because…

    1. P) Ground water table will be improved
    2. Q) Air pollution will be restricted
    3. R) There will not be water logging during rainy season
    4. S) Soil pollution will be reduced

    19) Which of the following stringed instruments are played by using ring of wire in the finger

    (nakhi)?

    1. A) Bulbul B) Extari C) Tambora D) Sitar

    20) Which natural phenomenon is responsible to produce ozone gas?

    1. A) Water cycle B) Hail storm C) Lightning D) Earthquake

     

    21) Leaf of which plant of the following is a reproductive organ?

    1. A) Brahma Kamal B) Cactus C) Sugarcane D) Aloe vera

    22) _____________ component of air is formed from coal.

    1. A) Sulphur dioxide B) Nitrogen dioxide C) carbon dioxide D) Nitrous oxide

    23) From where one can see the sun rising from the west?

    1. A) Saturn B) Venus C) Mars D) Mercury

    24) Select the alternative that has third type of lever

    1. A) Betelnut cracker B) Stapler C) Opener D) Beam balance

    25) What oil is used in toothpaste?

    1. A) Ginger oil B) Clove oil C) Eucalyptus oil D) Coconut oil

    -Team ScienceNow

    ANS :

    1) B, 2) D, 3) B, 4) A, 5) D, 6) C, 7) C.

    8) A, 9) B, 10) D, 11) C, 12) A, 13) C,

    14) D, 15) D, 16) A, 17) B, 18) D, 19) D,

    20) C, 21) A, 22) C, 23) A, 24) B, 25) D.

  • Believe it or Not…

    Beyond Belief… But true… Explore…

    • You are taller in the morning than you are at night! The reason being when you sleep, your spine is no longer subjected to the pressures of gravity.
    • Solar flare explosions of energy on the surface of the sun can be 100,000 times more powerful than all the nuclear weapons on Earth!
    • After a year in space, astronaut Scott Kellys genetic makeup changed so drastically that his DNA no longer matches his twin brother’s!
    • Firefighters in Dubai tackle blazes in highrise buildings and bridges wearing jetpacks!
    • Albert Einstein’s eyes are in a safe deposit box in New York city!

    -Team ScienceNow

  • Science Smiles

    In the Lighter Side….

    Team ScienceNow

  • Expanding Horizons of Existential Corporate Sustainability: ESG

    Sustainability has been the buzzword in science and scientists have been ceaselessly creating a prolific literature on the subject. It all has the milestone mark and seal of Garret James Hardin’s essay in Science Journal in 1968 titled the Tragedy of Commons. He went on with his majestic march of 27 books and no fewer than 350 articles with his much-quoted maxim “Freedom to breed is intolerable.” This academic blockbuster lingers like an unloved guest….

    The articulation of a universally acknowledged definition of Sustainable Development by physician-politician Gro Harlem Brundtland in 1987 as “development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” was the second milestone. This stuck strikingly.

    The formulation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly  is the third milestone. These goals are a collection of 17 interlinked and crosscutting objectives designed to serve as a “shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet now and into the future.” Most targets are to be achieved by 2030 and are being monitored by the UN High-Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development. Actionable plans started unfolding.

    With sustainability waves impacting every facet of human activity, the Corporate responsible leadership started responding to them in a spectrum ranging from the reactive to the proactive. The landscape of Environmental Social and Governance and the three letters ESG became common terms of the CEO conversational vocabulary. It is the widely used New Equation entering into company reports painstakingly prepared providing the health status of the company.

    E

    The E in ESG signifies Environment. Concern for compliance with environmental laws and regulations became high priority. Beyond that, other environmental criteria, such as the energy the  company takes in,  the effluents it discharges and  the resources it consumes came into laser focus. Expanding the  E dimension, carbon emissions and climate change issues engaged engineering attention. Every company uses energy and resources; every company affects, and is affected by, the environment. E is now deeply entrenched in all company affairs.

    S

    The S signifies Society. It is the people and neighbourhood factor. Social criteria, addresses the relationships the company has with the social space in which it operates. The community around a company and the totality of stakeholders are admitted into company affairs in a way different from the corporate mindset of business as usual. S includes labour relations, diversity and inclusion including the LGBTQ+ community. S is now a critical variable.

    G

    G signifies governance. A company being a legal creation is a legal entity and all its activities need to be necessarily lawful and ethical. Governance  is the internal system of management practices, administrative controls, and operational procedures the company follows in order to govern itself. It covers decision making processes. Compliance with laws and meeting the needs of  external stakeholders are integral to The make-up of the  Board of directors and the take-away executive compensations, lobbying and political contributions come in the ambit of G.

    Leadership

    Responsible and responsive corporate leadership involves assuming and asserting  proactive initiatives to addressing ESG issues and envisioning the long-term health of the company ensuring value to stakeholders.  Leadership demands a holistic perspective to company operations weighing in grudging scales the merits and the demerits of them on environment, communities, customers and employees. Leaders will keep eternal vigil on environment reducing the use of natural resources, eliminating waste generation and downsizing greenhouse gases. The source of electric power will be reviewed and renewable energy will be selected. Supply chain management will look at the green colour of  all suppliers and two and three tier suppliers till the very primary supplier.

    Transformational leaders will  be operating in the sensitive elevations of absolute transparency and unfiltered communication ringing in a new corporate ethical culture. An analysis of the leadership and stewardship styles of CEOs against the evolutionary background of ESG shows that in the formative phase of ESG the leaders could be characterized as Guardians, Pioneers, integrators and Pilots. Guardians zealously guarded their monogamous straight jacket of profitability. Pioneers  were ahead of their times and had implemented most of the ESG demands. Integrators scurried into action and brought together their ESG sensitive functions under a common umbrella. Pilots went into driver mode giving power and direction to ESG destinations.

    With mounting pressures of ESG demands and heightened public understanding of ESG benefits, sustainability is at the core of the company purpose. There is a marked change in the transformation characteristics in the second phase. An X-ray analysis coupled with an MRI scan of the contemporary CEO mindsets reveals the fine structure of ESG compliance by the Corporate sector. This can be stylized as the  Scale of Sustainability Ambition of CEOs. We find Sceptics, Pragmatists, Strategists and Idealists based on their approach to and perspectives of ESG. CEOs of Private Equity Firms and  Portfolio Companies are seeing  the opportunities and challenges in value creation in the business environment guided by ESG.

    Owing to the interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary character of ESG universities have entered the horizon to prepare future ESG leaders.

    -Dr.A.P.Jayaraman

    Chairman, NCSC, Mumbai

  • Career – Perspective for Researcher

    Last month we tried to understand ‘Why to be a scientist’ & mentioned some advantages. Let’s know in-depth perspective about becoming a researcher.

    First and foremost mention must be made about the Ph.Ds. It is not at all a degree as most think…same is about M.Phil…however in every educational institutes for the teaching purposes M.Phil and Ph.Ds are required qualifications to teach either at Senior Colleges or at University Departments. In a lighter note I always say that if you don’t have Ph.D, don’t even knock the doors of any Educational Institute to become a Professor or Principal….

    Research

    As seen, if you don’t have Ph.D never try to enter any University Campus. So you will understand obviously these are the qualifications required for teaching purposes…but not for the research needed for society or industry or for the entire humanity.

    To maintain the academic ratings of the Universities all Professors are required to write and publish research work periodically and it is now made almost mandetory…but accept that such publications are coming out to be just a peripheral documentation of work done by various students who are pursuing Ph.D’s under the guidance of Professor. Take it with the pinch of salt as it may hurt many in the teaching profession…and same is the situation in the Agricultural field too.

    Research Institutes

    In India the major research work is done in Research Institutions like TIFR, IISC, ISRO, IISER, NCL, Virology Institute, IIUCA, BARC, APL, ICT Mumbai etc. These are just a few names known to the common man. There are many institutions which are unknown to many that include various industrial R&D departments of particularly Pharma Industry. About the Pharma research I would like to bring out the fact that huge fund is necessary to come out with a new molecules useful for treating diseases. Cost incurred for such research is usually in multiples of crores. You must have heard the vaccine stories all over the world and also the success stories of Serum Institute of India & Bharat Biotech.

    Skills Required

    To be a Researcher, just Studying & getting in depth knowledge of your subject is not sufficient to be a good researcher. One must be acquainted with other necessary skill like Maths & Statistics. Handling of big data, knowledge of basic languages of computer programming and continuous updating of global trends in research, as well as the technology evolving in various fields should be the inherent part of the daily ritual of a researcher.

    The continuous learning ability is the right way of life of a scientist. In the process some proud moments are always in waiting. In India for young scientists, several encouraging awards like Bhatnagar prize is a very prestigious encouragement for the further development career. International recognition comes when your research paper is published in International Journals of repute, like Nature. The aptitude and hard work results in recognition…

    Research – the way of life

    There is always a misconception in the minds of even senior learned executives, managers, or even CEO’s of various companies that to be a scientist is only to deal with research and development . Obviously most think that a scientists are needed only for the purpose of developing production process or Industrial Technology…

    Research is an entirely different process. Very logical, very creative, in technical terms it is called lateral thinking or divergent thinking…That is the reason for all over the world research labs are Independently working entities but funded by Industries.

    In most of the advanced countries a genuine researcher starts his own lab. maybe in the campus of a University or outside the University…associated with industrial environment…establishing Industry-Academic Interface…Developing the Technology…That is the global trend setting in the Research Arena

    -Dr.Shreeram Geet.
    Career Counselor.

  • Science & Superstitions

    Many buildings around the world don’t have the 13th Floor. Instead the elevator may be a label 12B or 14A. So also in some airlines like Air France and Lufthansa, don’t be surprised if the 13th row or 17th row happen to be missing, because people of countries like Italy and Brazil considered them as unlucky….

    If someone dear to you sneezes, immediately you respond saying “bless you”. You don’t want the devil lurking around to steal their soul after the sneeze, just as your ancestors believed. Else If you are about to start a new venture or undertake an auspicious activity you wouldn’t want to see a black cat cross your path or see a mirror suddenly break or walk underneath a ladder

    In each of the above cases, there appears to be a general belief that some supernatural forces are at work and that they are just about to influence something really undesirable, and one ought to best avoid it before things really go haywire.

    While most people prefer calling it their ‘gut feeling’, universally believers of pure logic and science would without mincing any words blatantly call it a ‘superstition’. Decisions that appear to be grossly irrational on the part of the decision maker, and entirely based on one’s belief of an eventual ‘good luck’ and ‘destiny’. And to top it all, one may resort to carrying of charms, wearing certain clothes, visiting places associated with good fortune, preferring specific colours or using of a particular number/sign…

    Though most of the listed choices and actions appear to be ‘trivial’ in nature, yet the conviction with which one goes about doing it may surprise one and all. Now at a time when science is making life easy and contributing to much of mankind’s progress and advancement, people have begun questioning one’s blind faith on ‘superstitions’, especially those that have been passed onto us by our ancestors.

    While it may not be prudent to junk everything that out-rightly appears to be superstitious, instead one should try to follow the ones which have a scientific and logical basis and not let fear and anxiety push us to accept or do something forcibly. But before calling a spade, a ‘spade’, it is critical that one first develops the requisite scientific outlook and temper to identify a prevailing practice as being a ‘superstition’ and only then do away with it.

    While taking a decision, one ought to be conscious of the fact that when ancient Indian scriptures and Aryabhatta put forth the assumption that Earth was round and it revolved around the Sun, the entire western world believed otherwise terming it ‘superstition’.

    So also, whenever people in India suffered from communicable or infectious disease, traditionally householders performed some rituals using neem leaves on the affected person, which again was considered to be ‘superstition’ by the elite and learned. However, later when the same people who questioned these practices began discovering the amazing medicinal values of neem plant, they found some sense and logic in these age-old practices. In short, ‘superstitions’ are time tested assumptions – some passed down from generation to generation.

    While it is true that unless these so called ‘assumptions’ are empirically found to be correct and eventually explained using some theory or principle, one need not accept them as ‘logical’ or ‘scientific’. But there exist many superstitions which may not have been proved scientifically, yet we cannot call these practices as ‘unscientific’ simply because there is every possibility of mankind not having evolved with as much knowledge to reason its veracity or we may not have the requisite technology to debunk them scientifically.

    Though some of the superstitions appear to be quite hilarious, there are a few that are really very interesting and connect to heritage and ethos. In such a scenario, it’s best to do away with those which appear out-rightly ridiculous, but as for those where decision making is very tricky, leave it alone. With the passage of time, as the reasoning behind its origin gradually erodes, the truth will appear all by itself. What is scientific will remain, and what’s superstition will fade out into history. So let’s not try to reason out every superstition, at least for now!

    -Dr Shobha Tawde

    Team ScienceNow

  • Star Chart – Get a guided tour of the Sky above you…

    This star chart is for early February  9 pm, mid  February   8 pm and end  February 7 pm .

    To use this chart, hold the star chart vertically ,face any direction in the sky. Turn the star chart around so that the direction you are facing is at the bottom.

    Now, the stars shown at the bottom in the chart are the stars you will see in the sky .Dots represent stars. The larger the dot the brighter the star.

    Lines between stars are imaginary and aid location. Names of constellation are  along each side 

     

    Monthly phases

    Full moon

    05 February 2023 23:59

    Last quarter

    13 February 2023 21:31

    New moon

    20 February 2023 12:36

    First quarter

    27 February 2023 13:36

     

    -Suhas Naik-Satam

    Nehru Planetarium