As i am one of the regular traveller of train and whatever disadvantage the train has that to be rectified as soon as it is possible.In train every boggie should have a big dustbin and in every row of the boggie there should be medium size dustbin.
The dustbin should be clean and place new cover in every 2 hrs of travel. people should be advise to use it and not to throw the waste anywhere in the train or station. try to keep the train, station and our nation neat and clean.
Courtesy: Dhanraj Chakraborty
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Indian Sanskrit scholar built and flew aircraft before Wright brothers
Talpade – The Indian Sanskrit scholar who built and flew a mercury engine aircraft in 1895, 8 years before the Wright brothers!
Shivkur Bapuji Talpade, flew an unmanned aircraft, eight years before the Wright brothers demonstrated on December 17th 1903 that it was possible for a ‘manned heavier than air machine to fly’. But, in 1895, eight years earlier, the Sanskrit scholar Shivkar Bapuji Talpade had designed a basic aircraft called Marutsakthi (meaning Power of Air) based on Vedic technology documented in ancient Sanskrit manuscripts. His demonstration flight took place before a large audience in the Chowpathy beach of Bombay. The importance of the Wright brothers lies in the fact, that it was a manned flight for a distance of 120 feet and Orville Wright became the first man to fly. But Talpade’s unmanned aircraft flew to a height of 1500 feet before crashing down and the historian Evan Koshtka, has described Talpade as the ‘first creator of an aircraft’.
This historic day in 1895 (unfortunately the actual date is not mentioned in the Kesari newspaper of Pune which covered the event) was witnessed by the famous Indian judge/ nationalist/ Mahadeva Govin-da Ranade and H H Sayaji Rao Gaekwad.
It is important to note that Talpade was no scientist, just a sanskrit scholar who had built his aircraft entirely from the rich treasury of India’s Vedas.
Shivkar Bapuji Talpade was born in 1864 in the locality of Chirabazar at Dukkarwadi in Bombay. He was a scholar of Sanskrit and from his young age was attracted by the Vaimanika Sastra (Aeronautical Science) expounded by the great Indian sage Maharishi Bhardwaja.
Surprisingly according to the bi-monthly Ancient Skies published in USA, the aircraft engines being developed for future use by NASA also uses mercury bombardment units powered by Solar cells! Interestingly, the impulse is generated in seven stages.
The mercury propellant is first vapourised fed into the thruster discharge chamber ionised converted into plasma by a combination with electrons broke down electrically and then accelerated through small openings in a screen to pass out of the engine at velocities between 1200 to 3000 kilometres per minute! But so far NASA has been able to produce an experimental basis only a one pound of thrust by its scientists a power derivation virtually useless. But over 100 years ago Talpade was able to use his knowledge of Vaimanika Shastra to produce sufficient thrust to lift his aircraft 1500 feet into the air! Maharaja Sayaji Rao Gaekwad of Baroda was a great supporter of the Sciences in India, and was willing to help Talpade with
funds to build his aircraft and the mercury engines.
But the success of an Indian scientist was not liked by the Imperial rulers. Warned by the British Government the Maharaja of Baroda stopped helping Talpade. Talpade passed away in 1916 unhonoured, in his own country. It is said that the remains of the Marutsakthi (the aircraft
Tapade built) were ‘sold’ to a British company by Talpade’s relatives.
Shivkur Bapuji Talpade, flew an unmanned aircraft, eight years before the Wright brothers demonstrated on December 17th 1903 that it was possible for a ‘manned heavier than air machine to fly’. But, in 1895, eight years earlier, the Sanskrit scholar Shivkar Bapuji Talpade had designed a basic aircraft called Marutsakthi (meaning Power of Air) based on Vedic technology documented in ancient Sanskrit manuscripts. His demonstration flight took place before a large audience in the Chowpathy beach of Bombay. The importance of the Wright brothers lies in the fact, that it was a manned flight for a distance of 120 feet and Orville Wright became the first man to fly. But Talpade’s unmanned aircraft flew to a height of 1500 feet before crashing down and the historian Evan Koshtka, has described Talpade as the ‘first creator of an aircraft’.
This historic day in 1895 (unfortunately the actual date is not mentioned in the Kesari newspaper of Pune which covered the event) was witnessed by the famous Indian judge/ nationalist/ Mahadeva Govin-da Ranade and H H Sayaji Rao Gaekwad.
It is important to note that Talpade was no scientist, just a sanskrit scholar who had built his aircraft entirely from the rich treasury of India’s Vedas.
Shivkar Bapuji Talpade was born in 1864 in the locality of Chirabazar at Dukkarwadi in Bombay. He was a scholar of Sanskrit and from his young age was attracted by the Vaimanika Sastra (Aeronautical Science) expounded by the great Indian sage Maharishi Bhardwaja.
Surprisingly according to the bi-monthly Ancient Skies published in USA, the aircraft engines being developed for future use by NASA also uses mercury bombardment units powered by Solar cells! Interestingly, the impulse is generated in seven stages.
The mercury propellant is first vapourised fed into the thruster discharge chamber ionised converted into plasma by a combination with electrons broke down electrically and then accelerated through small openings in a screen to pass out of the engine at velocities between 1200 to 3000 kilometres per minute! But so far NASA has been able to produce an experimental basis only a one pound of thrust by its scientists a power derivation virtually useless. But over 100 years ago Talpade was able to use his knowledge of Vaimanika Shastra to produce sufficient thrust to lift his aircraft 1500 feet into the air! Maharaja Sayaji Rao Gaekwad of Baroda was a great supporter of the Sciences in India, and was willing to help Talpade with
funds to build his aircraft and the mercury engines.
But the success of an Indian scientist was not liked by the Imperial rulers. Warned by the British Government the Maharaja of Baroda stopped helping Talpade. Talpade passed away in 1916 unhonoured, in his own country. It is said that the remains of the Marutsakthi (the aircraft
Tapade built) were ‘sold’ to a British company by Talpade’s relatives.
WEB 2.0 is the new Web a bigger bang?
Have you ever thought about the difference between using the Internet in the late 1990s and in 2007?
The most important and revolutionary change that has come about on the net is the gradual rise of a new collaborative Web.
This new Web environment has so become a part of our daily lives that the Time magazine named its Person of the Year for 2006 as 'You'. The decision was based keeping in mind the role played by this phenomenon in changing the way people use the Internet.
According to the magazine: "The story of 2006 was a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. It's about cosmic compendium of knowledge Wikipedia and the people's network YouTube and the online metrolpolis MySpace. It's about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes."
A number of definitions are being put forward to explain this growing phenomenon. The most widely used explanation of the concept was given by O'Reilly Media in 2004, who termed it as Web 2.0.
According to it, Web 2.0 refers to second-generation of web-based services - social networking sites, wikis, blogs, User Generated Content (UGC) - that accentuate online collaboration and sharing among users. It is an arena where the web is a dominant platform compared to the desktop.
Collaborative platform
What actually has changed in last few years? In the past, the Internet was primarily a platform for one-way interaction where people used to get information or services by going online.
But now Internet users are engaged in a two-way collaborative platform with an amazing array of web services like tagging, blogging, vodcasting, podcasting, and social networking among others.
In the words of Tim O'Reilly, Web 2.0 is based on social software where the users not just consume the content but generate it.
Technically, Web 2.0 has ensured the replacement of the personal computer as a platform by the net.
Now a host of services like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and many others are available on the internet and users don't need to install costly softwares on their PCs. They can directly use these tools on the net and save their work there itself.
Growing trend
Now, what exactly is a Web 2.0 website and how does it affect the lives of millions logging onto the net. So, for all those who have little or no clue about this new concept, here's a list of some of the sites and services.
BlogsSocial NetworkingPhoto/Video sharingContent Aggregators/Bookmarking
There are hundreds of Web 2.0 websites that are catering to the increasing appetite of the online community. According to a business report, more than 1000 Web 2.0 companies were started in Silicon Valley last year.
The rise of this new Web can be attributed to the need for a more collaborative platform. The web pages on the original web were too static and there was no way a user could have contributed or customized them the way he wanted.
User primacy
But Web 2.0 is a different ballgame. Now Internet users can contribute and create all types of content - from text to pictures to videos to personal information to open source software.
There are also a variety of innovative and rich Web 2.0 applications that are being used by youngsters, students and almost all who seek knowledge. The most prominent among them being Nuvvo, Schoolr, Learn Without Limits, and Qunu.
Another reason for the immense popularity of the Web 2.0 concept is the continuous rise in the number of Internet users.
On the other hand, doubts have also been raised about the reach and low user involvement of Web 2.0 sites.
According to a study by US Internet firm Hitwise, only 0.16 per cent of visits on YouTube by users are to seek to upload video for others to watch. Also, only two-tenths of one per cent of visits to Flickr are to upload new photos.
But despite low user involvement it can be said that the new collaborative Web has certainly changed the lives of Internet users.
Web 2.0, seen by many as a confluence of technology, people, and their attitudes, has changed the way we think and use the Internet.
CREDIT: NDTV.com
The most important and revolutionary change that has come about on the net is the gradual rise of a new collaborative Web.
This new Web environment has so become a part of our daily lives that the Time magazine named its Person of the Year for 2006 as 'You'. The decision was based keeping in mind the role played by this phenomenon in changing the way people use the Internet.
According to the magazine: "The story of 2006 was a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. It's about cosmic compendium of knowledge Wikipedia and the people's network YouTube and the online metrolpolis MySpace. It's about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes."
A number of definitions are being put forward to explain this growing phenomenon. The most widely used explanation of the concept was given by O'Reilly Media in 2004, who termed it as Web 2.0.
According to it, Web 2.0 refers to second-generation of web-based services - social networking sites, wikis, blogs, User Generated Content (UGC) - that accentuate online collaboration and sharing among users. It is an arena where the web is a dominant platform compared to the desktop.
Collaborative platform
What actually has changed in last few years? In the past, the Internet was primarily a platform for one-way interaction where people used to get information or services by going online.
But now Internet users are engaged in a two-way collaborative platform with an amazing array of web services like tagging, blogging, vodcasting, podcasting, and social networking among others.
In the words of Tim O'Reilly, Web 2.0 is based on social software where the users not just consume the content but generate it.
Technically, Web 2.0 has ensured the replacement of the personal computer as a platform by the net.
Now a host of services like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and many others are available on the internet and users don't need to install costly softwares on their PCs. They can directly use these tools on the net and save their work there itself.
Growing trend
Now, what exactly is a Web 2.0 website and how does it affect the lives of millions logging onto the net. So, for all those who have little or no clue about this new concept, here's a list of some of the sites and services.
BlogsSocial NetworkingPhoto/Video sharingContent Aggregators/Bookmarking
There are hundreds of Web 2.0 websites that are catering to the increasing appetite of the online community. According to a business report, more than 1000 Web 2.0 companies were started in Silicon Valley last year.
The rise of this new Web can be attributed to the need for a more collaborative platform. The web pages on the original web were too static and there was no way a user could have contributed or customized them the way he wanted.
User primacy
But Web 2.0 is a different ballgame. Now Internet users can contribute and create all types of content - from text to pictures to videos to personal information to open source software.
There are also a variety of innovative and rich Web 2.0 applications that are being used by youngsters, students and almost all who seek knowledge. The most prominent among them being Nuvvo, Schoolr, Learn Without Limits, and Qunu.
Another reason for the immense popularity of the Web 2.0 concept is the continuous rise in the number of Internet users.
On the other hand, doubts have also been raised about the reach and low user involvement of Web 2.0 sites.
According to a study by US Internet firm Hitwise, only 0.16 per cent of visits on YouTube by users are to seek to upload video for others to watch. Also, only two-tenths of one per cent of visits to Flickr are to upload new photos.
But despite low user involvement it can be said that the new collaborative Web has certainly changed the lives of Internet users.
Web 2.0, seen by many as a confluence of technology, people, and their attitudes, has changed the way we think and use the Internet.
CREDIT: NDTV.com
Monday, July 16, 2007
Interesting facts about India
The facts about India are divided as under:
History
India is the world's largest, oldest, continuous civilization. Although modern images of India often show poverty and lack of development, India was the richest country on earth until the time of British invasion in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus was attracted by India's wealth. India never invaded any country in her last 10000 years of history. India is the world's largest democracy. The four religions born in India, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, are followed by 25% of the world's population Chess (Shataranja or AshtaPada) was invented in India.
Varanasi, also known as Benares, was called "the ancient city" when Lord Buddha visited it in 500 B.C.E, and is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world today. The art of Navigation was born in the river Sindh 6000 years ago. The very word Navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from Sanskrit 'Nou'.
Medicine Sushruta is the father of surgery. 2600 years ago he and health scientists of his time conducted complicated surgeries like cesareans, cataract, artificial limbs, fractures, urinary stones and even plastic surgery and brain surgery. Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India.
Over 125 surgical equipment were used. Deep knowledge of anatomy, physiology, etiology, embryology, digestion, metabolism, genetics and immunity is also found in many texts.
Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans. Charaka, the father of medicine consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago. Today Ayurveda is fast regaining its rightful place in our civilization.
Math
The value of "pi" was first calculated by Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century long before the European mathematician. India invented the Number System. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta. Bhaskaracharya calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. Time taken by earth to orbit the sun: (5th century) 365.258756484 days.
Academic
The World's first university was established in Takshashila in 700 BCE. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century BCE was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
Grammar constitutes one of India's greatest contributions to Western philology. Panini, the Sanskrit grammarian, who lived between 750 and 500 BCE, was the first to compose formal grammar through his Astadhyai.
Hindus were/are the best.
History
India is the world's largest, oldest, continuous civilization. Although modern images of India often show poverty and lack of development, India was the richest country on earth until the time of British invasion in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus was attracted by India's wealth. India never invaded any country in her last 10000 years of history. India is the world's largest democracy. The four religions born in India, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, are followed by 25% of the world's population Chess (Shataranja or AshtaPada) was invented in India.
Varanasi, also known as Benares, was called "the ancient city" when Lord Buddha visited it in 500 B.C.E, and is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world today. The art of Navigation was born in the river Sindh 6000 years ago. The very word Navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from Sanskrit 'Nou'.
Medicine Sushruta is the father of surgery. 2600 years ago he and health scientists of his time conducted complicated surgeries like cesareans, cataract, artificial limbs, fractures, urinary stones and even plastic surgery and brain surgery. Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India.
Over 125 surgical equipment were used. Deep knowledge of anatomy, physiology, etiology, embryology, digestion, metabolism, genetics and immunity is also found in many texts.
Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans. Charaka, the father of medicine consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago. Today Ayurveda is fast regaining its rightful place in our civilization.
Math
The value of "pi" was first calculated by Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century long before the European mathematician. India invented the Number System. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta. Bhaskaracharya calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. Time taken by earth to orbit the sun: (5th century) 365.258756484 days.
Academic
The World's first university was established in Takshashila in 700 BCE. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century BCE was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
Grammar constitutes one of India's greatest contributions to Western philology. Panini, the Sanskrit grammarian, who lived between 750 and 500 BCE, was the first to compose formal grammar through his Astadhyai.
Hindus were/are the best.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Water vapour detected on alien world
Water vapour has been found in the atmosphere of a Jupiter-like planet outside our solar system.
Planetary scientists had predicted that "hot Jupiters" - massive gas giants orbiting perilously close to their host stars - would have water vapour in their atmospheres. In April, astronomers claimed they had found some using the Hubble Space Telescope, but many dismissed the evidence as flawed.
Now Giovanna Tinetti of University College London and her colleagues have used the Spitzer Space Telescope to probe HD 189733b, a hot Jupiter orbiting a star just 63 light years from Earth. They studied starlight in three infrared bands centred around wavelengths of 3.6, 5.8 and 8 micrometres, and found that when the planet crossed the face of the star, the light dimmed in a manner consistent with the absorption of light by water vapour.
The team had predicted just such a dimming. "This is the first strong evidence of it," says team member Jean-Philippe Beaulieu of the Astrophysics Institute in Paris.
CREDIT: New Scientist magazine
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
UFO in India
UFO in India
UFO Sighting In India Two unidentified flying objects were spotted hovering/manouvering over Karnal (Haryana) and Delhi. DC of Punjab refused to comment and had a verbal fight with a tv reporter.. Conspiracy? On Sunday 8th July, Karnal town and Delhi North India there have been numerous reportings of UFO sightings.
On March 2007 ATC also reported some sort of Unidentified object surfacing on their radar and before they could send their plane it just disappear.
Coming back to Sunday event, People called up TV Stations reporting to have seen two light globes hovering in the skies,rotating and flying at different altitudes at great speeds for three hours this phonomenon was spoted. There have been hundreds of witnesses calling up the News channels.
Zee News, IBN7 and many more covered it...Aaj Tak made it sure that this is hoax.
UFO Sighting In India Two unidentified flying objects were spotted hovering/manouvering over Karnal (Haryana) and Delhi. DC of Punjab refused to comment and had a verbal fight with a tv reporter.. Conspiracy? On Sunday 8th July, Karnal town and Delhi North India there have been numerous reportings of UFO sightings.
On March 2007 ATC also reported some sort of Unidentified object surfacing on their radar and before they could send their plane it just disappear.
Coming back to Sunday event, People called up TV Stations reporting to have seen two light globes hovering in the skies,rotating and flying at different altitudes at great speeds for three hours this phonomenon was spoted. There have been hundreds of witnesses calling up the News channels.
Zee News, IBN7 and many more covered it...Aaj Tak made it sure that this is hoax.
Monday, July 09, 2007
Life Away in Solar System Could Be Different From Earth
The search for life elsewhere in the solar system and beyond should include efforts to detect what scientists sometimes refer to as "weird" life -- that is, life with an alternative biochemistry to that of life on Earth -- says a new report from the National Research Council. The committee that wrote the report found that the fundamental requirements for life as we generally know it -- a liquid water biosolvent, carbon-based metabolism, molecular system capable of evolution, and the ability to exchange energy with the environment -- are not the only ways to support phenomena recognized as life. "Our investigation made clear that life is possible in forms different than those on Earth," said committees chair John Baross, professor of oceanography at the University of Washington, Seattle.
The report emphasizes that "no discovery that we can make in our exploration of the solar system would have greater impact on our view of our position in the cosmos, or be more inspiring, than the discovery of an alien life form, even a primitive one. At the same time, it is clear that nothing would be more tragic in the American exploration of space than to encounter alien life without recognizing it."
The tacit assumption that alien life would utilize the same biochemical architecture as life on Earth does means that scientists have artificially limited the scope of their thinking as to where extraterrestrial life might be found, the report says. The assumption that life requires water, for example, has limited thinking about likely habitats on Mars to those places where liquid water is thought to be present or have once flowed, such as the deep subsurface. However, according to the committee, liquids such as ammonia or formamide could also work as biosolvents -- liquids that dissolve substances within an organism -- albeit through a different biochemistry. The recent evidence that liquid water-ammonia mixtures may exist in the interior of Saturn's moon Titan suggests that increased priority be given to a follow-on mission to probe Titan, a locale the committee considers the solar system's most likely home for weird life.
Besides the possibility of alternative biosolvents, studies show that variations on some of the other basic tenets for life also might be able to support weird life. DNA on Earth works through the pairing of four chemical compounds called nucleotides, but experiments in synthetic biology have created structures with six or more nucleotides that can also encode genetic information and, potentially, support Darwinian evolution. Additionally, studies in chemistry show that an organism could utilize energy from alternative sources, such as through a reaction of sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid, meaning that such an organism could have an entirely non-carbon-based metabolism.
Researchers need to further explore variations of the requirements for life with particular emphasis on origin-of-life studies, which will help determine if life can exist without water or in environments where water is only present under extreme conditions, the report says. Most planets and moons in this solar system fall into one of these categories. Research should also focus on how organisms break down key elements, as even non-carbon-based life would need elements for energy, structure, and chemical reactions.
The report also stresses that the future search for alien life should not exclude additional research into terrestrial life.
Space missions will need adjustment to increase the breadth of their search for life. Planned Mars missions, for example, should include instruments that detect components of light elements -- especially carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorous, and sulfur -- as well as simple organic functional groups and organic carbon. Recent evidence indicates that another moon of Saturn, Enceladus, has active water geysers, raising the prospect that habitable environments may exist there and greatly increasing the priority of additional studies of this body.
Credit: NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
The search for life elsewhere in the solar system and beyond should include efforts to detect what scientists sometimes refer to as "weird" life -- that is, life with an alternative biochemistry to that of life on Earth -- says a new report from the National Research Council. The committee that wrote the report found that the fundamental requirements for life as we generally know it -- a liquid water biosolvent, carbon-based metabolism, molecular system capable of evolution, and the ability to exchange energy with the environment -- are not the only ways to support phenomena recognized as life. "Our investigation made clear that life is possible in forms different than those on Earth," said committees chair John Baross, professor of oceanography at the University of Washington, Seattle.
The report emphasizes that "no discovery that we can make in our exploration of the solar system would have greater impact on our view of our position in the cosmos, or be more inspiring, than the discovery of an alien life form, even a primitive one. At the same time, it is clear that nothing would be more tragic in the American exploration of space than to encounter alien life without recognizing it."
The tacit assumption that alien life would utilize the same biochemical architecture as life on Earth does means that scientists have artificially limited the scope of their thinking as to where extraterrestrial life might be found, the report says. The assumption that life requires water, for example, has limited thinking about likely habitats on Mars to those places where liquid water is thought to be present or have once flowed, such as the deep subsurface. However, according to the committee, liquids such as ammonia or formamide could also work as biosolvents -- liquids that dissolve substances within an organism -- albeit through a different biochemistry. The recent evidence that liquid water-ammonia mixtures may exist in the interior of Saturn's moon Titan suggests that increased priority be given to a follow-on mission to probe Titan, a locale the committee considers the solar system's most likely home for weird life.
Besides the possibility of alternative biosolvents, studies show that variations on some of the other basic tenets for life also might be able to support weird life. DNA on Earth works through the pairing of four chemical compounds called nucleotides, but experiments in synthetic biology have created structures with six or more nucleotides that can also encode genetic information and, potentially, support Darwinian evolution. Additionally, studies in chemistry show that an organism could utilize energy from alternative sources, such as through a reaction of sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid, meaning that such an organism could have an entirely non-carbon-based metabolism.
Researchers need to further explore variations of the requirements for life with particular emphasis on origin-of-life studies, which will help determine if life can exist without water or in environments where water is only present under extreme conditions, the report says. Most planets and moons in this solar system fall into one of these categories. Research should also focus on how organisms break down key elements, as even non-carbon-based life would need elements for energy, structure, and chemical reactions.
The report also stresses that the future search for alien life should not exclude additional research into terrestrial life.
Space missions will need adjustment to increase the breadth of their search for life. Planned Mars missions, for example, should include instruments that detect components of light elements -- especially carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorous, and sulfur -- as well as simple organic functional groups and organic carbon. Recent evidence indicates that another moon of Saturn, Enceladus, has active water geysers, raising the prospect that habitable environments may exist there and greatly increasing the priority of additional studies of this body.
Credit: NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
Friday, July 06, 2007
NASA's Mars rover Opportunity is scheduled to begin a descent
NASA's Mars rover Opportunity is scheduled to begin a descent down a rock-paved slope into the Red Planet's massive Victoria Crater. This carries real risk for the long-lived robotic explorer, but NASA and the Mars Rover science team expect it to provide valuable science.
Opportunity already has been exploring layered rocks in cliffs around Victoria Crater. The team has planned the descent carefully to enable an eventual exit, but Opportunity could become trapped inside the crater or lose some capabilities. The rover has operated more than 12 times longer than its originally intended 90 days.
The scientific allure is the chance to examine and investigate the compositions and textures of exposed materials in the crater's depths for clues about ancient, wet environments. As the rover travels farther down the slope, it will be able to examine increasingly older rocks in the exposed walls of the crater.
"While we take seriously the uncertainty about whether Opportunity will climb back out, the potential value of investigations that appear possible inside the crater convinced me to authorize the team to move forward into Victoria Crater," said Alan Stern, NASA associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington. "It is a calculated risk worth taking, particularly because this mission has far exceeded its original goals."
The robotic geologist will enter Victoria Crater through an alcove named Duck Bay. The eroding crater has a scalloped rim of cliff-like promontories, or capes, alternating with more gently sloped alcoves, or bays.
A meteor impact millions of years ago excavated Victoria, which lies approximately 4 miles south of where Opportunity landed in January 2004. The impact-created bowl is half a mile across and about five times as wide as Endurance Crater, where Opportunity spent more than six months exploring in 2004.
The rover began the journey to Victoria from Endurance 30 months ago. It reached the rim at Duck Bay nine months ago. Opportunity then drove approximately a quarter of the way clockwise around the rim, examining rock layers visible in the promontories and possible entry routes in the alcoves. Now, the rover has returned to the most favorable entry point.
"Duck Bay looks like the best candidate for entry," said John Callas, rover project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "It has slopes of 15 to 20 degrees and exposed bedrock for safe driving."
If all of its six wheels continue working, engineers expect Opportunity to be able to climb back out of the crater. However, Opportunity's twin rover Spirit lost the use of one wheel more than a year ago, diminishing its climbing ability.
"These rovers are well past their design lifetimes, and another wheel could fail on either rover at any time," Callas said. "If Opportunity were to lose the use of a wheel inside Victoria Crater, it would make it very difficult, perhaps impossible, to climb back out."
"We don't want this to be a one-way trip," said Steve Squyres, principal investigator for the rovers' science instruments, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. "We still have some excellent science targets out on the plains that we would like to visit after Victoria. But if Opportunity becomes trapped there, it will be worth the knowledge gained."
CREDIT: Science at NASA
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Zorse has a Zebra dad and mom Horse
Zorses, or zebroids, are normally stripy all over and have a zebra dad and a horse for a mum, but a zorse at a zoo in Germany is changing all that.hahahahahaha.
Human can create wonder and this is one of the wonder.
Eclyse the zorse is a bit different because her mum's a German zebra and her dad's an Italian horse, giving her a patchy coat that's stripy and plain. Hmmmmmmmm isn't it interesting.
Vets are worried that other zebras won't accept her so they're looking for a boy pony to share her field. That so cool..
Human can create wonder and this is one of the wonder.
Eclyse the zorse is a bit different because her mum's a German zebra and her dad's an Italian horse, giving her a patchy coat that's stripy and plain. Hmmmmmmmm isn't it interesting.
Vets are worried that other zebras won't accept her so they're looking for a boy pony to share her field. That so cool..
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Archaeology of Ayodhya
In the year 2003: The ASI reportThe Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) excavated the mosque site at the direction of the Allahabad Bench of the Uttar Pradesh High Court in 2003.
The archaeologists reported evidence of a large 10th century structure similar to a Hindu temple having pre-existed the Babri Masjid. A team of 131 labourers including 29 Muslims - who were later on included on the objections of the Muslim side[citation needed] - was engaged in the excavations. In June 11, 2003 the ASI issued an interim report that only listed the findings of the period between May 22 and June 6, 2003. In August 2003 the ASI handed a 574-page report to the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court.
Some results of the 2003 ASI report:
Period 1000BC to 300BC:The findings suggest that a Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW) culture existed at the mosque site between 1000 BC and 300 BC. A round signet with a legend in Asokan Brahmi , terracotta figurines of female deities with archaic features, beads of terracotta and glass, wheels and fragments of votive tanks have been found.
Sunga Period. 200 BC:Typical terracotta mother goddess, human and animal figurines, beads, hairpin, pottery (includes black slipped, red and grey wares), and stone and brick structures of the Sunga period have been found.
Kushan period. 100-300 AD:Terracotta human and animal figurines, fragments of votive tanks, beads, bangle fragments, ceramics with red ware and large-sized structures running into twenty-two courses have been found from this level.
Gupta era (400-600 AD) and post-Gupta era:Typical terracotta figurines, a copper coin with the legend Sri Chandra (Gupta), and illustrative potsherds of the Gupta period have been found. A circular brick shrine with an entrance from the east and a provision for a water-chute on the northern wall have also been found.
11th to 12th century:A huge structure of almost fifty metres in north-south orientation have been found on this level. Only four of the fifty pillar bases belong to this level. Above this lied a structure with at least three structural phases which had a huge pillared hall.
Radar searchIn the January 2003, Candadian geophysiscist Claude Robillard performed a search with a ground-penetrating radar. The survey concluded the following:
"There is some structure under the mosque. The structures were ranging from 0.5 to 5.5 meters in depth that could be associated with ancient and contemporaneous structures such as pillars, foundation walls, slab flooring, extending over a large portion of the site".
Claude Robillard, the chief geophysicist stated the following:
"There are some anomalies found underneath the site relating to some archaeological features. You might associate them (the anomalies) with pillars, or floors, or concrete floors, wall foundation or something. These anomalies could be associated with archaeological features but until we dig, I can't say for sure what the construction is under the mosque."
Hari-Vishnu inscription:During the demolition of the Babri mosque in December 1992, three inscriptions on stone were found. The most important one is the Hari-Vishnu inscription inscribed on a 1.10 x .56 metre slab with 20 lines that was provisionally dated to ca. 1140. The inscription mentioned that the temple was dedicated to "Vishnu, slayer of Bali and of the ten-headed one" [Rama is an incarnation of Vishnu who is said to have defeated Bali and Ravana]. The inscription is written in the Nagari Lipi script, a Sanskrit script of the 11th and 12th century. It was examined by world class Epigraphists and Sanskrit scholars (among them Prof. A.M. Shastri).
PillarsPillar bases were first discovered by the ASI's former director-general BB Lall in 1975. In the Babri Mosque were at least fourteen stone pillars that have been dated to the early 11th century and more pillars were found during excavations buried in the ground near the mosque.
Two similar pillars were also found placed upside down by the side of the grave of Fazle Abbas alias Musa Ashikhan. This Muslim saint was the person that incited Mir Baqi to destroy the Janmasthan temple and build a mosque on it.
The archaeologists reported evidence of a large 10th century structure similar to a Hindu temple having pre-existed the Babri Masjid. A team of 131 labourers including 29 Muslims - who were later on included on the objections of the Muslim side[citation needed] - was engaged in the excavations. In June 11, 2003 the ASI issued an interim report that only listed the findings of the period between May 22 and June 6, 2003. In August 2003 the ASI handed a 574-page report to the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court.
Some results of the 2003 ASI report:
Period 1000BC to 300BC:The findings suggest that a Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW) culture existed at the mosque site between 1000 BC and 300 BC. A round signet with a legend in Asokan Brahmi , terracotta figurines of female deities with archaic features, beads of terracotta and glass, wheels and fragments of votive tanks have been found.
Sunga Period. 200 BC:Typical terracotta mother goddess, human and animal figurines, beads, hairpin, pottery (includes black slipped, red and grey wares), and stone and brick structures of the Sunga period have been found.
Kushan period. 100-300 AD:Terracotta human and animal figurines, fragments of votive tanks, beads, bangle fragments, ceramics with red ware and large-sized structures running into twenty-two courses have been found from this level.
Gupta era (400-600 AD) and post-Gupta era:Typical terracotta figurines, a copper coin with the legend Sri Chandra (Gupta), and illustrative potsherds of the Gupta period have been found. A circular brick shrine with an entrance from the east and a provision for a water-chute on the northern wall have also been found.
11th to 12th century:A huge structure of almost fifty metres in north-south orientation have been found on this level. Only four of the fifty pillar bases belong to this level. Above this lied a structure with at least three structural phases which had a huge pillared hall.
Radar searchIn the January 2003, Candadian geophysiscist Claude Robillard performed a search with a ground-penetrating radar. The survey concluded the following:
"There is some structure under the mosque. The structures were ranging from 0.5 to 5.5 meters in depth that could be associated with ancient and contemporaneous structures such as pillars, foundation walls, slab flooring, extending over a large portion of the site".
Claude Robillard, the chief geophysicist stated the following:
"There are some anomalies found underneath the site relating to some archaeological features. You might associate them (the anomalies) with pillars, or floors, or concrete floors, wall foundation or something. These anomalies could be associated with archaeological features but until we dig, I can't say for sure what the construction is under the mosque."
Hari-Vishnu inscription:During the demolition of the Babri mosque in December 1992, three inscriptions on stone were found. The most important one is the Hari-Vishnu inscription inscribed on a 1.10 x .56 metre slab with 20 lines that was provisionally dated to ca. 1140. The inscription mentioned that the temple was dedicated to "Vishnu, slayer of Bali and of the ten-headed one" [Rama is an incarnation of Vishnu who is said to have defeated Bali and Ravana]. The inscription is written in the Nagari Lipi script, a Sanskrit script of the 11th and 12th century. It was examined by world class Epigraphists and Sanskrit scholars (among them Prof. A.M. Shastri).
PillarsPillar bases were first discovered by the ASI's former director-general BB Lall in 1975. In the Babri Mosque were at least fourteen stone pillars that have been dated to the early 11th century and more pillars were found during excavations buried in the ground near the mosque.
Two similar pillars were also found placed upside down by the side of the grave of Fazle Abbas alias Musa Ashikhan. This Muslim saint was the person that incited Mir Baqi to destroy the Janmasthan temple and build a mosque on it.
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