My Science School

          An automobile such as a car is an automatic self-propelled vehicle. It runs on a gasoline, diesel or electric engine. Petrol or diesel engines used in automobiles are internal combustion engines. In these engines, fuel burns in the cylinder. In an electric engine, there is a motor and a gear box. It is battery-powered and used for small cars on a limited and experimental basis.

          Petrol engine is used in most automobiles. However, some automobiles even use diesel engines. Diesel engines are heavier and more expensive than gasoline engines, but they last longer and use less refined fuel.

         Both the petrol and diesel engines are four stroke engines. Their construction and working can be understood as follows:

Petrol Engine: It consists of a cylinder containing an air-tight piston. It is connected with the main shaft through a crank by means of a connecting rod. As the piston moves to and fro, its motion is converted into rotational motion of the crank shaft. The cylinder has two valves: one inlet valve and the other, exhaust or outlet valve. Inlet and outlet valves open and close automatically only once in every cycle. Air is mixed with petrol vapour in a carburetor and is made to pass into the cylinder through the inlet valve. The mixture is burnt in the upper portion by means of an electric spark provided by the spark plug. The action of the engine may be explained in four strokes.

          When the engine is made to work at the beginning by external force, the inlet valve opens and the mixture of petrol vapour and air is allowed into the cylinder. This is known as the charging stroke. Now both inlet and outlet valves close and the fuel mixture is compressed. This is known as compression stroke. The spark plug produces an electric spark and causes the mixture to burn. Due to combustion of the fuel, a large amount of heat is produced. This gives rise to heavy pressure and as a result the piston moves. With the movement of the piston the vehicle moves. This is known as the working or power stroke. Finally the exhaust valve opens, but the inlet valve remains closed. Unused gases, left at the end of the working stroke are thrown out. This is known as the exhaust stroke. In this way, one cycle is over. As the process is repeated, the vehicle goes on moving.

          Most automobile engines have four, six or eight cylinders. Most of the engines are in the front and drive the rear wheels. 

Continue reading "How does an automobile engine work? "

         A periscope is a very useful and interesting optical instrument. It enables officers aboard a submerged submarine to observe whatever might be happening on the surface. A submarine’s periscope can move up and down and turn to look in a complete circle. It allows tank commanders to view the battlefield from inside their armoured vehicles. It is therefore, useful in land and sea warfare. Now let us see what exactly a periscope is.

          A periscope is an optical instrument with which a person can see around corners and other obstructions. This instrument is based upon the principle of reflection of light from two parallel mirrors. A simple periscope consists of a long tube bent twice at right angles. Two plane mirrors, parallel to each other, are fixed in such a way, that the reflecting surfaces of the two mirrors make an angle of 45° with the axis of the tube. Rays coming from an object in front of the periscope, after undergoing two successive reflections, reach the eye of the observer thus enabling him to see the object.

         Some sophisticated periscopes also make use of reflecting prisms and magnifying optics, which make distant objects, appear closer. They are also fitted with devices for estimating the range of the target. Objects can be photographed through a periscope.

          Simple periscopes, made of cardboard, are also popular among spectators at parades and sporting events. With its help, they can see above people’s heads!

          Periscopes are also used in industry to observe nuclear reactions and the interiors of special furnaces and other dangerous devices.

          The longest periscope in the world measures 27 m. It is located at the National Reactor Testing in Idaho Falls, Idaho. It is used to view nuclear reactor operations.

           We can measure our body temperature with a thermometer. Thermocouples and other devices are used to measure the temperature of furnaces. But how can we measure the temperature of stars?

          The surface temperature of stars is determined by various techniques. The most conventional and fairly accurate estimate can be made by colour alone. Red-coloured stars are cool while blue ones are extremely hot. On the basis of colour, stars have been classified in the table given below.

          A more accurate determination of the temperature is made by the comparison of spectra of stars. Light, which comes from the sun and other stars, is made up of many different wavelengths. It can be separated into different wavelengths by a spectrograph (an instrument used to record spectrum). From the spectroscopic studies, it has been observed that stars are largely composed of hydrogen (about 75% on the average). Next in abundance is helium followed by various other metals. In the cooler stars, some compounds are present but at high temperatures, they disintegrate into atoms. In order to know the temperature, the spectra of stars are recorded. It will be different for different stars, depending upon their temperature.

          Moreover, the intensity of spectral lines, bright or dark, varies with the temperature. It has been found that blue stars have O-type spectra; our sun has G-type spectra and so on. Blue stars emit 20 or more times the radiation per unit area than that of our sun does, whereas a red type may emit as little as 1/20 as much per unit area.

          From these spectra, by measuring and comparing the intensity of different lines and using Wien’s Displacement Law, the temperature may be determined. Intensity of emitted light is plotted against wavelength and the curve is drawn. The temperature of the star is directly proportional to the frequency at which most of its radiation is given off, i.e. to the highest point of the curve. 

                                                                                                                                                                                            

          A thermometer is an instrument used for measuring the temperature of our body or atmosphere. The first thermometer was produced by the Italian scientist, Galileo Galilei. Thermometers help in regulating chemical reactions by controlling temperatures of the solutions. They are used to measure the melting points of different solids, and boiling points of liquids.

          The main types of thermometers are: I. Liquid-in-glass thermometers. II. Bimetallic strip thermometers. III. Electrical thermometers. IV. Gas thermometers. 

Liquid-in-glass thermometers: The most common liquid-in-glass thermometer makes use of mercury or alcohol as thermometric liquid. The thermometer is made up of a glass tube with a narrow bore through it. At the bottom of the glass tube, a small bulb is blown, in which the liquid mercury or alcohol is kept. It is then put in a hot bath, as a result of which some of the liquid is expelled. The thermometer’s range is decided by the temperature of the bath. Finally its upper end is sealed.

          The sealed glass tube is now put in ice to mark the lower fixed point. This indicates the minimum temperature for the thermometer. Then it is put in another hot bath to ascertain the maximum temperature. The distance between the lower fixed point and the upper fixed point is divided into equal parts. When we wish to measure our body temperature, the thermometer is put into contact with the body. The thermometric liquid expands and stops when the temperature of the bulb becomes equal to the temperature of the body. The temperature is then read from the upper point of the liquid in the capillary.

          Clinical thermometers also contain mercury. Meteorologists use ‘maximum’ and ‘minimum’ thermometers to record the highest and lowest temperatures of the day. They contain both mercury and alcohol.

 Bimetallic strip thermometers: A bimetallic strip thermometer consists of a strip of two different metals having different co-efficients of expansion. This means that different metals expand unequally at the same temperature. The two metals used are usually brass and invar. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, while invar is an alloy of iron and nickel. The two strips are joined together. When the temperature changes, the two metals expand and contract at different rates. This causes the strip to bend. The strip is attached to a pointer which indicates the temperature. Bimetallic strip thermometers are used in refrigerators for temperature control. They are also used in thermographs. A thermograph records a graph of temperature. Instead of a pointer, a pen is attached to the bimetallic strip which records the temperature on a moving chart which is known as a thermogram. 

Continue reading "What are the different types of thermometers? "

          The unique feature of a video-tape recorder (VTR) is that it plays back both sound and picture. It is mainly used to record television programmes as magnetic patterns and play video cassettes. But how does the video-tape recorder work?

          A video-tape is a band of plastic tape. On one side, it is coated with a film of magnetic iron oxide whose thickness is about one-five thousandth of a centimetre. The width of the tape is about 1.25 to 2.5 cm. For recording a programme, the tape is run by a magnetic video tape recorder.

          A television camera changes an image into electrical signals. At the same time, a microphone changes sound into electrical signals. These signals are then fed into the recorder. The VTR contains recording heads that convert the signals into varying magnetic fields. As the magnetic tape passes these heads, they produce magnetic patterns on the tape. This tape can then be used to reproduce the original sound and picture. When the tape is played back, the changing magnetic fields of the pattern of iron oxide particles create weak currents which exactly correspond to the recorded sound and picture.

          The sound and picture signals are kept separated in the recorder, and are recorded on to different parts of the tape. Usually, the sound signal is recorded on to a narrow track at the top of the tape. The image signal is recorded on to a wider track in the middle of the tape. A control signal is recorded along the bottom of the tape. Television studios generally use 5 cm-wide tape. The tape moves at a speed of 37.5 cm a second.

          The head that records the image signal rotates, as the tape passes by it. As a result, the recording is made in diagonal bands across the tape. This allows more information to be stored on a given length of tape.

          Video tapes are used to record and reproduce various television programmes. They are also used for the reproduction of sport events during a live broadcast. Video tapes are also used in slow motion and stop-action techniques. Nowadays video discs having pictures as well as sound recordings are also available to see a film on the disc, by playing it on a video disc player connected to a television set. 

          Radio and television stations make use of microphones. They are also used in public address systems and in motion pictures and phonograph records. The mouth piece of a telephone is a simple type of microphone. Let us see what exactly a microphone is.

          A microphone is a device which converts sound waves into electrical signals. These signals can then be broadcast through the air or sent over to distant points, where they can again be converted back into sound.

          Microphones can be divided into two groups depending upon how they respond to sound waves. These are: the pressure type and the velocity type.

          The pressure type microphones contain a thin metal plate called a diaphragm. This is stretched like a drumhead inside a rigid frame. The diaphragm is a part of the electrical circuit. When the sound waves strike the diaphragm, it starts vibrations at the same rate as the sound waves. These vibrations produce corresponding electric signals by changing the electric current that flows through the circuit.

          The pressure microphones are of several types, such as condenser microphone, moving coil or dynamic microphone, the crystal microphone and the carbon microphone.

 

Continue reading "How does a microphone work? "

               A mass spectrograph is an instrument used to analyze the constituents of substances. It not only detects different kinds of atoms and molecules present in the substance, but also finds out their relative amounts. By the use of electric and magnetic fields, it separates ions of different masses. Do you know how this instrument works?

               The working of the mass spectrograph first involves the change of the substance into a gas, which is passed into a vacuum chamber. A beam of electrons is bombarded to change the gas atoms and molecules into ions. The ions are then accelerated, by passing them through an electric field. Then the ions are passed through a magnetic field, where they get deflected. The positive ions are deflected one way, and the negative ions in the opposite direction. The amount of deflection is inversely proportional to the masses of the ions. The heavier the mass, the lesser the deflection. This separates ions of different masses. Ions of the same mass and charge stay together. The ions are then allowed to fall on a photographic plate. Different ions hit the plate at different places and as a result, this photographic plate records the amounts of various atoms and molecules. Photographic plate is used to identify different ions which have hit it. From the intensity variations on the plate, we can know the relative amounts of atoms or molecules present in the substance. 

               The mass spectrograph was developed by a British scientist, William Francis Aston. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1922 for this invention. After this, several other mass spectrographs were developed by many leading scientists like Dempster, Bainbridge, Nier, etc but all were just modifications of Aston’s mass spectrograph.

              The mass spectrograph is widely used in geology, chemistry, biology and nuclear physics. It is a very useful instrument for isotopic studies. Aston himself discovered 212 of the 287 naturally occurring isotopes. Mass spectrographs are also used as vacuum leak detectors.

 

In 1960, very strong radio emissions were observed by an American astronomer, Allan R. Sandage to be coming from certain localized direction in the sky. When viewed on the photographic plate, they appeared like stars. But they were not stars, as proved by their other characteristics including a large red shift. The accurate position measurement of these star like objects on optical photographs, led to the discovery of a new class of objects in the universe, the quasars (quasi-stellar sources).

They appear star like on the photograph because their angular diameters are less than about 1 second of an arc, which is the resolution limit of ground-based optical telescopes. Since stars also have angular diameters much less than this, they too appear unresolved or point-like on a photograph.

In 1962 a much brighter star like object 3C273 was identified by Maarten Schmidt with the help of a radio telescope in Australia. Its red shift was found to be 0.158. This red shift turned out to be far larger than any other that had been detected for ordinary galaxies. These observations established the existence of quasars beyond doubt.

Quasars are generally much bluer than most of the stars, except white dwarf stars. The blueness of quasars, as an identifying characteristic, led to the discovery that many blue star like objects have a large red shift, and are therefore quasars. Till today scientists have studied more than 1000 quasars but their nature and distance from earth remain a puzzle.

Quasars consist of a massive nucleus with a total size of less than a light year, which is surrounded by an extended halo of gas excited by the energy radiated by the central object. The central object emits radiation over a wide spectral range. Some quasars emit significant amount of energy at radio frequencies ranging from about 30 MHz to 100 GHz. It is believed that the energy emitted by quasars is gravitational and not thermonuclear in origin. More than ergs of energy are released in quasars over their life-time.

Till to day scientists have not been able to measure the exact distance of quasars from the earth. Various similarities of quasars with radio galaxies strongly suggest that quasars are also active nuclei of galaxies might be associated with the birth of some galaxies. Studies have shown that quasars must have been much more common in the universe about many years ago.

 

          We are all aware of the damage and disaster a fire can cause in certain situations. Now let us see how to control a fire and prevent it from spreading.

          A fire is basically a chemical reaction during which heat and light are produced. Three factors are necessary for a fire to start – fuel, oxygen or air, and heat to raise the temperature of the fuel to its ignition temperature.

          A fire can be extinguished when one or more of these agents is removed, i.e. fuel, supply of air and lowering the temperature of the combustible substance. All fire extinguishing methods make use of these principles.

          The original fire extinguisher, a bucket of water, is still useful in controlling many types of fires. The principal effect of water on a fire is to cool the burning material, thus removing the heat – one of the factors without which combustion cannot continue. It can be applied in a variety of ways such as by flooding the fire with water. Jets of water are used to knock down the flames of fire, and sprays are used to absorb heat and drive back smoke and gases.

           Another common extinguisher is the soda-acid type. It sprays a mixture of water and carbon dioxide on the fire. This is based upon the principle of cooling the burning material and cutting the supply of air by non-combustible carbon-dioxide.

           In this extinguisher a solution of sodium bicarbonate is placed in a cylindrical vessel of steel. Sulphuric acid is kept in a bottle in a small compartment made within the cylinder, near the top. When required, the knob is hit against the floor. This brings the sodium bicarbonate and sulphuric acid in contact with each other. Immediately carbon dioxide is formed and it comes out of the fire nozzle which is directed towards the fire. These extinguishers are useful only for small and localized fires. They are not effective against gasoline, oil and electrical fires.

           Foam extinguishers are based upon the principle of cutting off the supply of air by forming a fire-proof coating of foam around the burning material. In this, a mixture of sodium bicarbonate and aluminium sulphate containing licorice extract is sprayed. It produces foam and extinguishes the fire.

           The other types of extinguishers that are used on oil and electrical fires are: Carbon dioxide extinguishers, dry-chemical extinguishers and vaporizing liquid extinguishers.

           Water should never be used for extinguishing electrical or oil fires. In case of electrical fires, it can cause electrocution. If water is used on burning oil, the oil simply floats on top of water and continues to burn. As the water flows away, it can carry the oil with it and so spread the fire.

           Fire extinguishers are provided by law in all public buildings, factories and schools. Most of the big cities have fire brigades for fire prevention and control.

 

          The polaroid camera is also known as the ‘instant camera’ because it takes pictures and develops them in a matter of minutes. It was invented by Edwin H. Land of the United States and the first polaroid camera was sold in 1948. At that stage, it took only black and white photographs. Later, another camera was built that could take pictures and develop colour photographs.

          Polaroid cameras are loaded with a double picture roll. One part is a negative roll of the film, and the other a positive roll of a special printing paper. Small pods (containers) of chemicals are joined to the positive roll. After exposure to light through the camera’s lens, the negative and positive rolls are made to pass through a pair of rollers that break the chemical pods. The chemicals flow over the exposed portion of the negative roll and develop a negative image on the roll – the parts of the picture that should be black are white, and the parts that should be white are black. More chemical reactions take place between the pod chemicals and the chemicals coated on the positive roll, and a positive photograph is made – the white areas in the photograph are printed white and the black areas black. This process takes about 10 seconds for a black and white photograph and upto a minute for a colour one. 

Continue reading "How does a polaroid camera take instant photographs? "

               We all know that electricity travels from one place to another through metallic wires. Can light travel through wires too?

                Light can also travel through wires, but these wires are not made of metals. They are made of glass or plastics. Light carrying wires are extremely thin and are called optical fibres. The branch of science dealing with the conduction and study of light through fibres is called Fibre Optics.

       In 1870, a British physicist John Tyndal showed that light can travel along a curved rod of glass or transparent plastic. Light travels through transparent rods by the process of total internal reflection. The sides of the fibre reflect the light and keep it inside as the fibre bends and turns. 

 

 

               The narrow fibres have a thin core of glass of high refractive index surrounded by a thin cladding of another glass of lower refractive index. The core carries light and the covering helps bend the light back to the core.

               Fibres are drawn from thick glass rods in a special furnace. The glass rod of higher refractive index is inserted in a tubing of glass of lower refractive index. Then the two are lowered carefully and slowly through a vertical furnace and the fibre drawn from the lower end is wound on a revolving drum. With this method, fibres of about .025 mm in diameter can be drawn.

               Fibres so prepared have to be aligned properly in the form of a bundle. They should not cross each other; otherwise the image transported by it will be scrambled. They are kept in straight lines. Once the aligned bundle is made, it can be bent or turned in any desired direction. 

 

 

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          The sounds we hear with our two ears are known as stereophonic sound because they give the exact idea of angular and lateral position of the sound source.

          The sound signals reaching one ear are generally slightly different from those reaching the other. Their arrival times and intensities are also slightly different. Our brain is able to distinguish the differences in intensity and arrival time of sound waves at each ear. In fact, it can discriminate arrival time differences even as small as less than 1 milli second. If a pair of microphones is placed in front of a sound source, it will receive sounds with differing intensities and arrival times depending upon the position of the source relative to each microphone. When these separate, sounds are reproduced by a pair of loudspeakers, the listener’s brain is able to use the reproduced time and intensity differences to locate the original sound. Such sounds localized in space by the brain are called phantom images. The ability of the listener to perceive phantom images is called stereophonic sound. Thus with our two ears, we are able to locate exactly both the angular and lateral positions of sound. The listener feels that he is actually present at the place of performance.

          Stereophonic sound recording and reproduction requires two or more independent channels of information. It has been observed experimentally that a minimum of two sets of microphones and loudspeakers give satisfactory auditory perspective. Separate microphones are used in recording, and separate speakers in reproduction.

          At the time of a stereo-recording two microphones are used, one of which receives more sound from the left, and the other from the right. The sounds detected by each are kept entirely separate and are encoded in two completely independent channels of the programmes. Stereo-production needs two separate loudspeakers.

          There are three basic techniques for stereophonic sound pick-up; coincident, ‘spaced apart’ and ‘individual instrument’ or close miking. The coincident technique employs two microphones located very close together. In ‘spaced apart’ technique, microphones are placed several feet apart, ‘close miking’ technique involves use of several microphones, and each located close to one instrument. The outputs are recorded on tape. The reproduction loudspeakers should be identical and capable of broad-frequency response without distortion.

          The effectiveness of stereophonic reproduction was demonstrated as early as 1933. Two track stereophonic tapes for domestic use became popular in the 1950s and single groove two channel stereo-discs in 1958. In the early 1970s quadraphonic system, employing four independent channels of information, became commercially available.

          Since long, man has used clocks and watches to measure time. But those were crude watches and didn’t measure time accurately. A few years ago, scientists were able to develop a very sophisticated clock known as ‘Atomic Clock’. With its development a new era has been ushered in the field of time measurement. It is a wonder clock that remains accurate to one second for 1,700,000 years.

          Today we have mainly three types of clocks and watches: mechanical, electrical and electronic. Mechanical clocks and watches are spring driven; electric clocks are battery powered and the electronic ones are quartz based. All these clocks and watches show time quite accurately. But if they run continuously for long periods, they can get slow or fast.

          Now the smallest internationally accepted unit of time is the atomic second. It is based on atomic clock, and defined as the time interval during which exactly 9192631770 cycles of the hyperfine resonance frequency of the ground state of the caesium atom occur. Prior to this the second was the standard of time which was measured as a portion of earth’s rotation as 1/86400th of a day. 

          An atomic clock uses the frequencies produced by atoms or molecules. The time is measured by counting the number of vibrations. Most of the atomic clocks make use of frequencies in the microwave range from about 1400 to 40,000 MHz

          In 1947, an oscillator controlled by frequencies of ammonia molecule was constructed. An ammonia controlled clock was built in 1949 at the National Bureau of Standards, Washington D.C.

In 1955, a caesium-beam atomic clock of high precision was first put in operation at the National Physics Laboratory, Teddington, England. After that a number of laboratories started producing commercial models of caesium-beam atomic clocks.

          In the caesium clock, the caesium is heated in a small oven. The caesium produces a beam which is directed through an electromagnetic field. The 5 MHz output from a quartz clock is multiplied to give 9192631770 Hz that controls the electromagnetic field. Part of the 5 MHz output is used to derive a clock display unit which indicates time.

          During recent years, some other atomic clocks have also been developed which make use of ammonia maser, hydrogen maser and rubidium gas cells. Atomic clocks of 1960s were very large in size but by 1978 their sizes have been sufficiently reduced to fit in a small box.

          Atomic clocks are being used as standard of time. They are also being used in some sophisticated navigation systems and deep space communications. 

               A projector is an optical instrument that shows on screen, enlarged pictures of slides or movies. Do you know how does this instrument work?

               The projector in its simplest form consists of (i) a light source (ii) a concave reflector that focuses light (iii) a condenser lens and (iv) a projector lens. A powerful light source is needed to project images on to a screen. Most projectors use an incandescent ribbon lamp of 1000 watts. A highly polished concave reflector is placed at the back of the light source so that practically, the entire light is reflected towards the slide. The light so reflected is allowed to fall on a condenser or focusing lens. This lens is a combination of two planoconvex lenses, placed in such a position that their convex surfaces face each other. The condenser lens converge the divergent beam of the light, and throws it on the slide. The condenser lens helps to strongly illuminate the image. The concentrated rays then pass through the photographic slide or film that is placed upside down in a frame. The final or projector lens is a convex lens and is kept near the slide. It reverses and enlarges the picture of the slide and throws it on to the white opaque screen. The slide shown is systematically removed by the touch of a button and replaced by a new one. Slide projectors are also used by teachers and business people to illustrate subjects under discussion.

               Movie projectors have electrically powered reels that move the film between the bulb and projecting lens at a speed of 32 films per second, so that images appear continuous to the eyes. Sprockets in the projector pull the film into the film gate. The film then stops for a moment and light from the lamp passes through the frame. The lens projects the picture on the screen. The sprockets then turn and advance the film. As the film moves, the blade of a rotating shutter passes between the lamp and the film so that the movement of the film does not show on the screen.

               In sound film, light from the lamp passes through the sound track and strikes a light sensitive cell which produces an electric signal. It goes to an amplifier and loud speaker which provide the sound. In some cases, the sound is recorded on a magnetic strip along the film as in a video recording.

 

            All matter is made up of small particles called atoms. These atoms are very tiny particles and cannot be seen with the naked eye. Atoms are made up of still smaller particles called electrons, protons and neutrons, which are known as subatomic or elementary particles. Physicists have discovered hundreds of other elementary particles such as mesons, muons, neutrino end positrons. Can you imagine a particle even smaller than these elementary particles?

            A few years ago, scientists discovered that elementary particles are made up of extremely small particles called quarks. So far quarks are only hypothetical particles and have not been observed in experiments. With the exception of protons, electrons, muons and neutrino, all elementary particles are made up of different quarks. This idea was suggested in 1964, by two American physicists, Murray Gell Mann and George Zweig. 

           There are probably four different kinds of quarks, carrying a fractional charge. Each has an anti-particle called anti-quark. Until 1974, only three types of quarks were known; two of very nearly equal mass, of which the proton, neutron and pi-mesons are composed, and a third, bigger quark which is a constituent of K-mesons and hyperons. These quarks are called the up quark (u), the down quark (d) and the strange quark (s). In 1974, one more quark, named charm quark (c) was also predicted. The existence of two other types, top quark and bottom quark, is also predicted.

             The charges of the four quarks u, d, s and c are +2/3, -1/3, -1/3, and +2/3 that of the electron charge.

             Anti-quarks have opposite charges. All quarks and anti-quarks have equal spin which is 1/2.

             These quarks combine to form different elementary particles. For example, protons are composed of three quarks (uud) and neutrons also of three quarks (udd). Each meson can be conceived as the union of a quark and an anti-quark.