My Science School

Emails have become a powerful tool since this is an era with need for instant communication. Emails can be used for both formal and informal communication. Here are a few tips on how to write them.

While writing an email, it is important to have an appropriate subject line, which states the topic and purpose. It conveys in just a couple of words or a phrase what the mail is about. Greeting - and closing- should be courteous. The content should contain short sentences and must be to the point. The font should be readable, and paragraphs should be small for easy reading. The email ends with the sender’s name. Formal mails additionally contain details such as designation, organisation address, contact number, etc.

Emails should be edited and proofread before being sent.

Sample of a formal email

Subject: Reservation of room at your hotel

Dear manager.

I am writing to make a reservation at your hotel for the next weekend. I require a double room for a family of three.

Kindly confirm my booking at the earliest

Yours faithfully

XX.

Sample of an informal email

Subject: Visiting Bengaluru

Hi,

 I am really happy to tell you that I will be visiting Bengaluru next weekend. My parents and I are coming there to attend a close relatives wedding on Saturday. I will be visiting you on Sunday. We could meet our friends and have an outing together. I am sure we will have a great time.

Looking forward to meeting you.

Best wishes,

XX

Picture Credit : Google

One of the most prolific novelists and poets of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, English writer Thomas Hardy had an original style, and his works have remained relevant to this day. A highly diverse writer, Hardy wrote short stories, poems, novels and essays. Let's read about the writer whose birth anniversary falls in June.

Imagine hanging from a cliff, suspended in the air, as you stare into the eyes of a trilobite embedded in the rock. This was the fate of Henry Knight, one of the protagonists of "A Pair of Blue Eyes", which was published serially in a publication. And readers had to wait over a month to know if Knight had survived or not.

Sounds like a cliffhanger? Well, indeed it is. The plot device "cliffhanger" is believed to have its roots in English writer Thomas Hardy's work "A Pair of Blue Eyes". He was one of the most prolific novelists and poets of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.

Hardy's career spanned two eras, the Victorian and the Modern. Noted for his unique and original style, Hardy's work was modern as well as ancient, remaining relevant to this day. A highly diverse writer, Hardy wrote short stories, poems, novels, and essays.

Early life

Born on June 2, in Higher Bockhampton, Dorset, England, Hardy was the eldest of the four children of a stonemason Thomas Hardy and his wife Jemima. Growing up, Hardy spent his childhood in a rural setting, in an isolated cottage near an open heathland (wide, open shrubland). This experience of being accustomed to rural life and oral culture left a profound impact on Hardy and became intrinsic to his later writing. In fact, it was his mother's love of reading and books that got passed on to the son. At the age of eight, Hardy studied in a village school and then shifted schools.

He continued his primary school education till he was 16 and later apprenticed to a local architect. In 1862, before his 22nd birthday, he moved to London to become a draftsman.

Literary work

Hardy's job as an architect affected his education. Although he wanted to study at a university and become an Anglican minister, the lack of funds and gradual loss of interest in religion made him abandon the notion and turn to writing.

His first novel manuscript was "The Poor Man and the Lady" (1867-68) and this got rejected by several publishers. But one publisher encouraged him and he changed his style of writing. His writing career picked up after publishing "Desperate Remedies" in 1871, and he was in a good place to leave the field of architecture.

That was when he landed a contract for writing 11 monthly instalments of the serial story "A Pair of Blue Eyes", in the Cornhill Magazine. The next novel was "Far from the Madding Crowd" (1874). The next two novels, "The Return of the Native" (1878) and "The Mayor of Casterbridge" (1886), helped establish him as a writer.

Hardy himself classified his novels under three headings viz. "novels of character and environment", "romances and fantasies" and "novels of ingenuity". "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" (1891) is another famous novel of his.

While the book is appreciated now, it attracted negative reviews when published as it was seen to be at odds with the Victorian sensibilities. This is considered to be one of the reasons for Hardy abandoning fiction for writing poetry, plays and short stories.

Starting 1898 towards his death in 1928, Hardy published eight volumes of poetry. Noted mostly for his lyric poetry Hardy carved a space for himself in the poetic milieu. His poems are known for colloquial diction and intense imagery. He also published a huge poetic drama called 'The Dynasts" between 1903 and 1908.

With 'The Dynasts", Hardy was so ahead of his time and created something that was neither a story, play or poem but rather a shooting script. He was broke free from the norm and invented a work of art that was in accordance with the conventions of the medium of cinema. "The Dynasts" was published in three parts over five years.

Post his death, on January 11, 1928, Hardy's body was buried at Westminster Abbey. His heart (having been removed before cremation) was buried in Stinson, England, near the grave of his first wife and his ancestors.

Picture Credit : Google 

Or that the animals are perfectly adapted to life in the Arctic Circle? Here is an account of a wildlife conservationist that throws light on the snow-covered landscape and the animals owned and cared for by the traditional Sami people.

Many years ago, I joined a team of wildlife experts and travelled to Norway, near the Arctic Circle. This is the natural habitat of reindeer. Apart from wild reindeer or caribou, there were hundreds of almost tame ones that were herded by a traditional community called the Sami.

It was the most amazing snow-covered landscape-the entire ground was white as far as the eye could see. It was freezing cold and though all of us wore several layers of sweaters and jackets, our hosts gave each of us a full snowsuit with a hood, snow boots and thick gloves.

The reindeer herd was out grazing in a pasture far away. We travelled in motorised sleds to see them. It was a thrilling but scary ride. The young Sami man driving the vehicle took us at breakneck speed over the powdery snow, swerving expertly between trees and almost flying up and down slopes. I held on tight, grateful for the snowsuit that protected me from the chilly wind and icy spray of snow that blew up in our wake.

From a distance, the reindeer looked like dark shadows against the almost blinding whiteness of the snow-covered open meadow. As we approached, they continued to graze peacefully. They were semi-domesticated, allowed to roam free without being tied up or confined, yet owned and cared for by the Sami families. There were about a hundred reindeer in the herd with many fawns. The adults looked majestic with their crowns of beautiful branching antlers.

Cone-like tents or Lavvus

Sami families move along with their herds and camp in huge inverted cone-like tents called 'lavvu' wherever they want to stop. Reindeer are big animals-almost like horses. Both males and females have antlers and they are sturdy and strong with long legs to help them walk in deep snow.

Reindeer have two layers of fur to keep out the cold-a fluffy inner layer and a hairier outer one. Even their hooves are hard and horny to enable them to walk easily on ice and snow.

Interestingly, the fawns are born in winter. They have extra fat in their bodies which insulates them against the intense cold.

In short, they are perfectly adapted to life in the Arctic Circle, where the temperature is below zero for much of the year.

Looking for lichen

I wondered what they were eating, because there was not a blade of grass or leafy bush to be seen anywhere! Then I noticed the big reindeer were digging the ground with their forelegs. They were looking for lichen or 'reindeer moss’ growing on the rocks underneath. This was the only food available to them in winter. Lichens are a combination of a fungus and an alga. Usually they are found on the bark of trees or on stones and rocks. The reindeer use their sharp hooves to scrape it off from rocks and boulders that lie beneath the snow.

When the snow thaws in summer, the ground becomes marshy and spongy, so the reindeer’s hooves develop pads to help them to walk and run. In the few months of the short Arctic summer, grasses and plants grow quickly and abundantly. The reindeer then feed on the lush, fresh vegetation till winter returns.

Dressed in woollen fabric

After showing us the herd, our host took us to a group of tents belonging to Sami families. A few women and men came out to greet us, dressed in colourful red and blue traditional coats made of embroidered woollen fabric and wearing elaborate reindeer fur hats and thick boots also made of fur. They invited us to have dinner and spend the night in their home which was a typical lavvu. The snow all around was so soft and deep that I sank up to the knees with every step. I envied the reindeers long, strong legs!

In the centre of the lavvu, I was surprised to find a log fire burning with a huge pot of steaming stew on it! After a meal of delicious stew, bread and jam served by our hosts. I crawled into a sleeping bag as near the glowing fire as possible. I was still wearing the full snowsuit with its fur-lined hood to cover my head, as well as thick gloves and wool socks, yet the bitter cold had me shivering and sleepless all night. I was filled with admiration for the Sami, as well as for the reindeer, who had both adapted to such a harsh climate.

Picture Credit : Google 

There are many species in the wild that change their appearance to escape predators. This is camouflage. But did you know that some species can even change their gender? Let's read up on them.

CLOWNFISH

Clownfishes live in social groups and consist of a dominant female (the largest in size) surrounded by a male and other immature juveniles. Their social hierarchy is based on size and determines the breeding. In a group, the fishes age and grow larger together, without any change in the hierarchy. But this changes when a dominant female dies. When this happens, others will try to use the opportunity to climb up in rank. The male will rapidly change sex to fill in the vacated position. And another fish will turn into a mature male and complete the breeding pair.

HAWKFISH

The hawkfish which is found on coral reefs from Australia to Japan lives in harems (one male with several females). These reef dwellers basically start life as females. Things change when there is a shift in the number of females in the harem. If a male takes on more females into the harem, then, one of the females changes its sex and becomes a male. It then breaks away from the harem and in the process takes half of the harem along with it. It has also been observed by researchers that when a new male gets challenged by another male, it reverses its sex back to a female. This bi-directional sex change is seen in certain reef fishes.

BLACK SEA BASS

Black sea bass is a commercially important species. These are capable of switching their gender from female to male. They are born as females in the wild. They turn into males when they are two to five years old. Research on sea bass reveals that sex change occurs when there is a dip in the male population. If the female sea bass senses a decrease in the male population, they switch their sex.

BANANA SLUG

Banana slugs are wormlike mollusks and they grow up to 10 inches. These animals are hermaphrodites, that is they have both male and female organs. So they don't change their sex back and forth but are unique as they can use both their male and female reproductive organs at the same time. This they do to self-fertilise when necessary. Even when they are capable of self-fertilisation, the majority of banana slugs will take a partner.

GREEN FROG

Researchers have found that frogs spontaneously change sex in the lab and the same has been seen in the wild. In fact, among the green frog population, this sex change is quite common. Earlier research established that sex reversal in frogs may be related to pollution introduced by humans. When exposed to some pollutants (synthetic estrogens and herbicides) in the lab, it has led to genetically male frogs developing outwardly as females. Further studies have proved that this change could be a natural occurrence in amphibians, even in pollution-free settings.

Picture Credit : Google 

Sushi, ikebana, cherry blossoms, haiku, sumo and more... Japan is a rich showcase of heritage. But hold on, modern Japan reflects Western cultural influences too.

Ranu Joardar

Japan, a string of islands, has achieved remarkable success since the devastating Second World War. It is now the world's third-largest economy, a major aid donor, and plays a major role in the Asia-Pacific region. Let us know more about the country.

History

Though it remains unknown when humans first settled on the Japan archipelago, the excavations since the Second World War have unearthed a wide variety of Paleolithic tools. Japan's first emperor Jimmu Tenno came to power in 660 BC. Emperors continued to rule the country till the 12th Century AD when military rulers (shoguns) took over.

Europeans came to the country in 1543, introducing guns and Christianity. In 1635, shoguns banned the entry of foreigners, and citizens were not allowed to travel abroad. The isolation continued for 200 years until the shoguns were overthrown in 1868. This political revolution that brought an end to the military government was known as the Meiji Restoration. During the First World War, Japan fought alongside the U.S. After the bombing of the United States Navy fleet at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii by Japan on December 7, 1941, the U.S. joined the Second World War. From 1941-1945, Japan's military leaders fought against the U.S. and the Allied forces. In 1945, the U.S. army dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing about 1,15,000 people. Japan surrendered a few days later.

Geography

Japan consists of a string of islands in a northeast-southwest arc that stretches for about 2,400 km in the western North Pacific Ocean. Though there are numerous small islands, the four main islands from north to south are - Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Honshu is the largest island of the four. The national capital, Tokyo, in Honshu is one of the world's most populous cities.

The country's four-fifth portion of land is covered with mountains. It has about 200 volcanoes, 60 of which are active. Its highest peak is Mount Fuji, a dormant volcano since its last eruption in 1707. The mountain is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park and is at the centre of a UNESCO World Heritage site designated in 2013.

The country is extremely prone to earthquakes as tectonic plates that form the Earth's crust meet nearby and they often move against each other. Every year, the country faces about 1,000 tremors, most of them minor. The major earthquakes in the country included the Tokyo-Yokohama in 1923 and Kobe in 1995. In 2011, the country witnessed a major earthquake that caused widespread damage on land and initiated a series of large tsunami waves. The tsunami caused the Fukushima nuclear accident, the second worst nuclear accident in the history of nuclear power generation. Some rivers flowing from the volcanic areas of northeastern Honshu are acidic and hence cannot be used for irrigation and other purposes.

Flora and fauna

Most of the original vegetation in Japan has been replaced by agriculture or foreign species. The Ryukyu and Bonin archipelagoes are covered by semitropical rainforest and have various kinds of mulberries, camphor, oaks, and ferns (including tree ferns). The cherry tree is one of the symbols of Japan.

According to the ancient Shinto religion, features like mountains and forests have their own spirits (souls).

The mammals in Japan are mostly found in the remote, heavily forested mountain regions. These animals include bears, wild boars, raccoon dogs (tanuki), foxes, deer (including sikas), antelope, hares, and weasels. The Japanese macaque or snow monkeys are important figures in myths and folktales. For instance, they are represented in the Buddhist adage "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil."

People

The Japanese are known as hardworking people. At a very early age, children are taught self-discipline, respect, and cooperation.

The Japanese language is similar to Korean, though the Vocabularies are different. According to some linguists, Japanese contains some elements of the Southeast Asian languages. Earlier, the Japanese had no written form. The Japanese language was enriched with the introduction of the Chinese writing system and Chinese literature around the 4th Century AD.

One of the well-known forms of Japanese poetry is Haiku, which first emerged in Japanese literature during the 17th Century. It is an unrhymed poetic form of 17 syllables.

The native religion of Japan, Shinto, coexists with various sects of Buddhism, Christianity, and some ancient shamanistic practices, as well as a number of new religions that emerged since the 19th Century. Though children usually do not receive formal religious training, many Japanese homes have a Buddhist altar where various rituals are held to commemorate deceased family members.

Modern Japanese culture is a mix of both East and West influences. It has familiar elements of the West and also powerful and distinctive traditional cultural aesthetic. Western art forms have been embraced by the Japanese. The Japanese are one of the most literate peoples in the world.

Japanese food mostly contains rice, fish, and vegetables. Their cuisine is often served raw or only lightly cooked but is famous for its subtle and delicate flavours. Their best known dish sushi is cooked vinegared rice served with a variety of vegetables, sashimi (raw seafood), and egg garnish, and formed into various shapes. Another popular part of Japanese food is green tea, which is cultivated on or near the slopes of Mount Fuji in Shizuoka prefecture.

Due to their healthy diet, the Japanese people live a very long life (longer than any other people in the world). In March this year, the world's oldest person Kane Tanaka passed away at the age of 119.

Japan has a rich tradition of arts such as tea ceremony, calligraphy, ikebana (flower arranging), gardening, architecture, painting, and sculpture. Their performing arts are distinguished by their mix of music, dance, and drama, rooted in different eras of the past.

Japan is home to over a dozen UNESCO World Heritage sites. Historic monuments like Kyoto and Nara (designated in 1993 and 1998 respectively) reflect the country's rich tradition. Meanwhile, the Atomic Bomb Dome at Hiroshima and the silver-mining area in Honshu are part of recent history.

Though several sports are played in Japan, its traditional sport is sumo (its origins date back to the 8th Century). Six major professional tournaments are held annually and they are avidly followed throughout the country.

Government

Japan is one of the world's most successful democracies and largest economies. Its constitution was formed in 1946 and came into force in 1947, which superseded the 1889 Meiji Constitution. Interestingly, Article 9 of the constitution states that Japan has renounced war forever as a sovereign right of the nation. This clause had been under much debate.

Though the country still has an emperor, he is only the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people. His major role includes appointing the Prime Minister (who is first designated by the Diet, the national legislature) and appointing the chief justice of the Supreme Court.

In 2019, the father of current emperor Naruhito, Emperor Akihito, became the country's first monarch to step down from the Chrysanthemum Throne in two centuries.

Picture Credit : Google 

Oceans cover more than two-thirds of Earth. Understandably, they play a vital role in keeping all life forms going. World Oceans Day (June just went by, reminding us that an important natural resource is in need of our urgent support.

The importance of ocean

Initially, our ancestors were nomads, moving from one place to another. However, they eventually started settling in one place invariably around waterbodies such as rivers, lakes, oceans, etc. For thousands of years, oceans have been the backbone of human survival. But for even longer, they have been inevitable for all life forms, from the tiniest to the largest. All living beings, even those on land, are directly or indirectly dependent on the ocean for their very existence.

We all breathe easy because all oceans together produce at least 50% of the planet's oxygen. Due to their sheer size, oceans distribute heat from the Equator to the Poles, regulating the world's climate. Without this, different regions will constantly experience only extreme weather. Marine life is a good source of food for both humans and animals the world over. In addition, some also have medicinal properties. Oceans are also crucial for global economy since they help in transport and tourism.

What is ailing them?

Oceans face several threats today. Thanks to global warming, our oceans are warming too. This affects marine life since many cannot survive warmer waters. When a few species struggle, they can affect others that are dependent on these species, and this can result in ecosystem collapse. Further, warming waters can increase sea levels, resulting in natural disasters. Human activities such as overfishing, plastics, polluted wastewater discharged into the oceans, etc. affect the natural balance in a marine ecosystem.

According to the U.N., "With 90% of big fish populations depleted, and 50% of coral reefs destroyed, we are taking more from the ocean than can be replenished." The U.N. calls for us to work together in such a way that we not just take less from the oceans but help these natural resources flourish.

The theme for 2023

The theme this year is "Planet Ocean: tides are changing". The United Nations will work with people from different walks of life - from policy-makers, indigenous leaders, and scientists to private sector executives, citizens, and youth activists to turn the spotlight on oceans.

What is the 30 X 30 target?

At the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, more commonly COP27, held in Egypt last November, as many as 112 nations took an important pledge. They promised to take steps for protecting at least 30% of Earth's land and ocean by 2030 to help curtail biodiversity loss and climate change.

Did you know?

• The ocean is key to our economy with an estimated 40 million people being employed by ocean-based industries by 2030.
• Oceans absorb about 30% of carbon dioxide produced by humans, buffering the impacts of global warming.

Picture Credit : Google 

Have you heard about the Great Green Wall? The African-led initiative aims at restoring the continent's degraded landscapes by creating an 8000-km-long belt of greenery across the Sahel, the region bordering the Sahara desert. Read on to find out interesting details about the project.

Regenerating the Sahel

The Sahara, the world's largest hot desert located in North Africa, has expanded 10 per cent southwards into the Sahel since 1920.

The Sahel is a vast semi-arid region separating the Sahara from the tropical savanna grasslands to the south. It is mostly barren, with sandy, rock-strewn and degraded landscapes. It stretches from Senegal in the west to Eritrea in the east, and cuts through more than a dozen countries in between. It is also one of the world's poorest regions.

The people who live in the Sahel are regularly beset by drought and famine. Overgrazing, increasing population and poor farming techniques have added to the problems.

Great Green Wall

In 2007, the African Union, made up of all 54 countries in the continent, decided to do something about regenerating the Sahel. It launched an ambitious project called the Great Green Wall, an 8000-km-long belt of greenery that would encircle the waist of Africa! The plan was to plant millions of trees across the Sahel to hold back the Sahara.

The Wall aimed to revitalise 100 million hectares (247 million acres) of degraded land, sequester 250 million tons of carbon, and create 10 million jobs in rural areas by 2030. Completed, it would be Earth's most massive living structure. It was also expected to benefit the communities living in the Sahel and reduce conflict over land and migration due to drought.

It began with 11 countries, which later increased to 20, and then 26. In some countries, many of the planted trees died, either because they were not the suitable species for that region or because they were attacked by pests. Trees planted in remote, sparsely inhabited areas also perished. In many cases, the locals were not motivated enough and lost interest in looking after the trees. It turned out that constructing a wall of trees was not child's play.

Indigenous methods of land use

The project leaders decided that each country would work according to its own plan and adapt indigenous methods of land use, such as soil conservation and rainwater harvesting that were already being followed by farmers and landowners. In some places, grasses and not trees were planted. In others, it was a mix of both. Hardy native species that were resistant to insects were chosen. For instance, the Sahel's acacia trees became one of the staple plants. Its sap, called gum arabic, is used in a range of products, from paints and cosmetics to candies and sodas. The export of gum arabic became a steady source of income for the locals.

The project has had patchy success, depending on the country, its capacity to invest money and the enthusiasm of its farmers. Ethiopia began reforestation early and has so far planted more than 5 billion seedlings on 150,000 hectares of land. Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Niger, Senegal and Chad have also reforested large swathes of degraded land, planting trees numbering in the millions. Countries like Cameroon and Ghana were slower off the blocks.

Roughly 49 million acres were restored between 2007 and 2018 at a cost of more than $200 million. More than 20 million acres of land need to be restored every year and over $4 billion invested annually, if the Wall is to be finished by 2030.

However, the project has created more than 350,000 agroforestry jobs and generated $90 million in revenue in the countries where it has been implemented, giving them an incentive to soldier on.

INDIAN INITIATIVE

Africa's Great Green Wall has inspired our own government to create a 1,400-km-long and 5-km-wide 'green belt’ from Gujarat to the Delhi Haryana border, from Porbandar to Panipat. The plan hopes to reforest degraded land along the Aravalli Hills that will also act as a barrier to the shifting sands of the Thar Desert.

DID YOU KNOW?

In 1996, 197 nations came together to ratify the United Nation's Convention to Combat Desertification.

More than 24 billion tons of fertile soil is still lost yearly to desertification, while 40 per cent of the Earth's land surface is now considered degraded. Dry land degradation affects the economies of developing countries. The UN estimates that desertification impacts 3 billion people on Earth.

*Desertification cannot be blamed only on deserts! Similar to climate change, human activities are often the main cause of land degradation. Intensive agriculture, overgrazing by livestock, industries set up in remote areas, an exploding population and increasing urbanisation-all have led to desertification.

Picture Credit : Google

Imagine a forest underwater or a tapestry of green inside the ocean. That's just what a kelp forest is. Though kelps are considered the forests of the sea and look like plants, they are not plants. Kelps are large brown algae, and together, the different species of kelps form kelp forests.

The kelp forests figure among one of the most dynamic and diverse ecosystems on earth and offer a habitat for marine organisms such as invertebrates, fishes, and other algae and play many key ecological roles.

Kelps cover 25% of the world's coastlines. They provide food and shelter to marine animals. These can be seen around the world, across polar as well as temperate coastal oceans. They live in cold waters that are rich in nutrients.

While they remain attached to the seafloor, they grow towards the surface of the water and depend on sunlight to generate food. If the ideal physical conditions are satisfied, then kelps can grow 45 cm a day. Some of these species are seen to measure up to even 45 m long.

Kelps and climate change

Kelp forests play a highly crucial role in battling climate change as they are good at sequestering carbon, thereby ensuring the health of the coastal environment. They are also capable of absorbing excess nitrogen and phosphorus that run into the oceans from the land.

Studies have shown that a third of the globe's coastal environments depend on kelp to combat local pollution and sustain fisheries. Apart from helping maintain the health of the marine ecosystem, kelps are also commercially harvested as they find applications in food production, textiles, pharmaceuticals, and so on.

The health of the kelps is dependent largely on oceanographic conditions and as such they can disappear and reappear based on this. For instance, sea urchins can destroy the kelp forests. Moreover, strong individual storms can affect the kelp forests by tearing out the kelps from the floor of the sea.

These dense canopies of algae are also facing many threats. Water pollution, rising sea temperatures, overgrazing, overfishing, and water pollution are some of the reasons for the depletion of kelp forests.

Studies prove that Southern Australia and Northern California have lost 95% of their kelp forests.

Their depletion is seen along the coastlines of every continent and this affects the fish, livelihoods and economy that are supported by the kelp forests.

Picture Credit : Google 

Journey through history and trace the roots of the phrase "think outside the box' back to the "nine-dot” puzzle.

We often hear the phrase "think outside the box' as a rallying call for innovative thinking, urging us to challenge our assumptions and perceive the world from a fresh perspective. It encourages us to break free from conventional thought patterns and liberate our minds from the shackles of past experiences.

Origin

The origins of this phrase lie in a captivating puzzle known as the "nine-dot” challenge. Imagine a three by three square grid composed of nine dots, and the task is to connect all of these dots using no more than four straight lines, without lifting the pen. While the exact age of this puzzle remains uncertain, variations of it can be traced back to American puzzle maker Sam Loyd's ‘Cyclopedia of 5000 Puzzles, Tricks, and Conundrum’s With Answers, published in 1914. Some even speculate that the current version of the game was developed by the British mathematician Henry Dudeney.

However, it was in the 1970s that the nine-dot puzzle gained prominence as a tool for academics to explore human thinking and problem-solving approaches.

American psychologist J.P. Guilford conducted experiments involving this puzzle in the early 1970s, while British leadership expert John Eric Adair claimed he had introduced it in 1969. This captivating challenge began to capture the imagination of many, as it demonstrated the intricate workings of the human mind.

The phrase

Coinciding with the puzzle's rise to popularity, the phrase "think outside the box' emerged as a means to describe this innovative mindset. The earliest recorded instance of this phrase, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, dates back to a 1971 article in the journal Data Management. Since then, it has become a widely adopted mantra for those seeking to unlock their creative potential.

So, does thinking outside the box truly facilitate creativity? While it may be an oversimplification to attribute creativity solely to this concept, embracing it can certainly serve as a catalyst for original thinking.

Picture Credit : Google 

Just a few months ago, the Albanian government declared the river Vjosa and its tributaries a national park. With that it became Europe's first wild river national park, and it was called a "historic moment. Why so? Come, let's find out.

Claimed to be "one of the last wild rivers in Europe", Vjosa runs 270 km from Greece to Albania, and then joins the Adriatic Sea. It is said that the river became part of this significant move after nearly a decade-long campaign by environmental NGOS in the region, now placing the country "at the forefront of river protection". Unlike many rivers in central Europe, Vjosa flows freely and is wild, in that, it is largely untouched by infrastructure projects. This makes it similar to a natural wildlife habitat on land, without any human interference. By becoming a national park, it can be compared to protected wildlife areas on land. The national park covers over 32,000 acres, including the 190-km-long Albanian part of the river, where more than 60,000 people live.

But why it truly needs to be protected is because of this - "The river and its surrounding areas are ecosystems of substantial biodiversity and home to over 1,100 species of animals. Two of the plant species and 13 of the animal species are assessed as globally threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature" (IUCN). Not just that. As a national park, the focus will be on concerns such as "water and land pollution, waste management", etc. Further, it "will create economic opportunities for local communities through responsible tourism".

It is noteworthy that the Albanian government ended plans to have eight hydropower stations on the river and its tributaries, which could "have caused serious damage to the river'.

Meanwhile, a half-built hydropower station on the river and a new, multimillion-euro international airport being built where Vjosa flows into the Adriatic are concerns, especially since the latter could cause "irreparable damage to the fragile ecosystems of protected lagoons that host flamingos, pelicans and millions of other migratory birds".

While there are marine reserves globally and rivers flowing within national parks, instances of a wild river itself as a national park are not as common. As countries globally battle climate change and many other challenges, Albania's move is perhaps a crucial necessity worthy of emulation.

Picture Credit : Google 

Just a few months ago, the Albanian government declared the river Vjosa and its tributaries a national park. With that it became Europe's first wild river national park, and it was called a "historic moment. Why so? Come, let's find out.

Claimed to be "one of the last wild rivers in Europe", Vjosa runs 270 km from Greece to Albania, and then joins the Adriatic Sea. It is said that the river became part of this significant move after nearly a decade-long campaign by environmental NGOS in the region, now placing the country "at the forefront of river protection". Unlike many rivers in central Europe, Vjosa flows freely and is wild, in that, it is largely untouched by infrastructure projects. This makes it similar to a natural wildlife habitat on land, without any human interference. By becoming a national park, it can be compared to protected wildlife areas on land. The national park covers over 32,000 acres, including the 190-km-long Albanian part of the river, where more than 60,000 people live.

But why it truly needs to be protected is because of this - "The river and its surrounding areas are ecosystems of substantial biodiversity and home to over 1,100 species of animals. Two of the plant species and 13 of the animal species are assessed as globally threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature" (IUCN). Not just that. As a national park, the focus will be on concerns such as "water and land pollution, waste management", etc. Further, it "will create economic opportunities for local communities through responsible tourism".

It is noteworthy that the Albanian government ended plans to have eight hydropower stations on the river and its tributaries, which could "have caused serious damage to the river'.

Meanwhile, a half-built hydropower station on the river and a new, multimillion-euro international airport being built where Vjosa flows into the Adriatic are concerns, especially since the latter could cause "irreparable damage to the fragile ecosystems of protected lagoons that host flamingos, pelicans and millions of other migratory birds".

While there are marine reserves globally and rivers flowing within national parks, instances of a wild river itself as a national park are not as common. As countries globally battle climate change and many other challenges, Albania's move is perhaps a crucial necessity worthy of emulation.

Picture Credit : Google  

Vistadome coaches allow rail passengers to experience the natural beauty of the surroundings in a whole new way.

The Tejas Express train operating between Mumbai and Karmali in Goa added the second vistadome coach recently. But what is a vistadome coach and why is it added to trains? Come let's find out.

Vistadome coaches are an exciting addition to the Indian Railways. These coaches offer passengers a panoramic view of the passing landscape. With large windows and transparent, see-through roofs, a vistadome coach provides a hindrance-free view of the surroundings. As they allow you to take in the beauty of the surroundings from every angle, they have become a huge hit among rail passengers.

A boost for tourism

Vistadome coaches have been introduced in several train routes across the country to promote tourism and to make rail journeys memorable for travellers. One of the most popular routes for such glass-covered coaches is the Araku Valley route in Andhra Pradesh which is known for its lush greenery, waterfalls, and coffee plantations. Another popular route is the Kalka-Shimla route in north India which is known for its stunning views of the Himalayan range. The vistadome train service is available in sections of Assam, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh too.

Breathtaking view

The Konkan belt also offers a breathtaking view of waterfalls, rivers, valleys, tunnels, lush green fields, and creeks. One vistadome coach was attached to the Mumbai-Karmali Tejas Express in September 2022. With the attachment of the second vistadome coach on April 14, 2023, the Tejas Express has become the first in the country to have two such coaches on both ends of the train, according to Railway officials.

The vistadome coaches are air-conditioned, and the seats cushioned to provide maximum comfort. They also have other attractions such as LED lights, rotatable seats, GPS-based information system, electrically operated automatic sliding compartment doors, wide side sliding doors for specially-abled people and toilets with ceramic tile flooring. The viewing gallery with huge glass windows on three sides is one of the biggest attractions of these coaches, from where passengers love to click photographs.

DID YOU KNOW?

*The first vistadome coach in a train in India was introduced in Andhra Pradesh in 2017 on the beautiful Visakhapatnam-Araku route.

*There are over 30 vistadome coaches at present that mainly cover routes boasting exceptional scenic beauty such as rolling hills, gurgling rivers, and lush forests.

Picture Credit : Google 

You might not often think about it that way, but cooking is a difficult skill with a number of factors in play. Just ask a robot! While human beings can learn to cook through observation, the same cannot be done easily by a robot. Programming a robot that can make a variety of dishes is not only costly, but also time-consuming.

A group of researchers from the University of Cambridge have programmed their robotic chef with a cookbook - eight simple salad recipes. The robot was not only able to identify which recipe was being prepared after watching a video of a human demonstrating it, but was also then able to make it. The results were reported in the journal ‘IEEE Access.’

Simple salads

For this study, the researchers started off by devising eight simple salad recipes and then made videos of themselves making these. A publicly available neural network programmed to identify a range of different objects was then used to train the robot chef.

The robot watched 16 videos and was able to recognise the correct recipe 93% of the time (15 times out of 16), even though it detected only 83% of the actions of the human chef in the video. The robot was able to recognise that slight variations (portions or human error) were just that, and not a new recipe. It even recognised the demonstration of a new, ninth salad, added it to its cookbook and made it.

Hold it up for them

The researchers were amazed at the amount of nuance that the robot could grasp. For the robot to identify, the demonstrators had to hold up the fruit or vegetable so that the robot could see the whole fruit or vegetable, before it was chopped.

These videos, however, were nowhere like the food videos with fast cuts and visual effects that trend on social media. While these are too hard for a robot to follow at the moment, researchers believe that robot chefs will get better and faster at identifying ingredients in videos like those with time, thereby becoming capable of learning a range of recipes quickly.

Picture Credit : Google 

On June 18, 1965, the expendable launch system Titan IIIC flew for the first time. Used by the U.S. Air Force and NASA from 1965 to 1982, Titan IIIC was a powerful launcher.

Do you know what an expendable launch system is? These are launch vehicles that can be launched only once. This means that the components are either destroyed during re-entry or are discarded in space after launch.

Also called expendable launch vehicles (ELVS), such systems usually contain several rocket stages. As the vehicle gains altitude and speed, these stages typically are sequentially discarded as and when their fuel is exhausted.

The Titan IIIC was one such ELV. Used majorly by the U.S. Air Force and also by NASA, the rocket consisted of modified liquid-fuel first and second stages with two lateral strap-on solid rockets to enhance boost at lift-off.

Began as an ICBM

The Titan family of launch vehicles started off as a large intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) as the U.S. Air Force sought an ICBM that would surpass Atlas in terms of delivery capacity and sophistication. Just like the Atlas and Thor, Titan too evolved into an important family of space launch vehicles.

The development contract for what would become the Titan ICBM was issued in October 1955. It was named Titan as the name referred to any of the children of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaea (Earth) and their descendants in Greek mythology. The first Titan was test-launched on February 6, 1959, but Titan I wasn't modified for spaceflight.

Modified for Gemini Project

 That first happened with Titan Il, a more powerful version of Titan I. Tested successfully in March 1962, Titan II was declared operational in 1963. Initially modified as the Gemini-Titan II to be the launch vehicle of the crewed Gemini Project, it was then used to place satellites in orbit as well.

When there was a need for rockets that were capable of carrying heavier payloads than those handled by Atlas-Centaur, the Titan III family of launch vehicles were born. The Titan IIIA was a Titan II ICBM with an added third stage called transtage, which used twin Aerojet engines and burned Aerozine 50 and nitrogen tetroxide liquid fuel.

Two strap-on boosters

Titan IIIC was an upgrade on Titan IIIA. The most important modification was the addition of two huge strap-on solid rocket boosters that were over 25m tall and 3m wide. They were capable of remarkable thrust as they were powered by burning aluminum/ammonium perchlorate solid fuel.

On June 18, 1965, the Titan IIIC was launched for the first time from Cape Canaveral, Florida with a payload of nearly 10,000 kg. From 1965 to 1982, the Air Force employed different Titan IIICs over 30 times successfully, placing a variety of military communications and reconnaissance satellites in orbit.

In all, there were only five complete or partial launch failures with Titan IIICs. It was also used successfully by NASA for a number of launches, including in 1973 to launch an Applications Technology Satellite.

As long as it was in use, the Titan IIIC was the most powerful launcher that was used by the Air Force. It remained that way until 1982, when Titan 34D, which was based on Titan IIIC, was introduced. The last flight of a Titan IIIC took place on March 6, 1982.

Picture Credit : Google 

The fundamental principle or foundation of science fiction (sci-fi) as a genre is to imagine possible futures or alternative presents. The possibility of using fiction to anticipate or inspire the future is what makes reading or writing sci-fi an "essential training" to prepare oneself for what the future might hold. Lets us look at some of the sci-fi novels that successfully predicted the future and inspired the technology we are familiar with today.

The modern electric submarine

Dutch inventor Cornelius Drebbel was the inventor of the first submersible vessel that could remain underwater for a certain period. However, it could only be operated for short distances. Built in 1897 by American mechanical engineer and naval architect Simon Lake, the Argonaut was the first submarine that could perform extensive open-sea operations and salvage cargo from sunken vessels. In his autobiography titled Submarine, the inventor said that the French novelist and sci-fi pioneer Jules Verne's ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues under’ the Sea was the inspiration behind the vessel.

"Jules Verne was in a sense the director-general of my life," Lake's autobiography, ‘Submarine’, quotes him as saying. "When I was not more than ten or eleven years old, I read his ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea’, and my young imagination was fired."

Google Earth and cryptocurrency

American author Neal Stephenson coined the term Metaverse in his 1992 sci-fi novel ‘Snow Crash’, to describe a three-dimensional virtual space or platform where humans, as programmable avatars, interacted with each other. This novel has been a source of inspiration for many innovators and inventors in various fields.

The virtual reality depiction of the Metaverse in ‘Snow Crash’ is often cited as a source of inspiration for Google Earth, which allows users to explore the world in 3D using satellite imagery.

Mimicking the real world, the economy of Stephenson's Metaverse was based on a virtual currency called "Quatloos". This concept is said to have inspired the development of various cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

Solar power

‘Sultana's Dream’ is a science fiction novella written by Bengali author Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain in 1905, which presents a gender-reversed society where women are in charge and men are confined to the domestic sphere. An ecological invention that was inspired by the themes and ideas presented in this novel was solar-powered houses. In ‘Sultana's Dream’, the city of Ladyland is powered entirely by solar energy. which is used to heat homes, cook food, and provide light. This novel was one of the earliest works that imagined using renewable energy to promote sustainable growth of the community, without harming the planet.

 It is one of the earliest examples of feminist sci-fi, a genre that explores the role of gender in society. The novella has inspired many works of feminist science fiction, including Octavia Butlers ‘Parable of the Sower’. This novella not only helped spark conversations about gender roles and women's empowerment in South Asia and beyond, but also served as the inspiration behind noted Bangladeshi filmmaker Rubaiyat Hossain's 2022 mentorship project called Sultana's Dream, for aspiring female directors.

In ear-devices like wireless earbuds

The growing popularity of wireless Bluetooth earbuds in recent years has led many researchers to speculate that the idea for this portable audio device was inspired by a gadget called "seashells" in Ray Bradbury's ‘Fahrenheit 451’. In the 1953 novel by the American writer, seashells are small electronic devices that fit in the ear and play recorded music or other audio content. They are described as being "no larger than a kernel of maize" and having a "thimble-sized" speaker that fits comfortably in the ears.

Although one might argue that Bradbury's "seashells” are more like tiny radios, than wireless earphones, it does not change the fact that the author imagined them before the advent of the first stereo headphones (1958).

The Moon landing

The French novelist Jules Verne's novel ‘From the Earth to the Moon’ published in 1865, is often cited as an early inspiration for the idea of space travel and space exploration. While it is not known for certain whether Verne's work directly inspired the Moon landing, his vivid descriptions of a manned mission to the Moon in a projectile fired from a giant cannon helped to popularise the idea of space travel and may have indirectly contributed to the development of the technologies that eventually made the moon landing possible.

There are many uncanny similarities between the technical aspects of Verne's narration and the actual lunar landing that was accomplished in 1969 through the Apollo 11 mission. For example, the dimensions of Verne's (fictional) capsule and the one used for Apollo 11's mission were startlingly close. Verne's projectile was launched from Florida, where all the Apollo missions were launched. The book even gave a calculated estimate of the time it should take to reach the Moon as 97 hours and 13 minutes which was pretty close as the Apollo spacecraft took 103 hours and 30 minutes to reach the celestial body.

Picture Credit : Google