A test flight with a number of firsts

The 1960s were a rather exciting time if you were part of NASA. After U.S. President John F. Kennedy stated his goal of landing humans on the moon and returning them safely home before the end of the decade of the 1960s, work at NASA progressed at breakneck speed given the enormity of the task ahead of them.

There were a lot of successes along the way, and setbacks too that proved to be equally important in terms of the overall learning. The Apollo-Saturn (AS) 201 mission in the mid 1960s was one such test flight that had a number of firsts, but also experienced malfunctions.

"All-up" philosophy

Coming at the height of Project Gemini, the AS-201 served as a crucial milestone in our march towards the moon. It used the "all-up" philosophy, according to which all components of a system were tested in a single first flight.

A suborbital test flight, its goals included demonstrating the Saturn IB's capabilities, the operation of Apollo Service Module's (SM) main engine, and determining the effectiveness of the Command Module's (CM) heat shield. The Saturn IB rocket, which was built on the 10 successful launches of Saturn 1 rocket, was the most powerful rocket up to that time.

Construction of the AS-201 spacecraft began in 1963 at the North American Aviation (NAA) plant in California. Assembly for the mission began in 1965 with the Saturn IB first stage arriving at the Cape Kennedy Air Force Station (CKAFS), now the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, on August 14.

Extensively tested

The CM and SM of the spacecraft arrived within two days of each other in October. After successful mating of the two modules and extensive testing, they were trucked to the launch pad and stacked on top of the rocket by December. By January 1966, the final pieces were in place, and the rocket and spacecraft were declared ready for its mission after a flight readiness review and a countdown demonstration.

On February 26, 1966, the AS-201 mission lifted off after a number of launch delays. With flight director Glynn S. Lunney at the helm, a team of engineers kept an eye on all aspects of the mission.

Both stages of the Saturn IB rocket performed well and the Apollo Command and Service Module (CSM) was placed in its suborbital trajectory, with a peak altitude of 488 km. A camera mounted inside the first stage was later recovered at sea, and it had captured some key moments, including the fiery stage separation.

Helium ingestion in propellant lines, however, resulted in lower thrust than predicted during the first burn and the same problem also affected a second burn to test the engine's restart capability. The Service Propulsion System engine also underperformed, meaning the CM entered the atmosphere at a velocity slower than that planned.

Additionally, the capsule rolled during reentry as an electrical fault in the CM led to a loss of steering. The heat shield performed its duties without any flaws despite all these setbacks and the spacecraft splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean, 75 km from the intended target.

On museum display

The largely successful 37-minute test flight travelled 8,472 km overall. The CM was retrieved by swimmers from the prime recovery ship and it was then sent to the NAA plant for postflight inspections. After using it for land impact tests, NASA donated the capsule, which is now on loan and is displayed at the Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum.

The Saturn IB is now largely forgotten as its efforts pale in comparison with the Saturn V rocket, one of the largest and most powerful rockets built and which successfully sent people to the moon. But the Saturn IB rocket and the AS-201 mission were all part of the small stepping stones that made the giant leap possible.

Picture Credit : Google 

A test flight with a number of firsts

The 1960s were a rather exciting time if you were part of NASA. After U.S. President John F. Kennedy stated his goal of landing humans on the moon and returning them safely home before the end of the decade of the 1960s, work at NASA progressed at breakneck speed given the enormity of the task ahead of them.

There were a lot of successes along the way, and setbacks too that proved to be equally important in terms of the overall learning. The Apollo-Saturn (AS) 201 mission in the mid 1960s was one such test flight that had a number of firsts, but also experienced malfunctions.

"All-up" philosophy

Coming at the height of Project Gemini, the AS-201 served as a crucial milestone in our march towards the moon. It used the "all-up" philosophy, according to which all components of a system were tested in a single first flight.

A suborbital test flight, its goals included demonstrating the Saturn IB's capabilities, the operation of Apollo Service Module's (SM) main engine, and determining the effectiveness of the Command Module's (CM) heat shield. The Saturn IB rocket, which was built on the 10 successful launches of Saturn 1 rocket, was the most powerful rocket up to that time.

Construction of the AS-201 spacecraft began in 1963 at the North American Aviation (NAA) plant in California. Assembly for the mission began in 1965 with the Saturn IB first stage arriving at the Cape Kennedy Air Force Station (CKAFS), now the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, on August 14.

Extensively tested

The CM and SM of the spacecraft arrived within two days of each other in October. After successful mating of the two modules and extensive testing, they were trucked to the launch pad and stacked on top of the rocket by December. By January 1966, the final pieces were in place, and the rocket and spacecraft were declared ready for its mission after a flight readiness review and a countdown demonstration.

On February 26, 1966, the AS-201 mission lifted off after a number of launch delays. With flight director Glynn S. Lunney at the helm, a team of engineers kept an eye on all aspects of the mission.

Both stages of the Saturn IB rocket performed well and the Apollo Command and Service Module (CSM) was placed in its suborbital trajectory, with a peak altitude of 488 km. A camera mounted inside the first stage was later recovered at sea, and it had captured some key moments, including the fiery stage separation.

Helium ingestion in propellant lines, however, resulted in lower thrust than predicted during the first burn and the same problem also affected a second burn to test the engine's restart capability. The Service Propulsion System engine also underperformed, meaning the CM entered the atmosphere at a velocity slower than that planned.

Additionally, the capsule rolled during reentry as an electrical fault in the CM led to a loss of steering. The heat shield performed its duties without any flaws despite all these setbacks and the spacecraft splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean, 75 km from the intended target.

On museum display

The largely successful 37-minute test flight travelled 8,472 km overall. The CM was retrieved by swimmers from the prime recovery ship and it was then sent to the NAA plant for postflight inspections. After using it for land impact tests, NASA donated the capsule, which is now on loan and is displayed at the Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum.

The Saturn IB is now largely forgotten as its efforts pale in comparison with the Saturn V rocket, one of the largest and most powerful rockets built and which successfully sent people to the moon. But the Saturn IB rocket and the AS-201 mission were all part of the small stepping stones that made the giant leap possible.

Picture Credit : Google 

What important discovery did Howard Carter make in 1922?

In November 1922, after years of searching, British archaeologist Howard Carter stumbles upon a buried flight of steps while working in Egypt’s valley of the kings and unearths the entrance to the 3,000-years-old tomb of Tutankhamun. In the months that follow, thousands of priceless artefacts are recovered in one of the greatest finds in the history of archaeology.

By the Spring of 1922, British Egyptologist Howard Carter, financed by George Herbert. Earl of Carnarvon, had spent six seasons - November to April each year, avoiding the intense heat of summer- searching for a royal tomb he believed was waiting to be discovered on the west bank of the Nile, in the famed Valley of the Kings. With little to show for his efforts, it was agreed that the quest would be abandoned after one final, short dig of two months only, to start in November of that year.

What Carter uncovered is now regarded as one of the greatest finds in the history of archaeology: a complete set of royal coffins from the pharaonic New Kingdom era, lavishly wrought and in a startling state of preservation, with, at their centre, the mummified remains of a teenage king beneath a gold and blue "death mask", that would eventually be seen by millions in exhibitions around the world and which would come to represent the magnificence of Ancient Egypt.

It was on November 1, 1922, that Carter began clearing a row of ancient stone huts, formerly used by workmen and close to a much larger tomb, rubble from which was strewn around the site. Three days into the task, on November 4, a single stone step emerged-the top of a flight that had been dug down into the limestone bedrock some 3,000 years earlier to carve out a smaller-than-average burial chamber and surrounding storage rooms.

By sunset the following day, a blocked doorway at the bottom of the stairs had been reached. It was plastered over and, crucially, bore the seal of the royal necropolis. Carter sent a telegram to Lord Carnarvon telling him of his wonderful discovery in Valley a magnificent tomb with seals intact".

It was another three weeks before a group consisting of Carter, Carnarvon, engineer Arthur Callender and Carnarvon's daughter. Lady Evelyn Herbert, stood at a second doorway at the end of a corridor, cleared of debris, while Carter chiselled a hole to peer by candlelight, into the royal antechamber, filled with gold and ebony artefacts.

For the next three months, Carter and his team- including photographer Harry Burton from the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Met's Egyptologist, Arthur Mace- continued their excavation until, in February 1923, they had reached the burial chamber itself, containing four gilded wooden shrines enclosing the sarcophagus that housed Tutankhamun's mummified body. It would be another two years, the start of the season in October 1925, before Carter would come face to face with the now-iconic gold funerary mask, found in a solid gold coffin enclosed by two larger coffins within the sarcophagus. Carter's cataloguing of all king Tutankhamun's treasures would continue until 1932.

"Tutmania" spread across the globe as news of Carter's achievement was reported. Amid the political fallout from the discovery - Egypt had been a British protectorate during World War I, but declared its independence in 1922 visitor numbers soared and the cult of "King Tut" was born. The death from a mosquito bite, of Lord Carnarvon in April 1923, fed into the popular belief in the "Mummy's curse" - the inevitable downfall of those who disturb the pharoah's resting place.

This autumn, Egypt will hope, once again, to attract world attention as its long-awaited replacement for its antiquities museum in Cairo's Tahrir Square - home to the Tutankhamun treasures for many decades- opens only a mile from the Pyramids at Giza. The monumental Grand Egyptian Museum, 20 years in the construction and costing over a billion dollars, will bring together for the first time all 5,000 pieces painstakingly retrieved by Carter a century ago.

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What was the Centaur project?

The Centaur upper stage rocket is a family of high-energy rockets that has played a pivotal role in advancing global communications and furthering our knowledge of space. November 27, 1963 is an important day in its history as it marked the first in-flight burn of a liquid hydrogen/ liquid oxygen engine.

When we speak about successful space missions, we generally talk about the results they delivered - the satellites that now orbit the Earth or the probes that gathered invaluable data from other planets. There's a lot of work and plenty of factors, however, that goes into reaching that point. One of them is the upper stage rocket that boosts satellites into orbit and propels probes into space.

Among upper stage rockets, Centaur is a significant achievement as it has served as America's workhorse in space and has been involved in many success stories. Used for over 100 unmanned launches, Centaur has expanded the frontiers of space and revolutionised communication.

Where it all began

Centaur’s beginnings predate even the existence of NASA as the U.S. Air Force studied a proposal from General Dynamics/ Astronautics Corp. to develop a new booster stage in 1957. With the space race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union heating up during this period, the idea was to give the country an edge, providing a means of orbiting heavy payloads in a very short time.

In 1958, the year NASA was established, Centaur became an official hardware programme with the Air Force as its assigned development authority. While the heaviest Soviet satellite orbiting the Earth at this time was the 1,360-kg Sputnik III, the U.S. had plans for boosting payloads to up to 3,850 kg. They planned to achieve this using Centaur, which was to have a new propulsion system using liquid hydrogen, mixed with liquid oxygen.

By July 1959, Centaur moved from the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense to NASA. Centaurs planned schedule of testing and operation, however, proved too optimistic, as there were a mountain of problems, failures, and delays to overcome.

Silverstein provides the silver lining

In 1962, American engineer Abe Silverstein put his hand up and convinced NASA that his Lewis Research Center could debug the Centaur and manage its problems. Once the entire responsibility was assigned to Lewis under Silverstein, the Lewis engineers got to work, perfecting the booster, while carrying out complex research and development to ensure Centaurs reliability. The fact that Lewis had been involved in pioneering work on high-energy liquid propellants for rockets helped, as this meant that most engineers working with Centaur were already aware of safely handling the liquid hydrogen/ liquid oxygen cryogenic fuels that it used.

The original Centaur rocket measured 30 feet long and 10 feet in diameter. As it used very cold propellants (liquid oxygen at-297 degrees Fahrenheit and liquid hydrogen at -420 degrees Fahrenheit), its tanks required special construction. A doubled walled bulkhead not only served as a heat barrier, but also separated the two compartments containing liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. Made of stainless steel less than 200ths of an inch thick, the tank was extremely thin and light-weight even once pressurised.

Following successful assembly, inspection, and shipping to Cape Canaveral, engineers and technicians perform testing procedures that can last weeks. A special tiger team uses a checklist to go through it all once again in the days leading up to any launch, before putting the rocket into start condition for the flight.

Go Centaur!

On November 27, 1963, one such launch took place. While it only carried a dummy payload that was put into orbit, it was a significant milestone. This was NASA's first successful launch of the Atlas Centaur, proving the compatibility of the Atlas rocket with the upper stage Centaur. Additionally, it had the first in-flight burn of a liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen engine, showing that these could be safely fired in space. In the decades that followed, there were many more successes for Centaur and a few mishaps too. Centaur was involved in sending the unmanned Surveyor spacecraft, which collected data on the moon's surface and paved the way for the Apollo missions. Along with Atlas and Titan boosters, Centaur featured as the upper for probes and flybys to all other planets in our solar system.

It didn't stop there as Centaur also launched orbiting observatories that help expand our knowledge about the universe, peering at space beyond our solar system. Centaur was also involved in launching various satellites into geosynchronous orbits that have changed the face of communication on our planet. While its name might not be often mentioned along with successful missions, Centaur continues to be a workhorse that serves its purpose.

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Who is the youngest person to fly solo around the world?

The 17-year-old landed at an airfield near the Bulgarian capital Sofia, the same site from which he departed in his shark Aero microlight airplane on March 23.

Along the way, Mack, who was born to British parents but has grown up in Belgium, encountered sandstorms in Sudan and spent the night on an uninhabited Pacific island.

Rutherford's journey took longer than planned due to permit delays that forced him to alter his route twice and fly over Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, North America, and back to Europe. Rutherford became the youngest person to fly around the world solo, taking the title from Travis Ludlow, who was 18 when he completed his journey last year.

He is now also the youngest person to fly around the world in a microlight aircraft, the title held previously by sister Zara, who completed her own trip around the globe in January this year.

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Who is the captain of Victoria after Magellan's death? What is a Voyage to remember while this?

Five hundred years ago, the Victoria, captained by Juan Sebastian Elcano following the death of Ferdinand Magellan, returned to Spain after completing the first circumnavigation of the world.

After a quarrel with the Portuguese king, Ferdinand Magellan enlisted the support of Spain's King Charles for an expedition to reach the Moluccas by sailing westwards. The Spanish wanted a share in the valuable spice trade from the Moluccas, but the Portuguese controlled the eastward route around southern Africa.

 On September 20, 1519, Magellan set out with a fleet of five vessels. In spite of a mutinous crew, rough weather, scurvy, a desperate lack of provisions and unknown waters, Magellan successfully crossed the Atlantic and eventually navigated through the strait at the southern point of South America which was later named after him.

The three remaining ships crossed the Pacific Ocean in a northwesterly arc for three and a half months without once encountering inhabited islands. Hunger, thirst and illness claimed 19 lives before the crews found fresh provisions in the Mariana Islands.

They finally reached the Philippines in March 1521, the first Europeans ever to set foot there. Within weeks Magellan was killed after becoming involved in a battle between two rival local chieftains. The Victoria, the only remaining ship from the original fleet, eventually returned to Spain in September 1522 under the command of Juan Sebastian Elcano, having completed the first ever circumnavigation of the globe.

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What is the history of anesthesia?

Anaesthesia is given to a patient before a surgery so that he does not feel pain during the procedure. A look at the doctors who pioneered modern anaesthesia.

The word 'anaesthesia' means 'without sensation. It comes from the Greek words an meaning without and aisthesis, meaning 'sensation'. Anaesthesia is given to a patient before a surgery so that he does not feel pain.

Anaesthesia has been used in surgeries since ancient times. Around 600 BCE, Sushruta, known as the founding father of surgery', used cannabis vapours to sedate patients for surgery. For a long time, physicians made use of hypnotherapy, opium, alcohol, etc., but they were not totally effective and had side effects.

On October 16, 1846 (observed today as Ether Day), William T.G. Morton, a dentist and John Collins Warren, a surgeon, made history with their first public demonstration of modern anaesthesia at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, United States. The patient, Glenn Abott, had a tumour on his neck. Morton made him inhale ether vapour until he was suitably sedated, and Warren removed the tumour.  Abott did not feel any pain. Morton called his creation Letheon after the Lethe River in Greek mythology, as its water is believed to erase 'painful memories.

The anaesthesia used today is a mixture of various derivatives of ether and inhalable gases such as nitrous oxide (laughing gas). It is administered by skilled anaesthesiologists through machines that measure the specific amount necessary to keep the patient unconscious during the surgery.

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WHEN WAS HELIUM FIRST LIQUEFIED?

On July 10, 1908, helium was liquefied for the first time ever. It was achieved by Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1913 for his low temperature work that led to the production of liquid helium.

Helium is a chemical element that has the lowest boiling and melting points among all the elements. The first in the noble gas group in the periodic table, helium is a colourless, odourless, non-toxic, inert gas in nature. Liquid helium was produced for the first time only in 1908, thanks to the work done by Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes,

Born in Groningen, The Netherlands in 1853, Kamerlingh Onnes father was the owner of a  brickworks and his mother was the daughter of an architect. He received additional teaching in Greek and Latin after spending his time in a secondary school without classical languages in his native town.

Displays his talents early

 From 1871-73, Kamerlingh Onnes went to Heidelberg University as a student of German physicists Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchhoff. At the age of 18, his talents in the scientific field were apparent as he was awarded a Gold Medal for a competition sponsored by the Natural Sciences Faculty at the University of Utrecht and followed it up with a Silver Medal in a similar event at the University of Groningen the next year.

He was awarded his doctorate by the University of Groningen in 1879 with a remarkable thesis 'Nieuwe bewijzen voor de aswenteling der aarde' (New proofs of the rotation of the Earth). After teaching at the Polytechnic School in Delft until 1882, he was appointed to the Physics Chair at the University of Leiden, where he served as a professor until 1923.

Coldest spot on Earth

Inspired by the theories and works of his compatriots Johannes van der Waals and Hendrik Lorentz Kamerlingh Onnes reorganised the Physical Laboratory at Leiden and built up the Cryogenic Laboratory that now bears his name in order to suit his own programme. This meant that Leiden soon established itself as the low-temperature research centre of the world, with some going to the extent of saying that the coldest spot on Earth was situated at Leiden

He spent over a decade perfecting cryogenic experimental techniques, while also studying metals and fluids at low temperatures, Having succeeded in building an improved hydrogen liquefaction machine by 1906, his efforts adminated in the production of liquid helium on July 10, 1908.

 

On that wet and windy day, Kamerlingh Onnes woke before dawn and headed to his laboratory in the centre of the town, where technicians were already hard at work. Having already increased the stock of liquid air to 75 litres the previous day, they went about the first task of liquefying hydrogen. By 1.30pm, they had produced the 20 litres of liquid hydrogen necessary to launch the attack on helium and stored it in Dewar flasks.

Based on theory, Kamerlingh Onnes knew how much hydrogen they needed and the amount of time the helium experiment would take. It was time to start cooling the helium at 2.30pm, and in just another half an hour, the temperature had already fallen to 93 Kelvin (-180 degree Celsius).

Iterative technique

Kamerlingh Onnes employed the same iterative technique that had allowed their laboratory to produce liquid hydrogen at the increased rate of 4 litres per hour in 1906. This meant that the helium gas that was pre-cooled by liquid hydrogen and liquid air was allowed to expand through a porous plug, thereby cooling to even lower temperatures. This is then recirculated back to the other side of the plug where the expanded helium is further cooled by expanding through the plug again.

By 6.30pm, the temperatures were lower than that of liquid hydrogen and eventually reached 6 Kelvin (-267 degree Celsius). Down to the last flask of liquid hydrogen, Kamerlingh Onnes attached it to the apparatus and the team was wondering if they were destined for failure as the helium had already circulated 20 times with nothing to show for it.

Small teacup of helium

The temperature stabilised at 4 Kelvin (-269 degree Celsius) by 7.30pm when a colleague who came to see how the experiment was going remarked that the thermometer appeared to be standing in a bath of liquid. On closer inspection, Kamerlingh Onnes was able to make out the liquid surface of liquid helium! The experiment had produced just a small teacup of liquid helium, about 60ml to be precise.

Kamerlingh Onnes also discovered and coined the term superconductivity in 1911, demonstrating that the resistance of certain electrical conductors totally disappeared suddenly at a temperature near absolute zero (-273 degree Celsius). The low-temperature studies that resulted in the liquefaction of helium in 1908 helped him win the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1913, 13 years before his death at Leiden in 1926.

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HOW DID THE 1939 VODER SPEECH SYNTHESISER WORK?

On June 5, 1938, "Pedro, the Voder was put on display to the public for the first time at the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia One of the first devices to create human speech, the Voder was a successful experiment in reproducing speech electronically.

We are far too used to machine-made voices speaking to us in today's world. Be it the automated responses that are provided to us when we call for customer support. personal assistants in our smartphones, or various devices that support a smart home ecosystem, there are plenty of examples in our everyday lives.

While we don't often pause to think about these, there are instances when we talk about the technologies with a mixture of fear and reverence. That mixture of feelings was first experienced by human beings with the success of "Pedro, the Voder'.

Voice Operation Demonstrator

Voder is short for Voice Operation Demonstrator. Named "Pedro" after the Brazilian emperor Dom Pedro who is believed to have exclaimed "My God! It talks!" after listening to a telephone for the first time, the Voder was one of the first devices to bring us entirely synthetic speech.

The Voder was the brainchild of pioneering engineer Homer Dudley, an acoustic visionary and an inventor at Bell Labs. He rose to prominence in the 1920s when he created the popular "channel" vocoder. This was capable of coding human speech across telephone lines by transforming incoming speech into electrical signals and then replicating it on the other end by using electric sounds that mimicked human speech.

Artificial human sound

With the Voder, Dudley went one step further as this device was able to produce speech without human voice as an input. Dudley filed a patent for a system for the artificial production of vocal or other sounds in April 1937. Weeks before this patent was granted to him, the Voder had its first public demonstration at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia on June 5, 1938.

The Voder was operated - or played according to its creators - to create about 20 different electric sounds. By using 10 keys, a wrist plate, and a pedal, the operator could orchestrate the electric sounds to make them sound like speech and even create a range of inflections.

Operating the Voder, however, was no easy feat as it required thinking about how sounds combine to form a word, and how subtle inflection changes alter the meaning. In fact, the Voder was almost entirely operated by a Helen Harper, who was also responsible for teaching the 20-30 people who ever learnt how to use it.

Crowds amazed

During the presentations at the Franklin Institute, the 1939 New York World's Fair, and San Francisco's Golden Gate International Exposition, Harper was seated behind a console as she worked her magic. She was able to make the voder speak statements and ask questions; say the same sentence using different inflections; make its voice sound like a female, male, or like an old person; or even mimic a cow. Making the voder recite “Mary had a little lamb” in all of its different voices was a popular trick that the bell Labs team employed.

Bell Labs, however, never meant to sell the machine as a commercial product and only used it as a proof of concept. This meant that it vanished following its successful tours of various venues. Apart from leaving the audience with a sense of wonder, Bell Labs was able to show that the Voder was capable of making electrical vibrations that translated into sound waves in the loudspeaker, without needing to manipulate air. Speech synthesis and machine-made human voices have come a long way since then.

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WHO TOLD “CRISIS OF CIVILIZATION”?

WHO TOLD “CRISIS OF CIVILIZATION”?

Rabindranath Tagore's artistic genius endeared him to millions around the world. A man of prodigious literary and artistic accomplishments, Tagore is recognised as one of the architects of modern India. Let us look back at his iconic last public address, "Crisis in civilisation".

Despite his failing health, Rabindranath Tagore attended his 80th birthday celebration in Visva -Bharati. Shantiniketan, West Bengal, on May 7, 1941. His public address for the occasion titled 'Crisis in civilisation' was not only his last speech in his beloved university, but also his last public pronouncement. His parting message to the world dealt with the state of modem civilisation and how it had been shaken to its foundations by war and oppression.

Tagore's activism

Tagore's involvement with various issues pertaining to social reform began quite early in his life. By the time the poet turned 20, he had already authored several essays commenting on the burning issues of the day. The writer's engagement with the idea of nationalism changed throughout his life.

In the first decade of the 20th Century, Tagore emerged as one of the strongest proponents of the Swadeshi movement. The years leading up to the movement came under the writer's pro-nationalism phase.

He withdrew from the movement in 1907. His work during this period showcased his disillusionment with the ideology of the nation and the Indian nationalist movement as a whole.

What is a nation?

The late 19th Century witnessed the idea of a nation emerge in the Indian consciousness. It was chosen and propagated by Indian intellectuals and political activists to invigorate a sense of unity among the citizens. At the time it was seen as a necessary tool to fight against the colonial forces.

But Tagore fiercely denounced this idea. He felt a nation-state was only a representation of organised power and had a mechanical function.

The nation as a machine

Tagore argued that a nation fundamentally prioritised commercial expansion and economic profit over humanity and moral values. The poet elaborated how this western idea was the reason our people and natural resources were exploited in the first place by the European invaders.

His thesis on the topic asserts that the mechanisms of a nation transform men into one-dimensional units of machinery whose purpose in life is limited to the creation of surplus wealth at the expense of the weak.

The nation as a machine, fine-tuned for profit-making, disturbs the spirit of harmony which is the quintessential feature of Indian history and culture.

Crisis in civilisation

Tagore began his address by commenting how old age is a time for reflection and recollection. Looking back at the vast stretch of years that lay behind him, he finds himself shocked by the change in his attitude and that of his countrymen.

Even at his weakest moment, Tagore was anguished by the state of the country as he said. "The wheels of fate will one day oblige Englishmen to give up their Indian empire. But what kind of a country will they leave behind them? What stark wretched misery?.... What wasteland of filth and hopelessness?" (an excerpt from Crisis in civilisation)

The writer recalls how educated Indians of his generation who studied English literature and liberalism once foolishly believed in the magnanimity of the English, and their idea of enlightenment. He utilises this opportunity to announce that the West has failed in establishing itself as the emissary of light and knowledge, and now all hope lies with the East.

"As I look around I see the crumbling ruins of a proud civilization strewn like a vast heap of futility. And yet I shall not commit the grievous sin of losing faith in Man...Perhaps that dawn will come from this horizon, from the East where the Sun rises. A day will come when unvanquished Man will retrace his path of conquest, despite all barriers, to win back his lost human heritage" (an excerpt from Crisis in civilisation) According to Tagore, the defining feature of Indian civilization which we are on the verge of losing is sympathy. Referring back to the ancient text of Manusmriti and the idea of 'sadachar (proper conduct), he suggests that the Indian interpretation of the word civilization has always sought to establish a relationship with the world not through the cultivation of power but through fostering sympathy. To attain true liberation, Indians must first become aware of their heritage and the spirit of India, which has been suppressed by the wholesale acceptance of western education.

DID YOU KNOW?

1. Tagore was the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913.

2. Tagore was the founder of Visva-Bharati, a public central University, located in Shantiniketan, West Bengal,

3. The preface of Tagore's most acclaimed work, Gitanjali, was written by another great poet of the 20th Century. W.B. Yeats.

 4. On 14 July 1930, Rabindranath Tagore visited Albert Einstein's house in Caputh, near Berlin. Their conversation was recorded and published as "The Nature of Reality" in the Modern Review magazine's 1931 January issue.

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WHO WAS THE SPEAKER OF TITLED SPEECH "I AM PREPARED TO DIE"?

"I Am Prepared to Die" is the name given to the three-hour speech given by Nelson Mandela on 20 April 1964 from the dock of the defendant at the Rivonia Trial. The speech is so titled because it ends with the words "it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die".

April 20, 1964, saw Nelson Mandela, a 45-year-old member of the anti-apartheid movement, testify at the Pretoria courtroom as part of the Rivonia Trial. In his defence statement, the young lawyer declared that freedom and equality were the ideals for which he was prepared to die.

This speech became the rallying cry of the masses that shook the apartheid regime and set Mandela on the path to becoming the country's first democratically elected president 30 years later.

Apartheid

Apartheid was the most extreme kind of racism that the world witnessed. It started from 1652 when the Dutch East India Company landed in the Cape of Good Hope and established a trading colony in what is now known as Cape Town. This was a rest stop for ships travelling between Europe and India.

The Dutch colonists went to war with the natives to establish their control. This ultimately led to the creation of a new set of laws to enslave the aboriginals. When the British took over the Cape colony, the descendants of the Dutch settlers trekked inland and developed their own language, culture, and customs eventually becoming the Afrikaners, the first white tribe of South Africa.

The fall of the British Empire saw the Afrikaners claim South Africa for themselves. But to sustain their supremacy over the country's restless black majority, they needed new stringent laws. A formal commission was set up and an expedition was sent to different parts of the world including the Netherlands, Australia, and America with the purpose of studying institutionalised racism and its application. The government used this knowledge to build the most advanced version of racial oppression ever created.

Apartheid (means 'apartness in African language) was a police state, a system of surveillance meant to keep the black people under control. This policy was in place for nearly 50 years.

The art of persuasion

Most leaders are known for their rhetoric. Philosopher Aristotle lays emphasis on the art of persuasion through speech in his treatise on the subject. According to the philosopher, the true means of introducing change in a society can only be accomplished by deliberative rhetoric. A deliberative speech focusses on the future rather than the past or the present. Here the speakers present their audience with a possible future and try to encourage them to lend their support to their vision.

What cements the appeal of this kind of persuasive speech is the use of ethos (credibility), logos (logic and reason), and pathos (emotional connect), and Mandela's speech is an excellent example of this.

The appeal of Mandela

1 am the First Accused I hold a Bachelor's Degree in Arts and practised as an attorney in Johannesburg for several years in partnership with Oliver Tambo. I am a convicted prisoner serving five years for leaving the country without a permit and for inciting people to go on strike at the end of May 1961. (An excerpt from the speech "I am prepared to die”) By beginning his defence statement with an announcement of his educational qualification and contribution to the anti-apartheid movement, Mandela established his credibility. He took full responsibility for his actions and the disruption they led to. His demeanour exuded confidence in himself and in the cause he was fighting for.

"…The complaint of Africans, however,  is not only that they are poor and whites are rich, but that the laws which are made by the whites are designed to preserve this situation" (An excerpt from the speech "I am prepared to die")

This part of the oration justified the need for a movement against a government that used racial segregation as a weapon to divide society. His sincere dedication to the struggle of the African people and his willingness to sacrifice himself for the fundamental principles of freedom and equality made him a man of mythical proportions.

"I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die. (An excerpt from the speech 7 am prepared to die”)

DID YOU KNOW?

  • Mandela's birth name was Rolihlahla Mandela. The name Nelson was given to him by his primary school teacher.
  • In August 1952, Mandela and Oliver Tambo established South Africa's first black law firm, Mandela and Tambo.
  • July 18 is celebrated as Nelson Mandela International Day each year.
  • As the first black president of South Africa, Mandela took it upon himself to unite the country that had been divided along racial lines. According to him, sports like rugby promoted unity and fostered national pride.

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THE SPEECH THAT REMADE AMERICA

A self-taught lawyer, legislator, and a strong opponent of slavery, Abraham Lincoln is considered to be one of the greatest presidents of the U.S. Let's relive the moment this American hero gave his monumental speech, popularly known as the "Gettysburg Address."

On November 19, 1863, before an estimated 15,000 spectators President Abraham Lincoln dedicated a new soldiers National Cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. Here he delivered a 272-word speech famously known as the Gettysburg Address, with the hope that it would guide the Nation through the war and towards healing.

Civil War & the Republicans

The Republican Party came into existence in 1854, seven years before the Civil War. Initially there were only two political parties in the U.S. namely the Whigs and the Democrats.

America was quickly expanding westward and the debate as to whether or not the new states should permit slavery was intensifying.

In the Northern states, manufacturing and industries formed the economic base, unlike the South where people depended on plantation farming of crops like cotton and tobacco for their livelihood. Agriculture heavily depended on black slave labour, and the Democratic Party, with its strong support in the South, was growing increasingly pro-slavery. But the Whigs were divided on the issue.

In 1854, unable to come to a solid resolution on the topic. the party collapsed. The former Whigs in the North came together to form a new party called the Republican Party. with abolition of slavery as their mission statement.

By 1860. this party established a strong foothold in the North. enough so that its member Abraham Lincoln. won the 1861 presidential elections.

This led to 11 Southern states breaking away from the union to form the confederate states of America. The Northern states decided to fight to keep the union together and the Civil War began. The result was, victory for the North and abolition of slavery nation-wide.

The Battle of Gettysburg

 One of the bloodiest battles fought during the American Civil War took place in Gettysburg from 1st to 3rd July 1863. It claimed the lives of thousands of soldiers from both sides. The union's victory here marked a turning point of the war, which officially ended in 1865.

The Address & The Greek Influence

According to literary research done on this piece, Lincoln's elegiac speech at Gettysburg was modelled on the ancient Greek politician and general Pericles' epitaphios logos (Athenian funeral speech). Even though his address was brief (in comparison to the Greek format), he still successfully managed to encapsulate the essential reference to the circle of life (as birth, death, and rebirth).

"Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." (excerpt from Gettysburg Address)

The Gettysburg Address begins with a recollection of the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the birth of America. It alludes to the struggles of the founding fathers who built this nation on the principles of universal equality and freedom.

Paying his homage to the deceased, he then proceeds to declare that the thousands lost to death on this battlefield have replenished the American soil with their selfless sacrifice. This sacrifice has not only prolonged the nation's life, but also presented it with a fair chance of renewal.

Lincoln further reinforces the idea of rebirth when he says that this second chance must not be taken for granted, but incentivise us to work together "that the government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." (excerpt from the Gettysburg Address)

Beacon of hope

With the struggle of war at its climax Lincoln's speech was a beacon of hope for the thousands who were gripped by the feeling of impending doom. It revived the national ideals of freedom, and justice amid circumstances that had torn the country into pieces.

Since delivered this speech in particular has gone on to become one of the most powerful statements in the English language. Its brevity and intelligent word play has enabled it to cement its place as one of the most important expressions of liberty and equality.

DID YOU KNOW?

1. While giving this iconic speech the President was interrupted five times with the audiences' applause.

2. Edward Everett (the featured speaker for the event) immediately afterward wrote to Lincoln: "I wish that I could flatter myself that I had come as near to the central idea of the occasion in two hours as you did in two minutes."

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WHERE AND WHEN WAS THE KINETOSCOPE FIRST PRESENTED TO THE PUBLIC?

On May 9, 1893 the first public demonstration of the kinetoscope was held at the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. Featuring three workers pretending to be blacksmiths, the film was among the first glimpses into motion pictures.

With the vacation upon us already and the pandemic scene relenting a bit, one of the activities that most families tend to do over the weekend is visiting a theatre to watch a new movie. Even though motion pictures are a multi-billion-dollar industry in the world today, they have been around only since late in the 19th Century. By the end of that century. the concept of moving images as entertainment was picking up. Magic lanterns had been around for generations and these devices employed glass slides with images that were then projected. We had looked at how pioneering photographer Eadweard Muybridge invented the zoopraxiscope in this column about two months back. Muybridge's zoopraxiscope projected a series of images, which were printed on a rotating glass disc, in successive phases of movement.

Muybridge meets Edison

It isn't clear as to when American inventor and businessman Thomas Alva Edison's interest in motion pictures began. Even though some argue that he was already interested for years, it is obvious that Muybridge's visit to Edison's laboratory in West Orange in February 1888 convinced the latter to invent a motion picture camera.

Muybridge suggested that they collaborate and work together to combine the zoopraxiscope with Edison's  phonograph - a device for the recording and reproduction of sound. While Edison was clearly intrigued by the idea, he decided against the partnership, maybe because he could see that the zoopraxiscope wasn't the best way of recording motion.

Calls it kinetoscope

Always an entrepreneur, Edison decided to protect his future inventions by filing a caveat with the Patents Office in October 1888. He described his ideas for a machine that would record and reproduce objects in motion, calling it a device that would "do for the eye what the phonograph does for the ear". He named this yet to be invented device as a kinetoscope, by combining the Greek words for "movement" and "to watch"  kineto and scopos.

Much of the credit for the design of the kinetoscope actually goes to Edison's assistant, William Kennedy Laurie Dickson, an accomplished photographer. Tasked with inventing Edison's kinetoscope in June 1889, Dickson, assisted by Charles A. Brown, carried out a lot of experimentation to turn the concept into reality.

Celluloid film to the rescue

After the initial attempts proved futile, Edison's team changed direction to that of others in the field. Edison had encountered French physiologist Etienne-Jules Marey, who had produced a sequence of images by utilising a continuous roll of film in his chronophotographie, in Europe and this put them onto their new track

By now, the inventive process was being delayed by the lack of film rolls of requisite length and durability. Edison's experiments started using emulsion-coated celluloid film sheets that were developed by photographic pioneer John Carbutt. When the Eastman. Company started producing its own celluloid film, Dickson and his new assistant William Heise got it in large quantities and set about working on their machine.

Means of seeing motion pictures

Dickson had the prototype ready by 1891 and the device doubled up both as a camera and a peep-hole viewer. On August 24, 1891 they applied for a patent for the kinetograph (the camera) and the kinetoscope (the viewer) and the device was completed by 1892.

Consisting of an upright wooden cabinet that was four feet high, the viewer had to look into a peep-hole at the top of the cabinet to see the motion picture. The first public demonstration of Edison's films featured three of his workers pretending to be blacksmiths and was held at the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences on May 9, 1893. By 1894. hundreds of people often lined up in parlours housing these devices to pay 25 cents (over $7 in today's money) and watch five reels.

In the years that followed, Dickson left Edison to be a part of the group that formed the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company: Edison sued that company in 1898 for infringing on his patent for the kinetograph; and the two companies started working together from 1909 until Edison's company left the film industry in 1918. By then, Dickson, Edison, and the kinetoscope had more than just provided a glimpse of a new form of media - the motion pictures.

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Which is the Shortest war in history?

Lasting between 38 and 45 minutes, the Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896 was recorded as the shortest war in history. It was an armed conflict between the U.K. and the Zanzibar Sultanate. The island of Zanzibar was a British protectorate. Following the unexpected death of the pro-British Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini on August 25, 1896, his cousin Khalid bin Barghash ascended the throne without the consent of the British Angered, the British served an ultimatum on Khalid to leave the palace. As Khalid refused to obey, the conflict broke out on August 27 at about 9.02 a.m. and within minutes, the palace was bombarded. Over 500 Zanzibari soldiers died. Khalid escaped. One British soldier was wounded. The same day, the pro-British Hamud bin Mohammed was named Sultan.

At exactly 09:00, General Lloyd Mathews ordered the British ships to commence the bombardment. At 09:02 Her Majesty's Ships Racoon, Thrush and Sparrow opened fire at the palace simultaneously. Thrush's first shot immediately dismounted an Arab 12-pounder cannon. Three thousand defenders, servants and slaves were present in the largely wooden palace, and even with barricades of crates, bales and rubber, there were many casualties from the high explosive shells. Despite initial reports that he had been captured and was to be exiled to India, Sultan Khalid escaped from the palace. A Reuters news correspondent reported that the sultan had "fled at the first shot with all the leading Arabs, who left their slaves and followers to carry on the fighting", but other sources state that he remained in the palace for longer. The shelling ceased at around 09:40, by which time the palace and attached harem had caught fire, the Sultan's artillery had been silenced and his flag cut down.

During the bombardment a small naval engagement occurred when, at 09:05, the obsolete Glasgow fired upon the St George using her armament of 7 nine-pounder guns and a Gatling gun, which had been a present from Queen Victoria to the sultan. The return fire caused Glasgow to sink, though the shallow harbour meant that her masts remained out of the water. Glasgow's crew hoisted a British flag as a token of their surrender, and they were all rescued by British sailors in launches. Thrush also sank two steam launches whose Zanzibari crews shot at her with rifles. Some land fighting occurred when Khalid's men fired on Raikes' askaris, with little effect, as they approached the palace. The fighting ceased with the end of the shelling. The British controlled the town and the palace, and by the afternoon Hamoud bin Muhammed, an Arab favourable to the British, had been installed as sultan with much reduced powers. The British ships and crews had fired around 500 shells, 4,100 machine gun rounds and 1,000 rifle rounds during the engagement.

Credit : Wikipedia 

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What happened on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918?

The Great War (World War I) ended at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. At 5 a.m., Germany, bereft of manpower and supplies and faced with imminent invasion, signed an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car outside Compiégne, France. WWI left 9 million soldiers dead and 21 million wounded. At least 5 million civilians died from disease, starvation or exposure.

Berlin calls for talks

On October 3, Germany’s Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, appoints as chancellor Prince Max of Baden who has long advocated a negotiated peace with Britain, France and the United States. The very next day the new chancellor telegraphs U.S. President Woodrow Wilson to call for talks. The Allies demand Germany’s unconditional surrender and the Kaiser’s abdication. Pressure builds on Berlin. German forces, their spring offensive long exhausted, are beating a disorderly retreat. On November 3, German ally Austria-Hungary capitulates and signs an armistice.

German negotiators enter France

Tensions mount in Germany as naval forces mutiny at Kiel and a general strike is called on November 5. French officers, meanwhile, receive the order to allow safe passage of top German diplomats into Allied territory. On November 7, at 8.30 p.m., a ceasefire is sounded at La Capelle in northern France, near the Belgium border. It is the first in more than 50 months of war and allows the German delegation, led by Minister of State Matthias Erzberger, to cross into an Allied zone. The diplomats take a train to a secluded forest clearing near Compiegne to meet Allied forces commander General Ferdinand Foch.

Armistice signed

Night has fallen on the forest clearing when the messenger returns, on November 10, with the commander’s permission. Negotiations resume. For three more hours the Germans argue, clause by clause. Eventually there is a final version: by 5.20 a.m. on November 11, the armistice ending a war started four years earlier is signed in a train carriage in the woods. The news reaches the troops quickly, and is received with disbelief. Some commanders decide to continue fighting to the bitter end; others will not risk any further lives. On the stroke of 11 a.m. the ceasefire agreed just hours earlier is sounded by bugles and clarions along the hundreds of kilometres of front line that stretch across Europe. Soldiers gradually emerge from the trenches, stunned.

War is over

Celebrations erupt in the capitals of the Allied victors. Civilians pour into the streets, thronging the Place de la Concorde in Paris, Piccadilly Circus in London, New York’s Fifth Avenue, the Piazza Venezia in Rome. Church bells ring out at full peal and people dance in the streets.

Credit : The Hindu 

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