GK Corner

February 28 - National Science Day

National Science Day (Rashtriya Vigyan Divas) is celebrated in India on February 28 each year to mark the discovery of the Raman Effect by Indian physicist Sir C V Raman on 28th February 1928.

In 1986, the National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC) asked the Government of India to designate February 28 as National Science Day. Sir C V Raman worked at Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Pune, West Pimpri, India during 1907 to 1933 , undertaking researches on various topics on Physics, making discovery of the celebrated effect on scattering of light in 1928, which bears his name that brought many accolades including the Nobel Prize in 1930. The American Chemical Society designated the 'Raman Effect' as an International Historic Chemical Landmark in 2013.

PSLV to launch Saral, six small satellites today

A space telescope that will watch for asteroids heading in Earth’s direction and a pair of tiny astronomical satellites are among the six space craft that the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-C 20 will carry into orbit on today (25th February, 2013)  alongside its primary payload, the Indo – French Satellite with ARgos  and ALtika (SARAL). This is the 23^rd mission of PSLV. The PSLV-C20 is slated for blast-off at 5.56 pm from the first launch pad of Satish Dawan Space Center.

News

 

Ms. Ela Ramesh Bhatt of Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) receiving the Indira Gandhi prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for the year 2011. 



Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development is the prestigious award accorded annually by India to individuals or organizations in recognition of creative efforts toward promoting international peace, development and a new international economic order; ensuring that scientific discoveries are used for the larger good of humanity, and enlarging the scope of freedom. The prize carries a cash award of 25 lakh Indian rupees and a citation. A written work, in order to be eligible for consideration, should have been published. The panel constituted by the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust consists of prominent national and international personalities including previous recipients. The recipients are chosen from a pool of national and international nominees.

GK Drops

SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS AND APPLIANCES

1.  Ammeter :             Instrument to measure the strength of electric current.

2.  Anemometer:   Instrument to measure the velocity and direction of wind.

3.  Barometer:       Is used for measuring atmospheric pressure.

mercury barometer

4.  Calorimeter:     Is an instrument for measuring quantities of heat 

5.  Chronometer:   Is a clock to determine longitude of a vessel at sea.

6.  Commutator:    Is an instrument to change or reverse the direction of electric current. In dynamo it is used to convert alternating current to direct current.

7.  Dynamo:          Is a device for converting mechanical energy into electrical energy.

8.  Electroscope:   Is an instrument for detecting the presence of electric charge.

9.  Galvanometer:  Is an instrument for measuring electric current.

10. Hydrometer:    Is an instrument for measuring the relative density of liquids.

11. Hygrometer:    Is an instrument for measuring the relative humidity of atmosphere.

12. Lactometer:     Is an instrument for measuring the relative density of milk.

13. Manometer:    Is an instrument to measure the pressure of gases.

14. Periscope:       Is an apparatus for viewing objects lying above the eye level of the observer and whose direct vision is obstructed. It consist of a tube bend twice at right angles and having plane mirrors at these bends inclined at angles of 45 degree to the tube.

submarine periscope

15. Pyrometers:    Are thermometers to measure high temperatures.

optical pyrometer

A sailor checking the temperature of a ventilation system

16. Quartz Clock:   Is a highly accurate clock used in astronomical observations and other precision work.

17. Spectroscope:   Is an instrument used for spectrum analysis.

18. Sphygmomanometer:     Is an apparatus for measuring blood pressure.

Mercury Sphygmomanometer

19.Tangent Galvanometer: Is an instrument for measuring the strength of direct current.

20. Voltmeter:         Is an instrument to measure potential difference between two points.

REFLECTIONS

GUEST FROM NORTH CAROLINA

Today we have a guest from North Carolina. Curson Duffy is one among the 40 school students who were given scholarships by Watson Foundation to work on different topics for a whole year. She is 22 years old and has to visit Chile, South Africa, Turkey, Germany and India to finish her project on Community Development and Inter-faith relationships. What a great opportunity for the young ones to see the vast world and to experience life in different continents! I was only 21 when I visited Europe for the first time. Taize Community(France) invited me when I was doing my M.A in Fatima College, Kollam. My stay in the Ecumenical Community revolutionised my thinking and that experience played a big role in shaping my life and ideology. I am ever grateful to Taize family.

Watson Foundation is investing in young people. I am told that every year they give scholarships for 40 students. Those who have money here are investing in concrete buildings! Huge churches, palatial parsonages, auditoriums and what not? These buildings will die soon. But if you can mould a great number of peace builders, the Earth will live a little longer than now expected. You can have richness and be wise.

Abraham Karickam

REFLECTIONS

THERE IS ONLY ONE HOLY BOOK.

Every one considers his or her Holy Book as a very special entitiy, directly received from the Almighty, through prophets and sages. True. But these Holy Scriptures are components in a continuum. These are not isolated islands. What is the New Testament without the Old Testament? So you need the Book of the Jews in order to understand Christianity. And almost all characters in the Holy Qur'An are people from the Old testament and the New Testament. How can any one understand Qur'An without learning the Books of the Jews and Christians? Now there are many who beleive that the Prajapati mentioned in the Vedas is none other than Jesus Christ. Guru Granth Sahib of the Sikhs is a truly interfaith Holy Book as it receives freely from all the previous Masters. Many Holy Books are in the process of compilation today, and definitely they will have much to borrow from others.

Julia Christeva and the post-structuralists have established the theory of inter-textuality. No book is an end in itself. It has so much to borrow from the past authors and the cemantic field is something universal. So the best means to ensure inter-faith harmony is to consider all the Holy Books as chapters of the one Holy Book. It is like a long story- a story of the heaven's intervention in the history of human beings, the ultimate result of which will be realised only on the final day.

Abraham Karickam

GK Corner

1. 'White revolution' was associated with............
    Ans:  Milk Production

2.  'Yellow Revolution' aimed at the increase of the production of .............
     Ans:  Oil Seeds

3.  With which agriculture sector was 'Silver Fiber Revolution' associated?
     Ans: Cotton Production

4.  What was the name given to the efforts to increase the production of eggs and poultry?
     Ans:  Silver Revolution

5.  'Round Revolution' was the name given to the efforts to increase the production of ....
     Ans:  Potato

6.  The efforts to increase the production of  meat and tomato was given the name.........?
     Ans:  Red Revolution

7.  'Pink Revolution' was associated with ...........?
    Ans:  Pharmaceuticals

8.  'Golden Fiber Revolution' was associated with the production of................
    Ans:  Jute

9.  The efforts to increase the production of  fertilizers was given the name........
    Ans:  Grey Revolution

10.  The name given to the efforts to increase the production of honey was.........?
    Ans:  'Golden Revolution'

11.  The production of which commodity was the subject of 'Brown Revolution' ?
    Ans:  Leather

12.  The efforts to increase the production of ............ was given the name 'Blue Revolution' ?
    Ans:  Fish

13.  'Black Revolution' is associated with the production of ..........
    Ans:  Petroleum

14.  'Green revolution' is associated with the increase in production of ..........
     Ans:  Food Grains (especially wheat and rice)

( Green Revolution: A significant increase in agricultural productivity resulting from the introduction of high-yield varieties of grains, the use of pesticides, and improved management techniques.)

    
    

Reflections

What is life?

Life is an extension of a journey that ended abruptly in some shores of eternity. It is the gluttonous soul tasting delicacies from the store houses in different worlds. As an adventurous tourist who finds himself in Antartica on a sunny day and in the Arabian sea on a rainy evening, the sportive soul sails from one shore to another, until it rests in the lap of the cosmic mother, still to start again with renewed energy.    

Dr. Abraham Karickam

GK Corner

ALLOYS

ALNICO                                 IRON, ALUMINIUM,NICKEL, COPPER & COBALT

BRASS                                    COPPER & ZINC

BRONZE                                 COPPER & TIN

DURALUMIN                         COPPER, ALUMINIUM, MAGNESIUM, MANGANESE

GUN METAL                          COPPER, ZINC, TIN

NICHROME                            IRON, NICKEL, CHROMIUM, MANGANESE

SILUMIN                                 ALUMINIUM & SILICON

STAINLESS STEEL                 IRON, CHROMIUM & NICKEL

STEEL                                       IRON& CARBON

INVAR                                      IRON & NICKEL

STELLITE.                                 COBALT, CHROMIUM, TUNGSTAN

SOLDER                                    TIN & LEAD

GERMAN SILVER                     ZINC, COPPER & NICKEL

Reflection

What is Peace?

 

Peace is not just the absence of war. Peace is restoring the rhythm of the cosmic order. There is a universal design and when we deviate from the right path, the imbalance causes heavy destructions. All the founders of major religions and the founding fathers of philosophy have been trying to regain the lost rhythm of our planet. Nuclear weapons and ecological destructions will impair the essential harmony. All peace lovers and peace builders are engaged in a sanctific process of bringing back the earth to its original destination. Chomsky says human being is a biological error, which is not true. Godliness is innate in every living organism and it is when we fail to realize this essential fact that disharmony plays a harmful role. In short peace is a journey back to the fountain head of eternal sanity and sobriety.  

Dr. Abraham Karickam

GK Corner

Flags

1. Study of flags is called.................
Ans: Vexillology

2. The flag of Britain is known as ............
Ans:  Union Jack/Union Flag

                 

3. The flag of which country is not rectangular
Ans:  Nepal

                             

4. Which country's flag has an AK-47 rifle on it?
Ans: Mozambique

                           

5. Which two countries have square shaped flags?
Ans: Switzerland & Vatican City 
                                                            Flag of Switzerland

Flag of Vatican City

6. Which Country's flag is different on each side? 
Ans:  The flag of Paraguay has two different sides.

(Both sides have red, white and blue horizontal stripes but the middle of the white stripe differs. On the front of the flag is the national seal and on the reverse is the treasury seal of Paraguay.)

                                                                

                                                                
7. What is the oldest national flag in the world?
Ans:  Flag of Denmark

                                                                  

8. What is the colour of the flag of United Nations?
Ans:  The background of the flag of United Nation is light blue in color with a white colored map of the world within a wreath of olive leaves on it. This emblem is located right at the heart of the flag .

                                                                

9. Who designed the national flag of India?
Pingali Venkayya

(The Indian national flag was designed in 1916 by Pingali Venkayya from Machilipatnam, Andra Pradesh. The tricolour flag designed by him, with a charkha in the centre was adopted by the Congress committee in 1931 at Karachi. 

On July 22, 1947, during an ad hoc meeting of the Constituent Assembly, it was approved as the National Flag of India with suitable modifications, wherein the Ashok Chakra was adopted in place of the charkha.)



10. Which country has its map on its flag?
There are two countries having their maps on their flags, Cyprus and Kosovo

                                                               Flag of Kosovo

                                   

                                                               Flag of Cyprus

                                   

Leya Sabu