Lifting off the run-way

Every time I sit in an airplane, I feel the same sort of a pulling sensation in my gut during the take-off. The throat suddenly feels dry and the ear tubes close down. When the wheels lift off the runway, it feels weightless and an upward pull is experienced as if someone is dragging up from the edge of a cliff. 

This time, I got a seat right next to the wings. I don't mind the 'view-blocking' that it causes, but, it might really put someone off guard, when one sees the slight up-down motion of the farther portion of the wings due to the wind. It seems as if the wings aren't enough to support the plane body and might get knocked-off any moment. But I guess, that's how its supposed to be according to the flight dynamics. This basically works on Bernouli's principle. Daniel Bernouli was a swiss mathematician who applied equations to decode some of the observations of the physical world. According to Bernouli's principle, if the speed of the flow of a fluid is increased, then, a simultaneous decrease is seen in the pressure of the fluid. Faster the fluid flows, lesser pressure it exerts. Any substance that flows is defined as a fluid. So if we think of air as as a fluid (its made of particles that flow through), then, we can apply Bernouli's principle to understand the aerodynamics of a flight. The wings of the plane are designed in a manner such that the air moves faster above the wings than below. As the speed of the air increases, the pressure of the air above the wings decreases- from Bernouli's principle. The air pressure on top of the wings is less than the air pressure at the bottom of the wings. This pressure difference that is created, leads to the upward lift that pulls the airplane off the runway. This is a pre-calculated lift force based on Bernouli's equation. There are other factors and equations involved too, but, this is the primary one.

Speaking of aircrafts and aerodynamics, recently, there was a Defense Expo held in Pune, organized by the Maharashtra government. This was a first of its kind effort by the state, showcasing the defense and armament related exhibits. It was a wonderful experience to watch almost every aspect of the Indian Army, Navy and Airforce that was featured in an informative yet engaging manner. I have tried to coalesce a few glimpses of this Defense Expo in the form of a video here. 

©Neha Kanase 

Are you serious or-chiding?

Imagine being crammed in a really tiny, closed space and buried in mud, while you're still alive. Everyday you get soaked completely in the muddy water. After a few days of this, you start peeping out of your closed space. You somehow try to walk through all that mud and what not. Finally, you come of your own and blossom to the fresh air. You are quite happy with yourself and then suddenly someone looks at you and exclaims 'you're beautiful', and soon, you're gone!

In the quest of 'knowing stuff around us' somebody came across orchids. That person didn't just admire and move on, but started studying these floral beauties. Since, he hadn't seen them anywhere else, this turned out to be a rare encounter. And because it was rare and beautiful, it had a value. Soon that person started developing techniques in his laboratory to grow more of these and different types of them. Orchid cultivation is a huge area of study in the horticultural sector now. It has turned into a source of livelihood for many and a huge industrial market- because of whosoever buys them.

One very unique things about orchids, lies in their germination. They grow in association with a fungi called micorrhiza. Since very early stages, the fungi starts propagating in the vicinity of the orchid plant, usually near its roots. The fungi provides the plant with nutrients which it absorbs from the soil. The plant uses these along with sunlight, water and carbon dioxide during the process of photosynthesis. The glucose, generated in the form of food by the plant ,is given back to the fungi. Since, Fungi cannot undergo photosynthesis due to lack of chlorophyll pigment in them. This is usually done by means of an exchange-surface area created between them during growth. Its often referred to as a 'symbiotic relationship'. I have heard a few botanists talk about it as an example of helping each other or mutual understanding. But I don't think the two of them even know they are doing this. 

Its just like someone in the family gets the grocery and the other person cooks for both of them. I heard someone preach the value of helping each other just like the orchid and Fungi. I'm not sure if that sort of silent action works for us. Because if we (in many cases) help someone, we usually shout it to the whole world. I came across a few lovely orchids recently, put for display. Of course, I was window-shopping. Sometimes it feels so good to just admire and enjoy something rather than trying to figure out how and where it came from.

©Neha Kanase   

 Ornitho

A red vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer) built a nest and laid eggs in one of the potted plants of our terrace. This was a few years back in 2019. The parent Bulbuls brought one straw at a time to build the nest. The nest was empty for quite a while. We became aware of the eggs only because of their not so usual chirping. Soon, this was a new experiment for me to observe and a lovely pastime activity. I maintained a diary, similar to a lab notebook- noting down the progress each day. Nothing major happened for the first few days. The mother Bulbul would sit for long hours over the eggs during the incubation period, as if meditating. 

On the 11th day, 3 little ones came out of those eggs. They simply lied on top of each other, without any movement. Since, it was a hanging pot, I would take pictures everyday, climbing upon a chair. At the beginning, the mother Bulbul would immediately start shouting when I went near the nest. But once she came to know that we weren't doing any harm to her infants, she was more relaxed. During the first few days, when the newborns were just lying on top of each other, I could feel a lot of heat as I went near the nest. After 2-3 days, tiny feathers started developing. Their beaks and jaw lines too became more prominent. This was a rapid phase of growth- within a week, they were covered in a blanket of feathers. She started feeding them more frequently (3-4 times daily) and their size also grew. But all three of them lived quite comfortably- the dimensions of the nest constructed were indeed perfect. 

Now, came the most interesting part of the journey- the first flight. After they grew and were feathered completely, slight movement of their wings was seen. They would flutter their wings up and down, imitating their mother. This is so wonderful- the knowledge of flying comes in-built with the wings. Nature has constructed the device and installed the programming as well. The crawling version just needs to be uninstalled.

It was a delight to watch, as the first one took it's leap out of the nest and halted over the balcony grill. Further, taking a second leap from the grill to a nearby branch. Soon, the second one also went off. The third one was a little bit slow, but he too managed to join his siblings. 

The nest was empty once again. This, so very much matches with the setting of this world- the promising emptiness that has nothing to offer, yet there is something that adds beauty to it which is hard to quantify and analyze. There are so many Bulbuls being born and nurtured everyday on this planet. This age old process is going on for billions of years. Yet, the emptiness has remained new, fresh and untouched.  

©Neha Kanase       

 RETALIATE

A device located on the ground senses a danger coming from high above. That's a 'red alert' for the device to get into action. It calculates the velocity with which the danger is approaching. It also calculates the probable path the danger is going to follow (it's trajectory to land on the ground). This information is then transmitted to another component of the same device which estimates the impact it would generate upon hitting the ground. Finally, the third component launches an equally powerful counterstrike in the direction of the danger so as to destroy and prevent it from penetrating.

The first component is the RADAR system. It stands for Radio Detection and Ranging. Radio waves are a component of light. When we say 'light' it is not just the part that we are able to see, but also the one that is beyond the limits of our eyesight. This entire range over which light is distributed is called an electromagnetic spectrum.

This spectrum ranges from the longest wavelength radio waves to the shortest wavelength gamma rays. The wavelength (the distance travelled by the light wave) is inversely proportional to its frequency or intensity. Hence, radio waves have a very less frequency. But since they are long-ranged, they can be used to detect objects from far away distances, and that is what a RADAR does. Although invisible to our eye, but by making use of sensitive instruments, we are able to detect these radio waves and the objects they interact with.

The second component is the control unit that estimates the target and the 'potential degree of havoc' that would be caused by the danger. The third component is a launcher vehicle that consists of missiles stacked together. One of these is then shot in the direction of the danger based on the calculations of the previous two components. The missile collides with the danger, the remains of this collision are targeted to the minimum impact regions. 

This device is a part of the Iron dome system comprising of such devices spread across a region. Each device has its spread over a particular range. A defense-technological marvel- it has saved several lives and has helped in eliminating the havoc of missile bombings.

I wonder if we humans have a similar kind of system around us. It would aid in retaliating the invisible garbage people target at us. And to throw it back at their faces. Life would be a little bit easier.

©Neha Kanase

         

 Piercing through the Sky

Image source: ISRO

Chandrayaan 3 was launched yesterday (14/07/23, 14:35 IST) by the Indian Space Research Organization. It was indeed a fulfilling experience to watch our country's yet another pride as it pierced through the sky signifying the limitless capability of the human brain and scientific technology. The countdown would have held the breath of every Indian watching it, either online or at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota. Students from many schools and colleges in the country witnessed the live launch.

Chandrayaan 3 as stated by the ISRO chairman S Somnath is a failure-based model rather than a success-based model. The team has taken into consideration everything that can possibly fail and then designed it accordingly to eliminate the flaws. This mission is advanced to the previous two in the sense that along with a safe take-off and clean exit from the Earth's orbit, it is also planned to perform a soft landing on the lunar surface. It also consists of a Rover that will come out of the lander and move over the surface of the moon in order to analyze it. 

The Lunar surface is studied through the analysis of elements on it. This is done with the help of spectroscopic and polarimetric techniques. When light comes in contact with any form of matter, it produces signals depending upon whether the light is emitted, absorbed or scattered by the particles in the matter. These signals are specific for certain elements and thus help in identifying what the material is made of. Lasers are used as light sources in these advanced spectroscopic techniques. Polarimetry is concerned with the direction in which light bends on coming in contact with matter, it helps in studying several physical aspects of the material.

The lander would be landing over the Lunar south pole for its unique composition and presence of ice water. The lander and rover will generate electricity for their movement with the help of the solar panels built over it. The landing on the moon is calculated such that the Sun's rays would directly fall on the panels for a period of 14 days. 

The complex programming, navigating parameters, precise calculations, accurate designing and working, propulsion composition are all a huge effort of teams of scientists, Engineers, technicians, belonging to several institutes in the country. It's really mind boggling to just imagine the process: sending out something from the Earth with the help of kilotons of explosives burning away per minute, to travel to thousands of miles straight upward until it starts moving around the orbit, followed by its insertion into the orbit of moon which is almost 2 lakh miles away from the Earth, its smooth landing over the farther portion of the moon and continuous monitoring of the parameters and the data received from it. But there are people and the technology they have built that makes this happen. 

©Neha Kanase

 'There's plenty of room at the bottom', but what if all of us go there?

First attempt at 3D illustrations

This blogpost was in my draft folder for quite a long time. I thought of putting it out now that I have tried making my first 3D science illustration. Although it might look like a 'Bundi cha ladu' to some people, this is an illustration of how a gold nanoparticle looks under the electron microscope. 

There was a time, during my student life when I was really fascinated by the world of Nanotechnology. I had been listening to talks by Nano scientists and researchers and I admired their work and experiments. The fact that amazed me the most was that if you scale down to the Nano level then the properties of the material change. I found the application of quantum dots, carbon nanotubes and graphene really cool. I decided to step into the field, as the famous quote by Richard Feynman: There's plenty of room at the bottom. Soon, I realized that there were too many people at the bottom. Every 4th scientist was synthesizing and working on nanoparticles. Thousands of papers were available on every application. Several nanomaterials had already been explored. 

I dropped the idea and began searching for something unique (the search is still going on). I do not know if that's the thing with anyone else or not, but I sometimes get into this mode of 'Is there anything left to be researched'? Then I go into the 'we know that all' mode of 19th century classical physicists. 

There might be many 'still unexplored' realms of modern science out there. There might also be a successor of Quantum mechanics or something really entirely new waiting for us somewhere. Who knows. 

Continuing with the Nano story. It's still nanoparticles, not the car. By the way, the car got its name from Nanotechnology because of its size. Also, the particles in Mayonnaise are Nano-sized, that is the reason it has that unique soft and creamy texture. Moving ahead. There's Nanorobotics and Nanomedicine. There's something called viral Nanotechnology. It seems that viruses lie exactly within the Nano range. So, they can be employed for synthesis of Nanoparticles by removing the genetic material and inserting our material of interest in its protein coat. For instance, a drug molecule. 

But what if a virus is pathogenic? To overcome this problem there is a very interesting solution. For example, plant viruses modified to nanoparticles could be used in animal cells. Since, viruses are host specific, plant viruses wouldn't have the receptors for the animal host to cause pathogenicity.  A quality of the virus being used for our benefit. Similar to a situation where people use our own virtues against us! 

This mechanism is really interesting. I guess the best part about science lies in its process: the way it works!

©Neha Kanase

 

 The Path of Excellence

Everyone wants to rise to excellence, but only a few make it to the top. Probably, because they are courageous enough to pay the price it requires to get there. Maybe, being mediocre is easier. Not that, it is a bad thing to practice, but it definitely is the safest way to play the game. And, why risk life unnecessarily, when you can very well live in the comfort zone wrapped around like a winter blanket? But some people cannot breathe without thriving for excellence, from the day they are born. 

There was one such boy. He always stood first in every examination he appeared for, be it at the school level or during higher studies. He never returned without getting a gold medal. He published his first research papers at the age of eighteen. Despite being a high-ranked government official, his love for science made him pursue research outside his office hours.  As some people say, he lived for science. 

A groundbreaking discovery in the 1930s, made through an experiment led by him, gave Indian science a new dimension in the Global frontier. He soon became the Director of a prestigious institute in the country and developed an entire department over there. Later, he founded his own research institute where the upcoming generation of scientists would get the freedom of pursuing their research. Founder of the science academies and the first scientific journal of India, recipient of several awards and honors. His students later became huge pillars of modern science in India.

Although this sounds like a superhero story, the journey wasn't that straightforward and simple. There were many twists, turns, fights, and threats. Huge obstacles blocked his path on several occasions. There was a point when his whole existence was shattered. Yet, he stood up and began it all over again. Not that the forces which came his way were usually external. Many times, his inbuilt traits also got him into trouble. But, his goal was something much bigger than himself as well as others: Building true science in the country and inculcating in the next generation, a scientific attitude, courage, and an undying spirit to move ahead despite all the odds. He continued to pursue his vision till his last breath.

It's all about overcoming challenges and moving ahead. Making great discoveries might not be a prerequisite for excellence. Our daily work if done with the utmost skill, improving bit by bit and practicing over and over again, might also one day lead to the excellence that people talk about. 

Maybe, his life would have been a bit easier had he kept his standards low and dreamt small. But then, we wouldn't have known him the way we do today: Sir C.V. Raman.

©Neha Kanase