Does the ban on PLASTIC BAGS work?

Thin plastic bags are the ultimate throwaway item. Used once to tote groceries, the thin white bags often go on to second lives as permanent pollution and an eyesore. So a host of countries, cities and other governments have banned them or forced consumers to pay for them. The largest such country, by far, was China.
Bai si wu ran or "white pollution" seems to have visibly declined but that may have more to do with tidying up garbage than any ban. Even government officials admit the thinnest plastic bags, which were banned outright, are still in use, particularly in remote areas. Small workshops that churn out the contraband bags are easy to set up and hard to police. Small vendors, for their part, seem to think that the rule is no longer enforced and hand them out even in Beijing. Yet, a survey by the International Food Packaging Association found that the number of plastic bags making their way into garbage had declined by 10 percent over the last year and the Chiniese government claimed that supermarkets alone reduced such bag use by 66 percent—some 40 billion fewer plastic bags to get caught in trees, riverbanks or elsewhere. The ultimate hope of the Chinese authorities is for the bags that are used to be recycled. Plastic bags may not disappear anytime soon but they're getting harder to spot.

What is Eclipse?
— An eclipse is nothing but an obscuring of the light from one celestial body by the passage of another between it and the observer.
— It is primarily caused by the shadow of one celestial body falling on another.

Features of Solar Eclipse on 22 July 2009
— Longest duration of totality in the 21st century – 6 minutes and 39 seconds.
— Path of totality will pass through major cities of India.
— Totality will begin soon after sunrise in Gujarat.
— Monsoon clouds may hamper viewing the eclipse in most places.

Safe Watching Of Eclipse
— The partial phases of the eclipse can be safely observed by projecting the image of the Sun on a white card or a wall.
— A pinhole camera, a small piece of mirror or a low-power telescope can be used for projecting an image of the partially eclipsed Sun.
— Safe filters are available that can be used for viewing the Sun directly.
— It is safe to look at the Sun during totality without a solar filter.

Solar Eclipses Are Not Harmful
— NO harmful rays are emitted by the Sun during an eclipse
— Food or water does NOT get spoiled during an eclipse.
— Eating or going to the toilet during an eclipse does NOT cause any harm.
— A solar eclipse does NOT cause any harm to pregnant mothers or the unborn child.
— A solar eclipse can be observed by anyone with a safe solar filter without any risk.
— Make it a point to watch the total solar eclipse with your family and friends.
Remember, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

Black holes in the Milky Way

Black holes are thought to be common in the universe, with a supermassive gobbler lurking at the core of galaxies such as our own Milky Way. But might they also be found roaming outside the galactic centers? A new study estimates that approximately 300 black holes may lurk throughout the Milky Way, remnants of the building blocks that came together billions of years ago to form the galaxy. What is more, those black holes may retain properties that would allow astronomers to identify them, providing an archaeological record of the galaxy's formation.

As galaxies merge, so do their respective central black holes. Previous studies have theorized that the final stage of black hole mergers in low-mass galaxies could release enough energy in the form of gravitational waves, or ripples in the fabric of space and time, to knock the resulting black hole right out of its parent galaxy. This recoil would not be powerful enough, however, to eject the black hole from the Milky Way's gravitational clutches, leaving these free-floating gobblers embedded within the Milky Way.

Scientists simulated the mergers of smaller galaxies in the Milky Way's history, finding that recoiled black holes, ranging in size from roughly 1,000 to a few hundred thousand times the mass of the sun, could exist in relatively large quantities in the Milky Way. (That is small relative to the supermassive black hole presumed to lurk at the Milky Way's core, which has a mass of some four million suns.) None would be particularly close by, the researchers say—at least a few thousand light-years away. A new study estimates that approximately 300 black holes may lurk throughout the Milky Way, remnants of the building blocks that came together billions of years ago to form the galaxy. What is more, those black holes may retain properties that would allow astronomers to identify them, providing an archaeological record of the galaxy's formation.

Serving Community and Helping Environment using Technology

Since her arrival at Princeton, junior Ishani Sud has made a difference by thinking inside the box. Not just any box, but rather a solar-powered oven she designed her freshman year with classmate Lauren Wang, under the guidance of Wole Soboyejo, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering. Powered by the sun’s energy and constructed with locally available materials, the ovens can be built and used in developing nations, thereby allowing advancement while preserving the environment and local economies.
Because they are powered by the sun’s energy, the ovens could slow deforestation that results from harvesting wood for cooking fires.


Ishani Sud has combined her interests in engineering and outreach to implement a solar oven project in Africa. The ovens, which she designed with classmate Lauren Wang, are constructed with locally available materials. Sud spent last summer in Kenya continuing previous work on the project and in Tanzania launching a similar program at a school for indigenous people.
Many factors led to Sud’s passion for science and community activism. The daughter of an environmental engineer and a geneticist, she was moved by the extreme poverty she encountered on childhood trips to her parents’ native India.
“This was a nice experience because it gave me a chance to learn about the community, give back, manage a project and learn about the actual science and research that goes into it,” Sud said.

Sud, is now organizing a group of students to research and design ceramic water filters built with basic materials, such as clay and plant matter.
“I want to be able to make a real difference in whatever community I’m working with or serving,” Sud says.

My Latest Published Book

Scientists from all over the world are busy exploring the origin of this universe. As a part of their exploration, scientists are carrying out the biggest ever experiment at Geneva, using a 27 km long path of huge machine, named, Large Hydron Colloider.
What is this huge machine? What will be the outcome of the experiment? Will it be useful for human being?How many days are required to complete the series of experiments? Which scientific information is expected to get from this experiment?
All these questions are answered in my Latest published book, "Big Bang cha prayog".

Be proud to be an Indian!

Indian scientists flying a giant balloon experiment have announced the discovery of three new species of bacteria from the stratosphere.
In all, 12 bacterial and six fungal colonies were detected, nine of which, based on gene sequencing, showed greater than 98 percent similarity with reported known species on earth. Three bacterial colonies, however, represented totally new species. All three boast significantly higher UV resistance compared to their nearest phylogenetic neighbors on Earth.
The experiment was conducted using a balloon that measures 26.7 million cubic feet (756,059 cubic meters) carrying 1,000 pounds (459 kg) of scientific payload soaked in liquid Neon. It was flown from the National Balloon Facility in Hyderabad, operated by the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR).
An onboard cryosampler contained sixteen evacuated and sterilized stainless steel probes. Throughout the flight, the probes remained immersed in liquid Neon to create a cryopump effect. The cylinders, after collecting air samples from different heights ranging from 20 km to 41 km (12 to 25 miles) above the Earth's surface, were parachuted down and retrieved. The samples were analyzed by scientists at the Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad as well as the National Center for Cell Science in Pune for independent confirmation.
One of the new species has been named as Janibacter hoylei, after the astrophysicist Fred Hoyle, the second as Bacillus isronensis recognizing the contribution of ISRO in the balloon experiments which led to its discovery, and the third as Bacillus aryabhata after India’s celebrated ancient astronomer Aryabhata (also the name of ISRO's first satellite).
The researchers have pointed out in a press release that precautionary measures and controls operating in the experiment inspire confidence that the new species were picked up in the stratosphere.
While the present study does not conclusively establish the extra-terrestrial origin of microorganisms, it does provide positive encouragement to continue the work in our quest to explore the origin of life.
This was the second such experiment conducted by ISRO, with the first one in 2001. Even though the first experiment had yielded positive results, the researchers decided to repeat the experiment while exercising extra care to ensure that it was totally free from any terrestrial contamination.

Nanotechnology - an enormous promise!

If you have heard about nanotechnology at all, you may be aware of its science-fiction-sounding hype. Proponents picture a future in which tiny bots would magically repair tissue to prolong our life span. On the dark side is the disturbing vision of “gray goo,” where self-replicating nano-devices destroy the planet. The reality of the burgeoning field of nanotech, however, is hardly less startling in its transformative potential. Some have proclaimed it “the next industrial revolution.”
“Nanotechnology” broadly applies to control of materials and components only a few billionths of a meter in size. Nanotechnology covers many areas of research dealing with objects that are measured in nanometers. A nanometer (nm) is a billionth of a meter, or a millionth of a millimeter. Already manufacturers sell several hundred products that use nanotech, mainly skin lotions. Next up are advances in biotechnology and electronics—and a merging of the two.
Consider, for instance, molecular building blocks called bis-amino acids, which chemists string together into protein-like structures. Applications include medicines, enzymes for catalyzing reactions, sensors, nano scale valves and computer storage devices. Other researchers are using natural molecular machines to process information: they receive input from other biological molecules and output a tangible result, such as a signal or a therapeutic drug.
Nano science advancements are pushing traditional electronics in new directions as well. With nano technology it is possible to have sensors, solar cells, electronic paper and bendable touch screens. Imagine a morning “paper” with headlines that change as news breaks.
Nanogears (as shown in fig. below) no more than a nanometer wide could be used to construct a matter compiler, which could be fed raw material to arrange atoms and build a macro-scale structure.

As televisions, airplanes and computers revolutionized the world in the last century, scientists claim that nanotechnology will have an even more profound effect on the next century. The nano regime offers enormous promise indeed.
- Hemant Lagvankar