INFORMATION OF THE WEEK

Battery History

2013-09-11T14:24:00.003+05:00

A battery, which is actually an electric cell, is a device that produces electricity from a chemical reaction. In a one cell battery, you would find a negative electrode; an electrolyte, which conducts ions; a separator, also an ion conductor; and a positive electrode.

Timeline of Battery History

1748 - Benjamin Franklin first coined the term "battery" to describe an array of charged glass plates.
1780 to 1786 - Luigi Galvani demonstrated what we now understand to be the electrical basis of nerve impulses and provided the cornerstone of research for later inventors like Volta to create batteries.
1800 Voltaic Pile - Alessandro Volta invented the Voltaic Pile and discovered the first practical method of generating electricity. Constructed of alternating discs of zinc and copper with pieces of cardboard soaked in brine between the metals, the Voltic Pile produced electrical current. The metallic conducting arc was used to carry the electricity over a greater distance. Alessandro Volta's voltaic pile was the first "wet cell battery" that produced a reliable, steady current of electricity.
1836 Daniell Cell- The Voltaic Pile could not deliver an electrical current for a long period of time. Englishman, John F. Daniell invented the Daniell Cell that used two electrolytes: copper sulfate and zinc sulfate. The Daniel Cell lasted longer then the Volta cell or pile. This battery, which produced about 1.1 volts, was used to power objects such as telegraphs, telephones, and doorbells, remained popular in homes for over 100 years.
1839 Fuel Cell - William Robert Grove developed the first fuel cell, which produced electrical by combining hydrogen and oxygen.
1839 to 1842 - Inventors created improvements to batteries that used liquid electrodes to produce electricity. Bunsen (1842) and Grove (1839) invented the most successful.
1859 Rechargeable - French inventor, Gaston Plante developed the first practical storage lead-acid battery that could be recharged (secondary battery). This type of battery is primarily used in cars today.
1866 Leclanche Carbon-Zinc Cell - French engineer, Georges Leclanche patented the carbon-zinc wet cell battery called the Leclanche cell. According to The History of Batteries: "George Leclanche's original cell was assembled in a porous pot. The positive electrode consisted of crushed manganese dioxide with a little carbon mixed in. The negative pole was a zinc rod. The cathode was packed into the pot, and a carbon rod was inserted to act as a currency collector. The anode or zinc rod and the pot were then immersed in an ammonium chloride solution. The liquid acted as the electrolyte, readily seeping through the porous cup and making contact with the cathode material. The liquid acted as the electrolyte, readily seeping through the porous cup and making contact with the cathode material." Georges Leclanche then further improved his design by substituting the ammonium chloride paste for liquid electrolyte and invented a method of sealing the battery, inventing the first dry cell, an improved design that was now transportable.
1881 - J.A. Thiebaut patented the first battery with both the negative electrode and porous pot placed in a zinc cup.
1881 - Carl Gassner invented the first commercially successful dry cell battery (zinc-carbon cell).
1899 - Waldmar Jungner invented the first nickel-cadmium rechargeable battery.
1901 Alkaline Storage - Thomas Alva Edison invented the alkaline storage battery. Thomas Edison's alkaline cell had iron as the anode material (-) and nickelic oxide as the cathode material (+).
1949 Alkaline-Manganese Battery - Lew Urry developed the small alkaline battery in 1949. The inventor was working for the Eveready Battery Co. at their research laboratory in Parma, Ohio. Alkaline batteries last five to eight times as long as zinc-carbon cells, their predecessors.
1954 Solar Cells - Gerald Pearson, Calvin Fuller and Daryl Chapin invented the first solar battery. A solar battery converts the sun's energy to electricity. In 1954, Gerald Pearson, Calvin Fuller and Daryl Chapin invented the first solar battery. The inventors created an array of several strips of silicon (each about the size of a razorblade), placed them in sunlight, captured the free electrons and turned them into electrical current. Bell Laboratories in New York announced the prototype manufacture of a new solar battery. Bell had funded the research. The first public service trial of the Bell Solar Battery began with a telephone carrier system (Americus, Georgia) on October 4 1955.
1964 - Duracell was incorporated.

Syria Crises

2013-09-11T14:22:00.000+05:00

The crisis in Syria was prompted by protests in mid-March 2011 calling for the release of political prisoners. National security forces responded to widespread, initially peaceful demonstrations with brutal violence. From summer 2011 onwards, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad refused to halt attacks and implement the meaningful reforms demanded by protestors. In July 2011, accounts emerged from witnesses, victims, the media, and civil society that government forces had subjected civilians to arbitrary detention, torture, and the deployment and use of heavy artillery. The Syrian people were also subject to the Shabiha, a heavily armed state-sponsored militia fighting alongside security forces. Assad consistently denied responsibility for these crimes, placing blame for the violence on armed groups and terrorists, and yet denying humanitarian access to civilians. Alongside the worsening violence, this lack of assistance from the UN and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) caused severe shortages of food, water and healthcare in the country.

As the crisis continued to escalate, opponents of the Assad regime began to loosely organize, creating several opposition organizations such as the Syrian National Council (SNC), an umbrella organization of exiled Syrians, and the Free Syrian Army (FSA), a militarized element largely composed of Syrian military defectors and armed rebels. Though ideological divisions have characterized the fragmented opposition, many groups lost patience with the lack of progress on reforms andbegan to call the regime’s resignation since the fall of 2011. In August 2011, the FSA began attacking Syrian soldiers with force, marking the first time that the opposition resorted to violence to overthrow the regime and end the government’s widespread attacks on civilians. With the introduction of these new militant tactics came reports that opposition forces had also subjected civilians to human rights violations. The conflict has also grown increasingly sectarian in nature, with civilians being targeted by both sides based on the presumed support or opposition to the Assad regime associated with their ethnic identities.

Though the government-imposed media blackout since March 2011 has made external confirmation of the situation in Syria very difficult, the United Nations Human Rights Council established an independent International Commission of Inquiry in September 2011 to investigate the alleged human rights violations. The Commission has since produced five reports and concluded that the Syrian government and Shabiha committed crimes against humanity and war crimes, as well as that anti-government groups have been responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

II. Delayed response to escalating crisis

Initially, regional actors, such as the League of Arab States and the Gulf Cooperation Council, were hesitant to respond, and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) was unable to reach a consensus on decisive action to end the conflict. After nearly a year of fighting, former Secretary-General Kofi Annan was appointed as Joint Special Envoy for the UN and the League of Arab States on 23 February 2012. Annan quickly set forth a six point peace plan, which included commitments from all parties to work with the Special Envoy, a ceasefire, and the access to and timely provision of humanitarian assistance. Unfortunately, the deal failed to end the violence, which by then had become a de facto civil war. The UNSC then authorized the deployment of a UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) of 300 unarmed observers to facilitate the peace plan in April 2012, but activities were suspended in June when the observers’ presence failed to quell the violence. By late July, fatalities and casualties had mounted to 19,000 and tens of thousands of civilians remained displaced, seeking refuge in neighboring countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey. The following month, Annan resigned from his position, citing the lack of political unity within the UN as a major obstacle to finding a solution to the crisis, and was replaced by Lakhdar Brahimi. Brahimi immediately faced a tumultuous situation, with clashes between government and opposition forces fighting for control of Damascus, mass executions by government forces and a growing humanitarian crisis. As of yet, he has been unable to negotiate an end to the violence, and on 29 January 2013, warneda still seriously divided Security Council that the country was “breaking up before everyone's eyes.”

In November 2012, opposition forces came together to create a new coalition to be more inclusive and representative of the Syrian opposition. The new body was named theNational Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Force, and has steadily gathered international recognition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people. The Coalition was first recognized by the Arab League on 12 November 2012, then joined by France on 13 November, EU on November 19, UK on 20 November, US on December 12, and then others.Nonetheless, a political solution has not yet been put forward. Nonetheless, the opposition forces grew increasingly fragmented, divided by ideological barriers between secular and Islamist armed groups as well as pervasive managerial gaps. In April 2013, Al Qaeda announced its allegiance to the rebel forces and foreign fighters enlisted in the sectarian war in increasing numbers. In July 2013, the UN reported that at least 100,000 had been killed, that a staggering 2 million had fled to neighboring countries, and 4 million remained internally displaced..

III. Crimes against humanity perpetrated by the Syrian government

As early as 27 April 2011, then UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, B. Lynn Pascoe, informed the UN Security Council that sources in Syria had reported “the use of artillery fire against unarmed civilians; door-to-door arrest campaigns; the shooting of medical personnel who attempt to aid the wounded; raids against hospitals, clinics and mosques and the purposeful destruction of medical supplies and arrest of medical personnel”. The Syrian government also allegedly denied access to international monitors, humanitarian groups and human rights organizations while simultaneously shutting offlocal social media communications. Based on interviews, the Commission of Inquiry on Syria presented its initial findings to the Council in Geneva on 28 November 2011, reporting evidence that crimes against humanity had been committed by military and security forces including: sexual violence, torture, arbitrary detention and murder.

Government attacks also shifted from sporadic violence to targeted large-scale killings. The spiraling levels of violence were implemented using cluster bombs, which are prohibited in many states around the world. Among other instances of violence with a high civilian death toll, 108 people died an attack on Houla in July 2012 and 71 men were massacred in Aleppo in January 2013. In a 3 July report from Human Rights Watch, witnesses reported the use of torture in 27 detention facilities run by Syrian intelligence agencies, including at the hands of the commanders in charge. Human Rights Watch also released evidence of a clear chain of command responsibility for atrocities committed all the way up to high-level Syrian officials. Subsequent reports by the Commission of Inquiry also established that gross violations of human rights had been committed by Syrian military and security forces, and stressed the harmful effects on the population, calling for an end to impunity. Furthermore, there have been repeated claims of the deployment of chemical agents by the Syrian government, which is known to have stockpiles of such weapons. Individual states such as United States, France, United Kingdom, have announced that they have evidence of the government’s responsibility to the use of chemical weapons.

IV. Opposition groups militarize, accused of human rights violations amid clashes with government forces

The FSA also reportedly failed to comply with international human rights and humanitarian law, according to evidence from civil society groups including Human Rights Watch, which reported in March 2012 that FSA forces had committed human rights abuses against civilians including extra judicial killing, capture and torture. On 25 July 2012, Amnesty International released a press statement saying that opposition groups have been deliberately and unlawfully killing captured opponents in Syria, and called on all opposition parties to abide by international humanitarian law. In response to widespread concern, the FSA officials signeda “code of conduct” in August 2012 pledging to refrain from torture, attacking of civilians and other human rights abuses. This coincided with the Commission of Inquiry’s report on 15 August, which concluded that opposition forces had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. Meanwhile, Syrian lawyers attempted to collect war crimes testimonies from civilians in the hope to prosecute crimes under international law once the conflict ends. In March 2013, the government accused rebel forces of using chemical weapons in Aleppo, though the opposition maintained that government forces had actually deployed them. The UN Secretary-General responded by setting up team of scientists to investigate the allegations, which will investigate three sites where chemical weapons have allegedly been used.

. Russia then announced in early July 2013 that it had evidence that anti-government armed groups had used sarin gas against government forces, though neither the UN nor the Commission of Inquiry have confirmed.

V. Refugees and IDPs

On 17 May 2013 the UN Refugee agency announced that the number of Syrian refugees had surpassed1.65 million. Meanwhile, the UN announced that the number of internally displaced people in Syria had reached 4.5 million.The refugee crisis has taken its toll on bordering countries. According to the UNHCR as of May 2013, almost 418,000 have sought refuge in Turkey, and over 512,000 in Jordan, 561,000 in Lebanon, 103,000 in Egypt and 161,000 in Iraq. The primary reasons for fleeing appear to be atrocities committed against civilians, reported the International Rescue Committee in January 2013, with journeys to safety made more treacherous by winter conditions. Foreign Affairs reported on 24 May 2013 that refugee populations faced dire conditions in the refugee camps. Furthermore, the hosting countries are experiencing severe pressure. In Jordan, the World Bank reported in May that the influx of refugees is affecting the livelihood, public services, and basic commodities of the local communities, and announced its financial support to the government. This economic impact created resentment against the refugees within the country. Although Turkey has been more economically equipped to handle the refugee influx, social and political costs arose, resulting in an increased risk of sectarian spillover, particularly in areas sympathetic to Assad. Lebanon, is also significantly burdened by the conflict, where in April 2013, Reuters reported that one out of ten residents was a refugee. Lebanon’s hospitals, electricity, transportation systems are strained, and food prices are rising. Furthermore, the country is experiencing a re-ignition of ethnic and religious tensions, with violent clashes occurring between Sunni and Shiite communities and between supporters and opponents of Assad. Civil society actors, including Refugee International, warned on 10 July that Syria’s neighbors’ had been “stretched too thin”, and called for urgent assistance and increased funding from the international community. On 24 May, the UN, acknowledging the strain on Syria’s neighbors, nonetheless urged the countries to continue keeping their borders open for refugees.

VI. Responses to the crisis

a) Regional Responses

The League of Arab States

The League of Arab States (LAS) initially stressed that it would not take unilateral action in response to the crisis. However, after nearly nine months of violence against civilians, the League introduced a peace plan, which called on the government to halt violence, release prisoners, allow for media access and remove military presence from civilian areas. When the government failed to uphold the plan in spite of its initial agreement to do so, the League suspended Syria’s membership on 12 November 2011 and imposed economic sanctions on 27 November 2011. On 19 December, Syria signed a peace deal, mandating an Arab observer mission to observe and report on the crisis, but the League suspended the mission on 29 January 2012 due to “critical” conditions in the country. The League then encouraged the Security Council to take further action and appointed a Joint Special Envoy with the UN to facilitate a political solution to the crisis. In November 2012 the League, alongside the Gulf Cooperation Council, recognized the National Coalition of the Syrian Opposition, an opposition organization formed that same month from various opposition groups in order to have a more inclusive and representative model, as the “the legitimate representative and main interlocutor with the Arab League and GCC”.The Coalition officially took Syria’s seat at the summit of the Arab League in March 2013.

The European Union

The European Union (EU) imposed economic sanctions, including an arms embargo, visa ban and asset freeze, against the Syrian regime in May 2011, and has heightened the sanctions periodically since then. In November 2012 the EU recognized the National Coalition of the Syrian Opposition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people, and subsequently released a statement calling for Assad to step down to allow for political transition in January 2013. In March 2013 the EU foreign ministersmodifiedthese sanctions, making it possible for European governments to bypass the ban on providing "non-lethal" supplies to the opposition. On 28 May 2013, the European States effectively ended the arms embargo on the opposition in Syria and opened up the possibility to arm anti-government rebels while upholding the arms embargo on the Assad government. Only the United Kingdom and France have expressed the possibility of sending arms, while the majority of the remaining EU member-states are worried that further militarization will only fuel more violence.

b) United Nations Responses

Special Advisers on the Prevention of Genocide and the Responsibility to Protect

The Special Advisers of the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide and on the Responsibility to Protect voiced their concern over the Syrian government’s systematic widespread attacks targeting civilians and reminded the government of its responsibility to protect its population in a series of public statements. Notably, in their fifth statement, released on 14 June 2012, they called on the international community “to take immediate, decisive action to meet its responsibility to protect populations at risk of further atrocity crimes in Syria, taking into consideration the full range of tools available under the United Nations Charter” including a referral of the situation by the Security Council to the International Criminal Court (ICC). On 8 July 2013, the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention on Genocide, Mr. Dieng, warned against the increasing use of rhetoric by political and religious leaders in the Middle East and North Africa region as it could be used to incite further violence in Syria.

Human Rights Council and Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

As discussed above, the Human Rights Council and Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights were seized of the crisis early on and in August 2011 mandated an independent Commission of Inquiry to investigate human rights violations in Syria. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, also repeatedly called upon the Syrian government to assume its responsibility to protect and prevent and prosecute perpetrators of international crimes, and has repeatedly urged the Security Council to refer the case to the ICC, beginning in December 2011.

Security Council

The Security Council received criticism for failing to address the crisis for over five months after protests had begun, and its subsequent inability to reach a consensus on how to move forward. The Council began with a cautious approach, not wanting to violate the UN charter and aid a civil war; however, as the situation progressed, several attempts at resolutions to bring an end to the conflict, were vetoed by Russia and China.. With the appointment of a special envoy and establishment of the United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS), the Council attempted to take preventive action. Unfortunately, the situation had escalated already to a point of extreme violence with very limited room for political negotiations between the disputing parties. As such, UNSMIS immediately faced many technical difficulties on and off the ground, including limited freedom of movement by the government, blocked access to sites of mass violence, and the rejection of observers’ visas. These, alongside ongoing violence, led to the Misson’s suspension on 15 June 2012.

In October 2012 the Security Council issued press statements condemning the terrorist attacks in Aleppo and later calling on all relevant parties to implement a ceasefire in honor of Eid al- Adha, Since then, the Council has received significant pressure to refer the case in Syria to the ICC, including from the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special Advisers on the Prevention of Genocide and RtoP as well as from over 50 Member States who signed a letter saying as much in mid-January 2013.

General Assembly

The General Assembly adopted several resolutions calling for all parties to support efforts to peacefully resolve the crisis. In an attempt to pressure the Security Council to act, the General Assembly requested that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon brief the Council in January 2013. At this time, the Secretary-General stated: “We must do everything we can to reach Syrians in need. We must intensify our efforts to end the violence through diplomacy, overcoming the divisions within Syria, the region and the Security Council.” On May 15 2013, the General Assembly adopted a resolution condemning the conflict’s escalation, violations of humanitarian law, and violence, demanding the government meet their responsibility to protect their population, comply with international law, and cooperate with the Commission of Inquiry to investigate claims of chemical weapons. The resolution also asked the Secretary-General to report on the resolution’s implementation to the GA within 30 days.

c) National Actor Responses

Russia and China attracted significant criticism from Arab and Western leaders for their economic, political and military ties to Syria, and because they vetoed three UN Security Council resolutions which had included language citing the responsibility of the Assad government. Separately, Russia made attempts at unilateral diplomacy with a view to put pressure on the Assad regime to limit its military actions against civilians and allow for some sort of political transition, and in December 2012 publically acknowledged that the Assad regime may well be losing control of the country. In early May 2013, Russia announced its plans to hold a Syria peace conference together with the United States to broker a peace agreement; however, the conference has been repeatedly delayed due to discussions on the structure and attendees of the meeting, with the most recent information indicating the peace talks are unlikely to take place before September.

Turkey’s border with Syria has seen skirmishes and shelling since July 2012, and in October, five Turkish civilians were killed by Syrian mortar fire, which Turkey responded to with proportional arms. In February 2013, an explosion on the Syrian-Turkish border killed at least 13 people, putting further strain on the deteriorating relationship between the two. After another instance of car bombs on the border in May 2013, killing 43, Turkey warned it would take all steps necessary to protect itself. Though NATO had originally stated it would not intervene in the Syrian crisis, the Organization placed patriot missiles on Turkey’s border with Syria in January 2013 to defend against external attack, at the request of the Turkish government. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO’s secretary general,had previouslywarnedthe Syrian government on 3 December 2012 that the international community would not stand by if the Assad regime unleashed chemical warfare against the Syrian people.

Fighting between Syrian government forces and rebels in the Golan Heights has meanwhile challenged the decades-long ceasefire between Syria and Israel in the Golan Heights and complicated the operations of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), charged with monitoring the accord. After two abductions of UNDOF peacekeepers in March and May 2013, the UN has had to contend with troop-contributing countries (TCCs) withdrawing their peacekeepers from UNDOF out of concern for their safety.

Though Lebanon has long had an official policy of disassociation in the Syrian conflict, the influx of refugees and increased cross-border fire from Syria has threatened to embroil the country in its neighbor’s crisis. More recently, the announced entry of Lebanese political and military group Hezbollah and their key role in helping the Syrian government re-take the town of Qusayr in June 2013 represents the starkest indication yet that the Syrian crisis is slowly devolving into a full-scale regional crisis.

As the conflict wears on, without distinctive action from international organizations, several national actors have also increased their support to the Syrian opposition politically, economically and militarily. The Free Syrian Army received a steady stream of non-military assistance and then non-lethal military equipment and funding from several governments, including the United States, United Kingdom, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, beginning in June 2012.

VII. Latest Developments:

In August 2013, a series of videos, photographs and reports from the ground from Syria indicate that a new chemical weapons attack has killed a high number of civilians in rebel-held areas outside of Damascus, in what, if verified, would be “the world's most lethal chemical weapons attack since the 1980s.” The footage shows a large number of children among the victims of the attacks. Casualty estimates have varied widely, from 500 to over 1300.

The international community called for an immediate investigation of the use of chemical weapons after the attack on civilians. The UN Secretary General has stated that “it is his intention to conduct a thorough, impartial and prompt investigation on the reports of the alleged use of chemical weapons during these attacks.” The team of United Nations inspectors probing the possible use of chemical weapons returned from Syria on 31 August after two weeks of investigation. The team's results are expected in the coming days and could figure significantly in the international community's response to the crisis.

The UN Security Council convened for an emergency session on 21 August to discuss the attacks. However, it remains to be seen whether the Council’s divisions on Syria will be overcome by the latest reports of mass atrocities. Many voices inside and outside of Syria have stated that the international community and the Syrian government have both failed in their responsibility to protect Syrians, a failure that, particularly in light of the alleged attacks, has reached what some are calling a tipping point and requires an immediate and meaningful response.

Some states, already convinced that the Assad regime is behind the attacks, have declared publicly that a “red line” has been crossed and are therefore seriously considering a military operation in order to respond to the chemical weapons attack, which if verified, would constitute another war crime and a violation of international humanitarian law. However, others have questioned whether a military response solely in response to the 21 August chemical weapons attack would actually serve to protect civilians, or if it would be mostly designed to punish the Assad regime.

Virus

2013-05-30T17:09:00.000+05:00

Viruses have existed as long as life has been on earth.

Early references to viruses

Early references to viral infections include Homer’s mention of “rabid dogs”. Rabies is caused by a virus affecting dogs. This was also known in Mesopotamia.

Polio is also caused by a virus. It leads to paralysis of the lower limbs. Polio may also be witnessed in drawings from ancient Egypt.

In addition, small pox caused by a virus that is now eradicated from the world also has a significant role in history of S. and Central America.

Virology – the study of viruses

The study of viruses is called virology. Experiments on virology began with the experiments of Jenner in 1798. Jenner did not know the cause but found that that individuals exposed to cow pox did not suffer from small pox.

He began the first known form of vaccination with cow pox infection that prevented small pox infection in individuals. He had not yet found the causative organism or the cause of the immunity as yet for either cow pox or small pox.

Koch and Henle

Koch and Henle founded their postulates on microbiology of disease. This included that:

the organism must regularly be found in the lesions of the disease

it must be isolated from diseased host and grown in pure culture

inoculation of such a pure organism into a host should initiate the disease and should be recovered from the secondarily infected organism as well

Viruses do not confer to all of these postulates.

Louis Pasteur

In 1881-1885 Louis Pasteur first used animals as model for growing and studying viruses. He found that the rabies virus could be cultured in rabbit brains and discovered the rabies vaccine. However, Pasteur did not try to identify the infectious agent.

The discovery of viruses

1886-1903 – This period was the discovery period where the viruses were actually found. Ivanowski observed/looked for bacteria like substance and in 1898, Beijerink demonstrated filterable characteristic of the virus and found that the virus is an obligate parasite. This means that the virus is unable to live on its own.

Charles Chamberland and filterable agents

In 1884, the French microbiologist Charles Chamberland invented a filter with pores smaller than bacteria. Chamberland filter-candles of unglazed porcelain or made of diatomaceous earth (clay)-kieselguhr had been invented for water purification. These filters retained bacterium, and had a pore size of 0.1-0.5 micron. Viruses were filtered through these and called “filterable” organisms. Loeffler and Frosch (1898) reported that the infectious agent of foot and mouth diseases virus was a filterable agent.

In 1900 first human disease shown to be caused by a filterable agent was Yellow Fever by Walter Reed. He found the yellow fever virus present in blood of patients during the fever phase. He also found that the virus spread via mosquitoes. In 1853 there was an epidemic in New Orleans and the rate of mortality from this infection was as high as 28%. Infectivity was controlled by destroying mosquito populations

Trapping viruses

In the 1930's Elford developed collodion membranes that could trap the viruses and found that viruses had a size of 1 nano meter. In 1908, Ellerman and Bang demonstrated that certain types of tumors (leukemia of chicken) were caused by viruses. In 1911 Peyton Rous discovered that non-cellular agents like viruses could spread solid tumors. This was termed Rous Sarcoma virus (RSV).

Bacteriophages

The most important discovery was that of the Bacteriophage era. In 1915 Twort was working with vaccinia virus and found that the viruses grew in cultures of bacteria. He called then bacteriophage. Twort abandoned this work after World War I. In 1917, D'Herelle, a Canadian, also found similar bacteriophages.

Images of viruses

In 1931 the German engineers Ernst Ruska and Max Knoll found electron microscopy that enabled the first images of viruses. In 1935, American biochemist and virologist Wendell Stanley examined the tobacco mosaic virus and found it to be mostly made from protein. A short time later, this virus was separated into protein and RNA parts. Tobacco mosaic virus was the first one to be crystallised and whose structure could therefore be elucidated in detail.

Molecular biology

Between 1938 and 1970 virology developed by leaps and bounds into Molecular biology. The 1940's and 1950's was the era of the Bacteriophage and the animal virus.

Delbruck considered father of modern molecular biology. He developed the concepts of virology in the science. In 1952 Hershey and Chase showed that it was the nucleic acid portion that was responsible for the infectivity and carried the genetic material.

In 1954 Watson and Crick found the exact structure of DNA. Lwoff in 1949 found that virus could behave like a bacterial gene on the chromosome and also found the operon model for gene induction and repression. Lwoff in 1957 defined viruses as potentially pathogenic entities with an infectious phase and having only one type of nucleic acid, multiplying with their genetic material and unable to undergo binary fission.

In 1931, American pathologist Ernest William Goodpasture grew influenza and several other viruses in fertilised chickens' eggs. In 1949, John F. Enders, Thomas Weller, and Frederick Robbins grew polio virus in cultured human embryo cells, the first virus to be grown without using solid animal tissue or eggs. This enabled Jonas Salk to make an effective polio vaccine.

Era of polio research was next and was very important as in 1953 the Salk vaccine was introduced and by 1955 poliovirus had been crystallized. Later Sabin introduced attenuated polio vaccine.

In the 1980’s cloning of viral genes developed, sequencing of the viral genomes was successful and production of hybridomas was a reality. The AIDS virus HIV came next in the 1980’s. Further uses of viruses in gene therapy developed over the next two decades.

Solar Energy

2013-05-19T13:02:00.003+05:00

The Basics

Solar energy technologies convert the sun’s light into usable electricity or heat. Solar energy systems can be divided into two major categories: photovoltaic and thermal. Photovoltaic cells produce electricity directly, while solar thermal systems produce heat for buildings, industrial processes or domestic hot water. Thermal systems can also generate electricity by operating heat engines or by producing steam to spin electric turbines. Solar energy systems have no fuel costs, so most of their cost comes from the original investment in the equipment. The total installed costs of solar applications vary depending on the type of financing used. Solar photovoltaics generally range from $6-$10 per watt installed, or $12,000-$30,000 for a typical 2-3 kilowatt residential-scale system. A solar hot water system sized for a typical home is much cheaper and costs between $3,500 and $8,000 depending on the size and type of the system (above prices exclude any incentives or rebates).

Resource Potential

The Northwest receives more than enough sunlight to meet our entire energy needs for the foreseeable future. As the map above illustrates, the Northwest’s highest potential is in southeastern Oregon and southern Idaho; however, there are no “bad” solar sites—even the rainiest parts of the Northwest receive almost half as much solar energy as the deserts of California and Arizona, and they receive more than Germany, which has made itself a solar energy leader.

Photovoltaic Cells

Photovoltaics (PVs) convert sunlight directly into electricity, using semiconductors made from silicon or other materials. Photovoltaic modules mounted on homes in the Northwest can produce electricity at a levelized cost of 20-60 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) before incentives. Incentives can bring the levelized cost down considerably to 10-20 cents per kWh.

PVs generate power on a much smaller scale than traditional utility power plants, so they can often provide high-value electricity exactly where and when it is needed. PVs are often the best choice for supplying power for remote, “off-grid” sites or in situations where the transmission or distribution system would otherwise need to be upgraded in order to meet peak demands. Distribution line extensions of more than half a mile are generally more expensive than investing in a PV system for a typical home.

Other cost-effective PV applications include building-integrated power generation, meeting high summer demand for electricity (e.g., air conditioning), pumping water, lighting signs and powering equipment used for communications, safety or signaling.

Prices for photovoltaics are falling as markets expand. Solar PV demand has grown consistently by 20-25% per year over the past 20 years while solar cell prices fell from $27 per watt of capacity in 1982 to less than $4 per watt today.

Direct Thermal

Direct-use thermal systems are usually located on individual buildings, where they use solar energy directly as a source of heat. The most common systems use sunlight to heat water for houses or swimming pools, or use collector systems or passive solar architecture to heat living and working spaces. These systems can replace electric heating for as little as three cents per kilowatt-hour, and utility and state incentives reduce the costs even further in some cases.

Environmental Impacts

Solar power is an extremely clean way to generate electricity. There are no air emissions associated with the operation of solar modules or direct application technologies. Residential-scale passive construction, photovoltaic, solar water heating, and other direct applications reduce power generation from traditional sources and the associated environmental impacts.

Net Metering

Utilities in all four Northwestern states offer net metering programs, which make it easy for customers to install solar electric systems at their homes or businesses. In a net metering program, customers feed extra power generated by their solar equipment during the day into the utility’s electrical grid for distribution to other customers. Then, at night or other times when the customer needs more power than their system generates, the building draws power back from the utility grid.

Net metering allows customers to install solar equipment without the need for expensive storage systems, and without wasting extra power generated when sunlight is at its peak. Such programs also provide a simple, standardized way for customers to use solar systems while retaining access to utility-supplied power.

In most net metering programs, the utility installs a special ‘dual-reading’ meter at the customers building which keeps track of both energy consumed by the building, and energy generated by the solar array. The customer is billed only for the net amount of electricity that they draw from the utility, effectively receiving the utility’s full retail price for the electricity they generated themselves.

Annual U.S. Solar Installations
by Technology
Source: Interstate Renewable Energy Council ⁶

Net metering is available from utilities throughout Oregon and Washington, and law requires most Montana utilities to offer it as well. Additionally, Idaho Power and Rocky Mountain Power offer net metering in Idaho in accord with a Public Utilities Commission rule.

Incentive Programs in the Northwest

Every state in the Northwest offers incentives for solar energy development. Oregon, Idaho and Montana all offer low-interest loans and substantial tax credits for solar systems bought by businesses, individuals or governments. Washington now offers a production incentive of $0.15/kilowatt-hour or more for electricity from solar energy, depending on where the technology was manufactured. Montana and Oregon also exempt solar systems from property tax assessment, while Idaho and Washington exempt solar system purchases from sales taxes. Many local utilities and regional organizations also provide incentives. For example, the Energy Trust of Oregon offers additional rebates and loans to customers of Oregon’s two largest utilities and many utilities offer additional rebates, loans, or production incentives for solar energy systems.

Flying Cars

2013-05-18T12:24:00.001+05:00

FLYING CARS:

Just a decade and a half after the Wright Brothers took off in their airplane over the plains of Kitty Hawk, N.C., in 1903, other pioneering men began chasing the dream of a flying car. There was even one attempt in the 18th century to develop a gliding horse cart, which, to no great surprise, failed. There are nearly 80 patents on file at the United States Patent and Trademark Office for various kinds of flying cars. Some of these have actually flown. Most have not. And all have come up short of reaching the goal of the mass-produced flying car. Here's a look back at a few of the flying cars that distinguished themselves from the pack:
Curtiss Autoplane - In 1917, Glenn Curtiss, who could be called the father of the flying car, unveiled the first attempt at such a vehicle. His aluminum Autoplane sported three wings that spanned 40 feet (12.2 meters). The car's motor drove a four-bladed propeller at the rear of the car. The Autoplane never truly flew, but it did manage a few short hops.
Arrowbile - Developed by Waldo Waterman in 1937, the Arrowbile was a hybrid Studebaker-aircraft. Like the Autoplane, it too had a propeller attached to the rear of the vehicle. The three-wheeled car was powered by a typical 100-horsepower Studebaker engine. The wings detached for storage. A lack of funding killed the project.
Airphibian - Robert Fulton, who was a distant relative of the steam engine inventor, developed the Airphibian in 1946. Instead of adapting a car for flying, Fulton adapted a plane for the road. The wings and tail section of the plane could be removed to accommodate road travel, and the propeller could be stored inside the plane's fuselage. It took only five minutes to convert the plane into a car. The Airphibian was the first flying car to be certified by the Civil Aeronautics Administration, the predecessor of the the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It had a 150-horsepower, six-cylinder engine and could fly 120 miles per hour and drive at 50 mph. Despite his success, Fulton couldn't find a reliable financial backer for the Airphibian.
ConvAirCar - In the 1940s, Consolidated-Vultee developed a two-door sedan equipped with a detachable airplane unit. The ConvAirCar debuted in 1947, and offered one hour of flight and a gas mileage of 45 miles (72 kilometers) per gallon. Plans to market the car ended when it crashed on its third flight.
Avrocar - The first flying car designed for military use was the Avrocar, developed in a joint effort between Canadian and British military. The flying-saucer-like vehicle was supposed to be a lightweight air carrier that would move troops to the battlefield.
Aerocar - Inspired by the Airphibian and Robert Fulton, whom he had met years before, Moulton "Molt" Taylor created perhaps the most well-known and most successful flying car to date. The Aerocar was designed to drive, fly and then drive again without interruption. Taylor covered his car with a fiberglass shell. A 10-foot-long (3-meter) drive shaft connected the engine to a pusher propeller. It cruised at 120 mph (193 kph) in the air and was the second and last roadable aircraft to receive FAA approval. In 1970, Ford Motor Co. even considered marketing the vehicle, but the decade's oil crisis dashed those plans
These pioneers never managed to develop a viable flying car, and some even died testing their inventions. However, they proved that a car could be built to fly, and inspired a new group of roadable aircraft enthusiasts. With advances in lightweight material, computer modeling and computer-controlled aircraft, the dream is very close to becoming reality. In the next section, we will look at the flying cars being developed today that eventually could be in our garages.

Aeronautical Engineering

2013-05-18T12:19:00.001+05:00

Aeronautical engineering:

The roots of aeronautical engineering can be traced to the early days of mechanical engineering, to inventors’ concepts, and to the initial studies of aerodynamics, a branch of theoretical physics. The earliest sketches of flight vehicles were drawn by Leonardo da Vinci, who suggested two ideas for sustentation. The first was an ornithopter, a flying machine using flapping wings to imitate the flight of birds. The second idea was an aerial screw, the predecessor of the helicopter. Manned flight was first achieved in 1783, in a hot-air balloon designed by the French brothers Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier. Aerodynamics became a factor in balloon flight when a propulsion system was considered for forward movement. Benjamin Franklin was one of the first to propose such an idea, which led to the development of the dirigible. The power-driven balloon was invented by Henri Gifford, a Frenchman, in 1852. The invention of lighter-than-air vehicles occurred independently of the development of aircraft. The breakthrough in aircraft development came in 1799 when Sir George Cayley, an English baron, drew an airplane incorporating a fixed wing for lift, an empennage (consisting of horizontal and vertical tail surfaces for stability and control), and a separate propulsion system. Because engine development was virtually nonexistent, Cayley turned to gliders, building the first successful one in 1849. Gliding flights established a data base for aerodynamics and aircraft design. Otto Lilienthal, a German scientist, recorded more than 2,000 glides in a five-year period, beginning in 1891. Lilienthal’s work was followed by the American aeronaut Octave Chanute, a friend of the American brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright, the fathers of modern manned flight.

Following the first sustained flight of a heavier-than-air vehicle in 1903, the Wright brothers refined their design, eventually selling airplanes to the U.S. Army. The first major impetus to aircraft development occurred during World War I, when aircraft were designed and constructed for specific military missions, including fighter attack, bombing, and reconnaissance. The end of the war marked the decline of military high-technology aircraft and the rise of civil air transportation. Many advances in the civil sector were due to technologies gained in developing military and racing aircraft. A successful military design that found many civil applications was the U.S. Navy Curtiss NC-4 flying boat, powered by four 400-horsepower V-12 Liberty engines. It was the British, however, who paved the way in civil aviation in 1920 with a 12-passenger Handley-Page transport. Aviation boomed after Charles A. Lindbergh’s solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927. Advances in metallurgy led to improved strength-to-weight ratios and, coupled with a monocoque design, enabled aircraft to fly farther and faster. Hugo Junkers, a German, built the first all-metal monoplane in 1910, but the design was not accepted until 1933, when the Boeing 247-D entered service. The twin-engine design of the latter established the foundation of modern air transport.

The advent of the turbine-powered airplane dramatically changed the air transportation industry. Germany and Britain were concurrently developing the jet engine, but it was a German Heinkel He 178 that made the first jet flight on Aug. 27, 1939. Even though World War II accelerated the growth of the airplane, the jet aircraft was not introduced into service until 1944, when the British Gloster Meteor became operational, shortly followed by the German Me 262. The first practical American jet was the Lockheed F-80, which entered service in 1945.

PEOPLE
TOPICS
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (president of India)
Alexander M. Lippisch (German-American aerodynamicist)
B.J. Habibie (president of Indonesia)
Ben R. Rich (American engineer)
Bruce McCandless (American naval aviator and astronaut)
Burt Rutan (American aircraft and spacecraft designer)
Charles Lanier Lawrance (American aeronautical engineer)
Charles Stark Draper (American engineer)
Daniel Saul Goldin (American engineer)
Eugen Sänger (Austrian engineer)
George Michael Low (Austrian-born American aerospace engineer)
Georgy Ivanov (Bulgarian cosmonaut)
Hermann Oberth (German scientist)
Hugo Eckener (German aeronautical engineer)
Igor Sikorsky (Russian-American engineer)
Jean-Felix Piccard (American chemical engineer)
Jerome C. Hunsaker (American aeronautical engineer)
Juan de la Cierva (Spanish engineer)
Kelly Johnson (American aeronautical engineer)
Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky (Soviet scientist)
Lawrence Hargrave (British aeronautical engineer)
Marcel Dassault (French industrialist)
Max Faget (American engineer)
Michael Griffin (American aerospace engineer)
Octave Chanute (American engineer)
Otto Lilienthal (German aeronautical engineer)
Paul Cornu (French engineer)
Percy Sinclair Pilcher (British engineer)
Qian Xuesen (Chinese scientist)
Robert C. Seamans, Jr. (American aeronautical engineer)
Robert Hutchings Goddard (American scientist)
Samuel Kurtz Hoffman (American engineer)
Samuel Pierpont Langley (American engineer)
Sergey Pavlovich Korolyov (Soviet scientist)
Sergey Vladimirovich Ilyushin (Soviet aircraft designer)
Sir Barnes Wallis (British military engineer)
Theodore von Kármán (American engineer)
Valentin Petrovich Glushko (Soviet scientist)
Vladimir Nikolayevich Chelomey (Soviet scientist)
Walter Robert Dornberger (German engineer)
Wernher von Braun (German-born American engineer)
William Hayward Pickering (American engineer and physicist)
Willy Messerschmitt (German engineer)
Commercial aircraft after World War II continued to use the more economical propeller method of propulsion. The efficiency of the jet engine was increased, and in 1949 the British de Havilland Comet inaugurated commercial jet transport flight. The Comet, however, experienced structural failures that curtailed the service, and it was not until 1958 that the highly successful Boeing 707 jet transport began nonstop transatlantic flights. While civil aircraft designs utilize most new technological advancements, the transport and general aviation configurations have changed only slightly since 1960. Because of escalating fuel and hardware prices, the development of civil aircraft has been dominated by the need for economical operation.

Technological improvements in propulsion, materials, avionics, and stability and controls have enabled aircraft to grow in size, carrying more cargo faster and over longer distances. While aircraft are becoming safer and more efficient, they are also now very complex. Today’s commercial aircraft are among the most sophisticated engineering achievements of the day.

Smaller, more fuel-efficient airliners are being developed. The use of turbine engines in light general aviation and commuter aircraft is being explored, along with more efficient propulsion systems, such as the propfan concept. Using satellite communication signals, onboard microcomputers can provide more accurate vehicle navigation and collision-avoidance systems. Digital electronics coupled with servo mechanisms can increase efficiency by providing active stability augmentation of control systems. New composite materials providing greater weight reduction; inexpensive one-man, lightweight, noncertified aircraft, referred to as ultralights; and alternate fuels such as ethanol, methanol, synthetic fuel from shale deposits and coal, and liquid hydrogen are all being explored. Aircraft designed for vertical and short takeoff and landing, which can land on runways one-tenth the normal length, are being developed. Hybrid vehicles such as the Bell XV-15 tilt-rotor already combine the vertical and hover capabilities of the helicopter with the speed and efficiency of the airplane. Although environmental restrictions and high operating costs have limited the success of the supersonic civil transport, the appeal of reduced traveling time justifies the examination of a second generation of supersonic aircraft.

Gasoline

2013-05-16T21:45:00.000+05:00

The First Oil Well Was Dug Just Before the Civil War

Edwin Drake dug the first oil well in 1859 and distilled the petroleum to produce kerosene for lighting. Drake had no use for the gasoline or other products, so he discarded them. It wasn't until 1892 with the invention of the automobile that gasoline was recognized as a valuable fuel. By 1920, there were 9 million vehicles on the road powered by gasoline, and service stations were popping up everywhere.

A Field of Dozens of Oil Wells Just Offshore, at Summerland, California (Santa Barbara County) in 1915

Higher Octane and Lead Levels

By the 1950s, cars were becoming bigger and faster. Octane levels increased and so did lead levels; lead was added to gasoline to improve engine performance.

Leaded Gasoline Was Taken Off the U.S. Market

Unleaded gasoline was introduced in the 1970s, when the health problems from lead became apparent. In the United States, leaded gasoline was completely phased out in the 1980s, but it is still being used in some parts of the world.

Generators

2013-05-16T21:38:00.002+05:00

Today, everybody is familiar with electricity. Let's say, almost everybody uses electricity as a ready-for-use energy that is provided in a clean way. This is the result of long research and engineering work which can be traced back for centuries. The first generators of electricity were not electrodynamic as today's machines, but they were based on electrostatic principles. Long before electrodynamic generators were invented, electrostatic machines and devices had their place in science. Due to their principle of operation, electrostatic generators produce high voltage, but low currents. The output is always a unipolar static voltage. Depending from the used materials, it may be positve or negative.
Friction is the key of the operation! Although most mechanical energy needed to power an electrostatic generator is converted into heat, a fraction of the work (not a fraction of friction - got the point?) is used to generate electric potential by splitting charges.

The Beginnings

In ancient greece, the amber was known to attract little objects after being rubbed with cloth or fur. From the Greek expression elektron, the modern term electricsis directly derived. In 1600, William Gilbert (1544-1603) coined the expression electrica in his famous book De Magnete.
In ancient Greece, there was no effort to mechanize the rubbing of a piece of amber in order to get a continous effect. Although light could be observed in the dark, nobody made a connection between this and the lightning which was regarded as Zeus' weapon. The knowledge about this type of electricity remained almost unchanged until the beginning of the seventeenth century. Several antique authors like Pliny the elder or Renaissance men like Giovanni Battista della Porta describe the effect but without drawing further conclusions.

The Sulphur Ball

Otto von Guericke (1602-1686) who became famous for his Magdeburg vacuum experiments invented a first simple electrostatic generator. It was made of a sulphur ball which rotated in a wooden cradle. The ball itself was rubbed by hand. As the principles of electric conduction had not been discovered yet, von Guericke transported the charged sulphur ball to the place where the electric experiment should happen.

von Guericke's first electrostatic generator around 1660

Guericke made the ball by pouring molten sulphur into a hollow glass sphere. After the sulphur was cold, the glass hull was smashed and removed. Some day, a researcher found out that the empty glass sphere itself provided the same results.

A Baroque Gas Discharging Lamp

In 1730 scientific research has discovered the principles of electric conduction. An inspiriation for electric research came from an area which at the first glance had absoluteley nothing to contribute: the mercury barometric device invented by Evangelista Torricelli. If the mercury-filled tube was shaken and the evacuated portion of the tube was observed in the dark, a light emission could be seen. William Hauksbee, both inventive and inquisitive, designed a rotor to rub a small disk of amber in a vacuum chamber. When the chamber contained some mercury vapour, it lit up! This was the first mercury gas discharge lamp! The engravings show surprising similarities to today's lightning spheres.

Hauksbee's amber rotor

Hauksbee's setup to demonstrate
light effects caused by static electricity.

The Beer Glass Generator

Glass proved to be an ideal material for an electrostatic generator. It was cheaper than sulphur and could easily be shaped to disks or cylinders. An ordinary beer glass turned out to be a good isolating rotor in Winkler's electrostatic machine.

An electrostatic machine invented by
Johann Heinrich Winkler (1703-1770)

Machines like these were not only made for scientific research, but a preferred toy for amusement. In the 18th century, everybody wanted to experience the electric shock. Experiments like the "electric kiss" were a salon pastime. Although the French Abbé Nollet demonstrated in 1745 that little animals like birds and fish were killed instantaneuosly by the discharge of a Leyden jar, nobody was aware of the latent dangers of this type of experiments.

The electric kiss provided a very special thrill

Soon after the effects of electrostatic discharge were found, researchers and charlatans started to cure diseases with electric shocks. Here we find parallels to the "Mesmerists" who claimed to use magnetic powers for therapy.

Toothache therapy around 1750
Being ill at that time was no fun!

The Leyden Jar

In 1745, the so-called Leyden Jar (or Leyden Bottle) was invented by Ewald Jürgen von Kleist (1700-1748). Kleist searched for a way to store electric energy and had the idea to fill it into a bottle! The bottle contained water or mercury and was placed onto a metal surface with ground connection. No wonder: the device worked, but not because of the fact that electricity could be filled into bottles.One year after Kleist, the physicist Cunnaeus in Leyden/the Netherlands independently invented this bottle again. Thus the term Leyden Jar became more familiar, although in Germany, this device sometimes also was called Kleist's bottle.
An intense research work began to find out which liquid is the most suitable. A few years later, researchers had learned that water is not necessary, but a metal hull inside and outside the jar was sufficient for storing electrostatic energy. Thus the first capacitors were born.


Early Leyden jars	An advanced electrostatic battery in 1795

Frequently, several jars were connected in order to multiply the charge. Experimenting with this type of capacitors started to become pretty dangerous. In 1783, while trying to charge a battery during a thunderstorm, Prof. Richmann was killed by unintendedly getting too close to a conductor with his head. He is the first known victim of high voltage experiments in the history of physics. Benjamin Franklin had a good deal of luck not to win this honour when performing his kite experiments.

St. Petersburg, 6 August 1783. Prof. Richman and his assistant being struck by lightning while charging capacitors. The assistant escaped almost unharmed, whereas Richman was dead immediately. The pathologic analysis revealed that "he only had a small hole in his forehead, a burnt left shoe and a blue spot at his foot. [...] the brain being ok, the front part of the lung sane, but the rear being brown and black of blood." The conclusion was that the electric discharge had taken its way through Richmann's body. The scientific community was shocked.

The Disk Rotor

Generators based on disks were invented around 1800 by Winter. Their characteristic construction element is a mercury-prepared leather cushion that covers approximately one forth of the surface area. The leather cushion replaced the experimentor's hand and gave a more continous result. In 1799, first experiments of electrolysis by electrostatic energy were made. It turned out that the recently invented chemical elements caused same or better effect than many thousand electric discharges of a Leyden bottle battery. Experiments like these helped to shape the understanding of electric energy.

An early disk generator by Winter

The Advanced Rotor

Inventors found out that it is a good idea to laminate metal or cardboard sheets onto the isolating disks of electrostatic generators.

The so-called influence machine by Holtz, 1865

Disks for advanced generators of this type were made of glass, shellac and ebonite (hard rubber). Especially hard rubber turned out to be a very suitable material as it did not get damaged so easily than glass or shellac.

The Wimshurst Machine

Wimshurst machines are the end point of the long development of electrostatic disk machines. They caused very good results and were frequently used to power X-ray tubes. The characteristic construction element of these machines are disks which are laminated with radially arranged metal sheets. The advantage of disks is that they can be stacked onto one axle in order to multiply the effect.

A Wimshurst machine around 1905.
The end point of a long development.

The invention of the electomagnetic inductor by Ruhmkorff in 1857 began to make the electrostatic disk machines obsolete. Today, both devices only serve as useful demonstration objects in physics lessons to show how electric charges accumulate. For technical applications, high voltages can be easier generated by electronic and electromagnetic methods.

A Ruhmkorff inductor to power an X-ray tube (1910)

The Van-DeGraaff Generator

The principle of this machine is to transport voltage by the aid of a tape made of isolating flexible material e.g. rubber. Early in the development of machinery, it was observed that mechanical transmission belts gave reason for unintended high voltage production, which harmed persons or buildings by igniting parts of a workshop. The same effect caused by transporting the highly inflammable celluloid films inside the projector was the reason for more than one cinema perishing in fire.

A 5 Megavolt Van-deGraaff generator

The principle is based on an isolating endless tape which transports an electric charge to a conductor. Although the device can be operated without an additional electric power source, normally a DC high voltage is applied to the tape, thus considerably increasing the output voltage. Van DeGraaff generators are still in use in particle accellerator labs. The largest machines produce up to 10 million Volts.

The Steam Electrostatic Generator

Wet steam which is pressed through a nozzle causes electric chargement. This was the origin of the idea to construct an electrostatic generator based on steam. Although these machines caused good results, they were difficult to maintain. As they also were expensive, comparatively few were built and have survived in museum collections.

A steam electrostatic generator

Conclusion

Electrostatic generators have their place in the history of science. They accompanied the way to understand electricity. However, their efficiency is poor, compared to the mechanical effort which is needed to produce electrical energy. In this context, I'd like to seriously warn all would-be inventors of electrostatic PMMs based on disk rotors or on the Van deGraaf principle. Machines of this type are no toy and even small devices can be dangerous if carelessly handled. As a rule of thumb, a charged Leyden jar of 1/2 liter (=1/8 gallon) volume can endanger your life!

Drones

2013-05-14T17:16:00.002+05:00

"[Drones are a] game-changing technology, akin to gunpowder, the steam engine, the atomic bomb -- opening up possibilities that were fiction a generation earlier but also opening up perils that were unknown a generation ago." -- Peter Singer, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution

America will never be a "no drone zone."

That must be acknowledged from the outset. There is too much money to be made on drones, for one, andtoo many special interest groups -- from the defense sector to law enforcement to the so-called "research" groups that are in it for purely "academic" reasons -- who have a vested interest in ensuring that drones are here to stay.

At one time, there was a small glimmer of hope that these aerial threats to privacy would not come home to roost, but that all ended when Barack Obama took office and made drones the cornerstone of his war efforts. By the time President Obama signed the FAA Reauthorization Act into law in 2012, there was no turning back. The FAA opened the door for drones, once confined to the battlefields over Iraq and Afghanistan, to be used domestically for a wide range of functions, both public and private, governmental and corporate. It is expected that at least 30,000 drones will occupy U.S. airspace by 2020, ushering in a $30 billion per year industry.

Those looking to the skies in search of Predator drones will be in for a surprise, however, because when the drones finally descend en masse on America, they will not be the massive aerial assault vehicles favored by the Obama administration in their overseas war efforts. Rather, the drones coming to a neighborhood near you will be small, some nano in size, capable of flying through city streets and buildings almost undetected, while hovering over cityscapes and public events for long periods of time, providing a means of 24/7 surveillance.

One type of drone sensor, the Gorgon Stare, can keep track of an area 2.5 miles across from 12 different angles. Another sensor system, ARGUS, can find an object that is only 6 inches long, from 20,000 feet up in the air. A drone equipped with this kind of technology could spy on an entire city at once. For example, police in California are about to begin using Qube drones, which are capable of hovering for 40 minutes at heights of about 400 ft. to conduct surveillance on targets as far as one kilometer away. Michael Downing, the LAPD deputy chief for counter-terrorism and special operations, envisions drones being flown over large-scale media events such as the Oscars, using them to surveil political protests, and flying them through buildings to track criminal suspects.

These micro-drones will be the face of surveillance and crowd control in the coming drone age.

Modeled after birds, insects, and other small animals, these small airborne surveillance devices can remain hidden in plain view while navigating spaces off limits to conventional aircraft. Able to take off and land anywhere, able to maneuver through city streets and hallways, and able to stop and turn on a dime, these micro-drones will still pack a lethal punch, equipped with an array of weapons and sensors, including tasers, bean-bag guns, "high-resolution video cameras, infrared sensors, license plate readers, [and] listening devices."

You can rest assured, given the pace of technology and the fervor of the drone industry (and its investors), that the sky is the limit when it comes to the many uses (and abuses) for drones in America. The following is just a small sampling of what will be descending from the skies in the near future.

Cyborg drones.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has begun to develop a Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) for the manipulation of insects into "cyborgs." Through genetic engineering, they are aiming to control the movement of insects and utilize them for surveillance purposes.

Dragonfly drone.

First reportedly spotted in 2007 hovering over protesters at an anti-war rallyin Washington, DC, it turns out that the government's dragonfly drones are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to small aerial surveillance devices designed to mimic nature. Just a year later, the U.S. Air Force "unveiled insect-sized spies 'as tiny as bumblebees' that could not be detected and would be able to fly into buildings to 'photograph, record, and even attack insurgents and terrorists.'"

Hummingbird drone.

Shaped like a bird, the "Nano Hummingbird" drone is negligibly larger than an actual hummingbird and fits in the palm of one's hand. It flits around effortlessly, blending in with its surroundings. DARPA, the advanced research division of the Department of Defense, gets the credit for this biotic wonder.

Nano Quadrators.

Similar to the hummingbird drone, these small, four-propellered nano quadrator drones, developed by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, operate based upon the flight dynamics of insects, enabling them to operate as a swarm. Using 20 drones, researchers demonstrated how, moving compactly as a unit, the drones were able to navigate obstacles, form complex patterns, and even execute a fluid figure eight arrangement.

Black Hornet Nano drone.

Weighing in at roughly half an ounce and four inches long, comparable to a finch, the Black Hornet Nano helicopter drone was designed to capture and relay video and still images to remote users, and can fly even in windy conditions.

DASH Roachbot drone.

Developed at UC Berkeley's PolyPEDAL Lab, DASH, a 10-centimeter long, 16-gram Dynamic Autonomous Sprawled Hexapod strives to mimic a cockroach's speed and ability to remain covert and a gecko's speed and agility. Trained to perform "rapid inversion" maneuvers that include dashing up to a ledge and then swinging itself around to end up underneath the ledge and upside-down, DASH is being trained to make rapid transitions between running and climbing.

Samarai drone.

Lockheed Martin's compact "Samarai" drone, inspired by the design of a maple seed, is capable of high speeds, low battery consumption, vertical movement, and swift ground deployment.

MicroBat drone.

Additionally, CIT Group, Aerovironment, and UCLA have produced a "MicroBat" ornithopter; it was designed in part by zoologists who have attempted to make the MicroBat mimic the movement of birds and other flying animals.

Spy-butterfly drone.

In 2012, Israel unveiled its new insect-inspired drone which they dubbed the "spy-butterfly" because of its two sizable wings. Weighing in at only 20g, this drone was developed for indoor surveillance, including public places such as "train stations and airport terminals -- or office buildings." The size and muted sound of the "virtually noiseless" machines makes them unnoticeable and therefore ideal for intelligence gathering. The spy-butterfly is so realistic that, when tested, "birds and flies tended to fall behind the device arranging into a flock."

Switchblade drone.

A more sinister example is the Switchblade, a small military drone intended to act as a kamikaze weapon. Weighing in at a mere six pounds and two feet in length, it flies effortlessly through urban environments before zeroing in on its target, a person, at which point itexplodes, unceremoniously killing him or her.

Mosquito drone.

More lethal than its real-life counterpart, the mosquito drone, while an engineering marvel, is also a privacy advocate's nightmare with its potential to land on someone and use a needle-like-pincer to extract DNA from its victims or, alternatively, inject drugs or other foreign substances. As software engineer Alan Lovejoy notes:

Such a device could be controlled from a great distance and is equipped with a camera, microphone. It could land on you and then use its needle to take a DNA sample with the pain of a mosquito bite. Or it could inject a micro RFID tracking device under your skin. It could land on you and stay, so that you take it with you into your home. Or it could fly into a building through a window. There are well-funded research projects working on such devices with such capabilities.

Raven drone.

Weighing in at 4 pounds, the RQ-11 Raven drone is not as small, nor is it as agile as its smaller counterparts, but with more than 19,000 out there already, it is the most common. Useful for seeing around corners and sending footage back to its handlers, the Raven resembles a rudimentary model airplane and crumbles like Legos upon landing.

With 63 active drone sites across the nation and 56 government agencies presently authorized to use drones, including 22 law enforcement agencies and 24 universities, drones are here to stay. Indeed, the cost of drones -- underwritten by a $4 million Homeland Security program whichencourages local law enforcement to adopt drone technology as quickly as possible -- makes them an easy sell for most police departments. Moreover, while manned airplanes and helicopters can cost $600/hour to operate, a drone can be put in the sky for less than $25/hour. That doesn't even begin to cover drone use by the private sector, which is already chomping at the bit at the prospect.

No matter what the future holds, however, we must ensure that Americans have a semblance of civil liberties protections against the drones. Given the courts' leniency towards police, predicating drone use on a warrant requirement would provide little to no protection. Thus, the only hope rests with Congress and state legislatures that they would adopt legislation specifically prohibiting the federal government from using data recorded via police spy drones in criminal prosecutions, as well as preventing police agencies from utilizing drones outfitted with anti-personnel devices such as tasers and tear gas.

Either way, we'd better get ready. As Peter W. Singer, author of Wired for War, a book about military robotics, warns: "The debate over drones is like debating the merits of computers in 1979: They are here to stay, and the boom has barely begun. We are at the Wright Brothers Flier stage of this. There's no stopping this technology. Anybody who thinks they can put this genie back in the box -- that's silliness."

History Of Indonesia

2013-05-11T14:02:00.001+05:00

In the past two decades, Indonesia has begun to emerge as an economic power in Southeast Asia, as well as a newly democratic nation.

Its long history as the source of spices coveted around the Indian Ocean world shaped Indonesia into the multi-ethnic and religiously diverse nation that we see today. Although this diversity causes friction at times, Indonesia has the potential to become a major world power.

Capital and Major Cities:

Capital: Jakarta, pop. 8,800,000

Major Cities: Surabaya, pop. 3,000,000

Medan, pop. 2,500,000

Bandung, pop. 2,500,000

Serang, pop. 1,786,000

Yogyakarta, pop. 512,000

Indonesia's Government:

The Republic of Indonesia is centralized (non-federal) and features a strong President who is both Head of State and Head of Government. The first direct presidential election took place only in 2004; the president can serve up to two 5-year terms.

The tricameral legislature consists of the People's Consultative Assembly, which inaugurates and impeaches the president and amends the constitution but does not consider legislation; the 560-member House of Representatives, which creates legislation; and the 132-member House of Regional Representatives who provide input on legislation that affects their regions.

The judiciary includes not only a Supreme Court and Constitutional Court, but also a designated Anti-Corruption Court.

People of Indonesia:

Indonesia is home to over 240 million people; it is the fourth most populous nation on Earth (after China, India and the US).

Indonesians belong to more than 300 ethno-linguistic groups, most of which are Austronesian in origin. The largest ethnic group is the Javanese, at almost 42% of the population, followed by the Sundanese with just over 15%. Others with more than 2 million members each include: Chinese (3.7%), Malay (3.4%), Madurese (3.3%), Batak (3.0%), Minangkabau (2.7%), Betawi (2.5%), Buginese (2.5%), Bantenese (2.1%), Banjarese (1.7%), Balinese (1.5%) and Sasak (1.3%).

Languages of Indonesia:

Across Indonesia, people speak the official national language of Indonesian, which was created after independence as a lingua franca from Malay roots. However, there are more than 700 other languages in active use throughout the archipelago, and few Indonesians speak the national language as their mother tongue.

Javanese is the most popular first language, boasting 84 million speakers. It is followed by Sundanese and Madurese, with 34 and 14 million speakers, respectively.

The written forms of Indonesia's multitude of languages may be rendered in modified Sanskrit, Arabic or Latin writing systems.

Religion in Indonesia:

Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim country, with 86% of the population professing Islam. In addition, almost 9% of the population is Christian, 2% are Hindu, and 3% are Buddhist or animist.

Nearly all of the Hindu Indonesians live on the island of Bali; most of the Buddhists are ethnic Chinese. The Constitution of Indonesia guarantees freedom of worship, but the state ideology specifies a belief in only one God.

Long a commercial hub, Indonesia acquired these faiths from traders and colonizers. Buddhism and Hinduism came from Indian merchants; Islam arrived via Arab and Gujarati traders. Later, the Portuguese introduced Catholicism, and the Dutch Protestantism.

Indonesian Geography:

With more than 17,500 islands, of which more than 150 are active volcanoes, Indonesia is one of the most geographically and geologically interesting countries on Earth. It was the site of two famous nineteenth-century eruptions, those of Tambora and Krakatau, as well as being the epicenter of the 2004 Southeast Asian tsunami.

Indonesia covers about 1,919,000 square kilometers (741,000 square miles). It shares land borders with Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and East Timor.

The highest point in Indonesia is Puncak Jaya, at 5,030 meters (16,502 feet); the lowest point is sea level.

Indonesia's Climate:

Indonesia's climate is tropical and monsoonal, although the high mountain peaks can be quite cool. The year is divided into two seasons, the wet and the dry.

Because Indonesia sits astride the equator, temperatures do not vary much from month to month. For the most part, coastal areas see temperatures in the mid to upper 20s Celsius (the low to mid-80s Fahrenheit) throughout the year.

The Indonesian Economy:

Indonesia is the economic powerhouse of Southeast Asia, a member of the G20 group of economies. Although it is a market economy, the government owns significant amounts of the industrial base following the 1997 Asian financial crisis. During the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, Indonesia was one of the few nations to continue its economic growth.

Indonesia exports petroleum products, appliances, textiles and rubber. It imports chemicals, machinery and food.

The per capita GDP is about $4,000 US. Unemployment is only 7.7%; 47% of Indonesians work in industry, 39% in services, and 14% in agriculture. Nonetheless, almost 18% live below the poverty line.

History of Indonesia:

Human history in Indonesia goes back at least 1.5-1.8 million years, as shown by the fossil "Java Man" - a Homo erectus individual discovered in 1891.

Archaeological evidence suggests that Homo sapiens had walked across Pleistocene land bridges from the mainland by 45,000 years ago. They may have encountered another human species, the "hobbits" of the island of Flores; the exact taxonomic placement of the diminutiveHomo floresiensis is still up for debate. Flores Man seems to have become extinct by 10,000 years ago.

The ancestors of most modern Indonesians reached the archipelago around 4,000 years ago, arriving from Taiwan, according to DNA studies. Melanesian peoples already inhabited Indonesia, but they were displaced by the arriving Austronesians across much of the archipelago.

Early Indonesia

Hindu kingdoms sprang up on Java and Sumatra as early as 300 BCE, under the influence of traders from India. By the early centuries CE, Buddhist rulers controlled areas of those same islands, as well. Not much is known about these early kingdoms, due to the difficulty of access for international archaeological teams.

In the 7th century, the powerful Buddhist kingdom of Srivijaya arose on Sumatra. It controlled much of Indonesia until 1290, when it was conquered by the Hindu Majapahit Empire from Java. Majapahit (1290-1527) united most of modern-day Indonesia and Malaysia. Although large in size, Majapahit was more interested in controlling trade routes than in territorial gains.

Meanwhile, Islamic traders introduced their faith to Indonesians in the trade ports around the 11th century. Islam slowly spread throughout Java and Sumatra, although Bali remained majority Hindu. In Malacca, a Muslim sultanate ruled from 1414 until it was conquered by the Portuguese in 1511.

Colonial Indonesia

The Portuguese took control of parts of Indonesia in the sixteenth century, but did not have enough power to hang on to their colonies there when the much wealthier Dutch decided to muscle in on the spice trade beginning in 1602.

Portugal was confined to East Timor.

Nationalism and Independence

Throughout the early 20th century, nationalism grew in the Dutch East Indies. In March of 1942, the Japanese occupied Indonesia, expelling the Dutch. Initially welcomed as liberators, the Japanese were brutal and oppressive, catalyzing nationalist sentiment in Indonesia.

After Japan's defeat in 1945, the Dutch tried to return to their most valuable colony. The people of Indonesia launched a four-year independence war, gaining full freedom in 1949 with U.N. help.

The first two presidents of Indonesia, Sukarno (r. 1945-1967) and Suharto (r. 1967-1998) were autocrats who relied upon the military to stay in power. Since 2000, however, Indonesia's president have been selected through reasonably free and fair elections.

Lose Weight From Fish oil

2013-05-07T16:08:00.003+05:00

Do you want to lose weight? If so, doing something as simple as taking a fish oil supplement can help you lose a few extra pounds each month. Unlike most weight loss supplements that usually contain caffeine and other stimulants, it doesn’t make you feel jittery and nervous. Your energy levels will never come crashing down a couple hours after taking it either.

Unlike weight loss supplements your overall health will benefit from fish oil. In addition to helping you lose weight, taking fish oil every day can help your brain, heart, and joints health. No weight loss supplement on the market can make these claims.

In this article I list and explain 4 different ways fish oil supplements can help you lose weight. After reading them you will see how this inexpensive and popular product can give your weight loss program — and overall health — a boost.

Fish Oil Enables You Lose Fat and Build Muscle. Simply popping a couple of fish oil capsules daily can help you lose fat and build muscle. All you need to do is take enough every day. The study I review below reveals just how much. In this study, subjects took about 2 grams of Omega 3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) every day for 6 weeks. At the end of the study they lost more than 2 lbs. of body fat. The subjects also gained about 1 pound. What’s really cool about this is that they didn’t exercise, change their diet, or do anything else to lose weight. All it took was taking a couple of high dose fish oil capsules every day.
Fish Oil Supplements Decrease Your Appetite. If you want to stay full longer between meals, popping a couple of fish oil capsules after you eat may help. In one study, women who did this stayed full longer after their meal and ate less overall. Over time, this will help you lose weight without feeling hungry and suffering with the hunger pangs that occur when we diet. The most likely reason fish oil helps you stay full is that it is able to regulate the release of a chemical called serotonin. Serotonin helps to regulate your appetite and mood. This effect is also what gives fish oil its antidepressant benefits. I also believe that this benefit may also enable fish oil to stop sugar cravings.
Fish Oil Makes Your Diet and Weight Loss Workout Program More Effective. Taking a fish oil supplement can make your diet and exercise program more effective too. In one study, subjects taking fish oil lost more weight than those taking a placebo supplement. Both groups followed a diet that had them eating less and also had them working out several times a week.
Fish Oil Helps Minimizes Fat Storage. One study shows that fish oil supplements can minimize the risk that the food you eat is stored as fat. This is because it increases something called insulin sensitivity. Keeping the cells of your body sensitive to insulin is key to losing weight and staying healthy. The reason it’s so important is that the more sensitive your cells are to insulin, the less likely it is that the food you eat will be stored as fat.

What to Look for When Buying Fish Oil

When you’re shopping for a fish oil supplement, make sure you buy one that’s guaranteed to be free of impurities and potentially harmful substances like heavy metals and pesticides. The supplement you choose should also state on its label that it is concentrated. This means you’ll get the most possible Omega 3 fatty acids per serving. A good product will contain at least 750 mg of the EPA and DHA, the Omega 3s that give fish oil its benefits per capsule.

What to Expect When You Take Fish Oil

Research shows that taking 2-3 grams of fish oil daily can help you lose about 2 pounds a month. While this isn’t a lot, it adds up over time. It also doesn’t require any extra effort and costs very little. Following a diet that eliminates processed foods and simple sugars and performing a proven and effective weight loss workout 3-5 days a week will enable you to lose weight even faster.

Determining Your Daily Fish Oil Dose

Figuring out how much fish oil is in every capsule you take is easy. All you need to do is look at theSupplement Facts label on the product’s bottle. In this panel look for the amounts of DHA and EPA in every serving.

I like to think of taking fish oil for weight loss as a bonus. You lose a few extra pounds you wouldn’t have otherwise, and get lots of other health related benefits too. Given that there are no side effects and minimal risk for a healthy person to take fish oil, it’s definitely a winning proposition.

Radio

2013-05-05T23:13:00.000+05:00

Radio is indebted to two other discoveries for its birth- telephone and telegraph. These three technologies are very closely related. Radio started as wireless telegraphy. And it all began with invention of radio waves, which have capacity to send out speech, music, picture and all other data through air. A range of devices like radio, cordless phones, microwave TV broadcasts work with the help of electromagnetic waves.

During 1860s, James Maxwell, a Scottish physicist forecasted presence of radio waves. And in year 1886, Heinrich Hertz showcased projection of swift variation of the electric current into space in form of radio waves.

Twenty years after invention of telephone, music was set down on telephone line and Guglielmo Marconi was responsible for the radio signals. This radio Italian discoverer demonstrated radio communication’s feasibility. Fascinated by Hertz’s discovery of the radio waves, he realized that it could be used for receiving and sending the telegraph messages, referring to it as wireless telegraphs.

His earliest radio transmissions, the coded signals transmitted to only a mile far in 1896. Marconi then recognized its high potential and offered the discovery to Italian Government that had turned it down. He then realized a patent and experimented further after moving to England. In 1898, he flashed the results of Kingstown Regatta to Dublin Newspaper’s office, making first ever public broadcast of sports event. The following year, he opened his radio factory in Essex, thus establishing link between France and Britain. He then established link with USA in year 1901. And Marconi shared Nobel Prize in Physics for wireless telegraph in year 1909.

But his wireless telegraph only transmitted signals. Voice in radio came in the 1921. Soon after, in 1922, he introduced short wave transmissions. Marconi however was not the first one to invent radio. Nikola Tesla who moved to US in 1884, launched radio’s theoretical model prior to Marconi. In 1915, Tesla tried to acquire court’s injunction against Marconi. And in year 1943, Supreme Court US reviewed decision. And due to this Tesla was acknowledged as inventor of radio even when he did ever build working radio.

J.C. Bose was another claimant to throne of radio inventors. He showcased radio transmission to British Governor General in 1896 at Calcutta. The transmission was for a distance of around 3 miles. His instruments, Mercury Coherer attached to telephone detector, are still showcased Calcutta University’s Science College.

Bose had taken care of Hertz’s problem of not being able to penetrate through water, mountains or walls. Marconi’s Coherer is known to be exact copy of Bose’s Coherer. Initially, Bose was reluctant in applying for patent because he believed in free flow of inventions in the field of science. But eventually due to persuasion by his American friends he had applied for patent in 1901. US patent was awarded to him in year 1904.

There has been tremendous growth of the radio over the years. Transmitters earlier were known as spark gap machines. It was established for ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore communication. The communication was just confined to two points then and was not public broadcasting as it is today. Wireless signals demonstrated effective communication for the purpose of rescue in case of sea disasters. Range of ocean liners installed the wireless equipments and in 1899, US Army established the wireless communication. Just after two years, Navy adopted wireless system and it was relief as Navy had been using homing pigeons and visual signaling for communication.

Radiotelegraph services were instituted in Hawaiian Islands in 1901. Marconi station situated in Massachusetts carried greetings between King Edward VII and Theodore Roosevelt. In year 1905, Port Arthur’s naval battle was also reported over wireless and US weather department tried radiotelegraphy for speeding notice weather condition.

Eventually radio transmitters were improved. Overseas radiotelegraph services were slowly developed, basically because early transmitter discharged the electricity between electrodes and within circuit causing high interference. DeForest and Alexanderson alternator took care of many such technical issues.

Lee Deforest was inventor of space telegraphy, Audion and triode amplifier. In early 1990s, delicate and effective detector of the electromagnetic radiation was needed for developing the radio further. And Lee Deforest discovered the detector. He was the first person to use term ‘radio’. His work resulted in discovery of AM radio that capably broadcasted various radio stations which early gap transmitters did not allow.

Since that time, there has been no looking back. Radio has now become a popular medium of portable entertainment. In 21^stcentury, technological advancements have given birth to internet radio. Satellite radio is also recent development in the field. One can listen to various international radio stations without any hassles. Besides all these latest editions, Ham radio would be next big thing. This technology is gearing up to hit the market soon. Radio lovers have a reason to rejoice as there is a lot in store for them.

Electricity

2013-05-05T12:38:00.001+05:00

Depite what you have learned, Benjamin Franklin did not "invent" electricity. In fact, electricity did not begin when Benjamin Franklin at when he flew his kite during a thunderstorm or when light bulbs were installed in houses all around the world.

The truth is that electricity has always been around because it naturally exists in the world. Lightning, for instance, is simply a flow of electrons between the ground and the clouds. When you touch something and get a shock, that is really static electricity moving toward you.

Hence, electrical equipment like motors, light bulbs, and batteries aren't needed for electricity to exist. They are just creative inventions designed to harness and use electricity.

The first discoveries of electricity were made back in ancient Greece. Greek philosophers discovered that when amber is rubbed against cloth, lightweight objects will stick to it. This is the basis of static electricity.

Over the centuries, there have been many discoveries made about electricity. We've all heard of famous people like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Edison, but there have been many other inventors throughout history that were each a part in the development of electricity.

Electricity Personalities

Benjamin Franklin

Franklin was an American writer, publisher, scientist and diplomat, who helped to draw up the famous Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. In 1752 Franklin proved that lightning and the spark from amber were one and the same thing. The story of this famous milestone is a familiar one, in which Franklin fastened an iron spike to a silken kite, which he flew during a thunderstorm, while holding the end of the kite string by an iron key. When lightening flashed, a tiny spark jumped from the key to his wrist. The experiment proved Franklin's theory, but was extremely dangerous - He could easily have been killed.

Galvani and Volta

In 1786, Luigi Galvani, an Italian professor of medicine, found that when the leg of a dead frog was touched by a metal knife, the leg twitched violently. Galvani thought that the muscles of the frog must contain electricity. By 1792 another Italian scientist, Alessandro Volta, disagreed: he realised that the main factors in Galvani's discovery were the two different metals - the steel knife and the tin plate - apon which the frog was lying. Volta showed that when moisture comes between two different metals, electricity is created. This led him to invent the first electric battery, the voltaic pile, which he made from thin sheets of copper and zinc separated by moist pasteboard.

In this way, a new kind of electricity was discovered, electricity that flowed steadily like a current of water instead of discharging itself in a single spark or shock. Volta showed that electricity could be made to travel from one place to another by wire, thereby making an important contribution to the science of electricity. The unit of electrical potential, the Volt, is named after Volta.

Michael Faraday

The credit for generating electric current on a practical scale goes to the famous English scientist, Michael Faraday. Faraday was greatly interested in the invention of the electromagnet, but his brilliant mind took earlier experiments still further. If electricity could produce magnetism, why couldn't magnetism produce electricity.

In 1831, Faraday found the solution. Electricity could be produced through magnetism by motion. He discovered that when a magnet was moved inside a coil of copper wire, a tiny electric current flows through the wire. Of course, by today's standards, Faraday's electric dynamo or electric generator was crude, and provided only a small electric current be he discovered the first method of generating electricity by means of motion in a magnetic field.

Thomas Edison and Joseph Swan

Nearly 40 years went by before a really practical DC (Direct Current) generator was built by Thomas Edison in America. Edison's many inventions included the phonograph and an improved printing telegraph. In 1878 Joseph Swan, a British scientist, invented the incandescent filament lamp and within twelve months Edison made a similar discovery in America.

Swan and Edison later set up a joint company to produce the first practical filament lamp. Prior to this, electric lighting had been my crude arc lamps.

Edison used his DC generator to provide electricity to light his laboratory and later to illuminate the first New York street to be lit by electric lamps, in September 1882. Edison's successes were not without controversy, however - although he was convinced of the merits of DC for generating electricity, other scientists in Europe and America recognised that DC brought major disadvantages.

George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla

Westinghouse was a famous American inventor and industrialist who purchased and developed Nikola Tesla's patented motor for generating alternating current. The work of Westinghouse, Tesla and others gradually persuaded American society that the future lay with AC rather than DC (Adoption of AC generation enabled the transmission of large blocks of electrical, power using higher voltages via transformers, which would have been impossible otherwise). Today the unit of measurement for magnetic fields commemorates Tesla's name.

James Watt

When Edison's generator was coupled with Watt's steam engine, large scale electricity generation became a practical proposition. James Watt, the Scottish inventor of the steam condensing engine, was born in 1736. His improvements to steam engines were patented over a period of 15 years, starting in 1769 and his name was given to the electric unit of power, the Watt.

Watt's engines used the reciprocating piston, however, today's thermal power stations use steam turbines, following the Rankine cycle, worked out by another famous Scottish engineer, William J.M Rankine, in 1859.

Andre Ampere and George Ohm

Andre Marie Ampere, a French mathematician who devoted himself to the study of electricity and magnetism, was the first to explain the electro-dynamic theory. A permanent memorial to Ampere is the use of his name for the unit of electric current.

George Simon Ohm, a German mathematician and physicist, was a college teacher in Cologne when in 1827 he published, "The galvanic Circuit Investigated Mathematically". His theories were coldly received by German scientists but his research was recognised in Britain and he was awarded the Copley Medal in 1841. His name has been given to the unit of electrical resistance.

Electricity Dateline

900 BC - Magnus, a Greek shepherd, walks across a field of black stones which pull the iron nails out of his sandals and the iron tip from his shepherd's staff (authenticity not guaranteed). This region becomes known as Magnesia.

600 BC - Thales of Miletos rubs amber (elektron in Greek) with cat fur and picks up bits of feathers.

1269 - Petrus Peregrinus of Picardy, Italy, discovers that natural spherical magnets (lodestones) align needles with lines of longitude pointing between two pole positions on the stone.

1600 - William Gilbert, court physician to Queen Elizabeth, discovers that the earth is a giant magnet just like one of the stones of Peregrinus, explaining how compasses work. He also discusses static electricity and invents an electric fluid which is liberated by rubbing.

ca. 1620 - Niccolo Cabeo discovers that electricity can be repulsive as well as attractive.

1630 - Vincenzo Cascariolo, a Bolognese shoemaker, discovers fluorescence.

1638 - Rene Descartes theorizes that light is a pressure wave through the second of his three types of matter of which the universe is made. He invents properties of this fluid that make it possible to calculate the reflection and refraction of light. The ``modern'' notion of the aether is born.

1638 - Galileo attempts to measure the speed of light by a lantern relay between distant hilltops. He gets a very large answer.

1644 - Rene Descartes theorizes that the magnetic poles are on the central axis of a spinning vortex of one of his fluids. This vortex theory remains popular for a long time, enabling Leonhard Euler and two of the Bernoullis to share a prize of the French Academy as late as 1743.

1657 - Pierre de Fermat shows that the principle of least time is capable of explaining refraction and reflection of light. Fighting with the Cartesians begins. (This principle for reflected light had been anticipated anciently by Hero of Alexandria.)

1665 - Francesco Maria Grimaldi, in a posthumous report, discovers and gives the name of diffraction to the bending of light around opaque bodies.

1667 - Robert Hooke reports in his Micrographia the discovery of the rings of light formed by a layer of air between two glass plates. These were actually first observed by Robert Boyle, which explains why they are now called Newton's rings. In the same work he gives the matching-wave-front derivation of reflection and refraction that is still found in most introductory physics texts. These waves travel through the aether. He also develops a theory of color in which white light is a simple disturbance and colors are complex distortions of the basic simple white form.

1671 - Isaac Newton destroys Hooke's theory of color by experimenting with prisms to show that white light is a mixture of all the colors and that once a pure color is obtained it can never be changed into another color. Newton argues against light being a vibration of the ether, preferring that it be something else that is capable of traveling through the aether. He doesn't insist that this something else consist of particles, but allows that it may be some other kind of emanation or impulse. In Newton's own words, ``...let every man here take his fancy.''

1675 - Olaf Roemer repeats Galileo's experiment using the moons of Jupiter as the distant hilltop. He measures m/s.

1678 - Christiaan Huygens introduces his famous construction and principle, thinks about translating his manuscript into Latin, then publishes it in the original French in 1690. He uses his theory to discuss the double refraction of Iceland Spar. His is a theory of pulses, however, not of periodic waves.

1717 - Newton shows that the ``two-ness'' of double refraction clearly rules out light being aether waves. (All aether wave theories were sound-like, so Newton was right; longitudinal waves can't be polarized.)

1728 - James Bradley shows that the orbital motion of the earth changes the apparent motions of the stars in a way that is consistent with light having a finite speed of travel.

1729 - Stephen Gray shows that electricity doesn't have to be made in place by rubbing but can also be transferred from place to place with conducting wires. He also shows that the charge on electrified objects resides on their surfaces.

1733 - Charles Francois du Fay discovers that electricity comes in two kinds which he calledresinous(-) and vitreous(+).

1742 - Thomas Le Seur and Francis Jacquier, in a note to the edition of Newton's Principia that they publish, show that the force law between two magnets is inverse cube.

1749 - Abbe Jean-Antoine Nollet invents the two-fluid theory electricity.

1745 - Pieter van Musschenbroek invents the Leyden jar, or capacitor, and nearly kills his friend Cunaeus.

1747 - Benjamin Franklin invents the theory of one-fluid electricity in which one of Nollet's fluids exists and the other is just the absence of the first. He proposes the principle of conservation of charge and calls the fluid that exists and flows ``positive''. This educated guess ensures that undergraduates will always be confused about the direction of current flow. He also discovers that electricity can act at a distance in situations where fluid flow makes no sense.

1748 - Sir William Watson uses an electrostatic machine and a vacuum pump to make the first glow discharge. His glass vessel is three feet long and three inches in diameter: the first fluorescent light bulb.

1750 - John Michell discovers that the two poles of a magnet are equal in strength and that the force law for individual poles is inverse square.

1752 - Johann Sulzer puts lead and silver together in his mouth, performing the first recorded ``tongue test'' of a battery.

1759 - Francis Ulrich Theodore Aepinus shows that electrical effects are a combination of fluid flow confined to matter and action at a distance. He also discovers charging by induction.

1762 - Canton reports that a red hot poker placed close to a small electrified body destroys its electrification.

1764 - Joseph Louis Lagrange discovers the divergence theorem in connection with the study of gravitation. It later becomes known as Gauss's law. (See 1813).

1766 - Joseph Priestly, acting on a suggestion in a letter from Benjamin Franklin, shows that hollow charged vessels contain no charge on the inside and based on his knowledge that hollow shells of mass have no gravity inside correctly deduces that the electric force law is inverse square.

ca 1775 - Henry Cavendish invents the idea of capacitance and resistance (the latter without any way of measuring current other than the level of personal discomfort). But being indifferent to fame he is content to wait for his work to be published by Lord Kelvin in 1879.

1777 - Joseph Louis Lagrange invents the concept of the scalar potential for gravitational fields.

1780 - Luigi Galvani causes dead frog legs to twitch with static electricity, then also discovers that the same twitching can be caused by contact with dissimilar metals. His followers invent another invisible fluid, that of ``animal electricity'', to describe this effect.

1782 - Pierre Simon Laplace shows that Lagrange's potential satisfies.

1785 - Charles Augustin Coulomb uses a torsion balance to verify that the electric force law is inverse square. He also proposes a combined fluid/action-at-a-distance theory like that of Aepinus but with two conducting fluids instead of one. Fighting breaks out between single and double fluid partisans. He also discovers that the electric force near a conductor is proportional to its surface charge density and makes contributions to the two-fluid theory of magnetism.

1793 - Alessandro Volta makes the first batteries and argues that animal electricity is just ordinary electricity flowing through the frog legs under the impetus of the force produced by the contact of dissimilar metals. He discovers the importance of ``completing the circuit.'' In 1800 he discovers the Voltaic pile (dissimilar metals separated by wet cardboard) which greatly increases the magnitude of the effect.

1800 - William Nicholson and Anthony Carlisle discover that water may be separated into hydrogen and oxygen by the action of Volta's pile.

1801 - Thomas Young gives a theory of Newton's rings based on constructive and destructive interference of waves. He explains the dark spot in the middle by proposing that there is a phase shift on reflection between a less dense and more dense medium, then uses essence of sassafras (whose index of refraction is intermediate between those of crown and flint glass) to get a light spot at the center.

1803 - Thomas Young explains the fringes at the edges of shadows by means of the wave theory of light. The wave theory begins its ascendance, but has one important difficulty: light is thought of as a longitudinal wave, which makes it difficult to explain double refraction effects in certain crystals.

1807 - Humphrey Davy shows that the essential element of Volta's pile is chemical action since pure water gives no effect. He argues that chemical effects are electrical in nature.

1808 - Laplace gives an explanation of double refraction using the particle theory, which Young attacks as improbable.

1808 - Etienne Louis Malus, a military engineer, enters a prize competition sponsored by the French Academy ``To furnish a mathematical theory of double refraction, and to confirm it by experiment.'' He discovers that light reflected at certain angles from transparent substances as well as the separate rays from a double-refracting crystal have the same property of polarization. In 1810 he receives the prize and emboldens the proponents of the particle theory of light because no one sees how a wave theory can make waves of different polarizations.

1811 - Arago shows that some crystals alter the polarization of light passing through them.

1812 - Biot shows that Arago's crystals rotate the plane of polarization about the propagation direction.

1812 - Simeon Denis Poisson further develops the two-fluid theory of electricity, showing that the charge on conductors must reside on their surfaces and be so distributed that the electric force within the conductor vanishes. This surface charge density calculation is carried out in detail for ellipsoids. He also shows that the potential within a distribution of electricity satisfies the equation.

1812 - Michael Faraday, a bookbinders apprentice, writes to Sir Humphrey Davy asking for a job as a scientific assistant. Davy interviews Faraday and finds that he has educated himself by reading the books he was supposed to be binding. He gets the job.

ca. 1813 - Laplace shows that at the surface of a conductor the electric force is perpendicular to the surface.

1813 - Karl Friedrich Gauss rediscovers the divergence theorem of Lagrange. It will later become known as Gauss's law.

1815 - David Brewster establishes his law of complete polarization upon reflection at a special angle now known as Brewster's angle. He also discovers that in addition of uniaxial cystals there are also biaxial ones. For uniaxial crystals there is the faint possibility of a wave theory of longitudinal-type, but this appears to be impossible for biaxial ones.

1816 - David Brewster invents the kaleidoscope.

1816 - Francois Arago, an associate of Augustin Fresnel, visits Thomas Young and describes to him a series of experiments performed by Fresnel and himself which shows that light of differing polarizations cannot interfere. Reflecting later on this curious effect Young sees that it can be explained if light is transverse instead of longitudinal. This idea is communicated to Fresnel in 1818 and he immediately sees how it clears up many of the remaining difficulties of the wave theory. Six years later the particle theory is dead.

1817 - Augustin Fresnel annoys the French Academy. The Academy, hoping to destroy the wave theory once and for all, proposes diffraction as the prize subject for 1818. To the chagrin of the particle-theory partisans in the Academy the winning memoir in 1818 is that of Augustin Fresnel who explains diffraction as the mutual interference of the secondary waves emitted by the unblocked portions of the incident wave, in the style of Huygens. One of the judges from the particle camp of the Academy is Poisson, who points out that if Fresnel's theory were to be indeed correct, then there should be a bright spot at the center of the shadow of a circular disc. This, he suggests to Fresnel, must be tested experimentally. The experiment doesn't go as Poisson hopes, however, and the spot becomes known as ``Poisson's spot.''

1820 - Hans Christian Oersted discovers that electric current in a wire causes a compass needle to orient itself perpendicular to the wire.

1820 - Andre Marie Ampere, one week after hearing of Oersted's discovery, shows that parallel currents attract each other and that opposite currents attract.

1820 - Jean-Baptiste Biot and Felix Savart show that the magnetic force exerted on a magnetic pole by a wire falls off like 1/r and is oriented perpendicular to the wire. Whittaker then says that ``This result was soon further analyzed,'' to obtain

1820 - John Herschel shows that quartz samples that rotate the plane of polarization of light in opposite directions have different crystalline forms. This difference is helical in nature.

1821 - Faraday begins electrical work by repeating Oersted's experiments.

1821 - Humphrey Davy shows that direct current is carried throughout the volume of a conductor and establishes that for long wires. He also discovers that resistance is increased as the temperature rises.

1822 - Thomas Johann Seebeck discovers the thermoelectric effect by showing that a current will flow in a circuit made of dissimilar metals if there is a temperature difference between the metals.

1824 - Poisson invents the concept of the magnetic scalar potential and of surface and volume pole densities described by the formulas. He also finds the magnetic field inside a spherical cavity within magnetized material.

1825 - Ampere publishes his collected results on magnetism. His expression for the magnetic field produced by a small segment of current is different from that which follows naturally from the Biot-Savart law by an additive term which integrates to zero around closed circuit. It is unfortunate that electrodynamics and relativity decide in favor of Biot and Savart rather than for the much more sophisticated Ampere, whose memoir contains both mathematical analysis and experimentation, artfully blended together. In this memoir are given some special instances of the result we now call Stokes theorem or as we usually write it. Maxwell describes this work as ``one of the most brilliant achievements in science. The whole, theory and experiment, seems as if it had leaped, full-grown and full-armed, from the brain of the `Newton of electricity'. It is perfect in form and unassailable in accuracy; and it is summed up in a formula from which all the phenomena may be deduced, and which must always remain the cardinal formula of electrodynamics.''

1825 - Fresnel shows that combinations of waves of opposite circular polarization traveling at different speeds can account for the rotation of the plane of polarization.

1826 - Georg Simon Ohm establishes the result now known as Ohm's law. V=IR seems a pretty simple law to name after someone, but the importance of Ohm's work does not lie in this simple proportionality. What Ohm did was develop the idea of voltage as the driver of electric current. He reasoned by making an analogy between Fourier's theory of heat flow and electricity. In his scheme temperature and voltage correspond as do heat flow and electrical current. It was not until some years later that Ohm's electroscopic force (V in his law) and Poisson's electrostatic potential were shown to be identical.

1827 - Augustin Fresnel publishes a decade of research in the wave theory of light. Included in these collected papers are explanations of diffraction effects, polarization effects, double refraction, and Fresnel's sine and tangent laws for reflection at the interface between two transparent media.

1827 - Claude Louis Marie Henri Navier publishes the correct equations for vibratory motions in one type of elastic solid. This begins the quest for a detailed mathematical theory of the aether based on the equations of continuum mechanics.

1827 - F. Savery, after noticing that the current from a Leyden jar magnetizes needles in alternating layers, conjectures that the electric motion during the discharge consists of a series of oscillations.

1828 - George Green generalizes and extends the work of Lagrange, Laplace, and Poisson and attaches the name potential to their scalar function. Green's theorems are given, as well as the divergence theorem (Gauss's law), but Green doesn't know of the work of Lagrange and Gauss and only references Priestly's deduction of the inverse square law from Franklin's experimental work on the charging of hollow vessels.

1828 - Augustine Louis Cauchy presents a theory similar to Navier's, but based on a direct study of elastic properties rather than using a molecular hypothesis. These equations are more general than Navier's. In Cauchy's theory, and in much of what follows, the aether is supposed to have the same inertia in each medium, but different elastic properties.

1828 - Poisson shows that the equations of Navier and Cauchy have wave solutions of two types: transverse and longitudinal. Mathematical physicists spend the next 50 years trying to invent an elastic aether for which the longitudinal waves are absent.

1831 - Faraday shows that changing currents in one circuit induce currents in a neighboring circuit. Over the next several years he performs hundreds of experments and shows that they can all be explained by the idea of changing magnetic flux. No mathematics is involved, just picture thinking using his field-lines.

1831 - Ostrogradsky rediscovers the divergence theorem of Lagrange, Gauss, and Green.

1832 - Joseph Henry independently discovers induced currents.

1833 - Faraday begins work on the relation of electricity to chemistry. In one of his notebooks he concludes after a series of experiments, ``...there is a certain absolute quantity of the electric power associated with each atom of matter.''

1834 - Faraday discovers self inductance.

1834 - Jean Charles Peltier discovers the flip side of Seebeck's thermoelectric effect. He finds that current driven in a circuit made of dissimilar metals causes the different metals to be at different temperatures.

1834 - Emil Lenz formulates his rule for determining the direction of Faraday's induced currents. In its original form it was a force law rather than an induced emf law: ``Induced currents flow in such a direction as to produce magnetic forces that try to keep the magnetic flux the same.'' So Lenz would predict that if you try to push a conductor into a strong magnetic field, it will be repelled. He would also predict that if you try to pull a conductor out of a strong magnetic field that the magnetic forces on the induced currents will oppose the pull.

1835 - James MacCullagh and Franz Neumann extend Cauchy's theory to crystalline media

1837 - Faraday discovers the idea of the dielectric constant.

1837 - George Green attacks the elastic aether problem from a new angle. Instead of deriving boundary conditions between different media by finding which ones give agreement with the experimental laws of optics, he derives the correct boundary conditions from general dynamical principles. This advance makes the elastic theories not quite fit with light.

1838 - Faraday shows that the effects of induced electricity in insulators are analogous to induced magnetism in magnetic materials. Those more mathematically inclined immediately appropriate Poisson's theory of induced magnetism

1838 - Faraday discovers Faraday's dark space, a dark region in a glow discharge near the negative electrode.

1839 - James MacCullagh invents an elastic aether in which there are no longitudinal waves. In this aether the potential energy of deformation depends only on the rotation of the volume elements and not on their compression or general distortion. This theory gives the same wave equation as that satisfied by in Maxwell's theory.

1839 - William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) removes some of the objections to MacCullagh's rotation theory by inventing a mechanical model which satisfies MacCullagh's energy of rotation hypothesis. It has spheres, rigid bars, sliding contacts, and flywheels.

1839 - Cauchy and Green present more refined elastic aether theories, Cauchy's removing the longitudinal waves by postulating a negative compressibility, and Green's using an involved description of crystalline solids.

1841 - Michael Faraday is completely exhausted by his efforts of the previous 2 decades, so he rests for 4 years.

1841 - James Prescott Joule shows that energy is conserved in electrical circuits involving current flow, thermal heating, and chemical transformations.

1842 - F. Neumann and Matthew O'Brien suggest that optical properties in materials arise from differences in the amount of force that the particles of matter exert on the aether as it flows around and between them.

1842 - Julius Robert Mayer asserts that heat and work are equivalent. His paper is rejected byAnnalen der Physik.

1842 - Joseph Henry rediscovers the result of F. Savery about the oscillation of the electric current in a capacitive discharge and states, ``The phenomena require us to admit the existence of a principal discharge in one direction, and then several reflex actions backward and forward, each more feeble than the preceding, until equilibrium is restored.''

1842 - Christian Doppler gives the theory of the Doppler effect.

1845 - Faraday quits resting and discovers that the plane of polarization of light is rotated when it travels in glass along the direction of the magnetic lines of force produced by an electromagnet (Faraday rotation).

1845 - Franz Neumann uses (i) Lenz's law, (ii) the assumption that the induced emf is proportional to the magnetic force on a current element, and (iii) Ampere's analysis to deduce Faraday's law. In the process he finds a potential function from which the induced electric field can be obtained, namely the vector potential (in the Coulomb gauge), thus discovering the result which Maxwell wrote.

1846 - George Airy modifies MacCullagh's elastic aether theory to account for Faraday rotation.

1846 - Faraday, inspired by his discovery of the magnetic rotation of light, writes a short paper speculating that light might electro-magnetic in nature. He thinks it might be transverse vibrations of his beloved field lines.

1846 - Faraday discovers diamagnetism. He sees the effect in heavy glass, bismuth, and other materials.

1846 - Wilhelm Weber combines Ampere's analysis, Faraday's experiments, and the assumption of Fechner that currents consist of equal amounts of positive and negative electricity moving opposite to each other at the same speed to derive an electromagnetic theory based on forces between moving charged particles. This theory has a velocity-dependent potential energy and is wrong, but it stimulates much work on electromagnetic theory which eventually leads to the work of Maxwell and Lorenz. It also inspires a new look at gravitation by William Thomson to see if a velocity-dependent correction to the gravitational energy could account for the precession of Mercury's perihelion.

1846 - William Thomson shows that Neumann's electromagnetic potential is in fact the vector potential from which may be obtained.

1847 - Weber proposes that diamagnetism is just Faraday's law acting on molecular circuits. In answering the objection that this would mean that everything should be diamagnetic he correctly guesses that diamagnetism is masked in paramagnetic and ferromagnetic materials because they have relatively strong permanent molecular currents. This work rids the world of magnetic fluids.

1847 - Hermann von Helmholtz writes a memoir ``On the Conservation of Force'' which emphatically states the principle of conservation of energy: ``Conservation of energy is a universal principle of nature. Kinetic and potential energy of dynamical systems may be converted into heat according to definite quantitative laws as taught by Rumford, Mayer, and Joule. Any of these forms of energy may be converted into chemical, electrostatic, voltaic, and magnetic forms.'' He reads it before the Physical Society of Berlin whose older members regard it as too speculative and reject it for publication in Annalen der Physik.

1848-9 - Gustav Kirchoff extends Ohm's work to conduction in three dimensions, gives his laws for circuit networks, and finally shows that Ohm's ``electroscopic force'' which drives current through resistors and the old electrostatic potential of Lagrange, Laplace, and Poisson are the same. He also shows that in steady state electrical currents distribute themselves so as to minimize the amount of Joule heating.

1849 - A. Fizeau repeats Galileo's hilltop experiment (9 km separation distance) with a rapidly rotating toothed wheel and measures m/s.

1849 - George Gabriel Stokes studies diffraction around opaque bodies both theoretically and experimentally and shows that the vibration of aether particles are executed at right angles to the plane of polarization. Three years later he comes to the same conclusion by applying aether theory to light scattered from the sky. This result is, however, inconsistent with optics in crystals.

ca. 1850 - Stokes overcomes some of the difficulties with crystals by turning Cauchy's hypothesis around and letting the elastic properties of the aether be the same in all materials, but allowing the inertia to differ. This gives rise to the conceptual difficulty of having the inertia be different in different directions (in anisotropic crystals).

ca. 1850 - Jean Foucault improves on Fizeau's measurement and uses his apparatus to show that the speed of light is less in water than in air.

1850 - Stokes law is stated without proof by Lord Kelvin (William Thomson). Later Stokes assigns the proof of this theorem as part of the examination for the Smith's Prize. Presumably, he knows how to do the problem. Maxwell, who was a candidate for this prize, later remembers this problem, traces it back to Stokes and calls it Stokes theorem.

1850 - William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) invents the idea of magnetic permeability and susceptibility, along with the separate concepts.

1851 - Thomson gives a general theory of thermoelectric phenomena, describing the effects seen by Seebeck and Peltier.

1853 - Thomson uses Poisson's magnetic theory to derive the correct formula for magnetic energy: He also gives the formula and gives the world the powerful, but confusing, analysis where the forces on circuits are obtained by taking either the positive or negative gradient of the magnetic energy. Knowing which sign to use is, of course, the confusing part.

1853 - Thomson gives the theory of the RLC circuit providing a mathematical description for the observations of Henry and Savery.

1854 - Faraday clears up the problem of disagreements in the measured speeds of signals along transmission lines by showing that it is crucial to include the effect of capacitance.

1854 - Thomson, in a letter to Stokes, gives the equation of telegraphy ignoring the inductance: where R is the cable resistance and where C is the capacitance per unit length. Since this is the diffusion equation, the signal does not travel at a definite speed.

1855 - Faraday retires, living quietly in a house provided by the Queen until his death in 1867.

1855 - James Clerk Maxwell writes a memoir in which he attempts to marry Faraday's intuitive field line ideas with Thomson's mathematical analogies. In this memoir the physical importance of the divergence and curl operators for electromagnetism first become evident.

1857 - Gustav Kirchoff derives the equation of telegraphy for an aerial coaxial cable where the inductance is important and derives the full telegraphy equation: where L and C are the inductance per unit length and the capacitance per unit length. He recognizes that when the resistance is small, this is the wave equation with propagation speed, which for a coaxial cable turns out to be very close to the speed of light. Kirchoff notices the coincidence, and is thus the first to discover that electromagnetic signals can travel at the speed of light.

1861 - Bernhard Riemann develops a variant of Weber's electromagnetic theory which is also wrong.

1861 - Maxwell publishes a mechanical model of the electromagnetic field. Magnetic fields correspond to rotating vortices with idle wheels between them and electric fields correspond to elastic displacements, hence displacement currents. This addition completes Maxwell's equations and it is now easy for him to derive the wave equation exactly as done in our textbooks on electromagnetism and to note that the speed of wave propagation was close to the measured speed of light.

Maxwell writes, ``We can scarcely avoid the inference that light in the transverse undulations of the same medium which is the cause of electric and magnetic phenomena.

Thomson, on the other hand, says of the displacement current, ``(it is a) curious and ingenious, but not wholly tenable hypothesis.''

1864 - Maxwell reads a memoir before the Royal Society in which the mechanical model is stripped away and just the equations remain. He also discusses the vector and scalar potentials, using the Coulomb gauge. He attributes physical significance to both of these potentials. He wants to present the predictions of his theory on the subjects of reflection and refraction, but the requirements of his mechanical model keep him from finding the correct boundary conditions, so he never does this calculation.

1867 - Stokes performs experiments that kill his own anisotropic inertia theory.

1867 - Joseph Boussinesq suggests that instead of aether being different in different media, perhaps the aether is the same everywhere, but it interacts differently with different materials, similar to the modern electromagnetic wave theory.

1867 - Riemann proposes a simple electric theory of light in which Poisson's equation is replaced.

1867 - Ludwig Lorenz develops an electromagnetic theory of light in which the scalar and vector potentials, in retarded form, are the starting point. He shows that these retarded potentials each satisfy the wave equation and that Maxwell's equations for the field potentials. His vector potential does not obey the Coulomb gauge, however, but another relation now known as the Lorenz gauge. Although he is able to derive Maxwell's equations from his retarded potentials, he does not subscribe to Maxwell's view that light involves electromagnetic waves in the aether. He feels, rather, that the fundamental basis of all luminous vibrations is electric currents, arguing that space has enough matter in it to support the necessary currents.

1868 - Maxwell decides that giving physical significance to the scalar and vector potentials is a bad idea and bases his further work on light.

1869 - Maxwell presents the first calculation in which a dispersive medium is made up of atoms with natural frequencies. This makes possible detailed modeling of dispersion with refractive indices having resonant denominators.

1869 - Hittorf finds that cathode rays can cast a shadow.

1870 - Helmholtz derives the correct laws of reflection and refraction from Maxwell's equations by using the following boundary condition. Once these boundary conditions are taken Maxwell's theory is just a repeat of MacCullagh's theory. The details were not given by Helmholtz himself, but appear rather in the inaugural dissertation of H. A. Lorentz.

1870-1900 - The hunt is on for physical models of the aether which are natural and from which Maxwell's equations can be derived. The physicists who work on this problem include Maxwell, Thomson, Kirchoff, Bjerknes, Leahy, Fitz Gerald, Helmholtz, and Hicks.

1872 - E. Mascart looks for the motion of the earth through the aether by measuring the rotation of the plane of polarization of light propagated along the axis of a quartz crystal.

1873 - Maxwell publishes his Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism, which discusses everything known at the time about electromagnetism from the viewpoint of Faraday. His own theory is not very thoroughly discussed, but he does introduce his electromagnetic stress tensor in this work, including the accompanying idea of electromagnetic momentum.

1875 - John Kerr shows that ordinary dielectrics subjected to strong electric fields become double refracting, showing directly that electric fields and light are closely related.

1876 - Henry Rowland performs an experiment inspired by Helmholtz which shows for the first time that moving electric charge is the same thing as an electric current.

1876 - A. Bartoli infers the necessity of light pressure from thermal arguments, thus beginnning the exploration of the connection between electromagnetism and thermodynamics.

1879 - J. Stefan discovers the Stefan-Boltzmann law, i.e., that radiant emission is proportional.

1879 - Edwin Hall performs an experiment that had been suggested by Henry Rowland and discovers the Hall effect, including its theoretical description by means of the Hall term in Ohm's law.

1879 - Sir William Crookes invents the radiometer and studies the interaction of beams of cathode ray particles in vacuum tubes.

1879 - Ludwig Boltzmann uses Hall's result to estimate the speed of charge carriers (assuming that charge carriers are only of one sign.)

1880 - Rowland shows that Faraday rotation can be obtained by combining Maxwell's equations and the Hall term in Ohm's law, assuming that displacement currents are affected in the same way as conduction currents.

1881 - J. J. Thomson attempts to verify the existence of the displacement current by looking for magnetic effects produced by the changing electric field made by a moving charged sphere.

1881 - George Fitz Gerald points out that J. J. Thomson's analysis is incorrect because he left out the effects of the conduction current of the moving sphere. Including both currents makes the separate effect of the displacement current disappear.

1881 - Helmholtz, in a lecture in London, points out that the idea of charged particles in atoms can be consistent with Maxwell's and Faraday's ideas, helping to pave the way for our modern picture of particles and fields interacting instead of thinking about everything as a disturbance of the aether, as was popular after Maxwell.

1881 - Albert Michelson and Edwin Morley attempt to measure the motion of the earth through the aether by using interferometry. They find no relative velocity. Michelson interprets this result as supporting Stokes hypothesis in which the aether in the neighborhood of the earth moves at the earth's velocity.

1883 - Fitz Gerald proposes testing Maxwell's theory by using oscillating currents in what we would now call a magnetic dipole antenna (loop of wire). He performs the analysis and discovers that very high frequencies are required to make the test. Later that year he proposes obtaining the required high frequencies by discharging a capacitor into a circuit.

1883-5 - Horace Lamb and Oliver Heaviside analyze the interaction of oscillating electromagnetic fields with conductors and discover the effect of skin depth.

1884 - John Poynting shows that Maxwell's equations predict that energy flows through empty space with the energy flux. He also investigates energy flow in Faraday fashion by assigning energy to moving tubes of electric and magnetic flux.

1884 - Heinrich Hertz asserts that made by charges and made by a changing magnetic field are identical. Working from dynamical ideas based on this assumption and some of Maxwell's equations, Hertz is able to derive the rest of them.

1887 - Svante Arrhenius deduces that in dilute solutions electrolytes are completely dissociated into positive and negative ions.

1887 - Hertz finds that ultraviolet light falling on the negative electrode in a spark gap facilitates conduction by the gas in the gap.

1888 - R. T. Glazebrook revives one of Cauchy's wave theories and combines it with Stokes anisotropic aether inertia theory to get agreement with the experiments of Stokes in 1867.

1888 - Hertz discovers that oscillating sparks can be produced in an open secondary circuit if the frequency of the primary is resonant with the secondary. He uses this radiator to show that electrical signals are propagated along wires and through the air at about the same speed, both about the speed of light. He also shows that his electric radiations, when passed through a slit in a screen, exhibit diffraction effects. Polarization effects using a grating of parallel metal wires are also observed.

1888 - Roentgen shows that when an uncharged dielectric is moved at right angles to a magnetic field is produced.

1889 - Hertz gives the theory of radiation from his oscillating spark gap.

1889 - Oliver Heaviside finds the correct form for the electric and magnetic fields of a moving charged particle, valid for all speeds v < c.

1889 - J. J. Thomson shows that Canton's effect (1762) in which a red hot poker can neutralize the electrification of a small charged body is due to electron emission causing the air between the poker and the body to become conducting.

1890 - Fitz Gerald uses the retarded potentials of L. Lorenz to calculate electric dipole radiation from Hertz's radiator.

1892 - Oliver Lodge performs experiments on the propagation of light near rapidly moving steel disks to test Stokes hypothesis that moving matter drags the aether with it. No such effect is observed.

1892 - Hendrik Anton Lorentz presents his electron theory of electrified matter and the aether. This theory combines Maxwell's equations, with the source terms and with the Lorentz force law for the acceleration of charged particles:

Lorentz's aether is simply space endowed with certain dynamical properties. Lorentz gives the modern theory of dielectrics involving and also includes the effect of magnetized matter.

He also gives what we now call the Drude-Lorentz harmonic oscillator model of the index of refraction. But Lorentz's theory has a ``stationary aether'', which conflicts with the negative Michelson-Morley result.

1892 - George Fitz Gerald proposes length contraction as a way to reconcile Lorentz's theory and the null results on the motion of the earth through the aether. At the end of this year Lorentz endorses this idea.

1894 - J. J. Thomson measures the speed of cathode rays and shows that they travel much more slowly than the speed of light. The aether model of cathode rays begins to die.

1894 - Philip Lenard studies the penetration of cathode rays through matter.

1895 - Pierre Curie experimentally discovers Curie's law for paramagnetism and also shows that there is no temperature effect for diamagnetism.

1895 - Lorentz, in his ``Search for a theory of electrical and optical effects in moving bodies'' gives the Lorentz transformation to first order in v/c. The transformed time variable he calls ``local time''.

1895 - Wilhelm Roentgen discovers X-rays produced by bremsstrahlung in cathode ray tubes.

1896 - Arthur Shuster, Emil Wiechert, and George Stokes propose that X-rays are aether waves of exceedingly small wavelength.

1896 - J. J. Thomson discovers that materials through which X-rays pass are rendered conducting.

1896 - Henri Becquerel discovers that some sort of natural radiation from uranium salts can expose a photographic plate wrapped in thick black paper.

1896 - P. Zeeman discovers the splitting of atomic line spectra by a magnetic field.

1896 - Lorentz gives an electron theory of the Zeeman effect.

1897 - J. J. Thomson argues that cathode rays must be charged particles smaller in size than atoms (Emil Wiechert made the same suggestion independently in this same year). In response Fitz Gerald suggests that ``we are dealing with free electrons in these cathode rays.''

1897 - W. Wien discovers that positively-charged moving particles can also be made (the so-calledcanal rays of E. Goldstein) and that they have a much smaller q/m ratio than cathode rays.

1897 - J. J. Thomson deflects cathode rays by crossed electric and magnetic fields and measurese/m.

1898 - Marie and Pierre Curie separate from pitchblende two highly radioactive elements which they name polonium and radium.

1899 - Ernest Rutherford discovers that the rays from uranium come in two types, which he calls alpha and beta radiation.

1900 - Marie and Pierre Curie show that beta rays and cathode rays are identical.

1900 - Emil Wiechert shows that simply replacing the distributed charge from Lorentz's theory with the charge of a moving point particle gives incorrect results. Instead the Lienard-Wiechert retarded potentials must be used.

1900 - Joseph Larmor obtains the second order corrections to the Lorentz Transformation.

1901 - R. Blondlot performs experiments that show that Lorentz's theory in which there is no moving aether gives the correct result in cases where the hypothesis of a moving aether gives the wrong result.

1902 - Lord Rayleigh performs experiments to test whether the Fitz Gerald contraction is capable of causing double refraction in moving transparent substances. No such effect is found.

1903 - The Hagen-Rubens connections between the conductivity of metals and their optical properties are experimentally established.

1903 - Lorentz gives the famous square root formulas for the Lorentz transformation giving the effect to all orders in v/c.

1904 - Lorentz gives his electron-collision theory of electrical conduction

1905 - H. A. Wilson performs experiments similar to those of Blondlot; again, Lorentz's theory is found to give the correct result.

1905 - Albert Einstein completes Lorentz's work on space-time transformations and relativity is born.

Rivers & Seas Uses

2013-05-04T09:45:00.003+05:00

Rivers are very helpful for us because it is used in many purposes.Following are the list of uses from seas & rivers

1)Washing purposes
2)Drinking purposes
3)Diluting acids
4)To irrigate lands
5)To travel from one country to another
6)Oil mines under rivers & seas

Cottage industries

2013-05-03T16:47:00.000+05:00

Recent years have seen a major resurgence of small business throughout the developed world. The countries

like divided Russia and Eastern Europe are prizing such skills very high.

The first piece of writing about the small business discovered was of about more than 4000 years ago. This

writing is about loaning from a Bank for a small business with terms and conditions. Since then, the small

business people have been the backbone of most economies providing products and services to the

consumers.

Small business flourished in almost all ancient cultures. The Egyptians, Arabs, Babylonians, Jews, Greeks

and Romans contained a substantial population of small business. Their products and services, however,

were often of poor qualities. Consumers were cheated and degraded. The result was that small business

became object of contempt. To protect the customers from such unscrupulous traders, HAMMURABI, the

king of Babylon introduced the first business laws.

Despite many successes the Greek and Roman historians virtually ignored the role of small business and

talked more about the other things. Yet it was largely through small business that the traders by doing

business in other countries spread law, religions, and philosophy and basic sciences.

In the centuries that followed the small business, the religions held small business people in low esteem.

Although now held in the higher esteem than ever before, small business remains overshadowed by

professions such as medicine and law.

When Adam Smith published "Wealth of Nations" in 1776, he was describing an economy in which local

small business was virtually being the only economic entities. Indeed, the era of local economy was the

heyday of small business.

In the undivided subcontinent if we look at beginnings of the known history of small business, the cottage

industries thrived through the period when society was organized more or less into self sufficient and self-

contained units. The sub-

Continent industry, whether small or large scale, suffered a serious set back Page during British rule. Indian

industries including small and cottage did not receive any patronage during the period before Second World

War. It was, however, since independence that a positive policy for the industrial development could be

formulated and implemented.

The best model of small industries in our region is considered to be of India. This model is defined the

SMES development through the development of infrastructure. In the year 1938 national planning
committee "NPC" was set up and its general secretary Mr. K.T. Shah made the definitions of cottage,

village and small-scale industries. The various definitions since then are in practice having different variables

as manpower, capital, assets value etc. The definitions are as under

DEFINITION

Cottage Industry:

The cottage industry or small scale industry may be defined to be an enterprise or series of operations

carried out only by a workman skilled in the craft on his own responsibility, the finished products of which

he markets himself. He works in his own home with his own tools and materials and provides his own

labor. These workers are mostly hand labors and having personal skills with little or no aid from modern

technology and machinery they work in accordance with the traditional technique.

In the year 1940 another Indian definition came which had a more pragmatic approach where it was

divided small industry into following categories

Gulf Countries

2013-05-03T16:22:00.001+05:00

Arabia, the area made up of the Arabian Peninsula, is located in the southwestern region of the Asian continent. Covering about 3 million square kilometres, the southeastern area of the peninsula is the Rub'al-Khali, the Empty Quarter, which is the world's largest expanse of continuous sand. Politically, the Arabian Peninsula consists of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the Sultanate of Oman, and the Republic of Yemen. Together, these countries (excluding the Republic of Yemen) constitute the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Founded on 26 May 1981, the aim of this collective is to promote coordination between member states in all fields in order to achieve unity. In this summary the countries of the GCC will be introduced, except for the United Arab Emirates, which is the subject of a separate summary. Please refer to that page for in-depth information on the UAE.

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

MECCA, SAUDI ARABIA

Occupying four-fifths of the Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia is the largest country on the peninsula. Located in the southwestern corner of Asia, Saudi Arabia covers an area of about 2,240,000 square kilometres or 864,900 square miles (estimates vary) of which more than half is desert. The country is bordered by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba to the west, by the Republic of Yemen and the Sultanate of Oman to the south, the Arabian Gulf, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to the east, and Jordan, Iraq and Kuwait to the north. The richest oil fields in the world are found in the eastern region. Riyadh, the capital and largest city, is located in the east central region of the country. Jeddah, the second largest city, is the country's main port on the Red Sea. It is also the main port through which pilgrims enter to perform Umrah, Haj, or to visit the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

Saudi Arabia is a monarchy ruled by the Al Saud family. The Al Saud dynasty dates back to the mid-18th century with Mohammed bin Saud, who was the ruler of Diriyah in central Arabia. The late King Abdul'Aziz Al Saud founded the modern Saudi state, established 23 September 1932. The written constitution and bill of rights were introduced during the 1982-2005 reign of King Fahd bin Abdul'Aziz Al Saud. Since August 2005, Saudi Arabia has been ruled by King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud.

Oil is the most important industry in Saudi Arabia . The Kingdom has the world's largest proven reserves and is the largest producer in OPEC, totalling one-third of output. Saudi Arabia has the capacity to produce 10 million barrels per day (bpd). Working toward diversifying its economy, the Kingdom is promoting heavy industry, such as petrochemicals, fertilizers, and steel. Traditionally fishing and agriculture were sources of revenue for the Kingdom and today Saudi Arabia is one of the world's leading producers of dates and the fishing industry continues to grow.

Kingdom of Bahrain

BAHRAINI FORT

An archipelago of thirty-three islands, the largest island, Bahrain (from the Arabic word for "two seas"), is believed to have separated from the Arabian Peninsula around 6000 BC. Located in the Arabian Gulf, the islands are about twenty-four kilometres from the east coast of Saudi Arabia and twenty-eight kilometres from Qatar. The total area of the islands is about 678 square kilometres or 262 square miles (estimates vary). The capital, Manama, is located on the northeastern tip of the island of Bahrain. The main port, Mina Salman, and the major petroleum refining facilities and commercial centers are also located on the island. Causeways and bridges connect Bahrain to adjacent islands and to the mainland of Saudi Arabia. Al Muharraq, the second largest island, is linked to Bahrain by the oldest causeway, originally constructed in 1929. The country's second largest city, Al Muharraq, and the international airport are located there.

Bahrain is an independent state with a traditional monarchy. On 14 February 2002, a new constitution was published and Bahrain declared itself a kingdom. The ruling family of Bahrain, the Al Khalifa, arrived in the islands in the mid-18th century after they first established a settlement in the peninsula of present-day Qatar. Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa is the King, and has ruled Bahrain since 6 March 1999.Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa is the prime minister. In February 2001, proposals for political reform put forward by the ruling family received almost unanimous support in a national referendum. The proposals are due to come into effect in 2004, and will mean that Bahrain becomes a constitutional monarchy with an elected lower chamber of parliament and an independent judiciary.

Oil was discovered in commercial quantities in Bahrain in June 1932. The first Gulf state to discover oil, it was also the first to reap the benefits that came with the revenues, in particular a marked improvement in the quality of education and health care. By Gulf standards, Bahrain 's oil reserves are quite small. To decrease its reliance on oil revenues, the government is striving to diversify Bahrain 's economy by attracting more commercial companies, particularly in the IT field.

Kuwait

KUWAIT TOWERS

Kuwait is located in the northeastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula. Bordered by Iraq on the north, northwest and by Saudi Arabia on the south, southwest, it fronts the Arabian Gulf to the east. A small state of 17,818 square kilometres (6,880 square miles), Kuwait includes nine gulf islands within its territory. In addition to being the country's capital and centre for trade and commerce, Kuwait City is an important port for oil and the production of petroleum products. The nearby city of Al Jahrah is the centre of the country's agricultural industry, which primarily produces fruits and vegetables. A prominent geographic feature is Kuwait Bay, which extends for 48 kilometres (30 miles) inland.

Kuwait is a constitutional monarchy governed by the Al Sabah family, the ruling family since 1756. The constitution, which was approved on 11 November 1962, authorizes the Al Sabah family council to select the emir, traditionally from the Al Sabah line. Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah is the current Emir of Kuwait.

Crude oil and refined products account for most of the country's exports. The reserves of crude oil are estimated to be 10% of the world total, the third largest quantity in the world. Kuwait's other main industries include desalination, food processing, and the manufacturing of building materials, which include plastics, cement, and metal pipes.

State of Qatar

QATAR

Qatar occupies a peninsula, which extends northward for about 180 kilometres (100 miles) into the Arabian Gulf from the Arabian Peninsula. The country is bordered to the south by Saudi Arabia for a stretch of 56 kilometres or 35 miles. The total area of Qatar is 11,437 square kilometres or 4,260 square miles. Doha, the capital city, is located on the east coast.

A traditional monarchy, the State of Qatar is ruled by the Al Thani family. The Al Thani family arrived in Qatar in the early part of the 18th century, originally settling in the northern region of the country, and moving to Doha in the mid-19th century. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani has been emir since early 1995. Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifah Al Thani is the prime minister. In 1999 the country's first elections were held, to elect a 29-member municipal council. Women were allowed to vote and stand for office in this election.

The State of Qatar produces less than 1% of the world's oil output. Crude oil and liquefied natural gas account for about 80% of the country's exports. The banking sector also plays an important role in Qatar's economy.

Sultanate of Oman

MUSCAT,OMAN

Occupying the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, the Sultanate of Oman covers an area of about 212,457 square kilometres (82,030 square miles); however, estimates do vary considerably. Oman proper is bordered by Yemen to the southwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, the Gulf of Oman to the north, and by the Arabian Sea to the east and south. Included in its territory is Ruus al Jibal ("The Mountaintops"), which is located on the northern tip of the Musandam Peninsula (Ras Musandam). It borders the Strait of Hormuz, which is a waterway linking the Gulf of Oman with the Arabian Gulf, and separated from the rest of Oman by a strip of territory belonging to the United Arab Emirates. Thanks to its location at the mouth of the Gulf, Oman has long been seen as strategically important. At one time, its territory stretched down the East African coast and it competed against Portugal and Britain for influence in the Gulf. Muscat, the capital of Oman since 1741, is located on the Gulf of Oman coast. The country was known as Muscat and Oman until 1970.

Oman is a monarchy. The ruling family, the Al Said, first came to rule in 1744 after the expulsion of the Iranians from Muscat. Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said has ruled since 1970. The sultan also holds the posts of prime minister, minister of defence, minister of foreign affairs, and minister of finance. There is a Council of State for consultation purposes.

Oman 's principal natural resources are petroleum and natural gas. The proved petroleum reserves (4 billion barrels) are not substantial, and the government is aiming to transform Oman into a major natural gas exporter. Manufacturing is growing in importance. Major products include textiles, cement blocks, furniture, fertilizers, and fibreglass products.

History of constitution

2013-05-02T16:53:00.000+05:00

Constitution:-
As far as the history of contitution is concerned it is very old.A primitive man was used to live.When these man begin to live in the form of family and tribes.They need rules & regulations to run the family .Then these men created rules&regulations known as constitution:

There are 3 types of constitutions of Pakistan

1)1956 constitution
2)1962 constitution
3)1973 constitution

Now a days,1973 constitution is running in Pakistan.

3 Salient features of All constituions of Pakistan

1956 Constitution:
1)Urdu and Bengali as a national language
2)Sovereignty of Allah accepted
3)Country as an Islamic republic

1962 Constitution:
1)Urdu and Bengali as a national language
2)A written constitution
3)Sovereignty of Allah accepted

1973 Constitution:
1)A written constitution
2)Urdu as a national language
3)InDirect mode of elections

Atoms

2013-05-01T13:02:00.001+05:00

Atoms are smallest particles in the universe.A Greek scientist(Scilab) has given his theory that atoms.Matter has mass and takes up space. Atoms are basic building blocks of matter, and cannot be chemically subdivided by ordinary means.

The word atom is derived from the Greek word `atom` which means indivisible. The Greeks concluded that matter could be broken down into particles to small to be seen. These particles were called atoms

Atoms are composed of three type of particles: protons, neutrons, and electron. Protons and neutrons are responsible for most of the atomic mass e.g in a 150 person 149 lbs, 15 oz are protons and neutrons while only 1 oz. is electrons. The mass of an electron is very small (9.108 X 10^-28 grams).

Both the protons and neutrons reside in the nucleus. Protons have a postive (+) charge, neutrons have no charge --they are neutral. Electrons reside in orbitals around the nucleus. They have a negative charge (-).

It is the number of protons that determines the atomic number, e.g., H = 1. The number of protons in an element is constant (e.g., H=1, Ur=92) but neutron number may vary, so mass number (protons + neutrons) may vary.

The same element may contain varying numbers of neutrons; these forms of an element are called isotopes. The chemical properties of isotopes are the same, although the physical properties of some isotopes may be different. Some isotopes are radioactive-meaning they "radiate" energy as they decay to a more stable form, perhaps another element half-life: time required for half of the atoms of an element to decay into stable form. Another example is oxygen, with atomic number of 8 can have 8, 9, or 10 neutrons.

What are elements?

All matter is made up of elements which are fundamental substances which cannot be broken down by chemical means. There are 92 elements that occur naturally. The elements hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen are the elements that make up most living organisms. Some other elements found in living organisms are: magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium.

By the late 1800's many elements had already been discovered. The scientist Dmitri Mendeleev, a Russian chemist, proposed an arrangement of know elements based on their atomic mass. The modern arrangement of the elements is known as the Periodic Table of Elements and is arranged according to the atomic number of elements.

What makes each element unique?

Every atom would like to have an electron configuration like a noble gases. In noble gases the outer electron shell is complete. This makes the element chemically inert. Helium is an example of a noble (inert) gas. It is not present in organisms because it is not chemically reactive.

Historical Models of the atom

BOHR MODEL

Bohr model shows electrons circling the nucleus at different levels or orbitals much like planets circle the sun. Electrons move from one energy state to another but can only exist aft defineite energy levels. The energy absorbed or released when electrons change states is in the form of electromagnetic radiation.

THE WAVE MODEL AND QUANTUM THEORY

The Bohr model was only able to explain the very simplest atoms, like hydrogen. Today's modern day theory is based on mathematics and the properties of waves. The wave model forms the basis for the Quantum Theory

. This theory gives the probability of locating electrons in a particular location, unlike assuming electrons orbit the nucleus as in the Bohr model.

How are electrons organized around the nucleus?

All atoms would like to attain electron configurations like noble gases. That is, have completed outer shells. Atoms can form stable electron configurations like noble gases

by:

losing electrons
sharing electrons
gaining electrons.

For a stable configuration each atom must fill its outer energy level. In the case of noble gases that means eight electrons in the last shell (with the exception of He which has two electrons).

Atoms that have 1, 2 or 3 electrons in their outer levels will tend to lose them in interactions with atoms that have 5, 6 or 7 electrons in their outer levels. Atoms that have 5, 6 or 7 electrons in their outer levels will tend to gain electrons from atoms with 1, 2 or 3 electrons in their outer levels. Atoms that have 4 electrons in the outer most energy level will tend neither to totally lose nor totally gain electrons during interactions.

This Periodic Table of Elements will show you the electron configuration for any element you click on.

Visualizing Atomic Orbitals

The atomic orbitals of the hydrogen atom can be visualized as a cloud around the nucleus. The orbital represents a probability of finding the electron at a particular location. Darker regions signify a greater probability. Shown below are the 1s (lowest orbital and the 2s orbital.

1s2s

Atomic orbitals do not always have the shape of a sphere. Higher orbitals have very unusual shapes.

2px

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Steve Jobs

2013-04-30T22:39:00.000+05:00

Steve Jobs:-

Just 14 years ago, Apple was on the verge of bankruptcy.
But then – worried that it would be viewed as a monopoly without competition from Apple – Microsoft came to Apple's rescue with a $150 million investment.
Had that not happened the world may never have seen iPods, iPads, iPhones or iMacs.
But that was just the start of Apple's return to glory, the greatest corporate comeback story of all time, led by Steve Jobs.

1997 - Partnering with the enemy, Microsoft

When Apple co-founder Steve Jobs returned to the company in July of 1997, it marked the beginning of Apple's resurrection.
After 12 years of financial loss, Gil Amelio was ousted from the CEO position. Jobs took the interim position and was tasked with major restructuring, out of which a partnership with Microsoft was formed. One of his first decisions was to nix the Newton, a project that sucked $100 million out of the dying company, even though it was a product ahead of its time.

The Apple-Microsoft deal was revealed at the ’97 Macworld Expo. Gates and Jobs announced a five-year contract that would release an updated Mac version of Microsoft Office and Microsoft's $150 million investment in Apple.

Jobs humbly explained to the audience: “If we want to move forward and see Apple healthy and prospering again, we have to let go of a few things here. We have to let go of this notion that for Apple to win, Microsoft has to lose.
"So, the era of setting this up as a competition between Apple and Microsoft is over as far as I'm concerned. This is about getting Apple healthy, this is about Apple being able to make incredibly great contributions to the industry and to get healthy and prosper again.”
As he spoke these words, Jobs was both booed and cheered.
The Lesson: Jobs had a daunting task ahead of him, but he wasn't afraid to make difficult decisions to get the company back on track. Cutting costly projects like Newton and aligning with known-competitor Microsoft were controversial decisions that showed Jobs' authority, confidence, and smarts.
View the keynote below.

1998 - Introducing the iMac

Apple was still struggling, and they needed a good product to turn things around.
The iMac, introduced in 1998, was the solution. The unique design, which resembled the Macintosh 128K, was created by Jonathan Ive, designer of now iconic Apple technology, the iPod and the iPhone. Ive reinvented the 'boring beige box" and for the first time, you could actually see a computer's guts. The all-in-one iMac sold nearly 800,000 units within its first five months.
Apple returned to the software space that year with an acquisition of Macromedia’s Final Cut product.
For the first time since 1995, Apple returned to profitability. According to FundingUniverse.com, the company turned a profit of $309 million in 1998.
The Lesson: Steve Jobs reportedly called a meeting at Apple, sat everyone down and said, "You know what's wrong with this company? The products SUCK -- there's no sex in them." Jobs' decision to throw resources into a new, futuristic computer model drew people's attention to Apple, and it paid off.
Check out the 1998 MacWorld Expo clip below.

1999 - Apple stock reaches $99 per share, profits increase 94%

lowendmac.com
Apple continued its resurgence, seeing healthier profits and thus healthier stock prices. In 1999, their sales grew 3.2%, and profits doubled to $601MM, a 94% increase from the year prior.
The Lesson: Apple began expanding its products beyond just computers with the release of Final Cut Pro. They also noted what worked with the iMac, and built out new products based on proven success. Each success showed Jobs was turning the company around, and the public grew more confident in Apple's stability.
See the first appearance of the iBook in the 1999 MacWorld Expo clip below.

2000 - Jobs becomes permanent CEO of Apple; Apple has its most unprofitable quarter in three years

Photograph: Peter Morgan/Reuters
Apple announced a new strategy for tackling the Internet at the 2000 Macworld Expo. They unveiled iTools, Mac-only internet applications. They also announced Earthlink as their recommended ISP. Having successfully gotten Apple back on track, Jobs was able to drop "interim" from his CEO title and earned himself a permanent position.
Jobs also announced that the previous quarter, 1,350,000 Macs were sold - that's one product sold every six seconds.
Later that year, Apple released new machines including The G4 Cube, a risky move that was an ultimate failure. Apple-History.com writes, "The Cube was Apple's answer to those who wanted an iMac without a monitor, as well as challenge to the computing industry to continue to minimize the size of computers while increasing their visual appeal. The Cube was the biggest gamble Jobs had made since the release of the iMac. It would turn out to be a resounding failure."
This release marked the beginning of a tough few months for the rebounding company. Their third quarter was its first unprofitable one since Jobs' return. While the tech industry was seeing an overall downturn, some poor decisions by Apple aided their unprofitable quarter. The first problem was the G4 Cube was a bust. Another factor was their decision to have DVD-ROM drives in their computers instead of CD-RWs, which prevented users from being able to burn CDs.
In an attempt to right their wrongs, Apple cut prices on their PowerMac products.
The Lesson: Under the reign of Steve Jobs, Apple proved they weren't afraid to take risks and fail. They also showed that when something wasn't working, they could adjust quickly, pulling plugs and changing strategy as necessary. Jobs has said, "We're gambling on our vision, and we'd rather do that than make 'me-too' products."
Steve Jobs presents the G4 Cube in the keynote below.

2001 - The iPod, iTunes and the Apple Store are born

Macworld photo by Rick LePage
On May 15, 2001, Jobs unveiled the first Apple Store. They were such a hit that he later remarked, "We had 26 million visitors during the holiday quarter in retail stores. I mean think about it, this is more people than live in any state in our union besides California."
A few months later, Jobs announced their next big hit, the iPod. The portable music player went from concept to market in about 8 months. The iPod undoubtedly changed the music industry, but iTunes, which was also introduced this year, was Apple's true genius.
iTunes broke music industry standards and helped the major labels including Universal and Warner, fight piracy. "We said: These [music subscriptions] services that are out there now are going to fail...People don't want to buy their music that way," Jobs tells Rolling Stone.
"They're going to want to buy downloads. People want to own their music. You don't want to rent your music -- and then, one day, if you stop paying, all your music goes away...It's cheaper to buy and that's what they're gonna want to do.
"80% of the people stealing music online don't really want to be thieves. But [it's so] compelling -- it's instant gratification. We don't see how you convince people to stop being thieves, unless you can offer them a carrot, not just a stick."
The Lesson: With multiple product hits, Apple's comeback was in full swing. Each product launch became highly-anticipated events by media and the public alike. The company proved with the iPod that they could execute ideas quickly, and successfully dominate other hardware besides computers.
The Apple Store was a brilliant solution to a problem Apple was having - other retailers weren't giving Apple products proper shelf-life and space. Apple was able to create a real consumer experience in their stores, and give their products the displays they deserved. Gigaom writes, "When you enter the Apple Retail Store, you find a well-lit place that is inviting and aesthetically appealing...More importantly, the company lets you play with its devices as much as you want. Nothing makes the sale as effectively as the iPhone or the iPod touch itself. You like what you see, then you buy."
Take a tour of the first Apple Store in Tyson's Corner Mall in Virginia, below.

2002 - The swivel-neck iMac gets Jobs on the cover of Time

At the January MacWorld Expo, Apple released a redesigned iMac with a swivel neck, which would be discontinued two years later. That same year, they released the Xserve 1U rack mounted server. This was Apple's effort to enter the enterprise computer market with a cheaper version.
Apple sleeked up its overall look, replacing the 'happy mac" icon with the gray logo when Jaguar was released.
Still, the company saw financial struggles in late 2002 thanks to poor macroeconomic conditions and weak PowerBook and PowerMac sales. They announced a quarterly loss of $45 million, despite the release of one of their most successful ad campaigns ever, "Switchers."
The lesson: Jobs kept the company new and fresh by coming up with out-of-the-box concepts. He did this in all aspects of Apple, in new products, and even in hiring decisions, drawing inspiration from everywhere. "Part of what made the Macintosh great was that the people working on it were musicians, and poets, and artists, and zoologists, and historians who also happened to be the best computer scientists in the world," Jobs has said.
For the 2002 MacWorld Expo, see below.

2003 - The iTunes Music Store is released

January 2003 marked the end of the Classic Mac OS era. The first PowerBooks were released in 2003 and were the first to use the aluminum exterior.
Next the third generation iPod was introduced with a dock connector in the bottom, which would lead to USB support.
The same day the iPod was released, iLife and the iTunes Music Store were announced. The online music marketplace was fully integrated into iTunes for Macs, and shortly after it was released for Windows.
The store was an instant success, selling one million songs in its first week.
This year, Apple also placed its first store in Japan.
The lesson: Think ahead, and connect the dots. Apple released products that were innovative in and of themselves, but they also connected with other products. The integration of iPods, iTunes and the iTunes Music Store prove how a sum can be greater than all of its parts.
Check out the iTunes for Windows demo, below.

2004 - iTunes leads to 70% market share, iPod mini released

Apple's market share in the computer industry continued to decline, hitting a low of 3% in 2004. But with the iTunes/iPod integration, Apple positioned itself to take the music industry by storm.
Also that year, Apple released the hit iPod Mini, and by the end of iTunes' first year, Apple had 70% market share of legal downloaded music. More than 100 million songs were downloaded by July, 2004.
Keeping with the mini trend, Apple opened a series of mini stories, about half the size of their other retail locations, in hopes of expanding to smaller markets with less demand.
The lesson: Simplicity is bliss. iTunes made downloading songs easy and legal. The iPod Mini was sleek and simple, without any bells and whistles. Apple's designer Jonathan Ives confirms their strategy: "We are absolutely consumed by trying to develop a solution that is very simple, because as physical beings we understand clarity."

2005 - Release of the iPod Shuffle, Mac Mini, and transition to Intel-based Macs begins

Apple began its transition to Intel-based Macintoshes in 2005. They made the announcement at a June keynote, confirming rumors.
Continuing to push their lead in the music sector, Apple released the video iPod in 2005. This pushed iPod sales over 30 million. This year, the Mac Mini and the iPod Shuffle were also released.
The lesson: Keep innovating and improving. Apple presents multiple forms of the same devices with entirely different looks and packaging (the Nano versus the Mini). Even if improvements are slight, each product has a new identity that gets people excited.
See its release in the clip from MacWorld Expo 2005, below.

2006 - Apple passes Dell's market cap, and its Intel-based computers are significantly faster than ever

Apple put the Intel deal into action with the release of its 2006 MacBook Pro and iMac, both using Intel's Core Duo chip technology which made the systems significantly faster.
Apple's increasing improvement was evident in the stock prices. At roughly $80 per share, Apple's stocks had increased ten fold in ten years, up from $6 in 1997. In January 2006, Apple surpassed Dell's market cap. Just ten years prior, Michael Dell had said that if Apple were under his control, he'd "shut it down and give the money back to shareholders."
The Lesson: Sell dreams, not products. Customers first and foremost care about themselves, and if you help them find out what it is they want, they will latch onto your brand. Jobs doesn't use focus groups or wait for people to make demands. Instead, he releases must-have products before people even know they will want it.

2007 - The iPhone revolutionizes the mobile industry, Apple TV is announced

In 2007, Jobs announced a company name change. Apple Computers Inc. would now be known as Apple Inc, a sign that the company was planning to define itself by much more than its original goal.
The iPhone and Apple TV were announced at that year's Macworld Expo, and by May 2007, Apple's shares broke $100, an all-time company high.
The iPhone was Apple's first mobile attempt, and it immediately revolutionized the industry, essentially turning a video iPod into a personal device like no company had done before.
The Lesson: Steve Jobs is a relentless innovator, and Apple always seems to find a new way to produce products that improve our lives. Thinking differently has been a key component to Apple's second coming.
Check out the iPhone's intro at the 2007 Macworld Expo, below.

2008 - The App Store is unveiled, along with trackpads with multi-touch technology

Apple brought touch capabilities to their computers and iPhone with the release of trackpad in 2008. The multi-touch technology was designed exclusively for Apple and can interpret many three-finger strokes.
They also released the App store in 2008 for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The App Store was another instant hit, bringing in 60 million app sales and generating $1 million for Apple daily just one month after its launch. Jobs has said that the App store alone could be a billion-dollar invention for the company.
Later that year, it was evident just how popular the iPhone was when Apple became the third-largest mobile-handset supplier in the world.
The Lesson: Apple is great at connecting separate products to one another. The App Store, for example, was made to enhance both the iPhone and iPad. According to Jobs, "Creativity is just connecting things."
The MacBook Air was also released this year. See it being released at the 2008 Macworld Expo, below.

2009 - Steve gets sick

TechDigest
For the first time in 20 years, it was announced that Jobs would not attend Macworld Expo. In January 2009, an internal memo to Apple employees was made public and rumors were verified that Steve Jobs' health was waning. Later that month, Jobs announced a six-month medical leave of absence to recover from his illness.
Despite his absence and the recession, Apple continued to surge, reporting its best non-holiday quarter ever in Q1 2009 with $8.16 billion in revenue and a profit of $1.21 billion. Jobs returned to the company in June after having a liver transplant.
The lesson: Trust your team. A company may only seem as great as one person, but if you hire smart people, they're perfectly capable of stepping up to the plate.
See Phil Schiler give the 2009 Macworld Expo keynote in place of Jobs, below.

2010 - The year of the iPad

2010 is the year of the iPad, Apple's solution to Amazon's kindle, creating a mobile-laptop hybrid device. The iPad uses the iPhone's touch technology and apps. 500,000 units were sold during its first-week debut.
The iPhone 4 was released with new features such as Skype-like Face Time video calling. In October, Apple's stock reached an all-time high of more than $300 per share.
The lesson: Innovation doesn't require focus groups. Steve Jobs doesn't believe in asking customers their opinions. You can develop products people will want before they even know they want it. Sometimes, you can know customers better than they know themselves.
On October 5, 2011, Steve Jobs passes away at age 56.

AP
And the world responds in mourning.

Here's the legacy Steve left, and what you can learn from Apple's amazing history:

Associated Press
In 2010, for the first time since 1989, Apple's market cap exceeded Microsoft's. This feat would have seemed impossible back when Gates poured money into the nearly bankrupted company.
By creating great products enhanced by brilliant packaging, and by changing their computer-only mission, Apple became a technology titan. Almost every product released is a guaranteed, instant hit, and every keynote Jobs gave was a media frenzy.
So what's to be learned from this story?
Think simple - The iPad is so simple 2-year-olds can use it.
Be different - Like the iMac.
Be a risk taker and make tough decisions - Jobs partnered with Microsoft and nixed the Newton.
Make great products, and package them even better - Show customers what they want, like the iPhone did.
Create an experience - Apple did this with their stores. And hype, like Macworld does for the media.
Be confident - don't hold focus groups and ask people what they think.
Be passionate - Steve Jobs said in his Stanford commencement speech: "Have the courage to follow your heart and your intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become."

PinHole Camera

2013-04-30T22:36:00.002+05:00

Mo-Ti, a Chinese philosopher who lived from 470 B.C. to 390 B.C., invented the first camera, which he called the "locked treasure room." His idea refers to what we call a pinhole camera. Aristotle embraced this novel idea 50 years later and applied it to observing sun eclipses without looking at the sun directly. The Egyptian Abu Ali Al-Hasan Ibn al-Haitham (965--1039 AD) revived the pinhole camera about 1,300 years later and thoroughly documented the design and properties in his publication "Book of Optics." Finally, Johannes Kepler added a lens in the early 1600s to downsize the device, and Robert Boyle and his assistant Robert Hooke further refined the concept and made the camera portable in the mid-1650s.

Pinhole Camera
- The pinhole camera consisted of a dark room (which later became a box) with a small hole punctured into one of the walls. The light from outside the room entered the hole and projected a luminous beam onto the opposing wall. The illuminated projection showed a smaller inverted picture of the scene outside the room. The smaller the hole, the sharper the image appeared. However, when the hole was too small, the projected image lacked brightness. Hence, there was an optimal hole size that gave enough definition and brightness to the image.
Applications
- The pinhole camera allowed observing the sun, its movement, and its eclipses without looking at the sun directly. Solar systems using the pinhole approach were integrated into architectural constructions to indicate the time of the day. The pinhole rooms were considered educational amusement rooms during the Renaissance. A recent study documented in the Hockney--Falco thesis made an attempt to validate the controversial assumption that several artists of the 17th century used optical technology, such as the pinhole camera, to block the proportions of their paintings as well as port some complex details.
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Limitations
- The pinhole camera works best with immobile sceneries. For a perfectly sharp photo, the hole would need to be infinitely small, which is not a realistic scenario. Hence, the photo from a pinhole camera tends to be slightly blurred. Furthermore, the tiny opening limits the amount of light that can enter the dark room or dark box. To create a bright photo, the opening must remain open for a long time to allow enough light to project onto photosensitive paper. Hence, capturing a person in motion would not be possible with a pinhole camera.
Evolution
- In 1827, Joseph Nicephore discovered that light from a pinhole camera projected onto an element that blocked shadow and light areas on a metal plate coated in bitumen could create a pattern on the coated plate similar to the shape of the element. This imprint stayed for a few hours. Louis Daguerre joined Nicephore in perfecting the process to shorten the time of exposure and retain the imprint. Finally, in 1939 the daguerreotype invention that used iodine-coated silver-plated copper for the impression and a silver-chloride bath to fix the image was licensed to the French government. This opened the door for modern photography.
Contemporary Relevance
- The pinhole camera remains relevant today to modern technical imaging with X-ray radiation or gamma rays that normally are absorbed by the lenses used in contemporary cameras. Hence the pinhole invention has travelled out of space and been integrated in spacecraft.

IT(information technology)

2013-04-30T22:34:00.000+05:00

Information technology:-

Information Technology is defined as the use of computers and software to manage information. In some companies, it can be called Management Information Services (MIS) or Information Services (IS). The information technology department of a large company is responsible for storing information, protecting information, processing the information, transmitting the information, and later retrieving information if needed.

Around 1980, computers with integrated circuits on a single chip started to become available as an affordable item, specifically designed for use by consumers. The first IBM (News -Alert) PC was released in 1981. Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs), which are the programs that enable users to look at screens with windows, clickable commands and color—appeared in the late 1980s. Windows was introduced in 1983, while the first Apple Macintosh came on the market in 1984.

Fifteen years ago, a computer with 24 megabytes of random access memory (RAM (News -Alert)) was great amount of memory. Currently, most new computers boast a memory of one gigabyte – which is an increase of over forty times.

Information technology has also shifted from focusing on single computers to networks of computers, as the years have passed and technology has advanced. Networked computers allow many different users to have access to common databases, which has allowed databases to be where most business records for big companies are held. Software that implements these databases has quickly become a billion-dollar industry. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software drives business activities for many large enterprises who sells products across the world.

Information technology has brought us the Internet. The web has quickly grown to become a primary choice in order for people to communicate whether it be through email or instant messaging services. The Internet also works as an advertising platform for millions of businesses around the globe.

Information technology has made banking online a reality. So much time was once spent on daily trips to the bank, but now via the Internet people can keep tabs on all their bank transactions with the click of a mouse.

Some big companies in the IT industry are Microsoft, IBM, Intel, Cisco, Apple, Dell (News -Alert), Hp, Toshiba and Compaq.

Jamie Epstein is a TMCnet Web Editor. Previously she interned at News 12 Long Island as a reporter's assistant. After working as an administrative assistant for a year, she joinedTMC (News - Alert) as a Web editor for TMCnet. Jamie grew up on the North Shore of Long Island and holds a bachelor's degree in mass communication with a concentration in broadcasting from Five Towns College. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

Sound Waves

2013-04-30T22:30:00.002+05:00

Sound Waves:-

The 20th century had a far-flung effect on the spreading of words. We dub this era "Sound Waves" for the enormous social currents generated by this hyper-sonic hundred years. It overlaps other word-ripe eras perched on our Genre Tree. Curious events, borderline obsessions & outright blunders gave shape to Sound Waves, and this inventive period in American spoken word history bloomed out of the strange buzz about electromagnetic energy.

In the mid 1800's (our Early Traditions era) Heinrich Hertz proved the existence of a wave-like ether. The brilliant mathematician Maxwell had already defined it in a theorem but the observation of it, the scientific proof of an invisible force was akin to discovering another dimension. The force was moving— it pulsed & permeated the air, passed through our bodies & in things all around! It undulated in waves—continuous & measurable— it was capable of conducting particles called electrons. This took inventors on a zigzag, spark-n-ticking journey of rolling trends & fantastic imaginings.

Visionaries brainstormed ideas for exploiting the ether. If it traveled in predictable cycles and energy initiated & sustained the motion… and sounds traveled in harmonic waves that produce a single frequency… sound could be isolated, manipulated, burned into soft materials & played back. Mid-air, it could be broken & released in a kind of spark-gap code. You could transmit signals (even vocal messages) along a wire! Possibilities were endless! Here comes progress. Here comes profit. The age of radio &recording was born.

In a flash, the patent office was swimming in a sea of newfangled machines. By the end of the 1800's (our Industriots era) the industrialized world was up to its ears in the electro-forced contraptions: the vibraphone, the telegraph, telegram, telephone, phonogram, gramophone, ah, & the phonograph, everybody wanted that. There were tele-typewriters, dictaphones, photophones & whaddaya do with that— an electro-motograph? There was a furious flap & flux about what to do next. Should we get more wired… or go wireless? And on & on & on it went.

While many historians recognize Nikola Tesla as a major visionary, inventor & promoter of wireless radio, Guglielmo Marconi (gee GLELL mo Mar CONE knee) ended up with the exclusive patent. We find rumors of dirty politicking in that story.

Whoever got rich or rooked, we thank all the pioneers of electro/radio technology so a broadly banded vocality was impressed on the soundscapes of today… and new media ripples into anyone's guess for Futurwurds. Today, we broadcast Spoken Word like the planting of seeds— we get behind the mic, expand the audience, travel the globe at the speed of light— our voices soar on wondrous currents of innovation.

Who was the first spoken word performer to broadcast on the newly discovered radio waves? Reginald Aubrey Fessenden. We know, funky name. But he was a colleague of the prolific inventor Thomas Edison, and Thomas called him "Fezzy", so we will too.

Fezzy was a weather station manager, a professor, inventor & brilliant electrical engineer. He had a crazy inkling to see radio go wireless & to reach an expansive audience in multiple locations & to spread it out in audible words! (Really, that Morse code tick-n-clatter was sooo slow & dispassionate.)

Fezzy went on the air Christmas Eve 1906 & again on New Year's. He broadcasted out of his weather station at Brant Rock, Massachusetts. The performance was brief. But it was thoughtful & it was the first, so don't knock it. He played phonograph music, live violin (badly, he claimed) and dramatically read the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke— "…on Earth peace to men of good will". He & Mrs. Fezzy, Helen, signed off with some improvised chatter wishing everyone a very merry x-mas.

Who was the audience for the first radio talent show? Well, let's just say no tickets had been sold to these astonished souls— the weather station masters that heard Fezzy's program— all along the coast reaching to Norfolk, Virginia, and, there were quite a few shipper-men out in the Atlantic (salty telegraph operators called "sparks") as far away as the West Indies. Imagine how they didspark! First, slumped at their stations in a melancholy stupor about having to sail away the holiday, then… music & voices! Whuz-zat?— angelic voices echoing in the headphones instead of Morse code!

People were familiar with voices over telephones in 1906, but those were connected with wires. Fezzy had gone wireless! (The first wireless cell phone?) More astounding, he used it for entertainment, a very cutting edge idea considering entertainment radio would not become commonplace until a few decades after the infamous "Fezzy Holiday Show"!

What took so long? First, the vacuum-tube had to be perfected, then, sorting out the frequencies. Some guys devised plans for jamming frequencies because you can't just let anyone go around tangling up the waves(!) but once the electronic parts were easy to snag, there were hundreds of amateur radio-heads. Patent questions… new laws needed … government committees had to outline a system for licensing. (And we all know how slooow those committees can be.)

It was all so costly. Was government going to pay like they were doing in Europe? Wouldn't that restrict programming? This was the land of free speech, after all; who would decide on appropriate content? Maybe radio could be "subscriber-only" (which was the first inkling of the idea behind today's cable networks). But how do you keep people from eavesdropping on channels? Is there an American aural aesthetic? Is commercial advertising okay? Isn't it patronizing to tell someone what brand of pickles to buy?

This is what finally played out: Four horsemen rode out on the air waves— AT&T, General Electric, Westinghouse & RCA— "the patent allies". They were confident someday they would trample smaller companies out of business. Didn't happen. The inventors' patents had fine print clauses to protect "amateurs". And, competition was fierce due to listener loyalty & patrons for the independent programs. Long live the public broadcast system we say!

U of W in Madison aired the first lengthy oratory on WHA in 1916 (though no one remembers who delivered it or what it was exactly). The first radio news program was broadcast out of Detroit in 1920 by unlicensed 8MK (today's WWJ). The first publicly targeted, licensed radio station is credited to KDKA Pittsburgh. The list goes on & on of radio stations laying claim to being the first to air this & the first to air that. But the crux of this bantering illustrates the radio free-for-all.

There was a recording boom, too, because the public loved having wide access to music, music, music & they didn't even mind a little jabber of words. The public soaked up the sounds, always primed for the next interesting auditory experience sooo…

Companies cranked out the products— records & players, radios & programs— anything that could spin was selling anything from soaps to boats. The recording industry used radio to promote performers; in turn, the artists did spots to promote the radio & their sponsors. Many spoken word-ers & musicians worked on-airfor free at first, caught up in the glamour of this new medium. Over the coming decade, radio talent would expand from newscaster/hosts (who showcased classical musicians) to a variety of genres: commercial voice-overs, jingle-ers, soap opera stars,readers theatre actors, poets, sound FX artists, folk-tellers & joke-tellers.

Humor, yee-haw! People craved comedy as much as music. The huge market for comedy became apparent after the antics of a showman named Rudy Vallee. Initially, the typical 20's radio format was formal— symphonic music & dance orchestra stuff— and was sprinkled with praise-pattering about the sponsor. But band leader Rudy was manically energetic & terribly funny & put together a genius eclectic, folk-y program. Radio evolved into a kind of air-born Variety Theatre.

This change was a saving grace for stage performers that had been laid-off when vaudevillian theatres switched over to motion-picture houses. We guess it was just more fun for audiences to gape at glamour gods & goddesses on a magical screen than to feel pity for live-show actors who (in comparison) looked alluva-sudden paste-y & sometimes flubbed a line.

Radio gave new hope to the old spoken word-ers. Even during the worst of times (the Depression), they felt radio was at least something solid. All the world really was a stage, a platform of job security… all through the 30's & 40's.

One comedian who was able to coat-tail off Rudy Vallee's success was Eddie Cantor. He became the most famous, solo, American comic of early radio. He already had a long performance history in theatre & film, and he sold a mountain of phonograph records. The SpokenOak site names Eddie the absolute first multi-genresuperstar. We see that his work developed conventions that instructed many comedians who followed.

Eddie's three biggies were using an in-studio audience to amplify authenticity, perfecting the straightman-stooge bantering & the running gag. The running gag is called a hook— the repetition of an absurd idea or a bumbling routine shows the audience an "inside joke", so they keep coming back to see if the joke is ever resolved.

We wonder if the suspenseful feature of the running gag may have birthed a whole new format for radio— serial programming. This is suspense-based drama which airs in continuing episodes. This idea kicked off with a show out of Chicago called Empire Builders (1929-31). It was gripping, extremely well-acted & made use of innovative sound FX played live in studio. It inspired a flurry of crime shows. Sherlock Holmes, The True Story Hour, Dr. Fu Manchu & others. We suppose these were the techno-shock & plot-thick CSI stories of the Depression era.

After syndicated shows became commonplace (shows that are pre-recorded & sold to other stations), the dominant program of the Depression years was hosted by flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker. The showcases were Oral Histories on the lives of World War I Medal of Honor winners. Here, the hook was the heart-wrenching sound of a soldier's own words— droning or choking back tears— young voices revealed miraculous tales of pain & valor.

The show that always gets mentioned as being representative of early radio is Amos & Andy, a long running, ever-evolving, serial drama/comedy. It extended even into the television format. Industry historians herald the "quality" of writing & performance and emphasize the fact that it reached tens of millions of households. But, conscious people today note the ugly racial epithets & stereotyping of African Americans. The shameful tone of the show garnering such widespread approval exposes the callous, commonplace bigotry rooted in America's history.

This is a good place to highlight the enormous responsibility a spoken word-er carries. There is power in the skillful use of language. Through content & style, every performer shares a stage "attitude" which contributes to the shaping of the social attitudes of listeners. This fact is controversial today when people discuss the impact of mass media on culture, especially youth. How powerful is Spoken Word? What is the meaning of free speech? Should there be a performance ethic?

Spoken word with images— moo-ooooving images— here is a major crest in our Sound Waves. The syncing of sound with photography— framing images, movement & light— this works magic on the mind. The invention of movies created an American obsession with film stars, but the birth of television, which is "movie-radio", was (& still is) more controversial. Probably because it was clear from the start that by the 40's & 50's television could become the hearth-fire of Everyperson's reality.

The convenience & illustrative beauty of TV appeals to most everyone, no matter what age, intellect, race or locale. It provides news, relaxation & a window into popular culture. It is the most loved & most hated electronic toy in America today. (Though, video games seem to be gaining ground.)

It wasn't hard to assimilate the new TV technology. It operated on existing radio frequencies & easily flowed into existing networks & business plans. The audience was ready-made— the old radio fans faithful to the familiar radio stars & shows that made a smooth transition into a glowing, pixel-face showcase.

It would seem that old-school radio was on the way out. But the migration of talent only tweaked the radio format back to a focus on music & chatter… and advertising. Mr. Ford saved radio, too, by stuffing them into the thousands of cars rolling out of Detroit on the way to every American driveway.

By the mid 50's there were 32 million TV sets being watched seven nights a week. Revenue for TV broadcast surpassed radio by $everal million & climbing. American icons were cranked out from spots on The Ed Sullivan Show. Stand-up comedy flourished. Westerns, soaps & cop shows were tops until the smash hit calledthe game show came along. That craze took off after Columbia University professor Charles Van Doren won a whopping $129,000 on the quiz show Twenty One. (Rigged, by the way.)

So, television was all about mainstream modern living. (Alternative, special interest cable & independent films would come along much later). So where were the alternative artists of the 40's & 50's? Jazz clubs & jukes were still the favorite haunts of "freaks" & the downtrodden, and a literary sub-culture was gelling at Columbia University, NY. (What is it with that school?) A few years before the game-y, trivia-packed professor found stardom, there were these off-beat poets, also brain-y guys, but they were pretty wild compared to Charlie Van D. It was 1943 and they found a darker game to play— the Beat Generation was underway.

The undergrads & cronies forming the core of the early Beats were Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso & William Burroughs. Burroughs was the oldest, a Harvard-grad following some friends from Chicago… dumb friends, leading into an ordeal of jealousy, weirdness & murder… after that, the group preferred writing poetry, taking drugs & kicking around for existential enlightenment. Neil Cassidy (from Denver) joined them & became their psycho-cowboy mascot. (Rumor was he stole 500 cars before the age of 21 but read books rapaciously to ease his boredom.) There were women, too, artists, writers, friends, lovers; some became wives & mothers of little baby Beats.

So, contrary to the now dreary, eternally-sexist myth that The Beat Generation (the official name for this literary/philosophical movement) was exclusively a men's movement, it was not. TheShe Beats (our label) were writers & artists in their own right. Theshort list includes Edie Parker, Joyce Johnson, Ruth Weiss, Joan Vollmer-Adams, Eileen Kaufman, Hettie Cohen-Jones, Carolyn Robinson, Anne Waldman, Janine Pommy-Vega & the now often mentioned Diane DiPrima. We recognize they are the foremothers of the feminist circle poets who would come along later in the 60's & 70's.

The Beat Generation was largely centered in artist/writers colonies in Greenwich Village (NY), Venice West (Los Angeles) & North Beach (San Francisco). There were other hotspots, rarely mentioned today— Witchita, Kansas was a central hub, and jazz clubs in Chicago & campuses across the nation were the bloodbeat of this thriving cultural coup.

The philosophy was about visionary enlightenment, sometimes found in drug use & risk-taking equivalent to today's "jack-assing". The difference is, though it was about living the gritty street-life, there was a pride for & a focus on artistic sensibility & creating a new literary style. The writing was characterized by free-flowing stream of consciousness & an uninhibited use of language.

The San Franciscan rebel poets gained momentum over the Newyorkian group into the late 50's. Though the west coast had Beats, there were distinguishing characteristics that set them apart. Though still swimming in drug-use, the members were not so nihilistic. (Like reaching for the hash instead of the heroin.) This groovier movement was called The San Francisco Renaissance, which helps distinguish it from being just another camp of Beats. The accent can be placed on its longevity, for it flowed seamlessly into the next generation of 60's hippy-dom. Memorable names here are William Everson, Robin Blaser, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Jack Spicer, Michael McClure, Madeline Gleason & particularly Kenneth Rexroth, whose home was a regular hangout for readings & philosophizing.

The spoken word experiments of the San Francisco Renaissance seeped into the American mainstream as "flower children" & the "Age of Aquarius" became powerful national symbols. West coast youth culture "happenings" & "sit-ins" came to epitomize the discontent over Vietnam & rampant government deception. Renaissance members who enjoyed wide-spread notoriety include the Grateful Dead, Sly Stone, Ken Keesey & the Zen-poet Gary Snyder who was the important poet who helped seed the concept of deep ecology into American consciousness.

The intellectually & emotionally-driven poetry about peace, solidarity & conscious living was reflected in a major folk music revival in the 60's. This was promoted in the sophisticated lyrics of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Joni Mitchell, Peter, Paul & Mary… and the beat goes on…

Some common themes of the 60's counterculture were the rejection of middle-class values, the need for protest & the value of experimentation for achieving enlightenment. Transcendental attitudes translated to gurus, lots of gurus… lots of drug use, too. No one brought these two things, drugs & spiritualism, together so brilliantly (& we should say meglomaniacally) as Timothy Leary, the charismatic Harvard professor & leading spokesperson forPsychedelica and the LSD-laced lifestyle.

Timothy Leary was a brassy, talented orator. He has also been described as vain, mentally-damaged & self-aggrandizing. We believe he was all of these, but a brilliant showman no less. His life story reads like a thrilling, sleazy, out-of-control legend & it is up for debate whether he poisoned or empowered the generation with his mantra "turn on, tune in and drop out". Leary invented some of the first interactive video games in the 70's, but his most amazing stunt was dying online, which he espoused immortalized his spirit— wavering words & psilocybin nerves eternally interfaced with cyberspace!

Backing up to 1966, in the New York Bowery, Lower East Side Manhattan, another guru of sorts was drawing a crowd— Paul Blackburn organized the Poetry Project at St. Mark's Church. There was already a flowering coffeehouse poetry scene & though we imagine café readings were happening all across the country, Paul was determined to document his readers series. The line ups were impressive with Beats as well as members of other writers groups, like the New York School, Umbra, Deep Imagists, Patarealists & the experimental college poets called the Black Mountain poets.

Black Mountaineer Joel Oppenheimer later became the Project's first official director, turning The Project into the major east coast center for alternative poetry. Blackburn collected miles & miles of readings on tape and also held writing workshops (with Alice Notley & Bernadette Mayer) which were probably some of the first poet-run classes ever for wannabe poets. Here lay the roots to upcoming trends— circle poets, slams, def jams, the stand-up network, urban storytellers, performance poets, independent monologue actors— all, spoken word genres that would be open to non-academic newcomers. And, it is commonplace today for professional to hold after-show workshops for novice word-ers.

The final splash we take in Sound Waves involves a sudden flux of electronic sound. (Here we go again, experimenting with electrons.) By the mid 60's, rock-n-roll had evolved into rock. There were lots of genres of rock; the bass guitar-driven melodies fused well with different multi-ethnic sounds & rhythms. But all rock shared one predominate characteristic— a wall of sound— a fully spread-out background sound— something you could really hang some words on! Technology was changing things in the mixing room, too, which allowed words, content(!), to be mixed to the forefront. In 1968, the Moog synthesizer showed up & the wall bloomed into one big mosaic of heady sound & heady words.

Digital gear for recording evolved, so did stage electronics, making the 70's an exciting time for word-ers to go mixed & multi-mixed. Anyone willing to improvise, risk a little feedback, or take an unexpected high volt-ed shock became a performance artist. Experimentation with the newest sampling device, effects box or computer-interfaced keyboard became the trend for cutting edge word/sound artists.

Artists got monocular over finding technical solutions for their new toys. Some performances seemed overwhelming for most audiences, chaotic, incomprehensible, sensational, or over-done. The art world (including the underground) scrambled to inject some integrity back into the art. There needed to be some new direction, a philosophy, but what? Luckily, an art movement calledFLUXUS (with European roots back to the 50's) stepped up. This would save the American audience from the empty multi-gadgetry gone out of control.

Avant-garde ideas (neo-avant-garde) came out of the American FLUXUS community. The movement resonated with many formally trained artists, musicians & writers. The late 60's & early 70's sound experiments of John Cage, Robert Wilson & Morton Feldman are in this category as are Elenor Antin's films, the "happenings" of Allison Knowles (performance-sound-text installations) & David Antin's talk-poems.

We find David's talk-poems most intriguing. These are provocative, quirky presentations combining the genres of lecture, stand-up comedy, storytelling & poetry. This format brought attention to the need for a new label, intermedia, which helped to describe (& therefore validate to the public) the confusing overlap & melding of interdisciplinary creations. Now technology could make "an assist" instead of "a mess". A cadre of solo (monologue style) performers using multi-media (video, music, sampled sound, movement, visual art) hit theatres across the country. These new artists were viewed as the reputable ones for they helped us recognize the value of creating art from clearly defined philosophies. We praise FLUXUS for saving us from our technically-enamored selves.

By the late 70's, after the re-routing of art, which was the re-wiring of media to live performance, something extremely significant was happening in the inner-city dancehalls. There was some energetic plundering & scratching going on. Black DJs were pulling in a lot of white college kids & MCs were hip-hopping a new way to play with rhythm & words. Some people wanted to mooove & Rap was about ready for the attack.

The new music & word/sound experiments found huge support with the electro-savvy youth culture of the 70's. They were the wired ones, the ones who opened channels into the 80's. The children of the computer age (our Postmodern era) were coming down the pike, and things were pretty well shored up when the PCs got bought up— a gargantuan wave of digital words was about to sweep the world.

Haber Bosch Process

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Haber Process:-

Fritz Haber (left, 1.0 Nobel prizes in 1918) and Carl Bosch (right, 0.5 Nobels in 1931) have probably had a greater impact than anyone in the past 100 years, including Hitler, Gandhi, Einstein, etc.
Their Haber-Bosch process has often been called the most important invention of the 20th century (e.g., V. Smil, Nature, July 29 1999, p 415) as it "detonated the population explosion," driving the world's population from 1.6 billion in 1900 to 6 billion in 2000.

The 70 million deaths of World War I and World War II almost vanish next to these numbers. But Haber, a patriotic German Jew, shared some responsibility for those as well: his work helped Germany to significantly prolong WW I, and also to develop the Zyklon B poison gas used in WW II's Holocaust. Haber's almost paradoxical biography affected more lives and deaths than anybody else's.

Bosch was a co-founder of IG-Farben, the world's largest chemical company. After WW II the allies broke it up into three smaller parts, each still larger than any foreign chemical company.

In the past 200 years only the germ theory of disease by Pasteur & Koch (1868-1876) had an impact on mankind that rivals the one of the Haber-Bosch process.
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Haber-Bosch process:
Under high temperatures and very high pressures, hydrogen and nitrogen (from thin air) are combined to produce ammonia.
Nearly one century after its invention, the process is still applied all over the world to produce 500 million tons of artificial fertilizer per year. 1% of the world's energy supply is used for it (Science 297(1654), Sep 2002); it still sustains roughly 40% of the population (M. D. Fryzuk, Nature 427, p 498, 5 Feb 2004). Billions of people would not even exist without it. And our dependence will only increase as the global count moves from six to ten billion people or so.

Celebrity

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What is celebrity? What makes a person a celebrity?:

This is more than merely an academic question. Forbes magazine has just released its list of the top 100 celebrities in the world today, and its an interesting and intriguing list for anyone interested in the media and its effect on our society.

In case you were wondering, no, I didn't make the list this year (no doubt an oversight).

The criteria for the ranking on the list are interesting, for starters. Forbes uses a complicated formula that takes earnings, press clippings, magazine covers, TV /radio appearances, and Internet Web hits all intro consideration. This combination of money and media begs the question of what exactly IS celebrity. Obviously, according to Forbes magazine, it has nothing at all to do with talent, intelligence, contributions to the world, or quality of character. It's all money and media.

And this special formula which they created makes for some interesting entries and placements on the list. Julia Roberts - only number 12 in terms of earnings with 50 million dollars - is nonetheless top of the celebrity list, based in large part on her seven magazine covers, ten thousand press clips, and forty-one thousand Internet hits. For the record, George Lucas (400 million dollars in earnings), Oprah Winfrey, Tom Hanks, Michael Jordan, the Rolling Stones, Tiger Woods, the Backstreet Boys, Cher and Stephen Spielberg round out the Top 10.

There are a few actual authors in the list, which the English teacher in me finds interesting. Stephen King (65 million dollars in earnings), Tom Clancy (66 million), John Grisham ( 36 million) and Maya Angelou (3 million) may attest to the fact that our society can still read - and make a few authors quite rich.

There is also the usual mix of sports figures, movie stars, and even fashion designers (Georgio Armani, Calvin Klein, Bill Blass) on the list. It's interesting that neither the President of the United States nor anyone running for that office seems to qualify as a "celebrity" - although Elizabeth Dole (#65 on the list)) and George and Barbara Bush (#76) are included.

Oddly enough, there are some on the list who have absolutely no talent at all - Jim Carrey (#19), Howard Stern (#30), Rosie O'Donnell (#35), and Dr. Laura (#70).

And - as is true with any list - there are some whose presence here just mystifies me: Dale Earnhardt (#36), Roseanne (#74), Don Imus (#77), The Rock (#83).

Another interesting realization that's implied in this list is that being a celebrity is big business - literally. Tiger Woods, for example, ( number 7 on the list, with 47 million dollars in earnings) is more a corporation than an individual. I mean, he makes more money than thousands of businesses. Everything from security to accounting to travel arrangements to publicity is no doubt as important to the Tiger Woods corporation as it is to Dole pineapple or Wheaties. We seem to be witnessing celebrities turning from merely famous people into huge corporate enterprises, capable of earning tens - or hundreds - of millions of dollars. They are commodities, much like winter wheat or pork bellies. Actually, some are more like wheat and some are more like pork bellies, but I digress.

And this is all underscored, I guess, by the very fact that it's Forbes magazine which is doing and publishing this list. It's not People magazine or The National Enquirer or Entertainment Tonight or a personality publication - it's a business magazine. Right next to stock analyses and tips on money management is this list of celebrities. What does THAT say about the nature of celebrity in our society today?

All in all, it's a interesting list, because it reveals our fascination with personalities, money, numbers, and the nature of lists themselves. Who's on it, the standards for ranking them, and even the magazine that published the results tell us a great deal about ourselves, whom we consider celebrities, and the value of these people in our culture.

It is an odd mix of money and media which - if you think about it - may not be so very odd after all.