Archives December 2013

"The principle of this burner is simply that city gas is allowed to issue under such conditions." Robert Bunsen Robert Wilhelm Bunsen (1811-1899) was appointed Professor of Chemistry and Medicine at the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg in 1852. Before accepting the position, he negotiated the construction of a new laboratory building equipped with pipes for coal gas, which the city had begun to use to light the streets. Bunsen was not happy with the equipment he had for heating samples in the laboratory. In 1827 Michael Faraday had written about a burner that used coal gas, but the flame produced too much soot as well as more light than heat. Bunsen's idea was to mix the coal gas with air before the flame rather than at the flame. Because the oxygen and gas would be well mixed at the point of combustion, the resultant flame would be hot rather more...

The performance of marriages is different in different states. Every religion has its own ways and customs. The marriage is a pious affair.  India is a country full of noise. A marriage ceremony is a noisy affair in our country. Lots of money is spent on this occasion. Preparations for a marriage in India have to be made several days in advance. Very recently, I attended the marriage of my cousin. All the members of our family were invited to the wedding. We got new clothes stitched for this occasion. We reached the house of my cousin three days before the actual ceremony. We found a lot of hustle and bustle in the house. A halwai had been engaged to prepare sweets and other eatables. A day before the marriage, a shamiana was put up in the open space before their house. Chairs and tables were also arranged in the more...

Democracy in any country means the rule by elected representatives. It has been defined as the government "of the people, by the people, for the people." Democracy rests on the principle of representation. The people elect their representatives by vote in an election. These representatives attend the legislature and act on behalf of the citizens. If the citizens are not satisfied with their representatives, they may not re-elect them in the next elections. Democracy is said to be a better form of government. It is the government of the people as distinguished from the government of an individual or of a class of people. It makes all the citizens interested in the affairs of the country by sending their representatives in legislatures. Democracy is also a safeguard against revolution. Since people themselves elect the members of government, the need for a revolution does not arise. A democratic government guarantees freedom more...

"[Odysseus] fumigated the hall, house and court with burning sulfur to control pests." Homer, The Odyssey Civilization was founded on agriculture. The earliest cities grew up around 9,000 years ago when nomadic hunter-gatherers settled in Mesopotamia, herding animals and growing crops for the first time. But relying on the success of an annual crop was risky. poor weather, an infestation of insects, or crop diseases could ruin the harvest and starve a population. Humans are still unable to control the climate, but solutions to the other problems were proposed in the most ancient of times. Early attempts to limit damage by pests were mostly physical interventions, such as crop rotation and the manual removal of grubs. The first evidence for a chemical agent comes from Sumeria in 2500 B.C.E., where elemental sulfur was used to ward off insects. The Sumerians had developed a sophisticated agriculture, employing irrigation and mass labor more...

Mother Teresa's real name was Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhin. She was born in Yugoslavia on 27th August, 1910 of Abanian parents.  hen she was 18 years old she went to Ireland and entered the congregation of Loretto at the institute of Blessed Virgin Mary. Then  she came to India for teaching in the congregation's schoof and convents. She became Principal of St. Augustin's day School for Bengali Girls near Calcutta. After 20 years of teaching she was baptised in 1929 and made Calcutta her home. To serve the down trodden and poor persons living in the slum areas of Calcutta she sat up a missionaries of charity in 1949. In West Bengal, a leper colony called Shanti Nagar was set up under her guidance. She became well-renowned throughout the world with the passing of time. She opened schools, dispensaries, a TB clinic and Nirmal Hriday. In her opinion lack of love more...

The modern flame thrower was not particularly innovative—it simply launched burning fuel to spread fire. However, when used on the battlefield, its effect was devastating, and it is remembered as the most demoralizing infantry weapon ever used. At the turn of the twentieth century, German inventor Richard Fiedler experimented with two types of flame thrower. The Flammenwerfer was a smaller, handheld weapon that used pressurized gas to push out streams of burning oil. The larger model was not as portable, but had a range of 118 feet (36 m) and could produce a continuous stream for forty seconds. When used in warfare, the weapons were highly dangerous, both for the enemy and the users, as the pressurized gas cylinders were prone to explosion. Modern flame throwers consist of a backpack containing a tank with a flammable liquid, often napalm, and a tank with compressed gas. When fired the pressurized gas more...

"Your bath took care of the past, but for future freshness, make Mum your next step." Mum advertisement, 1946 The development of the roll-on deodorant is a perfect example of how ingenious lateral thinking can link one seemingly unrelated invention to another and result in a useful product. "Mum" deodorant—first developed in the late nineteenth century—was a rather sticky, hard-to-apply substance. When Helen Barnett Diserens (1918-2008) joined the product team of Bristol-Myers as a researcher in the late 1940s, one of the company's skills' was working creatively on a select list of consumer-Bqsed toiletries. A member of Diserens's team suggested that she take a look at another recent marvel, the ballpoint pen (actually based on an idea from the late 1800s) to get some inspiration for improving Mum's applicator. Diserens's new roller applicator—made of glass with a rolling ball at its tip—was tested in the United States in 1952. After more...

"A mathematician is a device for turning coffee into theorems." Albert Einstein, scientist The cultivation of the coffee bean can be traced back to tenth-century Ethiopia. It was introduced to Europe in the sixteenth century and the Americas in the mid- 1600s, after which it proved an extremely popular beverage. But preparing it correctly, brewed from ground coffee beans, could be time-consuming. It was not until 1901 that a Japanese-American chemist named Satori Kato, using an earlier process he pioneered for making instant tea, created the world's first soluble instant coffee. Kato's coffee, which he called "Sanka," though initially bitter and pungent, was a concentrated solution made from coffee beans and water that was dehydrated leaving a powdery residue, which dissolves easily in hot water. While living in Guatemala in 1909, Belgian-born chemist George C. Washington was the first to market mass-produced coffee with his "Red E Coffee" brand, after more...

Dr. Rajendra Prasad, a statesman and social worker, was the first President of the Republic of India. He was a great  educationist and a man of world fame. He was an author too. Dr. Rajendra Prasad was born on 3rd December, 1884 at Saran District in Bihar. His educational career was very bright. He stood first in the Entrance Examination of Kolkata University in 1902. He also stood first in M.A. and L.L.B. Examinations. After passing Law he started his practice at Patna High Court. His practice was very roaring and he achieved a great success as a lawyer. He earned a lot by his practice, but he always spent a considerable part of his income on the welfare of people. He was married to Rajbansi Devi, who was also a very simple lady. The atmosphere of the village where he was brought up was very simple. Far away from more...

India is a land of the largest democracy. There is a multi party system of governance. As per the constitutional provision the party with the highest majority through a general election is entitled to form the government and its leader will be the Prime Minister of India. After getting Independence in 1947 the Congress Party which played the leading role in the struggle for freedom emerged as the ruling party in India. This party continued to rule till 1977 continuously. In due course India was over crowded with so many political parties that the people were largely confused. In 1977 the Janata Party—a unified power of opposition parties replaced the long ruling party i.e. the Congress. But only for a few years. For the first time in 1989 the politics of coalition took a new form in Indian political system. Coalition means an alliance of different political parties which come more...