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Sailing across space

(Part #11): On his way to meet Guru Sukracharya, Meghnath is amazed to learn and experience new ways of flying. And there’s a surprise in store…

Ravana is amazed by Meghnath’s skill in building rockets out of sugar and potassium nitrate and realises that this may be because of his interaction with Lord Vishnu at Vaikuntam. He shares his amazement with Mayasura.

Ravana: Uncle, I had asked Meghnath to learn the secrets behind the world’s most powerful weapons from the three Gods — Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma, by praying to them. It seems like he has already achieved what took me years to do!

Mayasura: That’s wonderful! With his potential, he needs a good teacher. You should enroll him with our guru Sukracharya.

Ravana: That is a good idea! Let’s do that right away…

Guru Sukracharya lived on Venus. So, the three of them set off in the new flying machine, Vaihayasa, which was designed by Mayasura for King Bali and was capable of interstellar and interplanetary travel.

Meghnath: Grandpa, are we really going to outer space?! It’s the first time I will be crossing the ozone layer!

Mayasura: Though you didn’t travel physically, you travelled all the way to Vaikunta through your dedication and hard work. Guru Sukracharya is impressed.

Meghnath: What?! Guru Sukracharya! He trains only the strongest Asura warriors, right? Am I not too young to train under him?

Mayasura: Yes, but there is a surprise for you. Just wait for it.

As they continue talking, the aircraft crosses the Stratosphere, the Mesosphere and enters the Ionosphere. Mayasura jumps into the cockpit and presses a button. The wings open out and Meghanth sees a bunch of batteries and vacuum tubes lined inside. They start to glow.

Meghnath: What is happening, Daddy?

Ravana: This is a vehicle that uses a modern technology — electric propulsion and ion propulsion — to move.

Meghnath: How does that work?

Ravana: Till you cross the Karmen line — 100 km above the ground — the effect of gravity is greater. So, we need fuels like solid and liquid propellants. Once we travel beyond the pull of gravity, our vehicle becomes light. So, we need only a minimum push to propel our vehicle. This is achieved by using ion propulsion technology. Do you know what an ion is?

Meghanth: Yes. An ion is a particle — atom or molecule — with a net electrical charge. When we pull an electron out of it, the ion becomes a cation, gaining a positive charge. It becomes an anion when it gains one or more electrons, acquiring a negative charge. Because of their opposite electric charges, cations and anions attract each other.

Ravana: You are right. The same ions, when placed close to plates with an opposite charge, move swiftly towards the plates creating a wave of movement called Ionic wind, which is capable of thrusting a spacecraft forward.

Meghnath: Wow! So high-velocity ions are the space’s equivalents of high-velocity air on ground!

Ravana: Exactly! Some spacecraft use the Ion Thruster Engine to extract electrons out of atoms to ionise them using electricity.

By now, their aircraft has crossed 384,000 km, travelling beyond the moon. Suddenly, a huge square sheet pops out of the aircraft’s body. Both Meghnath and Ravana are awestruck!

Meghnath: What’s happening, Grandpa?

Ravana: I’ve never seen this before!

The solar sail

(An artist’s concept of solar sail in space. Photo: NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center)

The Vaihasaya moves closer to Venus, the realm of Sukracharya. Meghanth is amazed by its beauty. Venus looks like a polished crystal ball with a thick atmosphere over it. As they move closer, Meghanth sees something that makes his jaw drop!

Meghnath: Tripura!! The floating city!

Mayasura: Get ready to experience more magic, my boy…

(Illustration: Sahil Upalekar)

The author is the founder and CEO of Vaayusastra Aerospace, an IIT-Madras incubated ed-tech startup that offers Air Science workshops for children between five and 14 years.

Idyllic settings

Their creators have so thoroughly imagined some fictional places that you quickly forget that they are not real. Can you guess the names of these cities, towns or villages?

A fictional city or town exists only on the silver screen, or between the pages of a book or in your dreams. More often than not, they are fantastic places and so cool that you want your pack your bags and move there. But, sadly, these are places to which no car can drive you to or airplane can fly you to. It is a place to experience only by reading or watching a movie.

Let’s take a look at some of these magical places.

Sort our states

Which is the biggest state in India? How about the smallest? Get down to the details with this interactive task and map.

India is a country of diversity. Its 28 states and 8 union territories are packed with distinctive features that make the country a vibrant tapestry of arts, culture, geography, history, cuisine, language and so on.

Do you know which is the biggest state in India in terms of area? How about the smallest? This interactive task contains eight states. Can you arrange them based on their size?

Good job! The below graphic shows the entire list of 36 entities (28 states and 8 UTs), from largest to smallest. Move the slider to discover more.

The above map is not drawn to scale. It is meant for representation/educational purposes only.

Sing a song

Limerick, lyrics, and lullaby…Do you all have music in common? Learn more as you solve this crossword.

Music is all about instruments, songs, notes, beats and people. How much do you know? Test yourself as you play this crossword.

Super six

Try this Picdoku based on the Indian medallists at the Olympics. Can you solve it?

India had its best outing at the Olympics at Tokyo this year with seven medals in its kitty. Take a look at the winners:

Ravi Kumar Dahiya won a silver medal in the 57 kg category in wrestling.

P.V. Sindhu won the bronze in badminton.

Neeraj Chopra brought home India’s first gold in athletics (javelin throw).

Mirabai Chanu won a silver in the women’s 49 kg category in weightlifting.

Lovlina Borgohain won a bronze in the women’s welterweight category in boxing.

Bajrang Punia won a bronze in the 65-kg weight category in wrestling.

With the bronze, the Indian men’s hockey team ended a 41-year wait for an Olympic medal in the game.

Now here’s a fun game for you based on these sportspeople. This is a picdoku; just is like a sudoku, but with pictures instead of numbers. This game has six of the seven medallists. Can you solve it correctly?

Photos: PTI, AFP, Ritu Raj Konwar, Nagara Gopal and The Hindu Photo Archives

Building buildings

Do you know what is a Bath or a Theatre? Play this word search and get to know more.

Do you love architecture? And would you like to know more about the terms used to define buildings. Then play this word search right away!

Sudoku – August 24, 2021

Love number games? If yes, try your hand at this puzzle.

Are you a number lover? Then, try this popular game and see if you can ace it. A Sudoku is a 6 x 6 grid consisting of columns, rows and blocks.

Instructions on how to play

The objective of the game is to fill the missing digits into the grid, using digits 1 to 6. In each column, row and block, you can use a digit only once. Drag and drop the numbers (1-6), given beside the grid, in their right places.

Rules

1. Each row will, upon completion, contain all of the digits from 1 to 6.

2. Each column will, upon completion, contain all of the digits from 1 to 6.

3. Each coloured block will, upon completion, contain all of the digits from 1 to 6.

Quiz Whizz: August 24, 2021

Time to get your grey cells whizzing with this set of questions.

How much do you know of the world around you? Find out with this week’s quiz!