Fasten your seat belts, and let’s get started by exploring how much you know about the flying world
Fasten your seat belts, and start exploring how much you know about the flying world.
It’s time to bring out the high flier in you!
Fold colourful cranes and give them to your friends and family tospread the message of peace. Watch this video and follow the steps.
You can’t just print out money at home. Know why? It’s illegal and it’s simply not possible! Click here to know why….
A star-studded collection of legends call themselves winners of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. What does the award recognise and why is it so prestigious? Find out now.
Experts use different weather icons to showcase what our day is going to be like. Do you know what they are?
Look outside. What is the weather like? Sunny, cloudy, windy…?
If you would like to know what the weather is going to be like in the evening, what do you do? Tune in to the weather forecast. Experts will tell you what the weather is going to be like throughout the day, for the next few days, or even the week.
They use icons that will give you an idea of what the weather is going to be like at just a glance.
Like these, for example:
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Here’s a fun Picdoku puzzle with these icons, for you to solve. (It’s similar to a Sudoku, but uses pictures in place of numbers)
Next time you talk to someone about sports, throw in some of these nicknames and sound super savvy. Complete the interactive tasks to learn more.
Do you have a pet name? How about your friends? Did you know that many popular sporting teams around the world have nicknames as well? Whether official or not, these names are used so often that they are easily recognisable. That’s what this task is all about!
1. Let’s begin with cricket. Can you match the national cricket teams of these countries with their popular nicknames?
2. Now for some football. Do you know the nicknames of the national football teams of these countries?
3. Another football question, but this time with clubs that play in the English Premier League.
(Part#10): Aerofoil, wing, inverted fish… what does all of this have to do with flying? Hanuman finds out.
The story so far: Megnath learns the secrets behind Lord Vishnu’s weapons.
While Megnath is mastering rocket technology, Hanuman is still a playful, curious kid. One day, he sees Ravana’s Pushpaka Vimana being flown by Kumbhakarna. He runs to his father, Kesari.
Hanuman: Dad, did you see that? A monster in the Pushpaka Vimana cockpit.
Kesari: That’s Ravana’s brother, Kumbhakarna.
Hanuman: But I hear that he’s always asleep.
Kesari: Well, he performed penances to please Brahma. But a scared Indra requested Saraswati to help. So, instead of asking of Nirdevatam (annihilation of devas), due to Saraswati’s spell, he asked for Nidravatam (sleep).
Hanuman: That isn’t fair!
Kesari: Sometimes, to win over evil, the gods have to intervene in such ways.
Hanuman: I don’t agree. Anyway, I want to know how the Pushpaka Vimana carries such a heavy load.
Kesari: First, you need to understand how an aircraft flies. Talk to your friend Nala. Aah! here he is. Nala, your friend wants to know how an aircraft carries a heavy load and still manages to fly.
Nala: Very simple, uncle. It is to do with: high-speed low-pressure, low-speed high-pressure.
Hanuman: Simple? I do not understand.
Nala: In Kali Yuga, they call it Bernoulli’s Principle. According to this, every aeroplane that flies in the troposphere uses pressure difference to generate lift. Being heavy or light doesn’t matter; if you are able create this pressure difference with a proper aerodynamic shape, you can generate lift.
Hanuman: This is also too technical. I still don’t get it.
Nala: Let me simplify it.
1. Take a hair dryer, aim it towards the ceiling and turn it on. It produces a vertical stream of air.
2. Now place a ping-pong ball directly over the nozzle, in the
Here is another example.
1. Inflate two balloons and tie each end with a 30 cm-long string.
2. Tape the loose end of the two strings to the underside of a table, a window or to a door frame, such that the balloons dangle upside down. They should be around 5cm apart.
3. Take a straw and blow forcefully between the balloons.
Can you see what happens? The balloons will come together when you blow between them instead of moving away. This is because pressure between the balloons reduces due to high speed of air. And the relatively higher pressure around them push the balloons closer.
Hanuman: But an aeroplane is different from a ball or balloon.
Nala: Both these examples use spherical or oval objects. For aircrafts, we use a shape called Aerofoil.
Hanuman: What?
Nala: It is like an inverted fish with a curvy top and a flat bottom. Look at birds’ wings, or the wings of an aeroplane. The aerofoil shape forces air to move faster over the top. When speed increases, the pressure decreases, according to Bernoulli’s Principle. In the flat bottom part, the speed of air molecules is slower so pressure is higher. So the shape increases the lift for the aeroplane owing to the higher pressure at the bottom.
Hanuman: Now I get it! The aerodynamic shape is responsible for flight, and that mainly works on pressure difference.
Nala: Yes. Now, that’s enough science for today. Come, let’s practise with our gada (mace).
The author is founder and CEO, Vaayusastra Aerospace, an IIT-Madras incubated ed-tech startup that offers Air Science workshops for children between five and 14 years.
Now that you’ve read this, here’s an activity for you. Can you spot these words from the story in the grid?
Tigers are solitary creatures and prefer to hunt by ambushing their prey. This endangered species is in need of protection. Here is a selection of books that might help you choose what you can do.
Largest among the wildcats, a punch from a tiger can kill you. They are nocturnal and love to swim and play in the water. Did you know that a group of tigers were called an ambush or a streak?
Here are a few books that will tell you more about tigers and the dangers these powerful predators face.
Friendship Day is right around the corner. Do you know these iconic fictional best friends?
July 30 is International Friendship Day (although in India, we celebrate it every year on the first Sunday of August). Your friends may sometimes drive you crazy but, let’s be honest, you can’t live without them. Your friends may be some of the few people who have stuck by your side through all the ups and downs, so Friendship Day is a great opportunity to appreciate all the friends in your life.
To celebrate the day, here’s a game to identify some of the most iconic friendships from the fictional world. These characters too have had their share of adventures and ups and downs but maintained their best friend statuses.
Discover interesting facts about Root vegetables and download your own calendar to keep yourself organised.
