How well do you know the works of William Shakespeare? In this quiz, we’ll have you finding the missing words in the titles.
William Shakespeare, often called the Bard of Avon, was a legendary playwright and poet from England. He lived over 400 years ago and wrote a great number of timeless plays and poems that are enjoyed even today.
Hamlet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet… the list goes on and on. Do you know the titles of some of his most well-known plays? This quiz has five such plays but there’s a word missing in each title. Can you guess it right?
Today is World Orangutan Day. Learn more about one of the world’s most intelligent primates with this article.
Identified by its distinctive orange-red fur, the orangutan is now found only in the rainforests of southeast Asia. This article tells you more about the ape that is distantly related to humans
Put on your thinking caps and try your hand at this fun sports crossword. Get started now.
What’s a boundary? What is Canada’s national sport? Well, there’s so much to explore, when it comes to the world of sports. Try your hand at this crossword to learn more.
As Prahasta continues his tests, Meghnath uses observations from Nature to keep his plane flying. But who wins?
Story so far: After the first round of Prahasta’s test, Alshayakumara’s vimana is damaged and Meghnath is trying to make some repairs.
Akshayakumara: Will our plane fly properly?
Meghnath: To be honest, the body has taken several hits so the airflow won’t be smooth.
Trishira: Can we paste leather patches on them to make the airflow smooth?
Akshayakumara: It will help generate high speed low pressure on top and low speed high pressure on bottom (Bernoulli’s Effect). But we don’t have time for the coat to dry. Also what if the coat peels away? Let’s try it and put our trust in Meghnath’s piloting skills.
Trishira quickly begins to patch the scratches with leather coating. In the meantime, Atikaya is conferring with his brothers.
Atikaya: Grandfather said this round will be tougher. So we need to be more focused.
Narantaka: What about equipping the plane with some protection systems?
Illustration: Sahil Upalekar
The three also start working on their plane. By now, Prahasta is ready to start the next round. As he finishes the countdown, the two planes take off. Suddenly the temperature drops and the two planes are covered in snow and ice and begin to lose height and speed.
Atikeya: We need heat to melt the ice. Use the batteries and connect the anode and cathode points to the metal wire (nichrome) and touch the ice.
Though it works, Narantaka and Devantaka have to move the heated wire all over the aircraft body.
Meghnath: Akshayakumara, take over the cockpit.
Once he is free, Meghnath picks up a can and splashes a chemical on the aircraft body. Within seconds, the ice begins to melt.
Akshayakumara: Wow. What was that?
Meghnath: A mixture of propylene glycol and water to de-ice.
Suddenly the cold weather is replaced by turbulent winds, which create shock waves on both sides of the wing. With more drag, the wings begin to vibrate.
Atikaya: I think we have to slow down to stabilise and reduce vibration.
But the more he slows down, the heavier the vortices. The turbulence increases. Confused, Atikeya looks over at Meghnath, who has increased the aircraft’s speed to regain stability.
Atikaya: I am going to ask Meghnath for help.
Devantaka: Aren’t you breaking rules?
Atikaya: We are not enemies. He is just going to share knowledge to save our aircraft and us.
He connects with Meghnath over the in-flight radio wave communiation.
Atikaya: How did increasing speed overcome the turbulence?
Meghnath: The more time you spend with the shock waves or wind, the more the drag. So increase the speed to higher than Mach 1 (supersonic) and the disturbed airflow gets less time on the wings.
Thanking Meghnath, Atikaya increases the speed to supersonic, saving the plane from crashing.
Just then, Prahasta claps and Akshayakumara’s plane begins to lose the leather coverings leading to increased drag.
Prahasta: Final round. Race to reach the destination.
Though fuel levels are low in both planes, Atikaya’s plane is soaring towards the goal. But Akshayakumara’s is losing speed due to the uneven surface. Prahasta is watching intently.
Meghnath: The body is in bad shape. The engine is consuming more fuel because it is struggling to cope with the speed.
In the other plane, Atikeya switches off the engine, to Narantaka’s and Devantaka’s shock.
Atikaya: Calm down! Most aircrafts are aerodynamically built. If I switch off the engine, it becomes like a sail plane. We are going to glide to the destination with the help of gravity. Also our airplane body is not damaged. Let’s see how they are handle this.
In the other plane, Akshayakumara is in the cockpit while Meghnath is on the wing with the holding rope. Akshayakumara has seen Atikaya’s tactic.
Akshayakumara: Isn’t switching off the engine easier?
Meghnath: Yes but, with a heavily damaged structure, even gliding is dangerous. We may fall like a stone. Better to use the engine power and save fuel.
Now, at the edge of the wing, Meghnath uses a hammer to hit and fold the wing edge.
Trishira: Are you breaking the wing?
Meghnath: No, I am reducing the turbulence by reducing the wing edge area. Birds use this technique when they are tired by curling their wings. Later, in 1973, Richard T. Whitecomb will discover the Winglet technique. So, even though we are short of fuel, the air speed we generate may help us reach the destination.
Meghnath jumps back into the pilot seat and begins to increase the speed to finish the race in style.
Prahasta: Congratulations boys. Meghnath, the winglet was a great invention.
Meghnath: I only copied the birds. Everything is in Nature. We only need scientific observation.
Prahasta: Now let’s go to the palace and see your performance charts.
Now that you have read this story, here’s an activity for you. Make a sharp dihedral wing plane with winglets and send it flying.
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.
Some of these postcards seem too strange to be true. Can you help us sort them out?
We’ve received a bunch of postcards but we’re confused if we’re being pranked. Can you tell us which of the below letters are telling the truth?
Here is game featuring wind instruments. It’s just like a Sudoku but with pictures instead of numbers.
Wind instruments produce sound by the vibration of air. From the delicate flute to the powerful trumpet, they are played by blowing air through a mouthpiece, where the breath creates a resonant tone. Whether in a classical orchestra or a jazz ensemble, wind instruments bring life and depth to music.
Here’s a game for you. It’s called a Picdoku. The game features six wind instruments. Can you place them in the grid correctly?
How to play:
A Picdoku is just like a Sudoku, but with pictures instead of numbers. Fill up the grid in such a way that each instrument appears only once in every row, column and 2*3 grid.
How many medals did India win at the recently concluded Olympics? Who were the winners?
Olympics 2024 was held in Paris from July 26 to August 11. The Indian contingent consisted of 117 athletes, including five reserves.
India secured six medals — one silver and five bronze. Can you identify the winners?
Photo: ANI
Here’s an activity to help you build your fitness vocabulary. Try it out now.
No matter how fit you are, it is important to stay that way. There are some exercises you can do where you do not need too much equipment and can also find time for. Unscramble the words below to find out what they are.
August 19 is World Photography Day. Read on to discover how the art of photography evolved to become what it is today.
On World Photography Day, photographers across the world ‘share their world with the world’ through a photograph. August 19 was the chosen date because, on this day in 1939, the French government released the daguerreotype patent making that photographic process ‘free to the world’. Read on to find out how photography came to be…
Click on ‘turn’ to flip the card and the arrow to move to the next card.
Despite the many challenges, local conservation efforts are helping save the Indus River Dolphin.
While dolphins are mostly associated with the sea and ocean, there are some species that live in rivers. Like the Indus River Dolphin (Platanista minor). This amazing mammal is among the world’s most endangered freshwater dolphins, with just 2000 animals left. Since it spends its whole life in freshwater, the Indus River Dolphin uses its sense of touch and echolocation (using sound and echoes to move around) to survive in the murky waters and hunt for food. Its highly flexible neck allows it to manoeuvre easily in shallow waters and narrow river channels.
Challenges
Among the many challenges this species faces, the biggest threat is habitat loss. Water from the river has been diverted into canals to support agriculture and irrigation. In fact, the Indus River Basin Irrigation System is the largest continuous irrigation system in the world with an extensive network of canals. This often leaves dolphins stranded in small pools, far from the main river. Pollution is another significant threat. Industrial waste, agricultural run-off, and domestic sewage are frequently discharged into the river, degrading the water quality and affecting the dolphins’ health. Chemicals and heavy metals in the water can disrupt their reproductive systems. Fishing nets also pose serious dangers. Dolphins can become accidentally entangled in fishing nets, leading to injuries or drowning. Gill nets, in particular, are a major hazard, as they are nearly invisible underwater and can trap dolphins as they swim. Another critical issue is the construction of dams as they alter the river’s flow, create barriers and isolate dolphin populations, which changes the availability of prey species.
Conservation efforts
But there is hope. Dedicated rescue teams, comprising local fishermen and wildlife experts, have been working to move the dolphins trapped in irrigation canals back to the main river. This process is very delicate, as the dolphins have to be captured, wrapped in wet cloth to keep their skin damp and transported back to the main river. There are also restoration projects underway to revitalise rivers and wetlands, maintain natural water flow and safeguard diverse ecosystems. Strict regulations and establishment of protected areas are helping reduce pollution and manage water usage more effectively. Clean-up campaigns, educational programmes and local involvement is building a sense of community stewardship. All these efforts have borne fruit, as in recent years, local conservation efforts have led to a small but encouraging rise in the numbers of the Indus River Dolphin.
