We bring you a range of exciting careers with a foundation in different scientific disciplines. Which colour appeals to you?
This National Science Day, let’s embark on a journey through the kaleidoscope of science careers. Each path has its own wavelength that presents an enchanting spectrum of opportunities. Which colour calls out to you? Pick your favourite, and let the magic of science unfold.
Who is Sir C.V. Raman? What was his discovery? How is he connected to India’s National Science Day? Kakabhushundi time travels to find the answers.
(Previous episode: The world in an egg)
After his meeting with Sage Lomasa, Kakabhushundi entered the wormhole to go back to the time he saw Rama. He was thinking about the sage’s words about the purpose of his life being knowledge transfer. At the coordinate point of the time-travelling wormhole, Kakabhushundi got pulled into the future because he wanted to meet a Rama who was famous for his scientific knowledge.
Imagine his surprise when he landed in a physics conference in 1922 where a scientist called Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman was talking about his research on the scattering of light.
Illustration: Sahil Upalekar
C.V. Raman: In 1921, while on a ship to England, I noticed something amazing. The colour of the Mediterranean Sea was a dark blue. I began to wonder why that was so.
Scientist: Didn’t you know that the scientist Raleigh said that the ocean reflects the colour of the sky?
C.V. Raman: Yes, I am also a fan of Raleigh’s work on light optics but I think there is something more here. If the waters were reflecting the colour of the sky, why was the sea dark blue and not sky blue?
Though none of the scientists had an answer to this question, they did not like the fact that Raman had questioned Raleigh’s work. Some even start questioning Raman’s knowledge. Kakabhushundi, sitting outside the room, listened to the heated debate.
C.V. Raman: The reason for the colour of the Mediterranean Sea is not just reflection of light but also scattering of light. I wrote to the science journals about this phenomenon as soon as the ship docked at the next port.
Having said this, Raman performed a simple experiment, using a light source with a violet filter to pass through glycerin. The spectrometer showed a blue light along with violet light. The audience was stunned.
Curious, Kakabhushundi decided to travel further into the same year, where Raman is presenting another research paper on “Molecular scattering of light in water and the colour of the sea”. After he finishes, Raman received an ovation.
Kakabhushundi is even more intrigued to see what happens next in C.V. Raman’s life and travels to 1930. That year, on February 28, C.V. Raman is awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics, the first Indian to receive the award in a scientific discipline and the second to receive a Nobel Prize after Rabindranath Tagore in 1913. After watching the scientist receive the award, Kakabhushundi returns to Sage Lomasa.
Kakbhushundi: Even though C.V. Raman is an Indian, he received the award under a British flag.
Sage Lomasa: Don’t worry about that. It is all part of the process of evolution. But tell me, what was the discovery of the Rama you met?
Kakabhushundi: I didn’t exactly understand it but it seems like he has discovered the different names of the Surya’s seven horses and how they behave.
Sage Lomasa: His discovery is known as the Raman Effect and February 28, the day he received the Nobel Prize, is celebrated as National Science Day in India. Since you say you didn’t understand it, let me show you what he meant with this experiment.
Kakabhushundi: This is all too much to take in. I have to give my brain some rest before I learn any more science. But I am also prepared now for knowledge transfer across multiverses.
Kakabhushundi flies off, after bidding Sage Lomasa goodbye.
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.
We all know about the Pantheon in Rome. But do you know about the importance of its dome?
Have you tried building a house using Lego blocks? What if you built a huge room, and want to put a flat roof on it? You’d probably add some walls or pillars to support it. These vertical supports take the roof’s load and transfer it to the ground. Many buildings are built with vertical columns and horizontal beams or lintels to distribute the load. Many ancient buildings use this system of post and lintel construction.
Early builders were constantly innovating to create bigger buildings to impress their friends and enemies. The Romans, famous for their architectural skills, managed to build massive rooms uninterrupted by walls and pillars. How did they do this? Enter, arches and domes. Arches were used by many early civilisations, but the Romans perfected it. They were also the first to use concrete extensively and developed mastery over it.
Concrete can be moulded in any shape and used to create curved roofs like domes. The dome blurred the lines between the roof and the wall, and could create huge rooms without any intermediate supports.
With arches, domes and concrete, some of the most impressive architectural structures were born. One such is the Pantheon, a Roman temple with a soaring concrete dome that would put modern structures to shame. Built in around 125 CE, its dome remains the largest ‘unreinforced’ dome in the world; i.e. it has no steel rods that help hold the concrete together.
Picture eight to 10 giraffes standing one above the other. That’s how high the topmost part of the dome is. The dome itself has a radius of 71 feet and the entire building is 142 feet wide and 142 feet tall. What do you think these numbers mean? Its geometry was such that you can fit a massive perfect sphere inside the Pantheon.
The walls are made of brick and concrete and a series of arches hidden inside the walls provide extra support. The concrete was extra-special and ultra-strong, and has kept the building standing for almost 2,000 years.
You know now that the Pantheon is gigantic. Guess how many doors and windows it has? Just one each! Its only source of light is a 30 ft opening — an oculus — at the centre of the dome. This has another important purpose: it is integral to keep the structure standing. If you visit Rome when it’s raining, visit the Pantheon and watch a sheet of water fall right into this beautiful building.
Arch explained
In an arch, each brick transfers the load to the next one, and finally to the wall and floor. The arch’s most important part is the central stone or ‘key stone’. An arch can allow for much wider spans than flat roofs.
Here’s a colouring sheet for you. Let your imagination soar as you add a few splashes of colour!
The body’s command centre governs all cognitive and physiological functions, shaping our thoughts, emotions, and actions.
Take a deep dive into the intricacies of English grammar with this video on participles.
How familiar are you with scientific equipment? Find out by completing this crossword.
This crossword is all about tools and instruments used in the field of Science.
According to the Chinese calendar, this year is the Year of the Dragon. Celebrate this powerful animal with some books and movies.
Chinese New Year celebrations began on February 10 and continue to February 24. It is a time of joy and happiness, marking the beginning of the Year of the Dragon. This is a time for families to come together and celebrate, and it symbolises new beginnings and familial bonds.
At the beginning of the lunar year, there are vibrant parades, dragon dances, feasts, fireworks and reunion dinners. The festival culminates in the Lantern Festival.
While we are on the subject of the Year of the Dragon, here are some books and movies that will add to the joy of the occasion.
Check them out.
You should be able to spot 12 differences in these two images. Can you?
The two pictures look the same, don’t they? Take a closer look and see if you can spot the 12 things that make them different.
It was 50 years ago that one of the greatest archaeological finds of the century was unearthed. Read on.
In 1974, Yang Zhifa, a farmer in the Linton County in the Shaanxi province of China, and his brothers were digging a well when they stumbled across several figures made of terracotta. News of this discovery led Chinese archaeologists to launch an investigation in the area.
What they found was a massive collection of sculptures meant to represent the armies of Qin Shi Huang, China’s first emperor. These were buried along with him to protect him in the afterlife. Excavations revealed three pits that held life-sized models of around 8,000 soldiers and more than 100 chariots, and horses, all arrayed as if ready for battle. Interestingly, each soldier’s facial features and expression are different.
Individual characteristics
The figures vary in height, with the tallest being the generals. Uniform and hairstyle were based on the soldier’s rank and the part of the army he belonged to. There were two major styles: one was tying the hair into a bun on the right side and the other was plaited hair tied into a bun on top of the head. The generals wore armoured tunics and shoes with square toes. Cavalrymen had pillbox helmets and light body armour with soft shoes rounded at the toes to protect their horses. Chariot drivers got coverings for their arms and hands and also wore helmets with protection for their necks.
The soldiers were given weapons made of bronze such as swords, bows and arrows, daggers, aces, spears and others. These had been treated so that they would not rust and corrode. Even after 2000 years of being buried, these weapons are still bright and sharp. These arms were produced specifically for burial and were never used.
The variety of clothing, hairstyle, and facial features and the formations in which the soldiers have been arranged has given scholars a wealth of information about the military, socio-cultural and economic situation of that time.
How the warriors were made
Each soldier was based on real people of the time. The workers involved lived with armies to observe the soldiers. When the figures were sculpted, each body part and clothing unit was made individually. These parts were then put together and clay was applied to the head so that the hairdos, facial features and expressions could be carved for each one. Finally, the figure was baked in a kiln and painted with coloured lacquer. The project involved over 700,000 workers.
Incomplete excavation
Though this is the 50th year since the discovery was made, less than one percent of the tomb has been excavated. Sima Qian, a first century BCE historian, had recorded that streams of mercury were used to represent rivers. In 2005, 4000 samples from the burial mound tested positive for mercury. As a result, the debate about how protect the tomb and its contents and the archaeologists and workers excavating the side continues.
