How many hours a night do you sleep? Eight? Seven? Five? Everybody has his or her own sleep requirements. But we all do it. Until recently, scientists knew very little about why we sleep and what happens when we do. But with growing research and experimentation, we’ve learned some fascinating things about the state in which we spend nearly a …

The average salinity of sea water is about 3.5%. One cubic mile of sea water contains 166 million tonne of salt. The salts of the sea come from the breaking up of rocks and gradual wearing away of mountains releasing salts that are washed down by rainwater. It is estimated that more than 400 million tonne of dissolved salts are …

Because it is purer and fresher than air which blows overland. There are few, if any particles of dust and dirt in sea air and this enables the health giving rays of the sun to reach us more freely and powerfully. Sea air also contains vital salts and traces of iodine.

Radioactivity is dangerous because it can expose people to a harmful dose of radiation even without being aware of it. A number of small doses received over a very long time could lead to leukaemia or cancer in later life. Radiation can lead to the retention of a potentially harmful amount of radium in one’s bones. Radioactivity resulting from nuclear …

Swami Ramdev, was born as Ramkishan Yadav in Alipur, in the Mahendragarh district of Indian state of Haryana. He attended school through the eight grades in Shahjadpur. Thereafter, he joined a yogic monastery (gurukul) in Khanpur village to study Sanskrit and Yoga. Eventually, he renounced worldly life and entered into Sanyas (monastic living) – taking the name Swami Ramdev. Then he …

Quartz is used in watches as it acts as a piezoelectric oscillator. As a potential difference is applied across quartz, stress is generated across the perpendicular faces of the quartz crystal. It is known as reverse piezoelectric effect. The word piezo in Greek means pressure and, therefore, piezoelectricity means pressure electricity. It takes place in some crystals like quartz which …

Prince Henry was the fifth son of King John I of Portugal and of Queen Philippa, grand-daughter of Edward III of England. In his youth he had proved himself to be a brave warrior, but his one desire in life was to extend the sea-routes of the world and to make his country rich by trade. He set up an …

Pig iron is the intermediate product of smelting steel ore with coke and resin. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.5-4.5%, which makes it brittle and not useful directly as a material except for limited applications. The traditional shape of moulds used for these ingots was a branching structure formed in sand, with many individual ingots at right …

Susruta — It was midnight when Susruta was awakened by a frantic knocking at the door. “Who’s out there?” asked the aged doctor, taking a lighted torch from its socket in the wall and approaching the door. “I’m a traveler, by revered Susruta,” was the anguished reply. “A tragedy has befallen me. I need your help…..” Susruta opened the door. …

Mercury can claim the title for the “weirdest” planet in the solar system, apart from being the smallest and the innermost. It has the wildest temperature extremes – from 800’c to to 300’c and drifts from being the nearest to being the farthest from the sun. Reaching mercury poses significant challenges as the planet orbits close to the sun. Hence, …