TELL ME 'WHY'?

Why Are Bananas Curved?
         Bananas grow in bunches knows as "hands". As the bananas in a hand mature and grow larger, they curve upwards. Instead of pointing downwards, they bend up and point towards the sky to receive more sunlight. This biological ability is known as "negative geotropism".

Why Does Cabbage Change When Cooked?
       The cells of cabbage leaf contain anthocyanin molecules. When cooking cabbage, the heat of stove causes the cells containing anthocyanins to burst open. The water soluble pigments are released, mixing with the surrounding liquid thus changing the color of cabbage when cooked.

Why Can't We Breathe Underwater?
        When hydrogen and oxygen combine, they form H2o. The oxygen dissolved in water is bound to two hydrogen atoms and is thus useless to our lungs in such form. Human lungs do not have enough surface area to absorb sufficient oxygen from water and are adapted to air rather than water.

Why Do We See Reflection In Water?
         When light shines on a pool of water it is dispersed in three ways. Some of it is absorbed as heat while some of it passes through the water and is deflected or 'bent'. This phenomenon is known as refraction of .light Also some of the light is reflected on the surface of the water which acts as a mirror. Thus if the water is clean it is possible to see a reflection very clearly.

Why Is Boric Powder Used In Carom Boards?
          Boric powder is a fine white powder at room temperature which hardly reacts with anything else but itself. Sprinkling boric powder on carom board smoothens the surface and reduces the friction between the puck and the board. This helps the carom pucks move faster across the carom surface.

Why IS Sea Salty?
       As rainwater passes through soil and percolates through rocks, it dissolves some of the minerals, a process called weathering. This is the water we drink, and of course, we cannot taste the salt because its concentration is too low. Eventually, this water with its small load of dissolved minerals or salts reaches a stream and flows into lakes and the ocean. The annual addition of dissolved salts by rivers is only a tiny fraction of the total salt in the ocean. The dissolved salts carried by all the world’s rivers would equal the salt in the ocean in about 200 to 300 million years. These include sodium, chlorine (which together make the salt we put in our food), magnesium, calcium and potassium.

Why Is Smoking Bad For Health?
       Our lungs have over 350 million tiny sacs, called Alveoli. Though these air sacs, the oxygen is taken from the air and passed into your blood. Smoking coats these sacs with sticky tar thereby choking them thus blocking them to function, and this in turn causes breathing problems and weakens the lungs.

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DESTINATION MARS!

   
         Our resources are limited and it may not be possible to live on planet Earth forever. It is therefore imperative for us to search for the possibility of life on other planets and determine whether we can inhabit those territories. Of all the planet explorations taking place, the findings of planet Mars gives us hope to mankind about the possibility of another livable planet. Here are some of these findings.



How Far Is Mars From The Sun?
       Mars has an elliptical orbit around the Sun, so sometimes it is closer to the Sun and sometimes its farther. When its closest, it is approximately 206,600,000 km away






What Are The Gases In The Planet Mars?
       The atmosphere consists of mainly of carbon dioxide (95 per cent), argon and nitrogen. Mars has a very thin atmosphere. The suspicion of life on Mars was supported by the stream beds consisting of water, lava and frozen water ice at the poles. So there might even be traces of hydrogen in the planet's atmosphere.

Is There Water On Mars?
       Evidence shows that water flowed abundantly on Mars during its first 500 million years of history. There are winding channels and great gorges similar to water cut canyons. One such canyon is the Valles Marineris which is 10 times longer and about four times deeper than the Grand Canyon on Earth.

Where Has The Water Gone?
        It is believed that water on Mars dried up, because, at only about half the Earth's diameter, it was unable to retain the heat of its birth for as long. It is the dynamo action of molten material circulating deep inside a planet that creates a magnetic field. This magnetic field shields a planet's atmosphere from the ravages of the million-mile an hour solar wind. Without this magnetic shield, the atmosphere of Mars was quickly stripped away and so liquid water could no longer exist on its surface.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Phoenix mars lander

Did Life On Mars Exist?     
            Advanced life forms require liquid water. Since the mid 1960's, studies have shown the presence of frozen water at the Martian poles. Tn recent years, NASA Rover robots on Mars (Mars Pathfinder, The Spirit and Opportunity Rovers and The Phoenix Mars Lander) coupled with data from Mars orbiters proved the previous existence of liquid water on Mars.

NASA Mars Rover

     



       Also, from images and techniques used to measure ice levels, it appears that at the polar extremes of the planet there are large amounts of ice. If melted, this ice would lead to an average level of water covering the entire surface by 11 meters high, thereby generating oxygen in the atmosphere thus justifying the probability of life on the Planet.

Mars pathfinder

         

Why Is Study Of Mars Important As Compared To Other Planets?
         The existence of Earth-like life should necessarily be restricted to planets where Earth conditions exist or have existed. Taking a closer look at the other planets, we find Mars to be the only planet that can provide answers.

• WHY NOT VENUS? - With its crushingly high atmospheric surface pressure, lead- melting temperatures and thick carbon dioxide atmosphere that is resistant to sunlight, Venus's surface makes for an extremely unfriendly environment for any robotic lander.

• WHY NOT MERCURY? - Though it might be very much like the moon, half the planet and the satellites in orbit around it are subjected to high solar radiation. The heat from the sun could fry a spacecraft and the radiation could destroy all on board electronics. So nobody can ever live there.

• WHY NOT JUPITER? - The giant gas planet Jupiter is very, very, far away. So with our current and near-future propulsion technology, humans can only reach it in huge colony ships. And once we would get there, we would have only some small, dead moons to live on. So if Jupiter is improbable, then life on SATURN, URANUS and NEPTUNE is just impossible! 

              This means we would need a leap in technology to survive on the Venus surface. We would need huge spaceships to get to Jupiter, and nobody would be able to return home for decades. And so Mars is definitely the only planet that we could go out to, explore and probably inhabit in the near future. 

How Similar Is Mars To Earth?

• Each planet has roughly the same amount of land surface area. Atmospheric chemistry is relatively similar, at least as Earth is compared to the other planets in the solar system. Both planets have large, sustained polar caps, which is probably made of water ice. Mountains on Mars are much larger than Earth's mountains.

• Mars does not have the same kind of magnetic field as Earth. But evidence collected by the Mars Global Surveyor(MGS) indicates that the planet may have once had a global magnetic field, generated by and internal dynamo. Evidence suggests that the planet's magnetic field reversed direction, or flipped, several times in its early days as conditions in the mantle and core of the planet changed. But the dynamo faded, leaving only faint traces of its magnetic past locked in the Martian crust.

• On earth much of the planets fresh water is locked up in ice covering the two poles. This polar ice and the vast ice sheet covering Greenland in the north may only represents roughly three percent of the overall water contained on Earth, it represents two thirds of all the available fresh water, that is vital to many of the lifeforms found here. Likewise, data now indicate that Mars's northern polar region may contain as much water as that contained on Greenland's ice sheet, a vast tract of frozen water that's up to three kilometres thick in some places.

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DANGEROUS ANACONDA!

WHAT IS ANACONDA?

          An anaconda is a large, non-venomous snake and although the name actually applies to a group of snakes, it is often used to refer to one species in particular - The common or green anaconda, EUNECTES MURINUS. It is one of the largest and most powerful snakes in the world. They are greenish-brown with a double row of black oval spots on the back and smaller white markings on the sides. Their scaly skin glistens but is dry is to the touch. The anaconda has a large head and a thick neck. Its eyes and nostrils are positioned on the top of the head, enabling the anaconda to breathe and to see its prey while its thick and strong body lies submerged under water. It smells with its tongue. It has no fangs.

 

WHERE IS IT FOUND?

         Anacondas are found in the rivers in the rain forests of South America, Brazil and Guiana. Water is their main escape method when confronted with danger. Rather than attacking, they will choose to slide into the water unnoticed. They spend a lot of their time in the dark waters of their habitat.

HOW BIG IS THE ANACONDA?

         Anacondas are very difficult for scientists to study or even find and so there is some debate about their maximum size. According to the records, the biggest anaconda ever found was of length more than 37 ft. There may be larger Anacondas which are unseen.Anacondas like to hang out in rivers so it would be difficult to estimate the length of one seen swimming without seeing the entire snake. It's the anaconda's ability to remain partly hidden in the water that makes it difficult to accurately find (and document) a specimen that exceeds the current world's record.

RAISING BABIES:-

         Green anacondas spend most of their time alone. However, between April and May, males seek out females for the opportunity to mate. Often times, multiple males will pursue the same female. This results in “breeding balls” of up to a dozen males wrapped around a single female, all attempting to mate. The breeding ball can last up to 4 weeks.

Once pregnant, the female will produce eggs inside her body. The eggs develop for 8-12 weeks and then hatch while still inside the mother’s body. She then gives birth to as many as 80 tiny snakes, each 30-60 cm (12-24 in.) in length.

DO ANACONDAS BITE?

        Anacondas have teeth, but they are not a venomous snake. They rely on their enormous size and power to topple their victims. It is possible to be bitten by an anaconda, but the bite itself would not be fatal. Anacondas eat amphibious animals like frogs and toads, as well as fish, caiman, birds, ducks and turtles.

HOW DOES AN ANACONDA KILL?

          Anacondas kill their prey by coiling their large, powerful bodies around their victims and squeezing until their prey suffocates or is crushed to death and dies from internal bleeding. Then the snake unhinges its jaw and swallows the victim whole. The anaconda's top and bottom jaws are joined together with stretchy ligaments (elastic band), which let the snake eat animals wider than itself. Snakes don't chew their food. The acids in the snake's stomach break it down.

FACTS ABOUT ANACONDA:- SOURCE

• Anacondas continue to grow as long as they live!
• Compared to other animals, anacondas live a very long life. Around 35 - 45 years!
• To prevent tick/ flea infestation, these snakes emit a foul-smelling substance which is poisonous to small creatures.
• Though the origin of their name is unknown, there are many versions of it. Some people believe that the word anaconda originated from the Sinhalese (language of Sri Lanka) word henakandeya meaning 'a thing with an enormous body' or 'a whip snake'. A few others believed that anaconda is taken from the Tamil (a language spoken in Tamil Nadu, a state in South India) word anaikondran that means 'elephant killer'.
• They are also known in South America by many local names like matatoro (a Spanish term which means 'bull killer'), yakumama and sucuri (Native American terms used for this snake).
• Out of the four types, namely Dark-spotted, Yellow, Green and Bolivian anacondas, the biggest species ever found is the Green Anaconda.
• The world's biggest snake i.e. the Green anaconda is also the heaviest snake, with a fully grown adult weighing more than 550 pounds (or 227 kilograms approximately) and being 9 meters (approximately 30 feet) long.
• The biological name of the Green anaconda, Eunectes murinus, is formed from the Greek word Eunectes meaning 'good swimmer' and Latin word murinus which means 'who hunts mice'.

   


ANACONDA EATING ITS PREY

HOW TO ESCAPE FROM AN ANACONDA ATTACK?  SOURCE 

Avoid going to areas where anacondas are likely to be seen.

Always keep a knife with you for safety.

Try not to get gripped in the first place. Stay out of shallow rivers because there is a chance of you getting an anaconda. If you do see a snake, don't get close to it. Watch out to see if it is tracking your movement, following you, and flicking its tongue. These are signs that it is getting ready to strike.

  If an anaconda ever starts squeezing you, bite the end of the snake's tail as hard as you can This will cause the anaconda tremendous pain, causing you to let go.

Hit the snake with anything that you can see, especially a rock or a sharp object like a knife.

Biting the anaconda in the middle of its body may not have the same effect as biting the tip of the tail.Anacondas are very thick, so you may not be able to do any real damage unless you get a weak spot.

A VIDEO OF ANACONDA SWALLOWING  ITS PREY:-

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THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

 What is THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION?

       The International Space Station (ISS) is a large and special kind of spacecraft floating in space. It is a large research facility with people on-board who run science experiments that can only be done in space. It orbits 250 miles above the Earth flying through space at around 17,000 miles per hour. This means the ISS goes around the Earth approximately once every 90 minutes.

WHO BUILT THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION?

         The ISS deigned so that many countries all over the world could cooperate and have a place on-board to perform their science and technology experiments. The two primary countries involved with the ISS are the United States with NASA and RUSSIA with the Russian Space Agency (RSA). Other countries involved with the construction and ongoing activities on the ISS are The Canadian Space Agency, The European Space Agency, Japan, Brazil, and many others.

WHEN WAS IT MADE?

          The first piece of ISS was launched in 1998. Over time, the US space shuttle and Russian rockets were primarily used to get materials, parts, and people back and forth from the Earth up to the Space station. The first crew arrived in October 2000. People have lived on the space station ever since. Over time more pieces have been added. NASA and its partners around the world finished the space station in 2011.

HOW BIG IS THE SPACE STATION?

       The Space Station is as big as a house with five bedrooms. It has two bathrooms, a gymnasium and a big bay window. Six people are able to live there. It weighs almost a million pounds. It is big enough to cover a football field.

WHAT ARE THE PARTS OF THE SPACE STATION?

        The Space Station has many parts. The parts are called modules. The first modules had parts needed to make the Space Station work. Astronauts also lived in those modules. Modules called "nodes" connect parts of the station to each other. Labs on the Space Station let astronauts do research. On the sides of the Space Station are solar arrays. These arrays collect energy from the Sun to convert into electricity. Airlocks on the Space Station are like doors. Astronauts use them to go outside on spacewalks. Docking ports are like doors, too. The ports allow visiting spacecraft to connect to the space station. New crews and visitors enter the station through the docking ports. Astronauts fly to the space station on the Russian Soyuz. The crew members use the ports to move supplies onto the station.

WHY IS THE SPACE STATION IMPORTANT?

         The Space Station is a home in orbit where crew members do research. This research could not be done on Earth. Scientists study what happens to people when they live in space and how to keep a spacecraft working for a long time. These lessons will be important in the future.

WHAT TYPES OF EXPERIMENTS ARE DONE ON ISS?

          Experiments with space medicine, gravity's affect on life, future space travel, biology in space, discovery of new materials, and various technology experiments are being conducted on ISS. Studying materials like fluids, flames, metals, and different objects in space helps us gain a better understanding of all these things on Earth. From the ISS, we have a great window to watch the Earth, watching weather, climate, agriculture trends, natural disasters, pollution, deforestation, etc. We can even have a more clear view of all the galaxies out in the universe and we can even study the very nature of space itself.

HOW IS INFORMATION FROM THE ISS COMMUNICATED TO EARTH?

         The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRS) is a series of satellites that the ISS uses to communicate with the ground. Using TDRS with its satellites positioned all around the Earth, the ISS can communicate to the Earth any time it needs to. The Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) is the NASA network that controls TDRS.

WHO IS ON BOARD THE ISS NOW?

       The Expedition 32 crew is on board the ISS. Crew members are from the USA, Russia and Japan. On July 14, 2012 Indian born astronaut, Sunita Williams was launched in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to join the Expedition 32 crew. She will stay on and become the commander of Expedition 33

LIFE INSIDE THE ISS:-

    Once a person is inside the INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION, they can float around without needing a spacesuit. The only time an astronaut would need a spacesuit is if they are doing a spacewalk, which means they are going outside the space station to work on something. As for Oxygen, there are life support systems on the ISS which provide oxygen and remove carbon dioxide so astronauts can do their job on board and breathe normally. Much of this oxygen comes from a process where the electricity from the ISS solar panels is used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gas. On the ISS, meals often come in a meal tray, and the meal tray becomes a sort of dinner place with several foods to choose from. The tray holds the foods down so they don't float away. The food and drink come in cans or dehydrated so things don't have to be refrigerated. As for sleeping, astronauts are weightless and can sleep in any orientation. However, they have to attach themselves to a wall, seat or bed so they don't float around and bump into something.

ISS TRIVIA :-

• The Space Station is the largest manned object ever sent into space. It is a research facility that measures 290 feet in length and 356 feet in width. It weighs more than 1 million pounds.
• It is being powered by solar energy. This energy is necessary to power the six laboratories and all the living space on board.
• The ISS was designed and built with the collaboration of 100,000 people, sixteen nations, and hundreds of companies.

HERE IS A VIDEO:-

Was Is Informative? Being an astronaut is amazing, isn't it? We get to see our Earth, various planets, especially the Sun and much more! I wish I was an Astronaut..! What do you think? :D

NUCLEUR POLLUTION

What Is Nuclear Pollution?
    

 Nuclear pollution begins with the deposition of radioactive wastes. It happens when the radioactive element comes in contact with other elements in environment and emmit Alpha & Gamma Rays wich is a serious threat to Human Race.These wastes contain radioactive chemical elements lacking any practical purpose. Usually they are the byproducts of nuclear processes such as nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, etc.

How Does Nuclear Pollution Take Place?

       It is basically produced by nuclear explosion caused due to various nuclear tests that are performed using nuclear weapons. The explosion results in contributing a certain percentile of radioactive particles into the Earth's stratosphere. Later these particles get settled on the earth's surface affecting the living organisms.

What Are The Severe Effects Of Nuclear Pollution?

        Nuclear pollution tends to produce uncontrolled radioactive material. It has a negative impact on vegetation causing serious health hazards. The nuclear explosions that affected Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the Second World War are direct examples of the severe impact on humans as well as other living organisms. Nuclear pollution also results in global warming thus raising a major environment concern.

What Immediate Measures Can Be Taken To Restrict Nuclear Pollution?
        Setting up of nuclear station is one option to reduce nuclear pollution. Educating the public on health issues and influencing the government to deal with problems of nuclear pollution should be embarked on. Besides, development and construction of nuclear power plants, promotion of energy efficiency and encouraging the use of solar power would probably help deal with nuclear pollution.

HERE IS A VIDEO:-

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WHY DO FINGERS AND TOES WRINKLE IN THE BATHTUB?

            The tough outermost layer of the skin is made up of dead Keratin cells formed from the protein Keratin. While a person is in the pool or a bathtub for a long time, the dead keratin cells absorb water. This absorption causes the surface of the skin to swell. But as the outer layer of skin is tightly attached to the skin underneath, it results into wrinkling.

WHY IS IT HARD FOR KETCHUP TO FLOW INSTANTLY?           Ketchup has a strange property of changing from a gel-like thickness to a free flowing liquid. This is termed as 'Thixotrophy'. The word is derived from Greek 'thixis' meaning the act of handling and 'trope' meaning change. This happens because of the ketchup molecules which are in the form of long chains. When the ketchup bottle is left untouched for some time, the molecule chains coil up together in a jumble. When the bottle is shaken, the molecules break apart and become loose allowing the ketchup to flow.

WHY DO GEESE FLY IN V-SHAPE?

           Geese fly in a V-shaped formation while migrating as it conserves energy. Each bird flies slightly above another in front, resulting in a reduction of wind resistance. They take turns being in the front, falling back when they get tired. In this way, they can fly for a long time before they stop for rest. Secondly, the V-formation helps to keep track of every bird in the group. Fighter pilots often use this formation for the same reason.

WHY DOES WATER STAY COOL IN EARTHEN POTS?

           This is because of a physical process known as evaporation. When a liquid changes to a gaseous state without boiling, it is known as evaporation. An earthen pot is made of mud and has many minute pores. The pores remain the same no matter how tightly you pack the mud. These pores absorb heat from the water inside the pot. Due to this process of continuous absorption of heat from the water inside the pot, the water in the earthen pot remains cool...

WHY DO WE BLINK?          Blinking is an involuntary action that protects the eye. It's a kind of safeguard mechanism. Besides it lubricates the eyes wiping out any minute particles of dust keeping the front portion clear for good vision. The eyelid, through suction, automatically draws the fluid we cry with from the well we refer to as the tear duct over the eyeball, to irrigate, and to moisturise the eye. Sometimes, blinking is also an expression reflecting nervousness, loud noises, stress and tension.

WHY DON"T WE FALL OUT WHEN A ROLLER COASTER GOES UPSIDE DOWN?

           When a roller coaster is in motion, a lot of Kinetic energy is generated to pull the train up and go down again. When the train goes upside down, it's the inertia that keeps you seated. Interia is the force that presses your body to the outside of the loop as the train spins around. Although gravity is pulling you towards the earth, at the very top the acceleration force is stronger than gravity and is pulling upwards, thus counteracting gravity.

WHY DO PEOPLE SAY 'GOD BLESS YOU' WHEN SOMEONE SNEEZES?

           This account is supposed to have originated in Rome when the Bubonic plague was spreading through Europe. One of the symptoms of the plague was coughing and sneezing. A sneeze was believed to be a sign of impending death. It is believed that Pope Gregory VII suggested saying "God bless you" after a person sneezed as "a way of commanding his soul to the care of God."

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