Keshav jain

Keshav jain

  • Joined: June 4, 2024
  • Articles: 90

Which is the longest song ever released?

Music has the power to take us on incredible journeys, transporting us to other worlds and allowing us to experience the full range of human emotions. From soaring anthems to introspective ballads, music has the ability to touch us in ways that nothing else can. And for some musicians, the journey is not limited to a few minutes or even hours – instead, they seek to create epic compositions that stretch on for days.

One such masterpiece is A Quantum Christmas Song, recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest officially released song. Created by English songwriter Mark Christopher Lee in collaboration with the British indie band The Pocket Gods, this 115-hour-45-minute long odyssey is a spiritual exploration of the mysteries of quantum physics and the meaning of life.

Some more examples of astonishingly long songs include Symphony of the Crown (48 hours, 39 minutes, and 35 seconds long) by Canadian artist Earthena; Rise and Fall of Bossnova (13 hours and 32 minutes) by American artist Michael J Bostwick; and Apparente Liberta (76 minutes and 47 seconds) by Italian musician Giancarlo Ferrari.

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What is MRP?

MRP or maximum retail price is the price beyond which a packaged product cannot be sold to a consumer. The maximum price of any commodity in the packaged form includes all taxes local or otherwise, transport charges, and any other costs incurred by the manufacturer or seller.

The Centre regulates MRP to prevent retailers from overcharging customers. The Price Monitoring Division in the Department of Consumer Affairs is responsible for monitoring the prices of 22 essential commodities. It monitors the retail and wholesale prices of essential products on a daily basis.

Why was MRP launched?

The MRP was introduced in 1990 by the Department of Legal Metrology, Ministry of Civil Supplies by making an amendment to the Standards of Weights and Measures Act (Packaged Commodities Rules), 1976. It was meant to prevent tax evasion and protect consumers from profiteering by retailers.

Earlier, manufacturers had the freedom to print either the maximum retail price (inclusive of all taxes) or the retail price (local taxes extra). The latter method allowed the retailers to often charge more than the locally applicable taxes. The amendment mandated the compulsory printing of MRP on all packaged commodities.

Filing a complaint

If a shopkeeper charges more than the printed MRP, consumers can file a complaint with the Legal Metrology Department in the State where the shop is located. Besides, they can also file complaints at the Consumer Forum in their respective districts.

Selling a packaged product at a price higher than the printed MRP can attract a fine of Rs 25,000 or a jail term. India is the only country in the world to have a system wherein it is punishable by law to charge a price higher than the printed MRP.

However, hotels and restaurants are allowed to charge higher than the MRP of packaged food items. According to a Supreme Court ruling, restaurant and hotels are allowed to sell a packaged product at a higher cost as they provide extra services for their customers such as the ambience and cutlery, etc.

Meanwhile, the retailer is free to fluctuate the selling price as long as it is below or equal to the MRP.

Why are products at airports expensive?

The products at airports are expensive primarily because running a store at the airport is an expensive affair. Here, the retailers have to pay a high rent which is then added to the final price of the product. Another reason is that as airports are high-security zones, the workforce have to undergo daily background checks and training in security measures. This leads to a product price surge.

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Is IFSC More than just a code?

In case someone enters an incorrect IFSC while making an online transfer, the funds are credited back to the sender’s bank account.

If you have a bank account, you must have seen an IFSC reference on the passbook. The unique code forms an essential part of the Indian banking infrastructure. Let us find out more about this unique code.

What is IFSC?

The Indian Financial System Code (IFSC) is an 11-character alphanumerical code that is used by banks to identify the branches where people have their bank accounts. Every bank branch has a unique IFSC and no two branches (even of the same bank) will ever have the same code. In an IFSC, the first four digits tell the name of the bank and the last six characters are numbers representing the branch. The fifth character is zero. The IFSC is assigned by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Purpose of IFSC

The IFSC is used by electronic payment system applications such as Unified Payment Interfaces (UPI). It is used only to transfer or send funds within India. It is mandatory when transferring money from one bank account to another. Without the IFSC, you cannot make online transfers. The IFSC ensures that the money being transferred reaches the right destination bank without any mishap during the transaction process. It also helps the RBI keep track of all digital banking transactions.

Where to find the IFSC?

The IFSC of a bank’s branch can be found in the cheque book. Besides, it can be found on the first page of the passbook. Another simple way to find out the IFSC is to refer to the official website of the RBI or the bank’s website.

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Making mendelevium, one atom at a time?

The discovery of mendelevium was announced at the end of April in 1955. It was described by one of its discoverers as “one of the most dramatic in the sequence of syntheses of transuranium elements”.

The search for new elements is something that scientists have been doing for hundreds of years. Once Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev organised the elements known at his time according to a repeating, or periodic (and hence the name periodic table), system in the 1860s, the search became a little easier.

This was because the gaps in Mendeleev’s periodic table pointed to elements that weren’t known yet. The properties of these elements, however, could be predicted based on their place in the table and the neighbours around them, thereby making it easier to discover new elements. Mendeleev’s table has since been expanded, to make space for other new elements

One of those new elements discovered was element number 101, named mendelevium after. Mendeleev. American Nobel Prize winner Glenn Seaborg, who was one of the discoverers of the element, wrote that the discovery of mendelevium was “one of the most dramatic in the sequence of syntheses of transuranium elements”, in a chapter co-written by him for The New Chemistry. Additionally, he also wrote in that chapter that “It was the first case in which a new element was produced and identified one atom at a time.”

Begins with a bang                                                                       

Ivy Mike, the first thermonuclear device, was dropped for testing on the Eniwetok Atoll in the Pacific Ocean in 1952, sending a radioactive cloud into the air, from which samples were collected. The lab reports suggested that two new elements-elements 99 (einsteinium) and 100 (fermium) – were discovered from the debris. The discoveries came at a time when there was a race to discover new elements.

 The leading researchers of the U.S. involved in this race were camped at the Radiation Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, under the direction of physicist Ernest Lawrence A team of scientists which included Albert Ghiorso, Stanley Thompson, Bernard Harvey, Gregory Choppin, and Seaborg, came up with a plan to produce element 101 using a billion atoms of einsteinium-253 that were formed in a reactor.

The idea was to spread the atoms of einsteinium onto a thin gold foil. As its half-life was about three weeks, the researchers effectively had a week to perform their experiments after receiving it. Based on Ghiorso’s calculations, they were aware that only about one atom of the new element 101 would be produced for every three hours the gold foil was bombarded with alpha particles.

Race against time

As the experiment would yield only a very small amount of the new element, the scientists set up a second gold foil behind the first to catch the atoms. It was a race against time as well as the half-life of element 101 was expected to be a few hours only.

With the Radiation Laboratory atop a hill and the cyclotron at its base, there really was a mad rush to get the samples to the lab on time. The samples “were collected in a test tube, which I took and then jumped in a car driven by Ghiorso”, is how Choppin put it in his own words.

On the night of the discovery, the target was irradiated in three-hour intervals for a total of nine hours. By 4 AM on February 19, 1955, they had recorded five decay events characteristic of element 101 and eight from element 100, fermium. With conclusive evidence of element 101’s existence, Choppin mentions that “We left Seaborg a note on the successful identification of Z =101 and went home to sleep on our success.”

At the end of April 1955, the discovery of element 101 was announced to the world. The university’s press release stated that “The atoms of the new element may have been the rarest units of matter that have existed on earth for nearly 5 billion years… The 17 atoms of the new element all decayed, of course, and the ‘new’ element is for the present extinct once again.”

Cold War era

As element 101 marked the beginning of the second hundred elements of the periodic table, the scientists wanted to name it after Mendeleev, the man behind the periodic table.

Despite the discovery happening during the Cold War era, Seaborg was able to pull enough strings to convince the U.S. government to accept the proposal to name the element after a Russian scientist. The International Union of Pure & Applied Chemistry approved the name mendelevium and the scientists published their discovery in the June 1955 issue of Physical Review Letters.

While only small quantities of mendelevium have ever been produced, more stable isotopes of the element have since been made. The most stable version known as of now has a half-life of over one-and-a-half months, allowing for better opportunities to further study heavy elements and their properties.

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Are Membrane mirrors for large space-based telescopes?

Researches create lightweight flexible mirrors that can be rolled up during launch and reshaped precisely after deployment.

Mirrors are a significant part of telescopes. When it comes to space telescopes, which have complicated procedures for launching and deploying, the primary mirrors add considerable heft, contributing to packaging difficulties.

Researchers have now come up with a novel way of producing and shaping large, high-quality mirrors. These mirrors are not only thinner than the primary mirrors usually employed in space-based telescopes, but are also flexible enough to be rolled up and stored inside a launch vehicle.

Parabolic membrane mirror

The successful fabrication of such parabolic membrane mirror prototypes up to 30 cm in diameter have been reported in the Optica Publishing Group journal Applied Optics in April. Researchers not only believe that these mirrors could be scaled up to the sizes required in future space telescopes, but have also developed a heat-based method to correct imperfections that will occur during the unfolding process.

Using a chemical vapour deposition process that is commonly used to apply coatings (like the ones that make electronics water-resistant), a parabolic membrane mirror was created for the first time. The mirror was built with the optical qualities required for use in telescopes. A rotating container with a small amount of liquid was added to the inside of a vacuum chamber in order to create the exact shape necessary for a telescope mirror. The liquid forms a perfect parabolic shape onto which a polymer can grow during chemical vapour deposition, forming the mirror base. A reflective metal layer is applied to the top when the polymer is thick enough, and the liquid is then washed away.

Thermal technique

The researchers tested their technique by building a 30-cm-diameter membrane mirror in a vacuum deposition chamber. While the thin and lightweight mirror thus constructed can be folded during the trip to space, it would be nearly impossible to get it into perfect parabolic shape after unpacking. The researchers were able to show that their thermal radiative adaptive shaping method worked well to reshape the membrane mirror.

Future research is aimed at applying more sophisticated adaptive control to find out not only how well the final surface can be shaped, but also how much distortion can be tolerated initially. Additionally, there are also plans to create a metre-sized deposition chamber that would enable studying the surface structure along with packaging unfolding processes for a large-scale primary mirror.

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What is a pictopedia?

A pictopedia is a pictorial encyclopedia that aims at making learning fun. With pages full of interesting pictures and interesting information, these innovatively curated books are designed to ignite wonder and curiosity.

Our club announced on the notice board about a week ago for volunteers to make presentations on “A Book that Liked Very Much” in its regular meetings. We were surprised by the huge response, and we selected a student from the eighth class who wanted to speak on pictopedia. As this was totally a new area, we thought many of us would benefit from his input. The following report sums up some of the key ideas he presented.

He began his presentation, “When I was randomly running my eyes over the books on a shelf in a bookshop which was labelled children’s literature, I found the expression pictopedia, with the title. What About….Great Personalities? I am familiar with encyclopedias but not this, and hence out of curiosity I flipped through the book. As it was a slender one with only 50 pages and priced at just Rs.150, I asked my father to buy it for me.”

This made us realise how visiting libraries and bookshops, rather than merely surfing the net could enable us to identify interesting titles.

As he had brought the book with him, he quoted a few lines from the preface and blurb to emphasise the purpose of this publication: The coinage pictopedia.

indicates a pictorial encyclopaedia…It is meant for young readers who want to open their eyes in wonder to see the world as they see it for the first time; it is also meant for the adult who wishes to recollect what is lost in the corners of the memory…. Making learning fun is the sole aim of the pictopeda’ series.” Going through the book, he said, he found it useful to whoever wanted to know and recall some of the important details of the personalities included in it.

After reading out the names of a few personalities from the content page, namely, aristotle. Thomas Alva Edison. William Shakespeare, Napoleon, zakir hussain, Archimedes, and osho (Rajaneesh), he pointed out that there are 45 personalities included in the book. For each of them, one page was allocated to cover the most significant details – unlike the usual encyclopedias, it gave only the vital information of a personality in about 100 words. To illustrate it, he read out the details of Nelson Mandela and drew our attention to the details such as his birth, the position he held, his education, the years he spent in prison, and his status as a world leader. These factual descriptions gave us a comprehensive view of his personality, instead of being cluttered with too many details leading to confusion and often forgetting them. The page on Mandela also carried two other features, viz., a large circle highlighting his most distinguishing deeds- half of his salary was donated to the welfare of poor children and the other. Did you Know? which in the form of bullets mentioned the awards and the honours he had received. Along with these, two of his pictures were placed to concretise the portrayal. The same format was observed for all the personalities dealt with

The most noteworthy aspect of the book was the selection of personalities, chosen from different periods multiple walks of life and who excelled in their fields: the timeline chosen extended from the ancient time to the present, for instance, from Aristotle of 384 BC to Aryabhatta of 476 AD to Sachin Tendulkar and to A. R. Rahman, including a large number of the contemporary personalities. Further, they were identified from various fields such as politics, philosophy, technology, painting to films, sports, writers, and music and there were at least four of them representing a particular domain, the range of areas covered brought added value to the book.

Reading about any personality, he observed, took a maximum of five minutes which helped to absorb almost all the details. He proudly mentioned that after becoming familiar with these celebrities, he had turned out to be a popular conversationalist as he was able to refer to them on appropriate occasions while interacting with his friends.

The series, What About is published by navneet Education Limited, based in Mumbai and they have brought out several interesting titles. He concluded by acknowledging the claim made in the blurb of the book that the attractive pictures and unique presentation made the book worthy of possession by any.

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What is cross-dominance?

Most of us are either right or left-handed. But some people may write with their left hand and throw a ball with their right hand. Such a mixed preference for different activities is called cross dominance.

Well, just like we show natural preference to either of the two hands (exceptions being ambidextrous people), our ears, eyes and feet also have one dominant part. The left side of the brain controls the right side of the body and is more dominant in right-handed persons and vice versa. Normally, therefore, a right-handed person would be right-footed, right-eyed and so on. But some right-handed persons may have a more dominant left foot or left eye. This is called mixed laterality and such persons also show traits of cross-dominance.

Hand-eye cross-dominance can be quite problematic for sportspersons especially shooters and athletes. More than 20% people have some cross-dominance or the other and it can be overcome by training oneself to use the non-dominant part more often.

Many well-known people are cross-dominant. Sachin Tendulkar bats, bowls and throws with his right hand but writes with his left. Rafael Nadal plays tennis with his left-hand but uses his right hand to throw and write. The foot you use normally to kick the ball is your dominant foot. The ear you naturally turn toward a soft sound is your dominant ear.

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Are heatwaves Present in the ocean?

High temperatures and heatwaves across the globe saw records broken in July 2023 on land and in the oceans. The oceans serve as the Earth’s heat reservoir, absorbing substantial amounts of thermal energy as a result of their continuous interaction with the atmosphere. Under specific conditions prolonged periods of unusually high temperatures in the oceans are called marine heatwaves much like their atmospheric counterparts.These higher temperatures could be driven by increased heat input from the atmosphere. decreased heat losses from the ocean or the transfer of warmer water masses through currents Over the past two decades these events have become more prevalent and widespread, having been observed in various areas of the global ocean, in both regional and large scales, at the surface of the ocean and at depth

In particular, recent data shows the occurrence of marine heatwaves surged by 34 percent between 1925 and 2016. While the exact mechanisms triggering marine heatwaves vary from region to region. There are two primary factors. In some instances, the atmospheric conditions themselves play a pivotal role. During such episodes, stagnant air masses and prolonged high temperatures in the atmosphere conspire to heat the ocean’s surface setting the stage for a marine heatwave event. This pattern was notably evident during a 2012 North Atlantic event, which saw one of the highest sea surface temperatures ever recorded.

In other cases, the main driver is the movement of ocean currents, which transport relatively warm water masses to new areas. When these warm masses converge in specific regions, they cause a rapid and abrupt increase in the sea’s surface temperature. This was witnessed in the 2015 Tasman Sea (situated between Australia and New Zealand) event.

As the impacts of marine heatwaves reverberate across the globe, understanding the complex interplay between the oceans and the atmosphere is crucial for predicting the Occurrence of these extreme events. In the face of climate change, conserving and protecting our oceans becomes ever more critical. Therefore improving marine heatwave predictability is crucial to empower communities and ecosystems alike to adapt and build resilience. By better understanding the science behind marine heatwaves and taking collective action, people can work towards a more resilient and sustainable future for the oceans. (With inputs from agencies).

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What is metafiction?

 

Metafiction is a literary style that invites readers to step into a world where the lines between reality and fiction blur. In this self-conscious narrative approach, the narrator and characters are keenly aware of their existence within a work of fiction. As a result, metafiction often departs from traditional storytelling conventions, offering a unique reading experience that prompts introspection about the nature of storytelling itself.

CHARACTERISTICS OF METAFICTION:

Breaking the fourth wall

Metafiction boldly shatters the fourth wall that typically separates the creator of a story from its audience. This literary technique involves direct interactions with the reader, with the narrator or characters openly acknowledging their role in a fictional world. This blurring of boundaries invites readers to question the authenticity of the narrative and their own position within it.

Self-reflexive

A hallmark of metafiction is its self-reflexivity. Authors employ this technique to draw attention away from the storyline and toward the very process of storytelling. By doing so, they encourage readers to contemplate the construction of the text itself. This self-awareness can manifest in various ways, from characters questioning the nature of their existence to authors commenting on their creative process within the narrative.

Examples

• The Canterbury Tales (1387) by Geoffrey Chaucer is an early example of metafiction, using interconnected stories to parody conventional fiction elements. He addresses the audience directly, adding a metafictional layer to the narrative.

• Don Quixote (1605) by Miguel de Cervantes explores the relationship between fiction and reality as the protagonist, Don Quixote, embarks on a quest influenced by his reading. The book invites readers to reflect on the impact of stories on our lives.

Metafiction also appears in children’s literature. Here are a few examples:

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (1992) by Jon Scieszka and illustrated by Lane Smith: This picture book playfully twists classic fairy tales, with characters interacting and the narrator intervening for humour and self-awareness.

• We Are in a Book! (2010) by Mo Willems: Part of the Elephant & Piggie series, this book features characters realising they’re in a book, engaging in a humorous, metafictional conversation that introduces young readers to interactive storytelling.

Through humour, wordplay, and interactive elements, such books make reading an engaging and thought-provoking experience.

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What is the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act in India?

The new traffic rules under the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019, came into force in many states on September 1. Under the Act, heavy fines are imposed for offences such as over-spreading, driving under the influence of alcohol and driving without states are not happy with the hefty fines and have opted to reduce the quantum of fines as suggested. What is the scope of the penalties imposed under it? Let’s find out in this week’s Five Ws & One H….

The Motor Vehicles Act is an Act of Parliament which regulates all aspects of road transport vehicles. The Motor vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which sought to make changes to the 1988 Act, was passed in the Rajya Sabha in July and in the Lok Sabha in Aught. The new traffic rules with sticker penalties, under the 2019 Act, came into effect on September 1.

How have the penalties been increased under the recently amended Act?

The penalties for breaking traffic rules have gone up multi-fold. For driving without a license, the new fine is ?5000, which is 10 times the earlier fine of ?500.
The maximum penalty for driving under the influence of alcohol has been increased from ?2000 to ?10000.
For speeding or racing, the fine has been increased from ?500 to ?5000.
Not wearing a seatbelt while driving would attract a fine of ? 1000 as against the earlier fine of ?100.
If a vehicle manufacturer fails to comply with motor vehicle standards, the penalty will be a fine of up to ?1Lakh.
The Central government may increase the fines by 10% every year.

Why are the other provisions as per the new Act?

The new Act has extended the period for renewal of driving licenses from one moth to one year after the date of expiry.
The Act also promises to protect those who render emergency medical or non-medical assistance to a victim of an accident, from any civil or criminal liability.
The minimum compensation for death or grievous injury in hit-and-run cases has been increased from ?25000 to ?2- Lakh in case of death, and from ?12500 to ?50000 in case of grievous injury.
The central government will develop a scheme for cashless treatment of road accident victims during the ‘golden hour’ – the time period of up to one hour following a traumatic injury, during which the likelihood of preventing death through prompt medical care is the highest.
The Act requires the Central government to constitute a Motor Vehicle Accident fund, to provide compulsory insurance cover to all road users in the country.

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