Category Science

WHAT IS 3D PRINTING? HOW DOES THE TECHNOLOGY WORK?

Your mother wants to make a duplicate set of the house keys. That would involve a visit to the local key-maker. Wouldn’t she be relieved if you could make her a set sitting right at home? Well, that day is not too far into the future and best of all, it’s not science fiction. 3D printing is here!

Additive manufacturing

3D printing is not really new. It is a type of additive manufacturing or AD, which itself means creating an object by adding material to it layer by layer. AD is also known as stereo-lithography, 3D layering and 3D printing 3D printing can be compared to stalactites and stalagmites in limestone caves or to coral reefs. Both are built by adding material layer by layer, bit by bit, until they form a solid structure. This natural process is very slow. In 3D printing, the design is precisely engineered with computer software. The computer directs the printer on how to add the layers.

Used in diverse fields

3D printing was earlier used to build prototypes or models of objects. Now there are a variety of printers that can create products in a vast number of fields. Already available in the market are 3D printers that can roll out anything from a precision-moulded car part, a designer chocolate and a customised toy to artificial limbs, dentures and even living human tissue for building organs!

First, a 3-D model is produced on computer using CAD or computer-aided design software. CAD can also tell you how the model will work when made with the kind of material you are using. In fact, the working can be seen using virtual simulation. The second step is converting the CAD model to a format that will work with the designated printer and then transferring it to the computer that controls the printer. Just as with a normal laser or inkjet printer, you can feed in the size and orientation (landscape. portrait, etc). Each kind of printer uses different materials (printing inks/toners) to build the object-cheese or chocolate for food items and liquid polymers or other chemical binders for making inedible objects like car or aeroplane parts or dental fixtures or even live cells to produce human tissue (bioprinting). The object is layered on a tray made of material that is water-soluble. Once the object is created, this support can be easily removed!

The machine may take hours or days to complete the object and it can take more time to cool, set or cure till it is fit to handle and be used.

It’s expensive, right now

3D printers are expensive right now, ranging from $30,000 to $80,000. However, as the technology evolves, the cost is expected to come down and you may eventually be able to print a set of keys at home!

Critics of 3D printing feel that the technology may be misused to print weapons. One nervous state in the U.S. has already passed a law banning 3D plastic and metal guns, and taken down a website that showed people how to make them!

Did you know?

A family in France became the first in the world to move into a 3D printed house in July 2018. The four-bedroom house took 54 hours to print, with an additional four months for contractors to add doors, windows and the roof! The design of the house was programmed into a 3D printer which worked by printing the walls in layers from the floor upwards. The cost of construction was 20 per cent less than that of a traditionally built house.

Picture Credit : Google 

WHICH IS THE FIRST CARBON NEUTRAL VILLAGE IN INDIA?

Palli, a village in Jammu and Kashmir’s border district of Samba, became India’s first “carbon-neutral panchayat on April 24, 2022, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicating to the nation a 500-kilowatt solar plant. Palli, according to the Prime Minister, has shown the way to the country by becoming carbon neutral. But what is carbon neutrality and how can it be achieved? Let’s find out.

What is carbon neutrality?

We all know that carbon dioxide emissions are one of the primary causes of climate change and an increasingly warming planet. Carbon-neutrality is the state of achieving a balance between the greenhouse gases put out into the atmosphere and those removed. The term ‘Net-zero’ is sometimes used instead of carbon neutrality and they broadly mean the same. Increasingly, countries, companies, and organisations have been committing to achieve carbon-neutrality or net-zero carbon emission through measures such as reforestation and artificial carbon sequestering. But some environmental activists have criticised such offsetting measures as an excuse to continue polluting. If you’ve been wondering about the benefits of achieving carbon neutrality, there are many such as less pollution, improved air quality, better health and environment, green jobs, reducing the impact of climate change, and a greener planet.

How can it be achieved?

Carbon neutrality can be achieved by reducing the use of fossil fuels and by adopting renewable energy sources, by developing energy-efficient technologies, by adopting massive reforestation or tree-planting measures and by investing in technologies such as carbon sequestration that can remove carbon from the atmosphere. By the way, carbon sequestration is the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide underground permanently and safely. However, no technology or quantity of trees planted could offset the emissions currently generated globally, unless every country and every household is part of this solution.

Palli’s feat

The unassuming village of Palli has made history by becoming India’s first carbon-neutral solar village. It has achieved this feat with the installation of a 500-kilowatt solar plant. According to reports, the project was finished in record time (of nearly three weeks) at a cost of Rs. 2.75 crore. Under the central government’s ‘Gram Urja Swaraj’ programme, as many as 1,500 solar panels put up on an area of 6,408 square metres will provide clean electricity to 340 homes in the model panchayat.

The green energy generated will be distributed to the village through the local power grid station, which has a daily requirement of 2,000 units.

Picture Credit : Google 

WHAT IS JUPITER’S IO MOON?

Io or Jupiter I, is the innermost and third-largest of the four Galilean moons of the planet Jupiter. Slightly larger than Earth’s moon, Io is the fourth-largest moon in the Solar System, has the highest density of any moon, the strongest surface gravity of any moon, and the lowest amount of water (by atomic ratio) of any known astronomical object in the Solar System. It was discovered in 1610 by Galileo Galilei and was named after the mythological character Io, a priestess of Hera who became one of Zeus’s lovers.

With over 400 active volcanoes, Io is the most geologically active object in the Solar System.

This extreme geologic activity is the result of tidal heating from friction generated within Io’s interior as it is pulled between Jupiter and the other Galilean moons—Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Several volcanoes produce plumes of sulfur and sulfur dioxide that climb as high as 500 km (300 mi) above the surface. Io’s surface is also dotted with more than 100 mountains that have been uplifted by extensive compression at the base of Io’s silicate crust. Some of these peaks are taller than Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth’s surface.  Unlike most moons in the outer Solar System, which are mostly composed of water ice, Io is primarily composed of silicate rock surrounding a molten iron or iron sulfide core. Most of Io’s surface is composed of extensive plains with a frosty coating of sulfur and sulfur dioxide.

Io’s volcanism is responsible for many of its unique features. Its volcanic plumes and lava flows produce large surface changes and paint the surface in various subtle shades of yellow, red, white, black, and green, largely due to allotropes and compounds of sulfur. Numerous extensive lava flows, several more than 500 km (300 mi) in length, also mark the surface. The materials produced by this volcanism make up Io’s thin, patchy atmosphere and Jupiter’s extensive magnetosphere. Io’s volcanic ejecta also produce a large plasma torus around Jupiter.

Io played a significant role in the development of astronomy in the 17th and 18th centuries; discovered in January 1610 by Galileo Galilei, along with the other Galilean satellites, this discovery furthered the adoption of the Copernican model of the Solar System, the development of Kepler’s laws of motion, and the first measurement of the speed of light. Viewed from Earth, Io remained just a point of light until the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when it became possible to resolve its large-scale surface features, such as the dark red polar and bright equatorial regions. In 1979, the two Voyager spacecraft revealed Io to be a geologically active world, with numerous volcanic features, large mountains, and a young surface with no obvious impact craters. The Galileo spacecraft performed several close flybys in the 1990s and early 2000s, obtaining data about Io’s interior structure and surface composition. These spacecraft also revealed the relationship between Io and Jupiter’s magnetosphere and the existence of a belt of high-energy radiation centered on Io’s orbit. Io receives about 3,600 rem (36 Sv) of ionizing radiation per day.

Further observations have been made by Cassini–Huygens in 2000, New Horizons in 2007, and Juno since 2017, as well as from Earth-based telescopes and the Hubble Space Telescope.

Credit : Wikipedia 

Picture Credit : Google 

WHICH IS THE LARGEST MONKEY IN THE WORD?

The mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx) is a large Old World monkey native to west-central Africa. It is one of the most colorful mammals in the world, with red and blue skin on its face and posterior. The species is sexually dimorphic, as males have a larger body, longer canine teeth and brighter coloring. Its closest living relative is the drill with which it shares the genus name Mandrillus. Both species were traditionally thought to be baboons, but further evidence has shown that they are more closely related to white-eyelid mangabeys.

Mandrills mainly live in tropical rainforests but will also travel across savannas. They are active during the day and spend most of their time on the ground. Their preferred foods are fruit and seeds, but mandrills will consume leaves, piths, mushrooms, and animals from insects to juvenile antelope. Mandrills live in large, stable groups known as “hordes” which can number in the hundreds. Females form the core of these groups, while adult males are solitary and only reunite with the larger groups during the breeding season. Dominant males have more vibrant colors and fatter flanks and rumps, and have more success siring young.

The mandrill lives in west-central Africa, including southern Cameroon, mainland Equatorial Guinea (Río Muni), Gabon and parts of the Republic of the Congo. Its range is bounded by the Sanaga River to the north and the Ogooué and Ivindo Rivers to the east. It does not appear to share habitat with the drill, as the two species are separated by the Sanaga River. Mandrills live in tropical rainforests, generally preferring primary forests over secondary forests. They may live in gallery forests surrounded by savanna and travel across grass areas within their forest habitats. They have also been recorded in mountainous areas, near rivers and in cultivated fields.

The mandrill is an omnivore. The core of its diet consists of plants, of which it eats over a hundred species. One study found the mandrill’s diet was composed of fruit (50.7%), seeds (26.0%), leaves (8.2%), pith (6.8%), flowers (2.7%), and animal matter (4.1%), with other foods making up the remaining 1.4%. During the wet season, mandrills forage in continuous forest, when fruit is most available, while during the dry season they feed in gallery forests and between savannas and forests.

Mandrills are mostly diurnal and are awake around 10 hours per day from morning to dusk. They often pick a new tree to sleep in every night. Mandrills have been observed using tools; in captivity, they used sticks to clean themselves. In the wild, mandrills appear to live 12–14 years, but captive individuals can live 30–40 years.

Picture Credit : Google 

WHAT MAMMAL IS THE DEADLIEST?

Ungainly as it is, the hippopotamus is the world’s deadliest large land mammal. Hippos are aggressive creatures, and they have very sharp teeth. And you would not want to get stuck under one; at up to 2,750kg they can crush a human to death.

Hippos do attack humans. When it comes to these large river horses , there are about 500 deaths per year in Africa. The number is shockingly large and outpaces nearly any other animal on earth. In fact, hippos are known as some of the deadliest land animals in the world, with the mosquito being the overall winner for a long time now (currently, it’s 725,000 per year).

Generally, it’s best to avoid hippos totally. If a hippo does happen to attack, the odds of living through it depend on whether you can get away or not. Sadly, if a hippo is able to grab you, the odds of escaping alive are slim.

Hippos really only attack people that have entered into what they consider their territory. On land, hippos aren’t generally territorial, but getting close is still a bad idea. Despite their stocky legs, an angry hippo can easily outpace a human, averaging 20 mph in short bursts, whereas a human can typically only run 6-8 mph.

When you enter a hippo’s territory in the water, however, things can turn nasty fast. They typically keep to sections of rivers that are around 55-110 yards of shore (that number triples when it comes to lakeshore). They will relax and patrol their territory, readily displacing trespassers.

The most common hippo attacks come from the water with humans on boats. Since hippos are submerged, it can be incredibly hard to see them from the surface. If a human floats by while fishing, it’s easy to miss the massive animal at rest. Suddenly, the hippo will launch itself at the boat, usually capsizing it. Once a human is in the water, there is little they can do to stop the attack.

Besides humans, hippos are known to attack lions, hyenas, and crocodiles. Lions and hyenas generally avoid hippos with how easy it would be for a full-grown adult to kill a pack of either of them. Still, there are occasional instances where desperate lions and hyenas will find an isolated hippo and try to kill it. It doesn’t usually result in much, but a hippo usually doesn’t have a problem defending itself.

The most common interaction that hippos have is with the crocodile. Since they share territory, conflict is more common. Generally, there isn’t much friction between the two species. Still, there are occasional instances of violence. If a female hippo has a calf, any encroaching crocodiles are likely to be chased away. If they don’t learn their lesson, it isn’t uncommon for a hippo to outright kill an annoying croc.

Credit : A-Z Animals

Picture Credit : Google 

HOW TECHNOLOGY HAS CHANGED THE WAY STUDENTS LEARN TODAY?

The digital revolution has penetrated extensively across the country, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The biggest beneficiaries of the use of technology have been students.

From Wordle to Google classroom, to reels and YouTube channels the digital revolution that began in India in the 90s has penetrated extensively across the country, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Every person with a smartphone is now connected globally via the Internet and has some input (whether in the form of text. photos, videos, audios and charts) to share with the public at large.

The biggest beneficiaries of the use of technology have been the student community. Even before the pandemic most academic institutions had shifted their attention to collaborative instruction by introducing audio-visual elements. However, the forms of communication and collaboration that occurred in online teaching is something that was previously unheard of.

Easy access to information

For years, the teacher was considered the primary source of information and the learners passively received it. This model is still very much in evidence today. However, because of the access to information and educational opportunities that technology offers, the teacher now plays the role of a guide and mentor. Students these days take more responsibility for their own learning, using technology to gather relevant information. They collaborate on group projects using technology-based tools such as wikis and Google docs.

Some of the strongest technology buzzwords in recent years are distance learning, big data, machine learning and Internet of Things (IoT). Eventually, it all boils down to integrating technology into our lives, making learning easier.

Educators bring valuable knowledge to learners, both in theory and in real life. But smart educators are those who can create lessons, enabled by technology, and based on what students want to learn. For instance, eLearning is education or training delivered electronically. It can be in the form of slide-based online activities or an online course that helps a business train employees in necessary skills. This content is delivered to learners through computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones. The decision-making factor, in this scenario, encourages learners to make their own choices on what they want to study next.

New-age scenario

Video-assisted learning is another interesting trend. In this case, animated videos are used to teach lessons, making content easier to understand. Such videos reduce a teacher’s workload and are believed to improve the performance of students.

Then there is blockchain technology which is used in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and ePortfolios to verify skills and knowledge. The Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) in blockchain is beneficial when it comes to data storage. Every time new data is added, it adds another “block” to the system, so the storage is technically limitless.

From hospitals to newsrooms, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now a ubiquitous presence. Al can automate basic activities in education, like grading. It is now possible for teachers to automate grading when it comes to multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions. Next comes immersive learning with VR and AR. The classroom experience has undergone a tremendous change since the introduction of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) in education. The rise in demand for experiential learning has led to a push in the development of learning with VR and AR. The former provides a constructed reality, while AR gives an enhanced view of a real image. Thus, they help explain complex concepts that plain images or even a lab’s hands-on experiments cannot do.

Learning with creativity

STEM  programmes are now STEAM, with the inclusion of Art. This new trend offers meaningful science, technology, engineering, art and math content to solve real-world problems through hands-on learning activities and creative design. It also creates a safe environment for learners to express and experience their ideas while thinking outside the box.

*STEM  programmes are designed to develop a learners skills in science, technology, engineering and maths.

Did you know

Many educational institutes have started using social media as a communication tool in which students can share study materials, discuss with others in a group, or easily comment on someone else’s post.

Picture Credit : Google