Category Technology

What is podcast?

A podcast is a digital audio or video file that a user can download or stream and listen to. It is like an on demand internet radio where you can listen to anything you want whenever you want Usually, a podcast is an episodic series, but an individual file can also be called a podcast. The word podcast was suggested by British journalist and technologist Ben Hammersley in 2004.

Podcasts can be accessed through several mediums such as Ipods, desktop computers and smartphones. The first podcast commonly believed to have been published online is the Matt Schichter Interviews in October 2003.

One can find podcasts on a variety of topics from education to travel and life experiences. While most podcasts can be accessed for free. some are also available on a subscription basis.

How can you listen to a podcast?

Podcasts can be listened to on a desktop computer, smartphone or a digital media player such as an iPod. On a smartphone there are several apps that offer free podcasts such as Google Podcasts Spotify and Podcasts Just download any of the apps and get started. On the desktop, you can visit podcast sites directly or go to a website which also hosts podcasts, such as the BBC and The Guardian.

Podcasts for you

Here are a few websites offering podcasts that you can listen to in your free time:

BBC Podcasts

The BBC offers free podcasts on several topics. It also has a special station called School Radio which has podcasts that introduce you to the world of drama language and dance among others.

Science Friday

As the name suggests the website has podcasts on topics related to science and technology. The site has discussions by eminent personalities on topics such as alien life. climate change. and neuroscience. Apart from listening to podcasts, you can read up on several topics and also take part in STEM activities created by educators from around the world.

Wow in the World

Premiered in 2017. this podcast is by the National Public Radio. Aimed at kids, it explores several topics that will leave you thinking. It can be listened to online, or via one of the many podcast smartphone apps. It can also be downloaded for later use.

Can you upload a podcast?

Yes. Several podcast websites allow you to record your own podcast and upload it. There are also sites such as iTunes that let you host publish and maintain your own podcast series.

So, make the best use of your free time and listen to resourceful podcasts on a range of topics. And, if you fancy, you can upload your own and share your stories with the world.

 

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When was the snowmobile first invented?

On November 22, 1927, American Carl J E Eliason received a patent for what he called the motor toboggan. The patent, titled “Vehicle for snow travel”, changed human relationship with winter forever. 

Do you live in a place that has a snowy climate? Or have you made a trip to such a place for a winter holiday? If you answered yes to either of the questions, then chances are that you have played with snow, making your own snowman or throwing snowballs at others. While those activities are inarguably fun, you would also know that travelling by foot in deep snow is no easy task.

If the majority of us with two reliable legs find it hard to tread our way through snow, you can imagine how difficult it would be for those with disabilities to their feet. And yet, it was this disability that prompted American Carl J E Eliason to work on an invention for travelling in the snow.

Difficulties posed by snow

The beginning of the 20th Century saw vast improvements in the way people travelled. Apart from automobiles, which quickly became an important part of people’s lives, airplanes too made their way, shortening distances like never before. But even the best of automobiles were of limited use in places where the winter saw heavy snowfall, making it difficult to get from one point to another.

Eliason, who lived in Sayner, Wisconsin, the U.S., was far too used to these. Raised in such climes, Eliason loved to hunt, fish and trap – just like every other young outdoors men of the locality. But owing to his foot disability, Eliason often found himself lagging behind others, unable to keep up with his friends during the treks through the snow.

This prompted Eliason to try and come up with a vehicle that would enable him, and others, to overcome the challenges of snow travel. He began by working with a Model T Ford – one of the most popular automobiles of the time – and adapting it to skis, but it neither worked in the deep snows and unploughed roads, nor was it easy to handle in the woods.

Two years of tweaking

He began work on what he called the motor toboggan in the winter of 1924 and it took him the better part of two years to realise what he saw as the most practical means of travelling in the snow. Eliason’s invention was made up of a wooden toboggan that was fitted with two skis and steered by ropes. Pushed along by an endless steel-cleated track with slide rails and powered by an outboard motor, the motor toboggan was the precursor to the modern snowmobile.

Eliason applied for a patent for a “Vehicle for snow travel” in March 1927 and received it on November 22 the same year. Even though Eliason wasn’t the first to conceive a motorised vehicle for travelling in snow, his motor toboggan was easily the most reliable from a rider’s perspective and also the first such vehicle that went on to be mass-produced.

Challenge to opportunity

Eliason didn’t stop there as he continued to redesign and improve his machine in the decades that followed. He chose better motors and materials and constantly strove for better performance while personally supervising the assembly of each unit that he sold.

The challenges of winter soon became opportunities as these vehicles enabled travel like never before. The enhanced mobility between certain remote villages and towns, even during severe snowfall, meant that communication too improved manifold. What’s more, travelling this way was so easy and enjoyable that the experience even turned out to be a kind of recreational activity.

Eliason’s motor toboggan remained ahead of its time, so much so that the bulk of the design and fabrication of early snowmobiles replicated many of its features. This, in a roundabout sort of way, implies that most of the current snowmobiles can be traced back to the motor toboggan.

As for Eliason himself, he surely did make the most of his invention. As long as there was snow to go about, he was always ahead of the game. While the rest huffed and puffed on foot, he would ride his motor toboggan and get to the destination in the woods at least an hour before his hunting mates.

 

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What are Research Scientists?

Research Scientists. Chemists, physicists, and all scientists who work to make new discoveries are called research scientists. They go to school for a long time to learn their subject. When they are finished with school, many research scientists work for businesses. Some work for the government of their country. Some work in universities. Do you like to find out how things work? Would you like to make guesses to explain something and then do experiments, or tests, to find out if you are right? Do you like to tell other people about your ideas and discoveries? If so, you may want to become a research scientist yourself!

The purpose of scientific research is to gather information and generate knowledge using both theoretical and experimental means. This work is often divided into pure research, where as yet there is no intended application, and applied research, which has a set target.

Research scientists contribute to knowledge in the fields of the natural sciences, medical science, computer science, environmental science and the social sciences. They make hypotheses, collect data and interpret results in order to answer questions about humans and the natural world. Research scientists normally have either a masters or doctorate degree in their specific fields of study, such as Physics, Biology, Biotechnology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Environmental Science or Psychology.

A position as a research scientist in industry is different from one at a higher education institute or at a research institution.

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What do Physicists do?

Physicists. Physics is another physical science. Scientists who study physics are called physicists. Physicists study matter, or the “stuff” all things in the universe are made of, and energy. They also study forms of energy, such as heat, light, sound, and electricity. Atomic physicists study atoms and the parts of atoms. The things learned by atomic physicists led to the invention of new kinds of weapons as well as new ways of creating energy.

Physicists typically specialize in one of many subfields, and some will go further to specialize in a subdivision of one of these subfields. However, all physics involve the same fundamental principles.

Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics – is research on atoms, simple molecules, electrons and light, and their interactions

Astrophysics – is the study of physical processes in stars and other galactic sources, galactic structure and evolution, the early history and evolution of the universe, and the sun and solar activity

Biological Physics – is the study of biological phenomena using physical techniques

Chemical Physics – provides understanding for a broad range of systems, from atomic collisions to complex materials, as well as the behaviour of the individual atoms and particles that make up the system

Computational Physics – explores the use of computers in physics research and education, as well as the role of physics in the development of computer technology

Condensed Matter Physics – concentrates on such topics as superconductivity, semi-conductors, magnetism, complex fluids, and thin films

Fluid Dynamics – is the study of the physics of fluids with special emphasis on the dynamical theories of the liquid, plastic and gaseous states of matter under all conditions of temperature and pressure

Laser Science – or laser physics is a branch of optics that describes the theory and practice of lasers

Materials Physics – applies physics to complex and multiphase media including materials of technological interest, and uses physics to describe materials in many different ways such as force, heat, light and mechanics

Nuclear Physics – is the study of fundamental problems related to the nature of matter

Particles and Fields – is the study of particles and fields, their interrelationships, interactions and structure, and the design and development of accelerators and instrumentation techniques for high energy physics

Physics of Beams – is the study of the nature and behaviour of beams and the instruments for their production and use

Plasma Physics – plasma, solid, gas and liquid are the four states of matter. Plasma physics is the study of plasma charged particles and fluids interacting with electric and magnetic fields.

Polymer Physics – focuses on the physics of natural and synthetic macromolecular substances.

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What do scientists actually do?

The scientists throughout the world are hard at work. Some are studying atoms and molecules. Others are making discoveries about chemicals, liquids, heat, light, motion, or sound.

Physical scientists learn about how things work in the world and in outer space. They study all matter that is not alive, from tiny atoms to stars and planets.

Scientists work in every field imaginable, and can therefore be found working for an expansive range of employers. Large and small companies will hire scientists to work on products and research projects. Universities will hire scientists to do research work or to teach. Governments and hospitals issue research grants and hire scientists to work on funded projects. Regardless of the path the scientist decides to follow, the ultimate goal is to always add knowledge and insight to the larger scientific community, as well as to help ignite new discoveries for the future.

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What do chemists do?

Chemists. One of the physical sciences is chemistry. Chemists study chemicals and other materials to find out what they are made of. They also learn how these things change when they join with other substances. Chemists take molecules apart and put them together in new ways. They try to find out how chemicals can be used to make things people need, such as fuels, medicines, plastics, and thousands of other materials. Some chemists study how light, heat, and other forms of energy change chemical substances.

A chemist will often work as part of a larger research team in order to create much needed compounds for use in a wide variety of practical applications. A chemist also works to improve the quality of established chemical products and utilizes advanced computer programs to establish new technologies in the field.

Almost every industry benefits from the theories and chemical compounds brought about by research in the chemical sciences.

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