HOW DANGEROUS YOUR HEADPHONES

 USE OF HEADPHONES - The number of headphones/headsets sold worldwide has increased from 236 million in 2013 to an estimate of 360 million in 2019. The number shows the importance of the device. 

Today, life without a mobile phone can not be imagined. Similarly, the use of mobile phones without headphones is tough to imagine. It is a very important device. People usually going on buses, trains, and planes to carry headphones to listen to music. Also, people use it for the morning walk, the evening walk, runnings, and exercise. In the market, you can get earphones or headphones of the different companies from a very high price at a very low price. Many local companies are making headphones and selling at a very cheap price. Generally, people see the low price and buy headphones. 

USE CAREFULLY - The human hearing range is 20Hz to 20kHz. I tried to find the frequency range of leading company headphones from its websites.

1. APPLE - 5Hz and 21kHz
2. SONY - 12 Hz–22kHz
3. JBL- 20 Hz - 20 kHz
4. PHILIPS - 12 - 23 kHz
5. SAMSUNG - 20 to 20kHz

More you can find on different websites. Now the second important parameter for which you should be careful is the decibel(dB). I tried to find decibels ranges.

180 dB: Rocket at take-off

 140 dB: Jet engine at take-off

 120 dB: Rockband

 110 dB: Thunder

 90 dB: City traffic

 80 dB: Loud radio

 60 dB: Ordinary conversation

 30 dB: Whisper

 0 dB: Softest sound a person can hear

All sounds above 90 dB are damaging the inner ear and even doing irreversible damage above 120 dB.

YOU KNOW & YOU DO NOT KNOW - You know a very well loud voice means high decibels is harmful to your ear. But research publishes in royal society, Sounds that the human ear is unable to detect can affect the inner ear and possibly make it temporarily more prone to damage. This is the conclusion of a study from the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany. The study shows that being exposed to inaudible sounds for only 90 seconds can affect the inner ear. It damages the inner part cochlea of the inner ear.

In the cochlea, sound waves are transformed into electrical impulses that are sent on to the brain. The brain then translates the impulses into sounds that we know and understand.

There is a solution to use headphones safely. Please download a sound meter app on your phone and use it whenever to buy ou use headphones to check decibels. Set volume of headphones at 60% of total capacity.

                                                               KEEP USING, KEEP SAFE

HOW SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY COMMUNICATION ALLEVIATE RURAL POVERTY IN INDIA

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY COMMUNICATION - S & T communication is the practice of informing, educating, sharing wonderment, and raising awareness of science-related topics. Science communication may generate support for scientific research or study or to inform decision making. Now in India so many NGOs on national and state levels are working to enhance scientific awareness in the general public. But today we need to focus on rural areas. 

According to RBI, rural areas as those with a population of less than 49,000. It is generally said that rural areas house up to 70% of India's population. There is a great challenge in front of the government on how to alleviate poverty from the rural area. S & T have a key role in alleviating rural poverty in India.

ROLE OF GOVERNMENT - For each state government it is very important to communicate science and technology in its rural population. State governments have a big network of schools in almost every village. Govt can use this big network of school as "BRAHMASTRA" in science and technology communication.

The relation between teachers and local people in villages is more collaborative than in urban areas. For example, when the government failed to provide teachers in school, many times local people collect money to arrange a teacher in the village school.

Role of NGOs - Many NGOs' are working in the field of science communication. Professors, young researchers, and teachers are working with such NGOs. NGOs need to change its direction. Although it is not easy for NGOs like the government. But if the State Science and Technology Council of each state should support NGOs, which are working in science and technology communication.

Indian Villages - In India there was a total of 649,481 villages according to census 2011. Obviously, today's number may be more than the previous numbers. Each village has a unique economic model. In many villages, people do fish farming, poultry farming, dairy farming, and other small business. Also, there are large possibilities for developing more business in each village. If the best technology will be provided to them, it will generate more jobs in the area. This will help to alleviate poverty and also help to address migration towards the urban area. 

Not only economically but S & Thas a key role to save natural resources. A big number of the population suffer from health issue to impure drinking water. Also, people face a big problem of drought in their area due to lower earth water levels. Although many people have fields they can not do farming. Here is the science and technology communication that has a crucial role. How these problems can be avoided. If timely, government and NGOs jointly communicate how to save rainwater and make water recharging points it will help a lot.

For example, a village "SANGHE KHALSA" in the sub-tehsil in Jalandhar in Punjab was suffering for water for crops due to low water levels. Local people decided to do something and they talk to experts about what can be done to solve it. Simply they find the spots in their village where more water collects in the raining season. Also, they cleaned all the old wells of the village which was full of garbage and plastics. They use long pipes and collected all water from village streets, fields and other places in well. They made wells water recharging points and save every drop of water. Here how science and technology communication can play a big role.

Challenges in Communication S & T - Communicate science and technology in a rural area is very challenging. The biggest challenge is language, people in the rural area are comfortable with the local language but all research work is done in English. One-third part of the population does not know English. But if we see many villages have some science-based projects form a long time ago. We need to enquire and understand how they find such projects in those times. Even research institutes are not knowing the local needs of the rural population.

How to involve local universities and inspire young researchers to address local villages issues. How to engage local engineering colleges to find the best technology that can solve problems of their local villages. This issue can be addressed with capacity building in local Engineering & PG students of science. Govt should mandatory for Engineering & PG students to go to some village and address their issue with the help of science and technology.

Impact on Rural Population - It will also help to increase the GDP of the country. The government will get an idea to make policy that will be different and more scientific. Migration from rural to urban areas will reduce. When people get jobs automatically it will help to alleviate rural poverty from the rural area. More research will be focussed on local problems. Our rural population will be more wealthy more healthy.

NATURE IS WAITING FOR OUR REPLY

Hi there, do you see me, feel me and think about me? I am Earthu. I am one of the members of the family of STARS on which life exists. Due to my friends, Watu, treen life exists and due to life, I have more friends.

                                                                            Earthu

 I love all my friends equally. You all have listened to the name of other family members but again telling the name of other members are, Neptune, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus. You are thinking my name is a little different, yes you are absolutely right.

My Early Life - I wanted to tell my life story. I came into existence around 4.5 billion years ago. My actual date of birth nobody knows. After struggling long times, I reached the stage so humans can survive. The earliest time that life forms first appeared on my home is at least 3.77 billion years.

I was so happy with my friends, Watu,  treen, and others. I have one best friend Sun which is very big for all our members. We all move around the sun. Sometimes we play games with the sun. My other family members jealous of me, like Venus, said to me every time you are lucky one earth, how cool you are. I am burning every time. Others also said to me you are lucky to have friends like Watu, Treen, and others.

The Change in My Life - My life does not change suddenly. In early life, I was happy with my new friendship with humans. Humans are given to me and my friends. My friends were also given many things to humans for their survival. All things were going well. We all were enjoying it. humans behavior changed with time, they demand more from my friends. Humans start factories and take a huge amount of water from my friend Watu. Earlier it was a rule with all whatever taken from my friends gives back with the same purity. But humans start violation of the rule. He gives back polluted water.

My friend Watu ask me weather I denied giving water for drinking or another purpose. But what I am getting back. I just expect what I give please give me back. He is very angry. He said I am not getting my food, oxygen but getting very harmful chemicals. The species living with me are dying day by day. 

He also said humans do not know I have a limited amount. He said it's true I am on 71% on your surface but humans do not know all not drinkable One day the amount will finish and humans have to drink the same water that they are giving back to me. They are thinking water purifier will give pure water. They do not know I have special things in my water for humans but purifiers extracting those things.

The same thing happens with my friend Treen, he is very greenish and beautiful. He covers 31% of my total area. One day he came to me and told, Humans, cutting my trees but not planting new trees. They are violating the rule. I am not getting my food carbon dioxide. Humans cheating me taking my big trees and giving small once. Day by day my tress are decreasing in numbers. 

My all friends are compliant with me. They are saying please make understand to humans about our health. if they will not understand, Eco-heath of this blue member of the planet family will disturb.

Ray of Hope - My all friends and me were very sad. One day an unknown person. came to meet us. We ask who are you. He said my name is Natu and I am your best friend. He is looking very powerful. We ask, can you help us. He said yes I am here for all of you. I said my all friends are very unhappy even they are struggling with their life. I have no existence without my friends. I told him, how humans, destroying the life of my friends. They are violating every rule.

Natu replied that I will try to help you. After each time interval, he starts sending messages to all humans in different forms like an earthquake which warns against unethical developments. Some times in the different forms of the pandemic. We ask Natu whether humans will understand or not. Natu said humans are also part of eco-health. If humans will not stop these things or try to destroy your friends then there will be a question mark on human life.

Earth's friends Natu, Watu, Treens, and others are waiting for Human's replies.

UNSUNG HERO OF SCIENCE IN INDIA - Dr. RUCHI RAM SAHNI

Highlights of The Article - In this article you will come to know how the Ruchi ram Sahni was different from other scientists and the educationalist in the pre-independence era. How much contribution given by Sahni and his family in Indian science history. His collaborations with Rutherford will give an idea of his quality of research. He was the first person in that time who do great work in the field of science popularization in Punjab. He was a devoted social worker. Lets Start

The Popularization of Science in Punjab - Punjab before the independence was extended to Haryana, Himachal, Lahore and other areas of Pakistan. Dr. Ruchi Ram Sahn was the first educationist who wanted to create awareness about science with the help of science popularization in Punjab. In that time no one thinking to do. In 1885 RRS established Punjab Science Institute in Lahore for science popularization. He worked to improve the quality of science teaching in schools and colleges. To fulfill the objectives a workshop was attached to it for repairing and manufacturing simple science equipment. Because he thought that without such practicals experience science teaching not possible. The product produced by the workshop was of standards equal to a British firm. He worked to improve the quality of science teaching in schools and colleges. Jawahar Lal Nehru mentioned Scientific Temperament and its need for society in his book "DISCOVERY OF INDIA" in 1944. Once the workshop awarded a Gold medal in Kolkata, the judge of the competition was Sir J.C. Bose.

Sahni & Son's contributions - RRS was the first Indian who started work on the atomic nucleus. He first went to Germany and then Manchester for his research work. He worked with Rutherford and publish two research papers in Nature journal. In Manchester, he undertook the study of alpha scattering in radioactive cosmic rays emissions. The results were communicated by Rutherford himself in Philosophical Magazine.

Unfortunately, when he was returning from Manchester, his photographic plates damaged and his carrier ends in that field. He established a sulphuric acid factory in Lahore and he was assisted by Prof. P.C. Ray. He was interested in the Agriculture field and written three famous books.

a) Kheti Ki Pehli Kitab
b) Kheti Ki Dusri Kitab
c) Kheti Ki Tisri Kitab.

Dr. Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar was a student of RRS at Dayal Singh College, Lahore. Bhatnagar was very inspired by RRS and RRS took a keen interest in the study of Bhatnagar. Today we all know the contribution of Bhatnagar in Indian Science. In 1942 Bhatnagar established the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research(CSIR). While recall-ing, the influences of his teachers in him Bhatnagar writes: “Prof. Ruchi Ram Sahni took a special interest in me and was largely responsible for the award of a scholarship from the Dyal Singh College Trust for my studies abroad.

In 1946 his son and known Paleobotanist, Birbal Sahni established Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences in Lucknow. His other son Mulk Raj Sahni founded the Department of Geology in Punjab University Chandigarh.

THE FORGOTTEN INDIAN INVENTOR & TECHNOLOGIST

1. Bhisey grew up in colonial Bombay's crowded side street, where he spent his days poring over scientific American magazines. He studied at the Dhulia high school and after completing his education in 1887 entered the public service as an accountant's clerk. 

 

                                   Dr. Bhise Shankar Abaji 29 April 1867- 7 April 1935

2. At the age of fourteen, he constructed a small apparatus at his home which made coal gas, he had made up his mind to sail for England or America and make a name as an inventor.

3.Inventions – He developed about 200 inventions being 40 US patents. Some of his inventions are as follows.

a). Bhisey type caster.

b). An automatic machine capable of composing 3000 characters per minute.

c). Rotary multiple types of the caster.

d). Automatic weighing and packing machine for railways.

e). Shella or Rola soap

f). Automatic bicycle stand with a lock.
g). Vertolite sign lamp.

h). Auto toilet flusher

i).  An electrical gadget which separated various gases from the air

j).  An engine that derived electric power energy directly from sunlight.

k). A single process for transmitting photos telegraphically.

l).  Antimalarial drug baseline.

m). Medicine Atomidine.

4. Very interestingly the name Atomidine comes from a company Bisey formed in 1932, three years before he died. It is a liquid iodine preparation that was made in 1910 when he had saved Bisey's life from malaria infection he contracted in France. 

5. Become Inventive Genius – while in Bombay, Bhisey founded a science club and started publishing a science magazine in Marathi called VIVIDH KALA PRAKASH, through which he conveyed the importance of science to common people. During this period a competition offering a prize for an invention of the automatic machine that could weigh and deliver accurately from bulk such material as sugar. Bhisey sent his design, which was deemed the best among many entries. This also created a sensation in industry and he became too out as an inventive genius. 

6. Acclaimed Invention – The typecasting machine of those days was slow. A type casting machine of that period could cast only 150 types per minute. Despite efforts by many inventors, no improvement could be made in the machine therefore, he took to making the multiple casting machine – the machine that could cast not just a single type at a time but many times. He invented one such machine which cast 32 different types simultaneously. However, people did not believe but he made the machine automatically cast 1200 different types every minute.

After this Caxton, a leading printing magazine of those times remarked his achievement,  that a native of India should results which most able engineers of the world have so far failed to accomplish. 

                            

6. Bhisey engagement with Dadabhai Naroji & JRD Tata- Bhisey arrived in London with a letter of introduction from Dinsha Wacha, the Bombay-based secretary of the Indian National Congress. In addition to steering India's premier political organization, Wacha was a shrewd businessman with an eye for technical talent. Thus, one morning in London, Bhisey delivered Wacha's letter to Dadabhai Naoroji, a nationalist colleague who also had a long commercial career in England.

Naoroji, impressed with Bhisey's growing list of international patents, readily agreed to form a business syndicate.

7. Patenting in the world & India - According to a report of World intellectual property organization With an increase in intellectual property (IP) filing activity in the world, India has witnessed significant growth in patent, industrial design and trademark filings in 2018. India saw over 20% growth in trademark filing, whereas in respect of industrial design filing activity, it witnessed a 13.6% rise.

While patent applications worldwide grew by 5.2 %, India patent filings rose to 7.5% to 3,473. The country also reduced the number of the pending application by 25% in 2018 compared to 2017. India emerged as a top tenth nation in the ranking of the total (resident and abroad) IP filing activity by origin, revealed World Intellectual Property Indicators 2019, which published such data for 49 countries. The global growth in IP filings was driven by China, which accounts for over 50% IP filings including patent, trademarks, and design. China received about 160,400 more filings in 2018 in comparison to the previous year. Globally patent filings exceeded 3.3 million, representing a 5.2% growth in comparison to 2017 figures. Trademark filing activity totaled 14.3 million, up 15.5%. Industrial design filing activity amounted to 1.3 million.

India is growing in this field and a lot of work has to be done. From the above discussion, it is a clear message we need to support our young inventor and technologist. Our prime minister speaks many times from different platforms about think, innovate, patenting and production. The ecosystem should be created and patenting should give more advantages in the carrier of the researcher. We should take inspiration from Dr. Bhisey, how he invent many things when no one thinking to do in India. At that time Dr. Bhisey understands the importance of new inventions. Today if we want to take up our country in the top five global science power. A lot of work has to be done. Three main channels to be focused on.

a)Students through university channels.

b) In general, the public has brilliant ideas.

c)Through industry.

We proud of Bhisey how he gave chance to every Indian to be proud as Indian. He has done incomparable work and transforms world perception about Indians.

The patent he filed before died was in the news. It was very interesting and attract everybody's intentions.

When Bhisey died on 7 April 1935 following news was in leading newspapers.

INTERSTING FACTS ABOUT Dr. SUBRHAMANYAN CHANDRASEKHAR

1. Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar along with his siblings continued to study at home till he attained the age of 11. If we compare according to today's education system, he joined the school in the 7th class. His parents taught English and Tamil to him.

2. According to V. S. Jayaraman, a classmate of Chandrasekhar both in high school and college, Chandra had said, God was a hypothesis invented by man to regulate man's conduct and establish order and behavior between man and man.

3. Chandrasekhar was inspired by Srinivasan Ramanujan and his decision was to pursue mathematics by the example of Ramanujan. Although later he pursued graduation in Physics. He had listened to the name of Ramanujan two times, the first time his mother told him the news about the death of Ramanujan. the second time when he listened when his uncle C.V. Raman and his father talking about Ramanujan.

4. Though Chandrasekhar registered for a BA Honours in Physics he continued to study mathematics. He later said " My college professors allowed me to do what was normally forbidden. Though Chandrasekhar did not study mathematics formally, he developed a strong background in mathematics in addition to Physics, which he officially studied.

5. At the age of 18, as an undergraduate Physics student of Presidency College, Chandrasekhar presented a research paper which was quite unusual in those days. When his teacher, prof. Parameswaran, who was in the audience pointed out that the research paper was from an 18-year-old undergraduate student, the audience broke into thunderous applause.

6. When Chandrasekhar presented his paper on the limit of mass of white dwarfs at the meeting of the Royal Society in London on 11 January 1935, Eddington was not happy. After Chandra finished the presentation, Eddington outright rejected  Chandra's theory. When Chandra stood up to reply in his own defense he was not allowed. So many times his theory rejected and jokes made on his theory. He was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize for Physics with William A. Fowler for "...theoretical studies of the physical processes of importance to the structure and evolution of the stars". Despite his remarkable piece of work, for which he awarded noble price more than 40 years later. 

7. Soon after, in early 1973, his Ph.D. student who had joined Himachal Pradesh university met Chandra in Delhi. Chandra asked him how the research work was progressing. His student told I need journals, which the new university was unable to provide me. Chandra on spot decided to gift to Himachal Pradesh University his entire personal collection of journals.

8.NASA's advanced X-Ray Observatory astrophysics facility had been renamed Chandra X-ray Observatory in honor of Dr. Chandrasekhar.

9. "Chandra probably thought longer and deeper about our Universe than anyone since Einstein," said Martin Rees, Great Britain's Astronomer Royal.

STORY OF LOST NOTEBOOK OF SRINIVASAN RAMANUJAN

'LOST NOTEBOOK and Discovery of it. 

G.N. Watson had worked on Ramanujan's papers for many years before World War II. When Watson died in 1965, The Royal Society asked J.M Whittaker to write Watson's biography. For that purpose, Whittaker had asked Mrs. Watson whether he could examine the papers that Watson might have left in his study.

There, in Watson's study, as Whittaker called, papers covered the floor of a fair size room to a depth of about a foot, all jumbled together. By an extraordinary stroke of luck, one of my dips brought up the Ramanujan material.

This material of some 87 loose sheets, was part of a batch of papers Dewsbury ( the registrar at the University of Madras during the years of 1920-1924) had sent to hardy in 1923. and that had, somehow, wound up with Watson.

After his 'lucky dip', Whittaker them to Robert Rankin (Watson successor in Birmingham), who in 1968 handed the 87 loose sheets mentioned, together with other unpublished material to Trinity College, Cambridge.

And there it lay in the Trinity achieves without anyone's knowledge till George Andrews rescued it.

George Andrews, who had worked on problems related to the subject of Ramanujan's last letter to hardy a few months before he died, came to Cambridge to explore if any related material was available in trinity archives. He was thrilled and excited by what he discovered in 87 loose sheets deposited in the archives by Rankin. Later Andrew presented a paper on 'LOST NOTEBOOK' at a meeting of American mathematical Society, Dr. Olga, who was chairing the session, said 'The Discovery of LOST NOTEBOOK is as sensational discovery for the mathematician as a complete draft of the tenth symphony of Beethoven would have been to the musician.

Ten Intersting facts about INDIAN MATHEMATICIAN SRINIVASAN RAMANUJAN

1. He was first Indian to elect as a fellow of ROYAL SOCIETY in 1918.

2. G.H HARDY (P.hD. Guide of RAMANUJAN) wrote about Ramanujan, he worked for more than a modern mathematician.

3. Also hardy said, his memory, his power of calculation and capacity in the rapid modification in hypotheses, made him peculiar in his field.

4. The great moment came in 1976 when George Andrew's discovery of the LOST NOTEBOOK.

5. LOST NOTEBOOK contains 87 loose sheets which were submitted to the registrar of madras university 1920-1924 by Ramanujan and registrar later send to hardy. After seeing the loose sheets hardy decided to call Ramanujan in TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE.

6. Richard Askey has written we would admire any mathematician whose life's work was half of what Ramanujan found in the year of his while he was dying. 

7. Freeman Dyson quotation, The wonderful thing about Ramanujan is that he discovered so much, and yet he left so much more in his garden for other people to discover.

8. Hardy had only one photograph of Ramanujan in cap and gown, which makes him ridiculous. In 1936 hardy asked freeman would you please secure a photo when you visit India.

9. According to Dr. Olga Tausskytodd, said the discovery of LOST NOTEBOOK  is a sensational discovery for the mathematician as a complete draft of the tenth symphony of Beethoven (Musical composer) would have been to musicians.

10. Ramanujan replied that 1729 was not a boring number at all: it was a very interesting one. He explained that it was the smallest number that could be expressed by the sum of two cubes in two different ways. This story is very famous among mathematicians 1729 is sometimes called the  Hardy-Ramanujan number.