Day: March 26, 2022

What are Black Holes?

Known for its strong gravitational field and captivating mystery, a black hole, also referred as a singularity, remains confusing and indescribable to all of those who attempt to comprehend it; something so fascinating, yet unseen, unrecorded by man, and undetected by technology. Black holes prevail as one of the universe’s greatest phenomenons.

The definition of a black hole is “a region of space [that has] a gravitational field so intense that no matter or radiation can escape” (Smith), which fails to fully describe a black hole. They are not completely understood by humanity, but there are some things that scientists are well aware of, for instance, how they come to be. There are multiple ways to trigger the creation of a black hole, one of them being when a large mass in space accumulates in a very small area. Hawking says “it is like piling more and more books into a library. Eventually, the shelves will give way, and the library will collapse into a black hole” (Hawking). Another way black holes are created is in the collision of two stars within a binary system. After merging, a black hole is born. The third way for a black hole to be created is when a star eventually runs out of fuel, and if the mass of the star is so immense that it can’t be held, then the star will shrink and its matter will be compressed into an “infinitely small, infinitely dense point called a singularity. This is the center of a black hole” (Allen). You may be wondering how it is a black hole dies, given that some of them come from dead stars. In other words, how can something that is already dead… die? This happens because of Hawking radiation. In the event horizon of a black hole, there are matter and antimatter particles merging at all the times and converting into energy. As a consequence, if an antimatter particle falls into the singularity of the black hole then it will merge with a matter particle within the singularity of the black hole, and “antimatter destroys matter” (Brandvold). Therefore, the black hole would shrink but it would be almost insignificant since “The bigger the Black hole, the shorter the lifespan” (Brandvold).

Techniques to Manage Time Efficiently

Time and tide wait for none and that is why time management is such an essential skill to possess. It is useful in planning and organizing activities and being productive, both at work and in your personal life. It helps you reach your goals, reduce stress and remain motivated. So, time management is basically about managing yourself efficiently in the time available to you. There are a lot of tips and tricks you can use to improve your time management skills. Here are some of the most popular and effective time management techniques:

Keep a To-do-list:

A to-do list is one of the simplest yet most useful ways to manage your time. Whether you write down in a notebook or make notes in mobile applications, this habit helps you be aware of all the tasks you have to complete. You can plan your tasks daily, weekly, or monthly, and ensure productivity. These tasks may be quick jobs completed in minutes or bigger ones that could take days or weeks. Striking away the tasks you have completed at the end of the day is very satisfying and also gives you an idea of how productive you have been.

Set Goals:

Having set goals in your work and personal life is one of the most important steps to achieve success in life. When you have a goal to reach and stick to it, you automatically get all the motivation you need. Your main goal can be broken down into smaller goals or steps which would eventually lead you to the final aim. Things get done faster and more effectively. For an organization, goals determine its vision, and priorities.

Prioritize your Work:

Prioritizing your tasks and goals makes you a lot more efficient and productive. Keep the most important and valuable work at the top of the list so that they are dealt with first. Prioritizing helps you take care of the tasks that matter the most and not put too much effort into tasks that are not as important. Allocate time for performing these tasks and activities according to their priority.

Take Regular Breaks:

Remember to give yourself regular breaks between your work to make sure you do not feel too tired or unmotivated. Breaks help you refresh and boost your productivity. You can spend your breaks reading, watching films, listening to music, walking, or indulging in any other fun and enjoyable habits. As an employee, you are entitled to regular breaks between your working hours. So, make sure your organization provides it.  

Exercise Regularly:

Exercising regularly is a sure way to maintain your health as well as reduce stress. Spending some time in a day jogging, working out or doing yoga helps you clear your mind of distractive thoughts and increase your energy levels. So, make sure to spend some time on exercise.

Maintain a Routine:

Nothing helps you manage your time and stay motivated as maintaining a good routine, particularly in the morning. Try not to open social media first thing in the morning, focusing instead on better practices like exercising, cleaning, meditating and eating a healthy breakfast.

Be aware of when you are the most productive in a day and allocate more work for those hours. If you are a morning person, schedule your work hours in the morning. If you are a night owl, spend time working at night. Manage your work and time according to your preference to be the most productive.

Reward Yourself:

Once you have finished a major task or achieved a goal on your to-do list, do not forget to reward yourself. Reward your hard work and dedication by taking some time for yourself and doing what you like. You can talk with your friends, eat food you like, or read your favourite book!

Additional classes and opportunities for students

 Education is in the concurrent list of the Constitution and majority of the schools are under the domain of respective State and UT Governments. Schools were closed as a precautionary measure to protect the students from Novel COVID-19 (Corona) virus across the world. This has interrupted the learning of students from pre- school to grade 12. During the pandemic, Ministry of Education has held several consultations with the States and UTs to assess the various aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic. After discussion with the States and UTs, a multi-pronged approach has been adopted to enable multi-mode access to education. Based on the UDISE Plus report 2019-20, 22% schools had access to internet. The Government has taken various steps to provide education amidst COVID-19 pandemic. These include PRAGYATA Guidelines on various modes of digital education including online mode that depends more on availability of internet, partially online mode that utilizes the blended approach of digital technology and other offline activities, partial and offline mode that utilizes television and radio as a major medium of instruction of education. The guidelines can be accessed at:

https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/pragyata-guidelines_0.pdf

 

The State governments have been asked to act based on the situation prevailing at every place to meet the demands of all students for providing them with the digital access required for learning digitally. In order to enable online education benefit to the children of every category and teachers, Learning Enhancement Guidelines have been issued. The guidelines can be accessed at:

https://www.mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_filehs/mhrd/files/Learning_Enhancement_0.pdf

 

With a view of addressing the issues related to gaps and/or loss of learning among students, during and after the lockdown, National Council of Education Research & Training (NCERT) has prepared ‘Alternative Academic Calendar’ which is a Week-wise plan for grades 1 to 12 and has been developed. It consists of interesting activities and challenges related to topics/themes in the syllabus. It maps the topics/themes with the learning outcomes & facilitates teachers/parents to assess the progress in students’ learning in a variety of ways. NCERT has also developed bridge course for children including lots of activities which are helpful for bridging the learning gaps across classes 1-8 and the States/UTs have also been requested to prepare and implement School Readiness Module/Bridge Course in classrooms for initial one or two months for each grade. When  school reopens, the grade related syllabus should be undertaken only after the bridge course is completed, so that students can adjust to the changed school environment and do not feel the stress or being left out, especially students who did not have access to alternate means of education. Further, Vidya Pravesh has been launched for class 1st students. This is a play preparation 3 months program which prepare students for school through playschools. This scheme aims at spreading the concept of playschools to the remotest parts of the country. It aims to ensure that no student is deprived of education.