Category: Science

Dark Web

The term “dark web” sounds ominous, and there’s a reason for that. The dark web is a part of the internet and made up of hidden sites that you can’t find through conventional web browsers. Instead, you must rely on browsers and search engines designed specifically to unearth these hidden sites.

There’s also plenty of secrecy surrounding this corner of the internet. Sites on the dark web use encryption software so that their visitors and owners can remain anonymous and hide their locations. It’s why the dark web is home to so much illegal activity. If you tap into the dark web, you’ll find everything from illegal drug and gun sales to illicit pornography and stolen credit card and Social Security numbers.

Dissidents who fear political prosecution from their governments might use the dark web to communicate with each other. You might visit the dark web to get medical advice that you want to make sure remains anonymous. Sometimes journalists use the dark web so that they or their sources can remain anonymous.

Here’s a guide that will help you learn about the dark web, the sites that populate it and how you can visit it. Be careful, though: The dark web can be dangerous. And if you want to explore it for illegal activities, you could face prosecution and jail time. Depending on where you visit, and what you download, you could also be exposed to scammers and cybercriminals who could attempt to infect your devices with malware or steal your personal information.

What’s on the dark web?

The dark web has earned some of its seedy reputation. A 2016 report from researchers Daniel Moore and Thomas Rid, of King’s College in London, looked at 5,205 live sites on the dark web and found that 2,723 contained illicit content.

What does this mean? The report found that visitors to the dark web can buy and sell guns, drugs, counterfeit money, other people’s Netflix accounts, credit card numbers, and more. You can also find software that you can use to access other people’s computers.

But, again, the dark web isn’t just for criminals. You’ll also come across online versions of books that have long been out of print, a collection of political reporting from mainstream news sites, and several sites run by whistleblowers looking to expose corporate and government corruption.

Drugs

The dark web might be most notable for providing black markets that visitors can use to buy illicit drugs. Silk Road is a good example. This site was famed for the drugs visitors could find on it. The FBI shut down Silk Road in 2013. A new version of the site came online later that year but was also shut down.

The founder of the site, Ross Ulbricht, who went under the false name Dread Pirate Roberts, was arrested in late 2014 and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. AlphaBay was another popular online marketplace filled with illegal products. It was shut down in 2017.

Passwords and usernames for streaming services

If you don’t mind stealing, you can find the passwords to a host of streaming services — both those offering mainstream movies and those hosting pornography — on the dark web. Cybercriminals sell these passwords to those who want to skimp out on paying the monthly fees for streaming subscriptions.

Passwords and usernames available typically include those for services such as Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Amazon Prime, and other streaming services.

Credit card and debit card numbers

Here’s a scary one: According to a report by Gemini Advisory, 115 million stolen debit and credit card numbers were posted to the dark web in 2020.

Criminals sell these stolen numbers to other thieves. Armed with these numbers, criminals can make unauthorized purchases online using your information. And, yes, you can dispute these purchases, but who knows how much damage these thieves can do before you catch these illegal purchases?

Bank account numbers and passwords

If thieves sell credit and debit card numbers on the dark web, you can bet that they’ll sell bank account numbers and passwords to online savings and checking accounts, too.

According to a report by cybersecurity firm Digital Shadows, more than 15 billion pieces of financial account details are now being sold in online marketplaces. According to the report, banking and financial accounts made up about a quarter of these online listings.

Again, criminals can do a lot of damage after buying your bank account details. They can use your account to make purchases and drain your savings or checking accounts quickly.

Social Security numbers

Criminals can also find Social Security numbers — along with other personal information like people’s birthdates, addresses, and phone numbers — for sale on the Dark Web.

Criminals can use your Social Security number to help steal your identity. That can lead to serious financial pain, as these thieves can use your identity to apply for credit cards in your name, apply for mortgage loans, and even file your income taxes in the hope of stealing your refund.

Difference between dark web and deep web

It’s easy to confuse the dark web with the deep web. But they aren’t the same.

The deep web is also hidden, in a way. But it’s home to benign sites, such as people’s password-protected email accounts, the intranets run by businesses, the online bank account pages of consumers, government databases, and private sites that require users to type in a log-in name and password.

Think of the dark web, then, as a small subset of the deep web that has become a haven for illegal activity.

Is it illegal to access the dark web?

Surfing the dark web isn’t illegal. Buying illegal drugs or firearms from a site on the dark web or downloading child pornography? That is illegal.

For instance, in the summer of 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Secret Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service teamed up to arrest more than 35 dark web vendors of drugs, weapons, and other illegal products. The agencies also seized $23.6 million in illegal guns, drugs, gold, and Bitcoin.

Is Pluto a planet or not?

Pluto – which is smaller than Earth’s Moon – has a heart-shaped glacier that’s the size of Texas and Oklahoma. This fascinating world has blue skies, spinning moons, mountains as high as the Rockies, and it snows – but the snow is red.

Soon after Pluto was discovered in 1930, it was designated a planet, the ninth in our solar system. After Pluto was discovered, many astronomers presumed it to have been responsible for the perturbations they have observed in Neptune’s orbit. It was these perturbations that actually prompted the search for a planet beyond it. However, further observations determined that it was smaller than initially assumed. Also, after American astronomer James Christy discovered Pluto’s largest moon, Charon, in 1978, astronomers were able to determine Pluto’s mass and realized that it was a lightweight and didn’t exert a gravitational influence powerful enough to have induced the observed perturbations. Pluto was found to be smaller and less massive than all the other planets. Moreover, its orbit is highly inclined (17 degrees) relative to the ecliptic, the plane defined by Earth’s orbit around the Sun. The other planetary orbits have smaller inclinations.     

As telescopes got bigger and better, and were able to take clearer pictures of distant bodies like Pluto, astronomers began to suspect that Pluto was much, much smaller than the other planets. By the time the second Kuiper Belt object was discovered in 1992, astronomers knew that Pluto was even smaller than Earth’s moon, but it had been called a planet for so long that it retained its planetary status.

Astronomers had also known for decades that Pluto’s orbit actually crosses Neptune’s orbit. None of the other planets cross each other’s orbits, so why was Pluto’s orbit different?

Over the next few years, dozens and then hundreds more Kuiper Belt objects were discovered by astronomers, until finally, in 2005, astronomer Mike Brown discovered Eris, which is even bigger than Pluto.

  

In the early 21st century, astronomers were finding bodies of comparable size beyond Pluto, such as Sedna, Eris, Makemake, and others. These discoveries prompted the question: should the IAU confer planetary status on all these other worlds? In August 2006, the IAU convened its triennial meeting in Prague. Toward the end of this meeting, they voted on the adoption of Resolution 5A: “Definition of ‘planet.” By this newly adopted definition, a body has to fulfill three requirements to be designated a planet. First, a body has to have established a stable orbit around the Sun. Thousands of bodies meet this condition. Secondly, a body has to have developed a spheroidal shape. When a body is sufficiently large and massive, gravity will mold it into a spheroid. Pluto fulfills this condition. Third, and finally, the body has to have cleared its debris field. It has to be sufficiently massive so as to incorporate all proximate objects into it. Pluto fails on this condition, as its orbit passes close to or even within the Kuiper Belt, a region from which short periods comets originate. By adopting resolution 5A, the IAU demoted Pluto, firmly established the other eight planets as planets, and disqualified all the bodies beyond Pluto, all in one fell swoop.    
 
Although the recent observations by the New Horizons craft has shown us that Pluto is larger, more geologically dynamic, and contains a thicker atmosphere than once believed, it still doesn’t fulfill the third condition within Resolution 5A. The IAU will have to adopt a revised definition of planet in order to confer planetary status back onto Pluto.

Of course, some defiantly maintain that Pluto is still a planet and no resolution shall induce us to change our minds. 

How to Restore Our Sleep Cycle

Pandemic has a huge impact on the sleep pattern of the people around the world. Some of them are tossing side to side to get a proper sleep during night time, other stay long awake but unable to regulate their usual pattern. Many experts also suggested that these days people often faces troubled sleep, with many going to bed far later and sleeping longer than usual.

Image: Shutterstock

Our sleep schedules do vary from person to person, depending in large part on the environmental causes. Because according to our circadian clock , that control our sleep schedules are sensitive to light like things like how much sunlight we’re exposed to throughout the day and what types of light we’re exposed to at night affect our sleep schedules. It’s really a huge problem, having a disrupted sleep schedule can result in deteriorating sleep pattern. But this will led to severe health ailments linked to several chronic health problems, such as sleep disorders, obesity, diabetes, depression, bipolar disorder, and seasonal affective disorders etc.

Image: Banala lite

But there are some suggested ways to get our disrupted sleep back on track:

  • A proper bed time routine: Try to stick to a schedule of sleep, like keeping your sleep-wake cycle the same. Our bodies have a circadian rhythm and walking up at different times disrupts it. The less you deviate from your normal bed and wake up times, the better you sleep. To get to sleep earlier, even doctors recommends going slowly and in small increments, adjusting no more than 15 minutes earlier every two to three days.
  • A touch of nature: Get a good amount of sunlight every morning. It serves an important purpose: it shuts down the release of melatonin, this hormone promotes sleep. Aim to get at least 15 minutes of sunlight every morning.

      Image: NPR

  • Cut off caffeine before sleep: Caffeine has a half-life of six to eight hours and a quarter-life of 12 hours. That means if you drink coffee at 4 pm, you’ll still have a quarter of the caffeine floating around in your brain at 4 am.
  • Limit your drinking habit: Alcohol suppresses REM sleep cause sleep disruptions. If you drink alcohol, limit that to two drinks or stop the intake at least three hours before bed.
  • Limit the screen timings: Avoid screen timings just before going to bed. As blue light of mobile screen interfere with sleep habits by sending wrong signals to stay awake. But many of us do it anyway. Avoid screen time before 2 hours of going to bed.
  • Journaling: You can’t get a proper sleep if something is bothering you, it’s always better to pen down your worries in a diary. Making this a habit can lessen your worries. Sit down with a blank piece of paper one to two hours before bed each night. Writing down your thoughts, especially anything that is bothering you. It will help you to schedule your activities and calm your mind.
Image: Unsplash

Meditation and Music: Meditation eases your woes by giving a direction to your thoughts. To get a proper sleep one should practice this 10 minutes daily routine. On the other hand, music calms mind and listening to a relaxing one will help to achieve sleep.

  • Avoid sleeping at day time: To promote better sleep one should avoid day time nap, so as to get a better sleep at night.
  • Environment: Make a good sleeping environment like switching off unnecessary lights and put on the curtains to prevent the entry of noise and lights. Take a warm bath and play some relaxing music, for instance. Make sure your bed is comfortable, the room is dark, and the temperature is not too warm.

These are the ways which enable us regain our disturbed sleep pattern. Sleep, itself promotes body healing. So, this is advised to get a proper 7-8 hours of sleep during night time.

Image: PBS

ORGANIC FOOD

HEALTY FOOD

This article of mine will fill you with the knowledge of how mare the method of growing a vegetable, grains, fruits, leads you to good health, & how those grains will fill you with energy. Every one have heard of the slogan, “ EAT ORGANIC , STAY FIT” , but do you know how these organic foods or grains are grown ? Organic food is grown without the use of synthetic chemicals, such as human-made pesticides and fertilizers, and does not contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). They are free from man made pesticides & fertilizers & hence leads to good heath.

Organic refers to the way farmers grow and process agricultural products. Practices vary worldwide; however, organic foods are generally grown without synthetic pesticides, fertilizers or routine use of antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic farming supports biodiversity by choosing appropriate species of plant & animal. Farmers use crop rotation technique , this is a technique in which different types of crops are grown over different seasons on the very same land , it helps in controlling soil erosion & maintaining soil fertility.

I think you all will love to know the benefits of organic food , after all all of us are interested in living a healthy life . some of the core benefits of organic food are :

Organic food have no pesticides , hence its free from harmful chemicals.

organic food is often fresher because no preservatives are used & that is what makes it last longer than usual grains.

When it comes to meat and milk, organic products can have about 50% more omega-3 fatty acids, a type of unsaturated healthy fat, than conventionally produced products , which is good for health .

Last I would like to conclude , Organic products are more expensive than conventional ones, and whether they’re really worth the extra cost is certainly a matter of choice. “If you can afford all organic, that’s fantastic, but it’s not feasible for most people,” , but just to inform you all , those extra money which you will spend on organic food will be worth for , specially to you health.

Third wave of covid-19 knocking at our doorstep

While mass vaccination drive is going on around the whole globe,news of emergence of Third wave of coronavirus have started to surface. WHO (world Health organisation) have also warned about the third wave in Europe. Cases recorded in this wave are of ‘Delta-variant’ of coronavirus.

Second wave of coronavirus caught us all off-guard and hit us hard and many lives were lost and there was a State of panic amongst us all for few months, due to this wave of coronavirus. After, passing of this second wave, people flocked the hill stations and flouted covid norms.
Even, in markets people are walking without masks and not taking necessary precautions.

Tourists in Manali

Alarmed by this situation government of India have warned the citizens about this 3rd wave. Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry, on Tuesday said that the third wave of Covid-19 may be caused due to the gross violation of covid appropriate behavior. He told that :

We would like to request to everyone- when we talk about the third wave (of COVID-19), we are taking it as a weather update and not understanding its seriousness and our responsibilities associated with it

Lav Agarwal (joint secretary, Health ministry, GOI)

According to union health ministry data on Tuesday there were 32,906 new cases of Covid-19 and 2020 related fatalities, which pushed the overall tally to 30,905,819 and the death toll to 410,784.

Markets are open and govt offices and school’s are running with 50% capacity, but the way in which common people are violating the covid-19 precaution guidelines, day is not far when we’ll have to pay for this type of behaviour. If situation remains like this, then the government in order to control the spread may impose lockdowns and come up with strict measures.

Hill Stations will be there,if we’ll be safe,then we can visit there later on. We need to learn from our mistakes commited during the second wave of pandemic and try not to repeat them this time.


Government is preparing on its behalf to face up with the inevitable third wave of pandemic. We all as a responsible citizen should adhere with the government guidelines and take precautions,then we can defeat this pandemic.

NASA girl trolled for her faith- peak of Hinduphobia

Humanity hit a new low when an Indian origin American girl was heavily trolled by netizens just because of her faith. NASA, in order to invite new interns tweeted an application showcasing the diverse nature of the organization. An Indian girl also featured in the tweet with Hindu idols in the background of her picture.

An innumerable number of trolls targeted the girl criticizing NASA for including such a “stereotypical” image of Indians according them. But is it okay to bash someone merely because they follow a particular faith or religion? The girl undoubtedly secured a place through her efforts and a futile, good for nothing crowd directly mocked her as a fake science-lover only because she believes in her Gods. If atheism was a criterion to get selected in any scientific organization then people should also nullify the work and contributions of Einstein, Newton and Darwin.

It is so shameful to read the tweets and realize how much hatred and Hinduphobia is prevalent in society. Some of the tweets read ‘She missed Lord Ganesha and 33 million other Gods’, ‘NASA and gods don’t mix. The Indian kid seems to have some kind of obsession with Gods’. Other tweets are too vile to read.

Another user very accurately pointed out “All those mocking her: Hijab, polygamy, child marriages, Niqab, prayers on road, etc. are supposed to be respected under the concept of ‘choice’ and ‘pluralism’ but a Hindu lady practicing her faith has to be ridiculed. Carry on! Your bigotry will make her faith stronger.”

It is indeed true that the case would have been very contrasting only if the girl was wearing either hijab or had a Christ portrait in the background. However, irrespective of any religion or faith, no one should be criticked or targeted just because they are proud of their roots.

Newton

Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, theologian, and author who is widely recognised as one of the greatest mathematicians and most influential scientists of all time.

He was born on 4rth January 1643 in whoolsthrope Manor House, United Kingdom. He expired on 31st March 1727. Kensington, London, United Kingdom. He completed his graduation in trinity college.

. A key figure in the scientific revolution, his book Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), first published in 1687, established classical mechanics. Newton also made seminal contributions to optics, and shares credit with German mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz for developing the infinitesimal calculus.

He was known for Newtonian, mechanics, universal, gravitation, calculus, newton’s law of motion, optics, binomial series, Principia, newton’s method, newton’s law of cooling, newton’s identities, newton’s metal, Newton line, Newton gauss line, Newton fluids, Newton rings.

And awards he got received are FRS(1672), Knight bachelor(1705).

The Flash Theory: Iris Brings Back The Arrowverse Multiverse Post-Crisis

Warning! Spoilers ahead for The Flash season 7 episode 16, “P.O.W.”

The Flash season 7 is barreling towards its two-part finale and Iris West-Allen’s latest storyline could bring back the Arrowverse’s multiverse following its collapse in Crisis on Infinite Earths. Time and interdimensional travel have been heavily utilized in the shared universe ever since The Flash unlocked the titular character’s abilities to move backwards and forwards in time. The team’s trip to Earth-2 opened up yet another gateway to traversing the multiverse. While Crisis on Infinite Earths changed that for good, Iris’ situation could unlock the multiverse once again. 

Iris has been noticeably absent from two episodes of The Flash. In season 7’s episode 15, Barry revealed she wasn’t feeling well and was recovering from a bout of illness at home. In the following episode, however, Iris confirmed what she was experiencing was far more than a regular cold; when she sneezed, her eyes briefly and startlingly flashed green before returning to their normal color afterward. Why the illness is affecting Iris in this way remains unclear, but her symptoms have led her molecules to become unstable, inducing headaches and time displacement.   

At the end of the episode, Nora West-Allen confirms that Iris will be okay, but there’s no telling when her symptoms will clear up or what will happen before they do. That said, it’s possible Iris moving in and out of the timeline could play a crucial role in the future of the multiverse and the reason for her predicament may be hiding in plain sight.

Iris Is Phasing In & Out Of The Timeline

Iris’ absence from The Flash season 7’s episode 15 was suspicious, especially since it involved a possible pregnancy storyline that was happening without her. In the following episode, however, fans learned why Iris has been absent. As it turns out, her cold wasn’t a normal one and it was somehow causing her to phase in and out of the timeline. It got so bad apparently that Deon, the Still Force, swooped in to protect Iris by using his abilities to stabilize her from phasing through various temporal planes, moving her to “pure temporal strains” to keep her alive. If it wasn’t for Deon, Iris would have fractured through time itself, which doesn’t sound very pleasant and could have unprecedented repercussions.

This subplot creates an interesting twist considering everything happening on The Flash right now. Between what’s going on with Iris, the Godspeed clones, August Heart — who originated as Godspeed in 2049 pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths — coming into the picture, and Barry dreaming about Nora telling him there seems to be something wrong in the future, Iris’ timeline instability may be the one thing connecting each of these separate storylines. That said, the reason why she’s suddenly phasing in and out of the timeline has yet to be confirmed on the show, but all roads seem to be leading back to one cause.  

Iris Being Pregnant Is Causing Her To Be Unstuck From Time

Barry and Iris have been trying to conceive for a few episodes now. After Barry dreamed about Nora the first time, he assumed Iris was pregnant only for the results of the test to come back negative. However, this could have been a false negative. Considering that Iris’ presence in the timeline has been unstable, it’s possible that she is already pregnant and doesn’t realize it. What’s more, being pregnant with speedster babies won’t follow the same patterns of a normal pregnancy and it’s possible that Iris carrying metahumans is causing her to be unstuck from time. Her phasing in and out of the timeline could be The Flash’s equivalent to morning sickness. 

This could also explain why she will be able to regain her speedster powers in the season 7 finale. In the comics, Iris phases back and forth in time because it’s revealed she is actually from the future and was sent back to the 20th century by her birth parents. The Flash showrunner Eric Wallace has teased this storyline coming into play, but like with all things that make their way onto the show, it will probably be a loose adaptation from the comics storyline it’s based on. Traveling between timelines because of a pregnancy might be the closest the series gets to this particular comics arc in this instance.

Jay Garrick’s The Flash Return Hints At Alternate Earths Connection

Jay Garrick (aka, The Flash of Earth-3) was last seen prior to Crisis on Infinite Earths, warning Barry of the impending doom facing the multiverse. However, the speedster didn’t participate in the crossover, nor was he confirmed to be alive in the aftermath that saw the multiverse rebooted and Earth-1 merge with others (including Supergirl’s Earth-38) to become Earth-Prime. Jay will be appearing in The Flash’s two-part season 7 finale to aid in the Godspeed clone war. How his reappearance will be explained remains to be seen, but it’s possible he will show up courtesy of Iris’ temporal phasing. Jay originally hails from Earth-3 and his return to The Flash coinciding with Iris being able to phase through time (and maybe dimensions) could be connected. Iris may be acting as the bridge between Earth-Prime and Jay’s world without even realizing, and the superhero series might confirm that he is now from Stargirl’s Earth-2 instead.

Theory: Iris’ Temporal Phasing Brings Back The Multiverse

In The Flash season 6, Nash Wells detected particles of Eternium, an interdimensional (and multiversal) element, on Iris prior to the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths. At the time, nothing much came of it, just another tease that seemed to lead nowhere. However, this could come back into play now that Iris is phasing through temporal planes in season 7. It’s possible the combination of Eternium and her moving in and out of time now allows her to connect to not only different time periods on Earth-Prime, but alternate universes as well. Perhaps before she is finally stabilized, Iris will indeed fracture through time and that’s what breaks the barrier separating Earth-Prime from the rest of the multiverse, which has remained a secret post-Crisis.

Namely, Iris’ temporal instability could alert her and The Flash to the fact there are still other worlds out there despite the collapse of the multiverse during Crisis. After all, Stargirl exists on the rebooted Earth-2 and it’s been confirmed that Jay Garrick will make an appearance on the series in its sophomore season. And so Iris’ temporal imbalance could open the gateway to interdimensional travel once more, reestablishing the connection between Earth-Prime and other earths. There has to be a reason for why Nash detected Eternium on her. All of this could also be setting up The Flash’s five-episode crossover event in the fall. Whatever the reasons behind Iris’ phasing in and out of time, the introduction of this storyline for her could finally tie together so many loose plot threads for The Flash and the Arrowverse at large. 

Do We Live in a Multiverse?

As far as we currently know, there is a single expanding blob of spacetime speckled with trillions of galaxies – that’s our Universe. If there are others, we have no compelling evidence for their existence.

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Amazing book about Multiverse

That said, theories of cosmology, quantum physics, and the very philosophy of science have a few problems that could be solved if our blob of ‘everything’ wasn’t, well, everything.

That doesn’t mean other universes must exist. But what if they do?

What is a universe?

It should be a simple question to answer. But different areas of science will have subtly different takes on what a universe even is.

Cosmologists might say it describes the total mass of stuff (and the space in between) that has been slowly expanding from a highly concentrated volume over the past 13.77 billion years, becoming increasingly disordered with age. 

It now stretches 93 billion light years from edge to edge, at least based on all of the visible (and invisible) stuff we can detect in some way. Beyond that limit, there are either things we can’t see, an infinite expanse of nothingness, or – in the unlikely scenario that all of space bends back around on itself – a round-trip back to the start across a hyperspherical universe. 

If we’re talking quantum physics, though, a universe might refer to all fields and their particles, and their combined influences over one another. As a general rule, a universe (like ours, at least) is a closed system, meaning it can’t suddenly lose or gain a significant sum of energy. 

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Telescope under 100

Philosophically speaking, a universe might be a discrete set of fundamental laws that governs the behavior of everything we observe. A universe would be defined by its own rules that set its unique speed for light, tell particles how to push or pull, or space how it should expand. 

What is a multiverse in cosmology?

A century of astronomical observations has told us a lot about the age, size, and evolution of galaxies, stars, matter and the four dimensions we sum up as spacetime. 

One thing we know with great confidence is that everything we see now is expanding at an accelerating rate. This logically implies the Universe, at least the one we live in, used to be a lot smaller. 

big bang nasa infographic expansion(NASA/JPL)

We can theoretically squeeze all of the matter of the Universe down to a point where the concentration of energy reduces atoms to a soup of simpler particles and forces combine until we can’t tell them apart. Any smaller than that? Big shrugs.

If we go with what’s known as a cyclic model of cosmology, the parent universe preceded ours in some way. It might even be a lot like this one, only running in reverse compared with ours, shrinking over time into a concentrated point only to bounce back out for some reason. Played out for eternity, we might imagine the respective universes bounce back and forth in an endless yo-yo effect of growing and collapsing.

Or, if we go with what’s known as a conformal cyclic model, universes expand over trillions upon trillions of years until their cold, point-like particles are so spread out, for all mathematical purposes everything looks and acts like a brand new universe.

If you don’t like those, there’s a chance our Universe is a white hole – the hypothetical back end of a black hole from another universe. Which, logically, just might mean the black holes in our Universe could all be parents, pinching off new universes like cosmic amoebae.

What is a multiverse in quantum physics?

Early last century, physicists found theories that described matter as tiny objects only told half of the story. The other half was that matter behaved as if it also had characteristics of a wave.

Exactly what this dual nature of reality means is still a matter of debate, but from a mathematical perspective, that wave describes the rise and fall of a game of chance. Probability, you see, is built into the very machinery that makes up the gears of a universe like ours.

Of course, this isn’t our daily experience as vast collections of atoms. When we send a bucket of molecules called a rocket to the Moon as it zooms past 300,000 kilometres away, we’re not rolling dice. Classical old physics is as reliable as tomorrow’s sunrise.

But the closer we zoom in on a region of space or time, the more we need to take into account the possible range of measurements we might find. 

This randomness isn’t the result of things we don’t know – it’s because the Universe itself is yet to make up its mind. There’s nothing in quantum mechanics explaining this transition either, leaving us to imagine what it all means. https://www.youtube.com/embed/dzKWfw68M5U?ab_channel=PBSSpaceTime

In his 1957 doctoral dissertation, American physicist Hugh Everett suggested the range of possibilities are all as real as one another, representing actual realities – separate universes, if you like – just like the one we’re all familiar with.

What makes any one universe in this many worlds interpretation distinct is how each wave correlates with a specific measurement taken of other waves, a phenomenon we call entanglement.

What ‘we’ means, and why ‘we’ experience one entangled set over waves over another, isn’t clear, and in some ways presents an even bigger problem to solve. 

What is a multiverse in philosophy?

One of science’s most fundamental starting assumptions is that in spite of what your mother tells you, you’re not special. Nor is any other human, or our planet, or – by extension – our Universe.

While rare events occur from time to time, we don’t answer The Big Questions with ‘it just happened that way’. 

So why does our Universe seem to have just the right tug-of-war of forces that allow not just particles to appear, but to congeal for long enough periods into atoms that can undergo complex chemistry to produce thinking minds like ours?

Philosophically speaking, the anthropic principle (or principles, since there are many different ways to spin the idea) suggests we might have it backwards. Without these conditions, no minds would have arisen to consider the amazing turn of events. 

If just a single universe ‘just happened that way’ early one spring morning, it’d be one big coincidence. Too big really. 

But if there were infinite universes, with infinite combinations of forces pushing and pulling, some would inevitably give rise to minds that just might ask ‘are we part of a multiverse?’ 

Will we ever discover other universes?

Given the very definition of a universe relies on some kind of physical fence keeping influencing factors apart, it’s hard to imagine ways we might ever observe the existence of a sibling for our universe. If we did, we might as well see it as an extension of our own Universe anyway.

That said, there could be some cheats that could give us a glimpse.

Any experiment to find one would have to rely on that ‘fence’ having some holes in it that allow particles or energy to leak across, either into ours, or away from it. Or, in the case of universes existing in our past, monumental events that left enough of a scar that not even a rebirth could erase.

For now, we still have no good reason to think our blob of everything is anything but unique. Given we’re still learning how our own Universe works, the current gaps in physics could yet be plugged without any need to imagine a reality other than ours.

In countless other versions of this article scattered throughout the multiverse, however, the question of whether we are alone just might have a different answer.

THEOPHRASTUS – THE FATHER OF BOTANTY


The ancient Greek Theophrastus (371–286 B.C.E.) is known as the father, or founder, of botany. He wrote two large books, On the History of Plants and On the Causes of Plants. … He also developed a theory of plant growth and wrote about how plants were structured. He identified and described 550 different

While Theophrastus studied very diverse issues, he is best known for his work with plants. He has often been referred to as the first scientific botanist, and two of his practical, yet influential, books on the subject have survived into modern times.

Theophrastus was one of the few Peripatetics who fully embraced Aristotle’s philosophy in all areas of metaphysics, physics, physiology, zoology, botany, ethics, politics, and history of culture. His general tendency was to strengthen the systematic unity of those subjects and to reduce the transcendental or Platonic elements of Aristotelianism as a whole. Of his few surviving works, the most important are Peri phytōn historia (“Inquiry into Plants”) and Peri phytōn aitiōn (“Growth of Plants”), comprising nine and six books, respectively. Of dubious origin are the smaller treatises attributed to him on fire, winds, signs of weather, scents, sensations, and other subjects. His notable Charaktēres (many English translations) consists of 30 brief and vigorous character sketches delineating moral types derived from studies that Aristotle had made for ethical and rhetorical purposes; this work later formed the basis for the masterpiece of Jean de La Bruyère, Les Caractères . . . (1699). In his ethical teachings, famous because of the assaults of the Stoic philosophers, Theophrastus reiterated Aristotle’s notion of a plurality of virtues with their relative vices and acknowledged a certain importance to external goods.

Among Theophrastus’ other works is the Physikōn doxai (“Opinions of Natural Philosophers”). As reconstructed by Herman Diels in Doxographi Graeci (1879), it provides a foundation for the history of ancient philosophy

Theophrastus and his reasearches

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  • Metaphysics (or On First Principles).
    • Enquiry into Plants: Books 1-5.
    • Enquiry into Plants: Books 6-9; Treatise on Odours; Concerning Weather Signs.
    •  De Causis Plantarum. There are 3 volumes of this book .
    • On Sweat, On Dizziness and On Fatigue. 

Theophrastus introduced his Physics with the proof that all natural existence, being corporeal and composite, requires principles,and first and foremost motion as the basis of all change.

Denying the substance of space, he seems to have regarded it, in opposition to Aristotle, as the mere arrangement and position (taxis and thesis) of bodies.Time he called an accident of motion, without, it seems, viewing it, with Aristotle, as the numerical determinant of motion. He attacked the doctrine of the four classical elements and challenged whether fire could be called a primary element when it appears to be compound, requiring, as it does, another material for its own nutriment.

Surely, then, if the life in animals does not need explanation or is to be explained only in this way, may it not be the case that in the heavens too, and in the heavenly bodies, movement does not need explanation or is to be explained in a special way? —Theophrastus, Metaphysics, 10a.16-29

The ancient Greek Theophrastus (371–286 B.C.E.)

HUMAN ANATOMY

Introduction to Human Anatomy and Physiology

Anatomy is the study of the shape and structure of the body of organisms or living beings. The word anatomy is derived from the Greek words ‘ ana ‘ and ‘ tomy ‘ where ‘ ana ‘ means ‘apart’ and ‘tomy ‘ means ‘to cut’. In physiology, the functions of various system such as respiratory system, digestive system, nervous system, skeleton system and muscular system of organisms are studied. It can be said that physiology is the study of how the body and all its part function. It consists of two word, namely, ‘physio’ and ‘ ology’ where ‘physio’ means ‘nature ‘ and ‘ ology ‘ means ‘ study’. Here ,we will study human anatomy and human physiology.

Definition of Human Anatomy

Free Vector | Anatomy of the human body information infographic

Human Anatomy is the study of structure ,shape, size , weight and location of all the organs of human body. A detailed knowledge of the structure of various system of human body is provided in human anatomy . For example , the shape, size, weight, structure and location of all the organs of the excretory system such as lungs, kidneys, large intestine, liver, skin, etc. are studied in human anatomy. Human anatomy can be defined as the science dealing with human body structure and relationships among structures.

Importance of Anatomy

The importance of anatomy and physiology is mentioned below.

  • Anatomy Provides the Knowledge of Structures of Various Organs : Human anatomy provides the detailed knowledge of the structure of various organ body . We get the knowledge of structure, shape, size, location and weight of organs of all the systems of our body. We come to know about the length of various organs such as the length, size and shape of the bones. With the help of anatomy , we get the knowledge of the percentage of white fibres and red fibres present in an individual. As a result of such knowledge , the teacher and coaches working in the field of physical education and sports may easily select the suitable sports according to the traits of students. For example, weightlifting is more appropriate for short statured students, who have more percentage of white fibres i.e., fast twitch fibres in comparison to red fibers i.e., slow twitch fibres can perform better in sprinting events instead of endurance events.

Science and spirituality

We all are living in that country where spirituality is superior in every form. Spirituality contains belief, trust and science. The practices which keep doing for a long period have their own scientific reason. Might be the reason could be covered under the bed of time or not clarified by the people in supremacy. Sometimes we say that science and spirituality both have different paths but in reality spirituality and science both go hand in hand. Every spiritual practice consists of a scientific background. For example the Ganga keeps itself clean because it contains calcium, phosphorus, zinc and other metals (scientific reason) that’s why it is considered pure and life saving so we respect Ganga and call it MATA. We should understand the meaning of science and spirituality first, only then we can understand how spirituality and science are part of a family.  

What is science? 

Science is not about the knowledge, factual, experiments, logic and evidence, it is a pursuit and application of knowledge and understanding of the natural and social words following a systematic methodology based on evidence. Science says if my eyes can see, look at it only then it exists. For science which could not be detected does not exist. 

What is spirituality?

Spirituality is the essence of peace, wholeness and balance among the physical, emotional, social and spiritual aspects of one’s lives. Many of the behaviors associated with wellness are key components of a healthy spiritual life. Examples include volunteerism, social responsibility, optimism, contributing to society, connectedness with others, feeling of belonging/being part of a group and love of self/ reason to care for self. 

Spirituality vs. religion 

We should understand the difference between spirituality and religion. Spirituality is not based on religion. Spirituality is chosen while religion is often time forced. Being spiritual to me is more important but better than being religious. Religion can be anything that the person practicing it desires. 

Science is an orderly presentation of facts, reasoning, doctrine, and beliefs concerning the subject or group of subjects. Many times some people question about pouring the milk on shivling, let find the science behind this ritual.  According to the science of Ayurveda, every person has 3 components in them:

Vata (air)

Kafa (cough)      

Pitta (Acids)

All the three elements are necessary for smooth functioning of our body. However when the proportion of these components goes out of natural balance, the body begins to suffer under various ailments. During the sharavana, the vata component of a person gets higher in proportion. During that period, a person must avoid food that increases the vata component. For example, green leaf vegetables contain higher amounts of vata in them. Thus a person is asked to avoid them during the rainy season. During the rainy season cattles also eat lots of green grass and hence their milk is high in vata. And in modern times, it is susceptible to viral infection. Hence milk is considered harmful during the sharavana month. Thus Ayurveda advises against consuming milk during the rainy season. We should offer to eat others which could be edible for us too. That’s by the milk flow over the shiv who had poison during samander manthan.

Hence this way spirituality is connected with science. Science is something inherent to it and at the same time it’s a philosophy much beyond those realm. As we see how spirituality goes with science and there is nothing in spirituality which does not have any scientific reason as we see in above.

Chanting of mantras also has a scientific reason. It seems incredible that mere chanting can bring about these tremendous changes. The chanting is connected to physical level, voicing a chant in the prescribed way impacts the abdominal area (from where the chant notes are raised), the lungs, the circulatory system and so on, explained by the radha sundararajan, (director of chanting , krishnamacharya yoga mandiram). Scientists said when a mantra is chanted rhythmically, it creates a neuro- linguistic effect even if the meaning of the mantras is not known.  You just need to have a good ear, stay true to the punctuation, pauses, pronunciation, notation, length and the force of the chant and repeat it over a period of time, said meanka director of the vedic chanting.

Hence we see how every practice of spirituality is connected to science. Pouring the milk over shivling, chanting mantra meditation, idols of rock and temple, eating prasadam they all have an explanation with facts. There are many spoken persons or saints who are focusing now on explaining the facts, reason and query behind the practices performed under the spirituality such as sadhguru maharaj, archarye parshant, Rahul arya and many more.

We also understand that spirituality and religion are two different things. If science is defined as the reasonable and experimental term then spirituality has all the things within itself. Spirituality believes to define the thing, environment and helps an individual to understand the inner as well as outer cosmos. That is our mistake. We never try to find out the science behind spirituality. We only performed the rituals without knowing the facts. We should explain the scientific circumstance while teaching or performing these kinds of activities. When we explain the reason behind spirituality, the person understands the values and benefit. 

‘’Science is not only compatible with spirituality: it is a profound source of spirituality,’’- carl sagan

References;

https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/The-magic-of-mantras/article16366520.ece

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/eyescream/science-spirituality-11274/

https://www.wordzz.com/reason-behind-offering-milk-shiva-lingam/#:~:text=Thus%20a%20person%20is%20asked,due%20to%20access%20of%20Vata.text=So%20the%20Hindus%20offer%20 milk,by%20the%20science%20of%20Ayurved.

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What are Causes of Lightening Strikes?

According to wikipedia, “A lightning strike or lightning bolt is an electric discharge between the atmosphere and the ground. ” It mostly occurs within the cloud but when it does strike the earth, it can cause serious damage to life and property. About 240,000 lightning strike incidents happen each year globally and according to National geographic, about 2000 annual deaths occur due to lightning strikes. About 41 people died in Uttar Pradesh (India) and 23 in Rajasthan (India) and about 21 were injured due to lightning strikes on Sunday (11 July, 2021).

How does lightning occur?

Clouds consist of electric charges (positive and negative) that are usually balanced but the winds of a storm result in a separation of charges within the clouds. Positively charged particles occupy the top of the cloud and the negatively charged particles concentrate on the bottom. This separation of charges result in the flow of electricity.

Types of lightning bolts-

There are 3 main types of lightning bolts-

  1. Cloud-to-cloud: When charged particles of one cloud are attracted to the oppositely charged particles of another cloud, it is known as cloud-to-cloud lightning. It is the most common form of lightning in the sky.
  2. Cloud-to-air: When the discharge moves from the cloud to the sky and is attracted to the charged particles of air, it is referred to as cloud-to-air lightning.
  3. Cloud-to-ground: Negative charge- In this type of flow of lightning, the negatively charged particles begin to move towards the ground in a zig-zag path( also known as stepped leader) . They move with such high speed that they reach the ground in about a millisecond. When they reach the ground, they attract positive charges(also known as an upward leader or streamer) that begin to move towards them (usually through tall buildings, trees, etc.). When the stepped leader and streamer meet, it leads to a flow of powerful current from the ground to the cloud. Positive charge- When the positive charge of cloud overcome the negative charge and travel towards the earth meeting negative stream of charges coming from the earth , it is referred to as CG lightning-positive charge. It, though uncommon, is more dangerous.

5 ways lightning strikes people –

  1. Direct strikes- The most deadly, it usually occurs to people who are in open areas. When lightning strikes the body,, some of the current moves through the body and some moves along and over the body( which produces heat that can cause skin burns).
  2. Side flash- It occurs when the victim is standing next to a taller object and some of the current from the taller object is transferred to the body of the victim, which is why you should avoid taking shelter under a tree when lightning strikes.
  3. Ground Current- When lightning strikes a tall body, much of the energy leaves the body and is either side flashed or transferred to the ground. The current transferred to the ground affects a larger area as it can transfer through conducting materials, which is why you should avoid being outside during lightning flashes.
  4. Conduction- Lightning can travel through potentially conducting surfaces like barbed wires who provide a pathway for lightning to travel very large distances.
  5. Streamers- People caught in streamers formed during cloud-to-ground transition of lightning will find it very difficult to come out of it and it can result in death.

How to protect yourself from lightning?

  1. Avoid going outdoors during lightning strikes and even if you do end up being in the outdoors, immediately find an enclosed shelter.
  2. Do not, under any circumstance, take shade under a tree or be near one.
  3. If you are inside your car, do not get out. But ensure that your car is parked in an open space away from potential charge attracters or conductors.
  4. Avoid being near water. Do not bathe (even inside your house) and stay away from rivers, lakes or any other water body.
  5. Try to minimize your surface area, when outside. Do not lie flat and crouch into a ball-like-position.

What is Software Testing ? Types of testing – Alpha, Beta, Acceptance

“Testing is the process of executing a program with the intent of finding faults.”

Testing is an important aspect of the software development life cycle. It is basically the process of testing the newly developed software, prior to its actual use. The program is executed with desired input(s) and the output(s) is/are observed accordingly. The observed output(s) is/are compared with expected output(s). If both are same, then the
program is said to be correct as per specifications, otherwise there is something wrong somewhere in the program. Testing is a very expensive process and consumes one-third to one-half of the cost of a typical development project. It is largely a systematic process but partly intuitive too. Hence, good testing process entails much more than just executing a program a few times to see its correctness.

Testing is the process of demonstrating that errors are not present.

The purpose of testing is to show that a program performs its intended functions correctly.

Testing is the process of establishing confidence that a program does what it is supposed to do.

Customers may use the software in different and strange ways. Their involvement in testing may help to understand their minds and may force developers to make necessary changes in the software. These three terms are related to the customer’s involvement in testing with different meanings.

Alpha Testing

These terms are used when the software is developed as a product for anonymous customers. Therefore, acceptance testing is not possible. The alpha tests are conducted at the developer’s site by the customer. These tests are conducted in a controlled environment and may start when the formal testing process is near completion.

Beta Testing

The beta tests are conducted by potential customers at their sites. Unlike alpha testing, the developer is not present here. It is carried out in an uncontrolled real life environment by many potential customers. Customers are expected to report failures, if any, to the company. These failure reports are studied by the developers and appropriate changes
are made in the software. Beta tests have shown their advantages in the past and releasing a beta version of the software to the potential customer has become a common practice. The company gets the feedback of many potential customers without making any payment.

Acceptance Testing

This term is used when the software is developed for a specific customer. The customer is involved during acceptance testing. He/she may design adhoc test cases or well planned test cases and execute them to see the correctness of the software. This type of testing is called acceptance testing and may be carried out for a few weeks or months. The discovered errors are fixed and modified and then the software is delivered to the customer.

Genetically Modified Rice For more Vitamin A intake

Rice is one of the most consumed food across the globe, mostly because it is one of the cheapest food. Yearly consumption of it is more than 400 million tons. The human body requires all the nutrients in the proper amount to remain healthy. . In an era with more than 700 million people living below the poverty line, it was very difficult for them to get proper nutrients. One of the nutrients is vitamin a Despite containing a lot of carbohydrates rice grain lacks Carotene which is transformed to Vitamin A by our body which is one of the major concerns.

The Need

Vitamin A deficiency approximately affects one-third of children around the world. Its deficiency leads to skin diseases blindness and growth retardation in children. It can also lead to infertility. In underdeveloped and developing countries where rice is the staple food the lack of vitamin A consumption by people is a point of great concern. Other food supplements that contain vitamin A like milk butterfish are usually expensive and for poor people. Thus it was very vital to improve the quality of rice grain for proper nourishment of our body.

Research

Peter Bramley was the first to discover the phytoene desaturase gene could produce lycopene, which then can be converted to b carotene. These details were published in 2000 by Ingo Potrykus and Peter Beyer The rice formed was termed golden rice. In 2005 Syngenta researchers produced Golden Rice 2 by fusing phytoene synthase gene from maize with crt1 from the previously developed golden rice, which produced over 20 times more carotenoids than previous rice. US Food and Drug Administration approved for use of golden rice for human consumption in 2018.

One of the reasons why rice grain lacks vitamin a is that it does not contain carotene but only contains a precursor molecule for it. Organisms like the bacterium Erwina and plants like daffodil contain enzymes that convert this precursor into carotene. Scientists isolated the 2 types of genes for the pathway of carotene from bacterium and daffodil and then added each gene to rice with the help of Ti plasmid vector. Not only Vitamin A a lot of research is going on and has been done to enrich rice grain with other nutrients like iron

The need for the improvement in the nutritional factors of rice was very crucial for human beings to sustain Improvement especially in rice grain was very important as it is one of the most consumed commodities. Golden Rice 2 contains enough vitamin A to sustain the daily requirement of around 75g. The research found that the b-carotene present in golden rice is equivalent to that in oil and better than that in spinach at providing vitamin A to children.