AI or Artificial Intelligence is becoming a major buzzword in recent years. Knowing what it is and it’s practical applications in real life, in the upcoming future, leaves us stunned. Although movies tend to exaggerate AI for dramatic effect, there is still some truth in these movies. There are AI experts who fear a super- intelligent AI could outsmart us and eventually decide to wipe us off the face of the Earth. On the other side, AI is depicted as a miracle invention. The intelligent machines can perform analytical tasks such as simulations and predictions much better than humans. So, if you are interested in AI, read this blog fully. Here we have listed top 5 AI movies that you should never miss watching in life.
Ex Machina
At no.5 we have Ex Machina. Ex Machina is one of the best examples of an AI movie. It covers all the bases, allowing the protagonist to be a proxy for the audience to explore AI’s moral arguments whilst also deploying a thriller narrative arc to keep the audience engaging. The film follows the story of a programmer who is allowed by his CEO to be a part of an experiment to evaluate the capabilities of a highly advanced humanoid called Ava. He is the first person to meet Ava and his goal will be to test whether Ava passes the Turing test. What happens next carries the storyline forward and captivates the viewers on the process. The movie focusses on how we interact with AI as humans and how a machine could, in turn, manipulate humans. This movie is phenomenal and a must watch thing for every AI enthusiast.
2001 – A Space Odyssey
At no. 4, we have the 1968 sci-fi classic movie, 2001- A Space Odyssey. This movie is the most intricate and ambiguous one in our list. A Stanley Kubrick masterpiece revolves around Time, space, human nature and evolution. And the film is narrated in a non-linear direction with inexplicable cuts to different contexts. The opening of the movie is something wierd. It opens milliions of years ago in a desert with apes discovering a giant black Monolith. Then the film transitions to a space voyage to find the origins of a mysterious Monolith in the far reaches of the galaxy. The space ship functions are controlled by an Artificial Intelligence computer names HAL, which is claimed to be full proof and impossible to make errors. However during the space mission, the ship’s crew gets double- crossed by HAL. The error free computer HAL makes an odd error. Then, the astronauts decide to disconnect it from the ship’s controls. But HAL discovers their plan and goes rougue- killing most of the crew members.
Star birth is, as the physicist Heinz R. Pagels (1939–1988) wrote in 1985, a “veiled and secret event.” Today, it’s well known that star formation takes place deep inside interstellar clouds of gas and dust in stellar crèches that were once impossible for us to detect. Only after the process is complete does the light from the newborn star manage to leak out and announce to the universe that a new star has been born. It’s a process that takes place in every galaxy across the cosmos, and one that has been going on since shortly after the universe was created some 13.8 billion years ago. With the advent of infrared-enabled instruments, astronomers have been able to peek into the clouds and learn more about this once-hidden process.
It Starts in the Dark
Star birth begins in a region of interstellar space filled with gas and dust called a molecular cloud. This process might ignite in a dark nebula, a cloud that is so dense that light can’t pass through it. Something happens to disturb the thick, slowly moving globules of gas and dust. Perhaps a nearby supernova sends shock waves through the cloud, or another star passes nearby. The action spins the cloud and compresses it. Molecules of gas and the dust particles are crushed together, and that action causes friction heating. More and more gas and dust is pushed into this hot core, which grows more massive very quickly. As it does, its gravitational pull tugs more material in, compressing what’s already in the interior. When temperatures and pressures get high enough, conditions are right for the process of nuclear fusion to begin in the core of this protostellar object. Molecules of hydrogen begin smacking together to form helium. That process releases energy in the form of heat and light, and that’s what powers stars. The birth of the star is marked by the moment when nuclear fusion begins. After that, the newborn star continues to heat up; in the early phase of its life, it has gas jets streaming away from its polar regions. These help dissipate the tremendous heat built up as the star forms. If the stellar newborn has enough material remaining around it, it’s possible that planets can form there.
Star Death
By the standards of a human lifetime, stars seem to last forever. Even the shortest-lived ones—the massive, hot OB stars—live for a million or so years. On the other hand, dense stellar objects called white dwarfs spend tens of billions of years dwindling down to become cold cinders called black dwarfs. As they go through their lives, stars fuse elements in their cores in a process called nuclear fusion. That’s what the Sun is doing right now. It’s on the main sequence, a phase where stars spend their time fusing hydrogen in their cores. When they stop fusing hydrogen, they leave the main sequence, and that’s when things get interesting.
Stars Like the Sun
When the core runs out of hydrogen fuel, it will contract under the weight of gravity. However, some hydrogen fusion will occur in the upper layers. As the core contracts, it heats up. This heats the upper layers, causing them to expand. As the outer layers expand, the radius of the star will increase and it will become a red giant. The radius of the red giant sun will be just beyond Earth’s orbit. At some point after this, the core will become hot enough to cause the helium to fuse into carbon. When the helium fuel runs out, the core will expand and cool. The upper layers will expand and eject material that will collect around the dying star to form a planetary nebula. Finally, the core will cool into a white dwarf and then eventually into a black dwarf. This entire process will take a few billion years.
Stars More Massive Than the Sun
When the core runs out of hydrogen, these stars fuse helium into carbon just like the sun. However, after the helium is gone, their mass is enough to fuse carbon into heavier elements such as oxygen, neon, silicon, magnesium, sulfur and iron. Once the core has turned to iron, it can burn no longer. The star collapses by its own gravity and the iron core heats up. The core becomes so tightly packed that protons and electrons merge to form neutrons. In less than a second, the iron core, which is about the size of Earth, shrinks to a neutron core with a radius of about 6 miles (10 kilometers). The outer layers of the star fall inward on the neutron core, thereby crushing it further. The core heats to billions of degrees and explodes (supernova), thereby releasing large amounts of energy and material into space. The shock wave from the supernova can initiate star formation in other interstellar clouds. The remains of the core can form a neutron star or a black hole depending upon the mass of the original star.
An active galactic nucleus (AGN) is a compact region at the center of a galaxy that has a much-higher-than-normal luminosity over at least some portion of the electromagnetic spectrum with characteristics indicating that the luminosity is not produced by stars. Such excess non-stellar emission has been observed in the radio, microwave, infrared, optical, ultra-violet, X-ray and gamma ray wavebands. A galaxy hosting an AGN is called an “active galaxy“. The non-stellar radiation from an AGN is theorized to result from the accretion of matter by a supermassive black hole at the center of its host galaxy.
Speciality
Active galactic nuclei are the most luminous persistent sources of electromagnetic radiation in the universe, and as such can be used as a means of discovering distant objects; their evolution as a function of cosmic time also puts constraints on models of the cosmos. Many AGN lie at very large distances from us, at high redshift. In particular, the existence of very distant Seyfert galaxies giving off gamma-ray glows indicate such objects exist everywhere in the universe.
Quasars!
Quasars (short for “quasi-stellar radio sources”) are the most energetic and distant active galactic nuclei known. Astronomer Carl Seyfert (1911–1960) first wrote about these so-called “active galaxies” in 1943. Their strong emissions indicated something very energetic was going on the central cores. Eventually they became known as Seyfert galaxies.
Types of Active Galaxies
Active galaxies are characterized by the emissions they give off and whether or not they emit jets from their cores. Here are a few of the most common types.
Radio-quiet: very dim, quiet galaxy cores with radio quiet (for now) black holes; they may be bright and active in other wavelengths of light
Seyfert galaxies: medium-mass black holes accreting material and giving off x-rays and gamma rays
Quasars: high-mass black holes accreting material; some emit radio emissions while others emit only optical light Blazars: high-mass black holes with a jet pointing toward Earth
Radio galaxies: high-mass black holes with large areas that give off strong radio emissions and have massive jets streaming superheated material into space.These powerful jets appear to be moving faster than the speed of light—a property called “superluminal motion.”
Uses of Active Galaxies
X-ray emission from active galactic nuclei have given astronomers many clues about what is going on in these galaxies. Early X-ray observations of AGN showed fairly simple sources that could change brightness over fairly short timescales. Such variability pointed to emission coming from a fairly small area. The rapid changes, high energy output, and small volume all pointed to a black hole accretion powering these galaxies – it is one of the only things that can put out the amount of energy we see from AGN in such a small volume.
Since X-rays originate from very close to the central black hole, X-ray studies give us a unique view of the processes at work in the very center of the action. In some cases, higher energy X-rays have the ability to punch through gas and dust, so this is one part of the electromagnetic spectrum that lets us see into highly obscured AGN.
Like any other massive object, black holes can pull in matter that ventures too close. If there is enough infalling matter, it can form an accretion disk. This disk of matter surrounds the black hole and heats up, emitting X-rays. As matter makes its final plunge into the black hole, it is accelerated to high velocity, causing X-ray emission. Some of the infalling matter can also be funneled away from the black hole in powerful jets along the rotation axis of the disk. These jets are observed across the entire electromagnetic spectrum.
Focous on what ypu are feeling right now. If you’re sad,feel the sadness. Share your feelings with someone close to you. Do something nice for yourself. Take time to count your blessings. Eat well. Make social connections. Spend more time with your favourite person. Do what you like the most .
Negative thoughts affect areas of the brain that cause depression and anxiety. Positive thoughts on the other hand trigger chemical changes that trigger feelings of intense happiness and satisfaction.
Everyone has negative thoughts sometimes,but when you negative thoughts that cycle through your mind repeatdly,it can cause problems.Recurring negative thoughts can be symptoms of anxiety and depression disorders.
However, these positive emotions last only for a brief period and in order to fully experience its benifits, it is necessary that these positive thoughts be thought often.
Negative thinking can feel outside of your control and completely automatic. Fortunately,research and studies have come up with great ways with whose help you can break the habit of negative thinking and develop a more positive outlook towards life.This practice of overcoming negative thoughts has been studied and proven and has helped many individuals change their lives.
Given below is a list of these effective ways that can help you alter your thought pattern and learn to handle your negative thoughts in a positive way.
1)Be conscious of your thoughts:
As soon as you find yourself thinking a negative thought,stop yourself from thinking it.
One thought can lead to another and before you know you are experiencing deep grief and sorrow over your past mistake or hurts.
It is therefore important you stop at that very first negative thought itself. The next thing you can do is replace it with a postive thought or reframe your thought pattern into a positive one.Doing this will help you feel more positive and helpful.
2.keep youself Busy:
“An idle mind is the devil’s workshop” is a very true saying when it comes to negative thoughts.If you notice,you are more prone to negative thinking when you are sitting idle,rather than when you are busy.
According to research ,keeping your hands and mind occupied by doing tasks like cleaning, sorting, knitting etc., helps keep your mind off negative thoughts. Mainly keeping busy is associated with a battery of brain benefits.
This is because the busier you are the lesser time you have to devote to negative thoughts.
3. Avoid Triggers:
It is very easy to fall into the rut of negative thinking.That’s why it is important that one pay attention to their environment and intentionally remove all triggers that would initiate negative thoughts.
It could be a gift from an ex or a picture or a friend or a neighbour or a relative who might be the constant source of negative thoughts in your life.
According to some researchers,negative thinking is also a habit that one can easily pick up from others.Minimizing contact with such people and avoiding negative triggers can help keep you sane and positive.
4. Sufficient Rest and Sleep:
Lack of sleep greatly affects your mood,causing you to feel anxious, irritable and angry.Getting the sufficinet 8 hours of sleep helps keep the negative thoughts away and greatly improves your mental health.
Psychologists state that there is an important relationship between sleep and mood.
5. Music :
Listening to upbeat music is a great way to keep the negative thoughts away. It is hard to enterain troubling thoughts when you are listening to some groovy music.
According to reserachers just listening to your favourite music for 25 minutes, a day can bring about a great mood change and have a positive effect on your health and day .
6. Exercise :
Physically active people who exercises often according to study conducted by the researchers from the penn state university were found to experience greater feelings of enthusiasm and excitment. These people tend to experience more pleasant and happy feelings than people who exercise less or don’t exercise at all.
It is associated with pleasure and happiness is released in the brain every time you exercise,making it harder for negative thiughts to enter your mind.
7. Meditation :
Meditation is another great way to ward off negative thoughts and fill your mind with positivity. Brain studies have found out that meditation can help deactive the area of the brain that is responsible for the continuous negative thought pattern.
Meditating even just for 10 minutes a day can bring about a positive impact in your life.
8. Diet :
Many studies have found a siginificant correlation between a nutritionally poor diet that is high in refined sugars and impaired brain function. Mood and food have an important connection.
Eating nutritious food that is rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants not only nourishes your brain but significantly impacts your thought processes and how you feel.
It is never too late to try changing your negative thought pattern. Try the above- proven methods and see how much difference positive thinking brings in your life
The first scientifically minded celestial observers included people such as Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543), Johannes Kepler, and Galileo Galilei, who began looking at the sky through telescopes they built. Galileo’s view of Jupiter in 1610 transformed our view of the planets. They weren’t just dots of light in the sky. They were worlds. Over the years, more and better telescopes have revealed double stars and nebulae in the sky, and their discoverers set out to figure out what these things were. The science of “natural philosophy” uses mathematics, chemistry, and physics to explain objects and events in the universe. Nicolaus Copernicus came up with the heliocentric solar system, with the planets orbiting the Sun. The laws of planetary motion developed by Johannes Kepler and the laws of physics devised by Sir Isaac Newton helped explain the motions of bodies in space.
Contributions of Famous Scientists and Breakthroughs:
Nicolaus Copernicus – He wrote De revolutionibus orbium coelestium(on the revolution of the heavenly sphere)(1543) in which he proposed the heliocentric theory.
Galileo Galilei– He was the first one to look at the sky with a telescope. In 1610, with a telescope, he watched Jupiter and discovered 4 moons(Galilean moons). He also observed phases of Venus and sunspots. He wrote On motion , Dialogue concerning the two chief world systems and Discourses and mathematical demonstrations relating to two new sciences .
Hans Lippershey and Zacharlas Janssen (dutch-german opticians)- They invented the telescope(first to patent)
Johannes Kepler – He wrote Mysterium cosmographicum (latin for the cosmographic mystery)(1596) in which he defended copernican heliocentric ideas. In 1609, he published the first 2 laws of planetary motion.
Kepler’s laws: 1. The path of the planets about the sun is elliptical in shape, with the center of the sun being located at one focus.
2. An imaginary line drawn from the center of the sun to the center of the planet will sweep out equal areas in equal intervals of time.
3. The ratio of the squares of the periods of any two planets is equal to the ratio of the cubes of their semi-major axis.
Kepler’s Publications- Johannes Kepler published treatises about many topics. Here is a list of some of his other astronomy-related works.
1. Astronomia Pars Optica (Optics in Astronomy)
2. Astronomia Nova (The New Astronomy)
3. Dissertatio cum Nuncio Sidereo (Conversation with the Starry Messenger, an endorsement of Galileo Galilei’s observations)
4. Harmonice Mundi (The Harmony of the Worlds, in which Kepler describes harmony and congruence in geometry and presents his third law of planetary motion)
William Herschel– He deduced that the solar system is moving, and saw martian ice caps. He created a deep sky catalog and double star catalog and catalogue of 500 nebulae, nebulous stars, planetary nebulae,etc. He discovered uranus (1781). He also discovered infrared light.
Caroline Herschel- she was the first woman paid to do astronomy and she discovered 8 comets.
John Federick William Herschel- He published the general catalog of 10,300 multiple and double stars, and The New General Catalog of Nebulae and Clusters(NGC).
Isaac Newton– He gave the famous three laws of motion. 1.The first law states that an object at rest will stay at rest, and an object in motion will stay in motion unless acted on by a net external force.
2]The second law states that the rate of change of momentum of a body over time is directly proportional to the force applied, and occurs in the same direction as the applied force.
3]The third law states that all forces between two objects exist in equal magnitude and opposite direction.
He also gave the universal law of gravitation. He invented Newtonian reflectors- telescopes with reflecting mirrors.
Henrietta Swan Leavitt– She discovered cepheid variables(period of pulsation of star is related to intrinsic brightness of star), many other variable stars and novas.
Edwin Hubble– He showed that the universe was larger and beyond the Milky Way by showing that Andromeda was outside the milky way. He discovered the universe is expanding. He gave the hubble sequence of galaxy morphologies – spiral, elliptical, lenticular or irregular.
Einstein– He discovered the photoelectric effect, and wave-particle duality. He published the special theory of relativity and the general theory of relativity.
Jocelyn Bell burnell– The first pulsar that Bell found is called PSR 1919+21, and its signal repeats precisely every 1.33 seconds.It was called LGM-1.
Vera Rubin– She proved the existence of dark matter.
Clyde Tombaugh – In 1930, He discovered pluto.
Mike brown– He demoted Pluto to dwarf planet and wrote How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming.
People are mainly aware about the algae as seaweeds or algal blooms. They are the organisms with ability of photosynthesis and very much diverse community as well. But algae are important to man and their economic importance is manyfold. They are used as food, fodder and manure. They are also important in industrial field as well as agriculture.
there are 7 major types in algae
Chrysophytes
Euglenophytes
Pyrrophytes
Chlorophytes
Rhodophytes
Phaeophytes
Xanthophytes
these are the benificial roles of algae
Algae is a food source: In different parts of the world algae have been utilized as direct source of food. They are rich in proteins, carbohydrates, oils, vitamins and minerals hence used as a diet food. They possess minerals like Cu, Fe, Zn, Co, V, Mn and Cr. About 20 different seaweeds are used as food source. Nostoc,
Algae as fodder: Many seaweeds are as food for cattle, poultry and aquatic organisms. Sargassum is used as cattle feed in China. Laminaria and Fucus are also used for the same purpose. Seaweed meal increases the egg laying capacity of fowls. These eggs contain high amount of iodine and carotene.
Algae in agriculture: Algae are used as green manures in agriculture. Sargassum, Laminaria, Macrocystis and Gracilaria are the most commonly used ones. Seaweed manure increases the yield of barley, potato, coconut palms, citrus etc. Many blue green algae have the ability to fix the atmospheric nitrogen into the soil. So they can be used as biofertilizers. Saline and alkaline soils can be converted into productive ones by growing some blue-green algae on soil. Anabaena, Rivularia, Spirulina are used for this purpose.
Algae in Industries: In Industries many algae have been used as sources for the extraction of commercial products like agar-agar, diatomite, carrageenin and algin. Agar-agar is used as culture media for bacteria. It is also used as emulsifier in ice-cream, fruit jellies and dairy product preparation. Algin is used as painting pastes in textile industry and thickeners in cosmetics, pharmaceutical products etc. Carrageenin which is extracted from Chondrus crispus and Gigartina are used in food industry, textiles and leather industry. It is a remedy for cough.
Algae in sewage disposal: Sewage water contains organic and inorganic substances which makes it low in oxygen content. But sewage finds use in agricultural practice as they are rich in salts. To decrease the foul smell algae are used. Algae are used to decompose the organic and inorganic substances.
Algae and Research: Algae are used in the study of effects of pesticides, herbicides and UV light. They are used in the research for preparing biofuels.
Algae as pollution indicator: Some algae grow well in polluted water as they are more tolerant towards pollution. Growth of these algae indicates the pollution and its intensity. Scenedesmus indicates copper wastes and Ulothrix zonata indicates indicates paper mill wastes.
Though many algae are useful, there are harmful algae are also there. The development of water blooms is considered to be a bad effect of algae. There are some parasitic algae cause diseases in plants. Attachment of algae tp ship retards the speed of the ship. growth of algae on cloths are also seen and they ruin the cloth.
The dog wears a harness with a microphone that picks up its barks. The barks get processed through a device that determines what the dog is saying and then outputs it through speakers.
Raspberry Pi Zero is the affordable brain powering NerdStoke’s solution to this age-old human-and-pup problem. But writing code that could translate the multitude of frequencies coming out of a dog’s mouth when it barks was a trickier problem. NerdStoke tried to work it through on Twitch with fellow hobbyists, but alas, the original dream had to be modified.
The kit worked fine – it was the coding challenge that changed the course of this project
Spoiler alert: fast Fourier transforms did not work. You would need a clear, pure tone for that to work in a project like this, but as we said above, dogs bark in a rainbow of tones, pitches, and all the rest.
So what’s the solution?
Because of this, a time-based model was devised to predict what a dog is likely to be barking about at any given time of day. For example, if it’s early morning, they probably want to go out to pee. But if it’s mid-morning, they’re probably letting you know the postman has arrived and is trying to challenge your territory by pushing thin paper squares through the flap in your front door. It’s a dangerous world out there, and dogs just want to protect us.
Nerdstoke had his good friend record some appropriate soundbites to go with each bark, depending on what time of day it happened. And now, Nugget the dog can tell you “I want to cuddle” or “Why aren’t you feeding me?”Same, Nugget, same
While the final project couldn’t quite translate the actual thoughts of a dog, we love the humour behind this halfway solution. And we reckon the product name, Holler Collar, would definitely sell.
Global warming is the long-term heating of Earth’s climate system observed since the pre-industrial period (between 1850 and 1900) due to human activities, primarily fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s atmosphere.
What is global warming?
Since the Industrial Revolution, the global annual temperature has increased in total by a little more than 1 degree Celsius, or about 2 degrees Fahrenheit. Between 1880—the year that accurate recordkeeping began—and 1980, it rose on average by 0.07 degrees Celsius (0.13 degrees Fahrenheit) every 10 years. Since 1981, however, the rate of increase has more than doubled: For the last 40 years, we’ve seen the global annual temperature rise by 0.18 degrees Celsius, or 0.32 degrees Fahrenheit, per decade.
Now climate scientists have concluded that we must limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2040 if we are to avoid a future in which everyday life around the world is marked by its worst, most devastating effects: the extreme droughts, wildfires, floods, tropical storms, and other disasters that we refer to collectively as climate change. These effects are felt by all people in one way or another but are experienced most acutely by the underprivileged, the economically marginalized, and people of color, for whom climate change is often a key driver of poverty, displacement, hunger, and social unrest.
What is the causes of global warming?
Global warming occurs when carbon dioxide (CO2) and other air pollutants collect in the atmosphere and absorb sunlight and solar radiation that have bounced off the earth’s surface. Normally this radiation would escape into space, but these pollutants, which can last for years to centuries in the atmosphere, trap the heat and cause the planet to get hotter. These heat-trapping pollutants—specifically carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapor, and synthetic fluorinated gases—are known as greenhouse gases, and their impact is called the greenhouse effect.
Curbing dangerous climate change requires very deep cuts in emissions, as well as the use of alternatives to fossil fuels worldwide. The good news is that countries around the globe have formally committed—as part of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement—to lower their emissions by setting new standards and crafting new policies to meet or even exceed those standards. The not-so-good news is that we’re not working fast enough. To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, scientists tell us that we need to reduce global carbon emissions by as much as 40 percent by 2030. For that to happen, the global community must take immediate, concrete steps: to decarbonize electricity generation by equitably transitioning from fossil fuel–based production to renewable energy sources like wind and solar; to electrify our cars and trucks; and to maximize energy efficiency in our buildings, appliances, and industries.
What are the effects of global warming?
Each year scientists learn more about the consequences of global warming, and each year we also gain new evidence of its devastating impact on people and the planet. As the heat waves, droughts, and floods associated with climate change become more frequent and more intense, communities suffer and death tolls rise. If we’re unable to reduce our emissions, scientists believe that climate change could lead to the deaths of more than 250,000 people around the globe every year and force 100 million people into poverty by 2030.
1). Disappearing glaciers, early snowmelt, and severe droughts will cause more dramatic water shortages and continue to increase the risk of wildfires in the American West.
2). Rising sea levels will lead to even more coastal flooding on the Eastern Seaboard, especially in Florida, and in other areas such as the Gulf of Mexico.
3). Forests, farms, and cities will face troublesome new pests, heat waves, heavy downpours, and increased flooding. All of these can damage or destroy agriculture and fisheries.
4). Disruption of habitats such as coral reefs and alpine meadows could drive many plant and animal species to extinction.
5).Allergies, asthma, and infectious disease outbreaks will become more common due to increased growth of pollen-producing ragweed, higher levels of air pollution, and the spread of conditions favorable to pathogens and mosquitoes.
Though everyone is affected by climate change, not everyone is affected equally. Indigenous people, people of color, and the economically marginalized are typically hit the hardest. Inequities built into our housing, health care, and labor systems make these communities more vulnerable to the worst impacts of climate change—even though these same communities have done the least to contribute to it.
How is global warming linked to extreme weather?
Scientists agree that the earth’s rising temperatures are fueling longer and hotter heat waves, more frequent droughts, heavier rainfall, and more powerful hurricanes.
In 2015, for example, scientists concluded that a lengthy drought in California—the state’s worst water shortage in 1,200 years—had been intensified by 15 to 20 percent by global warming. They also said the odds of similar droughts happening in the future had roughly doubled over the past century. And in 2016, the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine announced that we can now confidently attribute some extreme weather events, like heat waves, droughts, and heavy precipitation, directly to climate change.
The impacts of global warming are being felt everywhere. Extreme heat waves have caused tens of thousands of deaths around the world in recent years. And in an alarming sign of events to come, Antarctica has lost nearly four trillion metric tons of ice since the 1990s. The rate of loss could speed up if we keep burning fossil fuels at our current pace, some experts say, causing sea levels to rise several meters in the next 50 to 150 years and wreaking havoc on coastal communities worldwide.
Is the United States doing anything to prevent global warming?
We’ve started. But in order to avoid the worsening effects of climate change, we need to do a lot more—together with other countries—to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and transition to clean energy sources.
Under the administration of President Donald Trump (a man who falsely referred to global warming as a “hoax”), the United States withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement, rolled back or eliminated dozens of clean-air protections, and opened up federally managed lands, including culturally sacred national monuments, to fossil fuel development. Although President Biden has pledged to get the country back on track, years of inaction during and before the Trump administration—and our increased understanding of global warming’s serious impacts—mean we must accelerate our efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
President Biden has made action on global warming a high priority. On his first day in office, he recommitted the United States to the Paris Climate Agreement, sending the world community a strong signal that we were determined to join other nations in cutting our carbon pollution to support the shared goal of preventing the average global temperature from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. (Scientists say we must stay below a 2-degree increase to avoid catastrophic climate impacts.) And significantly, the president has assembled a climate team of experts and advocates who have been tasked with pursuing action both abroad and at home while furthering the cause of environmental justice and investing in nature-based solutions.
Is global warming too big a problem for me to help tackle?
No! While we can’t win the fight without large-scale government action at the national level, we also can’t do it without the help of individuals who are willing to use their voices, hold government and industry leaders to account, and make changes in their daily habits.
Wondering how you can be a part of the fight against global warming? Reduce your own carbon footprint by taking a few easy steps: Make conserving energy a part of your daily routine and your decisions as a consumer. When you shop for new appliances like refrigerators, washers, and dryers, look for products with the government’s ENERGY STAR® label; they meet a higher standard for energy efficiency than the minimum federal requirements. When you buy a car, look for one with the highest gas mileage and lowest emissions. You can also reduce your emissions by taking public transportation or carpooling when possible.
The internet of things, or IoT, is a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals or people that are provided with unique identifiers (UIDs) and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction.
A thing in the internet of things can be a person with a heart monitor implant, a farm animal with a biochip transponder, an automobile that has built-in sensors to alert the driver when tire pressure is low or any other natural or man-made object that can be assigned an Internet Protocol (IP) address and is able to transfer data over a network.
An IoT ecosystem consists of web-enabled smart devices that use embedded systems, such as processors, sensors and communication hardware, to collect, send and act on data they acquire from their environments. IoT devices share the sensor data they collect by connecting to an IoT gateway or other edge device where data is either sent to the cloud to be analyzed or analyzed locally. Sometimes, these devices communicate with other related devices and act on the information they get from one another. The devices do most of the work without human intervention, although people can interact with the devices — for instance, to set them up, give them instructions or access the data.
• Attack, via cyberspace – targets an enterprise’s use of cyberspace for the purpose of disrupting, disabling, destroying, or maliciously controlling a computing environment/infrastructure or destroying the integrity of the data or stealing controlled information.
• Leads to loss of money, theft of personal information, theft of financial and medical information – damages reputation and safety.
• common types – Malware, Phishing, Man-in-the- middle attack, Denial-of-service attack, SQL injection etc.
Malwares
• Malicious software.
• Software installed on a victim’s computer without consent.
• Compromises the operation of a system by performing an unauthorized function or process.
• Breaches a network through a vulnerability – typically when a user clicks a dangerous link or email attachment → installs risky software.
• Includes spyware, ransomware, viruses, and worms.
Ransomware
• A type of malware – prevents from accessing someone’s computer or data on it.
• Encrypts files on a device and blocks access to key components of the network.
• Result – computer becomes locked or the data is stolen, deleted or encrypted.
• Extortion attack – payment demanded to unlock the computer or access the data. Victim asked to contact the attacker via an anonymous email address or follow instructions on an anonymous web page. Payment demanded in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin • Impact: Loss of money. devastating to an individual or organization. severely impacts business processes.
UNIX is a multi-user and multitasking operating system. in a multi-user environment. the computer can receive the commands from a number of end users programs, access files, and print documents simultaneously.
The host computer, which has a UNIX operating system, provides services to the terminal, such as file access services. four terminals are connected to one host computer and all the terminals are sharing resources from the host computer.
Features of UNIX
The general and additional features of UNIX operating system are :
File and Processes : file and process are two entities that are supported by UNIX. A file contains information, such as text, code or directory structure that you need to save in the computer, The file is stored in the hard disk of the computer at a particular location, which can be easily remember whereas a process is the name given to a file or a programs that is currently running . UNIX provides various tools that enable you to control a process, change the sequence of the process, and kill the process.
Multi-user system: UNIX supports multitasking system as the kernel is designed to handle multiple processes. A single user can run multiple process simultaneously. For example, an end user can print a file and edit another file simultaneously. The kernel handles the multiple processes as foreground and background process. The current process runs in the foreground and the other processes run in the background. This multitasking feature is an advantage for the programmers, as they do not have to close the editor and run the program; this can done simultaneously.
UNIX toolkit: The UNIX toolkit provides various tools that are enable you to perform different tasks in UNIX as kernel alone cannot perform every task. The tools that are included in the UNIX toolkit are:
1:- General purpose tools , such as vi editor
2:- Text manipulation utilizes filters that are used to retrieve the output from two or more commands simultaneously .
3:- Compiler and Interpreter .
4:- Network administration and system tools , such as mailx and pine.
Pattern Matching :- UNIX supports pattern matching feature that enables you to retrieve the output according to the required pattern . Pattern matching in UNIX can be implemented using a special characters , such as * known as metacharacter .
Programming Facility :- UNIX provides a programming facility known as shell that is developed specifically for programmers and not for the users .
Many Stars in the milky way spend at least part of their lives in clusters. Clusters are scientifically interesting because all their stars formed around the same time and generally have similar characteristics. For example, if the cloud in which they formed was rich in certain kinds of elements, then the stars from that cloud will contain higher amounts of those materials. If the cloud was metal-poor (that is, it had a lot of hydrogen and helium but very little of other elements), then the stars that form will reflect that metallicity. Their similarity makes cluster stars good targets for the study of stellar evolution (how stars age and die). Very young clusters interact with the remains of the gas and dust cloud from which they formed. Understanding how all types of clusters form in our galaxy gives astronomers good insights into how the process happens in other galaxies as well. There are two types—open and globular.
Open Clusters
Open clusters usually have up to a thousand or so stars gathered into an irregularly shaped collection. They are often found in the plane of the galaxy, which is where they form. Most of the stars in these clusters are less than 10 billion years old, and some still lie embedded in what’s left of their birth clouds. Our Sun was created in an open cluster that formed about 4.5 billion years ago. It has since moved away from its stellar siblings and now travels the galaxy alone. Open clusters are generally found in spiral galaxies such as the Milky Way and irregular-type galaxies such as the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, which are two of our galaxy’s closest neighbors. Example of Open Clusters:
Pleiades in Taurus constellation
Jewel Box in Crux constellation
Globular Clusters
Globular clusters are collections of hundreds of thousands of old stars. The gravitational influence of all those stars binds the cluster together into a spherical, globular shape. Globulars swarm around the central region of the galaxy, called the halo. The Milky Way Galaxy has about 160 of these tightly packed clusters, but other galaxies have many more. Globulars roam around the halo and probably formed about the same time as the galaxy did. Example of Globular Cluster: Tucanae
Cluster Formation
A cluster begins to form when some event triggers motion and turbulence in the birth cloud. For an open cluster, it could be a supernova explosion or a fast-moving wind ejecting material from an aging star in the near neighborhood. For a globular cluster, a galaxy collision could be one kind of trigger event. Whatever happens, it sends fast-moving material and shock waves through the birth cloud and starts the process of star birth. Once formation is complete, the cluster stars continue to evolve. If they are not strongly bound together by gravity, after about 100 million years they start to go their separate ways. Even though members of the cluster may get separated by large distances, they all tend to move through space in the same direction and at about the same speed. Sometimes interactions in the cluster will “kick” some stars out into space, sending them on radically different trajectories into the galaxy. Eventually, these stellar associations dissipate into what’s called a moving group, before they finally scatter to become part of the larger stellar population in the galaxy.
These days, the possibility of finding life “out there” is an integral part of astronomy. The exploration of mars has been spurred in large part by the search for life or at least conditions that could support it. Extraterrestrial lifeis hypothetical life that may occur outside Earth and which did not originate on Earth. Such life might range from simple prokaryotes (or comparable life forms) to intelligent beings and even sapient beings, possibly bringing forth civilizations that might be far more advanced than humanity.Given the size of the universe – there are at least 100 billion stars in our home galaxy alone and perhaps 100 billion galaxies of much the same size scattered throughout deep space – few scientists believe that the Earth is the only home of life. But until quite recently, the field of exobiology – the study of extraterrestrial life also known as astrobiology – was almost moribund. It could come up with some interesting speculations but that was about all. The Drake equation speculates about the existence of sapient life elsewhere in the universe.
The Drake Equation:
Astronomer Frank Drake (1930–), who was doing radio astronomy searches for signals from alien civilizations in the early 1960s, came up with an equation that can help estimate how many civilizations could be in the galaxy. His equation looks like this:
N = R* • fp • ne • fL • fi • fc • L
where N is the number of civilizations in our galaxy that have the ability to communicate with us. To get to N, you have to multiply the following factors:
R*—the average star formation in our galaxy each year
fp—the number of those stars that have planets
ne—the number of planets that could potentially support life (for each star that has planets)
fL—the number of those planets that actually go on to develop some kind of life
fi—the number of planets that actually do develop intelligent life
fc—the number of civilizations that are technologically advanced enough to advertise their existence (through radio signals, etc.)
L—the length of time it takes for those civilizations to start releasing their “I’m here” signals
Necessities for life
The most vital ‘exobiology’ discoveries, though, were made right here on Earth. Biologists have learned that life is much more robust than most scientists believed 30 years ago. Earth microorganisms have been found thriving in astonishingly hostile environments. Deep beneath the oceans, for example, near the volcanic vents known as black smokers, some microbes grow and multiply at temperatures above 110 degrees – according to some scientists, perhaps as high as 170 degrees.
Others thrive in acid conditions that would strip the skin from a human, while others still make a comfortable living in hot rocks kilometres below the ground. Some even prefer cold to heat: Antarctic life-forms can manage very well in what amounts to a permanent deep-freeze.
The existence of these so-called extremophile organisms radically changed our view of what might be called “the necessities of life”. Extremophiles live happily without sunshine, without moderate warmth, without organic molecules to feed off and with no need for photosynthesis – many digest raw minerals and fuel themselves with basic chemical reactions.
The Kepler Mission
The Kepler mission is on the hunt for Earth-like planets around other stars, called exoplanets, and has found many planet candidates, not all of them suitable for life as we know it. Astronomers using the European Southern Observatory in Chile have even found an Earth-sized planet circling around Alpha Centauri B, which lies 4.37 light-years from Earth. While the newly discovered planet is too hot and close to its star to be hospitable to life, the discovery is another step towards finding life elsewhere.
I am sure that in the distant future we will find life elsewhere. The chances of ET being highly advanced or dangerous human eaters, is very very low. Most probably they will be some microscopic organisms(sorry to disappoint you). But, do not let this stop you from imagining.
You may hate them or love them, but you certainly can’t dismiss the importance of vegetables and other vegetarian ingredients in your daily diet. Take a look at some exotic food that are slowly finding their way into Indian homes and restaurants…..
Couscous Couscous is crushed durum wheat semolina formed into small granules or spheres. It’s commonly served in North African, Moroccan, Tunisian, and Algerian cuisine. It’s a protein rich food.
Brussels sprouts The Brussels sprout is a member of the Gemmifera Group of cabbages, grown for its edible buds. The leaf vegetables are typically 1.5–4.0 cm in diameter and resemble miniature cabbages. The Brussels sprout has long been popular in Brussels, Belgium, from which it gained its name. These sprouts are rich in Vitamins K, C, B and B6, as well as other minerals. These also have anti cancer properties.
Arugula Arugula or rocket is an edible annual plant in the family Brassicaceae used as a leaf vegetable for its fresh, tart, bitter, and peppery flavor. It is written Vitamin C and potassium, the flowers and seeds of this plant can also be eaten. Arugula can be eaten raw in salads or prepared in diverse ways of Mediterranean European and Turkish dishes. Peak season of this green leafy vegetable is early springs and fall.
Bok choy It’s a type of Chinese cabbage. Chinese’s varieties do not form heads and have green leaf blades with lighter bulbous bottoms instead, forming a cluster reminiscent of mustard greens. Chinese’s varieties are popular in southern China, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. It tastes like, spinach with very mild bitterness. Bok choy is rich in Vitamin A, C and also has cancer prevention compounds.
Kale Kale, or leaf cabbage, belongs to a group of cabbage cultivars grown for their edible leaves, although some are used as ornamentals. Kale plants have green or purple leaves, and the central leaves do not form a head. Kale is the powerhouse of nutrients as it is rich in Calcium, Vitamin K, Vitamin C and beta carotene. Kale has been known to block the growth of cancerous ces and can also lower cholesterol levels.
Zucchini The zucchini, courgette or baby marrow is a summer squash, a vining herbaceous plant whose fruit are harvested when their immature seeds and epicarp are still soft and edible. It is high in Vitamin A and potassium. It is extremely low on calories so wait watchers, you can have a new friend. Zucchini is used in Turkish, Mexican, French and Italian cooking.
Quinoa Quinoa, a grain, is native you to South American regions. It’s a good source of Vitamin B, B6 and E, along with zinc, iron, potassium and magnesium. Cooked quinoa consists of 71.6% water, 21.3% carbohydrates, 4.4% protein, and 1.92% fat. One cup (185 grams) of cooked quinoa contains 222 calories.
Dill Dill is an annual herb in the celery family Apiaceae. It is the only species in the genus Anethum. Dill is grown widely in Eurasia, where its leaves and seeds are used as an herb or spice for flavouring food. Dill has antibacterial and antimicrobial qualities.
Oregano Oregano is native to the hills of the Mediterranean countries and western Asia and has naturalized in parts of Mexico and the United States. The herb has long been an essential ingredient of Mediterranean cooking and is widely used to season many foods. With visas gaining acceptance in Indian culinary scene, Oregano has become synonyms with the little sachets of toppings one can use. It also has antifungal properties.
Today is math 2.0 day, but what exactly does that even mean?.With or without knowing we all use math several times every single day. The subject is also important for the advancement of technology. And thus, to celebrate the combination of maths and technology, Math 2.0 Day is celebrated on July 8. Read on to know other details.
Imagine the way the world used to be viewed! Math as known to be important but not thought to be something you could make a living at and the rising tide of technology was considered a fad! Math 2.0 Day reminds us that technology is here to stay!
Every year, Math 2.0 Day is celebrated on July 8. The day is observed to highlight the importance of the combination of maths and technology. The day was formed to celebrate the achievement made through the combination of maths and technology. Math 2.0 Day also helps to educate the masses about the benefits of maths and technology. Without maths and technology, it would have been impossible for us to achieve the various entertainment mediums we have now.
History of Math 2.0 Day
In 2009, the Math Interest Group formed Math 2.0 Day. Math is extremely important for the advancement of science, technology and education.Math 2.0 Day is a celebration of the blending of technology and mathematics. For a lot of us, math wasn’t a favorite subject, we’d spend the entire period staring at the equations and wondering what sort of livid madman designed these torture chambers on paper. Ultimately, however, we realized that math is utterly indispensable in our modern world. If you’ve ever wondered who uses math in their day to day careers, you aren’t alone and we have some answers for you.
Programmers deal with mathematics every day, as it’s the framework upon which all computer operations are formed. Everything from the order of operations to quadratic equations is necessary to make even the simplest program. Scientists are one of the biggest users of mathematics, whether they’re calculating the statistical variance of their data or figuring out how much to add to their chemistry experiment, it’s involved at every step.
One presumes you live in a house, drive a car, or operate a computer? The engineers responsible for designing those things so that they work, and especially in the case of the house, use math to ensure it doesn’t come crumbling down on your head. Math 2.0 day celebrates all these mathematical heroes and more.
How to celebrate Math 2.0 Day
If you’re like me, you probably have your old math books from college laying around. I suggest busting them open and studying them again. Who knows, in the intervening years you may have secretly developed a love for those dancing numbers. If not, make sure that you stop by those people who use math every day and thank them for doing the work so you don’ thave to.Mathematics is one of the most important fields in the world today, and just about everything we know and love is built on its back.
Eduindex 
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