113 items in this section. Displaying page 3 of 12
The Straightened Leaning Tower of Pisa
You must have heard about the Leaning Tower of Pisa. In 1990, the tower was made off limits when engineers pointed out that the weight of people climbing the spiral steps could increase the inclination of the tower, and topple it eventually. After some 11 years of restoration work, a ‘straightened’ Leaning Tower was opened again to the public in November 2001. Why does the tower lean? The tower is actually the belfry (tower from which a bell is hung) of the Pisa Cathedral, which stands alongside....
The Earth Is Getting dimmer
If you have viewed a crescent moon on a clear night, you would have observed an eerie glow around the moon. This is called earthshine. Do you know why the moon glows? The eerie glow around a crescent moon is called earthshine. Our earth and the moon act as giant mirrors that reflect sunlight. Actually most objects reflect light. A mirror reflects almost all the light that falls on it. And an object that does not reflect light is called opaque....
Man's Best Friend
Who is man’s best friend? Of course there are no points for guessing that one – the dog. The dog is the most popular domestic animal in the world. For more than 12,000 years the dog has been a companion, a protector and above all, an honest friend. But different civilisations and cultures have treated the dog in different ways. In some countries, dogs are used as guards or beasts of burden, whereas in others they are even eaten as food....
Tree Rings tell many Tales
Examining ancient trees helps scientists get an amazing picture of Earth’s life, for trees are a record of their life time. By looking closely at the rings of a tree, scientists can not only tell how old it is; they can also tell you that in one summer in 1453 and again in 1601, there were freak cold spells. Tree rings, when radiocarbon-dated give a glimpse of certain aspects of prehistoric times. But what is radiocarbon dating?...
An Octopus as Jar-opener
Try opening a bottle of jam. See how skilfully your fingers wrap around the lid and unscrew it? Now researchers at the Brighton University, United Kingdom, are carrying out an interesting study to see if the octopus, too, has the same skill. Makes sense considering it has so many ‘hands’ or tentacles! The scientists have even made a gigantic glass aquarium, specially designed for the resident pet octopus, in the university laboratory. They have named it Roger, after the British actor Roger Moore who acted as James Bond in the Hollywood film...
The Truth about Zoos
Last week we carried a piece about the relevance of zoos as the last refuge of endangered species. But in India it appears that zoos should be the last place for animals of any sort, let alone the endangered variety. It is no secret that most Indian zoos are in a bad state. Although zoos claim to educate people and preserve species, Indian zoos do neither. Most zoo enclosures are quite small, and labels provide little information....
Great White Sharks Heading for Extinction
If you want a beach crowded with surfers and swimmers and other sun worshippers to empty out within a minute, cup your hands by the side of your mouth and shout loudly, ‘SHARK’ and wait for this miracle to happen. Because the very word conjures up images from Steven Spielberg’s movie ‘Jaws’. An image of a gaping mouth with rows of razor-sharp teeth and a greyish white shark thrashing around in murky water, grappling with its catch....
Long Memory of Female Elephants is Responsible for the Well Being of their Families
You must have heard the phrase ‘elephant’s memory’ being used for people with a long memory. It seems the long memory of elephants, especially female elephants, is directly responsible for the well being of their families. This fact was discovered by a group of researchers of the University of Sussex who studied the elephants of Amboseli National Park in Kenya, the Telegraph newspaper reported. Elephants live in matriarchal families or families that are headed by the mothers....
Tale of the Woolly Mammoth
Almost 20,000 years ago, a group of hunting tribesmen attacked an enormous elephant like animal called the Woolly Mammoth. A fierce battle was fought as the prehistoric tribesmen armed with spears and stone catapults attacked the Mammoth. The Mammoth, almost twice the size of a modern African Elephant, charged and stomped. And as a spear pierced its heart, it gave one last heart wrenching cry and fell to the ground with a loud thud, a sound that reverberated through the mountains....
Is New York Burning?
In New York, people consume about 500 million kilowatt hours of energy per square kilometre every year. This is almost half of the total amount of solar energy (heat of the sun rays) falling on such an area in a year. So New Yorkers, in effect, live under a sun-and-a-half. In addition, paved areas, walls and the roofs of buildings absorb and re-radiate more heat than soil or plant-covered ground. Water runs off these surfaces more rapidly, allowing little cooling by evaporation....