தமிழருக்குப் பேரிழப்பு &

தமிழருக்குப் பேரிழப்பு - சுஜாதா மறைவு

ரங்கராஜன் என்கிற சுஜாதா நேற்று இயற்கை எய்தினார். தற்கால தமிழ் இலக்கியத்தில் தனி இடம் பெற்றவர். அறிவியலை அனைவருக்கும் அருமையாய் அள்ளித் தந்தவர்.


அடிப்படையில் ஒரு பொறியாளரான இவர், வாக்குப்பதிவு இயந்திர வடிவமைப்பு மற்றும் தயாரிப்பில் பெரும் பங்கு வகித்தார்.


ஆனந்த விகடன், குமுதம், கல்கி போன்ற இதழ்களில் எழுதினார். இவரது மறைவு தமிழர்க்குப் பேரிழப்பு. இன்னொரு சுஜாதா வர இனி எத்தனை நாட்களாகுமோ?!

Superconductivity Demo - Circuit Diagram

Thanks to http://flanture.blogspot.com/2007/08/howto-flash-content-on-bloggers-blog.html I could post my weird flash animation of the circuit used by Kamerling onnes to demonstrate superconductivity. (Embedding flash in blogger shouldn't be so hard, in fact!)

Observe that initially the switch S1 is closed, while the switch S2 is open. So, no current flows through the mercury.

Now, when the switch S2 is closed, and after a while, switch S1 is open. The currrent that was flowing through the switch S2 keeps on flowing. They call it persistent current. This was achieved when cool Mr. Kamerling cooled the mercury down to 4K. Eventually, Leyden was remarked as 'the coldest spot on the Earth', but hot research on superconductivity was going on.

And here is a vintage photograph of some greatest scientists, assembled during the Solvay congress in 1927.


The event took place in October 1927. In this fifth Solvay International Conference on Electrons and Photons, world's most notable physicists met to discuss the newly formulated quantum theory. It was here that Einstein reportedly said, referring to the Uncertainty Principle, "God does not play dice." Perhaps getting bored of this, Bohr replied, "Einstein, stop telling God what to do." Seventeen of the twenty-nine attendees were or became Nobel Prize winners! And the persevering Marie Curie won Nobel Prizes in two separate scientific disciplines.

Tetris - Things will fall in place

Though I'm not a great video game lover, one simple game impressed me recently. It's an old game, invented way back in 1985, by a Russian named Alexey Pajitnov. And the name of the game is Tetris.

Well, my brother introduced this game to me - by sending it to my already cramped mobile phone. And soon I found the game worth playing. The thing I like the most in Tetris is that things fall in place - if you are quite lucky. And you got to manipulate things slightly - to make things fall in the right place - and at the right time. If you are too lazy, the wrong piece gets to the wrong spot. And if you're hyperactive, you end up making things messier.

You lose a game of Tetris for two reasons:

1. You can no longer keep up with the increasing speed
2. You select the wrong piece to be fit into a spot.

Back to why I love Tetris so much is that there is a philosophy clinging to this game of moving blocks. What I interpret is that things in life will be coming to you - whether you like it or not. Sometimes, they arrange themselves in a perfect manner, helping you keep moving ahead. At times, they are of the weirdest shape. And they come too fast, leaving you wonder 'What on earth am I to do now?'

But life goes on. Make some corrective moves to get things tidier. There is always some more time left. And if you don't catch up, you end up loser. Sounds tooooooooooooo philosophical? There is science behind this too.

According to Richard Haier, et al. prolonged Tetris activity can also lead to more efficient brain activity during play. When first playing Tetris, brain function and activity increases, along with greater cerebral energy consumption, measured by glucose metabolic rate. As Tetris players become more proficient, their brains show a reduced consumption of glucose, indicating more efficient brain activity for this task.(Wikipedia)

As with any other game, Tetris has disadvantages too. It may cauase repetitive stress symptoms. Your brain may be involuntarily fancying tetris combinations even when you are not playing the game. And we've got a name for it - the Tetris effect! Seriously, I had this effect for quite a while. But that fades off as you get used to.

And now, while waiting for bus, waiting for a friend, when I feel bored, or when I don't have anything to do, I pick my mobile, to move the blocks here and there - desperate to upgrade my level (which is currently level 6 out of 10) - trying to make things look better.

Levitation Demo

"It's been nearly 100 years since Kamerling Onnes first demonstrated superconductivity. How many of us have ever seen a simple demonstration of, say levitation due to superconductivity?", asked Professor Asokamani, in one of his Sunday lectures at the Periyar Science and Technology Center, Chennai. Well, how many of us have?

This weekend, we were eager to view the levitation demo. The scheduling of events in the Science and Tech center has a remarkable eccentricity. There was a Science Talent Exam for kids going on, and we were left with no room!

Professor was unyielding, never compromising on his plans and schedules. Then we got the air-conditioned Conference Hall. Yes, the demo started. The audience were but a few - some 4 B.E students, a Ph.D. student, Mr. Raj Mane,a learned man who has ready-made questions and anecdotes, the professor, and myself. The much-awaited liquid Nitrogen emerged, in a thermocoal flask.

First, I had the impression it was boiling and 77 K is the boiling point of liquid nitrogen. Well, at room temperature, it's more than boiling! To learn more about liq. nitrogen, click

And we didn't have an organized plan for the demo. Professor had acquired an 123 superconducting pellet - SmBa2Cu3O(7–delta) - from the Indian Institute of Science, Madras. And there was a strong magnetic pellet, which we expected to jump and levitate magically.

What is levitation?
Levitation (from Latin levare, to raise) is the process by which an object is suspended against gravity, in a stable position, without physical contact.(Wikipedia.org)

The person who bought the liquid nitrogen poured it inside a paper plate, having the superconducting material and the magnet. And we could see nothing but a dense white fume, and were left wondering what really was happening. The levitation was not significant. Nevertheless, we could find the magnet was floating on air when we inserted a paper strip in between the magnet and the superconducing material. The magnet was rotating. Well, that's levitation. Professor explained that the superconducting material would need some more 'oxygenation'.

Each of us enthusiastically probed the gap between the magnet and the superconductor, and exclaimed, 'it's on the air!' And thanks to Professor, I am also fortunate enough to see the hand-drawn picture of the first ever demonstration of superconductivity. I've tried my weird drawing skills to interpret what I saw on that book. And I bet you can never see the basic circuit diagram anywhere else, including google images. All you can see about superconductivity is the Meissner effect, and the I Vs V characteristic curve - showing the transition to superconducting state. Pardon me for my poor drawing skills.



Imagine the switch S1 closed initially, while S2 remains open. After some time, say at 4K, the switch S2 is closed so that the current flows through the mercury in the container. Well, the interesting part is that you open the switch S1. What would happen? How long would the current flow through this circuit. Theoretically (and practically too!) this forms the basis for perpetual current. The current flows through the circuit literally FOREVER - with zero resistivity offered by mercury! All this happened at a temperature of 4K. No wonder when Kamerlingh Onnes performed this achievement after attaining even lower temperature - with the liquefaction of Helium, Leyden, in the Netherlands, was known as the 'coldest spot on the Earth'!

After nearly 100 years, after millions of demonstrations of the experiment worldwide, we performed the astonishing demonstration - for most of us it is the 'first time in my life' experience. We applauded for ourselves, for we had just concluded a beautiful demostration of one of the magical phenomenon of Physics. I couldn't upload the photos yet, but still you can visit this link to see what exactly we too did - something similar!

வானொலி தமிழ்

அயல் நாட்டு வானொலிகள் எல்லாம் தூய தமிழ் பேச, உள்ளூர் வானொலிகளோ ஆங்கிலமும் கலப்படத் தமிழுமாகக் கத்திக்கொண்டு இருக்கின்றன. அறிவிப்பாளர்களும் நுனி நாக்கில் தமிழைக் கொன்று கொண்டிருக்கின்றனர்.

எனது முதல் தமிழ் பதிவு!

எனது முதல் தமிழ் பதிவு!



தமிழில் என் பதிவுகளை எழுத பெரும் ஆவல் இருந்தும் விசைப்பலகை விபரீதங்களால் பின் வாங்கினேன்.


தமிழ் இனி தொடரும்...

நன்றி: http://www.iit.edu/~laksvij/language/tamil.html

The Isolated Universe

Singularity, I used to be
Left alone, and let free
As a Big Bang, you came
Like a poor man's abrupt fame

Our secrets stored as Dark Matter
Lay still, as frozen water
Did we exist together?
Will we perish together?

The Strings that hold us
Are they tentacles of Past
Or beacons ushering us into Future?
What Time is it in heart now?

The Radiation remains
Pervading my cosmos
As a vague Background
And where on Universe are You?

My Universe
Is expanding
More, more...
And more

Where is my Boundary?
And Where am I?
Am I a Particle in a Box?
Or a point out-of-the-box?

I'm shrinking
Into an Oyster's shell
Into the minute cell
Into the eternal womb

And my Universe
Is expanding
More, more...
And more

The Song of Solitude

When everything goes wrong, someone, some ONE will be there for you. It may be your mom, your dad, your friend, your siblings, your lover, your God, or someone you didn't know so far, or all of them, but you're never let alone.


The chirping bird
Flew hilariously to the sun
Leaving the tree barren.

The mud clad children
Made their way to home
Leaving the street alone.

The draining river
Vanished into vanity
Leaving the shore empty.

The melting dew
Meandered all the way
Leaving the grass drained.

The probing wind
Passed through the bamboo
Leaving the melody unheard.

The playful waves
Played hide-and-seek
Leaving damp feet exposed.

The blinking stars
Woke up as nothing
Leaving the sky naked.

The drops of water
Broke the sunlight
Leaving a rainbow upside down.

The festive ocean of people
Sucked the blessings
Leaving the God alone.

Solitude is the language
Of a forsaken world.

The grave silence
Deafens the soul.

The cruel darkness
Blinds the beholder.

Yet, there is a light.
There is a hope.

When everything goes
Out of hands

Here in my hand...

I have a hand...

It's yours.