Tag Science
You Must Know Physics to Watch Oppenheimer
I finally managed to watch Oppenheimer on the IMAX screen. It was a delight, indeed. Like many of you, I had heard that one must know physics to make sense of Oppenheimer. But then, I thought, this film is neither called The Atomic Bomb or The Manhattan Project or even The Los Alamos Lab—it’s called Oppenheimer, which means, this must be about the man, not his creation or the project.
The Earth’s Orbit is not Elliptical
A couple of days ago, I had a rather interesting discussion with a gentleman. Usually, these days, uncles who talk deeply about subjects other than politics or do not parrot noisy news anchors are hard to come by. This gentleman was one of these gems—he was interested in the celestial realm. While discussing about the celestial objects (and their effects on us), a few minutes into the discussion, he asked me what the shape of the earth’s orbit was.
Mid-brain Activation
Remember those days in school when you had people come over and show you how to remember lists of words, calculate complex arithmetic in seconds, etc.? We had such people visiting our school a couple of times as well. A lot of my schoolmates had enrolled themselves for these “workshops”, in hopes of achieving better scores. None of them worked; had anything so groundbreaking happened, our school would have organised these workshops every year, and we would have aced all state- and national-level competitive exams.
My Experience with COVID Vaccination
This first of July, I got my second shot of the Covid-19 vaccine. Over the past months, I have seen people opposing vaccination (which surprised me), some being suspicious of one of the vaccines (which included me), people expressing concerns, and people that I care about getting affected with Covid after choosing not to vaccinate, despite getting the chance to get vaccinated—more than once. This is a personal post. (I get to do that once in a while.
COVID Vaccines
India is among the world leaders in vaccination. Also called the Pharmacy of the World, India is the largest manufacturer of vaccines. The public has been no different; you will find most of us wanting to get vaccinated. Polio vaccines are an example, where all children born in India get vaccinated through the extensive vaccination programmes that the government runs. The aim of this post is to help you decide if you should go for vaccination or not.
Powdered oxygen cylinder for COVID
WhatsApp is on fire these days. Another forward popped up a couple of days ago, which was a Tamil message. I have added a translation along with the message: - BST HEALTH உடலில் ஆக்சிஜன் அளவு 98 - 100 க்குள் இருக்க வேண்டும் என்று சொல்லுகிறார்கள்; 43 க்கு கீழ் ஆக்சிஜன் சென்றுவிட்டால், ஆக்சிஜன் சிலிண்டர் தேவை; ORAC-Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity என்று ஒரு கணக்கீடு உள்ளது; இதன்படி இந்த அளவுகோலில் ஆக்சிஜன் அதிகம் உள்ள பொருட்களை அவ்வப்போது நாம் சாப்பிட வேண்டும்.
The Organic Utopia (Part V)
So far, in this series, we have addressed most of the claims and merits of both the methods of agriculture. We even addressed the polarisation: organic vs conventional. But how do we proceed keeping sustainability in mind? And in simple terms, if we had to, how do we pick one over the other? This is the fifth of the five-part series on organic food. To jump to any topic on the subject, use the list below:
The Organic Utopia (Part IV)
Previously, in this series, we addressed the merits of organic farming (and looked at how much merit they carry in reality). But there also are some scientific methods that help with storing, preserving and serving food to the end consumer. We look at those in this piece. This is the fourth of the five-part series on organic food. To jump to any topic on the subject, use the list below:
The Organic Utopia (Part III)
So far in this series, we have seen why one chooses to buy organic, and reviewed some of the claims that the proponents of organic food make. But this picture is incomplete without perhaps the most important aspect of the practice, from a broader point of view. This is the third of the five-part series on organic food. To jump to any topic on the subject, use the list below:
The Organic Utopia (Part II)
Previously in this series, we looked at the basics of how food works, and what we look for in food. We get an overview of the claims that organic proponents make. In this piece, we look at three of the claims in more depth, and test their validity based on the evidence we have. This is the second of the five-part series on organic food. To jump to any topic on the subject, use the list below: