Monthly Archives: January 2015
Oxygen may be a carcinogen
In inordinate amounts or forms, anything can be poison to life – even the air we breathe. But its threat seems more ominous when you think that even in small quantities, accumulated over time, the oxygen in the air can … Continue reading
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Tagged carcinogen, confounding factors, covariance, ecological fallacy, elevation, lung cancer, oxygen, regression modeling, relative importance analysis, tumorigenesis
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In the fastidious hunt for G, remembering gravity’s gradient
Of the four fundamental forces known to humankind, gravitation was the first to be studied in detail even though it is the weakest. This is because the effects of the other three – electromagnetic, strong nuclear and weak nuclear forces – … Continue reading
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Tagged Cavendish experiment, gravitational constant, gravitational curvature, Marie Alfred Cornu, oil prospecting, quantum metrology, Schiehallion experiment, ultracold atoms
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Construction has started on two of the world’s grandest neutrino observatories
The groundbreaking ceremony for the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory happened on January 10. This means construction on Asia’s two biggest neutrino experiments will have started in the span of a week, after the India-based Neutrino Observatory was given the go-ahead … Continue reading
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Tagged India-based Neutrino Observatory, Institute of High Energy Physics, Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory, Kolar Gold Fields, liquid scintillators, neutrino mass hierarchy, neutrino physics, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
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Desperate Toyota does a Tesla
Let go to take control. That’s what Elon Musk did with the patents on his Tesla brand of electric cars. That’s what Toyota has done now with its patents on fuel-cells, releasing 5,680 licenses for royalty-free use at the Consumer Electronics … Continue reading
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Tagged CES Las Vegas, distributed energy resources, Elon Musk, fuel cell vehicles, hydrogen economy, Hyundai ix35, Tesla Motors, Toyota Mirai
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Vaiko has a problem with the unmanned, fully automated neutrino observatory
Imagine a vast research facility situated below a hill – fully underground – hosting a massive particle detector made up of the world’s largest electromagnet and some 30,000 metal plates. Embracing this device is a magnetic field 35,000 times as strong as Earth’s, not … Continue reading
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Tagged India-based Neutrino Observatory, Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Vaiko
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The intricacies of being sold on string theory
If you are seeking an appreciation for the techniques of string theory, then Brian Greene’s The Elegant Universe could be an optional supplement. If, on the other hand, you want to explore the epistemological backdrop against which string theory proclaimed its … Continue reading
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Tagged aesthetics, Brian Greene, Edward Witten, Lorentzian contractions, Paul Aspinwall, principle of relativity, Quantum mechanics, science communication, string theory, superstrings, The Elegant Universe, time dilation
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Cabinet approves India-based Neutrino Observatory
On Monday, the Prime Minister’s Office gave the go ahead for the India-based Neutrino Observatory, an underground physics experiment that will study particles called atmospheric neutrinos. The project is based out of Theni in Tamil Nadu, and the Tamil Nadu … Continue reading
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Tagged experimental physics, India-based Neutrino Observatory, Iron Calorimeter, Kolar Gold Fields, neutrino oscillations, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, theta-13
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Why does the mention of ‘ancient Indian science’ have a sheen of dubiousness?
The 2015 Indian Science Congress is set to begin on January 2, hosted by the Mumbai University. This prestigious event – modeled after the British Association for the Advancement of Science – sees India’s and the world’s foremost researchers coming … Continue reading
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Tagged Anand Bodas, ancient airplanes, burden of proof, Indian Science Congress, Mumbai University, Sanskrit, scientific method, Vedic era
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Three overlooked reasons why India’s healthcare indicators remain abysmal
Scroll.in January 2, 2015 The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government announced in July that it would roll out a National Health Assurance Mission, whose aim would be to provide some free medical services to reduce “out of pocket spending on … Continue reading
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Tagged casteism, health inspectors, import duty, medical tourism, National Health Assurance Mission, Planning Commission, poverty line, Ranbaxy Labs, The Lancet, untouchability, Wockhardt
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