Monday, April 30, 2007

Door

A door is a makeup in a wall that allows easy transformation between an opening and a closed wall. It is establish in many houses and other buildings: internal ones, doors giving access to the street/external world, and doors to private outdoor areas such as a garden or balcony. In an apartment building, an midway kind is the outer door of an apartment, inside the building.
History
The first records are those represented in the paintings of the Egyptian tombs, in which they are shown as single or double doors, each in a single piece of wood. In Egypt, where the climate is intensely dry, there would be no fear of their warping, but in other countries it would be necessary to frame them, which according to Vitruvius was done with stiles and rails: the spaces enclosed being filled with panels let into grooves made in the stiles and rails. The stiles were the vertical boards, one of which, tenoned or hinged, is known as the hanging stile, the other as the middle or meeting stile. The horizontal cross pieces are the top rail, bottom rail, and middle or intermediate rails. The most ancient doors were in timber, those made for King Solomon's temple being in olive wood, which were fixed and overlaid with gold. The doors dwelt upon in Homer would appear to have been cased in silver or brass. Besides Olive wood, elm, cedar, oak and cypress were used.

All ancient doors were hung by pivots at the top and bottom of the hanging stile which worked in sockets in the lintel and cill, the final being always in some hard stone such as basalt or granite. Those found at Nippur by Dr. Hilprecht, dating from 2000 B.C. were in dolorite. The tenons of the gates at Balawat were covered with bronze. These doors or gates were hung in two leaves, each about 8 ft.4 in. wide and 27 ft. high; they were enclosed with bronze bands or strips, 10 in. high, covered with repouss embellishment of figures, etc. The wood doors would seem to have been about 3 in. thick, but the hanging stile was over 14 inches diameter. Other sheathings of various sizes in bust have been found, which proves this to have been the universal method adopted to protect the wood pivots. In the Hauran in Syria, where timber is scarce the doors were made in stone, and one measuring 5 ft. 4 in. by 2 ft. 7 in. is in the British Museum; the band on the meeting stile shows that it was one of the leaves of a double door. At Kuffeir near Bostra in Syria, Burckhardt found stone doors, 9 to 10 ft. high, being the entrance doors of the town. In Etruria many stone doors are referred to by Dennis.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Northern Mockingbird

The Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos, is the mockingbird commonly originate in North America.Adults are grey on the head and upperparts with pale yellow eyes and a slim black bill with a slight downward curve; the underparts are light. They have a long dark tail by means of white edges and long dark legs. They have white wing bars and show white wing patches in flight.Their breeding habitat is areas with a mix of open areas and dense shrubs from southern Canada to Mexico, but is most common in the southern United States. They build a twig nest in a dense shrub or tree. This bird forcefully defends its nest against other birds and animals, including humans. When a predator is persistent mockingbirds from adjacent territories, summoned by a distinct call, may join the attack. Other birds may gather to watch as the mockingbirds harass the intruder.
They are usually permanent residents; northern birds may move south during harsh weather. However, this species has occurred in Europe as an extreme rarity.These birds forage on the ground or in vegetation; they also fly down from a perch to capture food. They mainly eat insects and berries. While foraging they will regularly spread their wings in a peculiar two-step motion to display the white patches underneath. The purpose of this behavior is disputed. Some ornithologists claim this is merely a territorial display, while others say that flashing the white patches startles hiding insects and forces them into the open. Both theories seem to have some merit.
This bird imitates the calls of other birds, animal sounds and yet machine noises. It is often found in urban areas. They often call through the night and may continue year-round apart from for the summer moulting season. Mockingbirds usually sing the loudest in the twilight of the early morning when the sun is on the horizon. While singing on a high perch they will often bolt more than a few feet into the air in a looping motion, with wings outstretched to display their white underside, then land back on the perch without breaking a note. That serves as a territorial display.Mockingbirds have a strong preference for certain trees, such as maple, sweet gum (green 5-pointed leaves and prickly porous balls), and sycamore. They normally avoid pine trees. In urban areas, mockingbirds rarely come down to the ground, unlike most birds. Also, they have a particular preference for high places, such as the topmost branches of trees and the tops of telephone poles.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Radio clock

A radio clock is a clock that is synchronized by a time code bit stream transmitted by a radio transmitter associated to a time standard such as an atomic clock. The picture shows a type of radio controlled digital clock. With special mechanism, radio controlled analog clocks are also available.
A radio controlled clock consists of an antenna for intercepting the RF time code signal, a receiving circuit to exchange the time code RF signal into digital time code, and a controller circuit to decode the time code bit streams and to drive an output circuit which can be LCD in case of digital clocks or stepping motors in case of analog clocks.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Satellite phone

A satellite telephone, satellite phone, or satphone is a mobile phone that communicates directly with orbiting communications satellites. Depending on the architecture of a particular system, coverage may comprise the entire Earth, or only specific regions.
Satellite phone (Inmarsat)The mobile equipment, also known as a terminal or earth station, varies generally. A satellite phone handset has a size and weight comparable to that of a late 1980s or early 1990s cell phone, but with a large retractable antenna. These are popular on expeditions into remote areas where terrestrial cellular service is unavailable.
A fixed installation, such as used shipboard, may include large, rugged, rack-mounted electronics, and a steerable microwave antenna on the mast that mechanically tracks the overhead satellites.

Friday, April 06, 2007

Smartphone

A smartphone is any electronic handheld device that integrates the functionality of a mobile phone, personal digital assistant or other information appliance. This is frequently achieved by adding telephone functions to an existing PDA or putting "smart" capabilities, such as PDA functions, into a mobile phone. A key characteristic of a smartphone is that additional applications can be installed on the device. The applications can be developed by the manufacturer of the handheld device, by the operator or by any other third-party software developer.
It is increasingly difficult to define exactly what qualifies as a smartphone. Almost all new mobile phones have some rudimentary PDA functionality such as phonebooks, calendars, and task lists. Furthermore, BREW and Java ME devices allow for the installation of additional applications but are still not considered smartphones. There are many BREW devices with PDA functionality, the ability to run third-party applications in native code and sporting displays as large as 240x320 pixels; yet they are not considered smartphones. The elusive definition seems loosely tied to the particular operating systems listed below.

Monday, April 02, 2007

Sun

The Sun is the star at the centre of our Solar system. It is infrequently referred to as Sol to distinguish it from other "suns". Planet Earth orbits the Sun, as do many other bodies, with other planets, asteroids, meteoroids, comets and dust. Its heat and light support almost all life on Earth.
The Sun has a mass of about 2×1030kg, which is fairly higher than that of an average star. About 74% of its mass is hydrogen, with 25% helium and the rest made up of trace quantities of heavier elements. It is consideration that the Sun is about 5 billion years old, and is about half way through its main sequence evolution, throughout which nuclear fusion reactions in its core fuse hydrogen into helium. In about 5 billion years time the Sun will become a planetary nebula.
Although it is the nearest star to Earth and has been intensively studied by scientists, many questions about the Sun remain unanswered, such as why its outer atmosphere has a temperature of over 106 K when its visible surface has a temperature of just 6,000 K.
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Thursday, March 29, 2007

Lens

A lens is a device for either concentrating or diverging light, normally formed from a piece of shaped glass. Analogous devices used with other types of electromagnetic radiation are also called lenses: for instance, a microwave lens can be made from paraffin wax.
The earliest records of lenses date to Ancient Greece, with Aristophanes' play The Clouds (424 BC) mentioning a burning-glass (a convex lens used to focus the sun's rays to produce fire). The writings of Pliny the Elder also show that burning-glasses were recognized to the Roman Empire, and mentions what is possibly the first use of a corrective lens: Nero was known to watch the gladiatorial games throughout a concave-shaped emerald (presumably to correct for myopia). Seneca the Younger (3 BC--65) described the magnifying effect of a glass globe filled with water.Widespread use of lenses did not happen until the invention of spectacles, probably in Italy in the 1280s.

Monday, March 26, 2007

Computer

A computer is a device capable of processing data according to a program — a list of instructions. The data to be processed may represent many types of information including numbers, text, pictures, or sound.
Computers can be enormously versatile. In fact, they are universal information processing machines. According to the Church-Turing thesis, a computer with a certain minimum threshold capability is in principle capable of performing the tasks of any other computer, from those of a personal digital assistant to a supercomputer. Therefore, the same computer designs have been adapted for tasks from processing company payrolls to controlling industrial robots. Modern electronic computers also have enormous speed and ability for information processing compared to earlier designs, and they have become exponentially more powerful over the years (a phenomenon known as Moore's Law).
Computers are available in many physical forms. The original computers were the size of a large room, and such enormous computing services still exist for specialized scientific computation - supercomputers - and for the transaction processing requirements of large companies, usually called mainframes. Smaller computers for individual use, called personal computers, and their portable equivalent, the notebook computer, are ubiquitous information-processing and communication tools and be perhaps what most non-experts think of as "a computer". However, the most common form of computer in use today is the embedded computer, small computers used to control another device. Embedded computers control machines from fighter planes to digital cameras.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Motorcycle

A motorcycle (or motorbike) is a two-wheeled vehicle powered by an engine. The wheels are in-line, and at higher speed the motorcycle remains upright and stable by virtue of gyroscopic forces; at lower speeds repeated readjustment of the steering by the rider gives constancy. The rider sits astride the vehicle on a seat, with hands on a set of handlebars which are used to steer the motorcycle, in conjunction with the rider shifting his weight through his feet, which are supported on a set of "footpegs" or "pegs" which stick out from the frame

Friday, March 16, 2007

Pied-billed Grebe

The Pied-billed Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps, †) is a associate of the grebe family of water birds. Since the Atitlan Grebe, Podilymbus gigas, has become wiped out, it is the sole extant member of the genus Podilymbus.
The Pied-billed Grebe breeds across Canada, parts of the United States and temperate South America. though this species does not appear to be a strong flier, it has occurred in Europe as a rare vagrant on a number of occasions, and one bird in England bred by means of a Little Grebe, producing hybrid young.
The most widespread of North American grebes, it is found on remote ponds, marshes, and sluggish streams. It is frequently the first grebe to arrive on northern inland waters in springtime, and the last to leave in autumn. It is rare on salt water. This grebe rarely flies, preferring to escape danger by diving.
It feeds on fish (carp, catfish, eels), insects (dragonflies, ants, beetles), and amphibians (frogs, tadpoles).
The Pied-billed Grebe is small at 31-38 cm (12"-15") in length, stocky, and short-necked. It has a short, blunt chicken-like bill, which in summer is encircled by a broad black band (hence the name). It is the only grebe that does not show a white wing patch in flight.
This grebe is typically silent, except in breeding season when the male voices a loud, laughing cuck, cuck, cuck or cow, cow, cow.
Folk names of this grebe include dabchick, devil-diver, dive-dapper, hell-diver, and water witch

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Snow cave

A snow cave is a shelter made in snow by mountain climbers and other outdoor winter recreational enthusiasts. The shelter has properties associated to an Igloo and is mainly effective at providing protection from wind as well as low temperatures. A properly made snow cave can be 0 °C (32 °F) or warmer inside, even when outside temperatures are -40 °C (-40 °F).[1] [2]
A snow cave is built by excavating snow in such a way that the entrance tunnel enters from under the main space to retain warm air. Construction is simplified by building it on a steep slope and digging slightly upwards and horizontally into the slope. The roof is domed to prevent dripping on the occupants. sufficient snow depth, free of rocks and ice, is needed. Generally at 4 or 5 feet is enough. The snow must be consolidated, so it retains its structure. The walls and roof be supposed to be at least 12 inches thick.
A narrow entrance tunnel, a little wider than a human leads into the main chamber which consists of a flat area, perhaps with elevated sleeping platform(s), also excavated from snow. Most sources agree that using tools such as a shovel and ice axe are vital; digging by hand is for emergencies only.

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Fog bow

A fog bow is comparable to a rainbow, but because of the very small size of water droplets that cause fog, smaller than 0.05 mm, the fog bow has no colors and appears white. Fogbows are sometimes called "white rainbows" or "cloudbows". Mariners sometimes call them "sea-dogs".
The fogbow's relative lack of colors are caused by the relatively smaller water drops... so small that the quantum mechanical wavelength of light becomes significant and smears out colors that would be created by larger rainbow water drops.
This is significantly different from a moonbow, where the colours exist but are regularly not seen because the moonbow is so faint.

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Internet vs. Web

The Internet and the World Wide Web are not synonymous: the Internet is a collection of interconnected computer networks, linked by copper wires, fiber-optic cables, wireless connections, etc.; the Web is a collected works of interconnected documents and other resources, linked by hyperlinks and URLs. The World Wide Web is available via the Internet, as are many other services with e-mail, file sharing, and others described below.
The best way to define and differentiate between these terms is with reference to the Internet protocol suite. This collection of standards and protocols is ordered into layers such that each layer provides the foundation and the services necessary by the layer above. In this conception, the term Internet refers to computers and networks that communicate using IP (Internet protocol) and TCP (transfer control protocol). Once this networking structure is recognized, then other protocols can run “on top.” These other protocols are sometimes called services or applications. Hypertext transfer protocol, or HTTP, is the application layer protocol that relations and provides access to the files, documents and other resources of the World Wide Web.

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster

The Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster is the rocket that provides 83% of liftoff thrust for the Space Shuttle. It is the major and most powerful solid rocket ever flown, and the most powerful rocket motor of any type ever flown. Each SRB produces 1.8 times the liftoff thrust of the F-1 engine used in the Saturn V moon rocket.
The two reusable SRBs provide the main thrust to lift the Space Shuttle off the pad and up to an altitude of about 150,000 feet . In addition, the two SRBs carry the whole weight of the external tank and orbiter and transmit the weight load through their structure to the mobile launcher platform. Each booster has a liftoff thrust of approximately 2,800,000 lbf at launch. They are ignited after the three space shuttle main engines' thrust level is verified. The two SRBs provide 83 % of the thrust at lift-off. Seventy five seconds after SRB separation, SRB apogee occurs at an altitude of approximately 220,000 feet , after which they land on parachutes; impact occurs in the ocean approximately 122 nautical miles downrange, after which the two are recovered.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Mysore Palace

A silhouette of the Mysore Palace illuminated with ninety seven thousand bulbs shining against an inky black night is one of the most enduring images of the city.
A priceless national wealth and the pride of a kingdom, the Mysore Palace is the seat of the famed Wodeyar Maharajas of Mysore.
An free synthesis of architectural styles the palace is one of India’s most dramatic national monuments. Today it is a museum housing treasures from across the world reflecting the rich and colorful history of the previous significant state of Mysore.
TOURS
The Mysore Palace is open all days of the week, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The palace is not opened on Sundays, national holidays and state festivals from 7:00 p.m. to 8 p.m. The palace is illuminated between 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. only for the period of the Dasare festival.
If you would like to treat yourself to a private guided tour of the entire palace complex, Mysore Palace Board specialized tour guides can be found at the entrance to the palace. The guides will guide you to the things to see of the Mysore Palace at a nominal fee.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Penguins

Penguins are excellently adapted to an aquatic life. Their wings have grow to be flippers, useless for flight in the air. In the water, however, penguins are astonishingly agile. Within the soft plumage a layer of air is preserved, ensuring buoyancy. The air layer also helps protect the birds in cold waters. On land, penguins use their tails and wings to maintain balance for their upright stance.
All penguins are counter shaded - that is, they have a white underside and a dark (mostly black) upperside. This is for camouflage. A predator looking up from below (such as an orca or a leopard seal) has difficulty distinctive between a white penguin belly and the reflective water surface. The dark plumage on their backs camouflages them from over.
Diving penguins reach 6 to 12 km/h (3.7 to 7.5 mph), although there are information of velocities of 27 km/h (17 mph) (which are more practical in the case of startled flight). The small penguins do not generally dive deep; they catch their prey near the surface in dives that normally last only one or two minutes. Larger penguins can dive deep in case of need. Dives of the large Emperor Penguin have been recorded which get to a depth of 565 m (1870 ft) and last up to 20 minutes.
Penguins either waddle on their feet or slide on their bellies across the snow, a movement called "tobogganing", which allows them to keep energy and move fairly fast at the same time.Penguins have an superb sense of hearing. Their eyes are personalized for underwater vision, and are their primary means of locating prey and avoiding predators; in air, equally, they are nearsighted. Their common sense of smell has not been researched so far.They are able to drink salt water securely because their supraorbital gland filters excess salt from the bloodstreamThe salt is excreted in a concentrated fluid from the nasal passages.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Food

Many plants or plant parts are eaten as food. There are around two thousand plant varieties which are cultivated for food, and many have several distinct cultivars.Plant-based foods can be classified as follows: Seeds, the ripened ovules of some plants, carry a plant embryo inside them along with the nutrients necessary for the plant's initial growth. Because of this, seeds are often packed with energy, and are good sources of food for animals, including humans. In fact, the majority of all foods consumed by human beings are seeds. These include cereals (such as maize, wheat, and rice), legumes (such as beans, peas, and lentils), and nuts. Oilseeds are often pressed to produce rich oils, including sunflower, rape (including canola oil).Fruits are the ripened extensions of plants, together with the seeds within. Fruits are made attractive to animals so that animals will eat the fruits and excrete the seeds over long distances. Fruits, therefore, make up a significant part of the diets of most cultures. Some fruits, such as pumpkin and eggplant, are eaten as vegetables.Vegetables are other plant matter which is eaten as food. These include root vegetables (such as potatoes and carrots), leaf vegetables (such as spinach and lettuce), stem vegetables (such as bamboo shoots and asparagus), and inflorescence vegetables .Many herbs and spices are highly-flavorful vegetables.

Monday, February 05, 2007

Essentials of healthy life-cleanliness a brief review

Health is wealth so preserve it. Life is short so use it in the right way. Cleanliness merely fits with the apt meaning of being free from dirt, dust, germs and bad smells. A recent shift has now taken place to recognise that 'germs' may play a major role in our immune systems. So experts say washing hands frequently, specially when in an environment of many people with infections and diseases. Washing is one of the best way to achieve cleanliness.Have a brief overlook on the following issue to be aware of how to keep one self clean.
A step way process regarding cleanliness of hands is given below:
• Use warm water
• But avoid scorching your hands.
• Use anti-bacterial soap or hand wash.
• Wash between fingers and use paper towels to wipe off.
Washing of hands has to be followed
• Before eating
• After eating
• After using the toilet
• After playing outdoor games
• After attending to a sick person
• After blowing nose, coughing, or sneezing; and after handling pets.
The proverb "Cleanliness is next to Godliness," a common phrase that describes humanity's high opinion of being clean. Purposes of cleanliness include health, beauty and to avoid the spreading of germs .If your hands have any kind of skin cut or infection, wash hands with an anti bacterial soap. Thoroughly wash with hot, soapy water all surfaces that come in contact with raw meat, poultry, fish, and eggs before moving on to the next step in food preparation. Consider using paper towels to clean kitchen surfaces.Keep pets, household cleaners, and other chemicals away from food and surfaces used for food. Along with removing any old food or dirty water, it's a very good practice to clean the bowls or containers that the food and water are in, ever Hygienic practices—such as frequent hand washing or the use of boiled (and thus sterilized) water have a profound impact on reducing the spread of disease. This is because they kill or remove disease-causing microbes (germs) in the immediate surroundings. For instance, washing one's hands after using the toilet and before handling food reduces the chance of spreading E. coli bacteria and Hepatitis A, both of which are spread from fecal contamination of food.-healthyPersonal cleanliness:sadblack1 common
• Daily washing of the body and hair.
• More frequent washing of hands and face.
• Oral hygiene—Daily brushing teeth.
• Cleaning of the clothes and living area.
• Use of bandaging and dressing of wounds.
• Not touching animals before eating.
• avoidance of unhygienic people.
• Holding a tissue in your hand when coughing or sneezeing.
• Suppression of habits such as spitting or nose-picking.
• Washing hands before eating.
• Not licking fingers before picking up sheets of paper.
• Cut finger nails and toe nails.

Friday, January 26, 2007

Journalism Basics
Journalism is a concrete, professionally oriented major that involves gathering, interpreting, distilling, and other reporting information to the general audiences through a variety of media means. Journalism majors learn about every possible kind of Journalism (including magazine, newspaper, online journalism, photojournalism, broadcast journalism, and public relations).
That's not all, though. In addition to dedicated training in writing, editing, and reporting, Journalism wants a working knowledge of history, culture, and current events. You'll more than likely be required to take up a broad range of courses that runs the range from statistics to the hard sciences to economics to history. There would also be a lot of haughty talk about professional ethics and civic responsibility too - and you'll be tested on it. To top it all off, you'll perhaps work on the university newspaper or radio station, or possibly complete an internship with a magazine or a mass media conglomerate.

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Socialism and social democracy

The term socialism, used from the 1830s onwards in France and England, was directly related to what was called the social question, in essence the problem that the emergence of competitive market societies did not create liberty, equality and fraternity for all citizens, requiring the intervention of politics and social reform to tackle social problems, injustices and grievances a topic on which Jean-Jacques Rousseau discourses at length in his classic work The Social Contract. Originally the term socialist was often used interchangeably with co-operative, mutuality, associations and collectivist.
The term social democracy originally referred to the political project of extending democratic forms of association to the whole of society, substituting popular sovereignty, the universal franchise and social ownership for the rule of a propertied class which had exclusive voting rights.