Lunar Eclipse

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes behind the Earth so that the Earth blocks the Sun's rays from striking the Moon. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned exactly, or very closely so, with the Earth in the middle. Hence, a lunar eclipse can only occur the night of a full moon. The type and length of an eclipse depend upon the Moon's location relative to its orbital nodes. The most recent total lunar eclipse occurred on June 15, 2011; it was a central eclipse, visible over Europe and south America after sunset, over Africa and most of Asia, and Australia before sunrise. It was also the longest and darkest lunar eclipse of the century, lasting 100 minutes. The previous total lunar eclipse occurred on December 21, 2010, at 08:17 UTC.

Unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a certain relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of the Earth. A lunar eclipse lasts for a few hours, whereas a total solar eclipse lasts for only a few minutes at any given place, due to the smaller size of the moon's shadow.

Oil Rig Safety Security Systems

OK, first let us first know what exactly is an oil rig?

It is an offshore platform, also referred to as an oil platform or oil rig, is a large structure with facilities to drill wells and extract and process Petroleum and Natural Gas and export the products to shore. Depending on the circumstances, the platform may be Fixed Platform to the ocean floor, may consist of an Artificial Island, or may float.

Just imagine a fire in an oil rig?

It would be so horrible. So here are some safety measures taken during a fire accident in an oil rig:-

1) If there is a minor accident caused then they put it off with a foam extinguisher. If in chance it is a fire caused by an electric short circuit they use Dry chemical powder (DCP) extinguisher.

2) If it is a big fire accident then they is no way to stop the fire. The people aboard the rig must be evacuated within 30 min. This is done by helicopters, life rafts and life boats.

3) As every institution or an organization or an industry has some code of safety to follow. In oil rigs and some ships the specific security code or a book of instructions to follow is IAMSAR (International Aeronautical Maritime Safety and Rescue).

4) For the communication from the rig to another ship or seaport there are some instruments used in the radio room of the rig. The instruments are:-

a) SAT-C: - It is known as satellite at sea communication. In this the crew members can talk to a near by sea port or a ship.

b) MF-HF Radio: - It is a Medium Frequency and High Frequency radio. Through this the crew member can communicate with the nearest sea port. In this Radio there is one button called DSC Distress button. When there is any problem or distress in the rig if this button is pressed then the information of the ship and the signal of a problem in the rig will be shown in the nearest sea port so that it can immediately send the rescue operation team to the rig.

c) VHF Radio: - It is a Very High Frequency Radio. Through this radio the crew members can talk to the seaport through two channels. Channel 16 and channel 70. Through channel 70 they can explain the problem clearly to the people in the seaport.

d) EPIRB: - It is Emergency Programmed International Rescue Beacon. It is automatic. When the EPIRB touches water then it will send the full details of the rig and the location of the rig with the latitude and longitude and Time in GMT to the nearest seaport. It is helpful so that the seaport can immediately send the rescue operation team to the rig. There is one EPIRB in one rig. It can float.

e) SART: - It is Safety and Rescue Transmitter. It is placed in each life raft and life boat and one in the radio room. It has to be operated by hand. When the rig is in danger then if this thing is operated it will send the information to the nearest ship or sea port. In the radar of the ship or the sea pot they can see the location of the rig blinking. So the ship can come to the immediate rescue of the rig or the sea port can send the rescue team to the rig. In a life boat or a life raft if it is operated the information is send to a near by ship or a sea port for the rescue of the crew members evacuated from the rig using a life boat or a life raft. The crew members evacuated from the rig through life boats or life rafts must be saved within 24 hours.

5) The rescue team sent by the seaport rescues the crew members come by helicopters mainly.

6) In case there is an oil spill the rescue teams come in tug boats to the rig and keep some big plastic drums like things to prevent oil from spreading away.

7) There will be separate fire fighting boats which will come to the rig and throw foam mixed with water to keep off the fire from a distance about 70m away from the rig.

By,

N.T.Ganatma

Discovery of X-rays

In late 1895, a German physicist, W. C. Roentgen was working with a cathode ray tube in his laboratory. He was working with tubes similar to our fluorescent light bulbs. He evacuated the tube of all air, filled it with a special gas, and passed a high electric voltage through it. When he did this, the tube would produce a fluorescent glow. Roentgen shielded the tube with heavy black paper, and found that a green colored fluorescent light could be seen coming from a screen setting a few feet away from the tube. He realized that he had produced a previously unknown "invisible light," or ray, that was being emitted from the tube; a ray that was capable of passing through the heavy paper covering the tube. Through additional experiments, he also found that the new ray would pass through most substances casting shadows of solid objects on pieces of film. He named the new ray X-ray, because in mathematics "X" is used to indicated the unknown quantity.

In his discovery Roentgen found that the X-ray would pass through the tissue of humans leaving the bones and metals visible. One of Roentgen’s first experiments late in 1895 was a film of his wife Bertha's hand with a ring on her finger (shown below on right). The news of Roentgen’s discovery spread quickly throughout the world. Scientists everywhere could duplicate his experiment because the cathode tube was very well known during this period. In early 1896, X-rays were being utilized clinically in the United States for such things as bone fractures and gun shot wounds.

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Mona Lisa's enigmatic smile enravelled

For nearly 500 years, people have gazed at the Mona Lisa with a sense of bafflement - first she is smiling then the smile fades; a moment later it returns, to dissapear again.

Now, scientists claimto have uncovered the secret of how Leonardo produced the optical effects that created the enigmatic smile of Mona Lisa..

A team in Europe has found that the artist managed to reach the trade mark smoky effect, known as sfumato, on the painting by applying upto 40 layers of extremely thin glaze, thought to have been smeared with his fingers.

The glaze, mixed with subtly different pigments, creates the slight blurringand the shadows around the mouth that give the Mona Lisa the barely noticeable smile that seems to dissapear when looked at directly.

Using X-rays to study the painting, the scientist were able to see the layers of paint and glaze had been built up to varying levels on different areas of the face.

With the drying time for the glaze taking months, such effects would have taken years to achieve.

By,

N.T.Ganatma

Source: The Hindu Newspaper

Facts on Paul the Octopus.

Octopus Paul has become one of the stars of the tournament and put the TV pundits to shame, thanks to an amazing run of correct World Cup predictions. Here’s 10 things you didn’t know about the tentacled tipster.

1. He’s originally from Weymouth
Although he now resides at the Aquarium Sea Life Centre in Oberhausen, Germany, Paul was actually born in Weymouth and moved from the town’s Sea Life Park in 2006.
Fiona Smith, from Weymouth Sea Life Park, told the Dorset Echo: “He never made any predictions while he was living here but maybe he was waiting for a big event like the World Cup until he revealed his abilities.

2. He’s a wanted man
Argentine chef Nicolas Bedorrou was so angry after Paul correctly predicted his team would lose its quarter-final clash with Germany that he suggested a way to cook the octopus.
He posted on Facebook: “We will chase him and put him on some paper. We will then beat him (but correctly!) in order to keep the meat tender and then put it in boiling water.”

3. He’s big news
Paul’s predictions have gained so much popularity that German news channel NTV has started to broadcast his predictions live, with two reporters situated next to his tank so they can bring their viewers all the latest goings on.

4. He’s the biggest celebrity in Oberhausen
Having wowed the world’s media with his predictions, Paul has put the mundane Germany city of Oberhausen on the map. Oberhausen, which is twinned with Middlesbrough, also boasts such sights as Germany’s biggest shopping centre and Europe’s largest disc-type gasometer. Worth a visit then.....
5. He’s got a good track record
Paul began to predict Germany’s results during the Euro 2008 tournament, correctly choosing the winner in four of Germany’s six matches. He predicted Germany to win every match but was wrong when they lost to Croatia and in the final to Spain. So far at the World Cup 2010, Paul has correctly predicted the winner of each of Germany’s five matches.

Wind Scales

One of the first scale to estimate wind speeds and their effects was created by Rear Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort (1774-1857) of the British Royal Navy. He developed the scale in 1805 to help sailors to estimate the winds through visual observations.
The scale starts with 0 and goes to a force of 12. Initially the scale was only meant to be used only at sea. But today it describes conditions on land as well and is accepted as the standard in wind speed estimation.
Scales
Scale 0- 0-2 km/hr
Scale 1- 3-5 km/hr-Light Air
Scale 2- 6-11 km/hr-Light Breeze
Scale 3- 12-19 km/-Gentle Breeze
Scale4- 20-29 km/hr-Moderate Breeze
Scale 5- 30-39 km/hr-Fresh Breeze
Scale 6- 40 -50 km/hr-Strong Breeze
Scale 7- 51-61 km/hr-Near Gale
Scale 8- 62-74 km/hr-Gale
Scale 9- 75-86 km/hr- Strong Gale
Scale 10- 87-101 km/hr-Storm
Scale 11- 102-120 km/hr-Violent Storm
Scale 12- Over 121 km/hr
By,
N.T.Ganatma
STUNTS Member

Jokes & Riddles

Papa: Drink the coffee fast.
Mama:Why so!!!
Papa: A hot coffee is 5/- and cold coffee is 10/-.
Son: Father we can become rich now.
Father: But how?
Son: Our teacher taught us today how to convert paise into ruppees...
Jony: Max, do you know the joke of the butter?
Max: Yes, but I wouldn't tell you becaus you will spread it.
What is between America and Australia?
Ans: Letter 'R'
What gives milk but has one horn?
Ans: Milk van
What is the favourite game of ghosts?
Ans: Hide and Shriek
Which Alphabets came late to the tea party?
Ans:U,V,W,X,Y and Z becaus they come after T.
By,
Ganatma