WHAT IS THE BLACK MAGIC OF WITCH DOCTORS?

BLACK MAGIC - In the recent times, witches and magic have become very popular due to the books of Harry Potter . The phenomenon of magic and witch doctors is a very old one. In primitive societies, people had little control over supernatural forces, diseases, or natural calamities, etc. due to limited knowledge and lack of a scientific temper. They were afraid of natural elements because they could not control them. Occultism and mysticism dominated...

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WHO WAS MOZART?

MOZART - Mozart is one of the greatest musicians ever born in the world. Whenever the word music is mentioned, his name is the first to come up. Music has been the main component of our culture since times immemorial. Generation after generation, people have enjoyed and experienced different forms and varieties of music. As a result, every period of history has produced its own breed of musicians, but only a few have been able to make a lasting impact...

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WHO WAS COLUMBUS?

COLUMBUS - A man has always had a burning desire to explore the world around him. This natural urge within him to discover and see what lies beyond his limited horizon has always led him to explore outside his own land. The explorers of ancient times often undertook perilous journeys across the seas as well as by land for trading, conquest and other purposes. But events were somewhat different in the 14th and 15th centuries. It...

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WHO WAS PICASSO?

PICASSO - Every art lover in the world has heard of the name Picasso. The famous Spanish painter and sculptor, Pablo Picasso, holds the honor of being one of the greatest and the most celebrated and the most celebrated artist of the 20th century as well as one of the most productive artists in the world history. During his 78 years of continuous artistic work, Pablo Picasso produced 13,500 paintings, 1,00,000 prints and engravings,...

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WHO WAS PLATO?

PLATO - Plato was a great philosopher of ancient Greece whose writings and teachings still carry great importance. The works of this great thinker are read all over the world even now. He was a student of a Socrates and teacher of Aristotle. In fact, the ideas of Socrates were translated into writing by his great disciple Plato. He is also credited with implanting the seeds of Aristotle's thought...

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WHO WAS CHARLES DARWIN?

CHARLES DARWIN - For a long time, people believed that each form of life on the Earth appeared separately and that these forms of life have remained unchanged. Charles Darwin was the first scientist who condemned this belief and laid the foundation of the modern theory of evolution. According to his theory, evolution is the process by which all living things on Earth today descended from common ancestors that lived millions of years...

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HOW DOES MICROPHONE WORK?

MICROPHONE - Radio and television stations make use of microphones. They are also used in public address systems and in motion pictures and phonograph records. The mouthpiece of a telephone is the simple type of microphone. Let us see what exactly a microphone is. A microphone is a device which converts sound waves into electrical signals. These signals can then be broadcast through the air or sent over to distant points, where they can again...

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HOW DO TRAFFIC LIGHTS WORK?

TRAFFIC LIGHTS - The growing urbanization is a direct outcome of rapid industrialization owing to which a large population gest concentrated in the cities. This consequently, results in a heavy rush of vehicular traffic, which necessitates effective control and efficient management to avoid chaos and accidents. Regulation of traffic is done either by uniformed men who use different hand gestures to send different signals...

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WHY DOES A SHIP FLOAT ON WATER?

SHIP FLOAT ON WATER - It is a well-known fact that a solid block of iron which may be as small as needle readily sinks in the water but something as big as a ship floats on water. It is interesting to know how it happens. According to Archimedes principle, the apparent loss in weight of a body totally or partially immersed in a liquid is equal to the weight of liquid displaced. The center of gravity of the body and that of the...

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HOW WAS WHEEL INVENTED?

WHEEL INVENTED - One of the greatest inventions of man was the invention of wheels. Imagine the world without wheels; There would be no cars, buses, motorcycles, and trucks, literally no means of transport other than by foot or horseback. Today we have different kinds of wheels made from different material. Wheels are used in almost all modes of transportation - trains, buses, trucks, cars, aeroplanes, scooters, cycles, rickshaws, bullock carts,...

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HOW WAS GEOMETRY INVENTED?

GEOMETRY INVENTED - Geometry, the supreme branch of mathematics, studies different kinds of figures and their properties, and also how shapes, angles, and distances are related. Elementary geometry is divided into two parts - plane geometry and solid geometry. Plain geometry deals with two-dimensional figures whereas, solid geometry deals with three-dimensional figures. The word 'geometry' comes from two Greek words - geo meaning 'Earth'...

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HOW DID LIFE BEGIN ON EARTH

LIFE - Today we see innumerable varieties of insects., birds and animals besides human beings on Earth.; there are various kinds of trees, plants, and bushes, too. All of them come under the category of living beings. Do you know how life started on the Earth? To study the origin of life on the Earth, the scientists study the fossils of those animals, trees, and plants, which lived millions of years ago. Excavations carried out at various...

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HOW DO ICE COLUMNS GROW INSIDE CAVES?

ICE COLUMNS - Ice columns appear in many caves or caverns. They are called stalactites and stalagmites. Stalactites are stony deposits hanging like icicles from roofs of the caves. Stalagmites are similar deposits rising in columns and cones from floors of the caves. Do you know how are they formed? Most of the caves occur chiefly in limestone and chalk formations. Limestone is a fairly soft rock mainly made of calcium carbonate...

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WHY DOES THUNDER FOLLOW LIGHTNINJG?

THUNDER FOLLOW LIGHTNING? During the rainy season, we often see lightning in the sky. It is almost always followed by the sound of thunder. Do you know, what this lightning is and why does thunder follow it? In ancient times, whenever man saw lightning in the sky and heard thunder he believed that gods were angry and punishing him for some sin. Benjamin Franklin was the first person who, in 1872, scientifically explained the occurrence of...

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HOW IS ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE MEASURED?

ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE - The blanket of air, dust, and moisture that surrounds our planet is called the 'atmosphere'. The air has weight and it exerts pressure. The instrument used to measure the atmospheric pressure is called a 'barometer'. The various changes in the atmospheric pressure are used to forecast the weather. For example, a sudden fall in the pressure indicates a storm. It is also used to measure the altitude or height...

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HOW DO WE MEASURE THE MASS OF THE EARTH?

MASS OF THE EARTH - When we wish to know the mass of an object, we weigh it in a balance. The size of the balance varies with the size of the object to be weighed. The earth is a giant body and to think of a balance for weighing it, is almost impossible. Then, what is the way of measuring the mass of the Earth? Scientists use Newton's law of gravitation to determine earth's mass. According to this law, there exists a force of attraction...

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HOW DOSE THE INTAKE OF SALT HELP OUR BODY?

INTAKE OF SALT - The human body contains about 65% of water. Some body parts have very high water content, for instance, muscles contain 75% water, while liver 70%, brain 79%, and kidneys have 83% water content. The water present in the body has common salt dissolved in it. To maintain the required level of salt in the body, we eat salt. Now the question arises-why should we maintain a certain level of salt...

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HOW DO URINE TESTS HELP IN DIAGNOSIS OF DISEASES?

URINE TESTS -  Diagnosis of different diseases by urine examination has been a common practice for a long time. But the traditional methods were not very scientific as the modern methods. Although special urine tests in the laboratory can reveal many diseases, even a casual examination can indicate certain diseases. Let us see how different urine tests help in diagnosing some diseases. Normal urine is straw...

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HOW LONG CAN MAN SURVIVE WITHOUT FOOD?

WITHOUT FOOD - Like air and water, food is also an essential part for all leaving beings. From the smallest insects to the biggest animals-all need food for their survival. So much so that even plants cannot live for long without food. Each person requires a certain amount of food daily, depending on his size, weight, age and amount of activity. Most of us feel uncomfortable if we skip just one meal. Also, if we go without food for 12...

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WHICH FISH KEEPS ITS EGGS IN ITS MOUTH?

EGGS IN ITS MOUTH - Eggs in the mouth? Sounds quite strange! But there is a fish known as the catfish, which is found in the Atlantic Ocean off the east coast of America. It is quite different from other fish as it keeps its eggs in its mouth. The interesting fact about it is that instead of the female, the male takes the responsibility of looking after the young ones. After the eggs are laid and fertilized, the male quickly puts...

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