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 By    Dhruva S. Banavara I know that, today we uncover one of the hardest subtopic of Quantum Physics, a.k.a. Quantum Mechanics. First, the basics, Quantum Mechanics basically is all about that part of Science, which deals with the behavior of matter and light in atomic and sub-atomic scales. It is a cornerstone for many subjects of Quantum physics, including quantum chemistry, quantum field theory, etc. Quantum Mechanics in detail It is sort of a mathematical machine for predicting the behaviors of those microscopic particles. Or , the measuring instruments that are used to explore those behaviors. Minimally interpreted, the theory describes a set of facts about the way the macroscopic world is impinged by the microscopic one , how it affects our measuring instruments, described in everyday language or the language of classical mechanics. It is an important tool to understand at the theoretical level of the electronic structure of chemical compounds and the mechanism, t...

 By      Chinmaya. Srivatsa     All of us know the concept of a rocket. Using Newton’s 3rd law of motion (​Every action has an equal and opposite reaction)a​nd the burning of a fuel such as Kerosene or Hydrogen they propel themselves and the cargo they carry to outer space. The efficiency of such rockets is questionable. For a 550 ton rocket ( SpaceX Falcon Heavy ) it carries about 400 tonnes of fuel and oxidiser. It only spews out hot gases at a speed of 5 km/s speed. This brings its efficiency rate to a mere maximum of 60%. Image Source : ​https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/298385​ A SpaceX Falcon Heavy ready to blast into space !!! Is there a more efficient way to propel rockets? Thanks to human innovations, yes. There is a solution. It is called the Ion thruster. They have an efficiency of more than 90% !!! Ion thrusters are engines generally used to propel satellites in outer space which use ions spewed out at speeds of 90km/s to provide thrust....

 By      Dhruva S. Banavara  Now, if you’re somewhat a science aficionado, you would have definitely heard of this guy named Schrodinger and his famous cat experiment. If you’re new to Quantum Physics, here’s a brief sketch…  Schrodinger’s cat is basically an imaginary thought experiment  that sums up a paradox of quantum superposition. In this experiment,  a cat is placed inside a box, with a hint of a radioactive substance.   According to the laws of quantum mechanics, either that substance  decays , or  it does not decay . If this substance decays, it triggers a Geiger counter which causes an explosion to kill that cat. Else the cat survives…  Also we have to note that there is no one witnessing in person, hence, the stays a combination of two probabilities (dead or alive) … The Cat ends up as dead and alive at the same time. Only on opening of the box will we come to know the true state. But happening of both simultaneously...

 When you look up at the stars, what can you know? You might have heard that blue stars are hotter, the red ones are cooler and will be able to catalogue them as hot and cold. But what if I told you that just by analysing starlight, astronomers are able to know so much more such as their densities, their motion and things like that?This is where spectroscopy comes in.Spectroscopy deals with splitting up light and analyzing it. It is, undoubtebly, one of the most useful tools in the hands of scientists. There are three types of spectra that can be produced by a body 1. Continuous spectra 2. Emission spectra 3. Absorption spectra Kirchhoff’s laws There are three laws known as Kirchoff’s laws of spectroscopy. These state the conditions that are required to obtain the spectra of different types.They are 1. In order to get a continuous spectrum,there has to be a hot material under high pressure. If you were to take the spectra of an object like a lightbulb, you will get a continuous spe...

By,       Dhruva S. Banavara  So, basically what does quantum entanglement actually mean??   In quantum physics, quantum entanglement is a phenomenon in which the quantum States of two or more objects have to be described with reference to each other, even though the objects might be spatially separated. This leads to correlations between observable physical properties of the systems.   How does this happen??!   This phenomenon occurs when two objects become inextricably linked, hence whatever happens to one particle, it will affect the other, even of they are separated by a lot of distance. This is also described as 'A spooky reaction at a distance'.   Can this happen naturally?   Yep, Quantum Entanglement can be achieved through naturally occurring phenomenon. But it is quite difficult as such a state is pretty much rare to achieve.   Why is it so important?   This is important because:- ●  Entangled quantum particles, l...

By  Mayur. M   Many ocean animals have the amazing ability to camouflage themselves to blend in with their surroundings. This can help animals to protect themselves from predators. Animals like shark, skate or octopus may lay in wait on the ocean bottom, waiting to attack a fish that wanders by.   Below, let’s take a look at some amazing capability of animals blending in so well with their surroundings. Instead of changing color some animals like sea urchins, pick up object to hide themselves. It can even use the skeleton of another urchin! Perhaps a passing predator would just think the urchin was part of the rock on the ocean bottom The tasseled wobbegong can blend in easily with the ocean bottom. These 4-foot long sharks feed on benthic invertebrates and fish. They inhabit reefs and caves in relatively shallow waters in the western Pacific Ocean . It waits patiently on the ocean bottom. As its prey swims by, it can grab the prey before it even suspects the shark is nea...

 By       Raghav V. Budur A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either  fission  or from a combination of fission and fusion reactions . How does a nuclear weapon work in simple terms? At the center of every atom is a nucleus. Breaking that nucleus apart—or combining two nuclei together—can release large amounts of energy. Nuclear weapons use that energy to create an explosion.   Modern nuclear weapons work by combining chemical explosives, nuclear fission, and nuclear fusion. Fission and Fusion During fission, the nuclei of certain heavy atoms split into smaller, lighter nuclei, releasing excess energy in the process. A neutron is shot at the nucleus and is absorbed, causing instability and fission. In some elements—such as certain isotopes of uranium and plutonium—the fission process also releases excess neutrons, which can trigger a chain reaction if they’re absorbed by nearby atoms. ...

 by       Aneesh R. Prabhu    The most common instruction given to a computer in any programming language is output some data either to user or console etc. Output Any type of of information we get from the computer is called output and y'll know it. This response you will get from a computer. An instruction is a unit of work for a computer. Values A value is a unit or a multiple units of information, like numbers, strings , character, character of numbers or etc. Print function If we need the computer to show any out, we use print function. Correct way of using Print function  is by typing print(arguments) . We need to pass a argument that computer should display. Arguments When a value is used in a function call, it is called an argument. Arguments are enclosed in parentheses after the function name. i.e <function_name>(<argument>) i.e print("hello world") In the above statement print is the function name and "hello world" is the arg...

by     Spoorthi. S Betelgeuse is a beautiful star in the constellation of Orion, around 650 light years from us. You can easily locate it on the right shoulder of Orion. Betelgeuse is a red super giant. That would mean that it is massive! Huge stars tend to have short life spans. Before getting into Betelgeuse any further, lets take a look at the death of a star. Previously, we had seen how a star forms. You might remember the concept of thermal equilibrium in a star. A star, as one might describe, is just a huge nuclear furnace with nuclear fusion going on in its core. This process generates a lot of energy. To balance that, we have the star’s own gravity. These two forces help a star to be considerably stable. This is the thermal equilibrium of a star. Average sized stars, like our Sun, at the end of their lifetime, would swell up in size to a red giant and later shed off its outer layers to form a planetary nebula (a true treat for the eyes) with a white dwarf at its c...

by    Sanjeev. G CERN or the European Laboratory of Particle Physics is an international particle physics laboratory based in Geneva in Switzerland. It houses the LHC or the Large Hadron Collider which is the World’s largest particle accelerator. CERN was founded in 1954 with most of its research in atomic physics which later evolved into the study of high energy particles and subatomic particles obtained through particle collisions. After the Second World War, a handful of visionary scientists like Niels Bohr,  Edoardo Amaldi and Werner Heisenberg conceptualized the idea of a nuclear physics laboratory comprising of eminent physicists and academics not only from Europe, but from all over the World. A leading world class research institute dedicated solely for the benefit of all mankind was thus established. CERN now consists of 22 member states and 6 associate states including India.    Humans thought that atoms were the final layer of reality and nothing exist...