ONE MOSQUITO COIL EQUALS 100 CIGARETTES 

Story

           Smoke emitted from one mosquito repellant coil is equivalent to those of 100 cigarettes, thus causing harm to a large number of people. Not many people know about it, but the damage done to your health, especially lungs by one mosquito coil is equivalent to the damage done by 100 cigarettes. This was according to a recent study conducted in Malaysia. 

Analysis:
               This is a fact that everyone needs to be aware of. As the picture shows, the story is from an article published in Times of India. The article talks about the impact of using mosquito coils on health, especially in India where it is widely used.

              The article is quoted by the director of Chest Research Foundation, Mr. Sandeep Salvi, who spoke at the conference 'Air Pollution and Our Health', which was organized by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) along with the Indian Council for Medical Research and the Indian Medical Association. He talks about a recent Malaysian study which insists that the damage done to lungs by one mosquito coil is equivalent to the damage done by 100 cigarettes. He further adds that while using mosquito coils, people are completely unaware of healthy risks of indoor air pollution like this.

            Burning mosquito coils indoors is a common way to control mosquitoes effectively in homes, and are widely used in countries of Asia, Africa, and South America. However, the smoke that is emitted by these mosquito coils may contain pollutants that can of be serious health concern. Studies that tested this smoke have found significant amounts of volatile organic compounds in it, including carcinogens (cancer causing chemicals). Burning one mosquito coil released the same amount of particulate matter as burning 75-137 cigarettes would emit. The amount of formaldehyde (an irritating carcinogen that effects many processes inside body) emission from one mosquito coil was as high as that emitted when 51 cigarettes are burnt. You can find the complete details of the research in the reference section.

             Therefore, it is quite evident that mosquito coil smoke poses both acute and chronic health risks, in the short and long term usage. So, one should avoid usage of these. Instead, to avoid and kill mosquitoes indoors, one should maintain hygienic atmosphere in and around home place and use natural and safe mosquito killers whenever necessary. Read the reference section for dealing with mosquitoes effectively.

               Thomas Edison and his great inventions  
                           

              How Many Inventions has Thomas Edison?

                 Thomas Edison, lived between 1847-1931, was an inventor and businessman born in Ohio and holds the patents of over 1, 000 products including but obviously not limited to the phonograph, motion picture camera, and carbon microphone. It is hard to pick just one of his  inventions as being his most important one. It is safe to say that the incandescent light bulb is his most famous invention. Even though most of the people know him for his inventions, there is so much more to talk about this great scientist. His dynamic nature puts him at the top of my list for the most forward thinking. Including his inventions, he also held revolutionary and controversial views on such topics such as life and the hereafter, politics, national policy and currency. He quoted in the New York Times as saying “Gold is a relic of Julius Caesar, and interest is an invention of Satan.” At times, we may think that he was on to something, and let’s remember that he passed 3 years after Black Tuesday, and the start of the Great Depression. Among all his successes  Edison holds 15 awards in life and after death. His laboratory was his home, and is now a historical destination in New Jersey. It is no doubt that Edison’s contributions’ revolutionized many industries and made possible for the modern world we know today.

Who Invented the First Steam Engine?

                                

        James Watt and the Discovery of Steam Engine

             Some historians believe that the first steam driven machine (steam engine) was conceived in ancient China according to the the collection of works contained in the Tiangong Kaiwu, a scientific and military journal maintained by China’s government at the time. Although recreations of the contraption were attempted, the practicality of the invention rendered useless for travel. There are also records of similar contraptions in Ancient Rome and Greece.

The first modern implementation of steam engine came about as a solution to the  coal miners. An entrepreneur and inventor Thomas Newcomen (1664-1729) originally designed a pump driven by the pressure of water evaporation. Around 1775, an inventor named James Watt (1736- 1819) set out to improve the steam pump by making it more energy efficient, and eventually adapted it to produce a rotary motion. This adaptation allowed the engine to be used for more than just pumping water. Many overlook the fact that the steam engine we know today might not have been reached to today. While trying to bring his invention mainstream, Watt faced increasing financial hardship. The success of his invention may not have been realized if it were not for the partnership of Matthew Boulton. Their partnership, and what they produced, was the spark of the industrial revolution.

How was Electricity Discovered by Benjamin Franklin

         Is it True That Electricity was Discovered by an Experiment Conducted by Benjamin Franklin Using a Kite and  a Bolt of Lightning?

 

               Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) was known for many things as an inventor. When we were children, we often heard the stories of great men Benjamin Franklin. One of those stories is that Benjamin Franklin discovered electricity when his kite was struck by lightning. Many scholars reject this story. They say the amount of electricity produced by a single bolt of lightning is enough to kill a man on his boots. Others say that Benjamin Franklin himself, never wrote of the experiment, and the only witness was Benjamin Franklin’s son. Further evidence used to debunk this myth is the fact that he had articles published in London by Peter Collinson, one year before the kite experiment. Although this might be a farfetched story, there was indeed a great many experiments to learn about electricity in London at the time. A lightning rod, not a kite, was used.

Among the many great accomplishments in Benjamin Franklin’s lifetime was the invention of bifocal glasses, mapping the Gulf Stream, and an advocate for anti-slavery coalitions. Arguably his most impressive contribution to humanity and science was his serving on a committee of five responsible for drafting the Declaration of Independence, and signing the United States Constitution.

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  IRNSS-1D, which will provide navigation, tracking and mapping service and have a mission life of 10 years, is the fourth in the constellation of seven satellites. Photo: V. Ganesan 
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    While four satellites would be sufficient to start operations of the IRNSS system, the remaining three would make it more accurate and efficient. Photo shows the launch of IRNSS-1 onboard PSLV-C27 from Chennai, which is approx. 100 km from Sriharikota. Photo: S.R. Raghunathan. 
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             A.S. Kiran Kumar, Chairman, ISRO (right) along with P. Kunhikrishnan (left), Mission Director, Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C27), addressing newspersons after the successful launch of the rocket carrying the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS-1D) from Sriharikota. Photo: V. Ganesan

     With this launch, the country is poised to operationalise the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System

      India on Saturday demonstrated its ability to establish an independent regional navigation satellite system, as ISRO’s PSLV C-27 successfully launched Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) 1-D satellite into the intended orbit.

“We will now be able to make use of our receivers to locate ourselves independently,” ISRO Chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar said. This is the first launch this year and the first under his chairmanship.

While the ambit of the U.S. GPS was global, the IRNSS was meant for regional coverage, he said, replying to a query. “The globe comes later, the country comes first.”

IRNSS 1-D is the fourth of the series of seven satellites, which would form ISRO’s IRNSS.

Busy launch season ahead for ISRO

The launch IRNSS 1-D, which was earlier scheduled for March 9, was postponed following an anomaly in the telemetry systems. While four of the seven satellites in the IRNSS will be in geosynchronous orbit, the other three would be positioned in geo-stationary orbit, some 36,000 km above the Earth.

The national space agency has lined up many launches before March next year. A PSLV to launch a commercial satellite from the UK, two navigation satellites, a GSAT series satellite and three satellites in IRNSS series are among the planned launches. A reusable launch vehicle would also be tested this year as a technology demonstrator. “The tests on the reusable launch vehicle would be complete and in three months, ISRO would be able to launch it,” ISRO chairman K.S. Kiran Kumar said.

ISRO has also installed a Multi-Object Tracking Radar at a cost of Rs. 245 crore for which the trials would be conducted soon. The radar is capable of tracking 10 objects in real time simultaneously. Replying to another query, Mr. Kumar said the Mars Orbiter has been sending data from the red planet but said ascertaining whether methane was present there would take some time as the data had to be studied thoroughly. The configuration for a satellite for the use of SAARC countries as mooted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was being finalised and would be launched in 18 months, the ISRO chairman said. “We are in the process of discussing with other countries to finalise the configuration of the SAARC satellite.”

Replying to a query, he said Cartosat satellites would be used to monitor illegal mining in the country. “The Indian Bureau of Mines has been given the task to draw the boundary lines for the mines,” V.K. Dadhwal, Director of National Remote Sensing Centre said.

Attempting to reduce the mass of the satellites, ISRO was looking at the possibility of having an ion propulsion system, K. Sivan Director of Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre in Valiamala in Kerala, said. “We are planning to test the proposed technology in a communication satellite,” he said. As for the semi-cryogenic engine, which LPSC is working on, he said the engine was tested for 20 seconds and the time duration would be extended in future. 

Curtsey  with THE HINDU