World’s largest telescope gets Hawaii nod

 

 

AP In this artist rendition provided by TMT, the Thirty Metre Telescope is seen.

 

       A plan by California and Canadian universities to build the world’s largest telescope at the summit of Hawaii’s Mauna Kea volcano received approval from the State.

The decision by the Board of Land and Natural Resources on Friday clears the way for the group managing the Thirty Meter Telescope project to negotiate a sublease for land with the University of Hawaii.

The telescope would be able to observe planets that orbit stars other than the sun and enable astronomers to watch new planets and stars being formed. It should also help scientists see some 13 billion light years away for a glimpse into the early years of the universe.

The telescope’s segmented primary mirror, which is nearly 30-metre-long (100 feet), will give it nine times the collecting area of the largest optical telescopes in use today. Its images will also be three times sharper.

But the telescope may not hold the world’s largest title for long. A group of European countries plans to build the European Extremely Large Telescope, which will have a 42-metre-long (138 feet) mirror.

Some Native Hawaiian groups had petitioned against the project, arguing it would defile the mountain’s sacred summit.

Native Hawaiian tradition holds that high altitudes are sacred and are a gateway to heaven. In the past, only high chiefs and priests were allowed at Mauna Kea’s summit. The mountain is home to one confirmed burial site and perhaps four more.

Environmentalists also petitioned to stop the telescope on the grounds it would harm habitat for the rare wekiu bug.

The board approved the project anyway, but imposed two dozen conditions including a requirement that employees be trained in culture and natural resources.

The University of California system, the California Institute of Technology and the Association of Canadian Universities for Research in Astronomy are spearheading the telescope. China, India and Japan have signed on to be partners.

The University of Hawaii is involved because it leases the summit land from the State of Hawaii. 

Courtesy With: THE HINDU

Cheaper way to detect ammonia

Vasudevan Mukunth

          A simpler, more portable method to detect ammonia continuously has now been developed

Scientists at the Smart Materials Section at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) have developed a simple technique to detect the presence of ammonia using optical sensors. The results of their work were published on March 12 in the Applied Physics Letters.

Ammonia is an important component of explosives, fertilisers, and industrial coolants. Thus, detectors of ammonia form the basis of devices used to check for pollution in the vicinity of urban settlements, such as in rivers, lakes, buildings, etc.

Existing detectors include infrared gas analysers, ion-selective electrodes, detectors based on semiconductor films, or sensors that depend on ammonia’s reaction with an acidity-sensitive dye.

However, these are difficult to fabricate and use, and are prohibitively expensive.

The IGCAR team, led by Dr. John Philip, has devised a simpler, more portable method to detect ammonia: using ferrimagnetic nanofluids as sensors that reflect bluer light when exposed to more of the colourless gas.

Change of colour

“The sensor produces visually perceptible colour changes, in the presence of ammonia, due to the changes in the lattice periodicity of 1-dimensional array of droplets,” the paper notes.

The sensor comprises an oil-in-water emulsion containing a suspension of ferrimagnetic iron oxide particles each measuring 10 nanometres wide. A thin coating of a surfactant, such as sodium dodecyl sulphate, is added around the particles to keep them from agglomerating.

The surfactant is anionic: it has a net negative charge.

When a magnetic field of 90 gauss is applied to the solution, the ferrimagnetic nanoparticles line up like a chain along the magnetic field lines, no longer moving randomly. The setup is then illuminated by a fibre-optic light source.

When there is ammonia in the surrounding environment, it disperses into the emulsion and becomes an ammonium cation, an ion with a net positive charge. Because the surfactant is anionic, the ammonium cation penetrates into its layer around the droplets.

Consequently, the droplets are pulled closer. In this condition, the wavelength of light reflected from the solution is shifted toward the blue end of the visible spectrum. This phenomenon is called a Bragg shift, and can be picked up by a digital camera.

As more ammonia disperses into the solution, the blue-shift gets stronger because the droplets are brought closer under the magnetic field’s guidance.

These sensors can detect concentrations ranging from 0 to 525 parts per million. As the emulsion can be produced using commonly available chemicals, and the setup allows for rapid detection, the sensors are a reliable way to continuously monitor ammonia levels.

Dr. Philip added, “If we go for a simple naked-eye detection using visual colour change of the nano-emulsion, the device could cost a few thousand rupees, but if we go for a Bragg peak measurement, it could be slightly more expensive, but definitely much cheaper than commercially available ones.”

At present, the sensor apparatus can operate only in room temperature and detect ions in aqueous solutions. The team’s work, hence, will focus on taking a gel- or film-based approach to overcome these problems. 

Courtesy With: THE HINDU

Higgs boson closer than ever

 

          The latest results show a Higgs-like boson that “walks and quacks,” true to theory

Ever since CERN announced that it had spotted a Higgs boson-like particle on July 4, 2012, their flagship Large Hadron Collider (LHC), apart from similar colliders around the world, has continued running experiments to gather more data on the elusive particle.

The latest analysis of the results from these runs was presented at a conference now underway in Italy.

While it is still too soon to tell if the one spotted in July 2012 was the Higgs boson as predicted in 1964, the data is convergent toward the conclusion that the long-sought particle does exist and with the expected properties. More results will be presented over the upcoming weeks.

In time, particle physicists hope that it will once and for all close an important chapter in physics called the Standard Model (SM).

The announcements were made by more than 15 scientists from CERN on March 6 via a live webcast from the Rencontres de Moriond, an annual particle physics forum that has been held in La Thuile, Italy, since 1966.

“Since the properties of the new particle appear to be very close to the ones predicted for the SM Higgs, I have personally no further doubts,” Dr. Guido Tonelli, former

spokesperson of the CMS detector at CERN, told The Hindu.

Interesting results from searches for other particles, as well as the speculated nature of fundamental physics beyond the SM, were also presented at the forum, which runs from March 2-16.

A precise hunt

A key goal of the latest results has been to predict the strength with which the Higgs couples to other elementary particles, in the process giving them mass.

This is done by analysing the data to infer the rates at which the Higgs-like particle decays into known lighter particles: W and Z bosons, photons, bottom quarks, tau leptons, electrons, and muons. These particles’ signatures are then picked up by detectors to infer that a Higgs-like boson decayed into them.

The SM predicts these rates with good precision.

Thus, any deviation from the expected values could be the first evidence of new, unknown particles. By extension, it would also be the first sighting of ‘new physics’.

Good and bad news

After analysis, the results were found to be consistent with a Higgs boson of mass near 125-126 GeV, measured at both 7- and 8-TeV collision energies through 2011 and 2012.

The CMS detector observed that there was fairly strong agreement between how often the particle decayed into W bosons and how often it ought to happen according to theory. The ratio between the two was pinned at 0.76 +/- 0.21.

Dr. Tonelli said, “For the moment, we have been able to see that the signal is getting stronger and even the difficult-to-measure decays into bottom quarks and tau-leptons are beginning to appear at about the expected frequency.”

The ATLAS detector, parallely, was able to observe with 99.73 per cent confidence-level that the analysed particle had zero-spin, which is another property that brings it closer to the predicted SM Higgs boson.

At the same time, the detector also observed that the particle’s decay to two photons was 2.3 standard-deviations higher than the SM prediction.

Dr. Pauline Gagnon, a scientist with the ATLAS collaboration, told this Correspondent via email, “We need to asses all its properties in great detail and extreme rigour,” adding that for some aspects they would need more data.

Even so, the developments rule out signs of any new physics around the corner until 2015, when the LHC will reopen after a two-year shutdown and multiple upgrades to smash protons at doubled energy.

As for the search for Supersymmetry, a favoured theoretical concept among physicists to accommodate phenomena that haven’t yet found definition in the Standard Model: Dr. Pierluigi Campana, LHCb detector 

 Courtesy with THE HINDU

spokesperson, told The Hindu that there have been only “negative searches so far”.

How To Lose Stomach Fat ?

 

Best exercises for a flat stomach (Thinkstock photos/Getty Images)

 

A bulging stomach is a problem area for most mortals. Even those who are naturally thin tend to develop a paunch as they step into their 30s.

Our stomachs store fat for a number of reasons; these reasons range from the genetic to plain abuse of food and drink, with little to no exercise. Often, those who invest heavily in exercise and diet to banish the bulging stomach, do so with a vague and incorrect idea of what is needed for a flat stomach. Today, we give you a few exercises that will strengthen and create lean abdominal muscles, help you eliminate a flabby belly and give you a flat stomach that helps you fight disease and ill-health.

The key to a flat stomach is combination

To kick that tummy fat, simply belting away crunches or pushups is not enough. A solo act can't lead to a flat tummy or fat loss. Fitness expert, Sophia Yasmin says, "In my opinion spot reduction is not possible, there is no way to target a particular part of the body for fat loss."

Your goal should be to build muscle, and focus on fat loss. Whether you are able to drop weight before attempting muscle toning, or tone muscle and then cut fat, depends entirely on how overweight you are, and how many inches you need to lose.

Follow patterned full body exercises like skipping and running to burn energy at an elevated heartrate. The kind of food you eat also helps to cut down that visible and visceral fat. A balanced healthy diet is essential for stomach fat loss.

Drink plenty of water and stay off from stress and anxiety and limit your salt intake. Besides get enough sleep to kick your belly fat.

Mentioned ahead are exercises that will help get a flat stomach.

Note: These exercises will only help you get rid of stomach fat if you practise them in combination with a healthy lifestyle and balanced diet.

Funky standing abs

This is one of the best and easiest exercises to begin with. Stand with your feet below your shoulders, and then tighten your abs slowly bending your knees.

Tilt your pelvis forward, so that your back is curved. Come back to the centre and tilt pelvis backward. Perform this exercise 15 times on either side, or as your workout permits.

Chair leg lifts

Perform this exercise using any kind of chair.

All you have to do is, sit straight with your back flat against the chair, place your hands on the seat of your chair, then slowly lift your knees towards your chest and slowly restore them back.

Carry out slow breathing while doing this. Perform this 2 set exercise at least 10-15 times.

Crunches

This is a good exercise for upper, lower and oblique abdominal muscles. Begin by lying flat on the ground, with your feet placed firmly on the ground, clasp your hands behind your head.

Raise your upper body by squeezing your abdominal muscles and when you are halfway through, hold on for 3 seconds.

Then bring back your body back to floor, slowly. Do at least 30 crunches per set.

Perpendicular exercise

Lie flat on your back, with your hands behind your back. Breathe out, as you lift your legs over your hips so they are perpendicular to the floor; slightly extend the distance between your legs.

Breathe in as you lower down your legs. Start up with 4 to 5 sets, and then increase it to 10.

Dumbbell bends

This exercise is useful for your oblique muscles. Start with grabbing a dumbbell, holding it in your right hand; see to it that your palm is facing your body.

Your feet should be at a shoulder-width distance. Slowly place your left hand on your hip and bend your upper body towards the right, while keeping your head and body facing forward.

Bring back your body to normal position and then repeat the same movement on the left side. Practice 20 repetitions.

Bicycle exercise

Bicycle is the best exercise for toning your stomach. It helps by keeping your stomach stable, along with movements, which burns fat.

Perform this exercise by lying on the floor, place your hands behind your head and bring your knees off the floor.

Bring your right elbow towards your left knee while performing cycling motion, and then switch your elbow position.

Side exercise

This exercise targets your oblique, core muscles and shoulders. Stand straight, with your feet at approximately the width of your hips. Slowly bend your knees and hold dumbbells in each hand.

Lift your hands up, so that the dumbbells are above your head and relax. Then lean your arms, head and torso to the right till 2 counts, then come back to the original position and then repeat it to the left side.

Carry out at least 10 repetitions.

Planks

Lie on the floor, with your face down, upper body supported on your forearms. Raise your entire body off the floor, with the support of your forearms and toes form a straight line.

Carry out 3 repetitions, with 15 to 20 seconds hold.

Clock exercise

To carry out this exercise, you may need an exercise ball. Rest your back on the ball with your feet aligned with your hips.

Stretch your arms over your head, contracting your abdominal muscles, and then rotate your body like a clock. Carry out 10 rotations in each side.

5 exercises you can do while at work

Here are some exercises that you can do while you are at work

Sitting at your desk and staring at the computer screen for hours is not something that most of us, who have regular nine-to-five jobs, can avoid. However, what is most worrying about this kind of a sedentary lifestyle is that it takes a toll on our health and fitness. With all of us running after time constantly, and not getting ample time to workout at home or at a gym, exercising while at work, may be the only possibility.

This will not only reduce stress and keep you energized, focused and healthy, but will also increase your productivity at work. All you need is a break of a few minutes. If you are not blessed with a gym in your office premises, do keep the following tips in mind and make the most of it. You can practice these without leaving your office. Do them every day and notice the difference.

Take it to the mat
Keep a fold-able exercise mat in your office, which can be used to carry out basic exercises like stomach crunches, push-ups and leg lifts. This can help to burn off carbohydrates and revitalize you for the rest of the day.

Take the stairs
When given the choice between taking the elevator or climbing the stairs to your floor at work, opt for the latter. Climbing stairs is an easy exercise and also one of the best every day exercises for office-goers. It not only burns calories, but this cardiovascular activity also gets your heart pumping and helps in boosting blood circulation.

Stress buster
Squeezing a stress ball repeatedly gets the blood flowing, and is a good exercise for heavy keyboard users. It also increases strength of the forearm and joints. And it is fun!

Keep walking
Walk around your office after lunch, or within the premises. Brisk walking for 10 minutes or more, boosts energy levels and helps fight stress and aids in relaxation.

Throw your weight(s) around
Keep small hand weights at your desk and lift them while talking on the phone. Try lifting weights that are not very heavy when sitting at the desk. Take a 10-minute break to stand up and do simple lifting exercises. Do two or three sets of 10 to 12 repetitions for a quick, efficient toning workout. You can also stretch a bit while sitting on your chair.

 

Courtesy With: The Times of India

How to cure hiccups

Hiccups can come at any time without warning. And sometimes, they can be extremely embarrassing. But the fact is, some simple techniques can stop hiccups. Here, take a look...

Press your palm

-Use the thumb of one hand to press the palm of the other hand — as hard as you can. Another tactic is to squeeze the ball of your left thumb between the thumb and forefinger of your right hand. You may feel discomfort, but it serves as a distraction that affects the nervous system and has the ability to stop your hiccups.

Hold your breath

-Take a long, deep breath and hold it for a few seconds. Experts say when there is a build-up of carbon dioxide in your lungs, the diaphragm relaxes and eases the hiccups.

Shut your ears

-Shut your ears for about 20 to 35 seconds. Another option is to press the soft areas behind your earlobes. This will send a signal to relax through the vagus nerve, which connects to the diaphragm.

Put your tongue out

-That's right, stick your tongue out. This is a common trick employed by vocalists and actors when they perform, because it is known to stimulate the opening between the vocal cords. This helps you breathe more smoothly and stops the spasms that cause hiccups.

Cover your mouth

-Cup your hands over your nose and mouth. Continue breathing normally while you do this. This will stop the hiccups because of the extra dose of carbon dioxide.

Drink water fast

-Take about 10 sips quickly from a glass without stopping. When you gulp down a drink, rhythmic contractions of the osophagus override spasms of the diaphragm and stop you from hiccuping. 

Courtesy with : The Times of India

Shrinking Sunderbans threat to Bengal Tiger

                                    The Hindu File photo of a Royal Bengal Tiger.

        Fast-disappearing mangrove forests of the Sunderbans pose a question mark over the future of the Royal Bengal Tiger, an endangered species, say scientists.

Rapid deterioration in mangrove health is causing as much as 200 metres of the vegetation-rich coast to disappear annually in the Sunderbans, according to zoologists.

Nathalie Pettorelli, from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and senior study author, said: “Our results indicate a rapidly retreating coastline that cannot be accounted for by the regular dynamics of the Sunderbans. Degradation is happening fast, weakening this natural shield for India and Bangladesh.”

Sunderbans is the largest block of continuous mangrove forest in the world, native to nearly 500 species of reptile, fish, bird and mammals, including the world famous Royal Bengal Tiger, the journal Remote Sensing reports.

Thriving human development, rising global temperatures, degradation of natural protection from tidal waves and cyclones is inevitably leading to species loss in this richly biodiverse part of the world, according to a ZSL statement.

Sarah Christie, ZSL’s tiger conservation expert, says: “The Sunderbans is a critical tiger habitat; one of only a handful of remaining forests big enough to hold several hundred tigers. To lose the Sunderbans would be to move a step closer to the extinction of these majestic animals.” 

Courtesy with: THE HINDU

World’s largest solar telescope to be set up in Ladakh

P. Sunderarajan

 

 

       PTI File photo shows the Pangong Lake in Ladakh. The National Large Solar Telescope, the world's largest such device will come on the banks of this lake.

          It will help in understanding the process of creation and decay of sunspots

Work on the world’s largest solar telescope is likely to commence in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir by the end of this year.

The telescope, with an aperture of two metres, is expected to be of great help in understanding the process of creation and decay of sunspots, apart from furthering cutting edge research on other fundamental processes taking place on Sun.

Giving details of the Rs. 300-crore project, the former Director of the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Astrophysics and chief investigator of the project, S. Siraj Hasan, said on Saturday that the telescope could come up either at Hanle or Merak village near Pangong Lake in Ladakh.

Once ready, it would be one of the few solar telescope facilities in the world with a capability to do both day and night astronomy. It would also fill the longitude gap between Japan and Europe.

The innovative design and backend instruments would further enable observations with an unprecedented high spatial resolution that would provide crucial information on the nature of magnetic fields in the solar atmosphere, he added.

Dr. Hasan was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a panel discussion organised here as part of the on-going centenary session of the Indian Science Congress.

A better understanding of how and why of the formation and decay of sunspots assumes importance as they pose a threat to the communication system on earth as well as satellites orbiting in the outer space.

Increased sunspot activity frequently accompanies an increase in the outflow of matter from the Sun in the form of solar wind. Charged particles in this wind can interfere with the operation of satellites by introducing what is called background static and also interact with atoms in the upper part of earth’s atmosphere and thus wreaking havoc with the communication systems on ground.

Satellites in low earth orbit face greater risk as during periods of heightened solar activity, the earth's upper atmosphere swells up slightly in response to the extra heating, which in turn increases the rate of decay of these satellites. 

Courtesy with: THE HINDU

New improvised tool for SRI paddy planting method

M. J. Prabu

         The Hindu LESS WEIGHT: The new tool at a field demonstration. Photo: Special Arrangement

          This device helps farmers to plant the seedlings at exact locations

One of the main steps Tamil Nadu farmers are advised while growing paddy under ‘System for Rice Intensification,’ method, popularly called as SRI, is to adopt seedling distance while planting.

“Planning the planting space is important for a good yield. Normally about 500 seedlings are planted from the nursery to the main field at a rough spacing of 20X10 cm.

“This spacing differs in some regions according to the labour availability and convenience. Whereas under SRI, about 16 single seedlings are planted at spacing of 25X25 cm,” says Dr. G.Kathiresan, Director (Planning & Monitoring, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore.

Initial stage

During the initial stages of SRI introduction, a lengthy rope was used for marking the seedling space.

Two labourers used to hold the rope at the ends on either side of the field bunds and walked across the field, while another person made markings on the field for planting.

But this system did not prove popular because the line of planting was not straight due to naturally occurring slopes or partition in the fields.

The line of planting also used to get altered. Physical labour was also more for this work.

Considering the demerits of rope marking, an iron roller marker was introduced. It requires two labourers to pull the iron marker which has pegs on it to mark the place of planting.

The rolls are fitted in such a way as to mark 25 cm. But this did not prove to be easy, the main reason being the roller was heavy in weight and farmers found it difficult to pull it in the slushy, water laden fields. The marking was also not visible.

The University came out with yet another simple and improvised device for planting.

Bamboo sticks

A low weight triangular pointer with three straight bamboo/casuarina sticks or polyvinyl chloride pipes was introduced.

“These three lengthy sticks tied with small sticks (25 cm length), or 6 mm iron rod fitted with half an inch GI triangular shape pipe holder with 60 angles in each corner. For convenience, ten feet sticks (three numbers) are sufficient for planting by two labourers,” explains Dr. Kathiresan.

The iron rod measuring 25 cm in length, represents the intra row spacing and the ten feet sticks in which markings are made represent inter row spacing.

Iron rods

For measuring the spacing, a triangular shaped iron rod fitted with the lengthy (10 feet) sticks at every five feet is also introduced.

Six points are marked on the lengthy sticks at the spacing of 25 cm to point the exact place for planting the seedlings. The planting can be done by a single labourer for an acre.

Farmers can use this device by placing it in the field parallel to the field bunds. The seedlings can be planted inside the triangular lengthy sticks. This is quite easy though cumbersome for some workers.

Normally for SRI planting, 45 labourers are needed to cover one hectare land. In the case of SRI planting with this new tool, 33 labourers are sufficient to cover the same area, according to him.

“The main objective for introducing this device is to help farmers to plant the seedlings at the exact location without any confusion and at the same time to maintain appropriate space between seedlings,” says Kathiresan The device is presently being used by farmers in Tanjavur, Ambasamudram, and Tirunelveli districts.

General opinion

The general opinion among some of the farmers who used this device is that it would be a good initiative if this work can be mechanised instead of doing it manually, as sourcing labour for the same is proving to be very difficult.

For more details contact Dr.G.Kathiresan, Director (Planning & Monitoring, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore – 641 003, email: directorplanning@tnau.ac.in, phone: 0422- 6611566. 

Courtesy with: THE HINDU

Kilogram now weighs heavier

            The humble kilogram — the standard measure of weighing — has become heavier, according to experts from a British university.

The original kilogram is likely to be tens of micrograms heavier than it was when the first standard was set in 1875, experts using a state-of-the-art Theta-probe XPS machine — the only one of its kind in the world — have said.

Known as the International Prototype Kilogram or the IPK, it is the standard against, which all other measurements of mass are set, the Journal of Metrologia reports.

But the kilogram has become heavier as contaminants have built up on its surface, experts say.

The IPK and its 40 replicas were made in 1884 and distributed globally in a bid to standardise mass. Britain holds replica 18 at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL). The original is stored in the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in Paris.

But despite efforts to protect the IPK and its duplicates, industrialisation and modern living have taken their toll on the platinum-based weights and contaminants have built up on the surface, according to Newcastle University.

Now Peter Cumpson and Naoko Sano at Newcastle have used cutting-edge X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) to analyse surfaces similar to the standard kilogram to assess the build-up of hydrocarbons — and how to remove them.

“Around the world, the IPK and its 40 replicas are all growing at different rates, diverging from the original,” said Cumpson, professor of Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) at Newcastle.

“By exposing the surface to a mixture of UV and ozone, we can remove the carbonaceous contamination and potentially bring prototype kilograms back to their ideal weight,” added Cumpson.

Courtesy with: THE HINDU

Wanton destruction

Sohail Hashmi

 

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                  The Hindu Arravali and the forest: Gasping for life. Photo: Sohail Hashmi 
   
•  
   
                                The Hindu Caging the greens. Photo: Sohail Hashmi 
   
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                            The Hindu A footpath in July 2010. Photo: Sohail Hashmi 
   
•                              
          
                    The Hindu The same footpath in January 2013. Photo: Sohail Hashmi

     Even as the remains of the picturesque old jungle road are being dug up and a huge boundary wall fashioned out of broken pieces of the Arravali, there is little activity connected to restoring the Neela Hauz.

After many months one returns to the Neela Hauz again, the Hauz is located east of Aruna Asif Ali Road in New Delhi. Before the road came up and Jawaharlal Nehru University campus and Vasant Kunj sprang up to the west of the road in the early 1970s, all this was a forest and village commons for the inhabitants of Kishangarh, Masudpur, Malikpur Kohi, Sultan Garhi, Rangpuri, Mahipalpur and other villages and hamlets that lay scattered in this area. One returns to Neela Hauz, this much abused natural water body, not with good tidings but to report that despite tall promises and high sounding declarations what is going on in and around this once beautiful lake is large-scale destruction, encroachment or modification of three elements of our natural heritage.

First, the destruction of the surviving bits of the oldest natural heritage in India and among the oldest mountain ranges in the world - the Arravalis. Large and small outcroppings of the Arravali ranges can be seen poking through the Sanjay Van. Some of these rock formations, rapidly being broken up by those horribly destructive machines called earth movers, have tentatively been dated to the Pre-Cambrian era.

Secondly the Sanjay Van, in itself a reserved forest has been stripped of many trees, mostly the invasive Prosopis Juliflora or the Mexican Mesquite, but also of several, increasingly rare Ronjh and Desi Babul and Keekar trees. This denudation has occurred across a long stretch skirting the lake and extending beyond it towards Kishangarh. If one were to believe those in-charge of this wanton destruction, permission has been taken from the Delhi Forest Department.

And thirdly the Neela Hauz, the Hauz had began to suffer encroachments and dumping in the wake of a rather expansionist scheme to build a bridge across the lake in the run-up to the much-touted October 2010 Commonwealth Games. As per promises made at the time and subsequently, the lake was to be restored to its ‘pristine glory’ once the job at hand was completed. The job at hand was not completed in time and in fact there was a time overrun of more than 10 months. The bridge scheduled to be completed by September 19, 2010 was eventually finished only in July 2010. One does not know if the builders of this ‘priority project’ were penalised for the time overrun or not, what is however clear that even almost two-and-a-half years after the delayed completion, the lake seems to be nowhere near its “original pristine state”. An exercise was launched to rid the Neela Hauz of its horrible cover of water Hyacinth, the operation was never completed and the Hyacinth is once again expanding and choking whatever little life is left in the Hauz.

Even as the remains of the picturesque old jungle road, skirting the lake before this bridge came up, are being dug up and a huge boundary wall fashioned out of broken pieces of the Arravali, one sees little activity connected to restoring the Hauz. The long promised biodiversity park continues to be a distant chimera.

Meanwhile, the entrance to the Sanjay Van has been given a huge bill board inviting visitors to the forest. In order to facilitate the newcomers the forest is being spruced-up. All natural under-growth in the forest near the gate abutting the lake has been removed and concrete benches provided. And what about the wild life, the original residents of the forest: the quails and partridges, the krait and the hedgehog, the jungle babbler and the mongoose and the myriad insects and beetles and other beings that lived and prospered in the undergrowth in the reserved forest? What about them, are they part of any scheme?

Enquiries have revealed that all this digging is being carried out to create a parking lot for those who come for a walk to the Sanjay Van and for those visitors who might come visiting the Hauz and the proposed biodiversity park. The car park will come up even if the lake and the forest do not survive. Large parts of the old jungle road are piled high with iron frames that are going to be used for throwing up a fence around Sanjay Van and everything else besides. Here is another case of the fence eating up the field and the forest perhaps.

The earth moving machines need to get up close and personal before they begin to pull down anything, and in order to give the embrace of death to the surviving bit of the Arravalis they had to clamber over the expensive designer pavement that was built with rather expensive coloured and glazed tiles at either end of the bridge in July 2010. The pavement is now almost totally gone, once the earth movers are through moving mountains, the contract for relaying the pavement will perhaps be awarded to someone once again and the cycle of construction and concretisation and fencing will go on endlessly. The Arravalis, the Neela Hauz, and the forest can wait till kingdom come.

Courtesy with: THE HINDU

Internet emits 830 million tonnes of carbon dioxide

                           

   The Hindu A girl browsing in a cyber cafe in Vijayawada. File photo: V. Raju

              Internet and other components of information communication and technology (ICT) industry annually produces more than 830 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main greenhouse gas, and is expected to double by 2020, a new study has found.

Researchers from the Centre for Energy-Efficient Telecommunications (CEET) and Bell Labs explain that the information communications and technology (ICT) industry, which delivers Internet, video, voice and other cloud services, produces about 2 per cent of global CO2 emissions — the same proportion as the aviation industry produces.

In the report published in journal Environmental Science & Technology, researchers said their projections suggest that ICT sector’s share in greenhouse gas emission is expected to double by 2020.

They have also found new models of emissions and energy consumption that could help reduce their carbon footprint.

The study said that controlling those emissions requires more accurate but still feasible models, which take into account the data traffic, energy use and CO2 production in networks and other elements of the ICT industry.

Existing assessment models are inaccurate, so they set out to develop new approaches that better account for variations in equipment and other factors in the ICT industry.

They describe development and testing of two new models that better estimate the energy consumption and CO2 emissions of Internet and telecommunications services.

The researchers suggest, based on their models, that more efficient power usage of facilities, more efficient use of energy-efficient equipment and renewable energy sources are three keys to reducing ICT emissions of CO2. 

Courtesy with :THE HINDU 

What to avoid after a full meal

 

              An irresistible spread: But heavy meals could affect one's health adversely in the long run

         There are several activities that are a no-no after a heavy meal. Here are some of them…

You have eaten really well. The cook hired for the wedding reception is well-known — for his pathir peni, fresh jelebi, mixed rice varieties, sweet pachadis and vadai. And the hand-cranked icecream, how can you resist it?

Burp… Soak in the glow of satisfaction. This is how that XL-sized rock python on Animal Planet feels with an unsuspecting deer inside him. What next? A round of card games? Some coffee, tea? Test drive friend's swanky BMW? Crash to sleep the meal off? Or go adventurous, boot up the music, shake a leg!

Take care, warns nutritionist Vijaya Parameswaran. “After a full meal, your body will channel maximum blood circulation to your gastro-intestinal tract, to facilitate digestion. Vigorous/Intense exercising at this time may cause your cardiovascular system (heart) to be starved of optimum blood circulation.” Translated, it means “Psy fans, curb your enthusiasm for Gangnam Style after a full meal. Not good for the heart.” And don't slide into a nap after a heavy meal, Vijaya says. “Blood sugar surges after a meal and the focus for the next few hours is to normalise it. A nap after meals increases insulin dependence to normalise blood sugar, and may precipitate insulin resistance.” High BS also means a big no to desserts and high-sugar beverages post a full meal, since these make it harder to normalise blood sugars.

People who have suffered the post-meal syndrome add to the list of don'ts. Don't drink cold water after diving into a wedding spread, they say. It freezes food fat which then builds up in the intestine, narrows the digestive ducts and leads to obesity. Eating fruits after rich food is a bad idea too. A second helping of fruit salad? Brace yourself for a bout of abdominal bloating, diarrhoea, constipation or excess stomach acid. Tea is on the “never-after-a-heavy-meal” list. Its tannic acid forms a sediment by combining with proteins, and affects absorption of both protein and iron. Smoking after a meal makes it ten times more dangerous. If you chose to wear a belt to that reception, make sure you don't slacken it now. Comfortable, yes, but it can lead to decreased pressure in the abdominal cavity, and weakened digestion.

Elders in the family have warned us against bathing after a meal — full or less. You'll get dyspepsia, they said. And there's a surprising new rule: wait for 30 minutes before cleaning your teeth after a meal. Fruits, (particularly orange or lemon juice), vinegar, sport drinks and soft drinks have a very high level of acidity and can soften the enamel of your teeth. Brushing your teeth can damage the softened enamel. Wait till saliva neutralises the acidity.

How much of the amateur advice is trustworthy? In his News Today column, cardiologist and lifestyle advisor Dr. Philip Chua clears the myths about post-meal activity. Smoking is bad, he agrees, since the absorption rate following a meal is heightened, magnifying the ill effects of tobacco (nicotine) on our system. Avoid fruits only if you have intolerance, or you're on a diabetic diet. Eat fruits, they improve digestion. Question is, can you?

Tea is high in tannic acid, but it acts like a tonic — invigorates the brain, speeds up circulation, makes digestion easier. Go for a light, sugar-free cup. And yes, do not loosen the belt. A tight belt makes you conscious you are full and helps you fight the temptation to overeat. Don't believe in the mumbo jumbo about twisted intestines. Tradition that doesn't allow us to bathe after a meal has some truth in it, he says. Taking a bath (especially a warm one) does divert blood from the stomach to the skin, but doesn't impair digestion significantly. The general rule is: after a meal, don't indulge in strenuous activities that will move energy away from the stomach, which needs “enough” blood for digestion.

And don't sleep immediately after a meal. In some people, it causes irregular heartbeat. Habitually sleeping immediately after a meal supports the tendency to gain weight. “Don't eat again for four hours or longer, it makes the stomach grow larger” is sage advice. Eating heavily and frequently distends the stomach and conditions the brain to crave for more food. This is the inevitable path to obesity and its dangerous consequences.

QUESTION CORNER

G. KRISHNAMURTHY

Mobile touch screen

How do mobile touch screens work?

RAM POOJAN CHAURASIA

Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh

Mobile phones may use two types of input devices. In regular mobile phones, a keypad type of device is used, which is mounted separately from the screen of the cellphone. Whereas in touch screen cellphones, a touch screen is a cellphone display screen that also acts as an input device. The touch screens are sensitive to pressure; a user interacts with the mobile applications by touching pictures or words on the screen.

Most mobile phone keyboards are basic in that they use a tactile surface you are accustomed to touching, and underneath is a basic rubber peg (black dot) which travels some depth until it encounters resistance in the form of the actual keyboard surface which is sometimes called a ‘bubble board.’

This is basically a semi-circle of aluminium shaped in the form of a dome and provides that springing effect of key and feedback on your finger when you press down and the button regains its at-rest shape and normal position.

Touch screen technologies used in mobile phones include resistive, capacitive and surface-wave based system.

The resistive system consists of a normal glass panel that is covered with conductive and resistive metallic layers. These two layers are held apart by spacers, and a scratch resistant layer is placed on top of the whole setup. An electrical current runs through the two layers while the monitor is operational.

When a user touches the screen, the two layers make contact exactly at that spot. The change in the electrical field is noted and the coordinates of the point of contact are calculated by the processor. Once the coordinates are known, a special driver translates the touch into something that the operating system can understand, much as a computer mouse driver translates the movements of a mouse into a click or a drag.

The change in the electrical current is registered as a touch event and sent to the controller for processing.

In the capacitive system, a layer of an electroconductive material (most often indium tin-oxide) that stores electrical charge is placed on the glass panel of the monitor. When a user touches the monitor with his finger, some of the charge is transferred to the user, so the charge on the capacitive layer decreases. This decrease is measured in circuits located at each corner of the monitor.

The computer calculates, from the relative differences in charge at each corner, exactly where the touch event took place and then relays that information to the touch screen driver software. Resistive touch screen panels are generally more affordable but offer only 75 per cent clarity and the layer can be damaged by sharp objects.

One advantage of the capacitive system over the resistive system is that it transmits almost 92 per cent of the light emitted from the monitor, whereas the resistive system transmits only about 75 per cent. This gives the capacitive system a much clearer picture than the resistive system. Also, the capacitive system has a very long life (about 225 million clicks).

NASA releases map of India on Diwali night

 

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             PTI A satellite imagery of India on Diwali night released by NASA. Photo: PTI 
   
   
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                         PTI NASA releases map of India on Diwali night. PTI graphic

  Earth at night

NASA, the national space agency of the U.S., on Thursday released a black and white satellite imagery of India Diwali night 2012, cautioning people against the fake image in circulation on the social media.

“On November 12, 2012, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite captured this night-time view of southern Asia,” NASA said releasing a picture of India on this Diwali night.

“The image is based on data collected by the VIIRS ‘day- night band’, which detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near-infrared. The image has been brightened to make the city lights easier to distinguish,” it said.

NASA said most of the bright areas in the imagery released by it are cities and towns in India. “India is home to more than 1.2 billion people and has 30 cities with populations over 1 million,” it said.

Cities in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan are also visible near the edges of the image.

“An image that claims to show the region lit for Diwali has been circulating on social media websites and the Internet in recent years. In fact, it does not show what it claims.

That image, based on data from the Operational Linescan System flown on US Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites, is a colour—composite created in 2003 by NOAA scientist Chris Elvidge to highlight population growth over time,” NASA said.

“In that image, white areas show city lights that were visible prior to 1992, while blue, green, and red shades indicate city lights that became visible in 1992, 1998, and 2003 respectively,” it said.

“In reality, any extra light produced during Diwali is so subtle that it is likely imperceptible when observed from space,” NASA said.

Groundwater is gold

 

 

Since no more water is likely to be pumped from the Cauvery with the completion of the Phase IV Stage 2, it is groundwater that most of the development must depend on.

       No individual borewell should be permitted to be drilled and only common use of groundwater under metered and tariff conditions should be encouraged in layouts, says water activist S. Vishwanath

The peripheral areas of cities are seeing an unprecedented growth. Land use is changing from agricultural to non-agriculture use and sites are being developed in ‘layouts’ all across. While infrastructure like roads and electricity can and will eventually reach the layouts, water supply is more difficult.

The Bangalore Metropolitan Regional Development Authority, assisted by 11 Local Planning Authorities, is the planning approval authority for over 8,000 sq. km. of area around the city of Bangalore.

Since no more water is likely to be pumped from the Cauvery with the completion of the Phase IV Stage 2, it is groundwater that most of the development must depend on. Groundwater is, however, getting increasingly overused in the surrounding semi-arid areas of the city.

How can the authority make sure that the people who move into these developments have water in the future? One good way to begin is to get the developer do a yield test for the borewells on site. If this is done in summer it is likely to give a better understanding of reliable yield for the entire layout. A quality test of the borewell water would also establish potability or otherwise.

This should be basic information with the authority as well as what potential buyers of sites or buildings should demand from the developer. No individual borewell should be permitted to be drilled and only common use of groundwater under metered and tariff conditions should be encouraged in layouts.

Implementation & design

While rainwater harvesting is insisted upon by the local planning authorities, a more detailed implementation and design would help both the authority and the consumer. It should be made conditional that all storm-water falling on non-private plot area is completely recharged into the ground. The recharge structures should be site specific and should be based on infiltration and recharge data from each site. Only in case where recharge is not possible should storage and reuse be permitted. In any case, each layout should be designed as a zero run-off area for rainwater.

All conditions imposed should be easily implementable, should bring tangible benefits to the occupiers, should be easy to monitor and should have clear ownership so that they are maintained in the long run and therefore sustainable.

At the macro-level, the BMRDA would be better off generating a detailed micro-watershed map of the area under its jurisdiction. It should then be able to push for the maintenance of these tanks and other water bodies plus their inter-connectedness through adequate policy, legislative and fiscal incentives.

The BMRDA should also map the aquifers, and detailed sub-aquifer maps overlapping with the micro-watershed maps should be generated so that the groundwater situation is better understood and managed with the development that will take place inevitably in the megalopolis area. The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board insists on a sewage treatment plant for each development in the BMRDA zone. While this is motivated with a need to prevent water pollution and to add to reuse and recycling of water, the practical aspects of what happens to these treatment plants and who maintains them should be studied.

Resident Welfare Associations and flat owner associations find it difficult to maintain these units. As units or houses are built incrementally, it is difficult for the treatment plants to become fully functional until occupancy is at least 50 per cent and above.

As a matter of choice individual on-plot sanitation systems like septic tanks and baffled reactors with the right design should be permitted. These have the benefits of being maintained by individual owners and also they demand much less water than piped sewerage. A dual system of grey-water disposal and black-water disposal on plot should be permitted.

While on-plot sanitation systems can be maintained with as low as 70 lpcd of water, piped sewerage will demand at least 135 litres per person per day especially for self-cleansing velocity requirements.

The sustainable management of water and sanitation outside the BWSSB influence zone is a challenge. The BMRDA has to think wisely and move ahead quickly so as to avert a serious water shortfall situation.

This would be water wisdom for a city.

Jupiter to make closest approach to Earth

                              

                         AP A montage of images of Jupiter and its volcanic moon Io. File photo.

          Jupiter, the largest after the Sun in the solar system, will be at its biggest and brightest on Monday night much to the delight of sky-gazers.

The planet, which has a system of rings, is at its closest approach and thus would appear more big and bright than usual, N. Sri Raghunandan Kumar of Planetary Society of India said.

The planet can be seen with naked eyes an hour after the sunset in the eastern direction on Monday. It will be visible all through the night and at midnight one can spot it in the southern direction at a higher elevation, he said.

According to him, Jupiter, which has a large number of natural satellites, will be in ‘opposition’ on Monday night. “A planet is said to be in opposition when it is directly opposite to the Sun from our view from Earth,” he said.

At its opposition, the planet is fully illuminated by the Sun and appears disc-like, he said, adding, Jupiter’s opposition occurs every 13 months.

The last opposition of the planet occurred on October, 29, 2011 and the next will be January 6, 2014.

The minimum distance of Jupiter from Earth is approximately 588 million kms while its maximum distance is about 967 million kms.

On Monday, the ring planet will be at 608 million kms, which is very close to its minimum distance from Earth.

“Because of its closeness to Earth, Jupiter will be shinning very bright at -2.8 Magnitude,” Mr. Kumar said.

Fly high

 

 

                                                           Venkata Srinath and the UAV

              Geeta Padmanabhan is awe-struck by Chennai engineer Venkata Srinath’s creation — portable micro / mini Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, and look up for more information

On a calm afternoon, I stood in a field off the Chennai-Bengaluru Road in Sriperumbudur. A few feet away, Venkata Srinath, ECE engineer from College of Engineering, Guindy, was setting up what looked like a tripod. He clamped a control panel to its belly and began to assemble a small plane. “Some of its components have been imported, there is system integration,” he said straightening up. “Remember the tragic project in Three 3 Idiots? My inspiration.”

He was ready. “This is a single-man portable micro / mini UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) launched as vertical take-off or by hand,” he said, letting go of the vehicle. We held our breath as Garuda-02 soared into the sky and settled in its orbit above the field. Mission accomplished! “Note that there’s no runway,” said Srinath. “It lands on grass, sand, pebbles — any hard surface without damage.” The UAV has embedded control equipment monitored by a Ground Control System (GCS). Its fully-charged battery (12.5V) helps it keep an eye on altitude, radius etc. I peep at the GCS.

Auto-return

Garuda-02 flew 200 mt above but could reach 1,000 mt around a five-km radius. It has a 30-minute run. Because of its small wing span (100 cm), it might go out of view, but does not matter. Srinath pressed the auto-return button (I hissed “come back!”), it came into view and landed neatly at the take-off point. Before packing up, Srinath removed a chip, inserted it in his laptop and clicked it open. So that’s what the “toy” was all about — Garuda’s hi-def camera had been taking pictures every two seconds while circling the area!

Imagine what an “eye-in-the-sky” means. Lab-electronics (where Srinath develops UAVs) lists 50 civilian / military apps, including fire-assessment, wildlife movement and disaster control.

Srinath’s planning a high-end Garuda-04. “It will fly in a fixed route and transmit video from a daylight or night camera, controlled through a ground PC,” he said. Gimbal mounting of cameras and digitally-stabilised videos will ensure clear pictures. Garuda-04 will track and lock a target, carry additional sensors to detect radiation and pollution in the atmosphere.

Eye-in-the-sky UAVs aren’t new to Indian skies. Daksha, a UAV developed by Madras Institute of Technology was roped in to survey granite blocks and quarries spread over hundreds of acres in Madurai district. It is reported to have sent video footage of nooks and crannies not accessible to manual surveillance. Befitting a modern thriller, its live footage reportedly showed a secret room hidden among granite blocks.

Netra, built jointly by IIT graduate Ashish Bhat, friends (IdeaForge) and DRDO, is claimed to be the world’s lightest and smallest UAV in its category. Weighing 1.5 kg, it can fly up to 1.5-km line of sight, can hover, spot a person 400 mt away, and send real-time images from 200 m above. The vehicle is compatible with thermal-imaging cameras for night-time use, can survey all terrains, including jungles, plains, mountains and deserts. Its rechargeable batteries give it a flight time of 30 minutes and a top-speed of 25 km an hour. The UAV’s auto-pilot controller receives inputs from GPS, magnetometers, gyroscopes, accelerometers and altitude sensors, which provide stability to the vehicle and help it navigate. Our armed forces are thrilled about its use in anti-terror and counter-insurgency operations, hostage situations, border infiltration, law enforcement, search-and-rescue, disaster/crowd management. It proved its worth, covering a Chandigarh rally. It is Netra you got to see in 3 Three Idiots.

A quiet revolution

Is flying UAVs permitted? BBC’s Newsnight discussed it. Calling it a “quiet revolution”, it said civilian UAV projects are on for border security, police surveillance and even transporting goods. All this raises serious safety and privacy questions. The US airspace regulator (FAA) expects 10,000 unmanned commercial aircraft to fill American skies by 2017, a plan that has faced fierce criticism. Campaigns are underway to make a number of US cities “drone free” and politicians want drone operators to inform the government of any data collected.

UAV development, however, seems unstoppable. A key piece of technology currently missing in civilian drones is a “detect-and-avoid” system that will automatically steer the pilotless craft from commercial airliners and crash-land in a safe area, if needed. “Whoever cracks it first will have a winner on their hands,” BBC said.

(For details, visit www.labelectronics.com)

***

When airborne, UAV’s wings fly point-to-point using the same GPS technology found in most smartphones

Multinational freight firms want unmanned aircraft to deliver mail and cargo

Small wing-shaped drones are being used to photograph and analyse agricultural land, to pinpoint where extra fertilizer / pesticide is needed

Police forces have tested small, lightweight drones as air support units

It is legal to fly your drone in the U.K. without special permission if it weighs less than 20 kg and is flying more than 150 m from a congested area

Climate change serious for India, says expert

 

 

 

                               The Hindu Greenpeace activists demonstrate in front of Gateway of 

                               India, in the Arabian Sea, to highlight the threat to Mumbai from rising 

                               sea levels. Photo: Vivek Bendre

             Terming the current global climate change scenario as “serious times”, a US environmental law expert on Wednesday cautioned that the rise in sea level in the Indian Ocean could make cities like Kolkata and Mumbai vulnerable.

“There might be particular problems due to the sea level rise in the Indian Ocean. Cities like Kolkata and Mumbai are the vulnerable cities,” said Rob Verchick, who holds the Gauthier-St. Martin Chair in Environmental Law at Loyola University, New Orleans, US. He is also the faculty director of the Centre for Environmental Law and Land Use at the university.

Mr Verchick added, “Surat and Ahmedabad are responding well to adapt to the climate change. Surat has a climate change board and they are monitoring the situation quite well.”

He was addressing students at the School of Oceanography and Environmental Studies, Jadavpur University, here

Mr Verchick, who recently served US President Barack Obama’s administration as deputy associate administrator for policy at the Environmental Protection Agency, said, “For adapting to climate change we have to adopt smarter ways. The first thing we must do is that government and other agencies should look in to assess vulnerability of a place to climate change like temperature, sea level rise etc.”

“Then we have to ask, how will those changes affect the area and then in a democratic process decide what we can do with the area,” he said.

Hottest planet cold enough for ice

 

 

 

                               AP Proved right: A 68-mile-diameter crater in the north polar

                               region of Mercury  has been shown to harbour water ice.

            Mercury, the innermost planet in the Solar System, is like a small rock orbiting the Sun, continuously assaulted by the star’s heat and radiation. It would have to be the last place to look for water.

However, observations of NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft indicate that Mercury seems to harbour enough water-ice to fill 20 billion Olympic skating rinks.

On November 29, during a televised press conference, NASA announced that data recorded since March 2011 by MESSENGER’s onboard instruments hinted that large quantities of water ice were stowed in the shadows of craters around the planet's North Pole.

Unlike Earth, Mercury’s rotation is not tilted about an axis. This means one side of the planet permanently faces the sun, becoming hot enough to melt lead. The other side, however, constantly faces away from the sun, and is extremely cold.

This characteristic allows the insides of craters to maintain low temperatures for millions of years, and capable of storing water-ice. But then, where is the water coming from?

Bright spots were identified by MESSENGER’s infrared laser fired from orbit into nine craters around the North Pole. The spots lined up perfectly with a thermal model of ultra-cold spots on the planet that would never be warmer than -170 degrees centigrade.

These icy spots are surrounded by darker terrain that receives a bit more sunlight and heat.

Measurements by the neutron spectrometer aboard MESSENGER suggest that this darker area is a layer of material about 10 cm thick that lies on top of more ice, insulating it.

Dr. David Paige, a planetary scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, and lead author of one of three papers in Science that indicate the craters might contain ice, said, “The darker material around the bright spots may be made up of complex hydrocarbons expelled from comet or asteroid impacts.” Such compounds must not be mistaken as signs of life since they can be produced by simple chemical reactions as well.

The water-ice could also have been derived from crashing comets, the study by Paige and his team concludes.

Finding water on the system’s hottest planet changes the way scientists perceive the Solar System’s formation.

Indeed, in the mid-1990s, strong radar signals were fired from the US Arecibo radar dish in Puerto Rico, aimed at Mercury’s poles. Bright radar reflections were seen from crater-like regions, which were indicative of water-ice.

“However, other substances might also reflect radar in a similar manner, like sulphur or cold silicate materials,” says David J. Lawrence, a physicist from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and lead author of the neutron spectrometer study.

Lawrence and his team observed particles called neutrons bouncing and ricocheting off the planet via a spectrometer aboard MESSENGER. As high-energy cosmic rays from outer space bombarded into atoms on the planet, debris of particles, including neutrons, was the result.

However, hydrogen atoms in the path of neutrons can hold the speeding particles almost completely as both weigh about the same.

Since water molecules contain two hydrogen atoms each, areas that could contain water-ice will show a suppressed count of neutrons in the space above them.

Because scientists have been living with the idea of Mercury containing water for the last couple decades, the find by MESSENGER is not likely to be revolutionary. However, it bolsters an exciting idea. As Lawrence says, “I think this discovery reinforces the reality that water is able to find its way to many places in the Solar System, and this fact should be kept in mind when studying the system and its history.”