Can Water Boil At 400 Degrees Celsius?

Hot water has never been so important in our lives than in these six months. The pandemic has forced us to change our habits and one of those is to drink hot water. You must have seen water boiling and must have studied at school that water boils at 100 degrees Celsius. That’s true, or is it?

What if I told you that water can boil at 50 degrees Celsius? Or 400 degrees Celsius? Or -273 degrees Celsius (This temperature is called Absolute Zero. It is a point at which even atoms stop moving. Brrr!)? So, would you believe me? Any person who has learnt the concept of boiling point would call me wacky. So, here I am to challenge your knowledge.

Okay. Let us first define boiling point. What is it? School books usually define boiling point as “the temperature at which a liquid converts into a gas.” If we go according to this definition, then water definitely boils at 100 degrees Celsius. However, this definition is not acceptable in the big picture.

Before I get to the proper definition, let us study boiling according to the widely accepted definition. So, we say that at the temperature at which water forms bubbles, it is boiling. Even science has proven that if you keep a thermometer in boiling water (Don’t do that at home. It’s very dangerous!), it reads 100 degrees Celsius. So, this leads us to believe that water boils at 100 degrees.

Now, let us talk about two terms that we will use in our ‘new’ definition of boiling point namely vapour pressure and atmosphere pressure.

When a liquid boils, it converts to gas. No big deal there. Now, in the process, vapours are released. We know that the vapours are matter because they occupy space. And if it is matter, it should have some mass. And if it has some mass, it should exert some force (For example, we humans have some mass and we exert force on the Earth). So, the force exerted by a gas in a particular area is called vapour pressure (Pressure = Force/Area. So, force in a fixed amount of area is pressure. That’s why it is vapour pressure and not vapour force, because it only acts in a definite area, like on a container.

Next, we have atmospheric pressure. Let’s get to the point. It is the pressure the atmosphere (more specifically, the air above us) exerts on us. Simple enough? Now, we can move to the definition of boiling point.

Boiling point is defined as the temperature at which the vapour pressure of a liquid becomes equal to the atmospheric pressure. In simpler words, when the temperature provided to the liquid is enough for it to exert enough pressure to negate the atmospheric pressure (Atmospheric pressure is around 101000 Pa, meaning that 101000 units of force (Unit of force is Newtons) is acting on 1 square metre of surface. Pa stands for Pascal, which is the unit of pressure). Now, how can this logic be used to explain the “variable” boiling point of water?

Suppose you visit a hill station. If you have ever boiled water there, you might see that it boils relatively quicker. This is because the atmospheric pressure reduces at high altitudes. So, the vapour need not exert that much pressure to negate the atmospheric pressure and it boils at a lower temperature.

The same applies for water boiling at higher temperature. Just reduce your altitude and you’ll see the effect.

Finally, can water boil at absolute zero? Turns out, it can! Only problem is, absolute zero doesn’t exist naturally on Earth. But this can be observed in laboratories.

So, we see that if we alter the pressure, we can alter a liquid’s boiling point. Guess it’s just a game of pressure then, huh?

So, how was it? Did it get the water in your body boiling? Feel free to comment in the Comments section down below.

Author: Venkata Bhamidipati

Why Does Heat Smell?

At first, the title might sound pretty weird. But, this is something which most of us have experienced. While roaming outside on a hot day, we usually observe that the heat around us gives off a very peculiar (and not very pleasant) smell. Why do we get this smell? Is it actually the smell of heat? Let’s explore!

First, let us acquaint ourselves with the basics. Heat is a form of energy that gives us the sensation of temperature. If something has a significant amount of heat, we say it is hot, and when something is devoid of heat, we say it is cold. Heat, like most forms of energy, can travel from one material to another through various methods.

Firstly, I would like to tell you that as far as my research is concerned, I have found no reasons for this on any website. So, everything henceforth will purely be my logic. So, please note that it may be incorrect at some places.

Let’s start off with a question: What exactly does heat smell like? Well, as a matter of fact, burning plastic could be the closest match. It isn’t that pleasant and makes you feel worse, as if the sweltering heat wasn’t enough.

Let us now try to reason out as to why heat smells. We know that the air around us contains millions of particles, ranging from oxygen to dust. Now, when air absorbs heat, it tends to move faster (It is the tendency of particles to get excited when energy is provided). Due to this increase in energy, the molecules of air spread out at a rapid pace and accumulate any particulate matter around them.

Next, we know that heat is capable of burning things (I know this is obvious but hear me out). So, the amount of heat the air molecules would be holding might be sufficient to burn the particles suspended in it, as both the size and mass of the particles is very small. The smell given off by heat might as well be that of burning particles within it.

This also happens in heaters which haven’t been used for a long time. Due to accumulation of dust and soot, turning on the heat burns the particles and the heater gives off a very bad odour. So, remember to clean your heaters.

So, how was it? Did it get you all heated up? Feel free to comment in the Comments section.

Stay Safe, Stay Home!

Author: Venkata Bhamidipati

Why Do We Tend To Forget Things?

Source Of Image: https://www.dreamstime.com/female-person-standing-confused-blue-studio-image155765906

Memory is one of the fundamental components of a person’s life. Stuff from the deepest parts of our brain are often recalled for a variety of reasons, to reminiscing our childhood to recollecting a list of groceries. These are often the times when we tend to forget things, and it might be a little infuriating for some people. But, why do important things tend to slip off of our mind’s agenda? Let’s explore!

Memory, as most of us might know, is stored in the brain, the most important organ of our body. The brain consists of an intricate network of nerve cells which facilitate the transmission of messages in the form of electrical signals (That’s why people say that nerve cells are like the wires of our brain!). To understand untimely loss of memory, let us see the structure of a nerve cell, also called a neuron.

Source Of Image: https://pmgbiology.com/2015/02/18/nerve-cells-and-synapses-a-understanding-for-igcse-biology/

Messages in the form of electrical impulses are received by the neuron through the dendrites of another neuron. The impulse passes at a tremendous speed through the neuron, from the cell body to the axon to the end of tne cell, which is usually called the nerve endings. From there, the electrical impulses enter the adjoining neuron through its dendrites. This chain of events is continued until the message has been received by the relevant organ from the brain and an appropriate action has been taken.

Now, the neurons in the brain, as I had already mentioned earlier, form an intricate network connecting every part of the organ. Whenever we learn something new, a neurotic connection is established. It is important to note here that ‘learn’ doesn’t only mean a Mathematics problem or a Biology diagram. It could vary from a child learning to walk to smelling noodles for the first time. Anything that the brain doesn’t have previous record of is thereby stored as a neurotic connection.

However, sometimes these neurotic connections start to ‘decay’. They start to weaken and could ultimately fall apart. The cause of this could range from accumulation of toxins in the brain to old age. When neurotic connections get decayed, we tend to forget the memory associated with it. Experts say that interferences and decaying of memories makes it such that nothing we initially remembered is actually going to stay that way for a long time.

We must know that once we forget something completely, it is impossible to retrieve that memory. The reason being that nerve cells are the only cells in our body that cannot regenerate. So, a memory erased is completely gone. The only way to get it back would be to create a new memory, which could be formed by someone else telling you about experiences related to it. However, the new memory is highly unlikely to be similar to the original one.

Now, what if I told you that there are people who can remember things even from their early childhood, with remarkably precise details. Hard to believe? Well, let me tell you about a memory-related condition, which is just the opposite of our topic.

Hyperthymesia is a condition where a person remembers an abnormally large amount of their life, to such an extent that they can describe each day of their life with extreme precision. Scientists have stated that this condition could be due to certain parts of the brain including the hippocampus and temporal lobe being relatively larger in such individuals. This condition is extremely rare, with only 61 people confirmed having this condition in the whole world!

So, how was it? Did it make you forget why you read this (Hopefully not!)? Feel free to comment in the Comments section down below.

Author: Venkata Bhamidipati

Why Do Napthalene Balls Repel Cockroaches?

Source Of Picture: https://previews.123rf.com/images/faizalramli/faizalramli1801/faizalramli180100155/94496889-white-naphthalene-balls-on-white-wooden-background.jpg

Napthalene, those white, tablet shaped balls with an amazing smell (Well, atleast for me) have been used for many years to keep insects like cockroaches and moths away. Just toss some into a closed area and it will be insect-free until the ball sublimes. However, not many know as to why this substance has insect repellant properties. This is our topic for today.

Napthalene is a hydrocarbon i.e. it is completely made of carbon and hydrogen. Its chemical formula is C₁₀H₈ . It has the property to sublime i.e. to convert to the gaseous state from the solid state, bypassing the liquid state (If you want to know why substances sublime, check this article of mine- https://pcbpedia.home.blog/2019/10/19/why-do-substances-sublime/).

Napthalene can kill humans too if they are exposed to it for a long time, or if they ingest it. Now, let us see why insects are repelled by napthalene.

Considering the example of a cockroach, they too have a respiratory system like we do. Now, the fumes that are emitted by napthalene tend to block a cockroach’s respiratory tract, also called as tracheae. These fumes tend to disrupt the metabolism of the cockroach and start to suffocate it. As a matter of fact, napthalene is also used in the manufacturing of PVC (PolyVinyl Chloride), which is a very durable type of plastic usually used in making plastic carry bags. So, you can imagine how poisonous it could potentially be. In certain species, it is even known to be carcinogenic (cause cancer).

So, as the cockroach knows it is poisonous and that it might suffocate, it stays away. However, if it is trapped, it will succumb to the fumes, though we rarely see cockroaches lying dead near napthalene.

Coming to the other effects of napthalene, it has been known to cause a variety of dosorders like haemolytic anaemia, jaundice, nausea, diarrhoea among others.

So, how was it? Did it make you throw napthlene balls all over the place? Feel free to comment in the Comments section down below.

Stay Home, Stay Safe!

Note: This might be my shortest article I have written. Don’t worry, as longer articles are on the way.

Author: Venkata Bhamidipati.

Why Do Batteries Lose Charge Over Time?

Batteries are a group of two or more cells packed together. They are used in many devices, from TV remotes to radio-controlled cars. They serve as a long time source of power and can be used for a decent timespan. However, we generally see that if we leave a battery outside after charging, it kind of loses its charge and makes us question ourselves as to whether we had charged it or not. So, why does this happen?

First, we need to know the structure of a battery, which is found below:

Source of Picture: http://www.baj.or.jp/e/knowledge/image/structure03b.gif

Not going into too much details about the structure, we shall see some important parts which will be relevant to our question.

First, the terminals. A battery has two terminals, a positive one and a negative one. The positive one has a small button-like structure on it called the metal cap and the negative terminal has a flat structure called the metal plate. These terminals are connected in the correct fashion to make conduction of electricity possible.

Next we have many layers of metal which enclose the inner parts of the battery, which is covered by a foil label, which is made of plastic and usually carries the name and company of the battery.

Now, inside the battery, there is a structure called the electrode. This electrode has a liquid inside it which is called an electrolyte (An electrolyte is a liquid which can conduct electricity). This is where the process starts.

When we pass current through a battery, the electrolyte present in the electrode decomposes (breaks down) and is converted into charged particles called ions. These ions help in creating a potential difference within the battery and help in conduction of electricity. (If you don’t know what potential difference is, check out the note at the end of this article of mine- https://pcbpedia.home.blog/2020/05/08/why-does-a-bulb-immediately-light-up-when-switched-on/

Eventually the batteries do run out of charge as the chemicals in the battery that make up the electrolyte also run out (Rechargable batteries are an exception as they can be used multiple times. This is because the reaction that takes place in such a battery are reversible i.e. the process can be repeated multiple times. The electrolyte is converted to ions and back to the electrolyte in such batteries)

Now, sometimes we observe that after we fully charge a battery and leave it in the open, it loses its charge, which becomes evident after it proves to be useless when you put it your kid’s remote controlled car and it doesn’t work, much to the frustration of the child!!! Jokes apart, we shall now see a phenomenon called “self discharge”.

No second meaning. Self discharge means to discharge one self, and in this case, a battery. This happens due to the surroundings in which a battery is kept. If you keep it out in the Sun, the heat will cause the electrolyte to decompose and lose its charge without even being connected anywhere. That is why it is advised to keep a charged battery in a cool place to increase its shelf life.

So, how was it? Did your electrolyte pump you up? Feel free to comment in the Comments section down below.

EXTRAS- Just For Fun:

Student: Which is the only mammal that can fly?

Teacher: Bats.

Student: Where do they get the energy from to fly?

Teacher: The food they eat.

Student: No. They get energy from “bat-teries”!!

Stay Home, Stay Safe!

Author: Venkata Bhamidipati

Worst Enemy Of The Century- Coronavirus (Part Two)

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is photo-1583324113626-70df0f4deaab.jpg — *Source Of Picture:* https://unsplash.com/photos/w9KEokhajKw

Here I am again, with another article on my thoughts regarding the coronavirus, which has left the world tattered. As of this article, 48,97,567 people have been infected, 3,23,286 people have died and 16,88,630 people have recovered from this deadly disease (Source of figures: https://news.google.com/covid19/map?hl=en-IN&gl=IN&ceid=IN:en).

This time, I will be covering some points I missed out on my previous article [If you haven’t read my previous article, visit the link that follows: https://pcbpedia.home.blog/2020/04/26/worst-enemy-of-the-century-coronavirus/].

I will be looking into points including how prepared are we if we get hit be a second wave to the most asked question of when the pandemic will end. I would like to tell you that these are just my thoughts and should not be considered as facts until I mention a trustworthy source.

With this, sit back, relax and grab your…reading glasses [Don’t tell me you expected popcorn to be written there] as this is going to be another long article. So, let’s get started.

First of all, let us discuss as to how prepared we are if the world is hit by a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Many experts are saying that we can potentially expect a second insurgence of the virus in the month of September. So, I feel that if the virus doesn’t mutate and change its characteristics, we can face a second wave more efficiently than this wave. Some regions of the world are already starting to report new cases after the pandemic was successfully contained. However, by the time a second wave hits us, we are more than prepared. Our hospital services have developed exponentially, to say the least, in these four months. Countries are producing PPE kits and N-95 masks at an astonishing rate. If this trend is continued, even a tenth wave won’t affect us as badly as this initial one (No pun intended).

My next topic of discussion could be a very new one to readers. What if the coronavirus didn’t originate in China, as most of us think it did? France, for example, had reported a coronavirus case on 27 December, 2019, some days before China did. Not only that, even the United States reported a death due to coronavirus almost a month before this pandemic gained its momentum, though it was not known at that time that this was a new virus. So, these facts build up to one question- Where exactly did this virus originate from? Well, we may need to wait a little longer to get the answer to that.

My third point of discussion will be the power sharing arrangements in the world after this pandemic. Currently, there are four superpowers, namely United States, Russia, China and the European Union (EU). After the pandemic comes to a halt, we may have to acknowledge the formation of some newer powers. The virus has left the biggest economies in pieces. So, it might be time that new countries come to power, while the older ones try their best to regain their former glory.

There are many countries and territories who have, in comparison to the rest of the world, contained the coronavirus in a better way. However, I shall take the examples of India and Taiwan to illustrate this point of mine, as there could possible be no better examples than these.

India has exponentially increased its supply of medical equipment in just four months. A country that produced no PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) kits until this year is producing 2 lakh (2 hundred thousand) PPE kits per day. This has given a massive push to the medical sector which hopefully will help out in the long run.

Taiwan, whose story has become very popular after its successful containment of the virus, could also gain some considerable amount of power. Taiwan has till now reported only 440 cases, 363 recoveries and 7 deaths, which makes it one of the most successful country in fighting this pandemic. Many countries of the world are, thus, demanding for Taiwan’s inclusion into the WHA (World Health Assembly). The assembly had kicked off on the 18 May, 2020 and we shall see the results shortly.

Moreover, for a temporary amount of time, a certain country can hold tremendous power in the future. You may ask how. By synthesizing a vaccine. The country that synthesizes a vaccine will be able to price it according to its will. This will increase that country’s foreign exchange exponentially. Now, which country is it? Who knows!? It could be anyone, from the USA to Vatican City to China!

My fourth point of discussion is something which wouldn’t have been possible. What if we knew about the virus earlier? Would we have been able to stop it? Assuming we got to know that the world would be hit by a virus a year ago, how would we have reacted?

Well, short answer- Nobody would have bothered. Just think about it. Somebody comes to you and out of the blue shouts out that a virus is coming in 2020. Would you believe it? I certainly wouldn’t. Neither would anyone else, unless we were extremely gullible. So, even a prior warning probably couldn’t have stopped this virus from wrecking havoc.

My fifth and final point of discussion is something everybody wants an answer for- When will this pandemic end? And even after it ends, will it return? Honestly speaking, no one knows the answer for this. However, many experts are putting out their thoughts. Singapore students have put out models for countries and when the virus will reach its peak in each country. Though they aren’t very accurate and have failed in many countries, they do give hopes to other countries where the “D-Day” hasn’t yet arrived.

Although, the fact of the matter is that the virus is fortunately slowing down in most countries like France, Italy, Japan, China etc. but is still increasing in countries like USA, UK, India etc. Due to geographical variations, it is hard to predict when the whole world will be free from the virus. Experts have their best estimates at December 2020, although many say that it will come back time-to-time, somewhat like a flu, or may even stay forever, like the HIV virus. This virus can only be eradicated with a mass movement, similar to the ones for polio and smallpox. However, with this growing crisis, a mass movement is still far away.

That’s it for this one. Feel free to convey your thoughts in the Comments section down below. Until my next article, Stay Home, Stay Safe.

Author: Venkata Bhamidipati

Why Is Mercury A Liquid?

Mercury has been one of the most mysterious elements (well, atleast for me). Not only is it a bad conductor of electricity, has low melting and boiling points, and extremely unreactive, unlike most metals, it is the only liquid metal. Today, in this article, we shall see as to why mercury is a liquid.

Predominantly, we shall be focusing on the fact that mercury is a liquid whereas all the other elements surrounding it (Cd- Cadmium, Ag- Silver, Au- Gold, In- Indium, and Tl- Thallium) are all usually found in their solid states. Moreover, the elements belonging to the same group (column) as mercury, which include zinc and cadmium, should have similar properties to mercury. However, they differ in their state there. So, what is the cause of this difference?

First, we have to inspect the electronic configuration of mercury. The electronic configuration refers to how the electrons in an atom are arranged in different levels (called shells) in an atom. Each shell can hold a specific amount of electrons. According to that, mercury’s electronic configuration would be as follows:

2,8,18,32,18,2

I will not be going over how this arrangement came into existence as it requires some advanced knowledge of Chemistry (however, if you are curious, check out the concepts of Bohr’s Atomic Model). Now, we shall try to establish a link between the way electrons in mercury are arranged and the state of mercury.

Now, if we go deeper into mercury’s electronic configuration, we get:

1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d¹⁰ 4p⁶ 5s² 4d¹⁰ 5p⁶ 6s² 4f¹⁴ 5d¹⁰

You don’t need to bother about how this came into existence too (however, if you are curious, check out the concepts of atomic orbitals, quantum numbers, and filling of orbitals.)

Now, if you observe the configuration I wrote, the highest number you see is in 6s² . This highest number indicates that electrons have been filled in 6s at the last. Now, ‘s’ indicates a small area inside a shell, which can hold atmost two electrons. That means that 6s has been filled, as it has two electrons, evident from the fact that 2 is written above it. This is where the reasoning comes.

There are now several reasons to mercury’s nature, I will go over them one at a time.

Firstly, as I have already told you that 6s is filled with 2 electrons, all the others ‘ones’ like 4f, 5s, 5d etc. are also completely filled. This gives mercury an unusually high stability. Now, the mantra of most atoms in chemistry is to combine and become stable. However, mercury is already stable. So, the atoms of mercury don’t form any ‘bonds’ (Bonds are attractive forces between atoms which are formed to gain stability) with other adjacent mercury atoms. So, the atoms in the structure tend to remain loose and make mercury liquid in state.

The previous paragraph was probably the best way to explain this phenomenon. Secondly, certain relativistic effects give mercury its characteristic nature. To put this effect in simple words, let us visualize an atom:

Courtesy: https://favpng.com/png_view/bohr-model-bohr-model-model-atomic-iron-atomic-orbital-png/eBm9nzKu

Now, in this image, the green circles are the electrons and the blue-pink region is the nucleus. The electrons have a negative charge and the nucleus has a positive charge. Now, it is natural for the nucleus to attract the electrons. Moreover, the 6s area I talked about earlier is very far away from the nucleus (The 6 in 6s indicates that it is 6 levels away from the nucleus. That distance is very far for an atom.).

However, due to high speed revolution, it tends to come closer to the nucleus quite often, which also increases its mass due to high attractive forces. So, this 6s area tends to be bonded closely to the nucleus, which is known as the ‘relativistic contraction’, as the 6s area has contracted by coming closer to the nucleus as compared to other ‘areas’ like 4f, 4d etc..

Now, unfortunately (Or fortunately, however you would rather take it), the two electrons in the 6s area are the ones which mercury uses to form bonds. Now, if those electrons are held tightly by the nucleus, there is no chance for them to form bonds. So, the atoms remain non-bonded and distant from each other, Oh, and if you were curious as to what the ‘area’ in ‘6s area’ refers to, it refers to the ‘6s orbital’, which is just a 3D space where electron are present in an atom.

Finally, an effect called the screening/shielding effect. Now, considering the below image, where I have (tried and) shaded an electron in red for better understanding.

We know that the nucleus will attract the red electron as unlike charges attract (If you didn’t know this, time to go back to school for you!). However, the adjacent electrons will start to repel the red electron as like charges repel each other. Now, due to sheer abundance of electrons, the force the nucleus exerts on the red electron will be reduced considerably due to the adjacent electrons’ force cancelling some of it out. This effect is known as the screening/shielding effect. It is usually used to identify exceptions in the usual trend of elements.

Now, contrary to this, the orbitals in which the electrons are in do not show this effect to a great extent for mercury. Due to this, the electron are bounded to the nucleus and are not allowed to react. This too makes the structure loose and liquid.

I suppose this article introduced you to a lot of different terms of what we call ‘quantum mechanics’. Don’t worry if you didn’t get some parts of it (or any part of it, for that matter), as a famous physicist, Richard P. Feynman, once said – “If you think you understand quantum mechanics, then you don’t understand quantum mechanics.” Quite contrary, right? I’ll leave you there, until my next article. Until then, Stay Home, Stay Safe.

Author: Venkata Bhamidipati

Why Does A Bulb Immediately Light Up When Switched On?

Source Of Picture: https://www.tdworld.com/smart-utility/article/20973412/whither-the-fate-of-the-incandescent-light-bulb

This article is credited to…Thomas Alva Edison (It is kinda obvious, right?) for his marvelous discovery.

So, we all know the importance of light in our daily life. It is the form of energy that enables us to see the things around us. A light bulb is a device that can produce light. But, how can it produce light so fast, that it lights up instantly after we turn its switch on? Let’s explore.

First, let us study the mechanism of a bulb with the help of the below diagram.

Electricity enters through the bottom of the bulb (the place labelled as Electrical Contact, where the bulb is connected to the source of voltage) and proceeds into the contact wires into the filament, which is made of a metal called Tungsten. The melting point of tungsten is very high (around 3,422 °C) and that is why it doesn’t melt even after prolonged passing of current. The tungsten filament is supported by the support wires. The whole structure is encased within a glass covering, which is filled with an inert gas (gases which don’t react with the surroundings, under normal circumstances), usually argon. Electricity should continuously pass through the contact wires to keep the bulb glowing.

Now, the question of interest today. How does the light bulb immediately start to glow when we switch it on? It is evident that current does not move at infinite speed (Maybe I exaggerated that too much!). So, how does this happen?

This observation is the result of a phenomenon called ‘electron drift’. If you didn’t know, electrons are tiny particles, which are found around an atom. Most of us know that electrons are the primary cause of the flow of current, usually termed as electricity. So, how do they move so fast? Allow me to explain.

I have already told you that the filament of a bulb is a metal called tungsten. Now, metals contain atoms and atoms contain electrons. This constitution is seen in matter everywhere. However, metals are different. Some metals have electrons which are free i.e. they are not a part of any atom and are not bonded anywhere. These electrons are simply called ‘free electrons’. Now, when we switch on the switch of a light bulb, it creates a potential difference (a potential difference refers to two points, where the energy at one point is greater than that at another point. In such cases, energy moves from the region of higher concentration to lower concentration). If you still didn’t get the meaning of potential difference, scroll to the bottom where I have given an explanation with the aid of an example.

Due to the potential difference, an electric field is created. As a result of the field, the free electrons in the filament acquire a velocity (speed) known as the ‘drift velocity’ (The velocity acquired by a particle when in an electric field). Due to this, the electrons start to move and produce electricity. This heats the bulb and it glows.

So, we see that the electricity doesn’t come from the power source. It comes from the free electrons which are present in the filament. Now, another question arises. Whenever we switch off a bulb, why does it remain lit for some time. Let’s explore.

It is quite a logical question. When the light bulb is lit, it has electricity flowing within it. So, heat is produced. Now, when you switch off a bulb, the heat doesn’t magically vanish in a second. So, during the time taken for the bulb’s heat to dissipate out, the bulb shines faintly.

So, how was it? Did it light up your bulb? Feel free to comment in the Comments section down below.

Note: Potential Difference- Consider a tank on a hill and a pond in a valley. You have a pipe and you have to use it to transport the water from the tank to the pond. Now, making the pipe stand length wise into the tank won’t do anything. Ideally, you should keep the pipe at an inclined position so the the water flows down. This is exactly what potential difference (also called voltage) is (except that we don’t use water). The most common device used to create a potential difference is a battery.

Author: Venkata Bhamidipati

Correlation Between The Periodic Table And Life

*Source Of Picture:* https://theconversation.com/the-periodic-table-from-its-classic-design-to-use-in-popular-culture-52822

Just for everyone’s information, this is NOT an article. It is just something that dawned upon me some minutes ago and thought is would be fun to share it. I got an idea to relate the periodic table to different segments of our life. It will be a funny and sensible (however you prefer to take it) analogy. So, if you know your periodic table and have knowledge about the stage of life in humans, you’ll probably find this interesting.

The early stage of life as a baby can be compared to group seventeen of the periodic table (fluorine to tennessine). These element are highly reactive and try to grab any electron that comes their way, much like a baby, who grabs every other thing to inspect it, and potentially render it incapable of further usage.
Childhood can be compared to the last rows of elements at the bottom of the table, namely the lanthanides (lanthanum to lutetium) and actinides (actinium to lawrencium). The elements in these rows have different properties from each other and have to be discovered through experiments. Similarly, every child is unique and their potential must be discovered by their parents by experimenting.
Adolescence can be compared to the group of elements called metalloids, which include silicon, boron, germanium, arsenic etc. These metals exhibit properties of both metals and nonmetals. Adolescents are pretty much similar. They neither act like children, nor like adults and are in the middle.
Adulthood can be compared to the d-block elements (the elements making a rectangle in the middle). The initial elements of this block are quite normal. However, once you start progressing, you see changes to the elements, including oxidation states, atomic radius etc. Adulthood initially seems very blissful. After entering further into it (I suppose you understood what I meant there), you see life’s not all a bed of roses. You have multiple stuff to consider before making a decision. And the wrong decision can lead to some pretty nasty consequences.
Finally, old age can, undoubtedly, be compared the the noble gases. These elements in group 18 (the last column) are non-reactive (under normal circumstances) as they have eight electrons in their outermost shell and are thus stable. Similarly, old people have lived their life and prefer to stay out of stuff. However, when someone pesters them, they do react quite differently and firmly.

That’s it for this one. I’ll be bringing my next article shortly. Till then, stay tuned.

Author: Venkata Bhamidipati.

Worst Enemy Of The Century- Coronavirus (Part One)

Source Of Picture: https://unsplash.com/photos/w9KEokhajKw

Everyone has heard of the most deadliest thing in a century- the coronavirus (unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 4-5 months). It has infected around 28,26,904 people, taken 1,97,871 lives and 7,98,449 people have recovered from this deadly virus (as of this writing) {Source of figures: https://news.google.com/covid19/map?hl=en-IN&gl=IN&ceid=IN:en }.

In this article, we shall be talking about the facts related to the virus, potential cure, preventive measures and I shall also present some of my thoughts at the end. Don’t take my opinion to be the truth as they are just thoughts, not facts.

The coronavirus disease, usually referred to as COVID-19, standing for COronaVIrus Disease- 2019 (The year which it was first reported), is a disease caused to the virus SARS-CoV-2, which was also the cause of another disease, SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), albeit a different strain (A different strain refers to the fact that the virus has mutated and its characteristics have changed as compared to the known one). The virus has affected every part of the world. It has a very high infectivity rate but a relatively low mortality rate (7%) as compared to SARS (9.2%) and MERS (37%) [Source of Figures: Wikipedia]. It is called the coronavirus because of its shape. The word ‘corona’ is a Latin word which literally means ‘crown’. On closely observing the virus, the protrusions resemble the ones in a crown.

As of this writing, there is unfortunately no vaccine for COVID-19. Two drugs have been proposed as a solution, namely HCQ (Hydroxychloroquine) and Remdesivir. However, while HCQ started to increase the number of deaths, Remdesivir failed its first test. Even as we speak, several vaccines are being tested, hoping that one of them may be the solution to this virus. Hopefully, a vaccine is quickly developed.

The Oxford University in UK had started human trials on 24th April, 2020 and the volunteers will be kept under observation for some number of weeks, to check the safety of the vaccine and the tolarability of the people.

Preventive measures to combat COVID-19 are being broadcast on every single communication medium everytime. The prominent steps which are being taken are as follows:

Wash your hands frequently with soap and water or a 70% alcohol based hand sanitizer.
Avoid coming in contact with people and follow all norms of social distancing.
Whenever you sneeze or cough, cover your face with a handkerchief or any other cloth.
Stay at home for the maximum amount of time.
Don’t touch your eyes, nose or mouth with your hands.

News channels have claimed this pandemic to be the worst global crisis since the Second World War, which, for your information, lasted from 1939 to 1945. So, it has been 75 years since that. Studies have shown that people above the age of 50 are at higher risk of contracting this virus.

Due to the widespread effect, almost every nation has announced a lockdown. This act has drastically reduced the number of cases and deaths in most countries. This, sadly, is the only “vaccine” towards COVID-19 until a drug comes out.

Now, for some of my thoughts. I shall be talking about the following points:

How will the world be after this pandemic is over?
Even after the pandemic ends, how much time will the world take to regain normalcy?
Will there be something more dangerous in the future?

So, coming to point number one. The world will evidently be different from the way it was a few months ago. For many people (including me), it is kind of hard to believe that there was a world before this all started. A world where we used to roam about, have fun with our friends, go to workplaces, talk a stroll in the garden, go to school and stuff like that. So, what after the pandemic?

Firstly, let’s focus on the sector of education. Education has taken a significant change after it was brought entirely to the online platform. The income of online learning apps has drastically increased. Students are sitting at home and going through online classes. However, I personally feels that the essence of sitting in a classroom and listening to a teacher cannot be matched by an online platform. I feel that after the pandemic is over, there is surely no chance of education going online forever. So, normal classes will resume.

Secondly, let’s focus on health care facilities. The pandemic has boosted our speed in the health care department, be it to treat patients or to search for a cure. After this virus, I feel that the healthcare facilities in most developing countries will come to par with the developed ones. This could bring in a new era of economic prosperity, as health is a prominent indicator of a country’s development and wealth.

Lastly, let’s focus on the sector of entertainment. The virus has put a halt to production completely, be it films, daily soaps, or dubbing studios. After the virus, it will surely take some time for this sector to come back to life. I feel that TV programs might promote the feeling of victory over the virus by potentially introducing new shows and films, or could give some subtle hints towards it. This could inturn, promote unity among the masses of the country over a shared cause.

Coming to point number two. A news channel recently asked a very relevant question:”Has this virus caused a state of war?” I feel yes. The main reason being the a war has a widespread impact and the thoughts of the war are not easily erased from the minds of the people. This just might be the same. All of us might take many months, if not years, to get over the scare of the virus. Even after lockdowns are lifted, people would not want to step out of their house, due to the fear the virus has instilled in us (Or probably because we have become too lazy!! Just kidding!!). Either ways, it will probably take a month or two for everything to go back to normal even after the virus has been eliminated.

Finally, coming to point number three. Some sources have stated that the COVID-19 could probably be the starting of something more dangerous to come. It hasn’t been backed by any scientific evidence though, so relax. I personally don’t believe something will be awaiting humanity ahead in the long run, which is more dangerous (What could be more dangerous than this virus right now anyways!?). However, I may be wrong, but hopefully I’m right on this one.

So, in conclusion, I would like to say that, whatever may be the consequences of the virus, whatever may the future be, if we stay together, united by the fact that we are all human beings, we can overcome any and every obstacle that come our way. Stay Home, Stay Safe.

Feel free to comment in the Comment section below.

Author: Venkata Bhamidipati.