Top 20 Amazing Scientific Topics Explained | Part - 3

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Welcome to Enlightened Wisdom: Smart SCIENCE.

This is our 117th post. And in this post, I am going to explain you some 20 amazing scientific topics that are necessary to know.

I have already posted the Part - 2 on this topic before, if you haven't read that out then go and read it to get even more information today!

Click here to read "Top 20 Amazing Scientific Topics Explained | Part - 2"

This post includes subjects like Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Technology, Space etc.

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So, without any further delay, let us start our today's Top 20 Science Part - 3.

1) Antimatter: Chemistry

Antimatter is matter made up of subatomic particles that are exactly the same as the particles commonly found, except that they have the Opposite charge. They are called anti-particles. An electron has a negative charge but its anti-particle which is called an anti electron or positron has a positive charge. If you think of an ordinary atom, it is made up of protons, neutrons and electrons. But an anti-atom would be made up of anti-protons, anti neutrons and anti-electrons or positrons. Antimatter was first described in 1930 before anyone had discovered or produced it. Anti-particles can be produced using a particle accelerator like The Large Hadron Collider.

I hope you got the basics set! Lets move next.

2) Big Bang Theory: Space

The Big Bang theory explains the origins of the universe in terms of a big bang that caused the galaxies to start moving apart at greater speeds 15,000 million years ago. It must've been hotter and denser than we can imagine, a raging chaos of atoms.

But guess what? Physicists have calculated that in just 3 minutes, these particles had turned into all the hydrogen atoms that now make up 90% of the universe. As the hydrogen cloud expanded, it began to break up into separate clouds. These eventually became galaxies of stars like our own Milky Way Galaxy, still moving apart from the big bang. 

The universe may expand for ever, or it may eventually stop expanding and then collapse inwards thus causing the Big Crunch which we have explained it in our previous blogs. It is predicted that before this, in about 500 million years, the Sun will expand so much, that it will kind of eat Earth out or burn the Earth. But no need to worry, it is 500 million years. Till then, enjoy.

3) Binary Stars: Space

Binary stars, sometimes known as double stars, are pairs of stars that revolve around each other and are held together by Gravity. The closer a pair of stars are, the faster they revolve. Some binary stars are almost touching, and go around each other in a few hours. Others are separated by hundreds of times the diameter of the solar system and may take a million years to orbit each other. About a quarter of all the stars in our Milky Way galaxy have at least one companion in space. The star Castor in the constellation Gemini is really six stars.

Above are a pair of stars also known as the binary stars which are born together, The force of gravity holds them close so that they orbit around each other. Binary stars are often different in shape and sizes.

4) Bit And Byte: Technology

A bit is the smallest piece of information that a computer can process and a byte is a group of eight bits operating together as a single unit.

The word bit is formed from "binary digit". A bit can only have one of two values, zero or one. Every character on a computer keyboard can be represented by a group of eight bits, which is yes, a byte. For example, the letter "A" is represented by 01000001 and the number "8" by 00111000.

Every character typed on a computer, or sent to another device such as a printer is represented in this way according to a standard code called American Standard Code for Information Interchange or ASCII (pronounced askey)

A byte is a space in the computer's memory that is occupied by one character. A group of four bits, or half a byte, is called a nibble.

5) Interstellar Matter: Space

Interstellar means between the stars, and in our Galaxy, this space is occupied by scattered atoms of hydrogen and other elements. In some regions these have collected or gathered together to form vast dark clouds or Nebulae.

Some of this matter may be original left over material from the galaxy's formation. But it is also added to by stars, particularly old red giants and supernovae, pouring material out in space.

There are huge clouds of interstellar dust as well as the stars and the planets in the universe. If you look up to the Milky Way on a clear night you will see a mass of shimmering starlight but also some black areas where there seem to be no stars. This is because great dust clouds are blocking out the starlight behind them.

Amazing! Isn't it?

6) Coulomb: Physics

The coulomb is the unit in which electric charge is measured in SI units. It is named after a French scientist, Charles Augustin de Coulomb (1736-1806), who was the first to measure accurately the forces between objects with an electric charge. He found that like charges repel and unlike charges attract each other.

Electric charge moves when an electric current flows in a circuit; the SI unit of electric current, the Ampere, corresponds to one coulomb (1 C) of charge passing each other in the circuit every second.

The coulomb is the unit of charge which is represented by the symbol "C". It is the amount of charge that passes a given point in an electric circuit in one second (which is usually shown on the clock) when a steady current of one ampere (which is shown on the ammeter) is flowing through the circuit. When one coulomb of charge takes one second to flow past a point in a circuit, then the current in that circuit is one ampere (1 A).

A new way to learn something!

7) Heavy Water: Chemistry

Heavy water is a form of water in which the hydrogen atoms are replaced by atoms of deuterium; it is also known as deuterium oxide. Deuterium is an isotope of hydrogen and has an atomic weight double that of ordinary hydrogen. Ordinary natural water contains a minute amount of deuterium, one atom of deuterium to 6760 atoms of hydrogen. Heavy water is usually obtained by fractional distillation. Its chief use is as the substance that limits the energy of the neutrons produced during a reaction in a nuclear reactor.

A hydrogen atom has a single proton as its nucleus. Deuterium, or heavy hydrogen, has a proton and a neutron. Heavy water is a compound of deuterium and oxygen.

Can you drink heavy water? Is it safe?

Well, you can consume a single glass of heavy water without suffering any major ill effects, however, should you drink any appreciable volume of it, you might begin to feel dizzy. All the best

8) Wavelength: Physics

A wave is a disturbance that repeats itself in space; the wavelength is the distance between two similar places on the wave at one time; for example, it is the distance between one wave peak and the next. The wavelength, multiplied by the frequency of the wave, gives the wave's velocity. This means that if two different sorts of electromagnetic radiation travel at the same velocity, the waves with higher frequency have shorter wavelengths. For example, a radio wave might have a frequency of 200kHz (a kHz is one thousand cycles per second) and a wavelength of 1500m, while a light wave might have a frequency of 600THz (600 million million hertz) and a wavelength of 500nm (500 millionths of a millimeter). Both have the same wave velocity.

So, in a nutshell, a wavelength is the distance between two waves.

9) Wax: Biology

A wax is a solid or semi solid substance obtained from living things or from Mineral sources. Examples include bees wax from the honeycomb of a beehive; tallow made from suet, which is the fat inside animals such as cattle and sheep; and paraffin wax made from crude oil. Waxes are characterized by being insoluble in water, and by softening or melting when heated. Today synthetic waxes are manufactured by the plastics industry. Waxes repel water and have many uses. They are used to coat paper and leather to make them waterproof. They are also made into furniture polishes, candles, crayons, cosmetics and ointments and are used in making matches and electrical insulators.

Honeybees make wax to build the comb in which they raise their grubs inside the hive.

10) Emulsion: Chemistry

An emulsion is a colloid of two liquids in which the particles of one are evenly scattered, or dispersed, throughout the other without being dissolved in it. Typical emulsions are foods, lotions, lubricants, medicines and paints. Emulsions are not stable and the liquids forming them separate out after some time. An emulsifier helps to keep the liquids mixed. I said emulsion is a colloid. What is a colloid? A colloid is a type of a mixture or more precisely a heterogenous mixture which has particles having a size between 1 nanometer and 0.1 micrometer. Milk is an emulsion of butter fat in water. The protein casein is the emulsifier that helps keep the butter fat dispersed in the water. Many commercially sold foods contain emulsifiers along with other preservatives. The coating on photographic film, called emulsion, is in fact a light sensitive colloid.

Paint is one example of an emulsion. Because emulsions are not permanently stable, the liquids making up the paint separate from each other. Paint should, therefore, be stirred before use.

11) The Theory Of Evolution - Charles Darwin: Biology

Darwin developed the theory of evolution gradually. His observations during the voyage on HMS Beagle and other expeditions contributed to his ideas. He published his theory in "On The Origin Of Species" in 1859. At first the theory met great opposition - especially among religious leaders - and Darwin was ridiculed in cartoons because people mistakenly thought he had said that human beings are descended from monkeys. Today a modified version of Darwin's theory is widely accepted. There are still many people out there who are not able to believe in the theory of evolution.

12) Sphygmomanometer: Biology

A sphygmomanometer is an instrument that measures arterial blood pressure. The first sphygmomanometer was invented by Samuel Siegfried Karl Ritter von Basch in 1881. It consisted of a rubber bulb filled with water to restrict blood flow in the artery. The bulb was connected to a mercury column, which would record the pressure. Newer versions of this device were introduced by Scipione Riva-Rocci and Harvey Crushing. The first fully automated oscillometric blood pressure cuff was invented by Donald Nunn.

13) CD- Compact Disk: Technology

A compact disk is a small, portable, round disk made of molded polymer used for recording, storing and playing back audio, video, text and other information in the digital form. It was originally developed to store sound recordings exclusively, but later it also allowed the preservation of other types of data. It stores data of low capacity up to 700 MB.

14) Refraction: Physics

When light rays pass between substances with different densities like air and water, they change their direction. This is called refraction. Few examples where refraction is included: Human Eyes, glasses, prism etc.

15) Noise Pollution: Physics

What Is Noise Pollution? Noise pollution is generally defined as regular exposure to elevated sound levels that may lead to adverse effects in humans or other living organisms. According to the World Health Organization, sound levels less than 70 dB are not damaging to living organisms, regardless of how long or consistent the exposure is. Exposure for more than 8 hours to constant noise beyond 85 dB may be hazardous. If you work for 8 hours daily in close proximity to a busy road or highway, you are very likely exposed to traffic noise pollution around 85dB.

16) Dark Energy: Space, Physics

Dark energy is the name given to the mysterious force that’s causing the rate of expansion of our universe to accelerate over time, rather than to slow down. That’s contrary to what one might expect from a universe that began in a Big Bang. Astronomers in the 20th century learned the universe is expanding. They thought the expansion might continue forever, or eventually – if the universe had enough mass and therefore enough self-gravity – reverse and cause a Big Crunch. Now, in early 21st century cosmology, that idea has evolved.

17) Evaporation: Chemistry

Evaporation is a type of vaporization that occurs on the surface of a liquid as it changes into the gas phase. Basically, it is a process where liquid changes into a gas below its temperature at which it boils. Some particles in a liquid always have more kinetic energy than the others. So even when a liquid is well below its boiling point, some of its particles have enough energy to break the forces of attraction between the particles and escape from the surface of the liquid in the form of gas.

18) Bohr-Bury Scheme: Chemistry

Filling of electrons in an atom done in accordance with 2n² rule where n is the number of shells and 2n² represents the total number of electrons that can be accommodated in that particular shell. 

Maximum number of electrons that can be filled in a particular shell:

• If n=1 i.e. K-shell, 2n²=2 x 1²=2
• If n=2 i.e. L-shell, 2n²=2 x 2²=8
• If n=3 i.e. M-shell, 2n²=2 x 3=18
• If n=4 i.e. N-shell, 2n²=2 x 4=32

The distribution of electrons in various shells is done in accordance to the Bohr Bury Scheme given by Niels Bohr and Charles Bury.

19) Epidermis: Biology

Epidermis forms a cell's thick outermost layer of various organs of plants such as leaves, flowers, stems and roots. Epidermis is covered outside by cuticle. Cuticle is very thick in Xerophyte. Cuticle has a waterproof layer called cutin which is secreted by the epidermal cells. They are kind off waxy.

20) GPS — Global Positioning System & Relativity: Technology, Physics

Einstein's general theory of relativity has predominantly found applications in astronomy through gravity waves, big bangs and black holes. One of its rather unexpected applications was in the multi billion dollar industry centered around the Global Positioning System (GPS).

All GPS navigators including Google maps work by measuring the distance from one point on Earth to one of the satellites orbiting our planet. Though GPS was originally developed with military use in mind, it has since become an inherent part of everyday life.

GPS is based on a collection of 24 satellites, each carrying a precise atomic clock. A hand held GPS receiver which detects radio emissions from any satellite overhead can find the latitude, longitude and altitude with the accuracy up to 15 meters and local time to 50 billionths of a second. The clocks on satellites are ahead of those on Earth by 38,000 nanoseconds. The reason for this is explained by the General Theory Of Relativity. Though it may appear as an inconsequential amount of time, if these nanoseconds are not taken into account, GPS systems would be highly inaccurate.

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So, that was our today's top 20 scientific topics (Part - 3) explained clearly. I hope you enjoyed our post  and please make sure to follow us. Please share and comment if you liked.

Stay Tuned for the upcoming scientific posts.

Created By : Naman Dwivedi

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