From where is the name ‘rocket’ derived?
The name ‘rocket’ comes from the Italian word rocchetta, a name of a small firecracker created by the Italian artificer Muratori in 1379. Rocchetta means ‘little fuse’.
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The mathematician who calculated the height of Mount Everest
Radhanath Sikdar (1813–1870) was an Indian mathematician who among many other things calculated the height of Peak XV in the Himalaya and showed it to be the tallest mountain above sea level. Peak XV was later named Mount Everest.
Chameleons’ layered emotions
Chameleons are cold-blooded reptiles that come in a variety of colours. The skin has underneath it layers of different coloured cells controlled by nerves and hormones. When it is threatened, a male panther chameleon becomes angry, it changes colour from placid green to angry orange in seconds, and finally to bright red. When both layers…
Can rhinos outrun humans?
Rhinos run very fast for short distances. They can run up to 48 kilometres per hour, enough to outrun the world’s fastest human being in a matter of seconds.
How the great scientist J.C. Bose fought discrimination and won
Jagadish Chandra Bose as a professor of Physics at Presidency College, Kolkata, was offered a salary substantially lower than his European colleagues, many of whom were less qualified than him. Prof. Bose was then under the Imperial Education Service (IES). He refused to accept it but nevertheless left no stone unturned in discharging his duties. After…
Silicon Valley is missing from the map!
One cannot find the name Silicon Valley on any map. The southern portion of the San Francisco Bay area is nicknamed as Silicon Valley. It is the region between Palo Alto and San Jose in California where silicon chip computer technology was pioneered.