Asteroids are small rocky bodies that orbit the sun. Most asteroids orbit in a belt between Mars and Jupiter called the asteroid belt. They are sometimes called planetoids or minor planets. There are an estimated 400,000 asteroids. However, the large asteroids of about 100 km diameter are few. Some large asteroids have their own moon,…
The earth spins or rotates on its axis every day. It takes 24 hours to rotate once on its axis. To calculate the rate of rotation, the circumference of the earth at the equator, which is 25,000 miles, is divided by the total time taken per rotation, which is 24 hours. The value comes to…
The Olympic gold medals are mostly made of silver, not gold. Only six grams, or 0.19 ounce, of gold is required to coat the medal. The medal itself is made of 92.5 per cent or 550 grams of pure silver. The medals are usually circular with a diameter of a minimum of 60 mm and…
Pigeons have been domesticated since ancient times to carry messages. They used to travel several miles to deliver messages. Even today, pigeon posts exist that serve the military in many countries. Pigeons have also been domesticated for a sport called ‘pigeon racing’. The racing is timed, and it has been found that the competing pigeons…
A spherical triangle is formed on the surface of a sphere by three arcs. When the magnitudes of the three angles are added, they have a value that is greater than 180°, which is the value for the sum of three angles of a normal triangle.
‘Triskaidekaphobia’ is a word that arises from the greek tris meaning three, and deka meaning ten, i.e. thirteen, and phobia meaning fear. Triskaidekaphobia thus means the fear of the ‘number thirteen’. In western culture, the number thirteen is often associated with ill luck. Many hotels in the western countries have no thirteenth floor, and many streets are avoided being…
