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LISTENING TO
BLACK HOLES
4 LISTENING TO
BLACK HOLES
PARAMESWARAN AJITH
9 THROWING LIGHT
ON DARK MATTER
AMITABHA MUKHERJEE
19 HUMAN SETTLEMENT
ON MARS
INTERVIEW WITH MARS ONE
NATURE OF SCIENCE
50 POLLINATORS:
THE PLANT PROPAGATORS
MEENAKSHI PANT
RESEARCH TO PRACTICE
70 WHY SCIENCE TEACHERS SHOULD
CARE ABOUT SOCIAL JUSTICE
DAY GREENBERG
I AM A SCIENTIST
SCIENCE COMMUNICATION
LISTENING TO
BLACK HOLES PARAMESWARAN AJITH
A Gravitational waves
The recent discovery round 1.3 billion years ago, in a distant
of gravitational galaxy, two massive black holes
waves not only moving at speeds close to the speed The existence of gravitational waves is one of
confirms Albert of light merged to form an even more massive the most intriguing theoretical predictions of
Einstein’s century black hole. This powerful event released an Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity (1915).
old prediction, but energy equivalent to the mass of three Suns, Regarded as one of the pillars of modern physics,
also opens up a in a fraction of a second. If this energy was the General Relativity is the most accurate
completely new converted into light, this flash of light would theoretical description of gravity available to
way of observing have outshined the entire visible universe us today. According to this theory, any massive
the Universe. This – that is, all the stars in the universe put object (or other forms of energy, such as
article describes the together – for a fraction of a second. However, electromagnetic radiation) curves the spacetime
exciting story of this merger did not produce any light. Instead, around it. Following this curvature of spacetime,
this discovery, what it produced powerful ripples in spacetime, light, which travels in a straight line in flat
went behind it, and called gravitational waves. spacetime, starts to bend near a massive object.
what lies ahead.
These ripples reached the Earth on 14th This effect was first observed by the British
September 2015, having travelled a distance
astronomer Arthur Eddington during the total
of 1.3 billion light years. Two marvelous
solar eclipse in 1919. The bending of starlight
instruments of the Laser Interferometric
caused a shift in the apparent position of the
Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) in the
stars near the Sun, as compared to their original
USA detected these tiny ripples in spacetime.
position, that Eddington found to be consistent
When scientists announced this discovery on 1 2
February 2016, it produced even greater ripples with Einstein’s prediction (see Box 1). Einstein’s
in the popular imagination. The New York theory also predicts that gravity warps time.
Times described it as “the chirp heard across That is, time runs slower near a massive object.
the universe.” What scientists detected in LIGO This effect is not only observed in a number of
was a phenomenon called the General Theory astronomical phenomena and laboratory tests;
of Relativity that was theoretically predicted by the Global Positioning System (GPS) needs to
Albert Einstein, almost a century before, as a take this effect into account for it to function
consequence of his theory of gravity. (see Box 2).
4
HEORY OF RELATIVITY
Box 1
Apparent position
Sun
In thisIncartoon,
this cartoon, spacetimeisisschematically
the spacetime schematically
warping of spacerepresented
represented
due toasasagravity
atwo-dimensional
two-dimensional surface The global positioning system (GPS) relies
crisscrossed by parallel lines. The Sun curves the spacetime around
surface crisscrossed by parallel lines. The Sun curves the spacetime around it so that it so that the shortest on a system of satellites orbiting the
the shortest
the starlight
path between
path between
takes
takes the
the starthe
the shortest
shortest
andstar
theand the observer
observer
path between
path between the sourcetheand
is no
is no longer
source
longer aline.
a straight straight
and the observer,
the observer,
Sinceline.
it bends initthe
15
the Since
gets
starlight
bend
curved
Earth, which acts as a reference. These
satellites have precise atomic clocks
in the spacetime,
curved spacetime, thusthe
thus shifting shifting the apparent
apparent position of position
the star.ofThe
thestarlight
star. Thepassing
starlight
close to onboard, and constantly transmit their
passingtheclose
limb to
of the
the limb of the be
Sun would Sun would be
deflected mostdeßected
(by aboutmost (by about
1.75/3600 1.75/3600
degrees). Thus, stars location and time. If we receive radio
degrees). Thus,
closest stars
to the Sunclosest
suffer tothethe Sun suffers
greatest shift inthe greatest
their apparent shift in their apparent
position. signals from at least four satellites at
position. a Light-deflection effect b Change-in-scale effect
a time, we can make use of the known
constant speed of light to compute our
three dimensional position, and the time
Apparent position as measured by a reference clock. The
GPS allows us to locate our position on
Actual position
the Earth with an accuracy of up to 10
meters.
Sun However, according to General Relativity,
gravity slows time. As a result, a clock on
the Earth’s surface would tick slower than
a s imilar clock onboard the satellite by
about 3 microseconds per day. Note that
this is much larger than the time taken
by light to travel 10 meters. Thus, the
An unusual number of bright stars from the Hyades cluster conveniently filled the sky on all sides of the GPS receivers
Sun during have to factor in this subtle
the 1919
eclipse. (a) In this artist’s rendering, deflection of starlight from the Sun’s gravity shifts the original stellar positions
effect (blue) radially
if they have to locate their position
away from the center of the Sun; those closest to the center suffer the greatest shift. (b) A change in scale between one exposure
and another shifts stellar positions radially away from the center of the image; those far from the center show accurately.
the greatest shifts.
lens showed fewer stars on its plates than the astrographic Eddington did not do. Instead, comparison exposures were
one would have. taken in the UK before departure.
Since problematic changes of scale and other complica-
Data analysis tions might arise from comparing exposures at different
The fortunate circumstance that the Sun would be in a field times and locations and with different installations of the
The amountcontaining
of the warpage of thestars gave the astronomers
relatively bright black holesanand ex- neutron stars. Expected
same equipment, the Cambridge team also took so-called
cellent chance
spacetime outside of acquiringobject
a gravitating good quality images
to beofproduced
stars close bycheck
the plates of a different star field both in the UK and on
gravitational
to the Sun, where fainter stars would be drowned out by the Principe. Those plates would alert the team about any unex-
depends onlight
its mass (or energy)
of the solar and
corona. The collapse
predicted amount of theof massive
appar- stars large
pectedly at the endof scale between the eclipse and com-
change
ent shift in star positions was, they believed, within the level parison plates.
of their lifetime (when they run out And because the Sun never appeared in either
the distanceoffrom it. For example,
accuracy achievable by contemporary astrometric tech- set of check plates, they constituted a control on Eddington’s
the warpageniques,
of spacetime
even allowingduefortothethe of nuclear
technical difficulty imposed fuel),
by aexperiment.
black holeIndeed,
that isthat passive role seems to have been
transporting delicate equipment to remote aslocations
massivebefore
as the Eddington’s
Sun, for original plan for them.
example,
mass of theinstallation.
Earth is tiny, but precision When comparing two different images of the same star
The parsec is defined
timekeeping mechanisms the distance athas
such asas the a radius
which of only
a star, seen fieldataken
few kilometers
at different times, one must account for certain
from Earth, will undergo apparent motion, due to parallax, shifts in stellar position caused by predictable astronomical
GPS still need to arcsecond
of one accountover forthe
these (remember that the Sun’s radius is
course of a year. No stars are within and atmospheric effects. Even when taken with the same in-
a parsec of our solar system; therefore, about 700,000
all stellar parallax km)!
strument, two images of the same field may be rotated
effects. In contrast, enormous warpage
work is subarcsecond in nature, much of it well below the slightly with respect to each other or, worst of all, may vary
of spacetime can be Dyson
arcsecond. observed in the experience
had considerable When a massive
in working on and compact object
in magnification, which introduces a relative change of scale
stellar parallaxes. In fact, both Dyson and Eddington began between the two images. That change of This is isone
scale the way
most General
per- Relativity has
neighborhood theirof extremely
careers workingmassive
on problemsandof astrometry,
accelerates, it notnicious
including only causes thethe point of view of
effect from made its way
someone into our daily lives!
interested
parallax and proper
compact astrophysical motion
objects, such of stars
as and other bodies. curvature
spacetime in measuring
to followlight deflection, because it most closely mimics
The method used to determine the apparent shifts was the light-deflection effect. Light deflection moves stars radi-
to expose pictures of the star field during the eclipse and then ally away from the Sun on the image. A change of scale moves
take comparison exposures of the same star field at night, stars radially away from the center of the image, where the
without the Sun present. Obviously, the comparison plates Sun is best placed in order to get a symmetrical field of stars
had to be taken at a different time of the year, because it close to it. REDISCOVERING SCHOOL SCIENCE 5
would take some time for the Sun to move out of the Hyades Fortunately, there is one characteristic difference be-
star field. It was also desirable that they be taken at a time tween the two effects. Light deflection is greatest for those
when the star field was at the same position in the sky, which stars closest to the limb of the Sun and minimal for those stars
its movement, but also produces about 8 hours. If the system radiated at the end of their lifetime, binary
oscillations in this curvature that gravitational waves, the loss of energy systems of black holes or neutron
detach from the source and propagate would cause the orbital separation to stars, fast rotating deformed neutron
outwards. The process of gravitational decrease. Measurements using a few stars, and the Big Bang itself. There
waves being produced in this way years of radio observations showed a was also compelling observational
is analogous to the generation of corresponding decrease in the orbital evidence of the existence of such
electromagnetic waves by the period, agreeing precisely with the phenomena. Experimental efforts to
acceleration of charged particles. O nly, prediction of General Relativity. This detect gravitational waves started in
for gravitational waves, the oscillations was a remarkable triumph of the theory the 1960s itself, with Joseph Weber
are in the geometry of spacetime itself. and settled, beyond any reasonable using resonant bar detectors. However,
doubt, that gravitational waves are what revolutionized this endeavor
While examining field equations of
real. Hulse and Taylor were awarded was the idea of using large-scale laser
General Relativity in 1916, Einstein the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physics for the interferometers as gravitational wave
discovered that they admitted discovery of this binary pulsar. antennas.
mathematical solutions that describe
waves travelling at the speed of light. Far away from their source,
However, whether these are phenomena
Catching the wave gravitational waves can be thought
that exist in the physical world or While binary pulsars allow us to observe of as time-dependent distortions in
not remained controversial until the the effect of gravitational waves, we the curvature of space. They distort
1950s. There were times when Einstein, have not observed the gravitational space in a way that is characteristic of
himself, doubted their existence. waves from them. The success of tidal forces. Just like the Moon creates
However, a large body of theoretical binary pulsar observations prompted tides, deforming the Earth from its
work from the 1950s and 1960s scientists to give serious thought to spherical shape, gravitational waves
established that gravitational waves the possibility of directly detecting would deform a ring of “test particles”
have real physical existence. They could, gravitational waves. into ellipses (except that the tidal
for instance, carry away energy from Theoretical calculations showed that deformation produced by gravitational
their source, much like electromagnetic astrophysical phenomena involving waves is purely transverse, i.e.,
waves. Then, in 1975, Russell Hulse and massive and compact objects moving perpendicular to the direction of wave
Joseph Taylor discovered a binary pulsar with very high velocities will produce propagation). It is this key idea that
system through radio observations. gravitational waves that are potentially makes a laser interferometer the ideal
This is a system of two neutron stars detectable from the Earth. Examples instrument for detecting gravitational
orbiting each other with a period of include the collapse of massive stars waves (see Box 3).
6
Invented by Albert Michelson in the late While examining field equations of General
nineteenth century, interferometry is a
well-established technique. The problem Relativity in 1916, Einstein discovered that they
with using it as a gravitational wave admitted mathematical solutions that describe waves
detector is that the distortions in the
arm-length of the interferometer due
travelling at the speed of light. However, whether
to the passage of gravitational waves these are phenomena that exist in the physical
are tiny. For example, the merger of two
world or not remained controversial until the 1950s.
neutron stars in Virgo, a neighboring
galaxy cluster, will only make a fractional There were times when Einstein, himself, doubted
change of ~ 10−21 in the arm length of their existence. However, a large body of theoretical
the interferometer! This means that to
detect this phenomenon, we will need to work from the 1950s and 1960s established that
measure length changes as small as 10−21 gravitational waves have real physical existence.
meters. No wonder, then, that detecting
gravitational waves is a difficult task!
One way of addressing this problem is by a single antenna. Instead, the location 14th September, 2015, both these
using interferometers with arms much of the source is identified by combining Advanced LIGO detectors, separated
longer than that of a 1-meter table-top data from multiple, geographically- by about 3000 kilometers, observed a
device – with longer arms, the absolute separated detectors. Since gravitational coincident gravitational wave signal. A
change in the arm length produced waves travel at the speed of light, the careful analysis of this data revealed that
by the gravitational wave would be difference in the arrival time of the the signal was produced by the merger
larger. Thus, modern gravitational wave signal in multiple detectors across the of two massive black holes that were
detectors are kilometer-scale Michelson globe allows us to reconstruct the about 1.3 billion light years away. Apart
interferometers. However, we still location of the source in the sky. This from being the first direct detection
have to measure changes in their arm is analogous to an owl identifying its
of gravitational waves, this is the first
length that are much smaller than 10−18 prey by processing the time of arrival
discovery of a binary system consisting
meters – much smaller than the size of the sound in its two ears. This makes
of two black holes. These black holes
of an atomic nucleus! Interferometers it evident that the larger the distance
were significantly more massive than
are nominally designed to measure between different detectors, the better
the distance between the ‘dark’ and is the accuracy with which the source of any other stellar-mass black holes that
‘bright’ fringes, that is, length scales a gravitational wave can be localized. In astronomers have observed so far – in
comparable to the wavelength of light this context, current plans to establish fact, each of these black holes were
used. However, with advances in the a LIGO observatory in India will be about 30 times more massive than
last three decades, modern gravitational an important addition to the existing our Sun! The merger produced an
wave detectors measure a much smaller international network of gravitational energy equivalent to the mass of three
fraction (~10−12) of the wavelength wave detectors. Since the site for LIGO- Suns (E = 3 Mc2) that was radiated as
by detecting tiny changes in the India is at a significant distance from the gravitational waves over a fraction of a
brightness of the light coming out of the existing detectors in USA and Europe, it second, reaching a peak power emission
interferometer. will greatly improve the accuracy with of 1049 watts! This is the most powerful
Although an interferometer is most which gravitational wave sources can be astronomical phenomena ever observed
sensitive to gravitational waves arriving localized in the sky. by humankind. On 26th December 2015,
perpendicular to its plane, it is also a second signal, from yet another black
sensitive to signals coming from almost A new “sense” to hole merger was observed. Based on the
all other directions. It is an antenna perceive the universe rate of observed signals, scientists expect
that can detect signals coming from observations of gravitational waves from
Large interferometric gravitational wave
essentially the full sky. This is different black hole binaries to become routine in
detectors have been constructed at
from a telescope, which can be pointed the coming years.
many different parts of the globe.
to a small part in the sky to observe a
star or a galaxy. On the one hand, this After a major upgrade over the past The history of astronomy presents a
allows us to observe the full sky using few years, two of these detectors, at the story full of surprises. Looking at the
a small number of antennas. On the LIGO observatory in the USA, started heavens through his telescope, Galileo
other hand, this makes it difficult to operating with a significantly improved saw that far from being a translucent
identify the location of the source using sensitivity since September 2015. On and perfect sphere as thought by the
Note: Credits for the image used in the background of the article title: Caltech/MIT/LIGO Lab. URL: https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/image/ligo20150731c.
License: Available for public use.
Further reading
1. Bernard F Schutz, Gravity from the Ground Up: An Introductory Guide 4. Resources for students, teachers and the public:
to Gravity and General Relativity, Cambridge University Press (2003). http://ligo.org/public.php.
URL: http://www.gravityfromthegroundup.org/
5. Web portal on General Relativity and its applications:
2. Kip S Thorne, Black Holes & Time Warps - Einstein’s Outrageous Legacy, http://www.einstein-online.info/
W. W. Norton & Company (1995).
3. Web resources on gravitational waves
https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/page/learn-more.
Parameswaran Ajith is a physicist at the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental
Research, Bangalore, and a member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration. He can be reached at ajith@icts.res.in.
8
THROWING
also likely to make their presence felt similar galaxies, however, something
through their gravitational effects. quite different is observed. As we move Box 1. What is a black hole?
out towards the edge of the galaxy, A black hole is a place in space where
Another piece of evidence for the the pull of gravity is so strong that even
the speed of the stars remains constant
existence of dark matter comes from light cannot get out. This pull of gravity
rather than decreasing.
spiral galaxies. Our Milky Way is an is because matter has been squeezed into
example of a spiral galaxy. So is the There are two main ways to account a tiny space. This can happen when a star
Andromeda galaxy, also known as for this discrepancy. The first is to say is dying. And it is because no light can
M31, whose spiral arms are beautifully that Newton’s Law of Gravitation does get out that people can’t see black holes
visible in Figure 1. As we can see, the not hold at galactic scales. While some – they are invisible!
galaxy appears to be flat, with the stars scientists believe that the solution to
distributed close to the central plane, the problem lies in this direction, we Estimates for our own galaxy, the Milky
forming a bulge in the centre. This is will not be discussing this any further in Way, indicate that over 80% – perhaps
how most spiral galaxies look. this article. The second way is to assume even as much as 95% – of its total mass
that Newton’s Law holds, but that the is in the form of a dark matter halo.
Now comes the interesting part. The
mass in a galaxy is distributed in a much
stars in a galaxy exert gravitational
more uniform manner than it seems to
forces on one another, while they
be. Moreover, the mass of the galaxy
Dark matter in galactic
rotate about the centre of the galaxy. halos
appears to be much more than the total
Newton’s law of gravitation allows us
mass of the stars in it. In other words, What is the precise nature of the dark
to calculate how the rotation speed of
the galaxy is full of dark matter. A matter in galactic halos? This is still an
a star depends on its distance from the
picturesque way to put it is to say that, open question. One possibility is that
centre. A simple calculation shows that
apart from the visible disk, the galaxy the halo is made of planet-like objects,
the rotation speed should decrease with
has a halo, which, unlike the disk, is not or stars that are still in the process of
the distance from the centre (think of
flat but more or less spherical. formation. Black holes are another
our solar system: the innermost planet
possibility.
Mercury whizzes around the Sun at You may wonder if this holds for
47.87 km a second while Neptune moves non-spiral galaxies. Measurements Such massive astrophysical compact
at a sedate 5.43 km/s). Thus, we can of the speeds of stars in the other halo objects or MACHOs (scientists like
actually measure how fast the stars important type of galaxies – elliptical to make up such acronyms) have one
are rotating in nearby galaxies, such as galaxies – leads to the same conclusion: common feature: they are made up of
M31. In M31, and hundreds of other most galaxies are full of dark matter. ‘ordinary’ matter. As we know, ordinary
10
so exciting is the interplay between the
Box 2. Supersymmetry: In the 1970s, some theorists suggested that Nature may possess very large and the very small: galactic
a new symmetry, called supersymmetry, which connects existing elementary particles to halos that are typically hundreds of
other, as yet undiscovered, ones. For example, the electron, which has spin half, would thousands of light years in size
have a superpartner with spin zero. All the superpartners would have to be very heavy, suggesting that we need to rethink
since they haven’t shown up in particle collisions so far. If we extend the standard model laws of physics at scales smaller than
to include supersymmetry, we get models with many undiscovered massive particles, the radius of a proton! Interestingly,
including WIMPs. theorists have, for completely different
reasons, also been suggesting that
matter consists basically of protons, We are led to the inescapable conclusion we need to go beyond the standard
neutrons and electrons, with the last that galactic dark matter, unlike the model. A popular idea, in this context,
being much lighter than the others. dark matter in our solar system, is has been that of supersymmetry, and
Protons and neutrons belong to a type composed of something exotic. A supersymmetric models indeed naturally
of elementary particles called baryons favoured category of candidates is lead to WIMPs.
(from Greek barys, meaning heavy), weakly interacting massive particles,
so ordinary matter is called baryonic or WIMPs (acronym-coining again!). Dark matter in galaxy
matter. Now if the proposed MACHOs Many times heavier than protons and clusters
are planet-like objects made of baryonic neutrons, WIMPs interact through
While galaxies are very big, they are not
matter, they will reflect the starlight weak nuclear forces and gravitation.
the largest structures in the universe.
falling on them. Since our galaxy is The Standard Model of particle physics,
Most galaxies lie in clusters consisting
presumably full of MACHOs, they should which has enjoyed great success starting
of 100–1000 galaxies, held together by
show up in our telescopes. Searches with the discovery of W bosons in
their mutual gravitational attraction.
specifically designed to look for them 1983 to that of the Higgs boson in
The distance scales are mind-boggling:
have failed to find any. There are other 2012, simply does not have place for
arguments too, which together, lead to such particles. Thus, if galactic halos a typical cluster size is 10–20 million
the conclusion that MACHOs, if they are largely made up WIMPs, particle light years. Figure 2 shows the Coma
exist at all, contribute only a small physics has to go beyond the standard Cluster, whose centre is about 320
amount of mass to our galaxy. model. What makes this field of study million light years away. Note that each
star-like object in the picture is actually
a galaxy, typically consisting of a billion
stars or more.
Now when a system of objects
interacting through gravitation has
been around for a long time, we expect
the average energy of motion of its
members to be roughly the same as
the energy of interaction. In fact, it
can be shown that the average kinetic
energy is one-half of the magnitude
of the average potential energy. But
we see something quite different: the
galaxies in most clusters appear to be
moving much faster than expected.
By now you must have guessed the
explanation: there are invisible sources
of gravitational attraction distributed
through the cluster – in short, dark
matter. In fact, the term Dark Matter
was first used by the Swiss astronomer
Fritz Zwicky, way back in 1933, in
connection with his studies of the
Fig. 2. A composite image of the Coma Cluster.
Coma cluster, whose modern image we
Source: NASA / JPL-Caltech / L. Jenkins (GSFC), Wikimedia Commons. License: Public Domain.
URL: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ssc2007-10a1.jpg.
saw in Figure 2. Zwicky concluded that
the mass of this cluster was 400 times
Amitabha Mukherjee is a Professor at the Department of Physics and Astrophysics, University of Delhi. Email: amimukh@gmail.com.
12
EMERGING TRENDS IN PHYSICS
LOOKING
FOR OUT THERE
OTHER WORLDS
SUMA N MURTHY
Are there worlds outside our Solar System? How do we look for them? What can we learn from
them? In this article, the author shows how recent advances in technology have made the search
for exoplanets more exciting than ever before!
Q
uestions regarding the uniqueness of the An extrasolar planet, or an exoplanet – as it is
solar system, and more particularly that called today, is defined as a planet that orbits
of Earth, have haunted the human mind a star other than the Sun. While many people
for ages. The possibility that planetary systems claimed to have detected exoplanets, the first
outside our own existed in the universe was first such claims to be confirmed were in 1992, when
suggested in the sixteenth century, by the Italian the astronomers Aleksander Wolszczan and Dale
philosopher Giodano Bruno. According to Bruno, Frail observed 3 planets revolving around a pulsar
distant stars could just be like our own Sun, in – a rapidly rotating star almost at the end of its
hosting planets, and even life. Voicing similar lifetime, called PSR B1257+12. Three years later,
thoughts, Sir Isaac Newton referred to exoplanets the Swiss astronomers Didier Queloz and Michel
towards the end of the 1713 edition of his Mayor discovered another exoplanet, one that
celebrated work, Principia, stating that: was revolving around a yellow star, called 51
Peg, which was similar to our own Sun. This was
“...this most beautiful System of the Sun, Planets, followed by the discovery of two more exoplanets,
and Comets, could only proceed from the counsel in 1996, by a team of American astronomers, led
and dominion of an intelligent and powerful by Paul Butler and Geoff Marcy. This team went
being. And if the fixed Stars are the centers of on to discover around 70 of the 100 exoplanets
other like systems, these, being formed by the known by the end of the subsequent decade. The
likewise counsel, must be all subject to the launch of the Kepler Space Telescope in 2009
dominion of One; especially since the light of the has brought about a revolution in this field. This
fixed Stars is of the same nature with the light of telescope has been used to collect enormous
the Sun, and from every system light passes into amounts of data, keeping astronomers busy
all the other systems ...” mining it for clues to other exoplanets.
14
Astrometry
Box 3. Why go to space?
Astrometry is a process that involves The Earth’s atmosphere distorts images of outer space, limiting how accurately we can
measuring the positions of stars in the carry out measurements. Placing a telescope outside the atmosphere removes this
sky as precisely as possible. As we’ve constraint. As space provides a stable observing platform, it becomes possible to obtain
seen earlier, the presence of a planet the very fine measurements required to carry out precision astronomy (see figure 2
causes its star to wobble slightly. This for comparison).
wobble is reflected as a subtle change
in the position of the star in the sky. As
this change can be very slight, we need
high precision measurements to detect
it. It is for this reason that the presence
of exoplanets was not confirmed
through this method until 2009.
Astrometry gained importance in 2013,
when the European Space Agency
launched a space observatory called
Gaia, purely for astrometric purposes.
In its lifetime of about 10 years, Gaia
is expected to enable us to detect and
characterise the orbits of around 70,000
exoplanets!
Transit Method
We use the transit method to detect Fig. 2. Ground vs. Space. Here is a comparison between the images of a region of the
exoplanets when a star and its planet sky taken by Las Campanas, Chile, Observatory (to the left) and the Hubble Space
Telescope (to the right). Did you notice that, in addition to improved clarity, there are
are aligned towards us in such a way
also more stars seen in the Hubble image?!
that the planet eclipses the star as it
Source: NASA. URL: https://www.nasa.gov/content/hubbles-first-light. License: Public domain.
passes by.
The brightness of the star drops ever
so slightly during the eclipse. This drop Change in brightness from a planetary transit
can be detected through observations
by high-resolution telescopes trained Brightness
on it over a period of time. This method
Star
works best for large planets with orbits
close to the parent star, as this causes a
greater and, thus, more easily detectable
drop in the star’s brightness. Planet
This method has yielded the maximum
number of exoplanet detections till
date – especially of Earth-like planets,
the kind we are most interested in! The
main reason behind this huge number
of detections is the launch of the
space-based Kepler mission in 2009.
This mission surveys certain portions of
our galaxy to discover planets of the Time
size of Earth and smaller, by using the
transit method. Kepler has so far aided
in the discovery of 4706 exoplanet Fig. 3. Caught while transiting! This figure demonstrates how the brightness of a star varies
as the planet moves across it. As the planet starts eclipsing the star, we see a gradual drop in
candidates, of which 2330 have already
brightness which then remains constant as long as the planet is in front of it and later gets
been confirmed. That the Kepler mission back to its original brightness.
is space-based is the main reason behind
Credits: SuperWASP, NASA. URL: http://www.superwasp.org/how.htm. License: Public domain.
its spectacular success.
Gravitational Micro-Lensing
The general theory of relativity tells us
that massive objects can bend light around
them. Called gravitational lensing, this
effect magnifies the light of a distant star
when a nearby faint star moves across it.
This is analogous to the effect we see by
placing the foot of a wine glass in front of
a candle (as seen in Fig. 5).
The brightness of the distant star in the
background increases at first, then decreases
steadily as the invisible foreground star
moves past it, and finally reverts to its
usual constant value once the star in the
foreground has moved away completely.
If the invisible star in the foreground has
a planet orbiting around it, then there will
be a short time interval during which this
planet will also contribute to the lensing
effect of the star in the background (see
Fig.6). This can be detected and used to
infer the presence of exoplanets.
Fig. 4. Science in the real world. The black dots in this image demonstrate how the
varying brightness of a star hosting planets appears in reality.
Credits: ESO. URL: https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso0415/. License: Public domain.
Fig. 5. Kepler steps in with a bang! This histogram shows the number Fig. 6. A model gravitational lens: The way a wine glass distorts
of exoplanets discovered since 1995. Note the sudden jump in the the candle light in the background is almost similar to how a
number of discoveries after the Kepler team announced the discovery massive object distorts light.
of about a thousand planets. Credits: KIPAC, Kavli Insitute of Particle Physics and Cosmology.
Credits: NASA. URL: https://www.nasa.gov/content/exoplanet-discoveries. URL: http://kipacweb.stanford.edu/research/gravitational_lensing.
License: Public domain. License: Public domain.
16
The Einstein ring has a
radius of about 2 AU and
is the width of the angular
width of the distant star
Fig. 7. Microlensing in detail. This is how the gravitational microlensing technique works.
Credits: LCOGT, IFLSCIENCE. URL: https://lco.global/files/spacebook/Gravitational%20Microlensing%20timeline.png. License: Public domain.
Direct Imaging
As mentioned earlier, at visible
wavelengths, our Sun is around one
billion times brighter than Jupiter.
However, at infrared wavelengths –
wavelengths longer than the visible
light, our Sun is only a hundred times
brighter. Provided the circumstances
are favourable, we can image the
planetary system at these wavelengths.
For example, if a planet is very far from
its star, and we block the light that we Fig. 8. Photographing the neighbours! This image shows the light we receive from three
receive from the star, the fainter planet planets – called HR8799b, c and d - all orbiting a single star, called HR8799. The star is
will show itself. This direct imaging located at the spot marked with an “X.” The three planets, are thought to be gas giants
method has taken off only recently, like Jupiter, but more massive.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Palomar Observatory. URL: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/universe/features/
enabling us to discover around 33
exoplanet20100414-a.html. License: Public domain.
planets so far.
Note: Credits for the image used in the background of the article title: Kepler Mission Overview, NASA Ames/ W Stenzel, Wikimedia Commons.
URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NASA-KeplerSpaceTelescope-ArtistConcept-20141027.jpg. License: Public Domain.
Suma N Murthy is a student of astronomy who has completed her post-graduate studies in Astronomy and Astrophysics from Indian
Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram.
18
HUMAN SETTLEMENT
ON
MARS
A
bout 70,000 years ago, Homo sapiens moved out of Africa and eventually spread across the globe. Today, humanity
is ready to take the next big leap – to land on, and explore other planets. Because of its proximity and similarity
to Earth, Mars is the obvious choice to start with. Many people believe that eventually, humanity is destined to
be a spacefaring, multi-planetary species, spreading across the galaxy and the universe. This decade has witnessed several
proposals from various agencies for exploring Mars – ranging from manned Mars missions to establishing permanent
settlements on Mars. What is significant is that many of these are from private companies or foundations. This entry of
private players into the fray has substantially ramped up the excitement around Mars colonisation. Mars One is one such
organisation that has unveiled a plan to colonise Mars in the coming decades. The following is an interview with the Mars
One team. The purpose of this interview is not to endorse Mars One’s plan, but to bring out the fascinating lessons that
their efforts in colonisation hold for us. – The Editor.
20
hydrogen and oxygen. This oxygen
will be used to provide a breathable
atmosphere in the living units. Since
the settlement uses solar panels to
generate power, a portion of oxygen
will be stored in reserve for conditions
when there is less power available,
for example at night and during dust
storms. Nitrogen and argon will be
extracted from the atmosphere of Mars
and injected as inert gases into the
habitable space for humans.
Water can be extracted from Martian
soil. Mars One will send a rover to a
certain area where there is water in
the soil, and the rover will select the
exact location for the settlement based Fig. 4. Mars-One Farm.
primarily on the amount of water Source: Bryan Versteeg, Mars One, URL: http://www.mars-one.com/
content in this area. We expect this
region to be at latitude between 40
food will be used sparingly to ensure Astronauts will face the effects of
and 45 degrees North. The rover will
that a large part of it can serve as reduced gravity both during space-
scoop up soil with water ice in it, and
emergency rations. Approximately flight missions and upon landing on
deposit it into a water extractor in
80m2 of the habitat will be available Mars (62% less gravity than Earth).
the life support units that generate
energy, water, and breathable air for for plant growth. The first crew will The reduced gravity during spaceflight
the settlement. The water extractor will also be able to use the habitat of the missions of extended duration can
heat the soil until the water evaporates. second crew to grow food because the result in astronaut de-conditioning –
The evaporated water will be condensed hardware for the second crew lands including a decrease in muscle mass and
and stored, the dry soil expelled, and the only a few weeks after the first crew performance, reduced aerobic capacity
process repeated to extract more water. lands. Food production will occur indoor and losses in bone density – in addition
About 1500 liters of reserve water will under artificial lighting. A thick layer of to several other physiological changes.
be stored in each life support unit, to be Martian soil on top of the habitat will When Mars One astronauts first arrive
consumed during periods of low power protect the plants (and the astronauts) on Mars, they will, in theory, be stronger
availability. Since Mars has gravity, from radiation. CO2 for the plants will be than an astronaut returning to Earth’s
water can be used in the same way as available from the Martian atmosphere, gravity after a mission on Mars. A
on Earth. Each astronaut will be able and water will be available through recent study of International Space
to use about 50 liters of water per day. extraction from the soil on Mars, or Station (ISS) astronauts, with mission
The water will be recycled, which takes durations ranging from 4–6 months,
recycling from other purposes. Nutrients
much less energy than extracting it from showed a maximum loss of 30% muscle
for the plants could be imported from
the Martian soil. Only water that cannot performance (and maximum loss of 15%
Earth or from recycling human waste.
be recycled will be replaced by water muscle mass).
Non-edible parts of plants will be
extracted from the soil. recycled, or stored until more advanced Mars One aims to lower these numbers
The astronauts on Mars will be able recycling equipment is shipped from through a program of well-structured
to produce their own food, in a Earth. Apart from fresh crops, it is likely and scientifically valid counter-
greenhouse. Mars One will investigate that algae and insects will also be part measures, including but not limited to
the volume requirements for food of the regular human diet on Mars. Any exercise, pharmaceuticals and nutrition
production in a simulation outpost plant production surplus will be stored that have been shown to mitigate
on Earth where all crew members along with food shipped from Earth as these effects. Continued research
will be trained to operate greenhouse emergency rations to survive until the and advancements in this area will
equipment. To ensure that the first next supply mission arrives. surely produce even more effective
crew has food waiting for them when countermeasures within the ~10 year
they arrive on Mars, stored food will be What are the physical and health period of preparation prior to the first
sent from Earth on a supply mission, challenges thrown up by low gravity, human launch. Mars One will also
before human landings. This stored and how do you plan to address these? take advantage of the decade prior to
22
Fig. 6. Mars-One Habitat – a closer look.
Source: Bryan Versteeg, Mars One, URL: http://www.mars-one.com/
to learn about the ancient and current Is there a plan to make Mars One including media exposure, brand
geology of Mars. Of course, much commercially viable? partnerships, intellectual property
research will be dedicated to determine Establishing the first human settlement rights, merchandise, and several other
if life was once present, or currently on Mars is likely to be the defining business cases.
exists on Mars. moment of the 21st century and the
most exciting event in our lifetime. Any partnerships with national space
If the colonisation of Mars succeeds, research organizations?
eventually babies will be born on Mars. People from around the world would
like to support this mission and are At this moment, there aren’t any
Will conditions on Mars cause health
contributing by donating to our human partnerships with national or
issues in these children?
mission to Mars. Mars One receives international space organizations, but
The human ability to conceive in donations from over 100 countries every we’ve had several initial discussions
reduced gravity is not known; neither month. Although we expect revenues with NASA about potential future
is there enough research on whether a from donations received till our first partnerships.
fetus can grow normally under these unmanned mission lands on Mars to
circumstances. Additionally, the Mars contribute substantially to our mission, How can a school teacher in India help
settlement will certainly not be a this will not be enough to finance the this initiative?
suitable place for children to live. The entire mission. This is why a large part School teachers in India can help by
group of astronauts living on Mars will of Mars One’s mission will be financed discussing Mars One’s mission plans
be very small, all of whom will be very by investments from the private sector. in class. This will help spread the word
busy with the necessary work on the In order to accept investments, the Mars and create awareness. This is not
outpost; and the human settlement One Foundation has established Mars only important for Mars One but for
will have very basic medical facilities. One Ventures which is a for-profit entity developments in the space industry
Therefore, Mars One will advise the first that allows investors to buy shares. in general. Teachers can have a very
inhabitants of the settlement to not Mars One Ventures holds the exclusive positive impact on the development of
attempt to have children. However, in media and intellectual property students and can inspire young boys and
order to establish a true permanent, rights to Mars One’s mission and will girls to chase their dreams and become
self-sustaining settlement on Mars, Mars monetize it to enable the mission and to engineers, scientists, and astronauts
One recognises that having children provide shareholders a return on their themselves!
will be vital. Therefore, this will be an investment. That return on investment
important area of research. will come from several revenues streams,
Note: Credits for the image used in the background of the article title: Settlement camera, Bryan Versteeg, Mars One, URL: http://www.mars-one.com/.
ISRO’S FUTURISTIC
TECHNOLOGY TO REDUCE COSTS OF SPACE TRAVEL
What are Scramjet engines? How are they different from T V VENKATESWARAN
conventional one time use-and-throw rocket launch vehicles?
This article introduces readers to this new technology, exploring
its use in providing low cost space launch in low earth orbits.
O Limitations of current
n 28th August, 2016, the Indian
Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
successfully demonstrated its technology
indigenously produced Dual Mode Ramjet Current launch vehicles are mainly multi-
(DMRJ) ScramJet engines in-flight. India now stage, expendable, and carry oxidiser, making
belongs to an elite club – with USA, Russia them costly, risky and bulky.
and Europe – leading the quest to design About 85-90% of rocket mass before lift-off
reliable, safe, affordable and reusable space is propellant, and only about 1% is the mass
launch vehicles to place space assets, like of the satellite that orbits the earth. The rest,
satellites, in a low earth orbit. which includes the supporting structure,
tanks, pumps, engines etc. are useless once the
Box 1. What is a low earth orbit? fuel is burnt. To avoid having to carry all that
Most communication satellites are placed in what is known as the excess weight into space, rockets often have
Geosynchronous Orbit (GSO), about 36,000 km above the surface
of the Earth. A satellite at that height would take approximately
several stages, or sections, each of which drops
23 hours 56 minutes and 4 seconds to complete one revolution away after use. Typically, once the fuel in one
around the Earth, matching the Earth’s sidereal rotation period. stage-section is consumed, that stage of the
In contrast, the Global Positioning System (GPS), Russian Glonass rocket, its shell and motors are jettisoned into
and a few other space environment research satellites are placed the ocean.
in what is called the Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), about 1200 –
35790 km from the surface of Earth. The orbital periods of MEO As each stage burns out, it has to be de-
satellites range from about 2 to nearly 24 hours. coupled from the vehicle, and the next stage
However, if you wanted to build a space station and ship people has to ignite. This must occur with each stage,
to and fro, you’d prefer its location to be much nearer to the in sequence, without fail or delay, making
Earth. This would also be true for a remote sensing satellite, if you current technology both expensive and risky.
were planning to use it to take close-up pictures of the Earth’s
The greater the number of stages, the higher
surface. Thus satellites such as these are typically placed in what
is called the Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which is about 200 – 1200 km the chances of failure – even a tiny lag or
from the surface of Earth. These satellites take about 80 to 130 mishap in this sequence can spell disaster.
minutes to go around Earth once. The accident, in Jan 1986, on NASA’s space
24
shuttle – Challenger – that killed seven re-usable, and use atmospheric oxygen velocity required to compress air, their
astronauts and shocked the world, to burn fuel. scramjet/ramjet engines can be ignited.
was caused because the rubber-O- This ignition is quite tricky – it must
The design of a jet engine is quite
rings joining two stages failed to seal
simple. Atmospheric air, rich in oxygen,
properly.
is compressed by rotary blades and
Except during its final stages, when a brought to the combustion chamber.
rocket travels to the edge of Earth’s Fuel is injected into the hot compressed
atmosphere, it is surrounded by air to make it burn, causing the whole
abundant oxygen. In spite of this, many mixture to expand considerably. This
rockets carry both their own fuel and an gas comes out of the exhaust nozzle at
oxidiser for burning it. This makes their high speed, generating thrust (based on
design bulky and inefficient, with more Newton’s third law) that pushes the
than half of the thrust generated by the jet upward.
rocket going into lifting the oxidiser.
Ramjet and scramjet are advanced
If we could build a launch vehicle with models of jet engines that can be used
a re-usable engine that could somehow for space travel. The fastest jet plane
use atmospheric oxygen, at least during can cruise at speeds of about 0.8 km
most of its flight inside the Earth’s per second, while space travel requires
dense atmosphere – the cost of space one to achieve speeds of 8 km per Fig. 2. Ramjet and scramjet are two types
travel would be reduced considerably. second. Jet engines that can provide of advanced jet engines. Unlike a jet engine,
such an impulse are called ramjets. In ramJets and scramJets have no movable
Little wonder then, that space-faring
parts and, hence, are safe. All three types
nations around the world are in quest of other words, ramjets are more advanced of jet engines use atmospheric oxygen for
such a technology. air-breathing engines that do not need combustion.
rotary blades to ingest compressed air Credits: GreyTrafalgar, Wikimedia Commons.
What is a dual mode into the combustion chamber. Instead, URL: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
compressed air is sucked in through File:Turbo_ram_scramjet_comparative_diagram.
Ramjet-Scramjet engine? specially designed inlets, even as the svg. License: Public Domain.
An ordinary jet engine works on the vehicle moves at supersonic speeds. A
same principle as a rocket – with two scramjet, or a “supersonic combusting
important exceptions. Jet engines are ramjet”, is an improved novel variant of a ramjet that uses the same principle,
but operates optimally at hypersonic
speeds.
The challenge of a
scramjet!
Although the design of a scramjet seems
pretty simple, operationalizing it is
difficult and technologically demanding.
In the absence of rotary blades to
compress the air, both ramjet and
scramjet engines use their relative
velocity to compress the air entering
through their inlets. On ground, the air
entering the inlets will not have any
appreciable relative velocity. Therefore,
much like the way we start the engine
of a car whose battery is down by giving
it a push, we use conventional rockets to
propel scramjet/ramjet crafts into space.
Fig. 1. Launch of the ScramJet engine
These rockets help the crafts quickly
Credits: Scramjet engine gallery, ISRO. URL: http://www.isro.gov.in/launchers/scramjet-engine-td-gallery.
License: Public Domain.
achieve an initial velocity greater than
Mach 4. Once they reach the relative
26
payloads, and then land on a runway On 23rd May 2016, ISRO conducted a
like an ordinary plane. The estimated Hypersonic Flight Experiment or HEX1 Box 3. Cryogenic Rocket Engines
development cost of this entire project in which the performance of a Reusable A cryogenic rocket engine is one that
is 35 cores, of which about three cores uses a cryogenic fuel or oxidizer, that
Launch Vehicle (RLV), dubbed ‘Swadeshi
is, its fuel and/or oxidizer are liquefied
were spent on the test conducted in space shuttle’, was experimentally gases stored at very low temperatures.
August 2016. launched, and the performance of
While ISRO aims to use a single- guiding computers on-board and heat-
stage-to-orbit (SSTO) launch vehicle resistant tiles affixed to the RLV were same orbit. These futuristic re-usable
ultimately, it is settling for a two- tested. At the end of the test-flight, launch vehicles, with their air-breathing
stages-to-orbit (TSTO) launcher in the the spaceship splashed down into the propulsion will enable cost-efficient
interim, with an air-breathing first Bay of Bengal. In the next experiment, space launch. While the launch of one
stage. In the second stage, a cryogenic named landing experiment (LEX), kg of payload currently costs about US$
motor will be used to take the payload ISRO will attempt to land an RLV on a 5000; ISRO estimates that its RLV will
to the desired low earth orbits. ISRO custom runway, to be constructed at cause a drop in rates to US$ 2000
proposes to make the first stage of the SHAR (Sriharikota High Altitude Range). per kg.
TSTO re-usable, halving the costs of Thereafter, RLV and Rohini-Scramjet
modules will be integrated into a single However, some experts question ISRO’s
launching satellites.
elation, and claim that the cost-benefit
analysis is not that clear. A 2006 NASA
technical document warns that “The
general conception is that the choice
between a reusable and an expendable
launch vehicle is essentially a trade-off
between lower recurring costs of the
former and lower non-recurring costs
of the latter”. On average, the reliability
of throwaway launchers is about 95% –
which means that on average, 1 in every
20 launches fails. However, the reusable
launcher has to be fail-safe if it has to
justify the higher investment needed to
develop and build it. Also, as the RLV will
take-off, cross into space and re-enter
the Earth’s atmosphere many times,
it will require advanced heat shields –
making the project technologically more
challenging. The NASA document goes
on to assert that a “decades-long debate
Fig. 4. Ignition, sustaining the flame, and ensuring compressed air inflow are some of the over reusable launch vehicles (RLVs)
major technological challenges of ScramJet design.
versus expendable launch vehicles (ELVs)
Credits: Cryonic07, Wikimedia Commons. URL: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ramjet_operation.
svg. License: CC-BY-SA.
has been less a reasoned debate than
a sustained argument for the building
of reusable launchers instead of the
standard throwaway rockets.”
mission, and actively powered by the missions using a TSTO launch vehicle
The economics of developing reusable
scramjet engines for Return Flight with scramjet engines, around the year
hybrid vehicles that use expendable
Experiment (REX)s. For propulsion 2030.
boosters and a reusable vehicle, like
beyond the atmosphere, the RLV will be A scramjet-fired RLV can take a payload the one proposed by ISRO, is rather
fitted with five semi-cryogenic engines. of about 10,000 – 20,000 kg to low different. A.S. Kiran, the ISRO chief,
It is only after all these different earth orbit; while the most advanced remains optimistic, stating that, “in
stages have been tested and integrated conventional ISRO launch vehicle GSLV principle, even if the cost comes down
flawlessly that the system will be used Mk-III is designed to take only 8,000 by 50%, it is worth it. After factoring
for commercial launch. Estimates by kg, and SpaceX’s rival Falcon 9 rocket in the logistics of recovering it, etc.,
ISRO indicate we will be ready for space is expected to lift 13,000 kg to the whatever it can bring down is worth it.”
Fig. 5. The Scramjet engine is a worthy addition to ISRO’s slew of existing launch vehicles.
Note: Credits for the image used in the background of the article title: US Air Force, Wikimedia Commons. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_X-51#/
media/File:X-51A_Waverider.jpg. License: Public Domain.
Dr. T V Venkateswaran is a scientist with Vigyan Prasar, Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi. He is a
prolific science writer with more than 25 popular science books and 300 science articles to his credit. He also conducts
science TV shows, is a resource person for training programmes, and writes for periodicals. He can be contacted at
tvv123@gmail.com.
28
WHY
NATURE OF SCIENCE
SCIENCE
MATTERS
ANIL KUMAR CHALLA & REETEKA SUD
T
Science is more than he modern usage of the word ‘science’ its ear), another to a pole (its legs), a third to
a body of knowledge; refers to a systematic study of the a rope (its tail), and so on. Similarly, different
it is a way of natural world in its many facets. scientists, in different countries or even in
thinking. Our aim, Perhaps the best example of this can be seen different eras, pursuing differing questions
above all else, should in the San, hunting tribes indigenous to South have followed essentially this same process,
be to foster scientific Africa. Their hunt for an animal starts with and continue to do so. Through this process,
thinking in students. an observation (pug marks in sand, etc), a a body of knowledge is generated over time.
If students seem hypothesis is formulated (direction the animal The progression from first observations is
bewildered about went), a course of action is decided (the hardly ever linear, unlike what textbooks will
the need to study equivalent of research methods), and pursued have you believe (and this is where confining
science, our response till conflicting evidence is found (overlapping ourselves to science textbooks can be
to them has to go
pug marks) — at which point an alternate misleading!).
beyond the cool
hypothesis is formed. Even though the San are
gadgets and ease of
miles away (literally and metaphorically) from
life that scientific
the schooling you and I see in the “civilized
advancements have
brought us. world”, we can see their actions follow the
same thread as any scientific investigation:
observation → hypothesis → experimental
methods (to test the hypothesis) → record
results → analyse results (whether they
support or contradict the hypothesis) →
in case of contradictory results, develop
alternate hypothesis and follow-up
accordingly.
How does this process lead to progress
in science? The history of scientific pursuit
somewhat resembles the ancient parable of six Fig. 1. The six blind men and the elephant.
blind men describing an elephant1. Each one Credits: Timeless Truths Publications. URL: http://library
.timelesstruths.org/texts/Treasures_of_ the_Kingdom_41 /
is trying to figure out what an elephant is, by The_Blind_Men_and_the_Elephant/. License: Used with
touching one part of it. In so doing, one of the permission of the rights owner.
men likens the elephant to a fan (by touching
30
made innumerable contributions to in the body; and was no exception to get all of them to grow into future
the development of Biology, including to the Cell Theory as the proponents scientists, but to help them develop
a technique to visualise brain tissue of reticular theory (including Golgi into scientifically literate citizens of the
that he was the first to develop in himself) thought. In spite of their future. Science education can enhance
1873. Although the postulates of the interpretations being polar opposites students’ perception of themselves,
Cell Theory were widely known (since of each other, both Golgi and Cajal laid their immediate surroundings, their
1838-39), no one realized that it applies the foundations of neuroscience, and communities and ecosystems, and the
to cells of the nervous system too. An were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in planet at large.
alternative explanation, called reticular Medicine in 1906.
Thus science can help students when
theory, was gaining ground instead.
By incorporating stories of how they confront real-life questions – is
According to this theory, the nervous
discoveries are made3, students also genetically-modified food safe for
system was formed from continuous
become familiar with the broader us? Should Indians be worried about
fibres that formed an intricate network.
context into which the syllabus fits. contracting infection from drug-
Golgi’s method allowed him to visualize
What better way of stimulating resistant bacteria? Is climate change
nerve cells in their entirety. But seeing
their curiosity than by stories of key man-made or does it happen in the
highly branched membranes, he too
discoveries coming from [a scientist] natural course of earth’s history?
concluded that the reticular theory
following their curiosity! This strategy
held merit (we know these branched The clarity of our perception depends
offers the added advantage of hooking
parts as dendrites today). It wasn’t until on the quality of tools at our disposal.
student attention, since our brains relate
later that a Spanish scientist by the As young minds engage with life and
to stories much better than they do to
name of Santiago Ramon y Cajal made learn about how things work around
facts read from books.
significant improvements in Golgi’s them, it makes sense to have effective
method. Consequently, the anatomic Another way of exposing students to tools. The question is – are we giving
features of nerve cells, and their the process of science is by organising today’s students the best tools to help
organization in different parts of the visits to research laboratories. Students them deal with challenges of tomorrow?
brain, became distinctly clear to him. are not only able to look at the practice Science is critical in enabling human
He first published his results in 1888, of science but can also interact with perception through continuously
supporting “neuron theory”, which scientists— ask them questions about improving and evolving tools. And that
stated that brain tissue was made up what they do, why, why this particular is why science matters.
of distinct cells, like every other tissue problem, and the like. The point isn’t
Note: Credits for the image used in the background of the article title: Stained culture of rat brain cells. GerryShaw, Wikimedia Commons. URL: https://commons.
wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Culture_of_rat_brain_cells_stained_with_antibody_to_MAP2_(green),_Neurofilament_(red)_and_DNA_(blue).jpg. License: CC-BY-SA.
Further readings:
1. Wikipedia contributors. “Blind men and an elephant.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Web. 4 Nov 2016.
URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_men_and_an_elephant.
2. Dworkin, B. 2003. Why antibiotics don’t kill viruses. Web. 4 November 2016.
URL: http://www.drbarrydworkin.com/articles/medicine/infectious-disease-articles/microbiology-101-why-antibiotics-dont-kill-viruses/
3. The story behind the science. Web. 4 November 2016.
URL: https://www.storybehindthescience.org/.
Anil Kumar Challa is an Instructor in the Department of Genetics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (USA).
His doctoral training was in the field of molecular and developmental genetics, using the zebrafish as a model system.
He continues to work with zebrafish, in addition to mice and rats. He is also involved with undergraduate biology
education and outreach activities. He can be reached at challa.anilkumar@gmail.com
Reeteka Sud is the Education Coordinator for IndiaBioscience. A neuroscientist by training, she is passionate about
science communication. She can be reached at reeteka@indiabioscience.org
P
With waste disposal problems opulation explosion, rapid like plastic and glass, in the last three
gripping cities as well as industrialization and consumption decades. The percentage of plastics alone
towns and an increasing - driven lifestyles have caused in household waste, for example, has risen
recognition of the role of huge changes in the quantity as well from 0.7% in 1971 to 9.22% in 2005.
organic fertilizers to combat as the composition of waste generated
the growing food crisis, It is in this context that composting
at both industrial and household levels. becomes relevant. Simply expressed,
how do we learn about the Finding sustainable and efficient ways
inter-linkages between these composting refers to the process of
of managing our waste has become a biological decomposition of organic
two? Can waste become
significant challenge. With an enormous waste, such as plant material, by bacteria,
a resource? In this article,
increase in the amount of waste fungi, worms and other organisms under
the author shares insights
on how her school adopted generated, we are quickly running out of controlled aerobic (occurring in the
the time tested technique energy, land and water for disposal, with presence of oxygen) conditions. Compost,
of recycling waste into food most landfill sites already overflowing the end result of this process, can be
through composting. with accumulated and rotting waste. This used as manure to replenish the fertility
is complicated by a significant increase in of garden soils and grow safe, healthy
the use of non-biodegradable material, food. Thus, a system of decentralized
32
a b
a b
Fig. 5. Compost - a gardener’s delight! Fig. 6. Uses of compost. (a) Using compost in the school garden. (b) Growing food crops
Credits: Pawar Public School, Bhandup. from food waste.
License: CC-BY-NC. Credits: Pawar Public School, Bhandup. License: CC-BY-NC.
34
FIVE REASONS TO RECYCLE AND COMPOST!
1. Recycle waste! On average, each of us generates about 200kg of solid waste
each year - that is a lot of garbage! Remember 40% of residential waste
is made up of compostable matter. By composting organic waste, we help
contribute to a more responsible and sustainable way of managing a
significant bulk of the waste we produce.
2. Save money! No need to buy chemical fertilizers. Compost is free!
3. Improve your soil! Compost returns valuable nutrients to the soil to help
maintain soil quality and fertility. As a mild, slow-release natural fertilizer
that won’t burn plants like chemical fertilizers, compost also improves
texture and air circulation in heavier soils and water retention in sandy soils.
By providing organic matter, compost improves plant growth and leads to
better yields.
4. Reduce your negative ecological impact!
• Reduce green-house gases (GHG’s) from: (a) vehicles used to transport
waste to landfills emit carbon dioxide (CO2); and (b) anaerobic (without
oxygen) break down of organic waste in landfills that produce methane
gas, a greenhouse gas twenty one times more harmful than CO2.
• Reduce water pollution by: (a) runoffs of chemical fertilizers into rivers,
lakes and streams; and (b) groundwater pollution by toxic leachates
produced by the reaction of metals with buried organic wastes in landfills.
5. Save Resources! By composting, you:
• Reduce costs and fuel use for waste collection and transportation
to landfills.
• Keep valuable resources out of the landfill
and extend the life of existing landfills
• Return wastes back to the soil to help
you grow more food!
• Conserve water since compost helps
with moisture retention in soil.
Note: Credits for the image used in the background of the article title: Still life on composter, allispossible.org.uk. URL: https://www.flickr.com/photos/whe
atfields/2257331369. License: CC-BY.
References
1. Rajendra Kumar Kaushal et al. Municipal Solid Waste Management in 4. Living Green, University of Florida. Composting. URL: http://livinggreen.
India – Current State and Future Challenges: A Review. International ifas.ufl.edu/waste/composting.html.
Journal of Engineering Science and Technology (IJEST), 2012: 1473-
1479. URL: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233894305_ 5. South London Waste Partnership. Why it’s important to recycle
Municipal_Solid_Waste_Management_in_India-Current_State_and_ and compost? URL: http://www.slwp.org.uk/what-we-do/recycling-
Future_Challenges_A_Review. composting/why-it-is-important-to-recycle-and-compost/.
2. Paige L, Ian Somerhalder Foundation. Environment fight clubs: 6. Eco Friendly Kids. A Kid’s Guide to Composting.
Incinerators vs. Landfills (Round 2). URL: http://www.isfoundation.com/ URL: http://www.ecofriendlykids.co.uk/composting.html.
campaign/environment-fight-club-incinerators-vs-landfills-round-2. 7. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development. Model scheme
3. Smith, MA, Friend, D and Johnson, H. Composting for the Homeowner. for vermin-composting units under agri-clinics. URL: https://www.
The University of Illinois Extension. URL: https://web.extension.illinois. nabard.org/pdf/VermicompostProductionUnit260814.pdf.
edu/homecompost/history.cfm.
Radhika Padmanabhan is the Head of Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science, and in-charge of conservation activities, at
Pawar Public school, Bhandup (an ICSE institution in Mumbai, Maharashtra). Radhika has won the ‘Best Mentor’ Award by Tata Power under
the Club Enerji Programme twice (in 2014, and 2015). She can be accessed at padmanabhanradhika@gmail.com.
36
ANNALS OF HISTORY
THE PERIODIC TABLE :
A WINDOW TO THE HISTORY OF CHEMISTRY!
SAVITA LADAGE & TEJAS JOSHI
38
Box 1. Atoms or molecules?
Periodicity in chemical
Remarkably, at this point of time, the chemical formulae of compounds was not known, properties of elements
nor was the concept of valence. However, the law of conservation of mass (Lavoisier) and Following the 1860 Congress, the
the law of constant proportion (Proust) had already been established. The law of constant
considerable number of known elements
proportion by Proust states that irrespective of its source, a particular compound (say
water) is made up of the same elements (hydrogen and oxygen) present in a constant (63) and clarifications about their
mass ratio (1:8) throughout. Keeping hydrogen as a reference, and assuming the simplest atomic masses, valence etc. provided the
formula of water to be HO, Dalton concluded the atomic mass of oxygen to be 8. appropriate reference points needed to
Gay-Lussac was working with chemical reactions in gaseous phase, and suggested that organize this information.
atoms need not be the smallest particles in an element to have independent existence.
Gay-Lussac’s results were in conflict with Dalton’s postulate of the indivisibility of an John Newlands was the first to identify
atom. This conflict was finally resolved by Avogadro who proposed the idea of ‘molecules’. a certain ‘periodicity’ in the chemical
properties of elements. Newlands
The concept of atomic mass and its calculating them, based on Avogadro’s observed that when arranged in order
determination was further developed hypothesis, was presented at the of their increasing atomic masses
in the period between 1800 and 1860 Congress. This landmark gathering thus (as calculated by Cannizzaro), every
by Gay-Lussac, Amedeo Avogadro, laid the foundation for serious and eighth element to appear in sequence
Berzelius, Jean Stas and Stanislao concerted efforts to reflect on existing from a given starting element in his
Cannizzaro. Berzelius changed the knowledge about elements and their arrangement was similar to each other
reference element from Hydrogen to properties. (refer Figure 2). He called this peculiar
Oxygen, broadening the canvas of property the ‘Law of Octaves’ given its
chemical assays by making use of readily Box 3. Triads of elements. similarity to the musical octave.
available oxides. This historic notion of Even though most attempts at
using some reference for calculating The fact that Newlands relied more on
classifying elements happened after
atomic masses is still very much in use – atomic masses of elements, rather than
the Karlsruhe Congress, there were
with the 12C isotope being the standard some noteworthy attempts prior to it, their physical and chemical properties,
today. notably Dobereiner’s work. Dobereiner’s resulted in some limitations in his
categorization of elements was arrangement. This was partly because
Box 2. Developing the idea of based on their chemical similarity: some of the atomic mass values that
atomic weights. he arranged a group of three similar
were in use at that time were incorrect,
elements in an increasing order of (their
The development of the idea of atomic
then known) atomic masses. When this leading to their incorrect placement.
weights is an amazing story in itself, Additionally, Newland did not leave gaps
was done, he noticed that the atomic
which has been discussed in detail in
an article titled – The Saga of Atomic mass of the middle element was close for undiscovered elements in his table.
Weights (Pg. 78) in the first issue (Nov to the average of the mass of the other
2015) of i wonder… We’d recommend a two. He published his ‘Law of Triads’
quick read! in 1829, leading to the subsequent Mendeleev solves
identification of ten such triads by the puzzle
1843.
Thus, by the mid-nineteenth century, Even though Newlands identified
almost 60 elements had been discovered, periodicity, his attempt at classifying
and their atomic masses had been elements was not taken seriously by
calculated. However, this knowledge chemists, and thus he did not pursue his
was still largely unknown within the ideas further. It was Dmitri Mendeleev,
scientific community, and wasn’t who in 1869, and later in 1871,
particularly accessible to everyone. As published his version of a periodic table.
a result many conceptual ambiguities Fig. 2. Examples of some triads of This elegant system of classification
regarding valence, molecular masses, elements. not only established the periodic law
equivalent masses continued to prevail. Credits: Tejas Joshi. License: CC-BY-NC. convincingly; but, also anticipated some
undiscovered elements by virtue of
The necessity for contemporary
chemists to come together to resolve However, this preliminary classification logical foresight, accommodating them
could not be used to organize all known by actually leaving gaps!
these ambiguities resulted in the first
elements; neither was this grouping
international Congress held at Karlsruhe, perfectly robust: for example, some What makes Mendeleev’s efforts, in
Germany in 1860. Cannizzaro’s values tetrads, and even one pentad, were the development of the perioidic table,
of atomic masses and his rationale for identified later! transformational?
40
Fig. 4. An overview of the discovery of the elements.
Credits: Adapted by Tejas Joshi from Goldwhite, H., & Adams, R. C. (1970). Chronology of the discovery of elements. Journal of Chemical Education, 47(12), 808.
led to the problem of how and where for the first time. Because of his work, creation of this trans-uranium element
to place these new elements in the atomic number (that is, number of in 1940 by Edwin McMillan and Philip
periodic table. Frederick Soddy and protons present in the nucleus of the Abelson, at the Berkeley Radiation
Kazimierz Fajans resolved this problem atom), instead of atomic mass, is now Laboratory was followed by extensive
by suggesting that all isotopes (elements considered the signature of an element. syntheses of transuranium elements
with identical chemical properties) of Moseley’s work also conclusively showed by Glenn Seaborg and his co-workers.
an element must be placed along with that there were 14 rare earths, with the Accommodating these newly created
it, in one single place, despite having two, till then missing, elements Hafnium elements in the periodic table was
different atomic masses. and Rhenium being discovered soon yet another challenge, as nobody had
after, by the X-ray method. anticipated them! By 1944, Seaborg,
Atomic number: the new who christened this set of elements
The latest addition to the periodic as the ‘Actinide’ group, had developed
signature of an element table is that of new elements created an updated version of the table with
Henry Moseley’s work in 1913 by humans. As a result, the concept of these elements placed below the rare
showed that there exists a systematic elements evolved from being limited to earths (Lanthanides). This was based
mathematical relationship between the naturally occurring ones to including on the discovery that the actinide
placement number of an element in the those created in laboratories by the group of elements were analogous to
periodic table and X-rays produced by transformation of matter on nuclear their corresponding lanthanides, and
the element. Thus, he could measure bombardment. Neptunium was the subsequently aided the identification of
the atomic numbers of several elements first element to be synthesized. The many more synthetic elements.
Box 4. Resources
An extensive list of print and web-
based resources on the periodic
table that we have referred to for
this article, as well as some teaching
resources developed by us, are
openly accessible online at www.
bit.ly/lmtce under the ‘Important
References and Resources’ section
on the portal.
We recommend visiting the portal,
which was built to make available
educational resources for multiple
audiences, some of whom might
not be able to access teaching aids
or international books in print.
We are sure that some of these
resources will inspire and support
you in your practice – whether it is
through designing activities for your
students, directing them towards
self-learning, or encouraging them
to question and seek answers. We
also offer print versions of a set of
learning resources designed to act as
lucid starting points for inculcating
an appreciation for the periodic
table and its elements among
your students. These resources are
available on purchase, and details
for the same can be obtained by
writing to us.
Fig. 6. Resources developed at the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education.
Credits: Tejas Joshi. License: CC-BY-NC.
42
The periodic table as an These revisions could involve changes in progress is a constant human endeavour.
educational tool technical information, or the addition of
We present this historical journey in the
new elements. The most recent version
So here we are today, with the widely hope that it broadens your perspective
of the table (January 2016), a standard
recognized long-form of the periodic on the periodic table (or anything that
reference for educators, incorporates
table. A lengthy journey, right? And you study in science for that matter).
four new elements that have been in the
one that has not yet ended – efforts to Rather than seeing it as a completed
news, and are known simply as 113, 115,
improve the functionality and format of product, we hope you can now see
117, and 118.
the periodic table continue (refer Figure the periodic table as the result of an
4 for one such example)! What makes the periodic table on-going, and rather captivating, story
invaluable for chemistry, and science with characters who were curious,
All revisions in the periodic table are education in general, is its extraordinary hard-working, and pursued questions
documented and updated by a global depiction of the dynamic but gradual with no obvious answers through logical
body called the International Union of process by which scientific knowledge contemplation.
Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). progresses, and how pushing this
Tejas Joshi is pursuing a Science Education M.A. at the University College London Institute of Education. This follows
a sustained stint at the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education since 2009, where Tejas first worked on a
multi-component organic reaction and later on creating visual learning resources for chemistry. His recent projects have
been on context-based learning, laboratory chemistry education, open educational resource development for chemistry
education and communication. In his free time, Tejas enjoys painting, illustrating and gardening. He can be contacted at
tejas@oldifluff.org.
Savita Ladage is a faculty member at the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, TIFR, with a Ph.D. in
chemistry education. She has been centrally involved in the chemistry Olympiad programme in India – designing
questions, laboratory tasks and overviewing selection stages for more than 15 years, along with the NIUS chemistry
programme for undergraduate education. Her academic interests include analytical chemistry, chemistry education,
particularly misconceptions, and developing experiments for undergraduate chemistry. She can be contacted at
savital@hbcse.tifr.res.in.
CONCEPTIONS OF
FORCE SAURAV SHOME
4444
Taking
responses and
noting down
the results
Asking probing
Asking Concept
questions
inventory
and taking
questions
responses
Argumentation
on the possible
Demonstration
responses
of the concept
and possible
Fig. 1. A schematic diagram of the explanations
process cycle of the session.
Credits: Saurav Shome. Licence: CC-BY-NC
46
second, the chair was occupied by a this, this experiment was performed Answer 4: The correct answer to this
motionless man, heavier than the one with two water bottles. As suggested question is that stated in option (c).
seated on chair A. by the participants, the two bottles Why were the majority of responses of
were dropped from increasingly greater the participants so different then?
It was pointed out that in responding
heights. As predicted, in every case, the
to both these questions, most of the In an effort to get the participants
two bottles touched the ground at
participants had associated only the to apply their understanding of
almost the same time.
amount of motion of objects with gravitational force to this situation,
the force acting on that object. In response to the second scenario, the author asked them to name the
Hearteningly, this initiated a discussion the participants predicted that the forces that were acting on the balls
among participants, where they began purse would fall faster than the sheet when they left the table surface.
acknowledging and reflecting on these of paper. A demonstration confirmed While some of the participants named
contradictions, although they were still this prediction. When asked the reason
gravitational force, one participant
not able to apply Newton’s third law to for this observation, the participants
argued that gravitational force was
either situation. indicated that the paper falls slower
also acting on the balls when the balls
due to greater air resistance, caused
No attempt was made, even at this were moving on the surface of the
by its larger surface area.
juncture, to mention or explain the table. Justifying choosing option (a),
correct responses to the two questions. To present the third scenario, a participants compared this situation
Instead, to help participants understand notebook and a piece of paper from with their real life experiences of
the unequal motion of the chairs, the he same notebook were taken to ensure throwing lighter and heavier objects,
author introduced them to Newton’s that both objects had the same surface arguing that even when thrown with
law of gravitation. Attention to the area. When the objects were dropped the same force, lighter objects traveled
connection between Newton’s three from a height, keeping the faces of further than heavier ones.
laws of motion and Newton’s law of the objects horizontal, the paper fell
gravitation was drawn by specifically slower than the note book. It was It is interesting to note that in
stating that the force exerted by Earth pointed out how this was because the spite of being aware of Newton’s law
on any object is exactly equal to the paper, being lighter, could not overcome of gravitation, participants continued
force exerted by the object on Earth. air resistance as easily as the heavier to hold the view that the magnitude
notebook. In contrast, when the two of gravitational force is independent
objects were dropped keeping their on the mass of the object it acts
faces vertical, both of them fell almost upon. The demonstrations, of different
Both heavier and lighter at the same time. objects falling to the ground
simultaneously, conducted prior to
objects land at the same From these demonstrations, all the
participants agreed that all objects, posing this question did not challenge
time. this misconception. All objects fall
irrespective of their mass, fall to the
Question 3: In each of three scenarios ground at almost at the same time, if towards earth with equal rapidity due
given below, two objects are dropped they are released from the same height. to equal acceleration produced in
from the same height. Which of them the objects and not due to the equal
will fall faster to the ground?
gravitational force acting on the objects.
Scenario 1: An empty bottle versus a The participants wrongly equated equal
bottle completely filled with water. acceleration with equal force.
Gravitational force is
Scenario 2: A purse versus a sheet of
paper. the same on all objects!
Scenario 3: A notebook versus a sheet Question 4: Imagine two iron balls of the DS from the base. Which of the following
of paper from it. statements best describes the relation
same size rolling on a horizontal table
Which objects would you pick? with identical uniform velocity. One of between DH and DS?
the balls is hollow, while the other is a) DH > DS
solid. The solid ball is 10 times heavier b) DH < DS
than the hollow ball. Both the balls
c) DH = DS
slip from the edges of the table at the
same time. The hollow ball touches the Responses: Seventeen (65%) of the
Answer 3: Presented with the first participants opted for (a), one (4%) for
ground at a horizontal distance of DH
scenario, the participants predicted (b), and eight (31%) for option (c).
from the base of the table while the solid
that the two bottles would fall to the one traverses a horizontal distance of What option would you choose?
ground at the same time. To confirm
Fig. 4. Different forces act upon a ball thrown by a student. Credits: Saurav Shome. License: CC-BY-NC
48
Conclusion sufficient in helping students develop examples. However, these could be
a conceptual understanding of force changed in a variety of ways. For
Many science students and teachers find
in Galilean and Newtonian mechanics. example, while discussing the responses
it difficult to differentiate between force,
For example, despite elaborate in Question 1 and 2, other sets of
energy and momentum.
demonstrations that all objects in free demonstrations could be included. These
Even when reminded that energy and fall move towards ground with equal could take the form of exchanging the
momentum are conserved quantities rapidity, participants adhered to their students; or putting the heavier student
and properties of the object that are initial understanding that the mass in chair A and lighter student in chair
carried with it as opposed to force that of objects influences the horizontal B with the heavier student pushing
is neither carried with the object nor distance traversed by the same object the chair B; or, equalizing the mass on
conserved, these statements alone are after it has reached the ground. Their each chair; and comparing the relative
not sufficient to bring about conceptual alternative conceptions seemed to stem distances traveled by the chairs in each
change. For example, although from their inability to differentiate case. The sequences and intermediate
participants of the workshop session between physical quantities at least at questions could be structured in
were able to state Newton’s laws of three levels: a) mechanical force and alignment with the conceptual pitfalls
motion and the theory of gravitation, gravitational force, b) energy and force, that appear in discussions. The situation
they showed inadequate understanding c) velocity and acceleration. in Question 4 could be demonstrated,
of both. They tended to associate force by allowing hollow and solid balls to fall
From our survey with teachers, it
with motion, rather than inertia with from increasing heights.
seems likely that questions around
motion, an idea similar to motive/
counter intuitive examples may be Now it’s your turn - try out some of
impetus force.
a great way for teachers to help rid these experiments with your students
Similarly, experiments to demonstrate students of learning misconceptions. today. You may find yourself surprised at
the workings on force may also not be We have illustrated a few such their responses!
Note: Credits for the image used in the background of the article title: Accelerated freefall. Tony Danbury. Wikimedia Commons. URL: https://commons.
wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AFF_Level_1_-_Skydive_Langar.jpg. License: CC-BY.
Acknowledgements: The author is thankful to the participants of the workshop, science team members of District Institute, Azim Premji Foundation,
Udham Singh Nagar, and the anonymous reviewers. The author is also indebted to Chitra and RamG for their contribution in making the manuscript
readable and publishable.
References
1. Clement, J. (1982). Students’ preconceptions in introductory mechanics. American Journal of Physics, 50(1), 66-71.
2. Halloun, I. A., & Hestenes, D. (1985). Common sense concepts about motion. American Journal of Physics, 53(11), 1056-1065.
3. Rampal, A. (1995). Where the force is absent? Sandarbh, 3 (1), 19-33.
4. Trumper, R. (1995). The Need for Change in Elementary-school Teacher Training: The force concept as an example. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher
Education, 26 (1), 7-25.
5. Shome, S. (2013). When objects fail to move despite force being exerted! Voices of Teachers and Teacher Educators, 2 (2), 38-43.
7. Hestenes, D., Wells, M., and Swackhamer, G. (1992). Force concept inventory. The Physics Teacher, 30 (3), 141 – 158.
Saurav Shome works at the Azim Premji Foundation. He can be reached at saurav.shome@azimpremjifoundation.org
or shomesaurav@gmail.com.
POLLINATORS :
THE PLANT PROPAGATORS MEENAKSHI PANT
Plants court a variety of “Life did not take over the globe by combat,
animal pollinators to ensure but by networking” – Lynn Margulis.
T
their own genetic diversity.
This article explores the he famous evolutionary biologist
diversity of mechanisms Lynn Margulis held the view that
that plants use to attract life evolved on this planet not
specific pollinators, showing through a competition for survival but by
how these co-evolving collaboration between life forms in order to
mutualistic relationships survive. What better example of this than
matter to life on Earth. the process of pollination, where plants and
animals interact for mutual benefit!
Pollination is vital to the survival and
propogation of a variety of plant species on
50
the same or two different plants. The It also reveals how the interaction
only way fertilization can occur in such between two groups of organisms can
plants is through a mediator, one that is be a font of biodiversity.
capable of transferring the pollen from
Let’s take a look at some interesting
one flower (called the pollinizer) to the
examples of pollinizer-pollinator
stigma of another. These mediators,
associations, exploring how these
indispensable to cross-fertilisation, are
mutualistic relationships shape both
what we commonly call pollinators.
interacting partners.
Current estimates suggest that about
200,000 species of animals pollinate Insects as pollinators
about 75% of all flowering plants!
Insects constitute the largest community
Animal pollinators come in different
of pollinators. As Joseph Gottlieb
sizes and shapes – ranging from insects
Kölreuter said “und wahrscheinlich
and birds to mammals and reptiles. It
is no wonder, then, that plants have leisten[Insekten]wo nicht den allermein
evolved a variety of features to attract pflanzen, dochwenigstens einem sehr
a particular type of pollinators. Ranging großen Theil derselben, diesen ungemein
from bright colours for those with großen Dienst” meaning, “Insects
probably provide this uncommonly Fig. 4. Pollen baskets on pollinating honey bees.
great eyesight to fragrance for those
Source: Fifamed, Wikimedia Commons. URL: https://
who don’t – these features are called great service, if not to most plants,
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Honeybee_pollen_
pollination syndromes. This coevolution then at least to a very large portion of basket.JPG. License: Public Domain.
of flowering plants and their pollinators them.” Prominent among them are bees,
shows one of nature’s most conspicuous butterflies, moths, beetles, wasps, flies With about 20,000 species involved
examples of adaption and specialization. and ants. in plant pollination, bees are some of
the most important insect pollinators.
The idea of co-evolution: Bees depend on plants not only for
This idea of coevolution was first the nectar they provide – their main
proposed by Charles Darwin who food source, but also for pollen –
predicted that a long-spurred which they use to feed their larvae.
Madagascar orchid, Angraecum The “intelligence” of these pollinators
sesquipedale, must be pollinated is evident in their ability to perceive,
by a hawkmoth with an
extraordinarily long tongue.
differentiate between, and remember
the appearance of flowers they visit. On
This idea was supported by
naturalists like Alfred Wallace, each visit, bees rub their bodies against
and a hawkmoth matching the anthers of the flower they land
the expected tongue-length upon. The pollen from these anthers
profile was finally discovered sticks to dense hairs on their hind legs,
in Madagascar during the early referred to as a pollen basket, and is
twentieth century. transferred to the next flower the bee
visits. Bee-pollinated plant species use a
Fig. 3. An illustration variety of mechanisms to look appealing
by Thomas William to these insects. Since bees rely heavily
Wood, based on Alfred on their sense of smell, flowers of these
Russel Wallace’s plants often have a strong fragrance.
description, showing Their flowers are bright yellow or blue
a moth pollinating A.
in colour, attracting bees even from
sesquipedale. Remarkably,
this was drawn in 1867, a distance. This is because bees have
before the moth was even trichromatic vision, with their eyes
discovered. containing pigments sensitive to green,
blue, and ultraviolet light, but blind
Source: Wallace, Alfred Russel (October 1867). “Creation by Law”. The Quarterly Journal of Science
to red colour (which appears black to
4 (16): p. 470. London: John Churchill & Sons. Retrieved on 2009-07-30. Uploaded by Dmitriy
Konstantinov, Wikimedia Commons. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wallacesesquipedale.jpg. them). Many floral species offer a special
License: CC-BY. landing platform, in the form of a broad
lower lip, to their bee pollinators. Thus,
52
Africa and Europe, has a modified petal pollinia to them. As soon as the
resembling a female bumblebee or wasp. transfer of pollinia is completed,
Male bees or wasps that emerge from the fragrance of the orchid fades
their pupal stage a week or two before abruptly. The temporarily dazed
the females, mistake the orchid flowers insect comes back to its senses and
for potential mates. While they are flies away, carrying the pollinia
trying to mate with the flowers, pollinia along with it.
get attached to their heads. When they
move on to another flower, the pollinia Birds as pollinators
gets caught in the sticky stigma. On Birds do not have a strong sense
every visit by a pollinator, the pollinia of smell, but they have exceptional
removed from one flower is replaced vision. They visit flowers that are
by the pollinia it has collected from bright red or yellow in colour, with
the previous flower it has visited. The mild or no odour. Bird-pollinated
pollinia of orchids that are pollinated by flowers are usually large, in the
butterflies and moths get attached to form of an inflorescence (flower
their long proboscis with sticky clamps cluster) and, in some cases, grow on
instead of pads. Fig. 11. Bog orchids are pollinated by mosquitoes. tree trunks. They also produce large
Unusual Pollinators:
The role of lizards in pollination has only been recognized recently. Studies have
revealed that lizards help the survival of many plant species, particularly on islands,
by pollinating them. This unusual behavior can be attributed mainly to the high
population densities of island lizard species, an excess of floral food, and relatively low
risk of predators as compared to the lizards on the mainland. Island lizards often drink
nectar from flowers and eat the pulp of fruits of many plant species, even though the
protein content of both these food sources is quite low.
amounts of nectar, often in long floral are pollinated by bats. Bats use these guavas, depend – either partially or
tubes that keep most insects out. chemical signals to locate these flowers. completely – on bats for pollination.
Some birds, like the sunbirds of Africa This relationship is of great significance Pollination by bats has also greatly
and hummingbirds of America, are as about 500 tropical plant species, influenced the genetic diversity of
uniquely adapted to the flowers they including mangoes, litchi, bananas, and plants in these regions.
pollinate. Hummingbirds are attracted
to many types of flowers, including
Hibiscus, Cannas, honeysuckles, Salvia,
Fuchsia, etc. Some Fuchsia have long
threads projecting from each pollen
grain. When a hummingbird inserts
its typically elongated bill into such a
flower, the pollen grain threads stick on
to the short, stiff hairs located toward
the base of its bill. In this way, the bird
unsuspectingly transfers pollen from one
flower to another.
Bats as pollinators
Most bat species that act as pollinators
are found in Southeast Asia, Africa and
the Pacific islands. Plants pollinated by
bats often have white or pale flowers
that bloom at night and are large or
have ball-like inflorescences. Many
of these flowers have large amounts
of nectar, and emit a strong fruity or
musky odour that attracts bats. This Fig. 14. Mexican long-tongued bat pollinating Agave flowers.
smell is produced due to the presence Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters (uploaded by Dolovis), Wikimedia Commons.
of sulphur-containing compounds, URL: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Choeronycteris_mexicana,_Mexican_long-tongued_bat_
specially found in those flowers that (7371567444).jpg. License: CC-BY.
54
Conclusion
Although we’ve explored only a role in the survival of all life on this author, “If we were to wipe out insects
few plant-pollinator associations planet. alone on this planet, the rest of life
as examples, these are sufficient to The significance of pollinators is and humanity with it would mostly
show how strongly these mutualistic aptly highlighted in these words of disappear from the land. Within a few
associations influence the propagation E. O. Wilson, an American biologist, months.”
of plant species, and thus play a pivotal researcher, theorist, naturalist and
Note: Credits for the image used in the background of the article title: Bee pollinating a rose, Debivort, Wikimedia Commons. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
File:Bee_pollinating_a_rose.jpg. License: CC-BY-SA.
References
1. Plant-Pollinator Interactions: From Specialization to Generalization. Edited by Nickolas M. Waser and Jeff Ollerton. University of Chicago Press.
URL: https://books.google.co.in/books?id=Fbl5c9fUxTIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=pollination&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjol5vF_tvOAhVEro8KHTvAC poQ
6AEIKTAC.
2. Lizards as pollinators and seed dispersers: An island phenomenon. Olesen, J. M., and A. Valido. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 2003, 18(4): 177-181.
3. Celebrating Wildflowers: Bat pollination. USDA Forest Service, Rangeland Management Botany Program. 2006. Retrieved November 7, 2006.
URL: http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/.
4. Pollination. (2015, October 11). New World Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17:44, September 30, 2016.
URL: http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Pollination&oldid=991213.
5. Helping to Feed Honey Bees and Other Pollinators. Glynn Young.
URL: http://monsantoblog.com/2014/03/10/helping-to-feed-honey-bees-and-other-pollinators/.
6. Social Behavior in animals with special reference to vertebrates. N. Tinbergen. Springer Netherlands.
7. Pollinators in the Landscape II: Plants and Pollinators.Mandy Bayer. The Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment.
URL: https://ag.umass.edu/fact-sheets/pollinators-in-landscape-ii-plants-pollinators.
8. Orchid Pollination. RonMcHatton, AOS, June 2011.URL: http://staugorchidsociety.org/PDF/OrchidPollinationbyRonMcHatton.pdf.
Meenakshi Pant is currently working as a science resource person at Azim Premji Foundation, State Institute, Dehradun.
She has a Masters degree in Environmental Biology and a B.Ed. She has worked as a post graduate teacher (Biology
& Environment Science) for 15 years and is passionate about wildlife and its conservation. She can be contacted at
meenakshi.pant@azimpremjifoundation.org
O
Art is a powerful medium ur increasing disconnection with in their immediate surroundings. To do
to teach students about nature is an important cause of this, we need to explore and experiment
the importance of nature many of the negative impacts with methods and mediums that can
as it stimulates them to that humans have on their environment. awaken and nourish the sensibility of
think and feel. This article Thus, it is now widely believed that in children to the natural world.
explores a few simple art order to live more sustainably, we need
based activities that can be to create educational experiences that
used to sensitize children help children develop greater sensitivity …in order to live more sustainably,
to their local ecology and and appreciation for the natural world. we need to create educational
environment. experiences that help children
Most national and state education
boards approach this objective by develop greater sensitivity and
making environmental education appreciation for the natural world.
a compulsory part of the school
curriculum. For a variety of reasons, Throughout the history of humankind,
however, this seems to have little art and education have been
influence on the minds of young interrelated. Indeed, knowledge was
learners. The curriculum for often transmitted through art. Now,
environmental education focuses on however, the two are completely
topics like environmental pollution, dissociated in many educational systems
global warming, ozone layer depletion of the world. Using art as a tool for
etc, which young students cannot relate teaching stimulates children to think,
to easily. Many teachers, and students, feel, and become more sensitive.
feel overwhelmed by the burden of Sensitivity towards nature can also be
teaching (and learning) yet another achieved through a variety of art-
subject in an already packed syllabus. inspired activities, particularly when
Often this ‘subject’ is neglected or we work closely with nature. In fact,
treated like any other subject that has
when it comes to learning about the
to be studied and ‘memorized’ to get
natural world, art has an ability that
through exams. Quite naturally, the
conventional approaches lack.
teaching methods used in environmental
education seem to have little influence To use art to teach children about
on the minds of young learners. In nature, one need not be a trained
contrast, there is a need for students artist or an expert in the subject.
to not just learn scientific facts about Individuals with a curious, exploratory
our natural world, but also enhance and creative mind can experiment using
their sensibility towards nature and the medium of art to come up with
understand the environmental issues innovative art-based activities. School
56
teachers can easily teach ecology and observed their photographs. Sketching they’d observed, were able to remember
environment through some simple helped students remember features differences like those in the shape of
art-based activities. These activities of even animals that were otherwise the leaves or their barks better and
need not be too complicated or highly unfamiliar to them. Significantly, this longer. They were also able to draw
creative. Even simple experiments can increase in knowledge level was also the leaves or fruits on the black board
make a difference to the quality of evident among those female students without referring to their sketches
learning in children. In this article, we who chose to draw. This demonstrates from the field. It was also noticed that
will explore a few such simple activities that art can be a useful tool for children when children were asked to select
and experiments that have been with limited opportunities to spend time trees for this activity, the students who
used to sensitize children about their outdoors, especially in villages where were asked to just observe trees chose
environment. girls are kept indoors after a certain age. species that they were already familiar
with, like Tamarind, Papaya or Fig. These
Observing through art To use art to teach children students were already unsure of being
about nature, one need not be a able to remember all that they saw and
builds confidence! therefore choose trees that they already
trained artist or an expert in the
One experiment on teaching children had some knowledge about. In contrast,
subject. Individuals with a curious,
about the natural world through art students who were asked to sketch
exploratory and creative mind can
was conducted with students living at their observations often chose trees
experiment using the medium of
the foothills of a Tiger Reserve. Before unfamiliar to them. Art helped increase
plunging into art-based activities, we art to come up with innovative art-
their confidence to explore and learn
used a questionnaire based survey to get based activities.
the distinguishing characteristics of
an estimate of the average knowledge new trees, which in turn increased their
level of students about their local knowledge levels.
biodiversity. Surprisingly, the survey
revealed that these students were
unaware of the diversity of wildlife
that existed right in their backyard.
Although it would have been ideal
to take students into the forest and
give them some authentic experience
of this wildlife, it was not possible to
obtain permission to do so. Instead an
attempt was made to teach students to
learn to identify wildlife in a classroom Fig. 1. Sketching helped children remember
session using art. Students were shown the distinguishing features of unfamiliar
photographs of the most important animals.
mammals known to exist in the tiger Credits: Abhisheka K. License: CC-BY-NC.
reserve, and asked to differentiate
between species belonging to the same Similarly, children were tested to see if
family. They were divided into two they could remember the characteristics
groups – with one group assigned the of a tree better by just observing it, or
task of just watching the photos, and by drawing it. Each class was divided
the other group asked to sketch the key into two groups. One group was asked
to simply observe the different trees Fig. 2. The excitement of outdoor sketching.
differences between the various species
that grew in their school campus, while Credits: Abhisheka K. License: CC-BY-NC.
they were seeing. Since the forest had
five species of primates, two species of the other was asked to sketch different
big cats, and three species of ungulates, parts – like leaves, fruits and flowers – Similarly sketching can be used to learn
the children had to learn to remember of each tree they observed. They were to identify birds, insects, and other life
the main characteristics of each of also encouraged to study the pattern forms. Though nature trails helps
these species in order to differentiate of tree barks by taking an impression students look at life forms that they
between them. A post-workshop survey of the bark on a sheet of paper using may have ignored before, sketching
revealed that the level of knowledge crayons. Observations recorded by helps them keenly observe and retain
was distinctly higher among the both groups in data sheets provided to what they learn from these observations.
students who sketched the mammals them after this activity clearly showed For example, when a group of village
as compared to students who only that those who had sketched the trees students were challenged to find
58
develop or improve their relationship example, I asked students from a village,
Nature-inspired art helps students with the natural world. who were in the habit of pulling down
bird nests, to build nests of their own.
break such mental barriers as they
are allowed to work with natural Environmental awareness To do this, the students were first asked
to collect materials like grass and leaves
material, without any expectation Art can also be used as a medium to
that they had observed birds using to
of seeing any specific or defined share environmental messages and
make nests. Then, they were to use
form as an end product. What to create awareness about critical
these materials in any way they chose
matters is the experience that the ecological issues specific to their
villages/towns/cities. to construct nests that could hold eggs.
child goes through while engaging
After working on this task for several
with art, and not how the art work Art-based activities can also be used hours, some of the children managed
looks after completion. to make students more aware of their to come up with nests that were
own role in shaping local ecology. For strong enough to meet these criteria.
However, many others had nests which
were flaccid. This simple activity helped
students realize that while they could
destroy nests in no time at all, it takes
birds a lot of time and effort to build
them. When the students were told that
the nests they had built so painstakingly
would be discarded after the activity,
they were horrified, voluntarily
promising to never destroy a bird nest
again!
Waste management is another
important issue that children need to
be exposed to as early as possible in life.
Art was used differently in this context.
A typical session, for example, would
start with discussions about waste
management, reducing and recycling
waste, and preparing compost pits;
gradually leading up to the up-cycling
of discarded waste using art. Then,
Fig. 5. Bird nests created by students in Relli Village, Kalimpong.
children were asked to bring discarded
Credits: Abhisheka K. License: CC-BY-NC.
stuff from their homes and turn these
Conclusion
Many other art forms – ranging
from literature, poetry and music,
to dance, sculpture and theatre are
embedded in Indian culture, and can
be used as a means to help children
develop awareness and a sense of
connection to ‘nature’. For example,
even the performing arts can be a
great form of teaching, with students
encouraged to take on the role of
raising awareness about the necessity of
nature conservation to other, children
and adult, audiences. Art allows us to
reach out to even some of the most
underprivileged and marginalized
communities, when all other forms of
Fig. 7. Holders made out of discarded water and shampoo bottles. These were decorated
communication with them fail.
with sketches of animals that people are often scared of or think of as bad omens.
Using art to teach ecology, however, Credits: Abhisheka K. License: CC-BY-NC.
requires us, as teachers, to develop
a certain sensitivity, playfulness and
creativity. This article only explores process of teaching and learning about encourages you to use art more often
‘some’ ways in which art can make the nature more enjoyable. I hope that it and more creatively in your classrooms!
Abhisheka Krishnagopal is an ecologist, artist (visual and performing) and nature educator. She uses her experience in
field ecology and the medium of art to create awareness about nature conservation. She also has several years of experience
rehabilitating injured and abandoned urban wildlife. Abhisheka can be contacted at: abhishekagopal@gmail.com.
60
RADIO ASTRONOMY
M
The cosmos is strange ore than two decades ago, one terrestrial signal. For many people of that
and beautiful, full of Carl Sagan’s science fiction generation, this is likely to have been their
of unanticipated novels, Contact, was made into a first, and most likely only, exposure to radio
objects. The only way major Hollywood motion picture starring astronomy. In some ways, however, what is
to understand it is Jodie Foster as the protagonist, Dr. Eleanor more surprising is that the general public
to observe it – in as “Ellie” Arroway. Based on the Search for has some exposure to radio astronomy at all,
many different ways as Extra-terrestrial Intelligence (or SETI, as it is let alone through a major Hollywood film.
possible. In this article, popularly known), Contact is the story of a
we take a look at Radio astronomers form a small and
determined astronomer managing, against
the wonders revealed esoteric community – the radio astronomy
heavy odds, to make radio contact with
upon observing radio an extra-terrestrial civilisation. An abiding
commission of the International Astronomy
emissions from celestial Union has only a few hundred members.
image from the movie is of Jodie Foster
objects through the In India, the numbers are smaller still,
with a pair of headphones clamped to her
Giant Metrewave Radio but there is at least one work of fiction
ears, and a massive antenna array in the
Telescope (GMRT), near featuring Indian radio astronomers – Manu
background, listening intently to this extra-
Pune, India. Joseph’s award winning novel, Serious Men.
For a small community, radio astronomy
has certainly received a disproportionate
amount of representation in popular
culture! This is caused, at least partly, by the
allure of space exploration and the Search
for Extra- terrestrial Intelligence. But what
does radio astronomy have to do with the
SETI? If you go by the small fraction of radio
astronomers involved with SETI – very little.
But in order to understand radio astronomy,
exploring its connections with SETI is as
good a place to start as any other.
62
Fig. 3. Atmospheric opacity is a function of wavelength. The atmosphere (and ionosphere) is almost completely opaque in most parts of the
electro-magnetic spectrum. It is only in the optical (i.e. ordinary visible light which human eyes are sensitive to) and radio (at which wavelength
radio telescopes work) windows where the atmosphere is transparent. Since radiation from distant celestial sources does not reach the surface
of the Earth at other wavelengths, they can be observed only by satellites launched into space. This is, in general, much more expensive than
building a telescope on Earth.
Source: Mysid, Wikimedia Commons. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_window#/media/File:Atmospheric_electromagnetic_opacity.svg.
License: Public Domain.
It turns out that it’s not just the Earth’s engineering played a central role in the Earth to complete one rotation.
atmosphere that is transparent to establishing radio astronomy. This indicated that its source was far,
radio-waves; much of the galaxy is far away from the solar system (see
also transparent to radio-waves. The Radio communication Box 3). More careful observations, and
same cannot be said of light waves. comparison with what is known from
The space between stars contains fine
and the birth of radio optical observations, allowed Jansky to
dust particles, which scatter and absorb astronomy determine that the radio-waves he was
light, but don’t affect radio-waves. During the 1930s, transatlantic receiving were strongest in the direction
This means that radio-waves allow communication using radio-waves towards the centre of the galaxy.
one to peer into regions of deep space was in its infancy. Companies involved
which are completely opaque to star in transatlantic communication were
light. This is one of the major reasons looking for ways to identify different Box 3: The Earth takes a little less
why SETI uses radio-waves: they allow than a day to complete one rotation.
sources of noise (“static”) picked up by
one to look for tell-tale signs of a radio receivers and, if possible, eliminate We are used to thinking of a day as
technological civilisation in regions being 24 hours long, and regarding
them. The Bell telephone company, this as the time taken for the Earth
of the sky that no other tracer would a pioneer in this field, assigned the to complete one rotation. But, in
allow one to probe. So, for example, job of characterizing noise in radio addition to rotating around its axis;
if we were to try and eavesdrop on communications to one of its engineers, the Earth is also revolving around
the internal communication in some Karl Jansky. Janksy turned out to be the Sun. Thus, strictly speaking, a day
other civilisations, our best chance of (or, more accurately, a solar day) is
an extremely systematic observer, and
defined as the time period between
“hearing” something would be at radio through careful, painstaking effort, he one mid-day (i.e. the time at which
wavelengths. Being the least energetic classified the noise he was receiving the Sun is at its maximum height
of the electromagnetic waves, radio- into 3 different categories: (i) static from the horizon) and the next. This
waves are also the cheapest forms of generated by nearby thunderstorms; takes slightly more time (about 4
communication signals. This is another minutes) than that required for one
(ii) static generated by distant
rotation (see Fig.4). A periodicity of
reason why SETI focuses on radio-waves. thunderstorms; and, (iii) static of 23 hours and 56 minutes (called a
Indeed, long-distance communication unknown origin. From a careful follow- sidereal day) is, hence, characteristic
on Earth really took off only after up, he discovered that the third class for stars and other distant celestial
the discovery of radio-waves. It is not of static had a periodicity of 23 hours objects.
surprising, then, that communications and 56 minutes – the time taken for
This was the first detection of radio- facilities were used by radio engineers
waves from an extra-terrestrial object, for astronomy. This quickly led to the Box 4: Stellar radio emissions are
much fainter than those from the Sun.
and received a lot of public attention, discovery that the Sun was one of the
brightest sources of celestial radio- This difference is related to our distance
including front page coverage in the
from the Sun versus that from other
New York Times and other newspapers. waves, and that the sky is, in fact, full of stars. The nearest star is almost 300,000
However, it was several years before radio sources. times further away from us than
professional astronomers paid attention the Sun, which means that if it was
intrinsically as luminous as the Sun
to this discovery partly because the Unveiling the cosmos – in radio-waves, it would appear to be
technology required for radio astronomy
what do Radio Telescopes about a ninety billion times less bright.
was completely different from that This was too faint for the early radio
used by optical astronomers. For the “see”? telescopes to detect.
optical community to retrain themselves The most striking thing about the night
to become radio astronomers would sky is the tapestry of stars scattered telescopes had very poor angular
have required a huge effort (in fact, across it. This coupled with the fact resolution (see Box 7), making it very
the divide between optical and radio that the Sun is a strong source of difficult to cross identify radio sources
astronomers persists to this day, with radio-waves, suggested the possibility with sources seen in optical images.
radio astronomy remaining a highly that these new observations were In 1962, however, the precise location
specialized sub-field of astronomy). But, detecting some kind of stars, referred of one of the brightest radio sources,
this was also partly because Jansky’s to as radio-stars. But, it turns out that called 3C273, was determined using
discovery came during the Great radio emissions from stars are very, radio observations from the Parkes radio
Depression in the US, when funding for very faint (see Box 4); and almost none telescope. The Parkes radio telescope,
new and risky initiatives was difficult of the sources detected in these early like all other telescopes of that era,
to find. During the Second World War, observations correspond to that of stars had fairly poor resolution. But, it turns
however, there was a sudden explosion known to us. If not stars, then what out that 3C273 is occasionally eclipsed
were these objects that radio telescopes (or, occulted) by the moon. Careful
in the development of radio technology,
were discovering? observations of the way in which the
driven primarily by the need to have
powerful radar defence systems. The answer to this question remained radio brightness of 3C273 changed
After the war, some of these radar unclear for a long time. Early radio during the eclipse allowed astronomers
64
to determine the precise time at which expansion of the universe. It was only (relic radiations left over from the time
the edge of the moon had just crossed because the shift in wavelengths in after the Big Bang when the universe
the source. This allowed identification the 3C273 spectrum was so enormous cooled sufficiently for electrons and
of the source of the mysterious radio- compared to all other redshifts observed protons to combine together to form
waves from archival optical images. before that it took some time for its neutral atoms). The diffuse gas that is
Surprisingly, the source appeared to be spectral lines to be recognized as those found between stars is also a strong
a fairly nondescript star-like object. So, from a redshifted system. This was, by emitter of radio-waves. In general,
were radio-telescopes discovering some far, the most distant object discovered optical telescopes show us where stars
kind of stars after all? till 1962 and, therefore, also one of are, while radio telescopes show us the
the most luminous objects known to distribution of this gas. These can be
To answer this question, an astronomer
us. It was, in fact, enormously more quite different (see Fig. 5), once again
named Marteen Schmidt observed
luminous than any known star. We now driving home the point that one needs
the spectrum (see Box 5) of the star-
know that 3C273 is not a star; but a multiple kinds of observations to fully
like 3C273. The type of spectrum a
black hole – with a mass that is billions understand the world around us.
star produces helps determine its
of times more than that of the Sun!
composition. For example, the Sun’s
Matter swirling around a black hole gets
spectrum has a characteristic sharp
heated up to enormous temperatures
colour (called a spectral line) arising
before it is swallowed, producing bright
from the element Helium (which gets its
jets shot out at speeds close to that of
name from being first identified from
light. It is the material in these jets that
observations of the solar spectrum).
produce the radio emissions detected
The spectrum of 3C273 also had several
by telescopes. So, radio astronomers
spectral lines, but of wavelengths that
had found a completely new kind
did not match with those expected for
of object, now called by the generic
any of the elements known to us.
name of radio-galaxies. This is just
one example of how observing the
Box 5: Luminous objects can be
identified by the kind of spectrum
universe at a different wavelength can
they produce. lead to startling new discoveries. This
White light consists of a blend of has, indeed, turned out to frequently
different coloured lights, which one be the case, with the opening of new
can see by breaking it up into its observational windows generally leading
constituent colours (as you may have to the discovery of strange new objects.
noticed while handling a CD or DVD) Fig. 5. Optical and radio telescopes show
using a prism. This decomposition of us different aspects of the universe
light into its constituent colours (or Box 6: Shifts in wavelengths from The black and white image is an optical (i.e.
wavelengths, since light of different celestial sources arise from the visible light) image. Stars are bright in visible
colours corresponds to light of different expansion of the universe. light, so what one sees in this image is the
wavelengths) is called a spectrum. The As the universe expands, wavelengths location of stars in two nearby galaxies.
spectrum of a luminous object carries of light emitted by distant sources The image has been inverted (like a film
information about its composition. also expand along with it. So, what negative) so darker regions in the image
For example, the different colours that you finally receive on Earth is a longer are actually brighter. In visible light, these
one sees in fireworks arise from the wavelength that what was originally two galaxies look fairly regular, and don’t
different elements that are mixed into emitted. This is referred to as a redshift, seem to be interacting with each other. In
its powder, with each element emitting since it involves a shift towards longer contrast, the super-imposed red lines are
light of a different wavelength. wavelengths or reddish colours in the from an image made at radio wavelengths
electromagnetic spectrum. using the GMRT. The red lines, showing the
concentration of (Hydrogen) gas arund these
Puzzling over this, Marteen Schmidt galaxies, tell us a very different story. In
Super massive black holes at the heart addition to being concentrated around each
suddenly realized that the lines did
galaxy, the gas also forms a bridge joining
indeed correspond to those of the of radio galaxies are not the only new the two galaxies, and a long tail pulled out
known elements, but they had all objects discovered by radio astronomy. of the larger galaxy. This indicates that the
been shifted to wavelengths that were Early discoveries also included pulsars two galaxies are clearly interacting, and
longer by 15.8%! Such shifts of light (objects with a density similar to that are likely to merge in the future (see for
from celestial sources towards longer of atomic nuclei, but with radii of a example, the article “Interactions in Outer
Space”, by Anand Narayanan, in the June
wavelengths (called redshifts) had been few kilometres, and masses similar 2016 issue of i wonder….
observed for several decades by then, to that of the Sun) and the Cosmic
Credits: Jayaram N Chengalur. License: CC-BY-NC.
and were understood to arise from the Microwave Background Radiations
66
built by the Raman Research Institute
a (RRI), Bangalore.
The telescope consists of 30 separate
antennas – each of which is a parabolic
dish, 45m in diameter. The 30 dishes
of the GMRT are spread over an area
25km in diameter. The antennas are all
connected together by optical fibre, and
operate in unison, to produce images
with a resolution of a telescope 25km
across (see Fig.6). The signals from these
antennas are combined by a technique
that is generally called interferometry
or aperture synthesis (see Box 7). The
GMRT is one of the largest operational
interferometric arrays in the world, and
India is one of a handful of countries
operating such a facility. Like other
such facilities, like the VLA and ATCA
(operated by the USA and Australia
respectively), allocation of observing
time at the GMRT is independent of the
nationality of the proposer. All proposals
LOCATIONS OF GMRT ANTENNAS (30 dishes) go through a process of international
peer review, and the highest ranked
b ones are allocated time. The GMRT runs
about a hundred different projects every
year, observing a variety of objects,
ranging from planets in our solar system
to emissions from diffuse gas in very
distant parts of the universe. Over the
last several years, about half of all of the
observing time at the GMRT has ended
up being allocated to astronomers
from India, while the other half goes to
astronomers from across the world.
It may seem natural to think which the GMRT is sensitive to. This is because light is collected as one observes a source from
that a bigger telescope would be To have a radio telescope with only from the regions covered rise to set. The resultant mirror
better than a smaller one. But a resolution that matches that by the small mirrors, and the (i.e. the aperture that one has
in what specific ways is a bigger of an optical telescope a few light falling on the regions synthesized) is significantly
telescope better? centimetres in size, one would in between (or the ‘holes’) is closer to a perfect mirror than
There are two different need to build a telescope that lost. So, a telescope formed that obtained by a snapshot
criteria by which we judge the is tens of kilometres across – a by properly putting together produced by individual small
performance of a telescope. The formidable challenge! How do the signals from a collection mirrors (see Fig. 8). This is what
first is the ability to see fine we build a telescope which has of small mirrors would have is called Earth rotation aperture
details in a distant object (for the resolution of a mirror that is the resolution of a mirror with synthesis, and is the technique
example, can one distinguish tens of kilometres in size? a size corresponding to the that the GMRT and other such
between two nearby stars, or Let us step back and see what it largest separation between the telescopes employ to take high
is the image so blurred that is that a mirror does to the light mirrors, but with a sensitivity resolution images of the sky.
you can only see what looks that falls on it. As can be seen corresponding to that of a
like one?). This is called the in Fig. 7, all the reflected light mirror with an area equal to the
resolution of the telescope. The is concentrated at the focus. sum of the areas of the smaller
second is the ability to detect We could achieve the same mirrors.
faint objects. The further a effect by building a collection If we went one step further,
source is, the fainter it appears, of small mirrors, collecting the we could look at what happens
so this also translates into the radiation that is concentrated when we track a radio source
ability to observe a radio source at each of their foci, and adding from rise to set. From the
as it moves further and further all of these signals together. point of view of this distant
away. This parameter is generally This combined signal would be source, what is happening is
called the sensitivity of the like one from a giant mirror (i.e. that because of the Earth’s
telescope. a mirror with a size equal to rotation, these small mirrors
In parabolic telescopes, all the that of the largest separation are being carried around in Fig. 8. The tracks traced out
light that falls on the aperture between the small mirrors); space. Equivalently, these small by the GMRT antennae in
is concentrated at the focus except that this mirror is not mirrors sweep out large areas the central part of its array
(see Fig. 7). Clearly, the larger complete, it has large holes in it. of the hypothetical large mirror when following a source from
the telescope, the more light it rise to set. As can be seen
will gather, with the telescopes from this image, even with a
small number of antennae, the
acting like a giant light bucket.
rotation of the Earth results in
It is easy to see that the larger a fairly good coverage of the
the telescope, the more light ‘mirror’ that one is trying to
it will gather, and the more synthesize.
sensitive it will be. What is less Credits: Jayaram N Chengalur.
obvious is that larger telescopes License: CC-BY-NC.
also have better resolution. This
happens through diffraction
(observed for all kinds of waves), One issue that has been
which causes the resolution brushed under the carpet in this
of a telescope at a fixed description is how exactly one
wavelength to improve as its ‘combines’ the signals of the
mirror size increases. Similarly, small mirrors together to get the
for a fixed size of reflector, signal of a large mirror scanning
the resolution improves as the the sky. This, unfortunately, is a
wavelength decreases (a related highly detailed technical issue,
phenomenon, which may be and discussion of this would
more familiar to readers is that take us too far afield. However,
blu-ray DVDs which work with Fig. 7. Light rays falling on a parabolic mirror get concentrated one thing that is probably
shorter wavelength blue light at the focus. Parabolic mirrors act like light buckets, collecting all worth making clear is that it
can pack more information into the energy falling on their surface, and concentrating it at their involves very sophisticated
the same geometric area as focal point. Clearly, larger telescopes will collect more light, or are digital electronics and software
compared to normal DVDs). more sensitive, capable of detecting fainter objects. It turns out algorithms – radio astronomers
that larger telescopes also have better resolution, or are better able do not listen to the signals
The wavelength of optical light to distinguish finer details in the source. coming out of their telescopes
is about a million times smaller Credits: S. Meshra, NCRA-TIFR. License: CC-BY-NC. using headphones!
than that of the radio-waves to
68
Conclusion and black holes converted all of the telescopes. As described before, the
intergalactic gas into a hot plasma) to GMRT can be used by anyone in the
Since the first instruments that came
those from other planets in the solar world whose proposal is judged to be
into service after World War II, radio
system. Three Nobel prizes have so far good enough (by an international panel
telescopes have taken giant leaps.
been awarded for discoveries made by of experts). Similarly, Indian astronomers
The most sensitive telescopes today,
radio astronomers. Although the radio can use radio-telescopes built by other
amongst which is the GMRT, have
astronomy community is small, it has countries. In an environment of growing
much greater sensitivities than those
clearly had a disproportionate impact insularity and isolationism, radio
of the first generation of telescopes.
on society, and not just via films and astronomers provide not just a broader
Modern telescopes are extremely
novels. Being a small community, it has perspective with which to view our
versatile. The GMRT, for example, has
place in the universe, but also a practical
been used to search for a variety of also been relatively collaborative and
example of the advantages of working
emissions – from those of hydrogen forward-looking. Radio astronomers are
together.
that filled the universe 12 billion years one of the few research communities,
ago (i.e. just before the first stars for example, that allow free use of their
Note: Credits for the image used in the background of the article title: One of the antennae of GMRT telescope, Pune, India. Photographer: Rohit Gowaika. URL:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/18419987@N00/3119728744. License: CC-BY-SA.
Jayaram N Chengalur is a radio astronomer working at the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, Tata Institute of Fundamental
Research, Mumbai. Trained as an engineer, he blundered into this field by accident, and stayed on because it seemed like fun.
TEACHERS
SHOULD CARE
ABOUT SOCIAL
DAY GREENBERG JUSTICE
This article explores the “There is a need to prepare teachers future. Far too often, however,
need for social justice and students for the new roles that teachers assume that their students
teaching in science they must play… Our vision of schooling, are not capable of accomplishing
education, and what big things as young people. This is
and by extension science education,
it can accomplish, especially true for students who come
especially for students is more aligned with participatory
from communities that have been
who come from democracy where citizens actively excluded from mainstream science
communities that have collaborate… for future generations.” learning and careers (e.g., students
been excluded from – Mike Mueller. who are members of immigrant or
science learning and ethnic minority communities, and
careers. It also presents “I used to probably think, well I thought students from low-resource schools
important lessons
that, um, school wasn’t that important, and neighborhoods).
learned from one case
of science teaching for but then this program made me feel that
social justice. I belonged in the school, that I made What is social justice
a change, so I had to go to school, science education?
cause it helped me and it helped Social justice (oriented) science
the school, a lot.” education involves using science
– Fatima, an elementary student who did knowledge and skills to make the
“action research” in school. world a fairer and more just place for
everyone. Integrating social justice
A
s our world continues to change into their classroom practice offers
along multiple dimensions – teachers the tools they need to
socially, politically, ecologically, accomplish this goal.
medically, digitally, and economically – Science teachers who work for
it is increasingly important for science social justice use their classroom
teachers to provide students with the practice as a tool of social, political,
skills, knowledge, and opportunities and academic empowerment for
to apply their learning to the world their students. Students learn to
around them. They should seek to question existing systems of power
empower their students with the – systems that oppress students
agency and tools to confidently meet and their communities. Science
challenges of the present and the teachers empower students by
70
as a tool to inform and protect However, it should be noted that not
their families and friends. all of Mr. Carson’s students felt that
the project was a complete success.
What does the Social justice science education must
empower students socially, politically,
research say? and academically. Alexandra’s study
How can science teachers showed that the students noticed when
make science matter for one of these dimensions was missing,
their students? How can they and they shared their disappointment in
provide students with the not receiving the support they needed
tools to become leaders who to succeed as action-takers in science.
take educated and meaningful It should also be noted that although
action with science? Mr. Carson taught environmental
Fig. 1. Science and social justice – finding the balance!
science, social justice action can be
Credits: Illustration by Punya Mishra, 2016. License: CC-BY-NC. Educational researcher
integrated into every type of science
Alexandra Schindel Dimick
classroom.
making their science classroom a place studied a case of high school
where students can build skills and use environmental science teaching that
knowledge in ways that mirror and/ was organized around the goal of How can teachers
or speak back to what the real world community action for greater social become social justice
already asks of them (and will continue justice. Her study focused on science science teachers?
to ask of them in the future). They teacher Mr. Carson, who introduced
What can we learn from this study
show their students how to navigate social justice actions into his high school
about the successes and failures of
socio-scientific issues and challenges – environmental science curriculum.
implementing ideas of social justice in
issues that involve science knowledge He discussed local environmental
science classrooms? Here are three
and practices, and critically question/ problems with students, and allowed
components that appear to be important
examine related social factors. They them to form three separate working
to enact in order to successfully teach
also build spaces that encourage their groups to address these problems. His
science for social justice:
students to make change for themselves students learned about pollutants in
and their world, in partnership with their local waterway and conducted lab
others. Ultimately, such students learn experiments related to water chemistry.
to use science as a tool to act for They then created posters to educate the
positive change and greater justice, in public on science topics related to water.
partnership with others. This can benefit Finally, they completed group action
science learning, because the shared projects to solve problems in their local
desire to make a specific positive change waterfront environment.
as a class can motivate students to reach
related science learning goals. Then, In her observations on the work done
students can activate their ownership by the students, and her interviews
of content (not just absorption) to take with some of them (9 from a total of 24
action themselves and/or convince students in the class), Alexandra found
others in positions of power to create that students felt an increased sense of
positive change. For example, students power when their learning was directed
who live in a flood zone could work towards social justice. Mr. Carson
towards physics learning goals to explained:
inform a student-organized public
communications campaign to educate … [the students] are feeling empowered to
local community members on how to change something that affects them and
design stronger flood control structures. they’re not depending on other people to
In this example, relevant physics content Fig. 2. Participatory engagement in a
make the change. They’re the ones who
(e.g., energy, force, speed, weight, etc.), classroom context.
are being affected; they’re the ones that
can become more directly important and Credits: Illustration by Punya Mishra, 2016.
meaningful when students recognize it are trying to make the change. License: CC-BY-NC.
72
Help students learn about the ways in Conclusion “We know what we are doing.
which actions they want to take can We know how to make a difference.
Science teachers must offer their
be supported with science learning and We know how to save energy and how
students the resources and support to
practice. Once they have a big goal in to convince other people of better ways
combine social, political, and academic
mind, help students break that down to do things with electricity. That is one
growth in order to take action for
into smaller, accessible goals and have way that we are experts.”
social justice with science. When
them lead a discussion together about Mr. Carson did not combine and Teachers should empower their students
what scientific information and skills equally address all three components, with science, in ways that provide
they need to learn in order to reach his students were disappointed. They students with the tools to solve real
each smaller goal. As they achieve the described their socially and politically problems that affect them and the people
small goals, continually check in with informed actions as not being and surroundings they love and depend
them to discuss how their step-by-step supported enough with academic on. This requires more than simply giving
knowledge and connections to their student’s permission to be powerful
progress is bringing them closer to their
classroom learning. When, however, actors. It requires supporting students as
larger goal of big change (at the same
all three aspects work together, the they work to complete each step along
time, help them see and feel proud results are positive. As Janis, a 13-year- the way towards addressing bigger and
about how their collection of knowledge old student in another social justice more complex issues, with scientific,
and skills is growing in size and depth). science teaching project explained: social, and political knowledge and tools.
Note: Credits for the image used in the background of the article title: Cudrefin-justice, Roland Zumbuehl, Wikimedia Commons.
URL: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cudrefin-justice.jpg. License: CC-BY-SA.
References
1. Calabrese Barton, A., Birmingham, D., Sato, T., Tan, E., & Calabrese Barton, S. (2013). Youth As Community Science Experts in Green Energy Technology. After
school Matters. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1016811.
2. Dimick, A. S. (2012). Student empowerment in an environmental science classroom: Toward a framework for social justice science education. Science
Education, 96(6), 990–1012. Retrieved from http://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21035.
3. Langhout, R. D., Collins, C., & Ellison, E. R. (2014). Examining Relational Empowerment for Elementary School Students in a yPAR Program. American
Journal of Community Psychology, 53(3-4), 369–381. Retrieved from http://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-013-9617-z.
4. Mueller, M., Tippins, D., Bryan, L. (2012). The Future of Citizen Science. Democracy & Education. 20(1), 1-12.
5. Shin, M., Calabrese Barton, A., Greenberg, D., Nazar, C.R., Tan, E. (2015, April). “Little Kids Can Do Ginormous Works”: Youth’s Engineering Design and
Identity Work. In Division C 29.030. Equity-Focused Implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards: Exploring Models of Hope and Possibility.
Structured poster session presented at the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL.
Day Greenberg (email: green106@msu.edu; web: daygreenberg.com) is a doctoral student in Educational Psychology
and Educational Technology at Michigan State University. Day researches pre-adolescents’ experiences of learning and
identity development in science and engineering. As a lead designer of afterschool science and engineering learning
spaces and programming, her research focuses on out-of-school environments and contexts.
This series on Research to Practice is edited by Dr. Punya Mishra (email: punya.mishra@asu.edu; web: punyamishra.com) Associate
Dean of Scholarship & Innovation at The Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University and Dr. Angela Calabrese Barton
(email: acb@msu.edu; web: barton.wiki.educ.msu.edu), Professor in the College of Education, Michigan State University.
MY LIFE
AFTAAB DEWAN
W
hen I introduce myself as The primary tools we use in our labs
aresearcher, people often are lasers. These laser beams are used What is a laser beam?
ask me “what do you do to trap, probe and manipulate atoms
A laser beam is a highly focused
as a researcher?” With research being according to the requirements of
and collimated beam of light.
an open-ended endeavour, this is often our experiments. My lab’s recently
It can travel a long distance
not an easy question to answer. For acquired a new laser system, which
without changing its shape.
example, over the last week, I have needs to be aligned accurately to
made some calculations, aligned a new ensure that its beams hit atoms at the
laser path in the laboratory I work precise spot that we want them to. I should probably explain what exactly
in, been involved in troubleshooting Since both the size of a laser beam I mean by ‘locking’ a laser, or in more
problems in an electronic system, and a cloud of atoms is less than a general terms, locking a signal. Imagine
and read academic papers by other tenth of a millimetre, reaching this you have a laser beam and you would
researchers to keep abreast of the latest alignment is a delicate process. My like to use it at a particular power or
happenings in my field. However, none work this week involved aligning this frequency – for example, I may want
of these truly answer the question new laser system using two different to use the beam at a constant output
‘what I do’. mirrors, one to point the beam at the of 500 mW at a particular point. The
right spot, and the other to align the actual power of the laser beam I use
Let’s take the first of those: the
pointing of the beam.
calculations. One part of my work in my experiment may vary for a
involves the capture of atoms in a Working with electronic systems variety of reasons, including changes in
magnetic trap. You could think of a is almost a requirement for an temperature or humidity, mechanical
magnetic trap as being something like experimental physicist. For example, our vibrations, air currents etc. And these
a porcelain bowl holding atoms, except experiments involve the use of lasers variations can change the power of
that instead of porcelain, the bowl’s that are beamed at specific frequencies. my laser beam by as much as 10-20%.
made of magnetic field lines. These These frequencies are stabilised using How do I ensure that the laser beam
magnetic field lines are often generated lock boxes. While we only need one remains at the exact power/frequency
using two circular electrical coils (loops lockbox to run our experiments, it’s that I require it to be? I do this by
of wire) that are held apart at a fixed always handy to have a couple of spare locking the laser at that power. To do
distance from each other. Calculating ones. Since we routinely use about six this, I measure the power of the laser
the magnetic field in any part of the to ten laser frequencies in our lab you signal at its intended destination.
bowl is a rather difficult task, but it is can see why we need a lot of lockboxes. Let’s call this signal A, and compare
easier to compute in the part nearest So, when we recently acquired a couple it with the signal I want, call it signal
the atoms – which is at the centre of of new lock boxes and found that they B (=500mW in this case). What a
the bowl. I made this calculation mostly were not functioning properly, I spent lockbox does is that it feeds a signal
to help me understand what a typical some time diagnosing the problem and (let’s call this the lock signal, or L) to
magnetic trap looks like. fixing them. a laser controller that changes the
74
What is a Bose-Einstein Condensate?
We are all taught about matter existing in three states: solid, liquid and gas. For most of our lived experience, knowing
just three phases is sufficient. However, in physics, matter may (and indeed does) have many more states (or more properly
written as phases). A Bose Einstein Condensate is one such phase of matter that occurs when particles of a particular type
(i.e. bosons) get cold enough to all condense to the same quantum state. What is important to remember is that this phase
is a configuration that is energetically most favourable to the condensing particles, given the environment.
Fig.1. Recipe for a BEC. What makes a BEC particularly interesting as a phase is that it is a really good example of a macroscopic
quantum state. Therefore, by manipulating a BEC, we are actually manipulating a particular macroscopic state; in ways that are specific
to the nature of phenomena we are interested in investigating.
Credits: Adapted from image used in Experimental studies of Bose-Einstein condensation, by Dallin S. Durfee and Wolfgang Ketterle, in Opt. Express 2,
299-313 (1998).
Note: Credits for the image used in the background of the article title: Laser play, Jeff Keyzer from San Francisco, CA, USA, Wikimedia Commons.
URL: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Laser_play.jpg. License: CC-BY.
Aftaab Dewan is currently a Ph.D student at the University of Maryland. He can be reached at aftaab.dewan@gmail.com.
76
THE BIG
ORIGINS
BANG
ANAND NARAYANAN
The Big Bang theory “Who really knows, who can declare? The scientific study of the origin and
currently occupies When it started or where from? evolution of the universe is called
the center stage in cosmology. From the early years of the
From when and where this creation has arisen
modern cosmology. 20th century, the observational aspects
And yet, half a Perhaps it formed itself, perhaps it did not.”
of scientific cosmology began to gather
century ago, it was wide attention. This was because of
– Rig Veda (10:129), 9th century BCE.
only one among a a small series of startling discoveries
few divergent world
T
made by scientists like Edwin Hubble
views, with competing hese words were written over 2000 years
that changed the way we understood
claims to the truth. ago. And yet, if they sound contemporary, it
the physical universe.
This article highlights is because they echo a trait that is distinctly
a few trail-blazing human; the highly evolved ability of our species to Hubble had an advantage which few
events in the journey look at the world around us and wonder how it all astronomers in the early 20th century
of the Big Bang model came to be. How often have you asked these very had – access to the Mount Wilson
from the fringes to same questions? Observatory in California. This
the centerfold of particular observatory housed the
astrophysics, a We assume that all things have a beginning. Could
this be true for this vastly complex universe as well? largest telescopes of that time and
journey that is yielded high quality data. With the
ongoing and far If so, what was that moment of origin, and what
could have triggered it? Also, does a beginning, in help of Milton Humason, a fellow
from over.
some way, mean that our universe will someday astronomer who was adept at using
cease to exist? the Mount Wilson telescope Hubble
began observing nearly two dozen
Humans have always pondered about the origins galaxies in the neighbourhood of the
of things around us – from the atomic to the Milky Way.
cosmic. Poets and philosophers, theologists and
scientists have all, in their own unique ways, tried Hubble and Humason had already
to fathom the universe. But, it is only in the last calculated the distance from the Earth
120 years or so, that science has made it possible to each of these galaxies through a set
for us to get closer to answering some of these of scrupulous observations. Now, they
long-standing questions. began recording the spectra (see Box 1)
of each of these galaxies. Pouring over exhibited a redshift, suggesting that it v=H×d
these observations, Hubble observed two was moving away from us. This implied Where, v is the velocity of any galaxy
striking trends. Barring a few exceptions, that the universe is not stationary. If it relative to us, and d the distance to that
nearly every galaxy that he looked at were, either none of the galaxies would galaxy. The two quantities are related to
show any movement relative to us, or each other by a constant, represented
an equal number of galaxies would be by the symbol H. Astronomers started
moving closer to our own. That the vast calling this constant, the Hubble’s
majority of galaxies are receding from constant. Its value could be obtained
78
by calculating the slope of the linear
trend between velocity and distance in
Hubble’s plots.
As it turns out, Hubble’s constant is
not just any other number. For over 90
years, astronomers have been trying
to measure its value as accurately as
possible because it can tell us something
very important about the universe. We
will come back to that in the section
titled – Age of the Universe.
Understanding the
expansion of the universe
Hubble’s pioneering observations,
taken at face value, can lead to a gross
misconception about our universe. The
spectra of galaxies show all of them
moving away from us. Does this mean
that we are the centre of this expansion?
Intuitively, one may be tempted to say
“yes”, but such an assumption harks
back to an old human folly.
There was a period in history, when even
the greatest minds believed that the Fig. 4. A graph showing the velocity–distance relationship for galaxies, similar to the one
plotted by Hubble and Humason. On the vertical axis is the velocity in units of kilometers
Earth was the centre of the cosmos. On
per second. On the horizontal axis is the distance of these galaxies from the Milky Way in
hindsight, it may appear as a ludicrous million parsecs (1 parsec corresponds to 3.26 light years). The black dots correspond to each
notion. But realizing that it is so hasn’t individual galaxy in this sample. As one can see, the galaxies that are farther away from us
been easy. The Earth feels stationary also have higher velocities with respect to us. The spread of data in this plot suggests a linear
to us, whereas the Sun, the Moon, relationship between relative velocity and distance. This linear relationship is represented by
the thick green line. The slope of that line is Hubble’s constant.
and all the stars, appear as if they are
going around the Earth. It took years of
observation and much thought to hit with other planets, that is circling the stationary was discovered much later.
upon the fact that it is the Earth, along Sun. The fact that even the Sun is not The Sun occupies a corner of our galaxy,
and with billions of other stars, circles
the galaxy’s centre.
Box 2. The biggest blunder of my life!
In 1916, nearly a decade before Hubble and Humason’s path-breaking observations, History is replete with such examples
Einstein had derived a set of mathematical equations that described gravity from a of science displacing us from our
fresh perspective. One of the logical outcomes of these equations on general relativity imagined significance in the cosmos.
was a universe that kept growing in size. In other words, the equations predicted a
non-static universe. Einstein himself was appalled by this outcome, and did not know
As a consequence, most astronomers
how to make sense of it. The prevailing notion of those times was that the universe were extra cautious about interpreting
was stationary; and there was no evidence to imagine it being otherwise. Einstein Hubble’s results. To conclude that
assumed that his model was imperfect. To correct for this, and to set the equations the Milky Way is the centre of the
straight, he introduced a constant in his equations, upon learning of Hubble’s expansion would be the repetition of
discovery, Einstein happily threw away the constant, calling its forced insertion to his an old mistake. Instead, astronomers
general relativity equations, “the biggest blunder” of his life.
came up with a radical new idea that
Interestingly, some of Einstein’s contemporaries, like Willem de Sitter, Alexander no matter which galaxy we look at the
Friedmann and Georges Lemaitre, had used Einstein’s general relativity equations to universe from, we should see the other
mathematically arrive at the same conclusion – the universe is expanding. Although
galaxies rushing away from us. So, if
they published their results in a various scientific journals, it was taken seriously by
the scientific community only after Hubble & Humason’s observations were widely an alien astronomer from some other
replicated and proven. galaxy were to do the same experiment
that Hubble and Humason did, it would
Expansion as evidence
of a beginning
The expansion of the universe was
a landmark discovery in cosmology
because it points in the direction of
the universe having an origin. Our
observations show us that at present,
galaxies are moving away from each
other. What would happen if we rewound
time? Obviously, we should see space
shrinking, galaxies coming closer to
each other, and eventually everything
collapsing to a single point of infinite
density, encompassing the entire mass
energy of the universe. This notion of
an infinitesimally small entity, from
which the entire universe of matter,
energy, space and time emerged, was
Fig. 5. Identifying a linear relationship. (a) This graph shows a positive linear correlation first proposed by a Belgian astrophysicist
between the quantities along the horizontal and vertical axes. (b) This graph shows a Georges Lemaitre. From that primordial
negative linear correlation between the quantities along the horizontal and vertical axes. state, the universe must have started
(c) This graph shows a non-linear relationship, where the quantity along the vertical axis
expanding by some means. Astronomers
varies faster than the quantity along the horizontal axis. (d) Four examples of positive
linear correlation, with slopes of 5, 2, 1 and 0.5 respectively. refer to this beginning of the universe’s
expansion as the “Big Bang”, to indicate
that it could have been kicked off by
also arrive at the conclusion that the handle on it through the following an explosion.
universe is expanding. In other words, analogy. Imagine the three dimensional
The Big Bang has now become a
there are no preferred locations in the universe that we live in as being
commonly accepted term to refer to the
universe. The universe would look the represented by a two dimensional grid
origin of the universe. But the truth is,
same at large physical scales, no matter system (see Fig. 6). While two galaxies
no one really knows what triggered the
where we observe it from. This notion, would start out by being close to each
expansion, or whether it did, in fact,
referred to as the homogeneity of the other (see Fig. 6a), after some time, our
all start with a bang. With the means
universe, has since become a central fictitious universe would look different
of observation available to us and our
idea in cosmology. (see Fig. 6b). Seen from each galaxy, it
understanding of the laws of physics,
would appear as if the other galaxy has
The only way that the homogeneity it is very difficult to probe time periods
moved away from it. The universe has
of the universe can be explained is close to the origin of the universe. What
expanded. And yet, if we were to ask
by concluding that space itself is is certain, however, is that at present the
where the centre of this expansion is, we
expanding. As incredible as it may universe is growing in size, and therefore
would not be able to point our finger
sound, this is exactly how astronomers it must have been smaller in the past.
at any specific location. The moving
understand the expansion of the apart of galaxies is a consequence of
universe. While the expansion of space is the expansion of space between them, The Age of the Universe
a dramatic idea that is beyond the scope and not so much due to the galaxies If the universe had a beginning, the
of this article, one can get a conceptual themselves travelling through space. obvious question is – how old is it?
80
Again, observations of the expansion Ralph Alpher and Robert Herman (see
of the universe provide an answer. Fig. 8), which favoured the notion of a
To understand how, consider the universe with a beginning.
following analogy:
The discovery that the universe is
Imagine that you are rushing to a constantly expanding posed a serious
race course to witness a motorcar threat to the steady state model. If
race. It’s a busy day and pushing your the universe is expanding, and if it
Fig. 7. When did the race between the two
way through heavy traffic, you finally has been doing so for an infinitely
cars begin?
arrive at the venue to find that the long period of time, then individual
race has already begun. There are two of the universe. Of course, by doing so galaxies should have moved so far
teams competing, and as you take we make the crucial assumption that away from each other that we should
your seat in the gallery, you see that the universe has always been expanding not be seeing any of them in the night
one of the cars has already advanced at the same rate as what we measure sky at all. Clearly, that is not the case.
today. The current best estimates of the Irrespective of which direction we orient
80 km from the START line, while the
velocities of the galaxies indicate that our telescopes; we end up seeing many
other is lagging behind at 40 km. The
the universe is about 14 billion years other galaxies.
display board shows the speeds of
old. That’s how far back in time the Big Those who favoured the steady state
the two cars as 80 km/h and 40 km/h
Bang must have happened. theory tried to resolve this embarrassing
respectively (see Fig. 7). It would not
take you too long to conclude that contradiction by suggesting that even
the race must have started about an Beginning or as the universe was expanding, matter
hour ago. To arrive at this conclusion, no beginning was being spontaneously created from
however, you have to make the crucial empty space. This is not a trouble-free
By the middle of the 20th century, idea. It violated the law of conservation
assumption that the two cars have there were two competing theories of matter, for example, which suggests
been travelling at a steady speed, about the universe. The steady state that whenever matter is spontaneously
without accelerating or decelerating theory, put forward by astrophysicists created out of an energy field, an equal
at any point of time. Hermann Bondi, Thomas Gold and amount of anti-matter is also formed.
Let us apply this analogy to galaxies. Fred Hoyle, suggested a universe In reality, we see much less anti-matter
Hubble found that a galaxy that had a that was infinite in space and time. than matter in the universe. In addition,
relative velocity of 1400 km/s was at a According to this theory, the universe the rate at which matter would need
distance of 6 million light years from has always existed and, therefore, it was to be created to compensate for the
us, whereas a galaxy that was moving meaningless to talk about an origin. expansion of the universe is so tiny (one
with half that relative velocity had only The alternative to this was the Big Bang hydrogen atom every trillion years) that
travelled half that distance away from theory, developed by George Gamow, it would be difficult to directly observe
us. We can, therefore, calculate when this phenomenon as it happens.
the Big Bang must have occurred: In science, ideas that cannot be
experimentally or observationally
Age of the universe =
verified have short lives. Such ideas
distance of any galaxy from us 1 do not qualify as scientific theories.
=
velocity of the galaxy relative to us H Instead, they are called hypotheses,
which, put simply, are educated guesses.
This explains why calculating the value Ralph Alpher George Gamow Hoyle’s hypothesis of the spontaneous
(1921-2007) (1904-1968)
of Hubble’s constant is so important. generation of matter was met with
It offers a means to estimate the age Fig. 8. George Gamow and Ralph Alpher, only marginal enthusiasm in the
who along with Robert Hermann, developed
broader scientific community. With the
the Big Bang Theory. Gamov was born in
the Soviet Union. He moved to the US in expansion of the universe becoming
Box 4. The Big Bang!
the 1930s after spending a brief period firmly established through repeated
Ironically, the term ‘Big Bang’ was coined
in Europe. He later joined the faculty at observations, the future prospects of the
by the astronomer Fred Hoyle, who found
the idea that the entire universe had
the George Washington University in the steady state theory started looking grim.
US. Along with his student Ralph Alpher
started off from an infinitesimal point, The strength of any scientific model
and co-worker Robert Hermann, Gamow
ridiculous. While Hoyle remained a staunch
worked a great deal on the Big Bang theory, lies in being able to make a prediction
critic of the Big Bang theory till the end
of his life, the name he gave it was too
also predicting the presence of the cosmic which can be observationally tested and
microwave background radiation. verified. In one of the most sensational
awesome to be ignored!
82
confronted with a problem. Their Big Bang. There are hundreds of those model was invoked by scientists to
antenna kept picking up a steady photons in every cubic centimetre of explain certain problems posed by the
but faint source of noise, in the form space, and each one of them is nearly cosmic microwave background radiation.
of microwave photons, which was 13 billion years old. Although we are But whether such a rapid growth phase
disturbing their measurements. The constantly being bombarded by the truly existed; and if it did, what could
noise was persistent and seemed to be CMBR, we do not feel their presence have powered it is unclear.
coming from all directions. It did not (like the way we feel the heat from
And then, there are some even bigger
go away no matter which direction Solar photons), because of their very
questions. The cosmology of the
they pointed the antenna at. Assuming low energies. And yet, these whispers
last three decades has exposed two
that it could be due to some problem from the Big Bang hold precious
information about the early universe previously unknown components to
with the electronic components of their
– on what seeded the formation of the universe – Dark Matter and Dark
instruments, Penzias and Wilson tried
galaxies, galaxy clusters, and similar Energy. Together, these two ingredients
every means to improve the antenna
large-scale structures that we see in account for nearly 96% of the energy
set-up. To their great chagrin, the
the present universe. Because of their density of the present universe. In
“noise” persisted. Nearly a year went by
importance, we continue making comparison, the ordinary matter that
with no means to either explain or get
observations of the CMBR, both from you, I, and all that we see around us
rid of this problem.
the ground, as well as from high-flying – the planets, the billions of stars in
Till one day, Arno Penzias heard balloon experiments, and satellites. our Galaxy, the trillions of galaxies in
of Gamow’s work from one of his our universe, the cosmic microwave
colleagues. Soon after, he and Wilson A story far from over background photons – is composed of
got in touch with Robert Dicke’s group measure up to only 4% of the known
The scientific awareness of the universe
at Princeton. It didn’t take Dicke and universe. Science has no inkling what
having a beginning is only a century old.
his colleagues much time to recognize dark matter and dark energy are, or
From the discovery of the expansion of
that Penzias and Wilson had accidently how they were generated in the first
the universe, to the detection of cosmic
discovered the cosmic microwave place. But with their discovery, our view
microwave background radiation, the
background radiations predicted by of the universe has changed in ways
Big Bang theory has stood the test of
the Big Bang model. These radiations that were unimaginable before. It has
many observations. Yet, there are many
had the exact same properties that made us realize that in all these years
big gaps in our understanding of the
the model had predicted, thus becoming of exploring the universe, we have only
physical universe. We do not really
the ultimate cause for the triumph been scraping its surface. There is a lot
know what triggered the Big Bang, or
of the Big Bang theory. Arno Penzias more to the universe than what meets
the physical state the universe had at
and Robert Wilson went on to win the the eye. Scientists hope that astronomy
the very beginning. In one version of
Nobel Prize in physics for the discovery
the Big Bang cosmology, the universe of the 21st century will address and
of the CMBR.
underwent a very rapid phase of answer these big unknowns. What new
The CMBR represents the oldest photons expansion, called inflation, for a tiny challenges the answers might pose for
in the universe – the fossil relics of the fraction of a second. The inflationary the Big Bang theory remains to be seen.
Note: Credits for the image used in the background of the article title: Big Bang. Geralt, Pixabay. URL: https://pixabay.com/en/big-bang-explosion-pop-
fireball-422305/. License: Public Domain.
Anand Narayanan teaches astrophysics at the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology. His research is on
understanding how baryonic matter is distributed outside of galaxies at large scales. He regularly contributes to
astronomy-related educational and public outreach activities. Every so often he likes to travel, exploring the cultural
history of South India.
THE ORIGINS OF
ELEMENTS
SRINIVASAN KRISHNAN
I
This article explores t is an obvious fact that different substances structures are made. The Indians and Greeks
the origin of chemical make up the world as we know it. We look thought that the world was made up of five
elements as a process at the world through our senses and use our elements which were Ether, Air, Water, Fire
occurring inside stars, powers of deduction and inference (dependent and Earth; the Chinese postulated that wood,
as well as in terms of largely on existing technology and robustness metal, earth, water and fire made up all the
what they mean to of intellectual structures) to aid in the substances of the world, and so on.
people.
discovery of new substances and categorise Atoms, on the other hand, were thought to
known ones in ever more suitable ways. Given be indivisible particles of the elements. For
the robust engineering capacities that humans example, Kanada, founder of the Vaisheshika
display, it is clear, even from antiquity, that we philosophy in 6th century BC, thought that
could also make new kinds of substances by a the world was composed of atoms, which
suitable combination or distillation of existing were of four basic kinds corresponding to
ones, i.e. cooking a dish, mixing medicines the four elements – earth, water, fire and
and beverages, constructing buildings and air. Each of these different kinds of atoms
tools, and so on. To make ever more complex had other qualities assigned to them; and
substances and systems with properties that there were complex rules governing how
we desire, the following question must have these atoms could combine to produce all
been considered over the ages, “What are the substances seen on Earth. Similarly, the
the basic substances out of which all other Buddhist, Jain, Islamic and Greek schools
substances are made?” of thought also constructed the concept of
atoms as representing elements, and being the
Different civilizations have attempted to origin of all matter, but their descriptions and
answer this question, and all of them seem to qualities varied (see ‘The Atom in the History
have postulated the existence of ‘elements’. of Human Thought’ by Bernard Pulman3 for a
Believed to be created when the universe itself comprehensive account). All schools, however,
was created, elements have been thought agreed that atoms were eternal, indestructible
of as being the unique and fundamental and indivisible; and, importantly, atoms of any
building blocks out of which all other existing one kind were all identical.
84
This makes it evident that elements quite exciting, given that the Big Bang from another. If a substance could be
and atoms were inextricably linked theory has arisen almost entirely out broken down into two or more new
in the ancient world – this is so even of observations made of the cosmos elements, which when recombined
in the modern world. Today, we know and experiments carried out in the formed the original substance, the
of 92 naturally occurring elements, laboratory. original substance was definitely not an
but can also artificially produce many element. Of course, it is impossible to
Since old theories on the relationship
more, with atomic numbers greater use this definition to conclusively prove
between elements and atoms have not
than 92. This is possible only because that a substance is actually an element
been able to withstand the scrutiny of
the relationship between atoms and because a substance which couldn’t be
modern scientific rigor, we will look
elements is robust enough to allow decomposed using existing technology
afresh at the questions, ‘How is an
such creation. So, according to modern in one century could be decomposed
element defined?’ and, ‘What are atoms
scientific wisdom, how were these in the next, when more advanced
and how are they related to elements?’
naturally occurring elements formed? technologies became available.
We begin our journey into the origin of
The most widely accepted theory
elements by starting with the first of Look at another, also obsolete, but
for the origin of the universe, which
these questions. more useful definition: “An element
is somewhat similar to some of the
theories propounded in the ancient is a substance composed of identical
world, is called the Big Bang theory. Defining an element atoms”. This definition was one of the
This event, occurring about 14 billion Historically, elements have been defined cornerstones of the (John Dalton’s)
years ago, is believed to have created a in a variety of ways. For example, atomic theory, but it was made
large quantity of the primordial element one, now ‘obsolete’, definition states obsolete by the discovery of isotopes.
hydrogen (which is made of one proton that: “An element is a substance that This discovery also made the previous
and a corresponding electron) along cannot be decomposed into simpler definition of elements as non-
with very small quantities of substances”. This was possibly the decomposable substances
helium, and trace amounts first useful definition of an element, untenable because an element
of other elements because it allowed one element to
and isotopes. This is be experimentally distinguished
can be decomposed into its isotopes, moderator, i.e. to absorb neutrons. Isn’t in nuclear physics, astrophysics and
which have slightly different properties it amazing that the mere presence of an so on, have clearly shown that all
than those of the original element. isotope can cause such a difference in the different types of elements are
This means that a given element’s properties?! made up of atoms. We also know that
atoms can exist in different forms, atoms are made up of essentially three
The modern era of chemistry probably
contradicting Dalton’s definition. stable particles – positively charged
started around 1789, when the ‘father
Further, recombining its isotopes gives protons, neutrons with no net charge,
of chemistry’, Antoine-Laurent de
back the original sample, and so, by and negatively charged electrons. The
Lavoisier (1743–1794), attempted to
the previous definition, any element atoms of any element have a specific
classify elements. Lavoisier defined a
that consists of more than one isotope chemical element as a substance that number of protons and neutrons that
cannot be a true element. One striking could not be further divided by any together form a small nucleus, with
example of this is seen in the existence known method of chemical analysis. electrons orbiting around this central
of heavy water. Normal water has This was a very precise definition – core. Keeping these three particles in
the usual form of hydrogen, with one remarkable because in retrospect it mind, we can now arrive at a rigorous,
proton in its nucleus; while heavy water seems as if by restricting this definition unambiguous definition of an ‘element’
has Deuterium, which is an isotope to objects that were ‘indivisible by in terms of its atoms:
of hydrogen with one extra neutron chemical analysis’, Lavoisier was ‘An element is composed of atoms
present in it. This makes molecules of suggesting that other methods, that of one kind, all of which have the
heavy water significantly heavier (one came to be known about 150 years later,
same number of protons (called its
mole of heavy water can be around 2 could succeed in splitting an element or
atomic number)’.
grams heavier than one mole of normal making it (see Box 1).
water) – its freezing point is about Let us now look at the second question This definition makes it clear that a
4OC, and it is about 11% more dense. ‘What are atoms and how are they single free neutron, or other sub-atomic
Heavy water has unusual nuclear and related to elements?’ Many amazing particles like neutrinos, pions, kaons,
biological properties and is extensively scientific discoveries in the 19th and photons, and so on, cannot be thought
used in nuclear reactors as a neutron 20th centuries, including advances of as elements.
86
Box 1. Experimental Deduction: So we could hypothesize that that the simplest explanation any known chemical means. This
Getting to know an element as an the chemical properties of is that oxygen is not a mixture has never been done as of now,
element. Why is it definitely not aoxygen might be able to reveal of gases. Whew! That is a lot of and so we “know” that oxygen is
compound or a mixture? the presence of many different work just to show that a given an element and not a compound.
If you put two graphite rods (you gaseous components that are substance is not a mixture! Look at the flow chart that
could use thick pencil leads) into probably all similar in weight to However, our proof of oxygen’s indicates a possible scheme of
a glass of tap water, and connect each other, which is why they elemental nature is not yet investigation when you encounter
these rods to an 18V battery, could not be separated by our conclusive. What if we consider a substance that is new to you
you’ll see bubbles arising at both separation techniques in the the possibility that oxygen is It is interesting (and amusing)
electrodes. The gases given off at first place. One way of testing actually a compound, rather than to note that Lavoisier included
these two electrodes can be easily this hypothesis would involve a mixture? The situation, then, all entities he could not split
collected into test tubes. Now we reactions between oxygen and becomes much more complicated. using chemical means in his
know, from textbooks and other specified quantities of pure Firstly, because we may not yet list of elements. This included
sources, that these two gases alkali metals (like sodium and have discovered the tools to split light, heat, and metal oxides.
are elements i.e. hydrogen and potassium) for example. We avoid this compound apart chemically, Metal oxides could be broken
Fig. 3. The electrolysis of water: Oxygen and hydrogen gases collect in the test tubes.
oxygen - but how does one prove using transition elements as they and till someone does so, oxygen down only when the use of
that experimentally? can have different oxidation will continue to be considered an electric current became wide
Take oxygen for example. Let us states, forming different sorts element. Once we do, and we use spread in the nineteenth century.
imagine at first that it is actually of compounds when reacted these tools to split oxygen into its Light and heat, of course, are
made up of a mixture of two or with the same substance. If we components, these components not substances, and so are not
more gases. Assuming that we get two or more compounds will be regarded as elements if classified as elements now.
in any one given reaction that they cannot be further divided by
can use all known gas separation
techniques, we ought to be able we can clearly distinguish
to get these gases by at least by sight, smell, touch or Attempt
other chemical properties, separation by
one method. This will prove that Hypothesis 1
it will prove our hypothesis. Physical Means
oxygen is actually a mixture of It is a Mixture
Another way we can test this
gases. In the real world, however, Is the given
hypothesis is to get oxygen Attempt
we have only managed to Substance
from other sources, like by separation by
separate the different isotopes an Element?
heating mercury oxide or Hypothesis 2 Chemical Means
of oxygen, all of which are very
some nitrates. If this reacts It is a Compound
similar to each other in their with the hydrogen obtained
physical and chemical properties. from splitting of water, Attempt to split
One could, however, argue that after discarding the oxygen the compound
our inability to separate oxygen produced during the split,
into two significantly different then we should get water as Fig. 4. Flow chart showing a scheme of investigation to show that a
gases is because we don’t yet a result. If we do, (and we substance is an element.
have the technology to do so. actually do) then it shows
Observations of atoms primordial element, hydrogen, which no walls for the gas molecules to bump
was created during the Big Bang. against, it does have pressure, volume
Let us now consider the meaning of
and temperature – all of which change
constructing an atomic theory. Do we
need it at all? What are the benefits Dynamics within a cloud as the cloud is compressed (see Box 3).
Thus while these quantities may or may
of doing so? But, first, let’s begin by of gaseous hydrogen
considering much simpler questions – not have been the same everywhere
As the universe cooled down after being within a cloud, a more condensed cloud
are atoms real? If yes, can they be seen created, hydrogen atoms condensed into
(see Box 2)? definitely had greater internal pressure
massive clouds held together mainly
and temperature.
Now that the setting is clear and we due to gravitational attraction (see
are sure about the reality of atoms even the article on the ‘Origins of the solar Amazing things happen when a cloud of
though they cannot be directly seen, system’ in the same issue, for a detailed hydrogen has enough internal-gravity to
we move onto how people envision the account of how these clouds condense). begin contracting (see Box 4). Note that
creation of all the elements out of the Notice that although a cloud of gas has we are thinking of a gas cloud with an
88
degrees centigrade, is about a 1000
Box 3. Experiment: Squeezing a gas times smaller than what is actually
You will need a 20ml syringe for this experiment. Use some araldite to plug the hole where required to bring two protons close
the needle fits. Before closing this hole, pull the piston all the way up making sure that enough to bind. What is interesting is
there is enough air inside. After the araldite dries, try to squeeze the piston of the syringe that we came to this realisation even
to the maximum extent and make a note of your observations. Clearly, the air seems to
before the neutron was discovered
push back. How does it do that?
(which was in 1932). At that time, the
What is happening here is that the air molecules bump against the walls of the container,
and as the volume of the syringe reduces, the frequency of bumping increases. At every
possibility that elements with larger
position within the piston, the pressure applied by the air matches yours, and if you relax, atomic weights were formed by fusion
the piston comes back to its original position. was pure conjecture, with no plausible
When this experiment is done using a bigger piston-cylinder system like a cycle pump, the evidence as to how it could take place.
air within the pump definitely gets warmer, i.e. its temperature increases.
When protons come close enough
to each other to be able to quantum
mechanically tunnel into each other,
enormous amount of mass. It is so large protons. When two protons in this state the nuclear forces i.e. the strong and
that it can condense to ignite nuclear collide against each other, they are able weak forces, come into play and the
reactions and produce a star. Some of to overcome their strong electrostatic whole game immediately changes.
these clouds are much smaller, and stop repulsion (both are positively charged), The protons can now change into
condensing after a point as they do not and come close enough to exert nuclear neutrons; other protons can join in
possess enough gravitational potential forces of attraction. This happens to form larger nuclei, and so on. The
energy, but we will not discuss these because of a phenomenon that we energy given off in these nuclear
clouds here. know as quantum tunnelling. Quantum reactions is immeasurably larger than
When the temperature at the core of tunnelling brings two protons close the heat radiation energy that was
a contracting gas cloud reaches a few enough to bind even at relatively low given off till now. A star, as we know
million degrees centigrade, the atoms in temperatures – it was realised in the it, is now actually born, and generates
it cease to exist and become just a dense 1920s itself that the temperature at energy by nuclear fusion. This slows its
soup of separately moving electrons and the core of a star, which is a few million contraction, with the star beginning to
90
generate heat which is radiated away We use the notation AZ S to denote an nucleus which is made up of one
from its surface. These two processes of atom S, with an atomic number (or proton and a neutron bound together,
energy generation and radiation ensure number of protons in the nucleus) of A, e+ is the positron (experimentally
that the star remains a certain size for a and a mass number (number of protons discovered in 1932) or anti particle of
long time. plus the number of neutrons) of Z. We an electron, νe is the electron neutrino
will normally omit the atomic number as (existence postulated in 1930 and
The temperature within stars is
it can be rather cumbersome, and stick experimentally discovered only in 1956),
sufficiently low to allow nuclear
with ZS when convenient. If you have
3
He is an isotope of the Helium nucleus
reactions to proceed slowly enough to
access to a periodic table, and know consisting of two protons and one
provide energy over the long time scales
the symbol for an atom, you can always neutron,4He is the standard Helium
needed for the evolution of planets, and
find its atomic number. For example, 8Be nucleus which consists of two protons
indeed, life itself. If the temperature at
would be the nucleus of the Beryllium and two neutrons, and γ is the radiant
the core of stars had been higher, the
atom with an atomic mass of 8 (its energy released.
reactions would have proceeded faster,
the energy generated would have been atomic number is 4). First, notice that the pp chain is actually
greater, and their lifetimes would have Going back to the events happening a cycle – one that starts off with two
been shorter. within stars, there are two basic nuclear protons interacting, and ends with a
helium nucleus and two more protons.
reactions that produce helium from
Creation of the heavier The very first reaction of this chain,
hydrogen. The first, called the proton-
which shows two protons interacting
elements proton chain reaction, accounts for
to give a Deuterium nucleus (with a
about 94% of the energy produced in
Before we get into the details of the positron and neutrino), is the deciding
an ordinary star (see Fig. 7).
creation of heavier elements, let us just factor for the entire chain. The time
take a quick look at the notation for the In these reactions, 1H stands for the scale for its occurrence is around a
nuclei of the elements that will be used hydrogen nucleus which is just a single billion years. That means that it can
from this point onwards. proton, 2H stands for the Deuterium take over a billion years for a given
92
and it was also recognised that hydrogen
was the first and probably only chemical
element to have existed at the beginning
of the universe. The difficulty lay in finding
how fusion could start with just pure
hydrogen. All the scenarios that researchers
came up with assumed the pre-existence
of elements heavier than hydrogen, but
without any explanation for how these
heavy elements could have been formed.
1936: Atkinson re-examined his scenarios
from 1931 in view of the recent discoveries
of the neutron, Deuterium (2H), and the
positron. It was believed that nuclear
reactions with neutrons do not face the
problem of repulsion with protons (neutrons
have a net charge of zero) and hence can Fig. 8. Robert d’Escourt Atkinson and Charles Critchfield played key roles in developing
operate at any temperature. The question our understanding of the proton-proton chain reaction.
was whether neutrons could be produced
in sufficient amounts in stars. Checking
be easy to see and measure the rate of this happens in stars. When Critchfield finished
all possible neutron production reactions
reaction in the laboratory. In this, he was the calculation, Gamow suggested that he
seen in laboratory conditions revealed that
mistaken, because this is the most famous should present the calculation to the ‘high
such reactions were very slow, producing
nuclear reaction in stars – one that cannot priest’ of nuclear physics, a scientist named
insignificant quantities of neutrons. For
be measured in the laboratory because of Hans Bethe, and try to get his approval.
example, the reaction 1H + e → n, namely,
its extremely low yield, i.e. it hardly ever Bethe found the calculation to be correct,
the absorption of an electron by a proton
happens. Also, it is only after the difficult and so in 1938 Bethe and Critchfield
resulting in a neutron was not seen at all.
process of formation of Deuterium occurs, published the calculation. The authors
The only alternative left, and suggested
that the road to other, faster, nuclear gave no credit to Atkinson, although it was
by Atkinson, was to generate neutrons by
fusion reactions opens. Atkinson who had come up with the idea of
first producing plenty of Deuterium (2H)
1938: Charles Critchfield (1911–1994) the pp reaction.
via the reaction: 1H+ 1H → 2 2H + e+, and
then splitting the Deuterium. In this way, was a Ph.D student at George Washington This was how the first reaction of the pp
Atkinson discovered the first reaction of University, working under the guidance of chain was found. Much of this investigation
the pp chain. However, Atkinson expected the scientists Teller and Gamow. The subject was done in laboratories, and checked with
this reaction to produce Deuterium, and of his thesis, suggested by Gamow, was to observations of the energy output of the
from it, neutrons. He also expected it to calculate how quickly the first pp reaction sun to ensure accuracy.
affected by the strong repulsion that Conclusion being able to generate reactions by
exists among positively charged nuclei. throwing particles at each other and
We’ve looked at the story of how
So a nucleus with an atomic mass of Z observing what new nuclei form, how
elements are generated in stars in brief
and atomic number A will change to they decay through their collisions and
here. As stars grow older and turn into
one of Z + 1 when it absorbs a neutron, noting the probabilities with which
supernovae, they explode and seed the
and this can continue till the resulting these reactions occur. New channels,
cosmos with the elements that they
nucleus decays by emitting an electron new ways of looking at radioactivity,
have created. These elements often end
to give a new element with atomic and understanding the stability of
up in gas clouds which can condense
number A + 1. In this way, elements nuclei have been crucial to deciphering
to form new stars and planets that can
higher than iron are also synthesised. how stars cook up elements. With
harbour life.
Note that elements not found in nature many, many questions still remaining
are also produced in a similar manner Much of this story could not have unanswered, this remains a thriving field
in the laboratory i.e. through the been discovered if nuclear physics of study offering plenty of surprises.
absorption of neutrons. had not developed to the point of
References
1. The Synthesis of the Elements: The Astrophysical Quest for Nucleosynthesis and What It Can Tell Us About the Universe. Giora Shaviv. Springer-Verlag
Berlin Heidelberg, 2012, ISBN 978-3-642-28384-0.
2. Theoretical Astrophysics Volume I: Astrophysical Processes. T. Padmanabhan. Cambridge University Press, 2000.
3. The Atom in the History of Human Thought. Bernard Pulman. Oxford University Press, 1998.
Srinivasan Krishnan currently teaches science and physics at Centre for Learning, Bengaluru. He has a Ph.D. from IUCAA in the field
of semi-classical quantum gravity. His other interests include design and technology, electronics and reading. He can be reached at
ksrini69@gmail.com.
94
ORIGINS
THE ORIGINS OF ANAND NARAYANAN
PLANETARY WORLDS
W
The solar system is the ithin the vastness of the universe, possible pathways through which planet
only place in the entire with its billions of galaxies and formation could have happened. We can
cosmos that we have thousands of trillions of stars, then corroborate our hypothesis against
surveyed directly using there is only one place we can truly call some hard scientific evidence. Fortunately,
spacecrafts. Years of home. The planet Earth is a tiny world we do not have to do this entirely in the
long and fascinating compared to the astonishing scale of dark. The architecture of the solar system
collaborative efforts everything else in outer space. And yet, itself holds many crucial clues to its formation.
between many different this rocky world is a special place. It is the
disciplines have helped
us understand its
only planet we know of that supports life. Patterns of a Common Origin
origins and subsequent Have you ever wondered how the Earth There are several lines of evidence that
evolution. This article came to be? When and how it was formed? suggest that all the components of the solar
narrates this scientific What was there before the birth of the solar system have a common origin. For example:
story, discussing how system? Underlying such questions is a more
1. All planets orbit the Sun in the
our understanding of fundamental and perennial urge – to know
same direction. Seen from any point
planetary systems has whether we are alone in this universe. We
high above the Earth’s North Pole,
been altered by new have always wondered about the possibility
they all revolve around the Sun in
findings from within and of life outside Earth. After all, the Earth is
beyond the solar system. counterclockwise direction.
just one planet among many others orbiting
the Sun, and the Sun a typical star in a 2. The Sun rotates on its axis in the same
universe of countless stars. What are the direction as the planet’s revolution
odds of finding another planet like the Earth around the Sun. This is called prograde
circling another star? Is life is a one-time rotation.
chance event, an extremely rare occurrence, 3. The orbits of all planets and a vast
or a ubiquitous phenomenon? majority of minor bodies are nearly
circular.
The Birth of the Solar System
4. All planetary orbits lie along nearly the
The birth of the solar system is a thing of same plane.
the past. We cannot go back in time and
witness how it happened. Our best hope to Since, these would be unlikely to occur
understand the origins of the solar system if individual components had come into
lies in carefully formulating hypothesis on existence independently, they seem to
96
(a) (b)
Fig. 4. Photographs of star-forming regions taken by the famous Hubble Space Telescope. (a) The famous Orion Nebula, one of the many current sites of star
formation in our Galaxy (Milky Way or Akashganga). This particular nebula is very well studied by astronomers because of
its relative proximity to us (approximately 1350 light years). It can be spotted in the sky as a faint glow if you look in the direction of the constellation Orion. The
Orion Nebula contains enough gas to give birth to thousands of stars. The region that you see in this photograph is
a few light years across. (b) The star-forming region in a nebula called NGC 346, within our Milky Way galaxy. The blue and dark coloured columns of gas are the
dense ISM gas clouds. Most of the stars at the centre of this image are relatively young, born out of fragments in the gas cloud.
Credits: © NASA/ESA/HST.
98
(meaning, a disk circling the star), or the
protoplanetary disk (meaning, a disk
that is a precursor to planet formation).
This disk forms as a result of the need to
conserve the angular momentum of the
system. The principle of conservation of
angular momentum is rather simple. We
regularly experience it in our lives. Have
you ever sat on a swirling chair? Next
time you do so, ask your friends to spin
you around. Extend your arms outwards
(see Fig. 10). If you want, you can also
spread your legs apart. After a few
spins, pull both hands and legs inwards.
Repeat this and see what happens to
Fig. 9. An artist’s impression of a protoplanetary disk around a nascent star. your spin speed.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech. URL: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasablueshift/7610034044. License: CC-BY. When the pre-solar nebula shrank
in size, it started rotating faster. This
increase in velocity of rotation ensured
that the entire cloud did not collapse
into the central proto-sun. Instead
some of it formed a circumstellar disk.
Estimates suggest that about 99% of
the mass of the collapsing nebula must
have gone into the Sun, and only 1%
settled into the disk. This 1% mass lead
to the formation of the planets, their
moons, asteroids and everything else
that we see in the solar system.
100
Fig. 12. The temperatures in the protoplanetary disk decide which chemical elements condense at a given location. Close to the newly
formed Sun, grains made of heavier metals, with their very high melting points, could remain as solids. Icy materials were easily vaporized
because of these high temperatures. They would condense as solids only at a distance from the Sun. The pressure from the Sun’s radiation
would also sweep the gases into the outer regions of the solar system, mostly beyond the orbit of Mars. This sorting of material in the
protoplanetary disk eventually led to the diversity that we come across between the inner terrestrial planets and the outer gas giants of the
solar system.
planets, and formed their early confines of the solar system through this century, the Nebular Hypothesis has
atmosphere. process. Many others ended up in much- been refined and reworked from time
As this process neared its end, many elongated orbits that took them in and to time, based on fresh insights into the
planetesimals remained scattered out of the solar system. The planets on process of planet formation.
between the newly formed planets. the other hand, with their significantly
One may wonder how much of the
These leftovers became comets and higher mass, remained unperturbed by
Nebular Hypothesis is backed by
asteroids. Their material compositions such encounters, eventually settling into
evidence. As already mentioned, the
were similar to the planets: i.e., asteroids dynamical stable orbits.
birth of the solar system is an event
made of hard rock and metal in the
from a past that we have no direct
inner solar system, and icy fragile Evidence from Afar access to. But it is only reasonable
comets in the outer solar system. The
This account of the formation of the to assume that the same forces that
leftovers must have had nearly circular
solar system (planetary systems in drove the formation of our solar system
orbits in the same plane as the orbits
general) goes by the name Nebular might be acting elsewhere in the
of planets. But in due course of time,
as these planetesimals moved close to Hypothesis. A hypothesis is a suggested universe. In fact, there must be some
large planets, gravitational forces must explanation for something based on planetary systems taking shape around
have toppled their orbits into arbitrary reason. It is not a theory, because all other newly born stars at this very
directions, like a pellet released from aspects of it are not fully proven. But it moment! Through very high resolution
a sling shot. A good number of these is not a wild guess either. First proposed photography of star forming regions
planetesimals must have escaped the in a very crude form in the late 18th within the Milky Way, astronomers
102
have found several instances of the Through its high resolution cameras, a few hundred light years, would have
birth of planetary systems. The Orion the Hubble Space Telescope has also looked like any one of these.
nebula, described earlier (see Fig. 4a), found that quite a few of the infant
An important aspect in the validation
contains many examples of this. Nestled stars in the Orion nebula have extended of the Nebular Hypothesis is to discover
within its vast columns of gas, are disks around them (see Fig. 15 and 16). fully formed planets around other stars.
several thousands of newly born stars. These proto-planetary disks stretch out From the 1990s onwards, astronomers
Such observations strongly affirm the to radii of more than 100 astronomical have been routinely discovering
view that stars are born out of the units (an astronomical unit, or AU, is the planetary systems around other stars.
gravitational collapse of dense fragments distance between the Sun and Earth ~ These extrasolar planet (exoplanets,
within gas clouds in interstellar space. approximately 150 million kilometres). for short) discoveries have been made
Today we know of hundreds of such sites If we could roll back time to a period using several different techniques. The
of star formation, or stellar nurseries, somewhere between 4 – 5 billion years most successful of these techniques, at
within the Milky Way. ago, our solar system, from a distance of present, is biased towards finding big
planets, of the size of Jupiter
and Saturn, circling their host
stars. Only very recently have
these techniques reached
the level of sophistication
required to discover planets
that are smaller, but still a few
times the mass of the Earth.
Astronomers call such planets
the super-Earths. The Holy
Grail, no doubt, is to find a
planet of the size and mass of
the Earth around a Sun-like
star, at a distance where the
heat from the Sun is just right
enough to ensure the presence
of liquid water – a prerequisite
for life as we know it. If such
a planet exists, we may not
have to wait too long for its
discovery, given the very rapid
pace at which the field of
extrasolar planet research is
evolving.
Thus, our best hope of finding
answers to the origins of our
solar system lie not only in
investigating objects within
the confines of the Sun’s
gravity, but also those worlds
Protoplanetary Disks HST • WFPC2 that are far away from us. By
Orion Nebula looking into the far reaches
of space, we are in a way
PRC95-45b • ST Scl OPO • November 20, 1995 searching for answers to our
M. J. McCaughrean (MPIA), C. R. O’Dell (Rice University), NASA own origins.
Fig. 15. Four examples of protoplanetary disks around young stars in the Orion Nebula. The bright
object in the centre of each image is a newly born star (a protostar), surrounding which is an extended
disk of material that may eventually give birth to planets, asteroids and comets.
Credits: © STScI / NASA and ESA.
104
Note: Credits for the image used in the background of the article title: The new Solar System? The International Astronomical Union/Martin Kornmessernzel,
Wikimedia Commons. URL: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_new_Solar_System%3F.jpg. License: CC-BY-SA.
Resources
1. A Lunar and Planetary Institute designed activity for the classroom to help students understand the sequence of events in the formation of the solar
system- http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/timeline/activity/.
2. A short video that takes one through the formation of the solar system - https://www.stem.org.uk/elibrary/resource/26893.
3. This page from the Big History Project has a wonderful timeline on the formation of the solar system - https://www.bighistoryproject.com/home.
Look under the link “Earth &The Solar System”.
4. This page from the University of Colorado has several activities, appropriate for students from classes 4 – 8, to help understand the solar system -
http://lasp.colorado.edu/education/outerplanets/solsys_planets.php.
Anand Narayanan teaches astrophysics at the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology. His research is on
understanding how baryonic matter is distributed outside of galaxies at large scales. He regularly contributes to
astronomy related educational and public outreach activities. Every so often he likes to travel, exploring the cultural
history of south India.
LIFE
ORIGINS
FROM CHEMISTRY
TO BIOLOGY
NIRAJA V BAPAT, CHAITANYA V MUNGI
& SUDHA RAJAMANI
H
Understanding how life started umans have long wondered about means, including the “five elements” or
on Earth is a long-standing the origins of life. The popular “vital heat” etc. However, experiments
mystery. This article explores view was that a living being could conducted by Louis Pasteur in the mid-
the sequence of events that spontaneously arise from non-living 19th century conclusively disproved these
may have led a mixture of matter. Most people believed this to be unscientific ideas.
simple chemicals to transform true, despite their religious beliefs or
into the first living cells; the lack of it, since they could see life Pasteur used meat broth and special
showing how, in recent years, forms, such as fleas and maggots, arise type of flasks, called swan-necked
ribonucleic acid (RNA) has from inanimate matter (dust) or dead flasks, to demonstrate that life could
emerged as an important clue animals. Many philosophers tried to not originate from non-living matter
to this mystery. explain this phenomenon of spontaneous without contamination (see Figure 1). The
generation using various hypothetical swan-necked flask has a long downward-
Fig. 1. Pasteur’s swan-necked flask experiment. Sterilised meat broth does not show growth if
the curved neck of the flask is intact. In contrast, when the neck of the flask is broken, the broth is
exposed to dust and air, and shows microbial growth. Adapted from study.com.
106
curving neck, which prevents particles genetic material of a cell, in the form than a single cell. In fact, the oldest
like dust or spores from falling into of Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA), stores fossil records of life on Earth, uncovered
the broth. Pasteur boiled meat broth all the information required for various recently from some rocks in Greenland,
in two flasks, one with its neck intact cellular processes. In this way, it acts are in the form of some simple layered
and the second with its neck removed. like a blueprint of life! DNA itself is structures called stromatolites. Formed
Microorganisms were found growing in produced by the action of a variety of by the activity of microorganisms like
the flask without the neck whereas the enzymes, all of which are proteins. In cyanobacteria, stromatolites assume
control flask remained sterile. This result other words, the information stored in different morphological shapes –
demonstrated that complex life arises DNA is used to synthesize proteins and ranging from the branched to the
only from other living organisms. This proteins are required in the process of conical. These structures are about 3.7
phenomenon is known as ‘Omne vivum making DNA. It is the interdependent billion years old. Cell-like structures
ex vivo’ that means “all life (is) from life”. production of these two important from periods pre-dating this would have
categories of biological molecules that most likely been much simpler. These
Today, we know this to be true of
gives rise to the mystery around the older structures are usually referred to
all life-forms – every living being
origins of life. Similar to the “chicken as “protocells”. National Aeronautics and
arises from other beings by means of
and egg dilemma”, which of these bio- Space Administration (NASA) defines a
reproduction. For e.g. the eggs of flies
molecules came first – DNA or proteins; protocell as “membrane-encapsulated
in dead meat give rise to maggots, the
information or function (catalysis)? genetic material capable of growth,
spores of microbe and fungi result in
replication and Darwinian evolution”.
their growth in stale food/broth, and While there are many different ways in
To imagine this structure, think of a
complex organisms reproduce by sexual which scientists have tried answering
protocell as consisting of only two basic
reproduction to give rise to future this question, one possible answer is –
components viz. an outer membrane
generations. However, this begs the neither! Instead, Ribonucleic Acid (RNA),
enclosing some sort of functional
question of how the very first living a chemical cousin of DNA, may have
molecular machinery, like proteins or
being would have come into existence. been the first important biomolecule to
nucleic acids. The presence of just these
What chemical mixtures would have emerge. RNA is a unique biomolecule
two components would have made the
allowed life to emerge? What sources – it can perform functions of both
protocell capable of evolving into more
of energy did the earliest life-forms DNA and protein – storing genetic
complex living forms.
use? Finding conclusive answers to a information (as in RNA viruses) as well
plethora of such questions regarding as catalysing metabolic reactions (in the All modern living cells are also bound
the origin of life on Earth remains a form of ribozymes, i.e., RNA sequences by membranes. These membranes allow
huge challenge. that act as enzymes). Since RNA alone the selective movement of molecules in
could acquire both these properties and out of cells, while also protecting
To understand the steps that may have
(under exceptionally rare circumstances), their metabolic networks and genetic
led to the origins of life, we need to
it is possible that early life-forms material from the external environment.
reduce all living organisms into their
consisted of specific molecules of And while the exact composition of
most fundamental functional units.
RNA working together as a network this cellular boundary varies with cell
A cell is considered to be the basic unit
(similar to metabolism). The subsequent types, it mainly consists of complex lipid
of all life. A cell is fully functional,
evolution of such RNA networks may molecules. In contrast, protocells would
even on its own, as demonstrated
have led to the complexity of life that not have had the elaborate machinery
by single-celled organisms such as
we know of today. But, if this is how that modern cells use for the synthesis
bacteria, amoeba, paramecium, yeast
early life evolved on Earth, how did of complex lipid molecules and their
etc. In fact, each cell can be thought
these RNA molecules come together
of as a miniature factory – producing
to form a living organisms? What Box 1. Amphiphiles
energy that is required for living,
environmental conditions would have Derived from two Greek words, ‘amphis’
moving around, absorbing food from
shaped this process? meaning ‘both’ and ‘philia’ meaning ‘love’,
its surroundings, and reproducing to
amphiphiles are compounds that contain
form more copies of itself. It achieves Several fossil records have shown us that both water-loving (polar/hydrophilic) and
this marvellous feat by employing tiny the diversity of life that we see today water-repelling (non-polar/hydrophobic)
machines called proteins, with each has evolved from simple unicellular chemical groups. Thus, in aqueous
protein doing a specific job in the cell. entities giving rise to increasingly solutions, amphiphilic molecules assume
Proteins are produced by an elaborate complex multi-cellular organisms, over a shapes that allow their non-polar groups
process, called translation, of joining period of billions of years. This suggests to stay away from water. Some examples
of amphiphiles that we use in our day-to-
amino acids in a sequence dictated by that the first living organisms would day life include soaps, detergents, butter
the genetic material of the cell. The have had to be very simple, even simpler and oils.
108
nucleic acids), a challenge usually protocell-like structures are capable of tube. Nevertheless, this is very plausible;
referred to as a “Molecular Biologist’s evolution. Consequently, we still have and once achieved, will answer some of
Dream”. Another challenge has been some way to go to achieve our goal the most daunting questions about the
to demonstrate that self-sustaining of constructing artificial cells in a test origins of life on our pale blue dot.
Note: Credits for the image used in the background of the article title: Class I Ligase Ribozyme. David Shechner, Wikimedia Commons.
URL: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Class_I_Ligase_Ribozyme.jpg. License: CC-BY-SA.
Niraja Bapat joined Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune as a doctoral student in prebiotic
chemistry after completing a Bachelors and Masters in Biotechnology. Her work is focused on understanding the role of
co-solutes and molecular crowding in enzyme-free information transfer reactions, in the context of the RNA world
hypothesis. She can be reached at niraja.bapat@students.iiserpune.ac.in.
Chaitanya Mungi joined IISER Pune as an integrated PhD student in 2011 after completing his Bachelors in Biotechnology
from Jai Hind College, Mumbai. His work centres on understanding the chemical processes that may have led to the
synthesis of polymers on early Earth. Chaitanya is also interested in science popularization and communication. He can
be reached at cvmungi@students.iiserpune.ac.in.
Sudha Rajamani is an Assistant Professor at IISER, Pune, where she heads the Chemical Origins of Life (COoL) laboratory.
Her work is focused on discerning the series of events that might have led to the origin and evolution of early life on
prebiotic Earth.
BIENNIAL CONFERENCE
A REPORT
REETEKA SUD & GEETHA IYER
U
Held on the 20-23rd September, nited in the idea that a delivered a talk that was very
2016, the 26th biennial conference networked teaching community pertinent to the meeting’s theme.
of the Asian Association of Biology would be an advantage both He discussed current practices in
Education, focused on encouraging for students and teachers, a group of Biology education, drawing attention
communication between educators Biology teachers in Philippines started to worrying trends that were resulting
and researchers on practices in the non-profit organization – Asian in significant losses in learning.
and challenges of current trends Association of Biology Education Being an immunologist, he spoke
in Biology Education. This report (AABE). That was 1966. Today, AABE has about how, for example, current
captures some of the highlights of members in 16 Asian countries. The 26th practices in biology education were
this event. biennial conference, that marked the narrowly centered on diseases, when
beginning of India chapter, was held they should actually go beyond
in September 2016 in Goa. The theme diseases to encompass health and
of this year’s conference was – Trends its repercussions on society. Like
in Biology Education and Research: with many other subjects, teaching
Practices and Challenges. The conference learning processes in biology appear
was inaugurated by the Chief Minister to be focused not on understanding
of Goa, Lakshmikant Parsekar, who health, but passing exams. Prof.
delivered a short but apt talk about
Rath wondered if this trend could
the role of a teacher; punctuated with
change and the biology syllabus
examples from his own life.
shift its focus from a reductionist
Satyajit Rath, faculty at National view of, say ‘hygiene’, to a broader
Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, one, of say ‘health’; and highlight
Objectives of AABE
• Improve teaching of (and promote research in) biology in Asian countries.
• Bring together biology educators of Asian countries at periodically held
conferences.
• Establish an agency in Asia to serve as a center for the exchange of teaching
materials, journals and research papers, specialists and teachers in the biological
sciences, and to open channels of communication between this agency and
agencies in different countries doing similar work.
• Promote the creation of biological science teaching centers in each Asian country.
110
Fig. 1. Satyajit Rath, from the National Institute of Immunology, Delhi, speaking at the AABE conference.
Credits: Reeteka Sud. License: CC-BY-NC.
changes, are all dependent one way class, where even factual information
“[This conference] definitely gave me an
or the other on Natural History. is taught and asked (in exam questions)
understanding of the current situation of
biology education in India.” Human welfare cannot be driven only in the context of a bigger problem that
— A participant. by statistical analysis of molecules; students can relate to. As a result, facts
it must have a sound basis in natural that they would have otherwise just
history. Her point resonated with that learned by rote become meaningful
interconnectedness, for example
of Satyajit Rath, who described the to students. Instead of being mere
between the health of individuals and
same as a dominance of reductionism in spectators who passively watch the
communities they belonged to. Can the
biology education. teacher in class, students therefore
purpose of education be “re-purposed”
become active participants in their
from a job-directed education with No doubt our education system imposes
own learning process.
information-overload for students, to a lot of constraints — the syllabus
focus on raising informed citizens who content is continually growing, and the
rush to cover all that before exams can “I have also noticed a divide between
can think on their own?
the flexibility of research-based institutes
be heavily taxing for teachers and for
Rohini Balakrishnan, Professor from the vs. teaching-only colleges with respect to
students. But as Swati Patankar, faculty teaching courses. This came through in
Indian Institute of Science (Bangalore),
from IIT Bombay, showed — it is still Swati Patankar’s talk, where she illustrated
took the participants through a very
possible for teachers to “break away creative ways in which questions can be
enlightening process. Pointing out why
from the mould” — there is considerable asked in the undergrad setting.”
Natural History should be an important
autonomy that teachers have when — A participant.
part of Biology, she drew attention
they are in class. When managed well,
to the fact that today, unfortunately,
the outcomes of this approach can be
very little of it makes any appearance Being part of the conference definitely
extremely impressive. To support her
in the average Biology classroom. This made many of us sit up and think more
point, she shared examples from her
manifests itself in the process of hiring deeply about the pressing need to start
of new faculty — rarely do departments the process of improving Biology
hire those trained in Natural History. “I was very touched and warmed to meet education. This need is, in fact, a big
Biology is all around us, and yet sadly some very enthusiastic and dedicated reason driving the formation of an Indian
‘modern biology’ has become all about school teachers. I would like to make special chapter now, and the Asian association
laboratories and molecular analysis, mention of Mr. Rajesh Patil… Not only were over 50 years ago. The founding members
his ideas creative and innovative, he had
with no room for learning from felt that a networked teaching
so much energy and enthusiasm, I walked
simply observing nature. She pointed away thinking that this was the key to being
community is more empowered to
out how our fisheries, agriculture, a good educator and was truly inspired”. learn from each other, and make a
pharmaceuticals, health issues, and even — A participant. difference in the overall education
the current crisis brought on by climate system in the process.
Teachers in India can join this community by contacting the Executive Director of the Indian chapter, Narendra Deshmukh
(nddeshmukh1965@gmail.com). The AABE also publishes a journal – The Asian Journal of Biology Education, which can be
accessed online (http://www.aabe.sakura.ne.jp).
Reeteka Sud is the Education Coordinator for IndiaBioscience. A neuroscientist by training, she is passionate about
science communication. She can be reached at reeteka@indiabioscience.org.
Geetha Iyer is an author and independent consultant working in the twin fields of Education and Environment.
She has written extensively on topics in education, environment and Natural History. Geetha can be reached at
brownfishowl@yahoo.co.uk.
112
RE DISCOVE RING SCHOOL SCIE NC E
Write for us
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Discovered two years after Charles Darwin published the Origin of Species,
the Archaeopteryx is a key piece of evidence supporting evolutionary theory.
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