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Monday, October 30, 2006

When the Mind is Clean

The concept of mind has been a subject of a lot of debate. Feelings of love, hatred, anger, sympathy and so on come from the heart, we usually say. We don’t mean the physical heart (which is just a very efficient machine for pumping blood) but a different entity called the mind. Well, where is the mind? Scientists will point to the brain, which is equipped with the operating system and many complicated software along with the marvelous hardware elements that perform unimaginably sophisticated functions.
Memory locations are extremely vital in the operation of the brain, as in the case of a computer and it is here that we humans store data which we interpret as of probably three types: desirable, harmful and good for nothing. There may be difference of opinion about the third type. I am leaving it to your own interpretation!
I have heard that when one is in the death bed, the mind becomes clean. I think the random access memory (RAM) in the brain becomes devoid of the harmful software and data and the read only memory (ROM) continues its function to the extent possible. The man in the death bed therefore behaves like a child or, may be, like the foetus in the mother’s womb. The feeling of love and concern for others is a lasting trait and nature probably is very reluctant to obliterate it from the memory locations of the brain. Probably these are part of the ‘operating system’ itself.
If you compare your life span with the cosmic standard, you will realize where you stand. If you compare your size with the cosmic standard you will realize how insignificant you are. Such thoughts will help in deleting undesirable software and data from the memory locations in your brain. You will then love o
thers and will be loved by others.

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Zeeman Effect and Metallic reflection

This post is aimed at Physicists interested in fundamental research.
Zeeman effect is the splitting of spectral lines when the source of spectrum (usually a discharge tube) is placed in a magnetic field. An idea that has been in my mind for some time is to check whether you can observe Zeeman effect if you place a mirror strip (instead of the light source) in a magnetic field and direct a beam of monochromatic light towards the mirror strip.
As usual, you will require the entire set up for Zeeman effect (electromagnet, high resolution instrument such as Fabri-Perot interferometer or Lummer-Gehrcke plate, Spectrometer etc.) but instead of the spectral source you will use a mirror strip or any polished metal surface and you will observe the light reflected from it. I have certain ideas about the experiment and its consequences, but I don’t want to distract you at the moment. I don’t know whether somebody has done this type of an experiment before. I think the result of this experiment, whether positive or negative, will have an influence on our explanation of metallic reflection. I thought of mercury green line for this experiment, but a suitable laser also can be considered. So,
Attention Physicists!

Monday, October 02, 2006

Why not a Floor Paint?

About two decades back, ‘loose marble chips’ (mosaic) floor was very popular in Kerala. Marble slabs and ceramic tiles were also used, but they were not very popular. Marble slabs were very costly then. The cost of marble slab has come down but people prefer tiles, especially vitrified tiles, because of the convenience and the saving in time. Loose marble chips floors are being dug out and tiles of choice are being laid by most house owners who can afford the cost. I too have an inclination towards the modern tiles and it is now only a question of time for effecting the change.
Meanwhile, I have been thinking of the feasibility of a suitable floor paint. Why should one waste so much time and money in replacing the loose marble chips floor with one of vitrified tiles? If you have a durable coating (on the existing floor) that will give the look and neatness of floor tiles, you can save quite a lot of labour and cost. A matty finish will be practicable and sufficient. Even if the coating can last for five years, the method will definitely prove convenient. Paints similar to those used in glass painting (with suitable modifications) can be considered I think. With modern manufacturing techniques, it will not be a big problem to make this idea practicable. So, attention paint manufacturers!