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CSI – IMPOSSIBLE TO ESCAPE February 11, 2008

Posted by arun in TV shows, biology, chemistry, entertainment, math, physics, science, technology.
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CSI, Crime Scene Investigation, as many of you might already know, is one of the best featured TV-shows team1024x768of its genre, Crime/Drama/Thriller. It comes in three flavors, CSI – Las Vegas, New York and Miami. I have seen only a couple of episodes in Miami, up-to-date on Las Vegas and catching up on New York. Las Vegas was the first and arguably the best, this bias may be because I saw it first. Usually the show consists of a team of 5-6 CSIs. The distinction that sets this show apart is its uniqueness in handling crime scenes by relying only on evidence. Gil Grissom, the head in Las Vegas and Mac Taylor in New York, whose characters are understood to be complex but personable with distinguished intuitiveness and acumen, and immaculate rationality. They don’t connive to violations of law nor do they truckle to threats. In this 1 hour featured show, it doesn’t always result in solving 1 or more crimes within the period. At times, it gets personal putting the lives of CSIs themselves into jeopardy.

The CSI characters each are developed in an unique and exquisite manner with each having their own issues, dark periods, test of endurance, flash backs etc… The show uses state of the art technology in addition to intricate attention to details, in particular, it has a keen inclination towards microscopic particles, fibres and glasses. It deals with numerous fields covering almost all aspects of science and arts which begs the question regarding the voluminous and universal knowledge the CSI team possesses. The show also uses a lot of technical expressions (a result from an analysis or experiment) which remains gobbledygook to one with limited or no knowledge in that field. One thing, if I understood from this show is that, a dead body speaks more than the one alive! :) From the multitude of episodes, you will be caught no matter how intelligently you plan the crime. Why? Because you have no freaking clue of how many things are unique!! There is no perfect crime!

But at times, clues in context to technology related to electronics/computers which is my area of expertise relatively in opposition to say, biology, I find them ridiculous and funny (not always). For examcsi_ny_aboteaserple, in CSI – New York, Season 03, Episode 02, a man is found dead in a jewelry store which is robbed by 3 women clad in same outfit and hard to distinguish between. On analyzing the crime scene (where all the glasses are broken and jewels are looted), they come to know that, the broken glasses doesn’t have any stress marks indicating directionality (when you strike a glass, the broken glass shows a pattern denoting the direction of impact). From a witness in the crime scene who claimed that a dog barked just before the glass shattered, they discover that they used a “frequency device”. Now comes the funny part.

CSI(1): how could one do that?

CSI(2) A sine wave generator. It is a program that manipulates sound. You download the output to a mp3 player and you are ready.
CSI(1): ahan! Check all web sites. Anyone who deals with this kind of software. Cross check with the name “Beth”.

CSI(2): (after some other scenes) The name you gave was good. A women by the name of Beth Lawson bought a sine wave generator program last month from an online distributor. It turns out there was no forwarding address in the package she ordered. The delivery man explained her as “one hot blondie” and she studies “physics” in college.

CSI(1): Beth was studying physics, Natalie was studying engineering…?!!

CSI(2): yes, both indulging in homicide!

:lol: I know! People from engineering background, I need not even explain this. You are already ROTFL. The concept is very true, using high frequency vibration, you could break a glass. But, for a student studying in engineering and physics, writing their own code of a sine wave “program” will take less than 10 seconds rather than placing an online order!! OMG! cracking the case with an online order for a sine wave program purchased by engineering students… it must be a real dull college.

There may be some similar technicalities in other fields too. Otherwise, the show is wondrous, one of a kind. Awe striking graphics & animation, good continuity, the reality in posing the dead bodies, the action, car chases, bomb blasts, internal story line, very little provocative content, character development, technology etc… are inexplicable. Also the details they analyze including finger prints, DNA, blood spatter, fibre particles, glass particles, even sand, paints, acids and drug tests, bugs, weapons including guns for their mm calibers and other instruments resulting in death by stabbing. Anything and everything on the Earth is analyzed!! :) Its therefore impossible to escape… BEWARE!

WINTER AND SODIUM ACETATE – KITH AND KIN: HAND WARMERS January 8, 2008

Posted by arun in chemistry, science, technology.
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Global warming has certainly become a much debatable topic, though the debate itself is what has partially led to the awareness in spite of its uncertainty. The inconclusiveness also has resulted in innumerous (constructive?) antagonism amongst various researchers, each of who possess a charismatic charm in convincing us with their theories corroborated with evidence and more than enough evidence to denigrate others’ results that they confabulated or concocted those. The denouement of this long perpetuating argument should be arrived sooner or later.

The number of seasons a region or country experiences is seemingly declining in the Southern India. A few years back, I could say we had at least 3 seasons; summer, very brief winter and rainy. But the situation now seems to give the impression that at least Chennai has only summer season throughout the year having become impotent of the other seasons, a blunt non-statistical inference though. However, in Germany, its already around -4 to -12 degree Celsius and counting. What is the funny but rather irritating consequence (I am not discussing Global warming)? It takes about 10 minutes to gear up with every piece of clothing you have, including thermal wears, t-shirt, another t-shirt, a sweater, jean, ear-bands or khullahs, neck-scarf(??) , gloves and finally a jacket minimum. This is similar to that of funny olden day Tamil Heroes getting loaded with shiny leather jackets, armors, hand grenades, machine guns bla bla… near the climax of the movie to slay the Villain and free the heroine after which they live happily ever after (Even Arnold Schwarzenegger movies!!). And what is even more irritating is, due to the presence of heaters inside the building (which is indispensable) some of the clothes have to be taken off to stop sweating.

Also sometimes the gloves aren’t that protective and you still require more warmth. It was not long before I came across this simple but intriguing heat device. It was some sort of a liquid along with what seemed like a switch. On pressing the switch, the liquid undergoes an immediate transition to solid phase and in the process generates heat, an exothermic reaction. My ignorance lead to a sense of bafflement over such a sophisticated and ingenious method of generating heat. How? This is where Sodium acetate, CH3COO-Na+ comes into picture. I quote from Wikipedia rather than trying to rephrase it. Awesome!

Sodium acetate is also used in consumer heating pads or hand warmers and is also used in “hot ice”. When sodium acetate trihydrate crystals (melting point 58 °C) are heated to around 100 °C, they melt. When this melt cools, it gives a supersaturated solution of sodium acetate in water. This solution is capable of supercooling to room temperature, well below its melting point, without forming crystals. By clicking on a metal disc in the heating pad, a nucleation center is formed which causes the solution to crystallize into solid sodium acetate trihydrate again. The bond-forming process of crystallization is exothermic, hence heat is emitted. The latent heat of fusion is about 264–289 kJ/kg (Source).

Also, I came across this video which should give a better understanding. (Courtesy and credits)

AQUAREGIA’S HISTORY December 30, 2007

Posted by arun in chemistry, science, thoughts.
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While watching an episode of CSI the terms nitric acid and hydrochloric acid came as a part of the “investigation”. I was trying to recollect the name “aqua regia” which is a mixture of both these added in the volumetric ratio of 1:3, it dissolves Gold and Platinum. Of course I could not recollect the name and so I had to resort to my online enchiridion, Wikipedia where I came to know about the meticulous Hungarian scientist George de Hevesy, Nobel Prize for Chemistry 1943. I have pasted the content. I hope at least a few of you could appreciate it.

“When Germany invaded Denmark in World War II, the Hungarian chemist George de Hevesy dissolved the gold Nobel Prizes of Max von Laue and James Franck into aqua regia to prevent the Nazis from stealing them. He placed the resulting solution on a shelf in his laboratory at the Niels Bohr Institute. It was subsequently ignored by the Nazis who thought the jar-one of perhaps hundreds on the shelving-contained common chemicals. After the war, de Hevesy returned to find the solution undisturbed and precipitated the gold out of the acid. The gold was returned to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Nobel Foundation presented new medals to Laue and Franck.”

Now this makes me wonder, how much of resources would we have saved if we hadn’t been generous ass(es) back then to let the surreptitious plan of the British put into action. Even now, we get back our own legend’s sword, the Tiger of Mysore, the Legend Tipu Sultan’s sword from London in auction for crores!! Unfortunately, amidst gold, we had enough Diamonds looted!!! Who knew how to dissolve it?? For all we know, in the next few years, some other honorable Indian’s langotti (olden day underwear), no disrespect implied, could be laid in some auction for millions!! It’s ironic how History is equally educative and preposterous. I hope not we go widdershins for our sake!!

HELIUM, TIMBRE & DONALD DUCKS December 19, 2007

Posted by arun in physics, science, technology.
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So, how are these terms associated with one another? The gist is that inhaling Helium makes one sound like a Donald Duck. How? It is a well known fact that sound requires a medium to travel. Under normal circumstances, the composition of air in the larynx is in normal proportions and when the vocal cord starts to vibrate, the skin compresses accordingly creating sound waves. The frequency depends on the number of compressions. However, when one injects helium, which is about 1/7th of the density of nitrogen, creates a difference in the density, changing the composition of air in one’s larynx. Because the frequency of vibration of vocal cords is independent of the medium, and pitch of a tone depends on frequency, there is no change in the pitch of the voice. However, the velocity of sound waves changes because of the difference in the medium and affects the timbre of the tone. This results in the speech or voice sounding more like a Donald Duck!!

EMBARK UPON THE BLUE RAY & HD DVDs December 16, 2007

Posted by arun in entertainment, physics, science, technology.
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I have always had a particular jones towards technology, which has aggrandized since my dad bought my first computer with 166 MHz Intel processor and 32 MB RAM configuration. In fact, it has even influenced to a great extent in pursuing my under graduation studies too. I could not help but get fascinated by these next generation optical drives and whet my appetite to contribute significantly. Here is a piece of information to the likewise ardent admirers of technology!!

Physics and Technology: Blue ray acquires its name from the blue-violet laser technology, although HD DVDs also use the low wavelength blue lasers. How does this really make a difference increasing the storage size by about 4 to 6 fold? A Blue-ray disc has around 25GB of storage capacity where as HD DVDs have about 15 GB, on comparison to a 4.7 GB DVD disc. Understanding HOW requires, if not comprehensive, a glancing purview of how optical drives typically work. In optical drives, the digital information is usually encoded in the pattern of pits of varying lengths. The laser beam in the drive is excited on to these information layers and a photo diode collects the reflected light (the pits reflect less light than the adjacent layers). However, it is imperative to agnize that the lens (focusing the laser beam) produces a finite diameter owing to diffraction. So, the pits must be separated by the distance demanded by the diffraction of the light wavelength in order for the data reading to be efficient. This ultimately decides the size of the optical storage disc. By using shorter wavelengths, the spot size for reading pits can be reduced which results in many pits at relatively small distances separating each other, hence the tremendous increase in the size!! To quantify, the pit length has decreased in CD, DVD, HD DVD and blue-ray as 0.8, 0.4, 0.2 and 0.15 micrometers. To physics fanatics, refer 1 and 2.

Does this really make a difference? There is of course increase in the resolution obtained, however, not as high as the resolution obtained as in the case of say, a video-tape to DVD era. Before clambering up the bandwagon, it is essential to know, the technology of the drives demand equal display resolutions from TV or computer displays to bring the best out of it. The maximum resolution of the best displays is about 1080p (progressive scan) > 1080i (interlaced). Blue-ray players typically demand a 1080p resolution whereas HDTV (TV shows) are broadcast at 1080i or 720p. So, watching them on a 1080p TV makes no difference!

It is surprising as to how much increase in the storage capacity can be obtained from basic physics learnt at the level of high-school, Huygens’ wave theory (to those who were taught properly!! I owe it to Mahalakshmi teacher -)).

The BEE & the BEE-TALE December 10, 2007

Posted by arun in biology, random, science.
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Bee hives are highly impervious to intrusions. We are of course the masters of destruction and could easily damage them; however, we are also aware of the withering effects which are almost immediate and catastrophic. For the sake of amusement, some of you might remember the cartoon “The Popeye show”, where in one particular episode, the bees infuriated by Popeye’s accidental damage to the hive start chasing him. Tired of running and perspiring excessively, he hides behind a bush, when the bees tween into the shape of scissors and trims the bush to his body outline, puncturing him.

Now that being said, I came across this extremely interesting piece of information that even honey-bees are vulnerable to hackers!! The hive beetle Aethina tumida surpasses the tight security detail infesting the hives and killing the bees. How they execute this invasion remained obscure until now. A research group at Kenya seems to have cleared the obfuscations involved with perspicuous explanations from their scientific conclusions. Bees are known to communicate using pheromones. These hive beetles seem to exploit this and alarm the pheromones against themselves. The beetles are highly sensitive to Isopentyl acetate which is a marker of the stress levels of bees supposedly. And fortunate enough for these cranky little bastards, they are able to produce this same alarm chemical from a strain of yeast they carry, allowing them to execute their veneficial attacks. This makes the bees highly disoriented, turning against themselves, while more beetles start arriving for a hefty dinner…