Scale analysis or order of magnitude analysis is a back of the envelope [1] method for deriving the most information with a reasonable understanding of the physics of a phenomenon. In other words, it is a method to yield first cut estimates about the relationships between several parameters involved in a particular problem. Let us take an example [2] to see how this works.
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First Law of thermodynamics relates heat transfer, work transfer and internal energy of a body [4]. Fourier Law of heat conduction proposes how heat transfers in a solid body. We shall heat a block and see how hot the understanding gets. More…
Sunil Mukhi discusses a graceful exit [1] for outstanding researchers.
The crux, as I understand, is: Depending on their performance, after a short or prolonged stint at a top class research institute, researchers who are found to be “under-performing” or want to leave by choice (because they can’t cope forever with the exacting standards) can be offered an exit strategy where they can be assured of (at least) a University teaching position.
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Just then we finished cutting a picture of a whale shark from the recent Young World magazine and pasting it in a special notebook. And as I was helping the wife in her kitchen work by talking to her soothingly about life, along comes the kid and declares
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When we say we want to optimize some situation or a solution for a problem, we usually mean we are looking for a way to achieve a combination of better of many (or at least two) worlds. We want only better of these worlds (or problem parameters) because achieving the best in each one of them is seen to restrict the other worlds (or problem parameters) from becoming its best.
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If we haven’t yet attempted to enjoy the South Indian Classical Music form called Carnatic music, we are missing something good in life. Same holds true for any classical music form and music in general. Here are some observations on three Carnatic musicians I listened recently. Be assured that I don’t pass off these opinions as erudite promulgations from a holier than thou.
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Is the IIT selection procedure faulty?
For instance, a recent IBN Live news item reads IIT admissions faulty, deserving students fail: Prof.
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How many times in your career you have double dipped an article by sending a preliminary version to an international conference and published a feedback based revised version of the article in a related journal? This is the question Scott Jaschik addresses in his recent Inside Higher Ed article [1].
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First the myth. Recently Philip Altbach wrote in “Hidden cost of open access” in the Times Higher Education Supplement 5 June 2008 [1] More…
Halfway through the book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (2003) by Mark Haddon, the mystery of who killed Wellington (the dog) gets solved. That is when the story begins seriously. The story of the life of and around a special human, Christopher Boone.
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The 2008 result of a web survey on the World-view and opinions of Indian scientists is available online now [1].
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வலையில் அறிவியல் பக்கங்களில் அவ்வப்போது அகழ்ந்து கொண்டிருந்தீர்களென்றால் நானோ திரவங்கள் அல்லது நானோ ஃப்லூயிட்ஸ் (nanofluids) என்று ஒரு விஷயம் கேள்விப்பட்டிருப்பீர்கள். என்ன என்று சற்று விரிவாக தமிழில் பார்ப்போம்.
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Abstract: [This is a technical note. It doesn't require an abstract]
Introduction:
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From
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Some questions and discussion on the Way forward, the recent Hindu editorial on IGCC technology for India. It correctly writes IGCC is the way to go in the future. But glosses over on pertinent issues on energy security.
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Watch and hear this video - runs just a few seconds. Then close your eyes and hear the video again. Notice anything amiss between what you heard when you watched the visual and what you heard when you didn’t?
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This is a ten minute recollection exercise of others thoughts. Not thoughts all and sundry I could retrieve in ten minutes but those that made an impact on me over the years. To write them down, it took about an hour. Also, recollecting from memory perhaps had altered in places the original lines. This is how these sentences remain in my memory now. More…
Like Heat Capacity, the coinage Nanofluids is a misnomer.
The phrase Heat Capacity suggests the capacity of a substance for storing Heat, which it is not. Heat cannot be stored; it is energy in transit, a boundary phenomenon; substances store enthalpy or energy. Similarly, the word Nanofluid suggest a fluid that is nano-sized or, at least, made of nano sized matter, which at first glance, every fluid (air, water) is. Obviously Nanofluid should mean something more special.
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Graduate admission in premier institutes in India is based on the performance of students in the Graduate Aptitude Test (GATE), a common in-house examination conducted by such institutes. The GATE is a subject exam, testing the potential graduate student in the undergraduate level of her chosen engineering discipline. The exam can be taken in several engineering disciplines and also under a general engineering category and a few others. But, in principle, all of them are based on a subject discipline.
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Cats are worshiped by Egyptians. Cats are blogged on Fridays. Even cat’s downfall is analyzed in feline pesematology. Nevertheless, in this part of terra firma, cats crossing your path is considered a bad omen.
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