Science for all

For most of our history, human technology consisted of our brains, fire, and sharp sticks. While fire and sharp sticks became power plants and nuclear weapons, the biggest upgrade has happened to our brains. Since the 1960’s, the power of our brain machines has kept growing exponentially, allowing computers to get smaller and more powerful at the same time. But this process is about to meet its physical limits. Computer parts are approaching the size of an atom! To understand why this is a problem, we need to clear up some basics.

Quantum computer is that computer which does its entire works using quantum mechanics. It uses Entanglement, Teleportation, and Superposition etc to compute or exchange information. Quantum computers can do such things that cannot be done using normal computers. But the fact is, Quantum computer cannot still be developed in the laboratory.

Quantum Computer

A computer is made up of very simple components doing very simple things. Representing data, the means of processing it and control mechanisms. Computer chips contain modules, which contain logic gates and transistors. A transistor is a simplest form of a data processor in computers. Basically, it’s a switch that can block, or open the way for information coming through. This information is made up of bits which can be set either 0 or 1. Combinations of several bits are used to represent more complex information. Transistors are combined to create logic gates which still do very simple stuff. For example, an AND gate sends an output of 1 if all of its outputs are 1, and an output of 0 otherwise. Combination of logic gates finally forms a meaningful module, for adding two numbers. Once you can add you can also multiply, and once you can multiply you can basically do anything. Since all basic operations are literally simpler than fist grade math, you can imagine a computer as a group of little kids answering really basic math questions. A large enough bunch of them could compute anything.

However with parts getting tinier and tinier, quantum physics are making things tricky. In a nutshell a transistor is just an electric switch. Electricity is moving electrons from one place to another. So, a switch is a passage that can block electrons from moving in one direction. Today a typical scale for transistors is 14 nanometers. Which are about 8 times less than HIV virus’ diameter, and 500 times smaller than red blood cells. As transistors are shrinking to the size of only a few atom, electrons may just transfer themselves to the other side of a blocked passage via a process called Quantum tunneling. In a quantum realm, physics works quite differently from the predictable ways we’re used to, and traditional computers just stop making sense. We are approaching a real physical barrier for our technological progress. To solve this problem, scientists are trying to use these unusual quantum properties to their advantage by building quantum computers.

Qubits

In normal computers, bits are the smallest unit of information. Quantum computers use qubits which can also be set to one of two values. A qubit can be any two level quantum systems, such as a spin and a magnetic field, or a single photon. 0 and 1 are this system’s possible states, like the photons horizontal or vertical polarization. In the quantum world, the qubit doesn’t have to be just one of those; it can be any proportions of both states at once. This is called superposition. But as soon as you test its value, by sending the photon through a filter, it has to decide to be either vertically or horizontally polarized. So, as long as it’s unobserved, the qubit is in a superposition, of probabilities for 0 and 1, and you can predict which it’ll be. But the instant you measure it, it collapse into one of the definite states. Superposition is a game changer. Four classical bits can be one of two to the power of four different configurations at a time. That’s 16 possible combinations, out of which you can use just one. Four qubits in a superposition, however, Can be all of those 16 combinations at once. This number grows exponentially with each extra qubit. Twenty of them can already store a million values in parallel.

Entanglement

A really weird and unintuitive property qubits can have is Entanglement. It is a close connection that makes each of the qubits reacts to a change in the other’s state instantaneously, no matter how far they are apart. This means when measuring just one entangled qubit, you can directly deduce properties of its partners without having to look.

A normal logic gate gets a simple set of inputs and produces one definite output. A quantum gate manipulates an input of superposition, rotates probabilities, and produces another superposition at its output. So, a quantum computer sets up some qubits, applies quantum gate to entangle them and manipulate probabilities, then finally measures the outcome, collapsing superposition to an actual sequence of 0’s and 1’s. What this means is that you get the entire lot of calculations that are possible with your setup, all done at the same time.

Time travel is one of the widely discussed topics in the world. When the term ‘time travel’ comes to the mind, people usually think of a machine which can travel to the past or future within a moment. But this is only possible in fantasies or fictions, not in real life. So, is it theoretically or practically possible to travel into different times?

Basically we all travel with time. Time is running but in a systematic way. Time doesn’t go backward. Time passes by but within a speed limit. The speed limit is practically 1 hour per hour, 1 minute per minute or 1 second per second. We cannot change the limit. If we want to make a time travel, we must change the speed limit of time. What if time travels 1 day per hour?

Travelling To Future

The great scientist Albert Einstein had developed a theory that is Theory of Relativity. This theory describes the possibilities of time travel. It says, when an object travels relative to other objects close to the speed of light, time will be slower for it. The speed of light is approximately 300000 km per second. If any object can reach almost 99.5% of the speed of light, it can travel to the future. To be more specific, a man has left the earth and traveled to the space with the speed of light. He has spent 1 year in the space with the same speed limit. After coming back to earth after 1 year he’ll see the earth has already spent 5 years! His mates, friends have grown older than him. In a gist, he has travelled to the future. So, traveling to the future is theoretically possible. But to make it practically possible, we need to travel close to the speed of light which we haven’t achieved yet.

So, as the man traveled to the future, can he come back to the present or where he did belong? To make it possible, he needs to travel to the past.

Travelling To The Past

There is a popular hindrance of traveling to the past and that is- Grandfather Paradox. For example, a man from present time has travelled to the past and met his young grandfather. He suddenly killed his grandfather. What will happen? His grandfather won’t be able to give birth to his (man) father. So, there will be no existence of his whole family. Likewise there will be no existence of that man too. Then who went to the past to kill the grandfather? This is an impossible fact and this is a hindrance to the fact of traveling to past.

But there also two theories accepting the fact of time travel- Novikovs self consistency theory and parallel universe theory.

Self-consistency theory: According to this theory, if any man goes to the past he cannot get into any kind of activities that will affect his present life. The nature will hinder him from these activities. So, although he can travel to the past, he cannot change anything or affect the past world. Mother Nature will play the role of controlling everything. But this is just a theory.

Parallel universe theory: According to this theory, there are different universes for every chance. For, example, a man just had an accident and lost his eye. There will be another universe where he didn’t have any accident and enjoying his life with both eyes. Both the possibilities will go parallel in different universes. This is like a tree and its branches. As every tree has a lot of branches, every incident can have a lot of results. And there is existence of parallel universes for every possibility. So, according to this theory, a man cannot time travel to the same universe he is living. It justifies the fact of time travel. But this is also just a theory.

So far we have learnt that time travel is theoretically possible with many limitations. There are physical and technical limitations. Our technology is not that much developed to travel at a speed of light and travel in different times. Even if we invent any technology of that speed, we don’t know whether we human body can sustain it. Scientists are working with wormholes (technology for time travel). So, as science is developing our dream of time travel might come true one day.

Nature provides us natural resources to generate electricity like natural gas, coal, ocean tides, mountain waves and sunlight. Some of this resources are finite including fossil fuels like coals, natural gas etc. But others are unlimited like solar or wind power. There are some significant processes to turn the resources into usable electricity. Everyday researchers work to find innovative ways to use our limited resources.

Thermal power: Thermal power is widely used in the modern world to generate electricity. Fuels like coal, natural gas, biomass and uranium are used to heat water until it produces steam which runs turbines and generate electricity. Steam spins turbine blades and turbines are connected to a shaft which spins magnet with a coal inside the generator. It’s a generator which turns mechanical energy into electric energy. Steam is an efficient method of producing electricity because the water can be recycled and reused as it changes back into pure water.

Solar system: Solar system uses sunlight to produce electricity. Photon rays hit solar panel cells with energy and this energy dislocates electrons from solar cells. The electrons travel around and run through a specific way to fulfill a circuit. This is the simple way that solar panels follow to produce electricity. Although it produces a small amount of electricity but it doesn’t require any raw materials and also it is unlimited.

Wind turbines: Wind turbines work as the opposite of a cooling fan. It uses wind power to produce electricity. Wind turbines usually have three blades which are connected with a shaft. Wind power rotates the blades and the blades spin the shaft. The shaft is connected to a generator and it produces electricity.

Ocean tides: Producing electricity using water waves or tides is quite similar to the wind turbine system. The kinetic energy of the water waves or sea tides makes the turbine blades rotate and produce electricity. Waterfalls are widely used to produce water in this process.

Working method of Generators:

Michael Faraday invented the electromagnetic induction of generators. Generators produce electricity using electromagnets. They transform kinetic energy into electric energy. Generator has a series of insulated coils of wire. There is an electromagnetic shaft surrounded by cylinder of wires. As the electromagnetic shaft rotates, it induces a small electric current in each section of the wire coil. The wire coil rotates in a magnetic field. The rotation creates a voltage difference between the two ends of the wire coil. This makes the electric charges flow. Flowing of the electric charge generates electricity. Every small fractions of electricity from wire coils combine a large current. And then we are able to use the current. Almost every electricity resources use generator to produce electricity.

Distribution of electricity: Transporting electricity from the power plant to home is an entirely different process. Current technology cannot store large amount of electricity. So, significant challenges come while transferring electricity across long distances. That’s why a complex mix of management and infrustructers needed to transfer electricity to consumers through the electricity grid, often known as 'the grid'. The grid lines carry electrical energy at high voltage within their area to local utilities. There are very limited links between the grids. So, electricity cannot travel much far. For electricity to move far away the voltage must be increased by a device called transformer. Then the electricity can travel long distances through high voltage transmission line. These high voltage lines are generally strong between giant metal towers. There are sub stations alongside the roads. There job is stepping down electric voltages from level as high as 765000 volts close to 110 volts to use in the local utilities. The electricity from the power line on the street passes through another transformer which steps down the voltage once more and then it travels along the line into the house. From there the electricity enters the main switch board. Then it is distributed into the sockets. Thus we get electricity turning the switches.

Invention of airplanes is one of the greatest evolutions in the modern communication system. But few centuries ago, this was completely impossible to think. Credits go to the Wright brothers who invented power flight almost one century ago. All their hard works, experiments, researches and dedications become successful and accelerated our world.

How does it fly?

We see jet planes fly higher than usual airplanes. They even exhaust a lot of smoke on the air because jet engines are long metal tubes where continuous rush of fuel is burning. Jet engines are also far noisier than usual airplane engines. Two most important parts of a plane that help it to fly are Engine and Wings. They both work together to lift a plane up and move forward. But they have differences between them. A plane engine is developed to move the plane forward at high speed. Moving of the plane makes the air flow over the wings. The design of the wings forces the air to go downward and pushes the plane upward. The upward momentum created by a downward force is called lift. The lift force is greater than planes weight. It makes the plane detach from the ground and fly up. The process can be explained by Newton’s Third law of Motion.

How does wing work?

Wings are the main part to make a plane fly. It has two surfaces: upper and lower. The upper surface is usually curved and the lower surface is flatter. This design creates a cross sectional shape called airfoil. As air goes over the upper curved surface, it travels further than the air passes below it. So, it goes faster. According to Bernoulli’s law, Fast moving air has lower pressure than slow moving air. So the pressure created in the upper surface is lower than the pressure of lower surface. As there is low pressure upside the plane goes upward. This pressure difference makes the lift of a plane.

How does Helicopter fly?

Helicopter doesn’t actually run, they can stay on the air. Helicopter rotors use the similar technique as the airfoils do. It creates a huge downwash of air to balance the weight of helicopter. Helicopter rotors also have curves. As the chopper engine starts the rotation of the rotor, the rotor rotates at a constant speed and force the air downward. The downward force of air hits the ground and gives the chopper upward lift. It follows the third law of Newton.

How do planes steer?

Steering something means changing the direction of a vehicle. Changing the direction results in change of velocity and acceleration. To move something, we need to apply force. So, when it comes to steer something, we need to apply force to it. The force is called Centripetal force. Centripetal force usually comes from the friction when a vehicle is in touch with the ground. But how does plane steer without being in touch with the ground? It actually leans into a curve. The plane usually leans into an angle and changes the direction with a curve of banking. The banking of the plane provides centripetal force.

Other parts of a plane-

Fuel tank: As planes fly burning fuels, it must have a fuel tank where fuels will burn and produce energy to move the plane with great speed.

Landing gear: Plane’s wheels are hidden inside the plane while flying to avoid dragging. Planes land on these wheels. When plane prepares to land, the wheels come out.

Radio and Radar: These systems are essential for a plane to navigate from the sky. Skies these days are so busy with a lot of air traffic. So, Radio, Radar and Satellite is useful to communicate between planes and with airports.

Pressurized cabins: Planes should have pressurized cabins because as plane goes high, the air pressure reduces. To maintain the pressure balance, pressurized cabins pump heated air so that people can breathe easily.

Although planes fly following a simple scientific method but the mechanism of it is far more complex. Scientists and inventors are developing the aircraft system every moment. We are getting more and more modernized aircrafts. The communication system over the sky is getting easier and fast. Even few decades ago the situation was quite different but today we see thousands of flights all over the world is taking place in just a moment. This is a blessing of science.

Fossils are the ultimate formation of those creatures which lived long ago on the earth. They are buried beneath the earth layers for million years. The creatures transform into fossils and can be used as fuels. Fuel is a source of non-renewable natural energy. People use fossil fuels in driving cars, producing electricity, cooking etc. So, fossil fuels are the inalienable energy sources in human life. Fossil fuels store energy and emit them when they are burnt. They get energy from sunlight. Plants produce their own food from sunlight. The energy passes to the animals. These energies remain in the animals and plants. After they die, they transform into fossil fuels.

Formation of fossil fuels

Fossil fuels are formed under the layers of rocks. Most of the rocks are sedimentary rocks. They create layers year after year. The layers keep building up and their pressure beneath layers increases. The temperature also increases relatively. When plants or animals remain under these layers for million years they transform into coals, oil and natural gas. As sedimentary layers build they put pressure on the older layers. The more layers are build the more pressure increases there. And energy in the fossil fuels also increases relatively. Sediment layers are usually formed under sea, lakes or valley. So, as water flows over the sedimentary layers, the dissolved minerals in the water sticks to the layers and form a kind of cement. This type of cement helps to transform the sedimentary layers into rocks.

How do coals form?

Coals usually form from dead plants which are buried beneath the sedimentary rocks. Plants under sea or swamps transform into peat and after the peat is buried under more layers it becomes coal. Coals are also sedimentary rocks. They receive energy from pressure and emit them when burnt.

How do oil form?

Oils are generally a transformation of microscopic animals that lived in ancient times. They were buried under sedimentary rocks million years ago. Getting pressured by layers they transform into oils. Getting more pressure they become natural gas. Oils are reserved in the tiny pores of the rocks. As the pressure builds the layers squeezes the oils drops into pores. But this is not at all easy to drill out oil from underground. Engineers research for right places to drill out oil. They set up machines but they can only put out a quarter of oils from the remaining of the reservoir.

How does natural gas form?

We have already learnt about how oils are formed. The formation process of natural gas is same but it requires a lot more pressure. When oils underground get more pressure from sedimentary rocks they transform into natural gas.

Uses of Fossil Fuels in everyday life

We get petroleum and refine it because before it is refined petroleum is something like crude oil. After refining it we get various type of oil. One such type is gasoline. When gasoline is burnt it releases a lot of energy and the energy can be used to propel vehicles. Diesel is another fossil fuel that is used to run vehicles. We burn coals, oil and natural gas to get electricity. Also various products of our everyday life come from fossil fuels such as ball-point pen, printer cartridges, lipstick, polyester clothing etc. People use natural gas and oil to cook, heat up the house. So, fossil fuels have impact on our everyday life. The uses of fossil fuels are so wide that there is a concern of running out of them.

Can we run out of fossil fuels?

If we keep using fossil fuels like today we might lose all the remaining fossil fuels. Because fossil fuels takes million years to form. Moreover they are non renewable energy sources. We should reduce the wide use of fossil fuels in order to use them longer time.

Impact on environment

Burning of fossil fuel has impact on the environment. It releases green house gas that is the cause of global warming. Removing fossil fuels from the environment pollutes the environment.

Qubits

Entanglement

Travelling To Future

Travelling To The Past

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