Not only the Nilgiris, but almost all mountains appear blue from a distance. This is due to a phenomenon known as the Rayleigh Scattering Effect. The light from the sun, due to which we see the mountains, is scattered by atmospheric molecules. The electric field of the incident sunlight oscillates the electrons in these molecules which, in turn, radiate light. …

Watching stars on a moonless night can be an quite an interesting experience. As clusters of stars take familiar forms – of a bear, a man in armor wielding a sword, millions of other stars simply twinkle. As if they were playing hide and seek with one’s eyes. Why do stars twinkle? We all know that each star is actually …

Norman Pritchard — Norman Gilbert Pritchard, who is also known as Norman Trevor was an Indian Athlete during the British days, and the first Athlete from the nation to participate at the Olympic Games although it is still an issue of debate whether he participated from India or Great Britain, as is being claimed by some Olympic historians of late. …

Some trees with broad-bladed leaves lose their leaves in the winter because the trees has a rest period during the cold weather, and the leaves are not needed for the production of food. These trees are called deciduous trees-from the Latin decidere which means to fall. They drop their leaves in temperate or cold climates, but remain evergreen in the …

Norman Mailer — Norman Kingsley Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007) was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, playwright, filmmaker, actor and political activist. His first novel was The Naked and the Dead, published in 1948. His best work was widely considered to be The Executioner’s Song, which was published in 1979, and for which he won one of …

Our mind controls our actions and movement; yet while there are acts we are aware of doing, there are others performed without our knowledge. We breathe, walk, sit, stand and so on without really being aware of doing so, because these acts are so natural that we do not have to think about them. Sometimes it happens that some of …

If you ever slept in a room with an uncle or an aunt who snores, you would know how annoying it can be. The person causing all the noise sleeps like a log, while the room partner spends the night tossing and turning; waking up bleary-eyed the next morning. Did you know that snoring is a common ailment all over …

The appendix is a small extension of a large intestine that has no function at all. But if it becomes damaged or infected it gets inflamed, and causes excruciating pain. If this happens it should be removed by a surgeon.

Some liquids will burn because when their molecules mix with the oxygen in the air the mixture becomes combustible. The application of heat promotes the necessary chemical reaction to put the molecules into more violent motion, so that they collide at high speed. The jolt loosens the bonds and makes it easier for the molecules to rearrange themselves and escape …

Some acids burn because they have a strong tendency to absorb water, giving out a great deal of heat in the process. Since most living cells contain water the strong acids, react with them and kill the cells, causing very serious burns. These three acids, as well as others such as perchloric acid and benzine sulphuric acid are called mineral …