CHIEF EDITORSujit Rumar RarEDITORSSandeep Kumar MohantySidharth MaharanaSworaj MohantyGRAPHICSDeepak Rumar NathSPECIAL THANKS TOAlexandra TaylorBudiman Cahyadi WElynne FoongGeorge PapadopoulosProf Paul MayDEDICATED TOAll Our EsteemedReaders Supporters Of“ THE SCIENTIFIC PEOPLE
ENVIRONMENT四L|zWhat is the blanket of air surrounding the Earth known as?(a) Atmosphere(b) Hydrosphere(c)Lithosphere(d) ChromosphereWhich layer of the atmosphere contains the Ozone layer?(b) Stratosphere(c) Magnetosphere3 What is the contamination of air by smoke, gases and minute particles known as(a)Water pollution(c)Soil pollutiond) Radioactive pollutionThat is a mixture of pollutants causing a fog-like haze known as?5 What is the process of enriching Water with nutrients known aa) Purification(b) Enrichment(c) Nutrition(d) Eutrophication(b) Asbestosis(c)Silicosis7
The phenomenon of removal of upper layer of soil by wind or water known as?(a)Soil erosion(b) Purification(c)Eutrophication8 The practice of growing the same crop on the same soil year after year is known(a) Sericulture(b)Apiculture(c) Monocultured)Tissue culture9 What is the later of the atmosphere rich in ions))Exosphere(c) Magnetosphere(d)Ionosphere10 What is the process of destruction of wastes at high temperature known as?(a) Excavation(b) Incineration(c)Destruction(d) Desalination
TSP Scientist BiographiesEdwin powell hubble(1889-1953)Edwin Powell hubble is a famous name in the fieldf Astronomy, since the legend, whom we knowpopularly as Edwin Hubble, is one of the scientistswhose contributions played a major role in the fieldof extragalactic astronomy Hubble is known forestablishing the fact that the universe is expandingHe is known for finding out the fact that theecessional velocity of a body increases with anincrease in its distance from the earth due to allthese important contributions to the field ofAstronomy, we know him as popularly as Hubbleafter the Hubble telescope that has been named tohonor himEarly LifeEdwin Powell Hubble was born on November 20, 1889 to Virginia Lee jamesand John Powell Hubble in Marshfield, Missouri He was known more for hisathletic abilities rather than the intellectual side His studied at theUniversity of Chicago were mainly concentrated about MathematicsAstronomy and Philosophy; however his interest in Mathematics andAstronomy was infuenced by George Ellery Hale and Robert Millikan Heobtained his Bachelors degree in 1910
He was particularly interested in thefield of Astronomy However, he had to keep his words to his dying father andcontinued studying LawAt a Later StageWhen Congress declared war on germany in1917, he volunteered to be a part of the USArmy Later, after the end of the war, hereturned to America and started serving as anastronomer at the Mount Wilson Observatorynear Pasadena He worked at the mountWilson and mount palomar observatorieswhere he continued his work until his deathEven, he was the first astronomer to use the200 inch Hale telescope at Mount Palomarobservatory12
Contributions0 Discovery of the fact that Universe expands beyond the Milky Way galaxywhich he found out using the Hooker's Telescope in Mt Wilson observatoryCaliforniao Introduction of a widely used system for galaxy classification, according tetheir appearance in photographic imageso Finding out of the fact that Redshift of a body increases with its increasingdistance from the Earth; Hubble formulated the Empirical Redshift DistanceLaw of Galaxies, which is currently known as the Hubble's lawDiscovery of the asteroid"1373 CincinnatiO He is also known for writing notable books under the name TheObservational Approach to Cosmology"and"The Realm of the NebulaeHubble′sLawV=HDwhere, V=Observed Velocity of the body away from us [Unit: km/secH
Hubble Constant [Unit: km/Sec/Mpc]D= Proper Distance to a galaxy which can change over time [Unit: Mpc]Awards and honoursHubble was conferred on the bruce medal franklin medal, gold medal of theRoyal Astronomy Society and Legion of Merit for several contributions to theId of Science Technology, especially Astronomy However, he was notchosen as a recipient of the noble prize since astronomy was not consideredto be a branch of Physics There have been several places and things namedafter him on his honourAsteroid 2069 HubbleHubble Space Telescope13
Photo galleryANDSAT 7Launched on 15 April 1999Launched on 3 November 1960Earth Observation SatelliteResearch SatelliteBADR 4Launched on 8 November 2006Communication SatellitTrailblazerLibertad 1Launched on 3 August 2008Launched on 17 April 2007Communication satellite
Photo galleryTerraLaunched on 18 December 1999Launched on 29 October 2008Research SatelliteCommunication SatelliteAdvanced Composition ExplorerLaunched on 25 August 1997Space& Solar Exploration Satellitegravity probe BAquaLaunched on 20 April 2004Launched on 4 May 2002Research SatelliteEarth Observation Satellite15
AcetylcholineVagus Stuff- Neurotransmitter from the Vagus NerveVagus Stuff- Why such a name?Actually, Vagus Stuff is not the realname given to Acetylcholine It wasgiven the name Vagusstoff" whichis a German word
In English, thisword means“ Vagus stuff”, whichmeans the stuff of the vagus nerveSuch a name has been imparted toAcetylcholine because itneurotransmitter which is releasedby the stimulation of the Vagusnerve and causes a reduction inheart beat rateFibers of vagus NerveDiscovery Of AcetylcholineAcetylcholine was first identifedin the year 1914 by Sir HenryHallet Dale for its actions of theheart tissue In the year 1921, itconfirmedneurotransmitter by the germanphysiologist Otto Loewi and wasnamed“ Vagusstoff” by him It wasthe first neurotransmitter to bdiscovered, which confirmed thechemical synaptic transmission inSir Henry Hallet DaleOtto Loewi
Synthesis and degradation ofAcetylcholineAcetylcholine is synthesized in certain neurons by the action of the enzymeCholine Acetyltransferase( ChAT) from the compounds Choline(cshuno')and Acetyl CoA(C23HB8N,O1, P3S) Acetylcholine is degraded to Choline andAcetate by the action of the enzyme Acetylcholinesterase, which is abundantn the synaptic cleft The degradation takes only 0
01 second, just as the nervempulse passes through the synaptic cleftChATAcetyl Coenzyme AholinAcetylcholineAcetyIcholine -Its StructureAcetylcholine is a naturally occurring quaternaryammonium cation ester which contains sevenCarbon atoms, seventeen Hydrogen atoms, threeoxygen atoms and one nitrogen atom TheNitrogen atom is covalently bonded with thecompound with a coordinate bond, and has fourCarbon atoms attached to it In an apparently N*straight chained structure of a geometricalsomer of the compound, the second and the thirdCarbon atoms are bonded with Oxygen atomsBut due to the presence of the coordinate bond ofNitrogen, the molecule gains a slight positive17
FROM THE CHIEF EDITOR'S DESKIt gives me immense pleasure to introduce the"TSP SCIENCE XPRESS" to each of our esteemedeaders Big Bang, the most accepted theory of the creation of our universe brought Space-Timecontinuum into existence, and since then, time has been passing by In these billions of years, starting fromthe atoms that brought us into existence, until the human beings, that we are now, never got a chance toook back Time changed, it flew like something that never has an Undo button Indeed, Time Traone-way route where we are travelling in a single direction, to the futureVe are in the age when we are dreaming of replacing our organs with artificial ones andsucceeding; we are in the Age of Science! I think it would not be proper on my part to say it is the AtomicAAge of Computers; since everything belongs to the entity we know as Science
Whether it is a tinysub-atomic particle, or a huge spaceship flying into space, everything is just a sub-set in the Universal set ofScience To sum it up, we are in an era where Science has engulfed every aspect of our life, in fact Scienceitself is our life, and our life is Science! How interesting!We human beings, know less than a mere fraction of what Science has with it and for Us In theanything else since we have to struggle to thrive; we call it as"Struggle for Existence" Whether it is for foor water, or for a territory, we have to struggle, and we need swe people at"The Scientific People" have tried to initiate the insatiable quest for knowledge withourselves an
d our esteemed readers, trying to ignite the fire of the "Learning and Spreading KnowledgWe have tried our best to make this e-magazine worth reading for readers of all age groups and I hope oureaders find the same tooHappy reading and all the best(SUJIT KUMAR KAR)CONTENTSCOVER STORYLAUNCH OF IRNSS 1A A NEW ERA IN THE FIELD OF NAVIGATIONBRISTOL CORNERMOLECULE OF THE MONTH- WILKINSONS CATALYST10ENVIRONMENT QUIZTSP SCIENTIST BIOGRAPHIESEDWIN POWELL HUBBLE(1889-1953)PHOTO GALLERY24EATURED ARTICLE-CHEMISTRYVAGUSSTOFF- NEUROTRANSMITTER FROM THE VAGUS NERVETSP 26 WORDSTHIS MONTH IN SCIENCE6923IN THE NEWSWORD GAMEASTRONOMY QUIZ25TSP FACTS OF THE MONTHVENUS FLYTRAP PLANTTHE LOCAL GROUP78EATH OFA STARTRIBOLUMINESCENCE30
Launch of irnss 1aA New Era in the fieldNAVIGATIONIst of July, 2013, 11: 41 PM It was a gloriousmoment for the officials, scientists anddignitaries at the Mission Control Centre ofSatish Dhawan Space Centre of SriharikotaIndia All this rush was for the launch of thefirst satellite dedicated towards the working ofIndias own navigation system, ie
1A The countdown clock ticked, and thePSLV-C22 rocket carried away thissatellite into space to place it in a prescheduledGeosynchronous orbit approximately 36,000kilometres above the Earths surface After afight of 20 minutes and 17 seconds, the satellitewas injected into the elliptical orbit of 28246
About IRNSS-1a:IRNSS-1A is the first satellite in Indias autonomous regional satellite navigation systemIndian Regional Navigational Satellite System or IRNSS, aims tolaunch 7 satellites among which IRNSS-1A was the first one togo into orbit Along with a lift-off mass of 1425 kg, thissatellite was launched into a sub Geosynchronous TransferOrbit(SGTO)with a 282 46 km perigee and 20,62537 kmapogee with an inclination of 1786 degrees with respect toEarth s equatorial planeThe Satellite Payloadsand Composition⑥1 Solar panel4 Corner Cube7 Solar PanelRetro Reflector2 Global Horn5
C-Band Horn8 Star Sensors3 Dual he|iⅸ6 Liquid Apogee9 PropellantAntennaMotorTanksThe satellite consists of two types of payloads- Navigation payload and Ranging payloadhighly accurate Rubidium Atomic Clock is a part of the Navigation payload of thesatellite The Ranging payload consists of a C-band transponder It also carries Corner cuberetro reflectorsTriple Junction solar cells, along with one Lithium ion battery ofpe solar panels with UltraThe satellite had a lift-off mass of 1425 kg It has twoAmpere-hour capacityIt is equipped with Sun Star sensors, as well as Gyroscopes It has been equipped with anAttitude and Orbit Control System(AOCS), which maintains the satellite's orientationwith the help of reaction wheels, magnetic torquers and thrusters The propulsion systemof this satellite consists of a Liquid Apogee Motor(LAM)and thrusters
Rnss Physic司F@司已U已sLift-off mass1425 KilogramsDry mass614 Kilo gramsDimensions158mx15mx15m x Solar panels (166o W production)Power1 Lithium ion battery(9o Ampere-hourcapacity)Liquid Apogee Motor(440 N)Propulsion System12 x 22 Newton ThrustersSun Star SensorsGyroscopesControl SystemReaction WheelsMagnetic Torquers22 Newton ThrustersSatellite in OrbitIRNSS-lA is launched into a sub Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit(SGTo) with28246 km perigee and 20,625 37 km apogee with an inclination of 1786degrees with respect to the Earth's equatorial plane
After injection into thepreliminary orbit, initial orbit raising manoeuvres placed it in a circularGeosynchronous Orbit(Gso)at 55 degrees East location with an inclinationof 29 degrees with respect to the equatorWorking Principle organizedFunctionalitiesThe two Solar panels provided with the satellite are equipped with Ultra Tripleunction Solar cells that generate about 1660 Watts of electrical power Sun Starsensors along with Gyroscopes provide orientation reference for the satellite Thereare certain special thermal control schemes implemented for critical elements suchas atomic clocks The Attitude and Orbit Control System(AoCs) maintains thesatellite's orientation The Liquid Apogee Motor(LAM) and thrusters are majorhe propelsf the satellite The Navigation payload willtransmit navigation service signal to the users It will operate in L5 band at 117645MHz and S band at 2492028 MHz The Rubidium clock will maintain accuracy intiming The Ranging payload consists of a C-band transponder to facilitate accuratedetermination of the range of the satellite The Corner Cube retro refectors areused for LASER ranging7
The launchCostPolar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)NSS-1A was developedlaunched irnss-1a into its orbit, in itsat a cost oftwenty-fourth fight This vehicle, PSLV-C22125 Croresused the powerful XL' version of the PSLVIndian Rupees, which isThis was the fourth time such a confgurationequal towas being flown The launch took place fromUS 22 millionthe First Launch Pad (FLP)of Satish Dhawan and the whole IRNSSSpace Centre (SDSC), SHAR, Sriharikota
system of 7 satellites willbe completed with a totalrevious fights of PSlv-XLConfigurationRs 1,420 CrorePSLV-C 11: Chandrayaan 1or groundPSLV-C19: RISAT-1MillionsLc己己sanF包aU『sLift-off mass320 tonsagesHeight44 metresStrap- on motors‖6Hydroxyl Terminated polyButadiene(HTPB)Unsymmetrical DimethylHydrazine 25 HydrazineFuels UsedHydrate qUH25)Nitrogen Tetroxide(n204)Mono methyl Hydrazine (mmh)MON-3: Mixed Oxides of Nitrogen
IRNSS -The SystemIndian Regional Navigational Satellite System is an autonomous satellitesystem being developed by India It will contain seven satellites, with thresatellites in Geostationary Orbit (GEO)and four satellites in GeosynchronousOrbits (GSO) It will contain two segments, the Space segment and theGround segment Its primary service area includes Indian Mainland, as wellas the region extending up to 1500 kilometres from its boundary, ie the areaenclosed by 30 degrees South to 50 degrees North latitudes and from 30degrees East to 130 degrees East longitudes IRNSS will provide two types ofervices,i
e Standard Positioning Service (SPS), which is a common userinterface, and an encrypted Restricted Service(RS) provided to authorizedusers The system is expected to provide a position accuracy of better than20 metres in the primary service area, i e Indian Mainland The launch ofthis satellite placed India in the elite club of the countries havingindependent navigation systems It brought India up as the third country inthe navigational front, USa being the first with GPS and Russia withGLONASS IRNSS will find its application in fields such asTerrestrial, Aerial Marine NavigationDisaster ManagementVehicle tracking Fleet ManagementIntegration with mobile phonesPrecise timinMapping Geodetic data captureTerrestrial navigation aid for travelersVisual voice navigation aid for driversEvery particle in our unending Universe has a brighter as well as a dark sideand it's the brighter side that still keeps the universe and mankind intactHopefully, IRNSS mission will solve its purposes and serve mankind in thebest possiblewaysWe have several fun filled features such as Quizzes and Jumbled words in this issuehowever, all the answers of the questions and quizzes will be published in the succeedingmonth, please look for the next issue to find out the answers to the same
Bristol Corner- Molecule of the monthJuly, 2013- Wilkinson's CatalystWriter: Simon Cotton, University of BirminghamWilkinsons Catalyst or Chlorotris (Triphenylphosphine)rhodium is a very famous inorganiccatalyst It was discovered accidentally by fred Jardine, a phd student working for geoffreyWilkinson He was trying to make the compound Hydrated rhodium Trichloride react withexcess of Triphenylphosphine in boiling EthanolThis compound looks like Burgundy colored crystals, and sometimes it appears as orangecrystals of another polymorph having the same molecular structureIt is used as a very active catalyst for rapid homogenous hydrogenationHowever, this compound is known not to reduce Benzene rings, Carbonyl or Carboxylgroups, even Nitrile or Nitro groups are not reduced by this catalystIt has been named as wilkinson,'s Catalyst since Geoffrey wilkinson led the research groupthat pioneered the development of this molecule and its applicationsRead more about Wilkinsons Catalyst at:http://www
chmbrisacuk/motm/wilcat/wilcathhtmBristol University Molecule of The Month page:http://wwwchmbrisacuk/motm/motmhtm