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Gastropods

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  Gastropods P.K.Ghatak,MD No 69. Gastropod is a Greek word, which means mouth (gastrointestinal tract) in foot. Gastropod belongs to Mollusk phylum. The gastropod constitutes the largest family in the  Mollusum phylum, consisting of 80,000 species. They are grouped in 720 families and out of 720 families 250 are extinct. Among the living species 30,000 are marine, another 30,000 are terrestrial and the 5,000 are freshwater snail and slug species. Slugs are like sails without the external shell and most are nocturnal garden pests. Gastropods are hermaphrodites.   Snails are called Escargots in Latin and are a delicacy in France, Spain, Vietnam, Morocco and Algeria and other countries. The foot of the snail is an edible potion and is made up of proteins. The shell is not edible but the smaller the snail is, the more difficult it is to remove. The largest in size and weight of this family is Conch. Australian trumpet (Syrinx aruanus) grows to 40 lbs. and reaches 3 ft in len...

Lightning

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   Lightning. Lightning P.K.Ghatak, MD No. 68. Lightning is a natural atmospheric phenomenon. Hot most air is lighter than cold air. When these two air masses come in close contact, a violent turbulence occurs. The moist hot air rises on the top; and as the air mass moving upwards, the water vapor in the air freezes into ice crystals and soft hails. The heavier hails fall to the bottom. The violent collision between masses of air, strips the ice crystal of its electrons and ice crystals become positively charged settle on the top of the cold air mass. The cold air mass by gaining electrons becomes negatively charged. These air masses are separated by wind pressure. The potential difference builds up and when the insulating power of the air is exceeded, an electrical discharge takes place which from the ground, we see as lightning. Lightning between air masses lights up the clouds but do not reach the ground. During rainy season, negatively charged thick air ma...

Permafrost

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  Permafrost: P.K.Ghatak,MD No.67 When the ground remains frozen at or below 0°C (32°F) for at least two consecutive years; the Geologists designate it as Permafrost. Types of Permafrost. 1, Continuous .The entire ground remains frozen. 2, Discontinuous. Less than 100 % of the ground but more than 50% remains frozen. 3, Sporadic. Less than 50% but more than 5% remains frozen. 4, Isolated. Small patches of land here and there remain frozen. In the arctic region, the oldest permafrost has remained frozen for 700,000 years. 25% of land in the Northern Hemisphere is covered by permafrost and is located in Alaska, Canada, Siberia. Tibetan Plateau and Greenland. Much less landmass in the Southern Hemisphere is covered by permafrost and mainly found in the High Andes, Patagonia, New Zealand and Antarctica. Depth of Permafrost. It varies from less than one meter to over 1,500 meters deep. Beneficial Effects of Permafrost. Permafrost acts as a massive Carbon Dioxide sink and it holds twice...

Our Magnetic Earth

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  Our Magnetic Earth P.K.Ghatak, MD No.66 The Earth feels solid under our feet. We live on the mantle of the Earth in geological terms. The mantle of the earth is made up of soil, sand stones and mountains. The center of the Earth, the core, is made up of iron and nickel. The outer part of the core is liquid due to very high temperature, the primordial heat retained from the day the Earth was born some 4.6 billion years ago. The center part of the core is solid because of very high pressure, about 250 gigapascals. As the earth rotates around on its axis, the liquid outer core rotates in between the solid inner core and mantle. This rotation generates electricity due to the dynamo effect. The liquid iron becomes magnetized. The compass needle points to the north direction; actually, the North is the South pole of the Earth, [the opposite poles attract each other and similar poles repulse.] In our solar system Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune have magnetic fields. Jupiter’s magnet...

Time Travel

  l'objectif principal de ce blog Pari Talks blodpsot.com est de tirer un sourire des amateus de science serie'ux, acun langage grossier n'est utilise'. The primary objective of this blog, Pari Talks blogspot. com is to draw out a smile from serious-minded science lovers, and no foul language is used.   Time Travel P.K.Ghatak,MD No.65 The publication of “The Time Machine” by H.G Wells in 1895, created a big sensation in the European scientific community. Some leading scientists of that period opined that going back to the days of yesterday was not possible. The gentlemen community of the U.K and the British Royalty did not like the description of a socialist system the scientist landed in. It must have brought joy in the under classes and destitute in London. We are sure that the Royals and the UK parliament did not try to suppress sales of this book. A lesson now forgotten in certain countries and the authors and publishers of such books are under the threat of lawsuit...

The Human Soul

  The Human Soul P.K. Ghatak, MD No. 64. No one knows when humans came to believe a life-force lives inside the body. The life-force continues to live after death. Today, even after all the advances in science, the nature of that life- force, better known as the soul, remains behind a shroud. Physics: Physics accepts findings as fact upon verifiable experiments under various conditions, otherwise, those remain as theory. Einstein's revolutionary papers on General and Special Relativity still remain as theory. Modern Physics finds no evidence of non-material soul within the human body. The science says that all human experiences like love- hate, anger and fear, memory, consciousness - all of that are non-materials are also real. But what constitutes the core of those experiences remains unknown. Quantum Physics: Quantum Physics places the human soul in between Science and Philosophy. However, the following properties of the quantum can be applied to the soul. 1, The observer effect....

AUTISM

  Autism. P.K.Ghatak.MD No. 63. Autism literally means self-absorption. A Swedish psychologist, Paul Eugen Bleuler coined the term in 1910. Autism is found to have many variable symptoms and sometimes the conditions can go on and is correctly identified in adult life. This led to a change in name, now autism is called Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD.  The ASD is considered as a Neurodevelopmental disorder. ASD presents behavioral and social issues, and some others consider the ASD as a discipline problem. The newborns can recognize the voice of their mother at birth; some even say the recognition of mother's voice begins in the womb. By the time the children are 2 to 3 months old, the children turn their heads to their mothers, and the facial expression of the child expresses happiness and makes eye contact with his mother. It is natural, that the mother detects lack of personal connection and apathy of the child and begins searching for an answer and soon the autism diagnosis i...