Do you Know ?

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Human robot : Japanese scientists have developed a robot named, Twendy One, that can help people get out of bed and bring them their breakfast.The 4 feet 10 inch robot has soft hands and fingers. It can pick up a loaf of bread without crushing it, serve toast and even lend a hand with the housework.

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Battery care : Dos and Don'ts

* NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) batteries are better than NiCd (Nickel Cadmium) batteries.

* When the battery is new, charge and discharge it for first 3 cycles.

* Keep the battery and the contact terminals clean.

* Use the battery regularly.

* Don't overload the battery by connecting extra accessories.

Don'ts

* Dropping of the battery

* Short circuit the battery

* Modify the battery casing

* Expose the battery to rain and moisture.

[baffled]

wow. where do you get so many facts?
I just know that the total annual income of toyota, beats that of the entire malaysian population.

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First Nobel prize winner for

Literature - Sully Prudhomme, France (1901).

Peace - Jean Henri Dunant, Switzerland & Frederic Passy, France (1901).

Physics - Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, Germany (1901).

Physiology & Medicine - Emil Adolf Von Behring, Germany (1901).

Chemistry - Jacobus Henricus Van't Hoff, Netherlands (1901).

Economics - Ragnar Frisch, Norway & Jan Tinbergen, Netherlands (1969).

First person to win two Nobel prizes - Marie Sklodowska Curie (first in Physics, 1903 and the second in Chemistry in 1911).

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World's first

First criminal to be executed by electrocution - William Kemmler in Auburn Prison of New York (1890).

First sex change operation in the world - George (Christine) Jorgenson (1952).

First human heart transplant by Dr. Christian Barnard (1967) on Louis Washkanskym, lived 18 days.

First test tube baby - Louise Brown. In Lancastershire, England. Patrick Christopher steptoe, English obstetrician, together with Robert Edwards, biologist, succeeded in his first human invitro fertilisation (1978).

World's first Television service - The British Telecasting Corpoation (BBC) started from Alexandra palace with three hours of program a day (1936).

First US President to speak on Television - Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was the first US President to ride in a car, first American to get the Nobel prize for peace, first and only US President sworn in for a fourth term (1939).

First pilots to fly around the world non stop and non refueled - Jeana Yeager and Dick Rutan, they achieved this in a specially designed aircraft named the Voyager (1986).

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First Known person to survive the jump off of Niagra falls - Sam Patch (1829).

First man to set 600 mi/h land speed record in a car - Craig Breedlove (1965).

First solo transpacific balloon flight - Steve Fosset (5430 miles, 1995).

First couple to conquer together Mt Everest - Andrej & Marija Stremfelj, Slovenia (1990).

First and only supersonic airliner - Concorde (New York- London, now not operating).

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Dry ice is solid carbon dioxide. It is commonly used as a versatile cooling agent. Dry ice sublimates, changing directly to a gas at atmospheric pressure. Its sublimation and deposition point is -78.5 °C (-109.3 °F). Its enthalpy of sublimation (ΔHsub) at -78.5 °C (-109.3 °F) is 571 kJ/kg (245.5 BTU/lb). The low temperature and direct sublimation to a gas makes dry ice a very effective coolant, since it is colder than ice and leaves no moisture as it changes state.(Although it can carbonate food that is near).

History

In 1835 the French chemist Charles Thilorier published the first account of dry ice. Upon opening the lid of a large cylinder containing liquid carbon dioxide he noted much of the carbon dioxide rapidly evaporated leaving solid dry ice in the container.

Manufacture

Dry ice is readily manufactured Carbon dioxide-rich gas is pressurized and refrigerated until it changes into its liquid form.

The pressure is reduced. When this occurs some liquid carbon dioxide vaporizes, and this causes a rapid lowering of temperature of the remaining liquid carbon dioxide. The extreme cold makes the liquid solidify into a snow-like consistency.

The snow-like solid carbon dioxide is compressed into either small pellets or larger blocks of dry ice.

Applications

Dry ice is commonly used to package items that need to remain cold or frozen, such as ice cream, without the use of mechanical cooling. In medicine it is used to freeze warts to make removal easier. In the construction industry it is used to loosen floor tiles by shrinking and cracking them, as well as to freeze water in valveless pipes to allow repair.

In laboratories, a slurry of dry ice in an organic solvent is a useful freezing mixture for cold chemical reactions.

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Safe handling

Dry Ice temperature is extremely cold at -109.3°F or -78.5°C. Always handle Dry Ice with care and wear protective cloth or leather gloves whenever touching it. An oven mitt or towel will work. If touched briefly it is harmless, but prolonged contact with the skin will freeze cells and cause injury similar to a burn.

Storge

Store Dry Ice in an insulated container. The thicker the insulation, the slower it will sublimate. Do not store Dry Ice in a completely airtight container. The sublimation of Dry Ice to Carbon Dioxide gas will cause any airtight container to expand or possibly explode. Keep proper air ventilation wherever Dry Ice is stored. Do not store Dry Ice in unventilated rooms, cellars, autos or boat holds. The sublimated Carbon Dioxide gas will sink to low areas and replace oxygenated air. This could cause suffocation if breathed exclusively. Do not store Dry Ice in a refrigerator freezer. The extremely cold temperature will cause your thermostat to turn off the freezer. It will keep everything frozen in the freezer but it will be used up at a faster rate. It is the perfect thing if your refrigerator breaks down in an emergency.

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Burn Treatment

Treat Dry Ice burns the same as a regular heat burns. See a doctor if the skin blisters or comes off. Otherwise if only red it will heal in time as any other burn. Apply antibiotic ointment to prevent infection and bandage only if the burned skin area needs to be protected.

Disposal

Unwrap and leave it at room temperature in a well-ventilated area. It will sublimate from a solid to a gas.

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Electricity in India is 230 to 240 V AC, 50 Hz and sockets are the three round pin variety.

One lakh means 100,000 and one crore is 10 million.

Major English national dailies include Hindustan Times, Times of India, Indian Express, Pioneer, Asian Age, Hindu, Statesman etc. Current affairs can be read from magazines like Frontline, India Today, the Week, Sunday and Outlook. For travel related articles refer Outlook Traveller.

The national (government) TV broadcaster is Doordarshan. Other major channels available are BBC, CNN, Discovery, Star Movies, HBO and MTV. FM radio is also popular with quality music. All India Radio (AIR) nationally transmits local and international news.