DIMENSIONS

2014-15

Department of Physics, Miranda House,

University of Delhi
 FROM THE EDITORIAL
BOARD
The miracle of the Universe has amazed, intrigued, intimidated and humbled us for centuries. How
many times have we looked at the stars and questioned our own significance in this highly complex,
highly mysterious world? Then again, how many times have our curiosity led us to make an attempt
to understand the complexities of this Universe and make sense of our own place within the
Cosmos?
We here at Vidyut, wanted to throw in our two cents on the workings of the law of physics. And so the
idea of a magazine was born. Through this magazine we hope to unravel the many dimensions of
physics. We present articles from undergraduate students on a wide range of topics, in an attempt to
display the elegance of physics. But these articles are only a small fragment of the magazine.
Interspersed throughout are various facets of physics in the form of comic strips and physics trivia, to
name some.
Dimensions also shows the various sides of being a Physics undergraduate at Miranda House. Some
of our best times in college have been spent involved in various departmental activities. We hope
that we can convey some of that vigor, enthusiasm and joy through his magazine.
We would like to thank our principal, our professors and all the contributors, for without them this
magazine would never have metamorphosed into an actual physical object.
This journey has been, for lack of better words, truly epic.
Editorial Board,
Vidyut.
Her love for vintage goes beyond just books and movies. She lives
vintage and Don Corleone. A die-hard feminist,for her individuality is a
testimony to all things accountable. She is eclectic and needs
everything 'The Minimalist' way. A science freak,a nature lover,a
traveller,a free thinker,a humanist,and a pulp fiction addict,these are
her many 'n-dimensional' idiosyncrasies.'If being is all that it
takes,then being confident is in my moment' - Upasana

Pooja Malik - A physics geek by nature, she considers quantum

mechanics her one true love. (Apart from Jensen Ackels, that
is.) She has a passion for debate,activism, travel and
photography and strongly believes in a wide variety of things. In
her opinion, feminism is presently the most important concept to
understand and apply, physics is the holy grail of science and of
course, salt lines are a totally acceptable way to combat your
fear of demons.

Sharmistha Chatterjee - She's a physics crazed, control freak

with an inborn ability to manage situations. Her love for
reading is surpassed only by the witticism of Sherlock or the
lack of it in Ross ! She loves talking and interacting with
people, exploring hangout joints and most of all lazing in
lawns when it's sunny :)

Sania Heba - She considers herself a writer until someone

asks her to write her own bio. Then she has an identity crisis.
With a passion for writing, debate and anything that includes
Doctor Who, she spends her free time looking up crazy
physics theories or cooking up her own. She believes in the
power of words, the need to break stereotypes and that no
question is a stupid question. (Unless you question the
creepiness of Weeping Angels.)
 The Act of Seeing
In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s A Study in Scarlet , Sherlock Holmes chastises his long-suffering companion
and biographer, John Watson, for observing but not seeing. Here our sympathies must lie with Dr.
Watson, since in reality seeing is easy, while observing is difficult – which was perhaps Holmes’s point.
Indeed, we do not even need to think about seeing; our eyes and brain do it all for us without conscious
effort. What we think we see, that is, observe, is something altogether different.

What is it that happens when we see? This question has a basic answer in that what we see is a
representation of the physical world around us. Seeing transmits information: there is a tree over there
and a sea lion balancing a ball on its nose next to it. But how has the information from the strange scene
just described been obtained? Was the process of seeing, that is, the gathering of the data, a passive or
an active one? The ancient Greek philosophers, as one might well expect, were the first to consider this
question in detail, and in general two basic ideas prevailed.

The ancient Greek were among the first to encourage active exploration. In this situation it was
envisioned that a form of light (an inner fire) was generated within the eyes, and upon exiting the pupils
filled the surrounding space with an active 'seeing’ agent that would interact with and reflect off of solid
surfaces, and then, the reflected light that returned to the eyes would reveal the vista before us – the tree,
the ball, the surroundings.

Although the classical Greek notion of what light is turned out to be quite wrong, the concept was not
damaging to the search for the correct interpretation and development of ideas concerning the workings of
light and its interactions with matter. Indeed, the foundations of geometric optics, still valid to this day,
were first (at least in part) laid down by the great mathematician Euclid of Alexandria.

Writing circa 300 B.C. Euclid set out to explain the geometry of vision. Although much of what he wrote
need not concern us here, the key, indeed, fundamental, concept that Euclid introduced was the abstract
idea of a light ray. Such beams were envisioned to be thin threads of light that traveled in a specific
direction (emanating from the eye as far as Euclid was concerned) in a perfectly straight line – this latter
attribute being referred to as the rectilinear propagation of light. With this concept in place Euclid then
argued that vision − that is, what we see − is composed of those objects situated within a vast cone of
light rays, the apex of which is located at the center of the observer’s eye.

The abstract concept of a light ray, and the recognition of the rectilinear propagation of light was a brilliant
first step, and although it took another 400 years to work out the details, it was eventually realized that
these concepts, if combined with the idea that light rays always travel along the shortest possible path,
could explain the laws of reflection and refraction. Hero of Alexandria circa A.D. 100 is often given the nod
as the first philosopher to explicitly state the idea of light rays traveling along the shortest path length, and
he used this property to prove mathematically the law of reflection.

-Upasana Mohapatra
(Second Year)
 PHYSICS BEHIND ELECTROCARDIOGRAM(ECG)

The figure to the right shows a typical ECG. Three characteristic

features of the waveform are easily identified: the P wave, the
QRS complex, and the T wave. The P wave is associated with the
activation of the atria, the QRS complex with the activation of the
ventricles, and the T wave with repolarisation of the ventricles.

Electrocardiogram Intervals:

• The P-R interval is the time from the beginning of the P wave to the start of the QRS complex.
• The QRS interval or duration or width is the time from the beginning to the end of the QRS complex.
• The QT interval is the time from the beginning of the QRS complex to the end of the T wave.
• The RR interval is the time from the peak of one R wave to that of the following R wave.
Electrocardiograph: Technical Principles
The electrocardiograph is essentially an electronic device that amplifies the very small potentials present at the
surface of the body, so that they can be displayed on a video screen or recorded permanently on paper. The
signal is picked up by electrodes placed at certain well-defined anatomical positions on the body surface.
ECG is an electronic amplifier with two input terminals, a non-inverting input terminal (+) and an inverting input
terminal (-). The output voltage Vo is simply proportional to the difference between the voltages V+ and V-
appearing at the two input terminals:

Vo = G( V+ - V- ),

Where, G is the gain of the amplifier.

The amplifier is thus termed a differential amplifier, since it
measures the difference between two voltages.

Electrical voltage or potential, unlike length or mass, is not an absolute quantity, but rather a relative quantity, in
that potential itself cannot be measured, only differences in potential. Thus V+ and V- are each measured with
respect to some third reference point that is arbitrarily taken to be at zero potential. In electrocardiography, this
point is the right leg.
The differential amplifier has the advantage that any component of the signal appearing simultaneously at both
inputs is cancelled out and so does not appear at the output. This "common-mode rejection" is important, since
electrical 115-volt power wiring in a building can induce signals at 60 Hz (the power line frequency) on the body
surface that are many times larger than the ECG signal itself. Use of a differential amplifier prevents this large
spurious signal from swamping out the ECG signal.

-
Raagya Arora
(Second Year)
 THE MORE YOU KNOW: HALO PHENOMENON

The word 'HALO' means a nimbus, ice-bow or gloriole.

Halo phenomenon is an optical phenomenon produced by light interacting with ice crystals and clouds in the
atmosphere, resulting in a wide variety of colored or white rings, arc and spots in the sky. Many Halos are
formed near and around the sun or moon. The colors of these rings are red on the inside and violet on the
outside.
This phenomenon is basically due to the optical phenomena of reflection and refraction of light that passes
through the ice crystals present around the sun or moon in the sky. Due to this refraction of light through these
ice crystals, seven colors are seen in a halo (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet). Atmospheric
phenomena such as halos were used as part of weather forecasting before meteorology was developed. They
often mean that the rain is going to fall within the next 24 hours.

Due to the complex combination of different types, orientation, movement patterns of the ice crystals and the
angle of the sun, there can be many types of halos. The most common among them is 22° inner halo (also
known as the small halo), which means that the visual radius (the angle of vision lines between the sun or
moon and the solar or lunar halo) is 22°.

-Tanya Verma
(Second Year)
 Extra Dimensions, String theory and the TARDIS!

Imagine if I told you that your notion of reality is flawed. Imagine if I told you that instead of being three
dimensional beings, you are just an imprint of a four dimensional snake like object in a three dimensional
world. Sounds crazy doesn’t it? Well it might not be very far from the truth. It’s hard to visualise four
dimensions, but string theory tells us there might as well be 10 dimensions. Outrageous! You say. Why
can’t we be happy with the three we have? Apart from the fact that the string theory is our best shot (as of
now) at uniting the classical and quantum mechanical models of physics, it also has something to do with
gravity. Or rather, the weakness of gravity. Now, gravity is very much weaker than electromagnetic force
and scientists were trying to figure out why. So they came up with a theory that states that gravity drops
down much faster that electromagnetic force because of the extra dimensions it traverses.

Coming back to the dimensions. The first proposed example to explain these dimensions (which I
will steal er…quote) is the flatlanders. Flatlanders are two dimensional beings (something like conscious
paper). A flatlander can’t have any kind of digestive tract with two openings because that will rip them apart.
A bit like this:

So our conscious paper or flatlander perceives everything two-dimensional-ly. In its world, there is just left
and right but no concept of above. So for example, if a flatlander (let’s say, a very orthodox and stubborn
square) comes in contact with another flatlander (say, a triangle), the only way it can figure out the shape of
the triangle is by observing how the lengths change as it moves around the triangle.

Now to convince this stubborn square that there does exist a three dimensional world, we’d have to pull it
up in space (our 3-dimensional world). By observing his 2-dimensional world from our 3-dimensional world,
our flat friend would see the error of his ways.
If we apply this same analogy to us, we become the ignorant, arrogant square trapped in our 3-dimensional
world. The only way we can effectively visualize the fourth dimension is if a four dimensional being pulls us
into his world. Scientifically, this fourth dimension is time. And so we come to our snake-y incarnations. If we
were to perceive ourselves in the fourth dimension we would look something like this:

We can continue theorizing more and more dimensions until we reach the tenth dimension.
Now, this is not all theoretical, mind you. We can actually test for the existence of more dimensions at the
LHC, CERN.

And this is where my imaginative musings begin. So we might have extra dimensions. And if you have seen
the first video referenced, you might know that it is possible to jump from one place to another in a single
dimension byusing the dimension above it. So for example a flatlander can traverse the entire length of a flat
piece of paper instantly, if we were to somehow roll the paper in the third dimension. This, my friends,
is teleportation. Similarly, if we were to somehow, fold the dimension of time we could, theoretically jump from
one point in our timeline to another point instantly. Or in another words time travel. So here is my theory,
(completely imaginative), the Doctor is a humanoid alien. And his TARDIS makes these trans-
dimensional jumps possible. But we know that the TARDIS itself is a living being. So that would make
TARDIS a higher dimensional being. If travel between parallel universes was also possible, I would say the
tenth dimension. So it can not only travel in time but also in space…

Intrigued much?

-Sania Heba
(Second year)
 Confundo! Two slits and...a thing
For the duration of this article, I would request you to take a metaphorical spade, dig a six feet deep hole in
the far recesses of your logical brain, and bury your common sense there. Because if we are to dive into the
complexities of this particular theory, logic is the last thing of any help. The theory I am talking about is of
course, quantum theory: the most confusing, most wibbly-wobbly, and therefore, in my opinion, the
most astounding theory to grace the history of physics.

It all started with an experiment with light.

You take a light beam, pass it through two
slits and voila! Instead of the pattern your
logical brain would suggest (fig i), you
actually get something of the form of fig
(ii).

Well, that’s because light behaves as a wave! You say. It’s a standard interference pattern! That’s all high
school physics, I know. The experiment displayed the wave nature of light. But there was also a lot of
evidence supporting that light is made up of particles called photons. The question now was if light is made of
photons and photons are indeed particles, if you send single photons through the slits, would you get the
same result? The logical brain again says no. If you throw balls through two holes in a wall you would just get
two piles of balls not a pattern. To which quantum theory just gives a smug smile. Ah logic. Ridiculously
boring.
And then a team of scientists finally performed the experiment with photons, in Paris in the 1980s. Any
guesses on the result? Ten points to Ravenclaw if you guessed that the pattern observed after sending
millions of photons one by one through the slits was the same as the pattern in fig (ii). Now sit back and take
a moment to comprehend these results. You send a photon through the silts. It hits a point on the screen or
photographic plate or whatever leaving a mark. The second photon does the same but arrives at a different
location. Then the third, then the fourth and so on until millions of photons later the pattern begins to emerge.
It’s as if the photon has gone through both the slits at once, interfered with itself and arrived at a point. But
even if the photon somehow performs this feat, how does it know exactly where to place itself? Why don’t all
the photons follow the same trajectory and arrive at the same spot? And so the problem was laid out and
physicists all over lost their nights’ sleep to come to a solution. And they did come to a conclusion which was
somewhere along the lines of this:

Of course there were some people who just said maybe it’s a weird property of light. Maybe that is all there is
to it. And quantum theory gave a condescending smile again. Because soon the experiment was being
repeated with other particles, electrons and then finally atoms and the results were the same every single
time. After the predictability of Newton’s laws, the uncertainty that quantum theory brought to the table
changed forever the way we look at physics.
-Sania Heba
(Second year)
 FRACTALS
A fractal is a natural phenomenon or a mathematical set that exhibits a repeating pattern that displays at
every scale. If the replication is exactly the same at every scale, it is called a self-similar pattern. An example
of this is the Menger Sponge. Fractals can also be nearly the same at different levels
The mathematical roots of the idea of fractals have been traced through the years as a formal path of
published works, starting in the 17th century with notions of recursion, then moving through increasingly
rigorous mathematical treatment of the concept to the study of continuous but not differentiable functions in
the 19th century, and on to the coining of the word fractal in the 20th century with a subsequent burgeoning
of interest in fractals and computer-based modelling in the 21st century. The term "fractal" was first used by
mathematician Benoît Mandelbrot in 1975. Mandelbrot based it on the Latin word frāctus meaning "broken"
or "fractured", and used it to extend the concept of theoretical fractional dimensions to geometric patterns in
nature.
As mathematical equations, fractals are usually nowhere differentiable. An infinite fractal curve can be
conceived of, as winding through space differently from an ordinary line: still being a 1-dimensional line yet
having a fractal dimension indicating it also resembles a surface.
According to Falconer, rather than being strictly defined, fractals should, in addition to being nowhere
differentiable and able to have a fractal dimension, be generally characterized by a gestalt of the following
features;

Self-similarity, which may be manifested as:
1. Exact self-similarity: identical at all scales; e.g. Koch snowflake
2. Quasi self-similarity: approximates the same pattern at different scales; may contain small
copies of the entire fractal in distorted and degenerate forms; e.g., the Mandelbrot set's
satellites are approximations of the entire set, but not exact copies.
3. Statistical self-similarity: repeats a pattern stochastically so numerical or statistical
measures are preserved across scales; e.g., randomly generated fractals; the well-known
example of the coastline of Britain, for which one would not expect to find a segment
scaled and repeated as neatly as the repeated unit that defines, for example, the Koch
snowflake
4. Qualitative self-similarity: as in a time series

Multifractal scaling: characterized by more than one fractal dimension or scaling rule.

Fine or detailed structure at arbitrarily small scales. A consequence of this structure is fractals
may have emergent properties.

Irregularity, locally and globally, that is not easily described in traditional Euclidean
geometric language. For images of fractal patterns, this has been expressed by phrases such as
"smoothly piling up surfaces" and "swirls upon swirls".

Simple and "perhaps recursive" definitions see Common techniques for generating fractals.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the study of fractals is that there are fractal patterns all around us!
Even if you don't think you know anything at all about fractals yet, you actually already do, because you've
grown up in a world full of fractals.

High voltage breakdown within a 4″block of -Pragya Arora

A fractal is formed when pulling apart two
acrylic creates a fractal Lichtenberg figure (Second Year)
glue covered acrylic sheets
 A universe as beautiful as you...
I have never seen a flower blush, when I took its hue
and held it there a prisoner captive to my view.
I have always heard the song that is in the autumn breeze,
playing taps in harmony with the forest leaves.
I love the smell of rain that brings the spring-time into bud,
and swells my love of nature into a teeming flood.
I celebrate the cycle of the daytime into night
and find equal blessing in the shadow and the light.
I’ve always felt affinity for all created things,
and surrender to the pleasure that their beauty brings.
And though I could spend a lifetime sailing on drops of dew,
I have never seen a universe as beautiful as you.

I’ve often sat myself by gentle mountain streams,

and overflowed the dams that were holding back my dreams.
I’ve breathed the scented forest on the mountainside,
and washed away my sorrows in an evening ocean tide.
I’ve laid down in a meadow and debated with the moon
and spent some quite moments on the surface of Neptune.
I got married to a zodiac with one of Saturn’s rings,
then spied a supernova and went on a cosmic fling.
I’ve run away to nebulae in galaxy brochures,
and bathed in scenes of wonders on distant planet shores.
Every cosmos in creation could parade before my view,
But I’ve never seen a universe as beautiful as you.

I’ve never seen a tree once withdraw its shade,

and deny a creature, the comfort of its aid.
I’ve never seen any anger in the Sun at noon,
when it burns relentlessly on the desert dune.
At sunrise I take an oath to live with all my might,
and reinforce my gratitude each and every night.
I could spend some hours riding on a crystal flake,
drifting wildly in a gale mindless of my fate.
Many times I’ve been through trials of wind and rain and snow,
then sentenced the splendours that the seeds show.
And though I have searched throughout creation, I must say this is true,
I’ve never seen a universe as beautiful as you.

-Priyanka
2nd year
 PHYSICS INVOLVED IN MRI
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) works by measuring the way the hydrogen atoms absorb and then
relax and re-emit electromagnetic energy. Most of the human body is made up of water molecules, (which
consist of only hydrogen and oxygen atoms) and fat, (which also contains hydrogen atoms). You are made
up of about 60% hydrogen atoms!
The nucleus of a hydrogen atom is a proton, and protons are very sensitive to magnetic fields. When the
proton spins it generates a magnetic field. Therefore the nucleus of a hydrogen atom is like a tiny magnet.
When your body is in a strong magnetic field all of your hydrogen nuclei align - just like a row of compass
needles lining up with a magnetic field.

MRI scanners use powerful magnets. When the powerful magnets that are used in magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI) are switched on, all the protons in your body are pulled so that they spin in the same
direction, in the same way that a magnet can pull the needle of a compass. The scanner contains several
electric coils. This produces variations in the strength of the magnetic field at different points in your body.
This variation means that each hydrogen nucleus experiences a slightly different magnetic field strength.
This is important for detecting the position of a particular hydrogen nucleus. The frequency of these waves
depends on the strength of the magnetic field where each nucleus is and this means that the scanner can
work out the location of each nucleus.
The MRI scanner sends a pulse of radio signals to certain areas of the body which ‘snaps’ the protons out
of position. The pulse gives enough energy to the hydrogen nuclei in that area to change direction. When
the pulse of energy ends the nuclei snap back to their original orientation and each nucleus gives off
energy in the form of a radio wave. When this happens, each proton transmits a radio signal that provides
information about its exact location in the body. On its own, a single proton will not provide much useful
information, in the same way that a single pixel on a computer screen is essentially just a coloured dot.
However, just as millions of pixels can create images, so the radio signals of millions of protons can be
collected together and combined to create a detailed image of the inside of the body and also allow the
scanner to work out what type of body tissue the hydrogen nuclei are part of.

-Raagya Arora
(Second Year)
BIOSIGNATURES AND SEARCH FOR EXTRA TERRESSTRIAL LIFE
DEFINITION
A biosignature is any substance – such as an element, isotope, molecule, or phenomenon – that
provides scientific evidence of past or present life. Measurable attributes of life include its complex physical
and chemical structures and also its utilization of free energy and the production of biomass and wastes.
Due to its unique characteristics, a biosignature can be interpreted as having been produced by
living organisms; however, it is important that they not be considered definitive because there is no way of
knowing in advance which ones are universal to life and which ones are unique to the peculiar
circumstances of life on Earth.

In astrobiology
Astrobiological exploration is founded upon the premise that biosignatures encountered in space will be
recognizable as extraterrestrial life. The usefulness of a biosignature is determined, not only by the
probability of life creating it, but also by the improbability of nonbiological (abiotic) processes producing it. An
example of such a biosignature might be complex organic molecules and/or structures whose formation is
virtually unachievable in the absence of life. For example, some categories of biosignatures can include the
following: cellular and extracellular morphologies, biogenic substance in rocks, bio-organic molecular
structures, chirality, biogenic minerals, biogenic stable isotope patterns in minerals and organic compounds,
atmospheric gases, and remotely detectable features on planetary surfaces, such as photosynthetic
pigments, etc
Biosignatures need not be chemical, however, and can also be suggested by a
distinctive magnetic biosignature. Another possible biosignature might be morphology since the shape and
size of certain objects may potentially indicate the presence of past or present life. For example, microscopic
magnetite crystals in the Martian meteorite ALH84001 were the longest-debated of several potential
biosignatures in that specimen because it was believed until recently that only bacteria could create crystals
of their specific shape. However, anomalous features discovered that are "possible biosignatures" for life
forms would be investigated as well. Such features constitute a working hypothesis, not a confirmation of
detection of life. Concluding that evidence of an extraterrestrial life form (past or present) has been
discovered, requires proving that a possible biosignature was produced by the activities or remains of
life. For example, the possible biomineral studied in the Martian ALH84001 meteorite includes putative
microbial fossils, tiny rock-like structures whose shape was a potential biosignature because it resembled
known bacteria. Most scientists ultimately concluded that these were far too small to be fossilized cells. A
consensus that has emerged from these discussions, and is now seen as a critical requirement, is the
demand for further lines of evidence in addition to any morphological data that supports such extraordinary
claims.

More on Earth's Biosignatures

The table below also gives some of the pros and cons of different biosignature candidates on Earth.
More on Earth's Biosignatures

On Earth, there are a large number of chemical biproducts produced by the many forms of life. But, only a
small subset of these are classified as biosignatures. This is because biosignatures must first of all be
gaseous, otherwise they could not be detected in transmission spectra. Of those gaseous byproducts, those
that are known to be produced naturally through geology or photochemistry must also be eliminated. Of the
remaining chemicals, those that are soluble in water or easily broken down are less likely to be found. The
final set of all remaining biosignature candidates are oxygen (O2), ozone (O3), and nitrous oxide (N2O).
Scientists also look for water (H2O) and methane, however they can also be produced naturally and so are
not considered strong biosignatures. This hierarchy of biosignature classification is illustrated in the image.

SEARCH FOR EXTRA TERRESTRIAL LIFE

Extraterrestrial life of or belonging to Earth"]) is defined as life that does not originate from Earth. It is often
also referred to as alien life, or simply aliens (or space aliens, to differentiate from other definitions of alien or
aliens). These hypothetical forms of life range from simple bacteria-like organisms to beings far more
complex than humans. The possibility that viruses might also exist extraterrestrially has been proposed.
Many scientists consider extraterrestrial life to be plausible, but there is no direct evidence of its existence.
Since the mid-20th century, there has been an ongoing search for signs of extraterrestrial life, from radios
used to detect possible extraterrestrial signals, to telescopes used to search for potentially habitable
extrasolar planets. It has also played a major role in works of science fiction.

-Pragya Arora
(Second Year)
Till The End of Time
Like a pendulum, she swayed with life.
On a crest today, reaching equilibrium tomorrow.
Few seconds of stability when chaos is least
Everything in place, just like it should be.
But one blink of an eye and she’s sliding down a slope
Leading to a trough of disappointments and regret
Waiting for her like she’s a prey.
She succumbs to the pull of negativity, falls in the pit.
Crouching in the corner, trying to get up.
As the clock of life ticks on, she gathers her courage
Learns her lessons, decides to fix her life.
She applies the vital external force and conquers inertia
Finally standing back on her own feet, she hears her calling loud and clear.
She starts climbing back, closer to her dreams
The pitch of her calling were getting higher
She looks back and smiles at Doppler.
Pushing forward, she reaches where she belongs to
Physics was in her blood, but she wasn’t the only one.
She finds entities that share her spark
Some were an up, others a down quark.
A strange force pulls them together and glues them up
She reaches a closeness she had never felt before,
They stuck strong, the three of them building a proton.
But that wasn’t the end, but just a beginning
Of new friendships and stronger bonds
They went ahead and interacted with more exotic entities
Bumping into them time and again
Forging new links they went on
Till they called themselves nucleons.
Now their amity grows older than time
And they stand at crossroads, as the Universe inflates
A choice has to be made, whether to stay or to go
To choose balance or add to entropy, instead.
But deep down their hearts, they all know
Whether they dwell or advance
Their centers shall always attract
The force holding them together will remain intact
Till the end of time,
Till the end of time.

-Shruti Chakravarty
(Third Year)
 PHILAE LANDS!
While India was celebrating its scientific advancements after the Mars Orbital Mission, another phenomenal
mission by the European Space Agency (ESA) was taking the World by a storm. Yes! I am talking about the
much less reported ROSETTA SPACE MISSION. This mission which has for the first time landed a robotic
probe-Philae on the surface of a comet and also, put a spacecraft in orbit around it has been voted the
most important scientific breakthrough of 2014 by the editors of the journal “Science”. By landing the Philae
probe on a distant comet, 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko just inside Jupiter's orbit, the Rosetta team has
begun a new chapter in our understanding of how the solar system formed and evolved and ultimately, how
life came to be on Earth.
Rosetta mission, launched on March 2, 2004, made four slingshot flybys to boost its speed — one around
Mars and three around the Earth. On its journey to the comet, it photographed asteroids, studied other
comets and provided information about the atmospheres of Venus and Mars. Scientists at the ESA put
Rosetta in hibernation mode in June 2011 while it travelled a distance of 373-million-mile (600 million
kilometers). It was awakened again in January 2014, when it still had four more months to travel. Philae,
made contact on 12th November, 2014.
Rosetta's payload includes instruments that will provide information about how the comet develops its coma
and tails, how its chemicals interact with one another and with radiation and the solar wind and, will analyze
the comet's composition and atmosphere.
Preliminary analysis of data sent back from Philae's
Cosac instrument suggests that there are carbon-
based organic molecules on the comet. This could
prove to be very important information for scientists
studying conditions on the very young Earth, which is
believed to have been regularly bombarded by comets.
The lander's Mupus instrument was also able to
hammer at the comet's surface, which we now know is
covered by a layer of dust about 10–20 cm thick on top
of an unexpectedly hard material thought to be water
ice. An instrument on Rosetta has detected water,
methane and hydrogen as well as rarer molecules
such as formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide, findings
that could indicate whether comets delivered the vital
ingredients of life to the early Earth. Scientists using
the ROSINA mass spectrometer discovered that the
ratio of deuterium to hydrogen in the comet is much
greater than that found on Earth.
This adds strength to the growing body of evidence that the water on Earth was delivered by asteroids and
not by comets contrary to what was thought earlier.

The mission, however, was not without its problems. Despite landing in an awkward position where its solar
panels do not currently receive enough sunlight to power its instruments, Philae managed to complete all of
its planned measurements on battery power alone. The lander was also not able to secure itself to the
comet surface as planned, however it did manage to drill into the surface and acquire a sample for analysis.

-Sharmistha Chatterjee
(Second Year)
Source: Facts about the mission taken from http://rosetta.esa.int/
 GREEN FLASH!

A green flash is an optical phenomenon that occurs right after sunset or right before sunrise. The word
“flash” refers to the sudden appearance of a green color which stays for a brief duration, usually lasting
about a second or two at moderate latitudes. Usually, the effect is very subtle, but occasionally the result
is intense. The green flash is not that common and is visible only if the sun is rising or setting on a clear,
unobstructed and low horizon.

Green flashes occur because the Earth’s atmosphere acts like a weak prism to refract (bend and spread
out) sunlight into a spectrum of individual colors — red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet. Red has
the longest wavelength and Violet has the shortest. Therefore, Blue and violet light are refracted the
most and red light is refracted the least. This scattered blue light is the reason the sky appears blue.
During the course of the day, the Sun’s disk is fully visible above the horizon and so, the different colors
of light rays overlap to the extent where each individual color cannot be seen by the naked eye. During
sunrise or sunset, the sun is at the horizon and light travels a longer distance than it does during the
day, hence only the red component of light reaches our eyes, causing the sun to appear red at these
times.

As the sun starts to slip below the horizon, the colors of the spectrum disappear one at a time, red rays
sliding below the horizon first. In general, therefore, the red image of the Sun disappears first, followed
by yellow, green, blue and violet. So, at sunset (or sunrise), the refractive delay of the sunset is usually a
second or two longer for blue and violet than for red. At an instant when the other wavelengths have just
slipped below the horizon, we observe a green flash. The violet and the blue colors do not reach the eye
of the observer as they are refracted by air molecules in all directions and green is the last color seen at
sunset. Hence, the momentary green flash! It is possible to observe this phenomenon only when the sky
is clear and stable. On very rare occasions, with particularly clear air, enough of the blue or violet light
rays make it through the atmosphere, causing even a blue flash to be visible.

At sunset, the color usually goes from red or orange to green or blue. At sunrise, the process is
reversed, and a green flash may occur as the top of the sun peeks above the horizon.

-Sharmistha Chatterjee
(Second Year)
 INSIGHT
"Rigorous reasoning is crucial in mathematics, and insight plays an important secondary role these
days. In the natural sciences, I would say that the order of these two virtues is reversed. Rigor is, of
course, very important. But the most important value is insight--insight into the workings of the world.
It may be because there is another guarantor of correctness in the sciences, namely, the empirical
evidence from observation and experiments."

Thinking in the language that a person is aware of requires no effort. One could say the same when
referred to "Insight". To a physicist who has a proper insight of the physical world, he could
effortlessly think about a physical phenomenon backed only by his insight. Insight is very subtle and
yet, very powerful within itself. People who haven't had the opportunity to go to school, or haven't
studied science base their little knowledge of science from evidences and experiences.
There is a natural pattern on how and why things happen and these people follow the pattern, which is
entirely instinctive and insightful. Personally, I have started my own endeavor in science from one
such beautiful insight.

Of course rigorous reasoning is important because it gives a definite answer. However, it is not the
only way to finding an accurate answer, at least not in Natural Sciences. As Professor Jagannathan
mentions, there are empirical evidences from observations and experiments that guarantees the
correctness in the sciences.

When I was in high school, I remember our Tibetan teacher explaining that the three sources of
knowledge in Buddhism are experience, reason and testimony. He went on to describe that
experience plays the most important role, followed by reason and testimony in that order. That is, as
important as rigorous reasoning may be, the validity of reasoning is derived only when there are
considerable empirical evidences backing it up. And insight generates everything from rigorous
reasoning, discoveries to empirical evidences and more.

I have learned that insight gives me a chance to be original above all else. When someone gives
herself to the power of insight, she creates the path to discoveries and inventions or more powerful
insights, which is the most original creation.

-Tenzin Kunsang
(Second Year)
 Hearing Colors!

Ever thought of hearing a color? What if you could hear your red dress say ‘red’? When we can see with
our eyes and hear with our ears in the first place, this thought sounds really weird, right? Not anymore.
For people born with achromatopsia (absence of color vision) seeing colors is nearly impossible, but
thanks to advancements in science they can now hear colors.

In 2003, Adam Montandon along with artist Neil Harbisson created an eyeborg which is a body
modification app that fits on the wearer’s head and helps him/her perceive colors through sound waves.
The head mounted antenna senses color, converts it into a real time sound wave. This sound wave
reaches the ear by the bones of the skull through the process of bone conduction. In this process the
bones of the skull conduct the sound wave and send it to the ear.

This device – the eyeborg - is fitted with a color sensor which detects the frequency of the color and
sends it back to frequency chip installed in it. Since every color has a characteristic frequency the chip
installed in the device reads that frequency and then produces a sound. That sound is different for all the
colors. For example, red sounds like a long beep and green like a short beep, etc. With regular use of
the device, the person with color blindness can detect the color present in front of him/her because
he/she can remember the sound corresponding to each color. It’s similar to how we recognize color by
how they look whereas a color blind will recognize it by how it sounds. It is obviously a difficult job
remembering a color by sound but it’s similar to the process of learning all children undergo when
they’re taught the names of colours and must remember that an apple is usually of the color red and that
grass is green.

Eyeborg is not only beneficial to people who are blind to colors, but it can also be used to enlarge the
scope of one’s vision. The device lets one recognize infrared and ultraviolet rays, which are
undetectable to human ears, by making them audible.

Another very interesting thing that is possible through this device is the inverse of the process. The
device, as already mentioned, creates a sound for each color. Therefore, we can now create the color
pattern of a sound. For example, if your name has 10 short beeps and 10 long beeps then the sound of
your name creates a pattern that comprises of the colors red and green. This way we have a color
pattern corresponding to what we speak. Our words get colored! Neil Harbisson created a color pattern
of Adolf Hitler‘s speech . [To check that out, listen to his Ted talk ‘I listen to colors’; link given at the end
of the article.]

It is outstanding to have come up with an application of frequency that could help people with color
blindness perceive colors. This application also illustrates how our body adapts to new senses. It is a
wonderful coordination of our brain, ears and eyes, made possible through innovations in the field of
science.

P.S: Link to Neil Harbisson’s Ted talk:

http://www.ted.com/talks/neil_harbisson_i_listen_to_color?language=en#t-475618
-Pooja Malik
(Second Year)
 MATTER, ANTI-MATTER, DARK MATTER….. Are they family
members??
To understand the relationship between matter, anti-matter & dark matter, let’s begin with our junior
classes’ definition of matter.
Since our childhood we have learnt that matter is anything that has mass and volume (occupies space).
For example, a car would be said to be made of matter, as it occupies space, and has mass.
Matter is usually classified into three classical states i.e. solid, liquid and gas, with plasma sometimes
added as a fourth state.

All the objects from everyday life that we can bump into, touch or squeeze are composed of atoms. This
atomic matter is in turn made up of interacting subatomic particles—usually a nucleus of protons and
neutrons, and a cloud of orbiting electrons.

Matter might dominate the Universe today, but this hasn’t always been the case. When particles of matter
were forged in the intense heat of the Big Bang, they were accompanied by equal quantities of ‘anti-
particles’, identical in mass but with an opposite electric charge.
Every elementary particle in the Universe appears to have a partner particle called its antiparticle that
shares many of the same characteristics, but many other characteristics are the opposite of those for the
particle. For example, the electron has as its antiparticle the antielectron.

The British physicist Paul Dirac first predicted the existence of antimatter in 1928. For each of his
theoretical equations, there appeared to exist another associated solution, with all the properties
reversed, which did not seem to physically exist in the known universe. This antimatter, then, is the
“mirror image” of matter, and the antiparticles of which it is composed are the mirror images of normal
particles, being the same size but having opposite electrical charge.
Because the properties of matter and antimatter parallel each other, we believe that the physics and
chemistry of a galaxy made entirely from antimatter would closely parallel that of our matter galaxy. Thus,
is conceivable that life built on antimatter could have evolved at other places in the Universe, just as life
based on matter has evolved here.

Now the question arises: then what is dark matter??

Dark matter is the general term for matter that we cannot see to this point with our telescopes, but that
we know must be there because we see its gravitational influence on the rest of the Universe. Many
different experiments indicate that there is probably 10 times more matter in the Universe (because we
see its gravitational influence) than the matter that we see. Thus, dark matter is basically what the
Universe is made out of, but we don't yet know what it is!

There are various candidates for the dark matter, ranging from ordinary matter that we just can't see
because it isn't bright enough (for example, ordinary matter bound up in black holes, or very faint stars, or
large planet-like objects like Jupiter) to more exotic particles that have yet to be discovered
The nature of the dark matter is perhaps the most fundamental unsolved problem in modern astronomy.
Could the Dark Matter be Antimatter?

-Sarojini Mahajan
(Second Year)
 THE FAMOUS ARCTIC!
Imagine the night is dark and you can see the stars stretch out like a vast canopy above you when
suddenly you notice a shimmering green light that rises above, forming patterns. .. Soon then is a curtain of
green waving across the sky.
People in this continent say that they can hear the snow and sometimes, the sun wears a crown; the boats
fly, and people lose the track of land and sky.
You are in Arctic my friend. It is a polar region located in the northernmost part of earth. Still wondering why
boats fly here and how the sun wears a crown? Read on ahead to find out!
Due to the special atmospheric conditions in the Arctic, it is possible to see and hear unbelievable things
here. Let’s talk about a few such phenomena and try to understand the scientific reason behind them.

Aurora: Also called the ‘northern lights’, these appear in the clear, dark nights of the Arctic during the
periods of active solar storms. A solar storm/wind occurs when plasma particles that escape from the
burning surface of sun enter into the space. These solar winds travel at extraordinary speed and when they
reach the earth, a few such space matters are deflected, while a few others bombard earth’s magnetic field
and deform it. These space particles come in contact with atmospheric gases, which produce the aurora.

Sun’s crown: A corona is a luminous ring that surrounds the sun or moon. It is caused by the diffraction of
light coming from the sun or the moon when they shine through a diffuse mist or thin cloud. The light is
diffracted around the cloud droplets. It looks similar to halos, and the difference between the two is the
process of formation: halos are formed when light is refracted as it passes through ice crystals present in a
cirrostratus cloud.

The Flying Boat: The flying boat is an optical illusion which occurs in the Arctic due to a particular weather
condition called the temperature inversion, wherein cold air lies close to the ground with warmer air above
it. Since cold air is denser than warm air, it bends light towards the eyes of someone standing on the
ground, thus changing the appearance of a distant. Distant objects can appear to float high above their
actual position, such as a boat that looks like it is floating in the sky, or an object below the horizon can
become visible.

Whiteouts: Whiteouts occur when the sky and snow assume a uniform whiteness, making the horizon
indistinguishable and eliminating the contrast between visible objects both near and far. To a human eye,
this appears as though the sky and the land have become one.

Hearing Snow: People have sometimes reported hearing noises from very far away, while in the Arctic. This
phenomenon occurs because cold atmospheric conditions bend sound waves differently than the air at
lower latitudes. At latitudes as high as at the Arctic, the air near the surface tends to be colder and denser
than air above it. This causes sound waves to tend to bend down toward the surface rather than up and
away from the earth, as they do in more temperate latitudes where air temperature, on average, decreases
with height. The range at which sound can be heard depends on the temperature of the air, the speed and
direction of the wind, and the rate at which sound energy is absorbed by the earth's surface. For instance,
soft snow absorbs sound energy very efficiently, effectively muting the transmission of sound. In contrast, a
hard-crusted snow surface absorbs little energy and a smooth ice surface is an almost ideal reflector of
sound. Therefore, given the right conditions, conversations in the Arctic can sometimes be heard up to
three kilometers away.
-Pooja Malik
(Second Year)
 SIR C HANDRASEKHARA V. RAMA N

(The molecular scattering of light)

Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1930

The colour of the sea

In the history of science, we often find that the study of some natural phenomenon has been the starting
point in the development of a new branch of knowledge. We have an instance of this in the colour of
skylight, which has inspired numerous optical investigations, and the explanation of which, proposed by the
late Lord Rayleigh, and subsequently verified by observation,forms the beginning of our knowledge of the
subject of this lecture. Even more striking, though not so familiar to all, is the colour exhibited by oceanic
waters. A voyage to Europe in the summer of 1921 gave me the first opportunity of observing the wonderful
blue opalescence of the Mediterranean Sea. It seemed not unlikely that the phenomenon owed its origin to
the scattering of sunlight by the molecules of the water. To test this explanation, it appeared desirable to
ascertain the laws governing the diffusion of light in liquids, and experiments with this object were started
immediately on my return to Calcutta in September, 1921. It soon became evident, however, that the
subject possessed a significance extending far beyond the special purpose for which the work was
undertaken, and that it offered unlimited scope for research. It seemed indeed that the study of light-
scattering might carry one into the deepest problems of physics and chemistry, and it was this belief which
led to the subject becoming the main theme of our activities at Calcutta from that time onwards.

The theory of fluctuations:

From the work of the first few months, it became clear that the molecular scattering of light was a very
general phenomenon which could be studied not only in gases and vapours but also in liquids and in
crystalline and amorphous solids, and that it was primarily an effect arising from molecular disarray in the
medium and consequent local fluctuations in its optical density. Except in amorphous solids, such molecular
disarray could presumably be ascribed to thermal agitation, and the experimental results appeared to
support this view. The fact that molecules are optically anisotropic and can orientate freely in liquids was
found to give rise to an additional type of scattering. This could be distinguished from the scattering due to
fluctuations in density by reason of its being practically unpolarized, whereas the latter was completely
polarized in the transverse direction. The various problems requiring solution indicated in this essay were
investigated with the aid of a succession of able collaborators. It is possible to mention briefly only a few of
the numerous investigations which were carried out at Calcutta during the six years 1922 to 1927. The
scattering of light
in fluids was studied by Ramanathan over a wide range of pressures and temperatures with results which
appeared to support the "fluctuation" theory of its origin. His work also disclosed the remarkable changes in
the state of polarization which accompany the variations of intensity with temperature in vapours and in
liquids. He also traced the transition from surface-opalescence to volume-opalescence
which occurs at the critical temperature.

The anisotropy of molecules:

As stated above, the state of polarization of the light scattered in fluids is connected with the optical
anisotropy of the molecules.
The optical analogue of the Compton effect

Interpretation of the effect:

It appears desirable to emphasize that though the conservation principle of Compton is useful in interpreting
the effects disclosed by experiment, it is by itself insufficient to explain the observed phenomena. As is well
known from studies on molecular spectra, a gaseous molecule has four different species of energy of
increasing orders of magnitude, namely those corresponding to translatory motion, rotation, vibration, and
electronic excitation. Each of these, except the first, is quantized and may be represented by an integer in an
extended sequence of quantum numbers. The aggregate energy of a molecule may, therefore, assume any
one out of a very large number of possible values. If we assume that an exchange of energy occurs in the
collision between the molecule and the quantum, and limit ourself to the cases in which the final energy of the
molecule is less than that of the incident quantum, we arrive at the result that the spectrum of the scattered
light should contain an
immense number of new lines and should in fact rival in its complexity the band spectrum of the molecule
observed in the emission or absorption of light. Nothing more different from what is actually observed can be
imagined than the foregoing picture. The most conspicuous feature revealed by experiment is the beautiful
simplicity of the spectra of even complicated polyatomic molecules obtained in light-scattering, a simplicity that
is in striking contrast to the extreme complexity of their emission or absorption spectra. It is this simplicity that
gives to the study of light-scattering its special significance and value. It is clear that the effect actually
observed was
not and could not have been foreseen from an application of the conservation principles.
The general principle of correspondence between the quantum and classical theories enunciated by Niels Bohr
enables us, on the other hand, to obtain a real insight into the actual phenomena. The classical theory of light
scattering tells us that if a molecule scatters light while it is moving, rotating or vibrating, the scattered
radiations may include certain frequencies, different from those of the incident waves. This classical picture, in
many respects, is surprisingly like what we actually observe in the experiments. It explains why the frequency
shifts observed fall into three classes, translational, rotational and vibrational, of different orders of magnitude.
It explains the observed selection rules, as for instance, why the frequencies of vibration deduced from
scattered light include only the fundamentals and not the overtones and combinations which are so
conspicuous in emission and absorption spectra. The classical theory can even go further and give us a rough
indication of the intensity and polarization of the radiations of altered frequency. Nevertheless, the classical
picture has to be modified in essential respects to give even a qualitative description of the phenomena, and
we have, there-
fore, to invoke the aid of quantum principles. The work of Kramers and Heisenberg, and the newer
developments in quantum mechanics which have their root in Bohr’s correspondence principle seem to offer a
promising way
of approach towards an understanding of the experimental results. But until we know much more than we do at
present regarding the structure of molecules, and have sufficient quantitative experimental knowledge of the
effect, it would be rash to suggest that they afford a complete explanation of it.

The significance of the effect:

The universality of the phenomenon, the convenience of the experimental technique and the simplicity of the
spectra obtained enable the effect to be used as an experimental aid to the solution of a wide range of
problems in physics and chemistry. Indeed, it may be said that it is this fact which constitutes the principal
significance of the effect. The frequency differences determined from the spectra, the width and character of
the lines appearing
in them, and the intensity and state of polarization of the scattered radiations enable us to obtain an insight into
the ultimate structure of the scattering substance. As experimental research has shown, these features in the
spectra are very definitely influenced by physical conditions, such as temperature and state of aggregation, by
physico-chemical conditions, such as mixture, solution, molecular association and polymerization, and most
essentially by chemical constitution. It follows that the new field of spectroscopy has practically unrestricted
scope in the study of problems relating to the structure of matter. We may also hope that it will lead us to a
fuller understanding of the nature of light, and of the interactions between matter and light.
 Rendezvous
-Nikita & Supriya
(First Year)

Our department came up with this cool idea of publishing the first ever department magazine. We were
supposed to give in articles, reports etc for the same. I hadn’t come up with anything till the last moment.
My friend Supriya and I, were assigned the interview section, so we decided to write a mail to one of these
amazing professors at Department of Physics and Astrophysics, Delhi University, Professor Patrick Das
Gupta, for an interview. We were delighted when he accepted the request and enthralled by the knowledge
he shared. Talking to a physicist who is trained in classical music, performs magic tricks and writes stories!
We couldn’t have imagined anything more interesting. The conversation lasted for over an hour. Here is a
glimpse of it:

Nikita: What persuaded you to join the field of Astrophysics?

Dr Gupta: What always is the case with people who get into physics are that they are interested in physics
right from their school days. So, after I did my schooling, I got a National Science Talent Scholarship to do
Science and I joined BITS, Pilani. There I got into reading popular physics books. The first thing that ignited
my imagination was the ‘Hubble's Law’ which essentially claims that farther a galaxy, more the relative
distance between earth and that galaxy, and hence that galaxy is known to be moving at a faster rate than
the ones closer to earth. In other words, ‘The rate at which the distance between two galaxies is increasing
is proportional to the separation between the two galaxies.’ That really surprised me. Imagine someone
being able to discover the law for the entire system of galaxies at very large scale! I was intrigued by that
law. That was the starting point of my interest in Astrophysics.

Supriya: So... this particular incident is the only reason that you pursued Astrophysics?

Dr Gupta: No, not really. That was the first excitement I got after reading a popular physics book. Naturally,
I read more books. I came across other interesting topics like black holes, quantum mechanics and more.
They were enigmatic topics, very mysterious and surprising... For awhile there, I was immensely interested
in Quantum Mechanics. Later on, Particle Physics got onto me. I remember this one professor at BITS
Pilani, Professor Shastri to whom we insisted that he teach us Particle Physics. You see, back in those
days, we didn't have any paper on the same topic. So just like that, my interests kept on shifting from one
to another. But eventually, one should settle down with the subject that not only intrigues him/her, but
additionally, one has an aptitude towards it. That is to say, two things are important when it comes to
choosing a particular field. The subject should interest you, and you should be good at it.

Nikita: What were your experiences from your journey as a graduate to a professor in Delhi
University?

Dr Gupta: Like every field, the journey had its own share of ups and downs. Everything got much more
interesting after BITS Pilani, when I joined IISc, Bangalore to do research. There, for the first time, I
encountered professors who were excellent teachers. There was Professor N. Mukunda and Prof N.
Kumar. And another one named Professor R. Raja Raman who is now associated with JNU. But back in
the days, he was in a centre for theoretical studies at IISc Bangalore. When I first joined IISc Bangalore,
these three gentlemen gave courses. Prof N. Mukundu gave a course on classical dynamics. Prof Raja
Raman gave a course on quantum mechanics. Prof N. Kumar gave a course on Mathematical Physics. It
was then that I realized that teaching is a profession that could make a subject immensely fascinating. That
is one of many reasons why I got into teaching myself. Because these three professors were great.
teachers and that highly motivated me. Then, after a year, due to some reason, I decided to leave IISc,
Bangalore. I freshly applied at TIFR, Mumbai. There, in the theoretical astrophysics group, there was Prof
Narlikar. I decided to work with him. He would give me interesting problems. I remember the first problem
he gave, which was to try to formulate electrodynamics without having electromagnetic fields. Just two
charges interacting. He had already worked on this. So, I decided to try something new-namely interaction
of two magnetic monopoles. I tried developing a Lagrangian to describe two monopoles interacting. I
looked at research papers and realized that we cannot have Lagrangian for two interacting monopoles.
Then I went to Prof Narlikar and told him that there doesn't seem to be any mathematically viable
Lagrangian to describe two interacting magnetic monopoles. He said, "I see your point. Now work on a
different problem." It was exciting. After that I went for a post doctoral fellowship at IUCAA, Pune. I worked
with Prof Naresh Dadhich. He once said, "You know, very soon, gravitational wave is going to be a thing.
So why don't you work on it with Dr Sanjeev Dhurandhar?" Dr Sanjeev Dhurandhar had collaboration with
Cardiff, U.K. So there we learned some interesting things about gravitational waves. You see, in theoretical
physics, it's better if you do various kinds of works rather than focusing on one, so that you would be
learning different physical aspects. These are the highs. Nature always has surprises in-store for us. At one
time, you might think, 'Now I have understood this and it is starting to get boring.' However, around the
same time, someone might have discovered something fascinating. So the best thing about doing research
is that every time nature is revealing a bit of itself, there is another new thing freshly blooming waiting to be
discovered and understood.

Supriya: Can you brief us about the research work that you are currently into?

Dr Gupta: Right now, I am doing three aspects of research work. The first is that I have a new idea
regarding dark energy. Hubble showed that Universe is expanding. But not only is the universe expanding,
the rate of expansion is increasing! Now when there is gravity and there is some acceleration, this means
there is some kind of anti-gravity. And general relativity allows that. So I've given a new model, which
comes from differential geometry that there is some completely anti-symmetric field. And my claim is that
this anti-symmetric field must be added as a fundamental component of gravity and that can explain the
acceleration. The second thing that I am doing is whether or not I can have torsion from this totally anti-
symmetric field that I've proposed. The third thing that I am working on is whether you can use Bose-
Einstein condensation to test gravity. The next thing is, whether the white dwarfs can be generators of
gravitational waves.

Nikita: Despite being one of the most intriguing fields, what would you consider the reason for the
depressing state of science as a career option in India?

Dr Gupta: There are many reasons for this. Here are several personal opinions. First of all, the origin of
science is in the Western countries. They got a big lead because of the Renaissance that took place
between 13th and 16th Century in the Europe. It started from Italy, but gradually spread around.
Renaissance essentially was, as many historians have pointed out, when the church started teaching
people how to read. Now once you start reading, people would read all kinds of things. So they started
reading the ancient knowledge: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle. Their knowledge was not about religion; their
knowledge was about observing and trying to find order in what they were observing. Then with arrival of
printing press, the whole thing mushroomed. If people had something to say, they were writing it down and
it was communicated and distributed all over. So there was a sudden burst of knowledge. So they got a big
boost. Galileo, who truly speaking, is father of modern Science, started observing, made controlled
experiments, made mathematical formulations. He realized that if you want to study nature, you need the
language of mathematics. So Galileo was doing this in the 16th Century. Therefore west got a 300-400
years lead as far as Asia is concerned. But we didn't do badly either. As soon as modern education came
to India, people like Jagdish Bose developed devices to detect radio waves.
Soon after in the beginning of 20th Century, C.V. Raman came. He got the Raman Effect for which he got
the Noble Prize. Although there was a 300 years lag, we were picking up. But as a result of the lag, if you
move one step, the other people have moved three steps ahead.
Second major reason would be that there are more jobs available for engineers. Glamorous jobs abroad.
So part of the reason is the glamour associated with the western world, which attracts bright people with
genuine talent.
There is a third reason. The sudden boom in the cable network, social media. So many young people are
very much attracted to it. I call them -the electronic entertainment- as the monsters that eat time. So even if
one has talent, if one does not put in work, the talent doesn't flower. So there are very talented people but
they are immature to realize that if they don't work hard, they cannot hone their talent.

Supriya: As an undergraduate, what opportunities do you think we should be aware of?

Dr Gupta: Enormous opportunities are there in India. Right now, anyone who has interest in astrophysics,
this is the right time. Why? Because of the great opportunities that have come up! First thing, India has
recently signed the funding of TMT which will come up in Hawaii. It means Indian people can directly go
there, take the data and do the research. Remember, TMT is not going to come up in two years. It will start
only in 2020. So anyone who wants to pursue his/her career in Astronomy, in another 3-4 years, is in great
situation! So once the TMT data comes out, a lot of young people are required. So job prospects are very
high. The second thing is, next year ISRO is going to launch an astronomy satellite called ASTROSAT. It is
going to study individual astronomical sources at various wavelengths. It’s going to be a fantastic facility
with lots of data pouring out. And someone has to analyse this data. So a lot of young people will get the
opportunity. Then there is World Radio Telescope coming up called the square-kilometre array. It is over 1
sq-km area and radio telescopes will be set to detect very faint radio frequencies, quasars, pulsars. And
India will also be collaborative partner. Then you have LIGO India project, named as INDIGO. Although it
has been tabbed by the parliament...
For those interested in cutting edge experiment, LIGO India, which is dealing with Interferometers, requires
experiences in diverse fields. Students interested in LASER optics, it is going to use squeezed light, which
is not normal LASER but a part of quantum optics. There are also a lot of mechanically challenging
experiments. Those who are interested in computers, it requires running programs which would be running
very fast. So LIGO is a diverse set up which will require not only scientists but also engineers. Then there
are other research establishments like INO. It has already been passed. INO will be looking at neutrinos
which are very mysterious particles. Earlier it was thought that neutrinos are mass-less, but soon it was
found that neutrinos have mass. One of the prime objectives of INO is to look at the masses of neutrinos.
So anyone who is interested in imagining new theoretical particle physics model which will explain this will
be highly benefited by this. Then we have GMRT, Giant Meter Radio Telescope which is a TIFR project and
it has been going on for a number of years. So that also requires a number of young people to work
towards it. There are various cosmic Ray Laboratories which are a part of TIFR o they too require a lot of
young people. So India is poised with a lot of new experiments and they become fruitful only if young
people join. These are very exciting opportunities for young people...

Nikita: Exciting times, indeed! It was a pleasure talking to you sir.

Supriya: Thank you for your time!
Those who
made
history...
 The Nobel 2014...
Starting in the 1970s, the three researchers
tackled a range of challenges in device
physics and materials science to create light-
emitting diodes that could shine blue light.
Red and green LEDs were already available
by the late 1960s. The advent of the first
luminous blue LED, which took place in
1993, completed the visual spectrum. A wide
range of potential applications, from
domestic lighting to optical storage, opened
up.
Compared with incandescent light bulbs,
LEDs are 10 times more energy efficient, last
100 times longer, and are much more
resistant to vibration and shock. Given that
20–30% of the world's electricity is
consumed by lighting, the widespread the valence band’s maximum face each other
adoption of LEDs will significantly reduce the across momentum space—each electron–
world's energy consumption and, with it, its hole recombination yields a photon whose
emission of carbon dioxide into the energy matches the bandgap.
atmosphere. Materials that have such "direct" bandgaps
Echoing the words of Alfred Nobel's will, the make efficient LEDs, but they are the
Nobel selection committee remarked that the exception rather than the rule among
invention of the blue LED is "of great benefit semiconductors. The world's preeminent
to mankind." semiconductor, silicon, has an indirect
Toward blue LEDs bandgap. Most LEDs—from the original red
Blue LEDs work in the same way as their red LEDs to the prize-winning blue LEDs—are
antecedents. Two layers of semiconductor, made of direct-bandgap compounds drawn
one p-doped, the other n-doped, abut each from elements from groups III and V of the
other. Applying voltage across the layers, periodic table.
from p to n, drives the extra electrons from Red and green LEDs are made from gallium
the conduction band of the n-doped layer to arsenide and gallium phosphide. In principle,
fill holes in the valence band of the p-doped extending the family to achieve shorter
layer. wavelengths entails pairing Ga with a lighter
If the electrons can cross the bandgap element from group V, nitrogen, whose
without having to gain or shed momentum— smaller size yields tighter binding and, with
that is, if the conduction band’s minimum it, a wider bandgap.
and
The quest to harness GaN's bandgap for bandgaps and refractive indices, are
light emission began in the 1950s even structurally compatible with each other. With
before the red LED made its debut in 1962. a judicious choice of layers, the electrons
By the early 1970s, progress had foundered. and holes that combine to emit photons can
Making pure GaN device-sized crystals, let be squeezed into a narrower volume,
alone doped crystals, proved too difficult . thereby boosting efficiency. Further gains in
Prospects brightened in the mid 1970s when efficiency come from exploiting the layers'
a new technique came online for building optical properties.
crystals layer by layer: metalorganic vapor For their first blue LEDs, Amano and Akasaki
phase epitaxy (MOVPE). Amano and layered GaN with aluminum gallium nitride;
Akasaki set themselves the goal of using Nakamura paired GaN with indium gallium
MOVPE to make crystals of p- and n-doped nitride and InGaN with AlGaN. By 1993,
GaN. In 1986, after a decade of effort, they Nakamura had made a tiny blue LED that
had found a successful recipe: Deposit GaN shone as brightly as a candle. Light emission
with its dopants on top of a layer of in the device took place in a layer of zinc-
aluminum nitride that is itself deposited on a doped InGaN sandwiched between n- and p-
sapphire substrate. The sapphire–AlN doped AlGaN, which, in turn, was
foundation guides the formation of a sandwiched between n- and p-doped GaN.
crystalline GaN layer. Working To date, the paper describing the landmark
independently, Nakamura hit on a similar device has been cited more than 3000 times.
recipe in 1991. Besides the potential for slashing the world's
Doping GaN with magnesium or zinc yielded electricity bill, GaN-based LEDs have other
p-doped crystals, but not ones that could important and widespread applications. The
accept electrons efficiently. Fortuitously, devices deliver light to the screens of cell
Amano and Akasaki found in the late 1980s phones, computers, and TVs. In poor
that samples they had examined with an countries, solar-powered LED lights are
electron microscope became better supplanting lamps fueled by kerosene.
acceptors. The cause, Nakamura
discovered, arose during crystal growth:
Dopants formed efficiency-sapping -Sourced from: Physics Today
complexes with hydrogen atoms, whose
presence as a contaminant arises from the
use of organic precursors in MOVPE.
Irradiating the crystals with electrons breaks
up the complexes. Annealing has the same
beneficial effect.
The final step toward making efficient blue
LEDs was to exploit the concept of
heterostructures. In GaN LEDs, as in GaAs
LEDs before them, different semiconductors
from the same groups of the periodic table
are combined in layers. Family membership
ensures that the layers, which have different
Nikola Tesla: The genius
with a death ray
Talk about geniuses and you would get the
standard answers: Albert Einstein, Stephen
Hawking, Leonardo Da Vinci, etc etc. Hardly
ever do we get to hear the name Nikola
Tesla. Whereas the truth is, all our modern
devices ranging from AC motors, RADARs,
hydroelectric power plants, even the radio,
are a direct or indirect result of this man’s
unrivalled genius.
But wasn’t the radio invented by Marconi,
and the RADAR by Robert A. Watson-
Watt? You say. Well…no. All of Marconi’s
work on the radio was based upon Tesla’s.
He was using 17, yes, seventeen, of Tesla’s
patents. RADAR. Same story. Tesla pitched
his idea of the RADAR to the U.S. Navy in
1917, eighteen years before Robert’s
discovery. But Thomas Edison convinced the
U.S. Navy that the radar had no use in war. A concentrated beam of sub-atomic particles
Come to think of it, Thomas Edison had flying at the speed of light, annihilating
much to do with Tesla not being recognised. anything and everything in their path: that
The feud between Edison and Tesla of was Tesla’s death ray, the one he claimed to
course, is legendary. But as W. Bernard have invented. His scientific papers vanished
Carlson said, “They’re different inventors and mysteriously after his death, and the truth
you can’t really say one is greater than the behind the death ray, continues to be
other. The American society needs some elusive.
Edisons and it needs some Teslas.” Nikola Tesla was indeed a man ahead of his
Personally though, I would always prefer times. Yet he lived a poor life and died alone.
Tesla over Edison. His legacy, however, continues to inspire. He
Tesla was an eccentric man; the was truly the genius with a death ray.
quintessential mad scientist. And one of his
craziest – or what would have been the
craziest, if it had worked out – invention was
the death ray. It was a hypothetical device
that would bring about, quite literally, death. -Saniya Heba
A life in science: Marie Curie

“A scientist in his laboratory is not mere

technician: he is also a child confronting
natural phenomena that impress him as
though they were fairy tales.”
-Marie Curie
(1867-1934)
Marie Curie, a woman who gave her entire
life for science and a woman whose
dedication towards her work was so intense
that she did not even care about her life.
She was the first woman Nobel Laureate and
also the first person in the world to win two
Nobel Prizes. Maria Sklodowska, better
known as Marie Curie, was born in Warsaw
in modern-day Poland on November 7, 1867.
Her parents were both teachers, and she
was the youngest of five children. Marie was
a quick learner and graduated out of high Marie worked as a tutor and a governess to
school with a gold medal. the children of the owner of a beet-sugar
This, however, was not enough as women in factory. She used some of her spare time to
Poland were not allowed to gain higher teach the children of the Polish peasant
education and she could not attend the men- workers how to read, risking punishment if
only University of Warsaw. She instead the Russian authorities found out. Marie read
continued her education in Warsaw's widely in many subjects and in the year 1891
"floating university," a set of underground, and joined the Sorbonne University in Paris.
informal classes held in secret at different She completed her master's degree in
locations to avoid detection by the Russian physics in 1893 and earned another degree
Czar’s police. Both Marie and her sister, in mathematics the following year. Marie
Bronya, dreamed of going abroad to earn an received a commission to investigate the
official degree, but they lacked the financial magnetic properties of different types of
resources to pay for more schooling. steel. To carry out the work, she needed a
Undeterred, she worked out a deal with her lab to work in, when she met the French
sister where she would work to support physicist Pierre Curie. A romance developed
Bronya while in school and later Bronya between the brilliant pair, and they became
would return the favor after completion of the “scientific dynamic duo”.
studies.
She was fascinated with the work of Henri When World War I broke out in 1914,
Becquerel, a French physicist who Curie devoted her time and resources to
discovered that uranium casts off rays, helping the cause. She championed the
weaker rays than the X-rays found by use of portable X-ray machines in the field,
Wilhelm Roentgen. Curie took Becquerel's and these medical vehicles earned the
work a few steps further, conducting her nickname "Petite Curies." As her first
own experiments on uranium rays, in a lab radiological assistant she chose her
set up in the Paris Municipal School. Her daughter Irene, a scientifically well-versed
studies led to the conclusion that the 17 year old. Mother and daughter,
amount of rays given out depended only accompanied by a military doctor, went to
on the amount of uranium and not on the battlefield and saved the lives of many
anything else like weather, temperature, wounded men
moisture, etc. Neither did it matter whether All of her years of working with radioactive
the sample was solid or powdered or pure materials took a toll on Curie's health. She
or combined with other elements. The was known to carry test tubes of radium
rays, she theorized, came from the around in the pocket of her lab coat. In
element's atomic structure. Intrigued by 1934, Curie went to the Sancellemoz
these findings, Pierre joined her and they Sanatorium in Passy, France, to try to rest
worked together like detectives looking for and regain her strength. She died there on
their suspects. Their efforts finally paid off July 4, 1934, of aplastic anemia, which
when they discovered two new elements; can be caused by prolonged exposure to
Radium and Polonium and they coined the radiation.
word ‘radioactivity’ to describe the She also passed down her love of science
phenomena. to the next generation. Her daughter Irène
In 1903, Marie Curie made history by Joliot-Curie followed in her mother's
becoming the first woman to win the Nobel footsteps, winning the Nobel Prize in
Prize. She won the prestigious award Chemistry in 1935, along with her
along with her husband and Henri husband, for their work on the synthesis of
Becquerel, for their work on Radioactivity. new radioactive elements.
Three years later, after the death of Pierre Marie Curie made many breakthroughs in
Curie, she was appointed as professor in her lifetime and is one of the most famous
the Sorbonne University, becoming the female scientists of all time. She once
institution's first female professor. She said, “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is
received another great honor in 1911, only to be understood. Now is the time to
winning her second Nobel Prize, this time understand more, so that we may fear
in chemistry. She was awarded for less.” The work of her entire life was also
discovering the elements Radium and the cause of her death, call it tragedy or
Polonium by isolating radium and also, honor, her entire life story has inspired
studying the nature and compounds of this many young minds and continues to do so
remarkable element. She became the first till date.
scientist to win the Nobel Prize twice.
While she received the prize alone, she
shared the honor jointly with her late
husband in her acceptance lecture. -Sharmistha Chatterjee
 Summer School experience at DU

I got an opportunity to attend the Summer School in Physics organized by the Department of Physics and
Astrophysics, University of Delhi during June 2014. It was a very well executed programme, considering it
was a first for the Department. The programme was planned keeping in mind, the students who wished to
pursue a future career in research. It was an extensive school, with talks on topics ranging from Quantum
Physics, Astrophysics, Solid State Physics, Nuclear and Plasma Physics and many more by accomplished
professors. The main focus was on giving the attendees a flavor of the subjects and research in those fields.
There were many lab visits where the students were very patiently and thoroughly explained the techniques
used in various ongoing projects. The University has extremely well-equipped laboratories which left most of
us awestruck. We also had lab sessions where computer languages like C and Octave were taught which
form an integral part of Computational Physics in Higher Education. During the last few days, we were asked
to go through research papers and prepare a presentation on the one that fascinates us the most. We also
submitted reports on what we learned, which sessions had appealed to us the most and how the school
helped us.

All in all, it was a great opportunity to actually learn and appreciate the beauty of Physics, without any
deadlines or confines of syllabus. All our speakers were very friendly and interactive and discussed various
subjects with the students in between sessions as well. It was a great learning experience for all those who
have a passion for the subject. ☺

-Shruti Chakravarty
(Third Year)
 Mitacs Globalink Internship Experience
My fascination with everything astronomical always made me want to do
one of those internships where you get to spend the entire day in the lab
analyzing data and images of stars and galaxies taken from a telescope.
Never did I expect though that that lab would be situated in Canada and that
on returning home at 9 p.m. after finishing the day's work, I would be
greeted by the Sun and by a group of lively Mexican, Brazilian and Indian
roommates!

All this was possible because I was being hosted in the summer of 2014 by the University of Lethbridge
through the Mitacs Globalink Program. Under the supervision of Dr. Locke Spencer, a professor in the
Department of Physics & Astronomy at the university, I worked on a project to help verify the spectral
calibration of the High Frequency Instrument of European Space Agency's Planck telescope. Over the
summer, I learnt a new programming language, handled hundreds of gigabytes of data and developed
processing algorithms to verify the calibration, thus increasing the net confidence in Planck data. I also got to
experience an amazing work environment as I worked closely with my extremely helpful and knowledgeable
supervisor, a post-doctoral researcher and 5 other undergraduate students working on various related
projects in astrophysics. The freedom that my supervising professor gave me to pursue my own ideas
inculcated in me the ability to look at a problem from several vantage points and then think of an innovative
solution to the problem which, I believe, will really help me in a career in research.
Living alone in a new country also gave me the chance to step out of my comfort zone and explore my
independence. Apart from working in the lab, I also took some time out to interact with people from the
diverse international community at the university and explore the new country I was in. Canada's natural
beauty and the kindness and warmth of people that I met there are things I am never going to forget.
I know many of you may wish to opt for an international internship, but shy away from applying for one.
Probably because you think it would be a burden financially or probably because your parents are a little
worried about letting you live alone in a city located on the other side of the globe. Well, Mitacs Globalink is a
fully funded program that covers your airfare, visa application costs, accommodation and even gives you a
stipend to cover your living expenses. Also, Mitacs takes utmost care in ensuring that you are extremely
comfortable and in the safest possible environment on campus. There are several other international
internship programs, but none makes the entire process as easy for you as Mitacs does. Applications open
in early August and they offer several projects with a considerable number of physics projects to choose
from. Keep in mind though, that the application process is fairly competitive, so you definitely need to pay a
lot of attention to all parts of your application especially the resume and statement of purpose.
When I came to know about the Mitacs Globalink Program, initially I was a little apprehensive to apply as
well, but as it turns out it was one of the best decisions I ever made. So if you wish to do an international
internship this summer, do consider applying for Mitacs Globalink.
All the best for the applications, people! :)
-Pragya Chawla
B.Sc. (Hons.) Physics, 3rd Year

P.S. I will be happy to help you with the application process, so don't hesitate to contact me if you have any
queries. Mail me at: [email protected]
 NIUS EXPERIENCE
The National Initiative on Undergraduate
Science (NIUS), a major initiative of HBCSE
(TIFR) concerning tertiary science education in
India was launched in the summer of 2004. The
program includes initiating and guiding students
over an extended period for proto-research,
preparing and editing lecture notes, and promoting
undergraduate research. Introducing innovative
experiments and rejuvenating the Undergraduate
Laboratory is an important component of NIUS.

We recently attended the nius camp 11.1 at HBCSE .It was an amazing experience. the camp started from
10th june and ended on 20th june .all the lectures were given by leading scientists of the country. The camp
itself was a two week extensive enrichment program. We had scientists from various institutes like HBCSE,,
BARC, IISER Kolkata, TIFR,NCRA IUCAA Pune etc. to give short lectures and presentations on topics like
nanotechnology ,quantum mechanics ,quantum computation, cosmology ,particle physics ,relativity and
stellar evolution .The way the lectures were delivered and the understanding of concepts given by teachers
was different ,new and interesting. In particular, I was fascinated by the environment of research and the
dedication of both students and teachers to gain and provide as much knowledge as possible in a time of 10
days .we were allowed to interact with teachers anytime even after the lectures were finished and during the
breaks as well ,we were provided access to the library which had a excellent collection of books ,even
provided with notes, study material and presentations .
The lectures on Dark Matter and Cosmology had everyone gazed and were portrayed amazingly and was
made really easy by the lecturer. The lectures on Stellar Structures and Seismology were really interesting .
Applied optics lectures too, were a wonderful insight to applied physics in astronomy, and how an
engineering student may contribute part to physics technology .the way interferometry and solar radio
astronomy was introduced it left an impact on all of us and everyone wanted more on the topic. Cosmology
lectures were enjoyed by everyone the most with the best of videos and pictures showed in class the topic
seemed more and more interesting .Apart from these we were also given lectures on relativity, solitons and
waves and introduction to nanostructures all the lectures were equally good and made all of us appreciate the
beauty of physics and its application to a wide range of phenomenon in nature.
Apart from Physics, there was another thing we gained through this ten day camp. And that was the platform
we got to interact and learn with and from students from various institutes across the country. People from
various institutes got a platform to exchange their views ,knowledge and experiences. We got to see people
with extreme humility despite their great achievments in some of the most respected exams in the country.
And yes, made a whole lot of new, wonderful friends!! , I must say, the camp was really an experience of
enrichment for life which I will never forget.

-Pragya Arora
And
Raagya Arora
(Second Year)
 Jenesys
The mention of Japan and Japanese people had always elicited a positive response in me. When I first
heard that the Japan International Cooperation Center (JICE) had invited 24 students and 1 professor from
University of Delhi to visit Japan, I was really excited. After filling in a comprehensive application form and
being interviewed by a committee, I was one of the 9 students selected from Miranda House to be a part of
the science and technology batch of students invited to visit Japan under the JENESYS 2.0 program. As
expected, the first thing about Japan that enthralled me was their cutting-edge technology and its
ubiquitous and innovative use. We enjoyed a demonstration of ASIMO, the world's most advanced
Humanoid Robot and a 3D Planetarium Show at National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation.
We also saw life-size exhibits of space missions at Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Campus at
Sagamihara and visited a precision instruments manufacturing small-scale industry as well. A day that we
spent at Kanagawa Institute of Technology enlightened us about their hands-on teaching practices and a
visit to their Safety Learning Center informed us about the innovative ways and simulations through which
the Japanese teach their citizens disaster management techniques. Throughout the week, we visited
famous tourist attractions like the Asakusa Temple, Tokyo Tower, Tokyo Sky Wheel, Enoshima Island and
Aquarium. But the most amazing part of the trip was the homestay. I was one of the three Miranda House
students who were being hosted by an old Japanese couple. During the stay, they taught us Japanese, fed
us some amazing Japanese food, narrated stories of their several overseas trips, taught us a lot about
Japanese culture and ensured we were as comfortable as possible at their house. What fascinated me
most about the country were its people. Everyone that I met during my week-long stay there was
hospitable, kind, polite and always happy to go the extra mile to help anyone they saw. The patience and
eagerness with which the monks taught us Zazen meditation at the Sojiji Temple, the love and care our
host family showed us when we stayed at their home for two days and the punctuality and helpfulness of
the JICE coordinators were all things I will never forget. The only regret that I have is not having sat in the
extremely popular bullet train, Shinkansen, but I do hope to visit the country again one day and do that.
Until then, I plan to maintain my ties with the people I met there and spread as much information as I can
about how amazing a country it is.
-Pragya Chawla
(Third Year)