Wednesday 30 May 2012

Solar energy


Solar energy is becoming popular in recent times.  People started building various devices and equipments which work with solar energy  The main reasons for using solar energy are as follow.
1.  Solar energy is freely available in abundance in this universe.
2.  Solar energy never gets exhausted unlike other sources of energy
3. Solar energy is available at each and every place in this world

Here are some of the interesting facts about Solar Energy.

A solar powered air craft from USA flew 4060 Km. in the year 1990 without no other fuel except solar energy.  This was the world record.
More sun light falls on this earth in one hour than what is used by the entire world population in one year
The Solar Energy is better for environment compared to traditional forms of energy
It is possible to cook food using solar energy
A home solar system typically contains solar panels, an inverter, a battery, a charge controller and wiring support structure.
A 1-kilowatt home solar system will prevent approximately 170 lbs. of coal from being burned, 300 lbs of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere and 105 gallons of water from being consumed each month!
Solar panels come in different colors.
Solar energy does not pollute the air nor does it release carbon di oxide into atmosphere.

Thursday 24 May 2012

Jonathan Ive, a man behind " i " of Apple




Jonathan Ive, a man behind " i " , lead designer and conceptual mind behind Apple's products, including the iMac[this was his first prototype, and ' i ' stands for 'internet' ], MacBook Air, iPod, iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad.

Ive has more operational power than anyone at Apple, aside from the CEO.

The late Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs stated during an interview with biographer Walter Isaacson that no one at Apple can tell Ive what to do – "that's the way I set it up."


Ive is credited with helping the late Steve Jobs bring the consumer-electronics company back from the brink of financial ruin in the late 1990s with his whimsical design for the iMac computer, which originally came in bright colors at a time bland shades dominated the PC world.


In 1992, while Jobs was still in the midst of a 12-year exile from Apple, Ive was hired as a senior designer.

After Jobs returned, he and Ive worked closely, ushering in products that are sleek and stylish, with rounded corners, few buttons, brushed aluminum surfaces and plenty of slick glass.

Apple's pride in this work is evident even in the packaging: Open up any iPhone box, for example, and see Apple proudly proclaim, ``Designed by Apple in California.'' Six of Ive's works, including the original iPod, are part of the collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Sharks Facts


Sharks are fish. However, they do not have bones like other fish. Their skeleton is made of cartilage. This is the same bendable material that is in your ears! They also do not have a swim bladder, the air filled balloon-like organ that keeps most fish upright. Sharks have gill slits but no gill-cover, which is common to most bony fish. Because they have no swim bladder to keep them buoyant, sharks sink when not swimming. Shark's bodies are heavier than water and most sharks are constantly on the move. By moving forward with their mouths open, sharks move water across their gills for breathing. The larger species produce live young that are fully formed, miniature versions of their parents. Mother sharks offer no food or protection for their young. Young sharks do have a fighting chance, though, as they are born with a full set of teeth and the ability to swim.. The list of amazing and funny facts about different kind of sharks are given below: 



* The Whalefish Shark is the largest fish in the ocean. It can reach up to 50 feet and weigh about 30 tons. The whalefish eats plankton. It swims in warm waters near the equator. It filters meals as it swims with its mouth open. It is not threat to humans
* Just as humans rule the land, sharks rule the sea! Many people fear sharks, because they hear stories about sharks killing and eating humans. Actually, most sharks are not dangerous!
* Sharks never get cancer! Their cartilage is used in being studied with the hope of developing anti-cancer drugs.
* The dwarf shark is as small as your hand, while the whale shark can be as large as a school bus!
* A shark may grow and use over 20,000 teeth in its lifetime!
* Sharks never run out of teeth. If one is lost, another spins forward from the rows and rows of backup teeth.
* Sharks even eat other sharks. For example, a tiger shark might eat a bull shark, a bull shark might eat a blacktip shark and a blacktip shark might eat a dogfish shark!
* The whale shark is up to 46 feet (14 m), weighing up to 15 tons. The average size is 25 feet (7.6 m) long It is the largest fish in the world. Females are larger than males (like most sharks).
* It has been estimated that whale sharks may live up to 100 - 150 years.
* A shark's hunger can be satisfied with one good meal. The meal can last a long time because a shark uses little energy to swim. Some sharks hold food in their stomachs without it being digested. If they eat a big meal, it can last three or more months!
* A shark's hunger can be satisfied with one good meal. The meal can last a long time because a shark uses little energy to swim. Some sharks hold food in their stomachs without it being digested. If they eat a big meal, it can last three or more months!
* Sharks have existed for over 350 million years. They evolved over 100 million years before the dinosaurs did. This was long before people evolved. 

Tuesday 22 May 2012

Most expensive wines of World

We all know that older the wine, the better it gets, and only a true wine connoisseur knows the value of an older wine. Vintage wines are chosen from some of the most exceptional vineyards and may sell for thousands of dollars per bottle. Some of the rare and super-expensive wines may not even be drinkable at all, but it is a delight for vintage liquor collectors and becomes more of a trophy piece. Some of the rarest bottles in the world lie in collector's cellars and some pass through well-known auction houses. So, for the avid wine collectors, below is the list of 10 most expensive wines.



1) D’Amalfi Limoncello Supreme liquor :
















Price: $44 million
World’s most expensive wine that is created in association with Liverpool-based Stuart Hughes and Italian distillery Antica Distilleria Russo is called D’Amalfi Limoncello Supreme. The flawless design of the bottle that is adorned with three single cut diamonds (13 carats) on the neck has made it one of the most expensive wines in the world. One of the rarest diamonds is set on the body of the bottle that alone weighs 18.5 carats and the bottle costs whooping $ 44 million.

2)Isabella’s Islay :

Price: $6.2 million
The company behind the world’s most expensive non- alcoholic drink Ruwa has come up with Isabella’s Islay, is one of the world’s most luxurious whisky that is available in two editions. Each bottle of the drink is handcrafted and is encrusted with beautiful and dazzling 8500 diamonds, almost 300 rubies. The bottle is completely covered with very old single malt cask strength Islay whisky inside and English Crystal decanter. Each Isabella’s Islay costs $6.2 million and the bottle is also available in special edition that retails for $740,000 and is encrusted with gold and diamond lettering.



3)Chambord by Donald Edge:


Price: $3 million
Designed by renowned jeweler Donald Edge, the bottle is one of the most expensive sprits containers that was unveiled by the prominent fashion designer Betsey Johnson at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York. The bottle is bejeweled with 1,100 brilliant, princess and pear cut diamonds as well as a single emerald cut diamond. the proceedings from this brilliant bottle will help in raising funds and awareness of breast cancer.



4)Master of Malt:













Price: $1.4 million
105-Year-Old wine has set a new record of being one of the finest wines in the world. The wine is produced by the well known company Malt whiskey and was discovered by Scottish historian. The hard fetched whiskey was distilled on February 17, 1906 at the Aisla T’Orten distillery in the Highlands. The cask that was used was a sherry butt and was kept in the basement for about a century by Aberdeen-based historian, Allie Sisell. It was sold to Master of Malt in 2010 by Mr. Sisell and was bottled on March 8, 2011 after it spent 105 years in cask. That is the reason this exclusive drink is worth $1.4 million.


5)1992 Screaming Eagle Wine: 















Price: Price: $500,0001992 Screaming Eagle Wine that has a beautiful opaque purple color with elegant fruity flavors that linger in the mouth for hours. This exclusive wine was sold at a charity event called Auction Napa Valley 2008 and fetched a whopping $500,000! Although it is one of the most expensive wines ever sold but, later some of the price was discounted as it was meant for the charity purpose. The wine was purchased byCisco Systems executive Chase Bailey





6)Chateau Cheval Blanc 1947:

Price: $304,375Next in the list is Chateau Cheval Blanc 1947 that has been given A class status in the Classification of Saint-Emilion wine. The exclusive colossal Cheval Blanc 1947 has set a record of single bottle sold at an auction. According to the Christie's wine expert, Michael Ganne, this is the only known bottle in the Imperial format and can be kept for another 50 years without any problem. One of the greatest Bordeaux of all time the bottle was owned by an anonymous Swiss collector. The wine was sold at an auction at Christie's in Geneva and was sold for $304,580.


7)Shipwrecked 1907 Heidsieck :





Price: $275,000The Shipwrecked 1907 wine is 100 year old wine obtained from the Heidsieck vineyard and took over eighty years to reach its destination. Over 200 bottles were shipped to Russian Imperial family in 1916 and got lost in the sea and was discovered in 1997 by a ship driver. Finally, the old wines are being sold to the wealthy guests at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Moscow. Each Heidsieck bottle costs whooping $275,000.



8) Chateau Lafite-Rothschild 1869:

Price: $232,692Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong ballroom witnessed a new record for auction of wine when three bottles of 1869 Chateau Lafite Rothschild went for sale and set a record of most expensive bottle of wine sold at auction. The fact that made the bottles rare was they came directly from the Chateau Lafite's cellars and were the oldest wines in the auction and costs $232,692 each.


9)Chateau Lafite 1787:














Price: $160,000Originally bought by Thomas Jefferson in France, the 1787 Chateau Lafite is amongst the finest wine that is turned into vinegar which is a natural happening. Coveted by the true connoisseur Chateau Lafite 1787 was sold in London for collection purpose as it is not drinkable and fetched a good some of $160,000.



10)1945 Romanée Conti :



Price: $123,900
1945 RomanĂ©e Conti got a special place in the Christie’s fine-wine auction in Geneva and this exclusive wine was sold in a record breaking amount. This rare wine was produced during the World War II before the outbreak of phylloxera and only 600 bottles were created. The bidder was a collector form U.S who paid whooping $123,900 for one fine bottle.






















Thursday 17 May 2012

Black Hole Swallows a Star


Black Hole Swallows a Star



These images, taken with NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer and the Pan-STARRS1 telescope in Hawaii, show a brightening inside a galaxy caused by a flare from its nucleus. The arrow in each image points to the galaxy. The flare is a signature of the galaxy's central black hole shredding a star that wandered too close. 


The top left image, taken by the Galaxy Evolution Explorer in 2009, shows the galaxy's location before the flare. The galaxy is not visible in this ultraviolet-light exposure. In the top right image, taken by the Galaxy Evolution Explorer on June 23, 2010, the galaxy has become 350 times brighter in ultraviolet light. 


The bottom left image, taken by Pan-STARRS1, shows the galaxy (the bright dot in the center) in 2009 before the flare's appearance. The bottom right image, taken by Pan-STARRS1 from June to August 2010, shows the flare from the galaxy nucleus. Note how the light from the flare is much bluer, or hotter, than the host galaxy light. 

Friday 11 May 2012

Top 10 Legal Addictions




In the Eighties, Nancy Reagan led a militant campaign to do away with drugs, from the backs of schoolyards to the cartels of Columbia. However, when her husband ultimately succumbed to Alzheimer’s, you didn’t see her telling him to “just say NO” to his medication. There’s a clear double-standard on how drugs are handled in this country, but there seems to be one unifying principle: if the government can somehow make a profit, it’s a-okay as far as the law goes. Nonetheless, substance abuse and addiction rages at full force on both sides of the law, and feigning an injury is a much less risky way to acquire an opiate than to cross the border and smuggle a plastic-wrapped portion of suspicious black goop. Addiction is good business for all involved. Here are ten of the leading examples of those which the law doesn’t frown upon (mostly because it has no feeling left in its face). Note: virtually all of these addictions can be satiated at any convenience or grocery store, and purchased with an EBT card (and if that’s not enabling, there’s no such thing).

10. Shopping
Compulsive shopping is a disorder, and one that can keep the economy churning, if the afflicted member is a responsible credit card owner. More often than not, however, a frequent credit card swiper will live in bottomless debt, with nothing but a household of canoes and flatscreen T.V.’s to show for it. Of course, the government would encourage spending at inadvisable times if it means economic stimulation (and, of course, sales tax revenue), but the compulsive shopper needs more counseling than trips to the mall to right this wrong.


09. T.V.
Visual stimulation can be just as addictive as any other kind. Cut off a shut-in’s cable subscription and watch how quickly a sweet, slightly-sedated old lady can become a common junkie, suffering from violent withdrawal symptoms and uncontrollable behavior. Television is an endless stream of unilateral entertainment, that simulates a fulfilling life one may be missing out on due to being terminally wheelchair-confined, or else just cut off from a greater society. Just pay the monthly bill, and the loneliness can be neatly stuffed into a little old coin purse.

08. MMORPGs ( Massively multiplayer online role-playing games )
How can a game consisting of orcs, wizards and other medieval cliches consume so many souls and hours of sunlight? Unfathomable as it sounds, millions maintain a subscription to a network-based video game, and treat it as a second life, one in which they clock in more hours than in the actual world. Eat, sleep, energy drink, game: that is the complete life of many who’ve yet to leave their parents’ basement, or pursue a real life of work that doesn’t involve trading furs or blacksmithing. And about the addictive nature of games like World of Warcraft, just see the video on Youtube of the kid that has a veritable stigmata over his mom taking away his WOW account. Scary stuff.


07. Celebrity Gossip
Because people care (i.e. obsess) about the lives of the beautiful and famous; tabloids, TMZ and trashcan journalism exists. For some, enough to make a handsome profit, it’s not enough to watch a movie and leave the stars onscreen. No, they need to see these people hunted down and in intimate, compromising settings that would be grounds for an assault charge in any other circumstance – an invasion of privacy that nobody deserves. Sure, reality stars present a kind of voyeurism in their professions that makes privacy invasion a given, but for any artist who creates their work in isolated, public arenas and seek not to take their work home with them, there becomes a fine line between celebrity reporter and peeping tom.

06. Fast Food
Greasy, fattening food is cheap and ubiquitous. Literally, it can be acquired 24/7 and at every intersection, and purchased by the bucket for less than whats in your typical consumer’s belly button. Obesity is easy; in fact, it’s hard to avoid when healthy food costs more than the average consumer can afford with his weekly paycheck. Fast food is made cheap (often with artificial substitutes), hence it can be sold cheap and is a sad sap’s last option. When it tastes so much better than it benefits, it is, again, a huge draw. McDonald’s brags right on its golden arches how many billion burgers it’s sold, but it is not by any pure means: for one, McDonald’s loads their food with chemicals that simulate happiness, their hamburger buns with sugar, which is another petty alternative to just making good food alone. Only recently have the chicken nuggets started to be made with the frighteningly white meat of actual chicken, a step up from sickly colored ostrich meat. So, as many struggle, and fail, to convert to a healthier diet, they “put a smile on” only because the milkshakes are loaded with too many chemicals to do otherwise.


05. Gambling
Be it at a casino in a tolerant state, or an Indian reservation or behind the counter of any convenience store sales counter in scratch form, risking all your earnings for a poor chance at modest luck is a great way to grease up a business’ fat gut. Many seeking a magical and immediate escape from an under-educated life of manual labor and alcohol poisoning flock to pick up their daily lotto ticket or place their “lucky” numbers, as if a million to one isn’t so far-fetched. And no business should be trusted that purposefully eschews visible windows and clocks in order to hide the passage of time. Lo and behold, any state with loose casino laws automatically resembles the inside of Donald Trump’s gentleman’s drawer


04. Pornography
It’s lurid. It’s tasteless. And it’s a goldmine. Just ask Hugh Hefner or Larry Flynt or any infinite-aire that shovels gold from the sex industry. Nothing sells like sex, which is why it is so often introduced, if subliminally, to any cheap-shooting marketing campaign. Directly though, sex in a bottle always finds a customer-base. Nothing breeds desire like nature. Porn is available at the click of a mouse, and on a special shelf (in opaque packaging) at most magazine venders. That’s not to mention seedy stores with conspicuous names like “Adult Mart” or “Pleasure Island”, which make like X-rated Wal-Marts. No Christian activist stands a chance at taking down this invincible Goliath.

03. Alcohol
Legal steadily since the twenties, when the government had the crazy idea to ban this braincell-shedding national pastime and deny itself unruly profits, booze is as potentially dangerous as it is ubiquitous. At any public setting (even Starbucks is getting in on the racket), alcohol is usually available for purchase, and without much restraint so long as the register keeps chiming (and as long as a designated vehicular man-saver is selected). While it seems unfair that its proven hazards outweigh those of marijuana, and still maintains the legal status the plant does not, we won’t soon have a profitable poison at quite the summit which liquor has found itself. Budweiser will be forever both the king of beers and the king of the drug hill.


02. Cigarettes
Unarguably a direct contributor to a smorgasbord of death options, the government has done nothing to do away with this consumable poison; while there may be myriad agencies dedicated to the public safety of any other ingestible product, there is nothing deterring a cylinder of carcinogens from entering countless lungs each day, each hour. The only dissembling action the government has taken is to drive up the tax on the the stuff to levels that should prevent affordability for most consumers. Of course, any addict will find a way to acquire the goods, even scrape together every coin from beneath the couch cushions. In actuality smokers will just be perpetually bitter about the continually rising prices, doing little about it besides lighting up a butt. A perfect circle of death and taxes.


01. Prescription Drugs
This is the most sinister of all the addiction-caterers, in that you’re not even safe from your own doctor. Most every doctor will find a way to peddle a pharmaceutical drug to a person with some kind of condition, real or imaginary; it makes their job easier, and feeds the business (i.e. the healthcare industry) that cuts them a check to be a drug-dealer in disguise. Most prescription drugs, after all, are just synthetic alternatives to what unrefined, impure substances flow through the streets without requiring an RX slip. (Oxycontin is, content-wise, no different from heroine, and consequently is just as addictive and abused as the poppy-based original.) And with new disorders, diseases and conditions fabricated on a daily basis, there will always be a demand to meet the raid-proof supply.

Wednesday 9 May 2012

One of China’s most beautiful nature reserves

One of China’s most beautiful nature reserves, Zhangjiajie.

Has wonderful hiking trails in a serene environment of staggering natural beauty. The Forest Park was established by the state council in 1982 as the 1st national forest park of China. The park is known for it’s unique landscape with lush forests dominated by quartzite sandstone pillars. Bubbling brooks and charming lakes wind around thearea and connect giant caves. On the way up you will pass by the monkey, the deer, the silver pheasant, the love-bird. At every turn the ancient pines will stare, leaning like the crotchety old men they are in their ancient soil.
In spring you will smell the Goddess Flower camellia, the orchid, the Chinese Azelea. In summer your eye will be caught by the sweet gums, Magua trees and the verdant green peaks; in autumn the blazing maples; in winter the frozen beauty of the glaciers. Maybe you will climb the Lotus Flower, maybe the Bright Summit or any of the other 72 peaks hidden by a sea of cloud – many of them still unexplored.Zhangjiajie has wonderful hiking trails in a serene environment of staggering natural beauty.

Thursday 3 May 2012

What are the chemicals we eat every day?



Even the most experienced cook can not fully appreciate the quality of the product in the eyes. In some cases, odor and color play only a function of the beautiful packaging, behind which hides a set of dubious ingredients. The researchers tested a few products to find out where and under what kind of potential danger may be lurking.

Butane
Universal Gas is suitable not only for the lighters. The food industry considers butane as artificial antioxidant. Chemical element is added to chicken nuggets to keep fresh. The dish, which in appearance looks like just cooked, it can be podzapravleno butane.
Most often found in ready-made processed foods with long shelf life, such as frozen foods, crackers, chips and fast food.

Estrogen
༯font>
Elevated levels of estrogen indicates a questionable origin of the product. Most often, a hormone given to cows milk and meat. Estrogen causes rapid development and growth, which increases milk production and the amount of meat products. And while the question "Is it bad" experts answer is negative, to use such products as food physicians strongly recommend.

Powder Spinach
The composition of some green pastry, or at least a hint of it is only indirectly related to the vegetable crops. As a component simulating green, dehydrated, and is used here does not have the nutritional value of spinach. The use of such products as useful as it is dust.

Propylene glycol or antifreeze
The substance is traditionally used in the automotive and cosmetic industries. The reagent does not freeze panes, and also provides water-holding and soothing effect. Because the adverse symptoms were not recorded, the substance was used as a food additive to create these same properties in food.
Potentially hazardous food: confectionery, alcoholic and non-alcoholic carbonated beverages, energy, frozen fruits and poultry.

Vanillin
Since natural vanilla is expensive, and the world needs is a few thousand tons per year, was invented a method for synthesizing the substance of the more accessible parts. Most vanillin is produced from lignin - a byproduct of pulp and paper industry.
Used as a flavor in yogurt, baked goods, beverages and confectionery.


The substance of the glands of the beaver
Aromatic substance extracted from the glands of the beaver. Initially, a mixture designed for medical purposes. Over time, it began to be used in the perfume industry as a natural perfume fixative and odor. In terms of the substance of the food industry can play a raspberry flavoring. It is believed that these days the jet is added only in expensive spirits in practice, beaver gland found in the jelly, ice cream, candy and flavored drinks.
The fact of what constitutes a product, usually written on the package, but for the modern buyer is nothing more than a formality. Going for food, should not be limited to entertaining reading matter on the shelf-life, especially if the product is wrapped in colorful packaging, or sold at a low price is tempting.