Our Insignificance

The realities of nature are really a thing of beauty. Be it the wonderful Sun or the beautiful Moon and everything in between and beyond. And there is a brigade of scientists and students who are unearthing these realities about the Earth and the Universe everyday. Many spend better parts of a year on a single topic while some toil for decades together. All these hard working people have one thing in common --- they are trying their best to expand the horizons of our knowledge. They are helping us understand things that we do not today, but will do tomorrow.

People often are fascinated by what we will know tomorrow --- the future. What will we be able to find out the day after tomorrow. Is there more to the Higgs Boson?(And no, it is not the "God Particle"). What about singularity? How many new life forms will we find at the bottom of the oceans? and many many more such quandaries. I am almost certain that we will answer all these lingering questions and in the process ask many more to be answered. But there are many facts which we do know, and can be equally mesmerizing, if not more. That brings us to today to --- Percent factor.

How big do you think our mighty mother Earth is? Pretty big huh?. Of course, if you compare it with us humans its pretty big. What about when compared to the moon? --- Still pretty big. Now, what about when compared to our own Sun? What do you think?. You are likely to think, "I already know it. The Sun is big and the Earth not so much". And you would be correct too. I did the same when I first thought about it. But then I asked myself one more question, "By how much?". Lets explore.

Lets take the mass of the most commonly known objects in our solar system, namely the gas star we call the Sun, and the planets - Mercury, Venus, Earth, Moon(our satellite), Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto(which used to be a planet but not anymore). Now lets say, we add the masses together of all the objects and lets say that we choose to call it a unit of 100. For convenience sake, lets choose to ignore the gorgeous asteroid belt(the region between Mars and Jupiter) and also ignore all other objects in the Solar system, including but not limited to the Moons of all other planets and the beautiful rings of Saturn.

So the mass of the Sun and that of all other objects combined is 100, say. Now how much do you think does the Earth contribute to it? How much does each individual object contribute?. I may remind you that the Sun is made of just gas and so are the outer planets(Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune). The rocky ones are the inner ones(Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars). So now take a moment and think again. How much do you think does the Earth contribute to the total mass. 5% or 16% or 28% or perhaps 56%?

The answer is: It depends. Not because we don't know it, but because it varies as the decimals in the answer, as will be clear shortly. If you choose 2 decimals the answer is vastly different than if you choose 5 decimals. Below is the explanation.

Sr No	Object	Mass in kg	Percent of Total Mass
			1 Decimal	2 Decimals	5 Decimals	7 Decimals
1	Sun	1.99E+30	99.9%	99.87%	99.86604%	99.8660386%
2	Jupiter	1.90E+27	0.1%	0.10%	0.09532%	0.0953223%
3	Saturn	5.68E+26	0.0%	0.03%	0.02854%	0.0285405%
4	Neptune	1.02E+26	0.0%	0.01%	0.00514%	0.0051427%
5	Uranus	8.68E+25	0.0%	0.00%	0.00436%	0.0043584%
6	Earth	5.97E+24	0.0%	0.00%	0.00030%	0.0002999%
7	Venus	4.87E+24	0.0%	0.00%	0.00024%	0.0002444%
8	Mars	6.42E+23	0.0%	0.00%	0.00003%	0.0000322%
9	Mercury	3.30E+23	0.0%	0.00%	0.00002%	0.0000166%
10	Moon	7.35E+22	0.0%	0.00%	0.00000%	0.0000037%
11	Pluto	1.25E+22	0.0%	0.00%	0.00000%	0.0000006%
12	Total Mass	1.99E+30

When our results are just one decimal, everything appears to contribute 0% (other than Jupiter which is a meager 0.1%). Earth's contribution appear only after we expand the results to show 5 decimals.
Only when you get the calculation to show 7 decimals you see the numbers for pluto. It is that small.

I love these numbers. Not because it is an great exercise in mathematics or percentage, but because it reveals a very profound reality. A profound reality about our own existence. One that should make us humble. And that reality is that we, Humans, are extremely insignificant in comparison with the Solar system, let alone the universe. We should ponder about this fact for just a little bit and then maybe we would realize that not all the things we fight about, worry about, are really important in the larger picture. That we are NOT the center of the universe.

Next time you are outside take a moment to look up --- watch the beautiful clouds, the Sun, the Moon and the stars and --- Enjoy.

Thanks for reading.
Till next time
Sushant

Resources:

1. More info about other planets - NASA - Planetary System
2. Interesting Facts about other planets - Ratio to Earth Values

Book Review - Tea: A Global History by Helen Saberi

“I say let the world go to hell, but I should always have my tea.”
― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Notes from Underground

I started to read this book too as I do with all books I read, with a cup of tea. A wonderful cup of masala chai brewed with whole milk. As I sipped my cup of tea, this book took me through the accidental beginnings of tea and the subsequent cultivation of it in the Meng Mountains of China around 53 B.C or even earlier to the more recent plantations in England in 1980s.

The story of tea is very peculiar. It has transcended cultures, civilizations, & even brought about social change in society. Its drinking is performed through very elaborate rituals & ceremony. It is even responsible for the creation of one of the most modern nations on earth. All because of tea.

It is a drink which everyone can afford from Kings to servants, From Presidents to the general public, it crosses the class barriers. Democrats,Communists & Autocrats all drink it alike. People on all the continents drink it, and everyone has added their own signature to its preparation. An easily forgotten fact is that it was taxing of tea that started the American revolution for a country that ultimately became The United States of America.

It is no surprise that it is the most popular beverage in the world, second only to the all essential water. Tracing through the history of tea is travelling through human history. Through the old silk route and then the new, through the HinduKush mountains to the deserts of Baghdad. Through the dutch fields to the rest of Europe and Americas. From the great Japanese tea gardens to never ending Russian empire.

Brewed with water, milk, butter, or spices with varying processes each different and having its own unique flavor. We transform the leaves of Camellia sinensis and forget to ponder how this little shrub has transformed us in turn. Whether it is drunk for enjoyment or for healing or just for warmth, Tea is ubiquitous with harmony, civility & hospitality. A basic understanding of this wonderful drink is as essential as any other.
This book takes us beautifully through the ages and various cultures and gives us a glimpse of these amazing leaves we call Tea.

As I get up to make myself another cup, I encourage you to brew your own and enjoy life with - Tea.

Resources:

1. Tea: A Global History by Helen Saberi
2. Tea: Wikipedia

Mathemagics

On a recent trip to India, I was asked by my nephew and niece to suggest some idea for their science project. I suggested them to look for a book in our library that I used to read growing up and had lots of fun doing so. I distinctly remembered that it was a Russian publication and after some searching we found the book. I had a great time revisiting the old memories and the kids had fun trying the brain teasers. Here it is

Fun with Maths and Physics : Brain Teasers Tricks Illusions by Ya. I. Perelman (MIR Publishers Moscow)

Its always a great pleasure to see kids being amazed by science and maths.

I came back from my wonderful trip and I forgot all about it. A few days ago I was discussing with a friend of how mathematics gets complex for high school students and that too so quickly, that it may become challenging for them to grasp all concepts and formulas. That's when I recollected one very neat & unique way I understood a basic formula which we all know too well:

 (a+b)² = a² + 2ab + b² 

Now how does one explain this to a young impressionable student or friend?  Why does it have to be this way only?  Why not 3ab, 8ab, b³or a⁵. Here is a good visual example that can help explain the concept more clearly.

To find the answer to (a+b)² = ?

1. Consider a line L. Lets say we divide the line into 2 non-equal parts, "a" and "b". 

    L = a + b

2.   Lets construct a square with side length as L consisting of a and b.

 The area of this square is L x L which in turn is (a+b) x (a+b) = (a+b)² 

3.   How can we simplify the problem? Lets divide the square visually into "a" and "b"as follows.

 4.  And now finally we will assign the values of the area four different quadrilaterals to get the value of        (a+b)²  as shown below. 

 From the above we can say, (a+b)² = a²+ab + ab + b²  = a² + 2ab + b² .

Now we don't have to remember what the formula is, because you now know how you got to it. Now we understand it and that I think is a phenomenal thing. Once we grasp a concept we are unlikely to forget and more likely to put it in use.

I hope this was entertaining. Till next time..ciao

Sushant

What is Science & How does it work

So, What is science? --- Everyone knows the answer. We've studied it all along. Right from the school days, we've been doing science. We have attempted the math problems, the chemical equations, the angular momentum questions, and many many more from Geography to Social Sciences.
But even after so many years, can we define what science is, if asked? That's the question I want to take up today.
At the end of it, some of you will have the "I knew it all along" feeling. In that case, this post will be just a refresher for you smart cookies out there.

"Lets begin at the beginnning" (as the King said in Alice in Wonderland)
We all know that much of what once was Natural Science or Philosophy is now what we call Science. So what made the Natural Science and/or Philosophy into Science. Whats the potion?
Here is one of the definition from Merriam-Webster.

Sci·ence: noun
1 : the state of knowing : knowledge as distinguished from ignorance or misunderstanding

But is this enough? Doesn't seem like it. We want our children to be able to "do" science, but have difficulties in understanding & explaining what it is at the core of it.
Is it just a collection of facts about the natural world?
Is it a set of laws & theories?
Is it the definitions?
Is it the tools you use to solve the problems?
It is all of the above and then some.
It is a way of understanding the natural world. It is way of thinking.

And how it works is extremely important to understand. Because once you have mastered the concept of how science progresses, you might be able to make decisions for yourself and most importantly, it might give you clarity in distinguishing the real from the pseudo.

So lets try to understand the underlying mechanics of it.
In its most rudimentary form, it follows the structure:
First you need a hypothesis;(A hypothesis is not a guess, contrary to popular belief; it has to be testable)
Many experiments are performed;
Large dataset is collected from the experiments;
And finally, Comparison of hypothesis with the results are made.
If  the hypothesis and results match, you have a very high degree of confidence in your hypothesis. If on the other hand, the results don't match, you refute the hypothesis and start over. 

Following is a great visual explaining the process.

Image borrowed from: http://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/0_0_0/howscienceworks_02

One of the hallmarks of the process is the provision of falsifying your hypothesis: The circumstances under which your  hypothesis would be invalidated. What evidence would one need in order to contradict the idea?.  For instance, to disprove evolution, the discovery of fossil mammals in Precambrian rocks would suffice.

In reality there are many layers in each scientific step. It is almost never an individual working out all the details, it is always a cooperative endeavor. Rigorous testing by peers and their reviews are of great importance. You put your ideas out, to be checked, to be criticised, to be evaluated, to be reviewed by the best in your field. Their feedback will always be helpful; either to support and advance the idea or to revise it and sometimes to throw it away altogether and begin anew.

What once was just an idea, once it passes through the fires of test and challenge, once it withstands the scientific rigor, what emerges is extremely stable & fundamentally sound. We are all in this together, we are all scientists in ways - small and large. Whether it is trying to fix a kid's toy or to find out the Schwarzschild radius. We all are scientists.

As Claude Lévi-Strauss, the father of modern anthropology, is attributed to have said,

"The scientist is not a person who gives the right answers, he’s one who asks the right questions."

In this age of information, and there is way too much of it, and therefore, today it is imperative for us to identify the veritable from the phony. The scientific process helps us decipher the information and can lead us a little closer to the truth. We might not have the right answers or even any answers, but at least we can begin correctly, by asking the right questions.

Asking questions is almost always invariably the beginning of a great journey which might challenge our own beliefs, some sacred some not so, but we must be steadfast in our desire to get the answers, if we follow the proper process, we will get there. Let us then keep up on this path and begin asking - the right questions.

Resources:

1. What is Science?

2. Science Process FlowChart

3. A Tabular History of Scientific Ideas That Challenged Fundamental Notions of the World

Introduction

For the last few years I have been reading a lot of non-fiction especially science. Some about cosmos, some about the biological sciences, and others still about human nature.

As I discussed these topics with friends and family, what surprised me the most was the fact that so many people did not get what science is and/or what it does and how it works. 

After quoting some form of the most clichéd argument, most of which boils down to some variety of -- "science cannot explain everything", they discard even the most rudimentary scientific facts and conclusions as if they are up for debate.  

We all know very well that negatives are really hard to prove, if not impossible. Nobody can prove, for example, a very popular quote, which goes like this "There is a teapot revolving somewhere between Earth and Mars". Now it is very hard to "scientifically" prove that there does not exist a teapot revolving somewhere between Earth and Mars; unless we have checked every object in that area and made sure that none is shaped as a teapot, but we don't need to do that. We can dismiss such claims even if we haven't explored all the possibilities ourselves or even if we don't have a PhD from MIT. We know that sufficiently large objects are spherical in shape because of gravity and smaller objects like asteroids are irregular. 

As my blog evolves I would like to argue for the wonders of Science & Nature; and against Pseudoscience & Superstition and hopefully make the readers think about the issues, at the very least.
Newton is attributed to saying, "If I have seen further it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants", so I too will be using the works of Men & Women from all walks of life, in an attempt to better understand this magnificent world in which we live.

Sushant