Science blog

Rockets - They are one of the most enjoyable pyrotechnic devices. Small lightweight rockets can be made using Black powder, which is used popularly as rocket propellant and is easy to mix. We have explained the basic steps that can follow to make a simple rocket. First make the black powder mix. Use Potassium Nitrate, Air Float Charcoal,80 Mesh Charcoal, Sulfur in the ratio of 16:6:3:4. This is a optimum mix ratio, grind all the mix into a container and make a fine free flowing powder. Pass it though a mesh preferably 20 Mesh steel mesh. Take a 4 Oz Engine tube for making the Body of the rocket. Now ram the fine grained black powder mix into the tube up to 80% and a little air room. You can use a 'ram through funnel’, which will make our task easy, the rammed materials inside the body of the rocket should be hard. Now fill in clay after making it a little moist and fill it in the space where the room for air has been left. Now punch a thin hole in the clay using a thin object, say needle. This is for the fuse. A ready made fuse can be obtained from a firecracker or by coating a cotton string with the same black powder material. Attach the fuse to the under part of the rocket body through the clay, also make a conical head of paper materials. Now tape a long stick to the rocket for stability. The rocket is ready now, bury the stick in the sand upright and light the fuse, watch it skyrocket upwards.

A portable USB Digital Microscope that fits in the palm of your hand, providing remarkable picture and video quality. Effort-less USB plug and play setup and the easy to install software allows magnification 10X-200X with the ability to display & capture snapshots and movies on your PC. The microscope is detachable from the stand to allow you to get closer to large objects. This allpurpose USB Digital Microscope provides unmatched features and flexibility suiting a broad range of applications with advanced image processing and webcam capabilities. It is a cost effective and a innovative way to discover, capture & share still images and videos. This product is wide used in following industries: Jewelry / Gem Industry Lab / Pharmaceutical R & D Education and Research Insects / Plants Dissection Dermatology/ Medical Analysis Paint / Plastic Industry Antique / Collection Textile / Printing Industry Computer / Electronics Currency / Credit Card Signature / Reading Watch / Painting Hardware / Chemical Industry

Corn pollen more than 80,000 years old was found in Mexico. Proper popcorn was known in China, Sumatra, and India for at least 5000 years. Popped popcorn and kernels 5600 years old were discovered in the "Bat Cave" in New Mexico in 1948-1950. Popcorn kernels - ready to pop - were unearthed in ancient Peruvian tombs. In a cave is southern Utah, fluffy, fresh looking, white popcorn was dated to 1000 years ago. Popcorn was used by the Aztecs and Indians as a decorative motif in headdresses, necklaces, and ornaments on statues of divinities. In the 16th century, both Hernando Cortes (in Mexico) and Christopher Columbus (in the West Indies) described these unusual uses of the snack. Father Bernardino de Sahagun (1499-1590), a Franciscan priest with deep interest in Mexican culture, described a ritual in honor of the Aztec gods of fisheries: "They scattered before him parched corn, called momochitl, a kind of corn which bursts when parched and discloses its contents and makes itself look like a very white flower; they said these were hailstones given to the god of water." French explorers in the early 17th century reported that the Iroquois Indians in the Great Lakes region drank popcorn beer and ate popcorn soup. In either 1621, or in 1630, popcorn was brought as a gift by the Indian Quadequina, brother of Chief Massasoit of the Wampanoag tribe, to the colonists in Plymouth, Massachusetts at their first Thanksgiving dinner in the new land. This may be an apocryphal story but, in any case, it would not have been popcorn as we know it today. An oiled ear was held on a stick over an open fire and the popped kernels would be chewed off. Popcorn later served as a morning cereal, eaten with cream or milk. The colonists called it "popped corn", "parching corn", or "rice corn". Most of the world's popcorn ("prairie gold") is produced in Nebraska, Iowa and Indiana, in the United States. The kernel is a seed containing a plant embryo and its soft, starchy food. The seed is protected by a hard shell. Heating the kernel converts water held in the seed into pressurized steam which causes the kernel to pop and the starch to expand to 40 times its original size.

Many cultures around the world drink tea. Some people drink tea as part of social interaction, and others drink it for their health. Specific teas, such as black tea and green tea, have been tested for their positive affects on people's health. And studies have shown that these two teas can in fact benefit your body. And not just by providing a little pick me up in the morning either. Studies have shown that green tea can slow the growth of cancer cells. Everyone should take notice of these anti-carcinogenic properties, especially in an age of tremendous pollution. Studies by the National Cancer Institute, in America, have shown that powerful plant antioxidants within the tea will stunt the progression of cancerous cells. The cancer preventing properties of tea are just one of the wonderful properties of the drink. Black tea has been found to increase the presence of certain anti-bacterial proteins in the body. Not just by a little bit either, but a considerable amount. When compared to coffee drinkers, tea drinkers actually had a concentration of disease preventing protein that was 400% higher. Clearly, these are significant health benefits to be had from drinking tea. The are even more benefits though. Mental acuity can be increased as well. A study of elderly people found that those who drink tea actually reduce their risk of mental problems by half when compared to people who don't drink tea. And the tea drinkers only had to drink a couple cups a day to realize those amazing benefits. Green tea can help increase the rate at which calories are burned in the body. The chemicals found in green tea allow the body to more efficiently burn fat for energy. Evidence also exist to show that drinking this type of tea can help the body reduce chemicals associated with stress. While this tea forestalls senility, it also more generally improves brain functioning in all segments of the population. The caffeine contained in green tea will help improve memory and give one sharper thinking. This tea also contains chemicals specific to plants that slow down the growth of bacteria that cause bad breath. The health benefits of drinking green and black teas are quite remarkable. The same chemicals that slow bad breath can also help people with certain bowel diseases. The bacteria limiting properties of the tea helps ease the discomfort associated with such complications. While there are obviously a myriad of health benefits directly related to the physical properties of these teas, there is also mental health relaxation that is associated with preparing a warm beverage. Taking time out of your day to prepare something that is nourishing to your body can really allow you to calm down and retreat from the stresses of everyday life. Learning about all the different types of teas can be quite an enjoyable experience. Not only will you learn about the disparate boiling techniques for each tea, but you will learn each every tea's specific chemical properties.