Aurora 2005

EDITORIAL

Aurora is GIKI's first and only official science magazine. First published by GIKI Science Society in 1999, it has been revived this year, to cater to the growing demand for such a publication.

Aurora's basic aim is to provide a platform for GIKI students to voice their theories and research in various scientific fields. Also, Aurora aims to serve as GIKI's voice in the scientific community, giving an insight as to the scientific activity going on inside GIKI.

This issue of Aurora includes Technical articles, Interviews, and a fun section, as well as Final Year Project abstracts and Research papers by prominent people of the field, including many of our own faculty members.

It is a great opportunity for GIKI students to express their thoughts and ideas, and take their first steps into the world of scientific research and publication.

Abdul Wasae Asad Kalimi Murtaza Safri

Umair Sadiq Waqar Nayyar Umair Tariq Abdul Basit

Aamir Shah Bilal Riaz Omar Rana

Abdul Hannan Foaad Ahmed GIKI Science Society

Dr. Jameel-un-nabi Dean, Student affairs Giki institute

Apart from being a centre of excellence with regard to academic pursuits, GIKI is also known nationwide for its elaborated and impressive extra curricular culture. Science society has always played a very pivotal role to enrich this culture.

AROURA is the official scientific magazine published by GIKI Science Society. It was last published in SPRING 1999 by batch 6. I must congratulate Science Society for reviving this tradition with such a great quality. All the articles and papers from the Faculty and Students of GIK Institute describe the newly emerging technologies. The idea of Science Timeline is also excellently implemented. In short, it is a great effort put up by GIKI Science Society and I once again congratulate them for their hectic effort.

Dr. Ibrahim qazi Advisor, Giki Science Society

Being the Advisor of GIKI Science Society, I will like to take the honor to congratulate GIKI Science Society on Publishing AROURA.

Over the years, the Science Society has matured significantly. From humble beginnings, it has grown to become one of the most prestigious societies in GIKI, with an enviable reputation all over the country.

AROURA is the official scientific magazine of the Institute. It was last published in SPRING 1999 by batch 6. It is a quality publication and one of major publication of its kind in the country. I once again like to appreciate the efforts of Science Society members and especially the editorial board ofAROURAfor bringing out this magazine.

Aurora 2005 Contents

Faculty Advisor Dr. Ibrahim Qazi Was Big Bang really the beginning of Time? 1 Deterministic Chaos - There is a method in the madness. 3 A 4 Coordinator R Number Theory T Plasma - The fourth state of matter Asad Kalimi I 6 C Quantum Teleportation 7 L Biological Nanotechnology - Nanomachines E 9 S The journey to human powered flight Editor in Chief 10 Abdul Wasae Bermuda Triangle 11 Polar Aurora 11

Editorial Board I N T Interview with Dr. Abdullah Sadiq - Rector E Billal Riaz R 15 V GIKI I Umair Sadiq E Umair Tariq W Waqar Nay yar

Abdul Hannan R EP Foaad Ahmed S Closed form approximation solutions for the EA AP restricted circular three body problem RE CR 17 H Technical Team

Murtaza Safri Human Computer Interfacing using A Aamir Shah B Biological signals 21 S F T Omar Saeed Rana Y R P A 21 C Orca T S Neuro-Mod 22 Layout Design Abdul Basit Stars - How they originate and how do they A R change in their life cycle. T I 19 C Cover Design L E S The fundamental forces of the universe Omar Saeed Rana 23

Contact: [email protected] C Crossword 26 B R R A A C Brain Teasers 27 Copyright 2005GIKI SS I K N E R S Enigma 28 1 Aurora 2005

A R Was Big Bang Really the T Beginning of Time? By Waqar Nayyar I Was the big bang really the beginning of time? Or cosmologists to much the same conclusion. The theory did the universe exist before then? Such a question holds that space and time are soft, malleable entities. On seemed almost blasphemous only a decade ago. Most the largest scales, space is naturally dynamic, expanding C cosmologists insisted that it simply made no sense--that or contracting over time, carrying matter like driftwood on to contemplate a time before the big bang was like asking the tide. Astronomers confirmed in the 1920s that our L for directions to a place north of the North Pole. But universe is currently expanding: distant galaxies move developments in theoretical physics, especially the rise of apart from one another. One consequence, as physicists string theory, have changed their perspective. The pre- Stephen Hawking and Roger Penrose proved in the E bang universe has become the latest frontier of 1960s, is that time cannot extend back indefinitely.As you cosmology. play cosmic history backward in time, the galaxies all S come together to a single infinitesimal point, known as a The new willingness to consider what might have singularity--almost as if they were descending into a happened before the bang is the latest swing of an black hole. Each galaxy or its precursor is squeezed intellectual pendulum that has rocked back and forth for down to zero size. Quantities such as density, millennia. In one form or another, the issue of the ultimate temperature and spacetime curvature become infinite. beginning has engaged philosophers and theologians in The singularity is the ultimate cataclysm, beyond which nearly every culture. It is entwined with a grand set of our cosmic ancestry cannot extend. concerns, one famously encapsulated in an 1897 painting by Paul Gauguin: D'ou venons-nous? Que Strange Coincidence: sommes-nous? Ou allons-nous? "Where do we come The unavoidable singularity poses serious from? What are we? Where are we going?" The piece problems for cosmologists. In particular, it sits uneasily depicts the cycle of birth, life and death--origin, identity with the high degree of homogeneity and isotropy that the and destiny for each individual--and these personal universe exhibits on large scales. For the cosmos to look concerns connect directly to cosmic ones. We can trace broadly the same everywhere, some kind of our lineage back through the generations, back through communication had to pass among distant regions of our animal ancestors, to early forms of life and protolife, to space, coordinating their properties. But the idea of such the elements synthesized in the primordial universe, to communication contradicts the old cosmological the amorphous energy deposited in space before that. paradigm. Does our family tree extend forever backward? Or do its roots terminate? Is the cosmos as impermanent as we To be specific, consider what has happened over are? the 13.7 billion years since the release of the cosmic microwave background radiation. The distance between The ancient Greeks debated the origin of time galaxies has grown by a factor of about 1,000 (because of fiercely. Aristotle, taking the no-beginning side, invoked the expansion), while the radius of the observable the principle that out of nothing, nothing comes. If the universe has grown by the much larger factor of about universe could never have gone from nothingness to 100,000 (because light outpaces the expansion). We see somethingness, it must always have existed. For this and parts of the universe today that we could not have seen other reasons, time must stretch eternally into the past 13.7 billion years ago. Indeed, this is the first time in and future. Christian theologians tended to take the cosmic history that light from the most distant galaxies opposite point of view. Augustine contended that God has reached the Milky Way. exists outside of space and time, able to bring these constructs into existence as surely as he could forge Nevertheless, the properties of the Milky Way are other aspects of our world. When asked, "What was God basically the same as those of distant galaxies. It is as doing before he created the world?"Augustine answered, though you showed up at a party only to find you were "Time itself being part of God's creation, there was simply wearing exactly the same clothes as a dozen of your no before!" closest friends. If just two of you were dressed the same, it might be explained away as coincidence, but a dozen Einstein's general theory of relativity led modern suggests that the partygoers had coordinated their attire

500,000 - 400,000 years ago 3500 BC 3000 BC Humans begin to control fire for Sumerians invent the wheel. It Abacus was invented in useful purposes. The use of fire consists of two or three southwest Asia use an early probably develops in four wooden segments held form of the abacus to perform stages: observing natural together by transverse struts calculations. Other early sources, acquiring fire from that rotate on a wooden pole. civilizations also used some natural sources, learning to Evidence indicates that the form of the abacus. make fire, and learning to wheel was invented only once control fire. and then spread to Asia and Europe. GIKI Science Society 2

in advance. In cosmology, the number is not a dozen but To know what really happened, physicists need to tens of thousands--the number of independent yet subsume relativity in a quantum theory of gravity. The statistically identical patches of sky in the microwave task has occupied theorists from Einstein onward, but background. progress was almost zero until the mid-1980s.

One possibility is that all those regions of space Evolution of a Revolution: were endowed at birth with identical properties--in other Today two approaches stand out. One, going by words, that the homogeneity is mere coincidence. the name of loop quantum gravity, retains Einstein's Physicists, however, have thought about two more theory essentially intact but changes the procedure for natural ways out of the impasse: the early universe was implementing it in quantum mechanics [see "Atoms of much smaller or much older than in standard cosmology. Space and Time," by Lee Smolin; Scientific American, Either (or both, acting together) would have made January]. Practitioners of loop quantum gravity have intercommunication possible. taken great strides and achieved deep insights over the past several years. Still, their approach may not be The most popular choice follows the first revolutionary enough to resolve the fundamental alternative. It postulates that the universe went through a problems of quantizing gravity. A similar problem faced period of accelerating expansion, known as inflation, particle theorists after Enrico Fermi introduced his early in its history. Before this phase, galaxies or their effective theory of the weak nuclear force in 1934. All precursors were so closely packed that they could easily efforts to construct a quantum version of Fermi's theory coordinate their properties. During inflation, they fell out failed miserably. What was needed was not a new of contact because light was unable to keep pace with the technique but the deep modifications brought by the frenetic expansion. After inflation ended, the expansion electroweak theory of Sheldon L. Glashow, Steven Wein- began to decelerate, so galaxies gradually came back berg andAbdus Salam in the late 1960s. into one another's view. The second approach, which I consider more Physicists ascribe the inflationary spurt to the promising, is string theory--a truly revolutionary potential energy stored in a new quantum field, the modification of Einstein's theory. This article will focus on inflation, about 10-35 second after the big bang. Potential it, although proponents of loop quantum gravity claim to energy, as opposed to rest mass or kinetic energy, leads reach many of the same conclusions. to gravitational repulsion. Rather than slowing down the expansion, as the gravitation of ordinary matter would, String theory grew out of a model written down in the inflation accelerated it. Proposed in 1981, inflation 1968 to describe the world of nuclear particles (such as has explained a wide variety of observations with protons and neutrons) and their interactions. Despite precision [see "The Inflationary Universe," by Alan H. much initial excitement, the model failed. It was Guth and Paul J. Steinhardt; Scientific American, May abandoned several years later in favor of quantum 1984; and "Four Keys to Cosmology," Special report; chromodynamics, which describes nuclear particles in A Scientific American, February]. A number of possible terms of more elementary constituents, quarks. Quarks theoretical problems remain, though, beginning with the are confined inside a proton or a neutron, as if they were questions of what exactly the inflation was and what gave tied together by elastic strings. In retrospect, the original R it such a huge initial potential energy. string theory had captured those stringy aspects of the nuclear world. Only later was it revived as a candidate for T A second, less widely known way to solve the combining general relativity and quantum theory. puzzle follows the second alternative by getting rid of the Continued on page 24 singularity. If time did not begin at the bang, if a long era I preceded the onset of the present cosmic expansion, matter could have had plenty of time to arrange itself The Sun loses up to a billion kilograms every second because C smoothly. Therefore, researchers have reexamined the of the solar wind that blasts out from its surface. reasoning that led them to infer a singularity. Uranus is the only planet whose poles are warmer than its L One of the assumptions--that relativity theory is equator. always valid--is questionable. Close to the putative The tail of a comet always points away from the sun due to E singularity, quantum effects must have been important, even dominant. Standard relativity takes no account of pressure of solar wind (particles ejected from the surface of S such effects, so accepting the inevitability of the sun). singularity amounts to trusting the theory beyond reason.

2000 BC 194 BC 250 AD 517 AD Babylonians solve quadratic Eratoshthenes a Greek Diophantus pioneered in John Philoponus determined equations quadratic equations geographer devised the first solving certain indeterminate that falling objects do so with and demonstrate their world map, including the algebraic equations. the same acceleration, or discovery of what is now called features of latitude and 'impetus,' the Pythagorean Theorem. longitude. 3 Aurora 2005

A R Deterministic Chaos - There T is a method in the madness By Umair Sadiq

I The stars in the sky have always been seen as a another. One of the balls is then hit off the other in two symbol of harmony and order. The Copernican, different experiments with a slightly different angle but heliocentric image of the world is so convincing in its from the same starting position in both cases. After each C simplicity that it was easy to assume for a long time that collision, the angle between the two trajectories of the the course of the planets will never change, that the solar balls is significantly greater than before. If we consider L system is therefore stable in a sense. colliding atoms of a gas, each disturbance in the angles of their flight trajectories will be increased on each Towards the end of the nineteenth century, additional collision with other gas atoms. Information E astronomy was undergoing a highly successful period, about the original direction of the trajectory will very soon building on Newton's law of gravity and on the progress be totally lost. The phenomenon described are known as S made in analytical mechanics. The planets Neptune and deterministic chaos and this has two characteristic Uranus were predicted and discovered as a result of defining features: firstly, almost every initial disturbance deviations between calculated and observed data of a chaotic system, however small, will intensify itself regarding the movements of Jupiter and Saturn. continually and, secondly, a specific range of values, Following this, King Oscar II of Sweden offered a prize for fixed for all components of the system, will be adhered to proof of the stability of the solar system. The prize was during this process (e.g. 360 degrees for the angle of finally awarded to a French mathematician, Henri impact). These two together result in irregular and Poincare, but for proving that this proof could not be unpredictable movements that appear to be random. given! Poincare discovered what are now known as hyperbolic structures in the space of the planets Even in this chaos, certain space-time patterns encompassing their positional and momentum develop over longer periods of time and these generally coordinates (phase space), which make it practically have a fractal structure: they are known as strange impossible to trace the courses of the planets in the long attractors. Although long term predictions of the course of term: planetary movement turns out to be chaotic on a motion are practically impossible, we can have by long time scale. modern aids a deep insight in the phenomenon. A characteristic signature of chaotic behavior in a system is What still appeared to be a peculiar quirk of the fact that its sequence over time can be described only planetary movement in Poincare's time was soon to be an by a superposition of a continuum of periodic essential element of natural laws. Nearly a hundred years movements. The equations of motion are purely later, this chaotic behavior was being found in almost deterministic and involve no random elements, but they every field of science: comprehensive experimental and are nonlinear. Chaos requires only a few degrees of numerical studies in biological, ecological, chemical, freedom, but it is not limited to simple systems with few physical and other systems constantly revealed the same degrees of freedom. seemingly random, irregular movements, the same long- term or even short-term unpredictability. Chaos is We encounter chance and statistics in Nature in everywhere! Future weather, for example, can be three different ways. Firstly, we have an inherently mathematically worked out in a principle, but any great statistical character of quantum mechanics, about which degree of accuracy is simply not attainable for more than we obtain information from the laws of probability a short period. amplitudes, which are in themselves strict. Secondly, we have deterministic chaotic motion occurring as a result of What is remarkable about this form of chaos is nonlinear, classical laws of nature, with all the known that it does not develop from a large number of unknown random elements, such as unpredictability and influences, like noise in electrical circuits, for example, irregularity of sequence. Thirdly, we have chance, that is caused by the disordered movements of myriad originating from the interplay of many individual electrons. It is rather the result of the nonlinear law of components (electrons, molecules, grains, chunks of motion, which is otherwise entirely deterministic. How dust in Saturn's rings, star clusters etc). We know by now can we understand this? Let us first imagine a billiard that for many statistical phenomenon of a macroscopic table with two balls on it at some distance from one nature, it is irrelevant whether the particles move

750 AD 800 AD 850 - 900 AD Paper was invented by the Jabber bin Hayyan, did - Water mills were developed to Chinese. wonders in the department of supply mechanical power to chemistry, tried to create gold drive machinery etc. from sulphur and mercury. -Moors in Spain prepared pure copper by reacting its salts with iron, a forerunner of electroplating. GIKI Science Society 4

According to the laws of quantum mechanics or the It could well be said that deterministic chaos will classical, nonlinear laws. It is solely the vast number of have an important part to play in future high-speed particles involved that causes macroscopically random computer chips that work with “ballistic” electrons. The behavior that we graphically describe as “noise”. As was insights gained in the meantime concerning the analysis recently discovered, this noise can even cause of chaotic time sequences are increasingly also being resonance vibrations (“stochastic resonance”) and used outside the field of physics in medicine for the directed motion. It also has a decisive influence on the evaluation of electrocardiograms and course of every chemical reaction and might be relevant electroencephalograms, for example, and in quality for the way in which even muscles work (biological control or in the analysis of stock market prices. nanomachines). Number Theory By Foaad Ahmed Tahir

Since the dawn of mankind, man has been remainder is 0, then the number is prime. Initially we take endeavoring to make his life better and more nas4. comfortable. In this quest he began discovering and For example we have 31= 25 -1, where the prime number inventing new things. This led to the birth of mathematics. pis5. The first thing that led to mathematics was numbers. 1. We have n=4,n-22 = 14, 14 mod 31 = 14. However shortly man began to investigate these 2. We have n=14,n-22 = 194, 194 mod 31 = 8. numbers and thus discovered some remarkable 3 We have n=8,n-22 = 62, 62 mod 31 = 0. properties of theirs. This led to the birth of Number This algorithm has been performed 5-2=3 times Theory. This deals with all the abstract properties of and the final result is 0. So the number 31 is prime. This numbers which connects set of numbers. These algorithm is so efficient that the largest prime number and properties have found numerous uses in our everyday the 42nd Mersenne prime number so far found is 225,964,951 lives. Some of the properties of numbers are described - 1, having 7,816,230 digits. It has great practical uses as below. well. Because of the fact that prime numbers are so hard to factorize, they are used to secure financial dealings by Prime Numbers: encryption. Thus an abstract property such as primality is Prime numbers have fascinated men since the also of great use in everyday lives. beginning. They seem to contain magical powers among A them in that they cannot be divided wholly by any number Perfect Numbers: other than itself and 1. A lot of advancement has been Perfect numbers are numbers which are the sum R made in mathematics due to research done in of their factors other than the number itself. For example 6 investigating prime numbers. Although the criterion of = 1+2+3 is the smallest perfect number. Perfect numbers T prime number is simple, yet to find large prime numbers is also have a relationship with Mersenne prime numbers a long process using the simple factorization method. For as each of these prime numbers is associated with a this purpose a special type of prime numbers called perfect number. If p is a Mersenne prime number then the I Mersenne prime numbers is the main field of interest for triangular number p(p+1)/2 is a perfect number, this can finding large prime numbers. These prime numbers are of be shown as follows: p C the form 2 -1 where p is itself prime. The advantage for Let Mersenne Prime number be p = 2n 1, then such numbers is that there is an algorithm for finding out the perfect number is P=p(p+1)/2 = (2n -1)2n-1 .Thus the its primality. The algorithm goes like this: sum of factors of the perfect number is given by L

1. Takea number n and square it. S=1+2+…+2n-1 + (2n -1)(1+2+…+2n-2) 2 E 2. Now subtract two from it, we have n -2. =2n-1 + (2n-1)(2n-1-1) 3. Now divide then-22 by the number p and take the = (2n-1)(2n-1-1+1) whole remainder as n. = (2n-1)2n-1 S =P This process is repeated p-2 times and if the final

1000 AD 1044 AD 1100'sAD 1145 AD Ibn al-Haitam introduced the Chinese found the recipe of -The concept of Blast furnace Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra idea that light rays emanate in gunpowder. was established. explained the Arabic system of straight lines in all directions -Alchemists had developed the numeration and the use of the from every point on a luminous art of distillation to the stage at symbol 0. surface. which distillates could be captured by cooling in a flask, and wine could be distilled to yield aqua vitae. 5 Aurora 2005

A Thus the sum of factors of the perfect number whose square is 1 more than itself while the reciprocal is 1 equals itself. Hence with the discovery of every new less than itself. It is (1+√5)/2 which comes out to be about Mersenne prime number a new perfect number is also 1.61. This number has the property that geometrical R discovered. However no odd perfect number has been object having this ratio seem pleasant to the eye. If the found as yet and there is no proof that none exists, if there sides of rectangle have this ratio then it looks pleasant. T is one it is extremely large. Thus this series has its uses and is found everywhere in the nature. Fibonacci Series: I This is the series 0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21, … where every number is the sum of the previous two terms. This C series was discovered by Fibonacci also known as Leonardo of Pisa. He thought of the following problem:

L A closed compound is left with a rabbit which starts breeding after two months but thereafter breeds E monthly. The newborns also breed similarly. What will be the number of rabbits as the months progress?

S The answer as it emerges is the Fibonacci series. This series is found everywhere in the universe. If the number of petals on flowers are counted they are arranged in the form of Fibonacci numbers, 1 in centre then 2,3,5,8,… as we move out radially . If a rectangle is formed with sides having length equal to two consecutive numbers, and then a square with side equal to the shorter side is made inside it, the new inscribed rectangle also has sides equal to consecutive Fibonacci numbers. If this process is repeated and then the centers of the squares are joined and the curve smoothened, then the resulting curve is Fibonacci curve. If the spiral galaxies are observed then the spiral is fibonaccian. Similarly, the horns of animals have the fibonaccian spiral. If the ratios of two relatively large consecutive fionaccian numbers are taken it emerges as the golden ratio. This is a number

Nanoelectronics By Umair Sadiq Quantum-confinement nanostructures on devices and systems based on conductive molecular semiconductors and monomolecular electronics (single materials; while it is used generally for thin film or "low- Youarenottheonlyone..... molecules as electronic devices) are emerging dimensional" molecular materials, it is to be stressed that technologies that would realize extremely large scale the properties featured by the molecular material in this integrated, extremely low-power consumption electronic case are bulk, not single-molecule properties. circuits and powerful computers of very small size. This is The progress in Molecular Nanotechnology a kind of nanotechnology that will have a great impact on looks closely related to advances in Nanoelectronics for many markets other than the electronic appliances and control purposes. Supramolecular science (chemistry computer market, in the near future. Just as what and physics) is supplying tools and processes toward the happened with the term "nanotechnology", there is some development of complex molecular electronic structures, confusion about what is meant by "molecular because supramolecular structures are essentially electronics". This term should properly be reserved to based on weak, van der Waals bonds capable of a richly single-molecule based devices and systems. varied behavior with respect to strong, covalent chemical Inappropriately, the same term is used to designate bonds.

1202 AD 1285 AD 1364 AD Leonardo Pisano, gave birth to Alessandro della Spina Giovanni di Dondi built a the Fibonacci series. invented spectacles for far- complex clock which kept track sightedness. of calendar cycles and computed the date of Easter by using various lengths of chain. GIKI Science Society 6

Plasma - The fourth state of matter By Umair Sadiq We encounter the matter around us in its three An essential feature of the plasma state is that familiar states: as solids, liquids, or gases. Everyone the previously neutral atoms or molecules of matter break knows that all materials go through these three states as down into the positive nucleus or ion and the associated, the temperature rises, the order being solid - liquid - gas. now free, electrons. Matter in the plasma state thus The evaporation temperature of normal air as an acquires new physical properties and can simultaneously example of a gas mixture is far below zero degree have a specific effect on its colder surroundings: Celsius, while temperatures above 5,000o C are required to turn heat resistant materials, such as tungsten, into the l Good (metal-like) electrical conductivity, gaseous state. People are less aware of the fact that l Strongly influenced by magnetic fields (constriction), every substance assumes a “fourth state” when heated l Radiation emission from the infrared to the UV or very intensely to roughly 20,000o C: it becomes plasma. X-ray range, l Powerful heat source (at high plasma densities), Due to these high transition temperatures, l Specific plasma-chemical effects in the bulk and on plasma formation is a rather rare occurrence in our surfaces. everyday environment, because no vessels exist in which a substance could be converted to its plasma state by These features are associated with numerous, means of extreme heating. Nevertheless, “naturally” interesting physical plasma phenomena, as well as with occurring plasmas can also be found on Earth: lightening important technical applications for example in lighting is probably the most familiar example of terrestrial technology, controlled nuclear fusion, thin layer surface plasma. treatments, plasma etching etc. The removal of surfaces by means of plasma etching has made a decisive However, if we consider all the visible matter in contribution to advancing microelectronics structuring the universe, it becomes evident that the plasma state is making possible the manufacturing of highly integrated by far predominant and that the three states of matter processors, memory chips, micro sensors and much familiar to us solid, liquid, gaseous are the exceptions: more. plasma makes well over 90% of all matter and is thus the most frequent and “natural” state of matter. Plasma can The fundamental physics of all these techniques be found as extremely dense matter at the hot centre of a is thoroughly understood. However, further development star, and as extremely diluted matter in interstellar space, of established plasma processes or the discovery of new A where it contributes to the formation of new stars. Plasma ones still requires an immense research effort. Plasma physics, the science of plasma, is thus also one of the key process engineering is still in the exploratory phase in R sub-disciplines of astrophysics. several fields, such as biotechnology, medical technology and environmental engineering. T Youarenottheonlyone..... I L AlbertEinsteincouldnotspeakuntilhewasfouryearsold,anddidnotreaduntilhewasseven. C L Beethoven'smusicteachersaidabouthim,"Asacomposerheishopeless.” L WhenThomasEdisonwasayoungboy,histeacherssaidhewassostupidhecouldneverlearnanything. L L WaltDisneywasoncefiredbyanewspapereditorbecausehewasthoughttohaveno"goodideas.” E L When the sculptor Auguste Rodin was young he had difficulty learning to read and write. Today, we may say he had a learning disability,buthisfathersaidofhim,"Ihaveanidiotforason.” S L Carusowastoldbyonemusicteacher,"Youcan'tsing.Youhavenovoiceatall."

1468 AD 1473 -1543 AD 1482 AD 1545 AD Type Writer was invented by Polish astronomer Nicolas Leonardo da Vinci began his Girolamo Cardano, in Ars Johann Gutenberg. Copernicus changed the notebooks in pursuit of Magna, published a complete concept of the universe for the evidence that the human body discussion of Tartaglia's people of the world. Gave the is microcosmic, which, by solution for cubic equations. model of universe and 1510-1511, included planetary motion. dissections of the human body. 7 Aurora 2005

A R Quantum Teleportation By Abdul Hannan T Teleportation is the name given by science fiction point where the object's original state has been writers to the feat of making an object or person completely disrupted, still without having extracted I disintegrate in one place while a perfect replica appears enough information to make a perfect replica. This somewhere else. How this is accomplished is usually not sounds like a solid argument against teleportation: if one C explained in detail, but the general idea seems to be that cannot extract enough information from an object to the original object is scanned in such a way as to extract make a perfect copy, it would seem that a perfect copy all the information from it, then this information is cannot be made. But the six scientists found a way to L transmitted to the receiving location and used to make an end run around this logic, using a celebrated and construct the replica, not necessarily from the actual paradoxical feature of quantum mechanics known as the E material of the original, but perhaps from atoms of the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen effect. In brief, they found a same kinds, arranged in exactly the same pattern as the way to scan out part of the information from an object A, original. A teleportation machine would be like a fax which one wishes to teleport, while causing the S machine, except that it would work on 3-dimensional remaining, unscanned, part of the information to pass, via objects as well as documents, it would produce an exact the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen effect, into another object copy rather than an approximate facsimile, and it would destroy the original in the process of scanning it. A few science fiction writers consider teleporters that preserve the original, and the plot gets complicated when the original and teleported versions of the same person meet; but the more common kind of teleporter destroys the original, functioning as a super transportation device, not as a perfect replicator of souls and bodies.

In 1993 an international group of six scientists, including IBM Fellow Charles H. Bennett, confirmed the intuitions of the majority of science fiction writers by showing that perfect teleportation is indeed possible in principle, but only if the original is destroyed. In subsequent years, other scientists have demonstrated teleportation experimentally in a variety of systems, including single photons, coherent light fields, nuclear spins, and trapped ions. Teleportation promises to be quite useful as an information processing primitive, facilitating long range quantum communication (perhaps ultimately leading to a "quantum internet"), and making it much easier to build a working quantum computer. But C which has never been in contact with A. Later, by science fiction fans will be disappointed to learn that no applying to C a treatment depending on the scanned-out one expects to be able to teleport people or other information, it is possible to maneuver C into exactly the macroscopic objects in the foreseeable future for a same state asAwas in before it was scanned.Aitself is no variety of engineering reasons, even though it would not longer in that state, having been thoroughly disrupted by violate any fundamental law to do so. the scanning, so what has been achieved is teleportation, not replication. In the past, the idea of teleportation was not taken very seriously by scientists, because it was thought As the figure above suggests, the unscanned to violate the uncertainty principle of quantum part of the information is conveyed from A to C by an mechanics, which forbids any measuring or scanning intermediary object B, which interacts first with C and process from extracting all the information in an atom or then withA. What? Can it really be correct to say "first with other object. According to the uncertainty principle, the C and then with A"? Surely, in order to convey something more accurately an object is scanned the more it is from A to C, the delivery vehicle must visit A before C, not disturbed by the scanning process, until one reaches a the other way around. But there is a subtle, unscannable

1590 AD 1592 AD 1609 AD Zacharias and Hans Janssen Galileo found that the path of a -Kepler calculations of Mars' combined double convex projectile is a parabola by orbit, which were inconsistent lenses in a tube, producing the assuming that the uniform with then current assumption first telescope. motion preserved in the that it was a circle. absence of an external force is -Galileo built a telescope with rectilinear. which he discovered the mountains on the moon, the four largest satellites of Jupiter, and sunspots. GIKI Science Society 8

kind of information that, unlike any material cargo, and station, where it is imprinted on some raw material (e.g. even unlike ordinary information, can indeed be delivered paper) to produce an approximate copy of the original. By in such a backward fashion. This subtle kind of contrast, in quantum teleportation, two objects B and C information, also called "Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) correlation" or "entanglement", has been at least partly understood since the 1930s when it was discussed in a famous paper by Albert Einstein, Boris Podolsky, and Nathan Rosen. In the 1960s John Bell showed that a pair of entangled particles, which were once in contact but later move too far apart to interact directly, can exhibit individually random behaviour that is too strongly correlated to be explained by classical statistics. Experiments on photons and other particles have repeatedly confirmed these correlations, thereby providing strong evidence for the validity of quantum mechanics, which neatly explains them. Another well- known fact about EPR correlations is that they cannot by themselves deliver a meaningful and controllable message. It was thought that their only usefulness was in proving the validity of quantum mechanics. But now it is known that, through the phenomenon of quantum teleportation, they can deliver exactly that part of the are first brought into contact and then separated. Object information in an object which is too delicate to be B is taken to the sending station, while object C is taken to scanned out and delivered by conventional methods. the receiving station. At the sending station object B is scanned together with the original object A which one This figure on the right compares conventional wishes to teleport, yielding some information and totally facsimile transmission with quantum teleportation (see disrupting the state of A and B. The scanned information above). In conventional facsimile transmission the is sent to the receiving station, where it is used to select original is scanned, extracting partial information about it, one of several treatments to be applied to object C, but remains more or less intact after the scanning thereby putting C into an exact replica of the former state process. The scanned information is sent to the receiving of A.

The following concerns a question in a physics degree exam at the University of Copenhagen: "Describe how to determine the height of a skyscraper using a barometer." One student replied, "You tie a long piece of string to the neck of the barometer, then lower the barometer from the roof of the skyscraper to the ground. The length of the string plus the length of the barometer will equal the height of the building." This highly original answer so incensed the instructor that the student was failed. The student appealed on the grounds that his A answer was indisputably correct and the university appointed an independent arbiter to decide the case. The arbiter judged that answer was indeed correct, but did not display knowledge of physics. To resolve the problem it was decided to call the student in and allow him six minutes in which to provide a verbal answer, which showed at least a minimal familiarity the principles of physics. R For five minutes the student sat in silence, forehead creased in thought. The arbiter reminded him that time was running out, to which the student replied that he had several extremely relevant answers, but couldn't make up his mind which to use. T On being advised to hurry up the student replied as follows, "Firstly, you could take the barometer up to the roof of the skyscraper, drop it over the edge, and measure the time it takes to reach the ground. The height of the building can then be worked out from the formula H = 0.5g x t squared. But bad luck on the barometer." I "Or if the sun is shining you could measure the height of the barometer, then set it on end and measure the length of its shadow. Then you measure the length of the skyscraper's shadow, and thereafter it is a simple matter of proportional arithmetic to work out the height of the skyscraper." C "But if you wanted to be highly scientific about it, you could tie a short piece of string to the barometer and swing it like a pendulum, first at ground level and then on the roof of the skyscraper. The height is worked out by the difference in the restoring force T = 2 pi sq. root (l /g)." L "Or if the skyscraper has an outside emergency staircase, it would be easier to walk up it and mark off the height of the skyscraper in barometer lengths, then add them up." "If you merely wanted to be boring and orthodox about it, of course, you could use the barometer to measure the air pressure on the E roof of the skyscraper and on the ground, and convert the difference in millibars into meters to give the height of the building." "But since we are constantly being exhorted to exercise independence of mind and apply scientific methods, undoubtedly the best S way would be to knock on the janitor's door and say to him 'If you would like a nice new barometer, I will give you this one if you tell me the height of this skyscraper'." The student was Niels Bohr, the only person from Denmark to win the Nobel Prize for Physics.

1614 AD 1644 AD 1647 AD 1649 AD John Napier created the first -Evangelista Torricelli devised Cavalieri derived the Descartes laid the foundation logarithmic tables and the first the mercury barometer and relationship between the focal of analytical geometry. use of the word 'logarithm.' created an artificial vacuum. length of a thin lens and the -Blaise Pascal built a five digit radii of a surface's curvature. adding machine, driven by rising and falling weights. 9 Aurora 2005

A R Biological Nanotechnology- By Umair Sadiq T Nanomachines

I Nanotechnology offers the prospect of designing `Gate-keeper.', the initial approach involves a pair of and building novel materials and devices at the atomic proton acceptors, coupled to each other by a transient level. A long-term goal of this field is to devise water bridge, and supported in the membrane by a small C nanomachines that will be able to store, retrieve and bundle of peptide helices. Upon illumination, the proton replicate programs accurately, acquire raw materials, source transfers its proton to the first acceptor of the gate- L assemble them according to their programming, and keeper. While the reverse reaction is highly probable, obtain or generate the energy needed to carry out these irreversibility is ensured by a nonvanishing probability elementary processes. Such capabilities are necessary that the proton will be transferred to the second acceptor E before a nanomachine can ultimately replicate itself. across a transient water bridge. Back transfer of the Much of the current work in the design of nanomachines proton to the first acceptor, and hence to the proton S has utilized mechanical analogies in an attempt to source, is impeded by the free energy required to move duplicate macroscopic mechanisms, such as gears and the proton uphill towards the proton source, as well as by rods, on a microscopic scale. the disruption of the water bridge resulting from the change in the hydration of the two acceptors. Based on An alternative paradigm to the `mechanical the established principles, a prototypical peptide proton engineering' approach to nanomachines is provided by pump can be readily constructed and tested by biological systems. At the cellular level, information is experimentalists. Once it is successfully demonstrated stored by sequences of nucleic acids, which constitute that the pump performs its functions, it can be further the programs for the key functions of the organism. With optimized for efficiency and regulatory precision. the aid of appropriate enzymes, the specific sequence of nucleic acids is replicated, and, when necessary, Beyond this application of biological principles to repaired, with an error rate of only 10-6. Other enzymes nanotechnology, scientists are working on designing enhance the rates of chemical reactions in cells by small, peptide enzymes supported by membranes. Using several orders of magnitude. These reactions allow for membranes as the supporting material would allow for building long biopolymers and operating the cellular the reduction in the size of enzymes and aligning them in machinery in an accurate and highly controlled manner. two-dimensional arrays. This, in turn, can prove very The energy necessary to drive these chemical reactions useful in synthesis of different types of polymers. is captured from the environment by specialized Furthermore, using membrane-supported enzymes in assemblies of proteins. One broad class of energy- combination with proton pumps and membrane-bound capturing proteins converts light energy into chemical peptide channels could lead to a simple synthetic system energy, in the form of proton gradients across entirely driven by light (with no other source of energy membranes. Since light energy can easily be distributed needed). over large areas, we can envision large 2-dimensional arrays of nanomachines, each including a set of proton pumps for its power supply. However, naturally occurring light-driven proton pumps, such as bacteriorhodopsin, ’ Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like are complex and involve many, sometimes poorly- an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a understood stages. Let us take a brief look on the design of a simple nanomachine; a simple light-driven proton minute. That's relativity’ . pump, using state-of-the-art molecular modeling. ’ If A is success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is

There are two basic components to a simple x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut’ . light-driven proton pump: a source of photo-generated ’ Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I protons and a `gate-keeper', which prevents these assure you mine are far greater’ . protons from re-binding to their source. Deamer has shown that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, Albert Einstein incorporated into membranes, release protons when they are illuminated. Therefore, focusing on the design of the

1654 AD 1678 AD 1682 - 1705 AD French mathematicians Blaise Dutch astronomer and Applying Newton's laws of Pascal and Pierre de Fermat physicist Christiaan Huygens motion to comets and formulate the theory of proposed Theory of Light mathematically demonstrating probability. Waves. that comets move in elliptic orbits, English astronomer Edmond Halley correctly predicts that a comet he described in 1682 would return in 1758. GIKI Science Society 10

The journey to human powered flight By Foaad Ahmed Tahir Since ages man has dreamt of flying. There were ends of wings were specially treated to reduce their various attempts made at flying by strapping wings to the thickness to 1/32 inch. They were so thin that under arms and falling from heights but all were flawed at the stress they were rubber like. He covered the wings with basic fact that, weight for weight, human muscles are not special Mylar plastic to reduce the weight. It was the first as powerful as birds and so cannot sustain the weight of such type of project in which the components' mass was body by the method of flapping wings. The reason lies at measured in grams. Their design was a hang glider the fact that the mode of thrust is air being pushed down shaped wingspan with the rudder and aerolon controls at and in reaction an equal force is applied on the body. Now the front. It had a 2 meter long propeller which was 86% the force applied depends upon the rate at which efficient and rotated at 120 rpm. A 3:2 ratio gear was used momentum is imparted on the air, which in turn depends as the human power is at its peak at 80 rpm. The plane on the mass of air and its velocity, but the limiting factors itself moved at just 16km/h. It had a wingspan of 96 feet of human, its power, is related to the rate at which energy but weighed in at an astonishing 35 kilograms. It was is imparted to the air, which in turn is related to its mass named Gossamer Condor. To win the prize it had to take and square of velocity. Thus in order to minimize the off unassisted and steer in an 8 shaped figure and then energy consumption, while keeping the momentum and clear an 8 foot pole. It achieved that easily and thus made thus force constant, large amount of air has to be pushed history by being the first human powered, controlled and at slow velocities. In the flying mode of flapping wings steered flight. small amount of air is pushed at great velocity, thus the design is flawed. When attempts were made to rectify this Then the same British industrialist offered an mistake by making aircraft, the weight was too great and even bigger prize of £100,000 for a human powered flight the efficiency too low for it to be successful. Thus the across the 23 miles of English Channel. The same team human dream of flight by own power was nearly lead by Dr. Paul Mccready again worked on an improved forgotten. That is until a British industrialist again ignited plane called Gossamer Albatross. It had an even bigger interest in this matter by announcing an award of £50,000 wingspan but was lighter due to advancement in for a human powered controlled and steered flight. Many materials. It flew across the channel in 1979 in more than attempts were made but none succeeded. That is until 2 hours, thus setting the then world record of the longest 1977 when an American engineer Dr. Paul Mccready flight, which was later improved by the Deadulus plane of pursued this project. MIT on which staggering 100,000 man hours were spent. A He was inspired about the project when he saw However the story of Dr. Paul Mccready does not eagles gliding effortlessly in the drift of wind. He started end here. He went on to make a company, R calculating the ratios of load per area of the wings of Aerovironment, which is a leading name in energy different birds. Finally he arrived at the design of hang efficient machines. First a remote controlled solar T glider. He calculated that it requires 0.5 horsepower for airplane was made that flew from London to Paris. Then flight. Thus if its wingspan is doubled without increasing in collaboration with GM motors it participated in solar car the weight, its power requirement would be reduced to race in Australia and won by a margin of 50% over I about 150 watts, roughly what a healthy athlete can runners up. This led to the design of an electric car made produce for the duration of the test flight. by GM in collaboration with Aerovironment. It had an C aerodynamic drag coefficient of 0.19, that of an f-16 His method for the construction of the plane was fighter jet, and went from 0-60 mph in 8.9 seconds. very a crude engineering approach. If a component L worked, they made it lighter until it broke; if it broke initially Thus Dr. Paul Mccready has endeavored on they strengthened it. Thus they worked by trial and error. many trendsetting and breakthrough projects and is E He used extremely light and strong materials of his day. In rightly called the father of human powered flight. His all, he used balsa wood, aluminum, cardboard, epoxy motto is rightly “Doing more with less.” resins and piano wire. The aluminum tubes used at the S

1684 AD 1698 AD 1714 AD 1742 AD German mathematician English engineer Thomas Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit Swedish astronomer Anders Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Savery builds the first practical makes the first thermometer to Celsius describes a publishes an account of his steam engine, which serves as use mercury instead of alcohol. temperature scale. discovery of calculus. Sir Isaac a water pump. It uses two Newton developed calculus copper vessels alternately independently in 1666 but filled with steam from a boiler. does not publish a description of his method until 1687. 11 Aurora 2005

A R Bermuda Triangle The "Bermuda or Devil's Triangle" is an An area called the "Devil's Sea" by Japanese and T imaginary area located off the southeasternAtlantic coast Filipino seamen, located off the east coast of Japan, also of the United States, which is noted for a high incidence of exhibits the same magnetic characteristics. It is also unexplained losses of ships, small boats, and aircraft. known for its mysterious disappearances. I The apexes of the triangle are generally accepted to be Bermuda, Miami, Fla., and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Another environmental factor is the character of C the Gulf Stream. It is extremely swift and turbulent and In the past, extensive, but futile Coast Guard can quickly erase any evidence of a disaster. The searches prompted by search and rescue cases such as unpredictable Caribbean-Atlantic weather pattern also L the disappearances of an entire squadron of TBM plays its role. Sudden local thunder storms and water Avengers shortly after take off from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., spouts often spell disaster for pilots and mariners. Finally, E or the traceless sinking of USS Cyclops and Marine the topography of the ocean floor varies from extensive Sulphur Queen have lent credence to the popular belief in shoals around the islands to some of the deepest marine the mystery and the supernatural qualities of the trenches in the world. With the interaction of the strong S "Bermuda Triangle.” currents over the many reefs the topography is in a state of constant flux and development of new navigational Countless theories attempting to explain the hazards is swift. many disappearances have been offered throughout the history of the area. The most practical seem to be Not to be under estimated is the human error environmental and those citing human error. The majority factor. A large number of pleasure boats travel the waters of disappearances can be attributed to the area's unique between Florida's Gold Coast and the Bahamas. All too environmental features. First, the "Devil's Triangle" is one often, crossings are attempted with too small a boat, of the two places on earth that a magnetic compass does insufficient knowledge of the area's hazards, and a lack of point towards true north. Normally it points toward good seamanship. The Coast Guard is not impressed magnetic north. The difference between the two is known with supernatural explanations of disasters at sea. It has as compass variation. The amount of variation changes been their experience that the combined forces of nature by as much as 20 degrees as one circumnavigates the and unpredictability of mankind outdo even the most far earth. If this compass variation or error is not fetched science fiction many times each year. compensated for, a navigator could find himself far off course and in deep trouble. Polar Aurora

Polar auroras are optical phenomena The sun gives off high-energy charged particles characterized by colourful displays of light in the night (also called ions) that travel out into space at speeds of sky. An aurora display in the Northern Hemisphere is 300 to 1200 kilometres per second. A cloud of such called the aurora borealis, or the northern lights; in the particles is called plasma. The stream of plasma coming Southern Hemisphere it is called the aurora australis. from the sun is known as the solar wind. As the solar wind Auroras are the most visible effect of the solar wind upon interacts with the edge of the earth's magnetic field, some the Earth's atmosphere. The aurora occur when the Van of the particles are trapped by it and they follow the lines Allen radiation belts become "overloaded" with energetic of magnetic force down into the ionosphere, the section of particles, which cascade down magnetic field lines and the earth's atmosphere that extends from about 60 to 600 collide with the earth's upper atmosphere. The most kilometres above the earth's surface. When the particles powerful aurora tend to occur after coronal mass collide with the gases in the ionosphere they start to glow, ejections. Aurora in Latin means dawn and Borealis producing the spectacle that we know as the auroras, comes from Boreas, the name of the Greek god of the northern and southern. The array of colours consists of northern wind. red, green, blue and violet.

1777 AD 1780 AD 1799 AD French physicist Charles Scottish inventor James Watt German mathematician Carl Coulomb invents the torsion and English manufacturer Friedrich Gauss submits a balance for measuring the Matthew Boulton begin proof that every algebraic force of magnetic and electrical manufacturing a steam engine equation has at least one root, attraction, to formulate the for providing power to or solution. It comes to be principle, known as Coulomb's machinery. This accelerates called "the fundamental law. the process of industrialization theorem of algebra." popularly known as the Industrial Revolution. GIKI Science Society 12

The Northern Lights are constantly in motion because of the changing interaction between the solar wind and the earth's magnetic field. The solar wind commonly generates up to 1,000,000 megawatts of electricity in an auroral display and this can cause interference with power lines, radio and television broadcasts and satellite communications. By studying the auroras scientists can learn more about the solar wind, how it affects the earth's atmosphere and how the energy of the auroras might be exploited for useful purposes.

A R T I C L E S

1800 AD 1803 AD 1804 AD 1822 AD Sir William Herschel English physicist and British inventor and engineer - Jean B.J. Fourier publishes announces his discovery of physician Thomas Young Richard Trevithick constructs his mathematical analysis of infrared radiation in the Sun's demonstrates light the first practical steam heat, showing that through a light. interference and helps locomotive in 1804. Within fifty trigonometric series,any establish the wave theory of years the railroad becomes the function can be expressed as light. dominant means for moving the sum of an infinite series of people and freight sines and cosines. -Charles Babbage begins work the Difference Engine.

15 Aurora 2005

I Interview with N T Dr. Abdullah Sadiq E How it all started… I became a physicist through pure chance. Thanks to my teacher Mr. Ghulam Ishaq Khan I developed interest in mathematics in my childhood. I was also fond of making my own toys and tinkering with simple machines I could lay R my hands on. I could hardly put them back though after I had put them apart! But I hardly had any plans to become a V scientist. After my intermediate from Islamia College Peshawar, I tried to become a GDP (pilot), cleared the written test I but got rejected on medical grounds because of a weak collar bone. Hence I continued my studies. After my B. Sc I again applied for a job but the late Professor Abdul Majid Mian, who was the Principal of Islamia College as well as E Chairman of Physics and Mathematics departments of Peshawar University, refused to give me a letter of recommendation. Instead he advised me to join the Physics Department. Hence I went to University of Peshawar and did my masters in physics. As a university student I went on a study tour of Lahore and visited the then Atomic Energy w Center there. That was my first visit to a place as far as Lahore! I was so impressed by its well kept lawns, shiny floors and well equipped laboratories that I decided join this place on my graduation.

After my masters and teaching for a few months in my Alma Mater I applied for the job in the Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) and was interviewed in the same Center in Lahore. An American professor on the Interview Board, Michael Moravcsik, asked me the reason for the oval-shape of the sun just before it sets. My rather tentative answer must have impressed him as I was offered a job in PAEC. A few months later I was inducted as an Officer on Special Training, or OST. Dr Samar Mubarakmand, Chairman NECOM and Mr. Parvez Butt, Chairman, PAEC were some of the other OSTs who joined PAEC with me. I had an exciting time in Lahore and met leading physicists of the country including Professor Abdus Salam. And what made it all the more interesting was the diversity of talented people belonging to different fields from over the country, including the then East Pakistan.

It was very difficult to distinguish between Professor Riazuddin, and his identical twin, Professor Fayyazuddin, who was my research supervisor. It was not uncommon for me to go to Riazuddin for consultation taking him for Fayyazuddin. He would politely tell me that perhaps I want to talk to his brother. I did quite well in the training but for some reason I went abroad for my higher studies a year later than most of my batch mates. In summer 1964, before I went abroad, I had to choose between three possibilities. To go to Edinburgh as a Commonwealth Scholar and study under the supervision of Higgs, now of the Higgs Boson fame, to go to the University of Colorado on a scholarship or to study at the University of Illinois (U of I) as a teaching assistant. After discussions with some teachers I finally chose the U of I at Urbana-Champaign, USA.

Anew phase of life… I found an intellectually and culturally rich environment at the U of I. There were students from all over the world with weekly seminars and colloquia by famous scientists from within and outside the States, this was particularly so during the Centenary Celebrations of the University. These were the days soon after President Kennedy and Malcolm X were assassinated, the black movement was at its peak and USA got involved in Vietnam. These developments made students all over the world relatively more concerned about social issues. Students at the U of I Campus were also drawn into the so called students' movement that reached its peak towards the late sixties. This also made me conscious of my social responsibilities and during 1970 I managed to raise some funds for flood victims of the then East Pakistan.

Back to the homeland… On my return home in 1971 I got involved in social work and infra-structure development for research at the expense of my own physics research. I tried to improve literacy in neglected areas of the society by going to a locality of sanitation workers and teaching their children. At about the same time my teacher, mentor and friend, Michael Wortis, also helped me write and publish my PhD research. PINSTECH1 was then newly established. I also took

1. Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Sciences and Technology.

1825 AD 1826 AD 1831 AD Carl Friedrich Gauss French inventor Joseph N. English physicist Michael (German), Nikolay Ivanovich Niépce takes the first surviving Faraday discovers Lobachevsky (Russian), and permanent photograph using a electromagnetic induction, János Bolyai (Hungarian) bitumen-coated pewter plate proving that a current flowing in independently discover non- exposed in a camera obscura a coil of wire can induce Euclidean geometry, in which (a box with a lens that projects electromagnetically a current more than one parallel can be an image onto the box's inside in a nearby coil. drawn to a given line through a surface). given point not on the line. GIKI Science Society 16

active part in the organization and development of its library into a modern and extensive resource base of scientific and technical information.

Realization… In due course of time a feeling started nagging me that my involvement in social work and other non-academic activities is not making much difference to the society. I felt that I might be able to make some contribution in the field in which I had some formal training. I requested Dr IshfaqAhmad, then member PAEC, to relieve me of the library related work with a view to go back to physics research. My association with Raza Tahir-Kheli of Temple University, USA and the International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) at that stage greatly facilitated this transition. I also got an opportunity to spend about 18 months in Germany as an Alexander von Humboldt fellow, which eventually paved the way for the ICTP Prize and Gold Medal. Still after all that, there lied a dormant feeling to do something more. It was at that time I switched my career of a scientist to one as an educationist.

Foundations of GIKI… In response to a request from Mr. Ghulam Ishaq Khan, who was then Federal Minister of Finance, PAEC nominated me to help him plan an engineering institution. The initial proposal was for a post B. Sc. graduate school. I strongly felt that we need to select people at an earlier age and it ended up like it is today. We rented a small building in Islamabad, where I used to spend a few hours daily before going to my office in PINSTECH. Mr. Samiullah Marwat soon joined that office on full time basis. The Society for the Promotion of Engineering Sciences and Technology in Pakistan (SOPREST) was soon formed as the parent body of the new Institution. Mr. Ghulam Ishaq Khan was its President and Dr. A. Q. Khan, Mr. H. U. Beg, me and some others as its founding members. An academic planning team was also assembled with Dr. A. Q. Khan, Mr. Amanullah Khan and me as interim deans and the former also as Project Director and Mr. H. U. Beg as an Executive Director. Because of my involvement with GIKI I had to decline faculty position at ICTP as a staff associate. With the dedicated work of the project and academic teams the institute got functional in fall 1993. I was the first faculty member to shift here with my family and taught physics 101 and 102 to the pioneering batch. After one year I decided to leave GIKI. I wanted to go back to my village, but on the insistence of my wife I returned to my parent organization, PAEC and was posted in the Center of Nuclear studies, CNS that was led by my teacher and mentor, Dr Inam-ur-Rehman.

NPTC and PIEAS1 … President Laghari started a series of meetings with professionals from various fields at the time I went back to PAEC in 1994. Dr Ishfaq Ahmad, Chairman PAEC led a team of physicists in one of these meetings and asked Dr. Masud Ahmad, now Member Physical Sciences, PAEC, and me to make a list of points for discussions. Initiating Physics Talent Contest (NPTC) was one such point. NPTC is meant to groom the youth of the nation for careers in Science, Engineering and Technology, or STEM Careers and prepare a Pakistani team for participation in the International Physics Olympiad. The President graciously endorsed this proposal among others and with the help of funding from PAEC we launched it on a pilot scale in 1995. Meanwhile in CNS we also started other activities like I weekly Colloquium where country chief of ICI, Chairman HEC, poets like Ahmed Faraz and other luminaries gave talks. N

NPTC has been a great success. Pakistani students are now successfully competing in the International T Physics Olympiads. President Musharaf is taking keen interest in this activity and has been awarding additional cash prizes to the selected students. NPTC has been extended to similar contests in mathematics, biology and chemistry in E the form of National Science Talent Contest and a National Engineering Competition under the umbrella of STEM careers project of Higher Education Commission. R Finally, after coming back to GIKI… I look forward to strengthening all disciplines of specialization. We need the faculty who own the institution V and for that I am keenly interested in GIKI alumni. The social environment at GIKI is good. The idea of societies dates back to batch one. It's a healthy activity and produces more well rounded and refined engineers. GIKI now seems to I me an opportunity to be able to fulfill my earliest dreams. It probably would have been better were I younger at this stage. Now I am trying but yes with some handicaps. After twelve years I feel I lack that energy but I am resolute to put E up my best and I hope all people to show their enthusiasm as well.

As for the inspiration of students I would like to say that in general you should try to do your best whatever field w you choose.As for science, get new works and fill in the blanks! 1. Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences

1837 AD 1842 AD 1850 AD 1854 AD American inventor Samuel F. German Julius Robert von German mathematical Boolean Algebra British B. Morse and British physicist Mayer formulates the law of physicist Rudolf Clausius is the mathematician and logician Sir Charles Wheatstone conservation of energy. first to enunciate the second George Boole describes an independently invent the first German scientist Hermann law of thermodynamics. algebraic system in which electric telegraphs. von Helmholtz and British logical propositions are physicist James Prescott Joule denoted by symbols and can also are credited with be acted on by abstract discovering this principle. mathematical operators that correspond to the laws of logic. 17 Aurora 2005

R E S Closed form E A approximation solutions R C H for the restricted circular P A three body problem P Abu Bakr Mehmood E S. Umer Abbas R Ghulam Shabbir

An approach is developed to find approximate solutions to the restricted circular three body problem. The solution is useful in approximately describing the position vectors of three spherically symmetric masses, one of which has a much smaller mass than the other two. These masses perform free motion under each others' gravitational influence. The set of solutions is found using the Lambert's wave function.

Key words: Lambert's wave function, spherically symmetric masses.

The aim of this paper is to find the two larger masses, say m1 and m2 is not approximations for the restricted circular three affected by the presence, or motion of m3; the body problem. The problem by definition is to smaller mass. It therefore follows that m1 and m2 describe the free motions of three masses, two of execute two body motion under each other's which have spherically symmetric mass gravitational influence only, whereas m3 executes distributions and one of which is small compared motion which is effected by both the presence and to the other two. The smaller mass should be small motion of m1 and m2. The motion of m1 and m2 enough in comparison to the other two, so that it shall be solved for, only by considering two body can be approximated as a point mass. A typical motion, and the motion of m3, shall then be solved real life application of the problem would be the for by the use of generalized three body motion motion of a probe between the earth and moon. equations. Figure 1 presents a diagrammatic Moreover, the spherically symmetric mass representation of our system of three bodies, distributions which form an isolated system in free space. of the earth and moon would allow them to be approximated by point masses. In the problem Our aim is to find r1, r2 and r3 explicitly as considered, it is further assumed that the motion of time functions. We choose to solve the problem in

1866 AD 1867 AD 1869 AD German engineer Werner Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel Russian chemist Dmitry Siemens discovers the patents dynamite. Ivanovich Mendeleyev principle of the electric publishes the first version of dynamo. The company he the periodic table of elements. cofounded in 1847, Siemens & Halske, produces the first electrical power transmission system ten years later. GIKI Science Society 18

two dimensions. The bodies perform translational a third body m3 having negligible mass on a R motion under each other's gravitational attraction. relative scale. Using this proposition, we found Since our assumptions allow us to approximate analytic approximations for the motions of m1 and E the three bodies as point masses, we neglect m2, which were given by the expressions defining S rotational motion. r1(t), r2(t), μ1(t) and μ2(t). Of course this was accomplished by a simple consideration of the E In this paper we have developed a two body motion executed by m1 and m2. Having A versatile approach to find approximate solutions done this, we modeled the system of three bodies, for the restricted circular three body problem. The taking into account the motion of m3, under the R problem finds a lot of applications in celestial gravitational influence of m1 and m2. The next C mechanics. As mentioned previously, a typical step was to find approximations for the motion of application of the problem would be to describe m3. This was accomplished by using our H the motion of an interplanetary probe under the approximations for the motions of m1 and m2 gravitational influence of two massive gravitating (found through consideration of two body motion), bodies, that is planets. We considered the fact and performing algebraic manipulations on the P that the motion of the two massive bodies m1 and system of equations developed while considering A m2 was not effected by the presence or motion of three body dynamics. P E []For complete research paper, please contact Dr. Ghulam Shabbir. R shabbir @ giki.edu.pk

1873 AD 1875 AD 1876 AD 1877 AD British mathematician and Seventeen European nations Using a transmitter and German inventor Nikolaus A. physicist James Maxwell adopt the metric system. A receiver , Scottish-American Otto patents the Otto cycle publishes his electromagnetic decimal system of physical inventor Alexander Graham engine. It is the first effective theory of light and suggests units based on the meter, it was Bell delivers the first telephone four-stroke internal that a whole family of introduced in France almost a message to his assistant, combustion engine, the type electromagnetic radiation must century earlier. ThomasA. Watson. that will eventually be used in exist, of which visible light is automobiles.. only one part. 19 Aurora 2005

A R Stars, how they originate T and how do they change I C in there life cycle? By Muhammad Usman Raza What is a star? the nearby massive star at its death or from the passage L Are hot bodies of glowing gas that start their life in of the cloud through regions of more intense gravity as Nebulae. They vary in size, mass and temperature, found in the spiral arms of spiral galaxies. These shock E diameters ranging from 450x smaller to over 1000x larger waves compress the gas clouds enough for them to than that of the Sun. masses range from twentieth to over gravitationally collapse. Gas clouds may start to collapse 50 solar masses and surface temperatures range from without any outside force if they are cool enough to S 3,000 degrees Celsius to over 50,000 degrees Celsius. spontaneously collapse. Whatever the reason, the result The colour of a star is determined by its surface is the same: gas clumps collapse to form protostars. temperature, the hottest stars are blue and the coolest stars are red . The Sun has a surface temperature of Stage 2: Protostars: 5,500 degree Celsius. Its colour appears yellow. The When the gas clumps together to form protostars energy produced by a star is by nuclear fusion in the stars energy is released. The gas clump becomes warm core. Many stars occur in special types of groupings. enough to emit a lot of infrared and microwave radiation. These groupings are called star clusters. These clusters A protostars will reach a temperature of 2000 to 3000 K, are divided into Open Clusters and Globular Clusters. hot enough to glow red, but the cocoon of gas and dust The open clusters contain small number of young stars; surrounding it blocks the visible light. the globular clusters are much older and contain many more stars. Stage 3: Main Sequence: Fusion starts in the core of the star and the How do stars originate? outward pressure from these reactions stop the core from Stars form from concentrations in huge collapsing any further. But material from the surrounding interstellar gas clouds. These contract due to their own cloud continues to fall onto the protostars . Most of the gravitational pull. As the cloud gets smaller it loses some energy produced by the protostars is from the of the energy stored in it as potential gravitational energy. gravitational collapse of the cloud material. Eventually This is turned into heat which in the early days of the the star becomes stable because hydrostatic equilibrium embryo star can easily escape and so the gas cloud stays has been established. The star settles down to spend cool. As the clouds density rises it gets more and more about 90% of its life as main sequence star .It is readily difficult for the heat to get out and so the center 'burning' fusing hydrogen to form helium in the core. of hydrogen into helium takes place, as in the Sun. The object is then a star. Stars initially begin their lives in clusters near other stars. After a few orbits around the galactic center, How do they change in their lifecycle? gravitational tugs from other stars in the galaxy cause the Stage 1: Giant Molecular Cloud: stars in the cluster to wander away from their cluster and A giant molecular cloud is a large, dense gas live their lives alone or with perhaps one or two cloud (with dust) that is cold enough for molecules to companions. The gas and dust around the stars may be form. Thousands of giant clouds exist on the disk part of residual material from their formation or simply our galaxy. Each gain molecular cloud has a 100,000's to interstellar clouds the cluster is passing through. The a few million solar masses of material (most of this more massive the star is the more quickly it burns material is gathered when a supernova explodes). hydrogen and hence the brighter, bigger and hotter it is Fragments of giant molecular clouds with tens to and so the less is its life line. hundreds of solar masses of material apiece will start collapsing for some reason all at about the same time. Stage 4: Forming of a red giant: Possible trigger mechanisms could be a shock wave from The medium mass stars like our sun eventually

1879 AD 1882 AD 1893 AD British inventor Thomas Swan Thomas Edison develops and German inventor Rudolf Diesel and American inventor installs the first central electric- publishes Theory and Design Thomas Edison independently power station in New York City. of a Rational Heat Engine, develop practical electric The station generates which describes the high- lights. electricity in direct current, efficiency internal combustion which is replaced later by engine. The engine uses heat alternating current. caused by air compression to ignite fuel. GIKI Science Society 20

run out on their hydrogen supply and converts it all into out and the outer layers drift away from the core as a helium in their centers during their main-sequence stage gaseous shell, this gas that surrounds the core is called a but eventually there is no hydrogen left in the center to Planetary Nebula. The star will collapse to what is called a provide the necessary radiation pressure to balance 'degenerate white dwarf', when it dims and finally stops' gravity. The center of the star thus contracts until it is hot shining it is called a black dwarf. This is what happens to a enough for helium to be converted into carbon. The star about the mass of the sun. hydrogen in a shell continues to 'burn' into helium but the outer layers of the star have to expand. This makes the The high mass stars that form the red super star appear brighter and cooler and it becomes a red giants, for all the elements up to iron the addition of more giant. nucleons to the nucleus produces energy and so yields a small contribution to the balance inside the star between There are very few stars of more than 5 times the gravity and radiation. To add more nucleons to iron mass of the sun. These stars burn their hydrogen out very nucleus energy is required, so no more energy is quickly compared to the sun. Like medium mass stars, released and the star cools down and the star's core then they 'burn' all their hydrogen at the centers and continue has no resistance to the force of gravity and once it starts with hydrogen burning shell and central helium 'burning' to contract a very rapid collapse will take place. The shell. They become brighter and cooler on their outside protons and electrons combine to give a core composed and are called red super giants. Carbon burning can of neutrons and vast amounts of energy is released. This develop at the stars center and a complex set of element energy is sufficient to blow away all the outer parts of the burning shells can develop towards the end of the stars star in a violent explosion and the star becomes a life. During this stage many different chemical elements supernova in less than a second. The light of this one star will be produced in the star and the central temperature is then as bright as that from all the other will approach 100,000,000 degrees Kelvin. 100,000,000,000 stars in the galaxy. During this phase all the elements with atomic weights greater than iron are Stage 5: End of the star's life: formed and, together with the rest of the outer regions of During the red giant phase a star often loses a lot the star are blown out into interstellar space. The central of its outer layers, which are blown away by the radiation core of neutrons is left as a neutron star if it has a mass of coming from below. Eventually, in the more massive stars between 1.5-3 solar masses. If the core is much greater of the group the carbon may be 'burnt' to even heavier than 3 solar masses, the core contracts to become a elements but eventually the energy generation will fizzle Black Hole.

A R T I C L E S

1900 AD 1901 AD 1903 AD 1905 AD German physicist Max Planck Italian inventor Guglielmo At Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, German American theoretical lays the foundation for the Marconi sends the first American aviator Orville Wright physicist Albert Einstein quantum theory, or quantum wireless message overseas. makes the first successful flight develops his special theory of mechanics. of a piloted, heavier-than-air relativity. flying machine. Built by Wright and his brother, Wilbur, the craft flies a distance of about 37 m (120 ft). 21 Aurora 2005

F Y Abdus Saboor P Human Computer Ihsan Ullah M. Hammadullah A Interfacing Saad bin Hussain B S T using Biological signals

R Human Computer Interfacing using biological signals is an emerging technology which has A enabled disabled people to communicate with the world and with their surroundings. With the help of this C setup not only locked-in syndrome people will be benefited but all others can also use it as well. T Mouse control via eyeball movement has been described in this text. Various techniques are used for this purpose to establish the task. Digital image processing is one of these which require light as a s primary source but we approached the same problem by capturing EOG (electro-oculography) signals (produced by eyeball movement due to relative potential difference generated between retina and cornea) by placing EOG electrodes at right positions in the proximity of the eyes. These signals were then processed and interfaced with computer via microcontrollers and then were mapped on computer monitor screen via custom software to control the mouse cursor efficiently. You can click an icon merely by staring at that icon for three seconds. The advantage of EOG signal based technique over the previous one is that it can operate in darkness as well i.e. light is not required as a source. This setup will help in virtual gaming, virtual keyboard, eye painting, net browsing and in crime investigation.

Omer Masood Qureshi Orca S. Mansoor Ali Faheem Salem Gilani Jawad Aslam Butt

Human powered vehicle, Orca is a vehicle that was designed and built with three primary objectives in mind. First and foremost, the design is to be beautiful in its simplicity. Secondly, since the vehicle is being designed for one purpose, speed; all design selections are to be made with this purpose in mind. Thirdly, the attainment of Orca maximum velocity will be done with rider safety as a paramount goal. These objectives were achieved by performing aerodynamics analysis, bio-mechanics considerations, calculations involving safety of the rider and the frame design. The Orca design is a long wheel based low racer, front wheel drive recumbent. This design is the first of its type produced at GIK Institute.

[The full reports are available at the GIKI Library.]

1906 AD 1908 AD 1913 AD American engineer Lee De German physicist Hans Geiger American industrialist Henry Forest invents the audion, invents a portable radiation Ford begins to use later known as the triode, a counter. The device detects standardized interchangeable vacuum tube that becomes a and records information about parts and assembly-line key component in many subatomic particles emitted by techniques in his automobile- electronic systems, including radioactive substances. manufacturing plant, and is radio and television. It is chiefly responsible for their eventually replaced by the general adoption and transistor. subsequent wide use. GIKI Science Society 22

Muhammad Faraz Azhar Neuro-Mod Muhammad Usman Amjad Nida Javed Umair Shafai Rao

The aim of this project was to develop an application that reads an MR image library of a patients brain images and automatically reconstructs the 3-D model from it. It performs segmentation to extract the brain part from the given MRI scans. The segmented data is then utilized for the brain reconstruction.

The input data is in the form of bitmap images acquired from MR Imaging hardware. The segmentation module extracts the brain part using an automated hybrid approach comprising anisotropic diffusion, thresholding, erosion, selection and mask application. The 3D reconstruction module applies the marching cubes algorithm on the segmented images. Both modules are fully automatic performing their required functions solely on the basis of image data.

The prime concern in the application is the accuracy of the various algorithms and their correct mathematical computations to suit the bio-medical imaging problem at hand. This implies that the design takes into account the minor details of anatomy displayed in each image for calculation of the model. The proposed system with a few modifications, can act as a 3-D engine for the reconstruction of various anatomical parts whose image slices can be obtained using medical imaging techniques.

Applications:

tThe system eliminates the need for 3D reconstruction process. The hardware systems are only required to capture the MRI scans. Once a digital copy has been obtained, there is no need to go back to the expensive hardware. 3D reconstruction can then be performed on any computer system fulfilling the basic set of requirements. This allows a physicians at a remote location to obtain a better visualisation of F the patient's brain scans to facilitate the diagnosis process. Y tThe project serves as a baseline for future research in Medical Image Processing. The segmentation P process proposed for the brain scans can be applied to any other anatomical part of the body with equal efficiency. Similarly, the 3D reconstruction module can act as a generic 3D engine. The various facilities provided by with the system can further be modified to act as powerful tools in totally automated A diagnosis of brain abnormalities and can easily be extended, by including various diagnostic techniques B for tumours and clots detection, to aid in laser therapy. S tFinally, the system is very cost-effective. The maintenance cost of MR Imaging systems is very high. T By separating the reconstruction process (post-processing) from the image acquisition (pre- processing), the performance of the imaging hardware is enhanced resulting in less frequent R maintenance required. A C T S [The full reports are available at the GIKI Library.]

1916 AD 1919 AD 1925 AD 1926 AD German American theoretical British physicist Ernest Austrian American physicist Austrian physicist Erwin physicist Albert Einstein Rutherford bombards nitrogen Wolfgang Pauli defines the Schrödinger presents his publishes his general theory of gas with alpha particles and exclusion principle of quantum theory of wave mechanics, relativity. It succeeds Newton's obtains atoms of an oxygen mechanics, which states that which expresses Louis de theory as the basic explanation isotope and protons. This no two electrons can occupy Broglie's 1923 wave concept of gravitation. transmutation of nitrogen into the same quantum or energy mathematically. oxygen is the first artificially stateofanatom induced nuclear reaction. simultaneously. 23 Aurora 2005

A R The Fundamental Forces T of Universe By Foaad Ahmed Tahir

I All things that we observe in our universe can be would cease to burn without it. explained on the basis of physical laws. Everyday C observations from the running of automobiles to the The Force of Gravity: movement of planets in orbits and the burning of stars The force of gravity plays also plays a very occur because of the presence of forces between important role in our lives as the orbits of planets, L 'matter'. The universe consists of matter and energy and formation of stars and our daily routine activities depend the interaction of matter occurs in the form of forces which upon it. It is a very weak force and is 100 million billion E leads to the presence of energy. These interactions occur billion billion times weaker than electromagnetic force. because of the force carrying particles. There are four However it plays the most dominant role in the universe fundamental forces in the universe, namely the strong due to the fact that it is always cumulative, unlike S nuclear force, the weak nuclear force, the electromagnet electromagnetic force which is both attractive and force and the force of gravity. Combined, these forces are repulsive. Thus due to accumulation of matter its effect responsible for the workings of this universe. increases drastically. Infact, so great is its power that when a star explodes and if it has a critical radius, the The Strong Nuclear Force: matter is sucked and compressed due to its own The strong nuclear force is responsible for the gravitational attraction and eventually so much mass is binding of the nuclei of atoms. It has a very short range confined in such a small space that the resulting and thus its effect is only felt within the nucleus. It is gravitational field is strong enough to prevent light from transmitted via force particles called gluons which bind escaping it. Such a phenomenon leads to the birth of together quarks that lead to the formation of protons and black holes. Gravity is caused by the hypothetical field neutrons and cumulatively the nucleus. It is the strongest particles dubbed gravitons, though they have not been force of all and is 100 times stronger than the practically observed. In the time before 20th century the electromagnetic force. But due to its small range it does concept of gravity was that given by Newton - an object not play a major role in our everyday lives. creates gravitational field around it with which another object interacts leading to an attractive force. Though this The Electromagnetic Force: theory was very successful and predicted many things, The electromagnetic force plays a dominant role including orbits of planets, but still there were some in our everyday lives. The atoms and molecules within an observations unexplained by it. However in 1916 Einstein object are held together only because of these forces. presented his general theory of relativity in which he Our machineries such as car engines, maglev trains and presented a totally new theory for the explanation of other equipment cannot work without it. It is also a strong gravity which explained the previously unexplainable force. It acts only between charged particles such as phenomenon such as shift in apparent position of star proton and electron. This interaction occurs because of and the rotation of axis of Mercury's orbit. It stated that the force particles photons. The electromagnetic force is gravity is a result of the distorting of space-time where a unique in the sense that not only can it interact directly massive object is placed. Thus when any object is between matter but it can also travel in the form of traveling in space-time it follows the distortion and we electromagnetic waves thus enabling us to transmit observe it as an orbit. It can be visualized as a heavy information via it. It is a long range force as it varies object placed on a rubber sheet causing it to sag more at inversely with square of distance. places near it, and less farther away. Thus according to this theory even light bends as it passes near a massive The Weak Nuclear Force: object. Another remarkable conclusion of this theory is This force is responsible for the disintegration of about transmission of gravitational changes. Newton said nuclei. It is again a short range force and its effect is that changes in gravitational field are transmitted limited only within the nuclei. It is transmitted via W+,W- instantaneously over distances. However this and ZO particles. It plays part in phenomenon such as contradicted Einstein's postulate that nothing travels radioactivity and nuclear fission and fusion. It is a very faster than light. Thus he did calculations and it evolved weak force and is a million times weaker than that gravitational changes travel at the speed of light. electromagnetic force. Yet its role is decisive as the stars Thus if a star explodes, gravitational changes, such as

1927 AD 1929 AD 1930 AD German physicist Werner Comparing the distances of British aviator and aeronautical Heisenberg formulates the galaxies to the speed at which engineer Sir Frank Whittle files uncertainty principle, which they are moving away from his first patent for a turbojet states that the position and Earth, Edwin Hubble discovers engine. The engine is tested in momentum of a subatomic that the farther a galaxy is from a British experimental fighter particle cannot be specified Earth, the faster it is recedinga plane during World War II. simultaneously. relationship so consistent that it comes to be known as Hubble's Law. GIKI Science Society 24

Thus if a star explodes, gravitational changes, such as conditions electromagnetic force and weak nuclear force change in orbit, would be observed simultaneously with behave similarly, thus they unified the two. Since then the sight of star exploding. This theory also predicts work has been going on to unite the other forces too. energy dissipation in the form of gravitational waves. Among the three, gravity seems to be the one hardest to Evidence supporting this fact has been seen in the form of relate to others. If all can be united then the whole binary stars reducing their mutual distances, though universe can be explained completely in a single there has been no practical observation of this equation. It is also said that it would be too complicated to gravitational counterpart of electromagnetic waves be of practical use although two of the most fundamental despite 20 years of research. theories of 20th century, the theory of relativity and quantum theory, have resulted in inventions such as The Grand Unification Theory: nuclear energy and electronics respectively. If such an A Pakistani physicist (Dr. Abdus Salam), along accomplishment is achieved it will be a great step with two fellow scientists proved that under extreme towards understand the working of this universe.

Was Big Bang really the Beginning of Time? Continued from Page 2 The basic idea is that elementary particles are change the situation. A tiny string can acquire up to two not point like but rather infinitely thin one-dimensional units of h of angular momentum without gaining any objects, the strings. The large zoo of elementary mass. This feature is very welcome because it precisely particles, each with its own characteristic properties, matches the properties of the carriers of all known reflects the many possible vibration patterns of a string. fundamental forces, such as the photon (for How can such a simple-minded theory describe the electromagnetism) and the graviton (for gravity). complicated world of particles and their interactions? The Historically, angular momentum is what clued in answer can be found in what we may call quantum string physicists to the quantum-gravitational implications of magic. Once the rules of quantum mechanics are applied string theory. to a vibrating string--just like a miniature violin string, except that the vibrations propagate along it at the speed Third, quantum strings demand the existence of of light--new properties appear. All have profound extra dimensions of space, in addition to the usual three. implications for particle physics and cosmology. Whereas a classical violin string will vibrate no matter what the properties of space and time are, a quantum A First, quantum strings have a finite size. Were it string is more finicky. The equations describing the not for quantum effects, a violin string could be cut in half, vibration become inconsistent unless space-time either is cut in half again and so on all the way down, finally highly curved (in contradiction with observations) or R becoming a massless pointlike particle. But the contains six extra spatial dimensions. Heisenberg uncertainty principle eventually intrudes and T prevents the lightest strings from being sliced smaller Fourth, physical constants--such as Newton's than about 10-34 meter. This irreducible quantum of and Coulomb's constants, which appear in the equations length, denoted ls, is a new constant of nature introduced of physics and determine the properties of nature--no I by string theory side by side with the speed of light, c, and longer, have arbitrary, fixed values. They occur in string Planck's constant, h. It plays a crucial role in almost every theory as fields, rather like the electromagnetic field, that C aspect of string theory, putting a finite limit on quantities can adjust their values dynamically. These fields may that otherwise could become either zero or infinite. have taken different values in different cosmological epochs or in remote regions of space, and even today the L Second, quantum strings may have angular physical "constants" may vary by a small amount. momentum even if they lack mass. In classical physics, Observing any variation would provide an enormous E angular momentum is a property of an object that rotates boost to string theory. with respect to an axis. The formula for angular momentum multiplies together velocity, mass and One such field, called the dilation, is the master S distance from the axis; hence, a massless object can key to string theory; it determines the overall strength of have no angular momentum. But quantum fluctuations all interactions. The dilation fascinates string theorists

1932 AD 1935 AD 1937 AD 1938 AD -Ernst A.F. Ruska and Max -Charles F. Richter and his American mathematician After bombarding uranium with Knoll build the first electron associates devise a scale for Howard Aiken begins work on neutrons, German chemists microscope, capable of measuring the strength of an important forerunner to the Otto Hahn and Fritz magnifying objects 400 times. earthquakes. digital computer. The machine, Strassmann find traces of -Sir John D. Cockcroft and -Robert Watson-Watt the Mark 1, is completed in bariumevidence that the Ernest T.S. Walton use demonstrates a ground-based 1944. uranium has undergone artificially accelerated particles radio-locating device that can fission. to successfully disintegrate the spot and count aircraft more nucleus of an atom. than 161 km (100 mi) away. 25 Aurora 2005

because its value can be reinterpreted as the size of an forces of nature, controlled by the dilaton field, were so A extra dimension of space, giving a grand total of 11 feeble that particles in this gas barely interacted. space-time dimensions. R As time went on, the forces gained in strength Taming the Infinite: and pulled matter together. Randomly, some regions All the magic properties of quantum strings point accumulated matter at the expense of their surroundings. T in one direction: strings abhor infinity. They cannot Eventually the density in these regions became so high collapse to an infinitesimal point, so they avoid the that black holes started to form. Matter inside those I paradoxes that collapse entails. Their nonzero size and regions was then cut off from the outside, breaking up the novel symmetries set upper bounds to physical quantities universe into disconnected pieces. that increase without limit in conventional theories, and C they set lower bounds to quantities that decrease. String Inside a black hole, space and time swap roles. theorists expect that when one plays the history of the The center of the black hole is not a point in space but an L universe backward in time, the curvature of spacetime instant in time. As the infalling matter approached the starts to increase. But instead of going all the way to center, it reached higher and higher densities. But when infinity (at the traditional big bang singularity), it the density, temperature and curvature reached the E eventually hits a maximum and shrinks once more. maximum values allowed by string theory, these Before string theory, physicists were hard-pressed to quantities bounced and started decreasing. The moment S imagine any mechanism that could so cleanly eliminate of that reversal is what we call a big bang. The interior of the singularity. one of those black holes became our universe.

Conditions near the zero time of the big bang Not surprisingly, such an unconventional were so extreme that no one yet knows how to solve the scenario has provoked controversy. Andrei Linde of equations. Nevertheless, string theorists have hazarded Stanford University has argued that for this scenario to guesses about the pre-bang universe. Two popular match observations, the black hole that gave rise to our models are floating around. universe would have to have formed with an unusually large size--much larger than the length scale of string The first, known as the pre-big bang scenario, theory. An answer to this objection is that the equations which my colleagues and I began to develop in 1991, predict black holes of all possible sizes. Our universe just combines T-duality with the better-known symmetry of happened to form inside a sufficiently large one. time reversal, whereby the equations of physics work equally well when applied backward and forward in time. A more serious objection raised by Thibault The combination gives rise to new possible cosmologies Damour of the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques in in which the universe, say, five seconds before the big Bures-sur-Yvette, France, and Marc Henneaux of the bang expanded at the same pace as it did five seconds Free University of Brussels, is that matter and spacetime after the bang. But the rate of change of the expansion would have behaved chaotically near the moment of the was opposite at the two instants: if it was decelerating bang, in possible contradiction with the observed after the bang, it was accelerating before. In short, the big regularity of the early universe. I have recently proposed bang may not have been the origin of the universe but that a chaotic state would produce a dense gas of simply a violent transition from acceleration to miniature "string holes"--strings that were so small and deceleration. massive that they were on the verge of becoming black holes. The behavior of these holes could solve the The beauty of this picture is that it automatically problem identified by Damour and Henneaux. A similar incorporates the great insight of standard inflationary proposal has been put forward by Thomas Banks of theory--namely, that the universe had to undergo a period Rutgers University and Willy Fischler of the University of of acceleration to become so homogeneous and Texas at Austin. Other critiques also exist, and whether isotropic. In the standard theory, acceleration occurs after they have uncovered a fatal flaw in the scenario remains the big bang because of an ad hoc inflation field. In the to be determined. pre-big bang scenario, it occurs before the bang as a natural outcome of the novel symmetries of string theory. So, when did time begin? Science does not have a conclusive answer yet, but at least two potentially According to the scenario, the pre-bang universe testable theories plausibly hold that the universe--and was almost a perfect mirror image of the post-bang one. If therefore time--existed well before the big bang. If either the universe is eternal into the future, its contents thinning scenario is right, the cosmos has always been in to a meager gruel, it is also eternal into the past. Infinitely existence and, even if it recollapses one day, will never long ago it was nearly empty, filled only with a tenuous, end. widely dispersed, chaotic gas of radiation and matter. The

1942 AD October 14, 1947 1948 Italian-American physicist Supersonic Flight Charles -Claude E. Shannon presents Enrico Fermi and his “Chuck” Yeager of the United his initial concept for a unifying colleagues at the University of States Air Force becomes the theory of information Chicago in Illinois initiate a first person to break the sound transmission and processing. controlled chain-reaction, an barrier. He pilots an -American physicists Walter H. experiment that constitutes the experimental aircraft, the Bell Brattain, John Bardeen, and first nuclear reactor. X-1, to a speed of 1065 km/h William B. Shockley develop (662 mph), faster than the the transistor. speed of sound at his altitude. GIKI Science Society 26

ACROSS DOWN 1. Point on the celestial sphere which is directly above 1. A zone of the celestial sphere, 9 degrees on each side an observer. (6) of the ecliptic, and divided into 12 equal parts. (6) 4. American Botanist,(1872-1956), who discovered the 2. Particle with spin one half, but with zero rest mass and important antibiotic, aureomycin. (6) zero charge, of importance in beta decay. (8) B 8. The sort of refraction shown by crystals of calcite. (6) 3. Prefix meaning "distant", as in -metry, -scope, etc. (4) R 9. The time for one cycle of a repeating phenomenon. (6) 5. Carbamide. (4) 11. Unit based on the mass of one litre of hydrogen at 6. For an amplifier, this is the ratio of output power to A S.T.P. (5) input power. (4) 12. An atomic grouping which cannot lead a separate 7. Type of symmetry in which a plane divides into 2 I existence, and yet passes unchanged through chemical halves which are mirror images, as seen in many reactions. (7) animals. (6) N 14. A complex nitrogenous organic compound of high 10. Dutch physicist, (l853-l928), who deduced the molecular weight consisting of amino acids joined into contraction in length and the increase in mass for a body folded chains by peptide links. (7) with a velocity close to that of light. (7) C 15. Electrical connection to ground. (5) 13. Russian physicist, (b1904), who caused particles to 20. Element of atomic number 6, which (with the possible exceed the velocity of light in a transparent medium, and R exception of silicon), is unique in its ability to form long thus give off a characteristic radiation. (8) A chains. (6) 14. Unit of pressure equivalent to 1 newton per square 21. Inventor of the rotary petrol engine. (6) metre. (6) C 22. Complex compound forming about 30% of wood, and 16. English biologist, (1825-1895), an ardent Darwinist, which must be removed from wood if pure cellulose is who did much to promote the theory of Natural Selection. K required. (6) (6) E 23. English biologist, (l578-l657), who studied blood 17. A chemical used in medicine.(4) circulation, and is regarded as the founder of modern 18. One property of an ellipse is that the sum of the R physiology. (6) distances from any point on the ellipse to these is constant. (4) S 19. The facts on which a computer program operates. (4)

November 01,1952 1956 AD 1957 AD 1960 AD United States detonates the American computer scientist The USSR launches the first American astronomer Allan R. first hydrogen bomb in a test on John McCarthy coins the term artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, to Sandage finds the first star-like Enewetak Atoll. Its force is "artificial intelligence" (AI). In study Earth's upper objects with strong radio about 500 times greater than 1959-1960 he develops LISP,a atmosphere. The satellite emissions. the atom bombs dropped on list-oriented computer weighs 83 kg (184 lb) and Hiroshima and Nagasaki. programming language, which circles Earth in 95 minutes. The USSR detonates its first becomes the standard launch of Sputnik 1 marks the hydrogen bomb eight years language forAI research. inauguration of the space age. later. 27 Aurora 2005

B R Haveyou ever wondered Enigma A I Why are manhole covers round rather than square? N Does the sun always rise in the east? If you are on a boat and toss a suitcase overboard, will the water level rise or fall? How many times a day do a clock's hands overlap? C How many points are there on the globe where, by walking one mile south, one mile east, and R one mile north, you reach the place where you started? A How would you weigh a jet plane without using scales? C Why do mirrors reverse right and left instead of up and down? K E KnowledgeBIN & R The day of Venus is longer than its year. S The highest mountain in solar system is Olympus Mons on Mars which is 29 km high. TheAmazon River is smaller than Nile River but contains more than 60 times its water. At the time of launch of Space rocket, 86% percent of its weight is fuel. The deadliest fish is piranha which has razor sharp teeth that can rip the skin off crocodiles. So high is its hunger than if one of its own is caught in a fishing line and it can't free itself, the rest of the school will even eat it. The strongest animal in the world, a beetle, can lift objects 750 times more massive than itself. The energy in one hurricane is equal to about 500,000 atomic bombs. The Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean is so deep that Mount Everest could be submerged in it with its summit still two kilometres below the surface. In the middle of the Atlantic the two plates, the African Plate and the American plate, are moving apart at about the same speed as your fingernails grow. A bolt of lightning contains enough energy to toast 160,000 pieces of bread. Unfortunately the bolt only takes 1/10,000 of a second – so turning the bread over might prove difficult. UnquotableQuotes ¥

"They say that something as small as a butterfly beating its wings in China can cause a hurricane in America, so maybe we should go to China and kill all the butterflies, just to be safe." - KenAdvent "The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us." -Calvin and Hobbes "If it's green or wriggles, it's biology. If it stinks, it's chemistry. If it doesn't work, it's physics..." Handy guide to science

"A scientist can discover a new star, but he cannot make one. He would have to ask an engineer to do that." Gordon L. Glegg [ The answers to puzzles are available at www.giki.edu.pk/campus/ss/aurora.html ]

1961 AD 1969 AD 1971 AD First Human in Space Soviet -U.S. astronauts Neil American engineer Marcian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Edward proposes the idea of becomes the first human to Aldrin, Apollo 11 crew putting all of the logic circuitry travel in space. Launched members , become the first of a calculator's central aboard Vostok 1, he orbits people to walk on the Moon. processing unit on a single Earth once, spending an hour -U.S. Defense Department chip. This first microprocessor, and 48 minutes aloft. contractors set up ARPANET which Intel produces in 1971 (predecessor of current and names the Intel 4004, Internet) GIKI Science Society 28

Have you ever wondered Enigma

Knowledge BIN

B R Hints: A I Unquotable Quotes 1. Every symbol represents an alphabet . N 2. Five is an important number. 3. The letter ‘Z’ is not encoded. C 4. The most repeated alphabet in any text is the letter ‘E’. R A C K E Solve the puzzle within a week and win a free dinner on behalf of Science R Society. To claim your prize join #science on mIRC and write ‘Science Rules!!’ S

1986 AD 1990 AD 1993 AD June 26, 2000 AD The Union of Soviet Socialist Hubble Space Telescope The Students at the NCSA Researchers announce the Republics (USSR) launches first optical telescope in space, (National Center for completion of a rough draft of Mir, a space station designed the Hubble Space Telescope, Supercomputing Applications) the human genome. The to provide long-term is launched into Earth orbit by at the University of Illinois, decoding of the genome is accommodations for crew the U.S. space shuttle Champaign-Urbana, develop expected to lead to members while in orbit around Discovery. Mosaic, the first browser development of new drugs and Earth. software. treatments for genetically related diseases. 29 Aurora 2005 Science Society Activities

GIKI Science Society is one of the most active societies in Ghulam Ishaq khan Institute. It has always played an important role in the extra curricular culture of this place. Here is a brief detail of Science Society activities.

All Pakistan Science Fair Sixth All Pakistan Science Fair was organized on 4th- 6th Feb 2005. About 22 teams from across the country participated in two events Science Contest and Science Exhibition. Science contest was won by Roots College, Science Exhibition in Electronics category was won by GC Lahore and in Physics category it was won by Jinnah College Peshawar. Till now six successful All Pakistan Science Fairs have been organized.

Science Marathon Science Marathon is the biggest internal event organized by GIKI Science Society. The purpose of this event is to show the lighter side of science. Every year a large number of teams participate. In this event teams are given the clues to reach a final place in the form of mathematical and physical problems. After solving these problems they reach at their final destination where they are given a practical problem. Team which completes all these stages first is declared the winner. The winners are given handsome cash prizes. Science Kasoty This event comprises of two rounds. In the first round that is the qualification round MCQ's based general knowledge test is given. Top 15 teams qualify for the final round. In the final round teams have to guess the personality of a scientist, Event/Invention/Phenomena on the basis of the hints provided. There is also an other round called dumb charade in which one team member has to act and the other two have to guess. Winner is decided on the aggregate score of all three rounds. The winner is awarded a trophy along with the certificates and cash prize. GIKI Science Society 30

Science Eureka The purpose of the Science Eureka is to challenge and enhance the experimental approach of the participants. This is a team based event where each team comprises of three students. Each team is given a problem for which they have to design an experiment in which simplest approach and minimum apparatus is used. Each team is given one hour to design and perform the experiment. The winner is decided on the basis of their approach towards the problem solving and the viva taken by the judges. The winners are awarded with certificates and handsome cash prize.

Invention Contest Invention Contest is a regular event organized by GIKI Science Society. This event basically comprises of two categories Wacky Inventions and Serious Inventions. Participants have to give a demonstration (if possible) otherwise a presentation of their invention at the event. In wacky invention the purpose is to utilize the scrap material and make some thing useful from it. Ideas for some wacky inventions are Sleeping glasses, Message boards, Theta pads, Bubblegum holder, water Gun etc. while in the category of serious/sober inventions scientific projects can be presented. Some ideas are robots, automated Astronomy Night rooms, Invisible writing pad etc. Astronomy night is the most interesting event organized by GIKI science Society. Telescopes are brought to GIKI to provide a chance to the students who are interested in astronomy to see the planets and the stars. At this event very interesting lectures are also arranged on astronomy and space sciences which are delivered by renowned space scientists of the country. There is always a very active participation from the students at this event.

A GIKI Science Society Publication