Consumer Bar Code

These are a combination of thin and thick vertical lines separated by uniform gapes. They are printed on the containers of consumer goods and are read optically by electronic instruments. These bars when encoded give vital information regarding the contents such as price, size, item description, identification number etc. These bars help in preparation of cash memos electronically and also give vital information about available stocks.

Most of the civil aircrafts carry one or two letters or numbers and a letter to identify their nationality. This identification mark is painted on both sides of the fuselage or tail. It is also marked on the under side of the wings. Each country that belongs to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) reports its nationality mark to the organization. That aircraft ID mark for India is - VT.

The Bermuda Triangle is a triangular shaped area of the north Atlantic Ocean located between 25 degree and 40 degree north and 55 degree and 85 degree west. It is so called because one of the triangle's vertices is the island of Bermuda (the other two being Puerto Rico and Florida). The triangle is notorious because, over the years, a large number of ships and aircrafts have disappeared in the area, without any warning and explanation. Superstitious people believe that Bermuda Triangle is haunted, while rationalists feel that the disappearances are caused by sudden and unexpected storms, which often occur in the region.

Geodesy is, infact, a science that deals with the measurement of the earth and survey of large portions of its surface, taking into consideration its curvature (which is not done in the normal 'plane' surveying). Though the prediction of earthquake has not been made possible by any technique so far , surveying using the Global Positioning System, the latest facility in Geodesy, enables the detection of even smallest movement of the surface of the earth. The lengths of baselines established on the ground between several points are measured very precisely using the GPS. Increase or decrease in these lengths can indicate movements in the earth. Such movements may point to a stress buildup. Earthquakes are brought about by the sudden release of such stresses built up over a long time.

Daisycutters (used in the Afghanistan war) are the fearsome 15,000 pound BLU-82 bombs, a relic of the Vietnam war. They are the most powerful non nuclear weapons in the US inventory. The bomb's warhead contains 5700 kg of GSX, a slurry of ammonium nitrate-the basis of nitrogen fertilizer-highly inflammable aluminum powder and polystyrene-based soap as a thicker. These bombs explode a few feet above ground and obliterate anything over hundreds of yards. The blast is so horrific that just the threat of it being used puts a psychological threat in the enemy. When Daisycutter explodes, it generates a massive pressure wave. Ordinarily, atmospheric pressure is just over 1kg/sq cm. In a Daisycutter explosion, it reaches to about 70 kg/sq cm. at the center.

Just as an electric switch is flicked to light the bulb, we do the same by lighting the handset of a telephone. That is, complete the electrical circuit for the current to flow in .In telephonic parlance, this is called a loop. When this loop is broken with the help of a mechanical device in quick succession, a number of times according to the digits dialed, the number of break pulses sent on line is equal to the number of digits dialed. This is called pulse dialing. This system would often reach a wrong number as often the pulse generated were not exactly accurate.

In Tone dialing, a combination of two out of five voice frequencies is put on line. Ten combination of two frequencies, each are possible out of five given frequencies for all the digits from 0 to 9 .This method is more reliable as dialing of wrong number is obviated.

Lunacy is a form of insanity, once believed to be associated with the wanning and waxing of the moon. The Romans believed that the mind was affected by the moon, and that lunatics (moon-struck person) grew more and more frenzied as the moon increased to its full size.

Other belief is that Cosmic rays are said to affect the working of human mind which has a close relation to mood changes in a person. It is possible that the moon being the closest celestial body to the earth, affects human behavior and manifests itself in increased irritation level in lunatics or even in normal person.

Cabin lights of plane are switched off during take-off and landing because all electrical fittings i.e. lights, air-conditioning, cabin pressurization and some of the flight instruments are operated by the aircraft battery. During take-off and landing, which are critical stages of flight, the aircraft landing light has to be switched on. The landing light, which consumes a lot of power could drain the battery. Any over demand of power from a constant supply source like the battery would result in a voltage drop whereby the electric instruments available to the pilot could give the erratic readings. To safeguard the aircraft battery, it is advisable to "switch off" the cabin lights during take-off and landing.