Wonderfully exciting - Piezoelectricity!

In 1960s, I listened to Gramophone machine with wonder, how it worked, as its arm danced on a grooved disc that rotated round and round! When the operator of this machine (player) lifted up its arm in changing the disc, I noted a needle under it. I had been wondering about it till I studied Physics at college. Yes, that needle (stylus) produced electrical signals as it went up and down the grooves of the disc, (called as record). It did it through a crystal mounted inside the arm's head (called as pickup). This stylus and the pickup did the whole magic in the gramophone record player - producing Piezoelectricity!

A striking force or pressure on a material such as a quartz crystal, can produce this piezoelectricity. This electricity was found out by French Physicists, Pierre Curie and Jacques Curie in 1880. This piezoelectricity is also used in Inkjet printing, in SONAR and Radio Telephony. Earlier, I knew well about some devices that produced sparks - cigarette lighter and the gas stove lighter. Now, I know that they use this piezo effect in them! Do you know that piezo effect is also used in watches and radio wave transmission?

The reverse of this piezo effect has been also discovered to work for us! It produces Ultra Sound waves when an electric curent is applied on to a crystal!

I am going on learning and learning about new uses of piezo effect: it is used in cars for echolocation of objects! 

So, it is a wonder-full Piezoelectricity that is also exhibited by cane sugar crystals, ceramics and even by our bones!

Terrorizing wonder - Mirror!

We see others in front of us. Can others see themselves as we see them in front of us? Yes, they can see themselves with a mirror held in front of them! When a baby sees first its own face in a mirror, it will be some another person or an object; but later, it understands, learns and identifies it as its own image! 

Sweeter but a sticky fruit, Lasura!

In my childhood days, I had wondered about a nut that remained stuck on the eaves tiles. How had it gone there? Crow had swallowed it and ejected it in its droppings on to the tiles! Is it not digested? It is a hardy nut and hence it is not digested! What is the name of the fruit that contained this nut and was tasty to the crow?

An insect and a worm from nowhere!

I had then found an insect walking out of a cut mango in my boyhood days. The mango seed was having a hole on it; from that hole black and soft grains had come out and spilled on the mango slices and lay strewn all around too. When the insect was touched with a stick, it folded in its legs and pretended to be dead lying still! After sometime it put out its legs and moved away hurriedly! How and when this insect could have entered inside the mango and how could it survive inside the mango? These were the questions arising in me.. Likewise, I had also wondered how worms could have entered in our body and make their living inside us!

Deliciously attracting fruit - the Custard Apple!

Fruits that are available seasonally are the most desired than those available year round. One of such most desired fruits is the Custard Apple (Sugar Apple, Annona squamosa, 'Seethapazham' in Tamil)!

The ultimate nutrition supplier to the body cells - Capillaries!

Small is not only beautiful but also essential to life! We take food to supply nutrition to our body.  How and from where this nutrition is received by the tissue cells of our body? Do you know? We all know that our heart pumps blood from the body organs to the lungs, and then returns the purified blood back to the body organs. But there is also a microcirculation existing at a microlevel between arteries, arterioles and the venules, veins! The components of this circulation are the Capillaries. Only through the walls of these capillaries, the nutrition is received by the tissue cells!

Depicable? No; useful and beautiful - the Caterpillar!

Tiny creatures moving differently often attracted me in my childhood. Unlike the insects' movements, they creep on the ground and move slowly, and don't fly at all. One of them is Caterpillar (Larva, 'Puzhu' in Tamil). These caterpillars are different from worms; they are only the intermediary forms in the development of insects from eggs to the adult forms, the insects.

Being excess may promote cell revolt - a Hypothesis!

This following article points to the fact that one should not be excess and cross his limits in everything:
Body cells really tolerate your excesses. Most of the time your body corrects the altered chemistry due to that. And the body cells are satisfied with this correction and oblige to work as before with this satisfaction inside your body. But when these excesses become more and more, some of the cells revolt against getting the compromised supply of nutrition that results by such excesses.

Pleasing caller - the White-browed Wagtail!

When I was living in an apartment house, I watched two small birds frequenting the top floor of the next house. They were of large sparrow-size, moving their tails up and down. I had seen such birds sitting on the overhead tanks of buildings; they sing for a few seconds and fly away. But I found these two birds to remain on the house for days together!

Sriking fragrance is here - from Marukkozhunthu!

Fragrance on the air makes you expect some flowers near you. But there is a leaf instead of a flower doing this fragrant job! In my childhood days I identified this leaf in a garland made for the Gods' worshiping. A few of these leaves were seen tied alternating with flowers.

The sky's excellence - Supermoon!

Moon is the cool satellite for our Earth and its occupants. It influences the Earth's sea water, materials and also the minds of all the living creatures in it. It is needless to think further about the effect of the visible full moon. Now, this full moon is super in its size - Supermoon!

Flying green dot - the Firefly!

With my parents we went to Courtallam, the 'Spa of South India' quite often. We were on one such visit to this place of waterfalls in 1960s. At night, I was then shown a green dot of light that flashed on a bush by my elder sisters. In the dark I searched for it and found it.

Devil's eyes? No, Nature's eyes - the Eyeshine!

While I drive my two wheeler at night time, I often see two bright spots move away across the roads. Now I know what it is; but in the ancient times people interpreted it to be a devil out of their ignorance. It is the Eyeshine found whenever animals such as cats and dogs run across the road.

Camphor, that lights up bright God's face!

A white round sweet-like substance that smells pleasant and strong to the nose shall attract definitely any child towards it. When it is lighted up, its flame also attracts the child to touch it - but its heat makes the child to retract its hand back! It is our Camphor ('Karpooram' or 'Soodum' in Tamil).

Switching on life with the Pacemaker!

Recently there was news about an Indian-origin doctor implanting  inside heart directly a miniature pacemaker, that is leadless - that too without surgery! Pacemaker is a device that stimulates heart when it fails to beat! Without heart's functioning, there is no life at all; so, this life providing device is much more important than anything else. 

The artist of the soil, the Earthworm!

I had wondered in my childhood about the straight lines found on the muddy soil: it was raining the previous evening; who would have drawn them overnight! As I grew up, I understood who it is: the lines were drawn by worms, the Earthworms! (term and names: Lumbricus terrestris, Rain worm, Night-crawler, Angleworm, 'Munpulu' in Tamil). Though these brownish worms are found in rainy season, their presence in summer can also be inferred by the mud-disrupted lines on the irrigated farm grounds.

Arrow of the sky, the Asian Palm Swift!

At evenings, whenever I walked on the outskirts of my hometown, I used to see small birds flying on the sky in darts here and there. I had wondered in my school days whether they are insects, bats or birds. These arrow like flying things are only birds known as Asian Palm Swifts (Cypsiurus balasiensis, 'Panaimara ulavaran' in Tamil).

A pet to man but enemy to snake - the Mongoose!

In my school days, I have heard my elders tell stories about mongoose apart from that popular story, 'Riki-Tikki-Tavi.' One of such stories is here: the mongoose stole daily a hen from the hen house and left out the hen's body after eating its brain! It simply entered into the hen house burrowing down the earth next to the fence!

The hero of the night's sky - the Moon!

Mothers introduce our Moon to their children in their infancy itself: as they feed them each day with the dinner food, they point out at the serene moon. In the night's sky the moon is the sole attracting object than anything else. Each night it presents a new shape of its phases, that too at different times! It plays such for the kids, attracting them towards it :)

Grey bug of moisture - the Woodlouse!

Whenever I get some itchy skin rashes, my mother attributed it to the bite of a bug. Wondering about what it could be, I searched for it near me; but could not find one. One day my mother pointed out to that bug: it was greyish on its back and whitish underneath; its body was segmented; it was about 6mm in length.

An alert about Elephants in Musth!

In my boyhood days we were cheered up by elders about elephants approaching us in the street whenever we heard its chiming bells. We rushed out to see these trained elephants with the mahout, the trainer, mounted on it. We also had heard about the stray incidents of such elephants turning aggressive suddenly, and thrashing down the mahout to death. We call these beasts as 'Madham pidditha Yanai' in Tamil; this violent nature of them though temporary is devastating to all those nearby. 

Viewing wonders big with this Lens!

Whenever I see hand lenses, I am reminded of my father using it to read fine prints - moving/focusing it towards and away. And also of my experiments with it in my boyhood days. Then I focused a lens on the house wall to get the inverted image of the windows! I tried also to make a camera with it, and a negative film of the inverted windows' image! With it I even viewed film strips on dark room wall using battery light as light source! I also used it outdoors on a piece of paper or a wisp of cotton to burn them - by sharp focusing of sun rays!

Double pump of love, the Heart!

There is a double pump that receives fluid from various places and pumps it to be purified. And at the same time it receives also already purified fluid and pumps it to those various places. This pump is our wonderful Heart pumping the fluid, the blood!

Vineyard Snail is to nail you in wonder!

In school days, I found often shells of snails stuck to the stems of bushy plants. I thought they are the shells of dead snails. Then, I tried hardly to remove one of them from the plant's stem till it give in. On inspection of its mouth I found a white paper-like structure closing it. I pierced it with a stick to strip it off. To my surprise there was the snail still alive, retracting itself further into the shell! This snail is the Vineyard Snail (Cernuella virgata or Hellicella virgata , 'Natthai' in Tamil).

An evil bird? No, a wise Owl!

Then, in the heart of  our town we didn't hear any sounds overnight during our sleep. There were no disturbances except for an occasional terrorizing sound - the screeching of owls! We consider here the owl's sounds heard at midnight as portending the presence of ghosts, and a bad omen. But in the modern West and the ancient Greece it is considered as to be a wise bird! What we see here in our town itself is the Spotted Owlet (Athene brama, 'Aanthai' in Tamil). It is a small bird of prey having the size of a dove. It is totally nocturnal.

Sacred power with Bael Tree!

In my younger days, whenever I went to a temple, I noticed that there is a prickly tree in its courtyard. It bore oval-shaped fruits that resembled a Sapota fruit or an Elephant apple ('Vilaampalzham' in Tamil). On inquiring the elders about it, I was informed that it is the tree that bears the leaves which are used in the worship of the God, Shiva. And that it is not a sapota or elephant apple bearing tree. Then what is it?

'Moving planet' - the International Space Station!

In our school days, we used to track any rare aeroplane that we spot on our skies with its booming sound. We shouted at the sighting of it to alert all other fellow students to view it. Now, it is needless to say about the reactions of sighting of a 'planet' that moves like an UFO! As I alerted about its visit this month, both adults and children reported back about its visit with awe. What is this moving 'planet'?

Stung by Paper Wasps!

Recently, I was stung twice by wasps unusually. I got the second stinging when I tested the wasps whether they differentiate between my body odours or between the colours of my dress. The result of the test, apart from having a stinging, is only that the wasps have become aggressive recently! This kind of wasp is the Paper Wasp (Ropalidia marginata, Vespa ferruginea, 'Sengulavi' in Tamil). These social wasps are much different from other wasps. I find them often build nests in the dark undisturbed storerooms, inside rain water pipes and also even inside the bedrooms!

Birds take to Sand Bathing!

At my younger age, we walked on at evenings to the outskirts of our town, where the railway station is situated. At such one bright evening we saw sparrows fly down to the sandy path that we tread on. They sat on the ground and began to flap their wings to get sand all over their body! This continued on for sometime when another flock of sparrows joined them in doing it.

Delicacy for man and the microbe, the Agar-Agar!

Kids in 1970s enjoyed their summer holidays freed from the school classes and exams. I enjoyed a vacation by doing a small business :) I bought a few grams of a white substance from the mall, ground it into powder; soaked it overnight in a plate full of water. At morning I was delighted to see the plate full of a jelly-like delicacy. I added colourant and sugar to it and then, the delicacy was ready for sales to the boys and girls! What is that substance that I used?

A snake can save you!

Yes, snake's venom can save a person from diseases such as Diabetes mellitus! After venom is secreted in venom glands and it remained unused, where does it go then? Or what happens to it?

Blood siphoning worm, the Leech!

Some years back we went on a trekking through the coffee plantations in Western Ghats (Lower Palani Hills range). After returning back to our residence, we noticed that each one of us having a black sac-like thing on our legs! Blood was oozing out from that spot. We had been bitten by Leeches (Haemadipsa sylvestris, Indian Leech, Terrestrial Leech, 'Attai' in Tamil).

A live bio-audio player - Lyrebird!

At my younger age there was gossip in our group about ghosts' voices that were heard at nights demanding delicacies from the passersby. Now, I wonder whether it could have been the mimicked sounds of a bird! Here, in South India, mynahs and black drongos mimic and then forget the sounds instantly. But it is said that there is a bird that records, remembers and repeats sounds that it heard 30 years back!

The worst wonder weed - Parthenium Weed!

While I was strolling around in my garden I found a carrot plant grown up by itself! I had not sown any carrot seed earlier. I left it as such to get carrot from it. But as it grew up, it had only a straight stem with smaller leaves unlike that of a carrot plant. It also started to bloom differently.

A flower on Martian surface!

We go on trekking to explore about animals or birds in the wild nature. Our such exploration extends also to other planets and moons. But here we include also extra-terrestrial living things, that are similar to us, the human beings. Over the years, we read and heard the news that signs of life, like water etc. does exist in other planets and moons. Recently, in December 2012 it has been reported in the news that a flower is found on the surface of Mars - a Martian Flower!

Tender wonder, the Silverfish!

In 1960s, I observed some creatures creeping  on the wall of our house. When I tried to catch them, they ran and escaped behind wall-hanging calendars. Even if I caught one of them gently, it slipped away to safety leaving behind a silvery white powder on my fingers - just like a moth leaves its scales! It is the Silverfish (Lepisma saccharina, Fishmoth, 'Velli poochi' in Tamil).

Refreshing drink - Tender Coconut Water!

In India one can easily identify kiosks selling soft drinks by the bunches of tender coconuts hanging on the front of them. Even in winter these coconuts are available with them, since the water present in them has many other uses apart from being taken as a natural beverage. This Tender Coconut Water ('Elani thannee' in Tamil) found inside the greenish or orange tender coconuts ('Elanee') cools down the body in hot summer; so it is in much demand.

The ubiquitous foam plastic - Thermocol!

In 1970s, I went to an exhibition conducted by a Polytechnic Institute located at Madurai, South India. There at one of the stalls, students were demonstrating to the public a block of white material that they cut by a heated wire! The hot nichrome wire stretching between two poles cut the block when it was applied from above and pressed down on it.

Goose bumps by smaller Erector pili muscles!

We notice occasionally that we have raised pimple-like areas on our skin each with a hair in its centre, when we enter into the chillness of outdoors or when we are excited much on seeing 'hair-raising' scenes. These raised skin areas are all well known as goose bumps (or goose flesh). How they are made?

Green seed pod? No, Green Vine Snake!

In childhood, we used to talk about the exciting stories that we heard - like that of snakes and ghosts. Out of the snake stories there was one that of a green snake that strikes at eyes when one approaches it! It is the Green Vine Snake (Ahaetulla nasuta, Green whip snake, 'Patcha paamboo' or 'Kankotthi paamboo' in Tamil).

Colourful Coppersmith Barbet

One day at forenoon a curious sound was heard somewhere nearby my house. It was like this: 'tok . tok . tok' repeated for a long time. On careful search outdoors, it revealed the source of it: a bird called Coppersmith Barbet (Megalaima haemacephala, Crimson-breasted barbet). It is called so, because it has its 'call' that resembles the sound produced by a copper smith when he strikes a metal with hammer. It is seen as a small bird like a sparrow; but on closer view its bright colours are revealed.

Hippopotamus lives as a frog!

As school kids, we wondered about an animal that lives in water. We imagined it then as a buffalo lying in tank and taking bath. It is the Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius, 'Neer Yaanai' in Tamil meaning 'water elephant'). When we saw it in a zoo then, it resembled a large sized pig, that is lying in mud avoiding sun's heat! Submerged in water, it was also like a frog or a crocodile, showing only its nostrils, eyes and ears above the water surface.

Moon's play - Waxing and Waning!

In the past adamant children were fed by mothers at dinnertime showing the mesmerizing moon on the sky; children too stopped their crying and chewed in the food seeing the charm of the moon. Children seem to be indulging in these thoughts: why this moon is not stable and goes on changing day by day - waxing sometimes and waning sometimes! OK. Now, why there are these waxing and waning in Moon?

Playing with this Blister Beetle!

Each day one will see at least an insect where ever he is in this world. But one insect will make anyone remember about it at anytime by its peculiar habit as it is to me! This insect is a beetle that sprays pungent gas whenever one irritates it by teasing it. This is the Common Indian Red spotted Blister Beetle (Mylabris pustulata, Orange Beetle, 'Pithaan Pithaan' in Tamil).

Sparkling light-show by Firefly Squids!

I have seen worms glow, and flies flash lights on and off at night. Such natural powers are also seen in deep sea creatures. Such a creature is a squid that flashes deep blue light from all of its body! It is called Firefly Squid (Watasenia scintillans). It lives in West Pacific Ocean at a depth of about 1200 feet.

Aromatic repellant, the Mothballs!

In my childhood, one object drew my attention much by its smell! Even at these present days I could smell and detect its presence in any other materials that had contact with it: we can detect it by its characteristic aromatic odour - even when this odour is present in its lowest concentration! This object is white and round; and is commonly seen in households. It is nothing but our Mothball. Its content chemical is either Naphthalene or Para-dichlorobenzene. Its Tamil names are 'Mannenaikundu', 'Patchaa urundai', 'Anthurundai'.