EUTHANASIA COASTER

 A roller coaster that would take you to the extremes of life. You'll be exuberant & ebullient at the onset of this bizarre, outrageous journey but the end is going to leave jaws dropping. So, fasten your seat belts because you are taking off to the most treacherous trip of your esprit.

Adrian is an insane scientist, distressed about the population burst across the entire world. He had made numerous efforts to either invent a machine that would be the cliff-hanger in the beginning but would prove lethal at the end. 

He had been working on this strange project for more than 10 years! Denied of Nobel Prize twice due to the insane and inhumane projects proposed by him for the betterment of the world (according to Adrian), had left him more frustrated. I mean just think about junior Hitler, who would accept his malignant ideas in this world? 

One day he got a way out of this problem too. He designed a captivating yet pernicious roller coaster. Euthanasia Coaster as a death machine is engineered to humanely take the life of a human being! 

It starts with a long, slow climb before a 500m drop, which leads into a series of loops that are designed to create intense centrifugal force, so that you won't be able to breathe, and finally die from lack of oxygen.

Pleased by his own invention, he decided to launch it in a mega exhibition of innovations. The roller coaster was grabbing the desired attention, but nobody tried it. A kid came to him and told him that he wants to ride this roller coaster. 

He agreed, and the boy was running out of oxygen after going into a few loops. This threatening view horrified everyone. The kid on the Euthanasia Coaster has died. The police came, arrested him, and now he is trying to invent yet another device to slam the walls of the prison and break free. 

What do you think, would he fulfill the insane impulses born out vengeance?

Neural Implant : Hacking The Human Brain

“It’s like a Fitbit in your skull with tiny wires.”

He stated this phrase while he announced his latest endeavor on 28th August 2020. Of course, we are talking about the founder of the company “Neuralink,” Mr. Elon Musk. According to Musk, his company has built a self-contained neural implant that can wirelessly transmit detailed brain activity without any external hardware aid. 

Syncing the human brain with AI making humans capable of controlling computers, prosthetic body parts, and other gadgets through brain activity without uttering any single word; his objective is phenomenal.

I switched on my internet, googled, and read about all these things, about the technology and its details, and here are what I found out:

A neural implant is a device that interacts with the neurons when placed inside our bodies. Neurons are the cells that communicate in the language of electricity. The implant happens to be an electrode typically while coming in contact with the tissues, tries to communicate with the neurons. 

This device helps record the neural activity of a human, which further provides patterns to research over the functioning of normal healthy neurons. Along with that, this implant can be extremely useful in overriding a particular native pattern allowing neurons to communicate differently.

In brief, the implant allows us to hack into a human’s nervous system to develop new treatments following the healthy neural activity. It can cure abnormalities overriding the pulses of neurons.

The small, wireless, battery-powered implant Neuralink has been developing intends to read and write human thoughts from millions of neurons and convert them into computer commands and vice versa, and that too unseen from outside the body.

Neuralink's implant consists of all the essentials like a battery, processing chip, Bluetooth radio, and thousands of electrode contacts all on board. Each electrode records the activity between zero to four neurons, and thus thousands of them can record enormous brain activity. This device is also capable of transmitting data safely over the long term.

While mentioning his breakthrough, Musk demonstrated the device with live pigs, and Gertrude was the one with the implant in its brain. A monitor streamed the electrical brain activity being registered with the device. But the decoding and interpretation of brainwave data are yet to come. However, the company’s data is to be vetted by the research community since the transmission of that much amount of information is not demonstrated with humans.

Talking about the technology with the Spectrum before the live demonstration, president of Neuralink, Max Hodak said,

“Neuralink achieved the advance by experimenting with different materials, upgrading the antennae and wirelessly transmitting only heavily compressed embeddings of neural data from the implant, along with other optimizations made possible through a fast feedback cycle. One of the company’s latest prototypes is made of monolithically cast forms of glass that are laser welded together and hermetically sealed. The device so far has lasted safely in pigs for two months.”

According to an article published on IEEE Spectrum, researches and experiments over this surgically implanted BCI system have been going on for over 15 years. Since 2003, fewer than 20 people in the U.S. have received a BCI implant, all for restorative, medical purposes on a research basis. Most of these systems involve hardware protruding from the head, providing power and data transmission. The Braingate consortium and other organizations have enabled people with neurological diseases and paralysis to operate tablets, type eight words per minute, and control prosthetic limbs using only their thoughts.

As a matter of fact, it is not the first time that a neural implant is being invented. Still, it is used in fewer treatments for humans. One of the most established clinical use is DBS i.e., Deep Brain Stimulation. This is a surgical procedure in which electrodes are placed in some brain areas. These electrodes, or leads, generate electrical impulses that control abnormal brain activity. The electrical impulses can also adjust for the chemical imbalances within the brain that cause various conditions. The stimulation of brain areas is controlled by a programmable generator placed under the upper chest's skin.

FDA first approved the use of DBS in 1997 for essential tremors. Since then, with other organizations, it has been approved for incurable disorders like Parkinson’s diseases, dystonia, tinnitus, epilepsy, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and neuropathic pain. It is also under research for Tourette Syndrome and Depression.

The vagus nerve inside our body connects most of our organs to the brain stem. The scientists and researchers are working as hard as they can in manipulating this nerve to treat heart failure, stroke, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, epilepsy, type 2 diabetes, obesity, depression, migraine, and other ailments.

Adding more to the lists, some science fiction elements, scientists have also successfully enhanced memory capability for specific tasks. Quadriplegic individuals with brain implants have operated computers and typed sentences using only their thoughts.

The neural implant is indeed a revolutionary technology that has prodigious competence like in medical science. Though the prototype released is not yet launched. Still, according to the latest sources, the company is not far away from performing human trials. As the world moves forward with these astounding developments, the challenges leading to negative consequences also lie. But as a rational being, it is our responsibility to drive it towards a positive direction to enhance our existence and make the world a better place.

Now answer me this,

“DARPA announced its interest in developing “cyborg insects” to transmit data from sensors implanted into the insect during the pupal stage. Which is the first cyborg insect?”

Want to take a guess? Go for it. We will be waiting for your answers in the comments section. And do not forget to like and share this blog with your friends and tech-enthusiasts.

Here are some internet sources for references:

1. https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/devices/elon-musk-neuralink-advance-brains-ai

2. https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/devices/what-is-neural-implant-neuromodulation-brain-implants-electroceuticals-neuralink-definition-examples

3.https://news.mit.edu/2018/neural-implants-modulate-brain-microstructures-with-pinpoint-accuracy-0628

4.https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/07/19/238809/nathan-copeland-man-with-brain-implant-on-elon-musk-neuralink-brain-computer-interface/

James Webb Space Telescope

"T-6,5,4,3,2,1 and lift off of the Space Shuttle Discovery with the Hubble Space Telescope, Our window on the Universe." 

On April 24th, 1990, Scientists and People (from their home) looking at the launch would have never imagined that this telescope will make a paradigm shift in astronomy. Before its launch, we didn't know how old the Universe was. We had never seen a planet outside of our Solar System. We didn't even know about Dark Matter and Energy. Hubble taught us a lot, but it can only see so far and in so much detail.

To see farther, all the way back to the formation of the very first stars and galaxies (what's known as the Universe's First Light) we're going to need a bigger telescope, and that is what started the largest, most expensive, and most challenging space engineering project humans have ever attempted: James Webb Space Telescope.

Named after James E. Webb, who made significant contributions in the Apollo Program, the Webb is a multi-purpose observatory that will observe everything from the planets in our solar system all the way to the most distant objects we can see and everything in between.

But what's so important about the Universe's First Light? Basically, scientists want to find out how galaxies were formed to understand the situation from which they arose, their evolution, the forces at work and to get a better picture of the Early Universe. It will help them to predict the future of our galaxies and stars.

So in order to do all this, Webb will be equipped with a lot of instruments and one of them is the largest primary mirror ever to be flown in space, with a diameter of 6.5 meters which is more than 6 times the size of Hubble's primary mirror. 

Resembling a Honeycomb, it consists of 18 sections made with beryllium (which retains its shape at low cryogenic temperatures) and coated with 100 nm thick layer of gold. Such a coating best reflects infrared radiation. A secondary mirror receives light from the main mirror and directs it to instruments at the rear of the telescope.

But what's the point of using infrared light to see back in time?

 
The image you saw is the deepest image of the Universe ever taken. It's called the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. Now if you look closely at this picture you can see some tiny red blips. Those are the most distant galaxies because the expansion of the Universe shifted their light towards the red part of the spectrum. That's why Webb is sensitive to infrared so that it can pick up where Hubble left off.
 
But there's a problem-The sun also emits infrared. Don't Worry Webb is also equipped with a Sunshield, which is about the size of a tennis court. It's composed of five very thin layers of Kapton polyamide film that protects the mirror and instruments from Sunlight.

 
The third main part of the telescope is the central computer which controls the operations of the observatory in the orbit.

Still, more scientific instruments will be onboard the telescope.

NIRCam (Near Infrared Camera), which is actually the main set of eyes of the telescope, which will allow us to peer into distant galaxies. A Near-Infrared Spectrograph will collect both the physical and chemical properties of an object. Next in line is a Mid Infrared Instrument which will allow us to see stars being born. Then we have a Near-Infrared Imager and Sleepless Spectrograph or NIR ISS camera that is aimed at finding Exoplanets and the first light of distant objects. And last but not least the FGS or Fine Guidance Sensor, that will help accurately point the telescope for higher quality image and control the operation of the steering and main mirrors.

And unlike other telescopes, Webb will not be orbiting the Earth. It's going to a point 1.5 million kilometers away from Earth, called the second Lagrange Point or L2. When you go out to L2, you don't have the Earth and the sun filling half your sky. So, all Webb sees is the dark of space and be able to do its mission.

The James Webb Space Telescope was first scheduled to be launched in 2007 and was budgeted at 500 million dollars. But as construction progressed and testing began, that launch date and budget have changed a lot. As per the latest updates from NASA, the launch date is now shifted to 25th December 2021.
 
Now answer this: Telescopes work on a lot of frequencies like Gamma Ray, X-Ray, Visible, etc. Right now, which type of telescope (in terms of  frequency) has the highest number in our orbit?

Webb is truly an engineering marvel that will change our understanding about the Universe's formation, expansion, and evolution.

References:

• https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/webb/main/index.html

•  https://www.space.com/nasa-james-webb-space-telescope-worth-wait.html

• https://sci.esa.int/web/jwst

• https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/interactive/2021/webb-space-telescope-launch/

VIRTUALLY REAL

I must be fortunate enough to live in this century where the legends of science, technology, and arts have contributed so much to society and where zest to invent things never ends. A modern invention that's completely out of imagination is Virtual Reality(VR).

Virtual Reality (VR) is the use of computer technology to create a simulated environment. Unlike traditional user interfaces, VR places the user inside an experience. Instead of viewing a screen in front of them, users are immersed and able to interact with 3D worlds. 

By simulating as many senses as possible, such as vision, hearing, touch, even smell, the computer is transformed into a gatekeeper to this artificial world. The only limits to near-real VR experiences are the availability of content and cheap computing power. This invention is indeed bliss for mankind, whenever I peep through VR, I personify myself into the shoes of actors and feel alive.

But this VR  often reminds me of the "Virtually true" a chapter that I had in my 9th grade, which begins with a boy named Michael who comes across an article in the newspaper about a “Miracle Recovery.” The article is about a boy whose condition was critical but he still recovers from the coma. Michael remembers that the boy who was cited in the newspaper was, in fact, Sebastian Shultz who he had happened to meet a few weeks ago while playing.

It all got started during the Computer Fair, when Michael’s father who was nutty about computers, gifted him a new computer that was preloaded with games. When he starts playing the game ‘Wild West’, he gets challenged by “Black-eyed Jed” to a duel when becomes a Sheriff. He then meets a Second Sheriff whom he was asked to go with. Sadly, the Second Sheriff happens to get shot by the villains and the game soon ends. Later, he gets a printout that reads “I‘m Sebastian Shultz, try playing Dragon Quest”.

In the game Dragon Quest, his mission is to save Princess Aurora from the wicked dragon. He gets the help of the second knight who is none other than Sebastian. Sebastian was killed later on in the game. The game ends but his printer displays a message that asks him not to give up and try playing “Jailbreak.”

In the game Jail Break, his task was to escape along with the prisoner, and he somehow knew it was Sebastian again. They eventually broke out of jail and ran to the roof as doors shut behind them. Then the helicopter arrived as they reached the roof and they got into the helicopter. When they have taken off, Sebastian fell off the helicopter, and then the game ended. Michael played the game many times later but he never got a print after that.

Then one fine day, his printer displays a message that tells him that the helicopter was a better choice, so try your luck at playing “War Zone”. Sebastian also promised not to trouble him again if this did not work out.

Michael jumped into the game right away. He found himself in a city that is scarred by battle wounds. He knew that his job was to save Sebastian. They ran together towards an abandoned jeep that they managed to find amidst the rubble. Then, they went towards a helicopter as a tank followed them. As soon as it came to their view, Sebastian stopped the car. 

Michael jumped into the helicopter when the jeep went into a spin. Sebastian could not get into the helicopter at that point. Michael patiently waited and shouted at him to come into the helicopter but Sebastian does not budge. A few moments later, Sebastian was thrown into the helicopter when the tank collides with the jeep. They flew into clouds and the game ended, saving him. When Michael removes his visor, he realizes that he has got the Higher Score.

The narrator now wants to cross-check the details. He gets out of the train and tries to get some details on the internet. He finds out what he was looking for. It seems that during the time of the accident, Sebastian was on his laptop and was playing one of the psycho-drive games that the narrator had purchased.

The narrator later understands that Sebastian’s memory had got stored on the disk because the computer had saved Sebastian’s memory when he had banged his head during the accident. But it’s interesting to know how it ended up in the narrator’s computer. 

This puzzle also gets solved later because the narrator gets to know that when Sebastian was in the hospital, someone had stolen his games and sold them and it was the narrator who had ended up buying them. There is also a message from Sebastian that says, “DEAR MICHAEL, THANK YOU. I'm NOT SURE HOW IT HAPPENED. BUT YOU SAVED MY LIFE. LET’S MEET UP SOON, CHEERS. SEB. PL. KEEP THE GAMES. YOU’VE EARNED THEM”.
  
The only difference I found was I never received a message so far as Michael did.

SR-71 : The Blackbird

“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”
                               —President John F. Kennedy

The truth is a strange thing. You can try to suppress it, but it will always find its way to the surface, sometimes our little minds cannot comprehend;

"We’re eyeball to eyeball…and I think the other fellow just blinked.”
—Secretary of State, Dean Rusk to NSA, McGeorge Bundy

With tensions rising in the Cold War, the most important thing for both sides was a fail-proof reconnaissance method to collect as much information as possible and maintain as much stealth as possible. By the latter half of the 1950s, the RADARs and anti-aircraft missiles were already integrated into the Air-Defense systems of both the countries, making it very difficult to launch air reconnaissance missions. 

In 1962, a USAF U-2 aircraft was shot down by Russian SAM(Surface to Air Missile) over Soviet territory. Situations like these gave rise to the need for an aircraft capable of out-flying missiles and out-heighten the anti-aircraft artillery and RADAR. This Herculean task was assigned to the Lockheed Martin Corporation’s clandestine division, Skunk Works, headed by a genius Design Engineer, Clarence L. Kelly Johnson.

Design

The initial design proposed a new high speed, high altitude, reconnaissance aircraft, to be capable of avoiding interceptors and missiles, centered on a design propelled by liquid hydrogen. This proved to be impracticable because of considerable fuel consumption. Lockheed then reconfigured the design for conventional fuels. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), already flying the Lockheed U-2, issued a production contract for an aircraft designated the A-12. 

The A-12 was designed to cruise at Mach 3.2 and fly well above 18,288 m (60,000 feet).

Titanium Skin

Flying at more than three times the speed of sound generates 316° C (600° F) temperatures on external surfaces due to air drag, which was enough to melt conventional aluminum airframes. The design team chose to make the jet's external skin of the Titanium alloy to which shielded the internal aluminum airframe.

Twin Engines

Two conventional, but very powerful, afterburning turbine engines, named Pratt & Whitney J-58,  propelled this remarkable aircraft. These power plants had to operate across a huge speed envelope in flight, from a takeoff speed of 334 kph (207 mph) to more than 3,540 kph (2,200 mph).

Special Color

The A-12s were to exhibit a low radar profile. This was achieved by carefully shaping the airframe to reflect as little transmitted radar energy (radio waves) as possible, and by application of special(black) paint designed to absorb, rather than reflect, those waves. And this peculiar black color gave rise to its name “The BlackBird”.

These A-12’s were upgraded by adding special reconnaissance equipment and designated as SR-71. The SR-71 was both longer and heavier than the A-12, allowing it to hold more fuel as well as a two-seat cockpit. The SR-71 was introduced to operational service in January 1966. These were very sophisticated crafts and required a lot of preparation. Pilots were trained specifically for this task.

Fun fact: The glass cover on the cockpit used to get so hot that pilots would warm their food by pressing against it.

The SR-71 still holds the world record for flying at a sustained altitude of 85,069 feet and reaching a top speed of 2,193.2 miles per hour, or Mach 3.3. 

SR-71s were decommissioned from active service in 1990. It was last flown by NASA in 1999. Now the remaining of the BlackBirds are enjoying their retirement, resting in museums.

Now answer me this:

“Keeping in mind the fact that SR-71 could easily fool the RADARs, do you think it would still be stealthy if launched today?”

Here are some references for a more detailed read:

1. https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/setting-records-sr-71-blackbird
2. https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/sr-71-blackbird-spy-plane-design/index.html
3. https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/news/features/history/blackbird.html

Into The Tunnel : II

Hey readers, if you have missed the first part of Into The Tunnel, please find it here:

Into The Tunnel : I

We hope you have a good read of the second part of Into The Tunnel;

Kili swung the sword cum stick like a warrior and there was a clanging sound of two swords, according to Kili and Fili. In reality, Kili's stick had struck an asteroid hard and was completely destroyed. Thankfully his hand was intact. 

Kili on realizing that his sword just disappeared, went mad and started reciting some peculiar chants in Khuzud (dwarf language). 

Fili thought his brother was suffering from mental illness, and he needs his help.  What can he do in such a situation when they are not aware of their whereabouts? Amidst such a situation, their only escapade would be magic. Somehow get off this swing, and return home. The fondness of a weird swing was sucked by the vacuum. Frustrated and annoyed Fili accompanied Kili to recite chants in Khuzud. 

Those were not some normal chants, they were exceptionally potent, for they had originated along with the creation of this Universe. The energy they had in them could transform even the smallest atoms to gargantuan galaxies. 

As they continued with their intonation, the magnetic field of the earth started aligning such that, the hollow corridor of disastrous impressions again emerged along with the landmass and there was no void in between. 

Fili and Kili on feeling the ground under their feet had stopped reciting and came to their senses. On realizing they were not on that horrific swing anymore, all their plans to conquer the skies, oceans, and clouds were shattered. 

They then journeyed back to the distant and cabbalistic lands of dwarfs, under the stars and above the oceans.

Switched Reluctance Motors: A Sustainable Approach

"The need for efficient and sustainable energy solutions while cutting off carbon emissions continues to grow, as our world sees the negative impact of its lack of consideration for the environment has had."

What if we could save millions of dollars of manufactures along with slashing the carbon emissions to almost it's half. Here's a solution that modern technology has gifted with recent advancements " switched reluctance motor (SRM) ".

Since these past 100 years, the traction motor technologies have progressed from dc motors, induction motors, and lately, to permanent magnet (PM) motors.

Although high-performance PMs provide high efficiency and high torque density, they are unsustainable because of the scarcity of rare-earth materials they rely on. 

So besides the need to further reduce CO2 emissions from hybrid vehicles, there is a requirement to eliminate the use of rare earth elements also.

Turntide is a company focused on meeting this need with an electric, smart motor design that has the potential to reduce electricity consumption and carbon emissions by more than 25%.

Ryan Morris, Turntide's executive chairman, said, "What intrigued me at first was that this thing is actually the simplest mechanical electric motor that can be made, but you need electronics and software that are precisely shaping the current that goes into that motor."

As a new speed control system, the SRM drive system is being integrated with power electronic technology, computer control technology, and microelectronics technology.

Working of a Switched Reluctance Motor (SRM) 

SRMs operate by switching currents in the stator windings in response to changes in the magnetic circuit formed by the rotor and stator. The stator contains windings, but the rotor is simply made of steel that is shaped into salient poles, with no windings or magnets. 

There are fewer poles on the rotor than on the stator. When the rotor and stator poles are out of alignment, the magnetic circuit between them has a high reluctance. 

The basic principle behind its working is that the magnetic flux has a tendency to flow through the lowest reluctance path, therefore the rotor always tends to align along the minimum reluctance path, which means when stator phase winding A is energized, the rotor aligns along with this phase. As soon as the rotor align along with the A phase, B phase must be energized and A phase must be de-energized if clockwise rotor rotation is required.

What makes it more efficient than other motors? 

Unlike standard induction motors, an SRM has no rotor bars and therefore, no torque-producing current flow in the rotor. Also since they have rotors with no magnets or windings, they have lower inertia and can, therefore, achieve higher accelerations and speeds than PM motors.

Because of its simplified design, and the fewer parts required for it, estimates show that SRMs could cost up to 11% less than standard motors.

Forces from a magnetic field on the rotor's iron can be up to 10 times stronger than those created by current-carrying conductors. This means that these motors could be much more affordable and efficient than standard motors.

It's quite evident now that Turntide's model has the potential to become the world's most efficient electric motor. The company hopes to scale its model globally. Their model can replace motors of all sizes and is applicable in a variety of industries, but Turntide is focusing first on introducing it into buildings and agriculture.

As explained by Morris, "Replacing the motors, just in (U.S.) buildings, would be the carbon equivalent of giving the world a brand new Amazon rainforest."

While SRMs can have very high power density at low cost, they have had issues with high torque ripple when operated at low speed, and the acoustic noise caused by torque ripple.

Now answer this: "Which company has been providing high precision drive systems (motors) to NASA for their Mars rover projects ?"

And do not forget to share this article with others.

Here are the references from where you can learn more about SRMs :

1.   https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214993715000032
2.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switched_reluctance_motor
3.   https://turntide.com/technology/