Baumgartner's Space Jump: A Daredevil's Endeavour

In a giant leap from more than 38.6 km up, daredevil skydiver and former military parachutist, Felix Baumgartner, shattered the sound barrier while making the highest jump ever — a tumbling, death-defying plunge from a balloon to a safe landing in the New Mexico desert. To give some perspective, 38.6 km is almost four times the height of a cruising passenger airline.  He hit Mach 1.24, or 1,342 kmph, according to preliminary data, and became the first man to reach supersonic speed without traveling in a jet or a spacecraft.

The video feed - broadcast on a 20-second delay intended to give news stations time to cut away in case tragedy struck - was viewed by more than seven million people on YouTube alone. The risks associated with the jump were tremendous. His blood could have boiled, his lungs could have overinflated, the vessels in his brain could have burst and his eyes could have hemorrhaged. And yes, he could have broken his neck too. 

He said before the attempt that "part of this entire experience will help make the next pressure suit safer for space tourists and aviators." Former NASA Astronaut Leroy Chiao concurred, saying "the technologies that they have developed, pressure suit technologies, I think you are going to see these things incorporated into future pressure suits that are used in spacecraft."

We, at Techkriti'13 team, were humbled just by the experience of watching the video feed. The gap between his crane-assisted liftoff and the smooth parachute landing was filled with curiosity, anxiety and wonderment.  Baumgartner's feat would inspire the next generation of space pioneers and we hope that they are as brave as him when facing the unknown. As the man himself said after the jump, "We live to conquer fears and pursue dreams. May our attempts and accomplishments progress humankind."

Nobel Prizes Announced

A few hours ago the Nobel committee of Sweden chose the winners of this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics and Chemistry.
The Nobel Prize in Physics was won by Serge Haroche of France and David Wineland of America, for finding ways to measure quantum particles without destroying them. Wineland described their work as a ‘parlor trick’ that performed the seemingly magical feat of putting an object in two places at once.
The achievement could make it possible to build a new kind of computer far more powerful than any seen before. Here is a simple explanation of how their research might revolutionise the world of quantum computing:
In a normal computer, a switch must either be on or off. A quantum computer would work with switches that, like the particles in Wineland's experiment, behaved as if they were in more than one position at the same time.
An example is a computer trying to work out the shortest route around town for a travelling salesman. A traditional computer might try every possible route and then choose the shortest. A quantum computer could do the calculation in one step, as if the salesman travelled each route simultaneously.
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was one by two American scientists- Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka. They studied protein receptors that let body cells sense and respond to outside signals like danger or the flavour of food.
Since the 1980s they have accomplished groundbreaking discoveries on an important family of receptors, known as G-protein-coupled receptors. About half of all medications act on these receptors, including beta blockers and antihistamines, so learning about them will help scientists come up with better drugs.

Techkriti’13 appreciates and applauds their efforts to bring to life what could previously only be imagined in equations and thought experiments. Here at Techkriti we will strive to, in our own little way, create a scientific environment that will enable brilliant minds to bring alive the wildest dreams of science fiction.

Remembering Steve

Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of Steve Jobs’ passing. Steve Jobs was always described as an innovator, a visionary; and rightly so. Although he will be remembered for ushering in fundamental changes in the way people interact with technology, he has also been known for his ability to turn a phrase – and a knack for taking complicated ideas and making them easy to understand. Below, we present some of his most inspiring and famous quotes:

1. Talking about work at the Stanford University's Commencement address on June 12, 2005: "Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle."
2. Steve Jobs gave an interview in "60 minutes" in 2003 in which he shared that his business model was inspired by The Beatles: "My model for business is The Beatles: They were four guys that kept each other's negative tendencies in check; they balanced each other. And the total was greater than the sum of the parts. Great things in business are not done by one person, they are done by a team of people."
3. “It’s more fun to be a pirate than to join the navy.”
4. On being the richest man in an interview to The Wall Street Journal in 1993 "Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me... Going to bed at night saying we've done something wonderful... that's what matters to me."
5. In 1983, Steve Jobs lured the then President of the highly successful company PepsiCo, John Sculley to leave his secure high-paying job and join Jobs' team of computer nerds. All it took was a question from Steve : "Do you want to sell sugared water for the rest of your life? Or do you want to come with me and change the world?"
6. Talking about Death at the Stanford University commencement speech, June 2005: "Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything -- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure -- these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. ... Stay hungry. Stay foolish."
7. "Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren't used to an environment where excellence is expected."
8. Talking about him being fired from Apple at the Stanford University's Commencement Speech 2005: "I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.[...] It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith."
9. At an Apple product event for the first Macintosh computer on January 24, 1984: "We're gambling on our vision, and we would rather do that than make "me, too" products. Let some other companies do that. For us, it's always the next dream."
10. “The cure for Apple is not cost-cutting. The cure for Apple is to innovate its way out of its current predicament.”

Mark Your Calendars!

The dates for the conduction of Techkriti'13 have been finalised. So, mark your calendars for March 14th- 17th, 2013 as a plethora of activities awaits you during these four days of Techkriti'13. Competitions that lead you to your finest creations, talks that stir your curiosity and exhibitions that bring the latest advancments in science and technology within your reach- We have it all planned out for you.

We would like to thank you all for your support and appreciation of the theme for the next edition of Techkriti, which was revealed a few days ago- FIXING THE PLANET!

 

We would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Team Udghosh on the successful completion of the sports festival. A special mention for all the participating colleges, for competing fiercely while upholding the spirit of their respective games.