Anupam Kumar

It is a normal human tendency, to keep an eye on whoever he/she is primitive to. What they do, how they live, and various other things is something that humans often think about. The outer-space scientists really are no different; however, this knowledge of the superior (the Sun) is important. The sun is the controller of our solar system: and is the primary source of energy on this planet. Sunspots are time to time dark spots on the Sun’s surface that occur due to giant magnetic loops blasting through the surface. These sunspots are referred to as the real glimpse of the interior of the sun (Pg. 32, New Scientist 12June 2010). Sunspots occur in cycles, with solar storms dying down and everything calming down- but later the process starts all over again, and surpasses their previous record. After things calmed down in 2007, the scientists and their computers did predict that the cycle of reaching a new maximum will come up: but it didn’t happen. In 2008, 266 days of the year (Approximately 73.4% of the year) the sun remained spot free! Why is there an exclamation mark? Why should one (taking reference to humans, of course) even care?

The usual knowledge of the scientists has had a shift. There is a change in the way the conveyor-belt of the sun (a gaseous spin inside the sun) is functioning- the internal belt has come to a crawling pace while the surface gas has increased on the surface of the sun since 2004. Long ago, during the 1650s a similar pause had occurred which led to the Little Ice Age. The short hike in sunspots and solar outputs in 2008 were recorded by Naval Research Lab in Washington DC to cause an unbalanced increase in temperature. The effects are confusing, and have also got the many computers working on the subject non-responsive.

What we have here is a solar minima type situation, with varying sunspots and radiation. The TSI, or the Total Solar Irradiance has dropped. The sun emits Ultraviolet rays in its solar outputs, the frequency of these outputs have decreased to an extent that scientists have come to a reason, which though controversial, is true; the sun is shrinking. To get better details the French space agency has designed the mission Picard to return precise measurements of the sun (diameter, radius, and various other energy related measurements). However the spacecraft project, which was planned to be launched on the Russian Dnepr rocket, is currently paused due to political differences between Russia and Kazakhstan. Scientists are trying to force the rocket’s launch, as they say that important data is being lost every second. Political differences really shouldn’t disturb the scientific world.

What the sun will do next is something beyond our ability to predict. But because of the constant dips in TSI, the scientists predict that sunspots may no longer exist by 2015, and we might have another Little Ice Age due to another marauder minimum. The sun’s shrinking is something only time can tell, and will decide when the world really will end (of course, that’s not 2012).

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Source: What’ up Sunshine? Pgs. 30-35 New Scientist 12 June 2010

Courtesy: New York Times

Link to the article where image was found: LINK

Imagine a school where you only carry a double sided touch screen tablet to school to use (2 ipads joined together) on which you can go online easily, and simply use like a notebook, instead of wasting time and energy on finding your notebook inside your stuffed backpack.  You don't need any fat humongous textbooks, just a slim and stylish Kno.  This device is powered by a form of linux totally modified for the machine.  It has everything a student needs, and also has an app store.  A school with such technology will be amazing, as people simply own KNOs and walk around.  No more sixth graders with wheely bookbags, no more heavy backpacks for high schoolers.  What an easy life it would be.  However, the comfort will cost you some money.  This device, double the size of the iPad (two touch pads instead of one) will be double the price (around a thousand dollars).  However if the technology advances, it will get cheaper. 

The annual model United Nations conference was held from May 13 to May 15. The conferences were mainly held in the Grand Hyatt Hotel (Midtown Manhattan, New York), the opening and the closing ceremony were held in the General Assembly hall of the United Nations. The opening ceremony began the Model United Nations in an inspiring way. The session was led by Mr. Hayes Brown, the Secretary General of the UNA USA Model UN 2010 and was added power to by the words of the Honorable UN Secretary General Ban Ki Mun. During the session the names of sponsors were recognized, questions were asked, and most of all, the essence of Model UN was put into words. During this inspiring session of speeches and a video, we learnt many things. The greatest thing we learned was about the advantages of Model UN. Like all of us in the Model United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki Mun was also a student who participated in the conference. Another interesting thing we learnt was that the Honorable Secretary General is the first ever secretary general to use Twitter! (Or any other form of social networking). In the next two days we were going to be discussing issues, living the lives of real diplomats. As we walked out the gates of UN, we saw President Obama waving to us from his car. The wait to see the President of the United States of America was long, but was worth it. The second day of the conference was where the Actual Side of Model UN came into action.

NEST+m High School had been given the countries Sweden and Seychelles to represent. The conferences took place from 9 in the morning to 5 in the evening, showcasing the talent of many great speakers. Different countries worked towards a cause, coming together to form a resolution. The many committees in which Sweden and Seychelles participated were NPT: WEOG, NPT: Africa, GA, and many others. These region based discussions were very long, and future diplomats were undergoing their initiation. The day ended simply with resolutions being passed by the process of voting, where each country voted for a resolution. The resolutions passed as an outcome of these regional discussions were discussed with other regional committees. In these sessions which countries worked together, or came together to work towards a common resolution in the following day. This day started at 9 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon. After the end of the conferences, everyone headed towards the United Nations Building for the Model UN closing ceremony, which was held in the UN General Assembly auditorium. This ceremony started very late, but the speakers had a few activities planned already. Delegates of the Model UN had the distinct opportunity to bang on the tables of the UNGA Hall, something which would not happen in usual times. This ceremony ended with the handing out of awards. From NEST+m, Andre Gardiner and Tomasz Sadowski won awards for the best delegations in their regions, while Max Brown, Granit Mavraj, Saharish Khan and Emma Bass received honorable mentions. Hope everyone had a great time in Model UN conference. If you have time, definitely try getting involved in, it is a great program which gets you the opportunity to meet new people and learn more about the world. Next year’s presidents are Amanda Jane and Bernadette Deron, and we look forward to seeing new members for next year.

Have you ever thought of a life completely oil free? A life where there is no gas, but only use of renewable energy? Probably not in America. But Sweden, The country leading the race of green has put forward a very ambitious and inspiring goal of being the first country to be a completely oil free economy by 2020, without even building further on nuclear energy. Sounds impossible, doesn’t it? But in today’s date, even critics are supporting Sweden for putting forward such a great goal. They say that the goal does sound a little non- realistic but is a motivating idea that will inspire other nations as well to do the same.There also lies another factor for the confidence of the critics with Sweden: In 1970, Sweden’s dependency on oil was calculated to be 77%, and by 2003, it had reduced to more than half the level to 32%. The reduction is so prominent, and shows how the country has really worked to decrease the usage of oil. At the moment, Sweden has a dependency of 27% on renewable energy.

The country considers the problems of Global Warming, decreasing oil supply and natural problems, foreseeing a drastic fall in the economies based on oil. The effort to change has already begun, starting from homes with people replacing their oil heaters with boilers to heat their homes. There is a central water heating point which uses biological fuels for hot water, and not oil. Not only is their effort from homes prominent, the government is also providing tax exemptions to those who use renewable energy in their vehicles. Through this Sweden clearly portrays that development in a country starts from the homes, and then in the nations. The race to go green is on, and at the moment Sweden is winning it.

We text every day, and some of us every now and then. We are very happy to be able to communicate with our friends, talk without hearing each other, sending pictures over from our phone to the other or even receiving them. Wireless technology is a revolutionary technology which makes us able to communicate in a cheaper and better way. It is something we all use, everyday, and what most teenagers use to communicate with each other. This is a wonderful medium of communication. However, while it can be put to good use, it may also be misused. In the recent past, texting has been in the news more for the bad reasons. It has now become a means of harassment, and of sexual suggestion, particularly among teenagers. This kind of activity, is often referred to as ‘sexting’.

The problem first came to notice in 2008, when officials of Tunkhannock Area School District discovered the circulation of seminude pictures of female students among the male students. At Margareta High School, in Ohio a seventeen year old girl was found sending her own nude pictures to her boyfriend who started circulating those pictures around the school after the two had a fight. Since the girl was a minor, she was only charged with being an ‘unruly child’. In a school in Indiana, a boy was charged for obscenity for sending photos of his genitals to his female classmates.

Schools all over the world are aware of this problem and are trying to counter it. According to nationwide survey roughly 20% of teens admit to participating in sexting. Lisa Bloom, a CBS News Legal analyst said that children found participating in such acts can suffer imprisonment for several years. “So is America going to lock up 20% of its teens?” she wondered. Definitely not, we have to find a solution. Sexting is not only a factor which leads to safety problems, but is also responsible for causing mental perversion among students, virtually ruining their academic life; both mentally and by law. As technology advances, schools will require better techniques to tackle this problem, to maintain a comfortable study environment, and adequate counseling among students. The question remains, however, how can we tackle this menace? The answer does not lie only in the hands of the government and school authorities, but mainly among us students. Since, the judgment lies in our hands to follow the right way, we ought to take the right steps so that we don’t regret it tomorrow.

One of the largest political institutions, United Nations is known by many to hold the world together, and making it a peaceful place. However, many question the United Nations’ work, and ask, “Is UN really helpful in today’s date?” The United Nations, even in the world today, is one of the most powerful groups which plays a major role in maintaining the cool of the environment from the East side of the map to the West side.

The United Nations is such a place where, even if money does govern a few things such as the bills being passed or not, every country has its say and can fight for support based on need. It is where people sit down to discuss major issues and set the goals for bringing change on the planet, so that every child is educated and well covered. So that no family sleeps with an empty stomach, so that no woman needs to fight with her society to live freely and happily. Apart from the poor regions, it plays a huge role in controlling nuclear activity in the richer nations and preventing wars between nations.

Such attempts to improve the life of mankind are being taken up by the United Nations, and then the world asks why its necessary? How is it helpful? You never know, It may be part of your life, and may be impacting your life in a way you never knew about.

The relevance of United Nations in the world is the same as an old man in a traditional Confucian house: where even if the old man is not a real contributor to the family, the guidance and advices are valued by everyone in the family. His presence is not valued, until he dies. The vacuum created by his absence is remembered for years. The case of United Nations is just the same, it’s importance will not be felt unless it is gone.

The United Nations is a very important organization, trust it, because it’s worth trusting.