Scientists of the University of California in Irvine have developed a rechargeable battery that might be good for 400 years of power. The invention came about almost entirely by accident. They were actually trying to design better nanowires for use in normal rechargeable batteries.
(Mya Le Thai is doing her PhD at the UCI)
Nanowires are very good conductors because they have a lot of surface area to hold their electrons. But they are also very fragile and tend to give out after only a few charges.
This is why the team of PhD student Mya Le Thai was researching the properties of nanowires made of gold and embedded in a special electrolyte gel.
In the course of their tests the team made an astonishing discovery: The battery survived 200.000 charge cycles in three months without any loss of performance. According to „Good“, this battery could power a normal smartphone or laptop for 400 years.
„That was crazy,“ said Reginald Penner, leader of the chemistry faculty of the University. „Usually these Batteries decline rapidly after only five or six thousand cycles, seven thousand at the most.“
The researchers are still unsure as to why the combination of the gel and the gold wires make a super battery. But because gold is a very expensive material, the scientists want to try out a few alternatives before they start producing a marketable product.
This is why we do not yet know when we can start using this super durable battery in our smartphones, if at all. But these first tests certainly look promising.
SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – ESSENCE AND EXISTENCE – CHIDAMBARA RAHASYAM: LORD SHIVA’S ESSENCE IN THIS IMAGE IS DESCRIBED AS “ARDHANARISHWARA”, HALF‐MALE AND HALF‐FEMALE, A PERFECT UNION OF MATTER, ENERGY, AND THE ENERGY CONTROLLER SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – ESSENCE AND EXISTENCE: CHIDAMBARA RAHASYAM – THE GREAT MYSTERY OF CHIDAMBARAM. LORD NATARAJA DESTROYS MAN’S IGNORANCE TO RELEASE MAN FROM THE INFLUENCE OF COSMIC ILLUSION. SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – ESSENCE AND EXISTENCE: IN BOTH CHRISTIAN AND INDIAN TRADITIONS, EARTH IS THOUGHT TO BE THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE. IN INDIA, CHIDAMBARAM IS THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE. THE PLACE IS VIEWED AS THE CENTRE OF GEOMAGNETIC EQUATOR OF PLANET EARTH. THE GREEN HORIZONTAL LINE REPRESENTS THE GEOMAGNETIC EQUATOR. After 8 years of R & D, Western scientists have proved that at Lord Nataraja 's big toe is the Centre Point of World 's Magnetic Equator. Our ancient Tamil Scholar Thirumoolar has proved this Five thousand years ago! His treatise THIRUMANDIRAM is a wonderful Scientific guide for the whole world.
To understand his studies, it may need a 100 years for us. Chidambaram, in Southern India’s state of Tamil Nadu, is also known as Thillai, since the place was originally a forest of the thillai shrubs. It is an important pilgrim center, a major shrine of Lord Shiva and as the famous Nataraja Temple. In fact, Chidambaram offers a combination of the three aspects of Shiva worship – the form Lord Nataraja (dance), the form and the formlessness (linga) and the formless omnipresence.The temple has influenced worship, architecture, sculpture and performance art for over two millennium. Now, that is an old temple. The ancient temple is located in the center of the town and covers 40 acres with four sevenstory gopurams ( those huge gateways facing North, South East and West) each with around fifty stone sculptures. There are also five sabhas or courts. The presiding deity of the temple is formless, represented by air, one of the five elements of the universe. The temple is dedicated to Lord Nataraja, and is unique as it one of the rare temples where Shiva is represented by an idol rather than the customary lingam. (I’d been introduced to lingams earlier, they are black phallic looking statues.) This temple also has exquisite carvings of Bharathanatya dance postures, the Classical Dance of Tamil Nadu. At Chidambaram, the dancer dominates, not the linga. Temple dancer The eastern tower of the temple rises to a height of 134 feet with 108 Bharathanatyam dance poses as well as on Western tower. The Northern tower rises to a height of 140 feet and is the tallest. This temple is also noted for its Gold Plated roof that adorns the sanctum sanctorum, or called the kanakasabha. NonHindus are not allowed inside the sanctum sanctorum. The temple as it stands is mainly from the 12th and 13th centuries, with later additions in similar style. It was believed to have been originally constructed during the early Chola period (900’s AD).
Chidambaram temple embodies the following characteristics :
1) This temple is located at the Center Point of world 's Magnetic Equator. 2) Of the "Pancha bootha" i.e. 5 temples, Chidambaram denotes the Skies. Kalahasthi denotes Wind. Kanchi Ekambareswar denotes land. All these 3 temples are located in a straight line at 79 degrees 41 minutes Longitude. This can be verified using Google. An amazing fact & astronomical miracle ! 3) Chidambaram temple is based on the Human Body having 9 Entrances denoting 9 Entrances or Openings of the body. 4) Temple roof is made of 21600 gold sheets which denotes the 21600 breaths taken by a human being every day (15 x 60 x 24 = 21600) 5) These 21600 gold sheets are fixed on the Gopuram using 72000 gold nails which denote the total no. of Nadis (Nerves) in the human body. These transfer energy to certain body parts that are invisible. 6) Thirumoolar states that man represents the shape of Shivalingam, which represents Chidambaram which represents Sadashivam which represents HIS dance ! 7) "Ponnambalam " is placed slightly tilted towards the left. This represents our Heart. To reach this, we need to climb 5 steps called "Panchatshara padi " "Si, Va, Ya, Na, Ma " are the 5 Panchatshara mantras. There are 4 pillars holding the Kanagasabha representing the 4 Vedas. 8) Ponnambalam has 28 pillars denoting the 28 "Ahamas "as well as the 28 methods to worship Lord Shiva. These 28 pillars support 64 +64 Roof Beams which denote the 64 Arts. The cross beams represent the Blood Vessels running across the Human body. 9) 9 Kalasas on the Golden Roof represent the 9 types of Sakthi or Energies. The 6 pillars at the Artha Mantapa represent the 6 types of Sashtras. The 18 pillars in the adjacant Mantapa represents 18 Puranams. 10) The dance of Lord Nataraja is described as Cosmic Dance by Western Scientists. Whatever Science is propounding now has been stated by Hinduism thousands of years ago Greatness Of Temple:
Lord Shiva is in three forms in Chidambaram, as visible idol form, formless as Akasha or space and form and formless as a Spatika Linga. What is Chidambara Rahasyam – secret: There is small entrance near Lord Sabanayaka in the Chit Saba. The screen is removed and an arati is offered. There is nothing in a form inside. But there hangs a golden Vilwa garland without a Murthi. The secret is that Lord is here as Akasha which has no beginning or an end. This can be understood only by experience. Of the Panchabhoodha Sthals, Chidambaram belongs to Akasha. Chit + Ambaram= Chidambaram. Chit means wisdom. Ambaram means broad open space not measurable. “We have nothing with us” is the lesson from this philosophy. The reputation of Chidambaram is still greater, because it is here that the hymns of three great Saivite Saints were discovered. They sang thousands of hymns in many Shiva Sthals they visited. Where were they for the use of the devotees? Tirunarayur Nambiandar Nambi and king Tirumurai Kanda Chozhan fell at the feet of Lord Polla Pillayar – Vinayaka to guide them in the matter. With the blessings of Lord Vinayaka, they came to know that all these great spiritual literatures with the signatures of the respective authors are hidden in this temple. They rushed to Chidambaram and worshipped the authors with respectful festivals. They found the palm leaves covered by anthill and mostly consumed by insects. Yet they picked up the available full leaves and saved them. All these invaluable spiritual literatures would have been totally lost but for the painstaking and devout labour of Nambiandar Nambigal and Tirumurai Kanda Chozhan. Chidambaram Lord Nataraja probably is the first social reformer. Nandanar, a dalit farm worker was a staunch Shiva devotee. He desired to have the darshan of Lord but could not secure a holiday from his upper caste boss who said that as a low born he was not entitled for the privilege. Nandanar did not lose hope. Naalai Pohalam – Let me go tomorrow – was his hope. After many tomorrows, he finally reached Chidambaram but could not enter the temple due to his community problem. He tried to have the glimpse of Lord, but Nandhi the bull vehicle of Lord Shiva blocked the view. Lord asked Nandhi to move and enabled Nandanar to have his darshan. Nandanar attained salvation here and merged with Lord to the shock and surprise of the upper class. It is said that the four Saivite Saints entered the temple through the four entrances of the temple, Manickavasagar through the east, Gnanasambandar from south, Appar from west and Sundarar from the north. ApparTirunavukkarasar did his Angapradakshina in the car strees (Ratha Veedhi) of Chidambaram. Saint Manickavasagar cured the dumb daughter of the Buddhist king of Lanka with the blessings of Lord in the temple. There are five Sabhas in the temple – Chittrambalam, Ponnambalam, Perambalam, Niruddha Sabha and Rajatha Sabha. The shrines of Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu are so structured that the devotee can have twin darshan from one spot in the temple. This is a temple where Brahmma, Vishnu and Rudra grace the devotees together. Saint Arunagirinathar had praised Lord Muruga of this temple in ten of his Tirupugazh hymns. Many believe that Lord Nataraja is the presiding deity of this temple. The presiding deity is Adhimoola Nathar in the Linga form. Sages Patanjali and Vyakrapada wished that people of this earth too should have the chance to view and enjoy the great dance of Lord Shiva performed at Mount Kailash. They came to earth and sat in penance on Adhimoolanathar for the purpose. Responding to their selfless penance for the common people, Lord Shiva along with Tri Sahasra Muniswaras – 3000 sages came to this place and granted His dance darshan in Thai month (JanuaryFebruary) on Poosam Star day at 12.00 a.m. These 3000 Muniswaras then came to known as Thillai Moovayiravar. Chidambaram is a holy place that ensures total salvation to the souls. For salvation, one should have his/her birth at Tiruvarur or live in Kanchi or think of Tiruvannamalai or die in Kasi. If one worships Lords Tirumoolanathar and Nataraja at Chidambaram at least once in life time, salvation is reserved for the soul. Despite strong opposition to Nandanar to enter the temple due to community reasons, he entered the temple with all honours and merged with the Lord. His bhaktidevotion was too deep and true that transcended all blockades of caste discriminations. Every one in the world, irrespective of race, colour, country, language, religion throng he temple for Lord Nataraja darshan and also participate in pulling the carrath. Lord Brahmma organized a yajna and invited the 3000 Muniswaras to join in the pujas. They simply replied that no great soulful gain could be achieved by attending the yajna than the darshan of Nataraja at Thillai Chidambaram. Lord advised them to go and attend the yajna and promised to appear there at the end of the yajna. That form of His appearance in the Brahmma Loka is praised as Rathna Sabapathy. This idol is under the Nataraja idol. Every day, between 10.00 a.m and 11.00 a.m. Arati is shown to Lord Rathna Sabapathi, both at front and back. There is a similarity in the design of Nataraja shrine and the human body, it is said. The 21,600 golden tiles engraved with the Na Ma Shi Va Ya mantra represent the number of times one breathes each day. The 72,000 nails used in the Ponnambalam represent the number of nerves of the human body. The 9 entrances represent the nine conveniences in the body activating our movements. Five steps to Ponnambalam represent the five letters of Na Ma Shi Va Ya Mantra. Wooden supports numbering 64 represent 64 arts, 96 windows the 96 philosophies, the pillars the 4 Vedas, 6 Sastras and Panchaboodas. Sri Chakra installed by Acharya Adi Sankara is in the Ambica shrine. The Arthajama puja in the temple has its own significance when, it is believed that all other Gods assemble here for worship. Great Saivite poet Sekkizhar released His magnum Opus Periapuranam in this temple. Saint Arunagiriar had praised Lord Muruga of this temple in his Tirupugazh hymns.
Temple History:
Sage Vasishta, revered as leader of Rishis had a relative Madyandinar by name. He had a son named Maadyandinar (the first name is short in sound, the next longer – spelling differs). Sage Vasishta advised that the boy should worship the Swayambulinga in Thillai Vanam forests for gaining complete spiritual wisdom. Son Maadyandinar reached this place. He was sad that he lost his puja time in picking up flowers after sunrise and these flowers were not pure as the honey in the same are taken away by the bees. He appealed to Lord Shiva saying that he was unable to pick the flowers in darkness due to lack of light and the flowers become unfit if picked after sunrise. Lord granted him hands and legs as that of a tiger to climb the tree and a bright vision to the eyes functioning well even in utter darkness. Lord also said that he would be known henceforth as Vyakrapada as had the legs as a tiger. Vyakrapada was too happy with the boon and name and continued his worship in Thillai.
Thillai Nataraja Kovil (or Temple, in English) situated in Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu is dedicated to Lord Shiva, who is worshiped in the form of Nataraja in dancing posture. The Presiding Deity of the temple is Thirumoolanathar (Lord Shiva) and the Goddess of the temple is Umayambikai (Goddess Parvathi).The unique feature of the temple is the bejeweled image of Nataraja. Lord Shiva is depicted as the Lord of dance radiating universal power. It is one of the temples where Shiva is represented as an anthropomorphic idol, rather than a Lingam. The worship of Lord Shiva in the form of Lingam is associated with the five elements water, fire, wind, earth and ether. Lord Shiva is worshiped in the form of Murthi (idol) in Chidambaram and is considered as one of the Pancha Bootha Sthalas.The dance stage of the temple is called as Chittrambalam and the holy tree is considered as the Thillai (Exocoeria agallocha) tree. The holy water source of the temple is Sivagangai and the hymns of the temple is Thevaram, sung by Sri Manickavachagar.
Location: Thillai Nataraja Kovil is located in the town Chidambaram in Cuddalore district in the state Tamil Nadu, India. It is situated 78 km south to Pondicherry and 250 km from Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu. It is situated on the main railway route between Chennai and Trichy about halfway between these two cities. The place derived its name from the surrounding Thillai forest. These trees are not seen in Chidambaram now but can be seen at Pichavaram, east of Chidambaram in the backwaters. The temple is one of the pancha bootha sthalas where God is worshiped in one of his manifestations – Sky or Aagayam. Other Pancha Bootha sthalas are Ekambareswarar temple at Kanchipuram (God is worshiped as Earth), Jambukeswarar temple at Thiruvanaikaval, in Tiruchirapalli (God is worshiped as Water), Annamalaiyar Temple at Tiruvannamalai (God representing Fire) and Kalahasti temple at Srikalahasthi (where the God is worshiped as Wind). History: Thillai Nataraja Kovil is considered as the primary temple for all the Saivites. The term “Kovil” itself refers to this temple for Saivites, whereas “Kovil” refers to Srirangam temple for Vaishnavites. The early structure of the temple was constructed and maintained by Perumtaccan of the respected clan of Vishwakarmas. The golden roof of the Chitambalam was laid by the Chola king, Parantaka I. In those flourishing times, kings Rajaraja Chola I and Kulothunga Chola I made significant donations to the temple. Gold and wealth to the temple were donated by Kundavai II, the daughter of Rajaraja Chola while Vikrama Chola made donations for the conduct of the daily rituals. The temple has been renovated several times since the reign of Pallavas and Cholas. Several parts of the temple were rebuilt by Aragalur Udaya Iraratevan Ponparappinan, in 1213 AD. Donations to the temple were made later by various kings during various periods of time, including the Maharaja of Pudukottai, Sethupathy and the British. The emerald jewel donated by Sethupathy still adorns the deity.
Architecture: The place where the temple stands is the claimed center of the earth’s magnetic equator. This shows the tremendous engineering, geographical and astrological knowledge of the ancient architecturers. The temple has nine gateways among which four of them have gopurams in the East, West, North and South. The eastern gopuram/pagoda has all the 108 dance postures of Bharathanatiyam. The south gopuram Sokkaseeyan Thirunilai Ezhugopuram was constructed by Pandya king. This is evident from the sculpted fishes (flag of Pandya king) in the ceiling. The smallest gopuram is the western gopuram that was constructed in 1150; but there is no evidence available to know the construction of this gopuram. However, there are sculptures depicting the Goddess fighting with buffalodemon. The North Gopuram was constructed around 1300 AD with the brick portion constructed by the Vijayanagara king Krishnadevaraya in the 16th century. The East Gopuram, was claimed to have been constructed by the Pallava King, Koperunsingan II. Roof laid with 21,600 golden tiles with the word SIVAYANAMA inscribed on them. The roof of Ponnambalam is held by a set of 64 beams representing the 64 forms of art. It is also held by several cross beams representing the infinite blood vessels. The roof has been laid with 21,600 golden tiles with the word SIVAYANAMA inscribed on them representing 21,600 breaths, which represents the number of breaths taken in a 24 hour period.. The golden tiles are fixed using 72,000 golden nails that represents the number of nadis existing in the human body. The roof is topped by a set of 9 sacred pots or kalasas, representing the 9 forms of energy. The temple contains five sabhas – Kanaka Sabha, Chit Sabha, Nritya Sabha, Raja Sabha and Deva Sabha. The main deity, Lord Shiva is enshrined in Chit Sabha, with black screen covering behind Akasa Lingam. The Kanaka Sabha is located in front of Chit Sabha. The daily rituals are conducted here. Nritya Sabha or Natya sabha – It is the hall, where Lord Shiva is said to have danced along with Goddess Kali (an incarnation with ferocious energy) to prove his Supremacy. Raja Sabha or 1000 pillared hall – It represents the yogic chakra of 1000petalled lotus. Deva Sabhai – The hall houses pancha moorthis (five idols) of Lord Ganesha, Lord Muruga, Lord Somaskanda, Lord’s consort Sivananda nayaki and Lord Chandikeswarar. There is also a Govindaraja shrine dedicated to Lord Vishnu and it is one of the 108 holy temples of Lord Vishnu. The Chidambaram temple is surrounded by several water bodies in and around the temple complex. The name of the connected tanks are Sivaganga tank, Paramanandha koobham, Kuyya theertham, Pulimadu, Vyagrapatha Theertham, Anantha Theertham, Nagaseri Tank, Brahma Theertham, Shivapiyai Tank and Thiruparkadal. Legends: The story of Chidambaram starts with the legend of Lord Shiva moving to Thillai Vanam (Thillai – tree; Vanam means forest). There were a group of Rishis or sages in this forest believing that they can control the Supreme Power through mantras (chants), rituals and magical spells. To refute, Lord Shiva disguises as a mendicant and Lord Vishnu disguises as Mohini, the consort of the mendicant and tests the fidelity of the wives of few sages who were proud of their chastity. Being a smart and beautiful mendicant, Lord Shiva enchants the wives of the sages. Enraged by this, the sages performs pooja and invoke serpents on Lord Shiva. He inturn captures all the snakes and adorns them as ornaments around his matted locks, neck and waist. Then, the sages invokes a ferocious tiger from the holy fire and target it on the divine couple. Lord Shiva uses his nail to tear the skin of the tiger and wears it around his waist. After facing the defeat twice, the sages invokes a powerful demon – Muyalakan – a symbol of complete arrogance and ignorance. The Lord wearing on a gentle smile, steps on the demons back and makes him immovable. This is the point where he starts his Anandha Thandavam – an eternal blissful dance, and discloses who they really are. The sages surrender themselves and admit that Supremacy cannot be controlled by any other power.
Dikshithars: Thillai Nataraja Kovil is being maintained by the endogamous group of Shaivite Brahmins called Dikshithars, who also work as priests in the temple. It is said that these people were brought from Mt. Kailash by Saint Patanjali specifically for performing daily rituals in the temple. There were 3000 Dikshithars initially. Upon the request of Lord Brahma for performing pooja (ritual function), they made a Vedic sacrifice in heaven. After returning back from pooja, there were only 2999 Dikshithars. As they were wondering, they heard an oracle saying that the 3000th Dikshithar was Lord Shiva himself.
Popularity: The Anandha Thandava posture of Lord Nataraja (Lord Shiva in the Cosmic Dance) is one of the postures recognized all over the world. This celestial dance posture tells us how Bharathanatiyam, an ancient form of Tamil Nadu dance, should be performed. The demon under Lord Nataraja’s feet signifies that ignorance is under his feet. The Fire in his hands signifies Him as the destroyer of all evil. His raised hand signifies that He is the savior of life. The ring at His back indicates the cosmos. The drum in His hand signifies the birth of life. It is believed that there is a secret message conveyed through the embossed figure near the shrine of Shiva in Chidambaram temple. It is believed that both Lord Shiva and his consort Parvathi are living here and they are not viewable to the naked eye. The Chidambara Rahasyam (Secret of Chidambaram) is hidden behind the curtains present at the right side of Lord Nataraja sanctum. Worship or darshan is possible only when the priests open the curtain for pooja, acquiring Godliness. Behind the curtain, there are two golden leaves as from the vilva maram (Aegle Marmelos tree), signifying the presence of Lord Shiva and his consort Goddess Parvathi whose physical form is believed to be viewable by the priests. The real meaning of the phrase Chidambara Rahasyam lies behind the curtain, which means that a person could know the secret of himself only when he removes the curtain of “Maya”. It is said that one can never reveal the secret until he removes the screen of Maya from one’s mind, To Realise Onself. The Chidambara Rahasyam also tells us another truth that relates to the period of Moses. It is said that according to the God’s commandments, Moses constructed a Garba Graha but did not place any idol and covered it with a screen. This implies that God should need not only be worshiped with any idol as there is only one religion on the earth. Getting There: Chidam baram is a bustlin g, modern city now well connec ted by road, railway s and air. The nearest airports present are at Tiruchirapalli (Trichy) and Chennai. The city is located on the Chennai Trichy mainline of Southern Railway. There are many trains connecting the town with other major cities of Tamil Nadu. Frequent bus services are also available from Chidambaram to various states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Pondicherry and various parts of Tamil Nadu. Nonstop bus services and express bus services are also available from here.
Nostradamus, the famed 8th century French scholar, continue to amaze the world with his predictions which often turned out to be true.
Over 800 of his forecasts were fulfilled in the last 400 years, and among which was the prediction that the British empire would collapse in 1942.
He had also predicted the annihilation of Nazis for the mass murder of Jews.
According to him is “destined to be a force to be reckoned with”. He also saw Hinduism will grow across the vast spans of Asia and Middle East.
What's more interesting is that he saw an immortal leader emerging from South India with Hindu roots who will go on to bind the whole of Asia together.
The future world leader will come from a peninsula where the three seas meet, which can only be the Indian peninsula, he predicted. Thus, the future leader will be a Hindu from South India, who will bind Asia together.
According to the speakingtree.in, his forecast also seems to suggest that Russia will abandon Communism in favour of Hindu wisdom.
The Hindu troops will sweep through the Middle East, avenging former wrongs and the Russian army in the Caucasus mountains will link up with them, he predicted. And then they will cross the Mediterranean or the Black Sea.
Rijiju, in a Facebook post titled 'AMAZING FACTS !!!' gives detailed mathematical calculations to show that the BJP's victory in May 2014 had special numerical significance.
Here's what he wrote:
In Current of Lok Sabha
BJP 283 Seats 2+8+3 = 13
NDA 337 Seats 3+3+7 = 13
UPA 58 Seats 5+8 = 13
Others148 Seats 1+4+8 = 13
Prediction of Nostradamus “450 years ago of Modi Era”: How ???
French prophet Nostradamus wrote that from 2014 to 2026, a man will lead india, whom initially, people will hate but after that people will love him so much that he will be engaged in changing the country’s plight and direction.
This was predicted in the year 1555. A middle aged superpower administrator will bring golden age not only in India but on the entire world.
INDIAN MATHEMATICS, STILL AMAZING TO THIS PRESENT DAY.
Despite developing quite independently of Chinese (and probably also of Babylonian mathematics), some very advanced mathematical discoveries were made at a very early time in India. Mantras from the early Vedic period (before 1000 BCE) invoke powers of ten from a hundred all the way up to a trillion, and provide evidence of the use of arithmetic operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, fractions, squares, cubes and roots. A 4th Century CE Sanskrit text reports Buddha enumerating numbers up to 1053, as well as describing six more numbering systems over and above these, leading to a number equivalent to 10421. Given that there are an estimated 1080 atoms in the whole universe, this is as close to infinity as any in the ancient world came. It also describes a series of iterations in decreasing size, in order to demonstrate the size of an atom, which comes remarkably close to the actual size of a carbon atom (about 70 trillionths of a metre). As early as the 8th Century BCE, long before Pythagoras, a text known as the “Sulba Sutras” (or "Sulva Sutras") listed several simple Pythagorean triples, as well as a statement of the simplified Pythagorean theorem for the sides of a square and for a rectangle (indeed, it seems quite likely that Pythagoras learned his basic geometry from the "Sulba Sutras"). The Sutras also contain geometric solutions of linear and quadratic equations in a single unknown, and give a remarkably accurate figure for the square root of 2, obtained by adding 1 + ¹∕ + ¹∕(3 x 4) ¹∕(3 x 4 x 34), which yields a value of 1.4142156, correct to 5 decimal places. As early as the 3rd or 2nd Century BCE, Jain mathematicians recognized five different types of infinities: infinite in one direction, in two directions, in area, infinite everywhere and perpetually infinite. Ancient Buddhist literature also demonstrates a prescient awareness of indeterminate and infinite numbers, with numbers deemed to be of three types: countable, uncountable and infinite.
Like the Chinese, the Indians early discovered the benefits of a decimal place value number system, and were certainly using it before about the 3rd Century CE. They refined and perfected the system, particularly the written representation of the numerals, creating the ancestors of the nine numerals that (thanks to its dissemination by medieval Arabic mathematicians) we use across the world today, sometimes considered one of the greatest intellectual innovations of all time. The Indians were also responsible for another hugely important development in mathematics. The earliest recorded usage of a circle character for the number zero is usually attributed to a 9th Century engraving in a temple in Gwalior in central India. But the brilliant conceptual leap to include zero as a number in its own right (rather than merely as a placeholder, a blank or empty space within a number, as it had been treated until that time) is usually credited to the 7th Century Indian mathematicians Brahmagupta or possibly another Indian, Bhaskara I even though it may well have been in practical use for centuries before that. The use of zero as a number which could be used in calculations and mathematical investigations, would revolutionize mathematics. Brahmagupta established the basic mathematical rules for dealing with zero: 1 + 0 = 1; 1 0 = 1; and 1 x 0 = 0 (the breakthrough which would make sense of the apparently nonsencical operation 1 ÷ 0 would also fall to an Indian, the 12th Century mathematician Bhaskara II). Brahmagupta also established rules for dealing with negative numbers, and pointed out that quadratic equations could in theory have two possible solutions, one of which could be negative. He even attempted to write down these rather abstract concepts, using the initials of the names of colours to represent unknowns in his equations, one of the earliest intimations of what we now know as algebra.
The socalled Golden Age of Indian mathematics can be said to extend from the 5th to 12th Centuries, and many of its mathematical discoveries predated similar discoveries in the West by several centuries, which has led to some claims of plagiarism by later European mathematicians, at least some of whom were probably aware of the earlier Indian work. Certainly, it seems that Indian contributions to mathematics have not been given due acknowledgement until very recently in modern history. Golden Age Indian mathematicians made fundamental advances in the theory of trigonometry, a method of linking geometry and numbers first developed by the Greeks. They used ideas like the sine, cosine and tangent functions (which relate the angles of a triangle to the relative lengths of its sides) to survey the land around them, navigate the seas and even chart the heavens. For instance, Indian astronomers used trigonometry to calculated the relative distances between the Earth and the Moon and the Earth and the Sun. They realized that, when the Moon is half full and directly opposite the Sun, then the Sun, Moon and Earth form a right angled triangle, and were able to accurately measure the angle as ¹∕°. Their sine tables gave a ratio for the sides of such a triangle as 400:1, indicating that the Sun is 400 times further away from the Earth than the Moon. Although the Greeks had been able to calculate the sine function of some angles, the Indian astronomers wanted to be able to calculate the sine function of any given angle. A text called the “Surya Siddhanta”, by unknown authors and dating from around 400 CE, contains the roots of modern trigonometry, including the first real use of sines, cosines, inverse sines, tangents and secants. As early as the 6th Century CE, the great Indian mathematician and astronomer Aryabhata produced categorical definitions of sine, cosine, versine and inverse sine, and specified complete sine and versine and inverse sine, and specified complete sine and versine tables, in 3.75° intervals from 0° to 90°, to an accuracy of 4 decimal places.
Aryabhata also demonstrated solutions to simultaneous quadratic equations, and produced an approximation for the value of π equivalent to 3.1416, correct to four decimal places. He used this to estimate the circumference of the Earth, arriving at a figure of 24,835 miles, only 70 miles off its true value. But, perhaps even more astonishing, he seems to have been aware that π is an irrational number, and that any calculation can only ever be an approximation, something not proved in Europe until 1761. Bhaskara II, who lived in the 12th Century, was one of the most accomplished of all India’s great mathematicians. He is credited with explaining the previously misunderstood operation of division by zero. He noticed that dividing one into two pieces yields a half, so 1 ÷ ¹∕ = 2. Similarly, 1 ÷ ¹∕ = 3. So, dividing 1 by smaller and smaller factions yields a larger and larger number of pieces. Ultimately, therefore, dividing one into pieces of zero size would yield infinitely many pieces, indicating that 1 ÷ 0 = ∞ (the symbol for infinity). However, Bhaskara II also made important contributions to many different areas of mathematics from solutions of quadratic, cubic and quartic equations (including negative and irrational solutions) to solutions of Diophantine equations of the second order to preliminary concepts of infinitesimal calculus and mathematical analysis to spherical trigonometry and other aspects of trigonometry. Some of his findings predate similar discoveries in Europe by several centuries, and he made important contributions in terms of the systemization of (then) current knowledge and improved methods for known solutions. The Kerala School of Astronomy and Mathematics was founded in the late 14th Century by Madhava of Sangamagrama, sometimes called the greatest mathematicianastronomer of medieval India. He developed infinite series approximations for a range of trigonometric functions, including π, sine, etc. Some of his contributions to geometry and algebra and his early forms of differentiation and integration for simple functions may have been transmitted to Europe via Jesuit missionaries, and it is possible that the later European development of calculus was influenced by his work to some extent.
नई दिल्ली – हमें तो हमेशा से पैसों कि कीमत मालूम है। हम जानते हैं कि पैसा हमारे जीवन में कितना मायने रखता है। इस सबके बीच नोटंबदी ने हमें नोट और पैसों की कीमत और अच्छे से समझा दी। इतने दिनों बाद भी लोगों की जेबों तक नोट नहीं पहुंच पाए हैं। नए नोटों की छपाई का काम तेजी से चल रहा है। बहुत कम लोग जानते होंगे कि हम नोट भले ही कागज का टुकड़ा कहते हो लेकिन वह कपड़े से बनता है। क्या आप जानना चाहते हैं कि एक नोट का प्रिंटिंग प्रेस से आपकी पर्स तक का सफर कैसा होता है।
प्रिंटिंग प्रेस में ऐसे छपते हैं नोट –
देश में नोट प्रिंटिंग के लिए कुल 4 प्रेस हैं। दो नासिक और देवास में हैं जो सरकार के कंट्रोल में हैं जबकि मैसूर और कोलकाता के पास मिदनापुर वाली प्रिटिंग प्रेस पर भारतीय रिजर्व बैंक नोट मुद्रण लिमिटेड का नियंत्रण है। भारतीय नोटों को छापने के लिए पेपर नहीं बल्कि कॉटन का इस्तेमाल होता है जिसका निर्माण महाराष्ट्र के करंसी नोट प्रेस (CNP) और एमपी के होशंगाबाद पेपर मिल में होता है। कुछ पेपर को विदेशों से भी इम्पोर्ट किया जाता है। नोट को बनाने के लिए खास इंक का इस्तेमाल होता है। जिसे ऑफसेट इंक कहते हैं।
नोट कि छपाई के लिए पेपर शीट को सायमंटन नाम कि खास मशीन में डाला जाता है। इंक के लिए दूसरी मशीन होती है। शीट पर नोट छपने के बाद खराब नोटों की छंटनी कि जाती है। एक शीट में करीब 32 से 48 नोट छपते हैं जिसमें यूनिक कोड से नंबर डाले जाते हैं इसके पश्तात नोटों के बंडलों को पैक करके रिजर्व बैंक तक पहुंचाया जाता है।
ऐसे नोट पहुंचते हैं आपकी जेब तक –
देश में रिजर्व बैंक के 18 इश्यू ऑफिस हैं प्रिंटिंग प्रेस में नोटों कि छपाई के बाद नोटों को विशेष सुरक्षा के साथ इन इश्यू ऑफिसों तक पहुंचाया जाता है जहां से इन्हें कमिर्शियल बैंकों तक पहुंचाया जाता है। देश के अधिकतर क्षेत्रों में एटीएम तक पैसे पहुंचाने का काम एनसीआर कॉर्पोरेशन ऑफ इंडिया नाम कि कंपनी करती है। वर्तमान में देश में कुल 2.2 लाख एटीएम और 8,800 कैश वैन हैं जो प्रत्येक एटीएम तक पैसा पहुंचाने की कोशिशों में लगी हुई है।
This month the US government is launching its first-ever bug bounty programme - a 20-day scheme for cybersecurity savvy citizens to have a go at finding flaws in the Department of Defense's public websites before the illegal hackers do.
There is a $150,000 (£106,000) pot for rewarding the finders of significant bugs.
Unauthorised hacks make headlines and can have catastrophic consequences for the organisation that suffers a breach, so many seek to crowdsource their security in addition to employing their own in-house experts, offering financial rewards - known as bounties - as an incentive.
Bugs are officially big business
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionUber launched its first bug bounty programme in March 2016
Last month Uber announced that it too was entering the bug bounty arena with a scheme of its own, while firms like Facebook and Microsoft have been running them for years.
Microsoft's top reward is currently up to $100,000 (£70,699) for "truly novel exploitation techniques against protections built into the latest version of our operating system" - or anything that bypasses all the security systems on the Windows platform.
Generally a bug bounty programme will pay a reward based on how significant the find is.
Facebook has so far paid out nearly $1m in bounties but the average pay-out in 2015 was $1,782 per bug - and its most prolific bug hunters were in India, Egypt, and Trinidad and Tobago, the social network says.
Job opportunities
"By having bug bounty programmes, companies make sure the best hackers look at their code," says computer scientist Gianluca Stringhini, assistant professor at University College London.
"The more eyes look at the programme, the more bugs they find.
It's also a way for these companies to identify talent."
"When I found one of the databases of [software firm] MacKeeper, they turned around and said 'OK, we want to hire you to give us tips about data breaches'," he said.
"That was an awesome response."
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionMany security researchers bug hunt in their spare time.
So how do you go about it?
Belgian bug hunter Arne Swinnen is currently ranked number two in Facebook's so-called white hat hall of fame - a surprisingly long list of the people who have helped it make its various platforms more secure by finding and telling it about vunerabilities before the cybercriminals exploit them.
Mr Swinnen has a day job but in his spare time has netted around $15,000 (£10,604) finding system weaknesses in the last few months.
"Some bugs that I've found they took me a couple of days, others only take five minutes. My biggest bug so far got me $2,500 (£1,767) and only cost me five minutes of my time."
He started out by looking at Facebook-owned Instagram after researching bugs online and identifying that fewer bug bounty hunters appeared to have it in mind.
"I looked to see what it had - website, mobile apps - I looked at their functionalities, and then started to look for vulnerabilities," he explains.
Image copyrightARNE SWINNENImage captionArne Swinnen is number two on Facebook's bug bounty hall of fame
Mr Swinnen admits it isn't exactly his girlfriend's idea of a holiday - but it can be lucrative.
"It's my hobby, I like hunting, if you find something it's really a thrill," he told the BBC.
Right side of the law
Of course many companies without designated schemes will generally be appreciative of some security support. There are a few issues to be aware of though if you plan to fish in the wild, as it were - not least that unauthorised access of a system is illegal in many countries.
"In the UK, under the Computer Misuse Act, unauthorised access is a criminal offence - even if the door is wide open," says cybersecurity expert Prof Alan Woodward from Surrey University.
"You have to understand the law and how far you can push it. You also need to understand how the industry works because there are what you might think of as best practice [guidelines] - it's what responsible disclosure is all about."
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionUnder UK law, unauthorised access of an IT system is illegal.
Prof Woodward also warns about the responsibilities associated with handling any data you might find floating around, that perhaps isn't as encrypted or secure as it should be.
"You have a duty of care to whoever that data belongs to or is about," he adds.
"Some hackers perhaps feel they are above that but they are not.
"You have to be careful, it is a minefield - there is a fine line between probing for vulnerabilities and unauthorised access."
Stay alert
It is also a minefield for companies, especially small businesses who may well lack both the expertise and the resources to manage this global army of white hats - and the hackers hot on their heels.
"In general the problem is that when someone designs a programme they expect the user to play nicely.
"But an attacker could present an input that nobody thought about and that could make the programme play completely differently," says Gianluca Stringhini.
His basic advice to all firms is simple.
"Keep up with the news, see what new attacks are out there, make sure that whenever a new vulnerability is disclosed they update their systems - and keep an eye for general weird activity," he says.
Members of staff should also take note, he adds.
"You have systems you might develop but they might have holes - system administrators need to keep that in mind but so do end users, their data may not be safe."
Image captionThe databases of numbers have been compiled from the address books of users
The mobile phone numbers of former Prime Minister David Cameron, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, celebrities and millions of other people are being stored in databases that can be searched by the public.
While the numbers cannot be obtained simply by entering a name, data watchdogs are concerned about the way the information has been gathered.
These databases have been compiled by phone apps that promise to block spam calls and let people "reverse-look up" calls from numbers they do not recognise. But it appears many of the names and numbers have been gathered without their owners' knowledge.
The apps, which include Truecaller, Sync.me and CM Security, ask users to upload their phone's contact lists when they install them. That means they end up with huge databases - one app claims to have two billion numbers while another claims more than a billion.
These can then be searched to connect any number with a name, although you cannot put in a name and get a number. Searches can be conducted on the app provider's website without even installing the software.
The issue has been highlighted by Factwire, an investigative journalism organisation that found the numbers of leading Hong Kong lawmakers had been stored in the systems.
Celebrity calls
The BBC has found that many British numbers are also listed - including that of Mr Cameron, Mr Corbyn, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, the Olympic diver Tom Daley and the music producer Pete Waterman.
We had those numbers already, as did Hong Kong-based Factwire when it conducted its searches.
Many numbers appear to be stored in the databases without the knowledge or consent of their owners.
For example, we found the number of the security researcher Rik Ferguson of Trend Micro in the database of Truecaller, which is based in Sweden. He told us he had not installed the app and had not consented to having his number stored.
Image copyrightPAImage captionThe number of Olympic diver Tom Daley was stored in one database
He described the app as "highly deceptive" and questioned whether it broke data protection regulations.
"Data can only be collected for specific, explicitly stated and legitimate purposes, may not be kept for a longer period than is necessary and crucially only with the explicit and informed consent of the data subject," he said.
Consent required
There is also concern about the security of the data. In 2013 Truecaller suffered a data breach, admitting that it had fallen victim to a cyber-attack but insisting that no sensitive information had been exposed.
Truecaller told the BBC that it ensured strict protection of user data, which was safely stored in Sweden. The company said it did not share any information with external organisations and in a statement said: "Truecaller is not in violation of the data protection laws in Sweden, nor across the EU as a whole."
We asked the Information Commissioner, Britain's data protection regulator, about Truecaller. The ICO told us: "UK data protection law says businesses are required to process data fairly and lawfully. We're asking questions on behalf of UK citizens and are following up with the Swedish authorities."
Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionThe apps gather data currently shared across many different devices
The security blogger Graham Cluley, whose mobile number is stored by one of the apps, says everyone needs to be more careful about what they share: "If you upload your address book, you're not just putting your own privacy at risk - but the privacy of everybody else in that address book."
Most of the apps mention in their terms and conditions that users should have permission from their contacts before sharing their data.
One of the apps, CM Security, has now halted its reverse-look up function. All of them say users can opt out if they do not want to have their numbers stored.
