Super-Kamiokande Neutrino Detector in Japan

Neutrinos are some of the most abundant yet mysterious particles in our universe. Every second 65 billion neutrinos pass through every square centimeter of our body and the Earth. Neutrinos do not carry electric charge, which means that they are not affected by the electromagnetic forces that act on charged particles such as electrons and protons. They are also extremely tiny because of which they travel mostly undisturbed through matter. This makes neutrinos extremely hard to detect, and the harder a particle is to detect, the more massive and sophisticated the detectors have to be. The Super Kamiokande in Japan is one such neutrino observatory.

The Super Kamiokande or Super-K for short is located 1,000 meters underground in the Mozumi Mine in Hida's Kamioka area. The observatory was designed to search for proton decay, study solar and atmospheric neutrinos, and keep watch for supernovae in the Milky Way Galaxy. The observatory was built underground in order to isolate the detector from cosmic rays and other background radiation.

The observatory consists of 50,000 tons of pure water in cylindrical stainless steel tank that is 41.4 meters tall and 39.3 meters in diameter. This is surrounded by 11,146 photomultiplier tubes (PMT). When a neutrino interacts with the electrons or nuclei of water, it produces a charged particle that moves faster than the speed of light in water (not to be confused with exceeding the speed of light in a vacuum, which is physically impossible). This creates a cone of light known as Cherenkov radiation, which is the optical equivalent to a sonic boom. The Cherenkov light is projected as a ring on the wall of the detector and recorded by the PMTs. The distinct pattern of this flash provides information on the direction and flavor of the incoming neutrino.

The Mysterious Sailing Stones of Racetrack Playa

The Racetrack Playa is an exceptionally flat and dry lakebed located above the northwestern side of Death Valley, in Death Valley National Park, California. The playa is best known for one of the most strangest mysteries of the planet – the sliding rocks. These rocks can be found on the floor of the playa with long trails behind them. Although no one has actually seen the rocks move, the long meandering tracks left behind in the mud surface of the playa attest to their activity. Some of these rocks weigh several hundred pounds and have traveled as far as 1,500 feet, which leaves us with the question: "How do they move?"

The stones move only every two or three years and most tracks develop over three or four years. Stones with rough bottoms leave straight striated tracks while those with smooth bottoms wander. Stones sometimes turn over, exposing another edge to the ground and leaving a different track in the stone's wake.

Trails differ in both direction and length. Rocks that start next to each other may travel parallel for a time, before one abruptly changes direction to the left, right, or even back the direction it came from. Trail length also varies – two similarly sized and shaped rocks may travel uniformly, then one could move ahead or stop in its track.

Photo credit

Positions Of Love- Lana Sutra By Erik Ravelo

Language, culture, place, values and tradition; they all create a separation which we call differences or diversity. Erik Ravelo is a Cuban artist at Fabrica who has viewed those differences as the palette to break down and dissolve those differences. In his latest work, Lana Sutra, with United Colors of Benetton, his experiences concerning diversity shaped and unified the convergence on diversity, love.
“I believe that Lana Sutra really talks about coexistence, about living together. It is about interaction among cultures and people of different races and faiths. It’s an ode; a homage to hybridization.”

Las Fallas, the Festival of Fire Celebrated in Valencia

Every year the city of Valencia in Spain celebrates the ancient "Las Fallas" fiesta, a noisy week that is full of fireworks and processions in honor of Saint Joseph which climaxes in the burning of large papier mache figures displayed around the streets of the city.

Las Fallas is celebrated to commemorate St. Joseph's Day, the Patron Saint of Carpenters. Las Fallas literally means "the fires" in Valencian. The focus of the fiesta is the creation and destruction of ninots (“puppets” or “dolls”), which are huge cardboard, wood, paper-machè and plaster statues. The ninots are extremely lifelike and usually depict bawdy, satirical scenes and current events. A popular theme is poking fun at corrupt politicians and Spanish celebrities. The labor intensive ninots, often costing up to US$75,000, are crafted by neighborhood organizations and take almost the entire year to construct. Many ninots are several stories tall and need to be moved into their final location of over 350 key intersections and parks around the city with the aid of cranes on the day of la plantà (the rising).

The ninots remain in place until March 19th, the day known as La Cremá (the burning). Starting in the early evening, young men with axes chop cleverly-hidden holes in the statues and stuff them with fireworks. The crowds start to chant, the streetlights are turned off, and all of the ninots are set on fire at exactly 12am midnight. Over the years, the local bomberos (firemen) have devised unique ways to protect the town's buildings from being accidentally set on fire by the ninots: such as neatly covering storefronts with fireproof tarps. Each year, one of the ninots is spared from destruction by popular vote. This ninot is called the ninot indultat (the pardoned puppet) and is exhibited in the local Museum of the Ninot along with the other favorites from years past.

See last photos of last year’s celebration.

Incredible Glasswinged Butterfly

Most common English name for this incredible butterfly(Greta Oto) is glasswinged butterfly, and its Spanish name is “espejitos”, which means “little mirrors.” Indeed, the tissue between the veins of its wings looks like glass, as it lacks the colored scales found in other butterflies. The opaque borders of its wings are dark brown sometimes tinted with red or orange, and its body is dark in color.

Athletes Are Able To Run Faster After Eating Beetroot

 

Eating beetroot can boost athletic performance, research has suggested, by helping runners finish faster.

Scientists have discovered athletes who eat baked beetroot before a race run put in a faster time.
The purple root vegetable contains high levels of chemicals called nitrates, which have been shown to boost exercise performance.

Crossbreed Animal Adoption

We often hear stories of people adopting abandoned baby animals, but how often do you hear of a tiger who adopted piglets, or a gorilla who adopted a kitten? This beautiful photo gallery showcases the special relationship between inter-species families. Meet furry, four-legged moms who adopted, nursed and nurtured animals of completely different species.

Breathing Life Into the Paper

Artists Joyanne Horscroft and Julie Wilkinson are the creators of these incredible works of paper art. While their work has encompassed many different subjects, they’ve recently produced some truly amazing birds made from paper. While birds are a favorite subject for origami artists, The Makerie shirks the ancient approach for a more sculptural and dynamic look. The feathers cascade, the colors pop, and there’s an eerie sense of life in some of these works.

60 Worst Countries in the World

In thе last five years, thе Foundation fοr Peace compile ranking οf countries іn thе planet οn аƖƖ factors thаt establish thе quality οf life. According tο thаt list, composed photographs іѕ thіѕ series called “Postcards frοm hell”, bесаuѕе these picture are worth 1,000 words. Now take a look at the list of 60 worst countries in the world.

1. PAKISTAN

Score: 114.3

Pakistan hаѕ more thаn once bееn ԁеѕсrіbеԁ аѕ thе planet’s mοѕt реrіƖουѕ country. Itѕ wild northern reaches remain host tο various branches οf thе Pakistani Taliban аnԁ ƖіkеƖу tο al Qaeda (Osama bin Laden іѕ thουɡht tο bе аmοnɡ thеm), whіƖе οthеr militant groups mаkе gains closer tο urban areas. Thе bomb thаt wеnt οff here left six dead іn Quetta, іn thе country’s southwest. More thаn 3 million Pakistani civilians wеrе displaced bу “counterinsurgency” operations іn 2009 — thе Ɩаrɡеѕt single passage οf public ѕіnсе thе Rwandan genocide. Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari’s democratically elected government looks hapless — unable tο gain аnу rate οf civilian control over a nuclear-armed military obsessed wіth рƖοttіnɡ fοr a war wіth India, οr аn intelligence service thаt stands accused οf abetting thе Afghan Taliban.

Top 10 Websites That Changed The World

In this modern world, It became highly impossible to live with out Internet. This Internet is a collection of websites. In recent years many websites have influenced us in one way or the other, but some of them have made such a huge impact that they have changed the world forever. This impact not only changed the world but also the lifestyle of people living in it. So, here we have collected the top 10 websites that made a huge change in this world.

10. WikiLeaks

This website is not that big YET, it is slowly changing the world and very soon it will that as big as the websites below. You have the media telling you lies, people giving their opinions but THIS site, is giving you proof and the TRUTH.

9. craigslist.org

Craigslist is the biggest community for free online classfied ads. A person who wants something done or wants to offer services. Craigslist is the first place where he would go.

8. Amazon

The biggest online shopping center with new and old items available to your but a simple click of a button. People who start shopping with amazon find it hard to buy things from some place else.

7. Twitter

There was a time when twitter was just a website that no one really knew about, but then suddenly, something changed and everyone was talking about twitter and TODAY, a person without a twitter account is considered to be...well, not alive. Ranging from celebs, to politicians to scientists...everyone is on twitter. Most businesses have twitter accounts as well to be more interactive.

6. Napster

You might have gotten a glimpse of what Napster was in Social Network movie but the website really changed the music industry. Many similar websites were developed after Napster, but none were as successful.

5. ebay

This website completely revolutionized the online shopping and bidding industry. Infact, ebay was the first one to bring this concept. Now, ebay is like a HUGE shopping mall with lots of little stores where you can bid on items you like and win.

4. Youtube

Watching videos is always better than reading text and that is exactly what youtube knew. It was also said to be one of the greatest inventions of 2006. Youtube is now owned by Google, so being with the biggest website on the web can't hurt.

3. Facebook

Many people are now familiar with the Facebook story, because of the social network movie. Something that just started off as a site to connect students of a university with each other became a tool that everyone using the internet uses. There are other social networking sites, but the amount of traffic that facebook gets is not comparable.

2. Wikipedia

The free encyclopedia ranks at number two on our list. Although professionally, wikipedia's credibility is questionable, for a common man, the information that you get from this site is second to none.

1. Google

Who knew that a website would become so popular that its name (which actually meant nothing) be recognized as a word. Some people say = 'If knowledge is power, then google is god'. Kind of going too far but you can see that effect google has had on our world.

World's 10 largest nuclear power plants

Work to start up the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu resumed after police arrested dozens of protesters who had blocked access to the site for months, in a breakthrough for the power-short emerging economy. Twenty-four years in the making, the Russian-built plant was supposed to be switched on last year, but protesters surrounded it after the nuclear accident in Japan. The Kudankulam project will initially provide 2 gigawatts of electricity - enough to power 20 million homes. This will be one of the largest N-power plants in India. So which are the world's ten largest nuclear power plants? Find out...

Romanian bride breaks a Guinness World Record with her wedding dress train

17-year-old Romanian model Emma showcased a wedding dress with a train that is 3 km (1.85 mi) long.

10 Major Breakthroughs of Humanity 02

Humans have proudly achieved more through sheer intellect and manipulation of their environment than any of their contemporaries. We can grow artificial tissues and use lasers in surgery. However, many of the breakthroughs of which we are so proud are only known or available to the upper echelons of our society, and the lifestyles of others remain completely unaffected. It is difficult to write any comprehensive list, but nevertheless here are ten (the first list of two) breakthroughs which literally changed the lives of close to every human on the planet. Each one is important in its own right, so they are in order of chronology instead of significance (the second list will continue in time order), but as many developed concurrently or have at best inexact dates; this order is only very approximate, and several have been instead better grouped by topic.

10

Logical Thought

millions of years ago

Logical thought, also called scientific thought, is the process of reasoning and testing in order to deduce the truth in any situation so that it may be more widely applied. For example, noting that every time anyone eats a certain berry they grow sick and die leads to the conclusion that the berry is likely poisonous. However, noting that when one ate a certain fruit the rain began to fall should not lead to a conclusion of ‘eating fruit makes it rain’ because the process has not been repeated or tested to confirm the link. A large number of animals are able to make such connections without testing them logically. Many superstitions are a result of illogical connections, where a coincidence that occurs once or twice is wrongfully interpreted. Several ancient civilizations even developed priest-kings who interpreted various signs according to increasingly complex superstitions and often produced bizarre or destructive behaviors. The ability to think with increasing logic allowed humans to make important links with far-reaching consequences in every field of human endeavor. Every advance is thanks to our capacity to think logically and search for connections so that we may gradually build a better world for ourselves.

10 Major Breakthroughs of Humanity 01

10

Anaesthesia

1842

Although a number of substances were known for a long time to make people insensible to pain, they were not used in surgery until the nineteenth century. Up until this point, surgery was performed by butchers and their ilk, as it was done with the patient fully conscious (although often inebriated to dull the pain) and as quickly as possible. The patient would violently struggle, scream, and frequently bleed to death in a very short amount of time. Traditionally, a team of people held the patient down, a butcher chopped off the damaged extremity, and the stump was immediately coated with tar to stop the bleeding. Surgery was not done on a fine scale or with any attention to detail, as there simply was not enough time for such things. It was one’s last option, as the surgery more often than not resulted in death. The use of anesthesia allowed doctors the time to work more cautiously, to learn how to stem blood flow more carefully, and to perform increasingly delicate operations. Modern surgery and medicine are thankfully unrecognizable next to their barbaric ancestors. Even in the most underdeveloped countries, eye surgery is fairly common, something unheard of before the dawn of anesthesia.

Things That Are Killing Us

Things That Are Killing Us 

Gigantic Snow Wall Along Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, Japan

The Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route is a unique and spectacular route through the Northern Japan Alps, which is traversed by various means of transportation, including cable cars, trolley buses and a ropeway. The route is particularly famous for the high snow walls that line some of its roads in spring.

The Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route was completed in 1971, and connects Toyama City in Toyama Prefecture with Omachi Town in Nagano Prefecture. The route was carefully built so that the surrounding environment is not damaged. Consequently, three lines go entirely under tunnels; among them, two are trolleybus lines. Trolleybuses have all gone from Japan, except for these two lines which are still used here as they don't exhaust gas.

The route goes through Tateyama in the Hida Mountains with a lot of scenic sites, including Kurobe dam. The section between Kurobe Dam and Ōgisawa was originally made for construction of the dam, while the section between Tateyama and Kurobeko was for tourists from the beginning. Currently, the route is purely a sightseeing one, only used by tourists. The main attraction that draws the crowd to this route is the magnificent scenery of the Tateyama Mountain Range, part of the Chubu Sangaku National Park. The 20 meter high snow corridor is a highlight during spring, while alpine flowers and autumn colors attract hikers during the summer and autumn.

Along the route, some stations have hotels around them that are used as bases for mountain climbing or trekking.

Photo credit

Hotel Arbez Franco-Suisse, Located Half in Switzerland and Half in France

The Arbez Hotel is a small two star hotel located in the quite border town of La Cure, five miles north of Geneva. A nice, cozy little place built in the nineteenth century in alpine style with wooden beams and country kitchen, and located a thousand feet above sea level - a popular resting place for cross-country skiers. The hotel looks normal except for one small detail - it is located exactly on the border between France and Switzerland and is probably the only hotel on this planet to do so. The dining room, kitchen, gift shop, hallways and several rooms are crossed by the international border, in a case unique to the world.

The hotel's history dates back to the nineteenth century. In 1862, the Swiss and French Governments agree to a modification of the border in the Valley of the Dappes; the Treaty, named after the Valley, was signed on December 8, 1862, The text of the treaty states that no building existing at the time of ratification will be affected by the modification of the border. Taking advantage of this, a clever businessman, Monsieur Ponthus, built a building in an area of their property which was on both sides of the new border, with the intention of doing cross-border business. The building was put up in record time before the treaty went into effect on February 1863. When the treaty was ratified by the Swiss government, the three-story building was already complete and thus not affected by the new border. Ponthus opened a bar on the French side and a shop in Switzerland. The store was there until 1921 when Jules-Jean Arbeze purchased the building and turned it into Franco-Suisse hotel that stands now.

Common Runner Injuries

There are so many 5K runs going on this weekend in celebration of the first week of spring. I so happen to be volunteering at one today, which got me thinking about how much strain runners put on their bodies. I ’v been long distance running since middle school and am currently on hiatus do to a some tears in my meniscus. I can’t help but wonder what other injuries can occur from running.

Today’s infographic gives an over view of the most common injuries experienced by runners and how to treat them. Even though running isn’t a “contact” sport, it’s amazing to see how many injuries you can get form it and how stressful it is on the body. Today’s infographic also does the favor of listing ways to avoid injury.

While running is one of the most beneficial ways to keep your body in shape, it can also be the most hazardous. Injury is one of the most frustrating moments in an athletes’ career; so please if you are running, or plan to take up the sport, please use today’s infographic to help you do so with ease and care. [via]

Blue Lake in Russia

Underwater photographer Viktor Lyagushkin explores the Blue Lake in Russia

National Geographic photographer Victor Lyagushkin accompanied a team of divers to explore the underwater cave network of the Blue Lake, near the Caucasus Mountains in Russia.

Tallest Water Slide in the World - Insano

Insano - The tallest water slide on Earth is located inside Beach Park, a tourist complex in Fortaleza, Brazil, this 14-story water slide was built in 1989 and still holds the record as the tallest water slide which is listed in the Guinness Book of Records. It only takes a few seconds to slide down, plenty of time for your heart to end up in your throat. The highest of this water slide is 41 meters high.

Amazing and beautiful panoramic photos

Sagano Bamboo Forest at Arashiyama, Kyoto

The Sagano Bamboo Forest is located to the northwest in Kyoto Basin, Japan, covering an area of 16 square kilometers. It is one of the most beautiful natural environment in entire Japan, not only because of its natural beauty but also because of the sound the wind makes as it blows through the thick bamboo grove.

"The sound of the wind in this bamboo forest has been voted as one of "one hundred must-be-preserved sounds of Japan" by the Japanese government. Back in the 1870s when Edison was looking for a good bamboo as a material of a filament for his early light bulb, the governor of Kyoto recommended two sources for bamboo, this being one of them. Edison used the other one."

The Sagano Bamboo Forest is about 30 minutes from Kyoto by train.

10 of the World's Strangest Plant Species

Welwitschia mirabilis:World's Most Resistant Plant

It's not pretty to look at, but Namibia's plant Welwitschia Mirabilis can truly claim to be one of a kind. There really is nothing like it. Welwitschia plant consists of only two leaves and a sturdy stem with roots. That's all! Two leaves continue to grow until they resemble the shaggy mane of some sci-fi alien. The stem thickens, rather than gains in height, and can grow to be almost 2 meters high and 8 meters wide. Their estimated lifespan is 400 to 1500 years. It can survive up to five years with no rain. The plant is said to be very tasty either raw or baked in hot ashes, and this is how it got its other name, Onyanga, which means onion of the desert. (Link | Photo 1 | Photo 2)

Dionaea muscipula: the Venus Fly Trap

The Venus Fly Trap is the most famous of all carnivorous plants due to the active and efficient nature of its unique traps. It may be famous, but it's also threatened. The plant's two hinged leaves are covered in ultra sensitive fine hairs that detect the presence of everything from ants to arachnids. Triggerthe hairs and snap! The trap will shut in less than a second. (Link | Photo)

Rafflesia arnoldii: World's Largest Flower

There is one exotic and rare plant you wouldn't likely want to grow anywhere near your landscape no matter how famous it would make you for doing so. That would be growing the largest flower in the world. This exotic, very rare, speckled, though not particularly pretty, rust colored flower is called Rafflesia Arnoldii.

Rafflesia Arnoldii, recently assigned to the Euphorbiaceae family, is the biggest individually produced flower in the world. It gets to be 3 feet across and weighing a whopping 15- 24 pounds. That's pretty darn big but still you would not like this flower in your perennial bed. Why is that? If you could mimic a rainforest type environment for this plant, it gives off a mostoffensive odor when in bloom. This scent is somewhat like rotting meat. This is why it is often called the Corpse Plant by some natives of Indonesia where it originates.

Its blossoms only last three days to a week. But in those few days it needs a miracle or two just for survival. This hideous smell it produces attracts pollinating insects to it to help perpetuate the species. But even when this happens only 10-20 percent of the tiny seedlings make it. With any luck in nine months it blooms. (Link | Photo)

Desmodium gyrans: the Dancing Plant

Darwin called the plant Hedysarum; modern botanists call it either Desmodium Gyrans, or more correctly these days, Codariocalyx Motorius. Its common name is Dancing Grass or Telegraph Plant or Semaphore Plant -- after the leaf movements, which resemble semaphore signals. For all of its uses this plant is easy to grow, dancing happily on a sunny windowsill and watered when dry. Some say it dances best to the "Greatful Dead!" (Link)

Euphorbia obesa: the Baseball Plant

Euphorbia Obesa, also known as the Baseball Plant, is endemic to the Great Karoo region of South Africa. Unsustainable harvesting by plant collectors who value Euphorbia obesa for its interesting and curious appearance has severely impacted wild populations. Consequently, national and international legislation have been enacted to protect remaining populations. While Euphorbia obesa remains endangered in its native habitat, it has become very common in cultivation. By growing large numbers of Euphorbia obesa, nurseries and botanical gardens have been working to ensure that specimens being traded and sold among plant collectors are not obtained from the wild. (Link)

Amorphophallus titanum: the Corpse Flower

A flower taller than a man, stinking strongly of putrefying roadkill and colored deep burgundy to mimic rotting flesh, sounds like something from a low-budget science fiction movie. But Indonesia's titan arum—or "corpse flower," as known by locals—is a real, if rare, phenomenon, pollinated in the wild by carrion-seeking insects. This Indonesian plant, called titan arum or amorphophallus titanium, has the world's biggest inflorescence. Due to its fragrance, which is reminiscent of the smell of a decomposing mammal, the Titan Arum is also known as a carrion flower, the "Corpse flower", or "Corpse plant". (Link 1 | Link 2)

Baobab: the Bottle Tree

Baobab is the common name of a genus (Adansonia) containing eight species of trees, native to Madagascar, mainland Africa and Australia. Also known as the Bottle Tree, not only do they look like bottles, but the trees typically store around 300 liters of water! No wonder why they often live over 500 years! (Link)

Dracaena cinnabari: the Dragon Blood Tree

Dracaena Cinnabari is a Dragon Tree native to the Socotra archipelago. It is also referred to as the Dragon Blood Tree and Socotra Dragon Tree. It is one of the most striking of Socotra's plants, a strange-looking, umbrella-shaped tree. It was first formally described by Isaac Bayley Balfour in 1882. Aminiature Icon of this tree is in Windows as Network-Icon. Its red sap was the dragon's blood of the ancients, sought after as a medicine and a dye.(Link 1 | Link 2)

Mimosa púdica: the Shy Plant

Mimosa Pudica (pudica = shy), or the Sensitive Plant, has a curiosity value: the compound leaves fold inward and droop when touched or shaken, re-opening within minutes. The species is native to South America and Central America, but is now a pantropical weed. Who would know that plants have feelings too? (Link)

Selaginella lepidophylla: the Resurrection Plant

Also known as Rose of Jericho, the Selaginella Lepidophylla is a species of desert plant noted for its ability to survive almost complete desiccation; during dry weather in its native habitat, its stems curl into a tight ball and uncurl when exposed to moisture. It is native to the Chihuahuan Desert.(Link | Photo)
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