QuirkyHive

For almost 2,000 years, mathematicians have been searching for prime numbers. Even in the time of the ancient Greek mathematician Euclid, humans were fascinated by finding primes. Many have been found, but since prime numbers are infinite, the search goes on. Of the primes found to date, what is the largest? And how are such huge primes discovered? Well, before discussing the largest prime, let's understand what a prime number is. A prime number is that which cannot be divided by any number other than 1 and itself. The simple meaning of the statement is that it is divisible only by 1 and itself. For example, 7 is a prime number because it can't be divided into parts by any number besides 1 and 7. Every integer greater than 1 is either a prime or a product of primes. For instance, 18 is not a prime, but all of its divisors are primes: 2×3×3=18. And this is true for all numbers. The currently largest known prime number is  2^(82,589,933) − 1 . While this is easy to write, finding...

You must have come across headlines like "Bone-chilling cold disrupts daily life" in the newspaper. But cold essentially does not shake your bones. It feels that way when the chill has reached right to your bones through your flesh, but all of us know the phenomenon of chattering teeth. On a chilly day, our teeth knock against each other out of our will. Why does this happen? Warm-blooded animals, also known as endotherms, produce body heat internally. Most mammals, including humans, and few insects are endothermic. They cannot perform their bodily functions unless the body temperature is maintained within a range. This is called thermoregulation, or "heat control." We do a lot of physiological and habit-forming actions to increase the body's temperature. Shivering is a physiological activity. Wearing warm clothes is a habit. Imagine not wearing warm clothes in freezing weather and not doing anything to keep yourself warm. Under these conditions, your brain will...

2024 was a year of great research into many topics in physics. Two scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their work in artificial intelligence for the very first time. End-of-year roundups from New Scientist, Physics World, BBC Science Focus, Science News, Discover, How It Works, and Scientific American included significant discoveries of the year. his list brings together 10 of the most-talked-about research works. The ranking of the list is not in order of priority or importance; numbering has been done for ease only. 1. Nobel Prize in Physics for Research on Artificial Intelligence This year's Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to American scientist John J. Hopfield and Canadian scientist Geoffrey E. Hinton for their groundbreaking discoveries and innovations that paved the way for the creation of machine learning through artificial neural networks. Their work dates to the 1960s. John Hopfield theorized artificial neural networks that would mimic the neuronal co...

To discover the universe's first molecule, we first need to find the first atom. Molecules, by definition, are combinations of several atoms. In the immediate aftermath of the Big Bang, the universe was so hot that the formation of atoms was not possible. Not even protons or neutrons could have been formed. All that existed were elementary particles such as quarks, gluons, neutrinos, and electrons. These particles were formed within the first microsecond after the Big Bang. In this short duration, the temperature fell to 10 trillion Kelvin. This temperature was incredibly hot, but ideal for creating the first protons and neutrons. Protons and neutrons were created by the fusion of three quark particles each. With the discovery of the first proton, the basic building block of an atom was in place. The identity of an atom is defined by the number of protons. One proton is hydrogen, two protons is helium, and three protons is lithium. The key distinction between the 118 elements that ...

Upon experiencing a slight fever, individuals typically resort to placing their hand on their forehead as a preliminary means of assessing warmth. Nevertheless, this technique fails to yield a precise evaluation of core body temperature. At most, it allows for the detection of the presence and severity of a fever. In general, the average human body temperature is approximately 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit). When the temperature exceeds a given threshold, it is termed as fever, which may even require pharmacological intervention. Therefore, it becomes imperative to determine the exact temperature, for which, a thermometer is usually used. To determine the accurate body temperature, it needs to measure the core temperature because this reflects the body's internal heat most accurately. The sublingually measured temperature is considered as an excellent estimator of core temperature. This is the reason thermometers are placed under the tongue for measuring temperature. ...

Nature is governed by only four fundamental forces. We understand what three of them are made of and how they function, but the story of gravity—the force most familiar to us—remains a mystery. What is gravity made of? Does it have particles of its own? If so, how can they be identified? The enigma of nature and the mysteries of the universe have fascinated humankind since ancient times. Yet, it is only in the last few centuries that we have begun to unravel its workings with considerable accuracy. Modern science now knows a great deal—though not everything—about the universe, its origins, and the secrets of nature. By piecing together knowledge accumulated over centuries, we now understand that nature, or the universe, operates under the governance of just four fundamental forces. These forces, along with specific particles, bind the vast cosmic family together. These four natural forces hold everything in the universe in place. The four fundamental forces consist of the electromagnet...

From experience, we understand the speed at which a smartphone charges its battery slows down toward the end. Where it takes a certain amount of time to charge 80-85%, this final portion, which is 15-20%, takes a good length of time. Why? The reason has something to do with the nature of lithium batteries used in smartphones. Generally, these batteries follow some preordained process for charging when plugged into a power source. As the battery charge is low at the initial stage, the empty cells inside the lithium-ion battery can afford to adjust to the ions quite easily. Fast charging means a high flow of electricity under increased pressure. Once the charge has gone up to 80-85%, the remaining ions take more time to find free cells in the layers of the battery. At this stage, some special batteries temporarily stop charging for 5 to 10 minutes or reduce the rate at which charges get in to make the ions settle. That's analogous to traffic control at a busy junction where, to preve...

From the seashore to Lanka, a floating bridge made of stones was being planned. But no sooner the monkeys started throwing big stones in the sea than they began to dip into the water. Shri Hanuman then advised that the name "Ram" should be written on the stones. Surprisingly, as soon as the stones with Ram's name were thrown into the sea, they started floating rather than sinking. We have all read or seen this episode of the bridge construction from the Ramayana. But was it a simple case of the matter at hand, or was there a planned program of engineering behind it? The article is in two parts-while part one explains how the bridge building story comes out differently in different puranic traditions and the Ramayana, Ramkatha, part two deals with the description of the construction of the bridge by Valmiki’s Ramayana and the engineering and technological genius involved. -- Part One -- According to Valmiki’s Ramayana, when Lord Rama’s penance failed to elicit a response f...

The Pillar of Severed Hands! Have you heard about it? It is one of the historic monuments and is located in Old Goa, India. It has been referred to as "Hath Katro Khamb" in the local dialect of Konkani language, which translates to "The Pillar of Severed Hands." Here, the hands of the Hindus who practiced their religious rituals in secrecy and refused to convert to Christianity were amputated. This column stands grimly to remind one of the atrocities committed during the Portuguese Inquisition-that somber chapter of Hindu persecution by Christians. The Inquisition of Goa by the Portuguese, from 1560 to 1812, is a horrific period in history that has often been suppressed or omitted by the so-called "secular" circles of Indian historians. The Inquisition was one means whereby Catholicism and the Church sought to spread their influence. It was designed to establish Catholic religious doctrines and ensure loyalty to Christianity among converts. It involved sup...

On August 16, 1882, nearly 142 years ago, a baby boy was born into an affluent business family in Philadelphia of the USA. His name was Samuel Evans Stokes. Being from a rich family, as a child, Samuel went to one of the fine schools. But Samuel started showing his spiritual bent in his childhood, and his parents sent him to a convent school. There, a priest started teaching him the Bible and works of the Christian missionaries. At the age of around 20 or 21 years, Samuel was deputed to India by the order of the Church. His mission was to spread and promote Christianity. In 1903, at the age of 21, Samuel arrived in Bombay (now Mumbai). At that time, Mr. and Mrs. Carlton were conducting research on leprosy and providing care to leprosy patients in India. Samuel joined them and began serving leprosy patients. Behind this humanitarian work, there was also the agenda of religious conversion. Just as Christian missionaries today convert marginalized communities in exchange for donations and...