Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Non-fiction

Non-fiction is an account or representation of a subject which is presented as fact. This presentation may be accurate or not; that is, it can give either a true or a false account of the subject in question. However, it is generally assumed that the authors of such accounts believe them to be truthful at the time of their composition. Non-fiction is one of the two main divisions in writing, particularly used in libraries, the other being fiction. However, non-fiction need not be written text necessarily, since pictures and film can also purport to present a factual account of a subject.

Essays, journals, documentaries, scientific papers, photographs, biographies, textbooks, blueprints, technical documentation, user manuals, diagrams and journalism are all common examples of non-fiction works, and fiction within any of these works is usually regarded as dishonest. Other works can legitimately be either fiction or non-fiction, such as letters, magazine articles, histories, websites, speeches and travelogues. Although they are mostly either one or the other it is not uncommon for there to be a blend of both, particularly non-fiction with a dash of fiction for added spice.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Super volcano

A super volcano it refers to a volcano that produces the largest and most voluminous kinds of eruption on Earth. The actual explosivity of these eruptions varies, but the sheer volume of extruded magma is enough to radically alter the landscape and severely impact global climate for years, with a cataclysmic effect on life.

The term was originally coined by the producers of the BBC popular science program, Horizon, in 2000 to refer to these types of eruption. That investigation brought the subject more into the public eye, leading to further studies of the possible effects. At first, super volcano was not a technical term used in volcanology, but more recently, in 2003 and 2004, the term has been used in articles. Though there is no well-defined minimum size for a "super volcano", there are at least two types of volcanic eruption that have been identified as super volcanoes: massive eruptions and large igneous provinces.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Etymology of India

India, as a country and nation, has three principal names, in both official and popular usage, each of which is historically and culturally important. All three originally designated a single entity comprise all the modern nations of the Indian subcontinent. The first Article of the Constitution of India, which deals with the official name, states that "India, that is Bharat, shall be a union of states." Thus, not only in usage but officially India and Bharat are both accorded primary status? The name India is derived from the river Indus.

The innovative name of the river came from the fact that in the north-west of the subcontinent, there are seven main tributaries of the one river. The local inhabitants therefore called it Sapta-Sindhu, meaning the seven rivers. As the seven tributaries are part of the one river, the whole river system came to be known in time as Sindhu. In general, Sindhu also means any river or water body in Sanskrit.

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Pitch

In music, pitch is the psychological associate of the fundamental frequency of a note. The note an above middle C played on any instrument is perceived to be of the same pitch as a pure tone of 440 Hz, but does not essentially contain a partial having that frequency. Furthermore, a slight change in frequency need not lead to a perceived change in pitch, but a change in pitch implies a change in frequency. In fact, the just perceptible difference is about five cents, but varies over the range of hearing and is more precise when the two pitches are played at the same time. Like other human stimuli, the perception of pitch also can be explained by the Weber-Fechner law.

Pitch also depends on the amplitude of the sound, especially at low frequencies. For instance, a low bass note will sound lower in pitch if it is louder. Like other senses, the comparative perception of pitch can be fooled, resulting in "audio illusions". There are several of these, such as the tritone paradox, but most especially the Shepard scale, where a continuous or discrete sequence of specially formed tones can be made to sound as if the sequence continues ascending or descending forever.

Friday, October 05, 2007

Tornado

A tornado is a violently rotating column of air which is in contact with both a cumulonimbus cloud base and the surface of the earth. Tornadoes can come in many shapes, but are typically in the form of a visible condensation funnel, with the narrow end touching the earth. Often, a cloud of debris encircles the lower portion of the funnel.

Tornadoes can be the most destructive storms on earth. Most have winds of 110 mph or less, are approximately 250 feet across, and travel a mile or more before dissipating. However, some tornadoes can have winds of more than 300 mph be more than a mile across, and stay on the ground for dozens of miles.

They have been observed on every continent except Antarctica; however, a significant percentage of the world's tornadoes occur in the United States. This is mostly due to the unique geography of the country, which allows the conditions which breed strong, long-lived storms to occur many times a year. Other areas which often experience tornadoes are south-central Canada, northwestern Europe, east-central South America, South Africa, and south-central Asia.

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