DIU Activities > Alumni
Sharpen Your General Knowledge
Shamim Ansary:
How fast are other galaxies moving away from us?
How fast other galaxies are moving away from us all depends on which galaxy, as they’re speeding away at different rates.
On top of that, everything that’s speeding away from the Milky Way is accelerating. Here’s a sampling on either end: One of the slower galaxies is speeding away at about 5,040,000 mph. That’s like going from one side of the United
States to the opposite side in about 2 seconds, give or take a little. One of the farther and faster galaxies is going so fast, it would take it about a second to go all the way around the world. It’s being clocked at about 93,600,000 mph.
The general rule is that the farther the galaxy is from the Milky Way, the faster it’s going.
Shamim Ansary:
Why Do Some People Snore?
When you are asleep and relaxed, and breathing through your mouth rather than through your nose, the air coming out causes your soft palate, the tissue at the back and top of your mouth, to flutter back and forth. This fluttering, or vibration, makes a sound called a snore. Often this vibration causes the cheeks, lips, and nostrils to vibrate as well, causing an even louder snore.
Although many ways have been tried to stop snoring from tying a bandage from the chin to the top of the head to keep the mouth closed, to actually removing part of the soft palate, no one has found a sure-fire method. However, some people claim that if you sleep on your side rather than on your back, you are less likely to snore. Nobody knows why, but men snore more than women and children.
The loudest snore recorded has been measured at 69 decibels, or almost as loud as a pneumatic drill!
Shamim Ansary:
Why Do Fish Jump Out of Their Tanks and What Is the Best Way To Prevent Fish From Jumping Out of the Tank?
Fish jumping out of tanks small or large is quite a common problem for enthusiasts, and is the reason why some owners choose to have a glass cover on the top of their aquarium.
There are several theories as to why fish might jump from a small aquarium.
It has been suggested that one reason fish leap from the water is that in the wild they use this method to attempt to rid themselves of parasites.
Depending on the gender and species mix of the fish in their aquarium, it is possible that their fish could have been leaping to avoid predators or unpleasant interactions with other creatures.
They could even be showing off to fish of the opposite sex, in some previously unknown courtship or territorial ritual.
In the meantime, our sincere condolences go out to all those who have lost a fish to a death by jumping.
To captive fish, the air on the other side of the aquarium glass looks like water.
And even in fish world, the water is always cleaner on the other side.
As mentioned when we first spoke, a cover on top of the tank would stop future jumpers from killing themselves.
Just remember to leave enough room for them to breathe.
Shamim Ansary:
Why Is There No Gravity in Space?
There certainly is gravity in space! If there wasn’t, the moon wouldn’t revolve around the earth, and the planets wouldn’t revolve around the sun.
The strength of the force of gravity between any two objects depends on two factors: the mass of the two objects and the distance between them. The heavier the objects are, the stronger the gravitational force between them. The greater the distance between them, the weaker this gravitational force.
If two objects are very massive, as in the case of the sun and the earth, then the gravitational force between them will be strong, even when they’re far apart. That’s why the earth is held in its orbit by the gravitational pull of the sun, even though the sun is 93 million miles away.
The mass of a spaceship is very small compared to the mass of the earth or the sun. As a spaceship moves away from earth, the gravitational pull of the earth decreases until it is too weak to have an effect on the spaceship. But at every point in the universe, there is some gravitational force working on every object.
Shamim Ansary:
How Did the Planets Get Their Names?
We know there are nine planets. But in ancient times, people knew of only six: the earth and the five planets that can be seen without a telescope.
Venus, the brightest planet in our sky, was named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty.
Mercury, the fastest- moving planet, was named after the fleet-footed messenger of the gods.
Mars was named after the Roman god of war.
Saturn was named after the Roman god of farming.
Jupiter, the largest planet, took its name from the Romans’ chief god.
The planet Uranus wasn’t discovered until 1781, and was originally called Georgium, after King George III, who ruled England at the time. But it was soon decided that since all the other planets took their names from ancient gods, the new planet should also. It was then named after the Greek god of the sky.
Next to be discovered was Neptune, in 1846. It was originally called Leverrier after the man who first sighted it, but was later named after the Roman god of the sea.
And Pluto, discovered in 1930, was named after the Roman god of the dead.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version