A Matter of Fermions and Bosons

 

What is the world made up of? 

We all remember something about this from our school days: All matter is made up of atoms, which in turn are made up of protons, neutrons and electrons. We also learnt over the years that things are not so simple..

This engaging video presents one of the best explanations I have come across so far, of what the latest scientific research tells us, as well the things it just cannot explain.

It tells you about the universe made up of energy fields made up of Fermions and Bosons. Fermions are made up Electrons, the Up-quark (Uq) and the Down-quark (Dq). The familiar protons and neutrons each contains three quarks...all the beauty and complexity we see in the world around us is made up us these three components, over and over again..

Then there is the fourth one, a peculiar cosmic ghost flowing through us all the time - the Neurtino.

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REFERENCES & LINKS

* https://www.quantamagazine.org/theories-of-everything-mapped-20150803/

* https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-video-tour-of-the-standard-model-20210716/

Invisible Demons

 

I have often wondered - if global warming and climate change is really a ticking time-bomb, why does it not bother most of us?

A part the answer to this question was found in an event I attended last week at the Max Muller Bhavan in New Delhi. 

MMB is the German cultural centre in the heart of of the city. In the pre-internet days it used to be considered a cool hangout for its cafe, library and cultural events. This particular event was in two parts - screening ofa documentary titled, "Invisible Demons" directed by Rahul Jain, followed by a panel discussion on Art, Activism and Climate Change. 

This is essentially about environmental pollution in north India, especially Delhi. The film starts in an arty format with a guy slowly fogging a DDA park in Delhi. This set the tone for the rest of the documentary - long lingering shots of the worst sights in the city: drains emptying into the Yamuna, turning its waters black and foamy; mountains of garbage dotted with rag-picking children; destitute families living on the streets of Delhi; endless traffic jams interspersed with shots of fishes packed in tanks and cattle crowded in pens; patients wheezing into a nebuliser and an endoscopic view of blackened lungs.

The film is meant to evoke disgust, and it does so quite effectively. The director too was glad to tell us that at every pre-screening event, the audience rushed to open the windows to let in some fresh air. The only hint of optimism in the the whole documentary is footage of an un-named young man showing the little forests he had created on the Yamuna floodplains. He is the well known Miyawaki forester, Shubhendu Sharma, but for 'artistic reasons' he remains un-named in the film.

I have seen plenty of poverty-porn coming from media houses sponsored by Western entities - the ones that find great delight in highlighting the worst from developing countries, without offering any viable solutions. This must be a new genre called environment-porn.

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LINKS & REFERENCES

- 18 Jan 2023 - Panel discussion on Art, Activism and Climate Change - Rahul Jain, movie director | Helene Bukowski, writer | Dr. Philipp Ackermann, German Ambassador | Philo Magdelene, Protect our Planet (PoP) movement

- Miyawaki Forests - https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/they-grow-fast-and-easy-but-do-miyawaki-forests-meet-the-fundamental-principles-of-ecological-restoration/article65258901.ece

- Shubhendu Sharma, Forester, founder - Afforestt - https://blog.ted.com/shubhendusharma/

- Judith Chevalier, Env Law, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Chevalier

Starting with Murakami

 

My first book for 2023 is a book Haruki Murakami wrote a few years ago - "Killing Commendatore" ((Japanese: 騎士団長殺し, Hepburn: Kishidanchō-goroshi).

One issue with eBooks - for better or worse - is the fact that it does not give you a let you get discouraged by the size of a book. This one has over 700 pages - not the regular, non-serial, Murakami but certainly not the sort I would pick up in a hardcopy format. Yet it is just the sort or engaging, fluid prose that keeps you flicking from one chapter to another, until you reach a point when it all seems to end rather abruptly, as though the author himself got bored of stretching the narrative for so long.

I have not yet reached the end though. Like a piece of chocolate that you keep in your pocket,  and keep nibbling on it every now and then, to make it last long, I read Murakami's to slowly discover perspectives I am not too familiar with - food, classical music, and, this time, the world of painters and paintings.

It is worth it. 

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REFERENCES & LINKS

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_Commendatore

* Review - WP 2018 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_Commendatore

* Discussion - https://sevencircumstances.com/2019/05/17/an-idea-that-asks-to-be-murdered-killing-commendatore-by-haruki-murakami/