Common Scientic Myths -- Chemistry

Chemistry

----------------------------------

• Water is not a good conductor of electricity, and is, in fact, a good electrical insulator. It is impurities in water that allow for good electrical conduction.

Common Scientific Myths -- Physics

Physics

-------------------------------

• Gyroscopic forces are not required for a rider to balance a bicycle. However, the stability of a bicycle is improved by gyroscopic forces as well as by its geometry and the rider's ability to counteract tilting by steering.
• An illustration of the equal transit-time fallacy.It is not true that air takes the same time to travel above and below an aircraft's wing. This misconception, illustrated at right, is widespread among textbooks and non-technical reference books, and even appears in pilot training materials.
• Further information: equal transit-time fallacy, list of works with the equal transit-time fallacy, and lift (force)· Putting a teaspoon in the neck of an opened bottle of champagne will not help it retain its fizz. The misconception may arise from the fact that few people have two bottles of champagne open and unfinished at the same time to perform an accurate comparison[124] and likely suffer from subjective validation bias.
• Glass is not a high-viscosity liquid at room temperature: it is an amorphous solid, although it does have some chemical properties normally associated with liquids. Panes of stained glass windows often have thicker glass at the bottom than at the top, and this has been cited as an example of the slow flow of glass over centuries. However, this unevenness is due to the window manufacturing processes used in earlier eras, which produced glass panes that were unevenly thick at the time of their installation. It is not uncommon to find old windows that are thicker at the sides or the top.
• In the context of sunburn prevention, it is often claimed that 80% of sunburn-inducing UV-B passes through an overcast. Actually, based on the analysis used by the United States National Weather Service to develop the UV index, a "standard" solid overcast only transmits approximately 30% of UV-B, rather than 80%, although this certainly varies depending on many factors.
• Air is mostly nitrogen, not oxygen. Dry air contains roughly (by volume) 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.038% carbon dioxide, and small amounts of other gases. Air also contains a variable amount of water vapor, on average around 1%.

Common Scientific Myths -- Biology

Biology

----------------------------------

• Warts on human skin are caused by viruses that are unique to humans (Human papillomavirus). Humans cannot catch warts from toads or other animals; the bumps on a toad are not warts.
• The notion that goldfish have a memory of only three seconds is false. They have been trained to navigate mazes and can recognize their owners after an exposure of a few months.
• Lemmings do not engage in mass suicidal dives off cliffs when migrating. They will, however, occasionally, and unintentionally fall off cliffs when venturing into unknown territory, with no knowledge of the boundaries of the environment. The misconception is due largely to the Disney film White Wilderness, which shot many of the migration scenes (also staged by using multiple shots of different groups of lemmings) on a large, snow-covered turntable in a studio. Photographers later pushed the lemmings off a cliff.
• Bats are not blind. While most bat species do use echolocation to augment their vision, all bats have eyes and are capable of sight.· It's a common myth that an earthworm becomes two worms when cut in half. This is not correct. An earthworm can survive being bisected, but only the front half of the worm (where the mouth is located) can survive, while the other half dies. On the other hand, species of the planaria family of flatworms actually do become two new planaria when bisected or split down the middle.
• According to urban myth, the Daddy Long-Legs Spider (Pholcus phalangioides) is the most venomous spider in the world. This is false, as the toxicity of this spider's venom only has a very weak effect on humans. In addition, there is also confusion regarding the use of the name Daddy Long Legs, because Harvestmen (order Opiliones, which are not spiders) and crane flies (which are insects) are also commonly referred to as Daddy Long Legs, and share (also incorrectly) the myth of being venomous.

Common Scientifc Myths - Human Body & Health

Human Body & Health

-----------------------------------------

• An incorrect map of the tongue showing zones which taste bitter (1), sour (2), salty (3) and sweet (4). In reality, all zones can sense all tastes. Different tastes can be detected on all parts of the tongue by taste buds, with slightly increased sensitivities in different locations depending on the person, contrary to the popular belief that specific tastes only correspond to specific mapped sites on the tongue. The original tongue map was based on a mistranslation by a Harvard psychologist of a discredited German paper that was written in 1901.
• People do not use only ten percent of their brains. While it is true that a small minority of neurons in the brain are actively firing at any one time, the inactive neurons are important too. This myth has been commonplace in American culture at least as far back as the start of the 20th Century, as was attributed to William James, who apparently used the expression metaphorically. In the middle of the century, it was attributed to Albert Einstein. Some findings of brain science (such as the high ratio of glial cells to neurons) have been mistakenly read as providing support for the myth.
• There is no single theory that satisfactorily explains myopia—in particular, studies show that so-called eyestrain from close reading and computer games does not explain myopia. There is also no evidence that reading in dim light or sitting close to a television causes vision to deteriorate.
• Shaving does not cause hair to grow back thicker or coarser or darker. This belief is due to the fact that hair that has never been cut has a tapered end, whereas, after cutting, there is no taper. Thus, it appears thicker, and feels coarser due to the sharper, unworn edges. Hair can also appear darker after it grows back because hair that has never been cut is often lighter due to sun exposure.
• Hair and fingernails do not continue to grow after a person dies. Rather, the skin dries and shrinks away from the bases of hairs and nails, giving the appearance of growth.
• Although there are hair care products which are marketed as being able to repair split ends and damaged hair, there is no such cure. A good conditioner might prevent damage from occurring in the first place, but the only way to get rid of split ends after they appear is by a hair cut.
• Snapping or cracking one's knuckles does not cause arthritis.
• Sugar does not cause hyperactivity in children.Double blind trials have shown no difference in behaviour between children given sugar full or sugar-free diets, even in studies specifically looking at children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or those considered "sensitive" to sugar. In fact, it was found that the difference in the children's behaviour was all in the parents' minds.
• Prolonged exposure to cold weather such as rain or winter conditions does not increase the likelihood of catching a cold. Although common colds are seasonal, with more occurring during winter, experiments so far have failed to produce evidence that short-term exposure to cold weather or direct chilling increases susceptibility to infection, implying that the seasonal variation is instead due to a change in behaviors such as increased time spent indoors close to others. A lowering of body temperature can, however, reduce the body's resistance to an infection that is already present.
• It is a common misconception that sleepwalkers should not be awakened. While it is true that a person may be confused or disoriented for a short time after awakening, it is actually quite dangerous not to wake a sleepwalker as they may injure themselves if they trip over objects or lose their balance while sleepwalking. Such injuries are common among sleepwalkers.
• While the vitamin A in carrots does help to build healthy vision (among other things), it does not improve the eyesight of a person already in possession of healthy vision nor does it improve night vision. In fact, an excess of carrots can cause vitamin A toxicity and carotenemia in rare cases. This misconception arose from an RAF attempt to hide the discovery of radar from the Axis forces by claiming that their pilots had gained vastly improved night vision from being fed carrots, rather than from any technological advancement.
• In Korea, it is commonly believed that sleeping in a closed room with an electric fan running can be fatal in the summer. According to the Korean government, "In some cases, a fan turned on too long can cause death from suffocation, hypothermia, or fire from overheating." The Korea Consumer Protection Board issued a consumer safety alert recommending that electric fans be set on timers, direction changed and doors left open. Belief in fan death is common even among knowledgeable medical professionals in Korea. According to Dr. Yeon Dong-su, dean of Kwandong University's medical school, "If it is completely sealed, then in the current of an electric fan, the temperature can drop low enough to cause a person to die of hypothermia.
• High levels of testosterone do not necessarily make humans more aggressive and less cooperative, even though this is observed in other animals. Human behaviour is very complicated and heavily affected by social condition and beliefs.

Common Scientific Myths -- Astronomy

Astronomy

------------------------------------------

• It is commonly claimed that the Great Wall of China is the only man-made object visible from the Moon. This is false. None of the Apollo astronauts reported seeing any man-made object from the Moon. The misconception is believed to have been popularized by Richard Halliburton decades before the first moon landing.
• Black holes, unlike the common image, do not act as cosmic vacuum cleaners any more than do other stars. When a star evolves into a black hole, the gravitational attraction at a given distance from the body is no greater than it was for the star. That is to say, were the Sun to be replaced by a black hole of the same mass, the Earth would continue in the same orbit (assuming spherical symmetry of the sun). Due to a black hole's formation being explosive in nature, the object would lose a certain amount of its energy in the process, which, according to the mass–energy equivalence, means that a black hole would be of lower mass than the parent object, and actually have a weaker gravitational pull.
• When a meteor lands on Earth (after which it is termed a meteorite), it is not usually hot. In fact, many are found with frost on them. A meteor's great speed during entry is enough to melt or vaporize its outermost layer, but any molten material will be quickly blown off (ablated), and the interior of the meteor does not have time to heat up because rocks are poor conductors of heat. Also, atmospheric drag can slow small meteors to terminal velocity by the time they hit the ground, giving the surface time to cool down.
• It is a common misconception that seasons are caused by the Earth being closer to the Sun in the summer than in the winter. In fact, the Earth is actually farther from the Sun when it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere. Seasons are actually the result of the Earth being tilted on its axis by 23.5 degrees. As the Earth orbits the Sun, different parts of the world receive different amounts of direct sunlight. In July, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun giving longer days and more direct sunlight; in December, it is tilted away. The seasons are reversed in the Southern Hemisphere, which is tilted towards the Sun in January and away from the Sun in July. In tropical areas of the world, there is no noticeable change in the amount of sunlight.
• It is a common misconception that it's easier to balance an egg on its end on the first day of spring. In fact, the ease or difficulty of balancing an egg is the same 365 days a year. This myth is said to originate with the egg of Li Chun, an ancient Chinese folk belief that it is easier to balance an egg on Li Chun, the first day of spring in the Chinese lunar calendar. In Chinese Li = setup/erect; Chun = spring/egg. Setup spring is a Chinese solar term, literally interpreted as erecting an egg for fun. It was introduced to the western world in a Life article in 1945, and popularized once again by self-titled 'urban shaman' Donna Henes, who has hosted an annual egg balancing ceremony in New York City since the mid-1970s.

Did Hitler killed the German Cricket Team?

I have grown up while listening that Hitler had killed the German Cricket team as the match was ended up in draw. I have searched alot onto this and come with an asnwer that No, Hitler didn't killed the German Cricket team.

Infact, when we searched through the pages of history then we come up with the fact that German did not have an established cricket team at any stage of the history.

According to information available at the website of of the German Cricket Association (Deutscher Cricket Bund), cricket has been played in Germany since the 1850s. In 1945, there was a total of four clubs left (all in Berlin), and cricket wasn't really heard of until the 1980s, when it was established as a team sport at several German universities.

Subsequently, the German Cricket Association was founded in 1988.

Today, They have been an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1999. German beacme the affiliate part of ICC in 1991 but did not play their first international until 1995.

They are currently ranked at 37th in the world, and are the eighth ranked non-test team in Euorpe.

Thus, with the above analysis we can easily suggest that German didn't have any cricket team in past which had ever played the test match ( a five or six day cricket match ). So, it is just a myth that Hitler had ever killed German Team.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_cricket_team

http://www.cricket.de/

Urdu Poetry

Ye Zaroori to Nahin

----------------------------------------------------------

Umr Jalwon mein basar ho,ye zaroori to nahin,

Har shab-e-gham ki sahar ho,ye zaroori to nahin

Chashm-e-saqi se piyo,ya lab-e-sagar se piyo

Be khudi aathon pahar ho,ye zaroori to nahin

Neend to dard ke bistar pe bhi aa sakti hai,

unki aagosh mein sar ho,ye zaroori to nahin

Sheikh karta to hai masjid mein khuda ko sajde,

uske sajdon mein asar ho,ye zaroori to nahin

Sab ki nazron mein ho saqi,ye zaroori hai magar,

Sab pe saqi ki nazar ho,ye zaroori to nahin.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wafa k qaid khano main sazaaen kub badalti hain

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wafa k qaid khano main sazaaen kub badalti hain

badalta dil ka mousam hai hawaaen kub badalti hain

libada ouurh kar ghum ka nikal jatay hain sehra main

jawaab aaey k na aaey sadaaen kub badalti hain

meri sari duaaen tum se mansoob hain jaana

muhabbat ho agar sachii duaaen kub badalti hain

koe paa kar nibhata hai koe kho kar nibhata hai

naey andaaz hotay hain wafaaen kub badalti hain

gunahoun ko hamara eak malik he bakhsta hai

ata es ki porani hai khaataen kub badalti hain

----------------------------------------------------------

Khafa Hona Mana Lena (By: Ahmed Faraz)

----------------------------------------------------------

Main Sun kay us ki Sab Batain...
Faqt Itna hi Kehta hon.....
Khafa hona....
Mana Lena.....
Ya Sadiyoon se Riwayat ha.....
Muhabbat ki Aalamat ha...
Gilaay Shikway karo muj se...........
Tumhain Yara Ijazat ha......
Magr ik bat meri b...
Zara Tum yad rahk lena......
Kabhi aisa b hota ha.........
Hawayin Rukh Badalti hain....
Khazain loat ati hain...
Khatain ho hi jati hain....
Khata hona b Mumkin ha...
Khafa hona b mumkin ha....
Hamesha Yad rahkna Tum....
Taluq Rooth Jany se Kabi Toota nahi Karty.........