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[FONT=comic sans ms,sans-serif]Silver # 1.

The mystery of the strange malady!

Alexander's army was invincible and irrepressible. One victory followed another, as he marched Eastwards with his huge army. Persia, Phoenicia, Egypt, Babylonia and Bactria lay subdued and conquered.

In 327 B.C, his army invaded India. It appeared as if nothing would stop them from a clean sweep over the country.But Divine providence had other plans for the invading army!

A mysterious gastrointestinal disease broke out in the Greek army. Exhausted and tired the army men demanded to be sent back home immediately.

Alexander was forced to turn back much against his wishes and plans. The strangeness about the mysterious disease was that it seemed to affect the common soldiers more severely than the high ranking officials of the army-even though they lived in the same living conditions and shared the same food!

This mystery was unraveled after more than 2000 years by the scientists.What was their finding any way?

(to be continued) [/FONT]
 
[FONT=comic sans ms,sans-serif]Silver # 2.

The great purifier!

The scientists found out that the gastrointestinal disease had affected people of different ranks differently-because while the common soldiers used tin cups for drinking, the high officials had used silver cups!

It was scientifically proved that when silver dissolved in water, it could kill many harmful bacteria. A few thousand-millionth of a gram (1/1000,000,000 gram)
of silver was adequate to purify one liter of drinking water!

Obviously this purifying property of silver had protected the army generals from the severity of the infections, while the common soldiers were denied of that protection.

Small wonder that silver was used to make utensils like dishes, jugs, jars, plates, cups, cutlery which were used to store food and also while eating food.A natural, fool-proof and healthy way of protecting oneself from the invasion of harmful bacteria through food and drinks.

The ancient historian Herodotus has recorded that the Prussian King Cyrus stored his water in sacred silver vessels during his march.A wise king who had taken care of his good health while out on his conquests, I should say!

In India, whit hot silver was immersed in water to purify it. Silver coins are thrown into wells even today during consecration ceremonies.

(To be continued...)[/FONT]
 
[FONT=comic sans ms,sans-serif]Silver # 3.

The inimitable Nero!

While the sensible persons were using silver to purify their food and drinks, some of the spendthrift aristocrats used to it show off their wealth and prosperity.
Roman emperor Nero was a notorious example here again!

He had the thousands of mules in his possession adorned with silver horse shoes. Is is a proof for the statement,"It is difficult to bear wealth without blowing a fuse in the brain"?

Silver was minted into coins long before gold coins appeared. Romans started minting silver coins in 269 B.C.

Silver had been used by jewelers from time immemorial. It was considered a pride and prestige to possess silver services, cups, goblets, powder boxes, cigarette cases, snuff boxes and what not!

Family silver became the new status symbol of the rich.The talented silversmiths embossed, engraved beautiful eye caching designs and made each piece they produced a unique work of art.

Candle sticks became family heirlooms. The amount of silver in the house spoke of the refined taste of the lady in the house and the prosperity of the man in the house.

(To be continued...)
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[FONT=comic sans ms,sans-serif]Silver # 4.

Silver and photography.

Besides being a purifier of food and drinks and the pride and joy of the stinking rich, silver assumed more serious roles to play later on! Ever since the new art of photography was discovered by a French Painter Daguerre in 1839, silver came to be inseparably associated with photography.

A thin film of silver bromide deposited on the photographic film or plate, did the trick! When exposed to light, silver bromide disintegrates. The rate of its disintegration depends on the amount of light falling of the plate/film.

So when different amounts of light are diffused by the different parts of the object being photographed, different intensities could be recorded. Further developing produces a negative which could give positive photos when printed.

Today the digital camera does not a film of silver bromide. But without the original photo film camera, the very concept of digital photography would have been impossible to imagine.

We all know that nothing was invented and perfected at the same time!

(To be continued...)[/FONT]
 
[FONT=comic sans ms,sans-serif]Silver # 5.

Artificial rain!

If silver bromide was indispensable for photography, silver iodide has proved to be no less fascinating! It plays a vital role high in the sky, in fighting the tropical cyclone storms.

To reduce the devastating effects of a cyclone storm, it is necessary to convert the water vapor in it to rain drops.This is exactly what the silver iodide does.It provides the 'seeds' on which the water vapor can condense and form rain drops.

The 'seeding' of the storm clouds with silver iodide was tested at first on a hurricane.A huge screen of silver iodide suspension in air was spread with the help of air planes.The screen of silver iodide in the sky was 30 kilometers long and 10 kilometers tall.

When the hurricane came in contact with the screen, it rolled up the screen and swallowed it! But the centre of the hurricane-also called the 'eye of the hurricane'- fell apart!

It formed rain drops, spilled them and got weakened. It could move only very slowly now and thus its destructive effects were minimized.The screen in the sky needed a few metric tons of silver iodide-the cost of which was nothing in comparison to the value of the property the hurricane could have destroyed-left unchecked!

(To be continued...)[/FONT]
 
Silver # 6.

Silver is the best known conductor of heat and electricity. Most sensitive physical instruments make use of silver wires.The vital terminals of various relays are made of silver. So also the important components of the Radio systems.

The various means of communication and signaling are impossible without good and reliable contacts. Such contacts are put to use millions of times every day!

They must be wear-resistant and have to satisfy a number of specifications. By adding Rare Earth Metals to silver, the life of these contacts can be increased incredibly.

The nozzles of the jet engines are made out of Tungsten saturated with silver.

These industries represent 95 percent of annual silver consumption. Silver’s superior properties make it a highly desirable industrial component.

Silver’s artistic beauty and status make it one of the most romantic and sought after precious metals. Silver’s unique properties include its beauty, strength, sensitivity to light, malleability and ductility, electrical and thermal conductivity, reflectivity and the ability to endure extreme temperature changes.

These properties allow groundbreaking research to be conducted by scientists and engineers that effect the way we live.
Silver more than other precious metals, has significant demand rooted in sectors as diverse as imaging, electronics, jewelry, coinage, superconductivity and water purification.

For this reason, silver is no longer known as just a precious metal, a store of value, a work of art or an industrial metal. It is a wonderful combination of all these!
 
[FONT=comic sans ms,sans-serif]Silver # 7

Uses of Silver

Silver mirrors have been used since mid 19th century.A sheet of polished glass silvered at the back has the greatest reflecting power among all the metals known to us.

It is used in everyday life as well as in telescopes, microscopes and several other optical instruments.Thanks to the high reflecting power of silver, the images formed are bright and clear. The study of the distant stars and planet are possible to a high degree of accuracy.

Silver is as malleable and ductile as gold. A transparent silver leaf of thickness 3 millionth millimeter (3/ 1000000 m.m.) can be produced! One gram of silver can be drawn into a 2 kilometer long wire!

Sanskrit word "Argenta" means 'light coloued'.The Latin name Argentum is derived from the Sanskrit word Argenta.

Pure silver is a lovely white metal.The country Argentina is named after its abundant silver.Originally the country was under Spanish rule and had the name Rio de la Plata. Spanish 'la plata' means silver - since large amounts of silver was found in the possession of the locals.

When the Spanish rule was over thrown, the Spanish name was also cast off and the country was renamed as Argentina.

(The story of copper starts from tomorrow)
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[FONT=comic sans ms,sans-serif]Copper #1.

The Magnificent Seven!

The magnificent seven metals that were known to man early in civilization were Gold, Silver, Copper, Iron, Tin, Lead and Mercury.

Copper was known to man 10,000 years ago! It marked the end of Stone Age and the onset of Copper Age. Bronze Age followed the Copper Age as soon as the alloys of copper were discovered.

Of these seven prehistoric metals only four exist in natural metallic state viz gold, silver, lead and copper.

Of these only copper is fairly distributed in Nature as compared to Gold and Silver which are rather scarce.The biggest copper nugget found in nature weighed a massive 420 tons!

Copper is malleable and easy to work with.The stone implements used by the prehistoric men were certainly much harder and stronger than those made of copper.

But copper implements had the advantage that their blunt edges could be sharpened again and again for reuse. This was by far easier than sharpening the edges of the stone implements afresh.

(to be continued...)[/FONT]
 
[FONT=comic sans ms,sans-serif]Copper # 2.

Discovery of Bronze!

Gradually people discovered the methods of extracting copper from its ores.The island Cyprus was famous for its copper mines. Copper owes its Latin name of Cuprum to this island.

Copper formed an excellent alloy with Zinc called Bronze. Bronze was originally used to make ornaments and luxury goods. Highly polished Bronze mirrors were widely used in ancient Egypt.

Bronze is the modified form of the word 'Es Brundusium' meaning
'From Brindisi'. Brindisi was a small town and port of Italy on its Adriatic Coast, which was famous for its bronze items.

Bronze surfaces when freshly polished resembled gold! The Egyptian priests were the first alchemists in human history.They knew the art of making gold out of copper by adding zinc to it! It was actually Brass but it could be made to look like gold when freshly polished.

But this 'gold' soon developed green blisters, rashes and sores-due to oxidation!
Eternal prayers and incantations were supposed to cure the gold of these diseases!

Ancient Indians, Assyrians, Greeks and Romans knew about Copper and Bronze.

(To be continued...) [/FONT]
 
[FONT=comic sans ms,sans-serif]Copper # 3.

Uses of bronze.

Huge bronze statues were cast as early as The Fifth century B.C ! In The Third Century B.C, The Colossus of Rhodes was erected in the port of Rhodes, in a small island in Aegean sea.

This bronze statue of Apollo stood 100 feet tall and was considered as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.This magnificent statue stood for a little more than half a century. An earth quake destroyed it completely and the scrape metal was sold to Syrians!

Some of the most impressive e bronze statues cast centuries ago but surviving till today are Marcus Aurelius, The Discus Thrower, The Sleeping Satyr etc.

The bright green paint found in the old frescoes is actually Copper Acetate.
The demand for 'Copper Green' was great since the women of the past used to paint green circles in their faces, under their eyes!

The Bronze then migrated from the beauty business to the defense mechanism!

(To be continued...)[/FONT]
 
[FONT=comic sans ms,sans-serif]Copper # 4.

Collector's delight![/FONT]

Old and rare copper coins are worth hundred thousand times their face value! In an unusual auction in London, one copper penny was sold for 2600 pounds - more than 6,00,000 times its normal value! The reason?

In 1933, only six such coins were minted by The London Mint. Five of them are kept at the British Treasury and The British Museum.

The loner which managed to escape being thus imprisoned had became a collector's delight and highly prized.

Copper was widely used in everyday articles at home. It was used in the high voltage transmission lines.

But now plastic goods are replacing the copper articles at home. Aluminum is replacing the copper in High voltage transmission.

Tomorrow's post: Blue blooded indeed!
(to be continued...)
 
[FONT=comic sans ms,sans-serif]Copper # 5.

Blue blooded!

Copper is a bio-element essential for the normal development of the flora and the fauna. It acts as a catalyst in the chemical process taking place in the cells.

Lack of copper in the plant tissues reduces its chlorophyll content. This makes the leaves turn yellow and leads to the stunted growth of the plant. Eventually the plant dies!

Human beings need iron in their blood to make hemoglobin for the efficient transmission of oxygen to the cells. In animal kingdom, octopus, cuttlefish, oysters and mollusks contain copper-doing the same job that iron does in our blood.

The hemocyanin in their blood combines with the oxygen in the air and turns blue! This is the secret of a snail being blue blooded! After transferring the oxygen to the cells, the blood becomes colorless again!

In the higher forms of life, the liver stores the copper. Our daily requirement is 5 milligrams. If this demand is not met, the person becomes weak and anemic!

In Nepal, copper is considered as a sacred metal. It is believed to develop a person's power of concentration, improve his power of digestion and cure the intestinal problems. People drink water from a glass containing a few copper coins.

One of the largest and most beautiful temples in Nepal is called The Copper Temple.

(to be continued...)[/FONT]
 
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[FONT=comic sans ms,sans-serif]Copper # 6.

A shark repellent!

Carps living in water containing copper grow to a larger size than their cousins living in water containing less copper. Contrarily sharks seem to dislike copper-especially its sulfuric compound the Copper Sulfate!

At the beginning of the World War II, a number of ships were destroyed by torpedoes. Those who fell in the sea had to face the threat of the vicious sharks infesting the sea.

Extensive experiments were carried out by USA with the help of scientist and shark hunters. It yielded amazing results.The sharks preferred and made a dash to all baits without Copper Sulfate .They did not go for the ones which had copper sulfate.Thus the Anti-Shark-drug was born!

The Australian sharks are the most vicious in the world. The Australian scientists doubted the effectiveness of this drug but the drug proved effective in 95 percent of the experiments. So a nearly fool-proof method of dealing with the deadly sharks was discovered at last!

(to be continued...)[/FONT]
 
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[FONT=comic sans ms,sans-serif]Copper # 7.

The copper eating bugs![/FONT]

[FONT=comic sans ms,sans-serif]There are numerous bacteria that thrive on the Sulfuric compounds of some metals. In nature copper combines with sulfur very easily.

These sulfur eating bugs seem to love Copper Sulfate.They transform the insoluble copper compounds into soluble copper compounds.These 'microscopic miners' work best at an optimum temperature ranging from 30 to 35 degree Celsius.

The mineral must be crushed and the solution continuously stirred.The work done by the copper eating bugs is a boon in the mines where the copper ore is almost exhausted.

The rocks may contain 5 to 20 percent copper.There is no economically efficient method to extract the metal from this kind of ores.

In such cases the copper bugs go to the bottom and dig out all the remaining copper.A copper mine in Utah yielded 12,000 tons of copper and another in Mexico 10,000 tons of copper after they were worked on by these busy bugs.

Different tastes!
These microbes have different tastes. Along with Copper, they are useful in the extraction of Iron, Zinc, Nickel, Cobalt, Aluminum, Titanium, Uranium, Gold, Germanium, Rhenium, Gallium, Indium and Thallium. The process is called Leaching!

Bio metallurgy is extremely useful and has a great future. There is no need for miners; no need to roast the ores; no need to dress the ores; no wages to be paid; no need to worry about the safety of the workers and their working conditions!

These microscopic metallurgists work for free-round the clock, all round the year!
(To be continued...)[/FONT]
 
[FONT=comic sans ms,sans-serif]Copper # 8.

The emergence of Geo-botany![/FONT]

The alliance of Geology and Botany is Geo-Botany! The roots of many plants reach deep into the soil and pump up different substances from the soil.

If a plant grows near the ore of a metal, all the various parts of the plant viz the roots, the stem and the leaves contain a higher percentage of that metal.

Very much like the human beings, these plants seem to have their personal preferences of the metals in the menu!

Maize and Honey suckle prefer gold ores.Violets prefer Zinc; Wormwood prefers Manganese and the pine loves Beryllium!

An increased percentage of an element in a plant is the green signal for the geologist to survey the region. Several new deposits of ores have been discovered in this way.

We are selfish to the core. We disturb and destroy the ecological balance thoughtlessly! But the Flora and Fauna and even the tiny untiring microbes help us-their enemies in every possible way!

(to be continued...)
 
Copper # 9.

Uses of Copper.

 Copper is malleable and ductile. It is the second best conductor of heat and electricity-the best being silver. Silver is quite costly and can not be used in a large scale. Hence copper is widely employed in all technologies.

The conductivity of copper is 35 times that of Titanium, 5 times that of Iron, 3 times that of Zinc and 1.5 times that of Aluminum.

Copper is widely used in transformers, automobile engines, electronic devices, and in making various alloys.

Industrial Uses of Copper
There are many industrial uses of copper, due to its high ductility, malleability, thermal conductivity and resistance to corrosion. It ranks third after iron and aluminum in the amount consumed for industrial purposes.

It is alloyed with nickel and used for shipbuilding. Copper in liquid form is used as a wood preservative. It helps in restoration of original structures that are damaged due to dry rot.

It is the main component of coins for many countries. The European Union, United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zea land use coins containing copper.

Copper is used for plumbing, roofing and cladding. Copper is a light and durable metal that helps build maintenance free structures. It has anti-microbial properties that helps in providing hygienic surfaces.

Electrical Uses of Copper
It is used in transformers, motors, bush bars, generators, etc. It is used in wiring and contacts for PC, TV and mobile phones.
 
Madras Presidency Radio Club

If you visit the Government Museum in Chennai, you can see the first Radio Broadcasting transmitter which was beaming Radio waves for the first time in Madras, under the Call Sign 2GR, from July 31, 1924. It was Rao Bahadur C.V.Krishnaswami Chetty, an Electrical Engineer with Madras Corporation who formed Madras Presidency Radio Club (MPRC) with some of his Armature Radio Enthusiasts, and took the trouble of going to England to learn the technique of Radio Broadcasting, where Marconi and Co,had just started Broadcasting in 1922.

On his return to Madras Mr.Chetty and his friends in MPRC assembled a 40 W Medium Wave transmitter and got the permission to broadcast in Madras. H.E.Viscount Goschen, the then Governor of Madras Presidency who was also the Patron of MPRC, inaugurated transmission on July,31, 1924. The MPRC ran the Radio till October 1927 and wound up their transmission activities. They presented this transmitter to Corporation of Madras , who in turn took three years to start regular broadcasting from April, 1, 1930 and continued the service till June 15, 1938. Then the Government owned All India Radio started their broadcasting from Madras on June 16, 1938 with their own Transmission equipment.


The Corporation of Madras decided to Present this first Radio Transmitter to the Madras Museum in 1939. Thus it had become a Museum piece.

(My thanks to Mrs. Visalkshi Ramani for creating this useful and informative thread - Brahmanyan)
 
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Copper # 10. Uses of Copper.

The everyday uses of copper include doorknobs and other fixtures in the house. Copper uses also include frying pans, knives, forks and spoons. It is also used in copper water heating cylinders, copper bath tubs, copper sinks and copper counters.

Copper in form of metal and as a pigmented salt is used to make decorative art like statutes and sculptures. Copper is an essential nutrient to all higher plants and animal life. In animals and humans it is present in tissues, liver, muscles and bone.

Transportation Uses of Copper
The important uses of copper in the transportation industry include building of trams, lorries, cars, trains, etc. High purity copper wire harness system is used to carry the current from the battery through out the vehicle.

The current is carried to the lights, central locking, on-board computers, satellite navigation systems, etc. The electric super trams made from copper and its alloys provide cities with clean and efficient transport system.

These were a few copper uses in our everyday life and industrial applications. Copper deficiency in the human body can lead to gray hair, skin wrinkles, crow's feet, varicose veins and saggy skin.

Copper is often compared to the 'Fountain of Youth'. This is because it helps in improving the elasticity of our skin,and in increasing the skin flexibility, and even said to help reduce premature gray hair.

Copper jewelry has been in vogue since many centuries. Copper is credited with medicinal properties for various ailments like joint pain and arthritis.

 [FONT=comic sans ms,sans-serif]Story of Iron will follow...[/FONT]
 
[FONT=comic sans ms,sans-serif]Iron # 1.

The Iron Hunger!

The iron Hunger was among the major issues discussed in the International Geological Conference in 1910 in Stockholm. A bleak prediction was made by the special commission appointed to estimate the world's iron reserves that all the world's iron reserves will be exhausted by 1970!

An extension of this prediction was that there will no rails, railway cars, locomotives, or automobiles! All the plants will fade and all the humans will die. Luckily both the prediction and its corollary proved to be wrong.We are very much here! So also all the flora and fauna!

To remain in good health a man needs iron. The requirement is 5/1000 th of 1 percent of body weight of the person. For a man weighing 60 K.G the requirement will be 3 grams and for a man weighing 80 K.G. it will be 4 grams.

Iron is an essential component of the blood of animals and men. It is found in the hemoglobin. It is iron that gives blood its red color. But the blood of some animals is green-though they also contain iron!

The blood of certain fish is colorless like water. Their blood had less than 10 percent of the iron contained by the red blooded fish.

Iron was discovered in the human body by a French scientist Mery in the 19th Century. A person with low iron content in his blood becomes anemic. He gets tired very easily and suffers from aches and pains. He is always in low spirits.

(To be continued...)
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Please LEARN at least basic grammar!

Two mistakes in three words??? :rolleyes:

Still it will be counted as post by the all-knowing-computer

giving you marks and a status attached to the marks! :doh:
 
[FONT=comic sans ms,sans-serif]Iron # 2.

By the second half of the 18th Century, people knew the body's need for iron and started consuming it in various forms.Fine iron filings-raw or sugar coated, Steel-Wine, Iron-snow, iron-water were some of the choices. By the second half of 20th century, numerous iron compounds have been added in the medicines..

Miracle springs!
Some mineral springs were rich in iron. They restored good health of the people who drank its water dramatically in a couple of days! Mars was the God of War as well as of iron. These springs were named as Martian Springs.

Only Iron exhibits magnetic properties. Hence many medical properties have been attributed to iron. Ancient Egyptians believed that magnets can ensure longevity and even immortality! People consumed iron filings. Greeks used iron as a laxative.

Plants need iron to form chlorophyll just as we need iron to form hemoglobin. Mini sized plankton which forms the main food for giant sized whales consume 500,000 tons of iron! It is about the amount of iron produced by man in a year.

Iron has always earned the respect of man! At a time when iron was very scarce, it was valued even more than gold! Iron decorations were set in Gold and were affordable only by the very rich people.

In ancient Rome, the wedding rings were made of iron!
(To be continued...)[/FONT]
 
[FONT=comic sans ms,sans-serif]Iron # 3.

The dreamy lover boy!

Having learnt that the wedding rings were made of iron in ancient Rome and that human blood contained iron, a dreamy lover boy developed a brilliant idea! He wanted to make a ring out of the iron extracted from his own blood for his lady love!

But the idea was more romantic and dramatic than practical or possible! He would bleed himself regularly, treat the blood chemically and carefully separate its iron content.

He died of acute anemia long before he could gather enough iron to fulfill his unusual project.The poor fellow did not know that even if he had let put his entire stock of blood, he would have hardly gathered three grams of iron!

It is really so sad that he was really so mad!

When extraction of iron from its ores was discovered iron became cheaper, more available and more affordable!

An clever barter!
James Cook, the famous British explorer, saw the extent to which the Aborigines would go to procure a small piece of iron.He was a shrewd trader! Once he got a whole pig in exchange for a rusty old nail!

Another time he got a load of fish in exchange for a few blunt iron knives. The fish lasted for the entire crew for many days.

The profession of an iron smith had always been respected, since great importance has been attached to iron from time immemorial.

( To be continued...) [/FONT]
 
[FONT=comic sans ms,sans-serif]Iron # 4.

The Celestial Stone.

The first pieces of iron that had fallen into man's hands had apparently come from the sky! They were of Cosmic origin. In some languages iron is called the Celestial Stone. This explains why the aborigines were so fascinated by iron! The meteorites hitting the earth contained iron.

Hundreds of thousands of tons of meteorites hit the earth annually. They may contain up to 90 percent iron. The largest and the most famous Hobo meteorite weighs about 60tons! A meteorite weighing 33 tons was discovered in Greenland in 1896.

Primitive tools were shaped out of the meteorites. But when the need for iron increased considerably the methods of iron extraction were discovered.The iron age followed the Bronze age closely.

Great importance was given to the strength and standard of the iron wares.The armors made for the warriors had to be light enough to allow them adequate mobility and yet strong enough to protect them from the enemy!

The iron smith who made the armor had to wear it and the prospective buyer would deliver a few blows with his sword. If the maker survived the attack he would be paid handsomely. Otherwise there would no one left to collect the making charges!

Then iron entered into Technology.The first iron bridge was built in 1778. Then the first iron water lines were laid. The first iron ship was launched in 1818.

In 1889 a magnificent iron tower was completed by the french Engineer Gustav Eiffel in Paris. More than a century later, it is still in good shape braving the sun and the rain.It has now become the true symbol of Paris.

(To be continued...)[/FONT]
 
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