Kanha National Park of India

Located in the Mandia district of Madhya Pradesh, the Kanha National Park is a Tiger Reserve that extends over 1945 sq. km. of undulating country. Elevations range from 450 to 900 meters. A horseshoe shaped valley bounded by the. spurs of the Mekal ridge gives Kanha an interesting topography. 

The Surpan River meanders through Kanha's central maidans - grasslands that Dover the extensive plateaus. Steep rocky escarpments along their edges offer breathtaking views of the valleys below. 
The grasslands at Kanha interspersed with forests of sal, teeming with varieties of deer - the barasinqha, chital (spotted deer), chousingha, nilgai, the majestic gaur (Indian bison) and wild pig, is 'tiger country'. It is ideal for viewing both the predator and the prey. 
It was here at Kanha that the eminent zoologist George Schaller undertook the first ever-scientific study of the tiger. Another landmark at Kanha is the preservation of the "hard ground' barasingha (cervus duvauceli branderi) - the only surviving population of this Central Indian subspecies. 
This was achieved by extending the grasslands, relocating villages and by increasing the habitat. The animals at Kanha are best observed from elephant back and the open country makes the chance of sightings reasonably good. 
Deer are seen along the maidans and gaur at Bamhindadr or in the Bishanpura Sondhar- Ghorella area of the Mukki range. This area is also ideal for spotting the dhole or wild dog. spotting the dhole or wild dog. Langurs, wild boar, water fowl and birds are also commonly seen. 

General Information : 
Best Time to Visit : March to June 
Nearest Town : Mandla (65 Km) 
How to Get Here : Air: Jabalpur (170 km), Nagpur (270 km),  Rail: Jabalpur (170 km), Nagpur (270 km) 

Pench National Park - India

The area is cut north-south by the pench river. Most of the park is mixed desidous forest with open meadows in someof the valleys.

Most areas are accessible.Tiger, a few leopard, chital, sambar and gaur are seen. 
General Information : 

Location :
In the Satpura Hills due North of Nagpur.

Size :
100 sq miles ( 260 sq km ). ( The protected area continues across the border into MP where an additional 270 sq miles (700 sq km ) has Sanctuary Status.) 

Best time to Visit :
November to June. 

Sariska National Park - India

The picturesque Siliserh Lake lies along the edge of the Sariska Tiger Reserve and a charming hunting lodge overlooking it, is a marvelous place for visitors to stay. 

The dry Deciduous forests of the ancient Aravalli range, are excellent tiger country and Sariska, was once the royal reserve of the rulers of Alwa''. Declared a sanctuary in 1955, it became a Tiger Reserve in 1979 under Project Tiger Herds of sambar, chital, nilgai and sounders of wild boar - the prey population for predators like the tiger and leopard, roam the 765.80 sq km Reserve. 
Other carnivores include the hyena, jungle cat, and caracal. Interestingly enough, the dhole or wild dog has been sighted in the Park only in the last few years. The Park has hides carefully located near the water holes. These afford fine opportunities for viewing and photographing wildlife. Splendid ruins scattered in the vicinity of Sariska give it an added interest. 
The Neelkanth temples (6th-13th century AD) are just 32 km. from the Park and the historic Kankwari Fort inside the Reserves is where the Emperor Aurangzeb one imprisoned his brother Dara Shikoh. Splendid palace complex built in with a 'French' pavilion and swimming pool, is now a hotel. 
General Information : 
Best Time to Visit : October to June. 
Nearest Town : Alwar (21 km) 

How to Get Here : Air: Jaipur (108 km), Rail: Alwar (21 km) 

Corbett National Park - India

Corbett has the highest density of tiger in India - approximately one every 5 sq.km. and it was here that the prestigious "Project Tiger" was launched in 1973. Four of deer - hog deer, samber, chital and barking deer and other prey like the wild boar, support the predator. 

Nestling in the foothills of the Himalayas, the Corbett National Park extends over an area of 520.82sq.km. Varied topography and vegetation gives Corbett a rich diversity in habitats and natural beauty.

Flat valleys are interspersed with hilly ridges and the Park's rolling grasslands known as the Chaurs provide visitors with an excellent view of its inhabitants. The magnificent Ramganga River flows through the entire length of the Park and little forest streams tumble through the ravines.

While dense stands of sal cloak the higher ridges, mixed deciduous forests are found throughout the Park and over 110 varieties of trees, 51 species of shrubs and over 33 kinds of bamboos and grasses are seen here. Besides the tiger, Corbett is a haven for 50 mammals, 580 kinds of birds and 25 reptile species.

The Park has elephants, the Himalayan black bear in the higher elevations, sloth bear, varieties of lesser cats, dhole -the wild dog and an entire spectrum of colourful birds including water birds, pheasants, jungle fowl and the Indian hornbill. 

Basking along the banks of the Ramganga are the slender snouted gharial and the mugger or marsh crocodile. 

The river is rich in the magnificent mahaseer - a fine sporting fish prized by anglers, though angling is not permitted inside the National Park. Excellent facilities for staying and viewing wildlife make Corbett one of the finest reserves in India. 

General Information : 
Best Time to Visit : November- May. 
Nearest Town : Ramnagar (51 Km) 
How to Get Here : Air: Pantnagar (110 Km), Rail: Ramnagar (51 km). 

History of Himalayas

Forty million years ago, a collision between two plates of

 the earth’s crust resulted in the creation of the earth’s highest mountain Himalayas. The magnificent range of the Himalayas harbors breathtakingly beautiful scenery and dramatic environment. The high Himalayas constituting a spectacular mountain scope are being able to attract the heart of any new comer who is in search of challenge and grandeur. 
The Himalayan system, about 2,400 kilometers in length and varying in width from 240 to 330 kilometers, is made up of three parallel ranges--the Greater Himalayas, the Lesser Himalayas, and the Outer Himalayas--sometimes collectively called the Great Himalayan Range. 
The beauty, mystery and majesty of these mountains are due to the thick layers of ice and snow that perpetually cover them up. Since time immemorial, the Himalayas has captured the dream, desires and Imagination of human beings. Even the early Aryans looked upon these mountains as the abode of gods and goddess and the extra ordinary objects of beauty, scenic grandeur, peace and tranquility. These towering mountains have aptly been called the “Top of the World” and “ The Third Pole” on the basis of the fact that they constitute the latitudinal extremity. 
Nepal, renowned all over the world for its scenic and panoramic peaks, is the land of supernatural virgin beauty and a real paradise for nature lovers. In 1852 the highest mountain in the world was determined by and later named after Sir George Everest. After determination of Mt. Everest, no climber had been a scaled mountain of Nepal till 1949. But, it is fact that the history of trekking in Nepal is started after climbing and expedition of many majestic peaks. 
In 1949 the Swiss who had been earlier refused permission to attempt Dhaulagiri, entered-east Nepal by way of Darjeeling. The team who led by Sutter – Lohner and they explored Ramtang Glacier, Kang Bachen peak (7902m) and the triangle of Drohmo (7008m) Jongsang peak (7473m) and Nupchu (7028) on the Nepal – Tibet – Sikkim border. They also climb Tang Kangma (6249m) on outlays of Drohmo as well as Dzange peak (6709m) before they returned to Darjeeling on the nineteenth day of their expedition. 
In 1949 Nepal opened its frontiers to the outside world and within eight years ten of the fourteen 8000m peaks had been climbed, Annapurna (8091m) was the first to be climbed in 1950, this was followed in 1953 by Everest (8848m) and Nanga Parbat (8125m). From then on the number of expeditions coming from many different countries of the world multiplied and by 1964 all these Himalayan giants had been climbed, one being Shisa Pangma (8046m) scaled by the Chinese in 1964. 
The highest Peak Mt. Everest of the world and other numerous peaks have been climbed many times now. Tenzing Norge Sherpa and Edmund Hillary reached at top of the world Mt. Everest in 1953. Sir. Edmond Hillary stated “Nepal is the only country in the world which is also one of the world’s great trekking paradises and one of the nicest countries in the world for trekking.” 
In addition to its lofty mountains, Nepal provides beautiful displays of its resplendent flora and fauna. Himalayas, the highest mountain range in the world, extend along the northern frontiers of Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Burma. They were formed geologically as a result of the collision of the Indian subcontinent with Asia. This process of plate tectonics is ongoing, and the gradual northward drift of the Indian subcontinent still causes earthquakes (see Earthquakes, this ch.). Lesser ranges jut southward from the main body of the Himalayas at both the eastern and western ends.
The Greater Himalayas, or northern range, average approximately 6,000 meters in height and contain the three highest mountains on earth: Mount Everest (8,796 meters) on the China-Nepal border; K2 (8,611 meters, also known as Mount Godwin-Austen, and in China as Qogir Feng) in an area claimed by India, Pakistan, and China; and Kanchenjunga (8,598 meters) on the India-Nepal border. 
Many major mountains are located entirely within India, such as Nanda Devi (7,817 meters) in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The snow line averages 4,500 to 6,000 meters on the southern side of the Greater Himalayas and 5,500 to 6,000 on the northern side. Because of climatic conditions, the snow line in the eastern Himalayas averages 4,300 meters, while in the western Himalayas it averages 5,800 meters. 

The Lesser Himalayas, located in northwestern India in the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, in north-central India in the state of Sikkim, and in northeastern India in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, range from 1,500 to 5,000 meters in height. Located in the Lesser Himalayas are the hill stations of Shimla (Simla) and Darjiling (Darjeeling). 
During the colonial period, these and other hill stations were used by the British as summer retreats to escape the intense heat of the plains. It is in this transitional vegetation zone that the contrasts between the bare southern slopes and the forested northern slopes become most noticeable. 
The Outer or Southern Himalayas, averaging 900 to 1,200 meters in elevation, lie between the Lesser Himalayas and the Indo-Gangetic Plain. In Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, this southernmost range is often referred to as the Siwalik Hills. It is possible to identify a fourth, and northernmost range, known as the Trans-Himalaya. 
This range is located entirely on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, north of the great west-to-east trending valley of the Yarlung Zangbo River. Although the Trans-Himalaya Range is divided from the Great Himalayan Range for most of its length, it merges with the Great Himalayan Range in the western section--the Karakoram Range--where India, Pakistan, and China meet. 
The Mizo Hills are the southern part of the northeastern ranges in India. The Garo, Khasi, and Jaintia hills are centered in the state of Meghalaya and, isolated from the northeastern ranges, divide the Assam Valley from Bangladesh to the south and west. 
The southern slopes of each of the Himalayan ranges are too steep to accumulate snow or support much tree life; the northern slopes generally are forested below the snow line. Between the ranges are extensive high plateaus, deep gorges, and fertile valleys, such as the vales of Kashmir and Kulu. The Himalayas serve a very important purpose.
They provide a physical screen within which the monsoon system operates and are the source of the great river systems that water the alluvial plains below (see Climate, this ch.). As a result of erosion, the rivers coming from the mountains carry vast quantities of silt that enrich the plains. 
The area of northeastern India adjacent to Burma and Bangladesh consists of numerous hill tracts, averaging between 1,000 and 2,000 meters in elevation, that are not associated with the eastern part of the Himalayas in Arunachal Pradesh. The Naga Hills, rising to heights of more than 3,000 meters, form the watershed between India and Burma.

happy new year 2011

Russia

Russia is the world's largest country by land area, Russia ranks sixth in terms of population. It The country Russia is bounded by Norway and Finland in the northwest; by Estonia, Latvia, Belarus, and Ukraine in the west; by Georgia and Azerbaijan in the southwest; and by Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and China along the southern land border. The Kaliningrad Region is an exclave on the Baltic Sea bordered by Lithuania and Poland. Moscow is the capital and largest city.

It occupies much of E Europe and all of N Asia, extending for c.5,000 mi (8,000 km) from the Baltic Sea in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east and for 1,500 to 2,500 mi (2,400–4,000 km) from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Black Sea, the Caucasus, the Altai and Sayan mts., and the Amur and Ussuri rivers in the south. The Urals form the conventional geographic boundary between the European and Siberian parts of Russia. Russia's dominant relief features are (from west to east) the East European plain, the Urals, the West Siberian lowland, and the central Siberian plateau.

Mt. Elbrus (18,481 ft/5,633 m), in the Caucasus, is the highest peak in the country. The chief rivers draining the European Russia are the Don (into the Black Sea), the Volga (into the Caspian Sea), the Northern Dvina (into the White Sea), the Western Dvina (into the Baltic Sea), and the Pechora (into the Barents Sea). (For the main physical features of the Siberian Russia, see Siberia.) The climate of Russia, generally continental, varies from extreme cold in N Russia and Siberia (where Verkhoyansk, the coldest settled place on earth, is situated), to subtropical along the Black Sea shore. The soil and vegetation zones include the tundra and taiga belts, the entire wooded steppe and northern black-earth steppes, and isolated sections of semidesert, desert, and subtropical zones. 

Indus Valley civilization

The Indus Valley Civilization, also known as Harappan culture, is among the world's earliest civilizations, contemporary to the Bronze Age civilizations of Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. It peaked around 2500 BCE in the western part of South Asia, declined during the mid-2nd millennium BCE and was forgotten until its rediscovery in the 1920s by R.D. Banerjee.

Geographically, it was spread over an area of some 1,260,000 km, comprising the whole of modern day Pakistan and parts of modern-day India and Afghanistan. Thus there is an Indus Valley site on the Oxus river at Shortughai in northern Afghanistan (Kenoyer 1998:96) and the Indus Valley site Alamgirpur at the Hindon river is located only 28 km from Delhi. At its peak, the Indus Civilization may have had a population of well over five million.

The Indus civilization is still poorly understood. Its very existence was forgotten until the 20th century. Its writing system remains undeciphered. Among the Indus civilization's mysteries are fundamental questions, including its means of subsistence and the causes for its sudden disappearance beginning around 1900 BCE. We do not know what language the people spoke. We do not know what they called themselves. All of these facts stand in stark contrast to what is known about its contemporaries, Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt.

The native name of the Indus civilization may be preserved in the Sumerian Me-lah-ha, which Asko Parpola, editor of the Indus script corpus, identifies with the Dravidian Met-akam "high abode/country". He further suggests that the Sanskrit word mleccha for "foreigner, barbarian, non-Aryan" may be derived from that name.

To date, over 1,052 cities and settlements have been found, mainly in the general region of the Hakra-Ghaggar river and its tributaries. Among the settlements were the major urban centers of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, as well as Lothal, Dholavira, Ganweriwala, Kalibanga, and Rakhigarhi.

Additionally, there is some disputed evidence indicative of another large river, now long dried up, running parallel and to the east of the Indus. The dried-up river beds overlap with the Hakra channel in Pakistan, and the seasonal Ghaggar river in India. Over 500 ancient sites belonging to the Indus Valley Civilization have been discovered along the Hakra-Ghaggar river and its tributaries (S.P. Gupta 1995: 183).

In contrast to this, only 90 to 96 of the over 800 known Indus Valley sites have been discovered on the Indus and its tributaries. A section of scholars claim that this was a major river during the third and fourth millennia BCE, and propose that it may have been the Sarasvati River of the Rig Veda. Some of those who accept this hypothesis advocate designating the Indus Valley culture the "Sarasvati-Sindhu Civilization", Sindhu being the ancient name of the Indus River. Most archeologists dispute this view, arguing that the old and dry river died out during the mesolithic age at the latest, and was reduced to a seasonal stream long before the Vedic period.

The Indus civilization was predated by the first farming cultures in south Asia, which emerged in the hills of what is now called Balochistan, to the west of the Indus Valley. The best-known site of this culture is Mehrgarh, established around 6500 BCE. These early farmers domesticated wheat and a variety of animals, including cattle. Pottery was in use by around 5500 BCE. The Indus civilization grew out of this culture's technological base, as well as its geographic expansion into the alluvial plains of what are now the provinces of Sindh and Punjab in contemporary Pakistan and Northern India.

By 4000 BCE, a distinctive, regional culture, called pre-Harappan, had emerged in this area. (It is called pre-Harappan because remains of this widespread culture are found in the early strata of Indus civilization cities.) Trade networks linked this culture with related regional cultures and distant sources of raw materials, including lapis lazuli and other materials for bead-making. Villagers had, by this time, domesticated numerous crops, including peas, sesame seeds, dates, and cotton, as well as a wide range of domestic animals, including the water buffalo, an animal that remains essential to intensive agricultural production throughout Asia today.

mysteries of the world - The Carnac Stones

Everyone has heard of Stonehenge, but few know the Carnac Stones. These are 3,000 megalithic stones arranged in perfect lines over a distance of 12 kilometers on the coast of Brittany in the North-West of France. Mythology surrounding the stones says that each stone is a soldier in a Roman legion that Merlin the Wizard turned in to stone. Scientific attempts at an explanation suggests that the stones are most likely an elaborate earthquake detector. The identity of the Neolithic people who built them is unknown.

evolution of the earth

Sometimes science deals with incredibly large numbers, sometimes with great distances still other times with infinitely small particles. In science we must expand our conception of reality all the time. One of the very difficult concepts is the understanding of time. Everyone is conscious of the changes in the physical and biological world; they give us an awareness of time. The daily rhythm, the seasons, physical changes throughout a human lifetime are familiar concepts of time to us. Time is measured by change, but where change occurs over millions of years our own perception of time is on unfamiliar territory. To understand the rhythm of change of our planet and the effects it has on life on Earth we have to expand our perception of time. The geological processes that shape the surface of our planet, move the tectonic plates, build mountains and erode them again work over millions of years. These forces provide the ever changing conditions for life, which adapted to those changes. But those changes did not go undetected. Our understanding of Earth has expanded tremendously in the past 100 years, and new technologies have provided further insight into Earth's dynamic and history.

Earth itself acts like a clock, rotating on its axis once every 24 hours. To read Earth's time it is necessary to look at the changes that have been recorded. To identify changes that occurred due to the geological processes of our planet we can look at rocks. They are key to both the past and the nature of processes. Life has managed to leave records of time and the changes it went through time as well. Fossils are the remains of ancient organisms. Some looked very similar to life forms that are still living today. Fossils can be bones, teeth, shells, impressions of plants and even imprints of animal tracks. Fossils within a rock are a type of organic clock that tick by systematic radioactive decay of certain chemical elements, which permit us to measure with remarkable accuracy the number of years that have passed since the minerals in a rock crystallized. Fossils are recorded in rocks much like your footprints are recorded on a beach. As you walk along the beach, if the sand is fine enough and soft enough, you will make footprints. If the wind and waves do not destroy your footprints, they may record your existence well after your passing.

Fossils are "footprints". Against the odds, these records of past life are preserved. In this section on Earth's history and evolution, we look at the story of Earth's geological and biological history that these "footprints" tell us.

Big Bang Theory Experiment

Scientists are about to get a chance to answer some of the deepest mysteries of the universe - in the most expensive experiment in history.

The Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland could turn the world of physics on its head.

But what exactly is it and what will the biggest particle accelerator ever built do? Here are the answers to some of your questions:

What's the point of this experiment?
Scientists are trying to unlock the secrets and answer unresolved questions about the universe. There are fundamental gaps in our basic understanding of physics and how the universe works. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will recreate conditions just after the Big Bang (the theory that a massive explosion created the universe) and may help to fill in missing knowledge. Physicists hope the experiment will help them understand what the universe is made of, what propels its expansion and predict its future.

How does it work?
Inside the accelerator, two beams of particles will travel in opposite directions at close to the speed of light. Thousands of magnets of different varieties and sizes will direct the beams around the accelerator. Because the particles are so small, another type of magnet is used to squeeze them closer together to encourage them to collide.

Scientists hope previously unseen particles will be discovered in the debris when beams smash together. The new particles are expected to provide new leads for physicists and may confirm existing theories.

What is the Higgs particle?
The Higgs particle is a theoretical idea to explain mass in the universe but it has never been proved. The theory suggests particles had no mass just after the Big Bang. When the temperature fell, an invisible force field was formed. When particles interact with the field they become heavier. If scientists could identify the Higgs particle or field using the LHC, it would explain why some particles have a greater mass than others and would support the current understanding of how particles work.

What if they don't find anything?
They may find no new particles which would be a setback for scientists trying to secure funding for the next generation collider machine. If they cannot prove the existence of the Higgs particle, it would mean theories about matter and mass have been developing along the wrong track for decades. Many scientists might consider that an exciting prospect because they would have to start theorising from scratch.

Who is involved in this?
The new particle accelerator might be buried along the Swiss-French border but it has attracted researchers from 80 countries. The £2.4bn project has mostly been financed by 20 European member states but the US and Japan are major contributors with observer status. Ten thousand scientists from 500 different institutions have been involved in developing the LHC.

When can we expect the results?
It has already taken two decades to get this far and it will take another two months just to get the proton beams colliding. The data recorded will fill around 100,000 DVDs every year but physicists may have to wait between five and 10 years before they get any significant results.

What are the risks?
Sceptics have filed suits in the US District Court in Hawaii and the European Court of Human Rights to stop the project. They claim the experiment will create a big black hole which could suck up all life on Earth. Several safety reviews of the LHC have been carried out which show there is no measurable risk.

Will it create black holes?
Nature forms black holes when stars collapse on themselves at the end of their lives. There is some speculation that the LHC could produce microscopic black holes. If they were created, they would evaporate away very quickly and would be too small to suck in any matter. The accelerator may help scientists understand more about black holes.

What impact will this experiment have on everyday life?
The work carried out by scientists at the European Nuclear Research Centre might seem far removed from everyday life, but it does push the boundaries of existing technologies and engineering in a way that can be adapted to benefit us all. For example, earlier work led to the creation of the internet.

Bermuda Triangle Mystery Solved

Computer studies of ocean floors around the world, particularly the area known as The Bermuda Triangle, reveal evidence of massive methane explosions in the past. For years, believers in the paranormal, aliens, and other outlandish theories pointed to the the disappearance of ships and aircraft as an indicator of mysterious forces at work in the “Devil’s triangle.” Scientists have finally pointed the rest of us to a more plausible cause.
The presence of methane hydrates indicates enormous eruptions of methane bubbles that would swamp a ship, and projected high into the air- take out flying airplanes, as well.

Any ships caught within the methane mega-bubble immediately lose all buoyancy and sink to the bottom of the ocean. If the bubbles are big enough and possess a high enough density they can also knock aircraft out of the sky with little or no warning. Aircraft falling victim to these methane bubbles will lose their engines-perhaps igniting the methane surrounding them-and immediately lose their lift as well, ending their flights by diving into the ocean and swiftly plummeting.

mysteries of the world - Bermuda Triangle

The Bermuda triangle is an area of water in the North Atlantic Ocean in which a large number of planes and boats have gone missing in mysterious circumstances. Over the years many explanations have been put forward for the disappearances, including bad weather, alien abductions, time warps, and suspension of the laws of physics.

Although substantial documentation exists to show that many of the reports have been exaggerated, there is still no explanation for the unusually large number of disappearances in the area.

mysteries of the world - Voynich manuscript

The Voynich Manuscript is a medieval document written in an unknown script and in an unknown language. For over one hundred years people have tried to break the code to not avail. The overall impression given by the surviving leaves of the manuscript suggests that it was meant to serve as a pharmacopoeia or to address topics in medieval or early modern medicine. However, the puzzling details of illustrations have fueled many theories about the book’s origins, the contents of its text, and the purpose for which it was intended.

The document contains illustrations that suggest the book is in six parts: Herbal, Astronomical, Biological, Cosmological, Pharmaceutical, and recipes.

mysteries of the world - The taos hum

The ‘Taos Hum’ is a low-pitched sound heard in numerous places worldwide, especially in the USA, UK, and northern europe. It is usually heard only in quiet environments, and is often described as sounding like a distant diesel engine. Since it has proven indetectable by microphones or VLF antennae, its source and nature is still a mystery.

In 1997 Congress directed scientists and observers from some of the most prestigious research institutes in the nation to look into a strange low frequency noise heard by residents in and around the small town of Taos, New Mexico. For years those who had heard the noise, often described by them as a “hum”, had been looking for answers. To this day no one knows the cause of the hum.

mysteries of the world - Shroud of Turin

The shroud of Turin is a linen cloth bearing the image of a man who had apparently died of crucifixion. Most Catholics consider it to be the burial shroud of Jesus Christ. It is currently held in the Cathedral of St John the Baptist in Turin, Italy. Despite many scientific investigations, no one has yet been able to explain how the image has been imprinted on the shroud and despite many attempts, no one has managed to replicate it. Radiocarbon tests date it to the middle ages, however apologists for the shroud believe it is incorrupt – and carbon dating can only date things which decay.

Prior to the middle ages, reports of the shroud exist as the Image of Edessa – reliably reported since at least the 4th century. In addition, another cloth (the Sudarium) known even from biblical times (John 20:7) exists which is said to have covered Christ’s head in the tomb. A 1999 study by Mark Guscin, a member of the multidisciplinary investigation team of the Spanish Center for Sindonology, investigated the relationship between the two cloths. Based on history, forensic pathology, blood chemistry (the Sudarium also is reported to have type AB blood stains), and stain patterns, he concluded that the two cloths covered the same head at two distinct, but close moments of time. Avinoam Danin (a researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem) concurred with this analysis, adding that the pollen grains in the Sudarium match those of the shroud.

what is acupuncture ?

Acupuncture was first discussed in the ancient Chinese medical text "Huang Di Nei Jing" (The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine), originating more than 2000 years ago.

During the 6th Century, improved transportation and communications within the Asian Continent led to the introduction of Chinese medicine to Japan, and along with Buddhism came in the form of religious medicine.

In the 17th century, Waichi Sugiyama, in search of a simple, painless and speedy insertion method, developed the insertion tube, a small cylindrical tube through which the needle is inserted. This insertion method is still used today by practitioners worldwide, and in Japan by over 90% of the acupuncturists.

Japanese acupuncture has been well established as the primary form of health care for over a thousand years. An acupuncturist's role was comparable to that of a modern physician. When Dutch and German medicine was introduced in the 19th century, the Western modality of medicine quickly became the dominant medical practice.

Today in Japan, acupuncture remains an integral part of the health care system, offered in conjunction with medicine. In North America, acupuncture has grown into what is now a common form of pain management therapy in many clinics and hospitals. The Washington Post reported in 1994 that an estimated 15 million Americans, or roughly 6% of the American population has visited an acupuncturist and has tried acupuncture for a variety of symptoms including chronic pain, fatigue, nausea, arthritis, and digestive problems.

In 1995, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classified acupuncture needles as medical instruments and assured their safety and effectiveness.

The medical community for the most part now accepts acupuncture and a growing number of medical schools, such as UCLA, include acupuncture training in their curriculum.

In 1997, the US National Institute of Health issued a report titled: "Acupuncture: The NIH Consensus Statement". It stated that acupuncture is a very useful method for treating many conditions. It acknowledges the side effects of acupuncture are considerably less adverse than when compared to other medical procedures such as surgery or pharmaceuticals. In addition, the NIH made the recommendation to U.S. insurance companies to provide full coverage of acupuncture treatment for certain conditions. This momentous advancement in the status of acupuncture in the United States has certainly influenced its status elsewhere in the world, including in Canada.

In 1997, the Ontario Medical Association officially recognized acupuncture as a 'complimentary medicine', acknowledging its broad success in treatment. As acupuncture becomes increasingly accessible to more Canadians, Doctors recommend it more and more as an effective relief for many medical conditions.

Acupuncture treatment is included in many Insurance plans. It is a sure sign of acupuncture's acceptance into the mainstream. It is also an indicator of its success.

what is acupressure ?

The greatest wonder in this cosmos is the human body . Our body is well equipped with the best automatic , delicate but the most powerful machines – Heart and Lungs ( a non-stop pumping set ) ; Eyes – a wonderful camera cum projector system; Ears- an astounding sound system; Stomach – a wonderful chemical laboratory ; Nerves- miles of communication system. Brain- an unparalleled computer with infinite capacity . And the greatest thing about it is unbelievable co-ordination of all these machines so that this body can easily work over for a hundred years or more. 

It is a fact that in any good machine , provision is made whereby it automatically stops when there is a danger and restarts when you push its switch e.g. refrigerator and hot water geyser . It is not surprising that such a provision is made in human body also. It is true that system of our body is very intricate. But to maintain it is very easy . Nature has provided in our body an ‘ in-built mechanism’ to maintain these machines and repair them if need be . This science of health which makes use of this in-built mechanism popularly known as Acupressure . This therapy is the most precious gift from the creator himself . 

The Acupressure therapy was known in India even 5000 years ago . Unfortunately it was not preserved and taken to Sri Lanka , this therapy was then taken to China and Japan by Buddhist monks or nomadic Aryans took it there and at present China is teaching Acupuncture to the world . This therapy was known to Red Indians way back in the sixteenth century . In the twentieth century , researches have been made in the U.S.A. which have contributed greatly to the development of this therapy . It is practised by many Allopathic and Naturopathic doctors there . Now , the World Health Organization, too , has paid attention to this simple and easy therapy .

The word ‘ Acupressure ‘ is related with ‘ Acupuncture’ one is just with fingers and the other is with needles. ' Acu ‘ means needle and ‘ Puncture ‘ means to pierce. Acupuncture means the art of trading diseases by piercing specific points in the body. Acupressure means the art of treating diseases by applying pressure on specific points with the help of one’s thumb or unpointed things . So Acupressure would be refering to your finger as the 'needle' and pressure as just pushing.

The five elements are controlled by the electricity of the body known as Bio- Electricity in the West. This battery has been installed in our body at the time of conception. The white dazzling light generated can be seen in the middle of one’s forehead with eyes closed through certain Yogic methods. 

Out of this battery , electric current passes through body through the lines . These lines are known as ‘ Meridians ‘ start from the tip of each finger of the right hand , go all over the body , and end in the toes of the right foot and so also on the left side . Now so long as this current of electricity flows properly in the body , the body remains fit and healthy . If for any reason this current does not reach any part of the body, there is malfunctioning of that part accompained by pain in some cases , if not attented to them in time it may invite illness . So , if any , would subside and the disease of that malfunctioning part can be cured. Thus, Acupressure is the science of nature which teaches us to cure disease through the in-built mechanism of the body – the technique of how to send the current to al the desired part of the body .

what is vaastu? (ancient engineering)

Vaastu is the science of direction that combines all the five elements of nature and balance them with the man and the material. Vaastu Shastra is creating a congenial settings or a place to live or work, in most scientific way taking advantages of the benefits bestowed by the five elements called "Paanchbhootas" of the nature thereby paving the way for enhanced health, wealth, prosperity and happiness in an enlightened environment.

The world comprises of five basic elements, also known as the Paanchbhootas. They are Earth, Water, Air, Fire and Space. Out of the nine planets, our planet has life because of the presence of these five elements.

The Directions
The importance of orientation of a building is not only for saving energy but also to have a better house design, which not only gives comfortable living but also gives good health, prosperity and wealth to the house owners/occupiers and these families. There lies a co-relation between the rotational scenario of the planets and the house design and their different directions with respect of NORTH. The building of any type and its construction meets the purpose if proper orientation has been given using suitable local building material. It increases not only its life span but also improves the condition of occupants. There are instances where buildings are not planned according to required local orientation were lost or deteriorated much faster then the buildings having built with proper studies of orientation.

The proper orientation means the proper knowledge of all the eight directions. It is a common knowledge that the direction from where the Sun arises is known as East and where it sets as West and when one faces the East direction, towards one's left is North and towards one's right is South. The corner where two directions meet obviously is more significant since it combines the forces emanating from both the directions. SO in all there are eight directions , North, Northeast, East, Eastsouth, South, Southwest, West, Westnorth. Every direction has its own significance and has its own construction. The basic rules of Vaastu Shastra are based on these eight directions.

Vaastu is essential
Vaastu forms the basics of each construction; one must follow Vaastu from the initial level i.e. from choosing a plot to shift in the house. Everything should be done according to Vastu principle since Vaastu is not merely a word but it is a SCIENCE and a bridge between man and nature.

Vaastu is followed while choosing a plot, how to choose a plot: the shape, the nature of the soil. When and how to construct a house, how to do the interiors, how to choose colour and when to shift. Vaastu is such a deep science that it is a pool of information and one can have any doubts cleared with proper reasoning.

Vaastu is unique
Vaastu is a science that has originated from India. Feng shui is an art of harnessing energies. Though both have a same objective, the benefit of humanity but the principles are very different. I am a strict follower of Vaastu as it is originated from India and its based on our culture, traditions, geographical conditions, climatical conditions and everything for India. And fengshui is originated in China and based on their culture and traditions.

Albert Einstein Biography

Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879 - April 18, 1955) was a theoretical physicist, with considerable applied mathematical abilities, who is widely regarded as the greatest scientist of the 20th century. He proposed the theory of relativity and also made major contributions to the development of quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics and cosmology. He was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize for Physics for his explanation of the photoelectric effect and "for his services to Theoretical Physics".

After his general theory of relativity was formulated, Einstein became world-famous, an unusual achievement for a scientist. In his later years, his fame exceeded that of any other scientist in history, and in popular culture, Einstein has become synonymous with someone of very high intelligence or the ultimate genius. His face is also one of the most recognizable the world-over. In 1999, Einstein was named "Person of the Century" by Time Magazine. This popularity has also lead to a widespread use of Einstein in advertisement and merchandising, eventually including the registration of Albert Einstein as a trademark.

In his honor, a unit used in photochemistry, the einstein, as well as the chemical element einsteinium were named after him.

Einstein was born in 1879 at Ulm in Württemberg, Germany, about 100 km east of Stuttgart. His parents were Hermann Einstein, a featherbed salesman who later ran an electrochemical works, and his wife Pauline, née Koch. Although from a non-observant Jewish family, Albert attended a Catholic elementary school and, at the insistence of his mother, was also given violin lessons during his youth. At five years of age, his uncle showed him a pocket compass, and he realized that something in "empty" space acted upon the needle. He built models and mechanical devices for fun, but was considered a slow learner as a child by some, possibly due to dyslexia or simply because of his shyness. (He later credited his development of the theory of relativity to this slowness, saying that by pondering space and time later than most children, he was able to apply a more developed intellect.) He began to learn mathematics at about age twelve. There is a recurring rumor that he failed math later on in his education, but this is not true; it was caused by a change in the way grades were assigned leading to confusion years later. Two of his uncles fostered his intellectual interests during his late childhood and early adolescence by suggesting and providing books on science and math.

Following the failure of his father's electrochemical business, in 1894 the Einsteins moved to Pavia, Italy (near Milan) from Munich. Albert remained in Munich to finish school. He completed a term by himself and then moved to Pavia to join his family. In 1895, Einstein took an exam for the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (Federal Swiss Polytechnic University, in Zurich), but failed the liberal arts portion of the test. He was sent by his family to Aarau, Switzerland to finish secondary school. In 1896, Einstein received his diploma from high school.

He subsequently enrolled at the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule. That same year, Einstein renounced his German citizenship, becoming stateless. In 1898, Albert met Mileva Maric, a Serbian classmate (who was also a friend of Nikola Tesla), and fell in love with her. In 1900, Einstein was granted a teaching diploma by the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule. He was accepted as a Swiss citizen in 1901. During this time Einstein discussed his scientific interests with a group of close friends, including Mileva. He and Mileva had an illegitimate daughter, Liserl, born in January 1902.

Work and doctorate
Upon graduation, Einstein could not find a teaching post, due mostly to the fact that his brashness as a young man had apparently irritated most of his professors. The father of a classmate helped him obtain employment as a technical assistant examiner at the Swiss Patent Office in 1902. There, Einstein judged the worth of inventors' patent applications for devices that required a knowledge of physics to understand. He also learned how to discern the essence of applications despite sometimes poor descriptions, and was taught by the director how "to express myself correctly." He occasionally rectified their design errors while evaluating the practicality of their work.

Einstein married Mileva, on January 6, 1903. Einstein's marriage to Mileva, who was a mathematician, was both a personal and intellectual partnership: Einstein referred lovingly to Mileva as "a creature who is my equal and who is as strong and independent as I am". Abram Joffe, in his biography of Einstein, argues that Einstein was assisted by Mileva. This largely contradicts Ronald W. Clark who, in his biography, claims that Einstein depended on the distance that existed in his and Mileva's marriage in order to have the solitude necessary to accomplish his work.

On May 14, 1904, Einstein's son Hans Albert Einstein was born. In 1904, Einstein's position at the Swiss Patent Office was made permanent. He obtained his doctorate after submitting his thesis "On a new determination of molecular dimensions" in 1905.

That same year, he wrote four articles that provided the foundation of modern physics, without much scientific literature to refer to or many scientific colleagues to discuss the theories with. Most physicists agree that three of those papers (Brownian motion, the photoelectric effect, and special relativity) deserved Nobel prizes. Only the photoelectric effect would win. This is something of an irony, in that Einstein is far better-known for relativity, but that the photoelectric effect is all quantum, and Einstein became somewhat disenchanted with the path quantum theory would take. What makes these papers remarkable is that, in each case, Einstein boldly took an idea from theoretical physics to its logical consequences and managed to explain experimental results that had baffled scientists for decades.

He submitted these papers to the "Annalen der Physik". They are commonly referred to as the "Annus Mirabilis Papers" (from Latin: Extraordinary Year). The International Union of Pure and Applied Physics ( IUPAP ) has planned to commemorate the 100th year of the publication of Einstein's extensive work in 1905 as the 'World Year Of Physics 2005'.

Brownian motion
The first article in 1905, named "On the Motion—Required by the Molecular Kinetic Theory of Heat—of Small Particles Suspended in a Stationary Liquid", covered his study of Brownian motion. Using the then-controversial kinetic theory of fluids it established that the phenomenon—lacking a satisfactory explanation decades after being observed—provided empirical evidence for the reality of atoms. It also lent credence to statistical mechanics, which was also controversial.

Before this paper, atoms were recognized as a useful concept, but physicists and chemists hotly debated the question of whether atoms were real things. Einstein's statistical discussion of atomic behavior gave experimentalists a way to count atoms by looking through an ordinary microscope. Wilhelm Ostwald, one of the leaders of the anti-atom school, later told Arnold Sommerfeld that he had been converted to a belief in atoms by Einstein's complete explanation of Brownian motion.

Photoelectric effect
The second paper, named "On a Heuristic Viewpoint Concerning the Production and Transformation of Light", proposed the idea of "light quanta" (now called photons) and showed how they could be used to explain such phenomena as the photoelectric effect. The idea of light quanta was motivated by Max Planck's earlier derivation of the law of black-body radiation by assuming that luminous energy could only be absorbed or emitted in discrete amounts, called quanta. Einstein showed that, by assuming that light actually consisted of discrete packets, he could explain the mysterious photoelectric effect.

The idea of light quanta contradicted the wave theory of light that followed naturally from James Clerk Maxwell's equations for electromagnetic behavior and, more generally, the assumption of infinite divisibility of energy in physical systems. Even after experiments showed that Einstein's equations for the photoelectric effect were accurate, his explanation was not universally accepted. However, by 1921, when he was awarded the Nobel Prize, and his work on photoelectricity was mentioned by name, most physicists thought that the equation (hf = ø + Ek) was correct and light quanta were possible.

The theory of light quanta was a strong indication of wave-particle duality, the concept that physical systems can display both wave-like and particle-like properties, and that was used as a fundamental principle by the creators of quantum mechanics. A complete picture of the photoelectric effect was only obtained after the maturity of quantum mechanics.

Special relativity
Einstein's third paper that year was called "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies". While developing this paper, Einstein wrote to Mileva about "our work on relative motion", and this has led some to ask whether Mileva played a part in its development. However, it is possible, and perhaps likely, that, having already mentioned this momentous work to his wife, he was simply referring to it in an endearing manner. This paper introduced the special theory of relativity, a theory of time, distance, mass and energy (which was consistent with electromagnetism, but omitted the force of gravity). Special relativity solved the puzzle that had been apparent since the Michelson-Morley experiment, which had shown that light waves could not be travelling through any medium (other known waves travelled through media - such as water or air). The speed of light was thus fixed, and not relative to the movement of the observer. This was impossible under Newtonian classical mechanics.

It had already been conjectured by George Fitzgerald in 1894 that the Michelson-Morley result could be accounted for if moving bodies were foreshortened along the direction of their motion. And some of the paper's core equations—the Lorentz transforms—had been introduced in 1903 by the Dutch physicist Hendrik Lorentz, giving mathematical form to Fitzgerald's conjecture. But Einstein revealed the underlying reasons for this geometrical oddity. His explanation arose from two axioms: one was Galileo's old idea that the laws of nature should be the same for all observers that move with constant speed relative to each other; and the other was that the speed of light is the same for every observer. Special relativity had several striking consequences because the absolute concepts of time and size are rejected. The theory came to be called the "special theory of relativity" to distinguish it from his later theory of general relativity, which considers all observers to be equivalent.

The theory abounds with apparent paradoxes, and appears to make little sense, landing Einstein substantial ridicule; but he managed to work out the apparent contradictions and solve the problems eventually.

Energy equivalency
A fourth paper, titled "Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?", published late in 1905 showed one further deduction from relativity's axioms, the energy-mass relation, originally written by Einstein as m = L/c². That deduction, rewritten, was the famous equation that rest energy (E) equals mass (m) times the speed of light (c) squared:

E = mc2
Einstein considered this equation to be of paramount importance because it showed that matter and energy are simply different forms of the same substance. Nevertheless, many scientists regarded the equation (and special relativity) as fascinating but insignificant until the 1930s.

The equation is associated with nuclear weapons and is used to explain how they produce such phenomenal amounts of energy. The exact connection between the equation and nuclear weapons is less well known, however. By measuring the mass of atomic nuclei and dividing them by their atomic number, both of which are easily measured, one can calculate the binding energy which is trapped in different atomic nuclei. This allows one to figure out which nuclear reactions will release energy and how much energy they will release. A simple calculation using the mass of the uranium nuclei and the masses of the products of nuclear fission reveals that large amounts of energy are released upon fission, and this led physicists in the 1930s to begin to consider the possibility of a nuclear weapon.

According to Umberto Bartocci (University of Perugia historian of mathematics), the famous equation was first published two years prior by Olinto De Pretto, who was an industrialist from Vicenza, Italy. Though De Pretto introduced the formula, it was Einstein who connected it with the Theory of Relativity.

Middle years
In 1906, Einstein was promoted to technical examiner second class. In 1908, Einstein was licensed in Berne, Switzerland, as a teacher and lecturer (known as a Privatdozent), who had no share in the university government. Einstein's second son, Eduard, was born on July 28, 1910. In 1912, Einstein starts to refer to the fourth dimension as time.

Einstein divorced Mileva on February 14, 1919. Einstein married his cousin Elsa Loewenthal (née Einstein: Loewenthal was the surname of her first husband, Max) on June 2, 1919. Elsa was Albert's first cousin (maternally) and his second cousin (paternally). She was three years older than Albert, and had nursed him to health after he had suffered a partial nervous breakdown combined with a severe stomach ailment. There were no children from this marriage.

The fate of Albert and Mileva's first child, Lieserl, is unknown: some believe she died in infancy and some believe she was given out for adoption. As for the two boys: one was institutionalized for schizophrenia and died in an asylum. The other moved to California and became a university professor, and had little interaction with his father.

In 1914, just before the start of World War I, Einstein settled in Berlin as professor at the local university and became a member of the Prussian Academy of Science. His pacifism and Jewish origins irritated German nationalists. After he became world-famous, nationalist hatred of him grew, and, for the first time, he was the subject of an organized campaign intended to discredit his theories.

From 1914 to 1933 he served as director of Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics in Berlin, and it was during this time he received his Nobel Prize and made his most groundbreaking discoveries. In 1922, Einstein and his wife Elsa boarded the S.S. Kitano Maru bound for Japan. The trip also took them to other ports including Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

General relativity
In November 1915, Einstein presented a series of lectures before the Prussian Academy of Sciences in which he described his theory of general relativity. The final lecture climaxed with his introduction of an equation that replaced Newton's law of gravity. This theory considered all observers to be equivalent, not only those moving at a uniform speed. In general relativity, gravity is no longer a force (as it was in Newton's law of gravity) but is a consequence of the curvature of space-time. The theory provided the foundation for the study of cosmology and gave scientists the tools for understanding many features of the universe that were not discovered until well after Einstein's death. General relativity becomes a method of perceiving all of physics.

The theory was derived with mathematical reasoning and rational analysis, not with experimentation or observation, leading scientists to skepticism. But his equation enabled predictions and tests to be made, and when it was tested by measuring how much the sun's rays were bent by gravity during a solar eclipse, it proved correct. On November 7, 1919, The Times reported the confirmation, and from there on, the theory cemented Einstein's fame, revolutionized physics, and "passed" more tests. (In fact, unlike many other scientific theories, general relativity has held true in every case so far.)

Einstein's relationship with quantum physics was quite remarkable. He was the first, even before Max Planck, the discoverer of the quantum, to say that quantum theory was revolutionary. His idea of light quanta was a landmark break with the classical understanding of physics. In 1909, Einstein presented his first paper to a gathering of physicists and told them that they must find some way to understand waves and particles together.

In the early 1920s, Einstein was the lead figure in a famous weekly physics colloquium at the University of Berlin. On March 30, 1921, Einstein went to New York to give a lecture on his new theory of relativity. In the same year, he was finally awarded the Nobel Prize for his work.

Copenhagen interpretation
In the mid-1920s, as the original quantum theory was replaced with a new quantum mechanics, Einstein balked at the Copenhagen interpretation of the new equations because it settled for a probabilistic, non-visualizable account of physical behavior. Einstein agreed that the theory was the best available, but he looked for an explanation that would be more "complete," i.e., deterministic. His belief that physics described the laws that govern "real things" had led to his successes with atoms, photons, and gravity. He was unwilling to abandon that faith.

Einstein's famous remark, "Quantum mechanics is certainly imposing. But an inner voice tells me it is not yet the real thing. The theory says a lot, but does not really bring us any closer to the secret of the Old One. I, at any rate, am convinced that he does not throw dice," appeared in a 1926 letter to Max Born. It was not a rejection of probabilistic theories per se. Einstein had used statistical analysis in his work on Brownian motion and photoelectricity. In papers published before the miraculous year of 1905, he had even discovered Gibbs ensembles on his own. But he did not believe that, at bottom, physical reality behaves randomly.

There is currently (August 2004) some doubt over the validity of the Copenhagen interpretation due to Shahriar Afshar's 2004 contradictory result using a variation on the double-slit experiment. The results have yet to be peer-reviewed, but if verified would indicate that Einstein's doubt over the interpretation was justified.

Bose Einstein statistics
In 1924, Einstein received a short paper from a young Indian physicist named Satyendra Nath Bose, describing light as a gas of photons, and asking for Einstein's assistance in publication. Einstein realised that the same statistics could be applied to atoms, and published an article in German (then the lingua franca of physics) which described Bose's model and explained its implications. Bose Einstein statistics now describes any assembly of these indistinguishable particles known as bosons. Einstein also assisted Erwin Schrödinger in the development of the Quantum Boltzmann distribution, a mixed classical and quantum mechanical gas model—although he realised that this was less significant than the Bose Einstein model, and declined to have his name included on the paper.

Later years
Einstein and former student Leó Szilárd co-invented a unique type of refrigerator (usually called The Einstein Refrigerator) in 1926. [1] (http://gtalumni.org/StayInformed/magazine/sum98/einsrefr.html) [2] (http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ahrpa/opa/pulse/epulse/pulse01101_6.htm) On November 11, 1930, patent number US1781541 was awarded to Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd. The patent covered a thermodynamic refrigeration cycle providing cooling with no moving parts, at a constant pressure, with only heat as an input. The refrigeration cycle used ammonia, butane, and water.

After Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, expression of nationalist hatred of Einstein reached new levels. He was accused by the National Socialist regime of creating "Jewish physics" in contrast with Deutsche Physik -- "Aryan physics." Nazi physicists (notably including the Nobel laureates Johannes Stark and Philip Lenard) continued the attempts to discredit his theories and to politically blacklist those German physicists who taught them (such as Werner Heisenberg). Einstein had already fled to the United States, where he was given permanent residency. He accepted a position at the newly founded Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. He became an American citizen in 1940 (though he maintained possession of his Swiss citizenship).

Einstein spent the last forty years of his life trying to unify gravity and electromagnetism, giving a new subtle understanding of quantum mechanics. He was looking for a classical unification of gravity and electromagnetism.

Princeton
His work at Princeton focused on the unification of the laws of physics, which he referred to as the Unified Field Theory. Einstein undertook the quest for the unification of the fundamental forces and spent his time at Princeton investigating this. He attempted to construct a model, under the appropriate conditions, which described all forces as different manifestations of a single force. His attempt was in a way doomed to failure because the strong and weak nuclear forces were not understood independently until around 1970, 15 years after Einstein's death. Einstein's goal survives in the current drive for unification of the forces, embodied most notably by string theory.

Generalized theory
Einstein began to form a Generalized Theory of Gravitation with the universal law of gravitation and the electromagnetic force in his first attempt to demonstrate the unification and simplification of the fundamental forces. In 1950, he described his work in a Scientific American article. Einstein was guided by the belief of a single statistical measure of variance for the entire set of physical laws and he investigated the similar properties of the electromagnetic and gravity forces, as they are infinite and obey the inverse square law.

Einstein's Generalized theory of gravitation is a universal mathematical approach to field theory. He investigated reducing the different phenomena by the process of logic to something already known or evident. Einstein tried to unify gravity and electromagnetism in a way that also led to a new subtle understanding of quantum mechanics.

Einstein assumed a structure of a four-dimensional space-time continuum expressed in axioms represented by five component vectors. Particles appear in his research as a limited region in space in which the field strength or the energy density are particularly high. Einstein treated subatomic particles in this research as objects embedded in the unified field, influencing it and existing as an essential constituent of the unified field but not of it. Einstein also investigated a natural generalization of symmetrical tensor fields, treating the combination of two parts of the field as being a natural procedure of the total field and not the symmetrical and antisymmetrical parts separately. He researched a way to delineate the equations to be derived from a variational principle.

Einstein became increasingly isolated in his research over a Generalized Theory of Gravitation (being characterized as a "mad scientist" in these endeavors) and was ultimately unsuccessful in his attempts at constructing a theory that would unify General Relativity and quantum mechanics.

Final years
In 1948, Einstein served on the original committee which resulted in the founding of Brandeis University. In 1952, the Israeli government proposed to Einstein that he take the post of second president. He declined the offer. On March 30, 1953, Einstein released a revised unified field theory.

He died at Princeton in 1955, leaving the Generalized Theory of Gravitation unsolved. He was cremated the same day at Trenton, New Jersey on April 18 1955. His ashes were scattered at an undisclosed location. His brain was preserved in a jar by Dr. Thomas Stoltz Harvey, the pathologist who performed the autopsy on Einstein.

Religious views
Einstein's religious views are generally considered deist: he believed in a "God who reveals himself in the harmony of all that exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fate and actions of men". Einstein wanted "to know how God created the world": After being pressed on his religious views by Martin Buber, Einstein exclaimed "What we (physicists) strive for is just to draw His lines after Him". He summarized his religious beliefs as follows: "My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind."

Einstein's views on God and religion are also reflected in the following quotes:

God does not play dice with the universe. (This is a common paraphrasing. See the full quote earlier in this article.)
God is subtle but he is not malicious.
What really interests me is whether God had any choice in the creation of the world.
I want to know God's thoughts; the rest are details.
God does not care about our mathematical difficulties. He integrates empirically.
Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind.
I maintain that the cosmic religious feeling is the strongest and noblest motive for scientific research.

Political views
Einstein considered himself a pacifist [3] (http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/einstein/peace/index.php) and humanitarian [4] (http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/einstein/global/index.php). Einstein once said, "I believe Gandhi's views were the most enlightened of all the political men of our time. We should strive to do things in his spirit: not to use violence for fighting for our cause, but by non-participation of anything you believe is evil." Einstein's views on other issues, including socialism, McCarthyism and racism, were controversial. (see Einstein on socialism). Einstein was a co-founder of the liberal German Democratic Party.

The American FBI kept a 1,427 page file on his activities and recommended that he be barred from immigrating to the United States under the Alien Exclusion Act, alleging that Einstein "believes in, advises, advocates, or teaches a doctrine which, in a legal sense, as held by the courts in other cases, 'would allow anarchy to stalk in unmolested' and result in 'government in name only'," among other charges.

Einstein opposed tyrannical forms of government, and for this reason (and his Jewish background), he opposed the Nazi regime and fled Germany shortly after its institution. He initially favored construction of the atomic bomb, in order to ensure that Hitler did not do so first, and he even sent a letter to President Roosevelt (dated August 2, 1939, before World War II broke out, and likely authored by Leó Szilárd) encouraging him to initiate a program to create a nuclear weapon. Roosevelt responded to this by setting up a committee for the investigation of using uranium as a weapon, which in a few years was superceded by the Manhattan Project.

After the war, though, Einstein lobbied for nuclear disarmament and a world government.

Albert Einstein was a supporter of Zionism, but never without reservations. He supported Jewish settlement of the ancient seat of Judaism and was active in the establishment of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, to which he bequeathed his papers. However he opposed nationalism and expressed skepticism about whether a Jewish nation-state was the best solution. He may have originally imagined Jews and Arabs living peacefully in the same land. In later life he declined an offer to become the second president of the newly-created state of Israel.

Albert Einstein with Albert Schweitzer and Bertrand Russell fought against nuclear tests and bombs. With the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs and Bertrand Russell he released the Russell-Einstein Manifesto and organized several conferences.

Personality
Albert Einstein was much respected for his kind and friendly demeanor rooted in his pacifism. He was modest about his abilities, and had distinctive attitudes and fashions—for example, he minimized his wardrobe so that he would not need to waste time in deciding on what to wear. He occasionally had a playful sense of humour, and enjoyed playing the violin and sailing. He was also the prototypical "absent-minded professor"; he was often forgetful of everyday items, such as keys, and would focus so intently on solving physics problems that he would often become oblivious to his surroundings.

Einstein in entertainment
Albert Einstein has become the subject of a number of novels, films and plays including Nicolas Roeg's film, Insignificance, Fred Schepisi's film I.Q., and Alan Lightman's novel, Einstein's Dreams. Einstein was even the subject of Philip Glass's groundbreaking 1976 opera Einstein on the Beach.

He is often used as a model for depictions of scientists in works of fiction; usually these are mad scientists, since his distinctive hairstyle suggests lunacy, eccentricity or electricity and is widely copied or exaggerated.

On Einstein's 72nd birthday in 1951, an unknown UPI photographer was trying to coax him into smiling for the camera. Having done this for the photographer many times that day, Einstein stuck out his tongue instead [5] (http://www.mentalfloss.com/archives/archive2003-03-14.htm). The image has become an icon in pop culture for its contrast of the genius scientist displaying a moment of humor. Yahoo Serious, an Australian film maker, used the photo as an inspiration for the intentionally anachronistic movie Young Einstein.

Commercial usage
"Albert Einstein" is a registered trademark of The Roger Richman Agency, Inc. [6] (http://www.hollywoodlegends.com), that controls the (commercial) usage of the name. Advertisements and merchandise including the name, likeness and image of Albert Einstein must be licensed by this agency. In this specific case the agency acts as a representative of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which Einstein himself had supported actively, and this institution will benefit from all license fees. Furthermore, the agency may entirely prevent usage of Albert Einstein in a way that does not conform to the public image of the trademark. The agency's website dedicated to Albert Einstein [7] (http://www.albert-einstein.net) states that "When written in copy on all materialy, the name 'Albert Einstein™' must always bear a ™ symbol." (see [8] (http://www.albert-einstein.net/styleguide-readonly/brand.html)).

Though the general purpose of Roger Richman Agency — at least in the case of Einstein — is not a purely commercial one, there is some controversy about the licensing of popular names. The agency "owns" numerous other well-recognized names, such as "Sigmund Freud" and "Steve McQueen", and apparently uses the associated rights not exclusively for the protection of the dignity of these symbols. Indeed, the agency's official website advertises its service claiming that "celebrated personalities deliver instant recognition, recall and credibility to your advertising campaign and/or promotional program." On the other hand, various licensed advertisements feature rather a caricature of the scientist. These could be considered as a misuse of Einstein's popularity, since they lead to a further distortion of Einstein's public image instead of displaying him as "one of the most renowned scientists and humanitarians of all time"