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Saturday, June 30, 2007

Solar System

Solar System consists of the Sun and the other space objects gravitationally bound to it: the eight planets, their 162 known moonsthree currently recognized dwarf planets (including Pluto) and their four known moons, and billions of small bodies. This last group includes asteroids, Kuiper belt objects, comets, meteoroids and interplanetary dust.

In wide terms, the charted regions of the Solar System consist of the Sun, four terrestrial inner planets, an asteroid belt composed of small rocky bodies, four gas giant outer planets, and a second belt, called the Kuiper belt, collected of icy objects. Beyond the Kuiper belt lies the scattered disc, the heliopause, and eventually the hypothetical Oort cloud.

In sort of their distances from the Sun, the planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Six of the eight planets are in turn orbited by natural satellites, usually termed "moons" after Earth's Moon, and each of the outer planets is encircled by planetary rings of dust and other particles. All the planets apart from Earth are named after gods and goddesses from Greco-Roman mythology. The three dwarf planets are Pluto, the largest known Kuiper belt object; Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt; and Eris, which lies in the scattered disc.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Blue rose

Since roses lack a gene to create delphinidin, the primary plant pigment that produces true blue flowers, blue roses were usually created by dyeing white roses. So-called "blue roses" have been breed by conventional hybridization methods, but the results, such as "Blue Moon" are more precisely described as lilac in color. However, after 13 years of joint research by an Australian company Florigene, and Japanese company Suntory, a blue rose was formed in 2004 by genetic engineering. The delphinidin gene was cloned from the petunia and inserted into a mauve-blend rose, the Old Garden Rose 'Cardinal de Richelieu.' (a Rosa gallica) However, since the pigment cyanidin was still present, the rose was more dark burgundy than true blue. Further work on the rose using RNAi technology to depress the production of cyanidin produced a very dark mauve plant, with only trace amounts of cyanidin.

Blue roses conventionally signify mystery or attaining the impossible. They are supposed to be able to grant the owner youth or grant wishes. This symbolism derives from the rose's meaning in the language of plants common in Victorian times.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Cotton

Cotton is a soft fibre that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant , a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, with the Americas, India, and Africa. However, virtually all of the commercial cotton grown today worldwide is grown from varieties of the native American species Gossypium hirsutum and Gossypium barbadense. The fibre is most often spun into thread and used to make a soft, breathable textile, which is the most widely used natural-fibre cloth in clothing today. The English name derives from the Arabic word al qutun, meaning "cotton fiber".
Cotton fibre, once it has been processed to remove seeds and traces of wax, protein, etc., consists of nearly pure cellulose, a natural polymer. Cotton manufacture is very efficient, in the sense that ten percent or less of the weight is lost in following processing to convert the raw cotton bolls into pure fibre. The cellulose is arranged in a way that gives cotton fibres a high degree of strength, durability, and absorbency. Each fibre is made up of twenty to thirty layers of cellulose coiled in a neat series of natural springs. When the cotton boll is opened, the fibres dry into flat, twisted, ribbon-like shapes and become kinked together and interlocked. This interlocked form is ideal for spinning into a fine yarn.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Abstract art

Abstract art is now usually understood to mean art that does not depict objects in the natural world, but instead uses colour and form in a non-representational way.In the very early 20th century, the term was more often used to describe art, such as Cubist and Futurist art, that depicts real forms in a simplified or rather reduced way—keeping only an allusion of the original natural subject. Such paintings were often claimed to capture amazing of the depicted objects' immutable intrinsic qualities rather than its external appearance. The more precise terms, "non-figurative art," "non-objective art," and "non-representational art" avoid any possible ambiguity.

Friday, June 15, 2007

Oily fish

Oily fish are those fish which have oils throughout the fillet and in the belly cavity around the gut, rather than only in the liver like white fish. Oily fish fillets may contain up to 30 percent oil, although this figure varies both within and between species. Oily fish generally swim in mid-waters or near the surface
Oily fish are a good source of Vitamins A and D as well as being rich in Omega 3 fatty acids. For this reason the consumption of oily fish has been identified as more beneficial to humans than white fish. Amongst other benefits, studies suggest that the Omega 3 fatty acids in oily fish may help sufferers of depression, reduce the likelihood of heart disease and improve inflammatory conditions such as arthritis.

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Pollarding

Pollarding is a woodland management method of hopeful lateral branches by cutting off a tree stem or minor branches two metres or so above ground level. The tree is given a year to regrow, after the first cutting, but once begun, pollarding requires annual maintenance by pruning. This will ultimately result in somewhat expanded (or swollen) nodes topping the tree trunk with multiple new side and top shoots growing from it.
A tree that has been pollarded is known as a pollard. A tree which has not been pollarded is called a maiden or maiden tree; which also refers to the fact that pollarding is usually first undertaken when the tree is quite young. Pollarding older trees typically result in the death of the tree. Pollarding is sometimes abused in attempts to curb the growth of older or taller trees. However, when performed properly it is useful in the practice of arboriculture for tree management.

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Malai

Malai is a South Asian term for clotted cream or Devonshire cream. It is made by heating non-homogenized whole milk to about 80ºC (180ºF) for about one hour and then allowing to cool. A thick yellowish layer of fat and coagulated proteins forms on the surface, which is skimmed off. The process is typically repeated to remove most of the fat. Malai has about 55% butterfat. Buffalo milk is thought to produce better malai because of its high fat content.Malai is used in such recipes as Malai Kofta dumplings and the sweet Malai Kulfi.