10 Things You Must Know about Homi Bhabha – Pioneer of Nuclear Program in India

Homi Jehangir Bhabha said

I know quite clearly what I want out of my life. Life and my emotions are the only things I am conscious of. I love the consciousness of life and I want as much of it as I can get 

And he did it. Also known as the father of the Indian nuclear programme, Homi J. Bhabha made the most of his eventful life with his knowledge and intellect. The Indian nuclear physicist was the founding director of two institutions – Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, both of which led to immense growth and development in the field of research.

Here are 10 things about the man who enhanced the country with his impressive scientific ideas and outstanding administration.

1. He went against the wishes of his family to pursue physics

Homi Bhabha’s father and uncle wanted him to become an engineer, so he could eventually join the Tata Iron and Steel Company in Jamshedpur. However, at Cambridge, his interest shifted to theoretical physics and in a letter to his father, he wrote –

I seriously say to you that business or job as an engineer is not the thing for me. It is totally foreign to my nature and radically opposed to my temperament and opinions. Physics is my line. I know I shall do great things here. For, each man can do best and excel in only that thing of which he is passionately fond, in which he believes, as I do, that he has the ability to do it, that he is in fact born and destined to do it… I am burning with a desire to do physics. I will and must do it sometime. It is my only ambition.

Finally in 1933 he received a PhD in nuclear physics with his paper, “The Absorption of Cosmic Radiation.”

2. It was the second world war that kept him in India

In 1939, when the second World War broke out, Bhabha was in India for a short vacation. He had to go back to complete his research at Cambridge, but the war made him change his plans. Thus he joined the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore, as a reader.

3. It was Bhabha who convinced Nehru to establish the nuclear programme in India

While working at IISc, Bhabha did his best to convince notable political leaders, specially Jawaharlal Nehru, to start the nuclear program in the country. With a view of moving towards this goal, he established the Cosmic Ray Research Unit at IISc and also began to conduct independent research on nuclear weapons in 1944. Then in 1948, he wrote to Nehru, the then Prime Minister, and said –

The development of atomic energy should be entrusted to a very small and high powered body composed of say, three people with executive power, and answerable directly to the Prime Minister without any intervening link. For brevity, this body may be referred as the Atomic Energy Commission.

His proposal was accepted and the Atomic Energy Commission was established in 1948. Bhabha was appointed its first director.

4. He advocated for the peaceful use of atomic energy and was against manufacturing atomic bombs

5. He founded two world-class research institutions

TIFR main campus, Mumbai

In June 1954, Bhabha established the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in the campus of IISc. It was later relocated to Mumbai, and gained international recognition in the fields of cosmic ray physics, theoretical physics and mathematics. On realising that technology development for the atomic energy programme could not be carried out within TIFR, Bhabha built a new laboratory dedicated for the same. It was started as Trombay Atomic Energy Establishment in 1954. The centre was renamed as Bhabha Atomic Research Centre after his death in 1966.

6. In 1954, he was honoured with the Padma Bhushan for his invaluable contributions to science and engineering

7. It was Bhabha who suggested the name ‘meson’, used for a class of elementary particles.

He also gained international recognition for deriving a correct expression for the probability of scattering positrons by electrons – a phenomenon that was named Bhabha scattering after him.

8. He was much more than the father of India’s nuclear programme

In 1950s Bhabha represented India in the International Atomic Energy Agency conferences. He was appointed the President of the United Nations Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy in Geneva, Switzerland in 1955. He served as the member of the Indian Cabinet’s Scientific Advisory Committee. He was also the President of the National Institute of Sciences of India in 1963 and President of the Indian Science Congress Association in 1951.

9. He had a deep love for Art and Music

Bhabha had a deep interest in both art and music. He learned to appreciate classical Western music because of the record collection of his grandfather and aunt. He also started painting when he was a student at Cambridge. He was a patron of contemporary art in India, and used to purchase paintings and sculptures.

10. On Jan. 24, 1966, he died in an air crash near Mount Blanc when he was on his way to Vienna to attend a meeting of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

His death remains shrouded in mystery, sparking many conspiracy theories including one in which the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is involved in the crash to paralyze India’s nuclear program.

Source - The Better India

What are gravitational waves?

Computer simulation of two merging black holes producing gravitational waves.

Scientists working at the LIGO experiment in the US detected elusive ripples in the fabric of space and time known as gravitational waves. There is no doubt that the finding is one of the most groundbreaking physics discoveries of the past 100 years. But what are they?

To best understand the phenomenon, let’s go back in time a few hundred years. In 1687 when Isaac Newton published his Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, he thought of the gravitational force as an attractive force between two masses – be it the Earth and the Moon or two peas on a table top. However the nature of how this force was transmitted was less well understood at the time. Indeed the law of gravitation itself was not tested until British scientist Henry Cavendish did so in 1798, while measuring the density of the Earth.

Fast forward to 1916, when Einstein presented physicists with a new way of thinking about space, time and gravity. Building on work published in 1905, the theory of general relativity tied together that what we commonly consider to be separate entities – space and time – into what is now called “space-time”.

Space-time can be considered to be the fabric of the universe. That means everything that moves, moves through it. In this model, anything with mass distorts the space-time fabric. The larger the mass, the larger the distortion. And since every moving object moves through space-time, it will also follow the distortions caused by objects with big mass.

One way of thinking about this is to consider two children, one heavier than the other, playing on a trampoline. If we treat the surface of the trampoline as the fabric then the more massive child distorts the fabric more than the other. If one child places a ball near the feet of the other then the ball will roll towards, or follow the distortion, towards their feet. Similarly, when the Earth goes around the sun, the huge mass of the sun distorts the space around it, leaving our comparatively tiny planet following as “straight” a path as it can, but in a curved space. This is why it ends up orbiting the sun.

Trampolines: fun and educational

If we accept this simple analogy, then we have the basics of gravity. Moving on to gravitational waves is a small, but very important, step. Let one of the children on the trampoline pull a heavy object across the surface. This creates a ripple on the surface that can be observed. Another way to visualise it is to consider moving your hand through water. The ripples or waves spread out from their origin but quickly decay.

Any object moving through the space-time fabric causes waves or ripples in that fabric. Unfortunately, these ripples also disappear fairly quickly and only the most violent events produce distortions big enough to be detected on Earth. To put this into perspective, two colliding black holes each with a mass of ten times that of our sun would result in a wave causing a distortion of 1% of the diameter of an atom when it reaches the Earth. On this scale, the distortion is of the order of a 0.0000000000001m change in the diameter of the Earth compared to the 1m change due to a tidal bulge.

What can gravitational waves be used for?

Given that these ripples are so small and so difficult to detect, why have we made such an effort to find them – and why should we care about spotting them? Two immediate reasons come to mind (I’ll leave aside my own interest in simply wanting to know). One is that they were predicted by Einstein 100 years ago. Confirming the existence of gravitational waves therefore provides further strong observational support for his general theory of relativity.

In addition, the confirmation could open up new areas of physics such as gravitational-wave astronomy. By studying gravitational waves from the processes that emitted them – in this case two merging black holes – we could see intimate details of violent events in the cosmos.

LISA, a planned space-based laser interferometer, could study astrophysical sources of gravitational waves in detail

However, to make the most of such astronomy, it is best to place the detector in space. The Earth-based LIGO managed to catch gravitational waves using laser interferometry. This technique works by splitting a laser beam in two perpendicular directions and sending each down a long vacuum tunnel. The two paths are then reflected back by mirrors to the point they started at, where a detector is placed. If the waves are disturbed by gravitational waves on their way, the recombined beams would be different from the original. However, space-based interferometers planned for the next decade will use laser arms spanning up to a million kilometres.

Now that we know that they exist, the hope is that gravitational waves could open up the door to answering some of the biggest mysteries in science, such as what the majority of the universe is made of. Only 5% of the universe is ordinary matter with 27% being dark matter and the remaining 68% being dark energy, with the latter two being called “dark” as we don’t understand what they are. Gravitational waves may now provide a tool with which to probe these mysteries in a similar way that X-rays and MRI have allowed us to probe the human body.

Source - The Conversation

Wayward moon is receding from Earth

From 1969 to 1972, Apollo astronauts had left laser reflectors on the moon’s surface, enabling astronomers to measure the moon’s distance from Earth with great accuracy. Although the moon’s distance from earth varies each month because of its eccentric orbit, the moon’s mean distance from Earth is nonetheless increasing at the rate of about 3.8 centimeters (1.5 inches) per year. That’s about the rate that fingernails grow.

Tidal friction with the Earth’s oceans is responsible for this long-term increase of the moon’s distance from Earth. It’s causing the moon to spiral into a more distant orbit. Tidal friction also slows down the Earth’s rotation, lengthening the day by about 1 second every 40,000 years. Hence, the number of days in a year is slowly diminishing over the long course of time.

Simulations suggest that at the time of the moon’s formation some 4.5 billion years ago, the moon was only about 20,000 to 30,000 kilometers from Earth. Way back then, Earth’s day might have been only 5 or 6 hours long. That would mean over 1,400 days in one year!

The Apollo 11 lunar laser ranging retroreflector array on the moon.

However, astronomers suspected the moon was receding from Earth before the heyday of the Apollo astronauts. Edmund Halley’s (1656 to 1741) studies of ancient solar and lunar eclipses suggested the possibility, as well. George Howard Darwin (1845 to 1912) is credited for figuring out mathematically how tidal friction affects the moon’s orbit.

Studies in fossilized coral indicate that the Earth had spun faster upon its rotational axis when the moon was closer to Earth. Millions of years ago, days on Earth were shorter yet more abundant. For instance, around 900 million years ago, there were about 480 18-hours days in one year. Around 400 million years ago, there were about 400 22-hour days in one year. Looking into the future, astronomers expect longer days but fewer of them in one year.

If the lifetime of the Earth-moon system lasts long enough (which is doubtful), it is projected that after many billions of years, the same sides of the Earth and moon would face one another. In other words, the Earth’s rotational period and the moon’s orbital period would equal one another, representing a period of 47 days. At that time, the Earth/moon distance would expand to some 560,000 km, exceeding the present distance of 384,400 km by nearly 150%.

Source - EarthSky.org

Can Humans Have Superpowers?

Superheroes are everywhere these days: television shows, blockbuster movies, games. There are even toy-based versions of superheroes, resulting in a perfect storm of merchandising. But while these fictional heroes seem unbelievable, there are actually real superpowers among everyday human beings. These powers are rare, but they can be exploited for their incredible abilities.

Superpowers are real. There are documented cases of human beings displaying amazing abilities such as an extremely detailed memory, seeing sound as colour or even magnetism. Usually there is some genetic explanation: The people with magnetism seem to have a higher friction on their skin, making it attractive not only to metal but also glass, plastic and wood.

Liam Hoekstra, the world's strongest kid, could do a pullup by the time he was 8 months old. His body wasn't producing myostatin, a gene that inhibits muscular growth. Without it, there is no limit to muscle development, leading to real-life super strength.

Other superpowers heighten certain senses to an extreme degree. Synaesthesia, common in many artists and musicians, is where experiencing one sense leads to experiencing another. (For example, you might always "see" a certain letter as a certain colour.) Many people with synaesthesia also have chromesthesia, which enables them to see sound as colour.

Some superpowers can even be learned: Echolocation, for example, is the ability to sense where objects are in space by detecting how sound bounces off them. Bats and dolphins have this ability, and so do humans. Ben Underwood learned echolocation to play football, basketball, skateboard and rollerblade, all without the use of his eyes. People can also learn to regulate their body temperature through a method called tummo-meditation. Wim Hof, aka "The Iceman," learned how and was able to climb Mount Everest wearing only shorts and shoes by employing tummo techniques to keep him warm.

So human beings are pretty cool! But here's the scary part: Where there are superheroes, there must also be supervillains. And many times, supervillains are organized. What happens when private entities, like pharmaceutical companies, have the technology to create and manufacture superpowers? There are obvious concerns like super soldiers, but there are more insidious factors as well.

Diana Brown "Can Humans Have Superpowers?" HowStuffWorks.com.

What if photosynthesis stopped happening?

Photosynthesis converts light energy to chemical energy. Essentially, photosynthesis is the fueling process that allows plants and even algae to survive and grow. So what would happen if photosynthesis suddenly stopped happening?

If photosynthesis came to an abrupt end, most plants would die within short order. Although they could hold out for a few days -- or in some cases, a few weeks -- how long they lived would largely be a factor of how much sugar they had stored within their cells.

Large trees, for example, may be able to soldier on for several years — perhaps even a few decades — because of their energy stores and the slow rate of use. However, the majority of plants would meet a withering end, and so would the animals that rely on them for nourishment. With all the herbivores dead, the omnivores and carnivores would soon follow. Although these meat-eaters could feed on all the carcasses strewn about, that supply wouldn't last more than a few days. Then the animals that temporarily relied on them for sustenance would die.

That's because for photosynthesis to cease to exist, Earth would have to plunge into darkness. To do this, the sun would have to disappear and plunge Earth's surface temperatures into a never-ending winter of bitter cold temperatures. Within a year, it would bottom out at minus 73 degrees Celsius, resulting in a planet of purely frozen tundra.

Ironically, if the sun burned too bright, it could cause photosynthesis to stop occurring. Too much light energy would damage plants' biological structure and prevent photosynthesis from happening. This is why the photosynthetic process, in general, shuts down during the hottest hours of the day.

Whether the culprit were too much sunlight or not enough, if photosynthesis stopped, plants would stop converting carbon dioxide -- an air pollutant -- to organic material. Right now, we rely on photosynthetic plants, algae and even bacteria to recycle our air. Without them, there would be less oxygen production.

Even if all the plants on Earth were to die, people would remain resourceful -- especially if their lives depended on it. An artificial photosynthesis process being developed by scientists could just become the world's biggest problem-solver. Using an artificial "leaf," scientists have successfully harnessed sunlight and recreated photosynthesis. The leaf is actually a silicon solar cell that, when put in water and exposed to light, then generates oxygen bubbles from one side and hydrogen bubbles from the other - essentially splitting oxygen and hydrogen. Although the idea was designed as a way to potentially produce clean energy, there are implications for recreating a photosynthetic atmosphere as well.

Source - Laurie L. Dove "What if photosynthesis stopped happening?" 1 June 2015.
HowStuffWorks.com.

2017 Nobel Prize in Biology or Physiology - The importance of the body's clock

The 2017 Nobel prize for medicine was awarded for the discovery of how our circadian rhythms are controlled. But what light does it shed on the cycle of life?

Tiny ‘clocks’ tick within almost every cell type in our body, and there is growing evidence that decoupling from our natural cycle can have long-term health consequences.

The cycle of day and night on our planet is age-old and inescapable, so the idea of an internal body clock might not sound that radical. In science, though, asking the questions “why?” and “how?” about the most day-to-day occurrences can require the greatest leaps of ingenuity and produce the most interesting answers.

This was the case for three American biologists, Jeffrey Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael Young, who earlier this week were awarded the Nobel in medicine or physiology, for their discovery of the master genes controlling the body’s circadian rhythms.

The first hints of an internal clock came as early as the 18th century when the French scientist Jean-Jacques d’Ortous de Mairan noticed that plants kept at a steady temperature in a dark cupboard unexpectedly maintained their daily rhythm of opening and closing their leaves. However, De Mairan himself concluded this was because they could “sense the sun without ever seeing it”.

An internal biological clock. The leaves of the mimosa plant open towards the sun during day but close at dusk (upper part). Jean Jacques d'Ortous de Mairan placed the plant in constant darkness (lower part) and found that the leaves continue to follow their normal daily rhythm, even without any fluctuations in daily light.

It was only when Hall, Rosbash and Young used fruit flies to isolate a gene that controls the rhythm of a living organism’s daily life that scientists got the first real glimpse at our time-keeping machinery that explains how plants, animals and humans adapt their biological rhythm so that it is synchronised with the Earth’s revolutions.

Using fruit flies, the team identified a “period” gene, which encodes a protein within the cell during the night which then degrades during the day, in an endless feedback cycle.

Scientists discovered the same gene exists in mammals and that it is expressed in a tiny brain area called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, or SCN. On one side, it is linked to the retina in the eye, and on the other side it connects to the brain’s pineal gland, which pumps out the sleep hormone melatonin.

Modern lifestyles may no longer be constrained by sunrise and sunset, but light remains one of the most powerful influences on our behaviour and wellbeing. This realisation has fuelled a “sleep hygiene” movement, whose proponents point out that bright lights before bedtime and spending the whole day in a dimly lit office can dampen the natural circadian cycle, leaving people in a continual mental twilight – dozy in the morning, and too alert to fall asleep promptly at night.

There is growing evidence that this decoupling from the natural circadian cycle can have long-term health consequences much more far-reaching than tiredness.

At first, it was assumed that the brain’s “master clock” was the body’s only internal timekeeper. In the past decade, though, scientists have shown that clock genes are active in almost every cell type in the body. The activity of blood, liver, kidney and lung cells in a petri dish all rise and fall on a roughly 24-hour cycle. Scientists have also found that the activity of around half our genes appear to be under circadian control, following undulating on-off cycles.

In effect, tiny clocks are ticking inside almost every cell type in our body, anticipating our daily needs. This network of clocks not only maintains order with respect to the outside world, but it keeps things together internally.

Virtually everything in our body, from the secretion of hormones, to the preparation of digestive enzymes in the gut, to changes in blood pressure, are influenced in major ways by knowing what time of day these things will be needed. The most common misconception is that people think that they do not have to follow the rules of biology, and can just eat, drink, sleep, play, or work whenever they want.

The circadian clock anticipates and adapts our physiology to the different phases of the day. Our biological clock helps to regulate sleep patterns, feeding behavior, hormone release, blood pressure, and body temperature.

This discovery explains why jet lag feels so grim: the master clock adapts quickly to changing light levels, but the the rest of your body is far slower to catch up – and does so at different speeds. It also helps explain the extensive range of health risks experienced by shift workers, who are more likely to suffer from heart disease, dementia, diabetes and some cancers.

Obesity is also more common among those with irregular sleep patterns. a team of scientists has found that animals that don’t get enough sleep, but keep their circadian pattern, do not gain weight. But when they are placed on a 20-hour light-dark cycle, they eat more impulsively and develop glucose intolerance.

Evidence is also emerging that our risk of acute illness rises and falls with a predictable regularity. People are 49% more likely to suffer a stroke between 6 am and 12 noon than at any other time of the day and a similar pattern is true for heart attacks. This is linked to a circadian rise in blood pressure in the early morning, which happens even if you’re lying in bed not doing anything.

As a result, it makes sense to take certain blood pressure medications first thing, before getting out of bed. By contrast, cholesterol is made more rapidly by the liver at night. So, statins, which lower cholesterol, work best if taken before going to bed.

As the impact of scientific advance slowly trickles down, the medical profession and society at large are waking up to the power of the biological clock.

A paper last year showing that jet lag impairs baseball performance, prompted some professional sports teams to take on circadian biologists as consultants on schedules for training and travel. The US Navy has altered its shift system to align it with the 24-hour clock, rather than the 18-hour day used in the old British system. Schools are experimenting with later school days, better aligned with the teenage body clock, which runs several hours later than that of adults.

As circadian rhythms have journeyed from obscure corner of science to part of the zeitgeist, companies are launching an increasing number of products on the back of a new anxiety around sleep and natural cycles.

Sources - The Guardian - Science & Nobelprize.org

Is there an 8th continent? Searching.. Zealandia

An Underwater “Continent” Could Reveal Secrets About Earth’s Distant Past

Tens of millions of years ago, a landmass that’s being referred to as Zealandia was largely submerged beneath the Pacific Ocean.

This summer, more than thirty scientists set out on an underwater expedition using an advanced research vessel, and the results might yield brand-new insight into Earth’s prehistory. By drilling into the ocean floor some 4,000 feet below the surface, they were able to collect 8,000 feet of sediment cores that will give us a glimpse into geological processes that have taken place over the last 70 million years. The cores act as time machines allowing us to reach further and further back in time, first seeing the ancient underwater avalanches then evidence of rocks forged from a fiery origin.

It’s thought that Zealandia broke off from Australia between 60 and 85 millions years ago, forming New Zealand and other islands in the region. However, there’s still some debate as to whether or not it could be classified as a continent. Its relationship with Australia is thought to be similar to the link between North America and Greenland, and Africa and Madagascar.

Over the course of the expedition, over 8,000 fossils were found, giving the team an opportunity to study hundreds of different species. Knowing more about the creatures that inhabited Zealandia before it was submerged allows scientists to make informed guesses about what conditions were like. The discovery of microscopic shells of organisms that lived in warm shallow seas, and of spores and pollen from land plants, reveal that the geography and climate of Zealandia were dramatically different in the past. Based on the remains that have been found, it’s thought that land-based animals once roamed around Zealandia. The region would have served as a bridge that could be used to cross between continents.

It’s expected that the findings of this expedition will help us better comprehend how life propagated through the South Pacific, and offer some fresh perspective to the debate as to whether or not Zealandia is a continent. There are hopes that further study could produce more information about climate change, relating to the history of Zealandia’s climate millions of years ago and today.

A vessel equipped with drilling equipment is set to visit regions close to New Zealand, Australia, and Antarctica in 2018.

Sources - Futurism and National Geographic

ISS transits the sun and the moon

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it is the International Space Station as it flies in front of the moon as seen from ESA's space science centre near Madrid, Spain, on 14 January.

A full moon, looking up at the right time and good weather are necessary to take a picture like this. Consisting of 13 superimposed images, it clearly shows the station's main elements. Thirteen frames were captured starting at 01:01:14 GMT, with the Station taking just half a second to cross the moon. The outpost is the largest structure in orbit, spanning the size of a football pitch, but at 400 km altitude it still appears tiny through a telescope.

As the station could be seen only when in front of the moon, the group had to press the shutter and hope for the best. Their calculations were perfect and the result speaks for itself.

Taking an image of the International Space Station as it passes in front of the Sun, Moon or planets is a popular pastime for astrophotographers. It requires planning, patience and a measure of luck. The camera must be set up at the right time in the right place to capture the Space Station as it flies past at 28 800 km/h. At such speeds the photographer has only seconds to capture the transit and if any clouds block the view it has to wait for another opportunity weeks later.

This photograph was taken by the astronomy club at ESA's European Space Astronomy Centre near Madrid in 2013. Although there were clear skies, a bird flew overhead in the 1.2 seconds it took the Station to pass in front of the Sun.

The Station flies around Earth at around 400 km, allowing the astronomy club to calculate that the bird was flying 86 m from the camera lens. The difference in size and distance makes both the bird and the Space Station appear the same size.

Source - European Space Agency and Phys.org

After 60 years, where is Sputnik?

The tiny sphere that launched the space race 6 decades ago on 4th October.

When the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite 60 years ago, it marked both the beginning of space exploration and the start of a race between Moscow and Washington. Sputnik, the tiny silver sphere with four spider leg-like antennae, showed off Soviet technological prowess.

But German scientists (who had worked on Adolf Hitler's rocket projects and brought to the USSR after the war) were the ones who stood at the forefront of space achievement.

The founder of the Soviet space programme, Sergei Korolyov, worked with German scientists and fragments of the German FAU rocket to develop a new military missile. The Korolyov bureau had to create an intercontinental rocket capable of carrying a hydrogen bomb to any point on the planet.

Sergei Korolyov

As he worked for the military, Korolyov (who spent six years in the Gulag) dreamt of space conquest. But time was running out: one of the principal German engineers, Wernher von Braun, was already working for the Americans.

Wernher Von Braun, with his arm in a cast from a car accident, surrendered to the Americans just before this May 3, 1945 photo.

After three years of work and three rocket accidents, the fourth R-7 (R-7 is the rocket which put Sputnik into orbit) with a dummy warhead successfully hit its target in Kamchatka, in the Far East, in August 1957. The test was hailed as successful although the rocket head disintegrated in flight.

Evolution of Soviet space launch vehicles in the early years. From the left are the R-7 ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile), the Sputnik launcher, the Vostok launcher, and the Soyuz launcher - size in comparison with an average human

Creating a new rocket head would take six months, much too long as the Soviets wanted to pre-empt the launch of a US satellite in 1958. So Korolyov suggested creating a simple satellite made of two hemispheres containing sensors, a radio and a battery pack. In just two months, the apparatus measuring 58 centimetres in diameter and weighing 63.8 kilograms was ready.

Though the satellite captured imaginations, Sputnik 1 was secondary to its inventors. The most important thing was that it proved the effectiveness of the R-7 rocket. The secrecy around the project meant that most of the scientists involved didn't learn of the actual launch until they heard on the radio that the first Earth satellite was put in orbit on October 4, 1957 from a testing range in Kazakhstan, the future Baikonur cosmodrome. (1957 was observed as the International Geophysical Year).

It was a tiny dot which shone in the sun because of the glossy surface. The satellite travelled at about 29,000 kilometres per hour (8,100 m/s), taking 96.2 minutes to complete each orbit.

A replica of Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite in the world to be put into outer space.

It transmitted on 20.005 and 40.002 MHz, which were monitored by amateur radio operators throughout the world. The signals continued for 21 days until the transmitter batteries ran out on 26 October 1957. Sputnik was in orbit for 92 days, making 1,440 circles around Earth, before losing speed and burning up in the atmosphere on 4 January 1958.

Tracking and studying Sputnik 1 from Earth provided scientists with valuable information, even though the satellite itself wasn't equipped with sensors. The density of the upper atmosphere could be deduced from its drag on the orbit, and the propagation of its radio signals gave information about the ionosphere.

Nikita Khrushchev, Premier of the Soviet Union, was pleased with the success of Sputnik 1, and encouraged launch of a more sophisticated satellite less than a month later in time for the 40th anniversary of the October Revolution on 3 November.

Model of Sputnik 2 at the Polytechnic Museum in Moscow

This new Sputnik 2 spacecraft had six times the mass of the Sputnik 1, and carried the dog Laika as a payload. The entire vehicle was designed from scratch within four weeks, with no time for testing or quality checks. It was successfully launched on 3 November and Laika was placed in orbit. There was no mechanism to bring the dog back to Earth, which died from heat exhaustion after five hours in space.

Hungarian stamp honouring Laika

The instrument-laden Sputnik 3 spacecraft was sent into orbit on 15 May 1958. The tape recorder that was to store the data failed after launch. As a result, the discovery and mapping of the Van Allen radiation belts was left to the United States' Explorer 3 and Pioneer 3 satellites.

Sputnik 3 

Several replicas are now on show in museums. At least two vintage duplicates of Sputnik 1 exist, built apparently as backup units. One resides just outside Moscow in the corporate museum of Energia, the modern descendant of Korolyov's design bureau, where it is on display by appointment only. Another is in the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington. Unlike Energia's unit, it has no internal components, but it does have casings and molded fittings inside (as well as evidence of battery wear), which suggest it was built as more than just a model.

Sergei Khrushchev claimed that the Nobel Prize committee attempted to award Korolyov but the award was turned down by Khrushchev in order to maintain harmony within the Council of Chief Designers.

Extract from an article by Marina Lapenkova in Phys.Org and Wikipedia. Images Source - Wikipedia