My Science School

1. Took nearly two centuries to build

The Leaning Tower of Pisa was designed to be a bell tower for the Pisa Cathedral. Construction of the tower started in 1173. Workers had almost completed the third storey of the tower by 1178, when war broke out between Italian states. The war halted the construction for nearly a century, and work resumed in 1272. Again after 12 years, another war halted construction. Finally, the third stage of the construction began in the early 14th Century and concluded with the installation of the bell chamber in 1372.

2. The lean is accidental

The Leaning Tower of Pisa was never supposed to lean. It happened accidentally. The reason the tower began to lean is attributed to its weak foundation and the inexperience of the engineers. The tower began to sink when the second floor was being constructed. This was due to a three-metre foundation set in weak, unstable subsoil. The tower would have toppled over as construction progressed, however, the gap of nearly a century owing to the war helped the underlying soil to settle. To compensate for the tilt, engineers built the upper floors with one side taller than the other. Because of this, the tower is curved.

3. Status: Currently stable

The tower continued to tilt nearly 0.05 inches per year, placing the monument in danger of an imminent collapse. By 1990s, the tilt of the tower was almost 5.5 degrees (15 feet) from the perpendicular. This led the government to take urgent measures to protect the monument. The tower was closed to the public and a team of engineers levelled the soil underneath the tower. Engineers also used anchoring mechanisms to rectify its lean. While this helped the monument stabilise, it did not prevent its continued lean. In 2008, engineers again tried to balance the foundational soil and for the first time since it was constructed, the continued tilt of the tower halted. Engineers stated that the tower would be stable for at least the next 200 years.

4. No bells tolling

The Leaning Tower of Pisa has seven giant bells at the top, one for each musical note from the major scale. While the bells are still around, they haven't tolled since the 20th century. This is because restorers and engineers were worried that their movements might make the tower lean more.

5. Not the only leaning tower in Pisa

As a result of Pisa's soft soil, the Leaning Tower of Pisa isn't the only building in the city that leans. The most popular building after the Leaning Tower of Pisa is the Bell Tower of the San Nicola church. Built around the same time as the Leaning Tower, this octangular bell tower also has a slight, but unmistakable tilt. Another popular building is the San Michele degli Scalzi, a 11th Century church, which tilts even more than the Leaning Tower of Pisa!

 

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1. A little history

A popular tourist site today and one of the world's largest sporting arenas, the Colosseum was built between 72 AD and 80 AD by the Roman emperor Vespasian. Though construction started during the time of Vespasian, he did not live to see its completion. His son, Titus opened the arena. The Colosseum is built using stone and concrete and the manpower of tens and thousands of Jewish slaves.

The first-ever games at the Colosseum were held in 80 AD by Titus. It went on for 100 days straight

2. Largest amphitheatre in the world

The oval-shaped Colosseum is the largest amphitheatre in the world. It measures 189m long, 156m wide and 50m high. The arena was so big that it could fit a modern-day football pitch inside. The Colosseum had 80 entrances and could seat approximately 50,000 spectators at a time.

3. Free for all, mostly

Sporting events at the arena included gladiatorial combats, wild animal hunts and naval battles. These games continued to be held for centuries, with gladiatorial combats held till the fifth century, and wild animal hunts till the sixth Most the major events held at the Colosseum, which were often organised and paid for by the emperors, were free for spectators. Sometimes free food was also served to the spectators. Emperors did this to gain popularity and support from the public.

4. What's underground?

There were numerous rooms and passages below the Colosseum. This is where the gladiators and the animals were kept before they were allowed entry into the arena. The Colosseum also had 36 trap doors for special effects during games.

5. A graveyard for animals

Along with other sporting events, Romans staged wild animal fights and hunts at the Colosseum. This left thousands of animals such as elephants, tigers, lions, bears and other exotic creatures wounded or dead.

 

Picture Credt : Google

James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster movie “Titanic” left almost everyone who watched it teary eyed. But not many know that the movie is based on the real-life sinking of a British ship by the same name, RMS Titanic was a luxury liner that hit an iceberg on April 14, 1912, broke apart and sank to the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean by April 15. The liner, operated by the White Star Line, was on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. It was carrying an estimated 2,224 passengers and crew aboard when the mishap occurred, killing more than 1,500 people.

The sinking of the Titanic was one of the biggest disasters in maritime history. It met with worldwide shock and outrage due to the huge loss of life as well as the regulatory and operational failures that led to it. It was the largest ship afloat at the time it entered service.

The aftermath of the disaster initiated public inquiries in Britain and the United States and led to major improvements in maritime safety. One of the important aspects was the establishment of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) in 1914, which still governs maritime safety.

The wreck of the Titanic was discovered in 1985 during a Franco-American expedition and United States Military mission. The ship was split into two and the shipwreck is slowly disintegrating at a depth of about 12,000 feet.

Now, OceanGate, a manned submersibles company, is planning tourist dives to the shipwreck. From May to September 2021, the company plans to dive to the wreck of the ocean liner, allowing three passengers to descend with it in each dive. The firm intends to dive about 18 times in this window using its ‘Titan’ sub which will also carry a pilot and a scientist-researcher apart from the three passengers. During the dive, passengers would be able to survey the wreck and debris field which is scattered across 86 sq km.

The dives will also help OceanGate with its overall objective to scan the entire wreck site – the ultimate goal being to create a photorealistic virtual 3D model of the shipwreck before it’s gone.

 

Picture Credit : Google

1. A king and his love for astronomy

The Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is one among five such observatories built by Rajput king Sawai Jai Singh II, the founder of Jaipur. Jai Singh II was extremely enthusiastic about astronomy and even owned telescopes. He came up with the idea of building the astronomical observatories in India when he noticed that the astronomical tables of the Zij (an islamic astronomical book that tabulates parameters used to calculate the positions of the Sun, Moon, stars, and the planets) were incomplete. He used the observatories to come up with a more accurate zij and new astronomical tables known as the zij-i Muhammad Shahi. These tables were used in India for nearly a century.

2. One among five observatories

The Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is the largest among the five observatories built by Jai Singh II, and the only one among the five to receive the UNESCO World Heritage tag. The other observatories, also called Jantar Mantar, were built in Delhi, Varanasi, Mathura, and Ujjain between 1724 and 1735. However, today only four of these exist. The one in Mathura was destroyed just before the Revolt of 1857.

3. Astronomy with the naked eye

The monument has a collection of 19 astronomical instruments constructed out of local stone and marble. Each of these giant instruments caries an astronomical scale and facilitates calculation of the positions and distances of the celestial bodies with the naked eye.

4. World's largest stone sundial

The Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is home to the largest stone sundial in the world. The Vrihat Samrat Yantra, which stands at the centre of the observatory, is a 27m-tall sundial which can help calculate time accurately down to two seconds.

5. No longer in use

Apart from stone and marble, bronze tablets, bricks and mortar were employed during the construction of the observatory. The Jantar Mantar was in continuous use till about the early 1800s, and then fell into disuse. It was restored several times during the British rule. Today, the observatory serves as a tourist attraction, kindling students interest in astronomy through guided tours, and music and light shows. It was declared a national monument in 1948, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010.

 

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1. Largest religious monument

Angkor Wat spread over 160 hectares, is considered to be the largest religious monument in the world by land area. The temple complex in Cambodia was built by Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th Century. The complex was initially constructed as a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu. However, it gradually transformed into a Buddhist temple towards the end of the 12th Century. Today, it is described by many as a Hindu-Buddhist temple.

2. A national symbol

Angkor Wat features on the national flag of Cambodia. It is one among a handful of monuments that feature on the national flags of their respective countries. The only other Asian country with a monument on the flag is Afghanistan.

3. Represents Mount Meru

The temple's design is said to represent Mount Menu, the home of the Gods, according to Hindu mythology. The five towers of the temple are intended to recreate the five peaks of Mount Meru, while the walls and the moat below honour the surrounding mountain ranges and the sea.

4. Oriented to the West

While most Hindu temples are oriented to the East, Angkor Wat is oriented to the West. While there is no conclusive evidence of why this is so, many researchers believe that Suryavarman intended Angkor Wat to serve as his funerary temple.

5. An underground city?

A forensic aerial mapping of Angkor conducted by archaeologists Damian Evans and Jean-Baptiste Chevance, using ground-sensing radar, discovered the lost city of 'Mahendraparvata', located nearly 40 km from the Angkor Wat, in 2012. This city is believed to be the template of Angkor and its great temple. Since its discovery, the lost city has proved to be even bigger than what the archaeologists had expected.

 

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The land of the rhinoceros

1. The British connection

One of the oldest national parks in Assam, Kaziranga owes its existence to Mary Curzon and Lord Curzon, the then Viceroy of India. Back in 1904, Mary Curzon visited the area after having heard about the population of rhinos there. However, she was unable to spot a single rhino there was a sharp decline in numbers due to hunting and poaching. She persuaded Lord Curzon to take urgent measures to protect the species and the area. He obliged, and on June 1, 1907, the Kaziranga Proposed Reserve Forest was created with an area of 232 sq km. In 1908, Kaziranga was designated a ‘Reserve Forest’.

2. Find the largest population of…

The Kaziranga National Park takes credit for being home to the world’s largest population of the greater one-horned rhinoceros, wild Asiatic Buffalo and eastern, swamp deer. The rhinoceros, which has become synonymous with the park, has been hunted over the years for its horn. However, thanks to the efforts of the park, the Indian rhinoceros, which was earlier categorized as ‘endangered’, is now categorized as ‘vulnerable’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. According to the Union’s last assessment in December 2018, the population of the rhino is steadily increasing.

3. Did you spot a tiger?

While the park is famous because of the rhinos, it is also home to many large cats, including the tiger. Kaziranga has one of the highest densities of tigers in the world, and was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2006. It approximately has a population of 118 tigers, with a density of one per five sq km.

The park is also one of the few breeding sites outside Africa for large cats such as leopards and Bengal tigers.

4. Important bird area

Apart from mammals, one can find a variety of migratory birds, scavengers, game birds and water birds in Kaziranga. The park has been identified by Birdlife International as an Important Bird Area. Some birds such as the lesser white-fronted goose, ferruginous duck, Baer’s pochard duck and lesser adjacent migrate to the park from Central Asia during winter. Water birds in the park include Blyth’s kingfisher, white-bellied heron, and spot-billed pelican. When it comes to birds of prey, one can spot the rare eastern imperial eagle and lesser kestrel among others. The park was once home to seven species of vultures. However, the population reached near extinction due to feeding on carcasses containing the drug Diclofenac. Today, one can only find the Indian vulture, slender-billed vulture, and Indian white-rumped vulture in the park.

5. Water, water everywhere

The park is known for flooding during the monsoon season, Kaziranga experiences three seasons-summer, monsoon and winter. The monsoon, usually lasts from June to September and is responsible for most of the rainfall in the region. However, during the peak monsoon months of July and August, nearly three-fourths of the western, region of the park is submerged due to the rising water levels of the Brahmaputra River. Flooding of the park has now become common, with many animals migrating to elevated and forested regions outside the southern border of the park. The flooding has led to the death of several animals in the park over the years.

 

Picture Credit : Google