SCIENCE REPORTER

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ISSN: 0036-8512

VOLUME 47 NUMBER 12 DECEMBER 2010

CONTENTS

COVER STORY
Laser At 50 50^th Anniversary of the Invention of Laser N.S. Arunkumar	8
Feature Articles Holography Lensless Technology of 3-D Imaging P.K. Mukherjee & U.P. Tyagi	19
Tales From Our Grandma – Ardi T.V. Venkateswaran	24
Millennium Prize For Perelman Dr. Sunita Chand & Dr. Ramesh Chandra Parida	27
Nobel Prizes 2010	30
Lise Meitner: Lady Who Missed The Nobel Paresh R. Vaidya	37
Values In Science Nandita	42
Water Hyacinth Befriending The Noxious Weed Dipanjan Ghosh	46
The Ethanol Enigma M. Saleemuddin	52
DEPARTMENTS
Reactions	6
Editorial	7
Spectrum	16
Book Review	36
Test Your Knowledge	40
Puzzle Corner	50
Living Fossils	55
Natural Hazards	56
Fun Quiz	58
What’s New	60
Crossword	62

Science Reporter

Vol. 47, December 2010, pp 8-15

Laser At 50

50^th Anniversary Of The Invention Of Laser

N.S. Arunkumar

In the laser we have a sort of Alladin’s lantern. All that we need is imagination to order it to perform tasks that we want done. Here’s a look at this wonderful technology on the occasion of its 50^th anniversary.

Science Reporter

Vol. 47, December 2010, Pp 19-23

Holography

Lensless Technology Of 3-D Imaging

P.K. Mukherjee & U.P. Tyagi

Holography technology finds use in innumerable fields with its applications being almost limitless.

Science Reporter

Vol. 47, December 2010, Pp 24-26

Tale From Our Grandma – Ardi

T.V. Venkateswaran

Here’s an exciting story of the unraveling of a 4.4-million-year-old skeleton of what could be our great great great…grandmother! What tales can this 4.4-million-year-old grandmother tell us? It seems quite a lot; she can tell us about our evolution—how we became humans.

Science Reporter

Vol. 47, December 2010, Pp 27-28

Millennium Prize For Perelman

Dr. Sunita Chand & Dr. Ramesh Chandra Parida

A look at the pathbreaking work of the eccentric mathematical genius Grigory Perelman who solved the 106-year-old Poincare conjecture and who was recently nominated for the David Perelman award.

Science Reporter

Vol. 47, December 2010, Pp 37-38

Lise Meitner: Lady Who Missed The Nobel

Paresh R. Vaidya

Credited with the discovery of nuclear fission, one of the most important discoveries of the century, curiously lise meitner never made it to the ranks of the nobel laureates. Here’s an insight into why it happened.

Science Reporter

Vol. 47, December 2010, Pp 42-44

Values In Science

Nandita

Values are far more important in today’s age of science and technology, than they probably were at any precious time in human history. Science and technology touch every aspect of our lives. But can scientific knowledge discover values? Do facts of science help us determine what should be the end of human striving?

Science Reporter

Vol. 47, December 2010, Pp 46-48

Water Hyacinth

Befriending The Noxious Weed

Dipanjan Ghosh

It is blacklisted as a notorious aquatic weed in India and other tropical countries, and often designated as ‘Bengal terror’, ‘blue devil’, ‘invasive weed’, ‘noxious plant’, ‘plant pest’, ‘prohibited aquatic weed’ and so on. The target of such abusive nicknames, water hyacinth, is a dreaded waterweed often blamed for choking water bodies and creating problems for other aquatic plants and animal inhabitants. However, lately its role in environmental cleaning is being truly recognized.

Science Reporter

Vol. 47, December 2010, Pp 52-54

The Ethanol Enigma

M. Saleemuddin

What was synthesized as a pickling chemical millions of years ago by the yeast turned out to be a magical molecule that continues to influence the lives of humans in many ways. Ethanol is widely used as a disinfectant, medicine and for partying. It is currently being touted as the most potential renewable fuel and replacement for petrol.