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Asad Mehmood A Pakistani student recreates Newton’s telescope

Asad Mehmood at Irtiqa, a young student in Okara, has built his own Newtonian telescope from scratch.

Asad Mehmood informed the media while elaborating his production work that,

“I not only bought lenses from optics shops but more frequently I got magnifying glasses from bookstores. Then I bought a toy telescope, checked out its internals and made another one identical to it.”

The achievement of this first discovery urged him on. Not content with toy telescopes, he describes,

“That was when there rose in me the ambition to build a telescope to view the sky and the moon, the stars and planets.”

First, he made a version of the Galilean telescope, the model the well-known Italian astronomer used to watch the moon and sunspots. Then Asad moved on to study the model that Isaac Newton designed.

At this stage, Khwarizmi Science Society helped him find the materials he required to make parabolic mirrors. His finished model now can magnify images up to 300 times the size visible to the naked eye.

No one in Pakistan had ever built this kind of telescope before. Asad involvement underscores the need for more science societies in Islamic countries to promote students to take up science as a career.

15
Samsung Launches Business Notebook

Recently, Samsung Electronics has launched the Samsung Series 6 business notebook which is wholly armed with high protection and excellent performance features for ultimate peace of mind.

According to Hee Chang Yee, MD Samsung Electronics Pakistan,

 

“At Samsung we manufacture up to 75% of our notebook components, using stringent quality control so we are confident our products offer maximum performance and reliability. The Samsung Series 6 notebook is an important addition to our notebook portfolio as Samsung strives to become one of the top three notebook vendors by the end of 2012. This high performance device hosts sophisticated security features such as fingerprint recognition, data encryption and powerful anti-theft software which make it ideal for business use.”

 

The Samsung Series 6 business notebook armed with Intel’s vPro technology through which businesses can remotely manage the notebook even when switched off. It also features a safe biometric Fingerprint Reader, to bar sensitive data from being accessed if the notebook is lost or stolen, and a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) that encrypts files and folders for added security.

 

A strong Duracase ProMG chassis protects the notebook for performance with a magnesium back which can withstand up to 1000kg of force on the display enclosure, and the anti-shock HDD with free fall sensor means the notebook can survive accidental drops over 76cm. The notebook also features a spill-resistant keyboard that protects against fluid damage, and solid metal alloy hinges which last much longer than regular notebooks.

 

The Notebook also come with user-friendly features containing a responsive ergonomically designed keyboard with optimized key sizes and spacing for easier more comfortable typing, and a large touchpad. Other features contain the next generation Intel Core i5 processor and Windows 7 Professional, together with intelligent battery charging technology to maintain power for longer. The battery retains 80% of its capacity for three times longer than a typical notebook battery lasting for around 1000 charges.

The notebook’s anti-reflective screen is up to 40% brighter than normal notebook displays to enable an improved viewing experience.

The Series 6 can connect to a large range of other gadgets, such as a monitor, regular keyboard, mouse, printer and extra ports, with one simple click using the integrated docking station connector so there’s no mess of cables. Users can also rapidly backup and share information using a high-speed USB 3.0 connection, which is 10 times faster than USB 2.0, and can speedily approach data from other gadgets with the unified Express Card 34mm slot

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China to launch Pakistan’s PAKSAT-1R satellite

According to a Chinese news service on Wednesday, China is all set to launch Pakistan’s communication satellite into space at a suitable time in the coming days,
According to Xinhua news, a spokesperson for the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China’s Sichuan Province mentioned on Wednesday that the satellite, the PAKSAT-1R, will be carried by a Long March-3B carrier rocket.

PAKSAT-1R will supersede PAKSAT-1 which is probably to accomplish its useful life this year. Pakistan’s Ambassador to China, Masood Khan expressed the launch will broaden the horizons of cooperation between the two countries. He further mentioned that,

“Launching of a communication satellite is going to be a symbolic development in Pakistan-China relations, as this will broaden the horizons of our cooperation.”

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Pakistani student created solar-powered vehicle

A Pakistani student, Farrukh Khan, of Mechanical Student from University of Engineering and Technology Lahore has created a new vehicle named as Solaron.A reverse-three-wheel style model; the single-seat device features two wheels in front, and one in the back for balance. The whole project cost is approximately $600.

This eco-friendly vehicle incorporates a battery that is charged by solar panels thereby producing energy without any exhaust. Battery drives a DC motor that is used to power the vehicle.

Made with parts from a bicycle and a custom built aluminum chassis, the three-wheel vehicle has a photovoltaic canopy, which doubles as a power provider and a nice way to shade the rider on the stripped-down device.

Propelled by a 12-volt battery and a 24-volt motor, the Solaron has a top speed just under 20 mph, so the vehicle isn’t exactly street friendly in most cases, but could certainly keep up with congested urban traffic. This vehicle is approximately 7 feet long, 3.5 feet wide and 4.5 feet tall.

Vehicle has a top speed of 30 km per hour on smooth road. Note that this is a prototype which can further be enhanced to work on larger scale.

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Genome of Dr. Atta Ur Rehman examined

Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine & Drug Research (PCMD) at Karachi University and Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI) in China, are jointly working in the research in Genomics.

They have originated genome of First Pakistani and now Pakistan is included in first Islamic and world’s sixth State to do this.

A Press Conference was held by Prof. Dr. M. Iqbal Chaudhary, Director ICCBS, Karachi University and Dr. Kamran Azim at PCMD. After highlighting the key factors of the project, Dr. Chaudhary disclosed that the person whose genome mapping is done is a Chemist and Former Chairman of HEC, Dr. Atta-ur-Rehman.

Dr. Chaudhary mentioned that this breakthrough will permit to do more research on heredity maladies, progression and genetic makeup of Pakistani Nation.

According to him in the past many people like Dr. Watson and other famous scientists refrained revealing their genomes like this but this praise worthy that Dr. Rehman gave his accord to make it happen.

Genomes, they are like a book, each contains 23 chromosomes and each chromosome has several thousand genes and each gene is made up of exons which are interrupted by introns. There are bases in them which are Cytosin, Guanine, Adenine, and Thiamine.

The whole project’s cost was equally contributed between both institutes, PCMD and BGI. Estimated cost of the project is US $ 40,000. Dr. Atta Ur Rehman’s were sent to Beijing to BGI for sequencing the genomes. But the technical and research work was done by Dr. Azim and the machinery was used from BGI.

PCMD is decided to surpass in this field. Both Dr. Azim and Dr. Chaudhary stressed to create a national genomic center in PCMD premises. This outstanding attainment is just the beginning to the promising future of Pakistan in the scientific world.

1
3G Licenses Auction Postponed

Islamabad: Yesterday the auction of the 3G Licenses was declared but postponed because the Federal Cabinet could not confirm the modelity for the 3G licenses auction because of the deficiency of time and unaccomplished summary.

Recently, Federal Cabinet organized a meeting in which the Federal Minister for Finance Dr Hafeez Shaikh notified about some references for taking the issue of auction of 3G licenses forward. He verified after the meeting, that extremely little time was obtainable for accomplishment of the summery, therefore, the issue could not be taken up at Federal Cabinet meeting. However, the government is made to move forward hurriedly and fulfill the process within definite period