INNOVATION – Page 8 – Take off with Natarajan

NASA Release Six Incredible Images From Their Chandra Archives….

October 11, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

photo credit: Chandra X-ray Observatory awaiting deployment from the Space Shuttle Columbia. NASA

In celebration of American Archive Month, NASA has released six mind-blowing images from the Chandra archive.

The Chandra X-ray Observatory was launched and deployed from Space Shuttle Columbia on July 23, 1999. Since then, it has collected data on thousands of cosmic objects such as pulsars, supernovae, interstellar gas clouds, and galaxies. NASA hopes that by releasing these images to the public and scientific community, it will inspire new perspectives and serve as inspiration for future exploration.

The images can take hours, and in some instances days, to capture. They are imaged using a combination of light waves, X-rays, and radio waves.

Below is W44, also known as G34.7-0.4, which is an expanding supernova remnant that is interacting with the dense cosmic material surrounding it.

^{Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Georgia/R.Shelton & NASA/CXC/GSFC/R.Petre; Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech}

Next is SN 1987A, the brightest and nearest supernova to Earth in the last century. This image shows the result of the supernova explosion, which occurs when a star runs out of fuel and then hurls layers of itself out into space.

^{Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/PUS/E.Helder et al; Optical: NASA/STScI}

Below is Kesteven 79, another remnant of a supernova explosion. This one, however, occurred thousands of years ago.

^{Image credit: NASA/CXC/SAO/F.Seward et al, Optical: DSS}

Next is MS 0735.6+7421, a galaxy cluster where one of the most powerful eruptions ever observed by humanity was seen.

^{Image credit: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Waterloo/A.Vantyghem et al; Optical: NASA/STScI; Radio: NRAO/VLA}

Here, we see the galaxy cluster 3C295. The pink area is superheated gas and the yellow regions are individual galaxies. Galaxy clusters like this contain huge amounts of dark matter, which hold the hot gas (pink) and galaxies (yellow) together.

^{Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Cambridge/S.Allen et al; Optical: NASA/STScI}

Last but not least is the “Guitar Nebula,” containing a pulsar officially called B2224+65. This pulsar is traveling at an extremely high speed of approximately 800 kilometers (500 miles) per second.

^{Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/UMass/S.Johnson et al, Optical: NASA/STScI & Palomar Observatory 5-m Hale Telescope}

Check out NASA’s website for more details on each image.

Source….Tom Hale in http://www.iflscience.com and http://www.businessinsider.com.au

natarajan

Once a Daily Wage Earner, Sanjay Latthe Receives Prestigious Award for Research on Nanoparticles …

October 10, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

From being a daily wage earner, to winning a distinguished grant for his research project – this is Sanjay Latthe, the man who never let financial constraints come in the way of his education.

30-year-old Sanjay Latthe was once a daily wage earner in his hometown Sangola, located in Solapur district of Maharashtra. Today, has been selected for the prestigious INSPIRE award by the Centre’s Department of Science and Technology.

As part of the award, Sanjay will receive a Rs. 35 lakh research grant and a monthly stipend of Rs. 80,000, to take his research project forward.

award

Picture for representation only. Source: Flickr

According to the department’s website, “Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) is an innovative programme sponsored and managed by the Department of Science & Technology for attraction of talent to science. The basic objective of INSPIRE is to communicate to the youth of the country the excitements of creative pursuit of science, attract talent to the study of science at an early age and thus build the required critical human resource pool for strengthening and expanding the Science & Technology system and R&D base.” The program includes students in the age group 10-32 years.

An alumnus of Shivaji University in Kolhapur, Sanjay has been granted the award for his research on optically-transparent and durable nanoparticles. He has been working on this research project for the past 8 years.

“It can achieve a breakthrough in the way we interact with basic things. For example, we have automobiles with wipers on their windshields. However, if we are able to use nano-particle coating on the glass, it will become water repellent and we will not need wipers. If iron objects receive super-hydrophobic coatings, they will not rust at all,” said Sanjay while explaining his project to The Times of India.

As of now, he is working on increasing the durability of the nanoparticle coating. While he has achieved durability of 30-50 days, he is aiming for permanent durability, for which more research is required. Sanjay has published 44 international research papers on this topic, and has also presented it at 15 research seminars across the world.

After losing his father at a very young age, Sanjay and his family – his mother, two elder sisters and one elder brother, had to work hard to make ends meet. Having very few sources of income, everyone in the family had to earn. His mother used to do some embroidery work. But Sanjay never let monetary constraints come in the way of his education.

He joined SUK in 2005 for his MSc, and in 2007 he also enrolled for a Ph.D. After this he got a chance to work as a post-doctoral research fellow in Istanbul, Turkey, and a research professor at Korea University in South Korea. He is currently working as an assistant professor at the department of technology in Savitribai Phule Pune University. –

Source….Tanaya Singh…www.thebetterindia.com

Natarajan

Icon A-5: The Folding Airplane….

October 7, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

The Icon A-5 is a whole new aviation concept. It is designed to be a personal airplane aimed at the domestic leisure market – and people don’t need to be experienced pilots to fly it. The A-5 intends to simplify the flying process so much that anyone can pick up the skills necessary to fly the plane quickly and easily, and it has a whole stack of sophisticated safety features to help it achieve this goal. The aircraft has been in development since 2008 and is moving towards general release, having passed through the first of the necessary regulatory checks. Let’s have a look at this incredible concept and see a video of the A-5 in action.

Icon A-5

Image: iconaircraft.com

If you have ever dreamed of owning your own plane, but don’t want the added hassle of huge storage costs, long periods of training and complicated dashboards full of buttons, then the Icon A-5 is designed with you in mind. The dashboard of the plane looks more like something that you would find in the modern sports car, than an airplane, and aims to keep things as simple as possible. The A-5 has been described as the aviation industry’s answer to the Tesla.

Icon A-5 dashboard

Image: Andrew Moseman, popularmechanics.com

The aircraft can take off and land on either water or gravel, and is genuinely amphibious. It features a carbon-fiber airframe, retractable undercarriage, and is powered by a three-bladed pusher propeller. The plane is meant to appeal to ‘weekend warriors’ who would savor the thrill of flying, and use the plane to reach remote lakes and rivers. The company’s head of sales, Craig Bowers believes the plane will be at the forefront of the ‘next powersport’. It can be viewed as the latest expensive toy in a list that historically includes sports cars, supercars, jet skis and private yachts.

Icon A-5

Image: iconaircraft.com

Of course, flying is inherently dangerous and if people don’t know what they are doing then it could turn out very badly indeed. For that reason, the designers have attempted to ‘fool-proof’ the plane to prevent accidents. Among the many safety features are a unique ‘angle of attack’ gauge that lets the pilot know if they are flying safely relative to the conditions. Engineers have also designed the plane to be resistant to spins and stalls. If the pilot makes a mistake and stalls the engine, the plane will continue to glide rather than nosedive, due to its specially designed wings.

Icon A-5

Image: iconaircraft.com

Of course, it wouldn’t be suitable for the general adventure sport market if it wasn’t easy to store and transport. Engineers have tried to satisfy this need – and they have been innovative in doing so. The wings of the A-5 fold inwards to make the machine much more compact so it can be carried on a trailer. By the same logic, the plane could also be feasibly stored in a garage – although with a length of 23 feet (7 meters), you would need a fairly large garage.

Icon A-5

Image: iconaircraft.com

The Icon A-5 is officially classed as a light-sport aircraft and features some impressive specifications. It has room for one passenger in addition to the pilot, a range of around 345 miles (556km) per journey and a maximum speed of 211mph (194km/h). The maximum take-off weight is 1,510lbs (685kg), meaning there is room for 550lbs (249kg) of ‘useful load’ (passenger weight, baggage etc.).

Icon A-5

Image: flickr user H. Michael Miley

Before you get too excited, the Icon A-5 does of course come at a high price. The first batch of models are being sold for $250,000, although the company intends to sell later batches at the lower (but still significant) price of $197,000. That said, the plane is the first of its type and it remains to be seen whether the concept will catch on, leading to more affordable but similar offerings in years to come. The company behind the design is currently busy earning all the necessary Federal Aviation Association approvals ahead of the plane’s release, and have already received orders for 1,500 planes, which they hope to deliver by 2019.

Here is a video of the Icon A-5 in action:

H/T www.popularmechanics.com

Source….www.ba-bamail.com

Natarajan

How do the Astronauts Sleep in Space….

October 7, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

After months of intense training and a white-knuckled trip through the ozone layer at nine times the speed of a rifle bullet, you can bet that NASA astronauts need to bank some rest.

Space sailors log really long hours throughout their days on tasks that require intense concentration, which is why NASA schedules precisely 8.5 hours of sleep per 24 on deck.

How exactly does ‘nighttime’ play out in space?

Astronauts Pam Melroy, George Zamka, and European Space Agency’s Paolo Nespoli, sleep in their sleeping bags, which are secured on the middeck of the Space Shuttle Discovery while docked with the International Space Station.

The International Space Station (ISS) orbits the Earth at 17,150 miles per hour, clocking one lap around our planet every hour and a half. Doing the math, this means 16 sunsets every 24 hours — a new day every 90 minutes.

Fascinating, yes, but this unrelenting motion can create colossal jet lag and wreak havoc on an astronaut’s internal body clock.

Hence, Mission Control’s strict bedtime schedule and windows-shut policy.

(Though according to one report, snoozing astronauts still see streaks and bursts of bright color caused by high-energy cosmic rays bursting harmlessly onto their retinas.)

What time zone do they use?

To establish to a regular schedule in zero gravity, Mission Control keeps our diurnal astronauts on Greenwich Mean Time.

I’m guessing no cushy mattresses?

The crew members are provided sleep pods that look like padded broom closets. They have custom sleeping sacks fastened to a wall or the ceiling, lest they float about the cabin.

According to retired astronaut Marsha Ivins, who spent 42 days in space on five different missions, their sleeping bag has armholes that allow you to reach outside the bag to zip it up. You then settle yourself in by tightening the attached Velcro straps. If you don’t tuck your appendages into the bag, they’ll drift out in front of you.

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield offers this video tour of his very own sleep sack aboard the ISS. After showing off his astro-PJs you can watch him zip up and close the doors to his pod.

Pillows?

That’s a whole other issue. Though not everyone wants or needs one, Ivins says she did, to help her neck relax. She actually attached her head to a block of foam.

“You put the back of your head on [the ‘pillow’],” she says, “and then you Velcro the front of your head to it.”

What about parasomnias? Any chance of sleepwalking?

Actually there was one reported case of … drifting.

According to a British reporter, one Russian crew member apparently preferred to do without a sleep pod or sleeping bag. His fellow crewmembers, still awake after he turned in, saw him float by — presumably in the midst of sweet dreams. They watched him “bouncing off the walls, his course set by the air currents that gently pushed and pulled him.”

Do they end up getting their hard eight?

No. As hard as they try to get comfy, most astronauts don’t get enough rest. Many are routinely sleep deficient, logging just six hours of sleep every 24 hours.

However, some astronauts speculate that these short sleep sessions may be the result of the body’s feeling less fatigued in a microgravity environment. Less fatigue may equal less sleep need.

Do they report any weird dreams?

According to dream studies conducted aboard the Russian space shuttle Mir, astronauts experience significantly diminished REM sleep in space compared to us Earthlings. They are therefore continually monitored for any and all ill effects.

“Efforts are planned to understand more fully the spaceflight environment and the role that other factors may play in reducing or promoting sleep,” said Lauren Leveton, PhD, senior research scientist in NASA’s Behavioral Health and Performance Division.

Who wakes them up when it’s ‘morning’?

During the 30-year space shuttle program, which ended in 2011, it was a NASA tradition to have wake-up calls during the shuttle missions. Each “morning” at the scheduled wake-up time, ground operations broadcast a song into the space shuttle cabin. A wide range of musical styles were played, including rock, pop, western and classical.

Each song was selected for a particular astronaut. Sometimes the astronauts requested the tune; other times their families selected a song with special meaning.

Unfortunately, the wake-up service is not available on the ISS. There, the crew must use a regular alarm clock.

Source….www.businessinsider.com.au

Natarajan

6 Amazing Facts About Baripatha – Odisha’s First 100% Solar Powered Village….

October 6, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Baripatha has become the first village in Odisha to be entirely solar-powered, with an individual solar unit for every household.

After waiting for electricity for several years, lives of the residents of Baripatha, a tribal village in Odisha, changed for the better on Oct. 2, 2015. On this day, Baripatha became the first village in the state to be completely powered by solar energy.

Here are few things to know about the village and this project:

1. Baripatha is located about 25 km southwest of Bhubaneswar. The village has 61 households, and a population of about 350 people.

Picture for representation only. Photo Credit: Premasagar Rose/Flickr

2. The project cost Rs. 7 lakh and was co-funded by the solar products manufacturer, ECCO Electronics, and the power solutions provider, Jackson Group.

“We requested companies such as Nalco, Ecco Solar and Jackson Solar to help us with the solar project for the village…This model can be replicated all over Odisha to provide power to its nearly 3,900 villages,” senior IPS officer Joydeep Nayak, who is the driving force behind this initiative, told The Times of India.

Picture for representation only. Photo Credit: Flickr

3. Under this project, individual solar units with two solar home-lighting systems, which also have the facility of charging mobile phones and other devices, have been installed for each of the 61 households in the village.

This is accompanied by a central one-kilowatt unit for the entire village that will be used to power the eight street lamps along with a LED television set and TV set-top box that have been provided to the villagers and have been installed in their community centre.

Picture for representation only. Photo Credit: Flickr

4. The central solar unit has eight panels that can be folded quickly in case of cyclones and high-speed winds that are frequent in Odisha.

The unit can also operate a one-horsepower irrigation pump.

Picture for representation only. Photo Credit: Flickr

5. What makes the project in Baripatha is that in most rural solar projects, there is a central unit which supplies power to all households.

But that leads to many problems like the exposed cables being tapped by villagers. In this case, some households draw more power than their share, which in turn causes the central line to trip because of overload. Thus, to avoid such issues, individual units have been set up for each household.

Picture for representation only. Photo Credit: Flickr

6. The entire solar project is low cost, low maintenance and community owned.

The only maintenance needed now is the regular cleaning of panels and ensuring that water levels of batteries for the central unit are at the required mark. According to ECCO CEO, Vivek Bihani, the whole village was involved in the planning and execution of the project. “Village mukhia Narayan Hisa along with a local ITI diploma holder, Epil Kumar Singh, are responsible for the maintenance,” he informed.

Source: YouTube

The project was inaugurated on Friday by the chairman and managing director of National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), Tapan Kumar Chand. He, along with the other state officials, distributed the two lighting systems to each household.

Source…..Tanaya Singh….www.the betterindia.com

Natarajan

IISc Students Design Helicopter Which Derives Power from Its Own Blades. Bag Prestigious Award …..

October 6, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

A team of students from Indian Institute of Science bagged a coveted award at the Student Design Competition conducted by American Helicopter Society International. This is what the students had designed.

This August, four students from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, won the ‘Best New Entry – Graduate’ award at the Student Design Competition conducted annually by the American Helicopter Society International.

The challenge was to design a small helicopter that can carry packages weighing up to 10kgs and can deliver them in urban settings.

Source: Facebook

The eco-friendly aspect of the challenge was that the helicopter should function at a noise level lower than a prescribed limit, with minimal carbon footprint. Team Lakshya, of aerospace engineering department of IISc, came up with two solutions:

To deliver lighter packages: A four-blade small helicopter (a quad-rotor, looks like a drone) that derives power from the vibrations of its blades.
To deliver heavier packages: A conventional unmanned aerial vehicle

Both the vehicles partly derive power from their blades, thus reducing carbon footprint as compared to helicopters which are fully powered by fossil fuels.

The technology behind using energy from blade vibrations has been developed by the Non Linear Multifunctional Composites Analysis and Design (NMCAD) laboratory of the department of aerospace engineering in IISc. The institute is in the process of getting the technology patented. The team behind the development of this technology was crowned ultimate champion at the 4th edition of UNESCO-Airbus biennial innovation challenge, “Fly Your Ideas (FYI)” at Hamburg, Germany, in June this year.

American Helicopter Society organizes the Student Design Competition in association with other major helicopter companies, and this was the 32nd edition of the competition.

“The AHS International annual Student Design Competition challenges students to design a vertical lift aircraft that meets specified requirements, provides a practical exercise for engineering students at colleges and universities around the world and promotes student interest in vertical flight technology,” says that society’s website.

Every year, the organizers choose an open design problem and students have to submit their entries. The jury has academic and well as industry experts.

“It is indeed a proud moment and a wonderful experience to be recognised by the world’s most renowned vertical flight society,” said Rajnish Mallick, a doctoral graduate from IISc, who led Team Lakshya, to The Hindu.

Featured image for representation only. Photo Credit: Lee/Flickr

Source…. Tanaya Singh….www.thebetterindia.com

Natarajan

How One School Used Solar Power to Go from Being an Electricity Consumer to Electricity Producer …

October 6, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

In the small coastal town of Pondicherry, south of Chennai, there is a school that is not only self-reliant in terms of energy but is also sharing the excess it produces with other buildings in the area.

The Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education (SAICE) in Pondicherry has been operating on green energy since September 2014.

Many schools encourage their students to switch off the fans and lights after use, plant trees and take other initiatives to save energy. However, very few go beyond just asking them to take precautions and save energy. SAICE is different.

This educational institute is self-reliant in terms of energy; it meets all its energy requirements through solar power. Moreover, it produces three times the electricity it consumes and lights up many other buildings with the excess energy.

Sri Aurobindo Ashram

And it has done so by devising and implementing a project almost entirely on its own.

SAICE is a part of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry. It was in 2012 that Dr. Brahmanand Mohanty, an alumnus of SAICE, came up with the idea of making the ashram energy efficient with the help of a sustainable model.

“As the Indian economy continues to grow, so will its energy consumption. The country’s primary energy consumption more than doubled between 1990 and 2011. As the demand continues to grow, keeping pace with the GDP growth, the energy sector is struggling to deliver a secure supply of energy,” says Dr. Mohanty, explaining why he thought this move was important. Hailing from Odisha, Dr. Mohanty is currently working as the Visiting Professor at the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, and has been engaged in the area of energy and environment managements since the last three decades.

According to Dr. Mohanty, many rural areas of the country do not have access to electricity. And urban India uses energy-intensive appliances, resulting in electricity shortage.

The entrance of the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education –

Dr. Mohanty had a vision of developing a system that would make SAICE self-dependent for energy. With this in mind, he had a meeting with the trustees of the Ashram. They gave him the go ahead and even suggested that pilot research activities should be taken up with the active participation of the young teachers and students at the Institute. And then it all began. The whole project was conducted in two phases from 2012 to 2015.

Phase One: The Pilot

The pilot research took place between 2012 and 2014. The idea was to demonstrate that it is possible for an electricity consumer to achieve net-energy positive status (to generate more energy than consumed) by adopting measures to lower the energy demand through energy efficiency and conservation, and producing electricity using solar energy. To begin with, the energy requirements of SAICE were measured, in order to understand the pattern of electricity consumption over a long period of time.

Following this analysis, all inefficient lamps, fans, air conditioners, and computers, which had been in use since a long period of time, were substituted by more energy-efficient alternatives to lower the energy demand by more than 25 percent, without compromising on the quality and service.

Replacement of energy-inefficient appliances by more efficient alternatives

With a better understanding of how much energy the educational institute was consuming, they came to the decision that a solar power plant should be installed inside the campus so as to meet all the energy demands in-house. Thus, a 17 kWp rooftop solar power plant was set up in the school by an Auroville-based solar installer.

Teachers and students were involved in the entire process right from the start. They helped in the basic wiring, setting up the panels on the rooftop, and more.

Students of SAICE actively involved in the installation of the rooftop solar power plant. –

“This allowed them to get a better grasp of the working principles of a grid-tie solar power generation system and they also got practical exposure to the various aspects of the solar system to be taken into consideration in order to ensure its proper functioning over a long time frame,” says Dr. Mohanty.

With this solar plant, SAICE evolved from being an electricity consumer to an electricity producer. This research initiative was supported and recognized by the Government of Pondicherry, as well as the Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCI), as part of the pioneering Smart Grid Pilot project being implemented for the first time in India. Smart Grid facilitates a two-way electricity delivery system, that is, integration of renewable energy sources followed by smart transmission and distribution from the renewable source to the nearby consumers.

Thus, after the solar plant was set up, 700 kWh of excess energy was exported back into the power grid during the first month.

A wide-angle photo of the solar panels installed on SAICE rooftop –

Phase Two: Giving More than they Take

This phase started after the announcement of the Solar Energy Regulations by the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) for Goa and Union Territories in December 2014. One of the features of this regulation is group net metering. What is that?

“If someone owns more than one property connected to the power grid, it is possible for him/her to install bigger capacity solar plants in one or more buildings and use the excess electricity that is generated to adjust the electricity consumed in other buildings on rooftops where there is no solar installation. For example, the excess 700 kWh that was produced by the rooftop solar system in the school last September could be used by the Ashram to reduce or avoid the payment of electricity in another Ashram building,” explains Dr. Mohanty.

As the Ashram is the owner of many buildings, for its various departments, the school was able to utilise this feature.

Thus, in the second phase, which took shape in March 2015, the rooftop solar power plant was expanded to achieve a cumulative solar power generation capacity of 50 kWp. The plant has now been extended to four buildings inside the ashram complex and it generates an average of 6,500 kWh electricity per month, which is more than three times the present electricity consumption of the school.

The excess then is used for the electricity needs of other buildings of the ashram.

Results of the data from the bi-directional smart electric meter showing how SAICE had become a net electricity exporter after the installation of the 17 kWp solar power plant.

“The main operation of the school is during the daytime and there are limited activities beyond sunshine hours. The electricity produced by the solar plant not only takes care of all the needs of SAICE during the day but also exports 161 kWh of electricity to the power grid. On the other hand, only about 32 kWh of electricity is drawn from the power grid after sunset…This demonstrates how school buildings that are mainly operational during daytime can adopt rooftop solar systems to not only meet their own electricity needs but also assist in bridging the shortfall in the grid supply,” says Dr. Mohanty.

The organization that helped with the development of the power plants also developed a remote monitoring system called Wattmon, which tracks the performance of the four solar power plants, online. It also monitors the voltage, current, power output, solar inverter efficiency, and total electricity produced at any time of the day.

The Ashram already produces its own rice, lentils, vegetable, milk and cooking oil that are needed in the community dining room on a daily basis. This is an added step towards sustainability.

Noticing the benefits of this system, people at the Ashram and in the nearby places are trying to take suitable steps to gradually reduce their dependence on fossil-fuel fired power plants. More and more students are also keen to learn about how solar energy can be harnessed to serve humanity and they now dream of having a more sunny future.

The entire project cost about Rs. 1 crore and was completely funded by the Ashram itself.

A bird’s-eye-view photo of the solar panels installed on SAICE rooftop with the Indian Ocean in the backdrop

But this, according to Dr. Mohanty, is a profitable deal. Because the cost-benefit analysis of the solar power project shows that the capital investment on the project can be recovered roughly in 10 years from the savings in electricity bills.

“The main message of this research initiative is that those who have access to energy and can well afford it…can also contribute to making the scarce energy resources available for all those who do not have access,” he concludes.

You can contact Dr. Mohanty by writing to him at mohantyb@gmail.com.

Source….Tanaya Singh……www.thebetterindia.com

Natarajan

China opens glass-bottomed bridge named ‘Brave Men’s Bridge’….

September 29, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Visitors walk across the terrifying glass-bottomed bridge in China. Picture: Chinatopix Via AP/ CHINA OUT

THIS is not for the faint of heart.

China has opened a glass bottomed bridge hovering 180m metres above the valley floor in Pingjiang county in Hunan province.

Stretching 300 metres long, the glass suspension bridge is named Haohan Qiao, translating in English to ‘Brave Men’s Bridge’ and it’s not hard to see why.

The bridge was originally wooden until its conversion using glass panes 24mm thick and 25 times stronger than normal glass.

Don’t look down. Picture: Chinatopix Via AP/CHINA OUTSource:AP

It’s a long way to the end. Picture: Chinatopix Via AP/ CHINA OUTSource:AP

China also has plans for another glass-bottomed suspension bridge in the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon area, about 300 kilometres northwest of Shiniuzhai.

When completed, it will be the world’s highest and longest glass bridge at 430 meters long and 300 meters high.

Visitors wear protective shoe coverings as they walk across the bridge. Picture: Chinatopix Via AP/ CHINA OUTSource:AP

Source….www.news.com.au

Natarajan

This Artist Decided To Bring A Van Gogh Painting To Life In A Very Literal Way…

September 27, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Flying into Minneapolis, you might be surprised to find yourself face-to-face with a Van Gogh painting — one that stretches out over more than a square acre of land. The unique thing about this version of the painting is that it is etched directly into the ground.

Vimeo / Minneapolis Institute of Art

This is the latest project by landscape artist Stan Herd, who uses fields as canvases to create large-scale interpretations of art. He recreates famous pieces (like the Van Gogh painting seen here) and even works on some originals. They’re unique because they can only be seen in full from the air.

This piece is composed of different plants, tracks, and soil patterns. Herd used grass of different lengths to create various tones and values.

This is the painting that Herd recreated with living plants.

Wikimedia Commons

It’s Vincent Van Gogh’s 1889 piece called Olive Trees.

First, the painting was measured and the land was parceled out.

Vimeo / Minneapolis Institute of Art

The grid you see on the print helped Herd and his team create a scale model.

After that, the real work began.

Vimeo / Minneapolis Institute of Art

This piece of landscaping art is located near an airport in Minneapolis, and it’s visible to passengers as they enter the city. Herd has been working on these landscaping projects, which he calls “earthworks,” since 1981.

The project was commissioned by the Minneapolis Institute of Art (which is home to the original painting) in an effort to get people excited about visiting the city.

Each element of the painting had to be carefully planned out to ensure that the proportions were right.

Vimeo / Minneapolis Institute of Art

Creating an earthwork like this is no simple feat, and it requires a lot of physical labor.

Vimeo / Minneapolis Institute of Art

And this isn’t even the largest earthwork that Herd has created.

Vimeo / Minneapolis Institute of Art

In the early 1980s, he made one that covered 160 acres of land in Kansas.

With patience and hard work, the image started coming together.

Vimeo / Minneapolis Institute of Art

(via Colossal)

The Van Gogh earthwork will be on display near the airport throughout the autumn season. Herd plans to mow down the creation when winter arrives, but even his method of destruction is symbolic. He will remove the earthwork in a concentric circle pattern that mimics Van Gogh’s painting method.

You can see more of Herd’s earthworks on his website, and learn more about the original Van Gogh painting from the Minneapolis Institute of Art. If you happen to fly into Minneapolis this fall, snap a picture of the field and share it with the tags #BDayMia and #vangrow.\

Source….www.viralnova.com

Natarajan

This 104 Year-Old Grandma, Adorned her Town with Crochet…….

September 26, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Grace Brett, a 104-year-old great grandmother might just be the oldest street artist in the world. The grandmother of six is a member of a knitting club known as the ‘Souter Stormers’ – a group that has recently taken over the towns of Selkirk, Ettrickbridge and Yarrow in Scotland, with their impressive knitting skills. Members of Stormers have spent a year secretly planning a project to conduct this street art installation. And this month, the mischievous knitters took to the streets, sewing up fences, benches and lamp poles all across the town in elaborate knitted art. The images below showcase her impressive knitting skills.

Oldest Street Artist