This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. Explore further Up to now, this kind of process has been accomplished by passing seawater though a membrane which unfortunately is too costly to merit creating large-scale operations. The new process works like this:Step 1 – Two types of nanorod electrodes are placed in river water; one silver anionic electrode contains Cl- ions and one manganese dioxide cationic electrode contains Na+ ions. The battery charges as the river water’s low salinity concentration of salt pulls the chorine and the sodium from the respective electrodes.Step 2 – The river water is slowly replaced with seawater, causing a potential difference between the two concentrations of ions in the combined water. This is due to the Cl- ions, or anions, traveling to the silver electrode and the Na+ sodium ions, or cations, traveling to the manganese dioxide electrode.Step 3 – Ions in the electrodes discharge into the seawater when the electrodes receive more ions than they can accommodate.Step 4 – The salt water is slowly replaced with river water. This lessens the potential difference of the two electrodes which charges the battery. More energy was released in Step3 into the saltwater than is needed to charge the battery, thus the battery collects and stores the energy that has been building up as the ions have been moving in and out of the crystal lattice of the electrodes. With the entropy battery, costs are much lower than other ways of accomplishing the same thing due to the absence of replaceable membranes.Cui believes that the entropy battery might eventually contribute up to 13% of total energy needs. He also believes that by moving the two electrodes closer, he might be able to improve his efficiency rate from 74% percent to 85%.Because the entropy battery operates in both warm and cold conditions it is a completely renewable resource; one that might lead to mass energy production in both developed countries and those in the third world. © 2010 PhysOrg.com Image credit: ACS More information: Batteries for Efficient Energy Extraction from a Water Salinity Difference, by Fabio La Mantia et al., Nano Lett., Article ASAP, Publication Date (Web): March 17, 2011. pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/nl200500s Citation: New entropy battery pulls energy from difference in salinity between fresh water and seawater (2011, March 25) retrieved 18 August 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2011-03-entropy-battery-energy-difference-salinity.html Liquid Battery Offers Promising Solar Energy Storage Technique (PhysOrg.com) — A team of researchers, led by Dr. Yi Cui, of Stanford and Dr. Bruce Logan from Penn State University have succeeded in developing an entropy battery that pulls energy from the imbalance of salinity in fresh water and seawater. Their paper, published in Nano Letters, describes a deceptively simple process whereby an entropy battery is used to capture the energy that is naturally released when river water flows into the sea.
(PhysOrg.com) — The quest to develop a so-called room-temperature superconductor – one that exhibits lossless electronic transmission – has long fueled both popular and scientific imagination. At the same time, however, ongoing efforts to raise the still-frigid temperatures at which certain materials display superconductivity are making incremental progress. That research – historically based on lattice and/or spin-based interpretations of electron pairing – has now taken a potentially significant step forward thanks to a theoretical view of how electron orbital pairing in a class of materials known as ferropnictides may provide a new road to high transition temperature superconductivity. New mechanism for superconductivity discovered in iron-based superconductors More information: The three types of glue for superconducting electrons: lattice vibrations (top), electron spin (middle), and electron orbital (bottom). The yellow spheres represent Cooper pairs of electrons. Courtesy: Takahiro Shimojima. * Orbital-Independent Superconducting Gaps in Iron Pnictides, Published Online 7 April 2011, Published in Science 29 April 2011: Vol. 332 no. 6029 pp. 564-567, DOI: 10.1126/science.1202150* University of Tokyo Institute for Solid State Physics* Japan Science and Technology Agency Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology Citation: Iron-pnictide electron orbital pairing promises higher-temperature superconductors (2011, May 17) retrieved 18 August 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2011-05-iron-pnictide-electron-orbital-pairing-higher-temperature.html Explore further The paper, Orbital-Independent Superconducting Gaps in Iron Pnictides, was published in the April 29, 2011 issue of Science. Lead researcher Takahiro Shimojima (affiliated with the University of Tokyo’s Institute for Solid State Physics, and the Japan Science and Technology Agency’s Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology) notes that while high transition temperature superconductivity of up to 55K (-218C) in ferropnictides was first observed in 2008, this behavior is not predicted from standard electron pairing based on lattice vibrations. Therefore, says Shimojima, an alternate explanation was needed.(Ferropnictides – also known as Fe-pnictides and iron pnictides – are compounds classified as members of the so-called nitrogen group, a periodic table group that includes nitrogen, phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, bismuth, and ununpentium – elements with five electrons in their outermost shell. Pnictides are binary compounds of this group. The new class of superconductors Shimojima and his team investigated has conducting layers of iron and arsenic.)Shimojima and his team focused on what is know as the superconducting gap magnitude – the strength of Cooper pair electron pairing – in various electron orbitals. Using laser-ARPES (laser angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy), the team determined that electron orbitals, not spin, account for ferropnictide superconductivity. They therefore concluded that electron orbitals – specifically, orbital fluctuations, interorbital pairing induced by magnetism, or a combination of the two – are a third way in which electrons form Cooper pairs.What prompted the team to consider orbital pairing as a novel binding mechanism in HT superconductivity? “An important insight was Fermi surface orbital polarization in the anti-ferromagnetic metal phase of parent compound BaFe2As2 observed by laser-ARPES,” notes Shimojima. “It was surprising for us that its ground state is realized through orbital-dependent electronic reconstruction. We also found that this result indirectly supported the orbital ordering proposed by theoretical research. We then became curious about the effect of the orbital degrees of freedom on the material’s superconductivity.”Laser-ARPES was the key tool in the team’s discovery. “One very important technique we developed was the variable laser polarization for examining orbital characteristics,” says Shimojima. “We also achieved high-energy resolution and bulk sensitivity in order to capture high quality data about the superconducting gaps. As a result, we were able to separate the two peak structure in the (Ba,K)Fe2As2 spectrum, which previously makes difficult to interpret ARPES data.”Going forward, Shimojima points out, if other materials having several entangled orbitals near Fermi level are discovered, it may have the potential to show even higher transition temperature superconductivity due to orbital pairing. “For example,” he adds, “if the transition temperature approaches room temperature, superconducting wires for lossless electronic transportation and storage will quickly be deployed worldwide.”And so the dream lives on. Copyright 2011 PhysOrg.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of PhysOrg.com. This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
Copyright 2011 PhysOrg.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of PhysOrg.com. (PhysOrg.com) — Today, fiber optics technology transports information in the form of classical data to homes and businesses. But researchers are currently working on ways to combine quantum data with the classical data in fiber optics networks in order to increase security. In a new study, scientists have shown how quantum and classical data can be interlaced in a real-world fiber optics network, taking a step toward distributing quantum information to the home, and with it a quantum internet. Explore further A tree network is often used to distribute classical data to homes via fiber optics. Researchers are working on co-propagating quantum information with the classical data to improve security. Image copyright: Iris Choi, et al. ©2011 IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft The physicists, Iris Choi, Robert J. Young, and Paul D. Townsend, from the Tyndall National Institute at the University College Cork in Cork, Ireland, have published their study on combining quantum and classical signals in a recent issue of the New Journal of Physics. While the feasibility of transferring qubits on modern fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) networks has previously been demonstrated, this is the first time that researchers have investigated how the operation would work in a real-world network.“I believe that our work constitutes the first really hard-nosed, pragmatic attempt to address the question of whether quantum key distribution (QKD) can work on a real fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network,” Townsend told PhysOrg.com. “The new scheme that we have developed and tested demonstrates that the answer is ‘yes it can.’ I say pragmatic and hard-nosed because we have taken a widely deployed classical FTTH system and have adapted QKD to interwork with it, leaving the design of the classical part of the system essentially unchanged. The alternative approach, sometimes taken in QKD research, is to leave out the classical system completely or to adapt it to work with the QKD. In our view this is not very practical for cost reasons.”The biggest challenge in transferring qubits in real-world networks is overcoming the crosstalk between the classical and quantum channels. Crosstalk is induced by spontaneous Raman scattering of photons in the optical fiber. Since the classical channels involve strong laser pulses while the quantum information is carried by single photons, the crosstalk primarily affects the quantum channel, making the error rate so high that the quantum channel is unable to operate.Previous research has shown that the Raman noise level can be reduced by optical filtering, although this technique is too expensive for practical use. So Choi, Young, and Townsend have developed and demonstrated a novel noise suppression scheme that involves creating gaps in the scattering, and sending quantum data in these gaps. More information: Iris Choi, et al. “Quantum information to the home.” New Journal of Physics 13 (2011) 063039 DOI:10.1088/1367-2630/13/6/063039 First, the researchers chose a configuration that used two different wavelengths for transmitting the quantum and classical channels. In this configuration, only the Raman-scattered light in the “upstream” channel (going away from a user’s house) can generate crosstalk for that user. Then, the researchers identified quiet periods between the bursts of noise generated by Raman scattering in the upstream channel. Using a time and wavelength-multiplexing scheme, the researchers demonstrated that quantum data generated by a quantum key distribution (QKD) scheme can be transmitted during these quiet periods with high fidelity.While building a purely quantum network could avoid the problem of crosstalk altogether, the researchers explain that combining quantum channels with classical channels is by far the more practical option.“I see this as an absolute requirement – a ‘must have,’ Townsend said. “That’s because optical fiber network infrastructure is enormously expensive to deploy, so it must last for a long time – perhaps 25 years or more – and be able to support a wide range of current and future, yet to be defined, systems and services. So it is extremely unlikely that an operator would ever deploy a network, or even dedicate fibers within an existing network, purely for quantum communications – it’s just too expensive to do so. Consequently, we have to develop techniques that enable classical and quantum channels to work together on the same network if we want quantum communication systems to become a practical reality.”By demonstrating that both quantum and classical information can be transmitted on a single optical fiber network in a way that satisfies real-world requirements, the researchers hope to bring quantum information technology one step closer to commercial applications.“As we have demonstrated, in principle the technology to do this is available now,” Townsend. “However, in reality further research is likely to be required to reduce the cost and improve the performance of certain key parts of the system such as the single photon detectors, before widespread applications emerge. In general, the ‘value proposition’ for QKD on FTTH and other networks is under intensive discussion today, but at the moment no clear consensus has emerged concerning if and when it might be adopted to replace classical encryption techniques. However, as demonstrated by this research, the QKD field is not standing still and systems are continuing to evolve to become more practical, improving the potential for adoption of the technology in the future.” Entanglement can help in classical communication Citation: Physicists take steps toward delivering quantum information to the home (2011, July 18) retrieved 18 August 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2011-07-physicists-quantum-home.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
More information: qwcap.com/ In their press release, representatives for the firm, also known more commonly as Qwave, said that they believe their fund is the first of its kind to offer funds for commercializing quantum technology – in this case focusing on three specific areas: New materials, security and new kinds of measurement devices such as super accurate clocks. They won’t be offering funds for those working on early research however, they are primarily interested in academic or commercial groups who have already demonstrated some success in creating an actual product.The Russian influence is strong with the group, its initial members are venture partner Serguei Beloussov, scientific advisory board member Vladimir Shalaev and managing partner Serguei Kouzmine. The team notes that funding for highly sophisticated and capital heavy investment in the tech sector has been rather thin since the 1970’s, with most venture capital funds of late going to software and Internet related technologies. They add that they’ve also noted that many promising quantum research efforts go un-commercialized because the teams working on them don’t have the expertise to take products from the small scale to the large scale, a problem they intend to address directly.To improve their chances of choosing ventures to fund that will pay off eventually, the Qwave partners say that have put together a team of top-notch physicists, computer scientists and other science and management experts who have proven track records in taking new technologies to market. They suggest also that quantum technology is on the verge of providing the types of huge breakthroughs that previously have brought us game-changing technologies such as semiconductors and lasers. Such new technologies they add are likely to include faster and safer data transmission, optical transistors and more accurate measurement systems. Citation: Venture capital firm – Quantum Wave Fund – looking to invest $100 million in quantum physics (2012, December 14) retrieved 18 August 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2012-12-venture-capital-firm-quantum-fund.html Explore further (Phys.org)—Venture capital firm Quantum Wave Fund has announced that they have raised $30 million of their goal of $100 million to invest in quantum research efforts. The group is based out of Boston though its members have mostly Russian backgrounds. They also have offices in Moscow and New York. The stated purpose of the firm is to seek out research teams who have made progress in developing quantum technologies and then to offer them funding to help bring the technology into the commercial sector. © 2012 Phys.org This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. TechCrunch founder starts venture capital fund
Explore further Citation: Cycle Computing uses Amazon computing services to do work of supercomputer (2013, November 13) retrieved 18 August 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2013-11-amazon-supercomputer.html © 2013 Phys.org IBM to invest $1b in Linux, open-source (Phys.org) —Computer services company Cycle Computing has announced that it has used Amazon’s servers to run software for a client that simulated the properties of 205,000 molecules over an 18 hour period using 156,000 Amazon cores to get the job done. The cost to the client, the University of Southern California, was $33,000. Supercomputers are big, fast and extremely expensive. For that reason, researchers have begun to look for other ways to process huge amounts of data for less money. Rushing in to fill that void are companies that match clients with distributed computing services such as those offered by Google, Microsoft or Amazon. Cycle Computing is one such company. In this latest endeavor, Mark Thompson, of USC wanted to find a faster way to crunch the mammoth amount of data needed to analyze molecules that might be useful for creating photovoltaic cells—in the past, it was done by grad students, one molecule at a time. More recently, software has been developed that can do the crunching—in this case, it was Schrödinger’s Materials Science software suite. Unfortunately, crunching the data for a lot of molecules takes more computer resources than USC had to offer. That’s where Cycle Computing came in—they were able to connect Thompson and his software with Amazon servers running all over the world—all at the same time. The result was an analysis of the suitability of 205,000 molecules in just 18 hours—a task that would have taken 264 years if run on a conventional computer.The idea of using distributed server systems offered by big name companies hyping cloud services has become very enticing for big businesses looking to crunch massive amounts of data without having to fork over the huge amounts of cash normally associated with buying a supercomputer or renting time on one owned by someone else. And as with many business models, there has arisen a need for companies with expertise in connecting applications with such services—no small feat. To get the job done for USC, Cycle Computing had to secure the resources from Amazon, provide a pipeline between the client data and the Amazon servers and reallocate resources if there were outages—all while making sure the budget wasn’t overrun. Cycle Computer managed the job using custom software it calls Jupiter. Company reps noted also that jobs such as the one they performed for USC are particularly suited for the type of server processing offered by cloud servers, noting that it was “pleasantly parallel”—the different parts of the project could be very easily broken into separate jobs and handled separately. This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
© 2015 Tech Xplore More information: Lin AY-M, Huynh A, Lanckriet G, Barrington L (2014) Crowdsourcing the Unknown: The Satellite Search for Genghis Khan. PLoS ONE 9(12): e114046. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0114046AbstractMassively parallel collaboration and emergent knowledge generation is described through a large scale survey for archaeological anomalies within ultra-high resolution earth-sensing satellite imagery. Over 10K online volunteers contributed 30K hours (3.4 years), examined 6,000 km2, and generated 2.3 million feature categorizations. Motivated by the search for Genghis Khan’s tomb, participants were tasked with finding an archaeological enigma that lacks any historical description of its potential visual appearance. Without a pre-existing reference for validation we turn towards consensus, defined by kernel density estimation, to pool human perception for “out of the ordinary” features across a vast landscape. This consensus served as the training mechanism within a self-evolving feedback loop between a participant and the crowd, essential driving a collective reasoning engine for anomaly detection. The resulting map led a National Geographic expedition to confirm 55 archaeological sites across a vast landscape. A increased ground-truthed accuracy was observed in those participants exposed to the peer feedback loop over those whom worked in isolation, suggesting collective reasoning can emerge within networked groups to outperform the aggregate independent ability of individuals to define the unknown. Researchers from the University of California San Diego have written “Crowdsourcing the Unknown: The Satellite Search for Genghis Khan,” published last month on PLOS ONE, the peer-reviewed, open-access, online publication. Briefly, they charged an online crowd of volunteer participants with the challenge of finding the tomb of Genghis Khan. Their field expedition to look for this tomb was designed to engage tens of thousands of public volunteers and generate contributions towards an archaeological satellite imagery survey. The crowdsourcing figures attributed to the study are impressive: Over 10,000 online volunteers contributed a combined total of 30,000 hours (3.4 years) of human visual analytics, calculated from user interaction time logs, and generated 2.3 million feature categorizations. Tagging Interface: (a) Example of tags being made. Tags are color coded with roads (red), rivers (blue), ancient (yellow), modern (grey), and other (green) structures; (b) Example of peer feedback after a participant completes their annotation task. Results of all previous observers of that image tile are shown. Satellite imagery provided courtesy of the GeoEye Foundation. Credit: doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0114046.g001 Explore further This was a virtual exploration system that launched on June 10, 2010. Participants generated inputs (tags), creating a geospatial map that highlighted regions of crowd consensus among inherently noisy data. Motivation? One can answer the obvious, to find the tomb of Genghis Khan. Location of the tomb was, after all, an archaeological enigma lacking historical descriptions of its visual appearance.The authors said that not a single burial of the Mongolian imperial family has been identified. What is more, there are largely undocumented cultural heritage sites across a sparsely populated and undeveloped landscape. So while looking for the tomb was a motivation, the effort was also to leverage the power of human perception in a search for the unexpected. This was a challenge. The authors said that without a pre-existing reference for validation they turned towards consensus, defined by kernel density estimation, to pool human perception for “out of the ordinary” features across a vast landscape, developing a collective reasoning engine for anomaly detection.Leave alone looking for a needle in a haystack, in the scenario here, the appearance of the needle was undefined. Speaking about the enigma, an article in Smithsonian.com said, “The tomb of Genghis Khan—Mongolian ruler, warrior, and ancestor to an estimated one out of every 200 humans alive today—has been a mystery for almost as long as the man has been buried. Legend has it that when he died in 1227, soldiers killed the tomb builders as well as every person the funeral procession passed. Then, it is said, the soldiers themselves were killed so that no one who knew the tomb’s location would live to share it.” Dr. Albert Yu-Min Lin, co-author of the paper, said in National Geographic, “Using traditional archeological methods would be disrespectful to believers.” The goal would be to identify archaeological sites without disturbing them–in the area of Mongolia’s most sacred heritage–Genghis Khan’s homeland, where the tomb would be an extremely sacred place and not to be desecrated. In turn, he and his team chose a noninvasive way without overstepping cultural barriers. “It also allows us to empower Mongolian researchers with tools they might not have access to otherwise,” he said.Finding the tomb, however, was not the only goal. The study is important as a test of the strengths of crowdsourcing under difficult conditions. The authors said that “Turning to the crowd as the ‘partner of choice’ for scalable problem solving is becoming increasingly attractive across broad domains both in science and industry.” Their approach involved loosely guided, online volunteer participation, they said, to generate human identifications of unknown anomalies within massive volumes of geospatial remote sensing data. They utilized sub-meter resolution satellite imagery of the Mongolian steppe. They described satellite imagery (0.5 meters/pixel), tiled into 84,183 small, semi-overlapping image tiles (1236×630 pixels) and presented to the public via a National Geographic website.The research resulted in a map that confirmed 55 sites with archaeological significance. They said the 55 potential archaeological anomalies verified by the field team ranged from bronze age to Mongol period in originAs important, the authors had this to say about the power of crowdsourcing: the power “lies not only in harnessing parallel networks for scalable analytics, but in forming the collaborative frameworks necessary to cultivate collective reasoning.” Journal information: PLoS ONE Greek archaeologists enter large underground tomb Citation: Crowdsourcing used in Genghis Khan tomb search (2015, January 9) retrieved 18 August 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2015-01-crowdsourcing-genghis-khan-tomb.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
Citation: Chemists show that sodium can be safely used for cross-coupling reactions (2019, March 22) retrieved 18 August 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2019-03-chemists-sodium-safely-cross-coupling-reactions.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. Preparation of organometallic compounds and the subsequent cross-coupling reactions. a, Transition-metal-catalysed cross-coupling reactions. b, Common methods for preparation of organozinc and organoboron compounds from organolithium and organomagnesium compounds. c, This report: preparation of organozinc and organoboron compounds from organosodium compounds and the subsequent cross-coupling reactions. Ar, aryl. Credit: Nature Catalysis (2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41929-019-0250-6 Explore further Boosting solid state chemical reactions © 2019 Science X Network More information: Sobi Asako et al. Organosodium compounds for catalytic cross-coupling, Nature Catalysis (2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41929-019-0250-6 A trio of chemists at Okayama University has published a paper in the journal Nature Catalysis outlining the manner in which sodium can be safely used for cross-coupling reactions. In their paper, Sobi Asako, Hirotaka Nakajima and Kazuhiko Takai describe relatively safe ways to produce organosodium molecules. Journal information: Nature Catalysis In chemistry, cross-coupling reactions join two organic compounds using a metal as a catalyst. One metal commonly used for such reactions is lithium, which is notably rare. Chemists know sodium is a possible catalyst, and is a far more common element—the researchers point out that it is the most abundant alkali metal in both the Earth’s crust and in the ocean. But chemists also know that using sodium in such reactions is dangerous—the slightest mistake can result in a fire. A student at UCLA died from severe burns, for example, in 2008, when a syringe malfunction caused a fire. In their paper, Asako, Nakajima and Takai argue that there are safer ways to use sodium and outline a method.The researchers note that they began rethinking the idea of using sodium in cross-coupling reactions at the urging of a company that makes dispersions using sodium particles. They wanted to know it if might be possible to use sodium-in-paraffin oil as part of their work. The researchers thought it might be possible because some chemists have been converting aryl chlorides into arylsodiums through the use of sodium dispersions for many years. The researchers used a similar approach, creating arylsodiums under inert atmospheres and then using them right away to instigate other transformations. They report that doing so showed that arylsodiums could be created easily and relatively safely using aryl chlorides, which could then be used for cross-coupling reactions. They demonstrated the possibility by performing transmetallations to zinc and then using the result to carry out Negishi and Suzuki–Miyaura cross-couplings. The researchers acknowledge that the scope of applications is currently limited, but suggest there might be ways to overcome roadblocks. But they also suggest that other researchers might want to replicate their work as part of efforts to reduce the use of lithium in commercial applications.
A passionate fashion entrepreneur from Delhi, Poonam Bajaj takes great pride in her varied style and unique functional design. Mixing vintage style with the current cultural obsessions, she effortlessly makes trendy and exuberant original clothes. An arts graduate from Jesus and Mary college Poonam launched The Citrine in 2006. Her vision encompasses all the borders of India and her designs are simple yet classy incorporated with latest trends. Poonam’s collection takes you on a creative journey that is incomparable in the world of design. The Citrine is synonymous with ‘impeccable craftsmanship, exclusivity and unmatched designs’. Uncompromising quality with creative handling of embellishments and contemporary designs describes the designer’s creativity – that is the mantra for Poonam and Citrine. Try her out for a touch of pret.
The renowned Irish social psychiatrist Diarmuid O’Murchu, a member of the Sacred Heart Missionary Order who has travelled the world over as a workshop leader, says: ‘The dance of Shiva symbolizes the dancing universe itself, expressed in the ceaseless flow of energy going through an infinite variety of patterns that melt into one another.’The Neemrana Music Foundation and Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra presents this dance, often referred to as ‘The Cosmic Dance of Shiva’, being presented by the renowned dancers Madhu Gopinath and Vakkom Sajeev’s Samudra Arts. Also Read – ‘Playing Jojo was emotionally exhausting’The presentation is structured as a repertory recital, with a series of vignettes describing various aspects of Shiva woven together. Beginning with a chant, the Swayambhu, the self-created Shiva linga is described. From this emerges a sattvika (serene) form of Shiva. Sensuality in his form then emerges as his romantic mood and lasya are explored. The lasya here is not soft, but masculine and firm in its grace. A different interpretation of His Ardhanreeswara form showing the union of the male and female follows and becomes the focus. Shakti here is contained within Shiva. A celebration of his different moods then follows in a Tandava piece, where various bhavas, anger, joy and sensuality are explored. The composition concludes with a vigorous dance, where Shiva’s form as the destroyer and as the ultimate crucible of cosmic energy is represented. Also Read – Leslie doing new comedy special with NetflixSiva is the Divine Dancer, visualized in terms of motion and vibration, who in 108 varied movements interprets the mathematical Law of the Universe. Nataraja personifies the kinetic aspect of Siva’s divinity – the elemental force through the power of which the whole universe is created, sustained, and ultimately destroyed. This cosmic dance of Siva is called Anandatandava, the Dance of Bliss. It symbolizes both the cosmic cycles of creation and destruction, and the daily rhythm of birth and death. Siva depicted as Ardhanarishvara (half man and half woman) represents the union and differentiation of Yin and Yang (the eternal feminine and masculine principles), complementing, supplementing, initiating, completing and fulfilling the divine play of the Transcendent Reality with the manifest reality, in the phenomenal world of myriad changes of names and forms. Siva as Nataraja, the Lord of the Dance, is therefore a quintessential symbol for the meaning of life itself – and the dance, its rhythms, and melodies, for the universe itself. In Siva’s dance, the body becomes the spirit.WHEN: 26 February, 7 pmWHERE: Kamani Auditorium
Tell us about yourselves. How did you guys come together/start off? The 3 Founder Members (Ayush, Salman & Zaman) were associated with the Music Society of Ramjas College, DU. So the foundation of Astitva was laid there only, during years of playing together & performing for college.What was the first big break for you guys? Life till now has been a joy ride. We have loved every bit of it and still are cherishing the turns. Well, MTV Rock On Season 2 Also Read – ‘Playing Jojo was emotionally exhausting’ was the first thing that made us visible pan India, right after that we started getting calls from colleges outside Delhi/NCR.In our country, how easy (or difficult) is it to make a mark in the music scene?Considering the numbers of bands that get formed every day, we’ll say it’s getting pretty difficult, but on the other side opportunities are opening up everywhere, say the number of music festival’s happening across India and even in Bollywood. They are experimenting with fresh musicians, resulting in ample opportunities. We have got the recognition via TV shows, music festivals and even government initiatives. Overall,Nothing comes or happens over night, you’ll have to stay honest to your art and treat it like work as well. Also Read – Leslie doing new comedy special with NetflixWhat do you think about the main issues are for the people who want to start their own band in India? Don’t start a band or become a musician just because you want to or because you recently attended a concert and now you want the same treatment. It’s a lifelong commitment just like any other profession the only difference is, here you turn your passion into profession. We feel the desire to turn big over night and lack of consistency is what killing it. Look around you’ll find musician’s shuffling around bands, as soon as they start getting little recognition ego’s come in, result disbanded or two new bands. You can find it happening in famous bands too. Starting a band is almost like starting a company, except the monetary goals. Every member should have his/her individuality and expertise and obviously the same aim and priority. You’ll never prevail if few members are just treating it as a hobby. What/Who inspires you? As per our genre (multi genre hindi), our influences are spread over a wide range from Hindustani Classical, Fusion, Sufi to Rock, Pop, Jazz, Blues. Each and every member has his taste and favorites. Tell us about your best tracks We have just released our debut album Patang Dor under the label of SaReGaMa India. It took us 6 years to finally decide on to launch it, when we felt it was the time and we were ready to live upto the name & taste of music. The album promises a wide range of genres from Alternative Rock and Folk Jazz to Blues, Fusion and Hip-Rock. With tracks such as Tu Hi Bata, Bawri, Raat Ki Daastaan, Patang Dor, Na Jao and Paas Ao, the band lives up to it’s tag of a multi-genre band. But the twist in the story is rendered in the form of the Smoker’s Mix version of Tu Hi Bata, and Electronic track produced by Karan Mehta. How has Delhi been for you guys?This is where I Belong.. Delhi is my home thats the title of official delhi anthem that we composed in 2012 for and that’s the feeling we have deep down for Delhi. Delhi has been just like our home, the love, support, opportunities, recognition… everything we could have dreamed of!! Be it playing at festivals, composing official anthems to being the only band to perform at Qutub Festival with biggies like Mohit Chauhan, Shreya Ghoshal, Shaan, Aarif Lohar and Hariharan. It’s a long journey ahead, no matter where ever we go… whatever we achieve… deep down we’ll always be a ‘Dilliwala’!