Counting Raindrops Using Mobile Phone Towers

Rainfall – Cellular Telecommunication Networks

Observing rainfall utilising cellular telecommunication networks could offer immense opportunity in reducing loss of life as well as economic loss by improving flood early caution system. This is essentially important in the case of densely populated areas wherein the rainfall information seems to be vital in order to control water management. It is not clear about the precise number of people who died in a series of mudslide on August 14th that had taken place in and the surrounding area of Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone.

The upper estimate was said to be over a thousand. It is said that the region that had been swept away had not be evacuated mainly since no one was aware how much rain had really fallen earlier, according to rainfall expert Modeste Kacou, at Felix Houphouet-Boigny University in Abidjan in the vicinity of Ivory Coast. Rain devices seem to be scarce in Sierra Leone and satellites tend to identify rainfall in the tropics though estimates for small regions tend to be often inaccurate.

To make matter worse, these numbers tend to be calculated much later after it takes place. Several countries therefore are inclined to utilise cloud-scanning ground radar for measuring precipitation when it takes place though Sierra Leone does not have such radar.

Ivory Coast – Lack Rainfall Radar/Maintenance Cost

Ivory Coast tends to have a double of the GDP per person of Sierra Leone. However like most of West Africa, it tends to lack rainfall radar and maintenance cost would mean that the number of weather stations all over the world has been dropping thus making it difficult to forecast flash floods together with landslides also in some of the rich countries.

Hence it would be useful if some other alternative means of measuring rainfall probably an economical one which has a tendency of employing the prevailing widespread equipment could be formulated. There is such a system which is said to involve mobile-phone networks.The simple understanding is that rain tends to weaken electromagnetic signals.

Several mobile-phone towers particularly those in remote locations utilise microwaves in order to connect with the other towers on the network. A dip in the power of these microwaves tends to expose the presence of rain. The modus operandi does not seem to be as accurate as rooftop rain gauges. However as Dr Kacou points out that as transmission towers seem to be more numerous they seem to report their data automatically and cost meteorologist anything.
Well-Timed/Precise Surface Rainfall Measurement
Well-timed and precise surface rainfall measurements seem to be crucial for water resources management, weather prediction, agriculture, climate research together with ground authentication of satellite-based rainfall evaluations. But most of the land surface of the earth tends to lack this type of data. In several areas of the world, the density of surface rainfall evaluating networks has been quickly decreasing. This progress could probably be stabilized on utilising received signal level data from the huge number of microwave connection used all over the world in commercial cellular communication networks. Together with these types of links, radio signals proliferates from a transmitting antenna at a base station to a receiving antenna at another base station. Rain persuaded reduction and consequently path-averaged rainfall intensity could be retrieved from the attenuation signal between transmitter and receiver. Here it is seen how one network could be utilised in retrieving the space-time dynamics of rainfall for the whole country.

Gravitational Waves Arrive in Europe

Race of Detecting Gravitation Wave

One of the most amazing discoveries of 2015 done by the US gravitational waves observatory LIGO of a distant chirp from death-spiral comprising of two black holes had been an incredible logical, scientific and engineering achievement. Thereafter, other black hole mergers – GW151226 and GW170104 had been recognised. Now mapping out the universe of Einstein together with discovering the most extreme gravitational physics possible – the coalescence of black holes, is a new breed of `gravitational wave astronomers’. The fourth burst of gravitational waves had been announced recently and for the first time, Virgo detector of Europe had taken the initiative.

 The race of detecting gravitational waves could have `won’ them the LIGO observatory of US way back in 2015. However, in an amazing display of scientific cooperation with two of the global scientific superpowers namely, Europe and US, Virgo gravitational waves observatory of Europe tends to operate in close cooperation with the LIGO Scientific collaboration in order to monitor the sky for gravitational wave `generates’. It is said that the scientists and engineers of Australia are part of the LIGO Collaboration through the Australian Research Council together with its new Centre of Excellence OzGray.

Characteristic `Chirp’

At precisely 10:30:43 on August 14, 2016, two of the LIGO detectors one based in the US while the other Virgo detector based in Europe had felt the characteristic `chirp’ of passing gravitational waves. The black holes at this point of time had been around 30 and 25 times the mass of the Sun and nearly 2 billion light years away at the time of mergers. In several areas of scientific attempt, competition has become severe together with hundreds of telescopes distributed all over the world,often a rivalryarises to beat the competition to astronomical encounter which is not always appealing to observe. Considering this, gravitational waves astronomy is quite unique since it does not make much sense in competing.

Besides, gravitational waves, contrasting from light tend to travel through the Earth and therefore do not matter where the Earth is pointed during the time of events. Hence irrespective of where your gravitational wave detector is build, it could be part of a global network. Moreover there are some good dividends which could be earned.

Error Box 

In contrast to the first three gravitational waves identified, the delay this time between the arrival time of the waves at every three detectors could be utilised to `triangulate’the location on the sky’. At first the wave hit the LIGO Livingston detector, thereafter 8 milliseconds the Hanford detector saw the wave and after 14 milliseconds the wave reached Europe much to the happiness of the Europeans.

The existence of the third gravitational wave detector immensely reduced the `error box’ of the origin of the wave wherein the potential sky localisation reached from more than 1,000 to just 60 square degrees.The vagueness in the origin of the gravitational waves for the four events was detected.

Minus the European detector Virgo the error box tends to be quite huge that at times it is not clear which hemisphere it had originated from. The error box for GW170814 is adequately small to perform detailed searches at the other wavelengths.

Is This Proof That Ghosts Exist?

Strange Footage – Mysterious Disturbance at School

In a strange new footage, ghosthas been held responsible for a sequence of mysterious disturbance at a school. The enigmatic ghost video had been filmed at Deerpark School in Cork after motion-activated cameras had been installed at that area. On the night of October 1st at around 3 am, the security cameras at Deerpark had captured something quite peculiar. It portrayed something amazing yet terrifying in a deserted corridor wherein many are still grasping for an explanation. It portrayed a door which opened and closed on its own accord, with furniture rocking back and forth without any support and a locker that flew open, spilling out the paper presumably by a ghost.

At a particular point a `caution wet floor’ sign had been thrown away violently across the hall as though it had been intentionally kicked across the floor. Kevin Barry, Principal stated that they had been alerted to the movements taking place in the school and when they had visited the place to review the movement they witnessed it in the middle of the night. They felt that there was something unusual taking place there since people tend to get some real chill due to the feeling of ghost in the air from time to time when they tend to go to the past of that area.

Old Building – Plenty of History

He informed that it seemed interesting since one of his teachers would bring his pet in with him but the pet refrained to go down that way presumably due to the ghost.That seemed to be very strange. Mr Barry had informed that he was not aware if someone had been playing some sort of a `well-designed prank’ at the school that tends to date back to 1828. He further added that he was sceptical since he had put it up on their Facebook page, simply since they were not aware if this was a prank or not or if someone had been playing games with them. He informed that it was a very old building going back a number of years and it tends to have plenty of history. This could have given them the feeling of the presence of the ghost of the past. He stated that people in old building always tend to hear noises as well as strange sounds of ghost though this was the first time they had really caught something. Often we tend to come across papers strewn about though they were unable to say what it was, they only presumed it could be a student who could have done it.

Footage Captured – Motion-Sensor Detectors

He has also informed that no other motion-activated cameras leading to the corridor had been activated He also informed that since they had motion-sensor detectors they should have been able to detect other people who could have come towards that area on the other cameras, which they have not been able to do. The creepy footage portrayed a door opening and closing on its own with weird things happening in that area giving indication of the presence of some kind of a ghost.Critics observed that the footage had been conveniently captured before the Halloween even at the school on October 29 which had been dubbed `Fearpark’.

The 500-year old Mummy of Lama Tenzin

Mummification – Embalming & Enfolded in Linen

 
Normal mummification seems to be quite exceptional which needs settings of great temperature together with dry air in order to preserve the body. Several of the mummified bodies seen in museums and text-books had been mummified with the help of chemical process known as embalming and thereafter enfolded in linen.

However, the Buddhist monks in Japan and Tibet seem to have a unique way of mummification and when the monk is alive he tends to have a gradual process of starving and termination of eating barley, rice and been that have a tendency of adding fat to the body. Moreover in preparation for death, he has candles along his skin, which dries it out. The monk is said to die of starvation in a seated position and the fat decomposes after death.

On eliminating the body of fat, the monk can be preserved in a better manner. After his death, he is placed in an underground room for three years to continue the process of drying once again and treated with candles whereby the monk tends to become a statue in prayer. An earthquake that had taken place in 1975 in northern Indian had exposed an old tomb comprising of the mummified body of monk Sangha Tenzin.
 

Preserved with Skin Intact

 
The local police had excavated the tomb in 2004 and had discovered the mummified body which was amazingly well preserved with the skin intact and with hair on his head. He is said to have died in a sitting position having a rope around the neck and thighs. This is an obscure practise which has been recorded in some of the documents of the Buddhist.

A consulting scholar at the University of Pennsylvania, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Victor Mair had quoted that the mummy had been at least 500 years old. It is a strange fact that the manner of the mummified body seems to be a natural one with no chemicals utilised in order to preserve the same and it seems to have a certain kind of freshness. As per the report, the mummified body had been preserved for its age.

Local legends claim that he had requested his followers to preserve him during a scorpion infestation in that area and after his spirit had left his body, a rainbow seemed to appear and the scorpions had disappeared.
 

Mummy – Sangha Tenzin

 
The town is said to be around 30 miles from the Tabo Monastery which dates back to 996 CE. The mummified body of Sangha Tenzin is said to be on display in Gue village in the cold and remote Spiti district in a temple two miles from where he had been discovered, in Himachal Pradesh region on the border of Tibet around 6000 metres above sea level. It seems too difficult to reach the town since it is controlled by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and secluded in the Himalayas.

The temple where the mummy is placed for display is open to the visitors who intends visiting that place. The mummy of Sangha Tenzin is not the only lonely mummy in that region but there are other mummified bodies too in Tibet which had been buried by the Tibetan immediately after the invasion of the Chinese.

Santa Dead, Archaeologists Say

Santa – St. Nicholas – Gift-Giving & Kindness

During Christmas season, parents shared some interesting details with their kids regarding Santa coming and dropping presents as per their requests which had to be sent to him in advance. Saint Nicholas of Myra, presently Demre, had been popular for his secret gift-giving and kindness. Archaeologists in southern Turkey had informed that they have found the tomb of the original Santa Claus known as St. Nicholas which gave rise to the legend of Santa Claus, below his namesake church in the vicinity of the Mediterranean Sea.

The researchers had unearthed an intact temple beneath the Saint Nicholas Church in the Demre district. A special area had been located in the temple at the time of scientific and technological works with assumptions that the tomb could have been buried there. Researchers discovered the untouched shrine while performing digital surveys beneath the surface of the church.

Archaeologists leading surveys at the church in Demre discovered gaps below it and informed that the shrine is beneath the church which has not been touched. Cemil Karabayram, head of Antalya’s Monument Authority had informed the Turkish Hurriyet Daily News that they were of the belief that this shrine has not been damaged at all though it seems very difficult to get to it due to the mosaics on the floor.

Patron Saint of Sailors 

Karabayram informed the newspaper that he is assertive that archaeologist could reach the tomb. He believes that almost 1,700 years after the death of St. Nicholas, Santa would give another gift to the people of Demre in the form of Tourism dollar. Researchers had been working on the excavation for three months with a CT scan, a geo-radar together with eight academics that had been brought in for the excavation work at the final stage. Karabayram had commented that the world’s eyes will be set on here and that they claim St. Nicholas had been placed in this temple without any damage.

He informed that they were at the last stage. St. Nicholas as Santa was well-known for his generous act of kindness and people believed that he placed coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him on his feast day which falls on December 6. Some state that he had been a monk who gave away his immense legacy and chose to reach out to the poor and the sick. Besides this Santa had also been a patron saint of sailors and in particular was very fond of children.

Father Christmas – Europe 

There had been a strange story, more Halloween than Christmas, regarding Santa - St. Nicholas wherein he had saved three children who had been enticed into the controls of an evil butcher. In the 16th century St. Nicholas had begun on his modern, candy-cane hued form in imaginations and images and in Europe he was considered as Father Christmas. Santa is now ingrained in the Christmas dictionary, as the rosy-cheeked image of Christmas who is the topic of movies, constant parental fabrications and debates regarding infancy materialism.

There had been an annual debate on whether it was okay to represent Santa as only white. Last year there had been a photograph of Santa with a shovel near a fence on the border of U.S. with Mexico, a taunt at the immigration policies of Trump. Besides that there was a Santa who had been called a liar for a tale told to a dying child that he was a number one elf of Santa. However, through all this, the remains of the real-life St. Nicholas had actually been the subject of centuries old situation of false identity and grave robbery.

Inspiration for Dutch Figure Sinterklass

St. Nicholas, as per the Telegraph, had died in 343 AD and had been laid to rest at St. Nicholas church in Demre on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. Later on he was known as Father Christmas in the 16th century and had been an inspiration for the Dutch figure Sinterklass which had been utilised as the model for Santa Claus.

The researchers had informed that till now they were of the belief that the bones of Santa - St. Nicholas were in Italy. They had studied all the relevant documents between 1942 and 1966 from the notes that were available there. As per these notes, the church had been demolished and rebuilt. During the reconstruction of the church, the traders in Bari had taken the bones.

Apparently, the Telegraph had reported that in 1087, merchants had excavated his bones and had smuggled the same to the Italian city of Bari. It is still said to be a holy site, where the Christians visit it to pay homage to St. Nicholas, - Santa. The Telegraph has reported that the archaeologists state that the pilgrims to the Basilica di San Nicola had been praying to the wrong person. The bones are said to belong to another local priest and not one of the famous saints.