Guinness record set on first day
of science festival
Kolkata, November 5 (India Science Wire): The International Science Literature
Festival opened today, as a part of the India International Science Festival being
held here.
Prof.
Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, in his keynote
address, said that science communication was as important to scientists as it
is vital to the different sections of the society. Prof. Sharma added that
communication of science is a major scientific social responsibility and we
need to encourage scientists and researchers to take to popular science writing
as well.
Organized
by CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources
(NISCAIR) and Vigyan Prasar, the literature festival is being attended by over 200
invitees, researchers and scientists.
Eminent
computer scientist Dr. Vijay Bhatkar who was the chief guest said that the
dimension of science literature is very important for science communication. He
added that the IISF’s science literature fair is a welcome step that connects
the masses to science.
Dr.
Partha Ghose, noted physicist, author, philosopher and musician said that with
science literature, science cannot grow roots. He said that science fiction is
an important part of science literature and we need many more science fiction
writers in India.
In a separate event at the
festival, Minister for Science and Technology, Earth Sciences and Health and
Family Welfare Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that India shared a common past and goal
with many of its close neighbours and other partner countries that has served
to forge an unbreakable association with India.
Addressing delegates from various
countries during the Overseas Ministers and Diplomats Conclave, he emphasised
on the need to harness soft power of science and technology as an important
pillar of the cooperation in the knowledge economy of the 21st century. He said
the government strongly believed that science and technology is the bedrock
upon which the country relies for its knowledge power, enterprises rely for
their success, and the people rely for a better life. This government is
therefore fully committed to promote science with a human face that serves the
common man and promotes equitable and sustainable development of the country,
he said.
As
part of the festival, a Guinness
World Records for the largest astrophysics lesson (45 minutes) and assembly of spectroscopes was successfully
achieved at the Science City, with the participation of over 1,598
students.
Astronomers use spectroscopes to know details like temperature, chemical composition, etc. of celestial objects hundreds or millions of light years away from us. A small model of spectroscope can easily be made by anyone using a box made of cardboard with a very narrow window used to channel light into it. A piece of a compact disc is used to split the light by diffraction.
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