Types Of Yoga

March 04, 2012   admin   No comments

BASIC INFORMATION ON WHAT IS YOGA

According to Hinduism, when four elements philosophy, mysticism, emotions and work present in a human body are in equal proportion then he is an ideal human being. Yoga also can be called union is the path by which all these four directions can be balanced harmoniously. Yoga can be referred as complete development of social, physical, mental and spiritual system. In the Indus-Sarasvati civilization of Northern India approximately 5000 years ago, yoga was originated. It was in the rig Vedas that the first history of Yoga was found. The earliest meditative practices of sacrificing self ego which was the ideas transformed from Upanishads that the modern yoga positions and principles have evolved. This was to be successfully completed with the help of self-knowledge, karma-yoga and Jnana Yoga.

Basically yoga means Oneness, or joined together, unify. When body, mind, emotions and spirit are unified so that they work very well together, it is YOGA. This word comes from ancient Sanskrit word Yog which means to unify. A Yogi is a person who can consciously unify the four systems while others need the help of Yoga to attain this. Yoga has numerous benefits and it is practiced by many different faith people and thus it is not a religion. In ancient times sages like, Shiva, Rama, Krishna and Vyasa practiced Yoga. It is just yoga what Krishna taught Arjuna; Hatha Yoga was practiced by Mahavira so Jainism also follows yoga. A lengthy pilgrimage was carried by Jesus Christ to study Yoga. Throughout the life of Gautam Buddha, he followed Yoga. Even Buddha’s raja yoga was taken to china by Bodhidharma from India. Thus, yoga is practiced and followed by all religions since ancient times.

Yoga connects a person to god. The kundli Shakti or the serpent power present at the base of the spine is stimulated by the positions and poses of yoga. The energy released rises through the chakras also providing energy to endocrine glands and reaches the Hypothalamus which controls the release of hormones in the body thus reducing stress. Yoga also promotes inner harmony. In India, yoga is practiced as a part of spiritual quest for enlightenment. The overall path of Yoga can be divided into classical, post-classical and modern period.

Patanjali, the father of Yoga made the first presentation of yoga systematically in yoga sutra. To quite the mind and merge with the infinite eight limb path are organized namely in English are; self-purification and study, posture, breath control, sense control, concentration, contemplation and meditation. These can also be called “Ashtanga yoga” each of these stages must be practiced and mastered to reunite with the divine energy. The eight stages are:

1.  Yama:

These are the principles or rules to be followed. Yama restricts the tendency of violence or possessiveness. It tells the humans to follow the path of truthfulness, purity, conscience, trustworthiness, goodness and honesty.

2. Niyama:

Niyama shows the path towards god. It encourages the humans to study the holy script. It is about restrict oneself by own rules and regulations. Niyama is to surrender self to god through discipline, self contentment and self study.

3. Asanas:

Asanas helps one to develop inner awareness and shows how to calm the mind through different body postures. Asanas is basically body postures.

4. Pranayama:

Pranayama shows how to have rhythmic control on the breadth. To discover a good energy and force or element is the main aim of pranayama.

5. Pratyahara:

Pratyahara is control on all the senses. Emotions, sentiments and pleasure must all be given up and there should not be any external attraction. The withdrawal of mind completely from these things.

6. Dharna:

The concentration of the mind must be deep and intense which improves the mental state of a person. To hold is the other word for Dharna.

7. Dhyana:

Dhyana is to meditate. It brings awareness of the body.

8. Samadhi:

Samadhi is a meditation state which leads the person to sub consciousness. For reaching the stage of Samadhi deep profound meditation is required. Samadhi is the union of the individual with the Paramatma or the supreme Universal spirit.

Yoga reduces daily stress, anxiety and depression thus relaxing the mind. After the Patanjali period, the yoga masters began to cleanse the system and rejuvenate the body by Hatha yoga. To improve physical health and balance the mind and body, it uses physical exercises, controlled breathing, relaxation and meditation. Hatha yoga has become very famous in west and people of today are into Hatha yoga for achieving good health. Yoga enables people to move forward into a state of wholeness and well being. By following yoga path the beginners are also able to find relief form physical tension, emotional turbulence and move forward for a life with higher consciousness.

People all around the world are practicing yoga but for different reasons, some practice yoga just for asana, the physical exercises which improves the health of the body and mind, some practice yoga for meditation to get contact with their higher consciousness or with the lord. Some of these who practice meditation are very religious while some do it for sake of personal transformation. Mainly there are eight types of yoga’s:

BHAKTI YOGA:

This is a type of devotional yoga also known as Bhakti Yoga which is for people who are seeking for well being and emotional fulfillment and is the natural way of yoga. This is one of the most ancient yoga where the devotion to the Almighty is stressed by Bhakti Yoga. Bhagwad Gita has he roots of Bhakti Yoga. In this type of Yoga, the lord is worshipped intensely by many ways like, praising the god by singing, religious books are read, slogans are enchanted and also prayers are listened. Bhakti Yoga is of nine forms like:

  1. Sravana – name of god is heard all the time in this type of Yoga
  2. Archana – this type of Yoga is about worshipping god.
  3. Kirtana – in this yoga, songs of glory of god are sung and god is praised.
  4. Sakhya – a friend in the form of god is cultivated
  5. Smarana – this type of Yoga is about enchanting god’s name and remembering him by taking his name and feeling his presence.
  6. Vandana – in this type the person lies down straight stretched on the ground upside sown and submits self to god.
  7. Padasevana – by this yoga service to god is done.
  8. Dasya – the worshipper shows god by this yoga that he/she is the servant of god.
  9. Atmanivedana – the worshipper surrenders himself to god by this type of yoga.

In this Bhakti Yoga, the worshipper or the Bhakta shows his concerns and thought towards god by pouring out his heart’s love and adoration till he feels the awareness between self and the lord.

 KARMA YOGA:

To do something is Karma. The universal principle of cause and effect is referred by Karma. The devotee when realizes that whatever effect he/she is facing in the present life are due to the cause which he must have enacted before, for a finer and better tomorrow he has to change his thoughts and actions so that the old habits and attitudes are supplant by new and improved thoughts and habits. Thus, karma yoga is basically surrendering to the lord for a better tomorrow.

The Karma Yogi has faith in God and says that God does everything and dedicates his lower self that is –the mind, heart and hands in doing Gods work. He does not want to live for self anymore after he follows karma Yoga. He lives for God and the soul. Karma yoga is unselfish services towards God. This Yoga purifies ones hearts and teaches how to practice ones duty without expecting any rewards.

JNANA YOGA:

This type of Yoga is also an ancient type of Yoga which was referred in Bhagwad Gita by Lord Krishna. It emphasizes on true knowledge which teaches how a person can detach himself from all the temporal or artificial things of life and attach or surrender self to the real thing in life that is the God or Almighty. Jnana Yoga teaches a person how to have control on mind, sense, faith, ability etc. the persons self concentration increases with the practice of this Yoga and he can remain focused on his work. The person also learns self control by this Yoga. The jnani or the person meditates patiently till he feels the glow of the soul dawns in the mind and heart putting aside all the thoughts and feelings and thus he feels the enlightenment and transformation. Meditation in this type is to be done with awareness and alertness where the unwanted thoughts must be discarded again and again if they come in mind. Thus, the mind becomes clear and soul is revealed. This yoga teaches to discard worries, doubts and fear and thus light your inner self.

MANTRA YOGA:

Mantras are basically words related to God or phrases, syllabus from some religious books or prayers to please god are chanted with alertness and thoughtfulness. In mantra yoga, the words or phrases are enchanted again and again till the mind and heart feel the light within. The concentration power is increased by this Yoga and the person also gets to feel the peace of mind. Emotional ailments and problems like anxiety, stress and tension are all removed by this Yoga. The self confidence of an individual is boosted by this yoga leaving a positive impact on the psychology of the individual. To bring back the change of consciousness, the mantra or the word recommended is AUM. The mantra or word when chanted again and again brings the wandering mind back to one’s meditation. The words for Mantras or phrases are mostly from ancient Sanskrit language and there are many different mantras followed by people.

 LAYA YOGA OR SWAR YOGA:

Through breathing, the control of the life force is referred in Swara Yoga or laya Yoga. In Sanskrit language, Swara means sound or musical notes. By practicing Laya or Swara Yoga a person overcomes selfishness and self-centeredness. The person feels the heart expansion and is able to deal with all types of worries and fear. Tremendous amount of strength is felt inside the body and soul. There are five centers in the body which are taught by a yoga teacher for concentration in Swara Yoga or Laya Yoga. Without the help of a teacher it is not wise to meditate on any of the centers while it is beneficial to sense or concentrate on the five centers but with the help of a teacher. These centers when opened bring higher consciousness and a worthwhile endeavor.

HATHA YOGA:

Mainly for health and vitality, Hatha Yoga is practiced. It includes exercising and stretching so that the body remains healthy and can live long with free mind and soul. Y practicing Hatha yoga, the concentration power of the person or Yogi increases and also the mind becomes clear. For spiritual realization also many yogis Hatha yoga as their main method, they can meditate easily because of their clear mind and healthy bodies. Yogi Swatmarama founded the Hatha Yoga. This Yoga is all about combination of two extremes. “Ha” means sun regarded as positive current and “tha” means moon regarded as negative current. Asanas or physical postures, breathing exercises or Pranayamas, meditations, mudras and Shatkriyas or purification procedures are all included in Hatha Yoga. By practicing Hatha Yoga, an individual is prepared for meditation and his body is purified. Achieving Salvation through Samadhi is the aim of Hatha yoga. Ashtanga Yoga and Hatha Yoga are similar Yoga’s.

 KUNDALINI YOGA:

Enlightenment is achieved by the individual who practices Kundalini Yoga. The untapped energy or kundalini which remains at the base of the spine coiled up is awakened or attracted by using techniques that uses mind, senses and bosy of the individual. It includes Asanas, performing of meditation, chanting Mantra, and awakens the seven chakras of the body. The breath control and Asanas are coordinated well in this Yoga.

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Posted in: Health

Types Of Wood

March 03, 2012   admin   No comments

DISCRIPTION:

The fibrous and hard tissue which is found in many trees is referred to as wood. Woody plants often grow large and have lots of strength in them as the wood in the trees transfers water to different parts and also nutrients to leaves and other growing tissues. Other plant materials with similar properties and the things engineered from the wood is also referred to as wood. Wood can be used as a fuel and also for construction purpose. Wood is an organic material. There are as many as one trillion tones of wood on the face of earth. It grows at the rate of 11-12 billion tones per year. It is also a form of renewable energy.

The wood which is thoroughly air dried and which is relatively thicker has about 8-16% of water content in its cell wall and also in the cell cavities and spaces in it. Wood, no matter how dry it is, has a certain amount of water in it. There are certain advantages of wood drying. The primary advantage is that it strengthens the wood to a great extent. Wood is basically a cellular, hygroscopic and heterogeneous material.

TYPES OF WOODS:

Wood can mainly be classified into two types-

  1. Hardwood and
  2. Softwood.

The wood which is got from broad leaved trees or dicotyledons is referred to as hardwood or it can also be defined as the wood of the trees that lose their leaves in winter whereas the wood which we get from the conifers is known as softwood or wood from the evergreen trees that do not shed their leaves in winter are the softwood.  Not all hardwoods are actually hard and no softwoods are actually soft. There is a hardwood which is softer than any other softwood in particular. The name of that hardwood is Balsa. The same is the case with the softwoods. For example, the yew is the hardest wood though it is categorized under softwoods. Different types of wood are distinguished from one another by its color, grain and different characteristics. There are some wood that have small holes on their surface that are known as open-pores and this gives them textural quality. These types of wood tend to take any stain applied to its surface and make the stain or color look darker as the stain is collected by the open pores. White and red oak, ash and walnut come under open pores wood.  While on the other hand there are smooth surfaced wood that gives a finished look or even touch that are tight grained woods. Examples of tight grained woods are; maple, alder and cherry. Furniture’s are made up of solid wood that are cut from the trunk of the tree into boards. The beauty and strength of the furniture or the pieces of woods used for making them depends upon the type of wood chosen. There are many varieties of softwood and hardwood but most common types are as follows:

COMMON TYPES OF SOFTWOODS:

Softwoods are generally yellow or reddish in color and are less expensive than the hardwoods. Softwoods are reliable and have good strength like the hardwoods; they are not weaker than the hardwoods. As these softwoods come from coniferous trees they are cheaper because these trees grow very fast and straight.  These coniferous trees give endless supply of woods so you can get softwoods all the time and one more advantage is that by cutting the wood you are not adding to deforestation as the trees grow again. Some common softwood varieties are:

Cedar:

This type of wood is relatively soft; western red cedar is the most common cedar with a reddish color. It has aromatic smell and straight grain. As this wood can handle moist environment it is used for making furniture, desks and is also used in the exteriors of the buildings. The price of red cedar is not too expensive and affordable.

Fir:          

The most common fir wood is Douglas Fir; this wood is hard and strong compared to other softwoods. It has reddish brown tint with straight and pronounced grain. As this wood does not take stain, it should only be used for furniture’s or other products which are to be painted. As this softwood is not expensive it is mostly used for building purposes.

   Pine:     

Pine wood comes in many varieties and if not taken from a proper and decent        lumberyard you can get a lesser grade of wood. In many countries like southwest United States pine is of utmost important. Some of the varieties of pine are; Ponderosa, Sugar, White and Yellow. This wood is mostly used for making furniture as good furniture’s can be made out of them. Great carving work can be done on pin as this wood is relatively soft.

Redwood:

As the name says this wood has reddish tint and is soft like the cedar. It has a straight grain and it is very easy to work with the redwood because of its softness. Resistance to moisture makes the redwood similar to cedar and is used in outdoor projects.

COMMON TYPES OF HARDWOODS:

Though hardwood gives very attractive look to any furniture due to its color, texture and grain patterns, the prices of these woods is very high and not affordable most of the time. Hardwoods are loved by the woodworkers to work on but because of the high prices woodworkers move back. Hardwoods are not found easily and are harvested without concern damaging the environment. Hardwoods must be bought from sustainable forest so that you get the supply on time. Some of the hardwoods are:

Ash:

The colour of this wood is from white to pale brown. It has a straight grain texture on it. it is not a hard wood and thus is very easy to work with . it is 4 in hardness on a scale of 1 to 5. it is very nicely adaptable to stains. The only problem with this wood is that it is quite hard to find these nowadays. It proves to be a good substitute for white oak.

BIRCH: this is another type of soft wood that comes in 2 varieties depending upon its colour. They are yellow birch wood and white birch wood. The yellow one is a pale yellow to white and has reddish brown heartwood. And the white birch wood is more to the whiter shade and is similar to maple. Both these birch varieties are 4 on the hardness scale. This birch wood is available very easily and is not very expensive. It is also very easy to work with this type. It is desirable to paint anything that is made out of birch wood.

CHERRY: this is the all rounder wood. It is one of the most popular types of wood. It is very easy to work with this and also is very compatible with stains and finishes well with oil. It does not rot when it ages and stays beautiful. On the scale of hardness it is ranked 2. it is the wood that is commonly used for furniture making and is largely available in forests. It is a little expensive than oak and maple as its demand is increasing.

MAHOGANY:  mahogany is also called as Honduran mahogany. This is a one of the

greatest woods that are used for the making of furniture. This is a reddish brown colour wood which has a deep red tint to it. it is a straight grain wood which has medium texture and is on number 2 on the scale of 1-5. it is very well with stains and looks good by applying just one coat. There is only one problem with mahogany wood, it is only grown in sustainable forests and if we want to preserve this forests for ever then the consumption of mahogany is to be reduced.

MAPLE: maple is a type of wood that comes in 2 types again. They are soft maple wood and hard maple wood. It is an extreme type of wood as hard maple is on number 5 on the scale of hardness and soft maple is very soft and is comparatively easy to work with. It is a fine wood with straight grain texture and thus both these qualities of maple are more stable types than any other wood. These are also very less expensive.

OAK: this is the most common type of wood that is used for furniture. This is also available in two types that is red oak and white oak. It is a hard and strong type and is rated on number 4 in hardness. Although it has proved to be quite easy to work with this. For furniture making white oak is preferred to red oak as it is more attractive than red oak. It is also moisture resistant.

DIFFERENT USES OF WOOD:

Wood is used as fuel since many years. In rural areas it is the most important source of fuel. Hardwood is the best kind of wood for fuel because it burns longer and also because it gives out relatively less smoke. Wood is also used for construction purposes. It became an important material for construction initially when humans started building houses, shelters and boats. All the boats were also made of wood at that time. In fact even in the 21st century the boats are being built by using wood. Lumber is the wood which is mostly used in the construction industry in North America. Timber is another type of wood which is being used for construction these days. Construction industry has a bigger part or major part of this industry uses engineered wood products. New construction these days mainly depends upon timber frames or wood products for both residential and commercial buildings. There are many buildings made of wood construction but if any other material is used for construction still wood plays an important role as it is still used as supporting material for roof construction. Wood is also used for framing doors used both inside and outside any building and also for exterior cladding. There are many world heritage sites built of wood, without any metal or other material joints. During reinforced construction also wood is used as a shuttering material to form the mould into which the concrete is poured. All the different constructions use wood in one way or the other, it may be in the form of construction material or in any other form.

The main use of wood is for making furniture’s and other items used in houses and offices. Furniture like chairs, dinning tables, side tables, beds and different racks are all made of wood. Many decorative items are also made of wood like flower vase, etc. chopsticks, toothpicks, wooden spoons and different wooden utensils are all made up of wood. Many attractive frames and carving wall pieces are also made of wood. Then, there are candle stands, comb stands, spoon stands and other very attractive items made of wood and in demand. The properties of wood differ from one another depending upon the type of wood being used. Wood that is used for making furniture and beds has to be durable and more efficient than the wood that is used for making other decorative items or any other small items. The wood which is used for furniture provides texture, strength and beauty to the furniture.

Engineered wood products are very flexible and reliable, if used properly these products are very environmental friendly. Not only this compared to other materials like steel and concrete these building materials are less expensive.

Wood is very resource efficient and all the types of wood can be useful in one or the other form. If wood is of good quality and suitable for construction purpose, then it is used for construction. If certain type of wood is not appropriate or suitable for construction then it is used in fiber or chips form as a raw material. Many a times, it is also converted into cellulose and used as raw material for hardboard, chipboard and engineered wood. For making paper also wood fibers are used. So, different wood derivatives are used for different purposes.

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Posted in: trees

Types Of Volcanoes

March 03, 2012   admin   No comments

 BASIC DESCRIPTION:

When there is opening in the earth’s surface or crust it is known as a volcano. From this opening or volcano all the hot vapors, ash, rocks and liquid magma escapes. The volcano or the opening in the earth’s crust usually is in the shapes of a hill or mountain. Earth’s surface is made up of tectonic plates, which are moving and hitting each other. The ground turns to liquid due to the plates that turn very hot as the plates hit each other. This liquid is known as Molten Lava, which comes out of the volcano when it explodes to get rid of the gas which is build up high inside the volcano. Till the gas is build up to a high extent the molten lava, which is the liquid remains inside the volcano. As the volcano erupts, all the liquid ash, rocks which are inside the surface and also hot vapors of this burning liquid comes out of the opening spreading all over. The gases that come out of the volcano are poisonous. Mantle plumes that form the volcanic provinces are known as Hotspots. Large volume of melting is caused by these very hot mantles which comprise columns of hot material that rise from the core-mantle. Each volcano becomes temporarily inactive after a while as the tectonic plates move across them and as the plates shifts over the postulated plume a new volcano is formed. Examples of such types of volcano are: The Hawaiian Island, Snake River Plain and also Yellowstone Caldera.

The features of a volcano are much complicated than just a conical mountain, large quantity of Lava and gases which are poisonous that come out of the opening of the Earth’s crust. There are number of factors on which the structure and behavior of the volcano depends. Some volcanoes have landscape features like a massive plateau while some are formed by lava domes have rugged peaks. The result of volcanoes is very bad and causes disaster and damage in the surrounding areas of the volcanic eruption. The volcanic eruptions such as, Mount Pelee, Tambora, Krakatau and Pinatubo  in the past had a very devastating impact on landscapes and communities which were nearby killing many people while many people had to leave their homes and lands forever. The impact was so strong that it changed the climate of the whole world for a while. During an eruption different types of dangers and risks are provided by volcanoes.

The mixture of hot gas, ash and other volcanic rocks which travel down the slopes of volcano very quickly are the Pyroclastic flows. This flow is very dangerous or the most dangerous hazards by volcanoes as any person caught in it will definitely be killed as it is very hot and choking and nobody can escape it as the flow is very fast. Even Lava that flows during volcanic eruptions is very dangerous. While flowing everything they come across is burnt or buried by the Lava like, houses, roads, and many other structures. The speed and the power of the Lava flow depend upon the type of Lava. While the flow of the Lava destroys the existing terrain, it is quickly emplaced by a layer of very hot rock. Fires are started due to the flow of Lava in the environment around the volcano, while there is hardly any danger to the lives of people. As volcanoes can be very dangerous to the people and the areas around so prediction of eruption is very important along with its effects. The instruments and methods used to predict eruptions are seismographic monitoring, tilt meters and surveillance by satellite.

Though volcanoes kill human beings and also animals spreading disaster around and also damaging the environment and whatever comes in its way but still there are some advantages of volcano eruptions like, energy is produced by the conversion of the heat from the earth’s crust thus volcanoes becomes resources for energy extraction which are also known as geothermal resources. The energy which is produced is inexhaustible and very clean. Lot of ash is thrown out from the earth’s crust during eruptions which is harmful at that time but as the ash settles down it forms a layer on the surface of the earth which is very useful as it contains many useful minerals which will be converted to a very fertile soil. People use this rich soil for farming. People are seen returning to the place of volcano due to the presence of fertile soil which they can use for farming. One more advantage of volcano is that it attracts people from all over the world to see it and thus tourism is generated.

The volcanoes can be active volcanoes which may have erupted recently or the volcanoes which have not erupted recently are dormant volcanoes and the volcanoes which will never erupt are extinct volcanoes. There are different types of volcanoes, four main types are:

 CINDER CONE VOLCANOES:

One of the simplest types of volcano is cinder cone volcano. The crater at the top of the surface is of bowl shaped in cinder cone volcano with sides that are steep. In the Earth’s crust there is a single vent from which this cinder cone volcano grows. When the volcano erupts the lava which is charged fully by the gas before eruption is blown or bursts violently from this central vent of volcano and after eruption all the ash and rocks spread around the vent. When the lava is blown into the air by the eruption it breaks in the air and falls as cinders around the vent and forms a oval cone. Wherever there are volcanic activities, these cinder cone volcanoes are common and also these types of volcanoes are common in Western North America. These types of volcanoes do not grow much tall, they are mostly found 1000 feet above their surroundings and they are hardly found taller than this.

Cinder cone volcanoes can be easily recognized, they are comparatively smaller volcanoes. As the name suggests, these volcanoes have lava and consists of loose, grainy cinders. These volcanoes erupt from one opening while from many different openings volcanoes like strato-volcano or shield-volcano erupt. The lava which falls during the eruptions near the opening forms an oval shaped small volcano. Paricutin in Mexico and in Oregon the one in the middle of Crater Lake is famous volcanoes which come under cinder cone. Though these volcanoes erupt from a single vent opening, they are other volcanoes like, shield volcano or strato-volcanoes or a composite volcano associated with them. Like, when the biggest volcano in the world, the Hawaii’s Mauna Kea erupted, more than 100 cinder cone volcanoes were discovered each from a vent that opened up on the sides of the biggest and huge volcano.

 COMPOSITE VOLCANOES:

Composite volcanoes are the most famous volcanoes and most dangerous of all types of volcanoes also. These are tall, symmetrically shaped with steep sides. They rise as high as 10,000 feet. Lava flows, volcanic ash and cinders are the alternating layers by which these composite volcanoes are built. Mount Fuji is one of the very famous examples of a composite volcano. These types of volcanoes are not formed by a single eruption but are formed after multiple eruptions over hundreds and thousands of years. Thousands of meters tall and high composite volcanoes are built by layers upon layers of eruption materials. Sometimes these composite volcanoes also build up a thick magma which blocks the volcanoes from inside and causes it to burst in an explosion.

Within the Earth’s crust, there are deep reservoirs of Magma which feeds the composite volcanoes through a pipe or conduit system. Composite volcanoes have several vents present through which this magma can erupt or they can also erupt through the central crater which is quite large at the top of the volcano. There are so many volcanoes in the world and the most famous in the world are composite volcanoes with devastating eruption history. The composite volcanoes that have erupted are Mount St. Helens, Mount Pinatubo and Krakatoa. The composite volcanoes that haven’t erupted recently are Mount Fuji in Japan, Mount Ranier in Washington State and Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa.

Composite volcanoes are also known as strato-volcanoes. Caldera is the name given to the region which is left behind after these large composite volcanoes explode. The locations of the volcanoes are marked by this caldera which is deep, steep-walled depressions. A new composite volcano will build back again in this place of caldera where the previous volcano was present. Most of the composite volcanoes have a crater at the top of the volcano which contains a central vent or a clustered group of vents.

 SHIELD VOLCANOES:

These are large volcanoes with sloping sides which are gentle are the Shield volcanoes. The solar system is a shield volcano and also the largest volcanoes on the earth are shield volcano. These volcanoes have huge internal volumes which are created due to flow of lava at low viscosity. Shield volcanoes consist almost entirely of frozen lava. The Big Island of Hawaii: Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea are famous shield volcanoes. It takes a long period of time to build up a shield volcano as they are built up slowly from a central summit vent from which the lava flows slowly flow after flow and builds the size while sliding down the slope of the volcano. Thousands or more of such flows have created the Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea volcanoes. Shield volcanoes are tall, broad with flat rounded shape. These volcanoes are very safe during eruptions because the outpouring is just lava and it does not consist of any pyroclastic materials along with it.

All around the world these shield volcanoes are found. These volcanoes are very large and tall, they can be as large and tall as 5 to 10 km across and 500 meters high. The Northern California Oregon have such huge volcanoes present .the volcanoes with very active vent were present in Hawaii Islands for millions of years. 4, 168 meters above sea level is the height of Mauna Loa but it measures 8, 534 meters if measured from the base of the ocean to the top.

Plate tectonics is where the volcanic activity is linked. Sinking in to the earth’s surface, one plate is passing under another plate and worlds most of the volcanoes are located near plate boundaries.

Olympus Mons on Mars is the largest shield volcano in the solar system. This volcano is very huge with 27 km above the surface of Mars and is 550 km in width. As mars do not have tectonics plate thus this volcano Olympus Mons became such huge in size.

LAVA DOMES:

These domes are formed by small masses of lava which are too thick to flow any great or long distance, thus this lava piles over and over and around the vent forming a dome. It is also known as a volcanic dome. The dome expands from within and grows largely. Instead of breaking through the surface, the material builds up under the ground forming a huge lava dome. As the dome grows from within, the outer surface cools down as the lava is very thick and cannot flow and it hardens quickly and shatters, spills the loose fragments down its sides. These fragments grow for months and years forming a volcano which is built up to several hundred meters in height. Across the flanks of large composite volcanoes, these lava domes are present in hundreds of numbers.

Due to the extrusion of new Lava, the sides of lava domes are very steep causing rockslides. If the rocks of these lava domes are still hot they can even start forest fires and cause disaster and these lava domes bury the landscapes which surround the dome. Because of the rock shell due to the growing of the dome, the surface of the lava domes are rough and blocky. These lava domes are extremely dangerous as they can explode without any warning releasing pyroclastic materials around for more than 20 km. the explosions of these domes are very violent.

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Posted in: Volcanoes

Types Of Turtles

March 02, 2012   admin   No comments

Turtles are reptiles that have a long-life and are very easy to pet as they have requirements which are fairly modest. They have a slow locomotion and are very calm in nature. Their behavior is very quite. Turtles have webbed feet which help them in swimming over and under the water. Most turtles spend a fair bit of time under water and are hence regarded to be mostly aquatic animals. Some turtles can even be semi-aquatic in nature. They tend to live in marshy lands. We can also find semi-terrestrial turtles and they are so called because they are found both on land as well as in water. There is another name by which these land turtles are known which is Terrapins.

All the turtles and even tortoises breathe air. So they need to get over the water from time to time to refill the air in their lungs. Recent studies have shown that some of the fresh water turtles respire by the process of aquatic respiration. Turtles have organs in their system known as the papillae. These papillae have a good amount of blood supply and also tend to increase the surface area of the cloacae of the turtles. The papillae is used by the turtles in the way in which the fishes use the gills are organs of respiration.

Like most of the other reptiles the turtles reproduce by laying eggs. The eggs of these reptiles are leathery to touch and also are a little softer than the eggs of the other reptiles. The eggs of normal sized turtles are elongated in shape and those of big turtles are spherical in shape. These eggs will have a protein which is way too different from the bird eggs. Before the birth of the baby turtle it can be guessed whether the new born is going to be a male or a female. Temperature plays a major role in determining the gender of the baby turtle. The eggs are left so that they incubate by themselves. They are put in holes which are dug in mud or sand. When the birth of the infant takes place, it heads to the water immediately. The mother is not known to take care of the baby turtles. It takes a very big period of time for the turtles to reach their breeding age. Unlike many other animals or reptiles, the turtle’s organs maintain the same amount of efficiency throughout the lifetime of the turtle.

Turtles being one of the oldest reptiles were found to exist before other reptiles like lizards and snakes. Many species of turtles in different countries are now becoming extinct and the rest of them are highly endangered. They are mostly cold-blooded creatures and the temperature of their body changes along with the change in their atmosphere. The turtles are not of the same size. Aquatic turtles are a lot bigger than the land and freshwater and the sizes even vary in the different species of land and water.

There are many types of turtles in the nature. Recently it was shown that about 300 species of turtles exist in the nature. Some of the important species of turtles are:

1) Red-Eared Slider:

This turtle has two small red ears as its name suggests. The red eared slider is known to be tolerant and adaptive to the nature and also to the change in the climatic conditions. Like mostly all other turtles these turtles are also quite and calm in behavior and so are easy for a person to pet them. These turtles are mostly found in United States and also in some parts of Central America and South America. These turtles can be recognized easily because they have a variable pattern and also a quite different colour combination which catches a person’s eye quite easily. There is red color on their face from their eyes to the back of the forehead which gives them a red ear. These turtles tend to become darker as they grow older and some get the color that is entirely black with pattern and with this color it is difficult to see the red ears also, the male species are usually smaller than the female ones. The male species which are adult are often categorized seeing the claws which are long and which protrude out of their front feet. The feeding habits of these red eared turtles are similar to freshwater turtle species, they eat insects, insect larvae, and other vertebrates when they are young and are thus carnivorous. They feed on plant matter and live prey as they grow and when adult these red eared eat animal matters like, fish, worms and insects.

2) African Side-necked Turtle:

These turtles have a different face with a pug nose and an upturned smile which is natural. They are also known as African Mud Turtles and have become very popular. They belong to Pelomedusidae family and are very inquisitive by nature. The requirements of these African Side Necked Turtles are very little and thus can be kept in simple enclosures. These turtles love to enjoy in groups but are shy and they also want their own place to swim. They are very alert in groups and as soon as the keeper tries to approach the turtle they plop in the water. They can be tamed very easily and love to remain under water but time to time they come up on the surface to see if there is any food for them. An adult female mud turtles reaches 9 to 12 inches within five or six years of time which is quite large. A horrible musk odor is given out by these turtles when they find themselves endangered. These turtles are found in Africa, the Seychelles and Madagascar in fifteen different species.

Most of these turtles are with dark skin, grey to black. Some of them are light in color from dark brown to tan. The sizes of these turtles vary from large to small. The length of an adult turtle grows up to 12 inches to 20 inches while that of a small turtle is 6 to 8 inches. These turtles eat both small aquatic turtle food and also aquatic plants. Fish, crayfish, crickets are some of the foods of turtle while they also love to eat the leaves of water hyacinth and water lettuce.

African side-necked turtles are found in many habitats, large lakes, small pools and also rivers. These turtle’s get respiratory problems if they are exposed to cold weather for a long period of time.

Pig-nosed Turtle:

The other name for these turtles is Fly River Turtles. They belong to family Carettochelyidae. These type of turtles are very elusive and enigmatic in nature. These are found only in the waters of Australia and were a key painting feature. There is no other fresh water turtle that looks like a pig nosed turtle. By looking at it just once, it is found as to why the name has been given. It has a typical pig nose structure.  These have a flat body and a soft shell structure and also have flippers instead of legs with claws. The adult ones are around 56cm in size.

 RED EARED SLIDER:  this type of turtle is very common. It has been used as a house hold pet for many years now. This is because these turtles are capable of tolerating differences in seasons and conditions meaning that they are very adjustable to any type of climate. These are the quite type of turtles and are very slow moving. The red eared slider can be tamed very easily. It is not necessary to be cautious while dealing with this turtle unlike other reptiles. These live long enough if they are well taken care of and if the right kind of environment is provided for them. These are the most prolific and abundant species of turtles in the world. These are fresh water turtles. These come in other colours as well like albino, pastel and leucistic.

 RINGED SAWBACK TURTLE:  the yellowish rings that are present on the shell of this turtle is what makes it very easily recognizable. These are called as saw back because these have very accentuated scutes which extend to the centre of the carapace which is the vertebral keel. This turtle is very easy to take care of and is good for beginners who would want to pursue their career in turtle care. This is a shy type and plops quickly into the water at the arrival of its keeper. It is tamed very easily and although it still goes in the water after taming, it also rises back to the surface for its keeper to hold it. it a very  active swimmer and it is a very pleasant site to watch this turtle. It requires a lot of space and a good habitat for its well being. This ringed map turtle is an endangered species of turtle in the united states of America. It has a brown body which is highlighted with the yellow rings on each scute.

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Types Of Stars

March 02, 2012   admin   No comments

BASIC INFORMATION

At night, the sky above looks beautiful with twinkling stars. As you go away from city in dark or in any deserted place, you will be able to see thousands of bright stars which cannot be seen from a city due to the city lights. What are these stars?  Huge balls of gas that are held together by gravitational force are stars. These balls or stars gives off light and heat. All the stars that we see at night from earth are made up of the same materials or gas. These stars look at the same distance from where we see or observe them the researches and astronomers say that all the stars are at the different distance away from the earth. Also, they look of same size with same brightness but stars are of different sizes and have different brightness as per the astronomers. Not only the size and brightness, stars are of different colors and also have different temperatures. To measure the brightness of the star, astronomers use a term magnitude. The brightness of the star that appears from the earth is measured as the apparent magnitude scale and the real brightness of the star measured by astronomers is the absolute magnitude scale. These are the two different systems invented by the astronomers to know the brightness of the star. These stars are different sizes; according to astronomers there are couple of stars that are 100 to 200 times larger than sun. Some stars are very small, smaller than earth also while some are big. So, depending upon the sizes and how they are different or alike these stars are grouped and studied.

Stars from a distance look as of same color but actually they are not. If observed carefully, light blue or light orange colors are seen. Stars are of different colours and are classified as: O star is of blue colour, AB type star is of blue-white colour, A type star is of white colour, AF type star is also of white colour, yellow coloured star is AG star, sun is a G star, orange star is AK type of star and Red star is M star. Astronomers call this classification as spectral classification which is done on the basis of colour, composition and size of a star. The temperatures of all the stars are also different and according to their temperature, the hottest and the coolest stars can be known. Like:

Blue star or O star has a temperature —- —————70,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Blue-white star or AB star has a temperature of——- 33,700 degrees Fahrenheit.

White star or A star has a temperature of —————15,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

White star or AF star has a temperature of ————–12,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Yellow star or AG star has a temperature of ————- 9,400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Orange star or AK star has a temperature of————- 7,200 degrees Fahrenheit.

Red star or M star has a temperature of——————- 4,900 degrees Fahrenheit

Now, that we know the temperature of different coloured stars, we can say which color star is cooler. Duller the color of the star, cooler it is. The biggest stars are the brightest but not the hottest.

There are various types of stars such as:

1)      Protostar:

A star before forming completely takes particular structure which is known as the protostar. The gas is collected and is collapsed down a molecular cloud which is very huge or giant in size. The time period for which the protostar phase lasts is around 1, 00,000 years. After a period of time the protostar is forced to collapse down due to the immense increase in the gravity and pressure. The nuclear fusion reactions or any other reactions as such would not have been started in the phase of the protostar. The heat which is liberated from the force of the gravitational energy gives more of the heat and energy to the protostar.

2)      Main Sequence Star:

In the whole wide universe there are millions and billions of stars. Of these the majority of the stars came to be known as main sequence stars. Usually these main sequence stars are of medium size. The largest star in the universe which is the sun is also known as a main sequence star. The nearest stars to the earth which are Alpha Centauri and also the Sirius are also two of the well known main sequence stars. These stars vary in various factors such as brightness, size, mass etc. Conversion of hydrogen into helium and through this process releasing an immense amount of energy is the main function of the main sequence stars. This process of conversion takes place in the core of these big stars. There is a state of hydrostatic equilibrium in the stars which are known to be in the main sequence of stars. The fusion reactions produce a light pressure which is pushed outward from the stars. Gravity is a factor which pulls the stars inward. A spherical shape in maintained by the star and the increasing and decreasing in the size which we see through our naked eyes is just the twinkling of stars.

3)      Supergiant Stars:

Supergiant stars, as the name suggests, are the largest stars in                  the universe. These are true monster star bigger in size than sun, sun is considered as medium sized star. These massive stars are of two colours, Red and Blue. They range between 10 to 70 solar masses. As these giant stars are very big and large, they are also brighter than sun. The brightness range of these massive stars is 30,000 to hundreds of thousands times brighter than sun. They are not as stable as the sun and also consume a huge amount of hydrogen fuel at an enormous rate and also tend to consume all of the fuel which is present in their cores over a period of time which is generally millions of years. They detonate as supernovae. They are said to die young and also live fast. When they detonate as supernovae they are said to completely disintegrate themselves.

Example of Red super giant star is Betelgeuse, which belongs to Orion galaxy. Compared to sun, these Betelgeuse red super giant stars has 20 times the mass of sun and also the energy given out by these stars is 135,000 times more than sun. The radius of this star is also 1,000 times the sun. According to the astronomers, as this star is too big and bright when it will die or detonate as a supernova, the explosion of this supernova at that time will be as bright as the moon.

Then comes the blue super giant star, example of this giant star is Rigel; this star also belongs to Orion galaxy. These stars are hotter than the red stars. This super giant star, Rigel is again bigger and brighter than sun and the mass of this star is 17 times that of sun and the brightness of it is also 66,000 times of sun. This massive star is bigger than the sun but not as big as the red super giant. The radius of Rigel star is 62 times that of sun.

4)      Red Dwarf Stars:

The most common stars across the universe are the Red dwarf stars. These stars are smaller and less massive than the sun and thus have less mass and less energy than the sun. According to astronomers, any stars that are half the mass of the sun are the red dwarf stars. Though, these stars are quite smaller than sun but they cannot be smaller than 0,075 times the mass oft the sun. These stars are too small, they are just fraction of the mass of the sun and the energy generated by these red dwarfs is also 1/10,000th that of sun. Red dwarfs are also of different sizes, the brightness of the largest red dwarf star is just 10% of that of sun. But these red dwarfs live a longer life than the sun, though they are of just 10% mass of sun. Compared to other stars, these red dwarfs conserve their hydrogen fuel for a longer time as they keep the hydrogen fuel mixed into the core thus using every bit of hydrogen. It is said that sun will last for 12 billion years or so but the red dwarfs have a life of 10 trillion years. Example of Red Dwarf Star is Proxima Centauri and this star is the closest star to earth. These stars cannot be seen with naked eyes as they are very small and dim.

5) Neutron Stars:

When a large star which is less than 5 times the mass of the sun and more than 1.5 times mass of the sun, dies or collapse when all the fuel is consumed, they become Neutron Stars. When any star is less than 1.5 solar masses of sun, they become white Dwarfs as they are too small and do not have enough gravity and material to compress the object and the stars become black hole if they are more than 5 times mass of the sun. A star ends up becoming a neutron star if it between the two masses. When the star of exact mass runs out of fuel and collapses it becomes a neutron star. The protons and electrons combine together to form Neutron when the star collapses under gravity. Any additional material falling also is turned into neutron material by the gravity as the star still has lots of gravity. Though these Neutron stars are massive than the sun, they are about 10 miles in diameter. These are extremely small and hot stars. According to astronomers planets are present on four known neutron stars.

5)      White Dwarf Stars:

Most of the stars that collapse after they run out of fuel and energy to become White Dwarf stars. In whole of the universe, 97% of the stars which are of small and medium masses end up becoming White Dwarf Stars. When a star is in main sequence phase of life, it produces energy by converting hydrogen into helium at its core. Its fusion stops and the star start to collapse when the hydrogen fuel is all used up at the core. A red giant star is produced by the outer layer of the star when it collapses, and the star starts using a new shell of hydrogen fuel. Even helium is burnt at the core to create carbon if the star is large enough. When all this fuel is consumed or over and the star has nothing to use it collapses, the hot carbon core is puffed out which is the outer layer. From this last fusion reaction, the hot carbon core is the left over material which is revealed and now the star becomes a White Dwarf. And over a period of time, this white dwarf will cool down to the temperature of the universe. The earth and the White Dwarf star are of the same size.

6)      Black Hole Stars:

A star with very massive mass can become a Black Hole star. Sun cannot become a black hole star as it is not massive enough. The stars with 20 time’s mass of the sun can become black hole stars when collapsed. Our sun can only become a white dwarf when it dies. When a massive star runs out of fuel it collapses and the outer layer which still contains some fuel regenerates the reaction and explodes. And the remaining core of the star continues to collapse to either become a neutron and if it still collapses then it becomes a black hole. When a star forms a black hole it is known as stellar black hole. Depending upon their sizes, there are three types of black holes: stellar, supermassive and miniature black holes.

7)      Brown Dwarf:

Brown dwarfs are not actually considered as stars but are objects that are too small to be a star and too large to be a planet. Twice the mass of the Jupiter is the mass range of these brown dwarfs and 0.08 times mass of our sun. They are also formed in the same way as the stars are formed by collapsing. Brown dwarfs were first discovered in 1995. Compared to stars, brown dwarfs are very dim and cool. Astronomers think that the number of brown dwarfs present in the universe might be the same as that of stars.

Apart from these well known stars, there are billions and billions of stars in the universe.

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Posted in: Stars

Types Of Spiders

March 01, 2012   admin   No comments

BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT SPIDERS:

FACTS RELATED TO SPIDERS

Animals coming under the order Araneae are commonly known as Spider, they belong to class Arachnida and phylum Arthropoda.   Spiders are found in every region of the world in many different types. They do not have any backbones and thus are called invertebrates. There are more than 30,000 species of spiders found of 109 families. The body of these small creatures is divided into two parts, the abdomen and the thorax. At the tip of their abdomen, they have spinnerets which are a silk spinning gland. Most of the spiders spin web but not all. Spiders have eight legs or four pairs of walking legs and no antennae, female spiders are larger than the male spiders. They are usually poisonous and have fangs through which venom is ejected. It is very painful when a spider bites and can be sometimes fatal also. The bites of spiders have little or no effect on humans as they are too small to bite a human. These tiny creatures’ fangs are not able to penetrate the skin of humans but larger spiders can bite but do not bite usually and hide between the skin and other objects as they are too shy animals. Venoms of spiders are poisonous t for their prey. Spiders have usually six to eight eyes. Generally, spiders build new webs everyday as the webs get dirty and are torn easily and spiders roll and eat the old webs when they build a new one. Spiders are of different sizes from less than 1cm to 9 cm and their leg spans are much greater than their bodies. Among so many species of spider, they are classified according to their physical characteristics.

Spiders are the largest group of animals that kill and eat other animals for their food. They feed on all sorts of arthropods including insects. These animals rarely bite people and most of them are harmless, although some species are known to produce bites which are serious. Black widow spider and brown recluse spiders and other spiders related to these are two medically important types of spiders.

Spiders’ secrete a fluid which is fibrous protein and is known as spider silk which is very strong and has elasticity when stretched. Several kinds of silk are spin by a single spider. This silk is very useful to a spider and is used to catch prey for food, the young ones of spiders are kept in the weave, to make homes and also to move around.

Spiders are useful as they help plants reproduce by pollinating them. Birds, fish and small mammals feed on spiders and thus are a vital source of food fro them. Though these are beneficial and play an integral part of the food chain but become nuisance when they enter into our homes. Some of the most common types of spiders are:

  • CRAB SPIDER :

These spiders belong to family Thomisidae and are very colorful. Compared to other spiders, they are not active hunters and wait for the prey to arrive and then catch it. Camouflage techniques are used by them more than any other spiders and they make use of their front legs to catch the prey. They have a poisonous bite with which they kill their prey and eat them. These crab spiders remain unmoved in the same place for days and even weeks waiting for their prey to arrive. The shape of their legs is like a crab and thus these spiders are named Crab spiders, the front two legs of these spiders are held on the two sides and are stronger and larger compared to other six legs. The side legs help them to catch the prey immediately. Like a crab, even these spiders move sideways. 4 to 10 mm is the average size of these crabs. The color of crab spiders is mostly extravagant and is adapted to the hunting terrain and these spiders do not build any web to catch their prey. Some of these spiders even change their color accordingly to match the color of the flower or other surrounding and live mostly on flowers and leaves. They have two big front eyes which are very powerful.

These Crab Spiders are found in number of places like, Africa, Amazon Rainforest, Arctic, Asia, and Australia, china, Europe, Indian subcontinents, North America, Russia, United Kingdom and many more places.

  • HOUSE SPIDER:

House spiders are also known as common spiders and belong to Animalia kingdom and Arthropoda phylum. These spiders have long legs, brown in color and are hairy. Male house spiders have longer legs and a slimmer abdomen compared to female house spider. These are poisonous spiders but they rarely bite humans and the venom kills the prey when they bite them but is not toxic to humans. They eat many types of insects like, Beetles, Earwigs, Cockroaches and also earthworms. The leg spans of these spiders reach up to 60 mm while the size ranges from 9 to10 mm and thus the leg size is much longer than their body size. They are found in houses and gardens, log piles and the garden sheds are the most common places where they are found. The eyesight of these spiders is poor so they usually remain in their web for the prey to come. House spiders can survive for months without any food or water. A male and a female house spider live together for some weeks during which they mate and when the male house spider dies, the female eats him up.

  • JUMPING SPIDERS:

Jumping spiders can be easily identified with different characteristics like dark hairy body and their unique eye pattern. These spiders eyesight is very powerful and compared to any other type of spiders or even any other insects, these spiders can see well. They also have white spots on the top of the abdomen. They can catch their prey very fast and perfectly due to the powerful vision and when they see their prey, they jump on them and with their venomous bites catch the prey. Jumping spiders are able to catch larger prey than their bodies due to their speed and vision, the prey they catch are sometimes more venomous than themselves. They even sometimes catch flying flies from the air. These are also different from other spiders in the way that when these jumping spiders are approached, instead of getting away from that place as the other spiders usually react, they turn towards the approached person and look at them. They turn like a crab from side to side and do not use webs to catch prey. Walls and fences are the places where these spiders are usually found.

All around the world, there are more than 5,000 species of jumping spiders. Zebra spider or the bold jumping spider belonging to Saliticus and Phiddipus family are the most helpful types of jumping spiders as they are considered as best friends in the pest-ridding business.

  • WOLF SPIDER:

Belonging to the family Lycosidae, these wolf spiders are of the class Arachnida. Ground dwelling hunting spiders of any group are commonly known as Wolf Spiders. More than 2,000 wolf spider species are known and include many of the most common and conspicuous spiders. These are small creatures with ½ inch to 2 inches in length. The bodies of these spiders have various markings or even lines and are usually brown in color. They have long, thick legs and stout bodies. Wolf spiders have eight eyes and are more robust. Even while walking on the ground, the bodies of these spiders are quite low to the ground. These hairy spiders are non poisonous spiders and the females carry their large egg sac which is bigger than their own body along with them and when their young ones or spider lings hatch they climb on the back of the mother and stay there till they are capable enough to take care of themselves. They move around at night in search of food and hunt their prey but do not spin a web.  All terrestrial habitats and the doors, windows, house plants, basements, garages are some of the places where they are usually found. When disturbed, these spiders run away as they are shy in nature.

To grab their prey, they use their front legs. Compared to any other spider group, the hunting strategy of wolf spiders is quite diverse. Some hunt their prey in daylight while wandering while others hunt only at night and even some live and hunt in aquatic environment. There are some types of wolf spiders which dig burrows and wait for the prey to come while they live in the burrow.

  • DADDY LONG LEGS:

This type of spider belongs to family Pholcidae, order Araneida and Arachnida class. These Daddy long legs spiders are poisonous with venom glands and fangs. These spiders rarely bites human as their tiny fangs are fused at the base and their jaws also do not open very wide. Although there are rumors that these spiders are the most venomous spiders in the world as they also eat other spiders like Red back which are considered very dangerous and whose venom can be fatal to humans also. The body color of these spiders is silver with brown pattern on it.

Daddy long legs spiders have eight long legs and one body part. The second pair of legs is extra long and touches the ground before any other legs. Special sense organs are present in these long legs which give the spider the feel of the ground ahead and also the advance taste. Like many other spiders they do not have six to eight eyes but have just two eyes. They are also known as harvesters as they eat both plants and insects that come in their way. Daddy long legs spiders do not have fangs or venom to kill the prey and thus these spiders do not bite. These spiders are mostly found in moist areas as they need water. With the help of two front pair of legs which are rested on the surface of the water and till the spider can drink water, the jaw is lowered down in water. Below the eyes of these spiders, they have dark fang looking part which is called pedipalps. Below the pedipalps, they have lighter colored mouth parts known as chelicerae. As the animal or spider grows it has to shed the outer shell of its body which is hard. These spiders are mostly found inside the houses and buildings. The webs of these spiders are tangled in wall corners and ceilings. They vibrate on their web if they are disturbed till not seen. The female daddy long leg spider do not make egg sac to carry their eggs, instead they carry the egg mass with them.

  • BLACK WIDOW SPIDER:

In North America, these black widow spiders are considered as the most venomous spiders. These are carnivorous spiders with a life span of 1 to 3 years. Black widow spiders are small in size with just 1.5 inches long and 0,25 in diameter. As the name suggests, these spiders are black in color with hourglass shaped mark on their abdomen.  The venom of this spider is considered to be 15 times stronger than any rattlesnake’s venom. The venom is considered dangerous for humans also as the venom has man effects like, difficulty in breathing, muscle aches, nausea and also paralysis of diaphragm. Bites of these spiders can be fatal sometimes, usually in small children. Generally these spiders do not bite as they are not aggressive by nature but in their self defence or accidentally if some one sits on it, these black widow spiders bite.

Insects and male black widow spiders are at the most risk from thee black widows as they kill and eat the male after mating in a very horrifying manner which gave them this name. These black widows are lonely throughout the year except the period of mating. Large webs are spanned by these spiders where the female suspend a cocoon with hundreds of eggs. The web remains while the young spiders after they hatch leave. The webs are also used to catch the prey like, flies, mosquitoes, grasshoppers, beetles etc.

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Types Of Skin Cancer

March 01, 2012   admin   No comments

BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT SKIN CANCER:

Most common type of cancer among all cancers is skin cancer. When the cells of the skin lose their ability to grow and divide normally they result in developing skin cancer. Normally, in healthy conditions the skin cells replace the dead cells and grow new skin. But when the cells do not grow normally and grow out of control they form a mass of tumor of these abnormally grown cells and it is called a skin tumor when these abnormal cells originate in the skin. If this skin tumor does not spread to the surrounding tissues or any organs and is limited to a few cell layers, then it is considered as not malignant or not harmful to the body but if the skin tumor spreads to the surrounding tissues or any organ then it is considered as dangerous or harmful or malignant or cancerous. The healthy cells nearby are destroyed by these cancerous cells thus forming growths of malignant tumors.

Most skin cancers or tumors are not malignant or harmful to the body though it is estimated that over 1 million new cases of skin cancer occur annually and all forms of skin cancers are also increasing each year with more and more people suffering from one or the other type of skin cancer. The main cause of skin cancer is excessive exposure to the sunlight. Mutation is caused due to the change in the genetic material in skin cells by the ultraviolet rays present in the sunlight. Skin cancers can also be caused by damaging the skin due to the ultraviolet rays of sunlamps, tanning booths and x-rays.

Usually, skin cancer develops in the outermost layer of the skin called the epidermis and thus it is seen and can be detected at an early stage. Usually people do not die of skin cancers like they die of lung, pancreas and stomach cancers. Some people do die of skin cancer but survival rate is quite high. The most commonly diagnosed type of cancer is skin cancer and the treatment of it is also easier. Compared to other cancers like, lung, breast, colorectal and prostate, Melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers are more common. One of the most preventable types of cancer is skin cancer. This type of cancer looks different, a new and unusual looking spot appears on the skin and sometimes any existing spot also changes color, size or shape developing into cancer.

Highest rates of skin cancer in the world are found in Australia; at the age of 70, out of three people two are diagnosed with skin cancer. 1,830 Australians die of skin cancer every year while every day more than 1,000 are treated. Each year, in Victoria, the number of people die due to skin cancer is more than the number of people dieing due to road accidents. The total number of people dieing is almost 401, out of which 85 die due to non-melanoma while 316 die due to melanoma skin cancer.

Depending up on the type of cells from which they arise, there are different types of skin cancers. The appearance of each kind of skin cancer is different. This type of cancers can affect any part of the skin but there are certain skin cancers which develop in specific areas of the body. Three most common types of skin cancers are:

  • Basal cell carcinoma
  • Squamous cell carcinoma
  • Malignant melanoma

Out of these three, the first two basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are not very dangerous type of cancers as they are non-melanoma.

BASAL CELL CARCINOMA:

Among all types of skin cancers, Basal call carcinoma is the most common type of skin cancer and is not dangerous or least serious type. It is commonly known as BCC and is non melanoma type of skin cancer. This type of skin cancer does not usually spread anywhere else sometimes out of 1,000 patients it is seen spreading in just 1 patient or even less than 1 so basal cell carcinoma is very common and curable type of cancer. It grows very slowly without spreading. Nearby tissues and organs may be damaged if left untreated though this type of cancer grows very slowly over months and years. In United States, more than 90 percent of patients suffering from skin cancer have Basal cell carcinoma. Most commonly BCC’s appear on the face, head, neck and trunk; it can also occur near eyes and lower legs where it is very difficult to treat. This can again be sub divided in to three main types depending up on its treatment like:

# Nodular and Nodular-Ulcerative BCCs:

Most common type of Basal cell carcinoma is Nodular. These appear as red or red grey pearly bumps which are round in shape and are hard structures. These needs to be treated immediately though with a slow growth, they extend and spread to other parts and organs destroying them. They grow in deep layers of skin and the treatment is most of the time surgical deletion of that skin part. Some part of the normal skin besides the affected skin is also removed to minimize the risk.

# Superficial Basal Cell Carcinoma:

As this type of Basal cell carcinoma grows only on the outer layer of the skin, they are least dangerous and do not affect any other part or organ. There is also no need for any surgery or deletion of any skin part as it can be treated with creams and curette. These grow as flat red rash with irregular shapes and scaly structure and are generally not raised above the skin surface. This type of skin cancer usually is seen on the trunk with generally 3 cm in diameter.

# Tough Basal Cell Carcinoma:

These types of Basal Cell Carcinoma’s are hardest to treat as many types are included in it like, infiltration, micro nodular, morphoeic, desmoplastic, sclerosing and morphoeiform. Nearby organs are destroyed by these types of cancer cells and also these types are known for reoccurring. This type of cancer is very tough to treat as once hey are treaded, they might reoccur with already burrowing into other organ destroying it. Most of the time a surgery is required to treat these tough types of cancers. The color and shape of all these types differ; some are just thickenings on the skin while some are on the face and are treated with a surgery. Mostly they appear as a firm yellow scar like area and are often bigger in size and extensive treatment is required.

SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA:

Also known as SCC is the second most common type of skin cancer. The growth of this type of cancer is much faster than the Basal Cell Carcinoma. SCC usually does not spread but they sometimes might spread throughout the body. These types of cancer can be treated even if they spread. Lymph glands, lungs or liver are the parts of the body where this type of cancer can spread. Squamous Cell Carcinoma can be divided into broad range like:

# In Situ Squamous Cell Carcinoma:

The mildest type of Squamous Cell Carcinoma is In Situ SCC and is also known as Bowen’s disease. It is only limited to the outer layer of the skin or to the epidermis layer and does not burrow any inner layer of the skin and thus is not considered as serious type. This type of skin cancer though slowly expands in size can be treated with cream or curettage and does not require any type of surgery. These are mild cancers which are often grown to many patients and are completely curable. A thick scaly rash is found on the skin which slowly increases in size and mostly found on lower legs and feet. A cream which is used most of the time is 5 Fluorouracil or many other creams.

# Well Differentiated SCC:

The deeper layers of the skin or dermis are affected by this type of SCC and there is also a risk that it might have spread in other parts of the body but is still the commonest type of cancer found in many people. The removal of the affected part of the skin along with some part of the normal skin surrounding the affected cancer skin is removed by surgery. This type of skin cancer cannot be treated with any cream or curette. A thick crusty injury or lesions is often appeared on the skin with this type of skin cancer. Many a times, the top of the wound like or lesion falls off and the patients think it to be gone but the scaly top again reappears after a certain time. The patient suffering from Well Differentiated SCC needs regular check ups by a doctor for other skin cancers and also to know if the tumor has spread anywhere else as there is always a risk from this type of cancer to spread in other areas.

# Keratoacanthoma:

This type of skin cancers do not spread anywhere in the body and are not considered as dangerous. The growth is very fast and they grow large in 6 to 10 weeks of time. Though this type of cancer looks dangerous as the appearance is like a mini volcano with stretched skin as the foothill of the volcano and in the center, the loose skin which resembles the crater but still is not so. A surgery is needed where the affected part of the skin is removed and after the surgery by microscopic diagnosis it can be confirmed whether it is a Keratoacanthoma and not any other serious type of skin cancer.

# Aggressive SCCs:

Several types of squamous cell carcinoma are included in this type of skin cancer. It can only be treated with a surgery of removing the affected part of the skin with some of the surrounding normal skin. The size of the tumor on the skin or any structures almost doubles in very short time and over months they double in size as these types of skin cancers have very fast growth. They can also spread in other areas in the body and thus a check up is needed in the form of scan of the lymph nodes or other organs to see if the tumor has spread elsewhere. This type includes many different SCCs and thus these SCCs are sometimes soft and also sometimes hard, some bleed while others do not.

# Actinic Keratoses:

When the outer layer of the skin or the epidermis layer is damaged severely by the sun rays, this type of skin cancer is caused. It is very common among many people suffering from skin cancer and the lesions or the small sunspots on the skin are not considered as cancer in early stage. The cells on the outer layer of the skin become quite abnormal due to the damage and can easily be treated with creams and curette. Surgery is not required for the treatment of this cancer. Sometimes the lesions or injury are thicker which requires a biopsy to test whether they are not Well Differentiated SCC and are thick form of Actinic Keratoses.

MALIGNANT MELANOMA:

A dangerous and serious type of skin cancer is Malignant Melanoma. This type is not as common as BCCs and SCCs but is considered fatal. It generally occurs on the skin which is exposed to sunlight but it can also occur on the covered part of the skin which has been previously exposed to sunlight or has been sun burnt. Melanoma cancer develops in different ways, sometimes any existing mole can develop into melanoma while sometimes some new spot appears on the skin which is brown, red or black which grows in size and also changes in appearance and develops into Melanoma. When the melanomas are just limited to the outer layer of the skin they are not dangerous and are known as In Situ Melanoma and can be removed if detected early. They usually occur on the head and neck of older people.

When this cancer grows in another layer of the skin, dermis then it is called Invasive melanoma. This can only be treated with a surgery of removing the affected area of the skin with the normal skin of 10mm margin around the affected site. There is a greater risk of cancer spreading to other areas if the melanoma has grown deep into the dermis. The invasive melanoma can be classified into; Superficial spreading melanoma, Lentigo maligna melanoma, Nodular melanoma and Acral melanoma.

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Posted in: Health

Types Of Sharks

February 29, 2012   admin   No comments

BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT SHARKS:

Sharks are found all around the world mostly in oceans, some sharks are also found living in rivers and lakes. Sharks have no bones but the skeleton which is made up of tough fibrous substance hard but not as hard as a bone called the cartilage. Sharks can also called as a type of fish but very different from a fish. Fish have bones and cartilage both while sharks only have cartilage and no bones. A fish can swim forward and backward while a shark can only swim in forward direction. The skin or body of a fish is slippery while that of a shark is rough. According to researches, sharks are living in this world since millions of years even before the dinosaurs. More than 360 different species of sharks are found in the world today and are classified in eight different orders. Depending up on the species, sharks are of different sizes some are small while some of them are too large. There are some types of sharks which are dangerous while some are very calm and nice. Surprisingly, the nicest ones or the coolest sharks found in the oceans are the ones which are the largest of all species. Sharks shed their teeth constantly and they are very expensive.

Each year, 30 to 50 shark attacks are reported and out of them only 5 to 10 prove to be fatal. Sharks usually do not attack humans, it is said that they do not like the flesh of humans so bitten by a shark is very rare and dying due to shark bite is even more rarer. Sharks are usually feared by people and are thought to be very aggressive and deadly animal but it is not true as the percentage of killed by a shark is much low than killed by any hornets, bees or dogs.  Some of the Sharks species have to keep on moving and swimming to stay alive. The whale shark is the largest shark and largest fish in the world which lives up to 60 to 100 years of age and is 18 meters in length. Millions of sharks are killed by humans every year.  Lots of oil is present in the liver of sharks to keep their balance in the water as the liver plays a role of floating organ for a shark. Sharks are one of the most interesting creatures on this planet with so many distinguishing characters and types. Some of the common types of sharks are:

ANGEL SHARKS:

Angel sharks are one of the most unusual types of sharks, mainly mistaken as a sea creature. These are also known as pacific angel sharks and California Angel sharks also. They have a flattened body with light brown to grey color with small dark spots scattered all over the body. They are very similar to rays and skates sharks, with large pectoral fins. Angel sharks mouth is present in front rather than on the bottom of the head. The pectoral fins are not totally attached to the body and the gills wrap around the side of its head. They spend most of the time at the bottom of the ocean, hiding with their grey, brown and black color which matches with the sand waiting for their prey small fish to come. Their over all diet consists of clams and mollusks and small fishes. With the huge mouth they swallow the whole fish.

HAMMERHEAD SHARKS:

These are another type of shark with a different look, the head of these shark has a shape of a hammer on both the sides, which enables them to look for a prey very easily. Due to this shape the eyes are set apart and they can see in various direction. The warm water that is found along the coastlines is preferred by these sharks. 9 different species of hammerhead sharks are found and most of them are harmless to humans. They are not confused with other sharks and are easily recognized due to their very different and strange look.

They are found all over the world in tropic and sub-tropic waters. In the months of summer, these sharks migrate to cooler water places.  They are not found on the surface of the water but are known to live more than 250 feet below the surface of the water. They can feel the vibration and movement of their prey even if they do not see them as these sharks have very developed sensory organs in their long head. The sense of smell is also very developed and sharp which makes it easier for them to find their food or prey. Though they are harmless to humans, they are very aggressive when they hunt for their food. Small fish, sting rays, small sharks and squid are some of the varieties of food they eat and in case of scarce in food, these hammerheads eat each other. They have extremely sharp triangular teeth. The sizes and weights of hammerhead sharks are different, they can be anywhere between 12 to 20 feet long with 500 to 1000 pounds of weight.

At one tome, the female hammerhead sharks give birth to 20 to 40 young ones and immediately they are separated from their mother. Young hammerheads survive well as they do not have many enemies in water due to the shape of their head which is often feared by others.

BLUE SHARKS:

These are the most dangerous types of sharks which are known to attack humans. Blue sharks are the fastest sharks of all the sharks and thus the prey do not have any chance of survival. They live in very deep water but from time to time these sharks are seen peeping out of the water to find if there is anything to eat. They are found in sub-tropical areas, as they prefer cooler water. They cover up long distances for food in no time as they are very good and fast swimmers. The teeth and jaws of blue sharks are very sharp and strong which has resulted in many deaths due to the attacks on humans. These shark species live in small groups with a leader of their own.

Blue sharks have a slender body and are very thin but have a healthy appetite. These sharks eat a variety of food or any food which comes in their hand but they love to eat squid which is not always available so they also eat fish, mollusks, and small sharks and in the water whatever garbage is found is eaten by these sharks. The adult blue sharks are often mistaken as the younger species due to their slender body.

Compared to the other sharks length and weight, these sharks are quite small with 12 feet of length and maximum of 450 pounds of weight. As the name suggests, these sharks are blue in color with light to deeper shades. As they grow older, these sharks color gets deeper.

During mating, the male bits the female very hard but it does not hurt her as her skin is three times thicker than the skin of the male. The female sharks give birth to 25 to 100 pups at a time which are immediately separated from the mother and left on their own in water.

GREAT WHITE SHARKS:

Great white sharks are the most famous and best known species of sharks. In the world, these sharks are believed to be the most dangerous type of sharks. These are big sharks with more than 12 feet of length and weighs more than 1000 pounds. Some white sharks are also around 3000 pounds and are really huge. Compared to other species of sharks humans are attacked more by the white sharks than any other sharks. People are always advised to stay away from the locations where these white sharks are located as these sharks are among those few species of sharks which raise their heads out of the water and are seen.

At the time of birth only these sharks are 5 feet long and grows with the age. While small these baby sharks live on their own and have to avoid predators that will eat them, even other white sharks. Sea lions and seals are the favorite foods of an adult white shark while they eat fish and rays and other sharks when they are still young. While hunting, sharks position themselves underneath the seal when they find a seal at the surface of the water. At a fast sprint they swim upwards coming out of the water and with the seal in their mouth they again fall back in the water swallowing them whole. These white sharks can go without another big meal or without food for one or two months after they eat a big seal or a sea lion. At the age of 12 to 14 years, the female white sharks reproduce. At a time, the female sharks give birth to 10 to 12 pups. The great white shark is the largest meat eating aggressive shark. They have sharp big teeth which are more than 2.5 inches long. They have very sharp sense organs which help them for hunting. The big and oily livers of the sharks help them to float.

WHALE SHARKS:

Whale sharks live in warm waters in tropical climates and are the biggest sharks of all the species. They are very huge and large with length varying from 25 feet long to 45 feet with unbelievable weight anything up to 30,000 pounds. These whale sharks have rows of teeth which can be between 300 to 350 rows of teeth at a time which is just too much. While to have rows of teeth is not common in other sharks. They are generally found in deeper waters of the oceans and do not live close to the shore. Whale sharks normally live approximately 2000 feet below the surface of the water. So, it is extremely expensive to place them in any captivity due to the need of huge space and volume of water what they need.

Whale sharks are the biggest species and slowest swimmers due to their body weight. For swimming, these whale sharks use their entire body which is very uncommon in sharks. They can only swim 3 miles per hour. They do not attack humans and on the contrary they are found swimming away as quickly as they can when they come in contact with any human. These sharks are hardly found in groups as they live alone. The tail of these sharks are very powerful and full of force, if accidentally it hits anyone there are chances of severe injury as they do not ham humans purposely. These sharks even allow humans to play with them and remove parasites and bacteria from their bodies.

These large whale sharks are filter feeders among the other three types of sharks that feed in this manner. They take in water and feed on what all comes inside with the water and thus they get plenty of food to eat keeping the water clear at the same time as debris of various types are not allowed to accumulate in water.

Whale sharks are light grey in color with white color underbelly with yellow spots all over. The look of an alligator or crocodile appears in some part of the skin with porous squares and is raised. All the whale sharks have different designs of spots and squares which are very unique and these sharks have five sets of large gills present.

At a time, a female whale shark can give birth to 300 pups. A whale shark reproduces at the age of 30 and these sharks which are very large and extraordinarily huge live for approximately 100 years.

TIGER SHARKS:

Tiger sharks are the second largest sharks in the world with about 14 feet of length and the weight between 850 pounds to 2,000 pounds. These sharks have stripes on their body which are similar to the tigers and thus these sharks are called tiger sharks. The color, size and designs of the stripes of all the tiger sharks are different from each other. The eyesight of these tiger sharks is very powerful and sharp and thus they hunt at night always without much struggle. One more amazing characteristics of these sharks are that they can change their body color from blue to green so that they blend in water.

After great white sharks, the attacks on humans are recorded more by these tiger sharks. They attack on humans only if they find they are in danger. They hunt for food very aggressively and harm anything which comes in their way to food. The food of these tiger sharks is very different from other sharks, they eat anything fish, shark, animal or any entity in water. Some very unique items are found in the stomach of these tiger sharks; pieces of boats, jewelry, clothes, tires, books and many more such items. They taste anything that comes in their way and are very curious by nature.

Most of the tiger sharks are located in the Atlantic Ocean, they are also found in tropic and sub-tropic areas of the world as they enjoy warm water. Wide open space is required by these sharks as they are very large and huge. They live in shallow waters near the surface and thus are easily spotted. They are often killed as they attack humans.

Female tiger sharks reproduce at the age of 4 years. At a time, these sharks give birth to anything between 10 to 80 pups. The pups remain inside their mother for about 14 to 16 months. Once they are born, they are separated from their mother and are on their own.

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Posted in: Fish

Types Of Roses

February 29, 2012   admin   No comments

A BEAUTIFUL FLOWER——--Rose

Among so many flowers all over the world, Rose is one of the most beautiful and most liked flowers. A symbol of love, very attractive flower and spreads fragrance in any garden. Rose is also known as queen of all flowers and very popular among people. From thousands of years, roses personify beauty, pleasure and perfection of nature. There are about 150 species of roses found with beautiful colours and fragrance. Rose is mainly valued for its different colours. Through cross breeding, selection and hybridization thousands of cultivars have been developed from these species. From these cross breeding, very new look rose’s plants which vary from just a foot tall miniature to tall climbing trees of 50 feet have been developed. For the beauty and elegance, roses have always been appreciated and is considered symbol of love since ancient times.

Poets and writers of all ages and of all countries are always inspired by roses and they often mention about this flower in their writings. Roses are not limited to any one country, they are found all over the world with different colours and fragrance. Rose is the national flower of England, in several states of United States it is the state flower. Throughout the northern hemisphere many species and varieties of roses are found. Roses are also found in the mountain districts of tropics. Wild roses are the first roses of ancient days and the rose plants of today are all the descendants of ancient wild roses. Sometimes, these wild roses bear a double bloom flower which means the flower has more than five petals. A double bloom flower bearing plant can be obtained if wild rose plant bearing occasional double bloom flowers is selected and proper care for several years is given and descendant expert care can produce a plant which can consistently bear double flowers.

Roses are of different kinds:   the roses that bloom once a year are old roses. These roses usually bloom in early summer, the yellow briers, damask roses, moss roses and many climbers come under this kind of roses. Then, there are roses that bloom in early summer and again they fall. And there is hybrid perpetual, also known as summer and autumn roses or perpetual roses. Floribundas, grand floras, hybrid teas and polyanthus are all included in this kind. These are ever blooming hybrids with flowers growing constantly during the season. Plants of roses can be planted anywhere in borders of a garden, hedges, background, in containers and also as raised beds anywhere. If planted and taken care in a right way, the roses bloom year after year. Roses are found in many colours like, red roses, pink roses, white roses, orange roses, yellow roses, lavender roses, miniature roses, multicolor roses and also climbing roses.

There are around 150 species of roses. The plants which are developed from these species are divided into Old garden roses and modern roses. These are again divided into many sub groups. There is a wide variety of different roses found. Some of them which come under modern type of roses are:

Hybrid teas:

The most popular rose in the world is the Hybrid tea rose, produce by cross between hybrid perpetual and old fashioned tea roses. It is a very beautiful flower with lovely fragrance and does not require much care so this flower has all the qualities anybody would want in a flower. Like other roses, this plant does not have clusters of flowers or roses; it just has one blossom at the end of stem. Throughout the growing season, this plant gives repeat bloomers. The flower of hybrid tea has quite a big rose of over 60 petals and is large as 5 inch across. It does not have a bushy habit like other roses plant; it has open habit which makes it different from other rose’s plants. Except for blue color, these hybrid teas are cultivated in bi-colors and almost all single colors. Depending upon the growing condition, this plant grows from 3-6 feet tall and has a long stem. By slowly unfurling, the pointed buds of this rose opens into a beautiful flower. This hybrid tea plant is known as modern garden rose and is the oldest cultivar group. The flowers or roses of this plant are popular as cut flowers because of the single flower at the end of long and strong stem.

Climbing Roses:

This is another type of modern roses, which is great and adds beauty to vertical gardens. Climbing roses and rambling roses are both used to cover the gardens with nothing overhead. Some roses of these types have strong stems with thorns which can provide security to the garden. The climbers grow beautifully covering the walls, over hedges, small or old trees, on poles or pillars, to cover any arch and make it more beautiful and attractive. It can grow anywhere you want; it just grows and makes the place more decorated and full of beauty. The climbers are also thorn less for arches. These climbers need support for growing and climbing. The thorns of this roses are curved backwards which holds the stem and branches of other plant or grows over them. They need to be tied and trained by some support as they do not have any support or own climbing aids. As they blossom in season, they can be combined with other flowers with different season so that you have flowers throughout. Climbers grow in different sizes so according to the space and goal climbers must be selected. Some climbers grow very big, some are medium sized while some are small. Climbers’ roses have beautiful colors like, red, white, pink, yellow and also shaded with two colors. Some of the beautiful climbers are: Blue Magenta, Danse du Feu, Madame Alfred Carriere, Fourth of July rose, Don Juan Rose, etc.

Miniature Roses:

These types of rose plant grow just up to 2 feet or even less in height and the flowers or blooms are also small. These are produced from miniature old garden roses with repeat-blooming Asian species. These roses are found in variety of colors shades found in modern hybrid teas also. Climbing miniatures are also produced from crosses of miniatures with climbing roses. Miniature roses are gorgeous fragrant flowers with strong and upright stems. These are all time favorite for decorations and cut flower bouquets. They grow in bushy style and are compact and vigorous. Gallicas, centifolias, etc are all old garden roses which have their miniature forms as modern plants. Just as the larger forms all these miniatures are once blooming roses. Many miniature roses are now found in repeat flowering shrubs form. These plants do not grow high in size as they are made to remain small. The roses on these plants are also smaller than the standard roses. Miniature roses are also found in different varieties like: climbers- these are minis which grow vertically and are trained to grow with the help of a support.  Trailers—cascading growth habits of a miniature rose plant are trailers. Micro-mini— these are miniatures roses which are very small or smallest mini roses. The blossoms are proportionately tiny.

Miniflora—these miniature roses are similar to miniature roses and are slightly larger plants. These newly developed roses are classified by an American Rose Society.

Shrub roses:

Bonica, Frau Dogmar Hartopp, Abraham Darby, Golden Wings etc are all shrub roses. These are the most common roses found all over the world. Compared to other roses, they are easier to maintain. Many varieties and colors of shrub roses are found with pleasant fragrance. These are bushy plants with flowers on the top of the bush. The roses are small and with many blooms at a time. Compared to other roses, these shrubs survive better in extreme weather conditions. These shrub roses are favorite to all as they need very less attention; they are hard survivors as they can withstand extreme cold day or very hot day. The flowers bloom quickly again if they wither away. They are good resistant to diseases also. They do not grow taller than four feet thus making it easier to maintain. Without roses also these plants or shrubs are very pleasing and look good as boundary and become hedges protecting the garden.

Floribundas:

These are garden roses which are developed by crossing hybrid teas with polyanthus roses. Floribundas were developed to get the beauty and color range of hybrid tea with polyanthus profusion. The roses are smaller than the hybrid teas but are more in number thus giving a better look to the garden. These are stiff shrubs that are smaller and bushier than hybrid teas but compared to polyanthus are less dense. The clusters of these floribundas look like bouquets on every branch. There is never one flower on a stem they are always in clusters. These are hardy roses found in many colors and sizes and are usually showy flowers. It also shows continuous blooming with little maintenance. They grow as tall as 5 to 6 feet tall and sometimes are low growing also. The flowers are relatively large from 2 to 3 inches across. The main characteristics of floribundas is constant blooming, the plant is rarely seen without any flowers on it. to produce a stunning effect in your garden, plant these floribundas in a group of three or more. For container growing also these are a good choice. They are found in a large variety like, dark red, iceberg, white, medium pink, sunsprite, dark yellow, mauve, Escapade, Europeana, etc.

Grandifloras:

Some of the examples of Grandifloras are, Aquarius, Gold Medal, and Pink Parfait etc. these roses are usually found in small clusters and are large to medium in size. They are developed by crossing between hybrid teas with Floribundas. These are not one blooming flowers but they repeatedly bloom in the season with clustered blooms. Plants of these flowers grow tall with a height of 5 to 8 feet. Due to their long stem they look great as cut roses. Vast color range of these grandifloras roses is available. Though they do not have a nice fragrance like hybrid teas, they are found with light scent. They need bigger and enough space to grow as these grandifloras grows large. Queen Elizabeth and Arizona Rose are grandifloras flowers with beautiful pink and orange colors respectively.

 Standard or Tree Roses:

Addition to any garden is the tree roses which are also known as rose standards. This is just a way of growing roses. In this type, the creeping or climbing roses or any rose bush are grafted to a trunk in such a way that it looks like a rose tree. Sometimes these trunks are then grafted to hardy rootstocks. These plants require extra care and protection in different weather conditions. These rose standards are very attractive and give elegant look to any garden or entrance. But these plants require more attention and care than any other rose’s plants. More water is required by them and must always be staked. They are more susceptible to damage during winter so they need winter protection. They are also grown with mixed colors on a single tree.

Some of the other types of roses are:

Gallic Rose

Damask Rose

Provence Rose

China Rose

Musk Rose

Gallic Rose:

These are considered as cultivars group and are of the species R.gallica. These are once flowering roses forming low shrubs. Wide range of colors of these flowers is found from white to pink and also deep purple. These flowers are commonly found double or semi double but sometimes they are also single.  It is a county flower of Lancashire.

Damask Rose:

These flowers or roses are developed from Rosa gallica and Rosa moschata. These roses are very famous with fine fragrance and very useful in making rose water, perfumes and Rose concrete. For flavoring food, petals of the Damask rose are used. Sometimes it is also used to make tea. For human consumption also this flower is considered as very safe and good.

With so many thousands of roses available, it is very confusing to say which the best one is as all the roses are very attractive with lovely colours and great fragrance. But they are best on plants than in hands. They not only add beauty to the gardens but also give a pleasant and refreshing atmosphere.

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Posted in: trees

Types Of Rocks

February 29, 2012   admin   No comments

Various types of rocks are found on the earth. They are all different from each other in the way they are formed. These rocks give the earth some texture and structure. The mineral composition, colour, texture, permeability and the grain size of all the rocks differ. Rocks consist of various minerals. They are solid materials that occur naturally; largely the whole earth’s crust is made up of these solid hard materials called rocks. Though there are many types of rocks found, the rocks are classified into three main types:

1)      Igneous Rocks

2)      Sedimentary Rocks

3)      Metamorphic Rocks

IGNEOUS ROCKS

Igneous rocks are rocks that are formed after a volcano erupts. These are the melted rocks that has cooled and solidified. Deep within the earth, there are rocks that are buried and melt due to high temperature and pressure. These rocks are called Magma or molten rocks that flow upwards and even are erupted on the earth’s surface by a volcano. After the volcano, when this liquid of magma cools slowly crystals are formed from the melted liquid, and grained rock are formed from these crystals of the liquid which is thousands of feet under the earth surface but when the magma is not deep inside and near the earth’s surface or at the earth’s surface small crystals are formed which gives fine grained rocks. When the melted liquid or magma is brought to the surface of the earth, it is called Lava. This Lava forms volcanic rocks. No crystals are formed when the lava cools very quickly and the rock which we get looks shiny glasslike. Longer the cooling, larger are the crystals that are formed.  Sometimes tiny holes and spaces are found in the rocks, this is due to the gas bubbles that are trapped in the rock during cooling of the liquid. A phase change from liquid to solid is involved in forming of igneous rocks. The earth at the surface where our planets are exposed to coldness is made up of igneous rocks. Depending upon the different chemical composition and cooling rates of the magma different types of rocks are formed. Out of many types of igneous rocks, the four main types of igneous rocks are, volcanic glass also known as Obsidian, granite, basalt and the andesite porphyry.

Andesite rock:

When thick lava flows during volcanoes, these andesite rocks are formed. They are grey to black in colour. These rocks are an example of igneous rocks. The crystals of andesite rocks are composed of plagioclase feldspar, pyroxenes and hornblende. This rock is commonly found in Andes Mountain Range and thus is known as andesite rocks.

Basalt Lava:

Another example of igneous rocks is Basalt, is a hard and black volcanic rock. Basalt rock includes olivine, pyroxene and plagioclase minerals. Between 1100 to 1250 degree c temperature is when basalt is erupted. This rock is the most common rock found on the earth’s crust. When there is direct melting of earth’s mantle, the magma of basaltic rock is formed.

Pumice:

A rock formed during explosive eruption, is a light and porous rock. Due to the expanding volcanic gases, pumice is full of holes. This rock can be formed by all types of magma: basalt, andesite, dacite and rhyolite. Volcanic glass and minerals are present in pumice.

Obsidian:

Rich in iron and magnesium, Obsidian is mostly found in black colour. Sometimes these stones are red in colour or have a greenish tint. When lava cools down quickly without taking any time obsidian rocks are formed. It is a dense volcanic glass. In the Stone Age culture this rock was used for making knives, arrowheads and other tools which have sharp edges as these rocks fracture with sharp edges.

Rhyolite:

Eruption of rhyolite rock is very explosive as this rock prevents the gases from escaping. It is viscous due to presence of high silica in it. This rock is a light coloured volcanic rock. When rhyolite erupts pumice or obsidian rocks are produced. Quartz, feldspar and biotite are the minerals found in this rock. Silica content in rhyolite is very high; it is greater than 68% by weight.

Granite rocks:

Another type of igneous rocks is the granite, which are formed beneath the earth surface by slowly cooling pockets of magma. It consists of quartz, feldspar which is white and alkali feldspar which is beige in colour. It also contains dark minerals like biotite and hornblende. It is used in building monuments and sculptures and also is used as dimension stone for walls and floors.

SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

These rocks are secondary rocks that are formed by the accumulation of small pieces of broken off rocks and when these form layers and get compacted and cemented form sedimentary rocks. They are also formed by the accumulations of fragments of minerals or animals or plant material. These rocks are formed at the surface of the earth, in water or on land. When remains of living things and rock particles are deposited in the sea deep inside, they accumulate layer by layer. This can be on the land or on the sea floor and forms thick deposits over thousands or millions of years. These layers form sedimentary rocks by the weight of the overlying sediments which compact the below layers. Examples of such type of rock formed due to compaction are: Sandstone and Shale.

Sedimentary rocks are also formed by crystallization, this type of rocks are formed in shallow parts of sea and lakes. In desert areas where evaporation is more, the particles that are accumulated in layers lose water content due to evaporation and dissolved minerals form crystals. More and more crystals are formed and accumulated due to evaporation forming sedimentary rocks. Example of such type of rock formed due to crystallization is coal.

There are formations of sedimentary rocks around us all the time. Dried muds on the sea shore when compacted and hardens become shale. Sand and gravel also on the beaches and river banks look like sandstone when conglomerate. Mud and shells also settle down on the floor of lagoons to form sedimentary rocks. Some sedimentary rocks get cemented to form hard rocks while there are some that are held together by electrical attraction and remain loose. Normally sedimentary rocks are formed by layers that are parallel to earth’s surface but if some rocks are formed by the layers that are at the high angles to the surface or if they are found twisted or broken then it is said that some kind of movement of earth must have taken place since the rock was formed.

Sedimentary rocks usually have layered appearance as they are formed due to the layers of deposits. In many sedimentary rocks fossils of plants and animals are found. Rock particles like pebbles and sand are found in sedimentary rocks that are formed by compaction and sedimentary rocks have crystalline appearance that is formed by crystallization. Examples of sedimentary rocks are: Breccia, Sandstone, Dolomite, limestone and conglomerate.

Conglomerate:

When the pebbles are brought together by moving water and cemented, conglomerate rock is formed. It is formed by rounded pebbles which gets their shape by the action of moving water. The pebbles can be from any river or stream or from the waves on a beach. When these pebbles are deposited, sediments compact them by piling on them. Thus the pebbles get cemented by minerals over a long period of time forming conglomerate rock. The round pebbles can easily be seen in a conglomerate rock.  The minerals found in cementing are; Silica, calcite and iron oxide.

Breccia:

Similar to conglomerate rock, Breccia is formed by angular pebbles. The pebbles by which this rock is formed are not rounded by the action of moving water. Same as conglomerate rocks, this rock is also formed when pebbles are deposited and compacted by pile of sediments and cemented by minerals over a long period of time. Cementing minerals found in this rock are; Silica, calcite and iron oxide.

Sandstone:

When sand grains or particles of sand are cemented together to form a solid stone, sandstone is formed. The mineral which cements the sand grains is mainly quartz as this mineral is abundantly found on earth and is very durable. Other cementing minerals are Silica, calcite and iron oxide. Water deposits these minerals in the space between the sand grains. Thus minerals fill up all of the spaces over thousands and millions of years forming sandstone. Reddish coloured sandstone is formed when iron is present as a cementing mineral.

Siltstone:

Another example of sedimentary rocks is Siltstone. Another name for clay is silt. Very fine grained clay or particles of clay when deposited, compacted and cemented together they form solid stone called siltstone. It is very similar to sandstone but the texture of this stone is finer. The cementing minerals are; Silica, calcite and iron oxide. The spaces between the grains of silt or clay are occupied by these minerals and over a period of thousands or millions of years the minerals fill up all of the spaces and form a solid rock.

 

Shale:

Shale is another very common example of sedimentary rock that is similar to siltstone. This rock is also formed by particles of clay only difference is the size of particles. The clay particles found in this stone are very fine, once they are deposited the particles become compact and are cemented together by minerals like, Silica, calcite and iron oxide and become solid stone. The spaces between the grain particles are filled up by these minerals and over the years minerals fill up all the space and shale rock is formed.

Limestone:

Limestone is also an example of sedimentary rocks which are made up of calcium carbonate or calcite. Calcite is obtained mostly from the shells of marine organisms.

Fossiliferous Limestone:

Rock formed by the remains of ancient plants and animals in the form of fossils is Fossiliferous Limestone.

Coal:

Another form of rock that is included in sedimentary rocks is coal. Coal is formed by the organic matter in the form of plant fragments. Different types of coal are formed like, a black lignite which has crumbly consistency or is not even. Another type of coal is called Bituminous coal which is again black but can be dull or shiny. Then there is Anthacite coal which is formed by metamorphosis.

METAMORPHIC ROCKS

The rocks that are formed due to the intense pressure and high heat on the sedimentary rocks and igneous rocks are metamorphic rocks. These metamorphic rocks are denser and compact rocks than the original rocks due to the heat and pressure they get. But this heat and pressure does not melt the rock. The process of metamorphic rocks takes place on the rocks that are deeply buried in the earth’s crust. As the minerals are rearranged by the pressure and heat, new minerals are created and also by reaction with fluid that enter the rocks. Granite gneiss and biotite schist are two examples of metamorphic rocks. These rocks have a striped appearance. The pressure and temperature under the earth’s crust is so high that it can even change the already metamorphosed rocks in again a new type. In the process of metamorphosis, there is a change in the physical structure of the rock as well as the chemical composition. Metamorphic rocks are hard and strong and have a crystalline appearance. They have banded or layered structure. Examples of metamorphic rocks are, marble and quartzite.

Quartzite rocks:

This rock is metamorphosis from sandstone. When heat and pressure are exerted on grains of quartz and sand, the composition of quartzite is formed. This stone does not have strips and looks uniform. It is a very hard stone that is resistant to weather. The colour of quartzite is white or grey and if iron oxide is present it gives it a red or pink colour

Marble:

When limestone or dolomite rocks are metamorphosed, marble is formed. . Marble has a uniform texture but the colour and texture depends upon the kind of limestone that goes through metamorphosis and the degree of metamorphism. The colour of the marble can be white, black, reds, green and more. Marble is used as building material for its beauty and strength.

Slate:

Slate rock is formed when shale rock is metamorphosed. Shale rock is made up of clay minerals. Depending upon degree of heat and pressure exerted on this rock, it metamorphoses into slate, phyllite, schist or gneiss. When least amount of heat and pressure are exerted on shale rock, slate rock is formed. This rock has strips that can be clearly seen and so can be easily split into thin parallel planes.

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