Science and Magic

Outrageous? Blasphemy? Hillarious?

Well, whatever you may think, I have believed for several years that science and magic are connected. You may want to call me a madman, but I am a student of science discipline myself; so I know what I am talking about, which makes me sane! There are many examples, many of them self-realised that can justify my claim. But I am a little too tired right now to go into a duel with you over our philosophies. And yet, I can not resist it. I can not resist telling you this story.

I have read many stories about stones. You might have, too. There is this one story that I remember with all the details: The Moonstone; its the first detective story in english written by Wilkie Collins, in which the moonstone is associated with ill-fate in the hands of a mortal. There are many more stories in which precious stones are associated with sorcery. This is one such story. However the stone involved is not a well known precious stone such as a moonstone or a diamond or an emerald.

It began almost eight years back, on the day of my thirteenth birthday. I remember it so well, partly because of the following story and partly because the birthday fell on a 13th with a particularly bright yellow full moon. I have this rather immature fascination for trinkets and ornaments. The odd ones especially. I am allergic to gold, but all other metals suit me well. That day, I had been to a jewellery store and the moment I entered, my eyes were set on a beautiful iridescent Opal. Nobody else seems to be interested in it at all. But then again not many share such a liking for odd trinkets! So I decided to buy it; it was costly, but not as much as the stone is worth which I came to know only later. Had any one known its true value, it would not have been on sale in the first place. How it ended up in the jewellery store and later around my neck is a mystery I am yet to solve till date. So far so good.
That night (oh, I am definitely not divulging the details of the party; thats for private listening) my life took such a dramatic change, I am still recovering from the effects, even as I am writing this article. (You must be thinking, I am writing this out of delirium, a side effect of that dramatic change. I know what you are thinking and your sarcasm hurts me!) I was taking a stroll in my garden, watching the bats flit by, listening to the cicadas' haywired chello orchestra, when all of a sudden the illusion broke down. Oh, I forgot to mention, this optical physicality that you see and force your brains to experience is an illusion and I dont want to argue trying to describe reality to someone who is so used to this illusion. So when the illusion broke down, I was in a secluded place. Everything was so different. Dynamic! The shape of the stones and boulders changed all the time. The ground under my feet itself was moving; grumbling rather. For a long time I stood trying to understand when an old woman appeared. She said, "Stop moulding your thoughts so much. You are wasting your energy!". That shocked me so much, I was thoughtless for a brief moment and during that time, everything around was still and I realised that the reality took the shape of my thoughts. Far fetched, eh? Does not matter. That is not the point of the story anyway. We, myself and the old woman, started talking and she explained to me what happened and that explanation is the point of the story.

If you have been reading carefully, I mentioned earlier that this story is not about diamonds and emeralds. I also mentioned that stones are associated with magic. I also mentioned about opal. I take it that you all have drawn your obvious conclusions. Yes, not all stones are associated with sorcery. Diamonds and emeralds are kept in the King's treasury. Wizards and witches carry opals and other stones. Whats so special about opals and those other stones? They are naturally occuring "photonic crystals".
Photonic crystals are optical equivalents of semiconductor electronic devices like diodes and transistors. Just like transistors are used to route a stream of electrons to desired locations in desired amounts, photonic crystals can be used to control stream of photons. While the speed of electrons depend on the voltage under which they accelerate, the speed of photons is .. well, you know. Needless to say, replacing the billions of transistors with an equivalent circuit made of photonic crystals (and using a photon source) will increase the speed of processing of a computer, for that matter, any electronic device. Since light is the fastest travelling entity known to muggle (non-magical) folk, this transformation is like achieving the pinnacle of a technology. But ofcourse, there are difficulties in implementing this. To understand them, it is essential to understand what photonic crystals really are.
The easiest way to understand the behaviour of light in a photonic crystal is to compare it to the movement of electrons and holes in a semiconductor. In a silicon crystal, for example, the atoms are arranged in a diamond-lattice structure, and electrons moving through this lattice experience a periodic potential as they interact with the silicon nuclei via the Coulomb force. This interaction results in the formation of allowed and forbidden energy states. Consider photons moving through a block of transparent dielectric material that contains a number of tiny air holes arranged in a lattice pattern. The photons will pass through regions of high refractive index - the dielectric - interspersed with regions of low refractive index - the air holes. To a photon, this contrast in refractive index looks just like the periodic potential that an electron experiences travelling through a silicon crystal. Indeed, if there is large contrast in refractive index between the two regions then most of the light will be confined either within the dielectric material or the air holes. This confinement results in the formation of allowed energy regions separated by a forbidden region - the so-called photonic band gap. Since the wavelength of the photons is inversely proportional to their energy, the patterned dielectric material will block light with wavelengths in the photonic band gap, while allowing other wavelengths to pass freely. We can also have a different dielectric material in place of air holes. By tweaking the parameters of the dielectric materials, such as the refractive index, the size and periodicity of the material, we can control the device. And just like doping introduces new energy levels in band gap in semiconductors, breaking the periodicty by changing size of the interspersed air holes introduces new levels in photonic band gap.

So why don't we have photo-chip fabs and opto-electro computers? (Don't mind those fancy names) The problem is the lattice spacing. A rough estimate of the lattice spacing is the wavelength. In case of the semiconductor devices, the electron wavelength and for photonic crystals its the electromagnetic wavelength (divided by the refractive index of the material, ofcourse). Now, you realise difference. The problem in making small structures is compounded because it is more favourable for a photonic band gap to form in dielectrics with a high refractive index, which reduces the size of the lattice spacing even further. For example, suppose we wanted to create a photonic crystal that could trap near-infrared light with a wavelength of 1 µm in a material with a refractive index of 3.0. We would have to create a structure in which the air holes were separated by about 0.3 µm - an extremely difficult task. If the scale was 1000 times smaller, we could build the structure atom-by-atom using a chemical reaction; and if it was 1000 times larger we could build the structure mechanically.

In 1991, Eli Yablonovitch and co-workers at Bell Communications Research in New Jersey produced the first photonic crystal by mechanically drilling holes a millimetre in diameter into a block of material with a refractive index of 3.6. The material, which became known as "Yablonovite", prevented microwaves from propagating in any direction - in other words, it exhibited a 3-D photonic band gap. Other structures that have band gaps at microwave and radio frequencies are currently being used to make antennae that direct radiation away from the heads of mobile-phone users.

So much for an introduction to photonic crystals. Opal is a naturally occuring photonic crystal. The very reason behind the iridescence of Opal is because its a photonic crystal, unlike diamonds which sparkle because of cut edges that reflect light totally internally. Apparently the opal around my neck had the optical signal that is the key to the real world out there. Thats how I ended up talking to the old woman. She told me how they exploited the applicability of these crystals to store energy. That is how iridescent stones became essential to using magic. They use the stored electromagnetic energy to do that spooky action at a distance. Thats a simple way of explaining things. Oh for those who of you who did not know, the word magic is derived from the root mage (I have an unsual interest in etymology, too; very essential for mages). Rings a bell?? Image! Imagination. Magic is science raised to its zenith with the help of imagination. Afterall, did not Albert say, "Imagination is more powerful than knowledge"!

Jade.

that sync' ing feelin'!

I am proud to belong to a species that holds many an enigmatic myth among the biped monkeys. The legends are not merely myths. They are true. Atleast some of them, I have experienced myself. This myth about the full moon that you are trying to investigate is one of those few experiences. The transformation into a human? Well, I have not experienced it. But why would I? Its so clumsy to walk on two feet. How do you manage it? Anyway, coming back to your question, yes it is true that we derive strength and energy, physical and spiritual, from the full moon. We literally drink it off the pool! My mamma taught me to feed off the moon when I was young. And when I grew of age, 3 months old, if you were wondering, I had to leave home as all wolf cubs do to find my own pack. Since then, I have fed on the moon myself and its really relishing, you know without all that hassle of tearing flesh from bones.

There is one thing I have noticed during this process. They say the moon is a spherical heavenly body and that it rotates about its own axis and revolves around the earth. But I always only see the same spots and marks the disc. Could it be that the moon is symmetrical? Did you ever notice it? Ever wondered? Well, ofcourse my instincts taught me more about the universe as I grew older and if you will promise to keep this a secret, I can share the knowledge with you. The truth is, the moon takes roughly the same time, around 28 days, to complete one rotation around its own axis and revolution around the earth. Then its only common sense that from any one hill on earth, we can only see one side of the moon. But ofcourse this is not the whole truth. My ancestors did not have the chance to feed off the moon every month like us. Because in their days, the rotational and revolutional period was not the same, just as the case for earth now. And the other side of the moon is really dark and would not reflect so much even on full moon nights. So they could only feed on the moon when this side of the moon faced the earth.

That made me wonder how the rotational and revolutional time periods changed over time. Our folk legends say that the Moon Maiden is helping us with food ever since man has started making his mark disturbing the ecology. It is true. Nevertheless, there is another explanation! Its the process of "synchronisation".

Long time back, moon's rotational period was less than 28 days and the revolutional period was more than 28 days. The dynamics the many body problem, you know with that thing you call as gravity being the main element, brought these two time periods closer and closer to a same number which happened to be 28 days. Its happening to earth, too. But ofcourse at an unnoticeable rate and the difference being so large, its going to take many many years. But its happening.

This synchronisation is an ubiquiteous phenomenon. Oh, ubiquiteous means universal. Its funny how we have different words with the same meaning! Anyway, many events out there in the universe happen according to laws of synchronisation. Its the way the universe works. All living and non living things must respect those laws. Indeed have you seen the fireflies on the banks of japanese streams? Oh you have not? Well, you must atleast know that fireflies glow to attract their mate. I know this because I am a wolf. I know the ways of all animals and plants, except humans, ofcourse. The weird lot! Oh and unlike in your species, in all other animals, from lions and peacocks to fireflies, its the male that is attributed with beauty. So in case of fireflies, the more beautifully it glows, more its chances of attracting a mate. So when many male fireflies gather at a place, they try to compete with each other to attract the females flying invisibly in the dark. The competition almost always reaches its pinnacle with all the fireflies flashing together in burst. See whats happened? All the fireflies without realising it synchronised their flashing.

And there is this plant, thats called "kurinji". It grows in Kerala and TamilNadu. It mass blooms once in twelve years. It happened last in 2006. Do you know why it blooms only once in 12 years? Kurinji (Strobilanthes sp.) and a number of other plant species synchronise their flowering (reproductive phase) within large local populations at a particular site. Populations at different sites may have different calendars, but the length of the cycle is almost the same within a particular species. This is one of the survival mechanisms evolved to escape complete destruction of the population by seed/flower predators and is termed `predator satiation'. Synchronisation of reproduction by large populations leads to an abundance of `prey' such that the predators are simply out-numbered. Therefore, the percentage of population destroyed by predators is significantly reduced. Jungle fowl and small mammals are the chief seed predators of Kurinji seeds. Other plant species also have adopted this.

Oh and one late night while I was taking a walk in the city, out of curiosity, I stopped by this mesmerising toy shop. There were these two pendulum clocks, small ones placed on the window sill. Since I had no particular place to go, I sat there and watched them. They were swinging exactly out of phase always. The next morning one cub from our pack had strayed in to the city and I went past this shop looking for him. The shop keeper was dusting the items and apparently because he disturbed the clocks, they were now swinging very randomly. I went back that night again and to my amazement saw that the pendulums were swinging exactly out of phase again. It might have been spooky for you. But I realised that even non living things synchronise! By the way, the cub returned home ofcourse!

Oh oh! You asked about we wolves feeding on moon and I seemed to have given you a lecture on something else. And its time I got back to my cave. But you should believ me. We do feed on the moon. How do you think we manage to eat flesh only once in 14 days? Our diet is synchronised! We feed off the flesh only on new moon nights!

-the wolf lady Saki.

An Eery Tale!

Do you know of an English mathematician and philosopher William Kingdon Clifford? Well, now you will; a little! Born on May 4, 1845, at Exeter, went to King's College, London at the age of 15 and was elected a fellow in Trinity College, Cambridge in 1868. He became a professor of mathematics and mechanics at University College, London in 1871 and in 1874, became a fellow of the Royal Society. He was not much happy with the excessive analytic tendencies of Cambridge mathematicians and along with Hermann Grassmann (about whom, I know little) invented what is now termed Geometric Algebra, a special field being Clifford Algebra named in his honour.

I suppose you are beginning to appreciate that he was a good mathematician. But my eery tale begins now. He was the first to suggest that Gravitation might be a manifestation of an underlying geometry! In Volume One of Lectures and Essays (edited by FR. Pollock and L. Stephen and published by Macmillan in 1879) in one of several references, Clifford ‘anticipates’ Einstein’s curvature of physical space in these words:
I am supposed to know that the three angles of a rectilinear triangle are
exactly two right angles. Now suppose that three points are taken in space,
distant from one another as far as the Sun is from Alpha Centauri, and the
shortest distances between these points are drawn so as to form a triangle...
Then I do not know that this sum would differ at all from two right angles;
but also I do not know that the difference would be less than ten degrees.

He died of tuberculosis on March 3, 1879. Eleven days after his death, Albert was born to Einstein and goes on to develop a geometric theory of gravitation [inspite of being known for poor performance especially in Math, in his school ;) ].

Well thats the end of the tale and I do find it eery!

That apart Clifford seems to have used his imagination in anticipating other developments that came in his future. In Volume One (pp. 237-238) he writes:

Now, whatever may turn out to be the ultimate nature of the ether and of
molecules, we know that to some extent at least they obey the same dynamic
laws, and that they act upon one another in accordance with these laws.
Until, therefore, it is absolutely disproved, it must remain the simplest and
most probable assumption that they are finally made of the same stuff – that
the material molecule is some kind of knot or coagulation of ether.

Was he suggesting some kind of string theory?

He is also known for his philosphical musings and I state here one of his quotes which I seem to identify with:

"There is no scientific discoverer, no poet, no painter, no musician, who will not tell you that he found ready made his discovery or poem or picture - that it came to him from outside, and that he did not consciously create it from within."

My poem "the Nymph" was an ecstatic experience I can never forget. After Swarnamalya gave me the idea for the theme, while I was in Classical Mechanics class, I felt transported to some strange place with invisible fairies whispering the lyrics in my ear, while I wrote down what I heard. It came to me from outside, indeed, unlike the pieces "Roses that wait!" and "Firefly Legend". This is probably why I feel so happy reading "the Nymph" even today!

Jade.

Untitled

this piece is again composed entirely by a friend Niveditha Viswanathan and is only published here by me and with out her knowledge and permission, at that. If by chance she comes across this, I hope she will forgive me for this "trespassing"!

She stands apart,among the many

Milling about in the solemn space

Of the temple,ah so sacrosanct,

A simple,solitary yellow flower

Adorns her deep black mane,

It cascades against the sun-straks

To reveal a face ever so charming

She fills her mud-pot with water

That trickles down to bathe her feet

As she walks ,like paradise personifies

In six yards of the silk saree

As she reaches the tulsi plant,

She utters a silent prayer

The droplets run doen her long fingers,

Like river waiting to meet the sea.

She royally heads back home,

Her red bindi matching her lips

And her mane dancing to herr rhythm

She steps past the intricate design

That greets her at the door,

A warm smell of holy ash,

Kumkum,ghee,oil and flowers dancing

To the holy bell tolling

Amidst her father's fingers and a rising

Aroma of caffeine clenches

her mind,and her feet run to the kitchen,

Only to find the silent marble floor

shatter the life of her dreams

Here,so far from home,in

A distant land so alien to thr mind

She sits on the sparkiling tile,

Only to miss the mud floor.

I met Niveditha during my internship in IMSc, Chennai in the summers of 2006.

untitled...

this piece, titled "untitled..." is written entirely by Deepak and is only published here by me.

The sun goes to bed,
After a day's long work,
Tired of lighting up the world.
The stones are still being hurled,
"Oh! wise man up the mountain,
Yes you, you with the halo,
Tell me, is it dark age or ice age?"
Oh dear, come with me,
I'll show you the way to America,
But the moles like it,
They prefer darkness to light.

Lying on the eiderdown,
On this cold winter night,
I gaze up into the star studded sky
Is it dew drops on my glasses?
Or tears blurring my vision?
Am I not understood well?
"Oh please, Come out of the hell!!"
Come out of the holes, my moles,
It ain't so comfortable down there, I know,
What's left with you,
Any dying spirit or burning desire?
How am I gonna know, even you don't!!!

There's a faint glow in the distance,
Beyond the snow-capped mountains,
Its time for another sunrise,
I didn't expect Him to be back this time.

Is boredom an addiction?
Can you ever get out of it?
Is being alive a contradiction?
Can you ever understand it?
Is freedom a faraway dream?
Can you ever taste it?
There is a higher level of existence.
Can you ever perceive it?
Blindness is contagious.
Will you ever be able to 'see' it?

Are thing gonna be the same?
Is there a glimmer of hope?
Soon I will get to know, when I see
The first rays of the rising sun.

                       --Me (Deepak)

Deepak and I were classmates for four years of his B.Tech. (mine extended for another 6 months!). This is just one piece that I happen to possess in my mails. I should mention here that Mallu and Amit were my classmates, too.