Winter solstice

Winter solstice

The winter solstice occurs exactly when the axial tilt of a planet's polar hemisphere is farthest away from the star that it orbits. Earth's maximum axial tilt to our star, the Sun, during a solstice is 23° 26'. More evident from high latitudes, a hemisphere's winter solstice occurs on the shortest day and longest night of the year, when the sun's daily maximum elevation in the sky is the lowest.Since the winter solstice lasts only a moment in time, other terms are often used for the day on which it occurs, such as midwinter, the longest night or the first day of winter.

The seasonal significance of the winter solstice is in the reversal of the gradual lengthening of nights and shortening of days. Depending on the shift of the calendar, the winter solstice usually occurs on December 21 to 23 each year in the Northern Hemisphere, and June 20 to 23 in the Southern Hemisphere^.

Worldwide, interpretation of the event has varied from culture to culture, but most cultures have held a recognition of rebirth, involving holidays, festivals, gatherings, rituals or other celebrations around that time.

Date 

In 46 BCE Julius Caesar in his Julian calendar established December 25 as the date of the winter solstice of Europe (Latin: Bruma). Since then, the difference between the calendar year (365.2500 days) and the tropical year (~365.2421897 days) moved the day associated with the actual astronomical solstice forward approximately three days every four centuries, arriving to December 12 during the 16th century. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII decided to restore the exact correspondence between seasons and civil year but, doing so, he did not make reference to the age of the Roman dictator, but to the Council of Nicea of 325, as the period of definition of major Christian feasts. So, the Pope annulled the 10-day error accumulated between the 16th and the 4th century, but not the 3-day one between the 4th AD and the 1st BC century. This change adjusted the calendar bringing the northern winter solstice to around December 22. Yearly, in the Gregorian calendar, the solstice still fluctuates a day or two but, in the long term, only about one day every 3000 years.

The figures in the charts show the differences between the Gregorian calendar and Persian Jalāli calendar in reference to the actual yearly time of the winter solstice of the northern hemisphere, the December solstice. The error shifts by slightly less than 1/4 day per year; in the Gregorian calendar it is corrected by a leap year every 4th year, omitting three such corrections in every 400 years, so that the average length of a calendar year is 365 97/400 days; while in the Persian calendar every eighth leap-cycle is extended to 5 years, making the average 365 8/33 days, shorter than the Gregorian average by one day every 13200 years.

What happens at the solstice?

The North Pole is tilted furthest away from the sun at the solstice. (Not to scale)

 

 The image above shows an example of what happens during the June solstice. Illustration is not to scale

The December solstice occurs when the sun reaches its most southerly declination of -23.5 degrees. In other words, it is when the North Pole is tilted 23.5 degrees away from the sun. Depending on the Gregorian calendar, the December solstice occurs annually on a day between December 20 and December 23. On this date, all places above a latitude of 66.5 degrees north (Arctic Polar Circle) are now in darkness, while locations below a latitude of 66.5 degrees south (Antarctic Polar Circle) receive 24 hours of daylight.

Use the Sunrise and Sunset calculator to find the number of daylight hours during the December solstice in cities worldwide. 

The sun is directly overhead on the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere during the December solstice. It also marks the longest day of the year in terms of daylight hours for those living south of the equator. Those living or travelling south from the Antarctic Circle towards the South Pole will see the midnight sun during this time of the year.

On the contrary, for an observer in the northern hemisphere, the December solstice marks the day of the year with the least hours of daylight. Those living or traveling north of the Arctic Circle towards the North Pole will not be able to see the sun during this time of the year. 

Observances

Sunrise at Stonehenge on the Winter Solstice

Direct observation of the solstice by amateurs is difficult because the sun moves too slowly at either solstice to determine its specific day, let alone its instant. Knowledge of when the event occurs has only recently been facilitated to near its instant according to precise astronomical data tracking. It is not possible to detect the actual instant of the solstice (by definition, one can not observe that an object has stopped moving until one makes a second observation in time showing that it has not moved further from the preceding spot, or that it has moved in the opposite direction). Further, to be precise to a single day one must be able to observe a change in azimuth or elevation less than or equal to about 1/60 of the angular diameter of the sun. Observing that it occurred within a two day period is easier, requiring an observation precision of only about 1/16 of the angular diameter of the sun. Thus, many observations are of the day of the solstice rather than the instant. This is often done by watching the sunrise and sunset or vice versa or using an astronomically aligned instrument that allows a ray of light to cast on a certain point around that time.

Before the scientific revolution many forms of observances, astronomical, symbolic or ritualistic, had evolved according to the beliefs of various cultures, many of which are still practiced today. The following is an alphabetical list of observances believed to be directly linked to the winter solstice.

 

Lawrence Hall of Science visitors observe sunset on day of the winter solstice using the Sunstones II

Flash mob

 

A flash mob is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and sometimes seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, artistic expression.Flash mobs are organized via telecommunications, social media, or viral emails.

It is worth noting that the key factors that distinguish a flash-mob and any other performance in a public place are: 1. Organisation: Flash-mobs are open social organisations, usually mobilised in virtual circles or through social networking. A performance is usually coordinated and led in a closed group, who practice together to achieve synchronisation in advance of the performance. 2. Participation: As the name indicates, a flash-mob must both be open to, and involve, members of the common public, whilst a performance may be merely limited to a specific practised group participation. 3. Motive: The motive for participation in a flash-mob is much similar to the motive behind authoring an article on Wikipedia. The participants are primarily motived to collaborate and co-create, without deriving any firm benefits, monetary or otherwise, from it. A performance on the other hand is carried out with foreseeable benefits in mind, ranging from recognition to monetary incentives.

The term, coined in 2003, is generally not applied to events and performances organized for the purposes of politics , commercial advertisement, publicity stunts that involve public relation firms, or paid professionals.In these cases of a planned purpose for the social activity in question, the term smart mobs is often applied instead.

First flash mob

One of the first flash mobs was created in Manhattan in May 2003, by Bill Wasik, senior editor of Harper's Magazine.The first attempt was unsuccessful after the targeted retail store was tipped off about the plan for people to gather. Wasik avoided such problems during the second flash mob, which occurred on June 3, 2003, at Macy's department store, by sending participants to preliminary staging areas – in four prearranged Manhattan bars – where they received further instructions about the ultimate event and location just before the event began.

More than 130 people converged upon the ninth floor rug department of the store, gathering around an expensive rug. Anyone approached by a sales assistant was advised to say that the gatherers lived together in a warehouse on the outskirts of New York, that they were shopping for a "love rug", and that they made all their purchase decisions as a group.Subsequently, 200 people flooded the lobby and mezzanine of the Hyatt hotel in synchronized applause for about 15 seconds, and a shoe boutique in SoHo was invaded by participants pretending to be tourists on a bus trip.

Wasik claimed that he created flash mobs as a social experiment designed to poke fun at hipsters and to highlight the cultural atmosphere of conformity and of wanting to be an insider or part of "the next big thing".The Vancouver Sun wrote, "It may have backfired on him ... [Wasik] may instead have ended up giving conformity a vehicle that allowed it to appear nonconforming." In another interview he said "the mobs started as a kind of playful social experiment meant to encourage spontaneity and big gatherings to temporarily take over commercial and public areas simply to show that they could".

Precedents and precursors

In 19th-century Tasmania, the term flash mob was used to describe a subculture consisting of female prisoners, based on the term flash language for the jargon that these women used. The 19th-century Australian term flash mob referred to a segment of society, not an event, and showed no other similarities to the modern term flash mob or the events it describes.

An early literary example can be found in a famous German novel for children by Erich Kästner. At the end of Emil and the Detectives (1929) the protagonist captures a thief by organizing a large crowd of children through a kind of self-organized intelligence service. The mob of children first drives the thief into a corner and then keeps him from escaping.

In 1973, the story "Flash Crowd" by Larry Niven described a concept similar to flash mobs.With the invention of popular and very inexpensive teleportation, an argument at a shopping mall—which happens to be covered by a news crew—quickly swells into a riot. In the story, broadcast coverage attracts the attention of other people, who use the widely available technology of the teleportation booth to swarm first that event—thus intensifying the riot—and then other events as they happen. Commenting on the social impact of such mobs, one character (articulating the police view) says, "We call them flash crowds, and we watch for them." In related short stories, they are named as a prime location for illegal activities (such as pickpocketing and looting) to take place.

Flash mobs began as a form of performance art.While they started as an apolitical act, flash mobs may share superficial similarities to political demonstrations. Flash mobs can be seen as a specialized form of smart mob, a term and concept proposed by author Howard Rheingold in his 2002 book Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution.

Aakash Tablet – World’s Cheapest Tab

After a huge success of the world’s cheapest car manufactured by India, the country is all set to step into the tech-world with the same strategy of offering good quality product at the best possible price. After a wait of about one year since a prototype was shown to the reporters, the Indian officials have finally launched the world’s cheapest tablet i.e. Aakash Tablet (also known as Akash Tab or $35 Tablet) is available at a price of just $60 (Rs 3000) in retail stores and probably much cheaper for students. The commercial version of Aakash Tablet is Ubislate which will be available from November with a few more features than the Government’s version.

The makers of Akash Tab are IIT Rajasthan in partnership with DataWind, a leading manufacturer of wireless web access products and services which is based in Montreal and is owned by Suneet Singh Tuli who is a Canadian of Indian descent. 

Features and Specifications of Aakash Tablet

 

Display  :- Aakash Tablet has a 7 inch resistive touch screen with 800 x 480 pixel resolution.

Operating System :- Akash Tab runs Android 2.2 (Froyo).

Processor :- It has got a single core 366 MHz processor plus a HD video co-processor, 256 MB RAM and 2GB internal flash memory.

Supported Multimedia Formats :- Aakash Tablet supports Image formats like .png, .jpg, .gif, .bmp. Supported Video Formats include MPEG2, MPEG4, AVI and FLV. The Tablet also supports audio formats such as MP3, AAC, AC3, WAV and WMA.

External Connectors :- Aakash Tablet supports Mini and Full USB, has got two SD card slots (memory expandable up-to 32GB), a SIM card slot, Video Out, a 3.5 mm headphone jack support and HDMI port.

Internet Connectivity :- Aakash is a Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g enabled Tablet with a Web Browser having Standards Compliance, xHTML 1.1 compliant, JavaScript 1.8 compliant and safety compliance. It also offers separate software for online YouTube videos.

App Store :- Akash Tab supports more than 150000 apps to keep you entertained throughout the day.

Battery :- The 50 gram Tablet has a 2100mAh battery with a standby time of 3-4 hours.

Supported Document Formats- The supported document formats include DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, XLS, XLSX, ODT and ODP. The Tablet has also got PDF Viewer and Text Editor.

Aakash in Hindi Language means ‘Sky’ and probably the device is ready to reach the same height. The main target of this tablet is students who always admired Tablets but had to murder their feelings due to lack of money. Aakash has all the basic features which are frequently used by everyone and can be easily bought by the students just by saving their pocket money for a few days. Though it is disappointing that the Tablet does not have a camera and will not have access to Android Market, we cannot expect so much at such a price. Overall the Tablet is a very good deal for everyone.

 

Aakash tablet goes on sale for Rs 2500 online

 

DataWind, the Canadian company that is manufacturing Aakash, has started the online booking and pre booking of the much anticipated low cost Android tablet. Online booking is for students' version of the tablet and pre booking is for UbiSlate 7, the upgraded version of Aakash.
Students' version of Aakash will be available for Rs 2,500 and will be delivered in seven days. The commercial version, UbiSlate 7 is priced at Rs 2,999. The payment mode for both the tablets is cash on delivery.
The commercial version of Aakash tablet will be powered by Android 2.3 and will have a resistive touchscreen, Cortex A8-700 MHz processor and graphics accelerator HD video processor, 256 MB of RAM and 2 GB of internal memory.
Other specifications are a one standard USB port, 3.5 mm audio jack, a 7 inch display with 800 x 480 pixel resolution, resistive touchscreen, GPRS and WiFi support.
"The improved version of Aakash tablet will be available in retail outlets by January end," a spokesperson of DataWind told The Mobile Indian.
The tablet was to be made available in retail stores by the end of November. "The delay in the availability of the tablet has been due to upgradation in the tablet and some unforeseen delay in manufacturing," the spokesperson said.
To book and prebook student and commercial versions respectively of Aakash tablet, users have to visit DataWind's website and fill up the required form. In case of booking they will get a booking ID and a message which will state, "You will shortly receive an email confirmation from our support team with further details."
In case of pre booking users will get a confirmation message which will state, "The commercial version of the Akash UbiSlate 7 would be launched in early weeks of December. After the commercial launch we would get in touch with you to deliver your device as soon possible."
As a matter of fact, the confirmation message a reader will see is factually incorrect as The mobile Indian had reported earlier the Aakash tablet will be available only by January end.
Datawind has however not cleared how it is going to establish the identity of students who will book the cheapest version of Aakash tablet. When The Mobile Indian contacted spokesperson of Datwind he said, "Anyone can book the student version of Aakash tablet."
This defeats the purpose of providing students an affordable tablet as now anyone can place an order to get the tablet. Interestingly, now it has been revealed that the government has procured only 10,000 Aakash tablets for distribution in schools and colleges of the initial 1 lakh proposed.
It looks like the company was in a hurry to start the online booking process and has not done not proper homework before staring it.

 

http://www.akashtablet.com/

 

Mullaperiyar Dam

 

Mullaperiyar Dam is a masonry gravity dam on the Periyar River.It is located 881 m (2,890 ft) above mean sea level on the Cardamom Hills of the Western Ghats in Thekkady, Idukki District of Kerala, South India. It was constructed between 1887 and 1895 by the British Government to divert water eastwards to Madras Presidency area. It has a height of 53.6 m (176 ft) from the foundation and length of 365.7 m (1,200 ft).^[1] The Periyar National Park in Thekkady is located around the dam's reservoir. The dam and the river are owned by and located in Kerala but the dam is controlled and operated under a period lease by neigboring Tamil Nadu state. The safety of the dam has been a matter of concern and a point of dispute between Kerala and Tamil Nadu States.

Purpose

The Periyar river which flows westward into the Arabian Sea was diverted eastward to flow towards the Bay of Bengal and provide water to the arid rain shadow region of Madurai in Madras Presidency which was in dire need of a greater supply than the small Vaigai River could give.The dam created the Periyar Thekkady reservoir, from which water was diverted eastwards to via a tunnel to augment the small flow of the Vaigai River. The Vaigai was dammed by the Vaigai Dam to provide a source for irrigating large tracts around Madurai. Initially the dam waters were used only for irrigation. Later, the Periyar Power Station in the lower Periyar, Tamil Nadu was built which generates hydro-electricity from the diverted waters.

Design

The Mullaperiyar Dam is a gravity dam made with limestone quicklime). Gravity dams use their weight and the force of gravity to support the reservoir and remain stable. The main dam has a maximum height of 53.6 m (176 ft) and length of 365.7 m (1,200 ft). Its crest is 3.6 m (12 ft) wide while the base has a width of 42.2 m (138 ft). It consists of a main dam, spillway on its left and an auxiliary dam (or "baby dam") to the right. Its reservoir can withhold 443,230,000 m³ (359,332 acre·ft) of water, of which 299,130,000 m³ (242,509 acre·ft) is active (live) storage.

 

Feasability studies

The unique idea of harnessing the westward flowing water of the Periyar river and diverting it to the eastward flowing Vagai river was first explored in 1789 by Pradani Muthirulappa Pillai, a minister of the Ramnad king Muthuramalinga Sethupathy, who gave it up as he found it to be expensive The location of the dam had first been scouted by Captain J. L. Caldwell, Madras Engineers (abbreviated as M.E.) in 1808 to reconnoitre the feasibility of providing water from the Periyar river to Madurai by a tunnel through the mountains. Caldwell discovered that the excavation needed would be in excess of 100 feet in depth and the project was abandoned with the comment in his report as "decidedly chimerical and unworthy of any further regard".

The first attempt at damming the Periyar with an earthen dam in 1850 was given up due to demands for higher wages by the labour citing unhealthy living conditions. The proposal was resubmitted a number of times and in 1862, Captain J. G. Ryves, M.E., carried out a study and submitted proposals in 1867 for another earthwork dam, 62 feet high. The matter was debated by the Madras Government and the matter further delayed by the terrible famine of 1876-77. Finally, in 1882, the construction of the dam was approved and Major John Pennycuick, M.E., placed in charge to prepare a revised project and estimate which was approved in 1884 by his superiors.

Lease

 

On 29 October 1886, a lease indenture for 999 years was made between the Maharaja of Travancore, Visakham Thirunal Rama Varma and the Bitish Secretary of State for India for Periyar Irrigation Works. The lease agreement was signed by Dewan of Travancore V Ram Iyengar and State Secretary of Madras State J C Hannington. This lease was made after 24 years negotiation between the Maharaja and the British. The lease indenture granted full right, power and liberty the Secretary of State for India to construct make and carry out on the leased land and to use exclusively when constructed, made and carried out, all such irrigation works and other works ancillary thereto to. The agreement gave 8000 acres of land for the reservoir and another 100 acres to construct the dam. The tax for each acre was 5 per year. The lease provided the British the rights over "all the waters" of the Mullaperiyar and its catchment basin, for an annual rent of 40,000.

In 1947, after Indian Independance, the lease agreement expired. After several failed attempts to renew the agreement in 1958, 1960, and 1969, the agreement was renewed in 1970 when C Achutha Menon was Kerala Chief Minister. According to the renewed agreement, the tax per acre was increased to 30, and for the electricity generated in Lower Camp using Mullaperiyar water, the charge was 12 per kiloWatt per hour. Tamil Nadu uses the water and the land, and the Tamil Nadu government has been paying to the Kerala government for the past 50 years 2.5 lakhs as tax per year for the whole land and 7.5 lakhs per year as surcharge for the total amount of electricity generated.The validity of this agreement is under dispute between the States of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The matter is currently pending before a Division Bench of the Supreme Court.

 

Construction

In May 1887, construction of the dam began. As per "The Military Engineer in India" Vol II by Sandes (1935), the dam was constructed from lime stone and surkhi (burnt brick powder and a mixture of sugar and calcium oxide, one of the archaic construction techniques of 19th century) at a cost of 104 lakhs, was 173 feet high and 1241 feet in length along the top and enclosed more than 15 thousand million cubic feet of water. Another source states that the dam was constructed of concrete (no real evidence or reference for this) and gives a figure of 152 feet height of the full water level of the reservoir, with impounding capacity of 10.56 thousand million cubic feet along-with a total estimated cost of 84.71 lak.

The construction involved the use of troops from the 1st and 4th battalions of the Madras Pioneers as well as Portuguese carpenters from Cochin who were employed in the construction of the coffer-dams and other structures.The greatest challenge was the diversion of the river so that lower portions of the great dam could be built. The temporary embankments and coffer-dams used to restrain the river waters were regularly swept away by floods and rains. Due to the coffer dam failures, the British stopped funding the project. Officer Pennycuick raised funds by selling his wife's jewelry to continue the work. In Madurai, Major Pennycuick's statue has been installed at the state PWD office and his photographs are found adorning walls in peoples homes and shops. In 2002, his great grandson was honoured in Madurai, a function that was attended by thousands of people.

The dam created a reservoir in a remote gorge of the Periyar river situated 3,000 feet above the sea in dense and malarial jungle, and from the northerly arm of this manmade waterbody, the water flowed first through a deep cutting for about a mile and then through a tunnel, 5704 feet in length and later through another cutting on the other side of the watershed and into a natural ravine and so onto the Vaigai River which has been partly built up for a length of 86 miles, finally discharging 2000 cusecs of water for the arid rain shadow regions of present-day Theni, Madurai District, Sivaganga District and Ramanathapuram districts of Tamil Nadu, then under British rule as part of Madras Province (Sandes, 1935).

The Periyar project, as it was then known, was widely considered well into the 20th Century as "one of the most extraordinary feats of engineering ever performed by man". A large amount of manual labour was involved and worker mortality from malaria was high. It was claimed that had it not been for "the medicinal effects of the native spirit called arrack, the dam might never have been finished". 483 people died of diseases during the construction of this dam and were buried on-site in a cemetery just north of the dam.

Protected area

The Periyar National Park in Thekkady, a Protected area of Kerala, is located around the dam's reservoir, the 26 km² (10 sq mi) Periyar lake. 62 different kinds of mammals have been recorded in Periyar, including many threatened ones. Periyar is a highly protected tiger reserve and elephant reserve. There are an estimated 53 tigers (2010) in the reserve. Tourists come here to view the Indian elephants in their natural habitat. The elephant number around 900 to 1000 individuals. Other mammals found here include gaur, Bison, sambar (horse deer), barking deer, mouse deer, Dholes (Indian wild dogs), mongoose, foxesand leopards. Also inhabiting the park, though rarely seen, are the elusive Nilgiri tahr. Four species of primates are found at Periyar - the rare lion-tailed macaque, the Nilgiri Langur, the commonlangur, and the Bonnet Macaque. According to a report by the Kerala Forest Research Institute, the protected area surrounding the dam and reservoir is classified as a biodiversity hot spot.

Safety Concerns

After the 1979 Morvi Dam failure which killed up to 25,000 people safety concerns of the aging Mullaperiyar dam's leaks and cracks were raised by Kerala Government. A State agency, Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS), Thiruvananthapuram, had reported that the structure would not withstand an earthquake above magnitude 6 on the Richter scale. The dam was also inspected by the Chairman, CWC (Central Water Commission). On the orders of the CWC, the Tamil Nadu government lowered the storage level from 142.2 feet to 136 feet, conducted safety repairs and strengthened the dam. Construction of a new dam was proposed by the CWC but was not pursued.

Current safety concerns hinge around several issues:

• A- Risk /Threat Factors

1. Age of the dam: The dam is 116 years old as of 2011. It has outlived its expected life span of 50 years . Strengthening the existing dam has its limitations and may not prove to be effective in the event of a disaster (reference: Morvi Dam)
2. Construction Material: The dam was constructed using stone ruble masonry with lime mortar grouting following prevailing 19th century construction techniques that have now become archaic. Seepage and leaks from the dam have caused concern.
3. Earthquakes: The dam is situated in a seismically active zone . An earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale occurred on June 7, 1988 with maximum damage in Nedumkandam and Kallar (within 20 kms of the dam). Several earthquake tremors have occurred in the area in recent times. These could be reservoir-induced seismicity, requiring further studies according to experts. CESS, IIT Roorkee and IISc have reported that the dam cannot withstand earthquakes above 6 point on the Richter scale.
4. Global warming and changing weather patterns leading to incessant rains, flooding and overflow of the dam: Determination of the Probable Maximum Flood and Probable Maximum Precipitation parameters for the dam, is important to ensure dam safety.
5. Inadequate safety maintenance and safety monitoring of the dam

• B- Negative impact of dam collapse

1. Loss of human life and property by catastrophic flooding
2. Loss of flora and fauna including identified endangered species in the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary.
3. Loss of tourism: Thekkady Reservoir and Periyar Wild Life Sanctuary are important and popular eco-tourism revenue sources in Kerala.
4. domino effect of collapse of Idukki Dam and the disastrous consequences of an Idukki Dam disaster
   
5. Loss of agriculture irrigation, drinking water supply and power generation in southern Tamilnadu.
6. Huge impact on the general economy of Kerala and Tamilnadu. This includes large unbudgeted private and public expenses of flood cleanup and rebuilding the economy.

Construction of a new dam

Kerala enacted the Kerala Irrigation and Water Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2006 to ensure safety of all 'endangered' dams in the State, listed in the second schedule to the Act. Section 62A of the Act provides for listing in the schedule, "details of the dams which are endangered on account of their age, degeneration, degradation, structural or other impediments as are specified" The second schedule to the Act lists Mullaperiyar (dam) constructed in 1895 and fixes 136 feet as its maximum water level. The Act empowers Kerala Dam Safety Authority (Authority specified in the Act) to oversee safety of dams in the State and sec 62(e) empowers the Authority to direct the custodian (of a dam) "to suspend the functioning of any dam, to decommission any dam or restrict the functioning of any dam if public safety or threat to human life or property, so require". The Authority can conduct periodical inspection of any dam listed in the schedule.

In pursuance of Kerala's dam safety law, in September 2009, the Ministry of Environment and Forests of Government of India granted environmental clearance to Kerala for conducting survey for new dam downstream^.Tamil Nadu approached Supreme Court for a stay order against the clearance; however, the plea was rejected. Consequently, the survey was started in October, 2009. On Sept. 9, 2009 stated it had already communicated to the Government of India as well as to the Government of Kerala that there is no need for construction of a new dam by the Kerala Government, as the existing dam after it is strengthened, functions like a new dam.

Winter -The dolphin

 Winter -The dolphin

Winter is a bottlenose dolphin at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Clearwater, Florida, widely known for having a prosthetic tail. She is the subject of the film Dolphin Tale, a dramatization of her story. Winter was found off the coast of Florida in December 2005, caught in a crab trap, which resulted in the loss of her tail. She was fitted with a silicone and plastic tail which enables her to swim normally. She has since become a highly popular attraction at the aquarium, which led to the film's making. 

Winter the dolphin gets bionic tail

As she glides through the water, Winter the dolphin appears to be completely normal. But she is the world's first bionic sea creature after being fitted with an artificial tail. 

Only closer inspection reveals the dolphin's rear end is entirely prosthetic.

Winter, an Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin, lost her own tail after being caught in a harsh crab trap.

She was found at just two-months old in 2006, floating in distress off the coast of Florida.

Rescuers rushed her to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, in Clearwater, Florida, where they battled to save her life.

David Yates, the director, said: "For the first few days, we really didn't think she'd live at all.

"She had 24-hour around-the-clock care by our veterinary staff, our animal care staff, and our volunteers.

"We literally watched her every second of the day."

Winter survived, but she lost her tail and was left with just a stump.

"She had to learn how to swim without a tail, which no dolphin has ever done in captivity," said Mr Yates.

'We didn't know if she could do that."

Winter tried to master the art – but couldn't swish up and down like a normal dolphin, and could only waggle from side to side.

Vets were worried this unusual swimming might alter the long-term health of her spine.

So, they decided to make an artificial tail for Winter.

Kevin Carroll, one of the world's leading prosthetists, offered his services.

Besides his work with people, he has designed prosthetics for dogs, an ostrich, and even a duck.

"I came straight down, saw Winter and felt really sorry for her," he said.

"I said, 'OK, we'll fit a her little tail. Not a big deal.' Little did I know it was going to take a year and a half."

He explained: "With a person, when we fit a socket on them, we have one long, solid bone.

"We don't have to have the socket moving in every direction.

"With a dolphin, it needs to move along with her full spine."

Casts were used to monitor Winter's growth and body shape and to provide the mould for her new tail.

Finally, in August last year, Winter was fitted with her new silicone and plastic tail, which is 2 1/2 feet long.

Now she is swimming and splashing about in normal dolphin-style.

"Winter's spirit was very positive and she had a never-say-die attitude," said Mr Yates.

"She adapted very quickly."

Dolphin Tale is a 2011 family drama film directed by Charles Martin Smith from a screenplay by Karen Janszen and Noam Dromi and a book of the same name. It stars Harry Connick, Jr., Ashley Judd, and Morgan Freeman.

The book and film are "inspired by the amazing true story of Winter", a bottlenose dolphin that was rescued in December 2005 off the Florida coast and taken in by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. It lost its tail after becoming tangled in as rope attached to a crab trap and had to be fitted with a prosthetic one.

http://seewinter.com is the official Web site of Winter

http://seewinter.com/winter/media/webcam-3  Winter Live Webcam