Raj Agrawal

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Converting Mercury To Gold

January 11, 2010 by Raj Agrawal 745 Comments

The Truth

You might have heard about the Alchemists and their job. If not, Alchemy is the process of changing the nature of things. Like transforming base metals (metals that corrode easily) into metals of higher value like Gold. In ancient times, common men found this activity of Alchemists magical because of the lack of awareness. If you suddenly see a man teleporting from place to place, then you will find that magical as teleportation is something that is still a theoretical idea and something impractical in the books of present science. It is said that modern chemistry is a successor of ancient Alchemy.

Structural and procedural representation

But, is it really possible to transform mercury into gold? Theoretically, yes. According to an article at herebeanswers.com, the atomic number of Mercury is 80 and that of Gold is 79. Mercury has one extra proton in it’s nucleus and an electron in the corresponding outer orbit. So, kicking one proton out of Mercury’s atomic structure will lead to a successful conversion of Mercury into Gold. But, again, it is a theoretical concept. A tremendous amount of energy is required to make this happen and the attempts has been unsuccessful in commercial state.

As of now, all is known that Mercury is used to quicken the extraction of gold from rocks. If you think about the whole idea, it would be hard to believe that it’s ‘still’ impractical to implement this theoretical concept. Scientists have already built a working model of a ‘close to’ or ‘may be an exact replica’ of a flying saucer (so called as a ‘ UFO’) a long time ago. If you don’t believe it, do a research on it. You will be astonished to grasp the fact. So, wouldn’t it be possible for the scientists to extract gold from mercury in the present era of nuclear development? The answer may be yes or no. If it’s a yes, then no wonder the ‘how to’ is still a secret.

What do you think? Is the fact being hidden to common man that gold is being manufactured or do you think that there are enough gold mines to serve the consistent growth in demand for gold?

Filed Under: Technology Tagged With: alchemy, gold

Tricking Google Search With Scroogle

January 7, 2010 by Raj Agrawal 6 Comments

Update as on 17th November, 2015 – Scroogle.com no longer exists.

No cookies. No search-term records. Access log deletes within 48 hours

It’s a quite difficult to obtain and maintain privacy on the web. With the various intentions of collecting user data, it’s really hard to be anonym us all the time. Google Search collects the user’s IP address, search items along with the date and time which can be avoided by using proxy anonymizers and even better, by using a search engine called Scroogle.

Wikipedia reveals:

Google originally placed a cookie on each registered user’s computer, which can be used to track that person’s search history, and that cookie was not set to expire until 2038. As of 2007, Google’s cookie now expires in two years but renews itself when a Google service is used. There is no evidence that Google turns over information to the FBI or the NSA, though some users remain anxious about the possibility. In response, Google claims cookies are necessary to maintain user preferences between sessions and offer other search features.

In early 2005, the United States Department of justice filed a motion in federal court to force Google to comply with a subpoena for, “the text of each search string entered onto Google’s search engine over a two-month period (absent any information identifying the person who entered such query).” Google fought the subpoena, due to concerns about users’ privacy. In March 2006, the court ruled partially in Google’s favor, recognizing the privacy implications of turning over search terms and re-using to grant access.

scroogle
Screw-Google?

Who is Scroogle? How does Scroogle work?

Scroogle, a Mozilla Foundation, is a nonprofit organization with a history of activism on privacy issues. For more info visit: Link

When you enter a search term through Scroogle Search, Scroogle randonly grabs an IP from a pool of it’s IP addresses called Goo IPs. It uses SSL to encrypt your search activity.Then Google issues a new cookie with a new ID, and sends the search results. Scroogle deletes the cookie and saves the results in a file which is also deleted within hour. Google records Sroogle’s IP address, search items and the date and time.

Is there a Firefox, Flock, Microsoft IE7 / IE8, Opera or a Chrome extension available for Scroogle?

Yes. A short tutorial on ‘how to’ is available on the website. www.scroogle.org

So, if you have used this service, do share your experiences in the comments section.

Filed Under: Technology Tagged With: google, web

New Technologies Expected In 2010

December 31, 2009 by Raj Agrawal 8 Comments

UPCOMING TECHNOLOGY – Our civilisation is entering a new phase of time, year 2010, just two years closer to 2012. Ok, stupid jokes aside. The year 2010 coming along with many technological advancements and plans for a more techie future. From USB 3.0, 3-D television sets to the upcoming Xbox console, all are expected to be witnessed in the year 2010. I am personally looking forward to the 3-D television. When this becomes a part of our everyday lives, it will surely change the way of home entertainment.

3d tv without glasses
An illustration of 3-D TV, without the need to wear glasses

I have assembled a list of the upcoming techs in 2010 from various sources. Check them out:

  • 3-D television expected to come to homes in 2010
  • 8 Mobile Technologies to Watch in 2010
  • Wireless 4G, Closer Than Expected
  • New Xbox, Wii Hardware Expected in 2010
  • Wireless HD Expected By CES 2010
  • Top 10 green cars
  • USB 3.0, ExpressCard 2.0 Products Expected in 2010

So which of these upcoming techs are your favorite? What are you expecting?

Have Happy And A Peaceful New Year !

Filed Under: Technology Tagged With: wireless, xbox

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