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Energy: The solution to our problems
By: Mihir Rao
Energy is the only thing in this universe. You and I, we are made of matter, but matter is also made of energy, and energy is the only thing and will be the only thing in this universe. And we need to tackle the growing issue with energy.
We have loads of energy to use, and we normally use fossil fuels (petrol, diesel, etc) to fulfill our needs. But fossil fuels are running out slowly, and whenever we use them,
they pollute the air. Sure, they may give us energy, but it won’t last for a long time.
Non-renewable energy is the energy that we have been using for more than 200 years, since the Industrial Revolution; and this form of energy is overrated. We need change, now.
Renewable energy has been looked at as a passing fad, but it is our future! So, let me explain a bit about the methods that we could use for renewable energy:
Solar energy is energy (you guessed it) harnessed from the sun. This type of energy is made using panels which take the rays of the sun and convert them into energy. This type of energy gives us a little less energy, but if the entire world converts to solar energy then we will make up for it. Solar energy already exists, and many households use them for their energy! Actually, the Pentagon has solar panels installed, for solar power!
Wind energy is also a good method of utilising the resources that we have in abundance, since wind is one of the most renewable resources in our grasp, and we can turn it into clean, safe energy. Now, the Empire State Building is completely powered by wind energy! So imagine if we take these things and make the scale much, much larger.
Also, we cannot deny the fact that energy is the future, OUR FUTURE. Since we are going to enter the next phase of our exploration: Space Travel, We need unbelievable amounts of energy. And, since we want to explore out of our galaxy, which requires travel faster than light, we need to come up with a way to do that, which will require astronomical amounts of energy.
Talking about energy consumption, Nikolai Kardashev created a scale to measure civilisations based on their energy consumption levels:
Type 1: A type one civilisation can use the entire energy and resources of their planet, and they have utilised the complete capacity of energy that their planet can provide to them. The thing is, Earth ranks at about a 0.75 on the scale!
Type 2: A type two civilisation can utilise the entire energy of their star system, including their star, maybe using a device called a Dyson Sphere. I may talk about that in a future article, but not this time.
Type 3: Type three civilisations can use their entire galaxy’s energy, expanding outside their entire solar system. This civilisation would probably use unbelievable amounts of energy, that we can’t even fathom to comprehend.
Of course there are type 4 and type 5 civilisations and so on, but it just gets a little too much out of our understanding.
We need to get up out of our chairs, and save the world, because
‘The world has enough resources for everybody’s need, but not anybody’s greed.’
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Cover Story-
Post Lockdown- Happy Pets
By: Agastya Rao
The pandemic may not have been the best time for us, but it certainly was the best time for dogs! Dogs were the happiest during the lockdown, Their humans were at home all day long, to play with them everyday, give them regular treats and love them with all their heart. Dogs were part of virtual conferences and meetings, of the virtual workplace and virtual schools - they had the best time of their lives.
Now as the world is slowly opening up, it is good that we are getting back into our normal routine, but dogs may not share this joyous sentiment and may even be heartbroken. Dogs will be very anxious, they feel terrible about this new change in their now normal lifestyle. We must remember that our dogs will be used to us playing with them everyday, or even sitting with them and petting them everyday and this will really affect them.
Dogs are just like humans (only smarter!). It will take them a lot of time to get used to us leaving the house more often. They feel the same emotions as we do and this will be painful for them.
We must find a way to make sure that man’s best friend remains man’s best friend, and in this case it means slowly helping our dogs get used to us leaving.
This leads us to steps-
Try getting your dog used to you leaving- Try leaving the house for a short while, and then coming back. Try doing this daily and they will get adjusted to you leaving the house.
The treat trick- whenever you re-enter the house, try not to make a big fuss over your dogs for the first 5 minutes when you enter. Once your dogs calm down, then it would be a good time to pat them.
Play with your dog everyday whenever you come back from school/work. This will make your dog(s) feel happy and they will know that you are always going to be there for them, and that even if you leave or go somewhere for a short while, you will always return. Maybe even a treat or two will cheer them up!
Even if it is at the end of a working day, make time to take them out for a walk around the block / nearby park, maybe even plan a weekend car ride.
If you follow these steps for a while, your dog(s) shall be used to you leaving the house in no time, and their anxiety and sadness after you leaving shall soon decrease.
Your dog(s) love you just as much as you love them, so be sure to continue to love them, occasionally pamper them with that extra treat, and keep them happy!
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THE GameStop SAGA- Part 2
By: Abhimanyu Rao
Last week, I talked about the beginning of the GameStop SAGA. We were introduced to the people of Wallstreetbets. So what did they do? Let’s find out!
What did Wallstreetbets do?
Well, wallstreetbets were just a small group of traders, who no one would assume had the money or resources to even make a name for themselves in the treacherous plains of Wall Street, but like the scrawny David, they managed to do so much more. They noticed that GameStop’s stock was the most shorted stock of 2020, so as a collective New Year’s resolution, they decided to kill Goliath, and to show the world what they could do. So, they concocted a genius plan that would take these traders’ strongest weapon, and turn it against them. What was that secret weapon? Well, it was the very weapon they were using on GameStop. Shorting!
They got online on their Reddit subgroup, and decided that the moment the stock markets opened, they were going to buy as many shares as possible in the one company they knew that each trader would be trying to short… GameStop! This phenomenon was also noticed, and possibly supported by many billionaires and celebrities, most notably, Elon Musk. This gave it even more traction, and by doing this, they drove the stock up to heights it had never reached before! This is a phenomenon called a Short Squeeze.
What is a Short Squeeze?
A short squeeze is when “shorters” (traders who short stock) sell the stock of a certain company because they expect it to fall, but then the stock actually rises. This goes against the entire idea of shorting, and they are left with very few paths to follow. They can either go into a loss by selling the stock, and find a way to compensate for the loss, or they can hold onto the shares for a while and hope that the price goes down. This difficult position is rare, but it highlights the risks of shorting. If you short a stock, and that stock increases the next day, you are stuck with a huge problem, and two less than perfect solutions.
What did the Short Squeeze of GameStop cause?
This short squeeze obviously was a result of the stock price for GameStop soaring, and on the 28th of January 2021, it reached a peak of $483 a share! This meteoric rise in GameStop’s shares not only got its names on the front page of almost every newspaper in the world, but also made it a Fortune 500 company, one of the richest 500 companies in the world! Following this, several investors also began buying shares in GameStop, to cover up the losses they faced because of being unable to short their shares.
Following this, many online trading platforms like Robinhood decided to limit the number of trades a particular person could make with GameStop stock! This outraged the people of wallstreetbets, most of whom had only these platforms to trade, as they were not big traders. They saw this as the rich and powerful ‘Rulers of Wall Street’ trying to stop them from levelling the playing field.
Was it legal?
While what wallstreetbets did was very smart, and made a huge mark on the stock market, it does come across as borderline illegal. What these people did was technically collude to drive the price of a stock up to harm someone else’s business, so yes, it is probably illegal! On the other hand, if shorting is legal, this should also be considered legal, because both practices are greatly affecting companies and the stock market. However, what wallstreetbets is saying is not very far from the truth. They believe that they are just trying to level the playing field in a stock market that is so complex, that only the rich or the crafty hedge fund managers can find a way to profit from it.
Why did they do it?
The good people of wallstreetbets were doing was a symbolic way of showing the giants of the stock market that they were not afraid to enact a ‘hostile takeover’ of the
stock market. They seemed to be declaring that the stock market had remained a playground for the rich for too long, and that this was a way to bring equality into Wall Street. They wanted to make a dent on the powerful hedge funds of the world, to show that they are a force to be reckoned with.
Wait…What??
I know, I know. This does not sound like David vs Goliath anymore!! It sounds much closer to Batman taking on criminals than a scrawny boy defeating a giant! The truth is, many feel that wallstreetbets has taken on a more vigilante role in their manipulation of the stock market, and while they believe they are doing the right thing, they are bending, or even possibly breaking a whole lot of rules! This does sound very vigilante-esque, doesn’t it?
There is some more left. Do you want to know what these vigilantes did next? Wait for part three in Weekly Digest #31!
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By: Mihir Rao
Sidney the seal was discovered with her umbilical cord still attached, abandoned from her family in California.. Since it was confirmed that she was born prematurely, she was given around the clock care and she is now feeling good in the Sea Cliffs exhibit in New York!
Because of a power outage, people were left frigid without hot meals. But the owners of Bella Italia Ristorante in Texas did not get affected by it, and provided over 500 hot meals to people who did not have the capacity to make meals in the single-digit temperatures.
Now, Norwegians are zooming into the future with them quickly converting to electric cars instead of cars run by fossil fuels! The world is becoming a cleaner place. For every 1000 Norwegians, 55 electrical vehicles are in use. Certainly something to be emulated.
The art of small talk is declining, but not anymore! Adrià Ballester took this matter into his own hands and put up a few foldable chairs outside of the Arco de Triunfo de Barcelona and put up a sign saying ‘Free Conversations’. He gathered a lot of traction and popularity through his instagram page, and he even launched a web initiative during the pandemic.
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By: Abhimanyu Rao
The Technion-Israel institute of technology created a lab-grown Black Hole! Stephen Hawking had theorized that Black Holes don’t only swallow energy, but also radiate some of their own! This was very different from the general perception of black holes. What’s even more exciting is that this means that black holes, slowly(in time more than the age of the universe itself!) will evaporate away! This radiation is called Hawking Radiation, a touching tribute to the mastermind who theorized its existence.
One of the biggest debates that paleontologists have ever had is the cause of the dinosaurs’ extinction. Well, as it turns out, the most popular theory ended up being correct. The Chicxulub crater in Mexico had a high concentration of Iridium in it. While the Earth’s crust has a very low concentration of iridium, iit is found in high concentrations in asteroids, finally putting an end to that mystery.
Scientists have been stumped by ripples shown on the land around the Markha River in Russia. These ripples are alternating bands of dark and light, that have been photographed by the Landsat-8 over many years. These ripples are more apparent in the winter, and they contrast with the snow. Scientists are still trying to figure out what they are, but The Paperless Press will let you know, just stay tuned to the Did You know section, and you will know the moment we do!
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Entertainment quotient for the week:
A. Netflix
Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase
B. Disney + Hotstar
Dunston Checks In
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By: Agastya Rao
Tennis (ATP Rotterdam 500 aka the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament)
The ATP Rotterdam 500 has been going on for the past week or so, and we saw former World Number 3 Kei Nishikori and Former World Number 1 Andy Murray make a comeback post their injuries and surgeries in 2020. Andrey Rublev defeated Stefano Tsitipas in the Semi-Finals and shall face off against Márton Fucsovics in the Finals.
New Update- Andrey Rublev defeated Márton Fucsovics, and won the ATP 500 Rotterdam title)
Basketball (NBA)
The NBA has taken a short break for the All Star Weekend, which will feature the All Star game where the league’s top players face off against each other in a match. Team LeBron James shall take on Team Kevin Durant. There will be other challenges such as the NBA Dunk Contest and Skills Challenge.
Cricket (India Vs England Test Series)
India defeated England in the test series with a superb performance from Rishabh Pant and Washington Sundar from India. India shall now face off against New Zealand in the World Test Championship Finals! They also are now the Number 1 test cricket team in the world!
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