#06 - Woodpeckers .. Rhinos .. Mars helicopter .. T-Rex
Welcome to another edition of the Science Newsletter. My apologies for the delayed edition. I hope everyone is staying safe in the middle of the pandemic.
2020 was bad year for humans, but not for nature. Nepal’s rhino population has increased to 752 last year from 645 in 2015. It is the highest increase in a decade. The increase is attributed to the lesser tourism visits during the pandemic.
India is all set to build the world’s largest nuclear reactor plant in the world in an ancient port village of Jaitapur, Maharashtra. Once installed, the power plant will generate a total of around 10 GW power from its 6 reactors.
NASA’s Ingenuity Helicopter on Mars made its second flight for approximately 51 seconds. The helicopter, a technology demonstration, hovered at an altitude of 10 ft above above the air. Here is the link to the video and below is the image of the helicopter’s shadow that was taken from the inbuilt camera
T-Rex is actually a slow mover. You might have seen movies in which a T-Rex would be sprinting fast towards its prey. Erase that out of your minds. New study indicates that the T-Rex is actually a slow moving animal, that can walk up to just 3 miles per hour, or even less.
Why doesn’t woodpeckers get stuck in trees?
A nail can get stuck in wood, but never a woodpecker’s bill. Ever wondered why? The secret is that a woodpecker can move its upper and lower beaks independently.
When the bill touches the wood, the head rotates clockwise and the bird’s upper beak rotates anti-clockwise and retracts to create an independent space. This independent space helps the bird to retract its beak within 20 ms. Here is a video.
Hope you found this edition of the newsletter informative. Till the next edition, Stay Home and Stay Safe
Best,
-Team Planet Eureka