The electric fireworks
Ri(sky) Misadventures In The Cloud Kingdom
Moksh Gauri, AIS Pushp Vihar, XII D
Far up above the land of humans, there was a floating kingdom known as Fluffland. In order to keep the kingdom afloat, King Neutron and his ministers did their best to maintain equilibrium. The inhabitants of Fluffland had complete liberty to travel across the sky, but there were a few who took advantage of that; a group of troublemakers that created inexplicable havoc. Succumbing to the irresistible temptation of finding out what on Earth, or better yet, what on clouds led to the comical clownery, I, a mere Proton, enquired curiously about it from a woman across the cloud.
Oh trespasser, watch your head
Look at those children on that sled
“Jump to the clouds” as they expressed
Electrons they called themselves
As they played around and messed
Negative imbalance they created
To watch the shimmering fireworks
Skimming from one cloud to another
Triumphant with a smirk.
All I could grasp from it was that a group of kids, called Electrons, jumped from one cloud to another just to see the magical fireworks. Honestly, I didn’t see why anyone would have any objection to the ethereal beauty of fireworks. Until I witnessed their intensity first-hand. So, I filed a petition and reached out to the king. Upon my arrival at the Fluff Palace, I saw King Neutron looking dismal. As I requested him to enlighten me about the current state of the kingdom, he also communicated it in rhyme.
Electrons with a negative charge
Created an imbalance of sorts
They pushed, pulled, climbed, fell
Creating a thunderous spell
Lightning is what that produces
Static electricity is what the cloud refuses
Electrons disrupt Sky God’s slumber
Protons suffer due to this blunder
“Now I leave you in an endless loop
Loop of fire, thunder, and of light
With no compassion for your plight”
Dreadful and strong as they were
Cloud kingdom was under god’s curse!
“God’s curse?” I asked, dumbfounded, “but, how do we break this curse?” King Neutron sighed and floated away. As it turns out, what Electrons considered as recreation resulted in an imbalance in the floating kingdom. The Protons were cursed to be trapped at the top of the clouds while Electrons were bound to jump around for eternity, causing the thunderous fireworks. With no resolution in sight, King Neutron lost all hope, but the residents of Fluffland are still looking for a way to break this curse.
More than wireless
Diya Arora, AIS Saket, XII E
Hearing the term Bluetooth as kids, we have all often wondered if it was related to the tooth fairy. Well, whether or not this wireless communication technology, as they call it, has dental origins, let’s figure out…
The blue-tinged bite
Unlike the tooth fairy, Bluetooth is a type of short-range wireless technology that makes it possible for various electronic devices to exchange data across short distances. By creating a Personal Area Network between devices, it has eliminated the need for cables or internet connection for transferring data.
From royalty to gadgets
The term Bluetooth originates from King Harald Blatand, a tenth century Danish Monarch, known by the nickname “Bluetooth” due to a dead tooth that had turned blue. One of the pioneers of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, Jim Kardach once remarked, “Blatand was famous for uniting Scandinavia, just as we intended to unite the PC and cellular industries with a short-range wireless link.”
Symbolic origins
A working title once, the name Bluetooth has stuck ever since. Its logo is a bind rune merging the Younger Futhark runes, Hagall (ᚼ) and Bjarkan (ᛒ), King Harald’s initials.
Molars on the move
Bluetooth requires different protocols to communicate; the tech helps devices communicate using low-power radio waves on a frequency band between 2.400 GHz and 2.483.5 GHz. And this frequency is set aside by the international agreement for the use of industrial, scientific, and medical devices.
Tooth police are here
Akin to the importance of maintaining oral hygiene, keeping Bluetooth networks secure is significant too. It is reasonably secure when used with precaution - encrypted connections prevent casual eavesdropping. Devices shift radio frequencies while paired, which prevents invasion. However, there are hacking risks like “bluesnarfing” and “bluebugging”. For maximum security, one must disable Bluetooth while in public.
From being associated with a Viking King to finally being an ideal tech for over 25 years, Bluetooth has stayed the ground. And well, who needs a tooth fairy when we have Bluetooth to connect us, right?