Pulleys

A pulley is a simple mechanical device used either to change the direction of force or gain Mechanical Advantage or both. Questions from this topic, are usually combined with other topics in JEE and to solve such problems a basic knowledge of this topic is essential.


The Basic Concepts that you need to know are:

Your Country Needs You!

My country! In thy day of glory past

A beauteous halo circled round thy brow,

And worshipped as a deity thou wast.

Where is that glory, where that reverence now?

The above lines are from the poem, To India My Native Land, by Derozio. It was a part of our ICSE course. At that time, it was just a poem like many others, that had to be mugged up. Last weekend these very words came back to me. This poem was written in the 19^th century. Times have changed since then, two world wars have been fought, India has attained freedom and the British Empire has gone, Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity has completely changed the Physics that we knew, China has become a global powerhouse, South Africa is free from apartheid and USA has a black President. So much has happened, but our country India has still not recovered its lost glory.

JEE Tips : Physics

Hello Everyone.

This last week I've been real busy and now that the weekend is hear I finally have some free time. College life does get hectic sometimes, projects, assignments, preparing for labs and class tests! Thankfully the weekend comes just in time ;-).

Coming back to this post, Physics I believe is the easiest of the three. Chemistry requires lots of mugging up while Maths requires lots of practise. All Physics requires is knowledge of a few basic concepts and a brain to apply those concepts. Don't believe me? Consider this, the entire chapter of gravity and also the chapters on charges, is based on just one formula ( So much can be deduced from one formula(. That's the beauty of Physics. Appreciate it and you shall be rewarded.

Also keep the following things in mind :

1. You just cannot ignore derivations and mug up all formulas. It might work in school exams and maybe even Mains, but if you want to come anywhere close to IIT, you've got to know how the formulas you use are derived.
2. A basic knowledge of Maths is essential before you start of with Physics. AS one of my teachers beautifully put it:
   

   Physics speaks in the language of Mathematics.

3. Practise a lot. And be prepared to apply concepts. There may not be a ready made formula in some questions. In some cases you will have to go back to the basic concept and just Use Your Brain.
4. The Important Chapters which you can't even think of leaving are Modern Physics, Mechanics, Electrostats, Electromagnetism and Thermodynamics.
5. Sound is sightly tough and it also less important, but do make sure you learn Doppler's Effect ( just one formula).
6. If it is hard for you to understand the derivations in waves, leave it, but do make sure you mug up the formulas.
7. Mechanics is quite tough for a beginner, and it will take lots of time. But don't give up on it. Same with Electro-Magnetism and Elctrostats.
8. Basically what I am saying is, don't leave anything in Physics, unless you really hate it. Questions can be asked easily which involve concepts of more than one chapter. Better be prepared.
9. Don't attempt Irodov unless you are really sure about it. While it will surely boost your confidence, too much expertise in one subject isn't really recommended.
10. Make it a point to solve HC Verma completely. I know everyone has this book but no one really solves it. In my school, if I told someone I'm solving HC Verma, everyone's general reaction was that it's so easy! They think it is easy after solving one or two questions, but solve it to the end and you will know that it isn't the easiest at all.
11. Most Importantly, there are many shortcuts in Physics. If you have a very good teacher, awesome for you. If you don't, make sure you ask the right people about the shortcuts they know.

Note: Physics was my favourite, so maybe I'm being partial when I say don't leave any topic. But then, the speciality of physics is that it's all connected. Suppose you've studied gravity well. Then it won't be any problem for you to solve a question on charges.

Are You An Idiot?

Ever had self-doubt? Called yourself all sorts of stupid names, been up late wondering how you could have been so idiotic :P. I know you have done that, some time or the other, and I don't blame you, you are human after all. But seriously are you a normal person? Or are you foolish? What if everyone is whispering behind you, and you're the ignorant fool who keeps going on unaware of the world. If that is the case, you might want to change your habits pretty soon.

I'll decide later whether you are an idiot or not. First tell me why are you reading this article? Surely you don't click on every random Facebook link and read everything. No your time is too precious for that. Then why are you reading this one? Maybe because the title is a little unconventional. Or maybe you are trying to reassure yourself that you are not what you've always worried you might be "An Idiot".

"This is what I would call Advertising"

This is the mantra of today's world. Necessity was the mother of Invention. Today Invention is the Mother of Necessity. Inventions create needs. Everyone's out there for your money, your hard earned money. And let's face it, most people do fall in the traps laid out for them.

Do you know that the topmost Google search results are usually advertisements? If you use Facebook on a laptop you'll see the advertisements in the right column. SMS, phone calls, radio stations, billboards, we are surrounded by ads. There are ads for accessories of upgrades to products that you own which you already don't require.

Why am I saying all this? Flipkart's Big Billion Day Sale. Do you really think they are fools who would sell their products at a loss? Surely there is something wrong somewhere? No seller is stupid enough to sell his products at a loss. The sellers are making huge profits because they are selling a large number of goods. And you my dear customer, you are afraid that you might not get that product so cheap again. So you go ahead and buy it. Buy something you probably had no intentions of buying right now, which you probably don't need right now either. You have been made a Fool.

A penny saved, is a penny gained.

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I didn't have a topic to write on so I challenged myself. Took a random phrase I came across and wrote whatever came to my mind. No previous thoughts or plans. Just writing what the phrase brought to my mind. Do let me know how I fared. Also, if you have any other interesting or even random phrases do comment them.

Life at IIT : Misconceptions

I travel by train 3-4 times a month and hence get a chance to interact with many people. On all my train trips, I wear my IIT KGP t-shirt ( I do like to show off a bit :P). On account of this I've had many interesting interactions with various people regarding my college. And most of them have no Idea what our life is like. If you too have some conceptions about IITians, read on and find out for yourself if you are right!

1. Is this what you think we are?


NERD
Source : www.freeimages.com

If yes, then you are wrong, in fact you've never been further from the truth. We are not nerds. Like everyone else, we study mostly one or two weeks before the exams. Most of our time is used up for sports, club activities, movies, Facebook and YouTube. And most of us don't even attend all classes. We are pretty cool, possibly cooler ( and more street smart ) than other college students.

2. Not all of us will walk out after 4 years with a package north of 70-80 lakh Rs per annum. The newspapers report only the highest, the average is way lower, less than 10 and that is the package most people will walk out with. It may be an IIT but not everyone is equally intelligent. Someone may be good at academics while someone else may be good at writing or sports.

3. Do you think we are arrogant?

Source : www.freeimages.com

Consider this, we live with some of the brightest people in almost every field. Most of us have swelled up egos before we enter IIT, but after meeting and interacting with so many people who are better than us, we learn to be humble. If you have something good in you, we will be the first to acknowledge and appreciate it. We surely are proud of our college, but that does not mean we are egoistic.

4. The Social life at IIT's isn't boring. We do everything that normal people do, hang out at restaurants, play loud music at night, watch movies and everything else that normal people do. We have played cricket ( gully cricket, in hostel corridors ) at 2 in the night ( it can be called crazy :P) and still reached class the next day.

"We Know How To Have Fun"

5. We don't live in 5-star hotels ( This was a misconception I had ).

Source : Wikimedia Commons

Before joining IIT my expectations from the hostel were something like this. Also, I imagined classrooms with perfect air-conditioning and world-class acoustics.

Well, I guess I expected too much, my hostel is nowhere near Harry Potter's but with time I've got used to it. My English Proffesor had said this :

" You have all come here expecting MIT, but IIT is not MIT. IIT is in the process of becoming like MIT, "

Have you experienced any of this? I would love to hear from you guys. Scroll down and comment.