Answers 2nd Dec 2010

Q1. Which Indian filmmaker wrote the script "The Alien", which never became a film but may have inspired Spielberg's "E. T"?

A: Satyajit Ray. It was originally meant for a film to be produced by Columbia pictures. Later, "E.T." was produced by the same company, with Steven Spielberg as director. Spielberg of course denied copying Ray's script. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Alien#Legacy

Correct answers: @pavanvoice, @dubash, @Prashanth_Krish, @aaindian, @Karmasura, @KiranKS

Q2. What is the approximate value of the Golden Ratio or the Golden Mean, also known as "phi"? (atleast upto three decimals)?

A: 1.618. It is a very interesting number, appearing in a lot of places in nature from the arrangement of branches in a tree to brain wave cycles. Scientists and artists in medieval Europe loved it for its unique properties and believing it to be aesthetically pleasing. Apparently, the new Twitter design is based on phi: http://mashable.com/2010/09/29/new-twitter-golden-ratio/ . Wikipedia has a truly encyclopaedic article on this fascinating number: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio#Nature

Correct answers: @kirankarlmarx, @Karmasura, @KiranKS

Q3. Name the library and scientific institution in Baghdad that acted as the main intellectual centre of the "Islamic Golden Age"

A: Baitul Hikma, or House of Wisdom. It was a library/translation center in Baghdad founded by Caliph Al Mamun. Many ancient scientific works from different civilizations were translated and preserved. It flourished from the 9th to 13th centuries before it was destroyed by invading Mongols. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Wisdom

Correct answers: @Karmasura, @aaindian, @KiranKS

Q4. What part of the biological cell is referred to as the "power house" of the cell"?

A: Mitochondrion

Correct answers: @kirankarlmarx, @Prashanth_Krish, @quietist, @Vijay_Vikram, @Ravitejadanda, @Karmasura, @KiranKS

Q5. Hubble Space Telescope will come to the end of its life in 2014. Name the space based observatory that will succeed it

A: James Webb space telescope. It will observe the most distant objects in the universe, farther than Hubble, and help increase our understanding about the origin and evolution of the universe. It will be launched in 2014: http://www.jwst.nasa.gov/

Correct answers: @KiranKS

Scores

@KiranKS 50
@Karmasura 40
@aaindian 20
@kirankarlmarx 20
@Prashanth_Krish 20
@quietist 10
@Vijay_Vikram 10
@dubash 10
@pavanvoice 10
@Ravitejadanda 10