NATURAL GAS

Natural gas is a mixture. It consists mainly of hydrocarbons. The main component is methane. Natural gas is often found in the ground together with petroleum. Landfills and natural processes produce a little methane. Usually it is transported to users in a pipeline.

The Door to Hell, a natural gas field in Turkmenistan. It is a natural gas firing which has been burning continuously since 1971, fed by the rich natural gas deposits in the area.

Most natural gas is burnt as a fuel to produce energy. It burns with a clean blue flame. It causes little pollution.

Natural gas is burned to produce electricity and to cook and heat buildings. It is also used as fuel for natural gas vehicles for transport. When natural gas is burned in a power station it boils water into steam that spins a steam turbine that turns a generator to make electricity. Some power stations use natural gas in a gas turbine.

Natural gas is also converted into many different industrial chemicals. It is the most common feedstock for making pure hydrogen. Hydrogen is used as fuel in fuel cells, and to make ammonia. Ammonia is used as a fuel, as a fertilizer for crops, and for making many other things. Natural gas is also converted into monomers to make many plastic products.

PETROLEUM

Petroleum, also called crude oil, is a thick and black liquid. It is a natural material mainly made of hydrocarbons. Most petroleum is found by drilling down through rocks on land or off-shore on the continental shelf. Major producers are in the Middle East, the Americas, and Russia. It is the most important world fuel source. It supplies 38% of the world's energy and is also used to make petrochemicals.

Crude oil is speaking a mixture of many different chemicals, mostly hydrocarbons, most of which burn well. It is separated into simpler, more useful mixtures by fractional distillation in oil refineries to give separate chemicals such as gasoline (or petrol) for cars, kerosene for airplanes and bitumen for roads. The bitumen gives crude oil its dark black colour; most of the other chemicals in crude are slightly yellow or colourless.

Petroleum can be easily transported by pipeline. Treated petroleum can be used as fuels; mainly gasoline (petrol) for cars, diesel fuel for diesel engines used in trucks, trains and ships, kerosene fuel for jets and as lubricants.

Petrochemicals:

Alcohols
Antiseptics
Artificial rubber
Detergents
Drugs
Explosives
Food additives
Insecticides
Perfumes
Plastics
Textile Fiber

Problems

Petroleum resource is limited and non-renewable. Some believe it will run out within 70 years after a peak oil early in the 21st century. Burning petroleum or other fossil fuel adds the carbon in the oil to the oxygen in the air to create carbon dioxide, which is an air pollutant. The carbon can be removed from the carbon dioxide by plants.

There is a lot of crude oil left underground. Oil companies quote "reserves" which some people confuse with the actual amount of oil underground, but are more to do with the cost of extracting it by oil wells. Most of the crude left underground is in the Middle East which is not a politically stable part of the world. Some governments with lots of oil reserves work together through OPEC to keep production low and prices high. Policitians complain about high oil prices because voters complain. However many environmentalists worry about the damage being done by using oil as a fuel source (especially global warming) and are therefore happy that prices are kept high so that people use less oil.

CHEMISTRY

Chemistry is a branch of science that deals with chemical elements and compounds, and how these things work together. It is the study of the materials (things) that make up our bodies and everything in the world around us.

History

Before 1600, people studied substances to figure out how to do things such as turn lead into gold, but no one managed to do that. This was called alchemy. Alchemists (people that did alchemy) did discover some useful things, though. Sulphuric acid and nitric acid were two substances that they discovered. Only a few elements were known. Some of them are mercury, silver, gold, and carbon.

Chemistry began as a true science during the 1600s. This is when chemists discovered the simplest substances that make up all other substances. These simple substances are called elements. One of the things that they learned is that gold and lead are two different elements, so you can not change one into the other by a chemical reaction. The first element discovered after 1600 was phosphorus, a strange white glowing solid.

Elements were discovered more and more rapidly. People separated the air into many parts and isolated the noble gases from it. They also processed special minerals from a mine in Sweden to get rare earth metals. Radioactivity was also discovered. Today chemists have discovered 118 different elements. Some are very common, like oxygen. Many are very rare and expensive, like platinum. Some cannot be found on earth and can only be made in labs, like rutherfordium.

Since the 1920s, the increased understanding of physics has changed chemists' theories about chemical reactions. With smaller and faster computers, chemists have built better tools for analyzing substances. These tools have been sent to study chemicals on Mars. Police also use those tools to study evidence from crime scenes.

Concepts of chemistry

Basic concepts
The basic unit of an element is called an atom. An atom is the smallest building block that you can cut an element into without the element breaking down (turning into a lighter element, for example through nuclear fission or radioactive decay). A chemical compound is a substance made up of two or more elements. In a compound, two or more atoms are joined together to form a molecule. The tiniest speck of dust or drop of liquid, that one can see is made up of many millions or billions of these molecules. Mixtures are substances where chemicals are mixed but not reacted. An example would be mixing sand and salt. This can be undone again to produce salt and sand separately. Chemical compounds are changed by a chemical reaction. An example would be heating sodium bicarbonate, common baking soda. It will make water, carbon dioxide, and sodium carbonate. This reaction cannot be undone.

Uses In Daily Life

Chemistry is very useful in everyday life and makes up the foundation of many branches of science. Most objects are made by chemists (people who do chemistry). Chemists are constantly working to find new and useful substances. Chemists make new drugs and materials like paints that we use every day.

Safety

This chemist is wearing safety glasses, a lab coat and gloves. He is looking at a rock from the moon.
Many chemicals are harmless, but there are some chemicals that are dangerous. For example, mercury(II) chloride is very toxic. Chromates can cause cancer. Tin(II) chloride pollutes water easily. Hydrochloric acid can cause bad burns. Some chemicals like hydrogen can explode or catch fire. To stay safe, chemists experiment with chemicals in a chemical lab. They use special equipment and clothing to do reactions and keep the chemicals contained. The chemicals used in drugs and in things like bleach have been tested to make sure they are safe if used correctly.

HYDROCARBONS

A hydrocarbon is a type of chemical compound. It is made of only hydrogen and carbon atoms. They can be found in crude oil and are separated by fractional distillation (which means they are separated into different groups). The hydrogen and carbon are bonded with non-polar covalent bonds. Because of its lack of polar covalent bonds, hydrocarbons cannot create hydrogen bonds with water and are hydrophobic.

Hydrocarbon "Families"

Hydrocarbons are grouped into "families" or "homologous series". There are five main families. The hydrocarbons in each family have a general formula and similar chemical properties, and similar trends in physical properties.

Alkanes

Alkanes are the simplest hydrocarbons. Their general formula is CnH2n+2.

Alkane        Name Formula
Methane:     CH4
Ethane:        C2H6
Propane:      C3H8
Butane:        C4H10
Pentane        C5H12
Hexane        C6H14
Heptane       C7H16
Octane         C8H18
Nonane        C9H20
Decane        C10H22

Alkenes

Alkenes are similar to alkanes. The main difference between them is that alkenes have a carbon to carbon double bond. The general formula for the alkenes is CnH2n.

Alkene       Name Formula
Ethene      C2H4
Propene    C3H6
Butene      C4H8
Pentene    C5H10
Hexene     C6H12
Heptene    C7H14
Octene      C8H16
Nonene     C9H18
Decene     C10H20
Note that there is no "Methene". Methene is not possible as alkenes require a carbon-carbon double bond and methane only has one carbon atom.

Alkynes

Alkynes have a carbon to carbon triple bond. CnH2n-2 is their general formula.

Alkyne      Name Formula
Ethyne     C2H2
Propyne   C3H4
Butyne     C4H6
Pentyne   C5H8
Hexyne    C6H10
Heptyne   C7H12
Octyne     C8H14
Nonyne    C9H16
Decyne    C10H18

"Methyne" does not exist because of methane's one carbon atom.

Cycloalkanes

Cycloalkanes are isomers of alkenes. They have the same general formula (CnH2n), the only difference is that they do not have a carbon to carbon double bond.

Cycloalkane        Name Formula
Cyclopropane     C3H6
Cyclobutane       C4H8
Cyclopentane     C5H10
Cyclohexane      C6H12
Cycloheptane     C7H14
Cycloctane         C8H16
Cyclononane     C9H18
Cyclodecane     C10H20

Note that the alkane Methane and the alkene Ethene do not have a cycloalkane because they can only form a straight line.

Alkadiene

Alkadienes have two carbon to carbon double bonds. Their general formula is CnH2n-2. They are isomers of Alkynes.

Aromatic Hydrocarbons

Aromatic hydrocarbons are aromatic organic molecules that form flat ring-shaped bonds. The most simplest of aromatic hydrocarbons are benzene and indole. They can have one ring, heterocyclic, like benzene or 2 rings, bicyclic like napthalene (primary ingredient in mothballs) or many rings, polycyclic like anthracene (red dye colourant). Their general formula is CnH2n-6, where n is a number greater than or equal to 6.

LAKE

A lake (from Latin lacus) is a large body of water (larger and deeper than a pond) within a body of land. As a lake is not connected to any ocean, it is not a sea. Some lakes are very big and people in the past sometimes called them seas. Lakes do not flow, like rivers, but it is common that rivers flow into or out of them.

Most lakes on the surface of the Earth are fresh water and most are in the Northern Hemisphere. More than 60% of the lakes of the world are in Canada. Finland is known as The Land of the Thousand Lakes (there are 187,888 lakes in Finland, of which 60,000 are large).



Many lakes are man-made reservoirs built to produce electricity, for recreation, or to use the water for irrigation or industry, or in houses.

If there are not rivers flowing out of the lake (see Endorheic basin), or they are few and small, the lake loses water only by evaporation or because the water flows through the soil pores. Where the water evaporates rapidly and the soil around the lake has a high salt level, as in very dry places, the water of the lake has a high concentration of salt and the lake is called a salt lake. Examples of salt lakes are the Great Salt Lake, the Caspian Sea, the Aral Sea, and the Dead Sea.

Largest lakes by continent

Africa - Lake Victoria, also the second largest freshwater lake on Earth. It is one of the Great Lakes of Africa.
Antarctica - Lake Vostok.
Asia - Lake Baikal is the largest lake that is completely in Asia. The Caspian Sea, the largest lake on Earth, is on the Europe-Asia border (an artificial border) and so both continents share this lake.
Australia - Lake Eyre, that most of the time is without water; it takes water when it rains a lot.
Europe - Lake Ladoga, followed by Lake Onega, both in northwestern Russia.
North America - Lake Superior.
South America - Lake Maracaibo but it is like a bay because it has a wide opening to sea. The largest freshwater lake of South America is Lake Titicaca, which is also the highest body of water on Earth at 3,821 m (12,507 ft) above sea level where boats can travel.

Notable lakes

The largest lake in the world by area is the Caspian Sea, with 394,299 km². The largest freshwater lake by area is Lake Superior (82,414 km²), part of the Great Lakes of North America.

The longest freshwater lake is Lake Tanganyika, with a length of about 660 km. Lake Baikal is the second longest (about 630 km from tip to tip).

The deepest lake is Lake Baikal in Siberia, with a bottom at 1,637 m (5,371 ft). Lake Tanganyika (1,470 m) is the second deepest lake.

The highest lake of the world is a small lake (pond) without a name on Ojos del Salado at 6,390 m (20,965 ft). But the highest navigable lake is Lake Titicaca in Peru and Bolivia at 3,812 m (12,507 ft).

The lowest lake of the world is the Dead Sea, bordering Israel and Jordan at 418 m (1,371 ft) below sea level. It is also one of the lakes with highest salt concentration.

Lake Enriquillo in Dominican Republic is the only saltwater lake in the world where crocodiles live.

PROGRAMMER

A computer programmer is a person who makes computer programs using a programming language. Programmers are also called software developers, coders, or hackers.

A programmer's main jobs are writing program source code, testing if it works, and debugging (fixing) the program if there are problems. Programmers often use software tools such as text editors and IDEs (Integrated Development Environments) to help them work.

Programming is a unique profession because a programmer can work from a computer anywhere in the world. This is called telecommuting - doing work on the Internet instead of in an office.

Some programmers are famous because their software is used by many people. One example is Linus Torvalds, who created an important part of the Linux operating system.

Programming can be done in many different languages and can look very different but do the same thing. An example of this is the Hello world program.

ALGEBRA

Algebra is a part of mathematics (often called math in the United States and maths in the United Kingdom). It uses variables to represent a value that is not yet known. When an equals sign (=) is used, this is called an equation. A very simple equation using a variable is: 2 + 3 = x In this example, x = 5, or it could also be said, "x is five". This is called solving for x.
Besides equations, there are inequalities (less than and greater than). A special type of equation is called the function. This is often used in making graphs.

Algebra can be used to solve real problems because the rules of algebra work in real life and numbers can be used to represent the values of real things. Physics, engineering and computer programming are areas that use algebra all the time. It is also useful to know in surveying, construction and business, especially accounting.


People who do algebra need to know the rules of numbers and mathematic operations used on numbers, starting with adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. More advanced operations involve exponents, starting with squares and square roots. Many of these rules can also be used on the variables, and this is where it starts to get interesting.

Algebra was first used to solve equations and inequalities. Two examples are linear equations (the equation of a line, y=mx+b) and quadratic equations, which has variables that are squared (power of two, a number that is multiplied by itself, for example: 2*2, 3*3, x*x). How to factor polynomials is needed for quadratic equations.

History

Early forms of algebra were developed by the Babylonians and the Greeks. However the word "algebra" is a Latin form of the Arabic word Al-Jabr ("casting") and comes from a mathematics book Al-Maqala fi Hisab-al Jabr wa-al-Muqabilah, ("Essay on the Computation of Casting and Equation") written in the 9th century by a famous Persian mathematician, Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī, who was a Muslim born in Khwarizm in Uzbekistan. He flourished under Al-Ma'moun in Baghdad, Iraq through 813-833 AD, and died around 840 AD. The book was brought into Europe and translated into Latin in the 12th century. The book was then given the name 'Algebra'. (The ending of the mathematician's name, al-Khwarizmi, was changed into a word easier to say in Latin, and became the English word algorithm.)

RULES

In algebra, there are a few rules that can be used for further understanding of equations. These are called the rules of algebra. While these rules may seem senseless or obvious, it is wise to understand that these properties do not hold throughout all branches of mathematics. Therefore, it will be useful to know how these axiomatic rules are declared, before taking them for granted. Before going on to the rules, reflect on two definitions that will be given.

Opposite - the opposite of a is -a.
Reciprocal - the reciprocal of a is \frac{1}{a}.

Rules

Commutative property of addition
'Commutative' means that a function has the same result if the numbers are swapped around. In other words, the order of the terms in an equation do not matter. When the operator of two terms is an addition, the 'commutative property of addition' is applicable. In algebraic terms, this gives a + b = b + a.

Note that this does not apply for subtraction! (i.e. a - b \ne b - a)

Commutative property of multiplication
When the operator of two terms is an multiplication, the 'commutative property of multiplication' is applicable. In algebraic terms, this gives a \cdot b = b \cdot a.

Note that this does not apply for division! (i.e. \frac{a}{b} \ne \frac{b}{a}, when a \neq b )

Associative property of addition
'Associative' refers to the grouping of numbers. The associative property of addition implies that, when adding three or more terms, it doesn't matter how these terms are grouped. Algebraically, this gives a + (b + c) = (a + b) + c. Note that this does not hold for subtraction, e.g. 1 = 0 - (0 - 1) \neq (0 - 0) - 1 = -1 (see the distributive property).

Associative property of multiplication
The associative property of multiplication implies that, when multiplying three or more terms, it doesn't matter how these terms are grouped. Algebraically, this gives a \cdot (b \cdot c) = (a \cdot b) \cdot c. Note that this does not hold for division, e.g. 2 = 1/(1/2) \neq (1/1)/2 = 1/2.

Distributive property
The distributive property states that the multiplication of a number by another term can be distributed. For instance: a \cdot (b + c) = ab + ac. (Do not confuse this with the associative properties! For instance, a \cdot (b + c) \ne (a \cdot b) + c.)

Additive identity property
'Identity' refers to the property of a number that it is equal to itself. In other words, there exists an operation of two numbers so that it equals the variable of the sum. The additive identity property states that the sum of any number and 0 is that number: a + 0 = a. This also holds for subtraction: a - 0 = a.

Multiplicative identity property
The multiplicative identity property states that the product of any number and 1 is that number: a \cdot 1 = a. This also holds for division: \frac{a}{1} = a.

Additive inverse property
The additive inverse property is somewhat like the opposite of the additive identity property. When an operation is the sum of a number and its opposite, and it equals 0, that operation is a valid algebraic operation. Algebraically, it states the following: a - a = 0. Additive inverse of 1 is (-1).

Multiplicative inverse property
The multiplicative inverse property entails that when an operation is the product of a number and its reciprocal, and it equals 1, that operation is a valid algebraic operation. Algebraically, it states the following: \frac{a}{a} = 1. Multiplicative inverse of 2 is 1/2.

URDU LANGUAGE

Urdu is the name of one of the languages spoken in South Asia. It is the national language of Pakistan. It is spoken in Pakistan and Indian-administered Kashmir and is the official language of the country. It is also an official language in India. It is spoken all over India, particularly in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh.

History

The origin of the Urdu language is the Mughal Empire's word for army, Urdu. However, contrary to popular belief, Urdu was not created in the army camps of the Mughal Army. Urdu is spoken the same as present-day Hindi, but Hindi uses the traditional Devanagari script (a decedent of Sanskrit), where as Urdu uses the Arabic alphabet. The poet Ghulam Hamadani Mushafi coined the term Urdu for this language in 1780. However, this began to alienate the two major cultures in India/Pakistan, the Muslims and Hindus. Hindus began to speak and write Hindi, whereas Muslims would begin to speak Urdu. This also lead to a need to "cleanse" Urdu of all its Sanskrit words and lead Hindi speakers to want to be rid of Persian words that remained in their language.

Relations to Persian
Differences
The letters in Urdu are derived from the Persian language which is derived from the Arabic language. The additional letters that are found in Urdu include ٹ ,ڈ ,ڑ (ṫ, ḋ, ṙ). Also to make the language more enriched two letters were created for sounds ه (h) and ی (y). By adding these alphabets to the existing Persian alphabets the Urdu language became more suitable for the people of North India and Pakistan.

Similarities
Urdu is written right to left like the Persian script. More specifically, Urdu is also written in the Nasta’ liq style of Persian Calligraphy. Nastaliq style is a cursive script invented by Mīr ʿAlī of Tabrīz, a very famous calligrapher during the Timurid period (1402–1502).

Politeness
Urdu is supposed to be a well formed language; many of words are used in it to show respect and politeness. This emphasis on politeness, which comes from the vocabulary, is known as adab and to sometimes as takalluf in Urdu. These words are mostly used when addressing elders, or people with whom one is not met yet.

TELEVISION

A television (also TV, telly or tube) is a machine with a screen. Televisions receive broadcast signals and turn them into pictures and sound. The word "television" comes from the words tele (Greek for far away) and vision (seeing).

Sometimes a TV can look like a box. Older TVs had large wooden frames and sat on the floor like furniture. Newer TVs are much lighter and flatter. A television can show pictures from many places. Computers and mobile devices also can be used for watching television programs.



At first, all televisions used an antenna (or aerial). This would pick up television programmes from broadcast stations. A TV station could be many miles or kilometers away, and still be received. TVs can also show movies from VCD and DVD players or VCRs. Cable TV and Satellite television can provide more programs at once than broadcast can. Video game consoles connect to most modern TVs. Some computers can also use a TV as a monitor.

All TVs have screens where the picture is viewed. Before the 1920s these were usually "black and white", which made everything look grey, but all modern TVs show colors. Screens also used to have rounded corners, but now they are usually flat rectangles with straight edges. It is a wider rectangle that looks more like the shape of a movie theatre screen. This is called widescreen. If a widescreen set was 30 cm tall, it would be 53 cm wide. For this to work best, TV shows also need to be made in widescreen. Widescreen sets can still be any size, but they have the same widescreen shape.

Until the late 20th century, television screens were cathode ray tubes. These are like heavy glass jars with one side bulging out to form the screen. Today flat panel displays are the usual kind. The early 21st century is also when digital television transmission became more common than analog television.

INDONESIA

Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia. It is part of the Malay Archipelago. It has 18,108 islands. 6,000 of these islands are inhabited. The most important islands of Indonesia are Java, Bali, Borneo, Sulawesi, and Sumatra. The capital of Indonesia is Jakarta, on Java. The current president is Joko Widodo. Modern Indonesia began on the 17th of August 1945. At 10 o'clock on that Friday morning, Ir. Soekarno read Indonesia's Declaration of Independence. Indonesia's Independence Day is a national holiday.

Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world with a population of 238,452,952 (2004 est.) A Half of the population lives in Java, There are 111 inhabitants per km² and the population of man and women is equal. The officiallanguage of Indonesia is Bahasa Indonesia, but a total of 737 languages are spoken throughout Indonesia mostly confined to remote tribal groups. Other languages widely spoken in Indonesia include Javanese, Balinese andSundanese. The closest countries are Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, and East Timor which share land borders with Indonesia. Other neighbouring countries are Australia to the south, Singapore to the Northwest, and Philippines to the Northeast.

History

Pre World War II

Indonesia has a written history as far back as the 7th century. Before the colonial Dutch came in the 1596, Indonesia was made up of many kingdoms in constant warfare. Indonesia was ruled by the Netherlands from the 17th century until World War II. The country was then called the Dutch East Indies.

Modern Indonesia

During World War II, the Japanese drove out the Dutch and took control of Indonesia. After Japan surrendered in the war, Indonesia claimed its independence on the 17th of August 1945. The proclamation was read by Ir. Soekarno in Jakarta. Soekarno later became Indonesia's first President.

British troops came into Indonesia to restore peace and to rescue Europeans who had been prisoners of the Japanese. The British troops also had the job of shipping home 300,000 Japanese troops. The Indonesian Republicans fought the British troops, because it was expected that the British would give Indonesia back to the Dutch. The Indonesian Republicans killed many of the Japanese prisoners, before they could be sent home. They also began killing people from minority groups who might be against the new Republic. Many European and Indonesian European people were killed. Many Chinese business people and other minority groups were killed or made homeless. In Java there were many thousands of homeless people.

Provinces

Administratively, Indonesia has 34 provinces, five of which have special status. Each province has its own political legislature and governor. The provinces are divided into regencies (kabupaten) and cities (kota). These are further divided into districts (kecamatan), and again into village groupings (either desa or kelurahan).

ZAKAT

The word "Zakat” has been derived from Zaka which means to grow, to increase, to flourish and to spread. It also means to remove impurities of an impure matter and material. But in its Islamic sense, the term carries the meaning to pay fixed amount on money, ornaments, gold, silver and produce on which a period of one year has elapsed.

In importance, it is next to "Salat". That is why in most Quranic verses, these two institutions have been mentioned together "And observer prayer, and pay the poor rate and bow down with those who bow" (Holy Quran). Zakat is obligatory upon every Muslim who is capable of paying it.

Zakat has been described as wealth which is taken from the rich and returned to the poor. It is so said because by giving to the poor the wealth of the community definitely increases and at the same time giver's heart is purified from inordinate love of wealth. Zakat money is to be collected by the state. It is to be spent upon the poor and disabled for their maintenance; may be given to new converts to Islam who fall in financial distress due to their conversion; may be spent for the liberation of slaves; may be given to those who are in debts; may be given to those travelers who become short of funds while on their journey. The amount so collected may also be spent upon the salary of the establishment employed for collecting and distribution of Zakat and also upon defence and propagation of Islam.

Zakat is the backbone of the economic system of Islam. It helps amelioration of the condition of poor. It gives economic security to the Muslim Community. Zakat sweeps away avarice. The main purpose of Zakat is to discourage accumulation of wealth by a group of society and also impair the tendency of uneven distribution of wealth in society.

Zakat intends to maintain the balance between luxury and poverty. Economic parity is maintained by Zakat. The levy of Zakat on the capital and savings at fixed rates and on the produce of land and articles of trade and cattle is intended to distribute wealth in society.

Zakat fosters fellow-feeling and brotherhood. It gives a strong blow at the root of capitalism. This system acts not only as a leveling influence but also as a means of developing the higher sentiments of man namely, the sentiments of love and sympathy towards his fellow men.

This shows that although Zakat is concern of an individual but being a member of society it also becomes the concern of the society. Since the state is the manifestation of a civilized society as such it becomes the duty of the state to realize this tax from the individuals and spend it under prescribed items to the deserving people.

Status Of Woman In Islam

Islam recognizes the position of woman to be the same as that of man. It claims that both come from the same essence. In a woman, we find three different personalities a mother, a wife and a daughter. The position of the mother is very much exalted in Islamic tradition. Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) has gone so far as to say, "Paradise lies underneath the feet of your mothers." As regards the position of woman as wife, the saying of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) is categorical, "The best among you is the one who is best towards his family." With regards to woman as a daughter, the Islamic attitude can be realized from the reproaches which the Holy Quran makes against the pagan pre-Islamic behavior at the birth of daughters.


The mutual relation of husband and wife is described in the Holy Quran as that of a single soul in two bodies. Islam describes the house as a unit in the greater organization of a nation as a whole. It speaks of husband as being "an administrator and supervisor over the people of the house" and the wife is described as "administrator and over the house of her husband and his children." The home is thus described as a kingdom, where authority is exercised by both the husband and the wife.


Islam envisages a natural division of work between men and women. While man is best suited to fight and make his way through the thick and thin of life on account of his stronger physique and other attributes, woman is entrusted with the onerous task of bringing up the younger generations because of the preponderance of the quality of love and compassion in her. This functional division of work does not mean that woman has entirely been excluded from other kinds of activities.


Islam has clearly defined and determined the status of woman in society. According to the teachings of Islam men and women enjoy equal rights in our society but their social responsibilities and duties are different. Woman is the queen of her house. Her main and sacred duties are to look after the domestic affairs, to bring up children with care, to educate the children and to act according to the wishes of her husband. However, Islam does not prevent the woman from serving in various social institutions. They may work as teachers, doctors, nurses etc. They may also take part in politics.
Thus we see that Islam has laid greater stress on the domestic duties of a woman. Our salvation lies in following the teachings of Islam. Therefore, we must abstain from copying the western culture blindly.

Independence Day Of Pakistan

Since 1947, the 14th day of August has been a red letter day with all the Pakistanis. It is observed throughout the country as a day of thanks-giving, rejoicing and merry making. The day is regarded as a sacred one in our life. The day is so great with us because on this day is 1947. We regained our independence from the British rule.

The defeat of Siraj-ud-dowla at the battle-field of Plassey in 1757 A.D. paved the way for the British rule in India. The people soon realized that they had fallen in the grip of a foreign rule. So an under current of discontent flowed through every heart. It showed itself clearly in the War of Independence of 1857. But all these failed to expel the British from India. It was then felt that this should be done by some other effective non-violent means. The Congress took the lead. But it was soon felt that its main object was to establish Hindu Raj. So the Muslims, under the leadership of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, gathered on the platform of the All India Muslim League. Then in 1940 they demanded a separate homeland. The united move of the Muslims was so irresistible that the British Government was compelled to partition India into Pakistan and Bharat. Pakistan, thus, appeared on the map of the world on the 14th August, 1947. That is why the anniversary of this day is observed with such profound solemnity and regard.

The 14th day of August is known as the Independence Day. It is observed every year in a befitting manner throughout Pakistan. The observance starts with the singing of national anthem throughout the country. Then the speech of the President is relayed. In educational institutions, teachers and students gather together and hoist the national flag solemnly. In towns and cities, the national flag is hoisted ceremonially. Then the people parade the main streets in long processions shouting national songs. All seem to be happy and jubilant. A festive look wears everywhere.

After the mid-day, seminars are held in most of the educational institutions. Prayers for the well-being of Pakistan are also arranged in mosques. The afternoon passes in various kinds of popular games and sports. After sundown all the houses and buildings are illuminated. Thereafter people attend cultural functions arranged for the occasion.

The observance of the day has a salutary effect ort the mind of the people. It reminds them of their hard-won independence and makes them resolve to retain it all costs. It inspires us with hope, make us united and instills into our heart the firm belief that Pakistan bas come to stay forever.

Poets and laymen alike have been singing in praise of the pleasures of life in the country since time immemorial. Still people continue to rush to the already crowded towns in every country. All the charms of the country life seem to have no attraction for them.

The life in the country is full of charms. Cowper has rightly said "God made the country and man made the town". Poets have always tended to glorify the life of Nature. Shakespeare praises the life of men, " Under the Greenwood Tree", where there are no enemies except the cold winds in winter. Alexander Pope in his famous poem" On Solitude" describes the quiet life of the country. Goldsmith in his widely read poem, " The Deserted Village", describes in picturesque details the pleasures of the countryside. Wordsworth, also responds to the call of Nature and the country side. The life in the country is very simple and innocent. Perfect peace and tranquility rules every where. The country side is less artificial and more natural than the city. In the city Nature seems to have been pushed aside.

The whole work in the village is done in healthy and pleasant surroundings. There are the green fields in which they work. They breathe fresh air all the twenty four hours. Bird's singing their sweet notes of peace and joy removes the fatigue of hard work. Thus in these natural and healthy atmosphere they work from morning till evening. They return to their houses where they are welcomed by their children and wives. Besides the farmers there are petty shopkeepers, potters, blacksmiths, carpenters, spinners and weavers who carry on their peaceful trade in the delightful surroundings.

Besides, there are other charms and advantages. In a village we can best enjoy the beauty and grandeur of nature. We can hear the chattering of birds in the evening and morning. Here we can enjoy the setting sun behind the clouds. The charming beauty of the meadows would intoxicate us with joy. The babbling of a river, the soft lowing of cows and innocent games of children are things which one can never fail to admire.

The country life confers upon us another boon. It provide wholesome and pure food. Cities and big towns are notorious for the adulteration of food. Pure foodstuffs are hard to get. In the country it is not so. Further in the villages there is no smoke of chimneys, factories and mills. In the village the air is quite pure.

All these advantages make village life contented and peaceful. Still the village life has its drawbacks. Ignorance, superstitions, disease and poverty are found everywhere in the villages. These defects can be removed easily and once they are removed, villages would become the best place to live in.

Tourism In Pakistan

Different countries of the world provide attractions and facilities to the tourists who would like to visit their land. Tourism is, infact, fast becoming a trade. Pakistan has very fine resorts for excursion and sight-seeing. It is rich in historical places.

Pakistan abounds in natural beauty as reflected in the Northern areas of our country Our Swat valley reminds the European tourists of Switzerland. The snow covered peaks surrounding the valley present an attractive sight for the tourists. In many countries the tourist resorts are of one nature only. But in our country, due to the variety of our climates, we have different types of such spots. Like Swat Gilgit is also replete with the wealth of natural scenery. There are high mountains with snow covered peaks here. Among these mountains is also the K-2 peak, the second highest in the world. The Nanga Parbat peak is the sixth in the order of the highest peaks in the world. There are ice or glacier fields in Gilgit which provide excellent opportunities for winter sports. There are many beautiful lakes in the midst of high mountains. These famous lakes include the ‘Saiful Mulk’ in Kaghan valley, and the ‘Sat para’ and ‘Kachura’ laks in Skardu. For those who to enjoy the scenery of still higher mountains, we have the valley of Kaghan. It is 13,589 feet above the sea-level and it is 95 miles long. A new health resort ‘Ayubia’ as been built which has all the residential and excursional facilities for the tourists.

There are very few picnic resorts like this one in the world which present attractive natural scenery as well as places of historical interests. We have both these qualities in the valley of Swat. Here, a tourist who has interest in history can see the monuments of Buddhism, and old monasteries. He can see the remains of the cities against which Alexander the Great led his invasion. We have many historical places worth-seeing like he site of the ancient cities of Moen-jo-Daro, Harappa, Taxilla etc. have again historical monuments in and around the city of Lahore.

We offer many opportunities to the tourists who have interest in birds and wild life. In our forests we have some beasts and animals which are very rare elsewhere.

The tourist trade is very flourishing these days. It helps us to earn valuable foreign exchange. Moreover, when the foreign tourists come, they carry good impressions about our rand and people. Sufficient publicity must be made so that people all over the world know that there are so many places worth-visiting in our country. We must have more of good hotels, where facilities for staying in comfortable surroundings are available. Transport facilities must be improved. To foster tourist trade the Government has setup Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC). It is the most important organization in the field of tourism.

Floods In Pakistan

Floods are common in Pakistan. Every year one reads of floods in one river or another, often causing great damage. When the floods are extensive, the water rushes, into the heart of city or the village. Floods are always sudden and unexpected.

A flood is mainly due to heavy rainfall. For it causes the rivers to overflow and inundates the surrounding areas. It is also caused by cyclones, tidal, bores or melting of snows on mountains. It is one of the natural calamities over which man has no control. He Is extremely helpless when it rushes forward and devours everything in its way.

When a flood occurs, there is devastation all around. The plight of the human beings under these circumstances is most pitiable. Houses tropple down. Their belongings are destroyed. They have nothing to eat and no roof to shelter them. When the means of communication are broken off, it takes much time before any help from outside can be rendered. Meanwhile they suffer and die. This distress of the domestic animals becomes all the more intense. Without fodder, without shelter, they die in thousands. Their carcasses are found floating in the rivers.

Every calamity has its end. So the flood ends too. But it leaves with the people difficult problems to tackle. The whole area looks dull and deary. Trees are uprooted. The crop is destroyed. Storehouses and shops of grains are washed away. Thus floods give birth to famine. Often after the floods diseases spread and people die in large numbers.

To fight against the disaster of this natural calamity, relief work is organized. The Government sanctions money for gratuitous relief and longer-term loans. It also rushes food, clothes and medicines for the affected people. Many generous minded persons contribute huge sums of money. Relief committees are formed. Appeals are made for food, clothes and money. The students of colleges and universities engage themselves in raising funds. They even go to the affected areas for rendering help in as many ways as they can. Many selfless social workers come forward and work day and night to relieve the Suffering. The floods take only a few hours to destroy, but it takes. years to restore the flooded area back to its normal life.

Everything has its merits and demerits. The flood has its good effects too. It leaves silts on the land it passes over. This makes the land more fertile. But its evils are far greater than the small good it does to the land.

Corruption In Pakistan

By the word corruption we mean that any act done by unfair means. Corruption may also be defined as illegal bribe which is received for doing some work for some body. In the society of man, where everything or any action is done in an unfair manner, corruption becomes a curse.  It is such a practice that it eats up the fabric of the society.

Corruption in its wider sense has always been there at all times. There has only been a difference of degree. In monarchies the king's favour is necessary to get things done. Now-a-days, it has been observed that if the head of the department is not fair the whole department is involved in corrupt practices. It is said power corrupts man. Whenever a man has power to do something which the other men need, the doer takes some benefit out of it. As long as this benefit is sanctioned by social laws and moral codes, it is all right. Beyond that it becomes corruption. Corruption also flourishes through flattery.

In Pakistan today, the position is very bad. The devil of corruption is reigning every field of national activity. The unfair practice is so rampant that a common man feels frustrated. In his disgust he exclaims that corruption is a Curse. It has stolen our peace of mind.

The condition of government offices is very deplorable. Police, railways and transport are the departments, which are supposed to be the servants of the people. But you can not expect a slight action in any of these departments without spending illegal money. An honest man cannot even get a seat in a railway train without having to offer a bribe. It is said that the paper moves only when some silver weight is put on it. There are many such departments where corruption has become a norm of their life. It has gone deep down in their flesh. They cannot think without unfair money. It is no more unfair. It has become their right.

It is clear that unless the trend is checked, the country cannot make any progress. It cannot achieve the goal of prosperity and self-reliance.

It is high time that the Government should rise to the occasion and take a bold step to discard and uproot its forces, before it becomes too late for us. This is a great challenge to all members of a good society. The long-term solution of this problem lies in the building of a sound national character. For this purpose we should change the entire system of education. We should make our education ethical, moral and patriotic. Besides this we shall have to make use of all means of propaganda viz., the press, publications, the radio and the television to achieve this goal. We shall have to create an atmosphere where honesty is appreciated and rewarded. These are some of the steps which can effectively root out this evil.

Computers

A computer is a general-purpose device that can be programmed to carry out a set of arithmetic or logical operations automatically. Since a sequence of operations can be readily changed, the computer can solve more than one kind of problem.

Conventionally, a computer consists of at least one processing element, typically a central processing unit (CPU), and some form of memory. The processing element carries out arithmetic and logic operations, and a sequencing and control unit can change the order of operations in response to stored information. Peripheral devices allow information to be retrieved from an external source, and the result of operations saved and retrieved.

The first known use of the word "computer" was in 1613 in a book called The Yong Mans Gleanings by English writer Richard Braithwait: "I haue read the truest computer of Times, and the best Arithmetician that euer breathed, and he reduceth thy dayes into a short number." It referred to a person who carried out calculations, or computations. The word continued with the same meaning until the middle of the 20th century. From the end of the 19th century the word began to take on its more familiar meaning, a machine that carries out computations.

Machine code

In most computers, individual instructions are stored as machine code with each instruction being given a unique number (its operation code or opcode for short). The command to add two numbers together would have one opcode; the command to multiply them would have a different opcode, and so on. The simplest computers are able to perform any of a handful of different instructions; the more complex computers have several hundred to choose from, each with a unique numerical code. Since the computer's memory is able to store numbers, it can also store the instruction codes. This leads to the important fact that entire programs (which are just lists of these instructions) can be represented as lists of numbers and can themselves be manipulated inside the computer in the same way as numeric data. The fundamental concept of storing programs in the computer's memory alongside the data they operate on is the crux of the von Neumann, or stored program[citation needed], architecture. In some cases, a computer might store some or all of its program in memory that is kept separate from the data it operates on. This is called the Harvard architecture after the Harvard Mark I computer. Modern von Neumann computers display some traits of the Harvard architecture in their designs, such as in CPU caches.

While it is possible to write computer programs as long lists of numbers (machine language) and while this technique was used with many early computers,[56] it is extremely tedious and potentially error-prone to do so in practice, especially for complicated programs. Instead, each basic instruction can be given a short name that is indicative of its function and easy to remember – a mnemonic such as ADD, SUB, MULT or JUMP. These mnemonics are collectively known as a computer's assembly language. Converting programs written in assembly language into something the computer can actually understand (machine language) is usually done by a computer program called an assembler.

Programming language

Programming languages provide various ways of specifying programs for computers to run. Unlike natural languages, programming languages are designed to permit no ambiguity and to be concise. They are purely written languages and are often difficult to read aloud. They are generally either translated into machine code by a compiler or an assembler before being run, or translated directly at run time by an interpreter. Sometimes programs are executed by a hybrid method of the two techniques.

Low-level languages

Machine languages and the assembly languages that represent them (collectively termed low-level programming languages) tend to be unique to a particular type of computer. For instance, an ARM architecture computer (such as may be found in a PDA or a hand-held videogame) cannot understand the machine language of an Intel Pentium or the AMD Athlon 64 computer that might be in a PC.[57]

High-level languages/Third Generation Language

Though considerably easier than in machine language, writing long programs in assembly language is often difficult and is also error prone. Therefore, most practical programs are written in more abstract high-level programming languages that are able to express the needs of the programmer more conveniently (and thereby help reduce programmer error). High level languages are usually "compiled" into machine language (or sometimes into assembly language and then into machine language) using another computer program called a compiler.[58] High level languages are less related to the workings of the target computer than assembly language, and more related to the language and structure of the problem(s) to be solved by the final program. It is therefore often possible to use different compilers to translate the same high level language program into the machine language of many different types of computer. This is part of the means by which software like video games may be made available for different computer architectures such as personal computers and various video game consoles.

There is active research to make computers out of many promising new types of technology, such as optical computers, DNA computers, neural computers, and quantum computers. Most computers are universal, and are able to calculate any computable function, and are limited only by their memory capacity and operating speed. However different designs of computers can give very different performance for particular problems; for example quantum computers can potentially break some modern encryption algorithms (by quantum factoring) very quickly.

Flora Of Pakistan

Pakistan's native flora reflects its varied climatic zones, which range from arid and semi-arid to temperate and tropical. For further details of habitats, see Ecoregions of Pakistan, Forestry in Pakistan and Wildlife of Pakistan.

Northern highlands and valleys

Pakistan has conifer forests in most of the northern and north-western highlands. These occur from 1,000 to 4,000 m altitudes. Swat, Upper Dir, Lower Dir, Malakand, Mansehra and Abbottabad districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly North-West Frontier Province) are the main areas covered with coniferous forests. Pindrow fir (Abies pindrow) and Morinda spruce (Picea smithiana) occupy the highest altitudes, deodar (Cedrus deodara) and blue pine (Pinus wallichiana), the intermediate heights, and chir pine (Pinus roxburghii), occupy the lower areas.

Eastern plains and deserts

In most of Punjab and Sindh, the Indus plains have many fluvial landforms that support various natural biomes including tropical and subtropical dry and moist broadleaf forestry as well as tropical and xeric shrublands (deserts of Thal in Punjab, Tharparkar in Sindh) and kair (Capparis aphylla) which provide firewood. The riparain woodlands grow in narrow belts along the banks of River Indus and its tributaries. Main tree varieties are of sheesham and babul and main shrub varieties are reed beds and tamarisk (Tamarax dioica) bushes.

Wetlands and coastal regions

In the south of Sindh are Indus River Delta in west and Great Rann of Kutch in east. The largest saltwater wetland in Pakistan is the Indus River Delta. Unlike many other river deltas, it consists of clay soil and is very swampy. The Great Rann of Kutch below the Thar Desert is not as swampy and exhibits shrubland vegetation of rather dry thorny shrubs as well as marsh grasses of Apluda and Cenchrus. Other saltwater wetlands are located on the coast of Balochistan such as at Sonmiani and Jiwani. These and Indus River Delta support mangrove forestry, mainly of species Avicennia marina.

The deodar tree is the national tree of Pakistan.
The Jasmine Flower is the national flower of Pakistan
Mango is the national fruit of Pakistan.

Fauna Of Pakistan

Northern highlands and plains
The northern highlands include lower elevation areas of Potohar and Azad Kashmir regions and higher elevation areas embracing the foothills of Himalayan, Karakorum and Hindukush mountain ranges. Some of the wildlife species found on northern mountainous areas and Pothohar Plateau include the non-threatened mammal species of bharal, Eurasian lynx, Himalayan goral, Indian leopard, Marco Polo sheep, marmot (in Deosai National Park) and yellow-throated marten and birds species of chukar partridge, Eurasian eagle-owl, Himalayan monal and Himalayan snowcock and amphibian species of Himalayan toad and Muree Hills frog. The threatened ones include Asiatic black bear, Himalayan brown bear, Indian wolf, Kashmir gray langur, Kashmir red deer, markhor, rhesus macaque, Siberian ibex, smooth-coated otter and white-bellied musk deer, bird species of cheer pheasant, peregrine falcon, western tragopan and reptile species of mugger crocodile.

Indus plains and deserts of Sindh
River Indus and its numerous eastern tributaries of Chenab form many fluvial landforms that occupy most of Indus plains in Punjab and western Sindh. Some of the non-threatened mammal species of the Indus plains and the deserts of Sindh include the nilgai, red fox and wild boar, bird species of Alexandrine parakeet, barn owl, black kite, myna, hoopoe, Indian peafowl, red-vented bulbul, rock pigeon, shelduck and shikra, reptile species of Indian cobra, Indian star tortoise, Sindh krait and yellow monitor and amphibian species of Indus Valley bullfrog and Indus Valley toad. Some of the threatened mammal species include the axis deer, blackbuck, hog deer, Indian rhinoceros, Punjab urial and Sindh ibex, bird species of white-backed vulture and reptile species of black pond turtle and gharial. Grey partridge is one of the few birds that can be found in the Cholistan desert. The Tharparkar desert supports a fair population of the chinkara. The Asiatic wild ass migrates from the Indian part of the Great Rann of Kutch to the part in Pakistan in search of food. Wild boar numbers have increased because of the immunity they enjoy in a Muslim society that forbids its consumption by humans.

National animal Markhor (Capra falconeri)
State animal Snow leopard (Uncia uncia)
National bird Chukar partridge (Alectoris chukar)
State bird Shaheen falcon or Shaheen (Falco peregrinus peregrinator)
National aquatic animal Indus dolphin or Bhulan (Platanista minor)
National fish Mahseer (Tor putitora) Mahasher.JPG
National reptile Mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris)
National amphibian Indus Valley toad (Bufo stomaticus)