Beautiful Hadith is about Dreams

Narrated Anas bin Malik: Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "A good dream (that comes true) of a righteous man is one of forty-six parts of prophetism."

(Bukhari Vol. 9, Book 87, Hadith 112)

8 Task Management Tips To Stop Procrastinating And Get More Done

Procrastination is a major concern for many people. Tons of time management hacks have been developed over the years by hundreds of people. Here are 8 of my favorite task management tips to help you get things done and stop procrastinating in your work and personal life.

Think about which one of these ideas could be most helpful to you right now, in your current situation.

1) Get Things Done By Thinking On Paper

Prepare thoroughly if you want to get things done. List every step of the job in advance. Break the job down into its constituent parts before you begin. Simply writing out every detail and thoroughly preparing in advance will help you to stop procrastinating.

2) Come Fully Prepared

When you sit down to work or to begin a task, make sure that you have everything on hand so that you won’t have to get up or move until the task is done. Being fully prepared is a powerful motivator for staying with the task until it is finished.

3) Do One Small Thing To Get Started

There is an 80/20 rule that says that the first 20 percent of the task often accounts for 80 percent of the value of that task. This is probably what Confucius meant when he said that, ‘‘A journey of 1,000 leagues begins with a single step.’’ Once you have taken even one small step to start the job, you will often find yourself continuing on with the task to completion.

4) “Salami Slice’’ The Task

Just as you would never try to eat a whole loaf of salami at once, don’t try to take on all of a job from the start. Sometimes the best way to stop procrastinating and complete a major job is to take a small slice and complete just that piece, just as you would take a single slice of salami and eat it.

When you select a small piece of the task and then discipline yourself to do it and get it behind you, it will often give you the momentum you need to counter inertia and stop procrastinating.

5) Practice The “Swiss Cheese” Technique

Just as a block of Swiss cheese is full of holes, you treat your task like a block of cheese and you punch holes in it.

Select a five-minute part of the job and do only that. Don’t worry about the whole job.

For example, if you want to write an article or a book, break the task down into small pieces that take an identifiable amount of time to complete and do just one small piece at a time whenever you get a chance.

Many authors begin by writing one page a day. If you are doing research, you can read one article per sitting. Many people write complete books on airplanes or complete their college degrees with snatches of time between other activities. If you wrote one page a day for a year, you would have a 365-page book by the end of the year.

6) Do The Task That Causes You The Most Fear Or Anxiety

Often, it has to do with overcoming the fear of failure or rejection by someone else.

In sales, it may be associated with prospecting. In management, it may be associated with disciplining or firing an employee. In relationships, this may have to do with confronting an unhappy personal situation.

In every case, you will be more effective if you deal first with whatever is causing you the greatest emotional distress or fear. Often this will break the logjam in your work and free you up mentally and emotionally to get things done.

7) Start Your Day With The Most Unpleasant Task First

Get it over with and behind you. Everything else for the rest of the day will seem easier in comparison.

A recent study compared two groups of people. One group started an exercise program in the morning. The second group started an exercise program in the evenings after work. The researchers found that the morning exercisers were much more likely to still be in the program six months later. Starting the day with exercise was much more likely to lead to the habit of regular exercise than putting it off until the end of the day when it was easier to make excuses and procrastinate.

8) Think About The Negative Consequences If You Don’t Finish

What will happen to you if this job is not done on schedule?

Both fear and desire are great motivators of human behavior. Sometimes you can motivate yourself by the desire for the rewards of task completion. Sometimes you can motivate yourself into action by thinking about the negative consequences and what will happen to you if do not get things done as promised.

What do you think about these time management tips? Have you tried any of them yourself? If you know other effective ways to stop procrastinating please share and comment below!

Beautiful Hadith is about Heaven & Hell

On the authority of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Paradise and Hell-fire disputed together, and Hell-fire said: In me are the mighty and the haughty. Paradise said: In me are the weak and the poor. So Allah judged between them, [saying]: You are Paradise, My mercy; through you I show mercy to those I wish. And you are Hell-fire, My punishment; through you I punish those I wish, and it is incumbent upon Me that each of you shall have its fill. It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari and at-Tirmidhi).

(Hadith Qudsi 39)

Beautiful Hadith is about Death

Narrated `Aisha: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Don't abuse the dead, because they have reached the result of what they forwarded." (Bukhari)

Beautiful Hadith is about Allah

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Allah (glorified and exalted be He) said: I am so self-sufficient that I am in no need of having an associate. Thus he who does an action for someone else's sake as well as Mine will have that action renounced by Me to him whom he associated with Me. It was related by Muslim (also by Ibn Majah).

Beautiful Hadith is about Good Deeds

AIt was narrated that Abu Sa'eed Al-Khudri said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: 'If a person accepts Islam, such that his Islam is good, Allah will decree reward for every good deed that he did before, and every bad deed that he did before will be erased. Then after that will come the reckoning; each good deed will be rewarded ten times up to seven hundred times. And each bad deed will be recorded as it is, unless Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, forgives it.'"(Sunan an Nasa Vol. 6, Book 47, Hadith 5001)

Beautiful Hadith is about Salah

On the authority of Uqbah ibn Amir (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: Your Lord delights at a shepherd who, on the peak of a mountain crag, gives the call to prayer and prays. Then Allah (glorified and exalted be He) say: Look at this servant of Mine, he gives the call to prayer and performs the prayers; he is in awe of Me. I have forgiven My servant [his sins] and have admitted him to Paradise. It was related by an-Nasa'i with a good chain of authorities. 

(Hadith Qudsi 7)

Beautiful Hadith is about Marriage

Abdullah (b. Mas'ud) (Allah be pleased with him) reported that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said to us: 0 young men, those among you who can support a wife should marry, for it restrains eyes (from casting evil glances) and preserves one from immorality; but he who cannot afford It should observe fast for it is a means of controlling the sexual desire. 

(Muslim Book 8, Hadith 3233)

Beautiful Hadith is about Jannah

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Allah said: I have prepared for My righteous servants what no eye has seen and no ear has heard, not has it occurred to human heart. Thus recite if you wish (1): And no soul knows what joy for them (the inhabitants of Paradise) has been kept hidden (Hadith Qudsi 37)

Beautiful Hadith is about Actions during Praying

‘Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The saying 'Sub Han Allah' is for men and clapping is for women." (If something happens in the prayer, the men can invite the attention of the Imam by saying "Sub Han Allah". And women, by clapping their hands) (Bukhari Vol. 2, Book 22, Hadith 295)

American Chopsuey

Ingredients

• Noodles: - 300 gm 
• Salt: - to taste 
• Oil: - 6 tbsp + to deep fry 
• Corn flour/corn starch: - 2 tbsp 
• Ginger (chopped):- 1 inch piece 
• Garlic : - 4 cloves 
• Onion (sliced):- 1 medium 
• Boneless chicken (cut into thin strips):- 400 gm 
• Carrot (cut into thin strips):- 1 medium 
• French beans (cut into thin strips):- 5 
• Cabbage (shredded):- ¼ medium 
• Spinach (shredded):- 8 leaves 
• White pepper powder: - ½ tsp 
• Sugar: - 1 tsp 
• Tomato sauce :- 4 tbsp 
• Vinegar :- 1 tbsp 
• Chicken stock :- 1 cup 
• Bean sprouts:- 1 cup 
• Tofu (cut into thin strips) :- 100 gm
• Eggs :- 4

tools required

1. Fry pan 
2. Wok 
3. Spatula 
4. Serving dish

Preparation method

• Mix one tbsp of oil and little salt in enough water. Allow this mixture to boil. Put noodles in it and continue boiling over high flame until completely cooked. 
• Remove, drain and keep aside to cool down. 
• Separate the noodles into 4 equal parts, then prepare into a nest and deep-fry in hot oil until crisp and brown. 
• Drain on a kitchen paper. 
• In quarter cup of water, add cornstarch and keep aside. 
• In a wok, heat 2 tbsps. of oil and combine the garlic and ginger. Stir-fry for a minute. 
• Combine sliced onions and sauté until it becomes golden brown.
• Add chicken and stir-fry for 2 minutes over high flame. 
• Add beans, spinach, cabbage and carrots. Stir-fry until vegetables are done. 
• Mix salt, sugar and pepper powder to it. 
• Stir in the vinegar and tomato sauce.
• Now, transfer this mixture in the stock and then allow this mixture to boil.
• Decrease flame and stir in cornstarch. Simmer for 2 minutes. 
• Combine tofu and bean sprouts to it. Stir well. 
• In a fry pan, heat leftover oil and make fried eggs. 
• On a serving plate, arrange some part of the fried noodles and then pour the prepared sauce. Keep a fried egg on top and immediately serve hot.

MIT Researchers Create Perfect Nanoscrolls from Graphene Oxide

Source: Jennifer Chu, MIT News

An electron microscopy image shows many examples of nanoscrolls. The insert zooms in on a single nanoscroll and reveals its conical nature.

Using both low- and high-frequency ultrasonic techniques, scientists have fabricated nanoscrolls made from graphene oxide flakes.

Water filters of the future may be made from billions of tiny, graphene-based nanoscrolls. Each scroll, made by rolling up a single, atom-thick layer of graphene, could be tailored to trap specific molecules and pollutants in its tightly wound folds. Billions of these scrolls, stacked layer by layer, may produce a lightweight, durable, and highly selective water purification membrane.

But there’s a catch: Graphene does not come cheap. The material’s exceptional mechanical and chemical properties are due to its very regular, hexagonal structure, which resembles microscopic chicken wire. Scientists take great pains in keeping graphene in its pure, unblemished form, using processes that are expensive and time-consuming, and that severely limit graphene’s practical uses.

Seeking an alternative, a team from MIT and Harvard University is looking to graphene oxide — graphene’s much cheaper, imperfect form. Graphene oxide is graphene that is also covered with oxygen and hydrogen groups. The material is essentially what graphene becomes if it’s left to sit out in open air. The team fabricated nanoscrolls made from graphene oxide flakes and was able to control the dimensions of each nanoscroll, using both low- and high-frequency ultrasonic techniques. The scrolls have mechanical properties that are similar to graphene, and they can be made at a fraction of the cost, the researchers say.

“If you really want to make an engineering structure, at this point it’s not practical to use graphene,” says Itai Stein, a graduate student in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. “Graphene oxide is two to four orders of magnitude cheaper, and with our technique, we can tune the dimensions of these architectures and open a window to industry.”

Stein says graphene oxide nanoscrolls could also be used as ultralight chemical sensors, drug delivery vehicles, and hydrogen storage platforms, in addition to water filters. Stein and Carlo Amadei, a graduate student at Harvard University, have published their results in the journal Nanoscale.

This sketch illustrates how a nanoscroll forms from a graphene oxide flake as a result of ultrasonic irradiation.

Getting away from crumpled graphene

The team’s paper originally grew out of an MIT class, 2.675 (Micro/Nano Engineering), taught by Rohit Karnik, associate professor of mechanical engineering. As part of their final project, Stein and Amadei teamed up to design nanoscrolls from graphene oxide. Amadei, as a member of Professor Chad Vecitis’ lab at Harvard University, had been working with graphene oxide for water purification applications, while Stein was experimenting with carbon nanotubes and other nanoscale architectures, as part of a group led by Brian Wardle, professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT.

“Our initial idea was to make nanoscrolls for molecular adsorption,” Amadei says. “Compared to carbon nanotubes, which are closed structures, nanoscrolls are open spirals, so you have all this surface area available to manipulate.”

“And you can tune the separation of a nanoscroll’s layers, and do all sorts of neat things with graphene oxide that you can’t really do with nanotubes and graphene itself,” Stein adds.

When they looked at what had been done previously in this field, the students found that scientists had successfully produced nanoscrolls from graphene, though with very complicated processes to keep the material pure. A few groups had tried doing the same with graphene oxide, but their attempts were literally deflated.

“What was out there in the literature was more like crumpled graphene,” Stein says. “You can’t really see the conical nature. It’s not really clear what was made.”

Collapsing bubbles

Stein and Amadei first used a common technique called the Hummers’ method to separate graphite flakes into individual layers of graphene oxide. They then placed the graphene oxide flakes in solution and stimulated the flakes to curl into scrolls, using two similar approaches: a low-frequency tip-sonicator, and a high-frequency custom reactor.

The tip-sonicator is a probe made of piezoelectric material that shakes at a low, 20Hz frequency when voltage is applied. When placed in a solution, the tip-sonicator produces sound waves that stir up the surroundings, creating bubbles in the solution.

Similarly, the group’s reactor contains a piezoelectric component that is connected to a circuit. As voltage is applied, the reactor shakes — at a higher, 390 Hz frequency compared with the tip-sonicator — creating bubbles in the solution within the reactor.

Stein and Amadei applied both techniques to solutions of graphene oxide flakes and observed similar effects: The bubbles that were created in solution eventually collapsed, releasing energy that caused the flakes to spontaneously curl into scrolls. The researchers found they could tune the dimensions of the scrolls by varying the treatment duration and the frequency of the ultrasonic waves. Higher frequencies and shorter treatments did not lead to significant damage of the graphene oxide flakes and produced larger scrolls, while low frequencies and longer treatment times tended to cleave flakes apart and create smaller scrolls.

While the group’s initial experiments turned a relatively low number of flakes — about 10 percent — into scrolls, Stein says both techniques may be optimized to produce higher yields. If they can be scaled up, he says the techniques can be compatible with existing industrial processes, particularly for water purification.

“If you can make this in large scales and it’s cheap, you could make huge bulk samples of filters and throw them out in the water to remove all sorts of contaminants,” Stein says.

This work was supported, in part, by the Department of Defense through the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) fellowship program.

Publication: Carlo A. Amadei, et al., “Fabrication and morphology tuning of graphene oxide nanoscrolls,” Nanoscale, 2016,8, 6783-6791; DOI: 10.1039/C5NR07983G

Beautiful Hadith is about Virtuous Acts

‘Abdullah bin Salam RA said: “When the Prophet (peace be upon him) came to Al-Madinah, the people rushed to meet him, and it was said: ‘The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) has come! The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) has come! The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) has come!’ Three times. I came with the people to see him, and when I saw his face clearly, I knew that his face was not the face of a liar. The first thing I heard him say was when he said: ‘O people! Spread (the greeting of) Salam, feed others, uphold the ties of kinship, and pray during the night when people are sleeping, and you will enter Paradise with Salam.” (Sunan Ibn Majah - Vol. 4, Book 29, Hadith 3251)

Beautiful Hadith is about Taking Loans

Suhaib Al-Khair RA narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “ Any man who takes out a loan, having resolved not to pay it back, will meet Allah (SWT) as a thief.” (Ibn Majah - Vol. 3, Book 15, Hadith 2410)

Beautiful Hadith is about Habitual Good Work

Narrated Abu Musa RA: I heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) many times say: When a servant of Allah is accustomed to do a good work, then becomes ill or goes on journey, what was accustomed to do when he was well and staying at home will be recorded for him. (Dawoud - Book 20, Hadith 3085)

Beautiful Hadith is about Wudu

Amr b Sa'id b al-As RA reported: I was with Uthman, and he called for ablution water and said: I heard Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) say: When the time for a prescribed prayer comes, if any Muslim performs ablution well and offers his prayer with humility and bowing, it will be an expiation for his past sins, so long as he has not committed a major sin; and this applies for all times. (Muslim - Book 2, Hadith 441)

Beautiful Hadith is about Vows

Ibn Abbas RA reported that Sa'd b. Ubida asked Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) for a decision about a vow taken by his mother who had died before fulfilling it. Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: Fulfil it on her behalf. (Muslim - Book 14, Hadith 4017)

Beautiful Hadith is about Allah

Abdullah RA reported that a person from the People of the Book came to Allah's Apostle ( peace he upon him) and said: Abu al-Qasim, verily, Allah holds the Heavens upon one finger and the earths upon one finger and the trees and moist earth upon one finger and in fact the whole of the creation upon one finger and then say: I am the King. I am the King. And he (the narrator) further said: I saw Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) smiling until his front teeth became visible and then he recited the verse: "And they measure not the power of Allah with His true measure" (39:67). (Muslim - Book 39, Hadith 6701)

Beautiful Hadith is about Dreams

Abu Qatada RA reported Allah's Messenger (peace be upon) as saying:A good vision is from Allah and a bad dream (hulm) is from the satan; so if one of you sees anything (in a dream) which he dislikes, he should spit on his left side thrice and seek refuge with Allah from its evil, and then it will never harm him. Abu Salama said: I used to see dreams weighing more heavily upon me than a mountain; but since I heard this hadith I don't care for it (its burden).(Muslim - Book 29, Hadith 5616)

Beautiful Hadith is about Charity

On the authority of Abu Harayrah RA from the Prophet (peace be upon him), who said: Allah SWT said: Spend (on charity), O son of Adam, and I shall spend on you. It was related by al-Bukhari (also by Muslim). - Hadith Qudsi 11

Beautiful Hadith is about Eclipses

Narrated Abu Bakr RA: We were with Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) when the sun eclipsed. Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) stood up dragging his cloak till he entered the Mosque. He led us in a two-rak'at prayer till the sun (eclipse) had cleared. Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "The sun and the moon do not eclipse because of someone's death. So whenever you see these eclipses pray and invoke (Allah) till the eclipse is over." (Bukhari - Vol. 2, Book 18, Hadith 150)

Beautiful Hadith is about Kindness

A'isha RA reported that Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: A'isha, verily Allah is kind and He loves kindness and confers upon kindness which he does not confer upon severity and does not confer upon anything else besides it (kindness).(Muslim - Book 32, Hadith 6273)

Beautiful Hadith is about Sadaqat-ul-Fitr

Abdullah b 'Umar RA reported that the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him) ordered the payment of Sadaqat-ul-Fitr before people go out for prayer.(Muslim - Book 5, Hadith 2160)

Beautiful Hadith is about Allah's Mercy

On the authority of Anas RA, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say: Allah the Almighty said: O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it. It was related by at-Tirmidhi (also by Ahmad ibn Hanbal). Hadith Qudsi 34

Apple Rolls

Ingredients:-

(For the filling)

• Cinnamon- 1 stick 
• Jaggery- 2 tbsp 
• Apple- 1 

(For rolls)

• Wheat Flour- 4 tbsp 
• Oat Meal- 1 tbsp 
• Cardamom powder- ½ tsp 
• Low Fat Milk- 1½ glass 
• Salt- to taste 
• Jaggery- 1tsp 
• Oil- ½ tbsp 

Preparation Method:-

For the Filling:

• Take water in a pan, put cinnamon stick, jaggery and apple in it. 
• Boil till soften. 

For Rolls:

• In a bowl, take wheat flour, oat meal, cardamom powder, salt and Jaggery. 
• Pour milk and make a consistent batter for pancakes. 
• Heat oil in a pan, spread with the help of tissue paper. 
• Pour batter and spread by tilting the pan. 
• Cook till light brown on both sides. 
• Stuff the pancake with apple filling and make a roll. 
• Cut in two pieces and apple roll is ready to serve.

Engineers Design Calcium-Based Multi-Element for Liquid Batteries

Source: David L. Chandler, MIT News

March 22, 2016

An artist’s rendering of a calcium liquid battery.

In a newly published study, MIT researchers show that calcium can form the basis for both the negative electrode layer and the molten salt that forms the middle layer of the three-layer battery.

Liquid metal batteries, invented by MIT professor Donald Sadoway and his students a decade ago, are a promising candidate for making renewable energy more practical. The batteries, which can store large amounts of energy and thus even out the ups and downs of power production and power use, are in the process of being commercialized by a Cambridge-based startup company, Ambri.

Now, Sadoway and his team have found yet another set of chemical constituents that could make the technology even more practical and affordable, and open up a whole family of potential variations that could make use of local resources.

The latest findings are reported in the journal Nature Communications, in a paper by Sadoway, who is the John F. Elliott Professor of Materials Chemistry, and postdoc Takanari Ouchi, along with Hojong Kim (now a professor at Penn State University) and PhD student Brian Spatocco at MIT. They show that calcium, an abundant and inexpensive element, can form the basis for both the negative electrode layer and the molten salt that forms the middle layer of the three-layer battery.

That was a highly unexpected finding, Sadoway says. Calcium has some properties that made it seem like an especially unlikely candidate to work in this kind of battery. For one thing, calcium easily dissolves in salt, and yet a crucial feature of the liquid battery is that each of its three constituents forms a separate layer, based on the materials’ different densities, much as different liqueurs separate in some novelty cocktails. It’s essential that these layers not mix at their boundaries and maintain their distinct identities.

It was the seeming impossibility of making calcium work in a liquid battery that attracted Ouchi to the problem, he says. “It was the most difficult chemistry” to make work but had potential benefits due to calcium’s low cost as well as its inherent high voltage as a negative electrode. “For me, I’m happiest with whatever is most difficult,” he says — which, Sadoway points out, is a very typical attitude at MIT.

Another problem with calcium is its high melting point, which would have forced the liquid battery to operate at almost 900 degrees Celsius, “which is ridiculous,” Sadoway says. But both of these problems were solvable.

First, the researchers tackled the temperature problem by alloying the calcium with another inexpensive metal, magnesium, which has a much lower melting point. The resulting mix provides a lower operating temperature — about 300 degrees less than that of pure calcium — while still keeping the high-voltage advantage of the calcium.

The other key innovation was in the formulation of the salt used in the battery’s middle layer, called the electrolyte, that charge carriers, or ions, must cross as the battery is used. The migration of those ions is accompanied by an electric current flowing through wires that are connected to the upper and lower molten metal layers, the battery’s electrodes.

The new salt formulation consists of a mix of lithium chloride and calcium chloride, and it turns out that the calcium-magnesium alloy does not dissolve well in this kind of salt, solving the other challenge to the use of calcium.

But solving that problem also led to a big surprise: Normally there is a single “itinerant ion” that passes through the electrolyte in a rechargeable battery, for example, lithium in lithium-ion batteries or sodium in sodium-sulfur. But in this case, the researchers found that multiple ions in the molten-salt electrolyte contribute to the flow, boosting the battery’s overall energy output. That was a totally serendipitous finding that could open up new avenues in battery design, Sadoway says.

And there’s another potential big bonus in this new battery chemistry, Sadoway says. “There’s an irony here. If you’re trying to find high-purity ore bodies, magnesium and calcium are often found together,” he says. It takes great effort and energy to purify one or the other, removing the calcium “contaminant” from the magnesium or vice versa. But since the material that will be needed for the electrode in these batteries is a mixture of the two, it may be possible to save on the initial materials costs by using “lower” grades of the two metals that already contain some of the other.

“There’s a whole level of supply-chain optimization that people haven’t thought about,” he says.

Sadoway and Ouchi stress that these particular chemical combinations are just the tip of the iceberg, which could represent a starting point for new approaches to devising battery formulations. And since all these liquid batteries, including the original liquid battery materials from his lab and those under development at Ambri, would use similar containers, insulating systems, and electronic control systems, the actual internal chemistry of the batteries could continue to evolve over time. They could also adapt to fit local conditions and materials availability while still using mostly the same components.

“The lesson here is to explore different chemistries and be ready for changing market conditions,” Sadoway says. What they have developed “is not a battery; it’s a whole battery field. As time passes, people can explore more parts of the periodic table” to find ever-better formulations, he says.

“This paper brings together innovative engineering advances in cell design and component materials within a strategic framework of ‘cost-based discovery’ that is amenable to the massive scale-up required of grid-scale applications,” says Richard Alkire, a professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Illinois, who was not involved in this research.

Because this work builds on a base of well-developed electrochemical systems used for aluminum production, Alkire says, “the path forward to grid-scale applications can therefore take advantage of a large body of existing engineering experience in areas of sustainability, environmental, life cycle, materials, manufacturing cost, and scale-up.”

The research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Energy (ARPA-E) and by the French energy company Total S.A.

Publication: Takanari Ouchi, et al., “Calcium-based multi-element chemistry for grid-scale electrochemical energy storage,” Nature Communications 7, Article number: 10999; doi:10.1038/ncomms10999

Beautiful Hadith is about Transactions

Abu Huraira RA reported that Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) forbade a transaction determined by throwing stones, and the type which involves some uncertainty. (Muslim - Book 10, Hadith 3614)

Beautiful Hadith is about Praying in the Prophet's (PBUH) Masjid

Narrated Abu Huraira RA: Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "One prayer in my Masjid is better than one thousand prayers in any other mosque excepting Al-Masjid-Al-Haram." (Bukhari - Vol. 2, Book 21, Hadith 282)

Beautiful Hadith is about Interrupting Prayer

Narrated `Abbas bin Tamim RA: that his uncle said: "The Prophet (peace be upon him) was asked: If a person feels something during his prayer; should one interrupt his prayer?" The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: No! You should not give it up unless you hear a sound or smell something." Narrated Ibn Abi Hafsa: Az-Zuhri said, "There is no need of repeating ablution unless you detect a smell or hear a sound." (Bukhari - Vol. 3, Book 34, Hadith 272)

7 Steps To Developing A New Habit

How long does it take to develop a new habit?

The time period can be any length from a single second to several years. The speed of new habit pattern development is largely determined by the intensity of the emotion that accompanies the decision to begin acting in a particular way.

Many people think, talk about, and resolve to lose weight and become physically fit. This may go on for years. Then one day, the doctor says that, “If you don’t get your weight down and improve your physical condition, you’re in danger of dying at an early age.”

Suddenly, the thought of dying can be so intense or frightening that the individual immediately changes his diet, begins exercising, stops smoking, and becomes a healthy and fit person. Psychologists refer to this as a“significant emotional experience.” Any experience of intense joy or pain, combined with a behavior, can create a habitual behavior pattern that may endure for the rest of a person’s life.

For example, putting your hand on a hot stove or touching a live electrical wire will give you an intense and immediate pain or shock. The experience may only take a split second. But for the rest of your life, you will have developed the habit of not putting your hand on hot stoves, or touching live electrical wires. The habit will have been formed instantly, and endure permanently.

21 Days To Break A Habit Or Make A Habit
According to the experts, it takes about 21 days to break or form a habit pattern of medium complexity.

By this, we mean simple habits such as getting up earlier at a specific hour, exercising each morning before you start out, listening to podcasts in your car, going to bed at a certain hour, being punctual for appointments, planning every day in advance, starting with your most important tasks each day, or completing your tasks before you start something else.

These are habits of medium complexity that can be quite easily developed in 14-21 days through practice and repetition.

How To Develop A Habit

Over the years, a simple, powerful, proven methodology has been determined for new habit development. It is very much like a recipe for preparing a dish in the kitchen. You can use it to develop any habit that you desire. Over time, you will find it easier and easier to develop the habits that you want to incorporate into your personality.

1) Make A Decision
First, make a decision. Decide clearly that you are going to begin acting in a specific way 100% of the time, whenever that behavior is required. For example, if you decide to arise early and exercise each morning, set your clock for a specific time, and when the alarm goes off, immediately get up, put on your exercise clothes and begin your exercise session.

2) Never Allow An Exception To Your New Habit
Second, never allow an exception to your new habit pattern during the formative stages. Don’t make excuses or rationalizations. Don’t let yourself off the hook. If you resolve to get up at 6:00 AM each morning, discipline yourself to get up at 6:00 AM, every single morning until this becomes automatic.

3) Tell Others You Are Practicing A New Behavior
Third, tell others that you are going to begin practicing a particular behavior. It is amazing how much more disciplined and determined you will become when you know that others are watching you to see if you have the willpower to follow through on your resolution.
4) Visualize Your New Habit

Fourth, visualize yourself performing or behaving in a particular way in a particular situation. The more often you visualize and imagine yourself acting as if you already had the new habit, the more rapidly this new behavior will be accepted by your subconscious mind and become automatic.

5) Create An Affirmation
Fifth, create an affirmation that you repeat over and over to yourself. This repetition dramatically increases the speed at which you develop the new habit. For example, you can say something like, “I get up and get going immediately at 6:00 AM each morning!” Repeat these words the last thing before you fall asleep. In most cases, you will automatically wake up minutes before the alarm clock goes off, and soon you will need no alarm clock at all.

6) Resolve To Persist
Sixth, resolve to persist in the new behavior until it is so automatic and easy that you actually feel uncomfortable when you do not do what you have decided to do.

7) Reward Yourself
Seventh, and most important, give yourself a reward of some kind for practicing in the new behavior. Each time you reward yourself, you reaffirm and reinforce the behavior. Soon you begin to associate, at an unconscious level, the pleasure of the reward with the behavior. You set up your own force field of positive consequences that you unconsciously look forward to as the result of engaging in the behavior or habit that you have decided upon.

Beautiful Hadith is about Prayers

Narrated Abu Huraira RA: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "None of you should offer prayer in a single garment that does not cover the shoulders." (Bukhari - Vol. 1, Book 8, Hadith 355)

Beautiful Hadith is about Betraying Fellow Believers

Narrated Anas bin Malik RA: Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Whoever prays like us and faces our Qibla and eats our slaughtered animals is a Muslim and is under Allah's and His Apostle's protection. So do not betray Allah by betraying those who are in His protection." (Bukhari - Vol. 1, Book 8, Hadith 386)

Beautiful Hadith is about Eid-ul-Adha

Narrated Al-Bara' RA: I heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) delivering a Khutba saying, "The first thing to be done on this day (first day of `Eid ul Adha) is to pray; and after returning from the prayer we slaughter our sacrifices (in the name of Allah) and whoever does so, he acted according to our Sunna (traditions)." (Bukhari - Vol. 2, Book 15, Hadith 71)

Researchers Combine Excited States of Two Materials into a New Quantum Mechanical State

• Date: March 3, 2014
• Source: University of Michigan
• Image: Tal Galfsky, CUNY

In an optical cavity — a filament lined with mirrors — researchers have used light to bind together quantum mechanical states of two disparate materials. The result could one day enable more robust, efficient solar cells and lighting solutions. Image credit: Tal Galfsky, CUNY

A team of researchers has taken the excited states of two principally different materials and combined them into a new quantum mechanical state that shares their best properties.

Ann Arbor — Like a spring connecting two swings, light can act as photon glue that binds together the quantum mechanical properties of two vastly different materials.

The effect could harness the most useful characteristics from each material for hybrid solar cells and high efficiency lighting, among other applications.

Researchers at the University of Michigan and Queens College, City University of New York, used light to create links between organic and inorganic semiconductors in an optical cavity—a mirror-lined nanoscale filament about 1/1,000th the width of a hair.

Semiconductors are materials whose electrical conductivity can be adjusted by adding impurities, known as dopant atoms. They’re used in all electronic devices, including cell phones and laptops, and also in solar cells and light-emitting diodes.

Organic semiconductors are made of carbon-rich compounds that don’t necessarily come from biological sources, but resemble them. They are newer to the market than their inorganic counterparts such as silicon. But they are finding widespread applications in smart phone displays and room lighting. Organics hold promise to be flexible and inexpensive, perhaps even deployed on large plastic rolls.

“What we’ve done is taken the excited states of two principally different materials and combined them into a new quantum mechanical state that shares their best properties,” said Stephen Forrest, professor of physics and materials science and also the William Gould Dow Collegiate Professor of Electrical Engineering.

This new state demonstrates stronger light absorption and possibly enhanced “nonlinear” optical properties useful in optical switching, said Vinod Menon, associate professor of physics at Queens College.

“Developing engineered nonlinear optical materials with properties that surpass naturally occurring materials is important for developing next generation photonic technologies that rely on the quantum properties of light,” Menon said. “For example, one could develop an optical switch that uses one photon to turn on or off the path of a second photon. This is basically a light switch that regulates light, one photon at a time—an important building block for quantum communication and computing.”

To demonstrate the effect, the researchers started with an inorganic semiconductor—zinc oxide—and made it into nanowires. Then they surrounded it with an organic material—naphthalene tetracarboxylic dianhydride, or NTCDA.

“We chose these two materials because their excited states would be at nearly the same energies. That is, they are in resonance with one another. And we then sandwiched them between two mirrors to form an optical cavity that traps photons, also at the same energy as the excited states,” Forrest said.

“The result was a third, unique quantum state that is a combination of the photon, the excited state of the inorganic semiconductor and the excited state in the organic semiconductor. That sounds hard and it is.”

He likened the construction to two swings connected by a spring. The swings in this case are excitons, or electronically attractive electron-hole pairs. An electron is a negatively charged subatomic particle and a “hole” in this context is the absence of an electron. In a semiconducting material, a hole carries a positive charge.

In the optical cavity, the photon essentially “glues” together all these quantum mechanical states, forming a unique and potentially useful new state called a polariton that can efficiently transfer energy from one material to another, Forrest said.

“In that new state lies their magic,” he said. “Uses in solar energy conversion, light emission and optical switching are just a few examples of applications that can benefit.

The study is titled “Room Temperature Frenkel-Wannier-Mott Hybridization of Degenerate Excitons in a Strongly Coupled Microcavity.” The graduate students who led the experiments are Michael Slootsky, a doctoral student in physics and engineering at U-M, and Xiaoze Liu a doctoral student at CUNY. The paper is published in the current issue of Physical Review Letters. The research is funded by the National Science Foundation Division of Material Research.

Publication: 

Michael Slootsky, et al., “Room Temperature Frenkel-Wannier-Mott Hybridization of Degenerate Excitons in a Strongly Coupled Microcavity,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 076401, 2014; DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.076401

Engineer models heart valves, wind turbines for better designs, performance

• Date:January 26, 2016
• Source:Iowa State University
• Summary:Computer modeling technologies are being developed to help engineers design better machines. The models are being applied to wind turbines, artificial hearts and gas turbines.

Iowa State's Ming-Chen Hsu is developing a computational toolkit to improve the design, engineering and operation of all kinds of machines.        Credit: Christopher Gannon/Iowa State University

Three thin leaflets blew open and blood blasted through an artificial heart valve, the center stream firing reds and yellows, the colors indicating a flow speed up to 125 centimeters per second. When the leaflets slammed shut, the flow turned to light blue eddies, indicating blood flow had nearly stopped.

And then Ming-Chen Hsu, an Iowa State University assistant professor of mechanical engineering, searched his computer for another video and clicked play.

This time the tip of a wind turbine blade appeared on his monitor, constantly moving, flexing and vibrating as the blade rotated around the rotor hub. Red indicated air moving at a relative speed of 52 meters per second over the top of the blade; blue and green marked the slower air around the blade.

These are computer models featuring technologies called computational mechanics, fluid-structure interaction and isogeometric analysis. They show the flow fields and stresses that mechanical systems have to withstand. And they're part of a toolkit Hsu and his research group are developing to improve the design, engineering and operation of all kinds of machines.

"If we are able to use computers to model and simulate these engineering designs, we can save a lot of time and money," Hsu said. "We don't have to build and test every prototype anymore."

Hsu said it would be impractical, for example, for the wind energy industry to build and test full-scale prototypes of each and every idea for improving the performance of wind turbines.

Instead, the wind energy industry can opt for computational models. Hsu said they're based on complex mathematical equations. They're full of data. And studies show they're accurate.

Using the models, "We can predict the real physics of the problems we are looking at," he said.

And so those videos showing blood flowing through an artificial heart valve or the vibrations of a wind turbine blade are a lot more than colorful graphics. To engineers, they can be as good as full-scale prototypes for studying durability and performance.

Hsu has a background in computational mechanics and started modeling wind turbines during his doctoral studies at the University of California, San Diego. He started modeling heart valves as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Texas at Austin.

He's been at Iowa State since the fall of 2013 and has built a research group that currently includes doctoral students Austin Herrema, Chenglong Wang, Michael Wu and Fei Xu plus undergraduate student Carolyn Darling. The group is now working on two wind turbine studies and an engine project:

• They're modeling the performance of the "Hexcrete" concrete wind turbine towers being developed by Sri Sritharan, Iowa State's Wilson Engineering Professor in Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering. The goal is to use prefabricated concrete to build taller wind turbine towers that can access the steadier winds at 120 meters and higher. The project is primarily supported by the U.S. Department of Energy.

• They're also developing software to help engineers design wind turbine blades. The software will bridge a wide gap between blade design tools and performance simulations. The project is supported by a National Science Foundation grant that established Iowa State's graduate program in wind energy science, engineering and policy.

• And Hsu's research group is modeling the performance of the rotors inside gas turbines. The models will help engineers design the next generation of turbine engines. The project is supported by a grant from the U.S. Army Research Office.

Hsu, who teaches courses in fluid mechanics, said the modeling can be applied to all sorts of questions about a machine. In wind turbines, for example, the models can provide answers about material stress and fatigue, rotor aerodynamics, blade design, the wake behind turbines and power efficiency.

"Ten to 15 years ago, computational fluid-structure interaction was new to everyone," Hsu said. "But with the success of this field, more and more methods are being picked up by industry. Our computational methods are improving engineering designs."

Story Source:

The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Iowa State University. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Beautiful Hadith is about Ablution Before Ghusl

Narrated `Aisha RA: Whenever the Prophet (peace be upon him) took a bath after Janaba he started by washing his hands and then performed ablution like that for the prayer. After that he would put his fingers in water and move the roots of his hair with them, and then pour three handfuls of water over his head and then pour water all over his body. (Bukhari - Vol. 1, Book 5, Hadith 248)

Beautiful Hadith is about Ramadan

Narrated Abu Huraira RA: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Whoever fasted the month of Ramadan out of sincere Faith (i.e. belief) and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his past sins will be forgiven, and whoever stood for the prayers in the night of Qadr out of sincere Faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven ." (Bukhari - Vol. 3, Book 32, Hadith 231)

Beautiful Hadith is about Hijama

Narrated Abu Hurayrah RA: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: The best medical treatment you apply is Hijama (cupping). (Dawoud - Book 28, Hadith 3848)

Beautiful Hadith is about Disease

Narrated Abu Huraira RA: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "There is no disease that Allah has created, except that He also has created its treatment." (Bukahri - Vol. 7, Book 71, Hadith 582)

Beautiful Hadith is about Paying the Rights of Others

Narrated Abu Huraira RA: The Prophet (peace be upon him) owed somebody a camel of a certain age. When he came to demand it back, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said (to some people), "Give him (his due)." When the people searched for a camel of that age, they found none, but found a camel one year older. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Give (it to) him." On that, the man remarked, "You have given me my right in full. May Allah give you in full." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "The best amongst you is the one who pays the rights of others generously." (Bukhari - Vol. 3, Book 38, Hadith 501)

Beautiful Hadith is about Importance of Settling Debts

Narrated Salama bin Al-Akwa RA: Once, while we were sitting in the company of Prophet (peace be upon him), a dead man was brought. The Prophet (peace be upon him) was requested to lead the funeral prayer for the deceased. He said, "Is he in debt?" The people replied in the negative. He said, "Has he left any wealth?" They said, "No." So, he led his funeral prayer. Another dead man was brought and the people said, "O Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him)! Lead his funeral prayer." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Is he in debt?" They said, "Yes." He said, "Has he left any wealth?" They said, "Three Dinars." So, he led the prayer. Then a third dead man was brought and the people said (to the Prophet (peace be upon him) ), Please lead his funeral prayer." He said, "Has he left any wealth?" They said, "No." He asked, "Is he in debt?" They said, ("Yes! He has to pay) three Diners.', He (refused to pray and) said, "Then pray for your (dead) companion." Abu Qatada said, "O Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him)! Lead his funeral prayer, and I will pay his debt." So, he led the prayer. (Bukhari - Vol. 3, Book 37, Hadith 488)

Beautiful Hadith is about Rain

Narrated `Abdullah bin Zaid RA: The Prophet (peace be upon him) went towards the Musalla and invoked Allah for rain. He faced the Qibla and wore his cloak inside out, and offered two rak`at. (Bukhari - Vol. 2, Book 17, Hadith 125)