Volume 4 Issue 5

by old men in charge

of calendars and

times around the world?

I always find the sol-

stices to be magical

times of year and

look forward to ei-

ther the longest or

shortest days as they

are the bringers of

seasons, darkness

a n d l i g h t .

Depending on how

the calendar falls,

the December sol-

stice occurs annually

on a day between

December 20 and

23. This year, the

December solstice

will occur at 05:30

UTC (12:30 a.m.

EST) on December

22, 2011. While the

southern hemisphere

is experiencing the

long days of sum-

mer, the northern

hemisphere will

have the “winter sol-

stice” – often called

the shortest day of

the year.

So, why do we call it

the shortest day of

the year for the win-

ter solstice and long-

est day for the sol-

stice in the summer?

Do we lose some

time off the clock in

winter, and in sum-

mer do we miracu-

lously gain time on

the clock in a bizarre

cycle that is imposed

Winter Solstice – The Shortest day of the Year

What do we mean by the shortest day?

The shortest day, winter

solstice and midwinter

are the colloquial terms

used to describe the 24

hours around an annual

astronomical event

which occurs around the

22nd December. The

shortest day marks the

point when the days start

to get longer and the

nights shorter, and has

profound cultural mean-

ing around the world and

throughout history. The

cultural significance var-

ies, but generally refers

to a time of rebirth and

renewal and is celebrated

with festivals and rituals.

The opposite of the win-

ter solstice is the summer

solstice and occurs

around the 22nd June,

and marks the point

when the days are long-

est and nights shortest.

Special points of

interest:

Winter Sol-

stice – The

Shortest day

of the Year

What do we

mean by the

shortest day?

Merry

Christmas

S. Ramanu-

jan

Dec 2013

Article by :

Kanti Joshi & Sweta Patel

Page 2

Volume 4 Issue 5

Submitted by : Vinod Suthar

Christmas (Old English: Crīstesmæsse, meaning "Christ's Mass") is an annual commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ and a widely observed cul-tural holiday, celebrated generally on December 25 by mil-lions of peoplearound the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it closes the Advent season and initiates thetwelve days of Christmastide, which ends after the twelfth night. Christmas is a civil holiday in many of the world's nations, is celebrated by an increasing num-ber of non-Christians, and is an integral part of theChristmas and holiday season.

While the birth year of Jesus is estimated among modern historians to have been between 7 and 2 BC, the exact month and day of his birth are unknown. His birth is mentioned in two of the four canonical gospels. By the early-to-mid 4th century, the Western Christian Church had placed Christmas on December 25, a date later adopted in the East, although some churches cele-brate on the December 25 of the older Julian calendar, which corresponds to January in the modern-day Gregorian calendar. The date of Christmas may have initially been chosen to correspond with the day exactly nine months after early Christians believed Jesus to have been conceived, or with one or more ancient polytheis-tic festivals that occurred near southern solstice (i.e., the Roman winter solstice); a further solar connection has been suggested because of a biblical verse identifying Je-sus as the "Sun of righteousness".

The celebratory customs associated in various countries with Christmas have a mix of pre-Christian, Christian, and secular themes and ori-gins. Popular modern customs of the holiday include gift giving, Christmas music andcaroling, an exchange of Christmas cards, church celebrations, a special meal, and the display of various Christmas decorations, includ-ing Christmas trees, Christmas lights, nativity scenes, garlands, wreaths, mistletoe, and holly. In addi-tion, several closely related and often interchangeable fig-ures, known as Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, and Christkind, are associated with bringing gifts to children during the Christmas season and have their own body of traditions and lore. Because gift-giving and many other aspects of the Christmas festival involve heightened economic activity among both Christians and non-Christians, the holiday has become a significant event and a key sales period for retailers and businesses. The economic impact of Christmas is a factor that has grown steadily over the past few centuries in many regions of the world.

Submitted by : Sweta Patel & Mona Gothi

S.RAMANUJAN

Page 3

Volume 4 Issue 5

Born 22 December 1887 Erode, Madras Presidency (nowTamil Nadu)

Died 26 April 1920 (aged 32) Chetput, Madras, Madras Presi-dency (now Tamil Nadu)

Residence Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu

Nationality Indian

Fields Mathematics

Alma mater Government Arts College Pachaiyappa's College

Academic advi-

sors G. H. Hardy J. E. Littlewood

Known for Landau–Ramanujan constant Mock theta functions Ramanujan conjecture Ramanujan prime Ramanujan–Soldner constant Ramanujan theta function Ramanujan's sum Rogers–Ramanujan identities Ramanujan's master theorem

Influences G. H. Hardy

Signature

Srinivasa Ramanujan

FRS (pronunciation (help·info)) (22

December 1887 – 26 April 1920) was an

Indian mathematician andautodidact who,

with almost no formal training in pure

mathematics, made extraordinary contribu-

tions to mathematical analysis,number the-

ory, infinite series, and continued fractions.

Living in India with no access to the larger

mathematical community, which was cen-

tred in Europe at the time, Ramanujan de-

veloped his own mathematical research in

isolation. As a result, he rediscovered

known theorems in addition to producing

new work. Ramanujan was said to be a

natural genius by the English mathemati-

cian G. H. Hardy, in the same league as

mathematicians such

as Euler and Gauss. He died at the age of

32.

Ramanujan was born at Erode, Madras Presi-

dency (now Tamil Nadu) in a Tamil Brahmin family

of Thenkalai Iyengar sect.His introduction to for-

mal mathematics began at age 10. He demonstrated a natural

ability, and was given books on ad-

vancedtrigonometry written by S. L. Loney that he mastered

by the age of 12; he even discovered theorems of his own, and

re-discovered Euler's identity independently. He demonstrated

unusual mathematical skills at school, winning accolades and

awards. By 17, Ramanujan had conducted his own mathe-

matical research on Bernoulli numbers and the Euler–

Mascheroni constant.

Submitted by : Radhika Teraiya & Urvashi Chaudhri

Ramanujan received a

scholarship to study at Government College

in Kumbakonam, which was later rescinded

when he failed his non-mathematical course-

work. He joined another college to pursue inde-

pendent mathematical research, working as a

clerk in the Accountant-General's office at

the Madras Port Trust Office to support him-

self. In 1912–1913, he sent samples of his theo-

rems to three academics at the University of

Cambridge. G. H. Hardy, recognizing the bril-

liance of his work, invited Ramanujan to visit

and work with him at Cambridge. He became

a Fellow of the Royal Society and a Fellow

of Trinity College, Cambridge. Ramanujan died

of illness, malnutrition, and possibly liver infec-

tion in 1920 at the age of 32.

During his short lifetime,

Ramanujan independently compiled nearly

3900 results

(mostly identities and equations). Nearly all his

claims have now been proven correct, although

a small number of these results were actually

false and some were already known. He stated

results that were both original and highly un-

conventional, such as the Ramanujan prime and

the Ramanujan theta function, and these have

inspired a vast amount of further re-

search. However, the mathematical mainstream

has been rather slow in absorbing some of his

major discoveries. The Ramanujan Journal, an

international publication, was launched to pub-

lish work in all areas of mathematics influenced

by his work.

In December 2011, in

recognition of his contribution to mathematics,

the Government of India declared that Ramanu-

jan's birthday (22 December) should be cele-

brated every year as National Mathematics

Day, and also declared 2012 the National

Mathematics Year.

Ramujan’s Home

Post Ticket

Dr. Hardy

Page 4

Volume 4 Issue 5

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