Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, Father of Islamic Bomb

Abdul Qadeer Khan, also known as A.Q. Khan   (born April 1, 1936, Bhopal, India), Pakistani engineer, a key figure in Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program who was also involved for decades in a black market of nuclear technology and know-how whereby uranium-enrichment centrifuges, nuclear warhead designs, missiles, and expertise were sold or traded to Iran, North Korea, Libya, and possibly other countries.

In 1947, during Khan’s childhood, India achieved independence from Britain, and Muslim areas in the east and west were partitioned to form the state of Pakistan. Khan immigrated to West Pakistan in 1952, and in 1960 he graduated from the University of Karachi with a degree in metallurgy. Over the next decade he pursued graduate studies abroad, first in West Berlin and then in Delft, Netherlands, where in 1967 he received a master’s degree in metallurgy. In 1972 he earned a doctorate in metallurgical engineering from the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium. Meanwhile, in 1964 he married Hendrina Reterink, a British national who had been born to Dutch expatriate parents in South Africa and raised in what was then Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) before moving to the Netherlands.

In the spring of 1972 Khan was hired by Physical Dynamics Research Laboratory, a subcontractor of the Dutch partner of URENCO. URENCO, a consortium of British, German, and Dutch companies, was established in 1971 to research and develop uranium enrichment through the use of ultracentrifuges, which are centrifuges that operate at extremely high speeds. Khan was granted a low-level security clearance, but, through lax oversight, he gained access to a full range of information on ultracentrifuge technology and visited the Dutch plant at Almelo many times. One of his jobs was to translate German documents on advanced centrifuges into Dutch.

Khan was heavily influenced by events back home, notably Pakistan’s humiliating defeat in a brief war with India in 1971, the subsequent loss of East Pakistan through the creation of a new independent country, Bangladesh, and India’s test of a nuclear explosive device in May 1974. On September 17, 1974, Khan wrote to Pakistan’s prime minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, offering his assistance in preparing an atomic bomb. In the letter he offered the opinion that the uranium route to the bomb, using centrifuges for enrichment, was better than the plutonium path (already under way in Pakistan), which relied on nuclear reactors and reprocessing.

Bhutto met Khan in December 1974 and encouraged him to do everything he could to help Pakistan attain the bomb. Over the next year Khan stole drawings of centrifuges and assembled a list of mainly European suppliers where parts could be procured. On December 15, 1975, he left the Netherlands for Pakistan, accompanied by his wife and two daughters and carrying his blueprint copies and suppliers list.

Khan initially worked with the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), but differences arose with its head, Munir Ahmad Khan. In mid-1976, at Bhutto’s direction, Khan founded the Engineering Research Laboratory, or ERL, for the purpose of developing a uranium-enrichment capability. (In May 1981 the laboratory was renamed the Khan Research Laboratory, or KRL.) Khan’s base of operations was in Kahuta, 50 km (30 miles) southeast of Islamabad; there Khan developed prototype centrifuges based on German designs and used his suppliers list to import essential components from Swiss, Dutch, British, and German companies, among others.

In the early 1980s Pakistan acquired from China the blueprints of a nuclear weapon that used a uranium implosion design that the Chinese had successfully tested in 1966. It is generally believed that the Chinese tested a derivative design for the Pakistanis on May 26, 1990.

On 11th may 1998 India tested his three nukes and on 13th may tested another two nukes to show the strategic strength in the region. As a result the Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif took decision to test the Pakistani nukes for the balancing of Power in the region.

Pakistan successfully tested its Primary Atomic weapon on 28, May 1998 in Chaghi Hills located in Blouchistan. Pakistani Scientists selected the Koh-e-Kamran for the Test. According to Pakistani Standard time Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan pushed the Fire Trigger on 3:17 pm. Within few minutes of Explosion the whole rock of Koh-e-Kamran turn into yellowish ice dust and Pakistan became a Nuclear Power. 

A Spectacular Gift

Written By: Khulood Bahaa

She blogs at : https://anunexpectedpoet.wordpress.com/ 

It’s interesting how you’ve never asked Allah for a mother,

He knew you’d need one to comfort you, to love you, unlike any other.

A spectacular gift from the exalted indeed,

He molded you, He created you, He know all that you need.

An ear that can hear through concrete,

A warrior, for you nations she could defeat.

She endured pain and sufferings but never did she complain,

Your happiness, your comfort she only hoped to attain.

And believe me my friend,

There’s nothing like a heart that cared for you, since you were a mere cloth of blood,

or anything equivalent to her love that keep growing like a flower bud.

It’s fascinating how everything pales into insignificance beside her hugs,

that priceless feeling how from your worries of life it unplugs.

And what can compare to the one Heaven lies under?

She deserves your respect, take time and ponder.

History of Concentrated Solar Power Systems

Even though the CSP technology is revolutionary within the field of renewable energy there is nothing new about the idea of concentrating solar power. The first mentioning of the use of concentrating solar power derives from ancient Greece, where Archimedes in 214-212 BC, as a defensive tactic, used bronze shields to concentrate the sun's rays onto invading Roman ships which, according to the myth, caught on fire. It has been widely discussed whether the myth tells a true story or not. However, Greek scientist Dr. Loannis Sakkas proved in 1973 by lining up 60 Greek sailors, holding oblong bronzed coated mirrors tipped to catch the sun's rays and directing them at a ship approximately 200 feet away, which within minutes caught fire, that the myth contains scientifically sustainable elements.

The first documented use of concentrated solar power technology was in 1866 where Auguste Mouchout used parabolic troughs to heat water and produce steam to run the first solar steam engine. A series of inventors applied the technology in the following years. In 1912 in Meadi, Egypt,  parabolic solar collectors were established in a small farming community by Frank Schuman, a Philadelphia inventor, solar visionary and business entrepreneur. The parabolic troughs were used for producing steam, which drove large water pumps, pumping 6000 gallons of water per minute to vast areas of arid desert land.

The first operational concentrated solar power plant was built in Sant'llario, Italy in 1968 by Professor Giovanni Francia. This plant has architectural similarities to modern plants with its central receiver surrounded by a field of solar collectors. In 1982 the U.S. Department of Energy, along with an industry consortium began operating Solar One, a 10MW central-receiver demonstration project. The project established the feasibility of power tower systems.  Four years later, in 1986, the world's largest solar thermal facility, located in Kramer Junction, California, was commissioned. The solar field contained rows of mirrors that concentrated the sun's energy onto a system of pipes circulating a heat transfer fluid. The heat transfer fluid was used to produce steam, which powered a conventional turbine to produce electricity. In 1996 the U.S. Department of Energy, along with an industry consortium, began operating Solar Two - an upgrade of its Solar One concentrating solar power tower project. Operated till 1999, Solar Two demonstrated how solar energy can be stored efficiently and economically so that power can be produced even when the sun isn't shining. It also fostered commercial interest in power towers.

As of June 2010, there were 34 CSP plants installed worldwide, totaling 880.45MW. The country with most plants is the USA with 16 plants installed. Moreover, the USA is currently planning 36 new projects. Spain is the most active country with 12 new plants installed since 2007. Furthermore, Spain has 33 CSP plants under construction and additionally 17 planned projects. Countries like Algeria, Australia, Egypt, France, India, Italy, Mexico and Morocco are also constructing concentrated solar power plants and joining the future of renewable energy.

Alhamdulillah for Everything

First things first, this has to be one of the worst phase of my life for sure. What I thought to be months and months of extreme depression turned out to be something really serious. But hey, I am alive, I can breathe, eat, drink and well, kind of enjoy what we all know as... life.

Since there is no one around to talk to and share stuff, I remembered that the best friend I always had was writing, too bad I forgot but hey it is never too late is it? Here it is... that one constant in my life.

Somewhere down the line everyone does realize that depending on people is the biggest mistake, they are never there when you want them to be and I always knew that, sadly did not do anything and kept giving chances...Be good to people and don't worry about the outcome, paid a big price sure as hell, I did. But hey, everyone deserves a fair chance so it is okay.

Look what a friend sent me, things like these, when people take their time out (waste time on you) is the best feeling anyone can ever have. Made me happy, first time in weeks. 

Doctors asked me to avoid too much sadness and too much excitement, must say they don't know what a Pakistani is like. These are the only two things we know, how am I to survive now? Stupid doctors. Buy hey you gotta do what the doctor orders.

Life is all about learning from your experiences, must say I have some magical and horrible experiences (mostly horrible) but hey that's how you become strong don't you. Rise from the ashes and something something is some kinda quote I can't really remember it right now.

This reminds me, ever since I have opened my eyes my memory has become worst, it has to get better with time but what if it does not? What if I forget umm like something important? But hey, everything has its positives, maybe it will help me forget the horrible times.

These days I am contemplating about a few things, one of them is, should I change my nature, the way I am with people? I don't want to but at the same time... also thinking about opening my mouth about something, the only thing that holds me back is will it be worth it? I think not. but hey, there is a limit... lets see what happens.

Since these days I am allowed to do nothing at all except for staying in bed and staring at the roof and occasional usage of phone, news and comedy shows have been keeping me alive to be honest. Nothing seems funny these days but hey you gotta pass some time.

Since Ramadan, so I decided to recite Holy Quran properly, believe you me, umm well don't but it feels like .. so good... so normal.. peaceful. The words sometime make no sense, yet they make sense. Can't fast but hey, can be a Muslim.

It was emotional* (Oh hey doctor) saying goodbye to your roommate, the one who was source of my free food but hey a few months break from the same face does not hurt does it.

Trying to write this to feel normal, really. I feel lonely and lost these days, how I would give anything away for the people I love and care to be with me at this point of my life. But hey, everything has a reason. (or maybe this is just the satisfaction I have been giving myself for years now)

Why does it feel like a two edged knife? Can't I stand and walk again or fly like a kite? Visit a park and enjoy sunlight? Talk to old men and see the kids smile? Visit a restaurant to eat fish and fries? A day of comfort and no fright? Instead of dark, see the bright side? Can't I have a painless night? Just so I can sleep tight? Or...feel alive. Maybe wrong but I deserve a normal life.

Okay this... well... it makes no sense .. but ...feelings you know. It was nice talking to myself after a long long time. Baby steps towards recovery, soon towards normality, back to trying and change the world one person at a time, for now, it is tough but hey, they say, this too shall pass. Therefore.. Alhamdulillah for everything. 

Free of Thoughts

Written By: Tahreem Naseem

I wonder what it's like to be free of thought, no burden, no heaviness, that overwhelms and seeks to bring you to your ruin. I wonder what it's like to not have to thing about everything that's coming down on you and stressing you out and driving you to the brink of insanity, I wonder what it's like to go to bed at a normal time, or sleep a full 8 hours as recommended, or not toss and turn and stay awake over thinking. I wonder what it's like to go to bed at peace, laying there without a care in the world and with nothing in your head that's troubling you. I wonder what it's like to actually express emotions in public or private or with family or anybody, instead of being locked in my room crying and venting to friends I've never met and wishing I was travelling to places I've never been. I wonder what it's like to not constantly have to worry about what's coming next, or how my actions will defeat my future, or what depends on me. I wonder if I will ever get the chance to stop being stressed and pressured and tired and overwhelmed and exhausted and run-down and beat and if I will ever have a real goodnight sleep.

Wings and Locks

Written By: Maham Shahbaz

...And so in between trying to protect herself from all the heart breaking things and putting on locks and more locks on those locks, she scarred herself deeply and she couldn't possibly carry all the weight that she, herself had created for her shoulders to carry out of her awful habit...

....And he, who tried to appear all optimistic was very negative at times but never did he utter a word of negativity for anyone else. He who was all that happy and sunshine on the outside was sometimes night on the inside. He carried a weight that someone put on him, a weight he never asked for, that weight was too heavy for his wings and he absolutely loved to fly...