Fibonacci number & Golden ratio ...??

There is a special ratio that can be used to describe the proportions of everything from nature's smallest building blocks, such as atoms, to the most advanced patterns in the universe, such as unimaginably large celestial bodies. Nature relies on this innate proportion to maintain balance, but the financial markets also seem to conform to this 'golden ratio.' Here we take a look at some technical analysis tools that have been developed to take advantage of it.

The Mathematics

Mathematicians, scientists and naturalists have known this ratio for years. It's derived from something known as the Fibonacci sequence, named after its Italian founder, Leonardo Fibonacci (whose birth is assumed to be around 1175 AD and death around 1250 AD). Each term in this sequence is simply the sum of the two preceding terms (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, etc.).

But this sequence is not all that important; rather, it is the quotient of the adjacent terms that possesses an amazing proportion, roughly 1.618, or its inverse 0.618. This proportion is known by many names: the golden ratio, the golden mean, PHI and the divine proportion, among others. So, why is this number so important? Well, almost everything has dimensional properties that adhere to the ratio of 1.618, so it seems to have a fundamental function for the building blocks of nature.

Prove It!

Don't believe it? Take honeybees, for example. If you divide the female bees by the male bees in any given hive, you will get 1.618. Sunflowers, which have opposing spirals of seeds, have a 1.618 ratio between the diameters of each rotation. This same ratio can be seen in relationships between different components throughout nature.

Still don't believe it? Need something that's easily measured? Try measuring from your shoulder to your fingertips, and then divide this number by the length from your elbow to your fingertips. Or try measuring from your head to your feet, and divide that by the length from your belly button to your feet. Are the results the same? Somewhere in the area of 1.618? The golden ratio is seemingly unavoidable.

But that doesn't mean that it works in finance … does it? Actually, the markets have the very same mathematical base as these natural phenomena. Below we will examine some ways in which this ratio can be applied to finance, and we'll show you some charts to prove it!

The Fibonacci Studies and Finance

When used in technical analysis, the golden ratio is typically translated into three percentages: – 38.2%, 50% and 61.8%. However, more multiples can be used when needed, such as 23.6%, 161.8%, 423% and so on. There are four primary methods for applying the Fibonacci sequence to finance: retracements, arcs, fans and time zones.

1. Fibonacci Retracements

Fibonacci retracements use horizontal lines to indicate areas of support or resistance. They are calculated by first locating the high and low of the chart. Then five lines are drawn: the first at 100% (the high on the chart), the second at 61.8%, the third at 50%, the fourth at 38.2% and the last one at 0% (the low on the chart). After a significant price movement up or down, the new support and resistance levels are often at or near these lines. Take a look at the chart below, which illustrates some retracements:

Created Using MetaTrader

2. Fibonacci Arcs

Finding the high and low of a chart is the first step to composing Fibonacci arcs. Then, with a compass-like movement, three curved lines are drawn at 38.2%, 50% and 61.8%, from the desired point. These lines anticipate the support and resistance levels, and areas of ranging. Take a look at the chart below, which illustrates how these arcs do this:

Created Using MetaTrader

3. Fibonacci Fans

Fibonacci fans are composed of diagonal lines. After the high and low of the chart is located, an invisible vertical line is drawn though the rightmost point. This invisible line is then divided into 38.2%, 50% and 61.8%, and lines are drawn from the leftmost point through each of these points. These lines indicate areas of support and resistance. Take a look at the chart below:

Created Using MetaTrader

4. Fibonacci Time Zones

Unlike the other Fibonacci methods, time zones are a series of vertical lines. They are composed by dividing a chart into segments with vertical lines spaced apart in increments that conform to the Fibonacci sequence (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, etc.). These lines indicate areas in which major price movement can be expected.

Created Using MetaTrader

Conclusion

These Fibonacci studies are not intended to provide the primary indications for timing the entry and exit of a stock; however, they are useful for estimating areas of support and resistance. Many people use combinations of Fibonacci studies to obtain a more accurate forecast. For example, a trader may observe the intersecting points in a combination of the Fibonacci arcs and resistances. Many more use the Fibonacci studies in conjunction with other forms of technical analysis. For example, the Fibonacci studies are often used with Elliott Waves to predict the extent of the retracements after different waves. Hopefully you can find your own niche use for the Fibonacci studies, and add it to your set of investment tools!

Read more: Fibonacci And The Golden Ratio | Investopedia http://www.investopedia.com/articles/technical/04/033104.asp#ixzz4Uf747hg7

உங்களுக்கு golden ratio என்பதை பற்றி தெரியுமா?
Fibonacci number...??
இவை நம்மை சுற்றி இயற்கையில் ..இயற்கையாகவே அமைந்து உள்ள ஒரு அதிசய கணிதம்..
இவைகள் என்னவென்பதை பற்றி இன்று பார்ப்போம்..

உங்களுக்கு "pi "என்பதை பற்றி தெரிந்திருக்கும்..அதாவது.. அந்த 3.14....
ஆனால் "phi" பற்றி தெரியுமா?
இது கிரேக்க எழுத்துக்களில் 21 வது எழுத்து. கணிதத்தில் இதுதான் " கோல்டன் ரேஷியோ" காண சிம்பல்.

ஒரு பெரிய கோட்டை இரண்டாக பிரிக்கிறீர்கள்.. சரிபாதியாக அல்ல ஒன்னு பெரிது ஒன்னு சின்னதாக... இப்போது அந்த பெரிய கோட்டை சின்ன கோட்டை கொண்டு வகுத்தால் வரும் எண் இருக்கிறதே.. அது அந்த கோட்டின் மொத்த நீளத்தை பெரிய கோடை கொண்டு வகுத்தால் வரும் எண்ணுக்கு சமமாக இருப்பதை ...அந்த விகிதாசாரதைதான் Golden ratio என்கிறார்கள்.
கோல்டன் ரேஸ்யோவை குறிக்க phi யை பயன் படுத்த காரணம்.. முன்பு சொன்ன அந்த விகிதாச்சாரம் phi இன் மதிப்பாகிய 1.6 க்கு நெருக்கமாக இருப்பது தான்.

இந்த phi ஆர்வலர்கள் ஆய்வாளர்கள்
அந்த காலத்தில் கட்டபட்ட.. மர்மம் நிறைந்த கட்டிடமான பிரமிட்.. இந்த கோல்டன் ரேஷியோ படி கட்ட பட்டுள்ளதை கவனித்தார்கள். க்ரேட் பிரமிடு கிசா இருக்கிறதே அதன் ஓவொரு பக்கத்திலும் அதன் நீளம் 786 அடி. மேலும் அதன் உயரம் 481 அடி.. அதாவது இவை இரண்டுக்கும் உள்ள விகிதம் 1.57 .அதாவது phi யின் மதிப்புக்கு மிக நெருக்கமாய்.
இப்படி பிரமிடுகளில் மட்டும் அல்லாமல் பழைய கட்டிடங்கள் பல வற்றில் இந்த கோல்டன் ரேஸ்யோ பயன்படுத்த பட்டிருப்பதை கவனிதார்கள்.

பிபோனாச்சி நம்பர் என்பதை நீங்கள் கேள்வி பட்டிருப்பீர்கள்.

1200 களில் லியனார்டோ பிபோனச்சி
என்ற கனிதவியலாளரால் இது கண்டுபிடிக்க பட்டது.
அதாவது 0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34, இப்படி எழுதுவது தான் பிபோநாச்சி நம்பர்.. இதில் உள்ள சிறப்பு என்ன என்று கவனித்தால் எந்த ஒரு நம்பரும் அதற்கு முந்தய இரு நம்பர்களின் கூட்டு தொகையாக இருக்கும்.
இந்த எண்களின் மாறும் விகிதம் தான் கோல்டன் ரேஷியோ.... இது phi மதிப்பிற்கு நெருக்கமாக உள்ளது.. அதிலும் எண்கள் பெரிதாக பெரிதாக phi மதிப்பாகிய 1.618 ஐ அதிகம் நெருங்குகிறது.

உதாரணமாக 3 கும்5 கும் இடையிலான விகிதம் 1.666 ஆனால் 13 க்கும் 21 க்கும் இடையிலான விகிதம் 1.625... இன்னும் பெரிய என்னானால்... 144 கும் 233 கும் பார்த்தால் 1.618 இப்படி....

லியர்னடோ டாவின்ஸி தான் வரைந்த ஓவியங்களில் இந்த கோல்டன் ரேஷியோ சமாச்சாரத்தை பயன்படுத்தி இருக்கிறார்.
அவரது லாஸ்ட் சப்பர் ஓவியத்தில் இயேசு தனது சீடர்களுடன் உணவு உண்ணும் காட்சியில் உள்ள மேஜை மற்றும் சில பொருட்களில் இந்த விகிதாச்சாரத்தை பயன்படுத்தி வரையப்பட்டுள்ளது. அவரது மோனோலிசா ஓவியம் கூட இதை பயன் படுத்தி வரைய பட்டது தான்.

இதை மனிதன் பயன்படுத்தி இருக்கிறான் என்பதை இவ்வளவு நேரம் நான் சொன்னது இல்லை ஆச்சர்யம்..
இனி சொல்ல போவது தான் ஆச்சர்யம்..

இயற்கை தனது படைப்பில் இதை தொடர்ந்து பயன்படுத்தி வருகிறது.
ஒரு சூரிய காந்தி பூவில் மையத்தில் சுருள் சுருளாக இருக்கிறதே அந்த டிசைன் அதை உற்று கவனித்தால் கோல்டன் ரேஷ்யோ படி அமைந்துள்ளதை கவனிக்கலாம் .. ஒரு மரத்தில் கிளைகள் அதில் இலைகள் எப்படி எந்த எண்ணிக்கையில் படி படியாக வளர்கிறது என்று பார்த்தால் இந்த விகிதம் தான்.
தாவரத்தில் மட்டும் அல்ல ஒரு நத்தையின் ஓடு இந்த விகித அடிப்படையில் தான் சுருளாக இருக்கிறது.. விலங்குகளின் உடலமைப்பை கவனித்தால் இந்த விகிதம் இருக்கிறது.
அவ்வளவு ஏன் மனிதனின் கைகள் மற்றும் விரல்கள் இந்த விகிதத்தில் தான் அமைந்துள்ளது என்றால் பார்த்து கொள்ளலாம்.

இப்போது இனொன்று சொல்கிறேன் இயற்கை உயிரினங்களில் மட்டும் இல்லை .. பல இயற்கை ஆற்றல்களில் ...படைப்புகளில் இதை வெளிப்படுத்துகிறது.. என்பது இன்னும் ஆச்சரியமானது.
சூறாவளி ஏற்படும் போது அதன் சுழல் கவனித்தால் இந்த விகிதத்தை பார்க்கலாம்..
கடல் அலையை கவனித்தால் இந்த கோல்டன் ரேஷியோ சமாச்சாரத்தை பார்க்கலாம்.
இன்னும் எங்கெங்கே இயற்கை இதை பயன் படுத்துகிறது என்பதை ஆராய மனிதன் சிரிதினும் சிறிதான DNA சுருளை ஆராய்ந்து பார்க்க அந்த சுருளே இந்த விகிதத்தில் தான் அமைந்துள்ளது என்பதை பார்த்து அதிசையித்தான்.. பிறகு பெரிதினும் பெரிதான கேலக்சிகளை அதன் சுருள் அமைப்பை ஆராய்ந்த மனிதன் இந்த பிரபஞ்சமே அந்த கோல்டன் ரேஷியோ வை பயன்படுத்தி அமைந்துள்ளதை கண்டு மேலும் அதிசயித்து போனான்..

இந்த பிரபஞ்சம் அறிவியலால் ஆனது என்று எப்போதும் சொல்லி வந்துள்ளோம்..ஆனால் அது நாணயத்தின் ஒரு பக்கம் தான் அதன் அடுத்த பக்கத்தில் பிரபஞ்சம் முழுக்க.. முழுக்க கணிதத்தால் ஆனது என்ற அதிசயத்தை வியந்து நோக்கி இன்றைய கட்டுரையை நிறைவு செய்கிறேன்.

அன்பு நண்பன் அறிவியல் காதலன் :ரா.பிரபு

Shirdi Sai Baba Aarti - Sunset 5:30 pm Live feel Prayer by Shirdi Mandir...

NINE BASIC THINGS FOR EVERY MECHANICAL ENGINEER

1. What does CC mean in Car engine?

Now, cc stands for cubic centimetres - It is a unit to measure the engine's displacement.

This is the measurement of the volume of the engine's cylinders or "compartments".

Now, when you read 200 cc it means the volume of the cylinder is 200 cubic centimeters.

CC can also be expressed in the form of litres. So, 200 cc = 0.2 L engine.

Remember that: 1 cubic centimeter = 0.001 liters = 1 milli liter.

With that you can understand that more cc does not mean more power. So, that brings to the most asked question: Does more cc mean more fuel consumption?

From what I've read, it is generally true that a vehicle with more displacement will have more fuel consumption.

However, there are very many other factors that affect fuel efficiency.

Therefore, by minimizing engine displacement, you will not ensure increased fuel efficiency.

2. What is meant by 'wheelbase' and 'ground clearance' in a car?

Wheelbase:

In a car, there are two rods used to connect the center of the wheels, one on the front and another on the rear.

The distance between these two rods or axles of a vehicle is known as its wheelbase.

This term is generally checked while buying a car to see how much large the cabin is. The longer the wheelbase, the more the interior room in the car's cabin.

Ground Clearance:

It means the distance between the ground (the point where the tire meets the ground) and the under side of the chassis i.e. any parts that aren't designed to touch the ground. The manufacturers generally mention this distance in millimetres or inches in the list of specifications.

High Ground Clearance Vs. Low Ground Clearance:

More the ground clearance, more is the vehicle capable of moving on off-road, bumpy, rough terrains. For this reason, you will generally find that SUVs are designed with high ground clearance.

If the vehicles has low ground clearance will have low center of gravity and that leads to better handling and performance.

A balance between a high and low ground clearance is needed and you'll find this being achieved in the most executive sedans.

3.What does air-cooled engine mean?

As is apparent from the term we are looking at, Air-cooled engines have air circulating over the hot parts of the engine to cool it. Now I can't put a diagrammatic explanation here, but it is pretty clear even with just the theory.

Most cars we use today have modern internal combustion engines.

A great percentage of the heat generated through these engines is released through the exhaust.

The remaining is handled traditionally by using a liquid coolant that is passed through a closed circuit over the cylinder head and engine block.

The liquid coolant absorbs heat and when it reaches the heat exchanger or radiator of the car, it released the heat into air.

Now you may feel that isn't the engine being ultimately cooled by air. Well yes, but because a liquid-coolant circuit was used, this system is called water-cooled engine.

In contrast, the air-cooled engines have the heat generated released directly into the air. Natural air flow plays a big part in this.

4.What is the difference between Multi Utility Vehicle (MUV) and Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV)?

SUV is a term used to denote any vehicle that looks like a station wagon.

They are equipped with four-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.

Their design aims to display superior off-road and towing capabilities and bigger seating capacity.

Example: Mahindra Scorpio, Ford Ecosport, Renault Duster, Toyota Fortuner etc.

MUV is a type of vehicle designed in a shape of van.

They typically allow easy conversion between multiple combinations of passenger and luggage capacity.

Example: Toyota Innova, Maruti Ertiga, Renaulta Lodgy, Honda Mobilio etc.

5. What is the difference between Automatic transmission and Manual transmission?

Automatic transmission have only few select options, like forward, neutral and reverse. Where manual transmission will have complete gear selector.

For buyers, Automatic means a vehicle will select a appropriate Gear by itself as 1st, 2nd or .... as per the vehicle speed and load. where in Manual a driver has to decide and put vehicle in correct gear to move in desired form.

Automatic may have solenoid gear selector or a complex mechanism of overdrive and clutches which we see in luxurious vehicles only.

6. Front and Rear suspension - What do they mean and why are they needed?

First why suspension, between you vehicle body and wheels suspension are the main medium which holds vehicle and make moving when moving wheels. second suspension is for absorbing sudden shocks from round terrain. Each wheel have separate suspension for independent work( minds its for cars only, trucks may have different arrangements)

in every cars there are two axles front and rear. each axles will get two suspension of same type on both the wheels.

For buyers, Front suspension has some difference bcoz front suspension has to modify and adjust as per the turning on front wheel in corners. whereas rear wheels has to Go straight only.

7. What is the difference between 4-cylinder engine and 3-cylinder engine?

4 or 3 cylinder engine - it implies number of cylinder and piston you have in your engine. More number of cylinder means more CC and more power. and also it increases size of the engine.

8. What is drivetrain and powertrain and why is it important?

Powertrain

The powertrain is composed of everything that makes the vehicle move. These components include the engine which generates the initial energy, the transmission that distributes it and produces torque and all the other components of the drivetrain that help to propel the body forward. It can be expressed in terms of a mathematical equation for simpler understanding:

Powertrain = [Engine] + [Drivetrain]

The output from the power sources are controlled by a transmission system and the driveline to deliver torque to the wheels. The circular motion of the crankshaft is transmitted to the rear wheels through the gearbox, clutch, universal joints, drive shafts or propeller shafts, the differential and the axles connected to the wheels.

The application of engine power to the driving wheels through the collaborative effort of each of these components is called the power transmission. All wheel drive vehicles have two sets of these components to distribute the power almost equally to the front and the rear.

Drivetrain

The drivetrain is the part of a motorized carriage that connects the engine and transmission to the wheel axles through a number of other components. Drivetrain consists of all components after the transmission.

9. What is the difference between All-wheel drive and four-wheel drive?

All wheel drive - means the power as explained in power goes from engine to all wheels of a vehicle basically the term uses for multi axle heavy duty trucks or trailer tractors.

Four Wheel Drive- as it says power goes to 4 wheel drive only.

4×4 (also, four-wheel drive and 4WD)

Reflecting two axles with both wheels on each capable of being powered.

6×6 (also, six-wheel drive and 6WD)

Reflecting three axles with both wheels on each capable of being powered.

8×8 (also, eight-wheel drive and 8WD)

Reflecting four axles with both wheels on each capable of being powered.

Cell Therapy (Setting the Body’s ‘Own Killer T Cells Loose on Cancer)

Cellular Immune Therapy of Cancer

Most of the above approaches have the limitation that they require delivery of a "corrective" gene to every cancer cell, a demanding task. An alternative is to harness the immune system, which may have an ability to actively seek out cancer cells. In healthy adults, the immune system recognizes and kills precancerous cells as well early cancer cells, but cancer progression is an evolutionary process and results in large part from an immune-evasive adaptive response to the cancer microenvironment affecting both the afferent and efferent arms of the immune response arc. This results in inhibition of the ability of a patient’s immune system to target and eradicate the tumor cells. To this end, investigators are developing and testing several cell therapy strategies to correct impairment of the host-cancer immune interaction and as a consequence, to improve the immune system’s ability to eliminate cancer.

Cell therapy for cancer refers to one or more of 3 different approaches: (i) therapy with cells that give rise to a new immune system which may be better able to recognize and kill tumor cells through the infusion of hematopoietic stem cells derived from either umbilical cord blood, peripheral blood, or bone marrow cells, (ii) therapy with immune cells such as dendritic cells which are designed to activate the patient’s own resident immune cells (e.g. T cells) to kill tumor cells, and (iii) direct infusion of immune cells such as T cells and NK cells which are prepared to find, recognize, and kill cancer cells directly. In all three cases, therapeutic cells are harvested and prepared in the laboratory prior to infusion into the patient. Immune cells including dendritic cells, T cells, and NK cells, can be selected for desired properties and grown to high numbers in the laboratory prior to infusion. Challenges with these cellular therapies include the ability of investigators to generate sufficient function and number of cells for therapy.  

Clinical trials of cell therapy for many different cancers are currently ongoing. More recently, scientists have developed novel cancer therapies by combining both gene and cell therapies. Specifically, investigators have developed genes which encode for artificial receptors, which, when expressed by immune cells, allow these cells to specifically recognize cancer cells thereby increasing the ability of these gene modified immune cells to kill cancer cells in the patient. One example of this approach, which is currently being studied at multiple centers, is the gene transfer of a class of novel artificial receptors called “chimeric antigen receptors” or CARs for short, into a patient’s own immune cells, typically T cells. Investigators believe that this approach may hold promise in the future for patients many different types of cancer. To this end, multiple pilot clinical trials for a variety of cancer types using T cells genetically modified to express tumor specific CARs are ongoing, some of which are showing promising results.

After a long, intense pursuit, researchers are close to
bringing to market a daring new treatment: cell therapy
that turbocharges the immune system to fight cancer.

The patient’s T-cells, the soldiers of the immune system, are extracted from the patient’s blood, then genetically engineered to recognize and destroy cancer
The redesigned cells are multiplied in the laboratory, and millions or billions of them are put back into the patient’s bloodstream, set loose like a vast army of tumor assassins.
The killer cells are genetically engineered to produce a complex protein, an amalgam of pieces from different parts of the immune system that is unlike anything seen before.
http://www.nytimes.com/…/cancer-cell-therapy-immune-system.…
http://www.foxnews.com/…/cells-dripped-into-brain-help-man-…

When 5-year-old Emily Whitehead was first diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common pediatric cancer, her parents were optimistic – the cure rate for ALL can be as high as 85 percent. “We felt pretty hopeful at that point,” says her mom, Kari.

But the chemotherapy treatments were hard on Emily. She suffered from constant pain and nausea and developed a life-threatening infection in her legs. Her cancer went into remission twice, but each time it returned.

Soon, it became clear that there was not much more Emily’s doctors could do.

That’s when her parents brought her to The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).

A Dramatic Recovery

The days immediately after Emily received the T cell therapy were harrowing. She spent over a week in CHOP’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, on a ventilator and heavily sedated. Her symptoms were an indication that the T cells were hard at work in her body. But her body’s reaction to the cells was so intense she nearly died.

Then her medical team made another breakthrough. One night, after they found abnormal levels of a certain protein in her blood, they were able to identify a medication – one not typically used in cancer patients – that they believed would block the effects of the protein.

The team administered the drug to Emily, with dramatic results. “The ICU doctor told me that he had never seen a patient that sick get better that quickly,” says Grupp.

Over the next weeks, Emily completely recovered from the illness that resulted from the T cell therapy – and tests soon revealed that her leukemia was in remission.

Emily went home from the hospital on June 1. And thus far, she remains in remission.

Everything you need to know about beer

The exciting thing about beer is that there is so much to enjoy beyond the sensory pleasure of drinking it. Of course, it all starts and ends with flavor, but beer lovers have extended their interests to include the packaging and labeling of beer, the people who make it, brewing history, festivals devoted to beer, and crafts and collections based on beer. We study the stuff, celebrate its traditions, collect its artwork, debate its merits, and categorize its styles.

Here is a manual to build your beer knowledge—practical insights and personal passions that can augment what we already know: beer tastes great.

How To Sound Like A Beer Expert

Master a few basics, and you’ll know more than anyone else at the bar.

Your friends have noticed that you order imported beer at the bar. You always bring a six-pack of something tasty back from vacations. Now, they’re starting to call you “Mr. Beer,” or “Ms Beer” (as the case may be).

They’re kidding you. But they’re also looking to you for leadership. They’ve seen that you take beer seriously, even if the truth is that you are just taking your first steps into the subject, yourself.

Never fear, with this handy crib sheet, you can master the basics, and answer ninety percent of the questions about beer that ever float around the bar. Commit these answers to memory, and you can also qualify for a job answering ninety percent of the questions that come to the staff of All About Beer.

Q: What are pilsners, ales, lagers, etc? What does “bottom fermented” mean? And when you say “lagered,” what exactly does that involve?

A: “Beer” refers to any fermented beverage made from grain. Lagers and ales are the two families of beer, distinguished by the type of yeast and the temperature of fermentation. Lagers are fermented at cooler temperatures by so-called “bottom fermenting” yeast. Beers in the lager family need to be conditioned—or “lagered”—somewhere cool for a number of weeks before they are ready to drink. Ales are fermented at warmer temperature by top-fermenting yeast strains, and are ready to drink sooner.

There are many distinct styles of beer within the lager and ale families: for example, pilsner is one of the most popular lager styles; and porter and stout are examples of ale styles. And in both families, beers can run the gamut from light to dark-colored, and from weak to strong alcohol.

Q: Who invented beer?

A: The earliest records of beer and brewing have been found in Sumeria, which is in modern Iraq. They date back over 4,000 years ago, so there isn’t really a “who.”

Q: Is there a way to turn non-alcoholic beer into alcoholic beer?

A: People who ask about putting the A back in NA beer are generally a) living in the Middle East, b) under age, or c) in prison. I leave it to you to weigh the consequences of breaking whatever law you are up against.

You can add sugar and yeast to NA beer and generate a little alcohol, but it will taste nasty. Homebrewed beer—even bad homebrewed beer—will taste better. Alternatively, our ancestors coped with Prohibition by creating “needle beer”—NA beer with a syringeful of grain alcohol added.

Your best and safest bet is to a) change countries, b) grow up, or c) get released.

Q: How many calories in beer?

A: There are about 150 calories in a 12-ounce serving of standard beer, the same amount as those little pots of fruit yogurt dieters like so much. I know which is my choice: when I want a cold one after work, I don’t mean a cold yogurt. A light beer will contain about 100 calories. Some hefty styles such as barleywines contain about 300 calories. Remember: it’s not the beer, it’s the nachos.

Q: How many carbs are in a beer?

A: Ah, an Atkins dieter. There are about 13 carbs in a standard beer, 5 in a light beer.

Q: I’m allergic to wheat. How can I be sure the beer I drink is safe for me?

A: The basic ingredients of beer are malted barley, hops, water and yeast. Some brewers add wheat, oats, rice, or corn—the last two, in particular, are used by the big brewers to create a lighter flavor and save costs. So, to make sure you don’t get any ingredient you’re sensitive to, look for beers that explicitly say they are made only from malted barley (“malt”), hops, water and yeast. Or look for beers that say they are brewed according to the Reinheitsgebot, or the “Bavarian beer purity laws of 1516,” which stipulates the use of the same four ingredients.

Q: What is the proper way to pour a beer?

A: If you pour the beer slowly down the side of a tilted glass, a smaller head is formed, and more CO2 remains dissolved in the beer. If you hold the glass upright and pour straight into the glass, more gas is released, and a larger head will form. Real aficionados will insist that different beers have different ideal pours, but you are a mere expert, not an aficionado. Pour an ale so that it has about half an inch of head, lagers with a larger one, and allow a wheat beer to throw a big, pillowy head.

Q: My girlfriend won’t drink beer. How can I convert her?

A: When she says she won’t drink beer, the kind of beer she won’t drink is probably the standard light lager that dominates the market. There are another seventy some-odd defined styles out there: persuade her to try a wheat beer, or a Belgian ale. If that fails, tell her that until recently, brewing was the province of women: she owes it to her sex to like beer.

Q: May I have a chilled glass, please?

A: No, you may not.

Q: O.K., Mr. Beer, what’s the best beer in the world?

A: (Dodge this one. Experts avoid this question like the plague, lest they offend the next brewer they want to visit). Say! Isn’t that Michael Jackson over there?

—Julie Johnson Bradford

How To Judge Beer

Sniff, stare, sip, swish, savor, swallow. Simple.

Throughout the United States—indeed, throughout the world—homebrewers have been holding competitions for over 20 years. Of course, in order to have a winner, someone has to judge the beer. An organization formed in 1985 by the Home Wine and Beer Trade Association and the American Homebrewers Association trains and certifies homebrew judges. This group, now an independent nonprofit organization, is called the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP), and it has over 2,500 members throughout the United States, Canada and many other countries.

To become a beer judge with the BJCP, an individual must study for and pass a written test comprising 10 essay questions that cover the history of beer, the many styles of beer, the chemistry of beer, and the techniques for brewing beer, as well as a practical tasting and evaluation of four different homebrewed beers using the official BJCP score sheet. The test takes three hours to complete.

According to BJCP guidelines, the task of judging beer falls into five distinct categories of evaluation in a 50-point scoring system. Here’s how you can judge a homebrew following this system.

Bouquet/Aroma (10 points): Immediately after the beer has been poured, take a sniff while the sniffing’s good. In less time than you think, the volatile esters that make up the beer’s aroma will be gone. What you’re looking for are the dominant aromas of the beer. Is it sweet, sour, roasty, earthy, herbal, flowery, citric or any one of a number of other aromas? A strong malt presence will be sweet. Sourness and tartness often, but not always, are a result of an infected beer. Roasty aromas derive from roasted grains, such as the highly roasted, unmalted barley used in an Irish stout. Different varieties of hops impart earthy, herbal, flowery and citric aromas. Ales are often fruity. German wheat beers and many Belgian ales are yeasty and spicy.

Appearance (6 points): Is the beer clear? Most beers are filtered and should be clear. Or is the beer cloudy? Unfiltered wheat beers are supposed to be poured so that the yeast on the bottom of the bottle is roused and poured into the glass. What color is the beer? Each beer style has its own color parameters: golden for pilsners, amber for most pale ales, orangey-reddish-amber for Oktoberfests, black or near-black for stouts. Does the beer have a nice foamy head and good head retention, or is the head weak and anemic? Does beautiful lace cling to the sides of the glass or does the beer wash down the inside of the glass like dishwater?

Flavor (19 points): Here you’re looking for a number of characteristics, many of them similar in definition to the bouquet/aroma characteristics. Is the main flavor one of malt (sweet or roasty) or hops (earthy, herbal, flowery, citric)? Does an added fruit take over the flavor? Is the beer tart or sour? Wheat beers are often pleasantly tart. Many Belgian beers are tart or yeasty or spicy or something totally different. How does the flavor change from the first impression into the middle and to the finish? Is the finish a slam-bam “That’s all folks!” or does it linger with a particular taste?

How do all these flavors play off each other? In beer-judge talk, that’s called “balance.” Is the balance good, or does one flavor drown out all the others in a nasty show of brute strength? How well is the beer “conditioned,” by which beer judges mean the age of the beer and how the flavors have all come together? Is the level of carbon dioxide pleasant or overpowering?

Body (5 points): What’s the mouthfeel of the beer? Is it thin and watery (like a standard American lager) or full and chewy (like an Imperial stout)? Does the beer sparkle or is it flat and dull looking?

Drinkability & Overall Impression (10 points): Finally, beer judges make comments about how they perceive the beer as a whole, adding kudos where appropriate and constructive criticisms when necessary: “This is a great example of an American pale ale, full of malt body and lots of fresh, lovely Cascade hops aroma and flavor.” “This was entered as an Irish stout, but there’s almost no roasty malt aroma or taste, and the color is brown, not black.”

One thing must be clear from the above examples. In order to judge beer, you have to know beer. Beer styles. The BJCP lists 26 main categories of beer styles with many more subcategories. Study these by buying and tasting as many commercial examples as possible and you’re on your way to becoming a knowledgeable beer judge.

The BJCP website (www.bjcp.org) will be a great help in learning the definitions and characteristics of all the beer styles you’re ever likely to encounter. Have fun studying.

—Gregg Glaser