DRDO’s Rail Track Rocket Sled
• comprises five precision-aligned rails, each fourkm long; specially designed rocket motors;
aerodynamic sleds; and advanced
instrumentation.
• allows the simulation of interception of a missile
coming in at a supersonic speed.
• simulating the velocities encountered during the
re-entry of crew capsules to be used in India’s
manned missions to space and the parachutes
that will be deployed to bring back the Indian
astronauts safely to earth
System of Rice Intensification(SRI)
• requires less water and seeds, and increases yield
on any type of land.
• farmers can get five times more paddy
production
• rice seedlings, less than 15 days old with just two
leaves, are planted singly and spaced optimally to
permit more growth of roots and canopy.
• Seedlings are removed and relocated when young
to avoid trauma to roots and minimise transplant
shock.
Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs)
• Sweden on 23rd May 2014 said it would sue
the European Commission over a delay in
identifying harmful chemicals in everyday
products, which it blamed on chemical
industry lobbying.
Shale Gas
• Shale gas is natural gas that is found trapped
within Sedimentary Rocks (shale formations) (shale gas
is typically a dry gas primarily composed of methane.)
• Shales are fine-grained sedimentary rocks that can be
rich resources of petroleum and natural gas.
• Sedimentary rocks are rocks formed by the
accumulation of sediments at the Earth's surface and
within bodies of water. Common sedimentary rocks
include sandstone, limestone, and shale.
• Shale gas belongs to the category of unconventional
reservoirs which includes coal bed methane, gas from
tight sandstones and gas hydrates.
• It is expected that shale gas will greatly expand
worldwide energy supply.
Induced hydraulic
fracturing /hydrofracturing/ fracking /
fraccing
- mining technique in which a liquid (in most
cases water) is mixed with sand and chemicals
and the resultant mixture is injected at high
pressure into a wellbore.
- This creates small fractures in the deep rock
formations
Harmful effect
• CONTAMINATION
- During this process, methane gas and toxic
chemicals leach out from the system and
contaminate nearby groundwater.
- Methane concentrations are 17x higher in
drinking-water wells near fracturing sites than
in normal wells.
• documented cases of water contamination
next to areas of gas drilling as well as cases
of sensory, respiratory, and neurological
damage due to ingested contaminated water
have been reported.
• Only 30-50% of the fracturing fluid is
recovered, the rest of the toxic fluid is left in
the ground and is not biodegradable.
Air Pollution
Waste fluid is left in open air pits to evaporate, releasing harmful
VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) into the atmosphere, creating
contaminated air, acid rain, and ground level ozone.
(Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic chemicals that have a
high vapor pressure at ordinary room temperature. Their high vapor
pressure results from a low boiling point, which causes large
numbers of molecules to evaporate or sublimate from the liquid or
solid form of the compound and enter the surrounding air. For
example, formaldehyde, which evaporates from paint, )
• Earthquakes
Hydraulic fracturing involves pumping massive
amounts of water into the earth's crust to
break apart rock, Many scientist found it to be
assosiated with earthquake.
India and Shale Gas
-India has very little domestic gas production.
- 6 basins have been identified
- EIA (Energy Information Administration)—US
federal authority on energy statistics and
analysis..estimated Indian shale gas reserve to
be 96 trillion cubic feet (TCF).
- This (96 TCF) is enough to take care of India’s gas
demand for 26 years (ONGC)
• New Shale Gas Policy announced by the Centre in October
2013
• Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd. (ONGC) will explore 30
additional shale gas wells in India over the next two years….
first such well in inaugrated in Ankleshwar, Gujarat.
(November 2013 )
• ONGC had signed a memorandum of understanding with
the ConocoPhillips, US. The two undertook joint studies of
the four basins: Cambay, Krishna Godavari, Cauvery and
Damodar.
• Based on the studies, a shale gas pilot drilling programme
was firmed up Cambay Basin in technical collaboration
with Conoco.
Green Tobacco Sickness
Green Tobacco Sickness
• acute nicotine poisoning.
• occupational poisoning that can affect workers
who cultivate and harvest tobacco. It occurs
when workers absorb nicotine through the
skin as they come into contact with leaves of
the mature tobacco plant.
• Children and young age group most
vulnerable
Some occupational diseases
• An occupational disease is a disease or disorder
that is caused by the work or working
conditions…
• Bagassosis – Sugar cane fibre
• Pneumoconiosis – Coal mining
• Farmer’s lung - moldy hay
• Asbestosis – asbestosis mining
• Byssinosis – Cotton textile industry
• Computer vision syndromme - software
professionals
Maglev train
• Maglev is short for magnetic levitation, which
means that these trains will float over a
guideway using the basic principles of
magnets to replace the old steel wheel and
track trains.
• The magnetic field created by the electrified
coils in the guideway walls and the track
combine to propel the train.
Bt var. kurstaki wettable powder
• powder containing Bt bacteria is one of the ways
of using this microbe's pest-controlling attributes
(without actually putting their specific genes,
such as Cry1Ac, into the plants.)
• developed by the Rajendranagar (Hyderabad)based Directorate of Oilseed Research and
licensed for commercial production to some 40
medium scale enterprises engaged in biopesticides business.
Advantage
- it automatically degrades after being applied
on the crops without leaving any toxic residue
and, thus, is safe for human beings and
livestock.
- it kills only the harmful insects and spares
crop-friendly ones, including predators of
harmful insects.
Probiotics
• The World Health Organization's definition of
probiotics is "live micro-organisms which,
when administered in adequate amounts,
confer a health benefit on the host"
Pre Biotics
Carbon Dating
• Why in News ? (5th May Indian Express )
- THE Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which started
excavations in Sarnath in feb-march 2014 to ascertain
the famous Buddhist site’s true age, has reportedly
found C14 carbon samples dating back to 395 BC. The
ASI has now sent the samples to the United States for
analysis.
- ASI achieved the objective to know what happened at
Sarnath between the time of Lord Buddha and
emperor Ashoka. The monastery existed there as per
literary evidence and that has now been proved,
• Radiocarbon dating (or simply carbon dating)
is a radiometric dating technique that uses the
decay of carbon-14 (14
C) to estimate the age of organic materials,
such as wood and other fossils..
•
• The Earth's atmosphere contains
various isotopes of carbon, roughly in constant
proportions. These include the main stable isotope
(12C) and an unstable isotope (14C). Through
photosynthesis, plants absorb both forms from carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere. When an organism dies, it
contains the standard ratio of 14C to 12C, but as the 14
C decays with no possibility of replenishment, the
proportion of carbon 14 decreases at a known constant
rate. The time taken for it to reduce by half is known as
the half-life of 14C. The measurement of the remaining
proportion of 14C in organic matter thus gives an
estimate of its age
• The half-life of 14C(the time it takes for half of
a given amount of 14C to decay) is about
5,730 years,
Project Persephone
• Building self-sustainable spacecraft that can survive at interstellar space.
• the research is looking at how a long-duration manned mission out of the
solar system could feasibly survive.
• any future ‘generation ship’ we build will need to be entirely selfsustainable in terms of not only food and water, but cultural advances as
well.
• In essence, any manned vehicle we one day send into interstellar space
will need a 'flourishing ecosystem'.So these mission needs to be self
sustainaible
•
These ships could then be used to rescue and house the human
population in the event of a global catastrophe
• The project is part of a study being funded by
both National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) and Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Google Glass
• Google Glass is a wearable computer with
an optical head-mounted display (OHMD).
Advantages
• With the glasses,everything will appear right
before you eyes. From directions to texts to a
video chat, taking photos, even online
shopping, it will all be possible on with your
glasses.
• Allow people to interact with the virtual world
without distracting them from the physical
world. It’s designed to interact closely with
your senses, without blocking them.
Healthcare
• Glass can make a huge difference in hospitals
to increase the efficiency of staff and accuracy
of treatment given to patients.
• The camera will play a pivotal role - allowing
nurses or doctors to scan barcodes and tags to
identify patients, bring up medical records and
verify the correct medication and dosage is
being applied.
• Augmented Reality
• Glass can superimpose information over real-world happenings,
which will allow the tourism and leisure industry to enhance and
support the customer experience.
• City and museum tours can be brought to life by overlaying
historicals buildings and artwork with key facts or audio
descriptions. Users will also be able to take pictures and video and
email the files to themselves so they can capture memories handsfree.
• Simple tasks like food and clothes shopping will be revamped.
• Apps could be developed allowing Glass to highlight the health
benefits of foods and any promotions. Retail assistants will be able
help customers with their queries on the shop-floor by providing
information on products and checking stock levels.
• Even the construction, retail and real estate agencies
will benefit from augmented reality. When designing
buildings, bridges and vehicles, the architects, builders
and engineers will be able to pop on Glass and see
what the finished article should look like, instead of
relying on 2D blueprints or pictures.
• Similarly, those selling or letting houses will be able to
provide real-world tours without having to get clients
to visits all properties. This could save the
buyers/renters time as they would only need to visit
houses in the real world they like the look of in the
virtual world.
• Navigation
• Getting directions through Glass is easy with
users having to say “Ok Glass, get me
directions to [location]”. The route is then
displayed in front of your face, making it easy
to follow.
• Concerns have been raised about how
distracting this will be for people operating
vehicles.
• Assistance for the disabled
it has the potential to make life-changing
difference for those with disabilities.
example :- enhance communication between
parents and their deaf children.
• Police and military
• With complaints about the behaviour of police
forces and military personnel on the rise, Glass
can be used to record activities in the field as it
provides a point-of-view perspective and doesn't
obstruct activity.
• Better equip police to perform challenging
functions.
• Journalism and mass media applications
- technology's live reporting applications,
including conducting interviews and covering
stories from the a reporter's point-of-view.
Criticism
• Intrusion of privacy
- recording people without their permission
- People wearing may surreptitiously record
and broadcast private conversations
• Safety considerations
Concerns have also been raised on operating
motor vehicles while wearing the device
Bluetooth
• Bluetooth is
a wireless technology
standard for exchanging
data over short
distances.
• Bluetooth networking transmits data via lowpower radio waves. (UHF)
• It communicates on a frequency of 2.45
gigahertz (actually between 2.402 GHz and
2.480 GHz, to be exact).
• This frequency band has been set aside by
international agreement for the use of
industrial, scientific and medical devices (ISM).
Astra Missile - successfully test-fired
from Sukhoi (May – 4,2014 )
• Astra is India's first Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air
missile and has been designed and developed
indigenously by the DRDO.
• The 60-km plus range missile possesses high Single
Shot Kill Probability (SSKP) making it highly reliable.
• All-weather missile with active radar terminal
guidance, excellent ECCM (electronic counter-counter
measures) features, smokeless propulsion and process
improved effectiveness in multi-target scenario,
making it a highly advanced state-of-the-art missile
Hybrid Cars / Hybrid Vehicle
• A hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that uses two or
more distinct power sources to move the
vehicle.
• The term most commonly refers to hybrid
electric vehicles (HEVs), which combine
an internal combustion engine and one or
more electric motors. However, other
mechanisms to capture and utilize energy are
included.
• New research undertaken by the U.S. Department
of Energy (Berkley National laboratory,california )
has found that hybrid cars are significantly more
fuel-efficient in India and China
• The same road conditions that can make driving
so frustrating in India, including heavy traffic,
aggressive driving style, and few highways, makes
them ideal for saving fuel with hybrid vehicles.
Regenerative braking, the option to turn off the
engine when the car is stopped or in low-power
condition, and additionally the hybrid system
itself, comprising the electric motor and the
batteries.
The Government in 2013 launched a national plan
with the goal of getting six to seven million hybrid
and electric vehicles on the road by 2020, and has
already begun working with the Berkeley Lab to
further analyse their results.
Gravitational lensing
• Gravitational Lensing refers to the deflection of
the light in the presence of the gravitational field.
It is caused by a massive body, such as galaxy or
black hole between the object and the eye .
• Because of this cumulative effect, it causes
optical illusion of multiple sources and stretching
of the images
• The intensity depends on the size, mass of the
massive body and the distance between object
and observer
• Scientist in NASA have recently discovered
massive cluster of galaxies showing gravitational
lensing effect.
Application :- Gravitational lensing can be used to make a
direct measurement of universe’s expansion rate.
-This concept can be further used to answer
questions about the dark matter, dark energy, big
bang theory, etc.
Why in News ?
• On March 17,2014 the BICEP2 collaboration
that made exquisite measurements of the
Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) from
the south pole over three years, with a state
of the art detector array, announced the
detection of a distinct signature of cosmic
gravitational waves, possibly originating
during an explosive phase of expansion
dubbed inflation, occurring at the earliest
moments after the big bang.
• BICEP2 belongs to a novel series of groundbased microwave telescopes at the South Pole
designed to exclusively target the feeble 100
nano-Kelvin B-mode polarization signal in the
CMB sky expected to arise due to primordial
gravitational waves. .
(please see April 1,2014 article .. In the Hindu )
• What is the Big Bang?
It is the moment when the universe is supposed
to have begun expanding. However, we do not
yet have a good understanding of moments
very close to the Big Bang.
• What are radiation and matter dominated
epochs?
The universe evidently consists of radiation and
matter. According to General Relativity, these
form the source of expansion of the universe.
Based on their evolution as the universe expands,
one finds that the energy density of radiation is
dominant during the early stages, while the
energy density in non-relativistic matter
dominated at later times. These are referred to as
the radiation and matter dominated epochs.
• What are dark matter and dark energy?
Various observations point to the fact that apart
from baryons (i.e., ordinary matter), which
interact with light and hence can be ‘seen’,
there seem to exist two other forms of matter
in the universe, viz. cold dark matter and dark
energy. The adjective ‘dark’ is used to imply
that they do not interact with light.
• What is the Cosmic Microwave Background?
It is a perfectly thermal and nearly isotropic
(i.e., the same in all directions) radiation,
which is a remnant of the early radiation
dominated epoch and hence is ‘cosmic’ in
origin.
• What are anisotropies in the CMB?
While the CMB is largely isotropic, i.e. carrying
largely the same temperature in all directions
of the sky, it contains tiny (of about 10 parts in
a million) deviations from isotropy, which are
referred to as anisotropies.
• What is inflation and why is it required?
Inflation corresponds to a brief period of
accelerated expansion of the universe during
the early stages of the radiation-dominated
epoch.
DRONES
• Drones are unmanned aerial vehicles which
are either controlled by pilots from ground or
they autonomously follow a pre-programmed
mission.
• has the capability to fly autonomously via
software-controlled flight plans working in
association with global positioning system
(GPS).
• UAVs are usually associated with the military
but they have high potential to be used in non
military ways too.
Military Application
Bombing
Surveillance
Intelligence gathering
Non milliatary Application
• Weather monitoring: Drones help to improve
weather forecasts due to their capacity for highaltitude, with the ability to stay in the air for long
durations.
• Environmental monitoring: for a range of
activities, including scientific research,
monitoring environmental conditions, analyzing
the impacts of climate change, responding to
natural hazards, wildlife inventories, fire fighting
etc.
• Chasing criminals and traffic monitoring: gaining
a better viewpoint of crime scenes, can be used
for surveillance as well. Can be paired with a
camera for capturing video and stills, or a thermal
sensor for complete situational awareness.
• Surveying and 3D mapping: used for aerial
surveying of crops, inspecting power lines and oil
pipelines, and collecting data through 3D
mapping.
• Film making: Drones provide an entirely new
viewpoint in terms of film making due to its
versatility, thus creating a thrilling movie
experience.
• More recently, Amazon announced a plan to
use drones for delivery of its products to
customers.