PHYSICS II

21. Which of the following actions will double the period of a simple pendulum?

a. double the length of the pendulum

b. double the mass of the bob

c. double the mass of the bob 2 times greater

d. make the pendulum four times long.

22. Which of the following functions is performed by a photo-cell?

a. it converts magnetic energy into electrical energy

b. it converts chemical energy into electrical energy

c. it converts electrical energy into light electrical

d. it converts light energy into electrical energy

24. Which of the following is an insulator?

a) aluminium b) copper c) glass d) silver

25. Light emerging from a nicol prism has

a. vibrations in all directions

b. no vibration at all

c. vibration in two mutually perpendicular directions

d. vibrations in only one direction

PHYSICS I

11. Arrange in descending order of wave length (long to short)

I. Infra – red II) Ultra violet III. Gamma rays IV) Micro waves The correct order is

a) IV, I, II III b) I, IV, II, III c) I, II, III, IV d) III, II, I, IV

12. Electromagnetic radiation are given out due to

a. jumping of electrons from low energy to high level energy

b. jumping of electrons from high energy to low level energy

c. Revolution of electrons in specified orbits

d. None of these

13. In general, when the temperature of a metal is raised, its conductance

a) increases b) decreases c) remains the same d) first decreases then increases

14. Which falls down fastest in vacuum, a feather, a wooden ballor a steel ball?

a) wooden ball b) feather c) steel ball d) all will fall down at the same speed

15. Reed instrument without pipe is

PHYSICS

1. Nuclear sizes are expressed in a unit named

a. Fermi b. angstrom c. Newton d. tesla

2. What is the SI unit of the Planck’s constant?

a. watt second b. watt per second c. joule second d. joule per second

3. If the kinetic energy of a body is decreased by 36%, the percentage decrease in the linear momentum will be

a. 12% b. 20% c. 28% d. 36%

4. Choose the scalar quantity from the following

a. energy b. torque c. momentum d. force

DOTS-DIRECTLY OBSERVED TREATMENT, SHORT COURSE (T.B)

 The WHO-recommended Directly Observed Treatment, Short Course (DOTS) strategy was launched formally as Revised National TB Control programme in India in 1997 after pilot testing from 1993-1996.

 In terms of population coverage, India now has the second largest DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment, Short course) programme in the world. However, India's DOTS programme is the fastest expanding programme, and the largest in the world in terms of patients initiated on treatment, placing more than 100,000 patients on treatment every month.

 Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by a Bacterium, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It is spread through the air by a person suffering from TB. A single patient can infect 10 or more people in a year.

 In India today, two deaths occur every three minutes from tuberculosis (TB). But these deaths can be prevented. With proper care and treatment, TB patients can be cured and the battle against TB can be won

 Multi-drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (MDRTB) - MDRTB refers to strains of the bacterium which are proven in a laboratory to be resistant to the two most active anti-TB drugs, isoniazid and rifampicin. Treatment of MDRTB is extremely expensive, toxic, arduous, and often unsuccessful.

 DOTS has been proven to prevent the emergence of MDRTB, and also to reverse the incidence of MDRTB where it has emerged. MDRTB is a tragedy for individual patients and a symptom of poor TB management. The best way to confront this challenge is to improve TB treatment and implement DOTS.

 Beginning 1999, the Tuberculosis Research Centre, Chennai in collaboration with the National Tuberculosis Institute, Bangalore, initiated drug resistance surveys in different parts of the country using the WHO/IUATLD guidelines.

TARA OCEAN EXPEDITION

The Tara Expedition is a research expedition through the ice of the Arctic. The polar schooner Tara was to drift in the ice for approximately two years from its departure, late in August 2006. In the community of oceanography it is met with great interest especially in the context of the International Polar Year (2007-2008).

The three-year expedition will study marine life in the context of climate change. It comprises a team of oceanographers, ecologists, biologists, geneticists, and physicists from universities and institutes around the world.

In their 150,000-km voyage, the team will assess how corals are adapting to hotter and more acidic seawater; study diatoms, which play a major role in sequestering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere; hunt “giruses” (giant viruses) that infect fish, shrimps and photosynthetic plankton, but whose genes could prove useful to medicine; and sequence DNA of the unicellular ‘protists’ that make up a fifth compartment of life on earth, but about which very little is known.

Prestigious labs from around the world are participating, including the Marine Biology Laboratory (U.S.), Flinders University (Australia), Centre Scientifique de Monaco (France), the University of Milan (Italy) and University of Warwick (U.K.) and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (Germany).

 Scopus Awards instituted by the National Academy of Sciences, India, and Elsevier, a leading research publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services to encourage young scientists.

 Each award carries a plaque, a citation and Rs.50,000 in cash.

What is Pulmonary edema?

Pulmonary edema or oedema is fluid accumulation in the lungs. It leads to impaired gas exchange and may cause respiratory failure. It is due to either failure of the heart to remove fluid from the lung circulation ("cardiogenic pulmonary edema") or a direct injury to the lung parenchyma ("noncardiogenic pulmonary edema").

AMMONIUM NITRATE

The chemical compound ammonium nitrate, the nitrate of ammonia with the chemical formula NH4NO3, is a white crystalline solid at room temperature and standard pressure. It is commonly used in agriculture as a high-nitrogen fertilizer, and it has also been used as an oxidizing agent in explosives, including improvised explosive devices. It is the main component of ANFO, a very popular explosive.

World’s fastest computer

Cray Jaguar - 1.759 PFLOPS - DoE-Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee, USA

AGNI-III

Agni-III is an intermediate-range ballistic missile developed by India as the successor to Agni-II. The ballistic missile has a range of 3,500 km- 5500 km, which means that India is capable of engaging targets deep inside neighbouring countries.The missile’s Circular Error Probable (CEP) is within 40 meters range, which makes it one of the most sophisticated and accurate ballistic missiles of its range class in the world.

DRDO SETS ITS SIGHTS ON 5,000-KM AGNI-V

With three consecutively successful flights of Agni-III, missile technologists of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) have raised the bar: they will now busy themselves with realising Agni-V, which will have a range of 5,000 km.

CITRIC ACID CYCLE

 Citric Acid Cycle, series of chemical reactions occurring within the cell, responsible for the final breakdown of food molecules to form carbon dioxide, water, and energy.

 This process, which is carried out by seven enzymes (see Enzyme), is also known as the tricarboxylic acid cycle, or the Krebs cycle. The citric acid cycle is active in all animals and higher plants and in most bacteria.

 In organisms that have cells with nuclei, the cycle is contained within a membrane-bound organelle called the mitochondrion, a structure often referred to as the power plant of the cell. Discovery of the citric acid cycle is credited to Sir Hans Adolf Krebs, a British biochemist who outlined its essential steps in 1937.

PARKINSON'S DISEASE

 Parkinson's disease (also known as Parkinson disease or PD) is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that often impairs the sufferer's motor skills, speech, and other functions.

 Parkinson's disease belongs to a group of conditions called movement disorders. It is characterized by muscle rigidity, tremor, a slowing of physical movement (bradykinesia) and a loss of physical movement (akinesia) in extreme cases. The primary symptoms are the results of decreased stimulation of the motor cortex by the basal ganglia, normally caused by the insufficient formation and action of dopamine, which is produced in the dopaminergic neurons of the brain. Secondary symptoms may include high level cognitive dysfunction and subtle language problems.

 PD is also called "primary parkinsonism" or "idiopathic PD" (classically meaning having no known cause). The disease is named after English apothecary (pharmacist) James Parkinson, who made a detailed description of the disease in his essay: "An Essay on the Shaking Palsy" (1817).

The lunar maria are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth's Moon, formed by ancient volcanic eruptions.

Oceanus Procellarum Latin for "Ocean of Storms", is a vast lunar mare on the western edge of the near side of Earth's Moon. Its name derives from the old superstition that its appearance during the second quarter heralded bad weather. Oceanus Procellarum is the largest of the lunar maria, stretching more than 2,500 km (1,600 mi) across its north-south axis and covering roughly 4,000,000 km2 (1,500,000 sq mi) but is, nevertheless, still smaller that the surface area of the Mediterranean Sea on Earth.

TEN ROCKETS - TO STUDY SOLAR ECLIPSE

The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram launches a Rohini sounding rocket from Thumba with equipment to investigate the effects of the annular solar eclipse on the atmosphere.

The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) launched a total of 10 Rohini series indigenous sounding rockets from the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station and the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota to investigate the effects of the longest annular solar eclipse of this millennium, which occurred on15/01/2010, on the earth’s atmosphere.

A sounding rocket does not put anything into orbit. Instead, this type of rocket carries instruments in its nose that make measurements of the upper atmosphere as it ascends. This data is sent back via radio signals to the ground for scientists to analyse. Once the rocket’s fuel is exhausted, the rocket and its payload plummets to the ground. The ISRO website describes the various instruments carried by sounding rockets. In this case, sounding rockets were fired before, during and after the eclipse. This could have been done so that scientists could make appropriate comparisons and decide what changes had occurred in the upper atmosphere as a result of the eclipse.

The annular phase of the eclipse lasted about 11 minutes and eight seconds over Thumba.

When a solar eclipse occurs, there will be a sudden cut-off of solar radiation. This cut-off will affect the atmospheric structure and dynamics and there will be a large reduction in ionisation and temperature.

REVERSE OSMOSIS(R.O)

Reverse osmosis is a liquid filtration method which removes many types of large atomic molecules from smaller molecules by forcing the liquid at high pressure through a membrane with pores (holes) just big enough to allow the small molecules to pass through.

It is most commonly known for its use in drinking water purification from seawater, removing the salt and other substances from the water molecules. However, the process is also used for filtering many other types of liquids.

The process is similar to membrane filtration. However there are key differences between reverse osmosis and filtration. The predominant removal mechanism in membrane filtration is straining, or size exclusion, so the process can theoretically achieve perfect exclusion of particles regardless of operational parameters such as influent pressure and concentration. RO (Reverse Osmosis), however involves a diffusive mechanism so that separation efficiency is dependent on influent solute concentration, pressure and water flux rate. It works by using pressure to force a solution through a membrane, retaining the solute on one side and allowing the pure solvent to pass to the other side. This is the reverse of the normal osmosis process, which is the natural movement of solvent from an area of low solute concentration, through a membrane, to an area of high solute concentration when no external pressure is applied.

RUSSIA TO BE FIRST TO BUILD NUCLEAR-POWERED SPACECRAFT

 Russia will endeavour to become the world’s first nation to build a nuclear-powered spacecraft for interplanetary flights.

 The draft design of the spacecraft is slated to be ready by 2012, while the actual model is expected to be developed by 2018. The total cost of the project is estimated at about $600 million.

 Nuclear powered spacecraft are essential for space travels far from the sun, where getting power from solar energy becomes problematic, and to planets like Mars.

 Russia has a unique half-a-century experience in developing and operating n-power reactors in space. the Soviet Union launched a total of 32 spacecraft with small-capacity nuclear propulsion units in the 1970s and 1980s. By comparison, the United States had only one such craft with a nuclear-reactor launched in 1965.

The GSLV-III

 The GSLV-III or Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle mark III is a launch vehicle currently under development by the Indian Space Research Organization. It is intended to launch heavy satellites into geostationary orbit, and will allow India to become less dependent on foreign rockets for heavy lifting.

 The rocket is the technological successor to the GSLV, however is not derived from its predecessor. The GSLV-I has a Russian-made cryogenic third stage, which is to be replaced with an identical Indian-built one for the GSLV-II. US objections based on the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) prevented the Russia-India technology transfer that would have enabled this, leading to cancellation of the GSLV-II. The maiden flight is scheduled to take place in 2010-11.

Typical Parameters of GSLV Mark III

 Lift-off weight 629 tonne

 Pay Load 4 Tonne in to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO)

 Height 49 metre.

THE JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE (JWST)

 The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a planned infrared space observatory, the partial successor to the aging Hubble Space Telescope.

 A massive telescope, with a diameter of 6.5 metres, will be

deployed in the sky about 1.5 million km from the earth in 2014 to enable astronomers

to study several subjects, including the formation of the first stars and galaxies after the Big Bang that created the universe.

 The main scientific goal is to observe the most distant objects in the universe, those beyond the reach of either ground based instruments or the Hubble. The JWST project is a NASA-led international collaboration with contributors in fifteen nations, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.

 Originally called the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST), it was renamed in 2002 after NASA's second administrator, James E. Webb (1906–1992).

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by the space shuttle in April 1990. It is named after the American astronomer Edwin Hubble. Although not the first space telescope, Hubble is one of the largest and most versatile, and is well-known as both a vital research tool and a public relations boon for astronomy. The HST is a collaboration between NASA and the European Space Agency, and is one of NASA's Great Observatories, along with the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the Spitzer Space Telescope.

VA TECH TO SET UP DESALINATION PLANT ON EAST COAST ROAD

 VA Tech Wabag, an Indian multinational company involved in water treatment projects, in partnership with Israel-based IDE Technologies, has been awarded the contract for executing India’s largest sea water desalination project by Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (Chennai Metro Water).

 The total cost of the project is Rs. 1,033 crore and will have a capacity of 100 million litres a day (MLD). The plant will be constructed on design, build and operate basis and will be commissioned in the next 24 months.

 the total construction cost of Rs. 533 crore would be provided by the Union Government and Rs. 500 crore would be allocated by the State Government (Chennai Metro) for operational expenditure.

 The company would set up the plant in Nemmeli, 35 km south of Chennai on 40 acres on the East Coast Road. The plant would convert sea water into fresh potable water which would be supplied to the southern suburbs of Chennai, including the entire stretch of IT corridor, Thiruvanmiyur, Pallipattu, Velachery, MRC Nagar and Kelambakkam.

AVATAR

AVATAR (Sanskrit) (from "Aerobic Vehicle for Hypersonic Aerospace Transportation") is a single-stage reusable rocketplane capable of horizontal takeoff and landing, being developed by India's Defense Research and Development Organization along with Indian Space Research Organization and other research institutions; it could be used for cheaper military and civilian satellite launches.

When operational, it is planned to be capable of delivering a payload weighing up to 1,000 kg to low earth orbit. It would be the cheapest way to deliver material to space at about US$67/kg. Each craft is expected to withstand 100 launches.

The term SUPERSONIC is used to define a speed that is over the speed of sound (Mach 1). In dry air at 20 °C (68 °F), the threshold value required for an object to be traveling at a supersonic speed is approximately 343 m/s, (1,125 ft/s, 768 mph or 1,236 km/h).

Speeds greater than 5 times the speed of sound are often referred to as HYPERSONIC. Speeds where only some parts of the air around an object (such as the ends of rotor blades) reach supersonic speeds are labeled transonic (typically somewhere between Mach 0.8 and Mach 1.2).

ISRO PLANS TO USE SEMI-CRYOGENIC ENGINES

 The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has embarked on a programme to induct semi-cryogenic engines, which will use kerosene as fuel, and this engine will form the booster for its future launch vehicles, ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan said.

 The Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV Mark III), which was under development, would put a four-tonne satellite in a geo-synchronous transfer orbit. The ISRO had embarked on a human space programme, and it planned to put two Indians in space in an orbit around the earth in seven years.

 Vizag centre

Srikumar Banerjee, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, said a second research centre of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre would be set up in Visakhapatnam because BARC, Trombay, was expanding in a big way. The Visakhapatnam centre would concentrate on energy science and environment.

GSLV, PSLV FLIGHTS PUT OFF

 The launch of the Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D3), scheduled for December 2009 from Sriharikota, has been postponed to March.

 The GSLV-D3 will be powered by an indigenous cryogenic stage built for the first time by the Indian Space Research Organisation. It will put in orbit a communication satellite, GSAT-4, which is not ready either.

 The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), planned to be launched prior to the GSLV-D3 flight, has also been postponed. It will now take off in March to put in orbit Cartosat-2B; Alsat, a small satellite from Algeria; two nano-satellites from the University of Toronto, and another nano-satellite, Studsat (Students’ satellite), built by several Indian universities. The Cartosat-2B, to be built by the ISRO Satellite Centre in Bangalore, is also not ready.

KAVERI PROJECT: DRDO GETS NOD FOR TIE-UP WITH FRENCH FIRM

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has been given the go-ahead by the government to take up an offer of French firm Snecma to ‘partner’ with the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) for jointly developing the Kaveri aero engine.

The Rs. 2,839-crore Kaveri engine programme was launched in 1989, specifically to power the Light Combat Aircraft, Tejas, now under development at the DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA). In 2005, the GTRE indicated that it would not be able to develop the Kaveri engine on its own.

CRUISE MISSILE

A cruise missile is a guided missile that carries an explosive payload and uses a lifting wing and a propulsion system, usually a jet engine, to allow sustained flight; it is essentially a flying bomb. Cruise missiles are generally designed to carry a large conventional or nuclear warhead many hundreds of kilometers with high accuracy. Modern cruise missiles can travel at supersonic or high subsonic speeds, are self-navigating, and fly on a non-ballistic very low altitude trajectory to avoid radar detection.

Cruise missiles are distinct from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in that they are used only as weapons and not for reconnaissance, the warhead is integrated into the vehicle, and the vehicle is always sacrificed in the mission.

NUCLEAR SUBMARINE NERPA INDUCTED IN RUSSIAN NAVY

 The nuclear attack submarine Nerpa has been formally inducted in the Russian Navy for subsequent leasing to the Indian Navy next spring.

 Before the submarine is commissioned as INS Chakra in March, the Indian crew would undergo training and sailing together with Russian specialists and servicemen.

 The submarine is being leased to the Indian Navy for 10 years under a $ 650 million deal.The 12,770-ton Nerpa, an Akula II class nuclear powered attack submarine, is rated one of the world’s deadliest and quietest warships.

 Nerpa is the second Russian submarine India has leased in the past 20 years.

RUSSIA TO HELP INDIA BUILD MANNED SPACESHIP

 Russia will help India build a manned spaceship and send an Indian astronaut to space under a 10-year cooperation programme.

 The spaceship would be modelled after the Soyuz craft, but it would be smaller to match the lighter Indian boosters.

 India’s first astronaut Rakesh Sharma travelled to space aboard a Soyuz in 1984.

 He spent eight days on the Salyut-7 orbital station and did various scientific experiments. Subsequent plans to send two Indian astronauts to space on a U.S. shuttle were scrapped after the Challenger disaster in 1986.

TASK FORCE RECOMMENDS NATIONAL ELECTRONICS MISSION

 A high-level task force for the information technology (IT) industry has recommended constitution of ‘National Electronic Mission’, a nodal agency for the electronics industry within the Department of Information Technology (DIT) with direct interface to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

 The task force Headed by HCL Infosystems Chairman and Chief Executive Ajai Chowdhry.

TOP TEN SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGHS OF THE YEAR - 2009

1. Ardipithecus ramidus The research that brought to light the fossils of Ardipithecus ramidus, a hominid species that lived 4.4 million years ago in what is now Ethiopia, has topped Science’s list of this year’s most significant scientific breakthroughs. The monumental find predates ‘Lucy,’ — previously the most ancient partial skeleton of a hominid on record — by more than one million years, and it inches researchers ever-closer to the last common ancestor shared by humans and chimpanzees.The Ardipithecus research “changes the way we think about early human evolution.

2. Pulsars detected by Fermi: NASA’s Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope helped to identify previously unknown pulsars — highly magnetized and rapidly rotating neutron stars—and shed light onto their unique gamma-ray emissions.

3. Rapamycin: Researchers found that tinkering with a key signalling pathway produces life-extending benefits in mice — the first such result ever achieved in mammals. The discovery was particularly remarkable because the treatment did not start until the mice were middle-aged.

4. Graphene: In a string of rapid-fire advances, materials scientists probed the properties of graphene—highly conductive sheets of carbon atoms — and started fashioning the material into experimental electronic devices.

5. Plant ABA receptors: Solving the structure of a critical molecule that helps plants survive during droughts may help scientists design new ways to protect crops against prolonged dry periods, potentially improving crop yields worldwide and aiding biofuel production on marginal lands.

6. LCLS at SLAC: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory unveiled the world’s first x-ray laser, a powerful research tool capable of taking snapshots of chemical reactions in progress, altering the electronic structures of materials, and myriad other experiments spanning a wide range of scientific fields.

7. Gene therapy comeback: European and U.S. researchers made progress in treating a fatal brain disease, inherited blindness, and a severe immune disorder by new strategies from gene therapy.

8. Monopoles: In an experimental coup, physicists working with strange crystalline materials called spin ices created magnetic ripples that model the predicted behaviour of ‘magnetic monopoles,’ or fundamental particles with only one magnetic pole.

9. LCROSS finds water on the moon: In October, sensors aboard a NASA spacecraft detected water vapour and ice in the debris from a spent rocket stage that researchers deliberately crashed on the Moon.

10. Hubble Repair: In May, a nearly flawless final repair mission by space-shuttle astronauts gave the Hubble Space Telescope sharper vision and a new lease of life, resulting in its most spectacular images yet.

IS TRITIUM, A HIGHLY RADIOACTIVE SUBSTANCE?

 Tritium emits beta particles of very low energy. It does not pose any external radiation hazard; it poses internal hazard if ingested. Tritium is the least toxic of all radioactive materials. But we must control all tritium intakes. Tritium is the least toxic of all radioactive materials, not posing any external hazard but internal hazard if ingested

 “Tritium is very difficult to remove from the body.”

It is not true. Tritium is another form of hydrogen; like ordinary hydrogen it reacts with oxygen and forms tritiated water. Ninety seven per cent of tritium entering the body remains in soft tissue, will reach equilibrium in 2 hours and will get removed with a typical half period of 6 days, through urine and perspiration.

 Three per cent remains for a longer period (about 40 days). The two components are considered in calculating the radiation dose. Tritium’s physical half life of 12.3 years is not relevant.

 We can remove tritium faster by drinking more fluids and water. Administering diuretics to the workers is another effective method (diuretics are drugs that help to remove water from body). This has to be done under medical supervision.

DEFENCE TERRAIN RESEARCH LABORATORY (DTRL)

Defence Terrain Research Laboratory (DTRL), a unit of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Situated adjacent to the majestic Meltcalfe House in New Delhi. The DTRL's origin dates back to 1964 when a Terrain Evaluation Cell was set up as a unit of the DRDO. The cell's objectives were to develop techniques needed for evaluating terrain and assessing the mobility potential in inaccessible areas. It became a full-pledged laboratory in 1981, and was renamed the Defence Terrain Research Laboratory.

MAJOR GENERAL UMANG Kapoor, Director, DTRL. An important work done by the scientists is the preparation of landslide zonation maps.The scientists are now working on a project called Unique Research Undertaken for Systems Development for Landslides Warning and Terrain Intelligence (URUSWATI). It involves mapping landslide-prone zones for the BRO. Landslides occur in India only in three areas - the Himalayas, the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats. Of these, only the Himalayas are strategically important.Sunil Dhar, who is also the Project Director of URUSWATI.

These zonations acquire importance in the context of India's plan to build a 1,200-km trans-Himalayan highway from Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh to Kashmir. This highway is strategically important because it will be close to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, China-occupied Kashmir and the Pakistan border and will enable movement of men and weapons. Some of the highways have already been zoned.

ZANSKAR VALLEY

 One of the remotest and least accessible regions in the country.

 Zanskar is a subdistrict or tehsil of the Kargil district, which lies in the eastern half of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The administrative centre is Padum. Zanskar, together with the neighbouring region of Ladakh, was briefly a part of the kingdom of Guge in Western Tibet.

 The Zanskar Range is a mountain range in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir that separates Zanskar from Ladakh.

 Geologically, the Zanskar Range is part of the Tethys Himalaya, an approximately 100-km-wide synclinorium formed by strongly folded and imbricated, weakly metamorphosed sedimentary series. The average height of the Zanskar Range is about 6,000 m (19,700 ft). Its eastern part is known as Rupshu.

INDO-FRENCH DEAL GIVES ASSURANCE OF LIFETIME SUPPLY OF NUCLEAR FUEL FOR FRENCH REACTORS

 The Indo-French Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement, signed by the two countries in Paris on September 30, 2008, explicitly allows for reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel from French nuclear reactors under safeguards, and gives an assurance of lifetime supply of nuclear fuel for these reactors.

 Significantly, the agreement does not explicitly bar the transfer of enrichment and reprocessing technologies, the so-called ENR technologies or Sensitive Nuclear Technologies. Transfer of these to India from the United States requires a special amendment to the India-U.S. Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (the 123 Agreement) and congressional approval of the same.

 French nuclear supplier Areva has been allotted the nuclear project site at Jaitapur in Maharashtra to initially build two power plants based on Areva’s EPR1600 light water reactors. The India-specific waiver of the nuclear transfer guidelines of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) was issued on September 6, 2008.

 These aspects of the Indo-French agreement have now become clear after the document became public subsequent to its approval by the French Senate (the upper chamber) on October 15, 2009. The agreement still needs the approval of the Parliament’s lower chamber, the National Assembly, for its final ratification. The Assembly, according to the French Embassy’s press information officer Allen Perier, took up the review of the Agreement on October 28. It is hoped that this should happen by the end of November and the agreement should enter into force by the end of the year.

 Now that India has unconditional reprocessing rights from both Russia and France — except for requiring that reprocessing be done under the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) — the U.S. would seem to be at a disadvantage vis-À-vis these two.

RANCIDITY

 When fats and oils are oxidised, they become rancid and their smell and taste change. Usually substances which prevent oxidation (antioxidants) are added to foods containing fats and oil. Keeping food in air tight containers helps to slow down oxidation. Do you know that chips manufacturers usually flush bags of chips with gas such as nitrogen to prevent the chips from getting oxidised ?

 The non-metals are either solids or gases except bromine which is a liquid.

 Aqua regia, (Latin for ‘royal water’) is a freshly prepared mixture of concentrated hydrochloric acid and concentrated nitric acid in the ratio of 3:1. It can dissolve gold, even though neither of these acids can do so alone. Aqua regia is a highly corrosive, fuming liquid. It is one of the few reagents that is able to dissolve gold and platinum.

 Pure gold, known as 24 carat gold, is very soft. It is, therefore, not suitable for making jewellery. It is alloyed with either silver or copper to make it hard. Generally, in India, 22 carat gold is used for making ornaments. It means that 22 parts of pure gold is alloyed with 2 parts of either copper or silver.

 Allotropes of carbon:The element carbon occurs in different forms in nature with widely varying physical properties. Both diamond and graphite are formed by carbon atoms, the difference lies in the manner in which the carbon atoms are bonded to one another. In diamond, each carbon atom is bonded to four other carbon atoms forming a rigid three-dimensional structure. In graphite, each carbon atom is bonded to three other carbon atoms in the same plane giving a hexagonal array. One of these bonds is a double-bond, and thus the valency of carbon is satisfied. Graphite structure is formed by the hexagonal arrays being placed in layers one above the other. These two different structures result in diamond and graphite having very different physical properties even though their chemical properties are the same. Diamond is the hardest substance known while graphite is smooth and slippery. Graphite is also a very good conductor of electricity unlike other non-metals. Diamonds can be synthesised by subjecting pure carbon to very high pressure and temperature. These synthetic diamonds are small but are otherwise indistinguishable from natural diamonds. Fullerenes form another class of carbon allotropes. The first one to be identified was C-60 which has carbon atoms arranged in the shape of a football. Since this looked like the geodesic dome designed by the US architect Buckminster Fuller, the molecule was named fullerene.

CHINA’S FASTEST SUPERCOMPUTER - TIANHE-I

 Tianhe-I was developed by the Chinese National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) in Changsha, Hunan Province. It was first revealed to public on 29 October 2009, and was ranked as world's 5th fastest supercomputer in the TOP500 list

released at Supercomputing Conference 2009 (SC09) held in Portland, Oregon on 16 November 2009. Tianhe achieved a speed of 563 teraflops in the tests, but it is capable of 1.042 petaflops.

 In computing, FLOPS (or flops or flop/s) is an acronym meaning FLoating point Operations Per Second. The FLOPS is a measure of a computer's performance, especially in fields of scientific calculations that make heavy use of floating point calculations, similar to the older, simpler, instructions per second.

HOW DO ALCOHOLS AFFECT LIVING BEINGS?

 When large quantities of ethanol are consumed, it tends to slow metabolic processes and to depress the central nervous system. This results in lack of coordination, mental confusion, drowsiness, lowering of the normal inhibitions, and finally stupour. The individual may feel relaxed but does not realise that his sense of judgement, sense of timing, and muscular coordination have been seriously impaired. Unlike ethanol, intake of methanol in very small quantities can cause death. Methanol is oxidised to methanal in the liver. Methanal reacts rapidly with the components of cells. It causes the protoplasm to get coagulated, in much the same way an egg is coagulated by cooking. Methanol also affects the optic nerve, causing blindness. Ethanol is an important industrial solvent. To prevent the misuse of ethanol produced for industrial use, it is made unfit for drinking by adding poisonous substances like methanol to it. Dyes are also added to colour the alcohol blue so that it can be identified easily. This is called denatured alcohol.

ALCOHOL AS A FUEL

 Sugarcane plants are one of the most efficient convertors of sunlight into chemical energy. Sugarcane juice can be used to prepare molasses which is fermented to give alcohol (ethanol). Some countries now use alcohol as an additive in petrol since it is a cleaner fuel which gives rise to only carbon dioxide and water on burning in sufficient air (oxygen).

TISSUE CULTURE

 In tissue culture, new plants are grown by removing tissue or separating cells from the growing tip of a plant. The cells are then placed in an artificial medium where they divide rapidly to form a small group of cells or callus. The callus is transferred to another medium containing hormones for growth and differentiation. The plantlets are then placed in the soil so that they can grow into mature plants. Using tissue culture, many plants can be grown from one parent in disease-free conditions. This technique is commonly used for ornamental plants.

HEADEND IN THE SKY (HITS)

 Headend in the Sky (HITS) is Comcast's satellite multiplex service that provides cable channels to cable television operations. At a traditional cable television headend, multitudes of satellite dishes and antennas are used to grab cable stations from dozens of communication satellites. In contrast, HITS combines cable stations into multiplex signals on just a few satellites; cable television companies can then pull in hundreds of channels at the local headend with relatively little equipment; the HITS feed effectively replaces the more complex traditional headend operations.

 The Indian Government on November 12, 2009 approved guidelines for Headend In The Sky (HITS) broadcasting service. The approval comes several months after the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry had first sent the HITS policy draft to the Cabinet. HITS players have been allowed a foreign direct investment (FDI) of up to 74%, on par with the telecom sector. They can operate on either C band or Ku Band (till now reserved for direct-to-home).

THE BIG BANG MACHINE OR THE LARGE HADRON COLLIDER (LHC)

 The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator, intended to collide opposing particle beams of either protons at an energy of 7 TeV (1.12 microjoules) per particle, or lead nuclei at an energy of 574 TeV (92.0 microjoules)per nucleus. The term hadron refers to such particles that are composed of quarks. It is expected that it will address the most fundamental questions of physics, hopefully allowing progress in understanding the deepest laws of nature. The LHC lies in a tunnel 27 kilometres (17 mi) in circumference, as much as 175 metres (570 ft) beneath the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva, Switzerland.

The Large Hadron Collider was built by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) with the intention of testing various predictions of high-energy physics, including the existence of the hypothesized Higgs boson and of the large family of new particles predicted by supersymmetry.It is funded by and built in collaboration with over 10,000 scientists and engineers from over 100 countries as well as hundreds of universities and laboratories.

Arc eye

Arc eye (keratoconjunctivitis photoelectrica), also known as welder's flash, bake eyes, corneal flash burns, or flash burns, is a painful ocular condition sometimes experienced by welders who have failed to use adequate eye protection. It is also referred to as arc flash, though this can also refer to an electrical explosion. It can also occur due to using tanning beds without proper eyewear.

Although not caused by an arc, the identical syndrome of ultraviolet keratitis can be caused by UV from excessive sun exposure, light reflected from snow (known as snow blindness), water or sand. The intense ultraviolet light absorbed by the eye causes a superficial and painful keratitis.

ORGANIC LED (OLEDs) LIGHTS CONSUME LESS ENERGY

 An organic light emitting diode (OLED), also light emitting polymer (LEP) and organic electro luminescence (OEL), is a light-emitting diode (LED) whose emissive electroluminescent layer is composed of a film of organic compounds. The layer usually contains a polymer substance that allows suitable organic compounds to be deposited. They are deposited in rows and columns onto a flat carrier by a simple "printing" process. The resulting matrix of pixels can emit light of different colors.

 Such systems can be used in television screens, computer monitors, small, portable system screens such as cell phones and PDAs, watches, advertising, information and indication. OLEDs can also be used in light sources for general space illumination, and large-area light-emitting elements. OLEDs typically emit less light per area than inorganic solid-state based LEDs which are usually designed for use as point-light sources.

 In the context of displays, OLEDs have a significant advantage over traditional liquid crystal displays (LCDs). OLEDs do not require a backlight to function. Thus, they can display deep black levels, draw far less power, and can be much thinner and lighter than an LCD panel. OLED displays also naturally achieve much higher contrast ratio than LCD screens using cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) and newer LED backlights.

Is it not possible to generate electricity from wind in a train which is moving at its average speed for a long duration?

It is possible to generate electricity from a wind mill located atop a moving train. Although as plausible and tempting as this may sound, a closer analysis would reveal that such a venture would eventually defeat its very purpose.

A train cruising at its average speed would pierce the air around at speeds sufficient to drive a windmill. The energy generated from this apparatus could be considerable since the train runs for a long duration as the case in point. But the placement of this apparatus atop or beside the train’s compartment would generate a drag force opposing the direction of the train’s movement.

This overhead would reduce the train’s speed and thereby necessitate the engine to spend much more energy to retain its speed. The extra energy which the engine requires to keep up its speed would be much more than the energy generated from the windmill. Added to this is the inevitable problem of friction which causes energy loses while converting energy in one mechanical to another mechanical form.This question recalls the zeal behind perpetual motion which prevailed in the early 17th century. None of such ventures could succeed because no mechanical apparatus is devoid of friction.

NAIR FIRST NON-AMERICAN TO HEAD ASTRONAUTICS ACADEMY

ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair has been elected president of the International Academy of Astronautics, becoming the first non-American to head the half-a-century-old organisation of world’s foremost space scientists.

The announcement of Nair’s election to the coveted post was made by IAA secretary general Jean Mitchell Contant at the inaugural function of the five-day International Conference on Low Cost Planetary Missions in Goa. ‘‘This is the first time a non-American will become president in 50 years of the IAA’s existence,’’

The election was conducted through postal ballot as the IAA has a membership spanning 94 countries. The announcement came as a surprise to many, as the formal announcement was to be made at International Astronautical Congress which is to be held in Korea in October.

FREE AND OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE (FOSS)

Free and open source software, also F/OSS, FOSS, or FLOSS (free/libre/open source software) is software that is liberally licensed to grant the right of users to study, change, and improve its design through the availability of its source code. This approach has gained both momentum and acceptance as the potential benefits have been increasingly recognized by both individuals and corporate.

Atul Chitnis (1962) is an Indian consulting technologist known for his work in the fields of data networks, internet and intranets, Linux and Free and Open Source Software and mobile computing in India. He is also the founder of FOSS.IN (formerly Linux Bangalore), one of Asia's largest FOSS conferences.

SOLAR FLARES SHINE LIGHT ON MOON’S MINERALS

In its 10-month orbit around the moon, Chandrayaan-1’s X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS) has detected titanium, confirmed the presence of calcium, and gathered the most accurate measurements yet of magnesium, aluminium and iron on the lunar surface.

This was made possible by 30 solar flares that acted like “flash bulbs” illuminating the surface, according to a statement by the European Planetary Network.

The European Planetary Science Congress in Potsdam, Germany.

Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad The miniature C1XS instrument investigated the lunar surface using an effect whereby X-ray illumination from the sun causes rocks to fluoresce, emitting light at a different wavelength.

TAMIFLU

Oseltamivir (INN) is an antiviral drug that slows the spread of influenza (flu) virus between cells in the body by stopping the virus from chemically cutting ties with its host cell—median time to symptom alleviation is reduced by 0.5–1 days. The drug is sold under the trade name Tamiflu and is taken orally in capsules or as a suspension. It has been used to treat and prevent Influenzavirus A and Influenzavirus B infection in over 50 million people since 1999. Oseltamivir becomes active in the body once it passes through the liver.

FDA APPROVES SWINE FLU VACCINE

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a swine flu vaccine, The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or USFDA) is a Government agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is responsible for regulating and supervising the safety of foods, tobacco products, dietary supplements, Medication drugs, vaccines, Biopharmaceutical, blood transfusion, medical devices, Electromagnetic radiation emitting devices, veterinary products, and cosmetics. It has approved applications for vaccine for the 2009 H1N1 virus for four of the (five) manufacturers of the U.S. licensed seasonal influenza vaccine.

GALILEO’S TELESCOPE; 400 TH ANNIVERSARY.

On August 25,1609 Galileo demonstrated his first telescope.

Galileo Galilei was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations, and support for Copernicanism. Galileo has been called the "father of modern observational astronomy," the "father of modern physics," the "father of science," and "the Father of Modern Science." Stephen Hawking says, "Galileo, perhaps more than any other single person, was responsible for the birth of modern science."

DISCOVERY BACK

Edwards Air Force Base (California),Space shuttle Discovery and its seven astronauts took a cross-country detour and landed safely in California after stormy weather prevented them from returning home to Florida for the second day in a row.

Space Shuttle Discovery (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-103) is one of the three currently operational orbiters in the Space Shuttle fleet of NASA, the space agency of the United States. (The other two are Atlantis and Endeavour.) When first flown in 1984, Discovery became the third operational orbiter, and is now the oldest orbiter in service. Discovery has performed both research and International Space Station (ISS) assembly missions.