comprises five precision-aligned rails, each four- km 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
Indias manned missions to space and the parachutes that will be
deployed to bring back the Indian astronauts safely to earth
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System of Rice Intensification(SRI)
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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.
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Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs)
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Sweden on 23 rd 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.
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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.)natural gasshale 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.
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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.miningwellbore - This
creates small fractures in the deep rock formations
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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.
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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.
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Only 30-50% of the fracturing fluid is recovered, the rest of
the toxic fluid is left in the ground and is not
biodegradable.
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Air Pollution Waste fluid is left in open air pits to
evaporate, releasing harmful VOCs (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, )organic chemicalsvapor pressureroom
temperatureevaporatesublimateformaldehydepaint
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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.
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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 Indias gas demand for 26 years (ONGC)
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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 )Oil and
Natural Gas Corp. Ltd. 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.
Slide 22
Green Tobacco Sickness
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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
Slide 24
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 Farmers lung
- moldy hay Asbestosis asbestosis mining Byssinosis Cotton textile
industry Computer vision syndromme - software professionals
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Maglev train
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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.
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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.)Cry1Ac developed by the Rajendranagar
(Hyderabad)- based Directorate of Oilseed Research and licensed for
commercial production to some 40 medium scale enterprises engaged
in bio- pesticides business.
Slide 32
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.
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Probiotics
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The World Health Organization's definition of probiotics is
"live micro-organisms which, when administered in adequate amounts,
confer a health benet on the host"World Health Organization
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Pre Biotics
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Carbon Dating Why in News ? (5 th May Indian Express ) - THE
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which started excavations in
Sarnath in feb-march 2014 to ascertain the famous Buddhist sites
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,
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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..radiometric datingcarbon-14organic materials
Slide 44
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
ageisotopescarbon dioxidehalf-life
Slide 45
The half-life of 14C(the time it takes for half of a given
amount of 14C to decay) is about 5,730 years,half-lifedecay
Slide 46
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 self- sustainable 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
Slide 47
The project is part of a study being funded by both National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
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Google Glass
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Google Glass is a wearable computer with an optical
head-mounted display (OHMD).wearable computeroptical head-mounted
display
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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. Its designed to interact closely with
your senses, without blocking them.
Slide 55
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.
Slide 56
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 hands- free. 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.
Slide 57
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.
Slide 58
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.
Slide 59
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.
Slide 60
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.
Slide 61
Journalism and mass media applications - technology's live
reporting applications, including conducting interviews and
covering stories from the a reporter's point-of-view.
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Criticism Intrusion of privacy - recording people without their
permission - People wearing may surreptitiously record and
broadcast private conversations
Slide 63
Safety considerations Concerns have also been raised on
operating motor vehicles while wearing the device
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Bluetooth Bluetooth is a wireless technology standard for
exchanging data over short distances.wireless
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Bluetooth networking transmits data via low- power 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).
Slide 66
Astra Missile - successfully test-fired from Sukhoi (May 4,2014
)
Slide 67
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
Slide 68
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.hybrid electric vehiclesinternal combustion engineelectric
motors
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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.
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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.
Slide 73
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
Slide 74
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
universes expansion rate. -This concept can be further used to
answer questions about the dark matter, dark energy, big bang
theory, etc.
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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.
Slide 76
BICEP2 belongs to a novel series of ground- based 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 )
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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.
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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.
Slide 79
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.
Slide 80
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.
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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.
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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.
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DRONES
Slide 84
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).
Slide 85
UAVs are usually associated with the military but they have
high potential to be used in non military ways too.
Slide 86
Military Application Bombing Surveillance Intelligence
gathering
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Non milliatary Application Weather monitoring: Drones help to
improve weather forecasts due to their capacity for high- altitude,
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.
Slide 88
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.
Slide 89
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.