S & T (Nov 15)

8/20/2019 S & T (Nov 15)

1/14

GS-III Module

Science & TechnologyPrelims-cum-Mains-2016

Current Affairs

VOLUME – 2

(November –

2015)

By

Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari(Scientist in IIT Delhi)

8/20/2019 S & T (Nov 15)

2/14

8/20/2019 S & T (Nov 15)

3/14

[Science & Technology: Current corner by Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari]

Dr. Ravi P. Agrahari (PhD IIT Delhi) working as a scientist in IIT Delhi with the association of

Department of Science & Technology (GOI)3

Therefore, the epidemic was to be treated or prevented as other natural disasters are

treated.

2.

Write a short note on BRAHMOS.Ans. The BrahMos is a short range ramjet supersonic cruise missile that can be launched

from submarines, ships, aircraft or land. It is a joint venture between the Russian

Federation's NPO Mashinostroeyenia and India's Defense Research and Development

Organization (DRDO) who have together formed BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited.

The name BrahMos is a portmanteau formed from the names of two rivers, the

Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia.

It is the world's fastest cruise missile in operation. The missile travels at speeds of Mach

2.8 to 3.0. The land-launched and ship-launched versions are already in service, with the

air and submarine-launched versions currently in the testing phase. An air-launched

variant of BrahMos is planned which came out in 2012. A hypersonic version of the

missile, BrahMos-II, is also presently under development with speed of Mach 7 to boost

aerial fast strike capability. It is expected to be ready for testing by 2017.

BRAHMOS is a two-stage missile with a solid propellant booster engine as its first stage

which brings it to supersonic speed and then gets separated. The liquid ramjet or the

second stage then takes the missile closer to 3 Mach speed in cruise phase. Stealth

technology and guidance system with advanced embedded software provides the

missile with special features.

The missile has flight range of up to 290-km with supersonic speed all through the flight,

leading to shorter flight time, consequently ensuring lower dispersion of targets, quicker

engagement time and non-interception by any known weapon system in the world.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramjethttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruise_missile#Supersonichttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarinehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Federationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Federationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NPO_Mashinostroeyeniahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_Research_and_Development_Organisationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_Research_and_Development_Organisationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BrahMos_Aerospace_Private_Limitedhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portmanteauhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmaputrahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moskva_Riverhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruise_missilehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mach_(speed)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypersonichttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BrahMos-IIhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BrahMos-IIhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypersonichttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mach_(speed)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruise_missilehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moskva_Riverhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmaputrahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portmanteauhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BrahMos_Aerospace_Private_Limitedhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_Research_and_Development_Organisationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_Research_and_Development_Organisationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NPO_Mashinostroeyeniahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Federationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Federationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarinehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruise_missile#Supersonichttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramjet

8/20/2019 S & T (Nov 15)

4/14




It operates on ‘Fire and Forget Principle’, adopting varieties of flights on its way to the

target. Its destructive power is enhanced due to large kinetic energy on impact. Its

cruising altitude could be up to 15 km and terminal altitude is as low as 10 meters. It

carries a conventional warhead weighing 200 to 300 kgs.

Compared to existing state-of-the-art subsonic cruise missiles, BRAHMOS has:

o 3 times more velocity

o 2.5 to 3 times more flight range

o 3 to 4 times more seeker range

o 9 times more kinetic energy

Special Features

o Universal for multiple platforms

o “Fire and Forget” principle of operation

o High supersonic speed all through the flight

o Long flight range with varieties of flight trajectories

o Low radar signature

o Shorter flight times leading to lower target dispersion and quicker engagement

o Pinpoint accuracy with high lethal power aided by large kinetic energy on

impact.

3.

What is H1N1? What are the preventive precautions one can take to be saved from

it?

8/20/2019 S & T (Nov 15)

5/14




Ans. Influenza A (H1N1) virus is the subtype of influenza the virus that was the most

common cause of human influenza (flu) in 2009, and is associated with the 1918

outbreak known as the Spanish Flu.

It is an orthomyxovirus that contains the glycoprotein hemagglutinin and

neuraminidase. For this reason, they are described as H1N1, H1N2 etc. depending on

the type of H or N antigens they express with metabolic synergy. Haemagglutinin causes

red blood cells to clump together and binds the virus to the infected cell. Neuraminidase

is a type of glycoside hydrolase enzyme which helps to move the virus particles through

the infected cell and assist in budding from the host cells.

Some strains of H1N1 are endemic in humans and cause a small fraction of all influenza-

like illness and a small fraction of all seasonal influenza.

Since the outbreak of the H1N1 virus, governments have emphasized the need to

take precautions to reduce swine flu cases.

Hand-washing: Washing hands regularly is a simple and basic task. This is actually an

important preventive measure but sometimes neglected by some. Health workers are

advised to wash their hands before and after having contact with patients. Body fluids

and blood are considered to be common carriers of viruses and them should be treated

as contaminants

Protective Gear: The use of disposable and gloves and face masks bring added

protection against swine flu. Not only are health workers doing this but also ordinary

citizens living in threatened areas. When going out to work or riding in public

transportation, people were advised to wear face masks to avoid inhaling contaminated

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemagglutinin_(influenza)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influenza_A_virushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influenzahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Fluhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthomyxovirushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haemagglutininhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuraminidasehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_influenzahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influenza-like_illnesshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influenza-like_illnesshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_influenzahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_influenzahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influenza-like_illnesshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influenza-like_illnesshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_influenzahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuraminidasehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haemagglutininhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthomyxovirushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Fluhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influenzahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influenza_A_virushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemagglutinin_(influenza)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemagglutinin_(influenza)

8/20/2019 S & T (Nov 15)

6/14




air particles. Remember that swine flu can easily be passed along through the air.

Wearing protective masks in high-risk areas is a good way to prevent swine flu

symptoms.

Getting Vaccination: Since the swine flu pandemic that swept the globe in 2009, calls

for better H1N1 treatment and vaccination have been made. Special H1N1 vaccines

contain antibodies that help fight foreign contaminants that enter the body.

4.

"There is a need to regulate surrogacy not eliminate". Elaborate.

Ans. The government of India’s proposed ban on commercial surrogacy is a rather ill-

thought-out move that could have a disastrous effect on the flourishing surrogacy

industry in India. It is disastrous, not just because it will spell an end to the multi-crore

industry, but because we are talking about the human lives which are at stake.

Embryonic human lives, being gestated in the safe wombs of alternate mothers, could

be in jeopardy if commercial surrogacy is suddenly and abruptly made illegal. What will

then happen to the women who hired out their wombs? What if they are left holding

babies they never wanted because the rules changed? What will happen to the hopes of

the thousands of commissioning parents, who have paid lakhs of rupees or dollars on

fertility packages? What if they cannot take their babies out of the country and India

does not recognize the children?

India has had time to think about these issues, as commercial surrogacy has been

around for a couple of decades now. The first surrogate baby in India was born in 1994.

The industry has since evolved, and today India offers some of the best fertility

“packages’ in the world. Intending parents with a valid fertility visa can come to India

and get their IVF procedures done, hire healthy surrogates, return home, and monitor

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/govt-limits-surrogacy-to-infertile-indian-couples/article7816044.ecehttp://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/govt-limits-surrogacy-to-infertile-indian-couples/article7816044.ecehttp://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/govt-limits-surrogacy-to-infertile-indian-couples/article7816044.ecehttp://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/govt-limits-surrogacy-to-infertile-indian-couples/article7816044.ecehttp://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/govt-limits-surrogacy-to-infertile-indian-couples/article7816044.ece

8/20/2019 S & T (Nov 15)

7/14




the entire pregnancy from afar. They can also get proper exit visas to take the children

home after they are born. Earlier, the agreement between intending parents and

surrogates were oral and the latter was often underpaid and ill-treated. Today, there

are proper contracts to ensure that neither party is cheated. In many of the bigger and

better-organized fertility clinics, the surrogates are housed in special homes, given

proper diet, medical checkups and maintenance allowances.

Today the minimal regulation on the fertility industry in India is obviously woefully

inadequate. But any law which is put in place has to take into consideration the needs

and aspirations of the various people involved in this business. At the bottom of the

pecking order are the surrogates, who are in it because it is a means of livelihood. From

their perspective, there is nothing morally or ethically wrong because the babies are

conceived through “injection” (embryo implant) and not through sexual intercourse.

They do sometimes get attached to the babies in their womb, but to them the money is

more important and they are quick to move on after the birth of the child.

The problem lies with the bogus embryologists and doctors, the agents and touts who

lure and cheat surrogates, as well as intending parents. They are the exploiters.

Banning commercial surrogacy in India at this advanced stage will help no one. It will

only create chaos and push the business underground. Banning is easy. Framing a

proper law needs careful thought, good technical inputs and above all, political will.

5.

Discuss the significance of LR-SAM for the internal security of India.

Ans. There are plans for longer range versions of missiles, moving in stages to 120 and

350 km. A joint venture similar to the stalled MRSAM is going ahead full-steam- to

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/regulate-surrogacy-say-activists/article6436134.ecehttp://www.thehindu.com/news/national/regulate-surrogacy-say-activists/article6436134.ece

8/20/2019 S & T (Nov 15)

8/14




create a long-range surface-to-air missile (LRSAM) for the Navy. That project is at an

advanced stage and government has shown no inclination to stall that JV. Barak-8/NG,

MRSAM and LRSAM are one and the same missile with different names.

Defense Research & Development Organization (DRDO) has undertaken joint

development of missiles viz. Long Range Surface to Air Missile (LRSAM) for Indian

Navy and Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM) for Indian Air Force with

M/s Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI), Israel. Long Range Surface to Air Missile (LRSAM) is

a joint development program of DRDO, Indian Navy and IAI, Israel. It has a range of 70

km using dual pulse rocket motor and active radar seeker in terminal phase and

inertial / mid-course update for guidance. The new missile, which is based on the

original Barak, features a more advanced seeker, alongside range extensions (up to 70

km) that move it closer to medium range naval systems like the RIM-162 Evolved Sea

Sparrow or even the SM-2 Standard. The Navy wants the LR-SAM for its four new

Kolkata-class destroyers, seven proposed Project 17A frigates, and the Indigenous

Aircraft Carrier (IAC).

India has successfully test-fired a long-range surface-to-air missile (LRSAM) system

designed to protect ships from aircraft, missile and rocket attacks, which it developed

jointly with Israel, the Indian Defense Ministry said 30 November 2015. The LRSAM

destroyed aerial targets at extended ranges, making a 'quantum jump in air defense

capability' of the joint Indian-Israeli effort, the ministry noted. The system dubbed

Barak 8 completed three readiness tests.

6. The new way of determining the age of galaxy using the brightness of it. Explain

8/20/2019 S & T (Nov 15)

9/14




Ans. Offering a new way of determining a galaxy’s age, astronomers have detected

thousands of stellar “pulses” — regular up-and-down changes in brightness — in a

distant galaxy.

The team studied the elliptical galaxy M87, located 53-million light years from Earth in

the constellation Virgo. Researchers said they tend to think of galaxies as steady

beacons in the sky, but they are actually ‘shimmering’ due to all the giant, pulsating

stars in them. Near the end of their lifetime, stars begin to pulsate, increasing and

decreasing their brightness by a large amount every few hundred days.

In our own Milky Way galaxy, many stars are known to be in this stage of life.

It is the first time scientists have measured the effect that pulsating, older red stars

have in the light of their surrounding galaxy. In distant galaxies, the light of each

pulsating star is mixed in with the light of many more stars that are not varying in

brightness.

The team focused on the galaxy M87 and examined a unique series of images taken

with the Hubble space telescope over the course of three months in 2006. Analysis of

the Hubble data showed that the average pixel varies on a timescale of approximately

270 days.

The regular up-and-down changes in brightness are reminiscent of a heartbeat, the

study said.

“It is as if we are taking the pulse of the galaxy. Their discovery offers a new way of

measuring the age of a galaxy.”

8/20/2019 S & T (Nov 15)

10/14




7.

What is the new material for cooling surfaces? And how does it work? Explain

Ans. Stanford University engineers have invented an ultrathin multilayered material

which can reflect sunlight from, say, buildings and thereby lower the temperature of the

building.

Though the technology is still young, the inventors believe that this can provide a

solution to air conditioning rooms, which now costs a lot of energy.

At a thickness of about 1.8 microns, the material is thinner than an aluminum foil. It is

made up of seven layers of hafnium oxide and silicon dioxide, each of differing

thicknesses, on top of a thin layer of silver.

It is designed to reflect both infrared light (which cannot be seen) and visible sunlight.

What is special is that the material reflects light at the frequency which is not absorbed

by atmospheric gasses. This is known as the atmospheric window.

When light with a frequency between 8 and 13 microns is beamed into the atmosphere,

it goes unabsorbed and escapes into outer space. This is the frequency window at which

the material reflects the infrared and visible light which strikes it. By this method, the

material can cool the interior by almost 5 degrees Celsius.

Though radioactive cooling happens in the 8-13 micron window, atmospheric gasses do

absorb radiation at about 10 microns. Since absorption at 10-micron band can alsowarm up the atmosphere, of what advantage is this process? “It is from the perspective

of the radioactive surface (the radioactive cooler) that there is a benefit due to this

process.

8/20/2019 S & T (Nov 15)

11/14




Certainly most surfaces exposed to the sky radiate their heat out as thermal radiation —

one could also call [it] ‘thermal light’ since this is the heat all objects emit away as light

at wavelengths that correspond to the object’s temperature. The entire goal of our

work is to harness this effect on the surface, specifically during the day, and not to cool

the atmosphere itself in any way.”

8.

Give a brief account of solar energy in India.

Ans. With about 300 clear, sunny days in a year, India's theoretically calculated solar

energy incidence on its land area alone, is about 5,000 trillion kilowatt-hours (kWh) per

year (or 5 EWh/yr). The solar energy available in a year exceeds the possible energyoutput of all fossil fuel energy reserves in India. The daily average solar power plant

generation capacity over India is 0.25 kWh per m2 of used land area, which is equivalent

to about 1,500 –2,000 peak (rated) capacity operating hours in a year with the available

commercially-proven technologies.

On 16 May 2011, India’s first 5 MW of installed capacity solar power project was

registered under the Clean Development Mechanism. The project is in SivagangaiVillage, Sivaganga district, Tamil Nadu. In January 2015, the Indian government

significantly expanded its solar plans, targeting US$100 billion of investment and 100

GW of solar capacity by 2022.

Government-funded solar electricity in India was approximately 6.4 MW per year as of

2005. India is ranked number one in terms of solar electricity production per watt

installed, with an isolation of 1,700 to 1,900 kilowatt hours per kilowatt peak

(kWh/KWp). 25.1 MW was added in 2010 and 468.3 MW in 2011. As of 31 August 2015,

the installed grid connected solar power capacity is 4,229.36 MW, and India expects to

install an additional 10,000 MW by 2017, and a total of 100,000 MW by 2022.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_energyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_energyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilowatt-hourhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exa-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_fuelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nominal_power_(photovoltaic)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nominal_power_(photovoltaic)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_cell_efficiencyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_powerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sivaganga_districthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_Naduhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_Naduhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sivaganga_districthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_powerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_cell_efficiencyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nominal_power_(photovoltaic)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nominal_power_(photovoltaic)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_fuelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exa-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilowatt-hourhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_energyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_energy

8/20/2019 S & T (Nov 15)

12/14




Applications: Rural electrification, Solar lamps and lighting, Agricultural support, Solar

water heaters, Power grid stabilization.

9.

Explain the process of birth and death of a new star.

Ans. All stars are born from collapsing clouds of gas and dust, often called nebulae or

molecular clouds. Over the course of millions of years, these protostars settle down into

a state of equilibrium, becoming what is known as a main-sequence star.

Nuclear fusion powers a star for most of its life. Initially the energy is generated by the

fusion of hydrogen atoms at the core of the main-sequence star. Later, as thepreponderance of atoms at the core becomes helium, stars like the Sun begin to fuse

hydrogen along a spherical shell surrounding the core. This process causes the star to

gradually grow in size, passing through the subgiant stage until it reaches the red giant

phase. Stars with at least half the mass of the Sun can also begin to generate energy

through the fusion of helium at their core, whereas more-massive stars can fuse heavier

elements along a series of concentric shells. Once a star like the Sun has exhausted itsnuclear fuel, its core collapses into a dense white dwarf and the outer layers are

expelled as a planetary nebula. Stars with around ten or more times the mass of the Sun

can explode in a supernova as their inert iron cores collapse into an extremely dense

neutron star or black hole. Although the universe is not old enough for any of the

smallest red dwarfs to have reached the end of their lives, stellar models suggest they

will slowly become brighter and hotter before running out of hydrogen fuel andbecoming low-mass white dwarfs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitational_collapsehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebulahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_cloudhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protostarhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_sequencehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_atomshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subgianthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_gianthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_dwarfhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_nebulahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernovahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_starhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_holehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_dwarfhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_dwarfhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_holehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_starhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernovahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_nebulahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_dwarfhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_gianthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subgianthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_atomshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_sequencehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protostarhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_cloudhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebulahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitational_collapse

8/20/2019 S & T (Nov 15)

13/14




10.

What are "opportunistic pathogens"? What are the effects of klebsiella pathogen on

Humans?

Ans. Opportunistic pathogens are an organism that exists harmlessly as part of the

normal human body environment and does not become a health threat until the

body's immune system fails.

Klebsiella causes urinary tract infections, ventilator-acquired pneumonias and blood

stream infections (sepsis) among other conditions and is proving to be fatal in 30 to 40

percent of the patients who have contracted it — usually during a long stay in the

hospital, particularly in the intensive care unit. A bug that doctors until about three

years ago treated with moderate-class antibiotics is now causing worry in intensive care

units of hospitals across the country. Doctors the report that third-generation

antibiotics — carbapanem — are failing to treat the Klebsiella pathogen, leading to

higher mortality in patients and peg the resistance at up to 50 percent. Colistin is the

last antibiotic available in the world for infections that the strongest antibiotics fail to

treat.

8/20/2019 S & T (Nov 15)

14/14




Documents

S & T (Nov 15)