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GS Paper: GS3-16.Achievements of Indians in Science & Technology

  • Agni V vs China’s Hypersonic Missile

    Though inducted over three years ago, India’s foremost Agni 5 ballistic missile was tested for the first time after reports that China had tested a new hypersonic missile.

    What is the Agni 5 missile?

    • Agni 5 is India’s long-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile, which can hit a target with a precision that is 5,000 km
    • The nuclear-capable missile is India’s contender for the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM).
    • Its range puts almost the entire China within the missile’s target range.
    • Though the government has claimed that it has a maximum range of around 5,000 km, several reports suggest that it can hit targets as distant as 8,000 km.
    • The nuclear capable missile can carry a warhead of around 1,500 kg and has a launch weight of 50,000 kg, making it one of the most potent missiles in the country.

    Note: Officially an ICBM needs a missile to have a range of at least 5,500 km.

    History of Agni Missiles

    • India began testing the Agni series of missiles in 1989 with the first test for Agni 1, an Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile, with a range of around 1,000 km.
    • At that time only the US, the erstwhile Soviet Union, China, France and Israel, had IRBM technology.
    • Since then, DRDO labs have continued to work on it, bringing the latest available Agni 5 to its present capability.
    • In addition to the IRBM-capable nations, only North Korea and the UK have ICBM technology at the moment.

    Why is it important for India?

    • The success of AGNI missiles is in line with India’s stated policy to have ‘credible minimum deterrence’ that underpins the commitment to ‘No First Use’.
    • What makes Agni 5 agile is that it is a “canisterised” missile. It means that the missile can be launched from road and rail platforms, making it easier for it to be deployed and launched at a quicker pace.
    • The canisterisation also gives the missile a longer shelf life, protecting it from the harsher climatic conditions.
    • While India is among the handful of nations with ICBM capability.
    • The next generation of the missile, Agni VI, under development, is expected to have a range of around 8,000 km.

    What is a Hypersonic Glide Vehicle that China tested?

    • HGV is nuclear capable missile, which circled the earth before moving towards its target, missing it by two dozen miles.
    • It is launched by a rocket which moves in the Earth’s lower orbit, at more than five times to 25 times the speed of sound.
    • The vehicle is capable of carrying nuclear payloads, which gives the launching country the strategic capacity to attack almost any target across the world.

    How is HGV different from an ICBM?

    • A hypersonic glide vehicle orbits the earth at a lower height, and is manoeuvrable as compared to ICBM.
    • The ability to change track or target, mid-trajectory, along with the speed, makes them tougher to track and defend against.
    • The manoeuvrability provides them in-flight updates to attack a different target than originally planned.
    • They possess ability to fly at unpredictable trajectories, these missiles will hold extremely large areas at risk throughout much of their flights.

    Which countries have hypersonic technology?

    • Apart from China, the US and Russia are working on the technology.
    • France and India are working together for gaining the capability.

    Concerns about China developing such technology

    • China might have left the US behind in hypersonic capability.
    • It is being perceived as a Sputnik moment (first Russian space mission widely envied by the US).
    • A hypersonic attack could occur with very little warning time. The unpredictable trajectory would give them an advantage.

    Another concern: Increasing Proliferation

    • Globally the main concern is that once the technology is successfully established by even one country, it would lead to a larger race for the capability and its eventual proliferation.
    • The more that hypersonic missiles proliferate into the hands of additional nations, the more paths develop for crises.

     

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  • IAO Hanle: A promising astronomical observatory

    A new study shows that the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) located in Hanle is one of the emerging sites for infrared and optical astronomy studies.

    About IAO Hanle

    • The IAO, located in Hanle at Mount Saraswati near Leh in Ladakh, has one of the world’s highest located sites for optical, infrared and gamma-ray telescopes.
    • It was established in 2001 and is operated by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore.
    • It is currently the ninth highest optical telescope in the world, situated at an elevation of 4,500 meters.

    Note: University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory (TAO) located in the Atacama desert of Chile is the highest at an elevation of 5,640 m.

    Major telescopes at Hanle include:

    1. Himalayan Chandra Telescope (An optical-infrared telescope named after India-born Nobel laureate Subrahmanyam Chandrasekhar)
    2. GROWTH-India Telescope (A robotic optical telescope)
    3. High Altitude Gamma Ray Telescope

    Distinct factors of IAO Hanle

    • IAO Hanle offers a clear view of space among all observatories globally.
    • This is due to its advantages of more clear nights, minimal light pollution, background aerosol concentration, extremely dry atmospheric condition and uninterrupted monsoon.
    • Hanle site is as dry as Atacama Desert in Chile and much drier than Devasthal and has around 270 clear nights in a year and is also one of the emerging sites for infrared and submillimetre optical astronomy.
    • This is because water vapor absorbs electromagnetic signals and reduces their strength.

     

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  • DRDO tests Akash Prime Missile

    The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully tested a new version of Akash Surface to Air missile Akash Prime from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, Odisha.

    About Akash Missile System

    • Akash is a medium-range mobile surface-to-air missile (SAM) system.
    • It is developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and produced by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL).
    • It can target aircraft up to 50–80 km away, at altitudes up to 18,000 m.
    • It has the capability to neutralise aerial targets like fighter jets, cruise missiles and air-to-surface missiles as well as ballistic missiles.
    • It is in operational service with the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force.

    Upgrade in Akash Prime

    • In comparison to the existing Akash System, Akash Prime is equipped with an indigenous active Radio Frequency (RF) seeker for improved accuracy.
    • Other improvements also ensure more reliable performance under low temperature environment at higher altitudes.

     

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  • IIT-B develops One-time Programmable Memory

    IIT Bombay researchers have developed a “memory technology” that can, in principle, revolutionise Indian industry and the many applications that need semiconductor chips, such as in the defence sector, automobiles and future aspirations in cell phone manufacturing.

    One-time Programmable Memory

    • Hard disks, flash memory, etc, are examples of memory technology.
    • There is also another form of memory called the one-time programmable memory (OTP) where the memory is written once, stored for a lifetime, and retrieved and used many times.
    • This finds varied uses, one of which is in correcting faulty chips that have been mass produced for specific applications.

    Its utility

    • For instance, think of a chip that helps read off the temperature.
    • Due to a manufacturing defect, the chip may read 100 degree Celsius as 101 degree Celsius.
    • This “offset” of 1 degree may be corrected by storing the error correction parameter in the OTP memory.
    • This is done uniquely for each chip and once stored, the memory corrects the chip’s output for its lifetime.
    • OTP memories are also used for other purposes, mainly three: chip identity, secure information storage and chip calibration for error correction.

    How does it work?

    • To store the correction value, the researchers used eight memory cells, each of which would store one “bit” (that is a value of zero or one).
    • Each of the memory cells consist of an ultrathin silicon dioxide layer which is 10-15 atomic layers thick.
    • This is deposited uniformly over a dinner plate–sized eight-inch silicon wafer to form millions of nanoscale capacitors.
    • The pristine silicon dioxide layer is insulating, passing a very low current [which in digital electronics is read as a “0”].
    • A nanoscale lightning is generated of 3.3 volts to blow the capacitor, leading to a short circuit that produced high current [this is a “1”].
    • Thus, the OTP memory remembers either the “0” state or “1” state through its lifetime.

    Benefits offered

    • The group has successfully demonstrated CMOS 180-nanometre–based, production-ready, eight-bit memory technology.
    • These include successful operation between minus 40 degrees C to 125 degrees C and reliability to ensure excess of 95% yield on eight-bit memories.

    Significance

    • A large fraction of manufactured chips may need to be discarded for faults that can be corrected using this technology.
    • This technology is the first indigenous semiconductor memory technology adoption to manufacturing at 180-nanometre node.
    • Thus, this is a major national milestone for semiconductor innovation.

     

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  • India scores 46th rank in the Global Innovation Index 2021

    India has climbed 2 spots and has been ranked 46th by the World Intellectual Property Organization in the Global Innovation Index 2021 rankings.

    Global Innovation Index

    • The Global Innovation Index (GII) is an annual ranking of countries by their capacity for, and success in, innovation.
    • It is published by Cornell University, INSEAD, and the World Intellectual Property Organization, in partnership with other organizations and institutions.
    • It is based on both subjective and objective data derived from several sources, including the International Telecommunication Union, the World Bank and the World Economic Forum.
    • The index was started in 2007 by INSEAD and World Business, a British magazine. It was created by Prof. Soumitra Dutta.

    Components of GII

    • The GII is computed by taking a simple average of the scores in two sub-indices, the Innovation Input Index and Innovation Output Index, which are composed of five and two pillars respectively.

    India’s performance

    • India has been on a rising trajectory, over the past several years in the Global Innovation Index (GII), from a rank of 81 in 2015 to 46 in 2021.
    • India attributed its improved performance due to the pivotal role played by the Department of Atomic Energy, the Department of Science and Technology, the Department of Biotechnology and the Department of Space.

    Global scenario

    • Switzerland topped the league table, followed by Sweden, the US and the UK.
    • Among Asian economies, South Korea jumped to the fifth position, up from 10 last year.
    • China was in the 12th position.

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  • What is Absorption Spectroscopy?

    Researchers from IIT Madras and IISER Kolkata have developed a method to detect minute quantities of chemicals in solution using Absorption Spectroscopy.

    Note: These days there has been a rise in questions from biology (rather cell biology in particular).

    Absorption Spectroscopy

    • Absorption spectroscopy is a tool to detect the presence of elements in a medium.
    • Light is shone on the sample, and after it passes through the sample is examined using a spectroscope.
    • Dark lines are seen in the observed spectrum of the light passed through the substance, which correspond to the wavelengths of light absorbed by the intervening substance and are characteristic of the elements present in it.
    • In usual methods, about a cubic centimeter of the sample is needed to do this experiment.
    • In the method developed here, minute amounts of dissolved substances can be detected easily.
    • Usually in absorption spectroscopy, the principle used is that light because of its wavelike nature, shows diffraction patterns, that is, dark and light fringes, when it scatters off any object.

    Studying small objects

    • A related concept called the Abbe criterion sets a natural limit on the size of the object being studied.
    • According to this criterion, the size of the observed object has to be at least of the order of the wavelength of the light being shone on it.
    • If one wants to perform absorption spectroscopy using visible light, namely, blue, green and red, the wavelengths [of these colours] are about 400 nm, 500 nm and 600 nm, respectively.

    What has Indian researchers achieved?

    • In the method used by the researchers here, tiny, nano-sized particles that can absorb light being shone on them and re-emit red, blue and green light were employed.
    • The particles emit electric fields that are analogous to how a tiny magnet would give off magnetic lines of force – this is called a dipole, and the particle is like a tiny mobile phone’s antenna.
    • This dipole generates an electromagnetic field depending upon the quantum properties of the erbium dopants in the glass.
    • The absorption leaves a gap in the reflected light, which is what is observed and used to analyse the nature of the absorbing material.

    Applications of this technology

    • There are many potential applications.
    • Small molecules almost ten-millionth of an mm in diameter can be detected while these pass the emission region of the glass particle.
    • The future is to use it to measure individual molecules, see absorption spectroscopy of a single DNA or protein molecule.

    Try this

    Q.Which of the following statements are correct regarding the general difference between plant and animal cells?

    1. Plant cells have cellulose cell walls whilst animal cells do not.
    2. Plant cells do not have plasma membranes unlike animal cells which do.
    3. Mature plant cell has one large vacuole whilst an animal cell has many small vacuoles.

    Select the correct answer using the code given below:

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”zkyreycvm5″ question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Answer this PYQ here: [/wpdiscuz-feedback]

  • What is lightning, and how does it strike?

    With the monsoon making a slow revival over several parts of India, except the northwest region, there is a rise in lightning-linked deaths.

    What is lightning?

    • Lightning is a very rapid — and massive — discharge of electricity in the atmosphere, some of which is directed towards the Earth’s surface.
    • These discharges are generated in giant moisture-bearing clouds that are 10-12 km tall.
    • The base of these clouds typically lies within 1-2 km of the Earth’s surface, while their top is 12-13 km away.
    • Temperatures towards the top of these clouds are in the range of minus 35 to minus 45 degrees Celsius.

    How does it strike?

    • As water vapour moves upward in the cloud, the falling temperature causes it to condense.
    • Heat is generated in the process, which pushes the molecules of water further up.
    • As they move to temperatures below zero degrees Celsius, the water droplets change into small ice crystals. They continue to move up, gathering mass — until they are so heavy that they start to fall to Earth.
    • This leads to a system in which, simultaneously, smaller ice crystals are moving up and bigger crystals are coming down.
    • Collisions follow and trigger the release of electrons — a process that is very similar to the generation of sparks of electricity.
    • As the moving free electrons cause more collisions and more electrons, a chain reaction ensues.
    • This process results in a situation in which the top layer of the cloud gets positively charged, while the middle layer is negatively charged.

    Making of the thunder

    • The electrical potential difference between the two layers is huge — of the order of a billion to 10 billion volts.
    • In very little time, a massive current, of the order of 100,000 to a million amperes, starts to flow between the layers.
    • An enormous amount of heat is produced, and this leads to the heating of the air column between the two layers of the cloud.
    • This heat gives the air column a reddish appearance during lightning. As the heated air column expands, it produces shock waves that result in thunder.

    How does this current reach the Earth from the cloud?

    • While the Earth is a good conductor of electricity, it is electrically neutral.
    • However, in comparison to the middle layer of the cloud, it becomes positively charged.
    • As a result, about 15%-20% of the current gets directed towards the Earth as well.
    • It is this flow of current that results in damage to life and property on Earth.
    • There is a greater probability of lightning striking tall objects such as trees, towers or buildings.
    • Once it is about 80-100 m from the surface, lightning tends to change course towards these taller objects.
    • This happens because air is a poor conductor of electricity, and electrons that are travelling through air seek both a better conductor and the shortest route to the relatively positively charged Earth’s surface.

    What precautions should be taken against lightning?

    • Lightning rarely hits people directly — but such strikes are almost always fatal.
    • People are most commonly struck by what are called “ground currents”.
    • The electrical energy, after hitting a large object (such as a tree) on Earth, spreads laterally on the ground for some distance, and people in this area receive electrical shocks.
    • It becomes more dangerous if the ground is wet (which it frequently is because of the accompanying rain), or if there is metal or other conducting material on it.
    • Water is a conductor, and many people are struck by lightning while standing in flooded paddy fields.
    • For the reasons given above, taking shelter under a tree is dangerous. Lying flat on the ground too can increase risks.
    • People should move indoors in a storm; however, even indoors, they should avoid touching electrical fittings, wires, metal, and water.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.During a thunderstorm, the thunder in the skies is produced by the:

    1. meeting of cumulonimbus clouds in the sky
    2. lightning that separates the nimbus clouds
    3. violent upward movement of air and water particles

    Select the correct option using the codes given below (CSP 2011):

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) None of the above

  • What is a Bitcoin Hardware Wallet and how it works?

    Last week, Twitter CEO announced his payments firm Square would soon build a hardware wallet to store bitcoin.

    Bitcoin Hardware Wallet

    • The wallet will be a type of plug-in device, much like a USB pen drive that stores, manages and secures a user’s crypto assets.
    • Each digital asset is linked to a cryptographic password called a ‘private key’ to allow users to access it.
    • This key safeguards cryptocurrencies from theft and unauthorized access.
    • The asset owner, with the help of a secure hardware wallet, can access the private key to buy and sell crypto assets from anywhere.
    • Most hardware wallets allow users to manage multiple accounts; some even allow users to connect to their Google or Facebook accounts.
    • Popular hardware wallets include Trezor, Ledger, KeepKey and Prokey.

    How is it different from a software wallet?

    • Cryptocurrency keys can be stored in two kinds of wallets – software and hardware.
    • Software wallets are like smartphone apps that digitally store private keys.
    • Most software wallets don’t charge users to store private keys but may collect a commission for trading via the app.
    • These wallets can be vulnerable to malware.
    • Hardware wallets and physical devices act like cold storage for confidential keys. The passwords are protected by a PIN, making it difficult for hackers to extract private keys as the information is not exposed to the Internet.

    The upsides of a hardware wallet

    • Hardware wallets are said to be convenient as they can be connected to trading exchanges to complete transactions.
    • Hardware wallets are often stored in a protected microcontroller and cannot be transferred out of the device, making them secure.
    • Their isolation from the Internet also mitigates the risk of the assets being compromised. Moreover, it does not rely on any third-party app.

    Limitations

    • Since the wallet is in physical form, the device could be stolen or destroyed.
    • They could be used by malicious actors to steal confidential data.
    • The device can also be expensive as compared to software wallets.
    • Some hardware wallets can also have complex features, making it difficult for first-timers to understand.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.With reference to “Blockchain Technology”, consider the following statements:

    1. It is a public ledger that everyone can inspect but which no single user controls.
    2. The structure and design of block chain is such that all the data in it are about crypto currency only.
    3. Applications that depend on basic features of blockchain can be developed without anybody’s permission.

    Which of the statement given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 only

    (b) 1 and 2 only

    (d) 1 and 3

    Back2Basics: Cryptocurrencies

    • A cryptocurrency is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange wherein individual coin ownership records are stored in a ledger existing in a form of a computerized database.
    • It uses strong cryptography to secure transaction records, control the creation of additional coins, and verify the transfer of coin ownership.
    • It typically does not exist in physical form (like paper money) and is typically not issued by a central authority.
    • Cryptocurrencies typically use decentralized control as opposed to centralized digital currency and central banking systems.

  • 2020 Millennium Technology Prize  

    The 2020 Millennium Technology Prize has been awarded to Shankar Balasubramanian and David Klenerman, for their development of revolutionary Next-generation DNA sequencing techniques.

    About Millennium Technology Prize

    • The Millennium Technology Prize is one of the world’s largest technology prizes.
    • It is awarded once every two years by Technology Academy Finland, an independent fund established by Finnish industry and the Finnish state in partnership.

    What is next-generation DNA sequencing?

    • Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is a massively parallel sequencing technology that offers ultra-high throughput, scalability, and speed.
    • The technology is used to determine the order of nucleotides in entire genomes or targeted regions of DNA or RNA.
    • These technologies allow for sequencing of DNA and RNA much more quickly and cheaply than the previously used sequencing.
    • NGS has revolutionized the biological sciences, allowing labs to perform a wide variety of applications and study biological systems at a level never before possible.
    • More than a million base pairs can be sequenced, which translates to hundreds of genes or even the whole genome of an organism.
    • This is made possible by simultaneously sequencing hundreds of pieces of DNA at the same time.

    What is sequencing, btw?

    • DNA (or RNA, in some viruses), the genetic material of life forms, is made of four bases (A, T, G and C; with U replacing T in the case of RNA).
    • A chromosome is the duplex of a long linear chain of these – and in the DNA sequence is information – the blueprint of life.
    • Life famously can replicate, and DNA replicates when an enzyme, DNA polymerase, synthesises a complementary strand using an existing DNA strand as the template.
    • The breakthrough idea of Balasubramanian and Klenerman was to sequence DNA (or RNA) using this process of strand synthesis.
    • They cleverly modified their ATGC bases so that each shone with a different colour.
    • When copied, the “coloured” copy of DNA could be deciphered from the colours alone, using miniature optical and electronic devices.

    What about the cost of all this sequencing?

    • When the Human Genome Project delivered the first, near-complete sequence of our genome, the cost was estimated to have been 3 billion dollars.
    • As all our chromosomes together have 3 billion base pairs, it becomes an easy calculation – One dollar per sequenced base.
    • By the year 2020, NGS technologies has pushed the price for sequencing to a few thousands of rupees.

    Back2Basics:

    What is the Human Genome Project?

  • Anti-methanogenic feed supplement ‘Harit Dhara’

    An Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) institute has developed an anti-methanogenic feed supplement ‘Harit Dhara’.

    Harit Dhara

    • Harit Dhara is prepared using condensed and hydrolysable tannin-rich plant-based sources abundantly available in the country.
    • It changes the composition of the volatile fatty acids that are the end-products of rumen fermentation (along with hydrogen and CO2).
    • It roughly costs Rs 6/kg and it is to be fed only to animals aged above three months having fully functional rumen.
    • When given to bovines and sheep, it not only cuts down their methane emissions by 17-20%.
    • It also results in higher milk production and body weight gain.

    Why it is significant?

    • Belching cattle, buffaloes, sheep and goats in India emit an estimated 9.25 million tonnes (mt) to 14.2 mt of methane annually, out of a global total of 90 mt-plus from livestock.
    • And given methane’s global warming potential – 25 times of carbon dioxide (CO2) over 100 years, making it a more potent greenhouse gas – that’s cause for concern.
    • An average lactating cow or buffalo in India emits around 200 litres of methane per day, while it is 85-95 litres for young growing heifers and 20-25 litres for adult sheep.
    • Feeding Harit Dhara can reduce these by a fifth.

    How is methane produced by the cattles?

    • Methane is produced by animals having rumen, the first of their four stomachs where the plant material they eat – cellulose, fibre, starch and sugars – gets fermented or broken down by microorganisms prior to further digestion and nutrient absorption.
    • Carbohydrate fermentation leads to the production of CO2 and hydrogen.
    • These are used as substrate by archaea – microbes in the rumen with structure similar to bacteria – to produce methane, which the animals then expel through burping.
    • Harit Dhara acts by decreasing the population of protozoa microbes in the rumen, responsible for hydrogen production and making it available to the archaea for reduction of CO2 to methane.
    • Tropical plants containing tannins – bitter and astringent chemical compounds – are known to suppress or remove protozoa from the rumen.

    Need for India

    • The 2019 Livestock Census showed India’s cattle population at 193.46 million, along with 109.85 million buffaloes, 148.88 million goats and 74.26 million sheep.
    • Being largely fed on agricultural residues – wheat/paddy straw and maize, sorghum or bajra stover – ruminants in India tend to produce 50-100% higher methane than their industrialized country counterparts.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.Consider the following:

    1. Carbon monoxide
    2. Methane
    3. Ozone
    4. Sulphur dioxide

    Which of the above are released into atmosphere due to the burning of crop/biomass residue?

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 2, 3 and 4 only

    (c) 1 and 4 only

    (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

    Back2Basics: CO2 equivalents

    • Each greenhouse gas (GHG) has a different global warming potential (GWP) and persists for a different length of time in the atmosphere.
    • The three main greenhouse gases (along with water vapour) and their 100-year global warming potential (GWP) compared to carbon dioxide are:

    1 x – carbon dioxide (CO2)

    25 x – methane (CH4) – I.e. Releasing 1 kg of CH4into the atmosphere is about equivalent to releasing 25 kg of CO2

    298 x – nitrous oxide (N2O)

    • Water vapour is not considered to be a cause of man-made global warming because it does not persist in the atmosphere for more than a few days.
    • There are other greenhouse gases which have far greater global warming potential (GWP) but are much less prevalent. These are sulphur hexafluoride (SF6), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and perfluorocarbons (PFCs).
    • There are a wide variety of uses for SF6, HFCs, and PFCs but they have been most commonly used as refrigerants and for fire suppression.
    • Many of these compounds also have a depleting effect on ozone in the upper atmosphere.