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GS Paper: GS3-15.Science and Technology- Developments and their Applications and Effects in Everyday Life.

  • [pib] TiHAN: India’s first Testbed for Autonomous Navigation Systems

    Union Minister of Education laid the foundation stone of ‘TiHAN-IIT Hyderabad’, India’s first Testbed for Autonomous Navigation Systems (Terrestrial and Aerial).

    Must read:

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/regulations-for-flying-of-drones/

    TiHAN

    • TiHAN is an acronym for Technology Innovation Hub on Autonomous Navigation and Data Acquisition Systems (UAVs, RoVs, etc.).
    • It is a multi-departmental initiative, including researchers from Electrical, Computer Science, Mechanical and Aerospace, Civil, Mathematics, and Design at IIT Hyderabad.
    • It would focus on addressing various challenges hindering the real-time adoption of unmanned autonomous vehicles for both terrestrial and aerial applications.

    Why need TiHAN?

    • One major requirement to make unmanned and connected vehicles more acceptable to the consumer society is to demonstrate its performance in real-life scenarios.
    • However, it may become dangerous. Especially in terms of safety, to directly use the operational roadway facilities as experimental test tracks for unmanned and connected vehicles.
    • In general, both UAV and UGV testing may include crashes and collisions with obstacles, resulting in damage to costly sensors and other components.
    • Hence, it is important to test new technologies developed in a safe, controlled environment before deployment.

  • Brain Electrical Oscillation Signature Profiling (BEOSP)

    A brain electrical oscillation signature profiling (BEOSP) test will be conducted on the convicts of the alleged rape and murder in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh.

    Note: According to Article 20(3) of the Indian constitution, no person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself. The privilege against self-incrimination is a fundamental canon of common criminal law jurisprudence.

    What is the BEOSP test?

    • BEOSP also known as brain fingerprinting is a neuro-psychological method of interrogation in which the accuser’s participation in the crime is investigated by studying their brain’s response.
    • The BEOSP test is carried out via a process known as an electroencephalogram, conducted to study the electrical behaviour of the human brain.
    • Under this test, the consent of the accused is first taken and they are then made to wear caps with dozens of electrodes attached to them.
    • The accused are then shown visuals or played audio clips related to the crime to check if there is any triggering of neurons in their brains which then generate brainwaves.
    • The test results are then studied to determine the participation of the accused in a crime.

    What differentiates a BEOSP test from a polygraph or a lie detector?

    • The BEOSP procedure does not involve a question-answer session with the accused and is rather a neuro psychological study of their brain.
    • In a polygraph test, the accused person’s physiological indicators are taken into account which includes blood pressure, pulse rate, respiration and skin conductivity.
    • While a person might be able to control their pulse rate and BP even in times of distress, a BEOSP test

    Can these tests be admitted as evidence?

    • Not as a standalone, a/c to the 2010 Supreme Court judgment in the Selvi v. State of Karnataka case.
    • The bench observed that narco analysis, polygraph and brain mapping tests cannot be forced upon any individual without their consent and the test results cannot be admitted solely as evidence.
    • However, any information or material discovered during the tests can be made part of the evidence, observed the bench.

  • Green Hydrogen based vehicular fuel

    Transport sector has been a major contributor of Green House Gases in India. Moving towards cleaner fuels brings to fore two options battery-operated electric vehicle (EV) and hydrogen fuel cell EV. The article compares the two.

    Vehicular emission and steps taken to deal  with it

    • The transport sector in India contributes one-third of the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, within which the lion’s share is that of road transport.
    • The government has made concerted efforts to tackle vehicular emissions with policies steps and programmes such as the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME I) scheme, FAME II, tax benefits, etc.

    Blending hydrogen

    • Typically, hydrogen can be produced in one of three ways, i.e., from fossil fuels (grey hydrogen), through carbon capture utilisation & storage (CCUS) application and fossil fuels (blue hydrogen), or by using renewable energy (green hydrogen). 
    • Indian Oil Corporation Limited has patented a technology that produces H-CNG (18% hydrogen in CNG) directly from natural gas, without having to undertake expensive conventional blending.
    • This compact blending process provides a 22% reduction in cost as compared to conventional blending.
    • In comparison to CNG, H-CNG allows for a 70% reduction in carbon monoxide emissions and a 25% reduction in hydrocarbon emissions.
    • The new H-CNG technology requires only minor tweaks in the current design of CNG buses.
    • However, the issue is that the  Hydrogen-spiked CNG is still being produced from natural gas-a fossil fuel.

    Electric vehicle Vs. Fuel cell

    • From a commercial viability standpoint, two cleaner fuel alternatives come to mind—battery-operated electric vehicles (BEV) and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV).
    • Hydrogen FCEVs has reduced refuelling time (5 minutes versus 30-40 minutes with fast charges), higher energy density, longer range, etc.
    • However, one needs to focus on is the entire life cycle of these vehicles as opposed to restricting the analysis to just the carbon-free tailpipe emissions.
    • According to a report by Deloitte (2020) on hydrogen and fuel cells, the lifecycle GHG emissions from hydrogen FCEVs ranges between 130-230 g CO2e per km.
    • The lower end of the range depicts the case of hydrogen production from renewables while the higher end reflects the case of hydrogen production from natural gas.
    • The corresponding life cycles GHG emissions for BEV and internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles range between 160-250 g CO2e and 180-270 g CO2e respectively.
    • The cost of lithium ion-based battery-operated vehicles has been reducing while hydrogen fuel cell technology is relatively quite expensive.
    • A hydrogen-run vehicle achieves an energy efficiency rate of 25-35% (roughly 45% of energy is lost during the electrolysis process alone).

    Way forward

    • Given that these are early days for FCEV, one can be hopeful that we will be able to achieve economies of scale and attain cost reductions.
    • Hydrogen Council (2020) on hydrogen cost competitiveness that states scaling up and augmenting fuel cell production from 10,000 to 200,000 units can deliver a 45% reduction in the cost per unit.
    • Similarly, the versatility of hydrogen allows for complementarity across its numerous applications.
    • Moreover, based on the numbers quoted by this report, fuel cell stacks for passenger vehicles are expected to exhibit learning rates of 17% in the coming future.
    • The corresponding figures for commercial vehicles stand at 11%.
    • Efforts are underway in India, and the research activities pertaining to hydrogen have been compiled and recently released in the form of a country status report.
    • In their quest for becoming carbon neutral by 2035, Reliance Industries plan to replace transportation fuels with hydrogen and clean electricity.
    • Similarly, the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) is considering setting up a green hydrogen production facility in Andhra Pradesh.
    • The ministry of road transport and highways issued a notification proposing amendments to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules (1989) to incorporate safety standards for hydrogen fuel cell technology vehicles.
    • As per a policy brief issued by TERI, demand for hydrogen in India is expected to increase 3-10 fold by 2050.

    Consider the question “What are the benefits and challenges in the adoption of hydrogen as vehicular fuel?”

    Conclusion

    Against this backdrop, the future of hydrogen, particularly green hydrogen, looks promising in India.

    Source:-

    https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/fuelling-a-green-future/2121991/

  • What is Carbon-14 (C14) Battery?

    A California-based company has made a self-charging battery, which can run for 28,000 years on a single charge, by trapping carbon-14 (C14) nuclear waste in artificial diamond-case.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.The known forces of nature can be divided into four classes, viz. gravity, electromagnetism, weak nuclear force and strong nuclear force. With reference to them, which one of the following statements is not correct?

    (a) Gravity is the strongest of the four

    (b) Electromagnetism act only on particles with an electric charge

    (c) Weak nuclear force causes radioactivity

    (d) Strong nuclear force holds protons and neutrons inside the nuclear of an atom.

    What is C14?

    • Carbon-14 (14C), or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons.
    • There are three naturally occurring isotopes of carbon on Earth: carbon-12, which makes up 99% of all carbon on Earth; carbon-13, which makes up 1%; and carbon-14, which occurs in trace amounts.
    • Its presence in organic materials is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and colleagues (1949) to date archaeological, geological and hydrogeological samples.

    C14 battery

    • The battery works by generating electricity on its own from a shower of electrons as a result of radioactive decay scattered and deposited in the artificial diamond-case.
    • The battery can be used in electric vehicles, mobile phones, laptops, tablets, drones, watches, cameras, health monitors and even sensors.
    • It is also said to be extremely safe and tamper-proof as it is coated with a non-radioactive diamond which prevents radiation leaks.

    Best example of nuke waste recycling

    • It is estimated that 33 million cubic metres of global nuclear waste will cost over $100 billion to manage and dispose of.
    • And a lot of this waste is graphite that is one of the higher risks of radioactive waste and one of the most expensive and problematic waste to store.

    Its applications

    • The company says its battery can be used to powerhouses, and that any excess electricity generated can be sold to the grid.
    • As the new battery need not be replaced, it can be installed in hard to reach places like pacemakers and implants, where a regular change of battery is not possible.
    • Another area of use is space electronics. The battery is said to power space equipment in rockets.
    • It can power the electrical needs of space crafts, like providing power to cockpits and assisting launch into the upper atmosphere.

  • Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA)

    India has ranked third among the top 10 countries that have gained in forest areas in the last decade a/c to the latest Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA).

    Possible prelim question:

    Q.The Global Forest Resources Assessment Report recently seen in news is published by-

    a) UN-FAO

    b) UN Forum on Forests

    c) International Union of Forest Research Organizations

    d) None of these

    India gains in forest cover

    • The top 10 countries that have recorded the maximum average annual net gains in a forest area during 2010-2020 are China, Australia, India, Chile, Vietnam, Turkey, the US, France, Italy and Romania.
    • India accounts for two per cent of total global forest area.
    • Globally, 12.5 million people were employed in the forestry sector. Out of this, India accounted for 6.23 million, or nearly 50 per cent.

    Global prospects

    • The Asian continent reported the highest net gain in a forest area in 2010-2020, according to the report.
    • It recorded a 1.17 million hectares (ha) per year net increase in forests in the last decade.
    • However, the South Asia sub-region reported net forest losses during 1990-2020.
    • But, this decline would have been much higher without the net gain in India’s forest during this period, according to FRA 2020.

    How did India gain?

    • The FRA 2020 has credited the government’s Joint Forest Management programme for the significant increase in community-managed forest areas in the Asian continent.
    • The forest area managed by local, tribal and indigenous communities in India increased from zero in 1990 to about 25 million ha in 2015, the assessment said.
    • India has been taking up massive afforestation and plantation schemes.

    About Global Forest Resources Assessment

    • The Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) reports on the status and trends of the world’s forest resources.
    • It is led by the Forestry Department of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN.
    • It reports the extent of the world’s forest area as well as other variables, including land tenure and access rights, sustainable forest management (SFM), forest conservation, and sustainable use.

    Back2Basics: Defining forests as per FRA

    • The definition excludes tree stands in agricultural production systems, such as fruit tree plantations, oil palm plantations, olive orchards, and agroforestry systems when crops are grown under tree cover.

    The FAO definition of a forest includes:

    • land spanning more than 0.5 hectares with trees higher than 5 meters and a canopy cover of more than 10 per cent, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ
    • does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban land use

  • [pib] Knowledge Resource Centre Network (KRCNet)

    The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has planned to develop a World-Class Knowledge Resource Centre Network (KRCNet).

    Note the salient features of the KRCNet. UPSC may puzzle you asking which of these is/are not a feature of KRCNet.

    KRCNet Portal

    • KRCs will be connected with each other and integrated into the KRCNet portal.
    • It will be a single point entry to the intellectual world of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).
    • The resources and services of the MoES system will be accessible 24X7 through a one-point dynamic, updated and integrated on this portal.

    Salient features of the KRCNet:

    • Establish a Total Quality Management (TQM) system by securing ISO certification for documenting MoES knowledge resources, its maintenance, easy retrieval and dissemination.
    • Collect, collate, analyze, index, store and disseminate the intellectual resources, products and project outputs available in MoES headquarter and its institutes.
    • Develop and maintain an up-to-date meta-data of the print & digital resources available in MoES headquarter and MoES institutes, including MoES services.
    • Provide 24X7 accesses to the subscribed knowledge contents through the KRCNet portal.
    • Application of information-analytical tools & techniques like bibliometrics, scientometrics, big-data analytics, social media analytics etc., for policy formulation, report preparation and information dissemination.
    • Periodically organize training workshops to popularize the usage of electronic journals, databases, digital products, data analytics etc.

  • Explaining Lithium increase in the Universe

    In a study recently published in Nature Astronomy scientists from Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) along with their international collaborators have provided a robust observational evidence for the first time that Li production is common among low mass Sun-like stars during their He-core burning phase.

    Importance of lithium in our life

    • Light inflammable, metal lithium (Li) has brought about transformation in modern communication devices and transportation.
    • A great deal of today’s technology is powered by lithium in its various shades [remember Li-ion battery!].
    • But where does the element come from?
    • The origin of much of the Li can be traced to a single event, the Big-Bang that happened about 13.7 Billion years ago, from which the present-day Universe was also born.

    Why lithium was thought to be different?

    • Li content in the physical Universe has increased by about a factor of four over the life of the Universe.
    • However, the rest of the elements carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, iron, nickel and so on which grew about a million times over the lifetime of the Universe.
    • Li, however, understood to be an exemption!
    • Current understanding is that lithium in stars like our Sun only gets destroyed over their lifetime.
    • As a matter of fact, the composition of all the elements in the Sun and the Earth is similar.
    • But, the measured content of Li in the Sun is a factor of 100 lower than that of the Earth, though both are known to have formed together.

    So, what the new finding suggests?

    • This discovery challenges the long-held idea that stars only destroy lithium during their lifetime.
    • It implies that the Sun itself will manufacture lithium in the future.
    • This is not predicted by models, indicating that there is some physical process missing in stellar theory.
    • Further, the authors identified “He flash”.
    • “He flash” is an on-set of He-ignition at the star’s core via violent eruption at the end of the star’s core hydrogen-burning phase, as the source of Li production.
    • Our Sun will reach this phase in about 6-7 billion years.

  • ‘Accelerate Vigyan’ Scheme

    To provide a single platform for research internships, capacity building programs and workshops across the country, the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) has launched a new scheme called ‘Accelerate Vigyan’ (AV).

    Note the following things about the ‘Accelerate Vigyan’ Scheme:

    1) Implementing agency/ Nodal Ministry

    2) Primary objective

    3) Target beneficiaries

    4) Its components

    ‘Accelerate Vigyan’ Scheme

    • Accelerate Vigyan (AV) strives to provide a big push to high-end scientific research and prepare scientific manpower which can venture into research careers and knowledge-based economy.
    • The primary objective of this scheme is to give more thrust on encouraging high-end scientific research and preparing scientific manpower, which can lead to research careers and knowledge-based economy.
    • AV will initiate and strengthen mechanisms of identifying research potential, mentoring, training and hands-on workshop on a national scale.
    • The aim is to expand the research base in the country, with three broad goals – consolidation / aggregation of all scientific training programs, initiating High-end Orientation Workshops and creating opportunities for Research Internships.

    Components of AV

    1) ABHYAAS

    • It is an attempt to boost research and development in the country by enabling and grooming potential PG/PhD students by means of developing their research skills in selected areas across different disciplines or fields.
    • It has two components: High-End Workshops (‘KARYASHALA’) and Research Internships (‘VRITIKA’).
    • This is especially important for those researchers who have limited opportunities to access such learning capacities/facilities/infrastructure.

    2) SAMOOHAN

    • Mission ‘SAMOOHAN’ marks the beginning of Accelerate Vigyan.
    • It aims to encourage, aggregate and consolidate all scientific interactions in the country under one common roof.
    • It has been sub-divided into ‘SAYONJIKA’ and ‘SANGOSHTI’.
    • SAYONJIKA is an open-ended program to catalogue the capacity building activities in science and technology supported by all government funding agencies in the country.
    • SANGOSHTI is a pre-existing program of SERB.

  • Rare-earth based Magnetocaloric materials for cancer treatment

    Indian scientists have developed a rare-earth-based magnetocaloric material that can be effectively used for cancer treatment.

    Magnetocaloric Effect does have other applications like in the field of medical implants but for use in energy field, it is still in nascent stage.

    From exam perspective, do understand what principles lies behind this effect.

    What is Magnetocaloric Effect?

    • Magnetocaloric effect (MCE) is a phenomenon where the application and removal of a magnetic field cause certain materials to get warmer and cooler, respectively.
    • This effect normally occurs near its Curie temperature where the application of the field makes the material to warm up and cools up when the field is removed.

    Issue of hyperthermia in cancer treatment

    • Advancements in magnetic materials led to the development of magnetic hyperthermia to try to address the issues of side effects of cancer treatment like chemotherapy.
    • In magnetic hyperthermia, magnetic nanoparticles are subjected to alternating magnetic fields of few Gauss, which produce heat due to magnetic relaxation losses.
    • Usually, the temperature required to kill the tumour cells is between 40 and 45°C.
    • However, the drawback in magnetic hyperthermia is the lack of control of temperature, which may damage the healthy cells in the body and also have side effects like increased BP, hair losses etc.

    Here comes in, Magnetocaloric materials

    • This hypothermia can be avoided by using magnetocaloric materials, as it can provide controlled heating.
    • The advantage of magnetocaloric materials which heat up or cool down with the application and removal of the magnetic field, respectively is that as soon as the magnetic field is removed, the cooling effect is generated.
    • The team at ARCI chose rare-earth-based alloy for studies as some of the rare earth materials are human body compatible.
    • The heating capacity would increase with the increase in the magnetic field.

  • Serotonin Hormone causes Locust to form Swarms

    Scientists have attempted to answer an important scientific question of how and why locusts collect together by the thousands in order to make a swarm.

    Quite often, Oxytocin hormone is seen in the news for its commercial uses and associated ethical concerns. Kindly go through Oxytocin and issues over its commercial use

    What causes Locusts to form huge swarms?

    • When lone locusts happen to come near each other (looking for food) and happen to touch each other, this tactile stimulation, even just in a little area of the back limbs, causes their behaviour to change.
    • This mechanical stimulation affects a couple of nerves in the animal’s body, their behaviour changes, leading to their coming together.
    • The central nervous system of the locust, the most important among them being serotonin which regulates mood and social behaviour is the mystery behind swarms.
    • Their coming together triggers a mechanical (touch) and neurochemical (serotonin) stimulations to make crowding occur.

    What is Serotonin?

    • It is a monoamine neurotransmitter.
    • It has a popular image as a contributor to feelings of well-being and happiness.
    • Its actual biological function is complex and multifaceted, modulating cognition, reward, learning, memory, and numerous physiological processes such as vomiting and vasoconstriction.