Articles on 17 May 2024

About PREFIRE Polar Mission: 

• The Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment(PREFIRE) polar mission consists of twin satellites, each carrying one instrument and measuring the poles about six hours apart.
• Objective: The objective of the mission is to reveal the full spectrum of heat loss from Earth’s polar regions for the first time, making climate models more accurate.
• Aim :
  • The data from the PREFIRE mission is aimed at addressing the gap in knowledge and provide data to improve predictions of climate change and sea level rise.
  • Provide new information on how Earth’s atmosphere and how ice influences the amount of heat being radiated out to space from the Arctic and Antarctic.
• How will the satellites work?
  • The mission with cube satellites about the size of a shoebox will be launched aboard an Electron launch vehicle.
  • It is equipped with technology proven on Mars, and will measure a “little-studied portion” of the radiant energy emitted by Earth.
  • Two satellites carrying a thermal infrared spectrometer will be in asynchronous near-polar orbits and will be passing over a given spot on Earth at different times. To maximize coverage, they will be overlapping every few hours near the poles.
  • The instruments weighing less than 6 pounds (3 kilograms) each will make readings using a device called a thermocouple, similar to the sensors found in many household thermostats.
• The mission will help in
  • Understand why the Arctic has warmed more than 2½ times faster than the rest of the planet since the 1970s.
  • Give scientists a better idea of how efficiently far-infrared heat is emitted by matter like snow and sea ice, and how clouds influence the amount of far-infrared radiation that escapes to space.
  • It will help researchers better predict how the heat exchange between Earth and space will change in the future, and how those changes will affect phenomena like ice sheet melting, atmospheric temperatures, and global weather.

Q1: What is Electromagnetic Spectrum?

The electromagnetic spectrum is a continuum of all electromagnetic waves arranged according to frequency or wavelength. It is fundamental to understanding how energy is transmitted across space.

Source: NASA’s new mission to study polar regions’ heat loss to launch on May 22: All you need to know

About Apple Cultivation: 

• Apple (Malus pumila) is an important temperate fruit.
• However, in India, the apple-growing areas do not fall in the temperate zone but the prevailing temperate climate of the region is due to the Himalayan ranges and high altitudes.
• Climatic conditions required
  • Temperature: The average summer temperature should be around 21-24 degrees C during the active growth period.
  • It can be grown at an altitude of 1500- 2700 m above sea level.
  • Rainfall: Well-distributed rainfall of 1000-1250 mm throughout the growing season is most favourable for the optimum growth and fruitfulness of apple trees.
  • Soil: Apples grow best on well-drained, loamy soils.
• Apple growing areas in India:
  • In India apple is primarily cultivated in Jammu & Kashmir; Himachal Pradesh; the hills of Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal.
  • It is also cultivated to a small extent in Arunachal Pradesh; Nagaland; Punjab and Sikkim.

Q1: What is Subsistence Agriculture?

Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings.

Source: Global warming’s unforeseen outcome: How Spiti’s new crop of apple farmers are reaping a fortune

About Synchrotron:

• A synchrotron is a type of circular particle accelerator, where particles move in a loop.
• It works by accelerating charged particles (electrons) through sequences of magnets until they reach almost the speed of light. 
• These fast-moving electrons produce very bright light, called synchrotron light. 
• This very intense light, predominantly in the X-ray region, is millions of times brighter than light produced from conventional sources and 10 billion times brighter than the sun.
• The light is channelled down beamlines to experimental workstations, where it is used for research.
  • Scientists can use this light to study minute matter such as atoms and molecules.
  • They can examine how a sample scatters, diffracts, absorbs, or reemits the synchrotron light, which reveals various different details of structure or chemical composition.
• There are approximately 70 synchrotrons around the world in various stages of development. There are technical differences between the use and capabilities of synchrotrons, with some being used for appliances and others for fundamental/theoretical research.

Key Facts about High Energy Photon Source (HEPS):

• Location: It is located approximately 50 kilometers from Beijing in Huairou, China.
• The HEPS is designed to accelerate electrons up to energies of 6 gigaelectron volts within its 1.36-kilometer circumference storage ring.
• This process will produce high-energy X-rays that can penetrate deep into samples, revealing intricate details at the nanometer scale.
• HEPS will provide researchers with access to 14 beamlines catering to diverse fields such as energy, condensed matter physics, materials innovation, and biomedicine.
• Compared to third-generation synchrotrons like the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, which boasts a circumference of 432 meters and stands as China’s most advanced working synchrotron, HEPS will offer a time resolution 10,000 times superior.

Q1: What are electrons?

An electron is a subatomic particle that carries a negative electric charge. It is one of the fundamental particles that make up atoms, along with protons and neutrons. Electrons carry a fundamental electric charge, denoted as "e," which is approximately equal to -1.602 x 10^-19 coulombs (C).

Source: China inaugurates next-generation synchrotron, boasting world's brightest X-rays

About Swachhata Pakhwada: 

• It is an initiative launched in April, 2016 under the Swachh Bharat Mission.
• Objective: It was launched with the objective of bringing a fortnight of intense focus on the issues and practices of Swachhata by engaging the central government ministries/departments.
• Aim: It aims to include all ministries and departments through a common programme to contribute for Swachh Bharat Mission.
• An annual calendar is pre-circulated among the ministries to help them plan for the Pakhwada activities.
• The ministries observing Swachhata Pakhwada are monitored closely using the online monitoring system of Swachhata Samiksha where action plans, images, videos related to Swachhata activities are uploaded and shared.
• For the Pakhwada fortnight, observing ministries are considered as ‘Swachhata Ministries’ and are expected to bring qualitative swachhata improvements in their jurisdictions.

Key facts about Swachh Bharat Mission

• The Indian government launched the swachh bharat mission on October 2, 2014.
• The mission covered all rural and urban areas.
  • The urban component of the mission is implemented by the Ministry of Urban Development, and the rural component by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
• The programme includes elimination of open defecation, conversion of unsanitary toilets to pour flush toilets, eradication of manual scavenging, municipal solid waste management and bringing about a behavioural change in people regarding healthy sanitation practices.

Q1: What is Anaerobic treatment?

It is a proven and energy-efficient method for treating industrial wastewater. It uses anaerobic bacteria (biomass) to convert organic pollutants or COD (chemical oxygen demand) into biogas in an oxygen-free environment.

Source: Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region Launches Swachhata Pakhwada

About Deda Method: 

• It is a method of preserving seeds that his ancestors handed over to his family. 
• How do they preserve?
  • The seeds are preserved in leaves and packed almost airtight to look like boulders from a distance.
  • The packaged seeds are, in turn, woven with Siali leaf (Bauhinia vahlii), which is locally known as ‘addakulu’ to make the deda. 
  • A deda has three layers. In the first layer, wood ash is spread inside the Siali leaves.
  • Later, the ash is covered with lemon leaves to form a casing, and, lastly, the seeds are preserved inside the casing and sealed. Each deda is crafted to support at least 5kg of seeds.
• Advantages
  • The deda method guarantees protection of seed from pests and worms.
  • In this method, the stored seeds can be used for cultivation for up to five years.
  • It helps in preserving the seeds of pulses like the green gram, red gram, black gram and beans. 

Key facts about Muria Tribe

• Location: They are located in the states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. They speak Koya, which is a Dravidian language.
• The Muria settlements are known as habitations of Internally Displaced People (IDPs), whose population is around 6,600 in A.P., and they here are referred to as ‘Gutti Koyas’ by the native tribes.
• They have progressive perspective towards marriage and life as a whole. The biggest example being the Ghotul (a commune or dormitory), which is meant to create an environment for Muria youth to understand their sexuality.
• Gutti Koyas’ The held ST status in Chattisgarh but they were not granted ST status in their migrated states such as Telangana.

Q1: What is the characteristic of Monocot plants?

These are marked by seeds with a single cotyledon, parallel-veined leaves, scattered vascular bundles in the stem, the absence of a typical cambium, and an adventitious root system.

Source: Muria tribes’ own eco-friendly, foolproof seed preservation method