General Awareness

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - November 2017

Nov 2017

Jan 30, 2022

Astronomers Detect Titanium Oxide and Several Metals in Atmosphere of WASP-189b

The temperature of a planet's atmosphere decreases with increasing altitude, unless a shortwave absorber that causes a temperature inversion exists. Ozone plays this role in the Earth's atmosphere. In the atmospheres of highly irradiated exoplanets, the shortwave absorbers are predicted to be titanium oxide and vanadium oxide. Using high-resolution transmission spectroscopy, astronomers have now detected titanium oxide in the atmosphere of the ultrahot Jupiter WASP-189b. Moreover, they have detected metals, including neutral and singly ionized iron and titanium, as well as chromium, magnesium, vanadium and manganese.
WASP-189 is a 730-million-year-old A-type star located 322 light-years away in the constellation of Libra.
Also known as HD 133112, the star is larger and more than 2,000 degrees Celsius hotter than the Sun, and so appears to glow blue.
Discovered in 2018, WASP-189b is a transiting gas giant about 1.6 times the radius of Jupiter.

Jan 29, 2022

NASA's Mars Orbiter Finds Water Flowed on Red Planet Longer than Thought

It is commonly believed that water on Mars evaporated about 3 billion years ago.
But two scientists studying data from NASA`s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter found signs of liquid water on the Red Planet as recently as 2 billion to 2.5 billion years ago, meaning water flowed there about a billion years longer than previous estimates.
The findings centre on the chloride salt deposits left behind as icy meltwater flowing across the landscape evaporated.
While the shape of certain valley networks hinted that water may have flowed on Mars recently, the salt deposits provide the first mineral evidence confirming the presence of liquid water.

Jan 26, 2022

Facebook Parent Meta Creates Powerful AI Supercomputer

Facebook's parent company Meta created what it believes is among the fastest artificial intelligence supercomputers running today.
The social media giant hopes the machine will help lay the groundwork for its building of the metaverse, a virtual reality construct intended to supplant the internet as we know it today.
Supercomputers are extremely fast and powerful machines built to do complex calculations not possible with a regular home computer. Meta did not disclose where the computer is located or how much it is costing to build.
The computer, which is already up and running but is still being built, is called AI Research SuperCluster.

NASA`s James Webb Space Telescope Reaches Gravitational Parking Spot

The James Webb Space Telescope arrived at its cosmic parking spot a million miles away, bringing it a step closer to its mission to unravel the mysteries of the Universe.
The observatory reached the so-called second Lagrange point, or L2, where it will have access to nearly half the sky at any given moment.
At L2, it will stay in line with the Earth as it moves around the Sun, allowing Webb's sunshield to protect its sensitive equipment from heat and light.

Jan 25, 2022

India among Top 10 AI Adopters

India is among the top 10 nations in the world in terms of technological advancements and funding in artificial intelligence, according to findings from a study published by The Brookings Institution. While India is outside the top 10 in terms of commercial and research initiatives, it ranks sixth in terms of spending and investments on AI made by public, governmental initiatives, as well as private institutes and organisations.
The nations leading AI achievements ahead of India are the US, China, the UK, France, Japan and Germany. Canada, South Korea and Italy are behind India in the top 10 AI adopters list, as per the study.

Hubble Spots Beautiful Trio of Galaxies

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captured an image of a group of three galaxies, collectively known as NGC 7764A.
NGC 7764A is a fascinating example of just how awkward astronomical nomenclature can be.
The three galaxies are individually referred to as NGC 7764A1, NGC 7764A2 and NGC 7764A3, and just to be really difficult, an entirely separate galaxy, named NGC 7764, sits in the skies about a Moon's distance (as seen from Earth) away.
NGC 7764A is located approximately 425 million light-years away in the constellation of Phoenix. NGC 7764A is located approximately 425 million light-years away in the constellation of Phoenix.

Jan 23, 2022

Researchers Create Deep-Ultraviolet Light-Emitting Diode

A team of researchers from the Pohang University of Science and Technology and the Korean Institute for Basic Science has demonstrated deep-ultraviolet (DUV) electroluminescence and photocurrent generation in hexagonal boron nitride, a semiconductor often called the 'white graphene.'
Among UV lights, the near-UV light has high penetration depth and can cause diseases when the skin is exposed to it.
However, DUV light (200-280 nm) has extremely low skin penetrability and is anticipated to be safely used.
For this reason, research to develop DUV LEDs has been active, mainly using aluminum gallium nitride (AlxGa1-xN).
However, this material has a fundamental limitation in that its electroluminescence rapidly deteriorates as the wavelength becomes shorter and fabricating LEDs that can be used in the DUV frequencies remains a challenge.

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