SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Airlander 10 World’s largest aircraft embarks maiden flight
The world’s “largest aircraft” has embarked on its maiden flight, four days after a previous attempt was abandoned due to technical issues. The Airlander 10 – part plane, part airship took to the skies amid cheers and applause from crowds gathered at an airfield in Cardington, central England. It is a hybrid airship made by Hybrid Air Vehicles in United Kingdom. Its successful flight comes 85 years after another airship the ill-fated R101 took off in October 1930 from the same airfield before crashing in France. Airlander 10 is hybrid ship i.e. it is a partly plane and partly airship filled with helium gas. It is 92-metre-long and 43.5m wide. It can fly at up to 4,880 metres and reach speeds of 148 kilometres per hour. It can also carry a 10-tonne payload.
CSMCRI researchers develop photocatalyst to completely degrade industrial dyes
Scientists at the Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI), Bhavanagar, Gujarat have been able to completely degrade three industrial dyes – methyl orange, methylene blue and reactive black-5 in the presence of sunlight. The researchers developed a photocatalyst using titanium dioxide doped with red seaweed polymer carrageenan to degrade the dyes.
China successfully launches world’s first quantum satellite
China has launched the world’s first quantum communications satellite which boasts of establishing hack-proof-communications between space and the ground as it is equipped with security features to prevent wiretapping and intercepts. The 600 kg spacecraft blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Center in the Gobi Desert. The satellite nicknamed “Micius” was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre. Quantum communication boasts of ultra-high security as a quantum photon can neither be separated nor duplicated. It is hence impossible to wiretap, intercept or crack the information transmitted through it.
IMD to use supercomputer to forecast monsoon based on dynamical model
The Union Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has announced that India Meteorological Department (IMD) will use supercomputer to forecast India’s annual summer monsoon. The forecast made by a supercomputer will be based on a dynamical monsoon model and will be operational from year 2017. This model will be used along with the present traditional en-semble model. The dynamical monsoon model works by simulating the weather on powerful computers (supercomputers) and extrapolating it over particular timeframes. This modern forecasting model is being tested at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune. The dynamical monsoon model is also called the Coupled Forecast System version 2. So far it has achieved only 60% accuracy in forecasting the monsoon.
Solar power tree developed for the generation of electricity
The Ministry of Science and Technology has come up with a ‘Solar Power Tree’, an innovative way to generate electricity using solar power in a limited space. The Solar Power Tree model is actually designed like a tree with branches made of steel to hold the photovoltaic panel. It has been developed by the Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI), Durgapur, a laboratory of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
Read more: Current Affairs August 2016 Study Material | FreeJobAlert.com http://currentaffairs.freejobalert.com/aug-2016-current-affairs-study-material/13609/#ixzz5T4aVQlgF
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