Science And Technology (March, April, May) Analysis 2020 Set – 6 – Free PDF Download

Q) Supreme Court has set aside an RBI’s April 2018 circular banning regulated financial institutions such as Banks and NBFCs from trading in virtual currency/cryptocurrency. Which among the following is incorrect regarding cryptocurrency?

1. Cryptocurrency is a type of digital currency.
2. Cryptocurrencies use centralized technology to let users make secure payments
3. It id difficult to counterfeit as compared to physical currency
4. All of the above are correct.

About Crypto Currency

• Cryptocurrency is a type of digital currency that uses cryptography for security and anticounterfeiting measures.
• It is normally not issued by any central authority, making it immune to government interference or manipulation. Hence it is not a fiat currency
• Cryptocurrencies use decentralized technology to let users make secure payments
• The control of each cryptocurrency works through distributed ledger technology called blockchain.
• Examples include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple

Block Chain Technology

• Blockchain is the basis of bitcoins, it is a digital public ledger that records every transaction.
• Once a transaction is entered in the block chain, it cannot be erased or modified.
• Blockchain removes the need for using a trusted third party such as a bank to make a transaction by directly connecting the customers and suppliers.
• Each transaction is recorded to the ledger after verification by the network participants, mainly a chain of computers, called nodes.

Q) India to get 14 new supercomputers under the National Super computing mission. Which among the following is correct regarding the National supercomputing mission ?

1. National Supercomputing Mission was launched in 1995
2. Under NSM, Param Shakti – first supercomputer was assembled indigenously
3. NSM is jointly implemented by Ministry of Electronics and IT and Department of Science and Technology along with C-DAC and IISc as executing agencies
4. All of the above are correct

National Supercomputing mission

• NSM was launched in 2015 to empower national academic and R&D institutions by installing a vast supercomputing grid comprising of more than 70 high-performance computing facilities.
• NSM is jointly implemented by Ministry of Electronics and IT and Department of Science and Technology along with C-DAC and IISc as executing agencies.
• Under NSM, Param Shivay – first supercomputer was assembled indigenously is installed in IIT (BHU). Param Shakti and Param Brahma were installed at IIT-Kharagpur and IISER, Pune.
• Pratyush and Mihir are the fastest supercomputers in India

Super Computers

• A supercomputer is a computer with a high level of performance as compared to a general purpose computer.
• The performance of a supercomputer is commonly measured in floating-point operations per second (FLOPS).
• Memory of a supercomputer is averaged around 250000 times of the usual computer.
• Application areas: Climate Modelling, Computational Biology, Atomic Energy Simulations, National Security/ Defence Applications, Disaster Simulations and Management, Computational Material Science and Nanomaterials, Cyber Physical Systems, Big Data Analytics etc.

Q) Which institute scientists has developed a cost-effective solar receiver tube technology for industrial process heat applications.?

1. IIT-Bombay
2. IISC
3. Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials
4. IIT-Delhi

Solar receiver tube technology

• Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials has developed a cost-effective solar receiver tube technology for industrial process heat applications
• It is a cost-effective wet chemical process which efficiently absorbs solar radiation and converts it into heat for the targeted applications, especially in industries.
• Solar receiver tube is one of the key components in the Concentrating Solar Thermal (CST) technology (one of the Utility Scale Solar Energy technologies).
• Currently, Indian CST plant developers are importing the high-end evacuated Concentrating Solar power receivers for CST applications.

Q) The Computer Emergency Response of Team (CERT) of India has issued warning against a new malware called “EventBot”. Which among the following is correct about Event Bot ?

1. Event bot is a type of Ransomware
2. It  infects computers or phones in a network and encrypts files on these computers or phone and then demands a ransom to recover the files.
3. The Event bot malware steals personal financial information from Android phone users.
4. All of the above are correct

Event Bot

• The Eventbot is a Trojan not Ransomware.
• It cheats victims by secretly attacking computer or phone operating system.
• The malware steals personal financial information from Android phone users.
• Appearance ➔ It uses several icons to masquerade as legitimate apps such as Microsoft Word, Adobe Flash and others using third-party application downloading sites to infiltrate into victim device.

Q) Which of the following is correct about sodium hypochlorite?

1. Sodium hypochlorite, commonly known as bleach, is most frequently used as a disinfecting agent.
2. A 0.5% solution of Sodium hypochlorite is known as ‘Dakin solution
3. Inhalation of sodium hypochlorite can lead to irritation of mucous membranes to the nose, throat, and respiratory tract
4. All of the above are correct

Sodium Hypochlorite

• The spraying of Sodium Hypochlorite solution in Disinfectant tunnel to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) was found to be harmful on people.
• Sodium hypochlorite, commonly known as bleach, is most frequently used as a disinfecting agent.
• It is used on a large scale in agriculture, chemical industries, paint- and lime industries, food industries, glass industries, paper industries, pharmaceutical industries, synthetics industries and waste disposal industries
• A 0.5% solution of Sodium hypochlorite, which is known as ‘Dakin solution’, is used for disinfecting areas contaminated with bodily fluids, including large blood spills.

 More about Sodium Hypochlorite

• However, the solution of sodium hypochlorite is unstable and quickly breaks down to release Chlorine and this can have several harmful effects.
• Inhalation of sodium hypochlorite can lead to irritation of mucous membranes to the nose, throat, and respiratory tract and may also cause bronchospasm.
• Exposure to stronger concentration (10-15%) of hypochlorite can cause serious damage to multiple organs.

Q) Which institute organized India’s first Global Hyperloop Pod Competition to increase awareness and enthusiasm about Hyperloop in India?

1. IIT- Bombay
2. IIT-Guwahati
3. IIT- Madras
4. IIT- Delhi

Hyperloop

• IIT-Madras organized India’s first Global Hyperloop Pod Competition to increase awareness and enthusiasm about Hyperloop in India
• Hyperloop is the 5th mode of transportation (other 4 includes railways, roadways, airways, waterways), a high-speed train that travels in a near-vacuum tube.
• Hyperloop technology is all about removing the two things that slow down regular vehicles: friction and air resistance.
• Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX and CEO of Tesla, proposed the idea of Hyperloop to the world in 2013.

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