Hard Facts 05 2017 (May)

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Raj Malhotra’s IAS Study Group IIT scientists create low-cost solar cells using Jamun Scientists at IIT Roorkee have used the juicy, delectable Indian summer fruit Jamun to create inexpensive and more efficient solar cells. Researchers used naturally occurring pigment found in jamun as an inexpensive photosensitiser for Dye Sensitised Solar Cells (DSSCs) or Gratzel cells which are thin film solar cells composed of a porous layer of titanium dioxide (TiO2) coated photoanode, a layer of dye molecules that absorbs sunlight, an electrolyte for regenerating the dye, and a cathode. These components form a sandwich-like structure with the dye molecule or photosensitizer playing a pivotal role through its ability to absorb visible light. The dark colour of jamun and abundance of jamun trees in IIT campus clicked the idea that it might be useful as a dye in the typical Dye Sensitised Solar Cells. Researchers extracted dyes from jamun using ethanol. They also used fresh plums and black currant, along with mixed berry juices which contain pigments that give characteristic colour to jamun. The mixture was then centrifuged and decanted. The extracted coloured pigment called anthocyanin was used as a sensitiser. Natural pigments are way economical in comparison to regular Ruthenium-based pigments and scientists are optimising to improve the efficiency. Facebook launches Express WiFi in India Facebook launched Express WiFi service that offers Internet facility through public hotspots to users in rural parts of India. The social network has partnered with telecom operator Bharti Airtel that plans to bring an additional 20,000 hotspots online, starting in the next few months, TechCrunch reported. The launch comes a year after Facebook put an end to the controversial "Free Basics" programme that drew severe criticism from advocates of net neutrality. Facebook is currently working with a number of local ISPs and 500 local entrepreneurs. "Our strategy has always been that these programmes work if they are financially sustainable for the partners we work with," the report quoted James Beldock, the company's product manager, as saying. Facebook has launched the service commercially in Kenya earlier. "WiFi, of course, is a far easier onramp to the Internet than most other means of getting online," Beldock stressed. GSLV Successfully Launches South Asia Satellite Science & Technology India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F09) successfully launched the 2230 kg South |Asia Satellite (GSAT-9) into its planned Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) today (May 05, 2017). Today’s launch of GSLV was its eleventh and took place from the Second Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR (SDSC SHAR), Sriharikota, the spaceport of India. This is the fourth consecutive success achieved by GSLV carrying indigenously developed Cryogenic Upper Stage. In its oval shaped GTO, the South Asia Satellite is now orbiting the Earth with a perigee (nearest point to Earth) of 169 km and an apogee (farthest point to Earth) of 36,105 km with an orbital inclination of 20.65 deg with respect to the equator. Few seconds before the launch countdown reached zero, the four liquid propellant strap-on motors of GSLV- F09, each carrying 42 tons of liquid propellants, were ignited. At count zero and after confirming the normal performance of all the four strap-on motors, the 139 ton solid propellant first stage core motor was ignited and GSLV lifted off at 16:57 IST. The major phases of the flight occurred as scheduled. About seventeen minutes 32 | P a g e # 1 1 1 0 , A d j a c e n t Y M C A , S e c t o r 1 1 - C , C h a n d i g a r h P h : 9 8 1 4 7 - 1 1 6 6 1
Raj Malhotra’s IAS Study Group after lift-off, South Asia Satellite was successfully placed in GTO. Soon after separation from GSLV, the two solar arrays of the satellite were automatically deployed in quick succession and the Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka assumed control of the satellite. South Asia Satellite is a communication satellite built by ISRO to provide a variety of communication services over the South Asian region. For this, it is equipped with Ku-band transponders. Following the successful launch, the Honorable Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi addressed along with the South Asian leaders. He congratulated ISRO and remarked that today was a historic day for South Asia and a day without precedence. The Prime Minister recalled that two years ago India made a promise to extend the advanced space technology for the cause of growth and prosperity of the people of South Asia and felt that the successful launch of South Asia Satellite today marks a fulfillment of that. In the coming days, the satellite orbit will be raised from its present GTO to the final circular Geostationary Orbit (GSO) by firing the satellite's Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) in stages. The South Asia Satellite will be commissioned into service after the completion of orbit raising operations and the satellite’s positioning in its designated slot in the GSO following in-orbit testing of its payloads. In tribute to APJ Kalam, NASA names new species after the late president Scientists at NASA have named a new organism discovered by them after the much-loved A P J Abdul Kalam. Till date, the new organism -- a form of a bacteria -- has been found only on the International Space Station (ISS) and not even on earth. Researchers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the foremost lab of NASA for work on inter-planetary travel, discovered the new bacteria on the filters of the International Space Station (ISS) and named it Solibacillus kalamii to honour the late president, who was a renowned aerospace scientist. Kalam had his early training at NASA in 1963 before he set up India’s first rocket-launching facility in the fishing village of Thumba in Kerala. “The name of the bacterium is Solibacillus kalamii, the species name is after Dr Abdul Kalam and genus name is Solibacillus which is a spore forming bacteria. The filter on which the new bug was found remained on board the ISS for 40 months. Called a high-efficiency particulate arrestance filter or HEPA filter, this part is the routine housekeeping and cleaning system on board the international space station. This filter was later analysed at JPL and only this year did Venkateswaran publish his discovery in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. According to Venkateswaran, even as it orbits the earth some 400 kilometres above, the ISS is home to many types of bacteria and fungi . Towards that, his responsibilities include monitoring the bug levels on the ISS and he also has to ensure that all spacecraft that fly to other planets are free of terrestrial bugs. If you are reading this as pdf then Click Here to watch the Video File above 33 | P a g e # 1 1 1 0 , A d j a c e n t Y M C A , S e c t o r 1 1 - C , C h a n d i g a r h P h : 9 8 1 4 7 - 1 1 6 6 1
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Hard Facts 05 2017 (May)

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