Science & Technology

AstroSat witnesses black hole birth for 500th time

Pune, May 20 (PTI) AstroSat, India's first dedicated astronomy mission which is into space since 2015, has detected the birth of a black hole for the 500th time, Pune-based research institution IUCAA has said, a development scientists termed as a remarkable achievement .

Black holes are objects with a gravitational pull so strong that not even light can escape. They are the subjects of intense scrutiny from astronomers from all over the world. Scientists across the world are studying their formation.

India: Scientists at CSIR-NML develop corrosion-resistant rebar

Jamshedpur, May 11 (PTI) Scientists of CSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory in Jamshedpur have developed a technology to produce corrosion-resistant rebar.

Principal Scientist Ashok Kumar Mohanty said on Wednesday that rust is formed on rebar when it is exposed to water and moisture. If rusted rebar is used to make concrete, the longevity reduces as rusted rebar does not bond properly with cement.

Big Bang did not start the present universe: Nobel Laureate Penrose

Kolkata, May 10 (PTI) Nobel Laureate mathematical physicist Roger Penrose has said that the present universe did not start with the Big Bang and that there was another universe before the present one.

Traces of the older universe can be discovered in present black holes and certain electromagnetic radiation spots in the sky, Penrose, said in his address at a virtual meet at the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics here from Oxford on Monday.

The return capsule of the Shenzhou-13 manned space mission after landing

CAIRO (AP) — Yemen’s Houthis criticized a new U.S.-led task force that will patrol the Red Sea following a series of attacks by the Iran-backed rebels in a waterway that’s essential to global trade.

Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the Houthis’ chief negotiator and spokesman, said late Friday that the U.S. move in the Red Sea, which comes amid a cease-fire in the country’s civil war, contradicts Washington’s claim of supporting the U.N.-brokered truce.

The task force “enshrines the aggression and blockade on Yemen,” he claimed on his Telegram social media account.

India: Nanoparticles play a crucial role in trapping water pollutants

Kanpur: City has its environmental risks but villages are still prone to the contaminated water. This causes the skin diseases.

Throwing light on this point Dr Archana Raichur said that the contaminated water people use commonly for their daily domestic usage.

She happens to be a scientist fellow at the mechanical engineering department, IIT here.

She learnt about the issue during her stay in the villages for about four months in the year 2019.

Turkey scientists strive to leave minimal footprint on Antarctica

17 March 2022; MEMO: Doing scientific research as part of Turkiye's Sixth National Antarctic Science Expedition, Turkish researchers brought back data and findings, but strove to leave behind only their pristine footprints in the snow, Anadolu News Agency reports.

Antarctica, the world's fifth-largest continent with an area of 14.2 million square kilometres (5.5 million square miles), is one of the favourite spots of explorers and scientific research teams, with its intriguing geography and nature.

Indian Navy successfully test-fires Indo-Russian BrahMos missile

New Delhi, Mar 5 (PTI) The Indian Navy on Saturday said it has successfully test-fired the advanced version of the BrahMos missile, demonstrating the combat readiness of its frontline platforms.

A Navy spokesperson said the missile hit the target with pin-point accuracy.

"The long-range precision strike capability of advanced version of the BrahMos missile was successfully validated," the official said.

India: IIT-K & OFM develop first soft recovery system for swift projectiles

Kanpur: The Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur and the Ordnance Factory Medak, Telangana, a unit of Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited, developed India's first soft recovery system for supersonic projectiles.

This recovery system can stop a 30mm supersonic projectile moving at Mach 3 - three times the speed of sound - at a distance of nearly 50 meters.

According to a release, the technology has been developed under leadership of Nachiketa Tiwari of IIT-K and Alok Prasad, General Manager of Ordnance Factory MedaK.

China's first commercial license for unmanned driving services issued

TAIYUAN, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The city of Yangquan in north China's Shanxi Province on Friday issued a license to Baidu for the commercial operation of unmanned autonomous driving services -- the first license of its kind issued in China.

"That means a safety supervisor is no longer required in the driver's seat in Baidu's autonomous vehicles operating in designated areas of the city," said Nie Yuren, general manager of Baidu Intelligent Driving Business Group Solutions. The license also allows for fare collection, Nie said.

Subscribe to Science & Technology