Artificial Sun

In recent years, South Korean scientists have developed an "artificial sun" in an effort to produce endless clean energy.

Details about the news

• In their quest for clean nuclear energy, researchers from Seoul National University and the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy have made a significant advancement by building an "artificial sun" at the Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) reactor.
• According to reports, the reactor experienced 30 seconds of temperatures up to 100 million degrees Celsius.
• In contrast, the sun's core reaches temperatures of about 15 million degrees.

Earlier attempts

• Since 2006, Chinese researchers have been striving to create scaled-down versions of the nuclear fusion reactor.
• The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) fusion energy reactor recently produced an artificial sun that was five times hotter than the sun for 1,056 seconds while operating at temperatures of 70 million degrees Celsius.

Significance

Electricity safety

• Scientists hope that by simulating the sun's natural reaction, their technology could allow people to harness massive amounts of energy and combat the world's energy shortage.

Greener Energy

• It is important to remember that our sun is powered by nuclear fusion, which is regarded as the ultimate source of energy.
• Unlike the fission process employed in nuclear power plants and weapons, which breaks atomic nuclei into fragments, it joins atomic nuclei to produce enormous amounts of energy.
• Contrary to the nuclear fission process that drives the creation of commercial nuclear energy, the procedure uses no fossil fuels and produces no hazardous waste.
• Fusion produces no greenhouse emissions, in contrast to fission.

Less Risk of Disaster:

According to physicists, there is a much lower chance of a natural disaster.

Challenges

• maintaining a temperature of one billion degrees.
• operating for a long time at a constant level.
• Despite decades of research into the technique, nuclear fusion is still a long way from being realized outside of a lab.

China’s artificial Sun-EAST

• China created and designed the nuclear fusion reactor plant.
• Because it replicates the nuclear fusion reaction, which uses hydrogen and deuterium gases as fuel to power the real sun, the facility is known as a "artificial sun."
• Since 2006, researchers from all around the world have used the EAST to carry out fusion-related studies.
• The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) facility, which will become operational in 2035 and become the largest nuclear fusion reactor in the world, includes the EAST project.
• The goal is to imitate nuclear fusion, the reaction that gives the sun its power.
• In order to boil hydrogen isotopes into a plasma, fuse them together, and release energy, the EAST uses extremely high temperatures.
• Over 150 million degrees Celsius are used to heat the fuel, causing it to condense into a hot plasma "soup" of subatomic particles.
• The plasma is kept away from the reactor walls with the use of a strong magnetic field to prevent cooling and the loss of the plasma's ability to produce significant amounts of energy.
• Deuterium and tritium, both of which are contained in hydrogen, combine to form the helium nucleus, which also yields a neutron and a tremendous amount of energy.

Nuclear Fission

• Nuclei are torn apart through a process called nuclear fission (usually large nuclei).
• High-speed neutrons and the substance's critical mass are needed.
• In a fission reaction, splitting two atoms uses very little energy.
• In nature, fission reactions are uncommon.
• Many highly radioactive particles are created during fission.
• The energy released during nuclear fusion is higher than the energy released during chemical reactions by a factor of a million.
• A fission bomb commonly referred to as an atomic bomb or atom bomb, is one type of nuclear weapon.
• A large nucleus will divide into gamma rays, free neutrons, and other subatomic particles by nuclear fission.
• 235U and a neutron are typically involved in nuclear reactions.

Nuclear Fusion

• It is a process in which lighter atoms come together to generate heavier atoms, releasing energy in the process.
• The Sun and other stars are propelled by this process, which causes them to produce heat and light.

Process:

• Helium is created when the atoms of Deuterium (H-2) and Tritium (H-3) mix (He-4). As a result, a free and quick neutron is also released.
• The kinetic energy of the 'excess' mass left over after the fusion of the lighter deuterium and tritium nuclei powers the neutron.

Way Forward

Even while these are important advancements, there is still a long way to go before the world can witness an artificial sun that is completely operational

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World Ozone Day

In December 1994, the UN General Assembly declared September 16 to be the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer.

Since then, it has been observed with the aim of raising awareness of the Ozone layer's deteriorating state.

On September 16, 1995, the globe observed the first International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer.

Theme:

• Global Cooperation Protecting Life on Earth is the theme for the 2022 International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, according to the UN Environment Program.
• With this subject, the Montreal Protocol's influence is acknowledged and calls attention to the "need to act in collaboration, build partnerships, and develop global cooperation to address climate concerns and protect life on earth for future generations."

SIGNIFICANCE

• The day aims to raise awareness of the Ozone layer's significance and necessity as the planet's only line of defense against UV rays from the sun.
• Additionally, the UN Environment Program seeks to raise awareness of the necessity of eliminating pollutants that harm the ozone layer. It also requires taking time-specific measures to safeguard the Earth's shield.
• 99% of the ozone-depleting compounds found in refrigerators, air conditioners, and many other items have been phased out as a result of the Montreal Protocol.
• According to the most recent Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion, which was finished in 2018, some of the ozone layers has been recovering since 2000 at a pace of 1-3% per decade.
• By preventing an estimated 135 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions between 1990 and 2010, measures to safeguard the ozone layer have also helped the fight against climate change.
• The Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol became the first treaties in United Nations history to receive universal acceptance in September 2009.
• The Vienna Convention of 1985 codified the establishment of a structure for international collaboration to take steps to safeguard the ozone layer.
• The Parties to the Montreal Protocol agreed to phase down hydrofluorocarbons in 2016 as part of an ongoing worldwide effort at their 28th Meeting of the Parties in Kigali, Rwanda (HFCs).
• The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol was recently ratified by the Indian Government.

Ozone

• The chemical formula O3 is a particular type of oxygen. O2 is the oxygen that we breathe and is essential for life on earth.
• Between 10 and 40 kilometres above Earth's surface, the atmosphere is where the majority of ozone is found.
• 90% of the ozone in the atmosphere is found in this area, which is known as the stratosphere.

Classification:

Positive ozone

• Ozone is a naturally occurring gas in the stratosphere, the upper atmosphere of the Earth, where it creates a layer of defence against the sun's destructive ultraviolet rays.
• These "good" ozone is being steadily destroyed by man-made substances known as Ozone-Depleting Substances (ODS), such as methyl bromide, carbon tetrachloride, halons, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), and methyl chloroform.

Bad Ozone:

• When pollutants generated by vehicles, power plants, industrial boilers, refineries, chemical plants, and other sources react chemically in the presence of sunlight, ozone is formed in the lower atmosphere (troposphere) of the Earth, close to the ground.
• Ozone at ground level is a dangerous air contaminant.

About Natural Rubber

Farmers and other groups have recently protested because the price of natural rubber (NR) in the Indian market has dropped to a sixteen-month low.

Image Source - Wikipedia

What is the reason behind the sudden drop in prices?

• Insufficient Demand and Other Factors because of low Chinese demand, the energy crisis in Europe, and excessive inflation.
• While the industry has paid a heavy price because of China's relentless zero COVID agenda, which accounts for around 42% of worldwide volume.
• Export to other nations: The local tire business has a plentiful supply of block rubber from the Ivory Coast and compounded rubber from the Far East.
• 73.1% of the total amount of natural rubber consumed was used in the auto-tire manufacturing industry.

How does the Farmer be affected by the Falling Price?

• Crop Switching: Since the majority of people in rural areas are exclusively dependent on the production of rubber, they may decide to switch to other crops as a result of the price decline.
• It can even result in the division of rubber holdings.
• Impact on Small and Medium-Sized Businesses: The majority of production is carried out by small and medium-sized businesses, thus the price decline could make their future uncertain and cause them to temporarily halt operations.
• Panic in Kerala: Since the state produces over 75% of the total amount and rubber production is an important component of the local economy, the state's villages may experience severe panic as a result of the price decline.

About Natural Rubber

• Rubber is produced from the latex of a tree named Hevea Brasiliensis, a commercial plantation crop. A vital industrial raw material with unique status for use in defence, national security, and industrial development, rubber is often regarded as such.
• It is an equatorial crop, although under specific circumstances it may also be grown in tropical and subtropical regions.
• The above-average temperature of 25°C with humid and rainy conditions.
• More than 200 cm of rain.
• Rich, well-drained alluvial soil is the type of soil.
• For this plantation crop, a cheap and sufficient quantity of skilled labour is required.
• Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, China, and India are major producers on a global scale.
• China, India, the United States, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia are major consumers.

Status of Rubber Production in India

• On the banks of the river Periyar in Kerala, the British developed the country's first rubber plantation in 1902.
• With one of the greatest productivity rates, India is currently the fifth-largest natural rubber producer in the world.
• In comparison to 2020–21, the production of the material increased by 8.4% to 7,75,000 tonnes in 2021–22.
• Additionally, it continues to be the world's second-largest consumer of the substance.
• Currently, imports account for over 40% of India's total natural rubber usage.
• The top States for Rubber Production: Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.

Government-led Efforts:

• Two examples of government-led initiatives for rubber are the Rubber Plantation Development Scheme and the Rubber Group Planting Scheme.
• In rubber plantations, 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is permitted.
• The National Rubber Policy was released by the Department of Commerce in March 2019.
• The policy has a number of provisions that promote the Natural Rubber (NR) production sector as well as the whole value chain of the rubber industry.
• It is based on the short- and long-term plans chosen by the Task Force established in the rubber industry to address issues encountered by the nation's rubber growers.

Also, Read - Exercise Kakadu

Exercise Kakadu

In order to take part in the international exercise Kakadu - 2022, organized by the Royal Australian Navy, INS Satpura and a P8 I Maritime Patrol Aircraft of the Indian Navy arrived in Darwin, Australia (RAN).

Image Source - ssbcrackexams

What are the facts regarding Exercise Kakadu?

About:

• Exercise Kakadu is a biennial joint exercise that the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force both support.

• The Navy's most important maritime exercise, Kakadu, promotes international cooperation in the air and maritime domains and offers training opportunities for maritime security and surveillance.
• It began in 1993.
• It is a two-week exercise that takes place on land and on water and involves ships and planes from 14 navies.
• The ship's crew will participate in operational planning discussions and sporting events with the participating naval units during the exercise's harbour phase.

Importance:

• The exercise gives regional partners the chance to engage in coordinated multinational marine actions, including high-tech maritime warfare and police operations.
• The SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) vision of India is emphasized, as are the two nations' shared goals of maintaining peace in the maritime realm and enhancing collaboration.

Exercise Kakadu -22

• It is a two-week exercise involving ships and maritime aircraft from 14 navies, both on land and at sea.
• Participation: Over 3000 individuals from 25 different countries, along with 19 boats and 34 aircraft, are anticipated.
• Themes: Collaboration, Friendship, and Leadership.
• Exercise Kakadu, the Navy's largest international engagement exercise, is important for fostering relations between the participating nations.
• The exercise gives regional partners the chance to engage in integrated multinational marine missions, from law enforcement operations to sophisticated maritime warfare.

What are other military exercises with Australia?

• Multilateral exercise:
• Malabar
• Exercise Pitch Black 22
• Bilateral exercise: Ausindex.

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