Target Prelims 2026: Day 3
1. Bhargavastra: India has successfully tested its first indigenous micro-missile system, Bhargavastra, designed to counter the threat of swarm drones.
● Vehicle-mounted, road-mobile deployment.
● Swarm drones are multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) working together as a coordinated system.
● Detection Capability: Capable of detecting small incoming drones at distances exceeding 6 kilometers.
● Terminal guidance with IIR/CCD seekers and lock-on-after-launch (LOAL) capability for micro-munitions.
● Rapid Response: Designed for rapid deployment on mobile platforms.
● Salvo capability and detection: can simultaneously detect and track & engage up to 64 targets.
● Guided Micro Munitions: Utilizes micro munitions that can be guided towards identified threats.
2. Tidal Tail:
● It is a long, thin stream of stars, gas, (mostly hydrogen) and dust that gets pulled away from the main body of a galaxy due to gravitational interactions.
● Gravitational Interactions: Occur during galaxy collisions or mergers. The differential gravitational force pulls stars, gas & dust, creating elongated structures (long, trailing tails- extending for millions of lightyears).
● Tidal Forces: These forces are stronger on the near side of a galaxy facing the other galaxy and weaker on the far side. This difference in gravitational pull stretches the galaxy.
● They often appear curved or arched due to the orbital motion of the interacting galaxies. Some systems have two tails, while others have only one.
● Faintness: They are generally faint and diffuse, making them challenging to observe directly.
● Instruments like the Hubble Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope capture high resolution images of tidal tails.
3. Nanopore Technology:
Nanopore technology refers to the use of nano-scale pores embedded in a thin membrane to detect and analyze biological molecules.
When charged molecules such as DNA or RNA pass through these nanopores, they cause a measurable change in electrical current, allowing real-time detection and characterization.
● A nanopore is an extremely small hole, typically 1–2 nanometers in diameter, embedded in a thin membrane (biological or synthetic).
● A voltage is applied across the membrane. As a charged molecule (DNA/RNA) translocates through the pore, it partially blocks ionic current, producing a distinct signal. These signals are analyzed to determine molecular sequence, length, or modifications.
4. Birefringence (“double refraction”):
** Recent research reveals that there is growing use of Birefringent materials in LCD screens, medical microscopes, optical switches, waveplates, frequency converters, and high-power lasers.
● Birefringence is an optical phenomenon where a single light wave entering an anisotropic material splits into two rays, each traveling at different speeds and refracted at distinct angles.
● Common examples of birefringent materials include:
○ Natural Crystals: calcite, quartz, mica.
○ Biological Structures: Collagen fibers, muscle tissues
○ Engineered Materials: Liquid crystals in LCD screens, certain plastics
5. CO2 battery energy storage technology:
NTPC announces the launch of CO2 battery energy storage technology - a pioneering step towards sustainable and innovative energy solutions. This cutting-edge project is spearheaded by NETRA, the R&D wing of NTPC, in collaboration with M/s Triveni Turbine Limited and M/s Energy Dome, Italy.
CO₂ battery energy storage is an innovative energy storage system that uses carbon dioxide (CO₂) as a working fluid to store and release energy. It leverages phase changes of CO₂ in a closed system to generate electricity efficiently, without emitting CO₂ into the atmosphere.
Working Principle
1. Closed Thermodynamic Transformation: The system operates in a closed loop, manipulating CO₂ between its liquid and gaseous phases.
2. Energy Generation: When energy is required, liquid CO₂ is warmed, causing it to evaporate and expand. The expanding CO₂ drives a turbine, producing electricity.