what is Google -X?

-It is a secret laboratory of Google Inc- described as 'Google X' - where scientists work on wild, out-there ideas.
-Most Google employees are not even aware the lab exists.
-This lab is for speculative R&D projects.

XL pipeline("Keystone Pipeline")

The Keystone Pipeline System is a pipeline system to transportsynthetic crude oil from the Athabasca Oil Sands in northeasternAlberta, Canada to refineries in Illinois and Oklahoma, and further to the U.S. Gulf Coast. It consists of the operational "Keystone Pipeline" and proposed Keystone XL (Keystone Expansion) pipeline. Keystone XL has faced lawsuits from oil refineries, criticism from environmentalistsand some members of the United States Congress. 

What is NTRO?

National Technical Research Organisation
-the  NTRO is an orphan in the ministerial system of administration — an intelligence agency that reports directly to the National Security Adviser, not to the Home Minister,
-It is a premier apex scientific organization under the National Security Advisor in the Prime Minister's Office, India.

 -Set up in 2004 with a mandate to bring state-of-the-art intelligence gathering and surveillance equipment to India, the NTRO was originally envisaged to be a ‘facilitator' rather than a producer, processor or consumer of intelligence.

-to deploy its capabilities as part of the operations that other agencies like the Intelligence Bureau and the Research and Analysis Wing were running.

-It also includes National Institute of Cryptology Research and Development (NICRD), which is first of its kind in Asia.

Disposal of E-Waste in the Country

E-waste is emerging as a major source of pollution in the country.Based on a survey carried out by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), it is estimated that 1.47 lakh MT of e-waste was generated in the country in the year 2005. This is expected to increase to about 8.0 lakh MT by 2012. The Ministry of Environment and Forests has taken a number of steps to ensure environmentally sound management of e-waste in the country. These include: (i) Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008 have been notified for proper management and handling of hazardous wastes including e-waste. (ii) As per these Rules, e-waste recycling can be undertaken only in facilities authorized and registered with State Pollution Control Boards/Pollution Control Committees. Waste generated is required to be sent or sold only to a registered or authorized recycler or re-processor having environmentally sound facilities. (iii) Guidelines for Environmentally Sound Management of e-waste published by Central Pollution Control Board provide the approach and methodology for environmentally sound management of e-waste. (iv) E-Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011 have been notified on 12th May, 2011. These Rules come in to effect from 1st May 2012. Import of electronic waste for disposal is not permitted in the country. Import of such wastes is permitted only for reuse or recycling or reprocessing with the permission of the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). For effective implementation of these provisions related to import and export, a co-ordination committee including representatives from the Ministry of Finance (Department. of Revenue), the Ministry of Commerce and Industries (DGFT), the Ministry of Shipping (Department. of Ports), the Central Pollution Control Board and select State Pollution Control Boards has been constituted. This committee has been working to sensitize the Customs authorities regarding enforcement of these Rules in order to check illegal import of E-waste into the country.

Geiger-Müller counter

A Geiger counter, also called a Geiger-Müller counter, is a type of particle detector that measures ionizing radiation. They detect the emission of nuclear radiation: alpha particles, beta particles or gamma rays. A Geiger counter detects radiation by ionization produced in a low-pressure gas in a Geiger-Müller tube. Each particle detected produces a pulse of current, but the Geiger counter cannot distinguish the energy of the source particles. Geiger counters are popular instruments used for measurements in health physics, industry, geology and other fields, because they can be made with simple electronic circuits.

High Efficiency Solar Thermal Cooling System

   In a tropical country like India, the importance of air conditioning can hardly be over-emphasized. In the current season, who would not want to be with air conditioning? In hot, humid climates it is more than a modern comfort - it is an essential element in getting through those sweltering, sticky days. But, like most modern conveniences, air conditioning has its down-sides. The impacts of growth in air conditioning include:
·         Increasing electricity demand.
·         A concomitant increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
·         Increasing peak electricity demand. It is estimated that 40-50% of the residential sector’s peak demand on hot summer days is attributable to air conditioners.

Solar Energy as a Solution
Therefore, while looking for making life more comfortable for ourselves we must not ignore these impacts and must also look for solutions to overcome the same. India being in the sunny regions of the world with most parts of the country receiving 4-7wh (kilowatt-hour) of solar radiation per square meter per day 250-300 sunny days in a year, Solar Energy indeed can be a solution! But is it possible to turn the hot sun into an air-conditioning system?

World’s Highest Efficiency Solar Thermal Cooling System
Recently world’s highest efficiency solar thermal cooling system was inaugurated at the Solar Energy Centre in Gurgaon in Haryana. The new 100 kW Solar Air-Conditioning System works at 30 % higher efficiency than the current available systems and has several unique features. It is based on the new triple effect absorption cooling technology. The system has indigenously built medium temperature high efficiency parabolic troughs for collection of solar energy and effective solar thermal energy storage in the form of Phase Change Materials.
The present system will cater to air-conditioning needs of 13 rooms of Solar Energy Centre. To achieve this, 288 sq meter of Solar Collector area has been installed which generates nearly 60 kW of 210 o C Pressurized hot water. This heat is used in Vapour Absorption Machine to generate 7 o C Chilled water which in turn circulates through the Fan coil unit installed in the thirteen rooms. The major attraction of this system is that the hottest days have the greatest need for cooling and simultaneously, offer the maximum possible solar energy gain.
The system has been developed in joint collaboration by Solar energy Centre with M/s Thermax Limited, Pune and is expected to meet the growing demand for air-conditioning in India in highly efficient and cost effective way through use of direct solar energy.

A Collaborative Project
High efficiency solar thermal air conditioning systems as a collaborative project of Thermax Limited and Solar Energy Centre started with the following objectives.
·               Development of cost effective high efficiency cooling engine with COP of 1.7. Development of indigenous components for Vapor Absorption Machine targeting substantial cost reduction.
·               Development of suitable medium temperature solar concentrating collectors with improved efficiency and reliability.
·               Development of indigenous components for solar collectors targeting substantial cost reduction.
·               Integration of solar collectors, Vapour Absorption Machine and appropriate thermal storage to achieve consistent performance of the system.

Project Specifications
Following specifications have been followed in the making of the Solar Thermal cooling system.

·                     Heat source: Hot water from solar collectors (210oC)
·                     Cooling capacity : 100 kW
·                     Chilled water inlet Temperature : 32 o C
·                     COP of cooling system : 1.7
·                     Thermal storage : Chilled Water/Hot Water/PCM

Bio-Diesel – an ECO-Friendly Fuel

As our lifestyles become more 'developed' by the day, so does the damage we do to the environment. Our every move, from watching television, to working at a computer, to taking a flight to our favourite holiday destination harms the environment in one way or the other. Air and water pollution levels are increasing world over by the day. Never before has the need to use alternative resources, such as wind, solar and nuclear energy been so high.
India is one of the largest petroleum consuming and importing countries. India imports about 70 % of its petroleum demands. The current yearly consumption of diesel oil in India is approximately 40 million tones constituting about 40% of the total petro-product consumption. Bio-diesel can be the major replacement in terms of petro-product consumption by India which is eco-friendly too.
Bio-diesel is a clean burning, eco-friendly natural fuel obtained from tree born oil by a chemical transformation process called “Transesterification” carried out in a chemical processing plant. Transesterification is an age old chemical process and is a time tested method of transforming vegetable oils or fats into bio-diesel.
Bio-diesel is a bio-fuel produced from various feedstock’s’ including vegetable oils (such as oilseed, rapeseed and Soya bean), animal fats or algae. Bio-diesel can be blended with diesel for use in diesel engine vehicles. Bio-fuel – The term bio-fuel applies to any solid, liquid, or gaseous fuel produced from organic (once-living) matter. The word bio-fuel covers a wide range of products, some of which are commercially available today, and some of which are still in research and development. Bio-diesel is a fuel made from plant oils that can be used in a conventional diesel engine.
Bio-diesel, derived from the oils and fats of plants like sunflower, rape seeds, Canola or Jatropha (Bhagveranda) can be used as a substitute or an additive to diesel. As an alternative fuel bio-diesel can provide power similar to conventional diesel fuel and thus can be used in diesel engines. Bio-diesel is a renewable liquid fuel that can be produced locally thus helping reduce the country’s dependence on imported crude petroleum diesel.
Bio-diesel is a safe alternative fuel to replace traditional petroleum diesel. It has high-lubricity, is a clean-burning fuel and can be a fuel component for use in existing, unmodified diesel engines. This means that no retrofits are necessary when using bio-diesel fuel in any diesel powered combustion engine. It is the only alternative fuel that offers such convenience. Bio-diesel acts like petroleum diesel, but produces less air pollution, comes from renewable sources, is biodegradable and is safer for the environment. Producing bio-diesel fuels can help create local economic revitalization and local environmental benefits. Many groups interested in promoting the use of bio-diesel already exist at the local, state and national level.
Bio-diesel is not harmful to the environment. A vehicle tends to pollute the environment and emits harmful gasses, if injected with HSD whereas if the engine is using bio-diesel it emits no harmful gasses rather keeps the environment pollution free. Bio-diesel may not require an engine modification. Bio-diesel can be blended with diesel so as to improve the efficiency of the engine without any hassles. Bio-diesel is cheap. Any Vehicle using Bio-diesel has very low idle starting noise. It is noted that bio-diesel has a Cetane number of over 100. Cetane number is used to measure the quality of the fuel’s ignition. Bio-diesel is cost effective because it is produced locally.
As it is easy to use, bio-diesel can be used in existing engines, vehicles and infrastructure with practically no changes. Bio-diesel can be pumped, stored and burned just like petroleum diesel fuel, and can be used pure, or in blends with petroleum diesel fuel in any proportion. Power and fuel economy using bio-diesel is practically identical to petroleum diesel fuel, and year round operation can be achieved by blending with diesel fuel.
Bio-diesel provides significantly reduced emissions of carbon monoxide, particulate matter, unburned hydrocarbons, and sulfates compared to petroleum diesel fuel. Additionally, bio-diesel reduces emissions of carcinogenic compounds by as much as 85% compared with petro-diesel. When blended with petroleum diesel fuel, these emissions reductions are generally directly proportional to the amount of bio-diesel in the blend.
The existence of low volatility nature of bio-diesel, makes it easier and safe to handle than petroleum. The danger of accidental ignition increases when the fuel is being stored, transported, or transferred because of high energy content in all liquid fuels. The possibility of having an accidental ignition is related to the temperature at which the fuel will create enough vapors to ignite, known as the flash point temperature. The lower the flash point of a fuel is, the lower the temperature at which the fuel can form a combustible mixture. Bio-diesel has a flash point of over 26600F, meaning it cannot form a combustible mixture until it is heated well above the boiling point of water.
The resources that are used to produce Bio-diesel are locally available. The in-house production of Bio-diesel provides host of economic benefits for the local communities. Therefore, bio-diesel is a safe alternative fuel to replace traditional petroleum diesel.