THE QUANTUM ROBIN

Introduction

A Perplexing property of quantum mechanics could be allowing birds to see and navigate the planet’s magnetic fields. One -fifth of Earth’s 10,000 birds species migrate over great distances, crossing seemingly insurmountable obstacles as they follow the seasons.Demoiselle Cranes fly to altitudes in excess of 20,000 feet as they pass over the Himalayan Mountains . The Arctic Tern travels from pole to pole in pursuit of an endless summer, a distance of some 40,000 miles.

Scientists have long speculated that certain animals are making use of magnetic fields to find their way, but biologists are mystified as to how they might do it. Now some answers might be coming from one of the most perplexing interactions in Physics.

Radical, Spins and Coherence

Despite decades of study, the physics basis of the robin magnetic sense remains elusive. The two main models for Robin magnetoreception are a magnetite-based model and a radical-pair-based model. The former suggests that the compass has its foundation in small particles of magnetite located in the head of the bird. The latter idea is that Robin compass may be produced in a chemical reaction in the eye of bird, involving the production of a radical pair. A radical pair, most generally, is a pair of molecules, each of which have an unpaired electron. If the radical pair is formed so that the spins on the two unpaired electrons in the system are entangled, (i.e. they begin in a singlet or triplet state) and the reaction products are spin- dependent(i.e., there are distinct products for the cases where the radical pair system is in an overall singlet vs. triplet state), then there is an opportunity for an external magnetic field to affect the reaction by modulating the relative orientation of the electron spins.

Robin Magneto reception

First, light – induced electron transfer from one radical-pair- forming molecule to an acceptor molecule creates a radical pair.

Second, the singlet (S) and triplet (T) electron-spin states interconvert owing to the external (Zeeman) and internal (hyperfine) magnetic couplings.

Third, singlet and triplet radical pairs recombine into singlet and triplet products , respectively, which are biologically detectable.

Cryptochrome

Cryptochromes are photoreceptors that regulate entrainment by light of the circadian clock in plants and animals. They also act as integral parts of the central circadian oscillator in animal brains and as receptors controlling photomorphogenesis in response to blue or ultraviolet(UV-A) light in plants. Cryptochrome s are probably the evolutionary descendent of DNA photolyases, which are light- activated DNA-repair enzymes , and are classified into three groups – plant cryptochromes, animal cryptochromes, and CRY-DASH proteins. Cryptochromes and photolyases have similar three-dimensional structures, characterized by an alpha/beta domain and a helical domain. The structure also includes a chromophore, flavin adenine dinucleotide . The FDA- access cavity of the helical domain is the catalytic site of photolyases, and it is predicated also to be important in the mechanism of cryptochromes.

Entanglement

Quantum entanglement dictates that if two electrons are created at the same time, the pair will be “ entangled” so that whatever happens to one particle affects the other otherwise, it would violate fundamental laws of physics. The two particles remain entangled even when separated by vast distances . So if one particle is spin-up, the other must be spin-down, but what’s mind-boggling is that neither will have a spin until they’re measured . That means that not only willyou not know what the spin of the electron is until you measure it, but that the actual act of measuring the spinwill make it spin-up or spin-down. As difficult as entangled is to believe, as well as understand, it is a well established property of quantum mechanics. And some physicists are suggesting that birds and other animals might be using the effect to see and navigate Earth’s magnetic fields . The process could work via light- triggered interactions on a chemical on birds eyes.

Summary

The incoming light would excite two electrons on a molecule in the birds eye, switching one onto a second molecule , but the two would remain entangled even though they are separated. The Earth’s magnetic field would alter the alignment of the electron’s spin and in the process alter the chemical properties of the molecules. Physicists suspect that the reactions would leave varying concentrations of chemicals throughout the eye, possibly creating a picture of our planet’s magnetic field that would allow birds to orient themselves and sense the proper directions; thereby helping them to migrate.

Biophysicists already have their eyes on a few chemicals that might enable the birds to detect entanglement. One such chemical is called cryptochrome. It’s thought that correlated pairs form in cryptochrome in the presence of blue light.

A Group of Physicists from the University of Oxford have proposed that entanglement could last in a bird’s retina for 100 micro seconds , whereas physicists have only been able to make the interaction last for 80 microseconds.

SUBMITTED BY:
Priyalatha .M.
Ramyashri.
Preethi.
Sahana rao L.N.
1st M.Sc.(1st Semester)

REFERENCE:
Internet
Journals

NUCLEAR POWER: TICKET TO FUTURE

INTRODUCTION:

NUCLEAR ENERGY:

NUCLEAR ENERGY is the energy in the nucleus, or core of an atom. Atoms make up everything in the universe and are held together with great force.

In a process called fission, atoms are broken apart, and energy is released. Atoms of uranium, a common element that can be mined from the Earth, are used in nuclear reactors.

In fission, a tiny particle called a neutron hits a uranium atom and the atoms splits. This releases more neutrons, and generates a chain reaction. That reaction releases huge amounts of energy.

Nuclear energy is also produced when two atoms joined to become a new atom. This process is called fusion.

EINSTEIN IS THE TITANS IN THE FIELD OF NUCLEAR ENERGY:

Albert Einstein, one of the great scientists the world has ever seen, has revolutionised the history of science. His contribution is the theory of relativity.

One equation from the theory is E=mc^2. In this formula ‘E’ stands for energy, ‘m’ for mass and ‘c’ is the speed of light, which is a constant, and assumed to be the fastest speed possible in the universe. This formula explains how energy is related to mass. It states that energy and matter are interchangeable. He published the special theory of relativity in 1905 and the general theory of relativity in 1916.

GREAT MIND:

It was Enrico Fermi who discovered that when a radio active substance such as uranium is bombarded by neutrons, it produces by products that are not uranium, and are lighter than the original sample.

In 1935, he bombarded uranium which is considered to be element 92 with neutrons, and produced what appeared to be element 93 and 94.

He won the Noble prize in 1938 for his work in radioactivity, and this allowed him to escape from Italy during WORLD WAR II , and settle in the US. He then built the first nuclear reactor, and worked on the Manhattan project. Fermi died in Chicago in 1954. Element 100, fermium, is named in this honour.

NUCLEAR FISSION:

When an atom splits into two parts, it releases energy.  This process is known as fission. An atom contains protons and neutrons in its central nucleus. In fission, the nucleus splits, either through radioactive decay or because it has been bombarded by other sub atomic particles known as neutrons. The resulting pieces have less combined mass than the original nucleus. The missing mass is converted into nuclear energy.

Controlled fission occurs when a very light neutron bombards the nucleus of an atom, breaking it into two smaller, similarly sized nuclei.

The destruction releases a significant amount of energy as much as 200 times that of the neutron that started the procedure- as well as releasing atleast 2 more neutrons. Controlled reactions of this sort are used to release energy within nuclear power plants. Uncontrolled reactions can fuel nuclear weapons.

NUCLEAR FUSION:

It is an atomic reaction in which multiple atoms combine to create a single, more massive atom. The resulting atom has a slightly smaller mass than the sum of the masses of the original atoms. The difference in mass is released in the form of energy during the reaction.

The most common nuclear fusion reaction in the universe, and the one of the most interest to scientists, is the merging of hydrogen nuclei to form helium nuclei. This is the process that occurs in the interiors of stars including the sun.

HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI ARE THE GREAT TRAGIDIES IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND:

By the time the first atomic bomb had been made, Germany had already surrendered. Japan was defeated as well, but would not surrender.

On august 6^th 1945, an atomic bomb named “LITTLE BOY” was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. The explosion was huge, the city was destroyed, and 80000 people were killed.

The bomb was dropped by a plane. Despite witnessing the terrible destruction of the bomb on Hiroshima, Japan still refused to surrender. 3 days later, on august 9^th 1945, another atomic bomb, nicknamed “FATMAN”, was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. 40000 people were killed. 6 days after the bombing of Nagasaki, Japan surrendered and WORLD WAR II was over- but with tragic results.

“LITTLE BOY”:

LITTLE BOY was the first nuclear weapon used in war field. It was a gun type weapon, which detonated by firing one mass of uranium down a cylinder into another mass to create a self sustaining nuclear reaction.

The bomb itself was relatively small despite its huge explosive capability. The heat created was so great that clothes caught fire on people over 2kms from the centre of explosion.

Little boy also created ultra high pressure. The wind speed on the ground directly beneath the explosion was so high, that barely any buildings were left standing.

Radiation poisoning killed many people in the city. Nearly all the people who survived the bomb blast, but lived within 800m of it, died within 30 days. Death from radiation exposure continued for many years.

NUCLEAR REACTORS:

The nuclear reactor is an apparatus in which nuclear fission chain reactions are initiated, controlled, and sustained at a controlled rate. Nuclear power comes from heat that is generated during nuclear fission, when one atom splits into two. Most nuclear power plants use enriched uranium and plutonium as fuel.

Inside a nuclear reactor, there are several rods of uranium. The uranium is used to boil water and produce steam. The steam drives turbines that produce electricity. Rods of graphite’s are used to control the nuclear reaction within the uranium. To put it in an nutshell, in a nuclear reactor, the heat that is given off from the reaction is used to heat water, which creates steam, which drives the turbine, which spins a generator to produce power.

OTHER APPLICATIONS OF NUCLEAR ENERGY:

• Industries use Radioisotopes to develop highly sensitive gauges to measure the thickness and density of many materials. It also uses radioisotopes as imaging devices to inspect finished goods for weakness and flaws.
• Radionuclide’s are used in medicine; where the radioisotope of iodine, gallium, thallium etc. are used for medical diagnostic procedures
• Radioisotopes are used to battle cancer.
• Nuclear powered vehicles.

NUCLEAR INDIA:

India entered the nuclear age in 1948, when the Atomic Energy Commission was established with Dr. Homi Bhabha as a chairman. India’s first research nuclear reactor and its first nuclear power plant were built with assistance from Canada. By 1963, India had 2 research reactors and 4 nuclear power reactors.

The next milestone was on May 18^th 1974 when India conducted a peaceful nuclear explosion. More nuclear power reactors were built, without anyone foreign collaboration, and on may 11^th and 13^th 1998 India successfully exploded both fission and fusion devices.

In order to meet its nuclear energy requirements, India has signed agreements with a host of countries to obtain uranium for its nuclear power plants. The future of nuclear co operation for India with various countries is bright, as India tried hard to increase its nuclear power output.

“BARC”:

Baba Atomic research centre [ BARC ] is India’s premiere nuclear research institute based in Trombay, Mumbai. It is named after India’s renowned nuclear scientist Dr. Homi J Bhabha. BARC conducts researches to sustain peaceful applications of nuclear energy mainly for power generation. Besides that BARC operates a number of research reactors across the country.

NUCLEAR WASTE:

Nuclear wastes are radioactive wastes that are by products of nuclear power generation. Radioactive wastes can be high level, middle level and low level. Radioactive waste is produced by a number of sources, but by far the largest quantities are generated by the nuclear power plants, and nuclear weapons production industries.

One of the major problems associated with radioactive wastes is the fact that it will require isolation from the human environment for 100s of years.

EFFECTS OF NUCLEAR ENERGY TO THE ENVIRONMENT:

Nuclear energy is “clean energy” in the sense that it does not cause air pollution. However, the mining, enrichment, and transportation of uranium for nuclear energy cause some degree of harm to the environment.

Nuclear power plants use large quantities of water for steam production and cooling, for which large quantities of water from a lake or river are required. This should affect fish, and other aquatic life. The waste material produced by nuclear plants is dangerously radioactive, and should never be allowed to escape into the environment.

BOON OR BANE????

The need for new sources of energy is increasing day by day, because existing energy resources are getting rapidly used up. But, nothing to worry. Science has already identified an evergreen spring of POWER- NUCLEAR ENERGY. It’s the largest source of energy that man has ever found.

However, though nuclear energy has wide uses, it also has sadly, the power to destroy everything. The world still remembers the booms that devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The disasters at nuclear power plants have also added to the fear of nuclear energy...

SUBMITTED BY:

Nirmal Mathew

Nithya K Nair

Poojashree V Rai

Prajna P S

Pramitha A

1st M.Sc {1st Semester}

     

REFERENCE: 

INTERNET
JOURNAL

EXPLORING THE OUTER LIMIT: NEW HORIZONS

  INTRODUCTION:

NASA hopes the New Horizons mission will help us understand worlds at the edge of 0ur solar system. New Horizons will give us the first close-up look at the dwarf planet Pluto and venture deep into the distant, mysterious Kuiper Belt – a relic of solar system formation.

NEW HORIZONS: 

New Horizons is an interplanetary space probe that was launched as a part of NASA's New Frontiers program. Engineered by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), with a team led by S. Alan Stern, the spacecraft was launched in 2006 with the primary mission to perform a flyby study of the Pluto system in 2015, and a secondary mission to fly by and study one or more other Kuiper belt objects (KBOs) in the decade to follow. It is the fifth artificial object to achieve the escape velocity needed to leave the Solar System.

New Horizons space probe

·        Mission type- Flyby (Jupiter · Pluto · 2014 MU₆₉)

·        Operator- NASA

·        Mission duration- Primary mission: 9.5 years

·        Elapsed:  12 years, 9 months, 4 days

·        Launch date- January 19, 2006, 19:00 UTC

·        Rocket- Atlas V (551) AV-010

·        Launch site- Cape Canaveral SLC-41

On January 19, 2006, New Horizons was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station by an Atlas V rocket directly into an Earth-and-solar escape trajectory with a speed of about 16.26 kilometers per second (10.10 miles/s; 58,500 km/h; 36,400 mph). At launch, it was the fastest probe ever launched from earth, but was beaten by the Parker Solar Probe on 12 August 2018. After a brief encounter with asteroid 132524 APL, New Horizons proceeded to Jupiter, making its closest approach on February 28, 2007, at a distance of 2.3 million kilometers (1.4 million miles). The Jupiter flyby provided a gravity assist that increased New Horizons' speed; the flyby also enabled a general test of New Horizons' scientific capabilities, returning data about the planet's atmosphere, moons, and magnetosphere.

Most of the post-Jupiter voyage was spent in hibernation mode to preserve on-board systems, except for brief annual checkouts. On December 6, 2014, New Horizons was brought back online for the Pluto encounter, and instrument check-out began. On January 15, 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft began its approach phase to Pluto.

On July 14, 2015, at 11:49 UTC, it flew 12,500 km (7,800 miles) above the surface of Pluto, making it the first spacecraft to explore the dwarf planet. On October 25, 2016, at 21:48 UTC, the last of the recorded data from the Pluto flyby was received from New Horizons. Having completed its flyby of Pluto, New Horizons has maneuvered for a flyby of Kuiper belt object (486958) 2014 MU69, expected to take place on January 1, 2019, when it will be 43.4 AU from the Sun. In August 2018, NASA cited results by Alice on New Horizons to confirm the existence of a "hydrogen wall" at the outer edges of the Solar System, that was first detected in 1992 by the two Voyager spacecraft.

THE JOURNEY TO PLUTO

The three billion mile trip to Pluto took almost 10 years. It takes light 4.5 hours to travel the same distance. 

1.    Jan, 2006: New Horizon spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral.

2.    Feb, 2007: Spacecraft gets slingshot gravity boost from Jupiter.

3.    2007-2014: For most of the 8-year trek from Jupiter to Pluto, the spacecraft is in a state of hibernation.

4.    Dec. 2014: Spacecraft awakens from hibernation to begin its mission.

5.    July 2015: New Horizons will pass within 6200 miles of the frozen dwarf planet.

6.    2017-2020: Pending NASA approval, the spacecraft will be directed toward one or more Kuiper Belt objects beyond Pluto.

PRIMARY MISSION OBJECTIVES:

Sending a spacecraft on this long journey will help us answer some basic questions about Pluto:

·       What does the surface look like?

·       What is the chemical composition of the surface?

·       What is the makeup of Pluto’s atmosphere?

PLUTO

The largest Object in the Kuiper Belt is now considered a dwarf planet. Like other Kuiper Belt objects, Pluto is primarily made of rock and ice.

WHY PLUTO IS NOT A PLANET?

A planet has to be the basic dominant gravitational body in its orbit, Pluto fails to meet this criteria, as there are many objects similar to Pluto in and around its orbit. Pluto is only about 0.07 times the mass of other objects in its orbit. In comparison, Earth has 1.7 million times the mass of other objects in its orbit.

ICE DWARFS are ancient relics that formed over 4 billion years ago and are considered planetary embryos whose growth stopped. Since they are the bodies out of which the larger planets accumulated, they have a great deal to teach us about planetary formation.

OTHER KUIPER BELT OBJECTS:

COMPLETING A MISSION

Having completed its flyby of Pluto, New Horizons has maneuvered for a flyby of Kuiper Belt object (486958) 2014MU_69, expected to take place on January 1, 2019, when it will be 43.4 AU from the Sun.

The United States has been the first nation to reach every planet from mercury to Neptune with a space probe. If New Horizons is successful, the US will have completed the initial reconnaissance of the solar system.

SUBMITTED BY:

Likhitha

Malavika

Meghana

Mithuna P

Namitha

REFERENCE:
Internet
Tell Me Why? Magazine
Journal

NASA'S UPCOMING MISSIONS

Introduction

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research.

NASA science is focused on better understanding Earth through the Earth Observing System, advancing heliophysics through the efforts of the Science Mission Directorates Heliophysics Research Program, exploring bodies throughout the Solar System with advanced robotic spacecraft missions such as New Horizons, and researching astrophysics topics, such as the Big Bang, through the great observations and associated programs. On May 23, 2009, former President of USA Barack Obama announced the nomination of Charles Bolden as NASA Administrator. Charles Bolden was confirmed by the Senate on July 15, 2009.

1. James Webb Space Telescope [JWST] (2021)

Aim : Observe the most distant events / objects in the Universe.

The JWST being developed by NASA with significant contribution from Canadian Space agency and the European Space agency and is named after James E Webb.

In December NASA announced the construction of JWST was complete and that its extensive testing phase would begin. In March 2018 NASA delayed JWST’s launch after the telescopes sunshield ripped during practice development. It was delayed again in June 2018.

The James Webb Space Telescope is a space telescope that will be the successor to the Hubble space telescope. The JWST will Provide greatly important resolution and sensitivity and will enable a broad range of investigation across the fields of Astronomy and Cosmology. One of its major goals is observing some of the most distant events and objects in the universe. Such as the formation of first galaxies. These types of targets are beyond the reach of current ground and space based instruments. Other goals include understanding the formation of stars and exo-planets, the direct imaging of ex planets and Novas.

The JWST primary mirror is composed of hexagonal mirror segments made of gold coated Beryllium. These combine to create a mirror with a diameter of 6.5m much larger than Hubbles 2.4m mirror. Unlike the Hubble which observes in near UV visible and near IR spectra. The JWST will observe in the long wavelength visible light through the mid infrared range. This will allow the JWST to observe high red shift objects the are too old and too distant for the Hubble and other earlier instruments to observe. The telescope must be kept very cold to observe in the infrared without interference. The JWST will be deployed in space near the earth sun L2 lagrangian point and it consist of a sunshield madeup of five layers of a material called Kapton. Each layer is coated with aluminum, while the sun-facing side of the two hottest layers (designated layer 1 and layer 2) are also coated with doped-silicon (or treated silicon) to reflect the sun's heat back into space. The sunshield is a critical part of the JWST, which is due to be launched in October 2018, because the infrared cameras and four instruments aboard must be kept very cold (below 50 Kelvin) and out of the sun's heat and light if they are to function properly.

2. Euclid Spacecraft (2021)

Aim : Search for dark matter and dark energy.

Euclid is a medium class (M – class) mission and is the part of European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) cosmic vision 2015-2025 Scientific program. Euclid is a visible to near infrared space telescope currently under development by the ESA and Euclid Consortium. This M-class of mission have an ESA budget cap at around $500 million. Basically to say, the mission is named after the ancient Greek mathematician Euclid of Alexandria. Euclid was chosen in October 2011 together with solar orbiter, out of several competing machines. This launch is planned for 2020.

The objective of Euclid mission is to better understand dark energy and dark matter by accurately measuring the acceleration of the universe. To achieve this the korsch type telescope will measure the shapes of galaxies at varying distance from earth and investigate the relationship between distance and red shift. Dark energy is generally accepted as contributing to the increased acceleration of expanding universe. So understanding this relationship will help to define how physicists and Astrophysics understand it. Euclid’s Mission advances and compliment ESA’s plank telescope.

3. Europa Lander (2024) 

Aim: Search for life on Jupiter’s moon Europa.

Europa Lander is a proposed astrobiology mission concept by NASA to say the Europa, a moon of Jupiter. Mainly to say the Europa Lander is a NASA’s mission to study Jupiter moon Europa. If selected and developed it would be launched separately in 2024 to complement the studies by Europa Clipper Orbiter Mission.

On earth Subglacial Microbial mission at blood falls survive in cold darkness without oxygen living in beine water below Taylor Glacier but come out at this location in Antartica. The red colour comes from dissolved iron.

The objective of mission would be searching for bio-signatures at the subsurface to characterize the composition of non-ice near subsurface material and determine proximity of liquid water and recently erupted material near the Lander’s location.

The main goals of this mission are to search for evidence of past or present life on Europa, to assess the habitability of Europa by directly analyzing material from surface and to characterize the surface subsurface for future missions.

4. Mars Manned Mission (2033-2039)

Aim: To establish human settlement on Mars.

Mars is the stepping of the human race on its voyage into the universe. Human settlement on Mars will aid our understanding of the origin of the solar system, the origin of life and our place in universe.

A new report by a non-government organization suggest that NASA could get astronauts to Mars orbit by 2033 and onto the red planet surface by 2039. It is the Mars one’s goal to establish a human settlement on mars. Human settlement of mars is the next gaint leap for mankind. Exploring the solar system as a united humanity will being us all closer together.

Since it would be nice to spend some time at mars we are only interested in the one way trip, which is half of the time of the full orbit, or about nine months. So it takes nine months to get to mars.

The mission of Mars includes obstacles beyond budget. Keeping Astronaut healthy and happy on the journey is important among them. Without stopovers between earth and mars, astronauts will need to port everything they need with them including air, food and water for a round trip duration of two to three years.

5. Psyche Spacecraft (2022)

Aim: Study asteroid Psyche well known for huge amounts of metals like iron, nickel, gold, platinum, etc.

Psyche is the heaviest known M-type asteroid and is thought to be the exposed iron core of protoplanet. This asteroid may be the remnant of a violent collision with another object that stripped off the outer crust. The radar observation of the asteroid from earth indicate an iron nickel compositer. On January 4, 2017 the Psyche mission was chosen along with Lucy mission as NASA’s next discovery class missions.

The Psyche spacecraft will use solar electric propulsion, and the scientific payload will be an imager, a magnetometer and a gamma-ray spectrometer. Scientists think that 16 Psyche could be the exposed core of an early planet that could have been as large as Mars and lost its surface in a series of violent collisions.

The mission will launch in 2022 and arrive in four years to perform 21 months of science. The spacecraft will be built by NASA JPL in collaboration with SSL (formerly space systems / loral) and arizona state university.

REFERENCE: 

[1] https://en.m.wikipepedia.org
[2] https://www.space.com

SUBMITTED BY:

Delvita Veigas

Divyashree K
Ezitha Monteiro
Keerthana