Prelims Focus 31st August 2024

Solar Paraboloid Technology

In News: As India is striding in the direction of more abundant solar energy technology, Solar Paraboloid is being offered as one of the feasible and superior techniques to improve efficiency in solar energy systems.

• Solar Paraboloid Technology is one of the practices of using solar energy whereby a curved dish like surface is used to focus sunlight to a single point through a curved surface so that it is converted into heat or electricity.
• This technology has three main parts of which is a parabolic dish that focuses sunlight, a receiver that collects the energy and a tracking system that ensures that the dish moves in the same direction as light.
• This high-temperature energy can be utilized in applications like generation of electricity, heating of fluids for process purposes, and in solar cooking and water heating purposes, thus proving to be a multiple-applied solution to energy.
• The benefits of Solar Paraboloid Technology are, it has high values of efficiency in collecting and converting solar energy, easily adaptable for use in miniature, as well as massive projects and it is environment friendly since it does not exert pressure to the environment by emitting carbon.
• Despite some drawbacks, the technology is most suited to industries with high temperature demand such as metallurgical and chemical ones and can also be used to treat water shortage through the desalination process.
• In addition, its applicability as both an on-grid and an off-grid system also adds to its suitability greatly to produce renewable electricity for different scenarios.

D-Voter

In News: In recent times, Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma said that there are around 1,19,790 ‘D’ (Dubious or Doubtful) voters in the state out of which only 4,1583 voters have been declared as foreigners.

• Doubtful Voter or D-Voter is another term used for those people living in the state of Assam, India whose identity is challenged due to lack of necessary documental proof of Indian citizenship.
• The classification was formulated in 1997 when the Election Commission of India brought out a new electoral roll, during the process of which the need for identifying such persons, especially in the wake of Bengali immigrants from Bangladesh, was felt.
• In contrast, D-Voters become vulnerable to being declared as foreigners by the Foreigner’s Tribunal – a legal body that results in deportation or detention.
• The D-Voters, for example, are disfranchised and cannot vote and in order to be a part of the NRC, must get clearance from the tribunals.
• Currently, there are about 113,000 D-Voters and the verification process can take a longtime.

SHe-Box

In News: 

The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development has launched SHe-Box, a centralised portal for registering and tracking lawsuits of sexual harassment of women at the place of work.

• It serves as a centralized repository of facts related to Internal Committees (ICs) and Local Committees (LCs) formed, encompassing both the authorities and private sectors.
• It gives a common platform to file court cases, track their status, and ensure a time-certain processing of court cases by means of ICs.
• It also presents confident redressal of lawsuits and a streamlined system for all stakeholders. 
• The portal by a delegated nodal officer will permit real-time monitoring of court cases.

Quasar

In News: Astronomers using the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT) have observed the brightest regarded black hole, recognized as a quasar.

• • The quasar, named J0529-4351, has a mass of 17 billion Suns and consumes about one Sun’s worth of matter per day.
  • It is described as the most luminous item ever discovered, emitting over 500 trillion times more mild than the Sun.
  • The mild from J0529-4351 took over 12 billion years to attain Earth, indicating it is located far from us.

• Quasars

• • They are a subclass of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) known for their extreme luminosity.
  • They are particularly luminous galactic cores wherein gas and dust fall right into a supermassive black hollow, emitting radiation throughout the complete electromagnetic spectrum.
  • They are the various most luminous systems inside the universe, emitting lots of instances extra mild than the entire Milky Way.
  • They are usually found at extremely good distances from Earth, meaning we see them as they have been billions of years ago.

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