Pune researchers fabricate a nanogenerator
- As per results were published recently in the journal Advanced Materials & Interfaces, Pune researchers fromIISER & Nat. Chemical Lab. has fabricated nanogenerator, that produces 14 volts when thumb pressure was applied.
- About 28 micro watt per square cm power and 14 volt that was generated by the nanogenerator was stored in a capacitor and used for charging a mobile phone.
Jharkhand created a free calling app
- A 14 year old boy Aseem Yash from Ramgarh district of Jharkhand has created a free calling app.
- The unique feature of the app is free unlimited calling from any smart phone or android phone to anywhere in the world. Interestingly, the creator of this wonderful app is 'Divyang' since birth.
UAE for building the futuristic series of tubes
- During November 2016, Hyperloop One struck a deal in the UAE for building the futuristic series of tubes that could shuttle humans and goods in state-of-that-art pods at breakneck speeds of up to 1,130 km.
- ‘Hyperloop One’ has been founded by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and is touted to be the next generation of transportation, swapping emissions-spewing planes and traffic-jamming cars with superfast, people-carrying pods that will travel in tubes.
- Under this fantastic and futuristic project a series of elevated tubes will be connected together to facilitate very high speed travelling through integrated pods. The company aims to make that 160-kilometre trip between Dubai and Abu Dhabi in 12 minutes.
Country’s 1st Banking Robot Makes Debut
- Kumbakonam-based City Union Bank has launched India’s first on-site bank helper robot called Lakshmi.
- The artificial intelligence powered robot can speak English, uses gestures, and engage in a life-like manner in conversations and can answer intelligently on more than 125 subjects including account balance and interest rates on loans.
China Launch Pulsar Navigation Satellite
- The X-ray pulsar navigation satellite was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
- The X-ray pulsar captures X-ray signals emitted from pulsars and by mapping those signals, they can be used to determine spacecraft location in deep space.
Government prohibited use of the cruel and obsolete “Draize” irritation tests on Rabbit
- "Draize” irritation tests is finally banned in India by the government of India which were developed more than 70 years ago to measure eye and skin irritation using rabbits, who are locked in restraints while a test chemical is applied to one eye or to the shaved skin on their backs.
- After appication of the test, Rabbits are then monitored for up to two weeks, without pain relief, for signs of chemical damage, which can include swelling, ulceration, bleeding and blindness.
NASA set the Guinness world record for highest altitude fix of a Global Positioning System
- NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Mission on 5 November 2016 set the Guinness world record for highest altitude fix of a Global Positioning System (GPS) signal at 70000 kilometers above the surface of the Earth.
- Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission successfully completed commissioning activities on 1 September 2015 and is now in full science mode.
Scientists have developed a self-driving scooter
- Scientists have developed a self-driving scooter, using the same technology that powers autonomous cars, which could help mobility-impaired people move around even in indoor spaces.
- The researchers had previously used the same sensor configuration and software in trials of autonomous cars and golf carts, so the new trial completes the demonstration of a comprehensive autonomous mobility system.
- The new trial establishes that the researchers' control algorithms work indoors as well as out.
New type of atomic bond discovered
- Scientists have for the first time observed a weak atomic bond – in which an electron can grab and trap an atom – that was theorised 14 years ago.
- Newly discovered Rydberg molecules are formed when an electron is kicked far from an atom’s nucleus.
- The researchers found and saw the molecule by cooling Rubidium gas to 100 nano-Kelvin, about one ten-millionth of a degree above absolute zero.
World's First hydrogen-powered and zero-emission passenger train was unveiled
- World's first hydrogen-powered and zero-emission passenger train "Coradia iLint" was unveiled in September 2016 in Germany that was developed by French rail company Alstom, only emits excess steam and condensed water into the atmosphere.
- The testing of the train will be carried out by the end of 2016.
- If the results prove successful, the trains will service the Buxtehude-Bremervörde-Bremerhaven-Cuxhaven line in the German state of Lower Saxony by December 2017.
