Muons

Context: Recently researchers are examining the fortress wall of Xi’an, an ancient city in China, by using tiny outer space particles called Muons that can penetrate hundreds of meters of stone surfaces.

• These particles have helped them find small density anomalies, which are potential safety hazards, inside the wall.

• Muons are subatomic particles raining from space.
• They are created when the particles in Earth’s atmosphere collide with cosmic rays.
• These particles resemble electrons but are 207 times as massive.
  • Therefore, they are sometimes called “fat electrons”.
• Because muons are so heavy, they can travel through hundreds of meters of rock or other matter before getting absorbed or decaying into electrons and neutrinos.
• In comparison, electrons can penetrate through only a few centimeters.
• Muons are highly unstable and exist for just 2.2 microseconds.

Muography – Applications

• It is conceptually similar to X-ray but capable of scanning much larger and wider structures, owing to the penetration power of muons.
• Apart from archaeology, Muography has found use in customs security, internal imaging of volcanoes and others.
• Around 2015, scientists used the technique to look inside the Fukushima nuclear reactors after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Source: Indian Express

Previous Year Questions

Q.1) If a major solar storm (solar flare) reaches the Earth, which of the following are the possible effects on the Earth? (2022)

1. GPS and navigation systems could fail.
2. Tsunamis could occur at equatorial regions.
3. Power grids could be damaged.
4. Intense auroras could occur over much of the Earth.
5. Forest fires could take place over much of the planet.
6. Orbits of the satellites could be disturbed.
7. Shortwave radio communication of the aircraft flying over polar regions could be interrupted.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

1. 1, 2, 4 and 5 only
2. 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7 only
3. 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7 only
4. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7

Q.2) With the present state of development, Artificial Intelligence can effectively do which of the following?

1. Bring down electricity consumption in industrial units
2. Create meaningful short stories and songs
3. Disease diagnosis
4. Text-to-speech conversion
5. Wireless transmission of electrical energy

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

1. 1, 2, 3 and 5 only
2. 1, 3, and 4 only
3. 2, 4, and 5 only
4. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5