UPSC Quiz – 2024 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz 11th September 2024

·       It runs over a course of approximately 1,584 miles (2,549 kilometers) from its headwaters in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso (within the Brazilian Highlands) to its confluence with the Paraná River, of which it is the main tributary, just north of Corrientes, Argentina.

·       The river serves as a natural boundary, particularly between Paraguay and Brazil and between Paraguay and Argentina.

·       The Paraguay, along with the Paraná and Uruguay Rivers, form the second most important drainage system in the world, which covers approximately 1.6 million square miles.

·       These empty into the Rio de la Plata estuary at a rate of 2.8 million cubic feet of water per second, an outflow second only to that of the Amazon River. Thereafter, the rivers empty into the Atlantic Ocean.

·       Pantanal is the world’s largest tropical wetland.

·       These are freshwater swamps dominated by evergreen trees belonging to the Myristica ceae family.

·       They are also denoted as living fossils due to the primitive nature of Myristica plants.

·       With an evolutionary origin of about 140 million years, the swamps are valuable for evolutionary studies.

·       These forests are characterized by trees with large protruding roots jutting out of waterlogged soil, which remains inundated throughout the year.

·       Geographical distribution: In India, these unique habitats occur in the Western Ghats, and a smaller distribution exists in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Meghalaya.

·       Historically, they formed a large hydrological network all along the Western Ghats.

·       Climatic conditions: The formation of these swamps is dependent on abiotic conditions like the shape of the valley between the forested hills, the amount of rainfall a place receives (with an average of 3000 mm), and water availability throughout the year.

·       Typically, Myristica swamps are seen next to rivers and help in retaining water and act as a sponge, ensuring perennial water availability.

·       These forests have higher ability to sequester carbon than non-swampy forests.

·       These swamps are home to many vertebrate and invertebrate faunal species. This is due to stable macroecological conditions like high humidity, moderate temperature, and macrohabitat availability.

·       One example is the Myristica Swamp Treefrog (Mercurana myristicapalustris), only reported from a few pockets of the Shendurney and Peppara Wildlife Sanctuaries in Kerala.

·       This is the fourth and fifth ASWCWC being built for the Navy.

Features:

·       The vessels are capable of conducting anti-submarine operations in coastal waters, low-intensity maritime and mine-laying operations, besides sub-surface surveillance and search and rescue operations.

·       The vessels are 78.0 m long and 11.36 m wide, with a draught of about 2.7 m.

·       The displacement is about 900 tonnes, with a maximum speed of 25 knots and endurance of 1,800 nautical miles.

·       The ships are designed to fit indigenously developed, state-of-the-art SONARS for underwater surveillance.

·       They are equipped with light-weight torpedoes, anti-submarine warfare rockets, a close-in weapon system, and remote-controlled guns.

·       The contract to build eight ASWSWC ships was signed between the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and CSL on April 30, 2019.

·       These vessels, known as the Mahe Class, will replace the current Abhay Class ASW Corvettes in the Indian Navy.

·       When light photons hit the surface of a material, usually a metal, they transfer their energy to the electrons. If this energy is sufficient, the electrons are emitted from the material.

·       The energy must be greater than the electron’s binding energy, known as the work function, for the electron to be ejected from the material’s surface.

·       The excess energy from the photon, after overcoming the work function, is converted into the kinetic energy of the ejected electron.

·       The effect was discovered in 1887 by the German physicist Heinrich Rudolf Hertz.

·       The photoelectric effect is pivotal in understanding the quantum nature of light, as it reveals that light possesses both wave-like and particle-like properties.

·       This duality is a cornerstone of quantum mechanics, illustrating how light can exhibit behaviors characteristic of both waves and discrete particles.

·       The discovery and understanding of the photoelectric effect have profound implications in various scientific and technological fields, including the development of photovoltaic cells and advanced imaging technologies.

·       It is also known as tartrazine and is a synthetic food colorant classified as an azo dye.

·       It is lemon yellow in color and water soluble.

·       It is used in many dairy products, beverages, desserts and confectioneries etc.

Highlight of the study

·       This dye absorbs blue light strongly, which yields its characteristic orange-to-red color when dissolved in water.

·       This happens because the blue part of the light is absorbed, leaving only the orange-to-red part visible.

·       Normally, biological tissues scatter light due to their diverse composition of proteins, fats, and liquids.

·       Researchers found that a concentrated tartrazine solution can match the refractive indices of these components, reducing light scattering and allowing light to pass through. This makes the skin appear transparent.

·       When applied, tartrazine absorbs certain wavelengths of light, especially red light, changing how light interacts with the tissue.

·       This effect enabled the researchers to see blood vessels, internal organs, and muscle contractions in real-time.

Potential Applications

·       This technique could simplify blood draws, improve laser tattoo removal, and aid in early cancer detection.