Daily Prelims Notes 1 January 2025

January 1, 2025
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

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Daily Prelims Notes

1 January 2025

Table Of Contents

1. Why scientists are installing underwater telescopes to detect ‘ghost particles’

Sub: SCI

Sec: Space Sector

Context:

Scientists are deploying two telescopes to detect high-energy neutrinos, also known as ghost particles, under the Mediterranean Sea.
The two telescopes are part of the Cubic Kilometre Neutrino Telescope or KM3NeT.
While one of the telescopes will study high-energy neutrinos from space, the other will examine neutrinos from the atmosphere.
These telescopes are similar to the Ice Cube Neutrino Observatory in Antarctica, which detects high-energy neutrinos from deep space, but KM3NeT will be under the sea instead of ice.

What are neutrinos?

Neutrinos are tiny subatomic particles, very similar to electrons, but without any electric charge.
They were first detected in 1959, although their existence was predicted earlier in 1931 by physicist Wolfgang Pauli.
They are one of the fundamental particles the universe is built of, and are the second most abundant subatomic particles after photons.
They are extremely difficult to detect due to their weak interaction with matter, even though billions pass through every cubic centimetre of space each second.

High-Energy Neutrinos and their importance:

High-energy neutrinos, which come from distant cosmic events like supernovae or gamma-ray bursts, are super-fast, particularly rare and of great interest to scientists because they can offer insights into regions of space obscured by dust.
For example, region around the centre of the Milky Way is often obscured by cosmic dust, which absorbs and scatters visible light. Neutrinos, however, are not affected by dust, making them an ideal tool to study these otherwise hidden phenomena.

Neutrino Detection Mechanism:

Neutrino telescopes rely on detecting Cherenkov radiation, flashes of light produced when neutrinos interact with water or ice molecules.
This light is detected by sensors, allowing scientists to trace the path of the neutrino and learn about its source, energy, and other properties.
The location for these telescopes must be dark and have optically transparent material to capture these flashes.

Why Underwater Neutrino Telescopes:

While both ice and water are suitable for neutrino detection, experts suggest that underwater telescopes, like those in KM3NeT, might be more efficient than Ice Cube because water scatters light less, although water absorbs light more, limiting the amount of light available for detection.

2. Willow: A Quantum Leap in Computing by Google

Sub: Sci

Sec: Awareness in IT, Computer

Why in News

Google has unveiled its latest quantum processor, Willow, showcasing significant advancements in error correction and computational power.

Quantum Computing:

Classical computers use bits (0s and 1s) to process information, represented by two possible physical states (e.g., high or low voltage).
Quantum computers use qubits, which can exist in a state of superposition—simultaneously representing both 0 and 1.
This property allows quantum computers to handle exponentially more information than classical systems.
Two classical bits require two numbers for representation, while two qubits need four numbers.
About Qubit: The basic unit of quantum information,analogous to a bit in classical computing but capable of existing in a superposition of states (0 and 1 simultaneously). Exploits phenomena like entanglement and superposition for superior computational power.
Fragility of Qubits: Qubits are highly sensitive and collapse under minimal disturbance, limiting their lifespan and computational accuracy.
Unlike robust classical bits, qubits are prone to bit-flip errors (e.g., representing 1 instead of 0).
Surface Code Technique: Qubits are categorized into data qubits (holding information) and measurement qubits (detecting errors).
Errors are inferred through entanglement without directly measuring the data qubits, preserving their superposition states.

Google’s Willow Processor:

Willow marks a significant leap towards achieving practical quantum supremacy.
Can perform calculations in under five minutes that would take the fastest classical supercomputers approximately ten septillion years.
Willow’s design significantly reduces errors, addressing one of the primary challenges in quantum computing.
The retention time (T1) of qubits has increased by five times, enhancing stability and accuracy.
Willow lays the groundwork for building larger, fault-tolerant quantum systems capable of addressing real-world problems.
Willow operates with 105 physical qubits at temperatures close to absolute zero (-273.15°C).
About half the qubits serve as data qubits, while the rest are measurement qubits to correct leakage errors.
Error Rate Reduction: Willow’s architecture achieves below-threshold error rates, reducing errors as the number of qubits increases—a critical milestone in scalable quantum computing.
Random Circuit Sampling (RCS): RCS involves calculating probabilities of possible outcomes when quantum gates operate on qubits randomly. The demonstration highlights quantum processors’ superiority over classical systems in solving computationally hard problems.

3. ISRO’s POEM-4 Mission

Sub: Sci

Sec: Space sector

Why in News

The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) announced the successful deployment of 10 hosted payloads by non-government entities (NGEs) on the POEM-4 module of ISRO’s PSLV-C60/SpaDeX mission. This marks a significant milestone in boosting private sector involvement in India’s space exploration efforts.

What is POEM-4?

POEM-4 (PSLV Orbital Experimental Module) utilizes the spent PS4 stage of the PSLV rocket, repurposed to host scientific and technological experiments.
It involved the PSLV-C60 rocket carrying the POEM-4 module, which performed in-orbit scientific experiments at an altitude of 350 km with a 55-degree inclination.

Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe):

Organizational Structure: IN-SPACe comprises a chairman, technical experts in space activities, safety experts, legal and strategic experts, and members from academia, industry, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Headquarters: IN-SPACe is headquartered in Bopal, Ahmedabad.
By enabling private sector participation, IN-SPACe aims to boost India’s space economy, foster innovation, and enhance the country’s global standing in space technology.
The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) is an autonomous, single-window nodal agency under the Department of Space (DOS).
Established following space sector reforms, its primary objective is to facilitate and promote the participation of Non-Governmental Entities (NGEs) in India’s space activities.
IN-SPACe is responsible for promoting, enabling, authorizing, and supervising various space activities conducted by NGEs. This includes the development of launch vehicles and satellites, as well as the provision of space-based services.
The agency facilitates the sharing of space infrastructure and premises controlled by DOS/ISRO with private players, thereby reducing entry barriers and fostering collaboration.
IN-SPACe permits the establishment of new space infrastructure and facilities by NGEs, ensuring compliance with safety norms and feasibility assessments.
Acting as an intermediary between ISRO and NGEs, IN-SPACe assesses how to better utilize India’s space resources and expand space-based activities.

4. Prime Minister’s memorials

Sub: History

Sec: MSC

Context: – The Congress accused the Centre of insulting the former PM by carrying out his last rites at Delhi’s Nigambodh Ghat instead of a designated spot that could later serve as his memorial.

Are memorials Mandated?

While guidelines exist for State funerals, there is no specific rule or government order regarding allocation of space for memorials for former PMs.

Convention Followed

No common place for Memorial is designated for Prime ministers as different PMs have different places for memorial. Eg. When Nehru died, in May 1964, a space adjoining Raj Ghat was earmarked for his last rites and his memorial named Shanti Van whereas the memorial of Morarji Desai, called Narayan Ghat is at Ahmedabad. Also, V P Singh does not even have an official memorial.

Mahatma Gandhi Raj Ghat (Delhi)
Jawaharlal Nehru – Shanti Van (Delhi)
Lal Bahadur Shastri – Vijay Ghat (Delhi)
Gulzarilal Nanda – Abhay Ghat (Ahmedabad)
Indira Gandhi – Shakti Sthal (Delhi)
Rajiv Gandhi – Vir Bhumi (Delhi)
Charan Singh – Kisan Ghat (Delhi)
Morarji Desai – Narayan Ghat (Ahmedabad)
Chandra Shekhar – Jannayak Sthal (Delhi)
Atal Bihari Vajpayee – Sadaiva Atal (Delhi)
V. Narasimha Rao – Gyan Bhumi (Delhi)

Apart from former PMs, there are memorials in Delhi (most of them around the Raj Ghat memorial complex) for former Presidents Giani Zail Singh (Ekta Sthal), Shankar Dayal Sharma (Karma Bhumi), R Venkarataraman; former Vice-President Krishan Kant; ex-Deputy Prime Ministers Jagjivan Ram (Samata Sthal) and Devi Lal (Sangharsh Sthal); former President K R Narayanan (Uday Bhumi); and ex-PM Shastri’s wife Lalita (next to his memorial at Vijay Ghat).

India’s first President Rajendra Prasad has a memorial in Patna (he belonged to Bihar) called Mahaprayan Ghat. Dr B R Ambedkar’s memorial called Chaitya Bhoomi is located next to Dadar Chowpatty in Mumbai.