Monthly Archives: December 2011

Nuclear future

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The year marked with protests surrounding nuclear power installations in India ended with a twist-in-the-tale — Australia allowed a change of policy to export uranium to India, despite India being a non-signatory to the non-proliferation treaty. Protests at  Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu following the Fukushima disaster had put the government in a tight spot. The plant was ready to fire all guns with the Russian-built reactors but anti-nuclear protests have forced government to defer the ribbon-cutting ceremony indefinitely. Jaitapur in Maharashtra also saw similar protests halting work to set up the French nuclear power reactors there.

The country is doddering along to meet its  nuclear forecast figures. In this closing week of the year, we analyse the future of the Indian nuclear programme in this feature and look at how well India is coping with the hurdles coming her way in realising the golden agenda — that of obtaining one fourth of all energy needs through nuclear power by 2050.

Disect no more

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Lab animalGood news for all school and college students who complained that killing an animal to understand the nitty gritties of its internal systems is not a great idea. I’ve heard stories of repulsion from many biology students who don’t want to enter zoology laboratories despite their love for the subject. I’ve also known young people who have opted out of biology in high school just so that they don’t have to carry a dissection box.

No longer. India’s University Grants Commission (UGC) is catching up with international norms to announce that it will replace dissection of animals in the lab with computer simulation and models. The announcement comes after increasing pressure from animal welfare bodies pushing for India to embrace global practices in this regard.

A section of biologists, traditionally opposed to the idea, remain opposed to this change saying there’s no way you can become a zoologist without ever touching animals with your hands. It is also not a great plan for students wanting to pursue surgery in later life, they emphasise.

A piece in Nature this week explores the pros and cons of the announcement likely to take effect soon.

Higgs hunt

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The Higgs fever caught on with the media, social networking sites and physicists across the world this week. A dear friend Archana Sharma, staff physicist at CERN, was bubbling with obvious excitement. Will they, won’t they announce the big thing? And then the couched announcement of having sighted glimpses of Higgs boson sent the internet viral. She wrote a piece for Nature India soon after the announcement which emphasised that scientists still need more data to say “Eureka”.

Archana sent in some key points from the CERN announcement which I thought would be a delight for physicists. I reproduce them here, courtesy her. You might have to strain a little to read them but they certainly give you an idea of the sense of thrill CERN physicists were feeling tonight.

Year-closing eclipse

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The year will close with another total lunar eclipse, though not as dark as the the mid-year eclipse of June 15, 2011. This one, to occur on the night of 10 December 2011, will have the advantage of a clear winter night.

Stargazers in India will have close to five hours to feast on the celestial event. And no, you don’t want to miss this one — the next total lunar eclipse is six years away in August 2017.

The Moon will be in the penumbral shadow of the Earth at about 5:00 p.m. Indian time, says Arvind Paranjpye of the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Pune. For the next half hour or so, there wouldn’t be much action. Then we can see a gradual change in the brightness on the lunar disk. By 6:16 p.m. the Moon will be in the umbra of the Earth’s shadow. The dark shadow of the Earth will slowly cover the lunar disk. This phenomenon will be quite noticeable to the naked eyes, he says.

In the next 75 minutes, the Moon will be totally engulfed by the shadow of the Earth. The colour of the lunar disk will become many hues of red from crimson to brick red during this time.

The time of the maximum eclipse is 20:27:16 when the Moon will be very dark. The sky assume the likeness of a new moon night. One can see lots of faint stars. By 10:00 p.m. the shadow play will be over and a bright full moon will illuminate the Earth.

India has had six eclipses — four solar and two lunar — this year.

Lets say adieu to the year with this final cosmic event. Happy skygazing!