Dr Rajiv Desai
An Educational Blog
Mirage of Fusion Power
Mirage of Fusion Power: _ “We say that we will put the Sun into a box. The idea is pretty. The problem is, we don’t know how to make the box”. Pierre-Gilles de Gennes _ Figure above shows ITER fusion reactor tokamak. A tokamak is a device used in nuclear fusion research for magnetic confinement of plasma. It consists of a complex system of magnetic fields that confine the plasma of reactive charged particles in a hollow, doughnut-shaped container. The tokamak (an acronym from the Russian words for toroidal magnetic confinement) was developed in the mid-1960s by Soviet plasma physicists. It produces the highest plasma temperatures, densities, and confinement durations of any confinement device. Fusion energy scientists believe that tokamaks are the leading plasma confinement concept for future fusion power plants. _____ Section-1 Prologue: The demand for energy is ever growing, as more people around the […]
What Causes Cancer
What Causes Cancer: _ Figure above shows squamous cell carcinoma of the left anterior floor of mouth. _ Section-1 Prologue: International Cancer Institute has defined Cancer as a term used for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control and can invade nearby tissues. Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide. Globally annually, there were an estimated 20 million new cases of cancer and 10 million deaths from cancer or nearly one in six deaths. The cancer burden will increase by approximately 60% over the next two decades, further straining health systems, people and communities. It’s often said that cancer is not one, but many diseases. In fact, there are more than 200 forms of cancer, and all of these are caused by cells in the body acquiring the ability to grow and proliferate uncontrollably. Deaths from cancer are usually caused by secondary tumours, which form when cancer […]
Digital Twin
Digital Twin: Above is an image from the digital twin (DT) of BMW’s factory in Regensburg, Bavaria, created in NVIDIA’s Omniverse. There are two versions of a BMW factory in the medieval town of Regensburg, Germany. One is a physical plant that cranks out thousands of cars a year. The other is a virtual 3-D replica, accessed by screen or VR headset, in which every surface and every bit of machinery looks exactly the same as in real life. Soon, whatever is happening in the physical factory will be reflected inside the virtual one in real time: frames being dipped in paint; doors being sealed onto hinges; avatars of workers carrying machinery to its next destination. The latter factory is an example of a “digital twin”: an exact digital re-creation of an object or environment. The concept might at first seem like sci-fi babble or even a frivolous experiment: Why […]
Smartphone Overuse
Smartphone Overuse: _ Average person spends 3 to 4 hours on their smartphone each day. ______ ______ Section-1 Prologue: If there’s anything that most deserves the claim to be a man’s best friend in the modern age, it has got to be the smartphone. The use of smartphones is now a necessity, not a choice. The technological innovation of smartphones and various software has made our lives more convenient. While the bounties of technological innovation have offered limitless opportunities to make life comfortable, their perils cannot be ignored. Worldwide, there are over 6 billion people that have smartphone data plans and it is projected that this will grow to over 7.5 billion by 2026. According to a recent study, almost half of the American population showed hyper-reliance on smartphones, and more than 90% of young people aged 19–29 reported daily use of smartphones. Smartphone devices have the same capabilities […]
Robot
Robot: _ Pepper (above), a humanoid robot developed by SoftBank Robotics, was launched in 2014 and can read human emotions. Over 2,000 companies around the world have adopted Pepper as an assistant to welcome, inform and guide visitors in an innovative way. ____ Section-1 Prologue: What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a robot? For many people it is a machine that imitates a human—like the androids in Star Wars, Terminator and Star Trek: The Next Generation. However much these robots capture our imagination, such robots still only inhabit Science Fiction. Science-fiction films and novels usually portray robots as one of two things: destroyers of the human race or friendly helpers. People still haven’t been able to give a robot enough ‘common sense’ to reliably interact with a dynamic world and the independent intelligent machines seen in science fiction are still a […]
