PAR TI CLE DE CAY
Why in News?
Recently, Scientist at CERN observed the Higgs boson decaying to fundamental particles known as bottom quarks.
More on news
• Higgs bosons decay into pairs of the following particles in the following percentages: bottom quarks (58 percent), W bosons (21 percent), Z bosons (6 percent), tau leptons (2.6 percent) and photons (0.2 percent).
• Significance: It validates the theory
of Standard Physics which states
that about 60% of the time a Higgs
boson will decay to a pair of bottom quarks.
o Standard Model: It’s built upon the idea that the Higgs field endows quarks and other fundamental particles with mass.
o Standard Model doesn't include dark matter that makes up 85 percent of mass in the universe—or a description of how gravity works at the quantum level.
• A quark is one of the fundamental particles in physics. They join to form hadrons, such as protons and
neutrons, which are components of the nuclei of atoms.
• The study of quarks and the interactions between them through the strong force is called particle physics.
• The antiparticle of a quark is the antiquark. Quarks and antiquarks are the only two fundamental particles
that interact through all four fundamental forces of physics: gravitation, electromagnetism, and the strong interaction and weak interactions.
• A quark exhibits confinement, which means that the quarks are not observed independently but always in combination with other quarks. This makes determining the properties (mass, spin, and parity) impossible to measure directly.
• There are six flavors of quarks: up, down, strange, charm, bottom, and top. The flavor of the quark determines
its properties.
67 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS
About Higgs Boson
• It is popularly known as the God particle and is responsible for giving mass to fundamental subatomic particles.
• It was discovered by Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research.
• CERN is the world’s largest nuclear and particle physics laboratory. At CERN, scientists and engineers are
probing the fundamental structure of the Universe.
• LHC accelerator hosts two large-particle physics detectors capable of observing Higgs bosons — the Compact
Muon Solenoid (CMS) and A Toroidal LHC Apparatus (ATLAS).
6.7. I CE SAT -2
Why in news?
Recently NASA satellite named 'Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2)', was launched.
What is ICESat?
• ICESat (Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite) is the benchmark Earth Observing System mission for measuring ice sheet mass balance, cloud and aerosol heights, as well as land topography and vegetation characteristics.
• The ICESat, was launched in 2003 and ended in 2009. From it, scientists learned that sea ice was thinning, and ice cover was disappearing from coastal areas in Greenland and Antarctica.
• ICESat-2 continues key elevation observations of the cryosphere begun by the original ICESat mission (2003 to
2009) and Operation IceBridge airborne efforts (2009 through present), to provide a continuous long -term
record of change in the beginning of the 21st century.
Why is this mission important?
• ICESat-2 data will help researchers narrow that range of possibilities to forecast sea level rise with greater certainty, allowing communities to be better prepared.
• While scientists routinely measure sea ice coverage from satellite images, they lack region-wide sea ice height measurements that would allow them to derive thickness and volume—height measurements that ICESat-2 will provide.
• Beyond the cryosphere, ICESat-2 will also survey heights of the world’s forests, lakes, urban areas, cloud cover
and more, adding a detailed third dimension to flat images of Earth from space.
68 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS
6.8. POLAR I ME TR Y DOPPLE R WE ATHE R R ADAR
Why in news?
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) recently launched the Polarimetry Doppler Weather Radar at
Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.
More about the news
• The Polarimetry Doppler Weather Radar provides advanced information, enhances the lead-time essential for saving lives and property in the event of a natural disaster associated with severe weather.
o The severity of the weather systems can be quantitatively estimated more accurately and more precise advanced warnings can be generated for saving human lives and property.
o While conventional radars are able to track and predict cyclones, the Doppler Weather Radar provides
detailed information on a storm’s internal wind flow and structure.
o The polarimetric capability of the radar will significantly improve the accuracy of rainfall estimation leading
to accurate and timely flash flood warnings, according to ISRO’s earlier release.
• The radar has been indigenously developed by Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), Bengaluru.
• It is the seventh radar of such type manufactured in the country under “Make in India”.
Why in News?
Recently, Scientist at CERN observed the Higgs boson decaying to fundamental particles known as bottom quarks.
More on news
• Higgs bosons decay into pairs of the following particles in the following percentages: bottom quarks (58 percent), W bosons (21 percent), Z bosons (6 percent), tau leptons (2.6 percent) and photons (0.2 percent).
• Significance: It validates the theory
of Standard Physics which states
that about 60% of the time a Higgs
boson will decay to a pair of bottom quarks.
o Standard Model: It’s built upon the idea that the Higgs field endows quarks and other fundamental particles with mass.
o Standard Model doesn't include dark matter that makes up 85 percent of mass in the universe—or a description of how gravity works at the quantum level.
• A quark is one of the fundamental particles in physics. They join to form hadrons, such as protons and
neutrons, which are components of the nuclei of atoms.
• The study of quarks and the interactions between them through the strong force is called particle physics.
• The antiparticle of a quark is the antiquark. Quarks and antiquarks are the only two fundamental particles
that interact through all four fundamental forces of physics: gravitation, electromagnetism, and the strong interaction and weak interactions.
• A quark exhibits confinement, which means that the quarks are not observed independently but always in combination with other quarks. This makes determining the properties (mass, spin, and parity) impossible to measure directly.
• There are six flavors of quarks: up, down, strange, charm, bottom, and top. The flavor of the quark determines
its properties.
67 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS
About Higgs Boson
• It is popularly known as the God particle and is responsible for giving mass to fundamental subatomic particles.
• It was discovered by Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research.
• CERN is the world’s largest nuclear and particle physics laboratory. At CERN, scientists and engineers are
probing the fundamental structure of the Universe.
• LHC accelerator hosts two large-particle physics detectors capable of observing Higgs bosons — the Compact
Muon Solenoid (CMS) and A Toroidal LHC Apparatus (ATLAS).
6.7. I CE SAT -2
Why in news?
Recently NASA satellite named 'Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2)', was launched.
What is ICESat?
• ICESat (Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite) is the benchmark Earth Observing System mission for measuring ice sheet mass balance, cloud and aerosol heights, as well as land topography and vegetation characteristics.
• The ICESat, was launched in 2003 and ended in 2009. From it, scientists learned that sea ice was thinning, and ice cover was disappearing from coastal areas in Greenland and Antarctica.
• ICESat-2 continues key elevation observations of the cryosphere begun by the original ICESat mission (2003 to
2009) and Operation IceBridge airborne efforts (2009 through present), to provide a continuous long -term
record of change in the beginning of the 21st century.
Why is this mission important?
• ICESat-2 data will help researchers narrow that range of possibilities to forecast sea level rise with greater certainty, allowing communities to be better prepared.
• While scientists routinely measure sea ice coverage from satellite images, they lack region-wide sea ice height measurements that would allow them to derive thickness and volume—height measurements that ICESat-2 will provide.
• Beyond the cryosphere, ICESat-2 will also survey heights of the world’s forests, lakes, urban areas, cloud cover
and more, adding a detailed third dimension to flat images of Earth from space.
68 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS
6.8. POLAR I ME TR Y DOPPLE R WE ATHE R R ADAR
Why in news?
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) recently launched the Polarimetry Doppler Weather Radar at
Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.
More about the news
• The Polarimetry Doppler Weather Radar provides advanced information, enhances the lead-time essential for saving lives and property in the event of a natural disaster associated with severe weather.
o The severity of the weather systems can be quantitatively estimated more accurately and more precise advanced warnings can be generated for saving human lives and property.
o While conventional radars are able to track and predict cyclones, the Doppler Weather Radar provides
detailed information on a storm’s internal wind flow and structure.
o The polarimetric capability of the radar will significantly improve the accuracy of rainfall estimation leading
to accurate and timely flash flood warnings, according to ISRO’s earlier release.
• The radar has been indigenously developed by Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), Bengaluru.
• It is the seventh radar of such type manufactured in the country under “Make in India”.
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