Daily Prelims 15th February 2024

PRELIMS BOOSTER

1. Market Capitalization :

• • Market Capitalization, or Market Cap, is a term used to represent the market value of a company based on its current share price and the total number of its outstanding shares.  
  • It can be calculated by multiplying the number of outstanding shares of a company by the current price of its shares.  
  • It represents the market’s perception of a company’s worth and indicates its size and significance in the financial markets.  
  • On the basis of market cap, companies may be classified as large-cap, mid-cap, or small-cap companies. 

• • Large-cap companies are usually stable, reputable, and well-established businesses that have a significant market share. They have market caps of INR 20,000 crore or more.  
  • Mid-cap companies have a market cap ranging from INR 5,000 crore to INR 20,000 crore. 
  • Small-cap companies operate at a smaller scale than large-cap and mid-cap companies. Consequently, their market cap is also lower (less than INR 5,000 crore). 

2. Tokenization of assets:

Definition– It is the process whereby ownership rights of an asset are represented as digital tokens and stored on a blockchain.
Tokens can act like digital certificates of ownership that can represent almost any object of value such as physical, digital, fungible, and non-fungible assets. 

Mechanism of tokenised asset 

It involves several step such as-
1) Defining the token type (fungible or non-fungible)
2) Selecting the blockchain to issue the tokens on
3) Selecting a third-party auditor to verify off-chain assets, issuing the assets. 

Significance of tokenised asset 

1) Liquidity-An asset can be represented as millions or even billions of tokens, creating fractional ownership. This can be listed on a variety of widely-available and accessible exchanges. 

2) Accessibility-It allows a smaller investor to invest in riskier assets with relatively low capital. 

3) Transparency– It allows for the open tracking and auditing of all records due to the fundamentally public nature of many blockchains. 

3. Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition (PECVD) :

Definition– Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition (PECVD) is a hybrid CVD process used to deposit thin films, where plasma energy drives the reactions between excited species and the substrate.
Applicability-This deposition technology is applicable when it is necessary to maintain low wafer temperatures while achieving desired film properties. 

Mechanism to directly synthesizing CNTs on glass substrate-
Plasma is generated using a specially designed spiral-shaped fused hollow cathode source. This innovative process bypasses the need for elevated temperatures and eliminates the necessity for a transition metal catalyst. This synthesis is executed under atmospheric pressure, which makes it more cost-effective. 

Significance of Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition Technique (PECVD) 

1) Researchers at the Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST) in India have developed a groundbreaking method for direct CNT synthesis on glass substrates using the Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition Technique (PECVD).
2) This technique offers a more cost-effective and sustainable approach to CNT synthesis because it operates at a lower temperature of 750 degree Celsius.
3) It eliminates the need for metal catalysts.
4) It will enable the production of clean CNTs suitable for applications in energy research, biomedical fields, and optoelectronics.
5) It will address existing challenges in CNT synthesis and advance their application in diverse technological fields. 

4. Ultracold atoms Study

Definition– An ultracold atom is an atom with a temperature near absolute zero. 

Properties– At low temperatures near absolute zero, atoms behave according to the principles of quantum mechanics rather than classical physics. 

Ways to study ultracold atoms–
1)The commonly used techniques for the study of ultracold atoms is by deploying magneto-optical traps with high-power laser cooling techniques.
2) Cold atoms of elements like sodium, potassium, rubidium are commonly studied.
3) Detection techniques like the fluorescence, absorption or phase-contrast imaging techniques are used.
4) The imaging through fluorescence or absorption techniques are widely used. 

Limitation of these techniques– The images obtained using these techniques suffer due to unwanted interference fringes. These are unwanted dark-bright patterns imprinted on the actual images. Thus, it lowers the quality of results obtained. 

Significance of new image correction technique 

1) It eliminates 50% of unwanted interference fringes in images. This is crucial for understanding the quantum mechanics properties of cold atoms. 

2) It is capable of getting better images during the study of cold atoms or atoms at absolute zero temperature. 

3) It improves temperature uncertainty in cold Rubidium atoms by 50%. 

4) It holds promise for the widespread application of absorption imaging in the study of ultracold atoms. 

Places in News 

1. Bor Tiger Reserve : State :- Madhya Pradesh

• • It is the smallest tiger reserve in India by area. 
  • The Bor Tiger Reserve is traversed by the Bor River, which plays a significant role in the ecology and biodiversity of the reserve. 
  • The Bor Tiger Reserve is strategically located between the Pench Tiger Reserve and the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in the Nagpur and Chandrapur districts of Maharashtra. 
  • This region acts as a crucial tiger corridor connecting these two tiger reserves. 
  • It has Dry Deciduous Forest. 

2. Abohar Wildlife Sanctuary: Urgent Conservation Concern for Blackbucks in Punjab

• Location: State of Punjab 
• Wildlife Census Alert: Blackbucks on the verge of extinction in Punjab 
• Recognition: 

• • It has been declared as the State Animal of Punjab, Haryana, and Andhra Pradesh. 

• Cultural Importance: 

• • It is a symbol of purity for Hinduism as its skin and horns are regarded as sacred objects. For Buddhism, it is a symbol of good luck. 

• Protection Status: 

• • Wildlife Protection Act 1972: Schedule I 
  • IUCN Status: Least Concern 
  • CITES: Appendix III 

• Threat: 

• • Habitat Fragmentation, Deforestation, Natural Calamities, Illegal Hunting. 

• Ownership: Entire sanctuary area on private or community-owned land of 13 Bishnoi villages