[Mission 2023] Current Affairs Quiz , 5 Jun 2023

Solution: c)

NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance of thirty-one European and North American countries that constitutes a system of collective defense. The accession process is overseen by the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s governing body. Established in the aftermath of World War II, the organization implemented the North Atlantic Treaty, signed in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 1949. NATO was formed with twelve founding members. Membership has subsequently grown to 31 through several enlargements, which require unanimous approval by all current members.

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Solution: c)

India has been issuing commemorative coins since the 1960s for several reasons such as paying homage to notable personalities, spreading awareness about government schemes, or remembering key historic events.

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Solution: b)

Statement 3 is incorrect.

Suspended from the ceiling of the Central Foyer of India’s new Parliament building, inaugurated on Sunday (May 29), is a Foucault pendulum that all but touches the floor as it rotates on its axis. The pendulum hangs from a skylight at the top of the Constitution Hall, and signifies the “integration of the idea of India with the idea of the cosmos”.

Created by the National Council of Science Museum (NCSM) in Kolkata, the pendulum is being dubbed as the largest such piece in India, 22 metre in height, and weighing a staggering 36 kg.

On the ground, a circular installation has been created to allow the pendulum’s movement, with a short grill around it, allowing the visitors to stand around. At the latitude of the Parliament, it takes 49 hours, 59 minutes, and 18 seconds for the pendulum to complete one rotation, as per the details displayed at the installation.

This Foucault’s Pendulum is not something new … the first one was installed in 1991 at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) in Pune. 

What is a Foucault’s pendulum?

The original Foucault’s pendulum, named after 19th century French scientist Leon Foucault, is a simple experiment to demonstrate the earth’s rotation.

The experimental set-up involves a heavy object hung from a height with a string, free to swing in any direction. Once set in to-and-fro motion, the pendulum is seen to change its orientation slowly over time. For example, if the initial motion imparted to it was in the north-south direction, after a few hours it could be seen moving in the east-west direction.

Actually, it is not the pendulum that changes its plane of motion, but the ground beneath it. Observers standing on the ground do not notice the earth’s rotation, because they too are rotating with the earth, but can notice the change in orientation of the pendulum.

At the north and south poles, when the pendulum is aligned with the axis of rotation of the earth, the pendulum’s back-and-forth motion comes back to its original plane in exactly 24 hours. That is, if it starts swinging in the north-south direction, it then slowly turns in the northeast-southwest direction, then in the east-west direction. It keeps on changing its orientation, till it is back in its original orientation after 24 hours.

At other latitudes, it takes longer for the pendulum to return to its original orientation of swinging. That is because the pendulum is not aligned with the axis of rotation of the earth. At the equator, the pendulum is perpendicular to the axis of rotation, and hence it never changes its orientation of the swing. Meaning, a Foucault’s pendulum at the equator would not show any deviation from its original course. At other latitudes it will, and would return to the original course after fixed time periods.

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Solution: b)

Climbing in the Himalayas was fundamentally different than in the Alps. For one, most peaks in the Alps are far more accessible than their Himalayan counterparts. This inaccessibility gave birth to expedition climbing – climbing became military-like with massive logistics operations to support the actual ascent.

Second, the high peaks of the Himalayas were also significantly taller than the ones in the Alps – posing multiple novel challenges, including thinning air at high altitudes.

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Solution: b)

Statement 3 is incorrect.

The Supreme Court, in PUCL vs Union of India, 2013, (popularly known as the NOTA judgment) has held that abstention from voting and negative voting are protected as freedom of expression — a fundamental right (Article 19).

The ECI has consistently held and practised this by implementing its flagship programme called SVEEP (Systematic Voters Education for Electoral Participation) since 2010.

In PUCL vs Union of India, the Court said: “Protection of elector’s identity and affording secrecy is integral to free and fair elections and an arbitrary distinction between a voter who casts and a voter who does not cast his vote is violative of Article 14. Thus, secrecy is to be maintained for both categories of persons.”