Science and Technology
World’s First Solar Battery Developed By US Scientists
Scientists at Ohio State University, US developed the world’s first solar battery which recharges itself using air and light. The developed solar battery is in fact a hybrid device that is party rechargeable battery and part solar cell.
Japan Launches Weather Satellite ‘ Himawari-8 ‘
Japan successfully launched the nation’s next-generation Himawari-8 weather satellite on 7 October from the Tanegashima Space Center aboard an H-2A rocket.
ISRO’s PSLV-C26 Successfully Launched India’s Third Navigation Satellite IRNSS-1C
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched India’s third navigation satellite, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System -1C ( IRNSS-1C), into the space. The satellite was launched through ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C26 (PSLV-C26) rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on 16 October 2014. PSLV-C26 injected the IRNSS-1C satellite, weighing 1425 kg, into the designated orbit.This was the 27th consecutive successful flight of PSLV.
Researchers Develop World’s Thinnest Electric Generator
Researchers from Columbia Engineering and the Georgia Institute of Technology report on 15 October that they have made the first experimental observation of piezoelectricity and the piezotronic effect in an atomically thin material, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), resulting in a unique electric generator and mechanosensation devices that are optically transparent, extremely light, and very bendable and stretchable.
Argentina Successfully Launches Its First Communication Satellite
Argentina successfully launched its first geostationary communications satellite named ‘ARSAT-1’ from the spaceport near Kourou in French Guyana on 16 October.