Answers for 22nd Nov 2010

Q1. Operation Smiling Buddha (Pokhran 1974) marks the beginning of the Atomic Age in India. Who headed the development team?

A: Raja Ramanna. He was the director of BARC during Smiling Buddha. He became known as the Father of India's nuclear programme and was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1975. He is from Karnataka.

Correct answers: @kishor_narayan, @Prashanth_Krish, @Karmasura

Q2. Which mathematical constant is given by the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle?

A: Pi.

Correct answers: @kirankarlmarx, @kishor_narayan, @KiranKS, @aaindian, @Prashanth_Krish, @gdeepy, @quietist, @Karmasura, @SivaChandan, @ssudhirkumar

Q3. Bt-Brinjal carries 'foreign' genes from which bacterium? This bacterium is available commercially as a pesticide.

A: Bacillus thuringiensis. It is a common soil-dwelling bacterium that naturally produces substances that are toxic to certain pests. Bt-Brinjal is a transgenic variety that is genetically engineered to carry genes that produce these toxins.

Correct answers: @kirankarlmarx, @KiranKS

Q4. Only one fifth generation fighter aircraft is in active service today. Which one?

A: F-22 Raptor. It is an air superiority aircraft that uses stealth technology. It is built by Lockheed Martin and Boeing for the US Air Force.

Correct answers: @quietist, @kishor_narayan, @Karmasura, @KiranKS

Q5. The invention of which machine is believed to have led to the Industrial Revolution in the West?

A: Steam engine. While there were other inventions, notably improved cotton spinning (Cotton Genny) and iron smelting technologies, the steam engine had a wide impact and literally "powered" the Industrial Revolution. It acted as a cheap, location-free source of motive power for factories, mines and most importantly transport (railways and ships) for more than a century before the diesel engine and electric motor came to be widely used. References to engines using steam power date back to 1^st century AD but the modern steam engine was invented by Thomas Newcomen in 1712 and was later improved upon by James Watson in 1775.

Correct answers: @quietist, @Prashanth_Krish, @Karmasura, @kirankarlmarx, @centerofright,

Scores

@kirankarlmarx 30

@kishor_narayan 30

@KiranKS 30

@Prashanth_Krish 30

@quietist 30

@Karmasura 30

@aaindian 10

@gdeepy 10

@SivaChandan 10

@ssudhirkumar 10

@centerofright 10

Well done people!