UPSC CSE Prelims
Basics of Nuclear Science Previous Year Questions (PYQs)
Practice solved questions for Basics of Nuclear Science with detailed step-by-step solutions, key insights, and trend analysis for UPSC CSE PRELIMS.
Solved Previous Year Questions
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India is an important member of the ‘International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor’. If this experiment succeeds, what is the immediate advantage for India?
Detailed Explanation:
Answer: Option 4 — It can build fusion reactors for power generation
ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) is a collaborative project to demonstrate nuclear fusion as a viable energy source by merging hydrogen isotopes at extremely high temperatures.
India's participation provides access to fusion technology, research expertise, and engineering know-how needed to eventually build its own fusion reactors for clean, abundant power generation.
Why other options are incorrect:
• Option 1: Thorium utilization relates to advanced fission reactors, not fusion technology
• Option 2: Satellite navigation involves space technology (NAVIC/IRNSS), unrelated to ITER
• Option 3: ITER focuses on fusion, not improving existing fission reactor efficiency
To meet its rapidly growing energy demand, some opine that India should pursue research and development on thorium as the future fuel of nuclear energy. In this context, what advantage does thorium hold over uranium?
Detailed Explanation:
✅ Statement 1 – Correct: Thorium is approximately 3-4 times more abundant in nature than uranium, found widely in Earth's crust including monazite sands.
✅ Statement 2 – Correct: Thorium-232 can generate approximately 30 times more energy per unit mass than natural uranium when bred into fissile U-233.
✅ Statement 3 – Correct: Thorium fuel cycle produces significantly less long-lived radioactive waste and minimal plutonium, making waste management easier than uranium fuel cycle.
A team of scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory including those from India created the heaviest antimatter (anti-helium nucleus). What is/are the implication/implications of the creation of antimatter?
- It will make mineral prospecting and oil exploration easier and cheaper.
- It will help probe the possibility of the existence of stars and galaxies made of antimatter.
- It will help understand the evolution of the universe.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Detailed Explanation:
❌ Statement 1 – Incorrect: Antimatter production is extremely costly and impractical; it has no application in mineral prospecting or oil exploration, which rely on seismic surveys and remote sensing.
✅ Statement 2 – Correct: Discovery of anti-helium-4 nucleus provides a reference for space-based experiments like Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) to search for antimatter in cosmic rays, helping probe the existence of antimatter stars and galaxies.
✅ Statement 3 – Correct: Studying heavy antimatter nuclei helps understand the matter-antimatter asymmetry puzzle—why the Big Bang produced a matter-dominated universe despite equal creation of both—crucial for understanding early universe evolution.
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