IIT JAM 2012

IIT JAM 2012

    Joint Admission Test for M.Sc. (JAM) is an all-india examination administered and conducted across the country jointly by the seven Indian Institutes of Technology on behalf of Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD), Government of INdia. JAM is an all India Entrance examination for admission to M.Sc. (Two Year), Joint M.Sc.-Ph.D. Dual Degree and other post - bachelor degree programmes at IITs.
 
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION:

    (i) At least 55% aggregate marks (taking into account all subjects, including languages and subsidiaries, all years combined) for General/OBC category candidates and at least 50% aggregate marks (taking into account all subjects, including languages and subsidiaries, all years combined) for SC, ST and PD category candidates in the qualifying degree.
  
    (ii) Proof of having passed the qualifying degree with the minimum educational qualification as specified by the admitting institute should be submitted by 30 September 2012.
 
OFFLINE APPLICATION PROCESS:
    Step 1: Procurement of Application Form
    Step 2: Obtain SC/ST/PD Certificate (if applicable)
    Step 3: Fill in the Application Form
    Step 4:
        (a) Paste your recent photograph (3 cm X 4 cm) in the designated place of OMR sheet.
        (b) Sign at the designated places of OMR sheet.
        (c) Write the test city first choice code, paper code and your address on the envelope.

    Step 5: Post/Submission
        Speed Post (preferably) or by Registered Post to mailing address.
 
ONLINE APPLICATION PROCESS:
    Step 1: Payment Option: Demand draft      
    Step 2: Obtain SC/ST/PD Certificate (if applicable)
    Step 3: Apply Online

        Candidates must follow all instructions strictly while applying online.

        At the end of this process, a PDF file will be generated with the following pages:
            (a) Page-1: JAM 2012 Application Form
            (b) Page-2: Address Slip
        Take a print out of the entire file.
    Step 4:
        (a) Paste your recent color photograph (3 cm X 4 cm) in the designated place of Page-1.
        (b) Sign at the designated places of Page-1.
        (c) Paste the portion marked on the Page-2 on top of a A4-size envelope.

    Step 5: Post/Submission
        Speed Post (preferably) or by Registered Post to mailing address.

To apply click here: Online Application

MAILING ADDRESS:
  
    The Organizing Chairman,
    JAM 2012,
     IIT Bomaby, Powai,
    MUMBAI 400 076.
.

IMPORTANT DATES:
  
    Commencement of Online Registration: 22 September 2011 (Thursday)
    Last date for issue of application forms: 22 October 2011 (Saturday)
    Last date for Online Registration: 25 October 2011 (Tuesday)
    Last date for Submission of application:1st November , 2011
    Exam date: 12 February 2012 (Sunday)
    Announcement of the result: 10 April 2012 (Tuesday).

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GATE 2012 APPLICATION

GATE 2012 APPLICATION 

           Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is an all India examination administered and conducted jointly by the Indian Institute of Science and seven Indian Institutes of Technology on behalf of the National Coordination Board - GATE, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India.

What is New in GATE 2012?

Eligibility:
                Pre-final year students are not eligible to write GATE 2012.

Application Process:
                 In GATE 2012, candidates need to register and fill the application ONLINE only by accessing the zonal GATE websites of IISc and seven IITs. The application process is complete only when a print out of the filled ONLINE application with the candidate's signature and a good quality photo affixed in the appropriate place is received by the respective GATE office along with necessary documents, if any, on or before 24 October 2011. Please note that sale of application forms through banks and GATE office counters has been discontinued.

        1. Decide the payment option (a) net banking (b) Challan
        2. Obtain SC/ ST/PD certificate (if applicable)
        3. Apply online:
                             Candidates must follow the instructions provided while applying online. At the end of this process, a PDF file will be generated with the following pages:
                                               Page-1: Instructions
                                              Page-2: GATE 2012 Application - GATE Copy
                                             Page-3: GATE 2012 Application - Candidate's Copy
                                             Page-4: Address Slip of respective zonal GATE office
                                            Page-5: Bank Challan (for Challan Payment option only)
                           Take a print out of the entire file on A4 size white sheets using a laser/inkjet printer.
          4.   (a) Paste your recent photograph (3.5 cm X 3.5 cm) in the designated place of Page-2. Before pasting, please write your name and application number on the backside of the photo with black ball point pen.
               (b) Sign at the designated place of Page-2.
               (c) Paste Page-4 on top of a 10 inch x 12 inch size laminated envelope.
         5. Candidates should submit a certificate signed by the Principal of the college, where the candidate is studying, clearly indicating the year of passing of the candidate in the qualifying degree.
         6. Duly filled-in Application with appropriate enclosures must be sent by Speed Post (preferably) or by Registered Post to The Chairman, GATE of the Zone corresponding to the 1st Choice of Examination City, so as to reach on or before Monday, 24th October, 2011.

To apply click here Online Application

Downloadable Admit Card:
                Admit cards can only be downloaded from the zonal GATE websites from 2nd January 2012. Bring the admit card to the test center along with at least one original (not photocopied / scanned copy) and valid (not expired) photo identification.

Other downloads:
GATE 2012 Information Brochure
Format of Certificate from the Principal
Syllabus for GATE 2012 Papers

Important dates:
Date of online exam: 29-01-2012 (Sunday)
Date of offline exam: 12-02-2012 (Sunday)
Availability of admit card on zonal GATE websites: 02-01-2012 (Monday)
Announcement of results: 15-03-2012(Thursday)

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FIRST LIVING THINGS

What were the first living things?

The first living things on earth were simple cells, probably consisting of nucleic acids and proteins surrounded by a thin cell membrane. These  cells must have been far simpler than most modern bacteria. None could use sunlight to make food the way modern  plants and some bacteria do. Their environment was also very different from the environment today: the air had lmost no oxygen, and the ocean water was very warm.

Although these simple cells lived billions of years ago, scientists today have found similar organisms living at the bottom of the ocean. At spots more than 2 Km deep, where molten rock is just below the seafloor, hot water blasts up ward from earth’s interior. These jets of water – called black Smokers carry a heavy load of gases and minerals that turns the water black. Most of the deep ocean floor is without life, but black smokers form the centres of busy communities. Anaerobic bacteria which live without atmospheric oxygen, thrive here with no oxygen on light, getting energy from hydrogen sulphide and other compounds forced upward by the hot water. Similarities between modern bacteria found around these black smokers and earth’s first simple cells suggest that life may have began around such hot water vents.

The simplest modern day cell:

Of all life on earth, bacteria are among the simplest – small cells with no specialized compartments inside. And the anaerobic bacteria living around black smokers may be the most primitive. Some scientists believe these organisms – called archaebacteria or ancient bacteria – are descentants of the ancestors of all living things. Others say the bacteria evolved long after other life forms and adapted to such harsh environments as sewage, hot springs, and the intestines of some animals. Archaebacteria thrive today, for instance, in the boiling springs found in Yellowstone national Park in the Western US.                                                             

1.                                                   1. Bacteria living near: black smokers process gases and minerals to grow. The energy they release as a by-product helps provide food for clams as large as footballs gaint tube worms and other organisms in the deep sea community.

2.                                                    2.   Black smoker form when water seeps in to cracks in the seafloor and meets molten rock just below the surface. The water is superheated and surges upward, carrying with it dissolved minerals. When the scalding water meets the cold seawater above the ocean floor, some of the minerals solidify and form tall chimneys. Other collect into particles – the black “smoke” that gives the vents their name – and spray out of the chimneys. Pressure keeps the water from boiling, allowing it to reach 315C to 345C. scientists think black smokers have existed since continents first began to drift apart.

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HOW DID LIFE ORIGINATE

Introduction:
       Earth, as it was when nearly formed, seemed an unlikely place for life to begin. Volcanoes splattered red hot lava over the grey rocky crust and the sun’s searing UV light scorched the surface. Lightning split the cloudy sky, and the harsh chemicals of the early atmosphere, such as carbon monoxide, would have poisoned almost any organisms living today. But scientists speculate that energy from lightning sunlight and volcanic eruptions eventually linked some of the atoms in the atmosphere into simple organic molecules. And these molecules – which form the basic building blocks of the chemicals of life – then rained onto earth’s surface and into its warm and salty oceans. There, the molecules- called amino acids formed chains of proteins, which in turn linked up into the vital nucleic acids DNA and RNA.

The watery cradle of life:

When the originally rich rain hit earth, it ran over the surface rocks, collecting minerals on its way to the oceans. The seas were soon a nourishing soup, stirring together the chemical necessary for life. Amino acids linked up into long chains called proteins. Phosphates molecules, sugars, and organic bases combined to form nucleotides. And nucleotides in turn formed the nucleic acids DNA and RNA.

In modern cells, DNA holds on organism’s genetic information, RNA sends the information to the proteins, and the proteins start the chemical reaction necessary to carry out the instructions. Some scientists believe that RNA played a critical role in the origin of life, since it can can both hold genetic instructions, and like a protein, carry them out. In this scenario, DNA & protein would have evolved after RNA.

Chemicals of life in the laboratory:

In 1953 an American chemist named Stanely M. Miller attempted to recreate the conditions of the young planet in the laboratory. He filled a glass apparatus with a warm “ocean” and an “atmosphere” composed of methane, ammonia and hydrogen gases. He sent strong spark through the gases to imitate lightning. After only a day, Miller could detect amino acids in his miniature ocean. Later other experiment showed that these amino acids could even form microscopic hollow balls. These spheres – some of which look surprisingly like bacteria – grow by absorbing material from their surroundings. When they reach a certain size, buds develop, then split off. Such tiny protein spheres might have been the first ancestor of living cells.

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HOW DID EARTH FORM?

HOW DID EARTH FORM?
                  

                         Earth grew from a cloud of gases and dust swirling around the newly formed sun. particles in the cloud, pulled together by gravity, condensed into a rockly ball that continued to attract bits of rocks and dust into its orbit. The constant shower of fiery meteors added mass to the growing planet. And as earth grew larger, its gravity increased, squeezing its core and boosting the internal temperature of the young planet. More shrinking and heating sent molten rock flowing across the planet’s surface gases bubbled out of the rising lava and escaped, forming a primitive atmosphere that trapped heat near the planet’s sizzling surface.

                                                                                   The steaming planet forms oceans:

Gases escaping from molten lava flowing from earth’s interior set free many chemicals trapped inside the planet. One of those substance-the one upon which all life depends-was water. Escaping as vapor, on stream at the planet’s red hot surface, the water condensed in the black coldness of space and rained back down, only to turn into steam again when it hit earth’s surface. This went on until the maturing planet began to cool; then some water remained on the surface, running downhill to pool in its first billion years, earth had oceans, salted with minerals dissolved out of the crust and simmering with continuing volcanic activity. These early oceans nurtured the chemicals that would later combine to begin the evolution of life.

In earth ‘s shrinking interior radioactive substances decayed generating heat that helped to melt rock lava released gases, forming an atmosphere and water that vapourised and rained backdown on earth.

As earth matured and its surface cooled, rain no longer vapourized when it hit the crust. First tiny rivulets formed then rivers, dissolving minerals cut of the surface rocks and forming great pools.

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WHERE LIFE BEGAN?

WHERE THE LIFE BEGAN

                           The history of planet earth began about 4.6 billion years ago, and the beginning of life on earth dates back almost as far. Scientists have found fossils evidence of once living organisms from what is Precambrian era. This covers the time until the Cambrian period. These fossils represent small, simple life forms. While fossils from the Cambrian period which lasted from 570 million years to 500 million years ago, tell the story of life as seen in the first hard – shelled animals, Precambrian creatures did not have hard structure and their fossils can only hint about life long ago.

Precambrian fossil stromatolites are mound like structure with dark and light bands. Within the light bands, scientists have found traces of tiny one – celled organisms that lived at least 3.5 billion years ago. These organisms which resemble modern bacteria called blue green algae or cyanobacteria, were the first to use the sun’s energy to convert water and dissolved carbon dioxide in to food. This process is known as photosynthesis, releases oxygen as a by-prduct. By adding oxygen to an atmosphere that previously had almost none, these organisms set the stage for the evolution of all creatures that depend on oxygen to live.

Just before animals with shells evolved the first organisms with more than one cell appeared. Their soft bodies left only faint impression in the mud of the seas where they lived, but scientists speculate that many of them are related to creatures living today.

                          Mats of blue green algae and sediments release oxygen into the Precambrian atmosphere. Moreover, the path of evolution has lead to modern mammals.

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HOW DO METAL DETECTOR WORKS?

How do metal detectors work?

                    Airport security gates, treasures sweepers for hunting lost change or jewellery on the beach, traffic lights and coin slots in vending machines have one thing common. They all exploit the fact that a piece magnetic force has one or more of its physical properties changed in away that can be picked up by a sensor. Each type of metal detector contains a transmission elements for generating a magnetic field and receiving element for translating a secondary physical change in to an electronic signal that registers on a dial or triggers a sonic alarm.

                   The simplest of these devices generates an electric current that runs through a coil of wire, producing a magnetic field. When the coil passes over a piece of metal, the metal induces a second magnetic field, which interferes with first one and reverses the flow of electricity in the coil. This reversal is picked up by electronic circuitry. More sophisticated detectors that screen for concealed weapons, bombs or bits of metal contamination food, paper pulp or raw plastic may contain additional coils and computer chips that increases their sensitivity.

Measuring magnetic fields:

                 When metallic objects pass through a security gate, the flux or strength and extend of the magnetic field, increases. The rise in flux is accompanied by a voltage increase in the current flowing through the receiver coils, which triggers an alarm.

Control box:

                 To make sure that a security alarm sounds only if there is an unusual amount of metal guards adjust the sensitivity on a control box.

Two magnetic responses:

                Nickel, iron and other easily magnetized metals enhances a magnetic field, while copper, aluminium and other less easily magnetized ones do not.

Nickel or iron attracts magnetic lines of forces.

Copper repels the magnetic lines of forces.

Security checkpoint:

              To ferret out hidden guns or other weapons, airports and office buildings rely on security gates like the one at right. A series of coils scan a person’s body and alert guards when sizable amount of metals – possibly caused by the presence of weapons – are detected.

Detecting ferromagnetic materials:

              The ferromagnetic materials nickel, iron and cobalt become easily magnetized when exposed to as magnetic field. The special metal detector locates buried metals of this sort. The magnetic field in its two coils cancels each other out until exposed to a metal object. Then, the objects induced magnetism trips an electrical gate, sending a low current from the receiver coil to the detector’s electronic circuitry.

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