What are microLED displays and why is Apple shifting to it (GS Paper 3, Science and Tech)
Why in news?
- The microLEDs are self-illuminating diodes that have brighter and better colour reproduction than Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display technology.
- Apple is currently working on this new display technology and plans to implement the same on future watch models starting 2024, and gradually to its other devices including iPhones and Macs.
What is microLED display technology?
- The basis of microLED technology are sapphires. A sapphire can shine on its own forever. A microLED screen is filled with such small but strong light. The picture in a microLED screen is generated by several individual light-emitting diodes.
- Samsung, the pioneer in microLED technology explained in a video that a microLED is as small as cutting a centimetre of hair into 200 smaller pieces.
- Each of these microLEDs are semiconductors that receive electric signals. Once these microLEDs are gathered, they form a module. Several modules are then combined to form screens.
What are its benefits over other displays?
- MicroLED displays are brighter, have better colour reproduction and provide better viewing angles.
- MicroLEDs have limitless scalability, as they are resolution-free, bezel-free, ratio-free, and even size-free.The screen can be freely resized in any form for practical usage.
- In addition to being self-emissive, MicroLEDs also individually produce red, green, and blue colours without needing the same backlighting or colour filters as conventional displays.
- Samsung has come up with MicroLED displays with up to 4,000 nits of peak brightness, roughly double of what the best OLED and LCD TVs are capable of right now.
What does the new technology mean for Apple?
- MicroLED displays will be Apple’s first screens designed and developed in-house. The tech company currently sources screens from Samsung, LG, Japan Display Inc.,Sharp Corp. and BOE Technology Group Co.
- Apple’s transition to the new displays could reduce its reliance on technology partners like Samsung and LG and replace Apple supplies with homegrown parts.
- The Cupertino-based company currently makes its own M1 and M2 chips. It has dropped Intel’s chips in its Mac computers to boost in-house designs and plans to do the same with key wireless components in its iPhones.
- Now, by making the displays on its own, Apple could be in a better position to customise its devices and keep a stronger control on its supply chain, thus reducing delays in product availability.
When can we see it and in which products?
- The screens are expected to debut with the Apple Watch Ultra in 2024, but Apple eventually plans to bring the technology to its entire lineup of iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch devices.
China planning Aksai Chin railway line to connect Tibet and Xinjiang
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Why in news?
- China will soon begin construction on an ambitious new railway line connecting Xinjiang and Tibet that will run close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and through the disputed Aksai Chin region, according to a new railway plan released by the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) government.
- The “medium to long term railway plan” for Tibet, envisages expanding the TAR rail network to reach 4,000 km by 2025 up from the current 1,400 km, including new routes that will run up to China’s borders with India and Nepal.
Xinjiang-Tibet railway:
- The most ambitious of the new plans is the Xinjiang-Tibet railway, which will broadly follow the course of the G219 national highway. The construction of the Xinjiang-Tibet highway through Aksai Chin had triggered tensions between India and China in the lead up to the 1962 war.
- The proposed railway will begin in Shigatse in Tibet, and run northwest along the Nepal border, before cutting north through Aksai Chin and ending in Hotan in Xinjiang. The planned route will pass through Rutog and around Pangong Lake on the Chinese side of the LAC.
- The first section, from Shigatse to Pakhuktso, will be completed by 2025, with the rest of the line, up to Hotan, expected to be finished by 2035.
Twin purposes
- The railway construction is being seen as serving two purposes:
- boosting border security by enabling China to more closely integrate border areas as well as mobilise quickly to the frontier when needed; and
- accelerating Tibet’s economic integration with the hinterland.
- While Qinghai province has a rail link to Tibet, the plan will now extend railway links for the first time to the three other neighbouring provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan and Gansu.
Rail lines in operation:
- Tibet currently only has three rail lines in operation: the Qinghai-Tibet link that opened in 2006, the Lhasa-Shigatse rail launched in 2014, and the Lhasa-Nyingchi line that began operation in 2021.
- The Lhasa-Nyingchi line runs to Tibet’s southeast, and near the border with India’s Arunachal Pradesh. This line is being extended further east up to Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan and a major economic and military hub in western China, shortening the travel time between the two regional capitals from 36 hours to 12 hours.
- Under the plan, border railway lines will be built up to Gyirong, the land port on the Nepal-Tibet border, and to Yadong county in the Chumbi valley, which borders India’s Sikkim as well as Bhutan.
DHARA Annual Meeting of Members of the River Cities Alliance
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Why in news?
- DHARA which stands for Driving Holistic Action for Urban Rivers, the annual meeting of the members of the River Cities Alliance (RCA), is being organised by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) in association with National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) in Pune.
Details:
- DHARA 2023 will provide a platform for senior officials including Commissioners, Addl. Commissioners, Chief Engineers and Senior Planners of the 95-member river cities in India to co-learn and discuss solutions for managing local water bodies.
- The event has strong synergies with the Urban20 (U20) initiative under the ambit of India’s G20 Presidency. One of the thrust areas of U20 is to promulgate urban water security. Healthy rivers have a vital role to play in enhancing the overall water security of the city.
Significance:
- DHARA 2023 is being organised for the Municipal Commissioners of the member cities to initiate in-depth discussions and come up with possible learning solutions for urban river management.
- The expected outcome of DHARA 2023 is to inspire members of the RCA to engage in progressive actions for urban river management in their cities.
- It is also expected that the event will shine light on the unaddressed issues and challenges for river management in cities, which will help NIUA and its partners in formulating an effective work plan.
- The event will also develop a compendium of technological solutions that cities may adopt for enhancing the management of their local rivers.
About RCA:
- River Cities Alliance (RCA) started with 30 cities in 2021 and currently has 95 cities as members across India.
- RCA was launched on November 2021 as a dedicated platform for river cities in India to ideate, discuss and exchange information for sustainable management of urban rivers.
- River Cities Alliance, first-of-its-kind Alliance in the world, symbolizes the successful partnership of the two Ministries i.e., Ministry of Jal Shakti and Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
- The Alliance focuses on three broad themes- Networking, Capacity Building and Technical Support.
