Science and Technology General Knowledge Quiz

A race condition occurs when multiple threads access shared data concurrently without proper synchronization, leading to unpredictable results. The 2003 blackout investigation identified race conditions in the alarm system software that failed to alert operators. Deadlock (A) is different - threads waiting indefinitely for each other.

Thomas Edison advocated for Direct Current (DC) electrical systems and argued against Alternating Current (AC). George Westinghouse (B) and Nikola Tesla (D) were the primary AC advocates, backing the AC system that ultimately prevailed.

The Trinity test was the first-ever nuclear detonation, conducted by the United States on July 16, 1945 in New Mexico as part of the Manhattan Project. 'Ranger' and 'Ivy' were later nuclear test series, not individual tests. 'Greenhouse' was another test series in 1951, well after Trinity.

Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have visited all four giant planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune) and crossed the heliosphere into interstellar space. Voyager 1 crossed the solar system boundary but didn't visit Uranus or Neptune. The Viking probes were Mars landers/orbiters that didn't leave the inner solar system.

The V2 rocket was developed by Nazi Germany during World War II and used against targets like London and Antwerp. It was the world's first long-range guided ballistic missile. The X-15 was a later US experimental rocket plane from the 1950s-60s. Concorde was a supersonic passenger airliner from the 1970s. Soyuz is a Soviet/Russian spacecraft family from the 1960s onward.

Sputnik 1, launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957, was the first artificial satellite to orbit Earth. Explorer 1 was the first US satellite (January 1958). Rohini was an Indian satellite series. Dong Fang Hong I was China's first satellite (1970).

Ada Lovelace (1815-1852), daughter of Lord Byron, wrote the first algorithm intended for processing by a machine - Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine. Her 1843 notes on Babbage's engine included what is recognized as the first computer program. Charles Babbage (A) designed the engines but didn't write programs for them. Bill Gates (C) and Steve Jobs (D) are 20th century figures.

Dry ice is solid carbon dioxide (CO₂). It sublimates (transitions directly from solid to gas) at -78.5°C at atmospheric pressure. Option C has a typo ('Corbondioxide' instead of 'carbon dioxide') but is clearly the intended correct answer. Silicon (A) and gold (B) are elements at room temperature, not frozen gases.

Apple introduced the mouse to the mass market with the Apple Lisa in 1983 and the Macintosh in 1984, making it commercially successful. The mouse was actually invented by Douglas Engelbart at Stanford Research Institute in 1964, and Xerox PARC developed it further (featured on the Xerox Alto in 1973). However, Apple was first to successfully commercialize it for consumers. IBM (B), Oracle (C), and Sun Microsystems (D) were not the pioneers.

Ernest Rutherford discovered the proton in 1917-1919 through experiments involving nitrogen nuclei and alpha particles. He identified that the positive charge in atoms was concentrated in a small nucleus. JJ Thompson discovered the electron, not the proton. Chadwick discovered the neutron, and Newton predates nuclear physics.

Sunlight takes approximately 8 minutes and 20 seconds (500 seconds) to travel from the Sun to Earth, based on the Earth-Sun distance of about 150 million km and the speed of light at 300,000 km/s. 8 minutes is the closest approximation. 8 seconds is far too short, and 8 hours or 80 minutes are far too long.

Larry Ellison co-founded Oracle Corporation (originally called Software Development Laboratories) in 1977 along with Bob Miner and Ed Oates. Bill Gates founded Microsoft, Larry Page co-founded Google, and Steve Wozniak co-founded Apple (misspelled as Waznaik).

Sulphuric acid (H2SO4) is called the 'King of chemicals' because of its immense industrial importance and widespread use. It has the highest production volume among all chemicals globally. Hydrochloric acid, hydrogen sulfide, and nitric acid are important chemicals but don't have this title.

A rhino's horn is made of keratin, the same protein that makes up human hair and fingernails. It's not bone, teeth, or muscle tissue. This is why rhino horns can be trimmed or removed without harming the rhino, similar to cutting hair.

Louis Pasteur discovered microbes in air through his famous swan-neck flask experiment in 1859-1864, which disproved spontaneous generation. Robert Koch worked on specific diseases but not airborne microbes. Aristotle believed in spontaneous generation.

Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) is widely recognized as the world's first computer programmer for her work on Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine. She wrote what is considered the first algorithm intended to be processed by a machine. Charles Babbage designed the computer but didn't program it. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are modern tech pioneers, not historical programmers.

Dry ice is the solid form of carbon dioxide (CO2), which sublimates directly from solid to gas at -78.5°C. The name 'dry ice' refers to the fact that it does not melt into a liquid like regular ice. Note the typo in option C - 'Corbondioxide' should be 'Carbon dioxide'.