Thursday 3 April 2014

Rapid materials testing in 3D

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Ultrasound is a proven technology in components testing, but until now eva- luating the data has always been quite a time-consuming process. At the Hannover Messe from April 7-11, Fraunhofer researchers will be presenting their optimized ultrasonic testing solution – a method for testing materials quickly and reliably with the help of 3D images (Hall 2, Booth D18). Bats always know where they are, even in complete darkness. It’s not that they have amazing vision: rather, these nocturnal creatures “scan” their surroundings by continually emitting sounds inaudible to humans. Whenever these ultrasonic waves hit an obstacle, they are sent back as an echo. The longer an echo takes to return, the further away the object is. We humans also utilize this echolocation principle; in industry, for example, where ultrasound provides an effective way to test components. Ultrasonic waves emitted from a probe are used to detect the tiniest tears or material flaws that are not externally visible. Until now this process involved an employee guiding the probe along the component by hand, with the reflected signals appearing as curves on the probe’s display. Simple cross-sectional images of the area being examined can also be generated, providing experienced examiners with enough

The post Rapid materials testing in 3D has been published on Technology Org.


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New flotation for graphene specialist

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New flotation for graphene specialist
When will graphene and uses for #outerspace become the focus of their research?

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Hubble Finds That Monster 'El Gordo' Galaxy Cluster Is Bigger Than Thought



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If someone told you there was an object in space called "El Gordo" (Spanish for "the fat one") you might imagine some kind of planet-eating monster straight out of a science fiction movie. The nickname refers to a monstrous cluster of galaxies that is being viewed at a time when the universe was just half of its current age of 13.8 billion years. This is an object of superlatives. It contains several hundred galaxies swarming around under a collective gravitational pull. The total mass of the cluster, and refined in new Hubble measurements, is estimated to be as much as 3 million billion stars like our Sun (about 3,000 times more massive than our own Milky Way galaxy) though most of the mass is hidden away as dark matter. The cluster may be so huge because it is the result of a titanic collision and merger between two separate galaxy clusters. Thankfully, our Milky Way galaxy grew up in an uncluttered backwater region of the universe.




via HubbleSite NewsCenter -- Latest News Releases

http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2014/22/

Fermi data tantalize with new clues to dark matter: Gamma rays from center of Milky Way galaxy

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A new study of gamma-ray light from the center of our galaxy makes the strongest case to date that some of this emission may arise from dark matter, an unknown substance making up most of the material universe. Using publicly available data from NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, independent scientists at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Chicago have developed new maps showing that the galactic center produces more high-energy gamma rays than can be explained by known sources and that this excess emission is consistent with some forms of dark matter.

via Science Daily

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Icy moon Enceladus has underground sea

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Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus has an underground sea of liquid water, according to the international Cassini spacecraft.




via ESA Space Science

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Cassini-Huygens/Icy_moon_Enceladus_has_underground_sea

Science Rocks Sir Isaac Newton Poster

Here's a great poster featuring a beautiful image from deep space


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Science Rocks Isaac Newton Posters

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Tiny power generator runs on spit

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Saliva-powered micro-sized microbial fuel cells can produce minute amounts of energy sufficient to run on-chip applications, according to engineers. Biomedical devices using micro-sized microbial fuel cells would be portable and have their energy source available anywhere.

via Science Daily

Nano scale, mega scope

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Research in China has shown that a common hybrid circuit component has potential for use as a micro-actuator. The industrial grade MLCCs tested display surprisingly little hysteresis, suggesting they could be of interest in many microactuation applications including nanoposition for scanning probe microscopes.



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Super-bright solar power plant blinding pilots around midday

Science Focus

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Out in the California desert, just 40 miles southwest of Las Vegas, the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System has been harnessing the power of the sun—a little too effectively. In August 2013, a number of pilots flying over the solar plant, which counts Google as one of its investors and sits on approximately 3,500 acres of federal land in the Mojave Desert, reported that the glare coming off the plant's equipment is blinding to the point of being a serious hazard.

“The copilot and I were distracted and momentarily blinded by the sun reflecting off of mirrors at the solar power plant facility located near the CA-NV border near the town of Primm,” one pilot, who was flying a small transport plane out of Boulder City, Nevada, recounted to the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS). “At its brightest, neither the pilot nor copilot could look in that direction due to the intense brightness. From the pilot’s seat of my aircraft, the brightness was like looking into the sun, and it filled about 1/3 of the copilot's front windshield. In my opinion the reflection from these mirrors was a hazard to flight because for a brief time I could not scan the sky in that direction to look for other aircraft.”

The glare, it seems, was coming from light reflected by the solar plant's heliostats, which are 78-square-foot mirrors specially designed by solar company BrightSource to reflect the sun's rays onto one of three 459-foot-high boiler towers. The heat from all that concentrated light boils the water within, generating 377 megawatts of electricity, which is then sold to PG&E and Southern California Edison. The heat that the reflected light creates is intense—it has even been known to scorch birds that fly through. (Although the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System keeps close track of these incidents—a February compliance report suggested that approximately five birds were killed by the plant's heat that month.)

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Building BICEP2: A Conversation with Jamie Bock

Science Focus

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Caltech Professor of Physics Jamie Bock and his collaborators announced on March 17, 2014 that they have successfully measured a B-mode polarization signal in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) using the BICEP2 telescope at the South Pole. This signal is an important confirmation of key aspects of the theory of cosmic inflation, about how the universe may have behaved in the first fractions of a second of its existence to create the universe we live in today. Inflation was first proposed in 1980 by Alan Guth, a theoretical physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), to explain some unusual features of our universe, especially its surprising homogeneity. For all the clumping of stars and galaxies we see in the night sky, the universe seen through the CMB is extremely uniform—so much so that it has been difficult for physicists to believe that the various pieces of the sky were not all in immediate contact with one another at an earlier point in the universe’s development. Since the theory of cosmic inflation was first advanced, most physicists have come to agree that inflation is the best explanation we have for the observable universe. Yet the hope of acquiring direct evidence of inflation

The post Building BICEP2: A Conversation with Jamie Bock has been published on Technology Org.


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Nanopores underlie our ability to tune in to a single voice

Science Focus

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Even in a crowded room full of background noise, the human ear is remarkably adept at tuning in to a single voice — a feat that has proved remarkably difficult for computers to match. A new analysis of the underlying mechanisms, conducted by researchers at MIT, has provided insights that could ultimately lead to better machine hearing, and perhaps to better hearing aids as well. Our ears’ selectivity, it turns out, arises from evolution’s precise tuning of a tiny membrane, inside the inner ear, called the tectorial membrane. The viscosity of this membrane — its firmness, or lack thereof — depends on the size and distribution of tiny pores, just a few tens of nanometers wide. This, in turn, provides mechanical filtering that helps to sort out specific sounds. The new findings are reported in the Biophysical Journal by a team led by MIT graduate student Jonathan Sellon, and including research scientist Roozbeh Ghaffari, former graduate student Shirin Farrahi, and professor of electrical engineering Dennis Freeman. The team collaborated with biologist Guy Richardson of the University of Sussex. Elusive understanding In discriminating among competing sounds, the human ear is “extraordinary compared to conventional speech- and sound-recognition technologies,” Freeman says. The exact reasons

The post Nanopores underlie our ability to tune in to a single voice has been published on Technology Org.


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Monogram Brightest Supernova Ever space picture Sticker

Here's a great sheet of stickers featuring a beautiful image from deep space


tagged with: astronomy pictures, outer space, star galaxies, sn1006c, supernova explosions, brightest supernova, exploding white dwarf, neutron star, deep space astronomy, monogram initials, supernova bursts, supernovae space bubble

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series Just over a thousand years ago, the stellar explosion known as supernova SN 1006 was observed. It was brighter than Venus, and visible during the day for weeks. The brightest supernova ever recorded on Earth, this spectacular light show was documented in China, Japan, Europe, and the Arab world.
Ancient observers were treated to this celestial fireworks display without understanding its cause or implications. Astronomers now understand that SN 1006 was caused by a white dwarf star that captured mass from a companion star until the white dwarf became unstable and exploded. Recent observations of the remnant of SN 1006 reveal the liberation of elements such as iron that were previously locked up inside the star. Because no material falls back into a neutron star or black hole after this type of supernova explosion, the liberation of this star's contents is complete. It represents, therefore, a cosmic version of Independence Day for this star.
This is a composite image of the SN 1006 supernova remnant, which is located about 7000 light years from Earth. Shown here are X-ray data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory (blue), optical data from the University of Michigan's 0.9 meter Curtis Schmidt telescope at the NSF's Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO; yellow) and the Digitized Sky Survey (orange and light blue), plus radio data from the NRAO's Very Large Array and Green Bank Telescope (VLA/GBT; red).
This combined study of the Chandra, CTIO and VLA/GBT observations shows new evidence for the acceleration of charged particles to high energies in supernova shockwaves. An accompanying Hubble Space Telescope image of SN 1006 shows a close-up of the region on the upper right of the supernova remnant. The twisting ribbon of light seen by Hubble reveals where the expanding blast wave is sweeping into very tenuous surrounding gas.
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Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Rutgers/G.Cassam-Chenaï, J.Hughes et al.; Radio: NRAO/AUI/NSF/GBT/VLA/Dyer, Maddalena & Cornwell; Optical: Middlebury College/F.Winkler, NOAO/AURA/NSF/CTIO Schmidt & DSS

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Name, Brightest Supernova Ever space picture Gift Wrap

Get your out-of-this-world gift wrap here! Perfect for Christmas gifts for anyone who is fascinated by what the universe holds in store for us!


tagged with: astronomy pictures, outer space, star galaxies, sn1006c, supernova explosions, brightest supernova, exploding white dwarf, neutron star, deep space astronomy, supernovae space bubble, supernova bursts

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series Just over a thousand years ago, the stellar explosion known as supernova SN 1006 was observed. It was brighter than Venus, and visible during the day for weeks. The brightest supernova ever recorded on Earth, this spectacular light show was documented in China, Japan, Europe, and the Arab world.
Ancient observers were treated to this celestial fireworks display without understanding its cause or implications. Astronomers now understand that SN 1006 was caused by a white dwarf star that captured mass from a companion star until the white dwarf became unstable and exploded. Recent observations of the remnant of SN 1006 reveal the liberation of elements such as iron that were previously locked up inside the star. Because no material falls back into a neutron star or black hole after this type of supernova explosion, the liberation of this star's contents is complete. It represents, therefore, a cosmic version of Independence Day for this star.
This is a composite image of the SN 1006 supernova remnant, which is located about 7000 light years from Earth. Shown here are X-ray data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory (blue), optical data from the University of Michigan's 0.9 meter Curtis Schmidt telescope at the NSF's Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO; yellow) and the Digitized Sky Survey (orange and light blue), plus radio data from the NRAO's Very Large Array and Green Bank Telescope (VLA/GBT; red).
This combined study of the Chandra, CTIO and VLA/GBT observations shows new evidence for the acceleration of charged particles to high energies in supernova shockwaves. An accompanying Hubble Space Telescope image of SN 1006 shows a close-up of the region on the upper right of the supernova remnant. The twisting ribbon of light seen by Hubble reveals where the expanding blast wave is sweeping into very tenuous surrounding gas.
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image code: sn1006c

Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Rutgers/G.Cassam-Chenaï, J.Hughes et al.; Radio: NRAO/AUI/NSF/GBT/VLA/Dyer, Maddalena & Cornwell; Optical: Middlebury College/F.Winkler, NOAO/AURA/NSF/CTIO Schmidt & DSS

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$50 Off the Orion SpaceProbe 3 Equatorial Reflector Telescope

Amazon Gold Box Daily Deal

An amazing daily deal from Amazon's Sky Watching Specials. Grab yours quickly, it won't last long!


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For a limited time, save $50 on the Orion SpaceProbe 3 equatorial reflector telescope from Amazon.com.
Expires May 1, 2014

At the Edge of NGC 2174

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This fantastic skyscape lies near the edge of NGC 2174 a star forming region about 6,400 light-years away in the nebula-rich constellation of Orion. It follows mountainous clouds of gas and dust carved by winds and radiation from the region's newborn stars, now found scattered in open star clusters embedded around the center of NGC 2174, off the top of the frame. Though star formation continues within these dusty cosmic clouds they will likely be dispersed by the energetic newborn stars within a few million years. Recorded at infrared wavelengths by the Hubble Space Telescope, the interstellar scene spans about 6 light-years. The image celebrates the upcoming 24th anniversary of Hubble's launch onboard the space shuttle orbiter Discovery on April 24, 1990.

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To boldly go? Experts issue ethics guidelines for health standards on NASA's next generation of risky missions

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An Institute of Medicine committee has issued a report with ethics principles and guidelines to aid NASA in decision-making for longer, higher risk human spaceflights. Such missions, including extended stays on the International Space Station and flights to Mars, have higher risks and are unlikely to meet the space agency's current health standards.

via Science Daily

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Regolith of small asteroids formed by thermal fatigue

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The centimeter-sized fragments and smaller particles that make up the regolith -- the layer of loose, unconsolidated rock and dust -- of small asteroids is formed by temperature cycling that breaks down rock in a process called thermal fatigue, according to a new article.

via Science Daily

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'Geologic clock' helps determine moon's age

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Planetary scientists have determined that the moon formed nearly 100 million years after the start of the solar system, according to a new article. This conclusion is based on measurements from the interior of the Earth combined with computer simulations of the protoplanetary disk from which the Earth and other terrestrial planets formed.

via Science Daily

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Star-Forming Region NGC 3324 Room Graphics

Here's a great wall decal featuring a beautiful image from deep space


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"The landmark 10th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope's Hubble Heritage Project is being celebrated with a 'landscape' image from the cosmos. Cutting across a nearby star-forming region, called NGC 3324, are the "hills and valleys" of gas and dust displayed in intricate detail. Set amid a backdrop of soft, glowing blue light are wispy tendrils of gas as well as dark trunks of dust that are light-years in height. NGC 3324 is located in the constellation Carina, about 7,200 light-years away from Earth.

The Hubble Heritage Project, which began in October 1998, has released nearly 130 images mined from the Hubble data archive as well as a number of observations taken specifically for the project. By releasing a new, previously unseen Hubble image every month, the team's intent was to showcase some of the most attractive images ever taken by the Hubble telescope, and share them with a wide audience. The Heritage team continues to create aesthetic images that present the universe from an artistic perspective."

(qtd. from Hubblesite.org NewsCenter release STScI-2008-34)

Credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

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Spiral Galaxy M83

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Pink and blue stars in barred Spiral Galaxy M83, otherwise known as the Southern Pinwheel. Space pic thanks to NASA/Hubble programs.

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Scientists Discover Potential Way to Make Graphene Superconducting

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Scientists at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have discovered a potential way to make graphene – a single layer of carbon atoms with great promise for future electronics – superconducting, a state in which it would carry electricity with 100 percent efficiency.   Adding calcium atoms (orange spheres) between graphene planes (blue honeycomb) creates a superconducting material called CaC6. Now a study at SLAC has shown for the first time that graphene is a key player in this superconductivity: Electrons scatter back and forth between the graphene and calcium layers, interact with natural vibrations in the material’s atomic structure and pair up to conduct electricity without resistance. (Greg Stewart/SLAC)       Researchers used a beam of intense ultraviolet light to look deep into the electronic structure of a material made of alternating layers of graphene and calcium. While it’s been known for nearly a decade that this combined material is superconducting, the new study offers the first compelling evidence that the graphene layers are instrumental in this process, a discovery that could transform the engineering of materials for nanoscale electronic devices. “Our work points to a pathway to make graphene superconducting – something

The post Scientists Discover Potential Way to Make Graphene Superconducting has been published on Technology Org.


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The Earth and Moon Print

Here's a great poster featuring a beautiful image from deep space


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An amazing picture of the earth and moon from space.

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Monogram Starry Wingtip of Small Magellanic Cloud Gift Wrapping Paper

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tagged with: small magellanic cloud, star galaxies, starry, outer space picture, wismcg, deep space image, galactic, universe exploration, deep space astronomy

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series The tip of the "wing" of the Small Magellanic Cloud galaxy is dazzling in this new view from NASA's Great Observatories. The Small Magellanic Cloud, or SMC, is a small galaxy about 200,000 light-years way that orbits our own Milky Way spiral galaxy.
The colors represent wavelengths of light across a broad spectrum. X-rays from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory are shown in purple; visible-light from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is colored red, green and blue; and infrared observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope are also represented in red.
The spiral galaxy seen in the lower corner is actually behind this nebula. Other distant galaxies located hundreds of millions of light-years or more away can be seen sprinkled around the edge of the image.
The SMC is one of the Milky Way's closest galactic neighbors. Even though it is a small, or so-called dwarf galaxy, the SMC is so bright that it is visible to the unaided eye from the Southern Hemisphere and near the equator. Many navigators, including Ferdinand Magellan who lends his name to the SMC, used it to help find their way across the oceans.
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Monogram Starry Wingtip of Small Magellanic Cloud Round Stickers

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tagged with: monogram initials, small magellanic cloud, star galaxies, starry, outer space picture, wismcg, deep space image, galactic, universe exploration, deep space astronomy, interstellar

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series The tip of the "wing" of the Small Magellanic Cloud galaxy is dazzling in this new view from NASA's Great Observatories. The Small Magellanic Cloud, or SMC, is a small galaxy about 200,000 light-years way that orbits our own Milky Way spiral galaxy.
The colors represent wavelengths of light across a broad spectrum. X-rays from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory are shown in purple; visible-light from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is colored red, green and blue; and infrared observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope are also represented in red.
The spiral galaxy seen in the lower corner is actually behind this nebula. Other distant galaxies located hundreds of millions of light-years or more away can be seen sprinkled around the edge of the image.
The SMC is one of the Milky Way's closest galactic neighbors. Even though it is a small, or so-called dwarf galaxy, the SMC is so bright that it is visible to the unaided eye from the Southern Hemisphere and near the equator. Many navigators, including Ferdinand Magellan who lends his name to the SMC, used it to help find their way across the oceans.
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image code: wismcg

Image credit: NASA/CXC/JPL-Caltech/STScI

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Star birth in Carina Nebula from Hubble's WFC3 det Wall Skins

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ImageID: 42-23286264 / STScI / NASA/Corbis / Star birth in Carina Nebula from Hubble's WFC3 detector

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Coma Cluster (Abell 1656)

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"NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captures the magnificent starry population of the Coma Cluster of galaxies, one of the densest known galaxy collections in the universe. The Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys viewed a large portion of the cluster, spanning several million light-years across. The entire cluster contains thousands of galaxies in a spherical shape more than 20 million light-years in diameter."

(qtd. from Hubblesite.org NewsCenter release STScI-2008-24)

Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

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