Thursday 17 April 2014

The cooperative effects of tension and elasticity

original post »

The attraction between two spheres, says Chakrabarti, depends on the relationship between the depth to which they are submerged and the separation between them. Credit: Christa Neu It was a straightforward experiment: drop tiny solid spheres of metal and ceramic into a gel material and see what they would do. Aditi Chakrabarti, a Ph.D. candidate in chemical engineering, wasn’t certain how the particles would behave, but she was hoping to see something no one had seen before. What she saw surpassed her expectations. Looking through a clear, glass container, Chakrabarti watched the spheres sink to a particular depth where they became stagnant in the polyacrylamide gel, which is a soft elastic solid. Her experiments showed that the particles, which measured 2 to 5 millimeters in diameter, not only sank into the gel but began to interact with each other, eventually forming close-packed structures, in a process resembling crystallization. After doing further experiments with combinations of copper, steel, glass and ceramic spheres, Chakrabarti discovered that the forces governing the movements of the particles were the result of the cooperative effects of surface tension, elasticity and gravity. Read more at: Phys.org

The post The cooperative effects of tension and elasticity has been published on Technology Org.

 
#materials 
See Zazzle gifts tagged with 'science'

Thinnest membrane feasible has been produced

more »

A new nano-membrane made out of the 'super material' graphene is extremely light and breathable. Not only can this open the door to a new generation of functional waterproof clothing, but also to ultra-rapid filtration. The new membrane just produced is as thin as is technologically possible.

via Science Daily

First potentially habitable Earth-sized planet confirmed by Gemini and Keck observatories

more »

The first Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting within the habitable zone of another star has been confirmed by observations with both the W. M. Keck Observatory and the Gemini Observatory. The initial discovery, made by NASA's Kepler Space Telescope, is one of a handful of smaller planets found by Kepler and verified using large ground-based telescopes. It also confirms that Earth-sized planets do exist in the habitable zone of other stars.

via Science Daily

Zazzle Space Exploration market place

A cross-section of the universe

more »

An image of a galaxy cluster gives a remarkable cross-section of the universe, showing objects at different distances and stages in cosmic history. They range from cosmic near neighbors to objects seen in the early years of the universe. The 14-hour exposure shows objects around a billion times fainter than can be seen with the naked eye.

via Science Daily

Zazzle Space Exploration market place

Scientists Find an ‘Earth Twin,’ or Maybe a Cousin

more »

A planet known as Kepler 186f, 500 light-years away, is the closet match to our own yet discovered, astronomers say.















via New York Times

Red moon at night: Stargazer's delight

more »

Monday night's lunar eclipse proved just as delightful as expected to those able to view it. On the East Coast, cloudy skies may have gotten in the way, but at the National Science Foundation's National Optical Astronomy Observatory near Tucson, Ariz., the skies offered impressive viewing.

via Science Daily

Zazzle Space Exploration market place

Mars: Meteorites yield clues to Red Planet's early atmosphere

more »

Geologists analyzed 40 meteorites that fell to Earth from Mars to understand the history of the Martian atmosphere. Their new article shows the atmospheres of Mars and Earth diverged in important ways early in the solar system's 4.6 billion year evolution.

via Science Daily

Zazzle Space Exploration market place

Carina Nebula Print

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


tagged with: nasa, hubble, space, telescope, carina, nebula, mystical, mountain, home, garden

NASA and partners celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope by releasing this mystical image from the Carina Nebula.

»visit the annaleeblysse store for more designs and products like this
Click to customize with size, paper type etc.
via Zazzle Astronomy market place

You should read my namesake's book!

Science Focus

original post »
You should read my namesake's book!
(h/t to +Tammy Jackson for this find)

There's a short background to that statement. Long time ago when Amazon was still establishing itself, A friend (Hi +Gordon Charlton) and his family bought me a special book as a gift.

They did a search for books by Authors with the same name as me and came across Mendel's Demon: [Gene Justice and the Complexity of Life] by Mark Ridley.

Knowing me, they chose well and gave it to me for my birthday (or Christmas, maybe?).

Anyway, it was a fascinating read and I learned so much about how the evolution of genes happens and survive in subsequent generations.

An amazing story, told well.

Anyway, it's nice to own a prized book, written by your namesake :)

Just thought I'd share ;)
 #science

Tammy Jackson originally shared:

Very scary!
 
original post: https://plus.google.com/116000959328274308893/posts/PComE8a4xGx
See Zazzle gifts tagged with 'science'

The origin of lions discovered

Science Focus

original post »
A new genetic analysis confirms where modern lions came from, scientists say. 
#science  
original post: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/26736688
See Zazzle gifts tagged with 'science'

Name, Crab Pulsar, Intriguing Outer Space Pictures Wrapping Paper

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, crbplsr, crab pulsar, time lapse astronomy, neutron star, matter and antimatter, near light speed, star galaxies, outer space, active pulsar

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series Multiple observations made over several months with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope captured the spectacle of matter and antimatter propelled to near the speed of light by the Crab pulsar, a rapidly rotating neutron star the size of Manhattan.
more items with this image
more items in the Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series

image code: crbplsr

Image credit: NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope

»visit the HightonRidley store for more designs and products like this
Click to personalize with name and message - or just to see it bigger.
via Zazzle Astronomy market place

Carina Nebula, Star Forming Gas-cloud Sculpture Stickers

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


tagged with: billowing interstellar gas clouds, cnbigc, star forming activity, carina nebula, amazing space sculpture, star nurseries, stellar winds, young hot stars, gas cloud sculpture

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series A beautiful space photograph featuring the 7500 light year distant Carina Nebula. This Hubble image shows rich, interstellar gas clouds feeding the formation of new stars. As a proto star forms, the gas clouds get dragged to its surface and some gets emitted as tight jets of material travelling at hundreds of miles per second. These in turn help sculpt the gas clouds into weird and grotesque shapes, some looking like strange worms, swimming through space.

more items with this image
more items in the Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series

image code: cnbigc

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

»visit the HightonRidley store for more designs and products like this
Click to customize.
via Zazzle Astronomy market place

Waterton Lake Eclispe

more »

Recorded on April 15th, this total lunar eclipse sequence looks south down icy Waterton Lake from the Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada, planet Earth. The most distant horizon includes peaks in Glacier National Park, USA. An exposure every 10 minutes captured the Moon's position and eclipse phase, as it arced, left to right, above the rugged skyline and Waterton town lights. In fact, the sequence effectively measures the roughly 80 minute duration of the total phase of the eclipse. Around 270 BC, the Greek astronomer Aristarchus also measured the duration of lunar eclipses - though probably without the benefit of digital clocks and cameras. Still, using geometry, he devised a simple and impressively accurate way to calculate the Moon's distance, in terms of the radius of planet Earth, from the eclipse duration. This modern eclipse sequence also tracks the successive positions of Mars, above and right of the Moon, bright star Spica next to the reddened lunar disk, and Saturn to the left and below.

Zazzle Space Gifts for young and old

Cat's Eye Nebula Wall Decals

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


tagged with: cat's eye nebula, nebula, space, universe, astronomy, astronomer, star, cat's eye, cats eye

The Cat's Eye Nebula or NGC 6543, is a planetary nebula in the constellation of Draco. Structurally, it is one of the most complex nebulae known, with high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope observations revealing remarkable structures such as knots, jets, bubbles and sinewy arc-like features. In the center of the Cat's Eye there is a bright and hot star; around 1000 years ago this star lost its outer envelope, producing the nebula. - Wikipedia.org. Image by NASA.

»visit the SayHello store for more designs and products like this
Click to customize.
via Zazzle Astronomy market place

Spiral Galaxy Case For The iPad Mini

Here's a great iPad case from Zazzle featuring a Hubble-related design. Maybe you'd like to see your name on it? Click to personalize and see what it's like!


Spiral Galaxy

»visit the qopelrecords store for more designs and products like this
The Zazzle Promise: We promise 100% satisfaction. If you don't absolutely love it, we'll take it back!

First principles approach to creating new materials

original post »

Traditionally, scientists discover new materials, and then probe them to try to better understand their properties. Theoretical materials physicist Craig Fennie does it in reverse. “We have been rethinking the problem of materials discovery from that of the perspective of a physicist,” says Fennie, a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded scientist and a 2013 recipient of a prestigious MacArthur fellowship, a \$625,000 no strings attached award, popularly known as a “genius” grant. Scientists typically “make something, measure it, report it, then try to understand what they just reported. Today we are turning that approach around,” he says, essentially by combining the tools of theoretical physics with those of solid-state chemistry to discover new materials with attractive and useful electrical, magnetic and optical properties. “Pioneers in my field…taught us that we (physicists) can and should do more.” Fennie, an assistant professor of applied and engineering physics at Cornell University, is creating new materials by employing a “first principles” approach based on quantum mechanics, in which he builds materials atom by atom, starting with mathematical models, in order to gain the needed physical properties. A main focus of his research is in understanding how the composition, geometry and topology of complex crystalline motifs

The post First principles approach to creating new materials has been published on Technology Org.

 
#materials 
See Zazzle gifts tagged with 'science'

Scale Model WWII Craft Takes Flight With Fuel From the Sea Concept

original post »

Navy researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), Materials Science and Technology Division, demonstrate proof-of-concept of novel NRL technologies developed for the recovery of carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen (H2) from seawater and conversion to a liquid hydrocarbon fuel. Fueled by a liquid hydrocarbon—a component of NRL’s novel gas-to-liquid (GTL) process that uses CO2 and H2 as feedstock—the research team demonstrated sustained flight of a radio-controlled (RC) P-51 replica of the legendary Red Tail Squadron, powered by an off-the-shelf (OTS) and unmodified two-stroke internal combustion engine.   Using an innovative and proprietary NRL electrolytic cation exchange module (E-CEM), both dissolved and bound CO2 are removed from seawater at 92 percent efficiency by re-equilibrating carbonate and bicarbonate to CO2 and simultaneously producing H2. The gases are then converted to liquid hydrocarbons by a metal catalyst in a reactor system. “In close collaboration with the Office of Naval Research P38 Naval Reserve program, NRL has developed a game changing technology for extracting, simultaneously, CO2 and H2 from seawater,” said Dr. Heather Willauer, NRL research chemist. “This is the first time technology of this nature has been demonstrated with the potential for transition, from the laboratory, to full-scale commercial implementation.” CO2 in

The post Scale Model WWII Craft Takes Flight With Fuel From the Sea Concept has been published on Technology Org.

 
#materials 
See Zazzle gifts tagged with 'science'

ORION'S BELT PRINT

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


tagged with: orion, nebula, space, galaxies, nebulas, stars, astronomy, nebulae

Beautiful image of the famous Orion's belt.

»visit the DeepSkyColors store for more designs and products like this
Click to customize with size, paper type etc.
via Zazzle Astronomy market place

Name, Carina Nebula in Argo Navis deep space image Wrapping Paper

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: carina nebula, argos navis constellation, carina the keel, star formation, gas clouds, galaxy stars, ngc 3372, hrbstslr carnebngcttst, astronomy pictures, outer space

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series Hubble's view of the Carina Nebula shows star birth in a new level of detail. The fantasy-like landscape of the nebula is sculpted by the action of outflowing winds and scorching ultraviolet radiation from the monster stars that inhabit this inferno. In the process, these stars are shredding the surrounding material that is the last vestige of the giant cloud from which the stars were born. The immense nebula is an estimated 7,500 light-years away in the southern constellation Carina the Keel (of the old southern constellation Argo Navis, the ship of Jason and the Argonauts, from Greek mythology).
The original image is a mosaic of the Carina Nebula assembled from 48 frames taken with Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys. The Hubble images were taken in the light of ionized hydrogen. Colour information was added with data taken at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. Red corresponds to sulfur, green to hydrogen, and blue to oxygen emission.

more items with this image
more items in the Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series

image code: carnebngcttst

Image credit: Hubble Space Telescope; colour data from the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, Chile

»visit the HightonRidley store for more designs and products like this
Click to personalize with name and message - or just to see it bigger.
via Zazzle Astronomy market place

Tarantula Nebula Star Forming Gas Cloud Sculpture Star Sticker

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


tagged with: envelope sealers, tnlmcsfr, billowing interstellar gas clouds, awesome hubble images, tarantula nebula, large magellanic cloud, star forming activity, young hot stars, star nurseries, triggering star formation

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series An awesome mobile phone shell featuring the Tarantula Nebula of the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is the nearest galaxy to the Milky Way, our galactic home. This Hubble image shows old stars from the distant past and rich, interstellar gas clouds feeding the formation of new ones. The most massive and hottest stars are intense, high-energy radiation sources and this pushes away what remains of the gas and dust, compressing and sculpting it. As the whorls and eddies clump and stretch it, gravity takes over and the birth of the next generation of new stars is triggered.

more items with this image
more items in the Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series

image code: tnlmcsfr

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

»visit the HightonRidley store for more designs and products like this
Click to customize.
via Zazzle Astronomy market place

Metal Earth Globe Room Graphic

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


tagged with: earth, planets, planet earth, earth space, space, astronomy, science fiction, digital, earth pictures, sci-fi, 3d earth, planetary earth, science, earth from space, earth and space, earth picture, pictures of earth, earth care, solar system, outer space, planetary, universe, globe, earth globe, global, world, scifi

Shiny wire frame metal Earth globe with blue space nebula background.

»visit the packratgraphics store for more designs and products like this
Click to customize.
via Zazzle Astronomy market place

Hubble Speak Case for iPad Cover For The iPad Mini

Here's a great iPad case from Zazzle featuring a Hubble-related design. Maybe you'd like to see your name on it? Click to personalize and see what it's like!


Hubble

»visit the BeautifulGargoyle store for more designs and products like this
The Zazzle Promise: We promise 100% satisfaction. If you don't absolutely love it, we'll take it back!