Monday 21 April 2014

Books: ‘Our Mathematical Universe’: A Case for Alternate Realities

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In his new book, Max Tegmark compellingly argues that everything that can happen does happen — in at least one of an infinite number of universes.















via New York Times

The motion of the medium matters for self-assembling particles, research shows

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By attaching short sequences of single-stranded DNA to nanoscale building blocks, researchers can design structures that can effectively build themselves. The building blocks that are meant to connect have complementary DNA sequences on their surfaces, ensuring only the correct pieces bind together as they jostle into one another while suspended in a test tube.         Now, a University of Pennsylvania team has made a discovery with implications for all such self-assembled structures. The spheres that make up the crystal follow each other in slipstreams, making some patterns more likely to form. (Ian Jenkins)   Earlier work assumed that the liquid medium in which these DNA-coated pieces float could be treated as a placid vacuum, but the Penn team has shown that fluid dynamics play a crucial role in the kind and quality of the structures that can be made in this way. As the DNA-coated pieces rearrange themselves and bind, they create slipstreams into which other pieces can flow. This phenomenon makes some patterns within the structures more likely to form than others. The research was conducted by professors Talid Sinno and John Crocker, alongside graduate students Ian Jenkins, Marie Casey and James McGinley, all of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in Penn’s School

The post The motion of the medium matters for self-assembling particles, research shows has been published on Technology Org.

 
#materials 
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God of the Gap: Pan keeps Encke gap open in Saturn's rings

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Saturn's moon Pan, named for the Greek god of shepherds, rules over quite a different domain: the Encke gap in Saturn's rings. Pan keeps the Encke gap open through its gravitational influence on the ring particles nearby.

via Science Daily

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Cardiothoracic surgeon launches research into space

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When an unmanned supply mission launched into space today, bound for the International Space Station, it meant something extraordinary to Dr. Peter Lee, a cardiothoracic surgeon. That’s because his research experiment is on board.

via Science Daily

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Chaotic Sun Poster

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


tagged with: sun, solar, star, space, science, astronomy, geek, nerd, solar system

The boiling chaos that is our sun, developed from SOHO imagery. Makes a nice addition to a collection of solar system posters.

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via Zazzle Astronomy market place

NIST launches an atomic clock 3 times more accurate than the last

Science Focus

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NIST Launches a New US Time Standard: NIST-F2 Atomic Clock

Earlier this week, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) officially launched an atomic clock that is three times as accurate as the one used today to do everything from synchronize GPS systems to time-stamp financial transactions.

The previous atomic clock, called NIST-F1, was launched in 1999. It was accurate to within plus or minus one second over the course of 100 million years. The newly launched atomic clock, called NIST-F2, is accurate to within plus or minus one second over 300 million years.

Both clocks are based on a Cesium atom fountain. Physicists measure the frequency of a transition that the Cesium atoms make, which divides a second into 9,192,631,770 vibrations per second. NIST explains how the F2 standard is so much more accurate than the older standard:

Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments

 
#science  
original post: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/science/~3/HLTgqtsI6Pc/
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High-pressure cryocooler that prepares proteins for X-ray crystallography

Science Focus

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A technology developed by Cornell scientists that prepares proteins for X-ray crystallography has made its way into the world marketplace: ADC Inc., a maker of scientific instruments located just outside Ithaca, has licensed the high-pressure cryocooler, called HPC-201, and has just fulfilled its first order to a research center in Japan. The licensing agreement is ADC’s first with Cornell. Company president Alex Deyhim says the product is garnering interest from potential buyers, and he’s thrilled to showcase the “amazing work” of Cornell scientists. “There is a large percentage of technologies that Cornell is developing and filing patents on, and this is a perfect example of one that can create some sales and create jobs in upstate New York,” Deyhim said. “The technology was developed, designed and built here, 10 minutes from Cornell, and we just shipped a unit across the world.” The science behind HPC-201 was developed in the lab of Sol Gruner, the John L. Wetherill Professor of Physics, who first became interested in high-pressure cryocooling of proteins in about 2002. Since then, he and a steady stream of graduate students and postdoctoral associates (most recently former MacCHESS (Macromolecular diffraction facility at Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source) scientist Chae

The post High-pressure cryocooler that prepares proteins for X-ray crystallography has been published on Technology Org.

 
#physics  
original post: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TechnologyOrgPhysicsNews/~3/d3vQtNjbrR8/
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Ok, it's only flakes, still huge progress though..

Science Focus

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Ok, it's only flakes, still huge progress though..

If you've been seeing what I share on advances in the material tech world, you'll know I'm impatient for actual, real the-gal-down-the-street's got one sorts of advance.

You know, the promise made by graphene, nano stuff, quantum (why do you hurt my brain when I love you so?) and other areas needed to support us in our steps into space and for us to make it our playground.

Well, my impatience is one step closer to being satisfied thanks to these clever folks... graphene flake manufacture that can be scaled to production... and not only graphene :)

  #science  
 
original post: https://plus.google.com/116000959328274308893/posts/5UeDsxxCUSf
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Exoplanets soon to gleam in the eye of NESSI

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The New Mexico Exoplanet Spectroscopic Survey Instrument (NESSI) will soon get its first "taste" of exoplanets, helping astronomers decipher their chemical composition. Exoplanets are planets that orbit stars beyond our sun. NESSI got its first peek at the sky on April 3, 2014. It looked at Pollux, a star in the Gemini constellation, and Arcturus, in the Boötes constellation, confirming that all modes of the instrument are working.

via Science Daily

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Dragon delivers science, station supplies

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The Expedition 39 crew welcomed nearly two and a half tons of supplies and scientific payloads to the International Space Station with the arrival of the third SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo spacecraft Sunday.

via Science Daily

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Trifid Nebula, Messier 16 Sticker

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


tagged with: breathtaking astronomy images, star forming nebulae, trfdnbl, star nurseries, galaxies, nebulae, star factory, trifid nebula, european southern observatory, clusters of stars, factories for stars, eso, vista

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series A fantastic picture from our universe featuring the massive star factory known as the Trifid Nebula.

It was captured in all its glory with the Wide-Field Imager camera attached to the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in northern Chile.
So named for the dark dust bands that trisect its glowing heart, the Trifid Nebula is a rare combination of three nebulae types that reveal the fury of freshly formed stars and point to more star birth in the future. The field of view of the image is approximately 13 x 17 arcminutes.
It's an awe-inspiring, breathtaking image that reveals some of the wonder that is our universe.

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

image code: trfdnbl

ESO/J. Emerson/VISTA www.eso.org
Reproduced under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

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Massive Nearby Spiral Galaxy NGC 2841

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Zazzle Space Gifts for young and old

Helix Nebula Room Stickers

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


tagged with: universe, space, science, fiction, astronomy, helix, nebula, eye

Photograph of Helix Nebula by NASA and ESA.

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via Zazzle Astronomy market place

Shuttle 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!


tagged with: space shuttle, nasa, spaceplane, spacerocket, space craft

The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons.

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Researchers use common spray gun to create self-assembling nanoparticle films

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  The promise of nanoparticles stems from their potential to modify the physical and mechanical properties of polymers for diverse applications, such as photovoltaic cells, sensors, and separation membranes. Methods currently used to create desired nanostructure, however, rely on complex and energy-intensive techniques, such as layer-by-layer or patterning approaches, which are limited in scale and often have poor stability. Publishing in Nature Communications (DOI: 10.1038/ncomms4589), Dr. Minhao Wong, a former graduate research assistant in the Polymer Technology Center of Dr. H-J Sue, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and Dr. Ryohei Ishige of I2CNER (International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research), Kyushu University in Japan, have developed a simple approach of applying a surface coating of thin, flat nanoplatelets using a common spray gun, such as can be purchased off-the-shelf from an art supply store, to create a surface coating in which nanoplatelets spontaneously self-assemble into “nano-walls.” The nano-walls act as rigid barriers that prevent oxygen gas from reaching the surface, and are effective at low and high humidity levels. Using this scalable and simple processing method, researchers have achieved extremely fine and highly ordered nano-scale features that are conventionally achieved with complex and energy-intensive manufacturing techniques. This new technology is expected to be immediately useful

The post Researchers use common spray gun to create self-assembling nanoparticle films has been published on Technology Org.

 
#materials 
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A great summary of a supernova

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A great summary of a supernova
Aimed at kids but I loved it ;)
 #outerspace #astronomy

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory originally shared:

Space Scoop: Sweeping Supernovas
This space photograph shows a 2200-year-old supernova remnant that is sweeping up a remarkable amount of material - enough to make 45 Suns!

http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2014/g352/kids.html

http://chandra.harvard.edu/resources/podcasts/sd.html
attached video
 
original post: https://plus.google.com/116000959328274308893/posts/FAeE6APSefb
Zazzle Space Gifts for every occasion

Moon Glow Print

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


tagged with: moon, night, sky, dark, light, stars, astronomy, space

The moon with an abstract night sky

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via Zazzle Astronomy market place

Helix Nebula Wall Sticker

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


tagged with: universe, space, science, fiction, astronomy, helix, nebula, eye

Photograph of Helix Nebula by NASA and ESA.

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via Zazzle Astronomy market place

Whirlpool 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!


tagged with: stars,, galaxy,, whirlpool,, space,, image,, nasa,, hubble

Lovely shiny image of Whirlpool Galaxy thanks to a NASA/Hubble image.

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