Saturday 30 August 2014

Battery with new Na-Fe chemistry can surpass lithium-ion

original post »

Rechargeable batteries are one of the key technologies required to bring about the future energy saving society, powered by a smart grid and employing electric cars. Lithium (Li) ion batteries offer the most advanced rechargeable energy-storage system, but ever-increasing demand has led to calls for much cheaper alternatives using more common elements. One candidate is the sodium (Na) ion battery, which uses naturally abundant sodium in place of rare lithium. Developing compatible electrode materials has been the subject of intensive research. Much research to date, however, has focused on screening compounds already used in lithium ion batteries and replacing lithium with sodium, but the poor performance of these materials means they are of limited practical use. Researchers have also tried to combine sodium with other cheap and plentiful elements such as iron (Fe), but experience has shown that creating practical iron-based compounds is extremely difficult. Professor Atsuo Yamada’s research group at the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Engineering has explored Na-Fe based compounds with entirely novel compositions and structures. Now, the group has discovered a new “earth-abundant” cathode material and determined its crystal structure. This new material does not contain any rare metals and can be easily synthesized, enabling

The post Battery with new Na-Fe chemistry can surpass lithium-ion has been published on Technology Org.

 
#materials 
See Zazzle gifts tagged with 'science'

Hubble Hits - Best of Hubble Print

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


tagged with: astronomy, nebula, stars, planets, galaxies, telescope, space, hubble, space images

Infant galaxies, distant quasars, exploding stars, mysterious black holes, colliding galaxies. Since its launch on April 24, 1990, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has provided a stunning view of our universe by making unique discoveries and capturing spectacular images.

»visit the almedic104 store for more designs and products like this
Click to customize with size, paper type etc.
via Zazzle Astronomy market place

The next pandemic

Science Focus

original post »

How likely is a pandemic?
Epidemiologists believe we're statistically overdue for a global viral outbreak, which occurs every generation or so. This year's Ebola crisis is probably just a dress rehearsal: Though the virus has killed at least 1,420 people in Africa in the last five months, Ebola is transmitted only through intimate contact with bodily fluids and doesn't have the global reach of a true pandemic, such as Spanish influenza in 1918. Humanity had no prior exposure or immunity to the Spanish flu, which is believed to have incubated in birds and pigs. So it spread like wildfire, infecting...

More 
#science 
 » see original post http://theweek.com/article/index/267190/the-next-pandemic
See Zazzle gifts tagged with 'science'

VIDEO: Aurora Australis filmed from space

Science Focus

original post »
The European Space Agency releases time-lapse footage of the Aurora Australis, or southern lights, filmed from the International Space Station. 
#science 
 » see original post http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-28927311#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
See Zazzle gifts tagged with 'science'

The mystery of Britain's alien big cats

Science Focus

original post »


In 1983, a farmer in South Molton, a small town in the southern English county of Devon, reported a startling loss in livestock: 100 sheep had been killed, apparently violently, over a period of three months. Their throats had been slashed across. For many, the slaughter confirmed the area's vague but persistent legend, sighted since the early 1970s, of a large, possibly phantom cat. Named for the hilly moorland it was said to roam, they called it the "Beast of Exmoor."

The public reacted swiftly. The Daily Express offered the equivalent of a \$1,600 reward for video footage of the Beast. More...

More 
#science 
 » see original post http://theweek.com/article/index/266835/the-mystery-of-britains-alien-big-cats
See Zazzle gifts tagged with 'science'

Monogram Christmas Tree Cluster - NGC 2264 Oval Sticker

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


tagged with: star clusters, stars, awesome astronomy pictures, xmastrclst, cone nebula, galaxies, nebulae, christmas tree cluster, monogram, monograms, starfields, european southern observatory, eso, vista, initials, initialled, monogrammed

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series A gorgeous outer space photograph featuring a colour image of the region known as NGC 2264 - an area of sky that includes the sparkling blue baubles of the Christmas Tree star cluster and the Cone Nebula.

It was created from data taken through four different filters (B, V, R and H-alpha) with the Wide Field Imager at ESO's La Silla Observatory, 2400 m high in the Atacama Desert of Chile in the foothills of the Andes.

The image shows a region of space about 30 light-years across.

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

image code: xmastrclst

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

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

The Starry Sky under Hollow Hill

more »
Look up in New Zealand's Hollow Hill Cave and you might think you see a familiar starry sky. And that's exactly what Arachnocampa luminosa are counting on. Captured in this long exposure, the New Zealand glowworms scattered across the cave ceiling give it the inviting and open appearance of a clear, dark night sky filled with stars. Unsuspecting insects fooled into flying too far upwards get trapped in sticky snares the glowworms create and hang down to catch food. Of course professional astronomers wouldn't be so easily fooled, although that does look a lot like the Coalsack Nebula and Southern Cross at the upper left ...

Zazzle Space Gifts for young and old

Christmas Tree Star Cluster Wall Decal

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


tagged with: christmas tree cluster, cone nebula, red nebula, nebula, astronomy, space, star formation, nebulae, nebula photo, red sky, star cluster, nebula photograph, stars, eso, universe, outer space, cosmos, cosmic, astronomical, astrophotography, cosmology, space photograph, space picture, space image, deep space, nature, natural, science, abstract, space photo, milky way, ngc 2264, glowing, soft, cloudy, dust, misty, gas, gas clouds, fuzzy

This deep red image shows NCG 2264, a region of the Milky Way galaxy in which new stars are being formed. Included in this area are the Christmas Tree Star Cluster & the Cone Nebula. This image was taken by Chile's La Silla Observatory in 2008.

Image credit: ESO | Released by ESO.org under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license

You can personalise the design further if you'd prefer, such as by adding your name or other text, or adjusting the image - just click 'Customize it' to see all the options. IMPORTANT: If you choose a different sized version of the product, it's important to click Customize and check the image in the Design view to ensure it fills the area to the edge of the product, otherwise white edges may be visible.

See more in my shop
If you like this product, you can find more like it in my store:

Click here to view all the other items with this design.

Click here to see a wide range of other space designs.

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

Nebula iPad Mini Case

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: turquoise, stars, nebula, space, clouds, gases, brown, blue, green, astronomy, beauty, nature, astronomer, hubble

Colorful turquoise sky and stars in a nebula as seen through the Hubble telescope

»visit the minx267 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!

Programmed to Fold: RNA Origami

original post »

Researchers from Aarhus University in Denmark and Caltech have developed a new method for organizing molecules on the nanoscale. Inspired by techniques used for folding DNA origami—first invented by Paul Rothemund, a senior research associate in computation and neural systems in the Division of Engineering and Applied Science at Caltech—the team, which includes Rothemund, has fabricated complicated shapes from DNA’s close chemical cousin, RNA. Unlike DNA origami, whose components are chemically synthesized and then folded in an artificial heating and cooling process, RNA origami are synthesized enzymatically and fold up as they are being synthesized, which takes place under more natural conditions compatible with living cells. These features of RNA origami may allow designer RNA structures to be grown within living cells, where they might be used to organize cellular enzymes into biochemical factories. “The parts for a DNA origami cannot easily be written into the genome of an organism. An RNA origami, on the other hand, can be represented as a DNA gene, which in cells is transcribed into RNA by a protein machine called RNA polymerase,” explains Rothemund. So far, the researchers have demonstrated their method by designing RNA molecules that fold into rectangles and then further assemble

The post Programmed to Fold: RNA Origami has been published on Technology Org.

 
#materials 
See Zazzle gifts tagged with 'science'

DNA Galaxy Print

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


tagged with: galaxy, milky way, milky way galaxy, space art, astronomical illustration, lynette cook, astronomy, astronomy magazine, dna, dna galaxy, double helix, chromosomes, life in space

A spiral galaxy metamorphoses into the DNA double helix. Chemical structures and chromosomes are visible, symbolic of life in space. From a mixed media illustration created for Astronomy magazine. The original art is in a private collection.

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

Initialled Spiral Galaxy - NGC 253 Stickers

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


tagged with: spgxy253, breathtaking astronomy images, galaxies, stars, horsehead nebula, spiral galaxy, initials, initialled, monogrammed, monogram, european southern observatory, eso, vista, monograms

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series A gorgeous image that reveals a little of the wonder that is our universe.

Measuring 70 000 light-years across and laying 13 million light-years away, the nearly edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 253 is revealed here in an image from the Wide Field Imager (WFI) of the MPG/ESO 2.2 m telescope at the La Silla Observatory.

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

image code: spgxy253

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

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

Crab Nebula Room Decals

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


tagged with: astronomy, space, space images, nebula, supernova, remnant, crab nebula, hubble telescope, hubble, telescope, exploration, constellation of taurus, constellation, taurus

The Crab Nebula is a supernova remnant and pulsar wind nebula in the constellation of Taurus. The nebula was observed by John Bevis in 1731; it corresponds to a bright supernova recorded by Arab, Chinese and Japanese astronomers in 1054. The Crab Nebula is one of the most intricately structured and highly dynamical objects ever observed.

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

Hubble's Sharpest View of the Orion iPad Mini Case

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: hubble's, sharpest, view, orion, ipad, mini, case

Thousands of stars are forming in the cloud of gas and dust known as the Orion nebula. More than 3,000 stars of various sizes appear in this image. Some of them have never been seen in visible light. Credit: NASA,ESA, M. Robberto (Space Telescope Science Institute/ESA) and the Hubble Space Telescope Orion Treasury Project Team

»visit the Ronspassionfordesign 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!