Monday 8 September 2014

Scientists unveil new technology to better understand small clusters of atoms

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Physicists at the University of York, working with researchers at the University of Birmingham and Genoa, have developed new technology to study atomic vibration in small particles, revealing a more accurate picture of the structure of atomic clusters where surface atoms vibrate more intensively than internal atoms. An illustration of the extent to which the atoms, in a small cluster of atoms, vibrate. The spheres represent the range of motion of the atoms, rather than the atoms themselves – the spheres have been exaggerated in size by 45 times in order to ease visualisation. The atoms on the surface have larger ranges of motion than those in the middle of the cluster. Using new computer technology based on gaming machines, scientists were able to use a combination of molecular dynamics and quantum mechanics calculations to simulate the electron microscopy of gold particles. By modelling the atomic vibration of individual atoms in such clusters realistically, external atoms on the surface of the structure can be ‘seen’ to vibrate more than internal atoms.  The research is published in the latest issue of Physical Review Letters. Currently, electron microscopy only allows scientists to estimate the average position of atoms in a three-dimensional structure.  This

The post Scientists unveil new technology to better understand small clusters of atoms has been published on Technology Org.

 
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Layered graphene sandwich for next generation electronics

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Sandwiching layers of graphene with white graphene could produce designer materials capable of creating high-frequency electronic devices, scientists have found.

via Science Daily

Light detector to revolutionize night vision technology

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A light detector that could revolutionize chemical sensing and night vision technology has been developed by researchers. Based on graphene, the detector is capable of detecting light over an unusually broad range of wavelengths, included in this are terahertz waves -- between infrared and microwave radiation, where sensitive light detection is most difficult.

via Science Daily

Doped graphene nanoribbons with potential

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Graphene possesses many outstanding properties: it conducts heat and electricity, it is transparent, harder than diamond and extremely strong. But in order to use it to construct electronic switches, a material must not only be an outstanding conductor, it should also be switchable between ”on” and ”off” states. This requires the presence of a so-called bandgap, which enables semiconductors to be in an insulating state. The problem, however, is that the bandgap in graphene is extremely small. Empa researchers from the ”nanotech@surfaces” laboratory thus developed a method some time ago to synthesize a form of graphene with larger bandgaps by allowing ultra-narrow graphene nanoribbons to ”grow” via molecular self-assembly.

via Science Daily

Carbon in soil vulnerable to warming

Science Focus

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The huge stores of carbon locked in the world's soils are more vulnerable to rising temperatures that previously thought. 
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 » see original post http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-29050800#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
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Star Cluster Pismis 24, core of NGC 6357 Sticker

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tagged with: galaxies, star cluster, pismis 24, sculpting ultaviolet ionisation, super massive stars, sclustpsms, nebula ngc 6357, peel off, outer space exploration, astronomy pictures

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series The star cluster Pismis 24 lies in the core of the large emission nebula NGC 6357 that extends one degree on the sky in the direction of the Scorpius constellation. Part of the nebula is ionised by the youngest (bluest) heavy stars in Pismis 24. The intense ultraviolet radiation from the blazing stars heats the gas surrounding the cluster and creates a bubble in NGC 6357. The presence of these surrounding gas clouds makes probing into the region even harder. One of the top candidates for the title of "Milky Way stellar heavyweight champion" was, until now, Pismis 24-1, a bright young star that lies in the core of the small open star cluster Pismis 24 (the bright stars in the Hubble image) about 8,000 light-years away from Earth. Pismis 24-1 was thought to have an incredibly large mass of 200 to 300 solar masses. New NASA/ESA Hubble measurements of the star, have, however, resolved Pismis 24-1 into two separate stars, and, in doing so, have "halved" its mass to around 100 solar masses.

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image code: sclustpsms

Image credit: NASA/ESA Hubble

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Super Moon vs. Micro Moon

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Seeing below the surface: Ultra-thin, high-speed detector captures unprecedented range of light waves

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Research could lead to light detectors that can see below the surface of bodies, walls, and other objects, with applications in emerging terahertz fields such as mobile communications, medical imaging, chemical sensing, night vision, and security.

via Science Daily

Rethinking the basic science of graphene synthesis

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A new route to making graphene could make the 21st century’s wonder material easier to ramp up to industrial scale. Graphene -- a tightly bound single layer of carbon atoms with super strength and the ability to conduct heat and electricity better than any other known material -- has potential industrial uses that include flexible electronic displays, high-speed computing, stronger wind turbine blades, and more efficient solar cells, to name just a few under development.

via Science Daily

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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Light Echo from Star V838 iPad Mini Cases

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"[This is] the most recent NASA Hubble Space Telescope view of an unusual phenomenon in space called a light echo. Light from a star that erupted nearly five years ago continues propagating outward through a cloud of dust surrounding the star. The light reflects or "echoes" off the dust and then travels to Earth."

(qtd. from HubbleSite.org NewsCenter release STScI-2006-50)

Credit: NASA, ESA, and H. Bond (STScI)

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Image: Hubble sees spiral in Serpens

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(Phys.org) —This new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows a beautiful spiral galaxy known as PGC 54493, located in the constellation of Serpens (The Serpent). This galaxy is part of a galaxy cluster that has been studied by astronomers exploring an intriguing phenomenon known as weak gravitational lensing.



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Watching Rosetta’s comet

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Space science image of the week: Giant telescope follows Rosetta’s comet and its dusty veil

via ESA Space Science

http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2014/09/Rosetta_comet_observed_with_Very_Large_Telescope

Milky Way Galaxy Posters

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ImageID: 42-20484565 / NASA / JPL-Caltech/Corbis / Milky Way Galaxy

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Small Meteorite Hits Managua

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A predicted asteroid appears to have created the meteorite, which left a crater 16 feet deep.















via New York Times

Eye - Stellar Nursery R136 on nebula background Square Sticker

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Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series On a background of the Pelican and North American nebulae, an eye made from hundreds of brilliant blue stars wreathed by warm, glowing clouds appear in this the most detailed view of the largest stellar nursery in our local galactic neighborhood. The massive, young stellar grouping, called R136, is only a few million years old and resides in the 30 Doradus (or Tarantula) Nebula, a turbulent star-birth region in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way.
There is no known star-forming region in our galaxy as large or as prolific as 30 Doradus. Many of the diamond-like icy blue stars are among the most massive stars known. Several of them are over 100 times more massive than our Sun. These hefty stars are destined to pop off, like a string of firecrackers, as supernovas in a few million years. The image, taken in ultraviolet, visible, and red light by Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3, spans about 100 light-years.
The movement of the LMC around the Milky Way may have triggered the massive cluster's formation in several ways. The gravitational tug of the Milky Way and the companion Small Magellanic Cloud may have compressed gas in the LMC. Also, the pressure resulting from the LMC plowing through the Milky Way's halo may have compressed gas in the satellite. The cluster is a rare, nearby example of the many super star clusters that formed in the distant, early universe, when star birth and galaxy interactions were more frequent.
The LMC is located 170,000 light-years away and is a member of the Local Group of Galaxies, which also includes the Milky Way. The Hubble observations were taken Oct. 20-27, 2009. The blue color is light from the hottest, most massive stars; the green from the glow of oxygen; and the red from fluorescing hydrogen.

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image credit: Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3

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Basics: Revisiting the Moon

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Some astronomers dislike the whole supermoon hoopla, but it shines a light on lunar studies, a vibrant enterprise that is yielding a wealth of insights and surprises.



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Planets of the Solar System Wall Stickers

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ImageID: CB061976 / Corbis / Planets of the Solar System/ /

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Dwarf Galaxy Holmberg IX iPad Mini Covers

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"This loose collection of stars is actually a dwarf irregular galaxy, called Holmberg IX. It resides just off the outer edge of M81, a large spiral galaxy in Ursa Major. This image was taken with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys in early 2006. Holmberg IX is of the so-called Magellanic type of galaxy, as its size and irregularity in structure are similar to the Small Magellanic Cloud, a neighbor to our own Milky Way. Holmberg IX was first discovered by astronomer Sidney van den Bergh in 1959, and cataloged as DDO 66. The galaxy received its "Holmberg IX" naming when it was discussed in Eric Holmberg's study of groups of galaxies ten years later. It is suspected that the dwarf galaxy was created as a result of a galactic interaction between M81 and neighboring galaxy M82."

(qtd. from Hubblesite.org NewsCenter release STScI-2008-02)

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

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