Saturday 11 October 2014

Cheap hydrogen fuel from the sun – without rare metals

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Today, the journal Science published the latest development in Michael Grätzel’s laboratory at EPFL: producing hydrogen fuel from

The post Cheap hydrogen fuel from the sun – without rare metals has been published on Technology Org.

 
#materials 
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NASAs - Pink Pleiades Poster

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


tagged with: astronomy, space, nasa, nebula, galaxy, best, unique, original, quality, custom, affordable, photography, gift, popular, science, planet, space exploration, solar system, outer space, deep space, space age, space design, space image, space travel, space shuttle, space telescope, space and time, space race, space center, space time, universe, mystical, laureen, laureenr

The Seven Sisters, also known as the Pleiades, seem to float on a bed of feathers in a new infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Clouds of dust sweep around the stars, swaddling them in a cushiony veil. The Pleiades, located more than 400 light-years away in the Taurus constellation, are the subject of many legends and writings. Greek mythology holds that the flock of stars was transformed into celestial doves by Zeus to save them from a pursuant Orion. The 19th-century poet Alfred Lord Tennyson described them as "glittering like a swarm of fireflies tangled in a silver braid."

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4 scientific theories for actual time travel

Science Focus

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(Click the image and zoom to enlarge)

In movies, time travel methods are mostly explained along the lines of "something something plutonium something wormhole." But physicists do have some idea of methods that might allow for actual time travel — though they might not necessarily prevent you from killing your own grandfather.

(More from World Science Festival: Is time travel possible?)

One trope in time travel science fiction is slightly plausible, if physically impossible — traveling faster than the speed of light. The crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise did this in Star Trek IV: The...

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#science 
 » see original post http://theweek.com/article/index/265331/4-scientific-theories-for-actual-time-travel
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Met Office opens solar storm centre

Science Focus

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The UK Met Office formally opens its Space Weather Operations Centre to lead the forecasting of the Sun’s disruptive effects on Earth. 
#science 
 » see original post http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-29525154#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
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How to solve global warming in 2 easy steps

Science Focus

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Most clear-thinking people can see by now that there isn't going to be a functioning global carbon emissions abatement scheme in the foreseeable future. Whether or not that's a good thing (and I think it is) is a separate question. Because regardless, we should look at the world as it is.

Now of course, excessive carbon emissions into the atmosphere remain a serious concern and a real problem. So what can we do to solve it?

First, let's look at the main sources of carbon emissions. The two big ones are energy production and agriculture, which is set to explode over the next decades as billions...

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 » see original post http://theweek.com/article/index/269160/how-to-solve-global-warming-in-2-easy-steps
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Name, Flame Nebula in Orion, intriguing deep space 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: star forming, orion constellation, young stars clusters, orions belt, orion the hunter, flame nebula, astronomy pictures, deep space image, star galaxies, hrbstslr hfflmnb, heavens, european southern observatory, eso, vista

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series A gorgeous outer space picture featuring the spectacular star-forming region known as the Flame Nebula, or NGC 2024, in the constellation of Orion (the Hunter) and its surroundings.
In views of this evocative object in visible light the core of the nebula is completely hidden behind obscuring dust, but in this VISTA view, taken in infrared light, the cluster of very young stars at the object’s heart is revealed. The wide-field VISTA view also includes the glow of the reflection nebula NGC 2023, just below centre, and the ghostly outline of the Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33) towards the lower right.
The bright bluish star towards the right is one of the three bright stars forming the Belt of Orion. The image was created from VISTA images taken through J, H and Ks filters in the near-infrared part of the spectrum.
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image code: hfflmnb

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

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Stellar Nursery R136 in the Tarantula Nebula Stickers

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


tagged with: stars, galaxies, astronomy, galaxy, envelope sealers, dorneblmc, stellar nursery, r136, 30 doradus nebula, massive stars, large magellanic cloud, star cluster, amazing hubble images, tarantula nebula

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series Hundreds of brilliant blue stars wreathed by warm, glowing clouds in 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 code: dorneblmc

Image credit: Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3

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Eclipse at Moonrise

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As the Moon rose and the Sun set on October 8, a lunar eclipse was in progress seen from Chongqing, China. Trailing through this composite time exposure, the rising Moon began as a dark reddened disk in total eclipse near the eastern horizon. Steadily climbing above the populous city's colorful lights along the Yangtze River, the moontrail grows brighter and broader, until a bright Full Moon emerged from the Earth's shadow in evening skies. Although lunar eclipses are not always total ones, this eclipse, along with last April's lunar eclipse, were the first two of four consecutive total lunar eclipses, a series known as a tetrad. The final two eclipses of this tetrad will occur in early April and late September 2015.

Zazzle Space Gifts for young and old

Fantastic Hubble Images 1 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!


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Keep a little bit of the universe with you and take home this Galaxy. Image from NASA Hubble and is PD.

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Organic tin in polymers increases their light absorption

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Crystals of the monomers (left hand side) and pieces of the polymer film (right hand side), with the

The post Organic tin in polymers increases their light absorption has been published on Technology Org.

 
#materials 
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Planets and dwarf planets poster

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


tagged with: astronomy, space, nasa, nebula, galaxy, best, unique, original, quality, custom, affordable, photography, popular, planet, space exploration, solar system, outer space, deep space, space age, space design, space image, space travel, space shuttle, space telescope, space and time, space race, space center, space time, universe, space gifts, laureen, laureenr

Planets and dwarf planets of the solar system

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Monogram - Stellar Nursery R136, Tarantula Nebula Sticker

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


tagged with: stars, galaxies, astronomy, galaxy, envelope sealers, dorneblmc, stellar nursery, r136, massive stars, large magellanic cloud, star cluster, amazing hubble images, tarantula nebula, monogram initials, 30 doradus nebula

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series Hundreds of brilliant blue stars wreathed by warm, glowing clouds in 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.

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

image code: dorneblmc

Image credit: Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3

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Click to customize.
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Name, Carina Nebula, intriguing outer 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: star nurseries, star clusters, galaxies, starfields, nebulae, carina nebula, outer space photography, astronomy photographs, universe images, hrbstslr crnneb, european southern observatory, eso, vista

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series A fantastic astronomy photograph showing a panoramic view of the WR 22 and Eta Carinae regions of the Carina Nebula.
The picture was created from images taken with the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile.

It's a stunning, fantastic image that reveals a little of the wonder that is our universe.
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image code: crnneb

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

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Nebula in Turquoise iPad Air Powis Case iPad Air Covers

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, blue, green, stars, nebula, space, astronomy, clouds, hubble, out of this world, decor, nature, beauty, home, alien

Nebula in Turquoise iPad Air Powis Case Personalize

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