Wednesday 22 April 2015

Engineers Now Understand How Complex Carbon Nanostructures Form

original post »

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are microscopic tubular structures that engineers “grow” through a process conducted in a high-temperature furnace.

The post Engineers Now Understand How Complex Carbon Nanostructures Form has been published on Technology Org.

 
#materials 
See Zazzle gifts tagged with 'science'

Thick atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan fluctuates with Sun's cycle

more »
Saturn's moon Titan is the only moon in the solar system that has an atmosphere as thick as Earth's, consisting of more than 98 percent nitrogen, roughly 1.4 percent of methane, and smaller amounts of other gases. NASA's Cassini satellite has been circling Saturn since 2004, witnessing more than one-third of its 29-year orbit around the Sun, allowing it to observe the changing of the seasons. However, a new study finds that the seasons are not the only thing changing Titan's atmosphere: its chemical makeup fluctuates according to the Sun's 11-year cycle of magnetic activity.
via Science Daily
Zazzle Space Exploration market place

Tau ceti: The next Earth? Probably not

more »
Star system Tau Ceti has long been used in science fiction as a very likely place to have life due to its proximity to Earth and the star's sun-like characteristics. Since December 2012 Tau Ceti has become even more appealing, thanks to evidence of possibly five planets orbiting it, with two of these potentially residing in the habitable zone. Researchers took a closer look and determined that most likely the planets do not and cannot support life.
via Science Daily
Zazzle Space Exploration market place

Vintage Astronomy, Celestial Star Planisphere Map Poster

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


tagged with: antique, constellations, retro, americana, nostalgia, nostalgic, vintage illustration, celestal map, star chart, astronomy, antique celestial

Vintage illustration astronomy and celestial map or star chart image featuring an antique planisphere of the constellations of the southern night sky including some signs of the zodiac by English mathematician and physician Thomas Hood (1556-1620). Created in 1590.

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

'Holey' graphene for energy storage: Charged holes in graphene increase energy storage capacity

more »
Engineers have discovered a method to increase the amount of electric charge that can be stored in graphene, a two-dimensional form of carbon. The research may provide a better understanding of how to improve the energy storage ability of capacitors for potential applications in cars, wind turbines, and solar power.
via Science Daily

Millimeter-sized stones formed our planet

more »
Researchers can now explain how asteroids are formed. Our own planet also has its origins in the same process, a cosmic ocean of millimeter-sized particles that orbited the young sun, according to new research.
via Science Daily
Zazzle Space Exploration market place

First exoplanet visible light spectrum

more »
Astronomers have made the first-ever direct detection of the spectrum of visible light reflected off an exoplanet. These observations also revealed new properties of this famous object, the first exoplanet ever discovered around a normal star: 51 Pegasi b. The result promises an exciting future for this technique, particularly with the advent of next generation instruments and future telescopes, such as the E-ELT.
via Science Daily
Zazzle Space Exploration market place

Researchers improve efficiency of human walking

Science Focus

original post »

Humans have evolved to be incredibly efficient at walking. In fact, simulations of human locomotion show that walking

The post Researchers improve efficiency of human walking has been published on Technology Org.

 
#physics 
 » see original post http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TechnologyOrgPhysicsNews/~3/wS9EhFo-KXI/
See Zazzle gifts tagged with 'science'

Graphenea celebrates fifth anniversary

more »

On April 9th, Graphenea celebrated its fifth anniversary. Graphenea has gone a long way from its startup phase as a small graphene manufacturer. The company now serves customers in more than 50 countries, with distribution centers in the Middle East and the Far East. To better serve the American continents, Graphenea established a branch in Cambridge near Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Graphenea currently employs twelve people, including highly skilled scientists, laboratory technicians, and business officers. In 2014, the company announced a yearly turnover of $1.2 million, more than doubling the result of 2013. The year before that, the energy giant Repsol provided a $1.36 million capital investment boost to Graphenea’s graphene production.

The product catalog of Graphenea has meanwhile swollen much beyond CVD graphene, now including graphene on custom substrates and various forms of graphene oxide, for a total of 24 standard products and more at customers’ request. The company’s scientific customers often require graphene on special substrates, and for that purpose Graphenea has specialized in high quality transfer of CVD-grown graphene, leading to a recently approved patent.

Collaboration with world-leading scientists is an integral part of Graphenea’s business model. A close connection with the academic research community has led to 17 publications in high impact scientific journals, 6 of which were published in Science and the Nature family of journals. The company’s scientific and business team shares the latest results through invited and contributed talks at conferences worldwide. The conferences are in turn used as springboards to launch new collaborations and research directions.

On the EU level, Graphenea participates in several European projects. Most notably, the company is the leading graphene provider in the ten year, billion euro Graphene Flagship consortium. Sitting at the heart of the Flagship keeps Graphenea connected to the world’s best organized graphene research and commercialization movement.

We are looking forward to the next five years, as Graphenea enters another level of maturity. Our vision is to lead the graphene production market producing outstanding materials for the industry and research community.


via Graphenea

As bright as a hundred million Suns: The clusters of monster stars that lit up the early universe

more »
The first stars in the Universe were born several hundred million years after the Big Bang, ending a period known as the cosmological ‘dark ages’ – when atoms of hydrogen and helium had formed, but nothing shone in visible light. Now researchers have calculated what these objects were like: they find that the first stars could have clustered together in phenomenally bright groups, with periods when they were as luminous as 100 million Suns.
via Science Daily
Zazzle Space Exploration market place

Star Birth in Constellation Cygnus, The Swan Stickers

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


tagged with: envelope sealers, star clusters, nebulae, gstlnrsr, rcw120, breathtaking astronomy images, star nurseries, inspirational stars, ionised gas clouds, star forming regions, galaxies, starfields, eso, european southern observatory, vista

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series A gorgeous star forming region in Constellation Cygnus (The Swan). This Hubble image shows a dust-rich, interstellar gas cloud with a new-born star in the centre of the hour-glass shape. The glowing blue of the hydrogen in this nebula is due to the jets being emitted from the forming star as dust falls into into it and this causes the heating and turbulence of the hydrogen. The star, known as S106 IR, is reaching the end of its birth and will soon enter the much quieter period of adulthood known as the main stage.

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

Image code: cygsb

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

Exploding stars help to understand thunderclouds on Earth

more »
How is lightning initiated in thunderclouds? This is difficult to answer – how do you measure electric fields inside large, dangerously charged clouds? It was discovered, more or less by coincidence, that cosmic rays provide suitable probes to measure electric fields within thunderclouds.
via Science Daily
Zazzle Space Exploration market place

ICARUS neutrino experiment to move to Fermilab

A group of scientists led by Nobel laureate Carlo Rubbia will transport the world’s largest liquid-argon neutrino detector across the Atlantic Ocean from CERN to its new home at the US Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

The 760-ton, 20-metre-long detector took data for the ICARUS experiment at the Italian Institute for Nuclear Physics’ (INFN) Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Italy from 2010 to 2014, using a beam of neutrinos sent through the earth from CERN. The detector is now being refurbished at CERN, where it is the first beneficiary of a new test facility for neutrino detectors.

When it arrives at Fermilab, the detector will become part of an on-site suite of three experiments dedicated to studying neutrinos, ghostly particles that are all around us but have given up few of their secrets.

All three detectors will be filled with liquid argon that enables the use of state-of-the-art time projection technology, drawing charged particles created in neutrino interactions toward planes of fine wires that can capture a 3-D image of the tracks those particles leave. Each detector will contribute different yet complementary results to the hunt for a fourth type of neutrino.

“The liquid-argon time projection chamber is a new and very promising technology that we originally developed in the ICARUS collaboration from an initial table-top experiment all the way to a large neutrino detector,” Rubbia said. “It is expected that it will become the leading technology for large liquid-argon detectors, with its ability to record ionizing tracks with millimetre precision.”

Fermilab operates two powerful neutrino beams and is in the process of developing a third, making it the perfect place for the ICARUS detector to continue its scientific exploration. Scientists plan to transport the detector to the United States in 2017.

A planned sequence of three liquid-argon detectors will provide new insights into the three known types of neutrinos and seek a yet unseen fourth type, following hints from other experiments over the past two decades.

Many theories in particle physics predict the existence of a so-called “sterile” neutrino, which would behave differently from the three known types and, if it exists, could provide a route to understanding the mysterious dark matter that makes up 25 percent of the universe. Discovering this fourth type of neutrino would revolutionize physics, changing scientists’ entire picture of the universe and how it works.

“The arrival of ICARUS and the construction of this on-site research programme is a lofty goal in itself,” said Fermilab Director Nigel Lockyer. “But it is also the first step forward in Fermilab’s plan to host a truly international neutrino facility, with the help of our partners from around the world. The future of neutrino research in the United States is bright.”

Read more: CERN press release

 


via CERN: Updates for the general public
http://home.web.cern.ch/about/updates/2015/04/icarus-neutrino-experiment-move-fermilab

Colorful Star Clouds in Cygnus

more »



Zazzle Space Gifts for young and old

Eye in Orion Black Handled Acoustic Guitar Room Graphic

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


tagged with: cosmic, astronomy, acoustic, guitar, funky, eye, orion nebula, bright, colorful, abstract digital art, shape, space, image, aqua blue, iris, nasa hubble, space art

Abstract digital artwork inspired by one of NASA/Hubble's images of the Orion Nebula on the shape of an acoustic guitar.

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

Star birth in Carina Nebula from Hubble's WFC3 det iPad Mini 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: argo navis, astronomy, carina, celestial bodies, exploration, milky way, natural sciences, natural world, nebula, ngc 3372, nobody, outer space, physical science, sciences, space exploration and research, stars

ImageID: 42-23286264 / STScI / NASA/Corbis / Star birth in Carina Nebula from Hubble's WFC3 detector

»visit the corbisimages 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!

The clusters of monster stars that lit up the early universe

more »
The first stars in the Universe were born several hundred million years after the Big Bang, ending a period known as the cosmological 'dark ages' – when atoms of hydrogen and helium had formed, but nothing shone in visible light. Now two Canadian researchers have calculated what these objects were like: they find that the first stars could have clustered together in phenomenally bright groups, with periods when they were as luminous as 100 million Suns. Alexander DeSouza and Shantanu Basu, both of the University of Western Ontario in Canada, publish their results in a paper in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Zazzle Space market place

First exoplanet in visible light spectrum

more »
The exoplanet 51 Pegasi b lies some 50 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Pegasus. It was discovered in 1995 and will forever be remembered as the first confirmed exoplanet to be found orbiting an ordinary star like the Sun. It is also regarded as the archetypal hot Jupiter—a class of planets now known to be relatively commonplace, which are similar in size and mass to Jupiter, but orbit much closer to their parent stars.

Zazzle Space market place

Ultrasonic hammer sets off tiny explosions

original post »

Giving new meaning to the term “sonic boom,” University of Illinois chemists have used sound to trigger microscopic

The post Ultrasonic hammer sets off tiny explosions has been published on Technology Org.

 
#materials 
See Zazzle gifts tagged with 'science'

Vintage Astronomy, Constellations of Southern Sky Poster

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


tagged with: sky, constellations, nostalgic, stars, nostalgia, retro, antique, americana, vintage, celestial map, antique celestial

Vintage illustration Renaissance era astronomy and celestial image featuring an antique star chart of the southern sky, created in 1660 by Andreas Cellarius. Map of the constellations of the southern hemisphere including some signs of the Zodiac, from The Celestial Atlas, or the Harmony of the Universe. Andreas Cellarius (c.1596-1665) was a Dutch-German cartographer, best known for his Harmonia Macrocosmica from 1660, a major star atlas, published by Johannes Janssonius in Amsterdam.

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

Wreath Nebula in our awesome Milky Way Sticker

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


tagged with: envelope sealers, star forming activity, wnmwbpt, interstellar gas clouds, milky way, wreath nebula, awesome astronomy images, metallic elements, new born stars, galaxies, dust clouds, star nurseries, young hot stars

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series A gorgeous outer space picture featuring the Wreath Nebula, located in our Milky way near the boundary between the constellations of Perseus and Taurus.
Tiny particles of dust, glowing warmly in the energy being radiated by the new-born star are similar to those in the composition of our Earthly smog. The red cloud is cooler than its environs and likely comprises more metallic elements as well.

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

image code: wnmwbpt

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA

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

Star birth in Carina Nebula from Hubble's WFC3 det iPad Folio 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: argo navis, astronomy, carina, celestial bodies, exploration, milky way, natural sciences, natural world, nebula, ngc 3372, nobody, outer space, physical science, sciences, space exploration and research, stars

ImageID: 42-23286264 / STScI / NASA/Corbis / Star birth in Carina Nebula from Hubble's WFC3 detector

»visit the corbisimages 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!