Friday 20 November 2015

New catalyst improves efficiency of drug, pesticide production

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A new catalyst material, graphene containing oriented metal nanoparticles, has been discovered for organic reactions in the manufacture of drugs and pesticides. Aside from the material itself, the work's main contribution lies in the single-step process by which it is obtained.
via Science Daily

Leonids and Friends

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Leonid meteors rained down on planet Earth this week, the annual shower of dusty debris from the orbit of Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. Leonids streak through this composite night skyview from a backyard observatory in southern Ontario. Recorded with camera fixed to a tripod, the individual frames capture the bright meteor activity throughout the night of November 16/17, about a day before the shower's very modest peak. The frames are registered to the fixed field of view, so the meteor trails are not all aligned to the background star field recorded that evening when Orion stood above the southern horizon. As a result, the trails don't appear to point back to the shower's radiant in Leo, situated off the left edge of the star field frame. In fact, some trails could be of Taurid meteors, a shower also active in November, or even sporadic meteors, including a bright fireball with its reflection near the horizon.

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Microsatellite developed for Air Force

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An aerospace engineering professor is developing a microsatellite imager that could be used to check satellites, do small repairs or refuel spacecraft — and keep astronauts from making risky exploratory missions when something goes wrong.
via Science Daily
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Accelerating fusion research through the cutting edge supercomputer

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For the first time in the world, using the newly installed 'Plasma Simulator' researchers have simulated deuterium plasma turbulence in the Large Helical Device. From this result, we have clarified that the energy confinement in a deuterium plasma is improved in comparison to a hydrogen plasma.
via Science Daily
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Stormy space weather puts equatorial regions' power at risk

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Stormy space weather sweeping across the equator is threatening vital power grids in regions long considered safe from such events, ground-breaking new research reveals.
via Science Daily
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