Steps into Space - Commercialisation, Occupation, Colonization: 04/16/14

Wednesday, 16 April 2014

Breakthrough synthesis method to speed commercialization of graphene

Grafene consists of a single layer of carbon atoms. Credit: Wikimedia Commons Samsung Electronics announced a breakthrough synthesis method to speed the commercialization of graphene, a unique material ideally suited for electronic devices. Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT), in partnership with Sungkyunkwan University, became the first in the world to develop this new method. “This is one of the most significant breakthroughs in graphene research in history,” said the laboratory leaders at SAIT’s Lab. “We expect this discovery to accelerate the commercialization of graphene, which could unlock the next era of consumer electronic technology.” Graphene has one hundred times greater electron mobility than silicon, the most widely used material in semiconductors today. It is more durable than steel and has high heat conductibility as well as flexibility, which makes it the perfect material for use in flexible displays, wearables and other next generation electronic devices. Through its partnership with Sungkyungkwan University’s School of Advanced Materials Science and Engineering, SAIT uncovered a new method of growing large area, single crystal wafer scale graphene. Engineers around the world have invested heavily in research for the commercialization of graphene, but have faced many obstacles due to the challenges associated with it. In the past,

The post Breakthrough synthesis method to speed commercialization of graphene has been published on Technology Org.

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A study in scarlet: Hot newborn stars formed out of the clouds

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An area of the southern sky, in the constellation of Centaurus (The Centaur), is home to many bright nebulae, each associated with hot newborn stars that formed out of the clouds of hydrogen gas. The intense radiation from the stellar newborns excites the remaining hydrogen around them, making the gas glow in the distinctive shade of red typical of star-forming regions.

via Science Daily

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Carl Sagan Poster - High Quality

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Making new materials an atomic layer at a time

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Researchers have shown the ability to grow high quality, single-layer materials one on top of the other using chemical vapor deposition. This highly scalable technique, often used in the semiconductor industry, can produce new materials with unique properties that could be applied to solar cells, ultracapacitors for energy storage, or advanced transistors for energy efficient electronics, among many other applications.

via Science Daily

A small connection with big implications: Wiring up carbon-based electronics

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Carbon-based nanostructures such as nanotubes, graphene sheets, and nanoribbons are unique building blocks showing versatile nanomechanical and nanoelectronic properties. These materials which are ordered in the nanoscale, that is, in the dimension of a millionth of millimeter, are promising candidates to envision applications in nanoscale devices, ranging from energy conversion to nano-electronic transistors.

via Science Daily

Don't sweat the supervolcanoes

Science Focus

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Beneath the pine forests and hot springs of Yellowstone National Park is a huge chamber of magma, which by some measures makes the park's volcano the world’s largest. The last three eruptions at Yellowstone occurred 2.1 million, 1.3 million, and 640,000 years ago, respectively.

Scientists estimate that another mega-eruption — which would send billions of cubic meters of choking ash up to 15 miles in the air, blackening the skies and drastically changing the climate — could possibly occur in the next 100,000 years. Such an event would present a huge danger to human civilization...

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original post: http://theweek.com/article/index/259396/dont-sweat-the-supervolcanoes
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Twins’ immune systems look like those of complete strangers

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Edd Dumbill

Our adaptive immune system, the one that responds to specific pathogens, relies on T cells and B cells. These cells make proteins that have a key job: distinguish between the harmless proteins in all of our cells and foreign proteins that may be harmful. In T cells, these molecules are creatively called T cell receptors (TCRs), and in B cells they are antibodies.

Each individual has a unique set of TCRs and antibodies—their immunorepertoire—selected by the interplay between her genetic makeup and the proteins to which she's been exposed. But which of these two factors dominate?

The region of the genome that encodes these molecules is super complex. It consists of genetic cassettes that are linked in different combinations to generate diverse receptors that can recognize many potential invaders. First there are about 50 segments of DNA called V, for variable; next come a bunch of D segments, for diversity; then J for joining; and lastly C for the constant region at the base of these receptors. In a process called V(D)J recombination, each T cell and B cell picks one V segment, one D segment, and one J segment, then links them up to make a complete gene that includes a unique protein binding site.

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original post: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/science/~3/wVtdQWljwRg/
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Rainbow-catching waveguide could revolutionize energy technologies

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The image shows a “multilayered waveguide taper array.” The different wavelengths, or colors, are absorbed by the waveguide tapers (thimble-shaped structures) that together form an array. By slowing and absorbing certain wavelengths of light, engineers open new possibilities in solar power, thermal energy recycling and stealth technology “This advancement could prove invaluable for thin-film solar technology, as well as recycling waste thermal energy that is a byproduct of industry and everyday electronic devices such as smartphones and laptops.” Qiaoqiang Gan, assistant professor of electrical engineering, University at Buffalo UB Goldwater Scholarship recipients Nigel Michki, left, and Sean Bearden. More efficient photovoltaic cells. Improved radar and stealth technology. A new way to recycle waste heat generated by machines into energy. All may be possible due to breakthrough photonics research at the University at Buffalo. The work, published March 28 in the journal Scientific Reports, explores the use of a nanoscale microchip component called a “multilayered waveguide taper array” that improves the chip’s ability to trap and absorb light. Unlike current chips, the waveguide tapers (the thimble-shaped structures pictured above) slow and ultimately absorb each frequency of light at different places vertically to catch a “rainbow” of wavelengths, or broadband light. The paper,

The post Rainbow-catching waveguide could revolutionize energy technologies has been published on Technology Org.

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original post: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TechnologyOrgPhysicsNews/~3/VMnjKv4Awyk/
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Micro-macro entangled 'cat states' could one day test quantum gravity

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(Phys.org) —In Schrödinger's famous thought experiment, a cat's quantum state becomes entangled with the quantum state of a decaying nucleus, resulting in the odd situation that the cat is both alive and dead at the same time. The thought experiment was originally intended to convey the absurdity of applying quantum mechanics to macroscopic objects, but recently physicists have been questioning whether "quantum" effects such as entanglement and superposition may apply on all scales.

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Team finds electricity can be generated by dragging saltwater over graphene

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(Phys.org) —A team of researchers at China's Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, studying graphene properties, has discovered that the act of dragging saltwater over a piece of graphene can generate electricity. In their paper published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, the team describes how in seeking to turn the idea of submerging carbon nanotubes in a flowing liquid to generate a voltage on its head, they came upon the idea of simply dragging water droplets across graphene instead.

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Star Birth in Constellation Cygnus, The Swan Star Sticker

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Star Birth in Constellation Cygnus, The Swan Star Sticker

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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.

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Image code: cygsb

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

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Name, Swan Nebula, Intriguing Space Pictures Gift Wrap Paper

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Name, Swan Nebula, Intriguing Space Pictures Gift Wrap Paper

tagged with: midswneb, swan nebula, m17, hydrogen gas clouds, star forming activity, newly born stars, outer space, star galaxies, deep space astronomy, pictures of space, young hot stars

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series Amazingly this could almost be some underwater scene with strange creatures swimming in the aquamarine waters. It's actually the centre of the Swan Nebula, or M17, a hotbed of newly born stars wrapped in colourful blankets of glowing gas and cradled in an enormous cold, dark hydrogen cloud. This stunning picture was taken by the newly installed Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) aboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.
The region of the nebula shown in this picture is about 3500 times wider than our Solar System. The area also represents about 60 percent of the total view captured by ACS. The nebula resides 5500 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius. Like its famous cousin in Orion, the Swan Nebula is illuminated by ultraviolet radiation from young, massive stars - each about six times hotter and 30 times more massive than our Sun.

The powerful radiation from these stars evaporates and erodes the dense cloud of cold gas within which the stars formed. The blistered walls of the hollow cloud shine primarily in the blue, green, and red light emitted by excited atoms of hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulphur. Particularly striking is the rose-like feature, seen to the right of centre, which glows in the red light emitted by hydrogen and sulphur.
As the infant stars evaporate the surrounding cloud, they expose dense pockets of gas that may contain developing stars. Because these dense pockets are more resistant to the withering radiation than the surrounding cloud, they appear as sculptures in the walls of the cloud or as isolated islands in a sea of glowing gas. One isolated pocket is seen at the centre of the brightest region of the nebula and is about 10 times larger than our Solar System.

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Image credit: NASA, the ACS Science Team

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Spica, Mars, and Eclipsed Moon

A beautiful, reddened Moon slid through dark skies on April 15, completely immersed in Earth's shadow for well over an hour. It was the year's first total lunar eclipse and was widely enjoyed over the planet's Western Hemisphere. Seen from the Caribbean island of Barbados, the dimmed lunar disk is captured during totality in this colorful skyview. The dark Moon's red color contrasts nicely with bright bluish star Spica, alpha star of the constellation Virgo, posing only about two degrees away. Brighter than Spica and about 10 degrees from the Moon on the right, Mars is near opposition and closest approach to Earth. The Red Planet's own ruddy hue seems to echo the color of the eclipsed Moon.

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Metal Earth Globe Wall Graphic

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Shiny wire frame metal Earth globe with red space nebula background.

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Space Nebula Case For The iPad Mini

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Hubble Galaxy

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ESO image: A study in scarlet

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This new image from ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile reveals a cloud of hydrogen called Gum 41. In the middle of this little-known nebula, brilliant hot young stars are giving off energetic radiation that causes the surrounding hydrogen to glow with a characteristic red hue.

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First direct observations of excitons in motion achieved

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A quasiparticle called an exciton—responsible for the transfer of energy within devices such as solar cells, LEDs, and semiconductor circuits—has been understood theoretically for decades. But exciton movement within materials has never been directly observed.

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Update: The science of champagne fizz: How many bubbles are in your bubbly?

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The importance of fizz, more technically known as effervescence, in sparkling wines and champagnes is not to be underestimated — it contributes to the complete sensory experience of a glass, or flute, of fine bubbly. A scientist has now closely examined the factors that affect these bubbles, and he has come up with an estimate of just how many are in each glass. The report appears in ACS’ The Journal of Physical Chemistry B. Gérard Liger-Belair notes that effervescence plays an important role in the look, taste, aroma and mouth feel of champagne and other sparkling wines. Wine journalists and bloggers often cite 15 million as the average number of bubbles fizzing in a single glass of champagne, based on some simple mathematics. Sounds impressive, but Liger-Belair suspected that the formula leading to this estimate oversimplified the matter. It didn’t take into account the fact that some of the dissolved carbon dioxide escapes from a glass without forming bubbles. Also, the size of the bubbles changes over time, and this could affect the final number. Liger-Belair wanted to set the record straight. Taking into consideration temperature, bubble dynamics and the tilt of a flute, Liger-Belair came up with a new way

The post Update: The science of champagne fizz: How many bubbles are in your bubbly? has been published on Technology Org.

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Astronomers: 'Tilt-a-worlds' could harbor life

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A fluctuating tilt in a planet's orbit does not preclude the possibility of life, according to new research. In fact, sometimes it may help. That's because such "tilt-a-worlds," as astronomers sometimes call them -- turned from their orbital plane by the influence of companion planets -- are less likely than fixed-spin planets to freeze over, as heat from their host star is more evenly distributed.

via Science Daily

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Deep Sky Colors Print

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Name, Tarantula Nebula, Intriguing Outer Space Gift Wrap Paper

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Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series A section of the Tarantula Nebula. The Tarantula is situated 170,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) in the Southern sky and is clearly visible to the bare eye as a large milky patch.
Astronomers believe that the LMC galaxy is currently going through a violent period in its life. It is orbiting around the Milky Way and has had several close encounters with it. It is believed that the interaction with the Milky Way has caused an episode of energetic star formation - part of which is visible as the Tarantula Nebula.
Just above the centre of the full image there is a huge cluster of very hot stars called R136. The stars in R136 are also among the most massive stars we know. R136 is also a very young cluster, its oldest stars being "just" 5 million years old or so. Its smallest stars, however, are still forming, so astronomers observe R136 to try to understand the early stages of stellar evolution. Near the lower edge of the full image we find the star cluster Hodge 301. Hodge 301 is almost 10 times older than R136. Some of the stars in Hodge 301 are so old that they have already exploded as supernovae. The shockwave from this explosion has compressed the gas in the Tarantula into the filaments and sheets that are seen around the cluster.
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Image credit: This mosaic of the Tarantula Nebula consists of images from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) and was created by 23 year old amateur astronomer Danny LaCrue. The image was constructed by 15 individual exposures taken through three narrow-band filters allowing light from ionised oxygen (501 nm, shown as blue), hydrogen-alpha (656 nm, shown as green) and ionised sulphur (672 nm, shown as red). The exposure time for the individual WFPC2 images vary between 800 and 2800 seconds in each filter. The Hubble data have been superimposed onto images taken through matching narrow-band filters with the European Southern Observatory's New Technology Telescope at the La Silla Observatory, Chile. Additional image processing was done by the Hubble European Space Agency

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Carina Nebula - Breathtaking Universe Star Sticker

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Carina Nebula - Breathtaking Universe Star Sticker

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Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series A gorgeous set of oval stickers showing the area surrounding the stellar cluster NGC 2467, located in the southern constellation of Puppis ("The Stern"). With an age of a few million years at most, it is a very active stellar nursery, where new stars are born continuously from large clouds of dust and gas.

The image, looking like a colourful cosmic ghost or a gigantic celestial Mandrill, contains the open clusters Haffner 18 (centre) and Haffner 19 (middle right: it is located inside the smaller pink region - the lower eye of the Mandrill), as well as vast areas of ionised gas.

The bright star at the centre of the largest pink region on the bottom of the image is HD 64315, a massive young star that is helping shaping the structure of the whole nebular region.

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

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Open Star Cluster NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula Wall Stickers

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Open Star Cluster NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula Wall Stickers

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NGC 3324 is a star cluster at the northwest corner of the Carina Nebula (NGC 3372), home of the Keyhole Nebula and star Eta Carinae. This photograph was produced by European Southern Observatory (ESO). Their website states: "All ESO still and motion pictures are released under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported, unless the credit byline indicates otherwise." Source http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1207a/ Author ESO

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Hubble Galactic Image on Every Day Products iPad Mini Cover

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Beautiful and awe-inspiring Galactic image from the Hubble space telescope reprinted onto a wide range of products.

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