Graphene based terahertz absorbers

more »
A terahertz saturable absorber has been created using printable graphene inks with an order of magnitude higher absorption modulation than other devices produced to date.
via Science Daily

TED-Ed: Emptying the vacuum

Could we create a perfect vacuum? In a universe filled with matter and energy, we often think of deepest outer space as a vacuum, empty of everything. But it is far from it, with a multitude of particles and electromagnetic radiation zooming through it. This new animation, made in collaboration with TED-Ed, explores why CERN’s accelerators need to be one of the emptiest spaces in the universe and asks if there is such a thing as totally empty space. 

Read more about the content in this animation on the TED-Ed website. 

 

via CERN: Updates for the general public
http://home.cern/about/updates/2017/09/ted-ed-emptying-vacuum

Astronauts don't develop anemia during spaceflight, NASA study suggests

more »
Space flight anemia -- the reduction of circulating red blood cells during time spent in space -- is an established phenomenon, but it may not be a major concern during long-duration space missions, according to a study.
via Science Daily
Zazzle Space Exploration market place

Hollow atoms: The consequences of an underestimated effect

more »
In a 'hollow atom', electrons occupy high-energy states far away from the nucleus, it can get rid of their excess energy on a remarkably short timescale. The reason for this has been unknown. Researchers have now shown that this is due to a previously underestimated effect: the 'interatomic coulomb decay' allows the atom to transfer its energy to several other atoms simultaneously. This also explains why radiation therapy can be so effective.
via Science Daily

Feature: What Could We Lose if a NASA Mission Goes Dark?

more »
Researchers are racing to replace the pioneering Grace satellites, which are threatened by both dying batteries and Trump-era budget cuts.
via New York Times

A Total Solar Eclipse Close-Up in Real Time

more »

How would you feel if the Sun disappeared? Many eclipse watchers across the USA surprised themselves with the awe that they felt and the exclamations that they made as the Sun momentarily disappeared behind the Moon. Perhaps expecting just a brief moment of dusk, the spectacle of unusually rapid darkness, breathtakingly bright glowing beads around the Moon's edge, shockingly pink solar prominences, and a strangely detailed corona stretching across the sky caught many a curmudgeon by surprise. Many of these attributes were captured in the featured real-time, three-minute video of last month's total solar eclipse. The video frames were acquired in Warm Springs, Oregon with equipment specifically designed by Jun Ho Oh to track a close-up of the Sun's periphery during eclipse. As the video ends, the Sun is seen being reborn on the other side of the Moon from where it departed.

Zazzle Space Gifts for young and old

How to follow Cassini’s end of mission

more »

The international Cassini mission reaches its dramatic finale this Friday by plunging into Saturn’s atmosphere, concluding 13-years of exploration around the ringed planet.

via ESA Space Science
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Cassini-Huygens/How_to_follow_Cassini_s_end_of_mission