tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6369829543617438702024-03-18T13:09:43.920+05:30www.scienceinitiative.blogspot.inScience Initiativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07647684504094612598noreply@blogger.comBlogger164125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636982954361743870.post-52067363854937705282019-05-11T16:30:00.001+05:302019-05-11T16:34:16.237+05:30In the deep, dark, ocean fish have evolved superpowered vision<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVzF9LGDLFd6w8qJoMr_Mjr2B4Um_vV6DbN1FxzyuGzozlGpIzYjkAKnVMLg934iHefbchp9kmV2oC3KDaWS-P52dViw5BaVjEsqv-kAo3TWaufX5fOKwd5av27tC7tig-6iz_fP2pnr-2/s1600/aav4632_Cover-Possibility_seq3_v1_online_only.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="393" data-original-width="699" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVzF9LGDLFd6w8qJoMr_Mjr2B4Um_vV6DbN1FxzyuGzozlGpIzYjkAKnVMLg934iHefbchp9kmV2oC3KDaWS-P52dViw5BaVjEsqv-kAo3TWaufX5fOKwd5av27tC7tig-6iz_fP2pnr-2/s320/aav4632_Cover-Possibility_seq3_v1_online_only.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">When the ancestors of cave fish and certain crickets moved into pitchblack caverns, their eyes virtually disappeared over generations. But fish that ply the sea at depths greater than sunlight can penetrate have developed super-vision, highly attuned to the faint glow and twinkle given off by other creatures. They owe this power, evolutionary biologists have learned, to an extraordinary increase in the number of genes for rod opsins, retinal proteins that detect dim light. Those extra genes have diversified to produce proteins capable of capturing every possible photon at multiple wavelengths—which could mean that despite the darkness, the fish roaming the deep ocean actually see in color.<a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/05/deep-dark-ocean-fish-have-evolved-superpowered-vision?utm_campaign=news_weekly_2019-05-10&et_rid=17041569&et_cid=2810851">Read more...</a></span></div>
</div>
Science Initiativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07647684504094612598noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636982954361743870.post-41614720789899069312019-04-27T19:39:00.000+05:302019-04-27T19:42:54.560+05:30World's fastest hydrogen sensor could pave the way for clean hydrogen energy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCb6sSZpvhJockfgdGuQSXiUGzqUqjKYP2WaSZPgJwcZtJEJ2GQP9vY231W7W2ZgXyvjlMjUROvDja6TSR159E9_knolFG5azxgeH4uaLR4R_QgwCMInLTDtg6ArVX2MXJW_uNbpyJYD1j/s1600/190411101829_1_540x360.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="246" data-original-width="540" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCb6sSZpvhJockfgdGuQSXiUGzqUqjKYP2WaSZPgJwcZtJEJ2GQP9vY231W7W2ZgXyvjlMjUROvDja6TSR159E9_knolFG5azxgeH4uaLR4R_QgwCMInLTDtg6ArVX2MXJW_uNbpyJYD1j/s400/190411101829_1_540x360.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Hydrogen is a clean and renewable energy carrier that can power vehicles, with water as the only emission. Unfortunately, hydrogen gas is highly flammable when mixed with air, so very efficient and effective sensors are needed. Now, researchers present the first hydrogen sensors ever to meet the future performance targets for use in hydrogen powered vehicles.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190411101829.htm">Read more...</a></span></div>
</div>
Science Initiativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07647684504094612598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636982954361743870.post-4193625463611023472019-03-17T11:51:00.002+05:302019-03-17T11:51:22.652+05:30Asian elephants may lose up to 42 percent of suitable habitats in India and Nepal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh80q56jMPozJD-dwmXjpHru_WdNGfWQ4mVOL-Rywl7mBYrRohbHeh-1m_dJnWjVIDGz-148S0iqUbEKzvQbKekDoF0B0UZSgSJVRmkRgO7lj_pMRMcnO2tW0feQA1ICWuf4p_NgeTlQ3iu/s1600/190228113615_1_540x360.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh80q56jMPozJD-dwmXjpHru_WdNGfWQ4mVOL-Rywl7mBYrRohbHeh-1m_dJnWjVIDGz-148S0iqUbEKzvQbKekDoF0B0UZSgSJVRmkRgO7lj_pMRMcnO2tW0feQA1ICWuf4p_NgeTlQ3iu/s320/190228113615_1_540x360.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Protecting and expanding suitable habitats for wildlife is key to the conservation of endangered species, but owing to climate and land use change the ideal habitats of today may not be fitting in 30 or 50 years. An international team of scientists therefore predicted range shifts of Asian elephants in India and Nepal using species distribution models based on distribution data for the elephants and climate projections. While a few regions in the north and northeast of the subcontinent may provide more suitable habitats in the future, overall a heavy loss is probable in all scenarios. The complex effects of environmental change on the distribution of the elephants is elucidated in a paper published in the Journal </span><em style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Diversity and Distributions</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">.<a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190228113615.htm"> Read more....</a></span></div>
</div>
Science Initiativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07647684504094612598noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636982954361743870.post-82017429191247988552018-08-01T22:53:00.000+05:302018-08-01T22:54:22.221+05:30Space-based solar power: How close to reality?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Cabin, sans-serif; font-size: 0.9775rem; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; max-width: 889px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrjwk5jy5IdXS7NrofhVDnKIMGykbS32HAIo7FsBo6QKXWzz2RkW0MZMYacIj3UQCQCZoUCEnZtzxpQ2ee52OkWM2QmoA4chDUbW3QSQWcQKbpGitMolFpLzWHzIPOBt-Y0NOhnaqrBO2S/s1600/space-solar-jaxa-800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrjwk5jy5IdXS7NrofhVDnKIMGykbS32HAIo7FsBo6QKXWzz2RkW0MZMYacIj3UQCQCZoUCEnZtzxpQ2ee52OkWM2QmoA4chDUbW3QSQWcQKbpGitMolFpLzWHzIPOBt-Y0NOhnaqrBO2S/s400/space-solar-jaxa-800.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
The idea of capturing solar energy in space where the sun never stops shining and beaming it to Earth may seem far-fetched, but such technology is further along than most realize. In early 2018, scientists from the California Institute of Technology <a href="https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/6.2018-2202" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #008cba; line-height: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">announced</a> that they had succeeded in creating a prototype capable of harnessing and transmitting solar energy from space.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Cabin, sans-serif; font-size: 0.9775rem; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; max-width: 889px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">
Their prototype is a lightweight tile that consists of three main components. Optical reflectors concentrate the sunlight, photovoltaic cells convert the sunlight to electricity, and an integrated circuit converts the electricity to radiofrequency energy that is transmitted through an attached antenna. Many individual tiles could be strung together to form large solar arrays in space. A ground-based microwave receiver on Earth would be used to intercept the incoming radiofrequency energy and convert it back into useable electricity.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Cabin, sans-serif; font-size: 0.9775rem; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; max-width: 889px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">
<a href="http://earthsky.org/earth/space-based-solar-energy-power-getting-closer-to-reality">Read more...</a></div>
</div>
Science Initiativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07647684504094612598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636982954361743870.post-31170224796550231412018-07-27T21:23:00.002+05:302018-07-27T21:23:31.755+05:30A star orbiting a black hole shows Einstein got gravity right — again<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2mLYWW4vIUXsmk1_fLxCKdthzqMNt4BFGFwYcJXKX0XFgFh26GmlNjHvkVGIQfyuNgHX0x3zBL8s29mF1doK5e51H2_t7skc-QdRO1EpCJ-59hqsZmMb6f51sWr4039AXpD1o-Mln-g1j/s1600/072518_EC_black-hole_inline_730.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="446" data-original-width="730" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2mLYWW4vIUXsmk1_fLxCKdthzqMNt4BFGFwYcJXKX0XFgFh26GmlNjHvkVGIQfyuNgHX0x3zBL8s29mF1doK5e51H2_t7skc-QdRO1EpCJ-59hqsZmMb6f51sWr4039AXpD1o-Mln-g1j/s320/072518_EC_black-hole_inline_730.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">
A single star, careening around the monster black hole in the center of the Milky Way, has provided astronomers with new proof that Albert Einstein was right about gravity.</div>
<div style="font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">
More than 100 years ago, Einstein’s general theory of relativity revealed that gravity is the result of matter curving the fabric of spacetime (<em>SN: 10/17/15, p. 16</em>). Now, in a paper published July 26 in <em>Astronomy & Astrophysics</em>, a team of researchers reports the observation of a hallmark of general relativity known as gravitational redshift. The measurement is the first time general relativity has been <a href="http://www.aanda.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201833718" style="color: #c64308; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">confirmed in the region near a supermassive black hole</a>.<a href="https://www.sciencenews.org/article/star-orbiting-black-hole-einstein-gravity-general-relativity">Read more...</a></div>
</div>
Science Initiativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07647684504094612598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636982954361743870.post-82282674229116002282017-10-22T18:38:00.004+05:302017-10-22T18:40:58.520+05:30Germany’s insects are disappearing ?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuBd5OtVrEc4UIMMcsOkWMUuuouQb3prZPt5zzcbay0hnmfelMzvZygIRJwVfVfkluG02iFcSloB53mBx_EpAAi8ELCbPJ0tKrYe8XS9eTBMfzi41PGvHlkxR87TKM5FRLbcyDxXNawyD6/s1600/osmia_adunca_msg16x9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="393" data-original-width="699" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuBd5OtVrEc4UIMMcsOkWMUuuouQb3prZPt5zzcbay0hnmfelMzvZygIRJwVfVfkluG02iFcSloB53mBx_EpAAi8ELCbPJ0tKrYe8XS9eTBMfzi41PGvHlkxR87TKM5FRLbcyDxXNawyD6/s400/osmia_adunca_msg16x9.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "roboto" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "roboto" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: "roboto" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> I</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "roboto" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">n just 3 decades, insect populations in German nature reserves have plummeted by more than 75%, according to a new study. The reasons for the decline aren’t clear, but the pattern is consistent over a swath of western and northern Germany, from the region around Bonn and Cologne to the countryside south of Berlin. For 27 years, members of the Krefeld Entomological Society near Dusseldorf have monitored flying insect populations—everything from parasitic wasps to hoverflies and wild bees—in dozens of nature reserves. In recent years, they noticed a steep decline in their catch, with biomass dropping by some 82% in the summer when insect populations peak. Their attempts to match the decline with changes in weather, landscapes, and plant coverage—in collaboration with scientists in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom—</span><a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0185809" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #37588a; font-family: roboto, "helvetica neue", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">don’t explain the loss</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "roboto" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">, they report today in </span><cite style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333; font-family: roboto, "helvetica neue", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">PLOS ONE</cite><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "roboto" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">. The scientists speculate that intensive agriculture surrounding the nature reserves has played a role, but they don’t have data on factors such as pesticide use in neighboring fields. The decline is likely having wide-ranging effects on plants and other animals, such as insect-eating birds. The researchers say that better monitoring of these crucial, but overlooked, members of ecosystems is urgently needed. <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/05/where-have-all-insects-gone">Read more...</a></span></div>
</div>
Science Initiativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07647684504094612598noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636982954361743870.post-16960857168479656962017-02-05T20:17:00.001+05:302017-02-05T20:17:38.452+05:30What gives frog tongues the gift of grab<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDhFdswPDBT497Y4_jrkaqCsizLX4FbwPFbzAyFOHZeMc0um-jJpPIQCzG0kt4EdgFyYLlWy0V3p5Z44ZKVNFPUSN8kXoEuGAhswKMfHh_Td3bAdVv0zi6yLVh3q2RVg3Hioseo559_qjY/s1600/013117_SM_frog-tongue_main_free.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDhFdswPDBT497Y4_jrkaqCsizLX4FbwPFbzAyFOHZeMc0um-jJpPIQCzG0kt4EdgFyYLlWy0V3p5Z44ZKVNFPUSN8kXoEuGAhswKMfHh_Td3bAdVv0zi6yLVh3q2RVg3Hioseo559_qjY/s400/013117_SM_frog-tongue_main_free.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify;">
Frogs’ remarkable power to tongue-grab prey — some as big as mice or as oddly shaped as tarantulas — stems from a combo of peculiar saliva and a supersquishy tongue.</div>
<div style="font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify;">
The first detailed analysis of the stickiness of frog saliva shows that <a href="http://rsif.royalsocietypublishing.org/lookup/doi/10.1098/rsif.2016.0764" style="color: #c64308; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the fluid can shift rather abruptly from gooey to runny</a>, says mechanical engineer Alexis Noel of Georgia Tech in Atlanta. Those quick changes come in handy during the various phases of a single tongue strike. And it all works because the tongue itself is so soft, Noel and colleagues report February 1 in <em>Journal of the Royal Society Interface</em>.</div>
<div style="font-family: Lato, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify;">
Internet videos of frogs feasting sparked Noel’s curiosity about their ability “to eat furry things, hairy things, slimy things,” she says, and to do so with speed and power. A frog tongue strikes five times more quickly than a human can blink.</div>
</div>
<a href="https://www.sciencenews.org/article/what-gives-frog-tongues-gift-grab?tgt=nr" style="font-size: 13px;" target="_self"> Readmore</a></div>
Science Initiativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07647684504094612598noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636982954361743870.post-90294921517923162542016-08-06T16:21:00.001+05:302016-08-06T16:23:59.407+05:30Mineral veins found in Mars's Gale Crater were formed by the evaporation of ancient Martian lakes, a new study has shown.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivucynBtKuybYojRArpyB2bge0qOK4-3VCbHlr_thGWsJ55X1qjmMqDm1NCUJaMXdAGHnP3VyOq63QhqzGVJCi_70ZpDtQdO90wHlsqwDR8wSKH4qtTp9IM9NPg_gWIEtFEC-OLX2PIi5I/s1600/160805085749_1_900x600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivucynBtKuybYojRArpyB2bge0qOK4-3VCbHlr_thGWsJ55X1qjmMqDm1NCUJaMXdAGHnP3VyOq63QhqzGVJCi_70ZpDtQdO90wHlsqwDR8wSKH4qtTp9IM9NPg_gWIEtFEC-OLX2PIi5I/s320/160805085749_1_900x600.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="hyphenate" id="story_photo" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-top: 15px; widows: auto; word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">
<div class="photo-caption" style="background-color: #f2f3f4; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px !important; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px !important; border-top-left-radius: 0px !important; border-top-right-radius: 0px !important; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 10px 10px 5px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Drill hole into the John Klein target within Sheepbed Member of Yellowknife Bay, with a light-toned sulfate veinlet visible on the back wall. The light-toned veins have been identified as sulfates by ChemCam (Nachon et al.; Schroeder et al.) and CheMin (Vaniman et al.). Drill hole is 1.6 cm diameter. Image is white balanced. Scale bar is 2 cm.</div>
</div>
<div class="photo-credit" style="background-color: #f2f3f4; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px !important; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px !important; border-top-left-radius: 0px !important; border-top-right-radius: 0px !important; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; padding: 5px 10px 10px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em style="border-bottom-left-radius: 0px !important; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px !important; border-top-left-radius: 0px !important; border-top-right-radius: 0px !important; box-sizing: border-box;">Credit: Image courtesy of University of Leicester</em></div>
</div>
<div class="clearfix" style="border-bottom-left-radius: 0px !important; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px !important; border-top-left-radius: 0px !important; border-top-right-radius: 0px !important; box-sizing: border-box;">
</div>
</div>
<div class="clearfix" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; widows: auto;">
</div>
<div class="hyphenate" id="story_text" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-top: 15px; widows: auto; word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">
<div class="lead" id="first" style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 20px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; widows: auto;">The research, by Mars Science Laboratory Participating Scientists at The Open University and the University of Leicester, used the Mars Curiosity rover to explore Yellowknife Bay in Gale Crater on Mars, examining the mineralogy of veins that were paths for groundwater in mudstones.</span><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">The study suggests that the veins formed as the sediments from the ancient lake were buried, heated to about 50 degrees Celsius and corroded.</span><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Professor John Bridges from the University of Leicester Department of Physics and Astronomy said: "The taste of this Martian groundwater would be rather unpleasant, with about 20 times the content of sulphate and sodium than bottled mineral water for instance!</span><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">"However as Dr Schwenzer from The Open University concludes, some microbes on Earth do like sulphur and iron rich fluids, because they can use those two elements to gain energy. Therefore, for the question of habitability at Gale Crater the taste of the water is very exciting news."</span><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">The researchers suggest that evaporation of ancient lakes in the Yellowknife Bay would have led to the formation of silica and sulphate-rich deposits.</span><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Subsequent dissolution by groundwater of these deposits -- which the team predict are present in the Gale Crater sedimentary succession -- led to the formation of pure sulphate veins within the Yellowknife Bay mudstone.</span><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">The study predicts the original precipitate was likely gypsum, which dehydrated during the lake's burial.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/08/160805085749.htm" style="font-size: 12px;" target="_self">Readmore...</a>
</div>
</div>
Science Initiativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07647684504094612598noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636982954361743870.post-7447396941702046732016-06-11T13:24:00.003+05:302016-06-11T13:25:47.453+05:30Seventh Row of Periodic Table Completed<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTq7GWdFh-1_T37TgOq3nvGER7XZ7lG_jHgDBiM2Nz-6x1EvqkIXwt98F_91X-AG1N9lb2wBJPp-ZOE-B_D7Q244LQiDWpbd05yThb66s2EFztwx-b4ygels8sHivSyjpq9Tu5fAxzi23y/s1600/Periodic+Table+Revised.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTq7GWdFh-1_T37TgOq3nvGER7XZ7lG_jHgDBiM2Nz-6x1EvqkIXwt98F_91X-AG1N9lb2wBJPp-ZOE-B_D7Q244LQiDWpbd05yThb66s2EFztwx-b4ygels8sHivSyjpq9Tu5fAxzi23y/s320/Periodic+Table+Revised.jpg" width="320" /></a>What do the nation of Japan, the state of Tennessee, and the city of Moscow have in common with Russian nuclear physicist Yuri Oganessian? If you hadn't guessed, all four just had elements named after them, marking the observation and naming of all elements in the seventh row of the periodic table.<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16.8999996185303px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Nihonium, moscovium, tennessine, and oganesson are the latest additions to the chart, assigned to elements with atomic number 113, 115, 117, and 118 respectively. Atomic number refers to the number of protons in each atom's nucleus, and correspondingly to the number of electrons that orbit the protons and neutrons. It is the number of electrons that primarily determines an element's physical properties.</span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16.8999996185303px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16.8999996185303px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Element 113, nihonium, was named after the nation of Japan—</span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16.8999996185303px; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Nihon</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16.8999996185303px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> means "Land of the Rising Sun" in Japanese. Nihonium was synthesized in Japan, by bombarding a block of bismuth with a ions of a heavy zinc isotope (zinc-70) at extremely high speeds. Researchers didn't identify the new element directly, but rather its decay products—nihonium is highly unstable, so right now the only way to figure out that you had some is to look at the pieces it breaks into.</span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 16.9px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding: 4px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody>
<tr></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="http://physicsbuzz.physicscentral.com/2016/06/tetris-seventh-row-of-periodic-table.html" style="font-size: 13px;" target="_self">Read more...</a>
</div>
Science Initiativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07647684504094612598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636982954361743870.post-12996432538191378882016-04-07T21:56:00.002+05:302016-04-07T21:58:01.514+05:30‘World Class’ Optical Telescope, and India’s Largest, to Be Activated near Nainital<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Noto Serif', Georgia, serif; font-size: 16.5px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 30px; text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i1.wp.com/128.199.141.55/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Screen-Shot-2016-03-30-at-6.32.46-pm.png?resize=1160%2C1070" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img alt="The Devasthal optical telescope's supporting structure, which also hosts three detectors, under a protective dome. Credit: IIST" border="0" src="http://i1.wp.com/128.199.141.55/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Screen-Shot-2016-03-30-at-6.32.46-pm.png?resize=1160%2C1070" height="368" style="background-color: transparent;" width="400" /></a></div>
India’s largest ground-based optical telescope, in Devasthal in Uttarakhand, will be switched on March 30 by the prime ministers of India and Belgium from Brussels, during Narendra Modi’s day-long visit to the country. The telescope is the product of an Indo-Belgian collaborative effort, assisted by the Russian Academy of Sciences, that was kicked off in 2007. It is going to be operated by the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), an autonomous research body under the Department of Science and Technology.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Noto Serif', Georgia, serif; font-size: 16.5px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 30px; text-align: justify;">
The instrument is part of a widening foray into observational research in astronomy that India has undertaken since the 1960s, and bolstered with the successful launch of its first multi-wavelength satellite (ASTROSAT) in <a href="http://thewire.in/2015/09/28/pslv-lifts-off-with-indias-first-astronomical-satellite-11815/" style="-webkit-transition: all 0.3s ease-in-out; color: #c0392b; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.3s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">September 2015</a>. And apart from the merits it will accord Indian astronomy, the Devasthal optical telescope will also be Asia’s largest ground-based optical telescope, succeeding the Vainu Bappu Observatory in Kavalur, Tamil Nadu.<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_26702" style="background-color: #f2f2f2; box-sizing: border-box; clear: right; color: #222222; float: left; font-family: 'Noto Serif', Georgia, serif; font-size: 16.5px; line-height: 25px; margin: 10px 30px 15px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px; text-align: center; width: 327px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<img alt="A scan of the sketch of the 3.6-m optical telescope. Credit: ARIES" class=" wp-image-26702" src="http://i0.wp.com/128.199.141.55/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Screen-Shot-2016-03-30-at-5.10.54-pm.png?resize=317%2C247" height="247" style="border: 0px; float: none; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%;" width="317" /></div>
<div class="wp-caption-text" style="color: grey; font-size: 0.8em; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
A scan of the sketch of the 3.6-m optical telescope. Credit: ARIES</div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Noto Serif', Georgia, serif; font-size: 16.5px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 30px; text-align: justify;">
Its defining feature will be a 3.6-metre-wide primary mirror, which will collect light from its field of view and focus it onto a 0.9-m secondary mirror, which in turn will divert it into various detectors for analysis. This arrangement, called the <a href="http://thewire.in/2015/09/23/why-astrosat-is-not-indias-hubble-11421/" style="-webkit-transition: all 0.3s ease-in-out; color: #c0392b; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.3s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">Ritchey-Chrétien design</a>, is also what ASTROSAT employs – but with a 30-cm-wide primary mirror. In fact, by contrast, the mirrors and six instruments of ASTROSAT all weigh 1,500 kg while the Devasthal telescope’s primary mirror alone weighs 4,000 kg.A better comparison would be the Hubble space telescope. It manages to capture the stunning cosmic panoramas it does with a primary mirror that’s 2.4 m wide. However, Hubble’s clarity is much better because it is situated in space, where Earth’s atmosphere can’t interfere with what it sees.<a href="http://thewire.in/2016/03/30/world-class-optical-telescope-and-indias-largest-to-be-activated-near-nainital-26701/" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;" target="_self">Read More....</a></div>
</div>
</div>
Science Initiativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07647684504094612598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636982954361743870.post-53066466416841972102016-02-28T14:23:00.000+05:302016-02-28T14:23:01.479+05:30On National Science Day, Here's Celebrating One Of India's Greatest Minds - Physicist CV Raman<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhirtgtZ17eeQWOZQRRHhlzSPrEK4k7K3_Vvufh1nOPvq0Mdea2x2f5o8kRrQpQPyKf4ys2wAFDaqiVtk10LDkHKJ9J14a1SoJ6vDn-Ah6Q2Lmv_2qmgcSRWS5kfw6dODicxfJG50W4vhLG/s1600/cv_1456639411.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhirtgtZ17eeQWOZQRRHhlzSPrEK4k7K3_Vvufh1nOPvq0Mdea2x2f5o8kRrQpQPyKf4ys2wAFDaqiVtk10LDkHKJ9J14a1SoJ6vDn-Ah6Q2Lmv_2qmgcSRWS5kfw6dODicxfJG50W4vhLG/s200/cv_1456639411.jpg" width="180" /></a>Every year, February 28 marks the National Science Day that celebrates physicist C V Raman's discovery of the Raman effect.
The day is commemorated to uphold the significance of scientific applications in our daily lives. Science and colleges throughout the country organize even</div>
ts and exhibitions that showcase their respective researches and discoveries in the field.
To gauge a better understanding, let's take a look at how the day came into being.</div>
<a href="http://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/on-national-science-day-here-s-celebrating-one-of-india-s-greatest-minds-physicist-cv-raman-251275.html" style="font-size: 11px;" target="_self">Readmore</a></div>
Science Initiativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07647684504094612598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636982954361743870.post-26718580371733729362016-01-05T05:51:00.000+05:302016-01-05T05:56:04.163+05:30Four Newly Discovered Elements Find Their Way Into The Seventh Row Of The Periodic Table!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLAhiXxlAmMu3hQZN427I2-GqArwpK96buiUC62PNsSeG6CNo2dr4HrsDOVUxEU8t5eASliGH9jt_LKw8fZyQswhQOtngsXidGROSoyA4K4Frd2skYP8Jc7mn-1rEZtm9x-SsOWKXbLSFc/s1600/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLAhiXxlAmMu3hQZN427I2-GqArwpK96buiUC62PNsSeG6CNo2dr4HrsDOVUxEU8t5eASliGH9jt_LKw8fZyQswhQOtngsXidGROSoyA4K4Frd2skYP8Jc7mn-1rEZtm9x-SsOWKXbLSFc/s320/image.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Scientists in America, Russia and Japan found 4 super-heavy chemical elements, that after a close scrutiny by experts, have found their designated place on the periodic table. These additions come after the last update made to the table in 2011 when elements 114 and 116 were added.The elements were verified on 30 December by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), USA - a governing body of chemical nomenclature, terminology and measurement.
As announced by IUPAC, the elements were presented to the organization with sufficient evidence by a team of Russian-American scientists at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. The elements so discovered are 115, 117, and 118.<a href="http://www.indiatimes.com/news/world/4-newly-discovered-elements-find-their-way-into-the-seventh-row-of-the-periodic-table-249059.html" style="font-size: 12px;" target="_self">Read More...</a> </div>
</div>
Science Initiativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07647684504094612598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636982954361743870.post-56520536259811638992015-12-05T21:22:00.000+05:302015-12-05T21:22:30.854+05:30New Substance Is Harder Than Diamond, Scientists Say<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih-KqzThQjG7wqir73Ey6f7MBgXvZ47cizs4IJsAx7Q1pCrT3R7epI-Geu8jSwmmWwC3fCe0OgN5CO1EX72xcApyS87tQBRFIRz3vuFSUcCr45KWcxnojbhJVx64t8Goq4R1KWrX_ZDsZm/s1600/04diamond-exp-superJumbo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih-KqzThQjG7wqir73Ey6f7MBgXvZ47cizs4IJsAx7Q1pCrT3R7epI-Geu8jSwmmWwC3fCe0OgN5CO1EX72xcApyS87tQBRFIRz3vuFSUcCr45KWcxnojbhJVx64t8Goq4R1KWrX_ZDsZm/s320/04diamond-exp-superJumbo.png" width="320" /></a>Until recently, diamond was the hardest known naturally occurring material. But a new physical process applied to carbon has uncovered a substance that a group of scientists say is even harder.
Researchers at North Carolina State University say they have developed a technique for creating a substance they are calling Q-carbon, which represents a third phase, or distinct form, of carbon alongside graphite and diamond.
The discovery could have many applications, notably in the fields of medicine and industry. But Jay Narayan, the lead scientist on the study, has made one claim about the technique that is certain to turn heads.
“In 15 minutes, we can make a carat of diamonds,” Mr. Narayan said. A carat is 200 milligrams.</div>
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/03/science/q-carbon-harder-than-diamond.html?smid=fb-nytscience&smtyp=cur&_r=0" style="font-size: 11px;" target="_self">Read More....</a>
</div>
Science Initiativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07647684504094612598noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636982954361743870.post-20135942075172831882015-10-31T19:49:00.000+05:302015-10-31T19:49:27.948+05:30Sound can travel through space after all - but we can't hear it<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaThDIrBU0ShPFutFLww9r4vqvH1UoKcvIl5XrwkQ-D_I2wujLwxMcWf9uqRKkqR77KO1KpekqGoBBFPxu80tkLKIiG1mFPeD94O0lImV6Snm4d6-1W-ftbJmcaiGn4Jp9lknp2-KYktif/s1600/sound-space_1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaThDIrBU0ShPFutFLww9r4vqvH1UoKcvIl5XrwkQ-D_I2wujLwxMcWf9uqRKkqR77KO1KpekqGoBBFPxu80tkLKIiG1mFPeD94O0lImV6Snm4d6-1W-ftbJmcaiGn4Jp9lknp2-KYktif/s400/sound-space_1024.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It's a fact well-known enough to be the tagline to the 1979 sci-fi horror blockbuster Alien: "In space, no one can hear you scream." Or to put it another way, sound can't be carried in the empty vacuum of space - there just aren't any molecules for the audio vibrations to move through. Well, that is true: but only up to a point.
As it turns out, space isn't a complete and empty void, though large swathes of it are. The interstellar gas and dust left behind by old stars and sometimes used to create new ones does have the potential to carry sound waves - we just aren't able to listen to them. The particles are so spread out, and the resulting sound waves are of such a low frequency, that they're beyond the capabilities of human hearing.</div>
<a href="http://www.sciencealert.com/sound-can-travel-through-space-after-all-but-we-can-t-hear-it" style="font-size: 11px;" target="_self"> Read more...</a>
</div>
Science Initiativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07647684504094612598noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636982954361743870.post-59470415730402571412015-08-30T11:28:00.003+05:302015-08-30T11:28:54.543+05:30ISRO-NASA Join Hands To Launch Earth Observation Satellite NISAR In 2021<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: RobotoLight, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 12.921875px; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijzrLm1qCjBZVtuqu7XlScGxg4iQWBm_jpm2ZdHvnriwwOLzXHD-HvKce72ER5rUcNQQGFFvcz4xQ_I3BmQrVQgtQZ6xFkiyqnupIGPInDLeYAnFwAjoXyKSoVzg75j2Vcr3CcXk8VJ1Wa/s1600/nasa-isro-600_1440844769.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijzrLm1qCjBZVtuqu7XlScGxg4iQWBm_jpm2ZdHvnriwwOLzXHD-HvKce72ER5rUcNQQGFFvcz4xQ_I3BmQrVQgtQZ6xFkiyqnupIGPInDLeYAnFwAjoXyKSoVzg75j2Vcr3CcXk8VJ1Wa/s320/nasa-isro-600_1440844769.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
India and US have set a target of 2021 to put their collaborative earth observation satellite NISAR in orbit, ISRO.<span style="background-color: transparent; text-align: left;">Chairman AS Kiran Kumar said on Thursday</span><span style="background-color: transparent; text-align: left;">.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: RobotoLight, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 12.921875px; text-align: justify;">
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was working with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the US to undertake the launch of NISAR by 2021, he told reporters in Sriharikota after the successful launch of GSAT-6 onboard GSLV-D6. "One of the GSLV Mark II will carry NASA's satellite NISAR in 2021. There is a very good chance of commercial requirement. Currently we are working on it," he said.</div>
</div>
<a href="http://www.indiatimes.com/news/world/isronasa-join-hands-to-launch-earth-observation-satellite-nisar-in-2021_-244685.html" style="font-size: 13px;" target="_self">Read More...</a></div>
Science Initiativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07647684504094612598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636982954361743870.post-45055414251379862542015-07-26T12:25:00.002+05:302015-07-26T12:35:32.336+05:30Kepler-452b: Earth's Bigger, Older Cousin<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl0JjNQsD_cchbazV_CzcXS-DxtjccHVx1IskDVSr9fZNvfLbIhhhzvvJtJKCpAy8fB6hbL4ez34lsAu2uyhc7C2Za6DFEhKc8SFkHLxChuh4pKz-SfULfsA8FO6x1zkjYrETDhL5h9MBJ/s1600/452b_artistconcept_beautyshot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl0JjNQsD_cchbazV_CzcXS-DxtjccHVx1IskDVSr9fZNvfLbIhhhzvvJtJKCpAy8fB6hbL4ez34lsAu2uyhc7C2Za6DFEhKc8SFkHLxChuh4pKz-SfULfsA8FO6x1zkjYrETDhL5h9MBJ/s400/452b_artistconcept_beautyshot.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
NASA has found a planet, Kepler-452b, beyond the solar system that is a close match to Earth using the </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
powerful Kepler telescope.
Scientists are calling Kepler-452bas Earth's bigger and older cousin. "We can think of Kepler-452b as an older, bigger cousin to Earth, providing an opportunity to understand and reflect upon Earth’s evolving environment," said Jon Jenkins, in a press release, who is the Kepler data analysis lead at NASA's Ames Research Centre in Moffett Field, California, who led the team that discovered Kepler-452b.
Here's all you need to know about Earth's cousin:
- The Kepler-452b system is located 1,400 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus
- Kepler-452b is the smallest planet discovered orbiting in the habitable zone
- It considered a super-Earth-size planet, as it is 60% larger in diameter
- Because it is farther from its parent star Kepler-452 than Earth is from the Sun, its 385-day orbit is only 5% longer
- Kepler-452b is 6 billion years old, making it 1.5 billion years older than our sun
- It has the same temperature, and is 20% brighter and has a diameter 10% larger
</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/keplerbriefing0723" style="font-size: 13px;" target="_self">Read More...</a></div>
</div>
Science Initiativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07647684504094612598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636982954361743870.post-66784521434116833912015-07-18T12:01:00.002+05:302015-07-18T12:01:38.853+05:30How a firefly lights up: Researchers reveal the secrets of the incredible 'lantern' structure the insects use to glow<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW2uf4NvGubEdjs9Y3X2C7Uhy_xl_UDo-WczkjQLU_fS_Z4VaNFVgWrfXHVFNCzSsRjt00r-3DDRjy6YL1x89lNwkT6K4dxDDEcapye3D42EqxVzwwMGU_yvaXNDhekSeiNXXaEfxpNEgn/s1600/butter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW2uf4NvGubEdjs9Y3X2C7Uhy_xl_UDo-WczkjQLU_fS_Z4VaNFVgWrfXHVFNCzSsRjt00r-3DDRjy6YL1x89lNwkT6K4dxDDEcapye3D42EqxVzwwMGU_yvaXNDhekSeiNXXaEfxpNEgn/s1600/butter.jpg" /></a>Researchers have uncovered exactly how the firefly lights up - and the stunning structure they use to do it.
This 'bioluminescence' is an intriguing phenomenon that has many potential applications, from drug testing and monitoring water contamination, and even lighting up streets using glow-in-dark trees and plants.
Using cutting- edge imaging techniques, scientists from Switzerland and Taiwan have finally unraveled the secrets of the firefly's intricate light-producing system for the first time.Fireflies used rapid light flashes to communicate.
This 'bioluminescence' is an intriguing phenomenon that has many potential applications, from drug testing and monitoring water contamination, and even lighting up streets using glow-in-dark trees and plants.
Fireflies emit light when a compound called luciferin breaks down.
<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2886568/How-firefly-lights-Researchers-reveal-incredible-lantern-structure-insects-use-time.html#ixzz3gD4P5QdH" style="font-size: 11px;" target="_self">Read more...</a></div>
</div>
Science Initiativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07647684504094612598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636982954361743870.post-87685491180225989432015-05-13T06:33:00.001+05:302015-05-13T06:34:52.602+05:30Scientists have discovered a new state of matter, called 'Jahn-Teller metals'<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 23.796875px;">And it could be the key to understanding one of the biggest mysteries in physics today - high-temperature superconductors.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 26.97916603088379px; margin-bottom: 15px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIv5BdTrUnFQe1xSI440cdR5traFdBXHbR4_Dysu8tV9yr981E2m-afby-eq2MI77m9NTdJewjQfR7RjTMm3sN042L4C76Mpu7sLmCNB6SOsrRMOU8aohJLBZTUsgw8GqmMabP72eoz4BA/s1600/Levitating_superconductor_1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18.333332061767578px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIv5BdTrUnFQe1xSI440cdR5traFdBXHbR4_Dysu8tV9yr981E2m-afby-eq2MI77m9NTdJewjQfR7RjTMm3sN042L4C76Mpu7sLmCNB6SOsrRMOU8aohJLBZTUsgw8GqmMabP72eoz4BA/s400/Levitating_superconductor_1024.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An international team of scientists has announced the discovery of a new state of matter in a material that appears to be an insulator, <a href="http://ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu/113.web.stuff/travis/what_is.html" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.2s ease-out; border-bottom-color: rgb(220, 220, 220); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #005689; text-decoration: none;">superconductor</a>, metal and magnet all rolled into one, saying that it could lead to the development of more effective high-temperature superconductors.</span></div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 26.97916603088379px; margin-bottom: 15px;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why is this so exciting? Well, if these properties are confirmed, this new state of matter will allow scientists to better understand why some materials have the potential to achieve superconductivity at a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-temperature_superconductivity" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.2s ease-out; border-bottom-color: rgb(220, 220, 220); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #005689; text-decoration: none;">relativity high critical temperature</a> (Tc) - "high" as in −135 °C as opposed to −243.2 °C. Because superconductivity allows a material to conduct electricity without resistance, which means no heat, sound, or any other form of energy release, achieving this would <a href="http://phys.org/news/2015-02-future-high-temperature-superconductivity.html" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.2s ease-out; border-bottom-color: rgb(220, 220, 220); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #005689; text-decoration: none;">revolutionise how we use and produce energy</a>, but it’s only feasible if we can achieve it at so-called high temperatures. </span><a href="http://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-have-discovered-a-new-state-of-matter-the-jahn-teller-effect" style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 26.97916603088379px;" target="_self">Read More...</a></div>
</div>
</div>
Science Initiativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07647684504094612598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636982954361743870.post-72566853497174620622015-05-09T21:51:00.002+05:302015-05-09T21:51:46.601+05:30Whoa, scientists have captured the first ever picture of thunder<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGKBHOSc7bJSuFzJxvVu8f_LskzXdPY9xx8wJjnoi7y4EaZZQkCkKMmgYIRVw01B5nus6t0sDDDMLjv3SNe44NHtmQvYCUrVyJzKb1NrTfkA_f80u4L__L2FRamRCOd5tT88-r2gjfha3h/s1600/Thunder_large_web_1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGKBHOSc7bJSuFzJxvVu8f_LskzXdPY9xx8wJjnoi7y4EaZZQkCkKMmgYIRVw01B5nus6t0sDDDMLjv3SNe44NHtmQvYCUrVyJzKb1NrTfkA_f80u4L__L2FRamRCOd5tT88-r2gjfha3h/s400/Thunder_large_web_1024.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: justify;">
When it comes to thunderstorms, lightning tends to steal the show, dazzling everyone with its spectacular displays, and overshadowing the powerful long-distance rumbles that accompany the atmospheric energy release.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But now a team of scientists working at the Southwest Research Institute in the US has captured the world’s first detailed image of thunder, and it looks even more incredible than we ever imagined.<span style="text-align: left;">The image was created using acoustic wave maps, which were based on recordings from a range of microphones positioned around an artificially generated lightning strike.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because sound waves from higher elevations take longer to travel to the microphones, these recordings allowed the scientists to visualise how the claps and rumbles emitted du</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ring a storm move in space.To understand how thunder works, you first need to understand lightning, which is created by electrical charges moving either within a cloud, or between the cloud and the surface of the Earth. As this charge travels, it heats up the surrounding air, triggering the dramatic release of energy, which causes thunder.</span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To map the process, the researchers shot a long, Kevlar-coated copper wire into an electrically charged cloud, as you can see in the <a href="https://www.sciencenews.org/article/scientists-take-first-picture-thunder" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.2s ease-out; border-bottom-color: rgb(220, 220, 220); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #005689; text-decoration: none;">Science News video</a> below. The result is an impressive lighting strike and resulting thunder, captured by 15 ultra-sensitive microphones positioned 95 metres from the strike point</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, FreeSans, sans-serif;">.</span><a href="http://www.sciencealert.com/whoa-scientists-have-captured-the-first-ever-picture-of-thunder" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: left;" target="_self">Read More</a></div>
</div>
</div>
Science Initiativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07647684504094612598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636982954361743870.post-2126085681298965102015-05-04T08:06:00.001+05:302015-05-04T08:06:34.132+05:30Climate change could eventually claim a sixth of the world’s species<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwcc0aZbFv7ezudohl8BcFddnlTBI0Qwfkbh7LsxikJIHvbpiWQ9e6KdlsA6niIu9jJ87N3bV7WNBXtdUmooWsBFN4KCDBBHm6fOTPFgOB3ZH2txayuaD6peLpRE4_K6beM1Fbov0osIpx/s1600/sn-warming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwcc0aZbFv7ezudohl8BcFddnlTBI0Qwfkbh7LsxikJIHvbpiWQ9e6KdlsA6niIu9jJ87N3bV7WNBXtdUmooWsBFN4KCDBBHm6fOTPFgOB3ZH2txayuaD6peLpRE4_K6beM1Fbov0osIpx/s1600/sn-warming.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify;">
Up to one-sixth of the species on Earth could disappear if climate change remains on its current course, according to a new analysis of more than 100 smaller studies.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify;">
“All the studies are in pretty good agreement: The more warming we have, the more species we’ll lose,” says Dov Sax, a conservation biologist at Brown University who was not involved in the work. “This is really important to know, from a policy viewpoint.”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify;">
Industrial emissions of carbon dioxide and other planet-warming greenhouse gases have boosted the global average temperature about 0.8°C (1.44°F) since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. But studies have disagreed about what impact the rise is having on the world’s species, says Mark Urban, an ecologist at the University of Connecticut, Storrs. Some have estimated that as many as 54% of species could eventually become extinct as a result of climate change, but others have suggested no significant impact.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: justify;">
Such disparate results might stem from the limited nature of some in</div>
<a href="http://news.sciencemag.org/climate/2015/04/climate-change-could-eventually-claim-sixth-world-s-species" style="font-size: 13px;" target="_self">Read More..</a>
</div>
Science Initiativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07647684504094612598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636982954361743870.post-1905143243865099882015-03-03T21:36:00.002+05:302015-03-03T21:38:28.386+05:30A step closer to explaining high-temperature superconductivity?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEeezTkQAElNg4GxC0_jRX5jtgL0uEd6j25YccGrWh_97Eg00_Rc6ByD_2z0ZZjyVHz3p6vZIScsbmK-ivGcrCXCkOEwqPiISL9tXbhXkGEm44X-YkTegDqV6imXa7M6_3cFBKJBOth9VI/s1600/sn-superconductorH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEeezTkQAElNg4GxC0_jRX5jtgL0uEd6j25YccGrWh_97Eg00_Rc6ByD_2z0ZZjyVHz3p6vZIScsbmK-ivGcrCXCkOEwqPiISL9tXbhXkGEm44X-YkTegDqV6imXa7M6_3cFBKJBOth9VI/s1600/sn-superconductorH.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a><span style="color: red;"><span class="article-author" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="http://news.sciencemag.org/author/adrian-cho" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Adrian Cho</a></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> </span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #4d4d4d; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">In the new experiment, scientists glimpsed a pattern of up- and down-spinning atoms, which mimics the up-and-down pattern of magnetism seen in high-temperature superconductors.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem;"> </span></div>
<span class="print-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><br />
<div class="snews-article__article-body--full-text" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px;">
<div class="field-items" style="box-sizing: border-box;">
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1rem; text-align: justify;">
For years some physicists have been hoping to crack the mystery of high-temperature superconductivity—the ability of some complex materials to carry <span class="v7ff79i979" id="v7ff79i979_4" style="border-bottom-width: 1px !important; border-style: none none solid !important; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 255) !important; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; float: none; height: 16px; list-style: none; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; text-decoration: underline !important;">electricity</span> without resistance at temperatures high above absolute zero—by simulating crystals</div>
with patterns of laser light and individual atoms. Now, a team has taken—almost—the next-to-last step in such "optical lattice" simulation by reproducing the pattern of magnetism seen in high-temperature superconductors from which the resistance-free flow of electricity emerges.<br />
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1rem; text-align: justify;">
"It's a very big improvement over previous results," says Tilman Esslinger, an experimentalist at the Swiss Federal Institute of <span class="v7ff79i979" id="v7ff79i979_10" style="border-bottom-width: 1px !important; border-style: none none solid !important; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 255) !important; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; float: none; height: 16px; list-style: none; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; text-decoration: underline !important;">Technology</span> in Zurich, who was not involved in the work. "It's very exciting to see steady progress."</div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1rem; text-align: justify;">
An <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/320/5874/312.1.summary" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2e4376; text-decoration: none;">optical lattice simulation</a> is essentially a crystal made of light. A real crystal contains a repeating 3D pattern of ions, and electrons flow from ion to ion. In the simulation, spots of laser light replace the ions, and ultracold atoms moving among spots replace the electrons. Physicists can adjust the pattern of spots, how strongly the spots attract the atoms, and how strongly the atoms repel one another. That makes the experiments ideal for probing <span class="v7ff79i979" id="v7ff79i979_9" style="border-bottom-width: 1px !important; border-style: none none solid !important; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 255) !important; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; float: none; height: 16px; list-style: none; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; text-decoration: underline !important;">physics</span>such as high-temperature superconductivity, in which materials such as <span class="v7ff79i979" id="v7ff79i979_5" style="border-bottom-width: 1px !important; border-style: none none solid !important; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 255) !important; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; float: none; height: 16px; list-style: none; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; text-decoration: underline !important;">mercury</span> barium calcium copper oxide carry electricity without resistance at temperatures up to 138 K, far higher above absolute zero than ordinary superconductors such as niobium can....<a href="http://news.sciencemag.org/physics/2015/02/step-closer-explaining-high-temperature-superconductivity?utm_campaign=email-news-latest&utm_src=email" style="font-size: 13px;" target="_self">Read More</a></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Science Initiativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07647684504094612598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636982954361743870.post-37966235572329573592014-12-13T11:36:00.002+05:302014-12-13T11:36:38.640+05:30GSLV-Mk III rolls out to launch pad at Sriharikota<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpThbO2zpaHd1bilyGHH8i45NNaPqhtzxK5ZF9_gVJ1Q7xo8F459WPlbdyTdJ0t_Shu0V9zekogFwatclw7yiBJjTcEs-AFANy415yeFwngbNn-4QOH2INMbyIxMgI7qnadtNnN0KcfyIP/s1600/Fig7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpThbO2zpaHd1bilyGHH8i45NNaPqhtzxK5ZF9_gVJ1Q7xo8F459WPlbdyTdJ0t_Shu0V9zekogFwatclw7yiBJjTcEs-AFANy415yeFwngbNn-4QOH2INMbyIxMgI7qnadtNnN0KcfyIP/s1600/Fig7.jpg" height="320" width="200" /></a>India's Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV-Mk III) scheduled to be launched next week has been rolled out to the launch pad at Sriharikota for an experimental mission, ISRO today said.
"ISRO's most powerful launcher ever, GSLV Mk-III rolls out from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad for its Experimental Fli</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
ght slated later in this month," Indian Space Research Organisation said on its Facebook page.
First experimental suborbital flight of India's latest generation Launch Vehicle- GSLV Mk-III, carrying Crew Module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment (CARE) is scheduled in the third week of December 2014 from SDSC (Satish Dhawan Space Centre) SHAR (Sriharikota Range), in Andhra Pradesh.
The 630-tonne GSLV-MkIII will carry a crew module of 3.65 tonnes, as ISRO plans to send astronauts into space eventually.
Realisation of 42.4 metre tall GSLV Mk-III will help ISRO to put heavier satellites into orbit.
GSLV Mk III is conceived and designed to make ISRO fully self reliant in launching heavier communication satellites of INSAT-4 class, which weigh 4500 to 5000 kg.
It would also enhance the capability of the country to be a competitive player in the multimillion dollar commercial launch market.</div>
</div>
Science Initiativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07647684504094612598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636982954361743870.post-74645365781771072152014-11-28T07:43:00.001+05:302014-11-28T07:43:47.357+05:30Lightning expected to increase by 50 percent with global warming<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJEVRBycTUpZqOMYgwLgzVCVNrqRP-d_d6Beoc8Ga6O_9L5-GJ-5qiE9h2lpMvfNReDllTjIg6iPG737mvL4O2siVn5mvpiPg8uvQcxSd1f-u6spRW68db7NkPF_VoyccRY0kTfacixpRB/s1600/lightning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJEVRBycTUpZqOMYgwLgzVCVNrqRP-d_d6Beoc8Ga6O_9L5-GJ-5qiE9h2lpMvfNReDllTjIg6iPG737mvL4O2siVn5mvpiPg8uvQcxSd1f-u6spRW68db7NkPF_VoyccRY0kTfacixpRB/s1600/lightning.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Today's climate models predict a 50 percent increase in lightning strikes across the United States during this century as a result of warming temperatures associated with climate change. Reporting in the Nov. 14 issue of the journal Science, University of California, Berkeley, climate scientist David Romps and his colleagues look at predictions of precipitation and cloud buoyancy in 11 different climate models and conclude that their combined effect will generate more frequent electrical discharges to the ground.
"With warming, thunderstorms become more explosive," said Romps, an assistant professor of earth and planetary science and a faculty scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. "This has to do with water vapor, which is the fuel for explosive deep convection in the atmosphere. Warming causes there to be more water vapor in the atmosphere, and if you have more fuel lying around, when you get ignition, it can go big tim</div>
</div>
<a href="http://esciencenews.com/articles/2014/11/14/lightning.expected.increase.50.percent.with.global.warming?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+eScienceNews%2Fpopular+%28e%21+Science+News+-+Popular%29" style="font-size: 13px;" target="_self">Read More...</a></div>
Science Initiativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07647684504094612598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636982954361743870.post-41386224624328998132014-10-10T23:39:00.002+05:302014-10-10T23:39:24.851+05:30The Nobel Peace Prize for 2014<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5g8FXjWGhh1ggZIAalvmBlxoQRnGPvcnGQLOavWzES6Y2Uj-4xWWnq6-W5RdsfqbG84u7cnqkh-fCIgHCuvN_VTPyQ_t3OR_i9WSJQt_eKyRzTK1eQ8qxXDe8MFfywdopZjXA1AiyhuAL/s1600/2014-peace-laureates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5g8FXjWGhh1ggZIAalvmBlxoQRnGPvcnGQLOavWzES6Y2Uj-4xWWnq6-W5RdsfqbG84u7cnqkh-fCIgHCuvN_VTPyQ_t3OR_i9WSJQt_eKyRzTK1eQ8qxXDe8MFfywdopZjXA1AiyhuAL/s1600/2014-peace-laureates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5g8FXjWGhh1ggZIAalvmBlxoQRnGPvcnGQLOavWzES6Y2Uj-4xWWnq6-W5RdsfqbG84u7cnqkh-fCIgHCuvN_VTPyQ_t3OR_i9WSJQt_eKyRzTK1eQ8qxXDe8MFfywdopZjXA1AiyhuAL/s1600/2014-peace-laureates.jpg" /></a>The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2014 is to be awarded to Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzay for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education. Children must go to school and not be financially exploited. In the poor countries of the world, 60% of the present population is under 25 years of age. It is a prerequisite for peaceful global development that the rights of children and young people be respected. In conflict-ridden areas in particular, the violation of children leads to the continuation of violence from generation to generation.
Showing great personal courage, Kailash Satyarthi, maintaining Gandhi’s tradition, has headed various forms of protests and demonstrations, all peaceful, focusing on the grave exploitation of children for financial gain. He has also contributed to the development of important international conventions on children’s rights.
Despite her youth, Malala Yousafzay has already fought for several years for the right of girls to education, and has shown by example that children and young people, too, can contribute to improving their own situations. </div>
<a name='more'></a> This she has done under the most dangerous circumstances. Through her heroic struggle she has become a leading spokesperson for girls’ rights to education.
The Nobel Committee regards it as an important point for a Hindu and a Muslim, an Indian and a Pakistani, to join in a common struggle for education and against extremism. Many other individuals and institutions in the international community have also contributed. It has been calculated that there are 168 million child labourers around the world today. In 2000 the figure was 78 million higher. The world has come closer to the goal of eliminating child labour.
The struggle against suppression and for the rights of children and adolescents contributes to the realization of the “fraternity between nations” that Alfred Nobel mentions in his will as one of the criteria for the Nobel Peace Prize.</div>
Science Initiativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07647684504094612598noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-636982954361743870.post-91051094279516604132014-10-10T23:33:00.000+05:302015-08-16T11:09:48.946+05:30New light to illuminate the world<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMmHYGgGS4YOdWMymmyq475v61LIW6PPCUJgZ7Yl-yoPcPlVQ-zRbHSRaqFRm3pWoFPkCqTBqEA9ERpFMOs8ajdb_WqGsZOqoIBAmjeWflJaaJREJowTQa9QdtcZbaJF3ZOtdMqEfNFIS3/s1600/akasaki-amano-nakamura-25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMmHYGgGS4YOdWMymmyq475v61LIW6PPCUJgZ7Yl-yoPcPlVQ-zRbHSRaqFRm3pWoFPkCqTBqEA9ERpFMOs8ajdb_WqGsZOqoIBAmjeWflJaaJREJowTQa9QdtcZbaJF3ZOtdMqEfNFIS3/s1600/akasaki-amano-nakamura-25.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<div class="ingress" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 0.9em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
This year’s Nobel Laureates are rewarded for having invented a new energy-efficient and environment-friendly light source – the blue light-emitting diode (LED). In the spirit of <span class="f18ps3q95s1" id="f18ps3q95s1_6" style="border-bottom-width: 1px !important; border-style: none none solid !important; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; float: none; height: 14px; list-style: none; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; text-decoration: underline !important;">Alfred Nobel</span> the Prize rewards an invention of greatest benefit to mankind; using blue LEDs, white lig<span class="f18ps3q95s1" id="f18ps3q95s1_1" style="border-bottom-width: 1px !important; border-style: none none solid !important; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; float: none; height: 14px; list-style: none; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; text-decoration: underline !important;">more</span> long-lasting and more efficient alternatives to older light sources.</div>
ht can be created in a new way. With the advent of LED lamps we now have<br />
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 0.813em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
When <strong style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">Isamu Akasaki</strong>, <strong style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">Hiroshi Amano</strong> and <strong style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">Shuji Nakamura</strong> produced bright blue light beams from their semi-conductors in the early 1990s, they triggered a funda-mental transformation of lighting technology. Red and green diodes had been around for a long time but without blue light, white lamps could not be created. Despite considerable efforts, both in the scientific community and in industry, the blue LED had remained a challenge for three decades.</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 0.813em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
They succeeded where everyone else had <span class="f18ps3q95s1" id="f18ps3q95s1_2" style="border-bottom-width: 1px !important; border-style: none none solid !important; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; float: none; height: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; text-decoration: underline !important;">failed</span>. Akasaki worked together with Amano at the University of Nagoya, while Nakamura was employed at Nichia Chemicals, a small company in Tokushima. Their inventions were revolutionary. Incandescent light bulbs lit the 20th century; the 21st century will be lit by LED lamps.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 0.813em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
White LED lamps emit a bright white light, are long-lasting and energy-efficient. They are constantly improved, getting more efficient with higher luminous flux (measured in lumen) per unit electrical input power (measured in watt). The most recent record is just over 300 lm/W, which can be compared to 16 for regular light bulbs and close to 70 for fluorescent lamps. As about one fourth of world electricity consumption is used for lighting purposes, the LEDs contribute to saving the Earth’s resources. Materials consumption is also diminished as LEDs last up to 100,000 hours, compared to 1,000 for incandescent bulbs and 10,000 hours for fluorescent lights.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 0.813em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
The LED lamp holds great promise for increasing the quality of life for over 1.5 billion people around the world who lack access to electricity grids: due to low power requirements it can be powered by cheap local <span class="f18ps3q95s1" id="f18ps3q95s1_3" style="border-bottom-width: 1px !important; border-style: none none solid !important; box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; float: none; height: 13px; list-style: none; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; text-decoration: underline !important;">solar power</span>.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 0.813em; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
The invention of the blue LED is just twenty years old, but it has already contributed to create white light in an entirely new manner to the benefit of us all.</div>
</div>
Science Initiativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07647684504094612598noreply@blogger.com0