Science News

https://phys.org/news/2018-12-vacuum.html The vacuum fluctuations of light (yellow wave) are amplified in an optical cavity (upper and lower reflecting mirrors). Crystal lattice vibrations (red atoms) at a two-dimensional interface surf this strong light wave. The thus mixed light-vibrational waves couple particularly strongly to electrons in a two-dimensional atomically thin material (green and yellow atoms), changing its properties. Credit: J. M. Harms, MPSD Scientists from the Theory Department of the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (MPSD) at the Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL) in Hamburg, Germany have shown th…

https://phys.org/news/2018-12-saturn-satellites-earth-moon-phoebe.html The water in Saturn's rings and satellites is like that on Earth except for moon Phoebe, which is out of this world December 3, 2018, Planetary Science Institute Above image lower left: Cassini VIMS infrared view of Saturn. Blue is infrared light where water ice reflects relatively brightly. Red is longer wavelength thermal emission showing heat from deep inside the planet. Green is infrared wavelengths where aurora emit light. Above image upper right: Phoebe in visible light. Phoebe is very dark, like charcoal whereas the rings are very bright in visible light like slightly dirty sn…

https://phys.org/news/2018-11-probing-quantum-physics-macroscopic-scale.html Why does quantum mechanics work so well for microscopic objects, yet macroscopic objects are described by classical physics? This question has bothered physicists since the development of quantum theory more than 100 years ago. Researchers at Delft University of Technology and the University of Vienna have now devised a macroscopic system that exhibits entanglement between mechanical phonons and optical photons. They tested the entanglement using a Bell test, one of the most convincing and important tests to show a system behaves non-classically. Ever since its inception more than 100 yea…

https://phys.org/news/2018-11-black-hole-donuts-fountains.html Black hole 'donuts' are actually 'fountains' November 30, 2018, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan Based on computer simulations and new observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), researchers have found that the rings of gas surrounding active supermassive black holes are not simple donut shapes. Instead, gas expelled from the center interacts with infalling gas to create a dynamic circulation pattern, similar to a water fountain in a city park. Most galaxies host a supermassive black hole, millions or billions of times as heavy as the Sun, in their c…

https://phys.org/news/2018-10-mars-oxygen-life.html alty water just below the surface of Mars could hold enough oxygen to support the kind of microbial life that emerged and flourished on Earth billions of years ago, researchers reported Monday. In some locations, the amount of oxygen available could even keep alive a primitive, multicellular animal such as a sponge, they reported in the journal Nature Geosciences. "We discovered that brines"—water with high concentrations of salt—"on Mars can contain enough oxygen for microbes to breathe," said lead author Vlada Stamenkovic, a theoretical physicist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. "This…

On 26 November, NASA’s InSight mission will attempt to touch down near the Martian equator. If it arrives safely, it will embark on the first mission dedicated to listening for seismic energy rippling through the red planet. Any ‘marsquakes’ it detects could yield clues to the planet’s mysterious interior, including how it is separated into a core, mantle and crust. Whatever scientists learn about Mars’s innards could help illuminate how our own planet evolved billions of years ago. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07482-y

The first spacecraft to collect Martian rocks for eventual return to Earth will explore Jezero crater, NASA announced on 19 November. Jezero is a 45-kilometre-wide crater that was once filled with water, where Martian life could have thrived. “Getting samples from this unique area will revolutionize how we think about Mars and its ability to harbour life,” says Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA’s associate administrator for science, who chose Jezero over three other finalists. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07472-0

https://phys.org/news/2018-11-evidence-reveals-heavy-elements-big.html The Big Bang theory and the question of how life on Earth began has fascinated scientists for decades, but now new research from The University of Western Australia suggests the conditions that resulted from the Big Bang are different to what we thought. extract: "It is traditionally considered that turbulence was the mechanism for energy transfer and accumulation which resulted in chemicals being formed in the supernova," Professor Abarzhi said. "However our research has revealed it wasn't turbulent but actually a slow process where hot spots of energy were localised and trapped, result…

The Paris Agreement promotes forest management as a pathway towards halting climate warming through the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. However, the climate benefits from carbon sequestration through forest management may be reinforced, counteracted or even offset by concurrent management-induced changes in surface albedo, land-surface roughness, emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds, transpiration and sensible heat flux. Consequently, forest management could offset CO2 emissions without halting global temperature rise. It therefore remains to be confirmed whether commonly proposed sustainable European forest-management portfolios would comply with…

A 3,500-kilogram mammal nicknamed the Siberian unicorn for the long horn that jutted from its forehead became extinct surprisingly recently. Elasmotherium sibiricum, a rhinoceros that roamed the steppes of central Asia, was the last surviving member of its subfamily. To determine when the species became extinct — an event previously estimated to have occurred 200,000 years ago — researchers led by Adrian Lister at the Natural History Museum in London applied radiocarbon dating to the remains of 23 individuals. This revealed that the most recent specimens may have died only 35,000 years ago.https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07543-2

A new satellite, intended to be one of a network of monitoring satellites with 6m resolution capability. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-46312874 First images from Sydeny Harbour, The Pyramids and marine locations.

A very cool animation of the black holes that created the first detected gravitational waves (a simulation, not an "artists impression")

https://phys.org/news/2018-11-huge-quake-edges-zealand-islands.html Huge quake edges New Zealand islands closer together November 24, 2018: The Kaikoura earthquake raced north from the middle of New Zealand's South Island towards Cook Strait covering 170 kilometres in about 74 seconds A destructive earthquake that struck New Zealand two years ago has left its two main islands edging towards each other, and one city sinking, according to scientists. But the margins are minimal with the gap between the North and South islands narrowing a mere 35 centimetres (13 and a half inches), while Nelson at the top of the South Island has sunk by up to 20 mill…

https://phys.org/news/2018-11-alma-highest-frequency-scientific-result.html#jCp ALMA's highest frequency receiver produces its first scientific result on massive star formation: November 22, 2018, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan: The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) has tuned in another new channel for signals from space. Using its highest frequency receivers yet, researchers obtained 695 radio signatures for various molecules, including simple sugar, in the direction of a massive star forming region. These first scientific results from the ALMA Band 10 receivers developed in Japan ensure a promising future for high frequenc…

https://phys.org/news/2018-11-climate-simulations-wetter-windier-hurricanes.html Climate simulations project wetter, windier hurricanesNovember 14, 2018, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory New supercomputer simulations by climate scientists at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have shown that climate change intensified the amount of rainfall in recent hurricanes such as Katrina, Irma, and Maria by 5 to 10 percent. They further found that if those hurricanes were to occur in a future world that is warmer than present, those storms would have even more rainfall and stronger winds. Read more at: https://phys.org/n…

Researchers from MIT have flown a plane powered by an ‘ion drive’ for the first time. The drive uses high powered electrodes to ionise and accelerate air particles, creating an ‘ionic wind’. This wind drove a 5m wide craft across a sports hall. Unlike the ion drives which have powered space craft for decades, this new drive uses air as its accelerant. The researchers say it could power silent drones.

The food system is a major driver of climate change, changes in land use, depletion of freshwater resources, and pollution of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems through excessive nitrogen and phosphorus inputs. Here we show that between 2010 and 2050, as a result of expected changes in population and income levels, the environmental effects of the food system could increase by 50-90% in the absence of technological changes and dedicated mitigation measures, reaching levels that are beyond the planetary boundaries that define a safe operating space for humanity. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30305731

Saw a report in television that japanese are measuring structural level irregularities in aging bridges with resolution of one milimetre from a satellite using its synthetic aperture radar. Wondering if I was half asleep during the report; I had to see it again. I was not asleep. That is their spectacular unbelievable claim. The program should be available as video-on-demand soon. ----> https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/tv/scienceview/20181121/2015204/

https://phys.org/news/2018-11-evolution-south-africa-hominin-fair-weather.html Evolution: South Africa's hominin record is a fair-weather friend November 21, 2018, University of Cape Town New research from an international team of scientists led by University of Cape Town isotope geochemist Dr. Robyn Pickering is the first to provide a timeline for fossils from the caves within the Cradle of Humankind. It also sheds light on the climate conditions of our earliest ancestors in the area. Published online in the journal Nature on 21 November 2018, the work corrects assumptions that the region's fossil-rich caves could never be related to each other. In fa…

https://phys.org/news/2018-11-reveals-universe-secret-ingredients-life.html Study reveals one of universe's secret ingredients for life: November 21, 2018 by Will Wright, Australian National University: A new study led by ANU has investigated the nature of a cosmic phenomenon that slows down star formation, which helps to ensure the universe is a place where life can emerge. Lead researcher Dr. Roland Crocker from the ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics said the research team studied a particular way stars provide a counter-pressure to gravity that slows down the star-formation process. "If star formation happened rapidly, all stars…

This is huge! This changes everything! Wombat poop: Scientists reveal mystery behind cube-shaped droppings https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-46258616

https://phys.org/news/2018-11-mars-visitor-years-legged-geologist.html Mars is about to get its first U.S. visitor in years: a three-legged, one-armed geologist to dig deep and listen for quakes. NASA's InSight makes its grand entrance through the rose-tinted Martian skies on Monday, after a six-month, 300 million-mile (480 million-kilometer) journey. It will be the first American spacecraft to land since the Curiosity rover in 2012 and the first dedicated to exploring underground. NASA is going with a tried-and-true method to get this mechanical miner to the surface of the red planet. Engine firings will slow its final descent and the spacecraft will plop …

So many people use herbs to complete their treatment ; they unfortunately ignore the fact that concurrent use of herbs may mimic, magnify, or oppose the effect of drugs; here is an amaizing article explaining these interactions and their results link removed

https://phys.org/news/2018-10-world-fastest-camera-trillion.html What happens when a new technology is so precise that it operates on a scale beyond our characterization capabilities? For example, the lasers used at INRS produce ultrashort pulses in the femtosecond range (10-15 s), which is far too short to visualize. Although some measurements are possible, nothing beats a clear image, says INRS professor and ultrafast imaging specialist Jinyang Liang. He and his colleagues, led by Caltech's Lihong Wang, have developed what they call T-CUP: the world's fastest camera, capable of capturing 10 trillion (1013) frames per second (Fig. 1). This new camera literally makes…

Asteroid Bennu for example .. if it has ice, will it have ice worms. Japanese experiments show UV light causing ice to act as a liquid. "researchers say that these same reactions could also be responsible for creating just the right environment for organic molecules to form, the very first building blocks needed for life to start." https://www.google.ca/search?q=uv+causing+ice+to+act+as+liquid&rlz=1C1GGRV_enCA803CA812&oq=uv+causing+ice+to+act+as+liquid&aqs=chrome..69i57.11605j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8