Category Chemistry/Nanotechnology

This is a condensation trail, or contrail, left behind an aircraft. Credit: Courtesy of Mick West

Well-understood physical and chemical processes can easily explain the alleged evidence of a secret, large-scale atmospheric spraying program, commonly referred to as “chemtrails” or “covert geoengineering,” concludes a new study from Carnegie Science, University of California Irvine, and the nonprofit organization Near Zero.

Some groups and individuals erroneously believe that the long-lasting condensation trails, or contrails, left behind aircraft are evidence of a secret large-scale spraying program. They call these imagined features “chemtrails.” Adherents of this conspiracy theory sometimes attribute this alleged spraying to the government and sometimes to industry.

Carnegie’s Ken Caldeir...

Atmospheric-pressure (left) and high-pressure (right) 2D layered Lawrencite-type crystal structures of magnesium chloride. Blue and green spheres indicate magnesium cations and chlorine anions respectively. Credit: Image courtesy of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

High-pressure structural behavior of magnesium chloride could work to neutralize biological weapons. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists have combined X-ray diffraction and vibrational spectroscopy measurements together with first-principle calculations to examine the high-pressure structural behavior of magnesium chloride.

Magnesium chloride (MgCl2) is well known to be an effective de-icing agent, for example, in the aviation industry...

Photon upconversion: Energy transfer between the molecules is based on electron exchange (Dexter electron transfer). Credit: Illustration: Michael Oldenburg

The upconversion of photons allows for a more efficient use of light: 2 photons are converted into a single photon having higher energy. Researchers at KIT now showed for the first time that the inner interfaces between surface-mounted metal-organic frameworks (SURMOFs) are suited perfectly for this purpose – they turned green light blue. The result opens up new opportunities for optoelectronic applications such as solar cells or LEDs.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are highly ordered molecular systems that consist of metallic clusters and organic ligands...

Modeling how methanol interacts with platinum catalysts inside fuel cells in realistic environments becomes even more complicated because distances between the atoms can change as molecules dance near the charged surface. Credit: Manos Mavrikakis

Using a unique combination of advanced computational methods, University of Wisconsin-Madison chemical engineers have demystified some of the complex catalytic chemistry in fuel cells – an advance that brings cost-effective fuel cells closer to reality. “Understanding reaction mechanisms is the first step toward eventually replacing expensive platinum in fuel cells with a cheaper material,” says Prof. Manos Mavrikakis.

Fuel cells generate electricity by combining electrons and protons — provided by a chemical fuel such as methanol – with oxygen fr...