Recent Comments

    Proxima Centauri’s no good, very bad day

    February 27, 2018, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    An artist’s impression of a flare from Proxima Centauri, modeled after the loops of glowing hot gas seen in the largest solar flares. An artist’s impression of the exoplanet Proxima b is shown in the foreground. Proxima b orbits its star 20 times closer than the Earth orbits the Sun. A flare 10 times larger than a major solar flare would blast Proxima b with 4,000 times more radiation than the Earth gets from our Sun’s flares. Credit: Roberto Molar Candanosa / Carnegie Institution for Science, NASA/SDO, NASA/JPL.

    An artist’s impression of a flare from Proxima Centauri, modeled after the loops of glowing hot gas seen in the largest solar flares. An artist’s impression of the exoplanet Proxima b is shown in the foreground. Proxima b orbits its star 20 times closer than the Earth orbits the Sun. A flare 10 times larger than a major solar flare would blast Proxima b with 4,000 times more radiation than the Earth gets from our Sun’s flares. Credit: Roberto Molar Candanosa / Carnegie Institution for Science, NASA/SDO, NASA/JPL.

    Flare illuminates lack of a dust ring; puts habitability of Proxima b in question. Astronomers have detected a massive stellar flare – an energetic explosion of radiation – from the closest star to our own Sun, Proxima Centauri, which occurred last March...

    Read More

    Metalens combined with an Artificial Muscle

    February 26, 2018, Categories  Physics, Technology/Electronics, Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    metalens (made of silicon) mounted on a transparent, stretchy polymer film, without any electrodes. The colorful iridescence is produced by the large number of nanostructures within the metalens. (Image courtesy of the Capasso Lab/Harvard SEAS)

    Metalens (made of silicon) mounted on a transparent, stretchy polymer film, without any electrodes. The colorful iridescence is produced by the large number of nanostructures within the metalens. (Image courtesy of the Capasso Lab/Harvard SEAS)

    Artificial eye automatically stretches to simultaneously focus and correct astigmatism and image shift. Inspired by the human eye, researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have developed an adaptive metalens, that is essentially a flat, electronically controlled artificial eye. The adaptive metalens simultaneously controls for 3 of the major contributors to blurry images: focus, astigmatism, and image shift.

    “This research combines breakthroughs in artificial muscle technology with metalens technol...

    Read More

    Improved Hubble Yardstick gives fresh evidence for New Physics in the universe

    February 26, 2018, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    3 steps astronomers used to measure the universe's expansion rate (Hubble constant) to an unprecedented accuracy, reducing the total uncertainty to 2.3 percent. The measurements streamline and strengthen the construction of the cosmic distance ladder, which is used to measure accurate distances to galaxies near to and far from Earth. The latest Hubble study extends the number of Cepheid variable stars analyzed to distances of up to 10 times farther across our galaxy than previous Hubble results

    3 steps astronomers used to measure the universe’s expansion rate (Hubble constant) to an unprecedented accuracy, reducing the total uncertainty to 2.3 percent. The measurements streamline and strengthen the construction of the cosmic distance ladder, which is used to measure accurate distances to galaxies near to and far from Earth. The latest Hubble study extends the number of Cepheid variable stars analyzed to distances of up to 10 times farther across our galaxy than previous Hubble results

    Astronomers have used Hubble to make the most precise measurements of the expansion rate of the universe since it was first calculated nearly a century ago. Intriguingly, the results are forcing astronomers to consider that they may be seeing evidence of something unexpected at work in the universe...

    Read More

    Charging ahead to Higher Energy Batteries

    February 25, 2018, Categories  Physics, Technology/Electronics, Chemistry/Nanotechnology

    Image (a) is a cross-sectional SEM image of the Li5La3Nb2O12 crystal layer and image (b) shows computationally simulated trajectories of the Li, La, Nb, and O framework atoms obtained for ?3 (2-1-1) = (1-21) at a temperature of 1300 K. Credit: Nobuyuki Zettsu Ph.D., the Center for Energy and Environmental Science, the Department of Materials Chemistry, Shinshu University

    Image (a) is a cross-sectional SEM image of the Li5La3Nb2O12 crystal layer and image (b) shows computationally simulated trajectories of the Li, La, Nb, and O framework atoms obtained for ?3 (2-1-1) = (1-21) at a temperature of 1300 K. Credit: Nobuyuki Zettsu Ph.D., the Center for Energy and Environmental Science, the Department of Materials Chemistry, Shinshu University

    Researchers have developed a new way to improve lithium ion battery efficiency. Through the growth of a cubic crystal layer, the scientists have created a thin and dense connecting layer between the electrodes of the battery...

    Read More