An international team of plasma physicists has used one of the world's most powerful lasers to create highly unusual plasma composed of hollow atoms.
The experimental work led by scientists from the University of York, UK and the Joint Institute for High Temperatures of Russian Academy of Sciences demonstrated that it is possible to remove the two most deeply bound electrons from atoms, emptying the inner most quantum shell and leading to a distinctive plasma state.
Two forthcoming EPJ D papers challenge established wisdom about the nature of vacuum. In one paper, Marcel Urban from the University of Paris-Sud, located in Orsay, France and his colleagues identified a quantum level mechanism for interpreting vacuum as being filled with pairs of virtual particles with fluctuating energy values. As a result, the inherent characteristics of vacuum, like the speed of light, may not be a constant after all, but fluctuate. Meanwhile, in another study, Gerd Leuchs and Luis L.
Taking their inspiration from Nature, scientists at the University of New South Wales have developed a new method for carrying out chemical reduction – an industrial process used to produce fuels and chemicals that are vital for modern society.
Their catalyst-based approach has the big advantages that it uses cheap, replenishable reagents and it works well at room temperature and in air – so much so, it can even be carried out safely in a teacup.
Scientists at the Department of Physics of the University of Oulu have teamed up with scientists in France, Russia and Japan to propose a new experimental method for researching positively charged ions. The study, In the Finnish side carried out by postdoctoral researcher Saana-Maija Huttula and Professor Marko Huttula in Oulu, was published in Physical Review Letters on 12 March 2013. The study involved investigating the electronic structure of the argon ions using synchrotron radiation.
Each year, more than 35,000 patients in the United States are implanted with spinal cord stimulators to treat chronic pain. Unfortunately, up to half of such patients receive only very limited pain relief. To help more patients, scientists are developing a new device to deliver therapeutic stimulation in a more targeted way, reaching nerve fibers deep within the spinal cord.
Incorporating wind power into existing power grids is challenging because fluctuating wind speed and direction means turbines generate power inconsistently. Coupled with customers' varying power demand, many wind-farm managers end up wasting power-generation capacity and limiting the service life of turbines through active control – including fully stopping turbines – in order to avoid any possible damage to the power grid from spikes in supply.
Ultra-precision positioning is required for the success of many scientific applications, including manufacturing semiconductors, aligning optics and manipulating cells. One of the challenges of ultra-precise positioning is providing sufficient torque through small, precise angles. In a paper accepted for publication in the Review of Scientific Instruments, a journal of the American Institute of Physics, researchers describe a new rotary actuator that accurately delivers more torque than previous devices.
In a breakthrough that could one day yield important clues about the nature of matter itself, a team of Harvard scientists have succeeding in measuring the magnetic charge of single particles of matter and antimatter more accurately than ever before.
High within towering thunderclouds, a distinct form of intracloud lightning, known as "narrow bipolar pulse" discharges, can occur. Like other forms of lightning, narrow bipolar events (NBE) can be either negative or positive discharges.
These events are known for their high-powered, short-distance electrical discharges that produce strong emissions of very high frequency radio waves. Previous research has found that since NBEs take place at relatively high altitudes, it is possible to detect them remotely using satellites.
One recurrently forecast effect of global climate change is that in general, precipitation patterns will become more extreme, with fewer, larger storms and longer dry spells in between.
The aftermath of this shift, borne out by the effect the changing water availability will have on vegetative productivity, however, is less well known. Previous research showed that productivity changes with the total annual precipitation, but the measured effect of a shift to a more extreme distribution is less consistent.
Because of the important role lakes play in regional and local biogeochemical cycling, including carbon storage and emissions, scientists need to know how many lakes of various sizes exist. However, determining the size distribution of lakes is more difficult than it may seem—the smallest lakes are often not recorded on maps.
Some researchers have suggested that the number of small lakes is underestimated and have used size distributions to suggest that small lakes dominate the global lake surface area.
CHICAGO, IL – Get out there and regularly kick that soccer ball around with your kids, you may be helping them prevent a broken hip when they are older, say researchers presenting their work at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's Specialty Day in Chicago, IL.
CAMBRIDGE, MA -- More than 200 million years ago, a massive extinction decimated 76 percent of marine and terrestrial species, marking the end of the Triassic period and the onset of the Jurassic. This devastating event cleared the way for dinosaurs to dominate Earth for the next 135 million years, taking over ecological niches formerly occupied by other marine and terrestrial species.
Scientists have discovered a layer of liquified molten rock in Earth's mantle that may be responsible for the sliding motions of the planet's massive tectonic plates.
The finding may carry far-reaching implications, from understanding basic geologic functions of the planet to new insights into volcanism and earthquakes.
More than 200 million years ago, a massive extinction decimated 76 percent of marine and terrestrial species, marking the end of the Triassic period and the onset of the Jurassic.
The event cleared the way for dinosaurs to dominate Earth for the next 135 million years, taking over ecological niches formerly occupied by other marine and terrestrial species.
It's not clear what caused the end-Triassic extinction, although most scientists agree on a likely scenario.