Aestus Ajith

A  magnetar  is a type of  neutron star  with an extremely powerful  magnetic field , the decay of which powers the emission of high-energy  electromagnetic radiation , particularly  X-rays  and  gamma rays . [1]  The theory regarding these objects was proposed by  Robert Duncan  and Christopher Thompson in 1992, but the first recorded  burst of gamma rays  thought to have been from a magnetar had been detected on March 5, 1979. [2]  During the following decade, the magnetar hypothesis has become widely accepted as a likely explanation for  soft gamma repeaters  (SGRs) and  anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs). Like other   neutron stars , magnetars are around 20 kilometres (12 mi) in diameter and have a greater mass than the   Sun . The density of the interior of a magnetar is such that a   thimble   full of its substance would have a mass of over 100 million tons. [1]  ...

Until you notice the orange-suited men clambering around, it's hard to grasp the extraordinary scale of this underground crystal forest.  Nearly 1,000ft below the Chihuahua Desert in Mexico, this cave was discovered by two brothers drilling in the Naica lead and silver mine. It is an eerie sight.   Up to 170 giant, luminous obelisks - the biggest is 37.4ft long and the equivalent height of six men - jut across the grotto like tangled pillars of light; and the damp rock of their walls is covered with yet more flawless clusters of blade-sharp crystal. They are formed from groundwater saturated in calcium sulphate which, warmed by an intrusion of magma about a mile below, began filtering through the cave system millions of years ago.   When, about 600,000 years ago, the magma began to cool, the minerals started to precipitate out of the water, and over the centuries the tiny crystals they formed grew and grew until 1985, when miners unwittingly drained ...

This looks like a fungus on the forest floor, but is a hydrated iron aluminium phosphate mineral called Cacoxenite, often found as an inclusion in quartz. It was named after the Greek for bad guest, since it lowers the amount of iron obtained from smelting the ore. Found in pegmatites and iron and phosphorous rich soils, it sometimes displays amazing shapes. Magnification 18x. 

Carrying Earthly greetings on a gold plated phonograph record and still-operational scientific instruments -- including the Low Energy Charged Particle detector designed, built and overseen, in part, by UMD's Space Physics Group -- NASA's Voyager 1 has traveled farther from Earth than any other human-made object. And now, these researchers say, it has begun the first exploration of our galaxy beyond the Sun's influence. "It's a somewhat controversial view, but we think Voyager has finally left the Solar System, and is truly beginning its travels through the Milky Way," says UMD research scientist Marc Swisdak, lead author of a new paper published online this week in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Swisdak and fellow plasma physicists James F. Drake, also of the University of Maryland, and Merav Opher of Boston University have constructed a model of the outer edge of the Solar System that fits recent observations, both expected and unexpected. Their ...

At the European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference (Hamburg, Germany), IMEC is presenting a mechanically-stacked GaAs/Ge multijunction solar cell. This is the first promising demonstrator of IMEC’s novel technology to produce mechanically stacked, high-efficiency multijunction solar cells, aiming at efficiencies above 40%. At the top of the stack is a one-side contacted GaAs top cell that is only 4µm thick and that is transparent for infrared light. Its efficiency is 23.4%, which is close to the efficiency of standard GaAs cells. IMEC has succeeded in transferring this GaAs top cell onto a Ge bottom cell, creating a mechanical stack. In that stack, the Ge bottom cell is separately contacted. It has a potential efficiency of 3-3.5%, which is higher than Ge bottom cells in state-of-the-art monolithically stacked InGaP/(In)GaAs/Ge cells. Looking forward, Giovanni Flamand, team manager at IMEC, expects to show a first working triple-junction cell beginning of 2010. This cell is a...

When light hits the system, an electrical potential builds up. The metal oxide layer acts as a photo anode and is the site of oxygen formation. It is connected to the solar cell by way of a conducting bridge made of graphite (black). Since only the metal oxide layer is in contact with the electrolyte, the silicon solar cell remains safe from corrosion. A platinum spiral serves as the cathode where hydrogen is formed. (Credit: Image courtesy of Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres) Using a simple solar cell and a photo anode made of a metal oxide, HZB and TU Delft scientists have successfully stored nearly five percent of solar energy chemically in the form of hydrogen. This is a major feat as the design of the solar cell is much simpler than that of the high-efficiency triple-junction cells based on amorphous silicon or expensive III-V semiconductors that are traditionally used for this purpose. The photo anode, which is made from the metal oxide bismuth vanadate (Bi...

New coating turns ordinary glass into superglass http://earthsky.org/science-wire/new-coating-turns-ordinary-glass-into-superglass

Despite the claims of some, commercially viable fuels from algae have not yet been developed. But newly trialled native algae species provide real hope, a Queensland scientist has found. Dr Evan Stephens and the team at the University of Queensland’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience, in collaboration with Germany’s Bielefeld University and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, have identified fast-growing and hardy microscopic algae that could prove the key to cheaper and more efficient production of the alternative fuel. With the help of these native species, Australia could potentially become an oil exporter like Middle East by devoting just 1% of its land to algae farms. “Previously, the main focus has been looking for oil-rich algae, but usually these are not fast-growing and they are tastier to predators – like microscopic scoops of icecream,” said Evan, manager of the Solar Biofuels Research Centre at the University of Queensland. “The integration of new technologies ...

Want to win a Nobel prize? You might increase your chances by eating more chocolate, according to a  letter in Nature  last Thursday. The research, which outlines a survey of chocolate consumption of 23 male Nobel laureates during their years of prizewinning work, relates that 10 (43%) report eating chocolate more than twice a week, compared to 25% of 237 educated, age-matched men. This survey follows a 2012  analysis  showing the level of national chocolate consumption correlates strongly with the per capita incidence of Nobel Prize Awards. Flavonoids  – the key chemicals claimed to boost cognitive ability – are also in red wine, but you’re unlikely to do great science if you indulge too heavily in that direction. Of course, correlation does not necessarily equal causation. We can’t say if flavonoid consumption is directly linked to Nobel prizes; there may be a third factor (coffee?) involved. Yet if the survey’s conclusion is true and chocolate i...