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Modular Origami Star by Maria Sinayskaya http://flic.kr/p/dJtry6

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Photograph of the May 1919 solar eclipse captured by Arthur Eddington, which proved Einstein’s theory of general relativity. 

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Robert Irwin @ Art Basel 2015

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Scientists discover a 2-D magnet

Magnetic materials form the basis of technologies that play increasingly pivotal roles in our lives today, including sensing and hard-disk data storage. But as our innovative dreams conjure wishes for ever-smaller and faster devices, researchers are seeking new magnetic materials that are more compact, more efficient and can be controlled using precise, reliable methods.

A team led by the University of Washington and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has for the first time discovered magnetism in the 2-D world of monolayers, or materials that are formed by a single atomic layer. The findings, published June 8 in the journal Nature, demonstrate that magnetic properties can exist even in the 2-D realm – opening a world of potential applications.

“What we have discovered here is an isolated 2-D material with intrinsic magnetism, and the magnetism in the system is highly robust,” said Xiaodong Xu, a UW professor of physics and of materials science and engineering, and member of the UW’s Clean Energy Institute. “We envision that new information technologies may emerge based on these new 2-D magnets.”

Xu and MIT physics professor Pablo Jarillo-Herrero led the international team of scientists who proved that the material – chromium triiodide, or CrI3 – has magnetic properties in its monolayer form.

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Beautiful Geometric Skeletons of Ancient Jellyfish Fossils

The 520-million-year-old fossils reveal that ancient comb jellies had stunning geometric skeletons that have disappeared over the course of evolution, researchers report in a paper published in the journal Science Advances. These strange skeletons contained eight rigid plates that surrounded the jellies’ organs and eight spoke-like structures that radiated outward to surround the soft lobes of their bodies.

The unusual symmetry of these skeletons makes them aesthetically appealing, but it also likely provided mechanical support for the jellies’ squishy bodies. It may have aided in defense against predators or other dangers as well, the researchers suggest.

entire article on techtimes