By  NASA

Nanoparticles are particles between 1 and 100 nanometers in size. In nanotechnology, a particle is defined as a small object that behaves as a whole unit with respect to its transport and properties.Particles are further classified according to diameter.[1] Ultrafine particles are the same as nanoparticles and between 1 and 100 nanometers in size, fine particles are sized between 100 and 2,500 nanometers, and coarse particles cover a range between 2,500 and 10,000 nanometers. Nanoparticle research is currently an area of intense scientific interest due to a wide variety of potential applications in biomedical, optical and electronic fields.[2][3][4][5] TheNational Nanotechnology Initiative has led to generous public funding for nanoparticle research in the United States.

[Source]

Phroyd

A High-Bandwidth Interplanetary Connection

(click picture for link)

“A new study suggests that by twisting laser light, scientists could pack enough information into interplanetary beams to speed up extraterrestrial communications to the multi-gigabit level.…”

Storing electricity in paper

One sheet, 15 centimetres in diameter and a few tenths of a millimetre thick can store as much as 1 F, which is similar to the supercapacitors currently on the market. The material can be recharged hundreds of times and each charge only takes a few seconds.

It’s a dream product in a world where the increased use of renewable energy requires new methods for energy storage – from summer to winter, from a windy day to a calm one, from a sunny day to one with heavy cloud cover.

”Thin films that function as capacitors have existed for some time. What we have done is to produce the material in three dimensions. We can produce thick sheets,” says Xavier Crispin, professor of organic electronics and co-author to the article just published in Advanced Science.

Other co-authors are researchers from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Innventia, Technical University of Denmark and the University of Kentucky.

The material, power paper, looks and feels like a slightly plasticky paper and the researchers have amused themselves by using one piece to make an origami swan – which gives an indication of its strength.

The structural foundation of the material is nanocellulose, which is cellulose fibres which, using high-pressure water, are broken down into fibres as thin as 20 nm in diameter. With the cellulose fibres in a solution of water, an electrically charged polymer (PEDOT:PSS), also in a water solution, is added. The polymer then forms a thin coating around the fibres.

”The covered fibres are in tangles, where the liquid in the spaces between them functions as an electrolyte,” explains Jesper Edberg, doctoral student, who conducted the experiments together with Abdellah Malti, who recently completed his doctorate.

The new cellulose-polymer material has set a new world record in simultaneous conductivity for ions and electrons, which explains its exceptional capacity for energy storage. It also opens the door to continued development toward even higher capacity. Unlike the batteries and capacitors currently on the market, power paper is produced from simple materials – renewable cellulose and an easily available polymer. It is light in weight, it requires no dangerous chemicals or heavy metals and it is waterproof.

The Power Papers project has been financed by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation since 2012.

”They leave us to our research, without demanding lengthy reports, and they trust us. We have a lot of pressure on us to deliver, but it’s ok if it takes time, and we’re grateful for that,” says Professor Magnus Berggren, director of the Laboratory of Organic Electronics at Linköping University.

The new power paper is just like regular pulp, which has to be dehydrated when making paper. The challenge is to develop an industrial-scale process for this.

”Together with KTH, Acreo and Innventia we just received SEK 34 million from the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research to continue our efforts to develop a rational production method, a paper machine for power paper,” says Professor Berggren.

Power paper – Four world records

Highest charge and capacitance in organic electronics, 1 C and 2 F (Coulomb and Farad).

Highest measured current in an organic conductor, 1 A (Ampere).

Highest capacity to simultaneously conduct ions and electrons.

Highest transconductance in a transistor, 1 S (Siemens)

Publication:

An Organic Mixed Ion-Electron Conductor for Power Electronics, Abdellah Malti, Jesper Edberg, Hjalmar Granberg, Zia Ullah Khan, Jens W Andreasen, Xianjie Liu, Dan Zhao, Hao Zhang, Yulong Yao, Joseph W Brill, Isak Engquist, Mats Fahlman, Lars Wågberg, Xavier Crispin and Magnus Berggren.  Advanced Science, DOI 10.1002/advs.201500305

Linköping University

This Is What Happens When You Dissolve an Antacid On the Space Station

Ever see an antacid dissolve in water…in space? Read more via io9.

Paranal red sprites

First imaged in 1989, red sprites are a ghostly phenomenon that occur at high altitudes above thunderstorms. Photographed here by ESO Photo Ambassador Petr Horálek, the unmistakable tendrils of multiple red sprites are spotted approximately 600 kilometres away from ESO’s Paranal Observatory above distant thunderclouds.

To capture multiple sprites in one image, two exposures were combined. The upper sprite occurred nearly 21 minutes before the lower one.

In the foreground sits a lone 1.8-metre Auxiliary Telescope, part of ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT).

Credit: P. Horálek/ESO

The Science of Balloon Popping: Fragmentation vs. Opening.

Soon to be published in Physical Review Letters, the research identifies how differing levels of stress affect rubber and latex.

The first depicts a moderately inflated balloon that splits uniformly into two pieces.

The second depicts a highly inflated balloon that is under a larger level of stress, which fragments into smaller pieces when popped.

(The authors of this work are Sébastien Moulinet and Mokhtar Adda-Bedia)

Curiosity, Sojourner and Opportunity size comparisons to people.

via reddit

Star Hen 2-427 more commonly known as WR 124 and the nebula M1-67 which surrounds it, found in the constellation of Sagittarius; ESA/Hubble & NASA, Judy Schmidt

js

Extreme physics BBQ!

This is what happens when you pump mains electricity through a steak (using a kettle as a resistor), when you focus the beams from a strong light source onto one piece of steak, and when you try to fry prawns using a bottle rocket.

As electricity is forced through the steak, electrons interact with the atoms and molecules of the meat. As the steak doesn’t conduct very well, the electrons have to push very hard, and in doing so transfer energy to the meat - a process known as joule heating.

Parabolas focus all the incoming energy into one spot. We harnessed that to cook a steak.

And we whipped out our old favourite - bottle rockets - to fry our prawns. Had to sort out a projectile prawn issue first, though.

Click here to watch the whole video on our YouTube channel. And check out the extreme chemistry approach over at Brit Lab.

Youngster Galaxy Magnified by Abell 383

Hubble was first to spot this galaxy, one of the youngest in the distant universe. Its stars formed 13.5 billion years ago, a mere 200 million years after the Big Bang. The galaxy’s image is magnified by the gravity of a massive cluster of galaxies (Abell 383) parked in front of it, making it appear eleven times brighter. This phenomenon is called gravitational lensing.

Image Credit: NASA, ESA, J. Richard (Centre for Astronomical Research/Observatory of Lyon, France), and J.-P Kneib (Astrophysical Laboratory of Marseille, France).