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Category: materials – Page 25

The composition of the products varies depending on the starting materials. Pure methane reacts—with very low yield—to give ethane, propane and hydrogen. The addition of oxygen increases the conversion, resulting mainly in CO2 as well as CO, ethylene, and water.

In the presence of water, aqueous methane reacts to give acetone and tertiary butyl alcohol; in the gas phase, it gives ethane and propane. When both water and oxygen are added, the reactions are strongly accelerated. In the aqueous phase, formaldehyde, acetic acid, and acetone are formed. If ammonia is also added, acetic acid forms glycine, an amino acid also found in space.

“Under gamma radiation, glycine can be made from methane, oxygen, water, and ammonia, molecules that are found in large amounts in space,” says Huang. The team developed a reaction scheme that explains the routes by which the individual products are formed. Oxygen (∙O2−) and ∙OH radicals play an important role in this. The rates of these radical reaction mechanisms are not temperature-dependent and could thus also take place in space.

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Advancements in nuclear physics may soon enable the creation of stable, superheavy nuclei, paving the way for new materials and insights into atomic stability.

A team of scientists has made significant advancements in the quest to create new, long-lasting superheavy nuclei. These double magic nuclei, which have a precise number of protons and neutrons that form a highly stable configuration, are exceptionally resistant to decay. Their research could deepen our understanding of the forces that bind atoms and pave the way for the development of new materials with unique properties. This work brings us a step closer to the so-called “Island of Stability,” a theoretical region in the nuclei chart where it’s believed some nuclei could exist far longer than those created so far.

The study, led by Professor Feng-Shou Zhang, has predicted promising reactions between different elements that could be used in experiments to create double magic nuclei. One key discovery involves a reaction between a special type of radioactive calcium isotope and a plutonium target, which could produce the predicted double magic nuclei 298 Fl. Another potential double magic nuclei, 304 120, could be created by combining vanadium and berkelium, although this reaction is currently less likely to succeed.

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The world’s first wooden satellite, built by Japanese researchers, was launched into space on Tuesday, in an early test of using timber in lunar and Mars exploration.

LignoSat, developed by Kyoto University and homebuilder Sumitomo Forestry, will be flown to the International Space Station on a SpaceX mission, and later released into orbit about 400 kilometres above the Earth.

Named after the Latin word for “wood”, the palm-sized LignoSat is tasked to demonstrate the cosmic potential of the renewable material as humans explore living in space.

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Astronomers have discovered one of the fastest-spinning neutron stars ever recorded, known as 4U 1820–30, which rotates an astonishing 716 times per second. Located 26,000 light-years away in the Sagittarius constellation, this neutron star is part of an X-ray binary system where its intense gravity pulls material from a companion white dwarf, triggering explosive thermonuclear bursts.

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Researchers have developed a novel method using facet-selective, ultrafine cocatalysts to efficiently split water to create hydrogen – a clean source of fuel. Scientists are urgently searching for clean fuel sources – such as hydrogen – to move towards carbon neutrality. A breakthrough for improving the efficiency of the photocatalytic reaction that splits water into hydrogen has been made by a team of researchers from Tohoku University, Tokyo University of Science and Mitsubishi Materials Corporation.

“Water-splitting photocatalysts can produce hydrogen (H2) from only sunlight and water,” explains Professor Yuichi Negishi, the lead researcher of this project (Tohoku University), “However, the process hasn’t been optimized sufficiently for practical applications. If we can improve the activity, hydrogen can be harnessed for the realization of a next-generation energy society.”

The research team established a novel method that uses ultrafine rhodium (Rh)-chromium (Cr) mixed-oxide (Rh2-xCrxO3) cocatalysts (the actual reaction site and a key component to stop H2 reforming with oxygen to make water again) with a particle size of about 1 nm. Then, they are loaded crystal facet-selectively onto a photocatalyst (uses sunlight and water to speed up reactions). Previous studies have not been able to accomplish these two feats in a single reaction: a tiny cocatalyst that can also be placed on specific regions of the photocatalyst.

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Recently, two independent research groups have shown that the brain codes for zero much as it does for other numbers, on a mental number line. But, one of the studies found, zero also holds a special status in the brain.

In recent years, research started to uncover how the human brain represents numbers, but no one examined how it handles zero. Now two independent studies, led by Nieder and Barnett, respectively, have shown that the brain codes for zero much as it does for other numbers, on a mental number line. But, one of the studies found, zero also holds a special status in the brain.

“The fact that [zero] represents nothing is a contradiction in itself,” said Carlo Semenza, a professor emeritus of neuroscience at the University of Padua in Italy who wasn’t involved in either study. “It looks like it is concrete because people put it on the number line — but then it doesn’t exist. … That is fascinating, absolutely fascinating.”

The new studies are the first to reveal what goes on in the brain when a person thinks about zero, and they bring up broader questions about how the mind handles absence — a pursuit that would have pleased Jean-Paul Sartre, the 20th-century existentialist who claimed that “nothingness carries being in its heart.”

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