Physics posts
- March 18, 2016
- 11:34 AM
- 98 views
Even Harmless Snakes Strike at Deadly Speed
by Elizabeth Preston in Inkfish
Just because a snake can't kill you doesn't mean it's slow on the draw. New research shows that harmless snakes strike just as quickly as venomous vipers do. The snakes hurl themselves at their targets so quickly, in fact, that a lesser animal would black out from the acceleration.
Vipers have long been the presumed titleholders for strike speed, explains David Penning, a graduate student in biology at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. These snakes strike to kill, plunging their v... Read more »
Penning, D., Sawvel, B., & Moon, B. (2016) Debunking the viper's strike: harmless snakes kill a common assumption. Biology Letters, 12(3), 20160011. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2016.0011
- March 12, 2016
- 07:57 AM
- 134 views
Science teachers could be obstacle to climate change education
by Jonathan Trinastic in Goodnight Earth
Climate change will continue to affect future generations, but are our children receiving accurate information about it? A new survey suggests not - here's a look and why and some possible solutions... Read more »
Plutzer, E., McCaffrey, M., Hannah, A., Rosenau, J., Berbeco, M., & Reid, A. (2016) Climate confusion among U.S. teachers. Science, 351(6274), 664-665. DOI: 10.1126/science.aab3907
- March 8, 2016
- 06:47 AM
- 125 views
How Einstein Could Still Save the Earth
by Jeffrey Daniels in United Academics
Gravitational waves, detected by LIGO, might have implications for finding black holes.... Read more »
Abbott, B. (2016) Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger. Physical Review Letters, 116(6). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.061102
Emanuele Berti. (2016) Viewpoint: The First Sounds of Merging Black Holes. APS Physics 9 (2016) 17. arXiv: 1602.04476v2
- February 29, 2016
- 09:39 AM
- 151 views
End of Universe – estimated earliest time
by Usman Paracha in SayPeople
Main Point:
Universe would end earlier than the anticipated time for the Sun to burn completely.
Published in:
arXiv
Study Further:
Scientific observation of the stars and galaxies in our universe are showing that the universe is continuously expanding, and the rate of this expansion is continuously increasing. After looking at this continuous expansion, one of the suggested possibilities for the future is that, the stars would die, everything in the universe will drift out, and t........ Read more »
Jose Beltran Jimenez, Ruth Lazkoz, Diego Saez-Gomez, & Vincenzo Salzano. (2016) Observational support for approaching cosmic doomsday. arXiv. arXiv: 1602.06211v1
- February 19, 2016
- 10:42 AM
- 209 views
So you want to make methanol? Start with ruthenium and add some air
by Jonathan Trinastic in Goodnight Earth
The methanol economy is an exciting prospect - create the molecule using CO2 from the atmosphere, reducing greenhouse gases and providing liquid fuel at the same time! Researchers have now shown how to create methanol directly from air for the first time.... Read more »
Kothandaraman J, Goeppert A, Czaun M, Olah GA, & Prakash GK. (2016) Conversion of CO2 from Air into Methanol Using a Polyamine and a Homogeneous Ruthenium Catalyst. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 138(3), 778-81. PMID: 26713663
- February 17, 2016
- 01:39 AM
- 183 views
New model says that the Universe has no start and it existed forever
by Usman Paracha in SayPeople
Main Points:
According to a new model, Big Bang never happened and Universe existed forever without any beginning.
Published in:
Physics Letters B
Study Further:
According to our present knowledge, Universe came into existence about 13.8 billion years ago. Before the existence of Universe, everything was in the form of a tiny point, which is also referred to as singularity. Therefore, it is assumed that everything in the Universe was present in that tiny point at that time. Then a........ Read more »
Farag Ali, A., & Das, S. (2015) Cosmology from quantum potential. Physics Letters B, 276-279. DOI: 10.1016/j.physletb.2014.12.057
- February 14, 2016
- 07:00 PM
- 78 views
Quixotic Science
by Paco Jariego in Mind the Post
Almost all science stems from a need to explain what we see. Not general relativity. What comes first, theory or technology? a reflection after LIGO has detected gravitational waves.... Read more »
The LIGO Scientific Collaboration, & the Virgo Collaboration. (2016) Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger. Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 061102 (2016). arXiv: 1602.03837v1
- February 14, 2016
- 08:00 AM
- 189 views
Einstein et les ondes gravitationnelles
by Dr. Goulu in Pourquoi Comment Combien
En recherchant où et quand Einstein avait prévu l’existence des ondes gravitationnelles dont tout le monde parle, je suis tombé non seulement sur son article en allemand de 1918, mais aussi sur un court article qui en retrace l’historique. En fait, Einstein s’était planté deux ans plus tôt dans un autre article.... Read more »
Kennefick, D. (2005) Einstein versus the Physical Review. Physics Today, 58(9), 43-48. DOI: 10.1063/1.2117822
- February 13, 2016
- 05:02 AM
- 217 views
Now we can hear the Universe
by TakFurTheKaffe in Tak Fur The Kaffe
The detection of gravitational waves produced by the collision of two black holes over 1 billion light years away confirms Einstein's vision of our Universe.... Read more »
Abbott, B., Abbott, R., Abbott, T., Abernathy, M., Acernese, F., Ackley, K., Adams, C., Adams, T., Addesso, P., Adhikari, R.... (2016) Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger. Physical Review Letters, 116(6). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.061102
- February 8, 2016
- 12:41 PM
- 268 views
Why Ask for Directions? (A Guest Post)
by Miss Behavior in The Scorpion and the Frog
by Anna Schneider For the iconic monarch butterfly, the shorter days in fall mean it’s time to pack up and head south to a warmer climate! Just like clockwork, the Eastern population of monarch butterflies makes a 2000 mile journey to their winter paradise roosts in central Mexico. The journey in itself is one of the greatest migrations among all animals. But here’s the catch: none of these butterflies has made this trip before. Several generations of monarchs have come and gon........ Read more »
Gegear, R., Foley, L., Casselman, A., & Reppert, S. (2010) Animal cryptochromes mediate magnetoreception by an unconventional photochemical mechanism. Nature, 463(7282), 804-807. DOI: 10.1038/nature08719
Guerra, P., Gegear, R., & Reppert, S. (2014) A magnetic compass aids monarch butterfly migration. Nature Communications. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5164
Merlin, C., Gegear, R., & Reppert, S. (2009) Antennal Circadian Clocks Coordinate Sun Compass Orientation in Migratory Monarch Butterflies. Science, 325(5948), 1700-1704. DOI: 10.1126/science.1176221
- February 5, 2016
- 03:00 PM
- 289 views
Four Legs Good, Two Legs Better for Hurdling Obstacles
by Elizabeth Preston in Inkfish
Although lizards mostly scurry on all fours, certain species can run on two legs when the mood strikes. What's the benefit to this human-like running style? For one thing, it seems to let lizards get over obstacles without slowing down. They just have to make sure not to tip over.
Georgia Southern University biologist Lance McBrayer and graduate student Seth Parker studied running in a handsome little reptile called Sceloporus woodi, or the Florida scrub lizard. McBrayer says there's been... Read more »
Parker, S., & McBrayer, L. (2016) The effects of multiple obstacles on the locomotor behavior and performance of a terrestrial lizard. Journal of Experimental Biology. DOI: 10.1242/jeb.120451
- February 5, 2016
- 09:09 AM
- 282 views
Greenland ice sheets losing ability to absorb meltwater
by Jonathan Trinastic in Goodnight Earth
Greenland has long held sea-level rise at bay, absorbing melted water into spongy upper layers. But new research has found that icy covers to these layers are preventing water absorption and driving water into the oceans.... Read more »
Machguth, H., MacFerrin, M., van As, D., Box, J., Charalampidis, C., Colgan, W., Fausto, R., Meijer, H., Mosley-Thompson, E., & van de Wal, R. (2016) Greenland meltwater storage in firn limited by near-surface ice formation. Nature Climate Change. DOI: 10.1038/nclimate2899
- January 29, 2016
- 12:29 PM
- 250 views
Lizards Overcome Lack of Mirrors to Find Rocks That Match Their Colors
by Elizabeth Preston in Inkfish
Think about the last time you stood squinting in front of a full-length mirror, trying to decide whether the colors in your outfit went together. Now imagine you're a reptile, and you wouldn't even understand a mirror if you saw one, but somehow you need to find a rock that matches your skin color. Otherwise you might get eaten by a bird today. Oh, and the skin color you need to match is on your back.
Certain lizards in Greece manage to pull this off every day, though how they do it is a ... Read more »
Marshall, K., Philpot, K., & Stevens, M. (2016) Microhabitat choice in island lizards enhances camouflage against avian predators. Scientific Reports, 19815. DOI: 10.1038/srep19815
- January 29, 2016
- 08:39 AM
- 230 views
The power of poop: revolutionizing wastewater treatment
by Jonathan Trinastic in Goodnight Earth
A commentary in Nature proposes a complete overhaul of how we treat our wastewater. Among the benefits would be new energy-producing industry and reduce greenhouse gas emissions!... Read more »
Li, W., Yu, H., & Rittmann, B. (2015) Chemistry: Reuse water pollutants. Nature, 528(7580), 29-31. DOI: 10.1038/528029a
- January 22, 2016
- 10:21 AM
- 229 views
When good intentions don't mix: designing policy to stop global warming and improve clean cookware access
by Jonathan Trinastic in Goodnight Earth
Carbon fees are a tremendous policy tool to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But what is their effect on other public health missions, like providing cleaner cookware to the poor in developing countries. We take a look at new research designing policy to meet both public health needs.... Read more »
Cameron, C., Pachauri, S., Rao, N., McCollum, D., Rogelj, J., & Riahi, K. (2016) Policy trade-offs between climate mitigation and clean cook-stove access in South Asia. Nature Energy, 1(1), 15010. DOI: 10.1038/nenergy.2015.10
- January 16, 2016
- 03:12 PM
- 333 views
‘Space Warps’ and other citizen science projects reap major dividends for astrophysics
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Thanks to the Internet, amateur volunteers known as "citizen scientists" can readily donate their time and effort to science--in fields ranging from medicine to zoology to astrophysics. The astrophysics project Space Warps offers a compelling example of why citizen science has become such a popular tool and how valuable it can be.
... Read more »
Marshall, P., Verma, A., More, A., Davis, C., More, S., Kapadia, A., Parrish, M., Snyder, C., Wilcox, J., Baeten, E.... (2015) SPACE WARPS - I. Crowdsourcing the discovery of gravitational lenses. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 455(2), 1171-1190. DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stv2009
More, A., Verma, A., Marshall, P., More, S., Baeten, E., Wilcox, J., Macmillan, C., Cornen, C., Kapadia, A., Parrish, M.... (2015) SPACE WARPS- II. New gravitational lens candidates from the CFHTLS discovered through citizen science. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 455(2), 1191-1210. DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stv1965
- January 15, 2016
- 12:08 PM
- 251 views
Amazon resilience buoyed by diversity
by Jonathan Trinastic in Goodnight Earth
Previous research has suggested that the Amazon could reach a tipping point when rainforest gives way to a grassy savannah. Could this really happen? A new modeling study suggests the diversity of the Amazon could prevent such a drastic change.... Read more »
Levine NM, Zhang K, Longo M, Baccini A, Phillips OL, Lewis SL, Alvarez-Dávila E, Segalin de Andrade AC, Brienen RJ, Erwin TL.... (2015) Ecosystem heterogeneity determines the ecological resilience of the Amazon to climate change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. PMID: 26711984
- January 13, 2016
- 03:44 PM
- 332 views
Beam me up! Teleporting the memory of an organism
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
In "Star Trek", a transporter can teleport a person from one location to a remote location without actually making the journey along the way. Such a transporter has fascinated many people. Quantum teleportation shares several features of the transporter and is one of the most important protocols in quantum information.... Read more »
Li, T., & Yin, Z. (2016) Quantum superposition, entanglement, and state teleportation of a microorganism on an electromechanical oscillator. Science Bulletin. DOI: 10.1007/s11434-015-0990-x
- December 27, 2015
- 11:07 AM
- 370 views
Quantum gravity
by Marco Frasca in The Gauge Connection
Quantum gravity appears today as the Holy Grail of physics. This is so far detached from any possible experimental result but with a lot of attentions from truly remarkable people anyway. In some sense, if a physicist would like to know in her lifetime if her speculations are worth a Nobel prize, better to work […]... Read more »
Ali H. Chamseddine, Alain Connes, & Viatcheslav Mukhanov. (2014) Quanta of Geometry: Noncommutative Aspects. Phys. Rev. Lett. 114 (2015) 9, 091302. arXiv: 1409.2471v4
Ali H. Chamseddine, Alain Connes, & Viatcheslav Mukhanov. (2014) Geometry and the Quantum: Basics. JHEP 12 (2014) 098. arXiv: 1411.0977v1
Farina, A., Frasca, M., & Sedehi, M. (2013) Solving Schrödinger equation via Tartaglia/Pascal triangle: a possible link between stochastic processing and quantum mechanics. Signal, Image and Video Processing, 8(1), 27-37. DOI: 10.1007/s11760-013-0473-y
- December 24, 2015
- 03:54 PM
- 468 views
It came from planet X: ‘Forbidden’ substances on super-Earths
by Dr. Jekyll in Lunatic Laboratories
Using mathematical models, scientists have ‘looked’ into the interior of super-Earths and discovered that they may contain compounds that are forbidden by the classical rules of chemistry — these substances may increase the heat transfer rate and strengthen the magnetic field on these planets.... Read more »
Niu, H., Oganov, A., Chen, X., & Li, D. (2015) Prediction of novel stable compounds in the Mg-Si-O system under exoplanet pressures. Scientific Reports, 18347. DOI: 10.1038/srep18347
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