The Science Library

This telescope is going to create HUUUUUGE amounts of data for...

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:51:00 -0700

This telescope is going to create HUUUUUGE amounts of data for astronomers.

“AT FIVE tonnes and 520 megapixels, it is the biggest digital camera ever built—which is fitting, because it is designed to tackle the biggest problem in the universe. On February 20th researchers at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (pictured), which sits 2,200 metres (7,200 feet) above sea level in the Atacama desert of northern Chile, will begin installing this behemoth on a telescope called Blanco.”

The image is from http://www.science.tamu.edu/articles/779/ (Credit: T. Abbott and NOAO/AURA/NSF.)

Found the article thanks to Eric.

Cute little chameleon

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:41:40 -0700

The article about the critter at PLoS One is “Rivaling the World’s Smallest Reptiles: Discovery of Miniaturized and Microendemic New Species of Leaf Chameleons (Brookesia) from Northern Madagascar.”

Learned about this from John.

Scale of the Universe 2

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 09:58:16 -0700

This is so, so cool. It takes this a long time (several minutes) to load up the flash, even on a campus network. It is worth the wait. Thanks Carl for the link.

Have you ever wondered...

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:46:00 -0700

how many ways you can arrange the elements of Carbon and Hydrogen to form C8H8? Well, now you can stop wondering! (72 hits.) Thanks Antony for the link.

Some ten year old kid discovers a new molecule similar to nitrogylcerin

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:58:58 -0700

Looks like she will be the co-author of a paper that is going to be published in the Journal of theoretical & computational chemistry. Found this here thanks to Patricia.

Will be a super supercomputer at the U of I

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:07:22 -0700

The Chronicle writes: Stalled ‘Hubble Telescope of Supercomputers’ Resumes Construction. But, what I want to know is—will it have a bench where people can sit on the computer?

14-billion-years-later noted: How Do Batteries Work? I had a...

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 10:46:42 -0700

14-billion-years-later noted:

How Do Batteries Work?

I had a request from an anon, so here goes. The first thing we need to know about batteries is that in essence what they’re doing is converting stored chemical energy into electrical energy. They do this by a series of reduction-oxidation reactions (redox). The first step involves the positively charged anode (anodes attract negatively charged ions called anions), at the anode electrons are moved from the electrolyte into the anode where they generate a voltage (which is a potential difference between energies at 2 points) and electromotive force. This is the oxidation step of the reaction. The electrolyte then converts into another compound or simply changes oxidation state. The electrons meanwhile go about their business and do whatever work they have to do before flowing into the cathode of the battery. At the cathode the corresponding reduction reaction occurs, quite separately to the oxidation component. Here electrons flow from the cathode into the second electrolyte which undergoes another chemical change. To complete the circuit some exchange of ions has to occur to make sure the flow continues, this is usually mediated by a salt bridge which connects the two electrolytes. Hope that helps!

Image

“Saturn’s moon Mimas peeks out from behind the night...

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:41:44 -0700

“Saturn’s moon Mimas peeks out from behind the night side of the larger moon Dione in this Cassini image captured during the spacecraft’s Dec. 12, 2011, flyby of Dione.”

Hug a Squirrel day? Yesterday was Squirrel Appreciation Day,...

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 06:10:07 -0700

Hug a Squirrel day? Yesterday was Squirrel Appreciation Day, and it was also National Hug Day, so I tried to hug a squirrel. WHAT WENT WRONG?

Photo is cc from http://www.flickr.com/photos/23657269@N06/2253371748/sizes/z/in/photostream/.

I’m at the ScienceOnline 2012 #scio12 unconference for the...

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:18:37 -0700

I’m at the ScienceOnline 2012 #scio12 unconference for the next 3 days. Follow the twitter feed #scio12. Follow the WordPress Tumblog (not on Tumblr…)

Infrared image of the Large Magellanic Cloud. Found at the APOD...

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 22:56:58 -0700

Infrared image of the Large Magellanic Cloud. Found at the APOD for today.

Map of All the Trees in the United States

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:49:00 -0700

Map of All the Trees in the United States:

“This map is the result of years of research by NASA, the National Geological Survey, and the U.S. Forest Service. It shows, in staggering detail, the total of woody biomass (read trees) across these United States.” Found via Michelle.

“Our Milky Way galaxy contains a minimum of 100 billion ...

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:03:11 -0700

“Our Milky Way galaxy contains a minimum of 100 billion planets, according to a detailed statistical study based on the detection of three planets located outside our solar system, called exoplanets.”

Want to work for Dr. Stephen Hawking?

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 15:44:49 -0700

Yes, you may want to work for him, but this is a Graduate Assistant Position. (At the University of Cambridge. Are you at the U. of Cambridge? Probably not.) Found via this and this.

I’ve never seen M27 like this before. From Astronomy...

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 12:25:00 -0700

I’ve never seen M27 like this before.

From Astronomy Picture Of The Day; December 27, 2011:
M27: The Dumbbell Nebula
Bill Snyder (Bill Snyder Photography)
The first hint of what will become of our Sun was discovered inadvertently in 1764. At that time, Charles Messier was compiling a list of diffuse objects not to be confused with comets. The 27th object on Messier’s list, now known as M27 or the Dumbbell Nebula, is a planetary nebula, the type of nebula our Sun will produce when nuclear fusion stops in its core. M27 is one of the brightest planetary nebulae on the sky, and can be seen toward the constellation of the Fox (Vulpecula) with binoculars. It takes light about 1000 years to reach us from M27, shown above in colors emitted by hydrogen and oxygen. Understanding the physics and significance of M27 was well beyond 18th century science. Even today, many things remain mysterious about bipolar planetary nebula like M27, including the physical mechanism that expels a low-mass star’s gaseous outer-envelope, leaving an X-ray hot white dwarf.

This is an awesome image from Hubble. UGC 1810 “has a disk...

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 12:41:00 -0700

This is an awesome image from Hubble. UGC 1810 “has a disk that is tidally distorted into a rose-like shape by the gravitational tidal pull of the companion galaxy below it, known as UGC 1813.”

“At the Illinois Accelerator Research Center, scientists...

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 11:35:27 -0700

“At the Illinois Accelerator Research Center, scientists and engineers from Fermilab, Argonne and Illinois universities will work side by side with industrial partners to research and develop breakthroughs in accelerator science and translate them into applications for the nation’s health, wealth and security.”

Can I get the Au one please? hadron94: A chemist’s...

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 08:51:43 -0700

Can I get the Au one please? hadron94:

A chemist’s christmas!

118 glass ornaments with each element etched on :)

Eclipse is only about 12 hours away

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 18:00:00 -0700

This is a great site that shows what the eclipse will look like tomorrow morning.

How did the cannonball end up there? Here is the physics that...

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 10:51:05 -0700

How did the cannonball end up there? Here is the physics that explains the wayword MythBusters Cannonball. The cc image is from Glenn.