Interesting Stuff Thread

Bannasidhe

I just love science

New Energy Technologies has announced an improvement in manufacturing see-through solar cells generating electricity on glass.
US solar company New Energy Technologies collaborated with the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) on developing low-cost materials and an application technique to optimise the movement of electrons within the ultra-thin solar cells.

This should increase the amount of electricity produced when New Energy’s see-through SolarWindow prototype is exposed to natural or artificial light.

“Over the past few months, our researchers have unveiled a virtually invisible conductive wiring system, which collects and transports electricity on SolarWindow prototypes,” said John Conklin, President and CEO of New Energy Technologies.

“They have fabricated a large area working module, which is more than 14-times larger than previous organic photovoltaic devices fabricated at NREL.”

The improved process can be carried out at ambient pressure and low temperatures.

This means researchers can avoid using materials that must be deposited using high temperature vacuum deposition, which is expensive and time-consuming, and therefore not practical for high speed and large-scale applications.

“Earlier, we developed our first-ever working SolarWindow prototype using a faster, rapid scale-up process for applying solution-based coatings,” said Conklin.

“Together, these achievements have moved us closer to our manufacturing, scale-up, durability, and power production goals – all important factors to advancing our SolarWindow technology towards commercial launch.”

New Energy Technologies said the innovation promotes low processing temperatures, enabling high-speed roll-to-roll (R2R) and sheet-to-sheet (S2S) manufacturing.

This large-area, R2R and S2S fabrication capability and improved durability of SolarWindow technology are crucial for production of market-ready electricity-generating coatings on see-through glass and plastic.

To generate electricity on SolarWindow prototypes, researchers creatively layer and arrange unique, ultra-thin see-through solar cells onto glass.

Each of these cells is arranged in a network and interconnected by way of a virtually invisible grid-like wiring system.

Within these ultra-thin solar cells, the light-induced movement of electrons generates electricity.

http://eandt.theiet.org/news/2012/jun/solarwindow-technology.cfm#.T-m9QKLAjnw.facebook

Turtwig

More desktop background fodder.:)

robindch

^^^ wonder what people would be like, and what religions would be around, if the earth had that sky at night.

Bannasidhe

robindch wrote: »

^^^ wonder what people would be like, and what religions would be around, if the earth had that sky at night.

Is it sad that I just spent 5 minutes looking for the Tardis?

robindch

Bannasidhe wrote: »

I just love science

http://www.facebook.com/scienceisawesome

Bannasidhe wrote: »

Is it sad that I just spent 5 minutes looking for the Tardis?

Insanely, though not as bad as seeing it and thinking of the Krikkit Wars.

Sonics2k

That FB page is great

recedite

If you intercept the light passing through a window and convert it into electricity, it kind of defeats the purpose of having the window. Methinks solar panels are probably best kept on the roof.
"It has developed a method for spraying tiny organic solar cells onto windows in a see-through coating that lets in 40 to 80 percent of sunlight, absorbing the rest".

Genghiz Cohen

recedite wrote: »

If you intercept the light passing through a window and convert it into electricity, it kind of defeats the purpose of having the window. Methinks solar panels are probably best kept on the roof.
"It has developed a method for spraying tiny organic solar cells onto windows in a see-through coating that lets in 40 to 80 percent of sunlight, absorbing the rest".

Makes about as much sense as the electricity generating speed-bumps. Just cut out the middle man and use a diesel generator!

Delirium

Atom Crash Produces Hottest Man-Made Temperature Ever

An atom-smasher called the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) has just snagged a Guinness World Record for reaching the hottest man-made temperature ever—250,000 times hotter than the center of the sun.

The face-melting temperature was achieved when gold nuclei—the part of the atom made of protons and neutrons that has a positive charge—were set zipping around an underground racetrack near light speed until they slammed into one another. NASCAR for particle scientists, except instead of a champagne shower you're left with a soupy mix of quarks and gluons.

Delirium

Probing an 'Invisible' Exoplanet's Atmosphere

To study the atmospheres of planets beyond the solar system, astronomers have had two choices: pick one that flies across the face of its parent star relative to Earth's perspective (an event known as a transit), or wait for a new generation of more sensitive space telescopes that can directly capture the planet's faint light.

Now, there's a third option.

Using a cryogenically-cooled infrared detector on a telescope in Chile, astronomers ferreted out beams of light coming directly from Tau Boötis b, a massive planet about 50 light-years from Earth.

Delirium

Date of Earliest Animal Life Reset by 30 Million Years

University of Alberta researchers have uncovered physical proof that animals existed 585 million years ago -- 30 million years earlier than previous records show.

The discovery was made by U of A geologists Ernesto Pecoits and Natalie Aubet in Uruguay. They found fossilized tracks a centimeter-long, slug-like animal left behind 585 million years ago in silty, shallow-water sediment.

A team of U of A researchers determined that the tracks were made by a primitive animal called a bilaterian, which is distinguished from other non-animal, simple life forms by its symmetry -- its top side is distinguishable from its bottom side -- and a unique set of "footprints."

joseph brand

The best sleeves to wear when approached by religious preachers.

shizz

I dunno if we can embed vimeo videos here, so I'll just post the link.

The Future is Ours

Brilliant inspiring video.

robindch

Peter Higgs has been invited to CERN tomorrow for an announcement -- have they found his boson?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2167188/God-particle-Scientists-Cern-expected-announce-Higgs-boson-particle-discovered-Wednesday.html

recedite

joseph brand wrote: »

The best sleeves to wear when approached by religious preachers.

Tattoo Artist; "Sir looks so much smarter now with his new esoteric tattoo".

Client Chav; "Er, thanks. I'll just take a photo of myself scratching my scrotum before I leave".

Delirium

Spray-on Rechargeable Batteries Could Store Energy Anywhere

A team of mechanical engineers has published a paper demonstrating its latest invention — spray-on rechargeable batteries that could be combined with solar cells to create self-sufficient, energy conversion-storage devices.

The paper, published in Nature Scientific Reports, explains that by breaking down the different components of a battery — the electrodes, separator, electrolyte and current collectors — and rendering them into liquid form, we could revolutionize the way we power our devices. Rather than being tied to fixed shapes and sizes, batteries could one day take on practically any form, and be applied almost anywhere.

robindch

Atheists on the up and up :~)

Atheist Clubs Spring Up In High Schools Across The Country With Help From The Secular Student Alliance

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/29/with-help-from-the-secula_n_1638950.html

HuffPo wrote:

With help from the Secular Student Alliance -- a national organization of more than 300 college-based clubs for freethinking students -- high school atheists clubs are springing up across the country, the Religion News Service reports.

JT Eberhard, director of SSA’s high school program, says he hopes that both atheist and religious students having clubs will help foster a dialogue.

“I also hope it will let the atheist students know that you can be an atheist and its okay," Eberhard told Religion News Service. "You are still a good person. We want to say: Here is a place where you can feel that."

There were about a dozen clubs of this ilk at the beginning of the 2011-12 academic year -- a number that increased to 39 in 17 states by the start of summer break. The clubs are student-led, and SSA only provides information and guidance upon a student’s request.

Some clubs exist in states that have large numbers of people who claim no religious affiliation, such as New York, Washington and California. Others are located in more religion-centered states, with North Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas all claiming at least one high school with a club for atheists. Since January of this year, students representing 73 different high schools have requested “starter kits,” according to SSA.

Some students have no issue launching an atheist club assuming they meet their school’s criteria, which usually entails obtaining a faculty sponsor and demonstrating student interest.

Others are met with administrative resistance, like at Melbourne High School in Melbourne, Fla., where administrators rejected an atheist club on the basis that it was “too controversial.” Students at another Florida high school were told that no religious clubs were permitted, even though there was a school Christian club in existence. The principal of Houston’s La Porte High School denied students the use of the word “atheist” due to the fact “it could disrupt the educational process.”

In such instances, Eberhard usually intervenes, reminding administrators that the Equal Access Act grants students the right to form a club.

Earlier this month, Chelsea Stanton, a senior and atheist at Collingswood High School in New Jersey, also used the law to her advantage in defending her refusal to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

“That’s the beauty of America -- that you don’t have to follow the same religion the majority does,” she said.

In Rhode Island, Cranston High School West student Jessica Ahlquist objected to a prayer banner the school had on display. The 16-year-old brought the case to court, receiving a January mandate for the school prayer banner to be brought down because it violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Ahlquist has also received a $40,000 scholarship fund from the American Humanist Association.

Ahlquist was also honored with the Humanist Pioneer Award at this year's annual American Humanist Association in New Orleans, the Christian Post reported.

pauldla

robindch wrote: »

Peter Higgs has been invited to CERN tomorrow for an announcement -- have they found his boson?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2167188/God-particle-Scientists-Cern-expected-announce-Higgs-boson-particle-discovered-Wednesday.html

Looks like it!

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0704/1224319342554.html

This is a great age to be alive, folks.

Dades

pauldla wrote: »

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0704/1224319342554.html

Irish Times wrote:

World waits for revelation of 'God particle' by Cern today

...

Scientists at Cern, the European centre for nuclear research, are expected to announce the discovery of the Higgs boson – what people can’t resist calling the “God particle”.

Like some numnut in the Irish Times it seems.

magicbastarder

pauldla wrote: »

This is a great age to be alive, folks.

i was kinda hoping they wouldn't find it. would have made things a lot more interesting.

CerebralCortex

magicbastarder wrote: »

i was kinda hoping they wouldn't find it. would have made things a lot more interesting.

So what now?

Sarky

True, but it's awfully satisfying to confirm something you've been working on for so long. The LHC was a hell of an undertaking, it's pretty awesome that it got results so relatively quickly.

There are still plenty of other problems to solve in physics, no neckbearded men in unnecessary labcoats will be out of a job because of this.

Dades

Sarky - I know it's the wrong area of science - but I think you need to send them your CV.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/7/4/3136652/cern-scientists-comic-sans-higgs-boson

robindch

Dades wrote: »

Like some numnut in the Irish Times it seems.

magicbastarder

to be fair, it was a physicist who coined the phrase.

Dades

magicbastarder wrote: »

to be fair, it was a physicist who coined the phrase.

According to wiki...

Higgs is an atheist, and is displeased that the Higgs particle is nicknamed the "God particle",[26] because the term "might offend people who are religious".[27] Usually this inappropriate nickname for the Higgs boson is attributed to Leon Lederman, the author of the book The God Particle: If the Universe Is the Answer, What Is the Question?, but the name is the result of the insistence of Lederman's publisher: originally, Lederman had intended to refer to it as the "goddamn particle".[28]

There seems to be some dispute as to whether he was joking about that last bit, though.

magicbastarder

that book is a good read, btw. if somewhat out of date now.

Sarky

Dades wrote: »

Sarky - I know it's the wrong area of science - but I think you need to send them your CV.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/7/4/3136652/cern-scientists-comic-sans-higgs-boson

Comic SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANS!

.o/
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.o/
.o>
.o/

joseph brand

Sea weed toothpaste.

Adding enzymes from seaweed microbes to toothpaste and mouthwash could provide better protection against tooth decay, a team of UK scientists have said.

Researchers at Newcastle University had been studying Bacillus licheniformis to see if it could clean ships' hulls.

But the scientists now believe it could protect the areas between teeth where plaque can gather despite brushing.

Their lab tests suggest the microbe's enzyme cuts through plaque, stripping it of bacteria that cause tooth decay.

Dr Nick Jakubovics, of the university's school of dental sciences, said: "Plaque on your teeth is made up of bacteria which join together to colonise an area in a bid to push out any potential competitors".

There's a whole world, right there between your chompers. Turf wars.

Also, there was an article on the net a couple of years ago about a gel which, when applied to a damaged tooth, encouraged the tooth to grow back. "I'd buy THAT for a dollar!"

fitz0

http://io9.com/5923170/stop-calling-it-the-god-particle

Stop calling it “The God Particle!”

 Dr. Dave Goldberg

We've heard the rumors. Tomorrow is likely to bring news that physics nerds have been waiting for: the "official" discovery of the Higgs Boson. But something is gnawing at me like children on my lawn: this whole "God Particle" business.
Don't get me wrong. Science — and physics, in particular — is filled with bad naming conventions: The big bang was neither big nor a bang; the "color" of a quark or a gluon has nothing to do with what they actually look like; even "spin" has staggeringly less to do with a gyroscope than you might have at first guessed. And while the Higgs deserves our respect, "God Particle" is just going too far.

Seriously. What's wrong with you people?

First, a bit of history. The Nobel Laureate Leon Lederman coined the phrase "The God Particle" as the title of his otherwise excellent book as a way of underscoring how essential the Higgs is in our Standard Model of Physics. You can get away with that sort of hype when you're a Nobel prize winner. It also sold roughly 10 gajillion copies. He also got cutesy afterwards, and used to semi-seriously defend the name by saying that the publisher wouldn't let him call it the goddamn particle.

Meanwhile, National Geographic went one step further, comparing it to "The Force," from Star Wars — which did at least make for an awesomely adorable graphic at our sister site Gizmodo — but really kind of misses the bigger picture.

Just to be clear, discovering the Higgs will be a huge deal. It is the last remaining particle of our Standard Model of physics, and in a lot of ways it's very different than any other particle that we've ever seen. It's the first spin-0 particle, which is fairly significant. There's also the whole "creating mass" thing that it's so famous for. We should give credit where credit is due.

But let's not go overboard. I can think of at least three good reasons that referring to the "God Particle" should be a wedgieable offense. Knowing the io9 readership, I expect dozens more in the comments section.

1) It makes us sound like those mutants in Beneath the Planet of the Apes who worshiped a nuclear bomb.

Even if discovering the Higgs answered all of the fundamental questions in physics and gave us a Theory of Everything (it doesn't), the particle itself is just a particle, like any other. It interacts with other particles, and those interactions take the form of changes in energy.

Seriously, just dial it back a bit.

There have even been contests to rename the damn thing to something a bit less grandiose. The Guardian newspaper apparently came up with, "the champagne bottle boson." To my mind, though, this is both a bit silly and very unnecessary. The Higgs already has a name: the Higgs. We don't insist on calling the electron "ol' current-carrier" (though perhaps we should).

In fact, the Higgs has LOTS of names. While Peter Higgs came up with his version of the mechanism in 1964, about half a dozen other scientists came up with similar solutions at around the same time. This is going to cause the Nobel committee a giant headache when they try to figure out who to award the Prize to. Virtually every combination of names has been used as a descriptor for the particle, so if you want to call it something else, might I suggest the "Englert-Brout-Higgs-Guralnik-Hagen-Kibble Boson"?

2) It's not the only thing that can make mass.

The Higgs mechanism was developed to address a very specific problem. It was well-known at the time that assuming what are known as "local gauge symmetries" (PROTIP: work that phrase into conversation as often as possible) would give rise almost immediately to various mediator particles. For electromagnetism, we expect 1, the photon. For the weak force, we expect 3, the W^+, W^-, and Z^0.

But there's a problem — the theory also predicts that all of these mediators should be massless, and the W and Z particles are huge. The W particles are both about 86 times the mass of a proton, and the Z boson is about 97 times as massive as the proton.

Energy and mass are equivalent to one another. Remember, E=mc^2. But this reaction holds in reverse: m=E/c^2. Pour enough energy into a system and you create mass!

The basic idea (after glossing over LOTS of details of symmetry-breaking and the like) is that there is a Higgs field out there, and the interaction between the Higgs field and the W and Z fields creates energy, and we measure this as mass.

But this isn't just true of the Higgs, but of every energy of interaction. Just to give you an idea, you are made of protons and neutron, and your protons and neutrons are made of quarks. But the whole is much more than the sum of the parts. The total mass of quarks in a proton is only about 2% the mass of the proton, itself. The rest –- virtually all of your mass -– is made up of the interaction energies between the quarks.

Put another way, even if the mass of the quarks comes from the Higgs somehow — and even if the Higgs exists, we don't know exactly how it relates to other particles besides the W's and Z — almost none of your mass comes from the Higgs.

3) There's still a hell of a lot that remains unanswered.

The biggest problem with all of this "God Particle" nonsense is that it's a rather short-sighted way of announcing to the world that the particle physics community doesn't need any more money, thanks.

Besides greed, there's the simple fact that while discovering the Higgs means that we're on the right track with this whole Standard Model, it is absolutely not the end of the story. What doesn't the Higgs tell us?

It doesn't explain how gravity works.
For that matter, it doesn't really tell us much about how the strong force relates to the electroweak force — the combination of electromagnetism and the weak force for which the Higgs is so useful.
It doesn't tell us what dark matter is — roughly 23% of the energy of the universe.
It doesn't tell us what dark energy is — another 72% of the universe.
It doesn't tell us why the electric charge is what it is, or an electron mass is what it is, or really, much at all about a huge number of physical constant.
It doesn't explain why we have certain symmetries in our universe and not others.

I guess what I'm saying is: more money, please.

Formatted. Apologies for the text wall.