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Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for week 17:
Finnish inventor rethinks design of the axe
(Phys.org) —Finnish inventor Heikki Kärnä is the man behind the Vipukirves Leveraxe, which is a precision tool for splitting firewood. He designed the tool to make the job easier and more efficient, with no need for an external source of energy. In short, he has redesigned the axe. This is a lever-based axe. The axe head is attached to the handle from the side and not through the center. This results in the center of gravity of the axe head being to one side of the center line of strike. Leveraxe is based on a lever mechanism and rotational action.
Star is discovered to be a close neighbor of the Sun and the coldest of its kind
(Phys.org) —A "brown dwarf" star that appears to be the coldest of its kind—as frosty as Earth's North Pole—has been discovered by a Penn State University astronomer using NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and Spitzer Space Telescopes. Images from the space telescopes also pinpointed the object's distance at 7.2 light-years away, making it the fourth closest system to our Sun.
High-performance, low-cost ultracapacitors built with graphene and carbon nanotubes
By combining the powers of two single-atom-thick carbon structures, researchers at the George Washington University's Micro-propulsion and Nanotechnology Laboratory have created a new ultracapacitor that is both high performance and low cost.
Habitable exoplanets are bad news for humanity
Last week, scientists announced the discovery of Kepler-186f, a planet 492 light years away in the Cygnus constellation. Kepler-186f is special because it marks the first planet almost exactly the same size as Earth orbiting in the "habitable zone" – the distance from a star in which we might expect liquid water, and perhaps life.
Medieval bishop's theory resembles modern concept of multiple universes
A 13th century bishop's theory about the formation of the universe has intriguing parallels with the theory of multiple universes. This was uncovered by the the Ordered Universe project at Durham University, which has brought together researchers from humanities and the sciences in a radically collaborative way.
A new twist in the properties of light
Light has some well-established dynamical properties that have defined our understanding of electromagnetic radiation for over a century. Two of the most fundamental of these properties are that photons of light carry momentum in the direction of propagation, and a 'spin' about the propagation axis defined by the electromagnetic wave's circular polarization. These properties play critical roles in a range of everyday phenomena and experimental interactions between light and matter.
Liquid spacetime: A very slippery superfluid, that's what spacetime could be like
What if spacetime were a kind of fluid? This is the question tackled by theoretical physicists working on quantum gravity by creating models attempting to reconcile gravity and quantum mechanics. Some of these models predict that spacetime at the Planck scale (10-33cm) is no longer continuous – as held by classical physics – but discrete in nature. Just like the solids or fluids we come into contact with every day, which can be seen as made up of atoms and molecules when observed at sufficient resolution. A structure of this kind generally implies, at very high energies, violations of Einstein's special relativity (a integral part of general relativity).
Study of equatorial ridge on Iapetus suggests exogenic origin
(Phys.org) —A combined team of researchers from Brown University in Rhode Island and the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Texas is suggesting in a paper they've uploaded to the preprint server arXiv, that an equatorial mountainous ridge on one of Saturn's moons has an exogenic origin. They are basing their theory on 3D models of the moon they've created and an analysis of the types of peaks present.
SpaceX sues US Air Force over satellite contracts (Update)
SpaceX on Friday filed suit against the US Air Force for awarding billions of dollars to a single company for national security launches, and said the contracts might even violate sanctions against Russia.
Mantis shrimp stronger than airplanes
(Phys.org) —Inspired by the fist-like club of a mantis shrimp, a team of researchers led by University of California, Riverside, in collaboration with University of Southern California and Purdue University, have developed a design structure for composite materials that is more impact resistant and tougher than the standard used in airplanes.
Hundreds of genetic mutations found in healthy blood of a supercentenarian
Genetic mutations are commonly studied because of links to diseases such as cancer; however, little is known about mutations occurring in healthy individuals. In a study published online in Genome Research, researchers detected over 400 mutations in healthy blood cells of a 115-year-old woman, suggesting that lesions at these sites are largely harmless over the course of a lifetime.
Metabolism may have started in our early oceans before the origin of life
The chemical reactions behind the formation of common metabolites in modern organisms could have formed spontaneously in the earth's early oceans, questioning the events thought to have led to the origin of life.
The hemihelix: Scientists discover a new shape using rubber bands (w/ video)
While setting out to fabricate new springs to support a cephalopod-inspired imaging project, a group of Harvard researchers stumbled upon a surprising discovery: the hemihelix, a shape rarely seen in nature.
Vacuum ultraviolet lamp of the future created in Japan
A team of researchers in Japan has developed a solid-state lamp that emits high-energy ultraviolet (UV) light at the shortest wavelengths ever recorded for such a device, from 140 to 220 nanometers. This is within the range of vacuum-UV light—so named because while light of that energy can propagate in a vacuum, it is quickly absorbed by oxygen in the air.
Researchers achieve higher solar-cell efficiency with zinc-oxide coating
(Phys.org) —Engineering researchers at the University of Arkansas have achieved the highest efficiency ever in a 9 millimeter-squared solar cell made of gallium arsenide. After coating the cufflink-sized cells with a thin layer of zinc oxide, the research team reached a conversion efficiency of 14 percent.
Unique pair of supermassive black holes in an ordinary galaxy discovered
(Phys.org) —A pair of supermassive black holes in orbit around one another have been discovered by an international research team including Stefanie Komossa from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany. This is the first time such a pair could be found in an ordinary galaxy. They were discovered because they ripped apart a star when ESA's space observatory XMM-Newton happened to be looking in their direction.
Solar-powered two-seat Sunseeker airplane has progress report
(Phys.org) —Years ago, the idea of an airplane flying "clean" on the sun's energy seemed like wishful thinking and at the most a project for the casual hobbyist to dream on. No longer a dream, the serious-minded company called Solar Flight, which over time has been working on a two-seater solar powered airplane called Sunseeker Duo that can stay up for extended periods. The latest news from Solar Flight talks about its most recent tests that show promise. The company vision of a two-seater solar aircraft for real use is that much closer. "The tricycle landing gear arrangement, familiar to all pilots, ensures that the Duo will operate normally at any airport in the world and folding wings give the airplane a hanger footprint no larger than a Cessna 172. The airplane can also be quickly disassembled and packed into a custom trailer," said the company's website notes. In recent tests, the team assessed the plane's performance and this month published results."
Aboriginal people – how to misunderstand their science
Just one generation ago Australian schoolkids were taught that Aboriginal people couldn't count beyond five, wandered the desert scavenging for food, had no civilisation, couldn't navigate and peacefully acquiesced when Western Civilisation rescued them in 1788.
You may have billions and billions of good reasons for being unfit
Although our chromosomes are relatively stable within our lifetimes, the genetic material found in our mitochondria is highly variable across individuals and may impact upon human health, say researchers at the University of Montreal and its affiliated CHU Sainte-Justine Hospital.
Telescope tech using membrane optics moves to Phase 2
(Phys.org) —The United States military's advanced research arm (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA) never bored with the topic of finding smaller, less expensive launch vehicles, is now in Phase 2 of a program called MOIRE. The program is for creating first-ever images using lightweight membrane optics. MOIRE could help redefine how orbital telescopes are built, launched and used. MOIRE stands for the Membrane Optical Imager for Real-Time Exploitation. DARPA said, "MOIRE aims to create technologies that would enable future high-resolution orbital telescopes to provide real-time video and images of the Earth from Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO)—roughly 22,000 miles above the planet's surface." This would be a step forward; size and cost constraints have prevented placing large-scale imaging satellites in GEO.
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