MIT researchers discover amazing new property of water that could lead to ice filled wires

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MIT researchers discover amazing new property of water that could lead to ice filled wires

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Image: MIT

By tech2 News Staff / 29 Nov 2016 , 10:16

MIT researchers have learnt something unexpected about water. Inside really confined spaces, such as carbon nanotubes, water freezes at temperatures where it would normally boil. The inner dimensions of these carbon nanotubes are not more than a few water molecules in diameter. Ice has unique electrical and thermal properties that can potentially lead to ice filled wires.
The discovery shows how even commonplace materials can behave unexpectedly in extremely confined spaces. The diameter of the nano tubes are critical for the unique properties of water to be seen. A difference of 10 degrees was observed in the freezing points of water in tubes that were 1.05 nanometers across compared to tubes that were 1.06 nanometers across. The tubes were tested with water reservoirs on either end.
In previous such efforts to understand the behavior of liquids in confined places, the results were unpredictable because of the inability of researchers to measure the inner diameters of nanotubes with precision. Carbon nanotubes are believed to be hydrophobic, where the surfaces naturally repel water. It is a mystery how water even gets into such small nanotubes. The researchers are using highly sensitive imaging technology called vibrational spectroscopy to study the movement of the water within the tube, the first time such a detailed measurement has been undertaken.
While the team has observed a solid ice like stage within the nanotubes, the researchers are hesitant to call it ice because they have not yet conclusively proved that the solid material has crystalline structures seen in ice. The “ice wires” have a potential to be the best conductive material for protons, because water conducts protons ten times more readily than conventional conductive materials. The research is being reported in the journal called Nature Nanotechnology.

Tags: carbon, Conductive, ICE, MIT, Nanotubes, wires

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what next in ohmi bod:- will lead to disappearence of porno

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Then it can be many things more using google specs and touch sensitive cond***for coordinated action
till it comes to the reality which was predicted by kurzweil

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Asteroid that killed the dinosaurs may have PUNCTURED the Earth's crust creating 'instant Himalayas'

Researchers studied the famous Chicxulub crater in Mexico
They drilled into the remnant bowl of the crater and analysed its rocks
They created a simulation to show how the Earth surface was thrown up and sloshed back and forth like a liquid within minutes of the impact
This could explain how surfaces of other rocky planets are formed

By Colin Fernandez Science Correspondent For The Daily Mail and Shivali Best For Mailonline

Published: 19:00 GMT, 17 November 2016 | Updated: 15:31 GMT, 18 November 2016

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Around 66 million years ago, a massive asteroid crashed into the Gulf of Mexico.

The impact was so huge that the blast led to the extermination of three quarters of all life on Earth, including most of the dinosaurs.

Now, researchers studying the resulting Chicxulub crater have shown the object that hit the planet may have slammed nearly all the way through the Earth's crust.

They say the impact caused the Earth's surface to slosh back and forth like a liquid.

The finding could help explain how impacts can change the faces of planets, and how collisions can create new habitats for life.

After the asteroid had hit, the researchers believe that the Earth would have behaved like a 'slow-moving fluid'

PEAK RINGS

Large craters often have rings of hills, known as 'peak' rings in their centre.

But studying these is difficult, as they mostly exist on extraterrestrial rocky bodies, and are difficult to access.

To overcome this issue, the researchers look at the Chiczulub crater, in Mexico, which was the result of a huge asteroid crash, 66 million years ago.

The crater represents the only intact peak ring on Earth, which has not been eroded

Speaking to Live Science, Sean Gulick, a marine geophysicist at the University of Texas at Austin, and co-author of the study, explained that while asteroids do occasionally hit the Earth, changes to the surface are largely the result of rain and wind, as well as 'plate tectonics, which generate mountains and ocean trenches.'

Other rocky planets in our solar system, such as Mars, differ, as weather and plate tectonics have little effect on the surface.

Mr Gulick said: 'The key driver of surface changes on those planets is constantly getting hit by stuff from space.'

The researchers, from Imperial College, London and the University of Texas at Austin, hoped to learn more about the impact effects found on other objects in the solar system.

The asteroid would have opened up a hole probably almost the thickness of Earth's crust, almost 30 km [18 miles] deep, and 80 to 100 km [50 to 62 miles] wide. The earth would have then begun to flow to fill in the hole, collapsing the sides of the crater inwards

Around 65 million years ago, a massive asteroid crashed into the Gulf of Mexico causing an impact so huge that the blast led to the extermination of three quarters of all life on Earth, including most of the dinosaurs

Large craters often have rings of hills, known as 'peak' rings in their centre.

But studying these is difficult, as they mostly exist on extraterrestrial rocky bodies, and are hard to access.

To overcome this issue, the researchers look at the Chicxulub crater, in Mexico, which was the result of a huge asteroid crash, 66 million years ago.

The crater represents the only intact peak ring on Earth, which has not been eroded.

The researchers drilled 1,335 metres (0.8 miles) below the sea floor to examine rock samples at the impact site.

In the samples, they discovered granite, that was likely to have been buried deep for about 500 million years.

Researchers studied the resulting crater from the impact zone in Mexico, known as the Chicxulub crater

THE IMPACT HELPED SMALL ORGANISMS DEVELOP

The researchers discovered that the rocks from the peak rings were more porous and less dense.

This would have provided niches for simple organisms to take hold.

At the same time, nutrients would have been provided from water heated inside the Earth's crust.

Professor Joanna Morgan, lead author of the study from Imperial College's Department of Earth Science and Engineering, said the early surface of the earth was mainly solid granite – lacking spaces for life to evolve.

She said: 'The impact created rocks that were highly fractured with a ridiculously high porosity. This was basically quite a good thing for early life.

'The little gaps in the rocks provided a habitat for tiny organisms to grow.'

Mr Gulick said: 'These deeply buried rocks rose up to the surface of the Earth within the first few minutes of the impact.

'They showed evidence they experienced a high degree of shock from the impact.'

After the asteroid had hit, the researchers believe that the earth would have behaved like a 'slow-moving fluid.'

Mr Gulick said: 'The stony asteroid would have opened up a hole probably almost the thickness of Earth's crust, almost 30 km [18 miles] deep, and on the order of 80 to 100 km [50 to 62 miles] wide.'

The Earth would have then begun to flow to fill in the hole, collapsing the sides of the crater inwards, he said.

Mr Gulick said: 'At the same time, the centre of this hole starts reaching upwards, like when you throw a rock in a pond and you get a water droplet rising in the middle.

'The centre would have risen up from the surface of the Earth as much as 15 km [9 miles], and then become gravitationally unstable, collapsing downwards and outwards.'

The BBC has described the rock lifting as creating 'instant Himalayas', which is around 8,848 m.

This process would have resulted in the peak ring of mountains.

The same forces that destroyed the dinosaurs may have also played a part, much earlier on in Earth's history, in providing the first refuges for early life on the planet (artist's impression)

As well as understanding this process, the researchers also discovered that the rocks from the peak rings were more porous and less dense.

This would have provided niches for simple organisms to take hold.

At the same time, nutrients would have been provided from water heated inside the Earth's crust.

She said: 'The impact created rocks that were highly fractured with a ridiculously high porosity. This was basically quite a good thing for early life.

'The little gaps in the rocks provided a habitat for tiny organisms to grow.'

She added: 'It is hard to believe that the same forces that destroyed the dinosaurs may have also played a part, much earlier on in Earth's history, in providing the first refuges for early life on the planet.

'We are hoping that further analyses of the core samples will provide more insights into how life can exist in these subterranean environments.'

WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THE ASTEROID HIT EARTH?

Within 10 hours of the impact, a massive tsunami waved ripped through the Gulf coast.

This caused earthquakes and landslides in areas as far as Argentina.

The creatures living at the time were not just suffering from the waves - the heat was much worse.

While investigating 'dooms day' researchers found small particles of rock and other debris that was shot into the air when the asteroid crashed.

Called spherules, these small particles covered the world with a one-tenth inch thick layer of soot.

Experts explain that losing the light from the sun caused a complete collapse in the aquatic system as the phytoplankton base of almost all aquatic food chains would have been eliminated.

It's believed that the more than 180 million years of evolution that brought the world to the Cretaceous point was destroyed in less than the lifetime of a Tyrannosaurus rex, which is about 20 to 30 years.

same moment the most massive volcanic eruptions happened in Indian continent [deccan trap volcano]

largest volcanic features on Earth. Wikipedia

Deccan Traps Volcanism May Have Contributed to Dinosaur ...

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Dec 15, 2014 - A massive volcanic eruption in what is now India before the cataclysmic ... who have dated rocks from the Deccan Traps, east of Mumbai.

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Daily News & Analysis

Mysterious burst of radio waves help map universe's cosmic web

Daily News & Analysis

- ‎2 hours ago‎

A schematic illustration of CSIRO's Parkes radio telescope receiving the polarised signal from the new 'fast radio burst'.

Flash Physics: Spider inspires structural colour, the roundest star, quantum simulator is very fast

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- ‎Nov 17, 2016‎

A blue spider has inspired researchers to create a new material with structural colour that does not change with the viewing angle.

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Video Calling: Can Whatsapp beat Google Duo, Skype, Facebook Messenger and FaceTime?

While smartphones introduced video calling feature some time back with dual-camera phones, it did not take off due to high data costs and connectivity issues.

By: Ishaan Gera | Published: November 17, 2016 6:04 AM

While smartphones introduced video calling feature some time back with dual-camera phones, it did not take off due to high data costs and connectivity issues. But with most phones now sporting 4G technology, video is gaining ground again. So much so, that one of the largest social media platforms, WhatsApp, with over a billion monthly active users, could not ignore the lure of video calling and introduced the feature early this week. Ishaan Gera reviews the newly launched service along with its competitors to determine whether the chat platform can unseat the existing players.
WhatsApp
One of the most widely used platforms, WhatsApp is probably the easiest to install and work around with. The app uses the phone’s contact list to build up its database and all one has to do is click on the profile to start chatting. While the service has had a calling feature for long now, the only thing missing was video. WhatsApp call has become an industry standard, given the data used and the quality of service and the company has replicated the same for video as well. The app does not use much data nor does it require too much of battery. The call works perfectly even when network connectivity is not at its best. Though video flakes out at times—that is more due to data connectivity—the voice part continues to function perfectly. But what is irksome is the access to video calls. While WhatsApp has a neatly stacked icon on the top for voice call, for video, one has to click on the person’s profile and scroll down to access it. Hopefully, this is something WhatsApp will correct in the next few updates. Moreover, while WhatsApp does provide a secure and convenient experience as one does not have to switch apps for video, it lacks some of the advanced features like translate or group calling offered by others.
Google Duo
Launched earlier this year, Google’s Duo is the simplest video calling app available, but unfortunately it does nothing more. The registration doesn’t require a Google account, like its predecessor, as it uses the mobile phone number and phone’s contact book as its primary source. The interface is simple where one can just make a call by tapping on the number. Although Google does not have voice calling, it says it will soon introduce that feature. It also has a Knock Knock feature which allows contacts to see your video even before they have picked up your call. While quality-wise, Google does better than most others, one can also save data as there is a ‘limit mobile data usage’ option. So, if you are looking for plain video calling, Google is the way to go.
Skype
Skype is the grand-dad of video calling, but it has been innovating faster than most other platforms offered on mobile. The Microsoft offering recently announced a real-time translation feature for 50 languages via instant message and seven using video. The app is platform agnostic with downloads available for Android, Windows or iOS. While the interface is clumsy as the app requires login each time you open it and uses much more battery than others, Skype can be downloaded on desktop as well. Still one of the best video apps, it has a group video call facility and offers calls to landline in its paid version. It also allows you to create a Skype number for a fee. Moreover, it offers instant messaging and one can even minimise screen and access other apps while using video calling.
Facebook Messenger
Facebook’s other offering, Messenger, combines everything from chats to voice and video calling service. Messenger allows group video calling and lets users minimise their calling screen to use Facebook chat like Skype. Not as agnostic as Skype, it is accessible via Chrome, Firefox and Opera. While it consumes a lot of battery, it is still more economical than Skype. The only downside to it is the registration which requires a Facebook ID which may not be as easy to create as WhatsApp. While the service is good, the video quality deteriorates quite often. But the service integrates mobile and Facebook contacts, which gives it an edge over the others.
FaceTime
Apple’s founder Steve Jobs introduced its voice and video calling service back in 2010. The app has a simple platform and doesn’t require any registration. It syncs with the phone contacts and one can access the feature even using the contact book. FaceTime is well calibrated so it uses much less battery in comparison to other apps and also has a better response. It also features an audio call feature which, at times, trumps a regular call in terms of audio quality. But the only downside is that one has to buy an Apple product in order to use it.

NASA’s ‘impossible’ space engine may actually work

NASA's controversial and puzzling engine design that could potentially make space travel much cheaper and faster may actually work

By: PTI | Published:November 16, 2016 1:39 pm

Nasa, nasa space engine, emdrive, emdrive space engine, nasa's impossible space engine, space travel, experimental propulsion system, emdrive engine testing, propulsion systems, space propulsion systems, space, science, science news

EmDrive, which was developed by British researcher Roger Shawyer over 10 years ago, generates thrust by bouncing microwaves around inside a cone-shaped chamber (Source: EmDrive) A controversial and puzzling engine design that could potentially make space travel much cheaper and faster may actually work, a new NASA study suggests. The experimental propulsion system known as the EmDrive, which seems to violate the laws of physics, generated small amounts of thrust in a lab test, researchers said.

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The EmDrive, which was developed by British researcher Roger Shawyer over 10 years ago, generates thrust by bouncing microwaves around inside a cone-shaped chamber. According to Newton’s third law of motion – for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction – this should not work, because there is no exhaust expelled out of the EmDrive system.
However, researchers led by Harold White from NASA’s Johnson Space Centre in Houston, did measure some thrust. Their EmDrive variant produced about 1.2 millinewtons of force per kilowatt of energy, ‘Space.com’ reported.
That is about 100 times more thrust than solar-sailing spacecraft, which harness the momentum of photons streaming from the Sun, are able to achieve, researchers said.
Like solar sails, the EmDrive requires no propellant; a spacecraft equipped with this propulsion system could generate all the microwaves it needs using solar panels. It is believed that the EmDrive could make space travel much cheaper and faster, theoretically opening up the heavens to greater exploration.
However, the study is just a proof of concept and further testing is needed to definitively rule out all possible sources of experimental error, White said.

Scientists offer information on 'dark matter'

News Nation

- ‎16 hours ago‎

Scientists offer information on 'dark matter'

Dark matter is known because of its weak interaction with matter and also as it is difficult to detect.

By News Nation Bureau | Updated On : November 13, 2016 08:46 PM

Scientists offer information on 'dark matter'

New Delhi : Dark matter is a mystery. The only thing known is that it constitutes 85% of the matter of universe. Now Hungarian and German scientists have discovered some information on a dark matter particle that has been postulated, called the axion.
Scientists have discovered that axions can have mass between 50 and 1500 micro electron volts, that is, some ten billion times lighter than the electron. This computation has been published in the journal Nature. These calculations were done numerically using a (Bluegen/Q) super computer, JuQueen, housed in the Julich Supercomputer Centre in Germany.
Dark matter is known because of its weak interaction with matter and also as it is difficult to detect. Well rapidly rotating galaxies stand as its indirect proof. These galaxies cannot be held together merely by the gravitational pull of the matter they contain. There has to be an invisible stuff ‘dark matter’ to prevent them from flying apart with the force of their own energies.
Several particles have been hypothesized constituting dark matter- both massive as well as light weight – but none of the experiments have detected any such particle so far, directly.
Axions are particles proposed by extending quantum chromodynamics (QCD). The theory that describes “strong interactions,” the way quarks and gluons bond to form matter particles such as protons, neutrons etc. Though there are experiments to study them (for example: the Axion Dark Matter Experiment, ADMX) , there has been no real control on these until now.
The work sets a mass bound on the axions. And according to this, there should exist ten million such particles for every cubic centimeter of the universe. And also because axions occur in clumps there should be nearly a trillion axions per cubic centimeter in our galaxy, Milky Way.

First Published: Sunday, November 13, 2016 08:37 PM

'Impossible' space engine breaks laws of Physics, but could actually work, says NASA!

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Reliance Jio’s next big offering could hit DTH/ broadband services

Reliance Jio’s next big offering could hit DTH and broadband services

Reliance Jio is expected to roll out its direct to home services, which will affect established broadband and DTH players

Written by Nandagopal Rajan | Published:November 12, 2016 10:54 am

Reliance, Reliance Jio, Reliance optical fibre, Reliance jio broadband, Reliance Jio 1Gbps internet, Jio fibre, jio high-speed optical fibre, jio high-speed fibre, Reliance jio dth, jio DTH, jio broadband, Reliance jio home services, jio home services, MTNL, Airtel, 4K video, high speed internet, high speed internet in india, JioTV, technology, technology news

Reliance’s upcoming high-speed optical fibre will be pushing speeds up to 1 Gbps (Jio headquarters outside Mumbai) Reliance Jio has already shaken up the telecom industry in India with its Reliance Jio 4G service offerings. However, the company has more up its sleeve. In fact, in a few months the conglomerate will roll out its direct to home services, which have the potential to make life hard for existing broadband players as well as DTH operators.
The service will come in the form of a high-speed optical fibre – pushing speeds up to 1 Gbps. The cables are already laid for most of India and some pilot services are being offered in part of Mumbai. There is no clarity yet on the final hardware offering or the date of full rollout. As far as pricing goes, the company has suggested that it will offer value for the customer like with all its Jio services.

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Customers of the service will get access to high-speed internet, as well as a host of Jio services. The hardware will include a set-top-box, as well as an Android smartbox or Apple TV that will help them control the content and also play games.
The speeds will be unprecedented for the Indian home segment where 16Mbps is considered a luxury. With the Jio fibre offering — if everything goes well — customers will be able to stream and play high-definition games with multiple players. Also, 4K videos will become much more easier to access without any buffer.
However, where Jio could bring in big impact is with JioTV which will offer more than 360 channels, at least 50 of which will be in HD. The offering is differentiated by existing players because of the seven-day catch up option. This content is not saved locally, but on Jio servers and pulled in as per demand. Users will be able to use a voice enabled remote to search by channel, show, category or even by the names of actors.
It is not new for broadband services to offer television channels. MTNL tried IPTV many years ago while Airtel too has a similar service. However, none have been really successful. For households with multiple televisions, a single router will work but with individual set-top-boxes.
Then there is Jio MediaShare, with which the company is promising the ability to locally play content across all your devices from your PC or hard-drive – using the Home Gateway. Jio is also working on solutions to make legacy music systems and televisions smart.
Read- Reliance Jio’s impact still muted, say analysts: Here’s why
Plus, the service wants to push internet-of-things (IOT) as well. It will use smart plugs (already available in the market) to control appliances in a home. The home gateway will also enable better security of home through surveillance with real-time monitoring via cameras, connected doorbells and motion sensors.
Despite the ambitious plans, it might take a few months for the services to be rolled out as Jio wants to go pan-India with whatever services they have. Also at the moment getting the necessary permissions to install the Jio Fibre into residential societies and other private compounds is proving to be the bigger hurdle. However, Jio certainly stands out for being the first to offer, or at least think of, a whole bouquet of services that are linked to the web.

Most of the election chatter online by Twitter bots, says study

FIRSTPOST TECH2 FAKING NEWS

Hillary vs Trump: Most of the election chatter online by Twitter bots, says study

#US Presidential election

Image: Reuters

By tech2 News Staff / 08 Nov 2016 , 09:58

Social media platforms have paved way to more open discussion. With the 2016 US Presidential elections arounf the corner, wherein Hillary and Trump are battling it out, there has been a lot of discussion about he elections online. But what if powerful algorithms are put in place to drive the discussion? That’s exactly what has been happening, at least to some extent.
A new study by Alessandro Bessi and Emilio Ferrara, University of Southern California researchers reveal that about one-fifth of the Twitter chatter was by bots. The study analyses Twitter activity over a number of weeks between 16 September and 21 October by tracking 23 hashtags that include #imwithher, #nevertrump, #neverhillary and more to conclude that among 7112 Clinton supporters, 590 were bots and 6522 were humans. While out of the 17202 Trump supporters, 1867 were bots and 6522 humans.

“By extrapolating for the entire population, we estimate the presence of at least 400 thousand bots, accounting for roughly 15 percent of the total Twitter population active in the U.S. Presidential election discussion, and responsible for about 3.8 million tweets, roughly 19 percent of the total volume,” the report states. The duo used a program called BotOrNot built by the Indiana University for doing so.

However, the study also claims that these bots weren’t as effective as humans to drive conversation, but many did retweet the tweets by bots. While the study gives us the number of bots, it says that information such as where these bots come from, who runs or created them is hard to tell.
The study finally states that the presence of social bots in online political discussion can create three tangible issues – influence can be redistributed across suspicious accounts that may be operated with malicious purposes, the political conversation can become further polarized and lastly the spreading of misinformation and unverified information can be enhanced. And, there has to be some sophisticated way to distinguish these accounts from the others. The conversations are no more real, or rather influenced. It should also be noted that the study is of mere one month and it would be interesting to know how these bots evolve over the time.

Tags: bots, Hillary, Hillary Trump, Trump, Twitter, Twitter Bots, Twitter Bots elections, US presidential election, US Presidential election Twitter

MIT researchers discover amazing new property of water that could lead to ice filled wires

Asteroid that killed the dinosaurs may have PUNCTURED the Earth's crust creating 'instant Himalayas'

PEAK RINGS

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THE IMPACT HELPED SMALL ORGANISMS DEVELOP

WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THE ASTEROID HIT EARTH?

Video Calling: Can Whatsapp beat Google Duo, Skype, Facebook Messenger and FaceTime?

While smartphones introduced video calling feature some time back with dual-camera phones, it did not take off due to high data costs and connectivity issues.

NASA’s ‘impossible’ space engine may actually work

NASA's controversial and puzzling engine design that could potentially make space travel much cheaper and faster may actually work

Scientists offer information on 'dark matter'

Dark matter is known because of its weak interaction with matter and also as it is difficult to detect.

Scientists offer information on 'dark matter'

Reliance Jio’s next big offering could hit DTH and broadband services

Reliance Jio is expected to roll out its direct to home services, which will affect established broadband and DTH players

Hillary vs Trump: Most of the election chatter online by Twitter bots, says study