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Magnetic confinement fusion
Magnetic confinement fusion is an approach to generating fusion power that uses magnetic fields to confine the hot fusion fuel in the form of a plasma . Magnetic confinement is one of two major branches of fusion energy research, the other being inertial confinement fusion . The magnetic approach is more highly developed and is usually considered more promising for energy production. A 500-MW heat generating fusion plant using tokamak magnetic confinement geometry is currently being built in France (see ITER ). Fusion reactions combine light atomic nuclei such as hydrogen to form heavier ones such as helium . In order to overcome the electrostatic repulsion between them, the nuclei must have a temperature of several tens of millions of degrees, under which conditions they no longer form neutral atoms but exist in the plasma state.Electromagnet
An electromagnet is a type of magnet in which the magnetic field is produced by the flow of electric current . The magnetic field disappears when the current is turned off. Electromagnets are widely used as components of other electrical devices, such as motors , generators , relays , loudspeakers , hard disks , MRI machines , scientific instruments, and magnetic separation equipment, as well as being employed as industrial lifting electromagnets for picking up and moving heavy iron objects like scrap iron.
Electromagnetism
The word Electromagnetism is a compound from two Greek terms, ἢλεκτρον, ēlektron , " amber " (as electrostatic phenomena were first described as properties of amber by the philosopher Thales ), and μαγνήτης, magnētēs , "magnet" (the magnetic stones found in antiquity in the vicinity of the Greek city of Magnesia , in Lydia , Asia Minor ). The science of electromagnetic phenomena is defined in terms of the electromagnetic force, sometimes called the Lorentz force , which includes both electricity and magnetism as elements of one phenomenon. The electromagnetic force is one of the four fundamental interactions in nature , the other three being the strong interaction , the weak interaction and gravitation . This force is described by electromagnetic fields , and has innumerable physical instances including the interaction of electrically charged particles and the interaction of uncharged magnetic force fields with electrical conductors.Particle 'Consistent' With Higgs Boson Discovered
The discovery of a particle consistent with the Higgs boson has been announced by physicists from the Large Hadron Collider’s CMS and ATLAS detectors. The discovery was detailed at a major conference to update the world on the continuing efforts by CERN scientists to find the last remaining piece of the Standard Model that underpins the foundations of our Universe. The Higgs boson mediates the “Higgs field” that ultimately endows all matter with mass — finding the Higgs is therefore imperative for physicists to understand what gives the Universe substance. PHOTOS: When the World Went Higgs Boson Crazy “We have observed a new boson.”
Some 4.53 billion years ago, a Mars-sized impactor slammed into Earth , forming a young, molten moon. But was it a head-on collision or a glancing blow? New computer simulations argue for the former, indicating that the impactor scored a direct hit , crashing into Earth at a steeper angle and with a higher velocity than previously thought.
ScienceShot: Moon Formed From Head-On Collision
New life. A solid electrolyte allows dye cells to be efficient and durable. Credit: Chung et al., Nature, 485 (24 May) The price of solar cells has been gliding downward for decades. Now this trend could get a shove from an improvement to a more than 20-year-old solar technology that captures light with dye molecules, an approach that's never managed to catch on.
Solid Advance for Cheap Solar Cells
This footage from the ISS shows a red sprite over East Asia at around 0:06. Sprites are large-scale electrical discharges that occur high above thunderstorm clouds, or cumulonimbus , giving rise to a quite varied range of visual shapes flickering in the night sky. They are triggered by the discharges of positive lightning between an underlying thundercloud and the ground. Sprites appear as luminous reddish-orange flashes. They often occur in clusters within the altitude range 50–90 km above the Earth 's surface.
Sprite (lightning)
Tail of ice. Feathery "shrimp tails" form on slanted surfaces ( main image and left inset ). Scientists have also spotted other unusual ice formations ( right inset ). Credit: Evgeny Podolskiy; (inset, top right) Osamu Abe In 2009, glaciologist Evgeny Podolskiy was on vacation, climbing Japan's Mount Zao volcano, when he stumbled on something he'd never seen: soft, feathery fronds of frost called shrimp tails.
Of Ice and Men
Bicyclists already have low-carbon footprints, but designer Izhar Gafni decided to go one step further: build a bicycle out of cardboard. Inspired by a cardboard canoe, Gafni set out on this task to create a bike version. He first ran the idea by three engineers.
Designer Builds Slick $9 Bike Made of Cardboard (Video)
Scientific Principles
Introduction: Ceramics have characteristics that enable them to be used in a wide variety of applications including: high heat capacity and low heat conductance corrosion resistance electrically insulating, semiconducting, or superconducting nonmagnetic and magnetic hard and strong, but brittle The diversity in their properties stems from their bonding and crystal structures. Atomic Bonding: Two types of bonding mechanisms occur in ceramic materials, ionic and covalent.
At Long Last, Physicists Discover Famed Higgs Boson
Twin peaks. Both the CMS (top) and the ATLAS (bottom) detectors see evidence of the Higgs boson decaying into a pair of photons in the form of a peak in a so-called mass plot. The agreement of the two peaks and other data clinch the discovery of the Higgs. Credit: CMS and ATLAS collaborationsThe Roots of Jewishness
Family ties. Most Jewish populations share a genetic connection, but some groups, such as Ethiopian Jews ( pictured here , sharing unleavened bread ahead of Passover), stand alone. Credit: Eliana Aponte/Reuters Scholars of all kinds have long debated one seemingly simple question: What is "Jewishness?"The fist-pumping, chest-swelling, grimacing roar that an Olympic judo player emits after body-slamming his opponent deserves a spot on the list of universally recognized expressions such as anger and happiness, a new study suggests. Researchers asked American and South Korean volunteers—whom psychologists recognize as having strikingly different cultures—to look at pictures of Olympic judo players from 17 countries who had just won matches in the 2004 games. Traditionally, psychologists have described the puffed-up physical reaction to winning—seen in this 2008 Olympics photo of U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps—as "pride." However, when asked to choose among a selection of emotions to describe the players’ reactions, such as anger, joy, surprise, fear, triumph, and pride, the viewers consistently chose "triumph" to describe the expression instead .