“Incorrect” behavior of the magnetic field in the solar flares caused by turbulence

Posted on May 25, 2013 by John

When a solar flare, filled with sparse particles ejected from the sun’s insides, its magnetic field is currently not the case, as predicted by the our physics. “Freezing” the magnetic field and thus the magnetic field lines should leak up these particles, but these lines are, however, often broken and then quickly reconnect in a manner that all this has long been introduced in astrophysics paint.

The study, which was undertaken under the guidance of the Gregory Eyink at Johns Hopkins University (USA), presumably, is the keys to understanding why this is happening.

Theorem frozen stream, which is used to explain the behavior of magnetic fields in the plasma, there was 70 years ago thanks to Hannes Alfven. Here is its main idea: magnetic field lines extend along the moving flows of matter and inseparable from it to the same extent that the coasts of the river. It turns out that for the foreseeable future, they can’t be “broken” or reconnection. Continue reading →

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In migraine and depression may blame a small brain

Posted on May 23, 2013 by John

If a person has a regular headache, then the risk of depression, he usually has doubled. You can, of course, assume that the headache itself can damage the psyche. And indeed, from regular migraines life anyone seems hopeless. However, a group of researchers led by Lenore Launer of the National Institutes of Health (USA) was not satisfied with this explanation.

The scientists collected data on about 4,300 elderly people, about whom it was known that migraines they have either been or not. More precisely, the subjects were asked about migraine, when they were on average 51 years old, and after twenty-five years, they were interested in was happening in their lives whether depression (age of study participants at the time ranged from 66 to 91 years). At the same time conducted MRI brain scans.

Combining data on depression and migraines with the results of MRI scans has led scientists to the discouraging conclusion. If a person were only depression or only headaches, no noticeable features in the scanned brain was observed. If one and the same person were migraine, depression and its brain are smaller than the other. Continue reading →

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Perhaps found the first fragments of the Tunguska meteorite

Posted on May 22, 2013 by John

Tunguska meteorite is one of the great mysteries of modern history. June 30, 1908 in the Siberian river Tunguska explosion was heard, the power of which is a thousand times greater than the force of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Seismographs recorded impulse magnitude 5, and it is believed that an area of ​​2 thousand km ² felled 80 million trees. But it is so remote places that direct witnesses cataclysm can be counted on the fingers of one hand, and only one person was killed.

Because the crater is left, most experts are inclined to think that the atmosphere of an asteroid or comet exploded. But in this case, the taiga would fall rain of debris. Where are they?

In 1930 an expedition led by the Soviet mineralogist Leonid Kulik, returned with a sample of glassy rocks containing bubbles. Kulik thought this piece a piece of heavenly bodies, but eventually he got lost and fell under the scope of modern equipment. Continue reading →

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Fetal chromosomal problems can be identified by its appearance

Posted on May 21, 2013 by John

One of the main problems in vitro fertilization (IVF) is associated with possible chromosomal abnormalities of the developing embryo. IVF fertilization occurs in the literal sense, in vitro: the egg and sperm meet under the supervision of doctors, after which the embryo develops to a certain stage there, in a test tube, and then it is transplanted into the uterus. IVF helps infertile couples to become parents, but if the fetus has occurred chromosomal problem, it just will not be able to continue the development. And even if they could – full of people it is unlikely to succeed (here it is enough to recall the Down syndrome).

So far, the possible mutation in the embryo was detected by biopsy, which was taken before transplanting the embryo into the uterus. But the need for a biopsy to deprive man of the future cells, and on the stage of development when there is a transfer of the embryo mother had every cell counts. Usually take those required for the formation of the placenta, but ideally it would be good not to touch anything at all… Continue reading →

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The ring laser gyroscopes measure the angle of tilt of the earth

Posted on May 20, 2013 by John

Karl Ulrich Schreiber of the Technical University of Munich (Germany) and his colleagues put forward the concept of creating what they call large ring laser gyroscopes.

Laser gyroscope is a ring resonator with three or four mirrors located at the corners of the installation. The two beams generated in the cavities and amplifying gyroscope circulating through the resonator in opposite directions. This creates a standing wave whose nodes are connected to an inertial reference frame. Their position does not change, if the gyro is not rotating in the plane of its laser “rings”, but when you reject a gyro housing photodetectors receive interference fringes, which is guilty of the Sagnac effect, the phase shift of counterpropagating light waves in a rotating ring interferometer. As it can be judge the angle of the rotation. Continue reading →

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Hybrid cathodes for solid oxide fuel cells can greatly enhance the effectiveness

Posted on May 19, 2013 by John

In the fuel cell recall electricity generation occurs in the chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, but the best in this reaction is a solid oxide fuel cell, with preheating to 700 ° C and above.

Therefore, scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), under the leadership of Bilge Yildiz tried to replace the material used in one of the electrodes to facilitate redox reactions and reduce the temperature requirements.

The material proved to be particularly effective, because one of its constituent oxides better spent electrons whose motion is responsible for the appearance of current. At the same time another material effectively retain oxygen, without which the redox reaction can take place simply. Continue reading →

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Emotions give the music color

Posted on May 18, 2013 by John

Between the perception of music and sense of color there is a definite relationship, we are assured, researchers from the University of California at Berkeley (USA), who published an article on this topic in PNAS. In their experiments involved 100 men and women who were given listen to 18 different pieces written by Bach, Mozart and Brahms. That is, as we see, a musical set of different stylistic diversity – from the late Baroque through classicism to romanticism. In addition, the plays varied tempo and key.

The subjects had to pick up each piece five colors that would fit most, in their view, listening to music. Choose from 37 to-color palette with a variety of shades of red, Orange, yellow, green, yellow-green, blue-green, blue and purple. According to Stephen Palmer, with fast music in a major key are usually associated light and bright shades of predominantly yellow. In contrast, the slow pace and minor were associated with dark shades of gray-blue palette. Continue reading →

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