Molecules when excited from their ground state (S 0 ) to their lowest electronically excited states often change their electronic structure considerably, which impacts on a range of important molecular properties. For example, the reactivity of a molecule in its excited state often differs markedly from that in its S 0 state. Also, the charge […]
Nearly a century after dark matter was first proposed to explain the motion of galaxy clusters, physicists still have no idea what it’s made of. Researchers around the world have built dozens of detectors in hopes of discovering dark matter. As a graduate student, I helped design and operate one of these detectors, aptly named […]
Let me make a short interruption in our series about the prehistory of philosophy of science, to discuss a completely different point. I am writing this now, just because in the last days I think I have been able to clearly formulate a specific perplexity that for many years I had felt about what we […]
Nightside of Venus seen in new Parker Solar Probe image NASA has shared a rare image of the nightside of Venus taken by the Parker Solar Probe as it swung by the planet for a gravity boost on its way to study the sun. The image, which shows a glow around Venus, was taken by […]
A cement is any of various substances used for bonding or setting to a hard material. A popular one, Portland cement, is a mixture of calcium silicates and aluminates made by heating limestone (CaCO3) with clay (that contains aluminosilicates) in a kiln. The product is then ground to a fine powder. When Portland cement is […]
Gliomas are the most prevalent subtype of primary brain tumours originating from mutations of the glia cells in the central nervous system. Gliomas are characterized by fast cell growth, strong invasion capability, and well-developed tumour vasculature. Although research and clinical trials have allowed significant progress in the comprehension and treatment of gliomas, they still have […]
The close interconnection between the gut and the central nervous system is already well described, what is new is the possibility of some of the brain’s defense systems originating in the gut. New research in mice published in the journal Nature found that immune cells are first trained in the gut and then migrate to […]
New observations of black hole reveal surprises Astronomers have recalculated the mass of the Cygnus X-1 black hole, the first black hole ever found, and they say it’s about one-and-a-half times more massive than once thought, detailing their findings in Science. Using observations by the Very Long Baseline Array, researchers say the Cygnus X-1 system […]
Back in 1929, theoretical physicist Hermann Weyl predicted the existence of a new elementary particle with intriguing properties. Specifically, it would be massless (like a photon), have half-integer spin (like an electron) and exist in two mirror-image versions (like left- and right-handed gloves)—a property known as chirality. Imagine there exist a material in which an […]
According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, whose History of the Kings of Britain was written in 1136, the mysterious monoliths at Stonehenge were first spirited there by the wizard Merlin, whose army stole them from a mythical Irish stone circle called the Giants’ Dance. Centuries before the development of rudimentary geology, Geoffrey’s exotic theory – that […]