Diamond particles discovered in candle flames

Candle flames contain millions of tiny diamond particles, a university professor has discovered.

Dr Wuzong Zhou, of St Andrews University, found about 1.5 million diamond nanoparticles are created in a candle flame every second it burns.

The diamond particles are burned away in the process.

But the chemistry professor said the discovery could lead to research into how diamonds could be created more cheaply.

Dr Zhou used a new sampling technique to remove particles from the centre of the flame, which is believed to have never been done, and found it contained all four known forms of carbon.

He said: "This was a surprise, because each form is usually created under different conditions.

"This will change the way we view a candle flame forever."

The first candle is said to have been invented in China more than 2,000 years ago.

Previous research has shown hydro-carbon molecules at the bottom of the flame are converted into carbon dioxide by the top of the flame.

But, until now, the process in between has remained a mystery, with the discovery of the diamond nanoparticles, as well as fullerenic particles and graphitic and amorphous carbon.

Courtesy of BBC News

See the article here with some other interesting links here!!

The BBC news website is a very useful resource when it comes to explaning certain Scientific and environmental phenomenon. Just scroll down through Science/environment articles and you'll find them!

Happy reading and don't burn yourself trying to get those nano diamonds!

ENRICHMENT PROJECT SCIENCE

Quin plaer observar i ajudar als alumnes a que gaudeixin fent ciència!

Els treballs  aquest trimestre han estat els següents:

Líquids no Newtonians

Pollets a Oak House

Conills, pollastres, bens, s’assemblen a nosaltres?

Qui ha estat l’assassí?

Hi ha alguna relació entre el coeficient intel·lectual i la capacitat física?

Els alumnes han triat el projecte i l’han desenvolupat per complet. Han après com posar a la pràctica la seva recerca  seguint el mètode científic i finalment han exposat els seu treball.

A continuació teniu els enllaços per poder accedir a algun d’aquest treballs.

Us recomano que hi cliqueu són molt divertits!

Mobile phone collection in January 2016

Dear parents/students

In Spain more than 52,000,000 mobile phone lines exist today, for just over 46 million inhabitants. This impressive number of terminals must be added those older phones that are replaced and that citizens have kept or thrown away, with the recycling rate of less than 5%. If we multiply these numbers to the countries of the "developed world ", the figures are staggering. At the same time, the exploitation of Coltan, a valuable mineral from which the technology of our phones, computers and consoles are made of, is at the center of the conflicts that produce hundreds of thousands of victims and refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Illegal mining uses slavery work also destroying the habitats of many species such as chimpanzees and gorillas in true danger due to poaching and deforestation.

For this reason, if we recycle our old mobile phones, less Coltan will need to be mined and fewer forests will have to be destroyed, therefore we will be able to reduce the rate of deforestation and protect the habitat of many species in danger.

As part of the school’s consistent approach to minimise its environmental impact, it has been decided to support the Jane Goodall Institute in their campaign to recycle mobile phones.

The school will be contributing to this campaign by hosting a collection of used mobile phones that you might not need anymore. Chances are that you have at least one old mobile phone somewhere around the house, so this is the perfect opportunity to finally get rid of it! The collection will begin on January 11th and will last for a week. Students will come to your classes in the morning to collect your old mobiles.

We just need the mobile phone with the battery,

NO charger, NO SIM card!

By participating in this, the school will enter a raffle with the chance to win the adoption of a chimpanzee. If you’d like to learn more about the institute check out their website:


http://www.janegoodall.org/

We would truly appreciate your collaboration and please feel free to contact us if you have any doubts!





January 11th to 15th 2016


for more information look at http://www.mobilerecyclingday.org/

Bojos per la…../Crazy about……?

Who is bojos/crazy and what are they crazy/bojos about?

The answer is that Adriana C. (does she seem familiar) and Isabel L. (and her too) have both been accepted onto a bojos course. So what is it about?

Isabel L.  has been accepted onto the Bojos per la Natura program. It takes place two Saturdays a month from February to November 2016. There is both fieldwork and visits to laboratories and research centres throughout Catalunya. Some activities include marine biology, paleontology and going to the Delta del Ebro. The activities are directed by researchers working in the ICTA (Institut de Ciencia i Tecnologia Ambientals) which is in the UAB. For more information follow this link: http://ictaweb.uab.cat/natura.php

Adriana C. will be doing the Crazy About Biomedicine program

It's a year-long program directed to students in the first year of baccalaureate and it takes place in the labs at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine of Barcelona (IRB). The course combines practical and theoretical lessons to cover 12 hot topics in the area of biomedicine, ranging from rational drug design to the study of novel cancer treatments, and allows students to get a taste of what it's like to investigate in an international research institute such as the IRB. 

For more information on this look at: http://www.irbbarcelona.org/en/events/crazy-about-biomedicine-2016

Well done to the both of them again! These ladies will go far in the world of Science!

The best writing on Maths

Do you want to read some of the best articles written about Maths? 

(I know this isn't Science, but hey, where would we be without the mathematicians?)

Read these highly recommended articles!

Candy Crush's Puzzling Mathematics

The Quest for Randomness

Twisted Math and Beautiful Geometry

and finally....

The Statistical Crisis in Science

Enjoy the read and thanks to our anonymous donor!

Powdered glue goes on dry and sticks when squished

This was an article that appeared recently in New Scientist.

Have you ever gone for the superglue to find that it has hardened. When you're in technology class and you reach for the glue gun and burn yourself. And then there's the problem of trying to get that glue , super or gun, into the really awkward position without getting glue everywhere. Well these researchers in Japan may have just found the solution to all of those problems.

Have a read of the article and look at the video here!

Here we have material scientists who have identified a shortcoming and come up with a solution. This is what I love about Science!

This article was sent to us by a parent of one our students (both who shall remain nameless and mysterious). Thanks and more please!

Vols ser astronauta?

T'has plantejat mai ser astronauta? Saps que fa falta per ser astronauta a la NASA? 

FONT: 5 Myths About Becoming an Astronaut 

És a dir, a banda d'una bona condició física, és necessari una carrera relacionada amb la ciència, la tecnologia, l'enginyeria o les matemàtiques (STEM en anglès).