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!

How wolves changed the course of a river and more....

This is a video recommended by Erik S. in Bachillerato. Well worth watching and a great introduction into the workings of food webs and how a change in one part can affect the other parts (and sometimes in a most peculiar way!).

Thanks Erik!

Physics Ig Nobel Prize for Slippery Banana Research

We all know what will probably happen to us if we have the misfortune of stepping on a banana peel; we will end up lying on the floor with a sore bottom. But does anyone know the reason why?

Kiyoshi Mabuchi and his Japanese team decided to do some research on the subject by measuring the friction of banana skins in the lab and demonstrated why other fruit skins (such as orange and apple’s) aren't as perilous.

The Japanese scientists were awarded with the physics Ig Nobel for their research. Ig Nobel Prizes are a parody of the famous Nobel Prizes and are organized every year by the scientific humour magazine Annals of Improbable Science (AIR). Prizes are given out in an annual ceremony early in October at Harvard University and they honour research that “first makes people laugh and then makes them think”.

Although, at first, the investigation may seem slightly absurd and meaningless, it actually has much more to it than we would have ever thought. The team are interested in how lubrication and friction affect the movement of our limbs. What gives banana skins their slippery properties are polysaccharide follicular gels, which are also present in the membranes where our bones meet. They believe that this concept may be useful and relevant in devising a joint prosthesis.  

If you are interested, information on all 2014 winners is available in the following link:Ig Nobel winners 2014 . There are very interesting and surprising projects worth giving a look! 

America’s East Coast on the Sights of Wave of Destruction

The canary islands are great for going on holiday. What most tourists and inhabitants don’t know, however, is that on one of the Canary Islands lies a major global catastrophe, a natural disaster so big it could flatten the Atlantic coastlines of North Africa, United States, Britain and Europe and cause enormous harm to all the sforementioned.

Scattered across the worlds oceans are a handful of rare geological and natural time-bombs, that, once the time runs out, will create an uncommon phenomenon, an enormous tidal wave called Mega Tsunami.

Lately, scientists have known that the next Mega Tsunami will probably originate from one of the Canary Islands, where the wall of water  will move across the  Atlantic ocean at the speed of a jet airliner ready to destroy the east coast of the United States, the Caribbean and Brazil.

The cause?

One fraction of the “Cumbre Vieja” volcano on “La Palma” is unstable and could be engulfed by the sea after cracking and dividing from the fire mountain due to the next volcanic eruption.

Dr. Day said in an interview with the BBC: "

If the volcano collapsed in one block of almost 20 cubic kilometers of rock, weighing 500 billion tonnes - twice the size of the Isle of Wight -. It would fall into water almost 4 miles deep and create an undersea wave 2000 feet tall. Within five minutes of the landslide, a dome of water about a mile high would form and then collapse, before the Mega Tsunami would fan out in every direction, travelling at speeds of up to 500 mph. a 330ft wave would strike the western Sahara in less than an hour. "

Europe would be shielded from the savage force thanks to its remote position, the Iberian penisula would get batteres with 33 ft. waves  reaching La Coruña and Lisbon within 3 hours. 

This was written by Erik Sörensen of 3rd ESO Combined Science

Notícies i curiositats

Aquesta setmana m'han cridat l'atenció tres notícies:

• s'ha fet un vídeo amb la simulació cosmològica de l'Univers més acurada fins ara,

• Ha caigut la novena gota a l'experiment més llarg del món, i aquest cop sí que l'han gravat, 

• s'ha donat un pas més en l'estudi de la vida artificial en crear dues noves lletres de l'alfabet en el que s'escriuen els gens.

Una setmana productiva

Aquesta setmana hi ha hagut uns quants descobriments força interessant, un d'ells ha estat detectar en la radiació de fons de microones els efectes de les ones gravitatòries originades durant la inflació. Un altre descobriment ha estat el d'un nou planeta nan amb òrbita força llunyana, i indicis d'un planeta 10 vegades més massiu que la Terra.

Però les notícies no només han vingut de l'espai, també han vingut del camp de la genètica, on un equip ha aconseguit construir peça a peça un cromosoma de llevat.

En aquesta pàgina trobareu uns quants descobriments més.