A forest’s trees capture carbon not only for themselves, but also engage in an active “trade” of sorts with their neighbors, a new study found. University of Basel botanists found that this process, conducted by symbiotic fungi in the forest’s soil, takes place even among trees of different species.
Taking a look into Mercury’s dark secrets
When the MESSENGER spacecraft found carbon rich material on Mercury, researchers were surprised and couldn’t quite explain the source. Now, they believe that the material may be the remnants of a primordial graphite crust, which would also explain why Mercury looks darker than expected.
Scientists find new phase of carbon at room-temp that’s harder than diamond
To make diamonds, the industry typically resorts to subjecting graphite to immense pressure and temperature, which makes production volumes low and costly. This paradigm is about to change, since researchers at North Carolina State University found a new phase for carbon called Q-carbon, produced at ambient temperatures and pressure. This is surprisingly close to diamond in structure, with the added benefit of exhibiting a couple of unique properties.
Penta-graphene is stronger and better than graphene – we only need to make it, now
Chinese researchers ran simulations and found that a pentagon-containing version of graphene is theoretically stable. The 2D allotrope of carbon is made up of atom-thick sheet of carbon atoms arranged in a repeating pentagon pattern, while graphene is made up of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagon pattern, like a chicken wire. Graphene is the strongest material in the world and fantastic electrical conductor,
Washing soda could be used to capture CO2 fired by power plants
Lawrence Livermore scientists have devised tiny capsules made up of a highly permeable polymer shell and a sodium carbonate solution that actively reacts with and absorbs carbon dioxide (CO2). Sodium carbonate is typically known as the main ingredient in washing soda, a common household item. The capsules are a lot cheaper and more environmentally friendly than other chemical carbon capture
Graphene: unlimited heat conductivity
It’s official – graphene is the wonder material of the millennium. A team of researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P) in Mainz and the National Univ. of Singapore found that thermal conductivity of graphene diverges with the size of the samples. What’s the big deal? Well, the findings show that the thermal conductivity of graphene is not
US navy synthesizes jet fuel solely out of seawater; costs $3-6 gallon
Part of an extraordinary venture, researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) report they’ve synthesized hydrocarbon fuel solely from seawater by transforming the CO2 and H2 found in the water. To demonstrate they viability of the fuel, a replica of the legendary WWII P-51 was fitted by an off-the-shelf (OTS) and unmodified two-stroke internal combustion engine and fueled by the synthetic
First computer made out of carbon nanotubes spells silicon demise in electronics
In an inspiring breakthrough, Stanford researchers have created the first ever working computer made entirely out of carbon nanotubes. The technology is still very infant, as the computer operates on just one bit of information, and can only count to 32. Theoretically, however, it can be scaled up to perform billions of operations given enough memory. With more refining, computers such
Graphene transistors made using DNA assembly
As electronics become ever thinner, smaller and faster, scientists always need to think ahead and develop solutions to accommodate the computing needs of the future. For one, it becomes clearer with each passing day that silicon – the most used material in electronics – can’t be used anymore for tomorrow’s tech since we’re nearing its maximum potential. Graphene, the wonder
Carbon capture of the future might turn CO2 into construction materials
We all know that CO2 dumped in the atmosphere (consequences in the ocean, where the most carbon winds up actually are even dire – i.e. ocean acidification) causes global warming through what’s commonly referred to as the greenhouse gas effect. Governments and various environmental panels have through out the years issued various policies meant on curbing emissions. Ironically, however, greenhouse
New anti-fragile plastic becomes stronger every time it’s stressed
Say hello to drop-proof smartphones and whole new generation of plastic products that will be far more durable and strong than their present counterparts. Scientists at Duke University recently unveiled their most recent, stunning work: a new type of polymer that seems to contradict common knowledge and re-arranges its chemical structure each time its under stress, say a mechanical shock.
Atom bombs help confirm the adult human brain does indeed produce new neurons
A long-time assumption in the medical world is that mature, differentiated neurons do not divide and that they’re formed during the embryonic development stage. This does not necessarily mean, however, that all neurons are grown during this stage only and that they do not form during adulthood as well. Proving that neurons can form during adulthood is a difficult task however
New method traps CO2, rends clean hydrogen and might de-acidify world’s oceans
Hydrogen fuel has been eyeballed by scientists, as well as governments and energy corporations, for many years now as a potential alternative fuel source because of its incredibly high energy. It’s hard to imagine any other non-carbon fuel source capable of driving rockets or high velocity vehicles, like formula 1 sports cars. Besides it being unstable and difficult to extract,
When laying the foundations for life, the Universe leaves little room for error
All life as we know it is primarily based on two elements: carbon and oxygen. Scientists at North Carolina State University investigating the conditions required for the formation of these life essential ingredients found that the Universe lives little room for error. Carbon and oxygen are formed as combustion byproducts after helium burns inside a giant red star. However, for
Graphene thickness now easily identifiable
We’ve all been hearing about the miracles that carbon nanostructures will provide us in the near future for several years now. One of the first steps to making its application commercially viable is making it easy to use and manufacture. Researchers from the Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai and Southeast University have made identifying the thickness of graphene easy with
First all-carbon solar cell promises to lower industry cost
Scientists at Stanford University have successfully devised the world’s first solar cell made entirely out of carbon. This alternative to typical silicon solar panels is not only a lot cheaper to produce, but also a lot less simpler to use. Such carbon cells can be coated on any surface and turn it into a solar panel, be it windows, roof
Graphene sheets can repair themselves naturally
Graphene is one of the most phenomenal materials discovered in science. It’s so thin, it can be molded into sheets just 1 atom thick, yet despite this, it’s so strong that you can actually pick it up. It has the highest current density (a million times that of copper) at room temperature, the highest intrinsic mobility (100 times more than in
New record for human powered flight set by engineering students
A talented team of students from the University of Maryland’s Clark School of Engineering has set a new record for the longest flight time for a human-powered helicopter. The helicopter in question, called “Gamera II”, after the flying monster turtle of Japanese films and the university’s terrapin mascot, was devised and built by the students themselves. First thing that came into mind when I
Scientists strive to create inorganic life
A team or Scottish scientists are pushing material science on the extreme side by conducting research which, they hope, will enable them to create life out of inorganic molecules. All life on Earth is based on organic biology – carbon compounds. The researchers from Glasgow University, however, have shown in a recently published paper a pioneering method of animating inorganic
Defect in graphene opens up even more possibilities
Graphene is probably the ‘substance of the century’, and it will probably be for us what plastics were in the 1900s. Now, a flower-like defect in the material that can occur during the fabrication process could have a significant effect on graphene’s already impressive mechanical, magnetic, and electrical properties. Amazing graphene Graphene is practically a one atom thick layer of