Physical Science

Photovoltaic cells convert sunlight into energy and are used in applications such as solar panels to generate electricity. They work using a semiconducting metal (silicon) that reacts to incoming particles of light energy, known as photons. To understand this process…
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Charon is the largest moon or ‘satellite’ of the former planet Pluto (discovered in 1930) which was classed as our solar system’s ninth planet until 2006; Charon is also the 22nd largest body in the solar system. There has been…
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Plutonium is a radioactive element discovered in 1940 by Seaborg, McMillan, Kenned, and Wahl when they bombarded uranium with deuteron atoms using the 60-inch cyclotron at Berkeley, California. It is a transuranic element with the atomic number 94. For all…
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The U.S. is relying more heavily upon private space industry to launch space missions and fill the gaps in NASA’s manned space program as budgetary cuts and financial screws are applied to the space agency’s annual budget. With the retirement…
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“The little space probe that could”—that’s what space scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California might nickname Voyager 1. A science investment with incredible dividends that just keep coming, Voyager’s discoveries are helping to reshape the understanding of…
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Aerogels are unique materials. Regarded as the most useful substance ever created, aerogels are the lightest solids produced. They consist of a fine network of bubbles, containing over 95% air, or whatever gas the designer wishes to include, with cell…
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Buried underground along the Swiss – French border is one of the most important scientific research projects ever undertaken. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is busy, working to discover the smallest and most intangible pieces of matter and energy that…
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Researchers from the University of Buffalo have now discovered a new technique to staple peptides to preserve their shape better. A peptide is simple a molecule that contains in it more than one amino acid. Peptides are smaller than proteins. If…
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Meade are well established within the astronomical world, making all sorts of equipment from telescopes to filters and even eyepieces. But how would their 26mm QX perform in a category that’s already full of decent offerings, the budget wide field…
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In recent years there have been an explosion of wide field eyepieces available to the eager astronomer. Due to this massive influx of quality widefielders the price of such eyepieces has been steadily driven down so that now it’s not…
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