While most people associate the mathematical constant π (pi) with arcs and circles, mathematicians are accustomed to seeing it in a variety of fields. But two University of Rochester scientists were still surprised to find it lurking in a quantum mechanics formula for the energy states of the hydrogen atom.
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WASHINGTON, D.C., November 10, 2015 - In 1655 the English mathematician John Wallis published a book in which he derived a formula for pi as the product of an infinite series of ratios. Now researchers from the University of Rochester, in a surprise discovery, have found the same formula in quantum mechanical calculations of the energy levels of a hydrogen atom.
A new study published today identifies a set of features common to all ocean ecosystems that provide a visual diagnosis of the health of the underwater environment coastal communities rely on. Together, the features detail cumulative effects of threats -- such as overfishing, pollution, and invasive species -- so responders can act quickly to increase ocean resiliency and sustainability.
If American teens are unsure about climate change or its cause, some school textbooks aren't helping, says teaching expert Diego Román, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, co-author of a new study on the subject.
We all know that the climate is changing, but how can we best prepare for some of the changes that lie ahead? Should coastal cities change their building codes to accommodate rising sea levels? Should we allocate more resources to tree-planting to reduce urban heat islands? These are examples of local initiatives that can make a difference to climate change adaptation.
Why a dietary treatment works for some but not others seems to depend on interactions between the gut microbiota and the diet. A new study, published in Cell Metabolism, shows that people with better control of blood sugar after eating barley kernel bread also have a different balance of microbes in the gut.
Materials researchers love sea creatures. Mother-of-pearl provokes ideas for smooth surfaces, clams inspire gluey substances, shark's skin is used to develop materials that reduce drag in water, and so on. Researchers at the University of Copenhagen's Department of Chemistry have now found a model for strong, lightweight materials by diving below the sea surface to investigate a sea urchin cousin known as the heart urchin.
Microwave field imaging is becoming increasingly important, as microwaves play an essential role in modern communications technology and can also be used in medical diagnostics. Researchers from the Swiss Nanoscience Institute and the Department of Physics at the University of Basel have now independently developed two new methods for imaging microwave fields. Both methods exploit the change in spin states induced by an applied microwave field, as reported by the researchers in the "New Journal of Physics".
Many of the world's approximately 117 million lakes act as wet chimneys releasing large amounts of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, CO2, into the atmosphere. The most recent estimates show that CO2 emissions from the world's lakes, water courses and reservoirs are equivalent to almost a quarter of all the carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels.
A paper published this month in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society details the development and utility of a computer model for the dispersion of volcanic smog or "vog," which forms when volcanic sulfur dioxide gas interacts with water and coverts it to acid sulfate aerosol particles in the atmosphere.
Almost every person has an appreciation for natural environments. In addition, most people find healthy or pristine locations with high biodiversity more beautiful and aesthetically pleasing than environmentally degraded locations. In a study which computed 'aesthetics' as it relates to coral reefs, a multidisciplinary group of researchers have shown that an objective computational analysis of photographic images can be used to assess the health of a coral reef.
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Nov. 9, 2015--Electron microscopy researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a unique way to build 3-D structures with finely controlled shapes as small as one to two billionths of a meter.
The ORNL study published in the journal Small demonstrates how scanning transmission electron microscopes, normally used as imaging tools, are also capable of precision sculpting of nanometer-sized 3-D features in complex oxide materials.
A new study of Colorado's devastating 2012 Waldo Canyon wildfire demonstrates that prompt and effective action can significantly change the outcome of fires that occur in areas where residential communities and undeveloped wildlands meet. The study by the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is the most comprehensive examination in history of a wildland urban interface (WUI) fire.
NASA's Terra satellite saw the Atlantic Ocean's twelfth tropical depression as it was forming, and an animation of NOAA's GOES-East satellite data showed its development into Tropical Storm Kate near the Bahamas.
On November 9, 2015 a Tropical Storm Warning was in effect for the central and northwestern Bahamas.
Tropical Cyclone Megh moved past the Horn of Africa and into the Gulf of Aden when NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed overhead from space and captured an image of the second tropical cyclone to affect Yemen this year.
Tropical Cyclone Megh formed in the Arabian Sea and moved west, past the Horn of Africa and into the Gulf of Aden. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) expects Megh to make landfall in southeastern Yemen on November 10, just north of the city of Aden.