Category Archives: Energy

Eroded Earth: The Forge of Gravity

A beautiful photograph showing rock arches at National Park - Mesa Arch starburst panorama.Gravity-Defying Lanscapes

Over millions of years, weathering and erosion of sandstone have produced unique landforms, such as arches, alcoves, pedestals and pillars.  Until now, the natural process remained a mystery.  It was difficult to study, because of the huge time-scales involved in the erosion of natural slabs of sandstone.  Gravity-induced stresses had been assumed not to play any role in landform preservation.  Instead gravity was thought to increase the rates of weathering and natural erosion…   Continue reading Eroded Earth: The Forge of Gravity

Satellite of Love – It’s Up, Up and Away for Scotland’s UKube-1

An artist's impression of the new Scotland UKube-1 micro-satellite in orbit around Earth.Scotland’s First Nano-Satellite

Earlier this month, UKube-1, a satellite built by Glasgow-based technology firm Clyde Space, successfully launched on a test flight from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.  It is the first ever spacecraft to be fully assembled in Scotland. Continue reading Satellite of Love – It’s Up, Up and Away for Scotland’s UKube-1

Van der Waals and the Gecko

A photographic collage showing a black and white portrait of Van der Waals and a gecko climbing on the outside of a corrugated glass panel.The Sticky Physics of Van der Waals Forces

Geckos are amazing creatures.  They scamper up walls, scuttle along ceilings and hang upside down on polished glass surfaces.  However, the secret of their amazing climbing ability remained a mystery until relatively recently.  The secret lies in weak intermolecular forces, described by Van der Waals in 1873. Continue reading Van der Waals and the Gecko

Calculating Entropy – The Energy of Change

A drawing showing a snowflake of Ice melting into molecules of water. From order to disorder, there is only entropy.It’s About Heat and Temperature

What is the difference between heat and temperature?  Heat is thermal energy.  Temperature is a measurement of the average kinetic energy of the particles which compose the matter being tested.  When heat flows into a material, one of two things happen: either the temperature of the material can rise, or there may be a change in its state (such as from ice to liquid, or liquid to vapour). Continue reading Calculating Entropy – The Energy of Change

Rise of the Exoskeletons – Get Up… and Kick-Off!

An artist's impression of one of the ground-breaking medical event due to take place at the Sao Paulo, Brazil 2014 Footbal World Cup opening ceremony. Image: Walk Again ProjectMind Controlled Exoskeleton Demonstration at 2014 World Cup Opening Ceremony

On 12 June at Arena Corinthians in São Paulo, shortly before 5pm local time, a young paraplegic Brazilian youth will stand up from a wheelchair… walk over to midfield… and take a kick in the opening ceremony of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil!  Continue reading Rise of the Exoskeletons – Get Up… and Kick-Off!

Helium – Lighter than Air

A photograph showing a bunch of Helium red party balloons on strings over a sunny blue sky background.More Than Just Party Balloons…

Helium is the second most abundant element in the Universe, after hydrogen.  On Earth, helium is relatively rare, because it is one of the few elements that can escape gravity and leak away into space.  Therefore, helium exists as a finite resource.  But as our reserves of the precious element steadily decreases, helium is in increasing demand.  In medicine, helium supports the fight against cancer…  Continue reading Helium – Lighter than Air

The North Sea Oil – Beyond the Politics

A photograph of the Dunlin oil rig platform located above the Osprey Field in the North Sea off Scotland.North Sea oil in Numbers

The future of North Sea oil is one of the key campaign battlegrounds ahead of the Scottish independence referendum.  The North Sea oil and gas industry employs 450,000 people across the UK.  The industry paid £6.5 billion in taxes to the UK government in 2012-2013.  What if Scotland decides to go it alone?    Continue reading The North Sea Oil – Beyond the Politics

Up Archimedes! – The Principle of Buoyancy

A photograph showing a huge mass of helium balloons carrying their human payload up into the sunset sky. Image: Jonathan FrappeArchimedes’ Principle and Helium Balloons

Buoyancy is the upward force exerted by a fluid that opposes the weight of an object immersed in a particular substance.  Essentially, this is what Archimedes (c.287 BC – c.212 BC) observed when he stated that:

“Any object, wholly or partially immersed in a fluid, is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object.”  Continue reading Up Archimedes! – The Principle of Buoyancy

Graphite to Graphene… in a Kitchen Blender

A photograph showing a ball-and-stick model of graphene near a typical kitchen blender. Image: NaturPhilosophieThe Wonder Material

Ten years ago, the discovery of the wonder material – Graphene – was announced.  Graphene is thin, stronger than steel, flexible, non-metallic, yet electrically conductive.  For all these reasons, graphene promises to transform electronics, as well as other technologies.  Because of its potential in industry, researchers have been looking for ways to make defect-free graphene in large amounts.  Continue reading Graphite to Graphene… in a Kitchen Blender

Fibonacci’s Golden Spiral – The Relationship between Maths and Nature

A close-up photograph of a cross section through a Nautilus shell showing that the Fibonacci sequence can be found everywhere in Nature.The Language of Nature

They are found everywhere in Nature.  From the leaf arrangement in plants, to the pattern of the petals of a flower, the bracts of a pine cone, or the scales of a pineapple.  The Fibonacci numbers are applicable to the growth of every living thing: a single cell, a grain of wheat, a hive of bees, all of mankind.  From sunflowers to sea shells, the same recurrent mathematical pattern can be observed in Nature, again, and again, and again…  Continue reading Fibonacci’s Golden Spiral – The Relationship between Maths and Nature

Salted Earth – At one Corner of the Lithium Triangle

A photograph showing the great salt lake plain at Uyuni in the Lithium Triangle, in South America.Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

A crisp and perfectly flat white plain lies like freshly fallen snow, 100 kilometres (60 miles) across and 3,600 metres (12,000 ft) up in the remote Bolivian Andes.  This hauntingly beautiful place, Salar de Uyuni, could be part of the key to tackling climate change, helping to wean the World away from its love of fossil fuels.  Continue reading Salted Earth – At one Corner of the Lithium Triangle

We Delve into Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry Forensics!

A photograph showing latent fingerprints under the magnifier, enhanced using a large electrical potential. Source: RSCSleuthing with Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry

Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry is a technique for separating ions of different masses by measuring the time taken to traverse a fixed distance through a magnetic field.  Sounds a bit arcane?  The technique is used daily by forensic investigative teams to research criminal profiling and provide reliable evidence for the prosecution…  Continue reading We Delve into Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry Forensics!

Fuelling our Lust for Copper – Mining in Afghanistan…

Mineral Reserves Discovery Afghanistan - a close-up photograph showing a miner's hand holding a sample of copper ore.Versatile Copper: Connecting Us for Generations

Copper occurs naturally in rocks, as native copper, and the history of its use by the oldest civilisations dates back to at least 10,000 years.  These days, copper is in ever increasing demand for its extraordinarily versatile conductive and ductile properties, highly sought-after by the power generation, electronics and communications industries.  Remote barren war-torn Afghanistan harbours great stores of the mineral…  Continue reading Fuelling our Lust for Copper – Mining in Afghanistan…

Global Weirding: Why The World Must Acclimatise

A composite photograph showing dice over a red sunset background. Loading the climate dice?Loading Up the Dice for Extreme Climate

The impacts of climate change include a higher risk of flooding and changes to crop yields and water availability.  No single country causes climate change, and no one country can stop it.  We need to match the urgency of our response with the scale of the science. Continue reading Global Weirding: Why The World Must Acclimatise

The Enduring Mystery of Earthquake Lights – What Makes a Miracle?

A photograph showing an earthquake light - a rainbow cloud, taken in May 2008, in the region of Sichuan, China.Earthquake Lights in the Sky

Mysterious flashes of light and clear-sky lightning, blue flames?  Glowing orbs and fireballs?  Will-o’-the-wisps?  Stand-alone rainbow clouds and light pillars?  How could this be…?

Scientists in the United States now say that earthquake lightning flashes appearing to precede earthquakes, are likely to be sparked by movements within the ground below.  This phenomenon could be used to trigger alarms and help warn millions of an impending danger…

Continue reading The Enduring Mystery of Earthquake Lights – What Makes a Miracle?

Earth’s Crust – Could the Jack Hills Zircon be its Oldest Piece collected to date?

A microscopic piece of the Jack Hills zircon, possibly the oldest part of the Earth crust ever retrieved in Australia.Zircons are Forever

The oldest remaining grain of early Earth’s original solid rock crust has now been confirmed to be a 4.374-billion-year-old zircon crystal from Jack Hills, Australia.  Continue reading Earth’s Crust – Could the Jack Hills Zircon be its Oldest Piece collected to date?

Global Forest Watch Map Recording Tree Loss in “Real Time”

An aerial photograph showing the deforestation web in the Mountains of Jambi, in Sumatra, Indonesia.A Watchful Eye on the Global Forest

A new global monitoring system, Global Forest Watch has been launched that promises “near real-time” information on deforestation around the World.  GFW uses information from hundreds of millions of satellite images, as well as data from people on the ground.  Despite a greater global awareness of the impacts of deforestation, the scale of forest loss remains significant.  Continue reading Global Forest Watch Map Recording Tree Loss in “Real Time”

Magnetic “Monopole” Observed in Quantum System – The Lowdown on Electromagnetism

A representation of an artificial magnetic monopoles field.On the Trail of the Elusive Magnetic Monopole

Break a magnet into two pieces, and what do you obtain?  What you get, unsurprisingly perhaps, are two new magnets – each one with two sides of opposite polarity.  You don’t get a north half and a south half.  Back to square one, it seems…  Continue reading Magnetic “Monopole” Observed in Quantum System – The Lowdown on Electromagnetism

Are the Jet Streams Dynamics Santa’s Revenge? No, really.

A picture showing the location of the Earth's jet streams taken by NASA's Cassini space probe.Unprecedented Weather Events

If you have had it up to here with floods in England, if you are left cold by the snow in the United States or mystified by the unseasonably mild temperatures in Scandinavia, blame it on Santa Claus!  Continue reading Are the Jet Streams Dynamics Santa’s Revenge? No, really.

Algae to Bio-Crude Oil in 60 Minutes?

A photograph showing a hand covered with slimy green algae.Evergreen Energy from Algae

Engineers have designed a continuous chemical process that produces useful crude oil in under an hour.  All from a verdant green algae paste with the consistency of pea soup…  Continue reading Algae to Bio-Crude Oil in 60 Minutes?

Sea Level Rise vs Atmospheric CO2

A map showing what the coast lines of Western Europe will look like with a 20-metre sea level rise.Manmade Carbon CO2 Pollution Has Already Put Us on Track for 20 Metres of Sea Level Rise

The bad news is that we’re all but certain to end up with a coastline at least this flooded: 20 metres or 69 feet The “good” news Continue reading Sea Level Rise vs Atmospheric CO2

Silent Sun

A photograph of the Sun's full disk. Image: NASAWhy has the Sun been so quiet?

The Sun ought be awash with activity right now.  But space scientists are baffled…  The Sun has reached its solar maximum: the point in its 11-year cycle where activity is at a peak.  Yet it has hit a lull.  And to see when the Sun was this inactive last… you’ve got to go back about 100 years…  Continue reading Silent Sun

North by Northeast: The Trouble with the Earth’s Shifting Magnetic Field

A photograph taken at Loch Lomond. Image: NaturPhilosophieA Rambling Geomagnetic Pole

Magnetic North made an unusual and historic shift.  For the first time in more than 220 years of map making, Ordnance Survey has noted that North lies East, and not West, of Grid north for parts of Southern Britain.  But how does this shift in magnetic field affect map reading in Scotland’s hills?  Continue reading North by Northeast: The Trouble with the Earth’s Shifting Magnetic Field

Living out in Space: From ‘Major Tom’ to Major Tim

A photograph showing astronaut Chris Hadfield on board the International Space Station (ISS) in the video of his cover version of 'Space Oddity' by David Bowie.Chris Hadfield’s Space Oddity

♫ This is Ground Control to Major Tom… ♫

Commander Chris Hadfield ascended to international stardom when he released his cover version of David Bowie’s 1972 Song ‘Space Oddity’ from the International Space Station.  Continue reading Living out in Space: From ‘Major Tom’ to Major Tim

2013: A Year in Physical Science and Technology

A cartoon by Drew featuring Voyager 1. The caption reads: "What do you mean I haven't left the solar system? I've already posted it on Facebook."Voyager leaves the Solar System

A lot of things happen in 12 months.  And 2013 is no exception.

Remember when you were a kid back in 1977, when Voyager-1 was all the talk?  Remember the wonderful artefact it carried away into space like a gift from the Earth human civilisation – the golden disc and the message on it?  Where is it now?  Continue reading 2013: A Year in Physical Science and Technology