angelburst29
The Living Force
This sounds interesting - color crystals that move when oxygen is released.
Siberian Scientists Invent Jumping, Color-Changing Crystals
http://sputniknews.com/science/20160309/1036008684/siberian-scientists-jumping-crystals.html
Scientists from the international tomographic center of the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences have created new materials that can jump and change color under the influence of several factors, the branch’s publication said Wednesday.
NOVOSIBIRSK (Sputnik) – According to the Science in Siberia publication, the new materials react to irradiation and temperature. It is believed to be possible to create sensors that would react to radiation on the basis of these new materials.
"If they are left in normal conditions, for example on a table, they will begin jumping spontaneously for two-three months," Viktor Ovcharenko, the head of the tomographic center, said.
According to the scientist, the crystals start jumping as the compounds decompose and release oxygen which has built up in the crystals. As internal tension increases, the oxygen reserves explode.
The color of the crystals becomes deeper as external temperatures drop. This effect could become very useful in designing equipment for working in very low temperatures, according to Ovcharenko, making the inventions applicable for use in space and the Arctic.
Mysterious Crystals Compel Scientists to Change Stance on Earth's History
http://sputniknews.com/art_living/20151021/1028862451/earth-history-crystals.html
Life could have emerged on Earth about 300 million years earlier than previously thought, according to new research.
Living organisms could have existed on our planet 4.1 billion years ago: 300 million years earlier than was previously thought, according to scientists.
It was a spate of ancient zircon crystals unearthed in Western Australia that prompted a team of US researchers to make new conclusions about Earth's history.
Scientists from Stanford University and the University of California drew this conclusion from tens of thousands of multibillion year-old zircons they obtained in Jack Hills, Australia, the oldest material of terrestrial origin found to date.
One such crystal is thought to contain a carbon deposit that is 4.1 billion years old.
According to a paper published by the team in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the discovery is a sign that Earth's history could be rewritten.
"Its complete encasement in crack-free, undisturbed zircon demonstrates that it is not contamination from more recent geologic processes… (and) may be evidence for the origin of life on Earth by 4.1 (billion years ago)," the paper said.
Zircon crystals, which are very resistant to heat and corrosion, are ubiquitous in the crust of Earth.
They preserve materials from their environment as they form, with scientists referring to these crystals as a kind of time capsule.
Earlier, the fossil record was used to suggest that life on Earth appeared around 3.8 billion years ago in the form of single-celled microorganisms.
Russian Scientists Discover Two Ancient Arctic Continents
http://sputniknews.com/environment/20150911/1026877199.html
The Arctic is known not only for its bitter cold, ice, polar bears and walruses, but also for its rich history. As it turns out, there was once an ancient continent called Arctida that occupied the world's northernmost latitudes almost a billion years ago.
Amusingly, Arctida was formed, but then disintegrated around 750 million years ago. But after 500 million years the continent came together again, scientists from Russia's Novosibirsk State University (NSU) have discovered.
"In geological history the fragments of the modern Arctic shelf once comprised a single entity, forming a continent that broke up and formed the structure of the modern Arctic… Our work was to restore the structure of the Arctic paleo-continent, the history of its development and decay, and the kinematics of the continental drift," said Nikolai Matushkin, the Dean of the Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics of the Russian Academy of Sciences at NSU, as cited by a university press-release.
The Russian scientists summarized paleo-magnetic data that had been collected for over 20 years of Arctic explorations. Then, using a method known as paleo-magnetic analysis, the researchers were able to study the position of the Earth's crust and how it moved in the past.
This means that the modern Arctic is the third version of the continent.
Currently, the Arctic has become a coveted prize for its surrounding nations, including Russia, Canada, the United States, Denmark (Greenland) and Norway. The Arctic shelf is believed to have enormous deposits of oil and natural gas.
Siberian Scientists Invent Jumping, Color-Changing Crystals
http://sputniknews.com/science/20160309/1036008684/siberian-scientists-jumping-crystals.html
Scientists from the international tomographic center of the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences have created new materials that can jump and change color under the influence of several factors, the branch’s publication said Wednesday.
NOVOSIBIRSK (Sputnik) – According to the Science in Siberia publication, the new materials react to irradiation and temperature. It is believed to be possible to create sensors that would react to radiation on the basis of these new materials.
"If they are left in normal conditions, for example on a table, they will begin jumping spontaneously for two-three months," Viktor Ovcharenko, the head of the tomographic center, said.
According to the scientist, the crystals start jumping as the compounds decompose and release oxygen which has built up in the crystals. As internal tension increases, the oxygen reserves explode.
The color of the crystals becomes deeper as external temperatures drop. This effect could become very useful in designing equipment for working in very low temperatures, according to Ovcharenko, making the inventions applicable for use in space and the Arctic.
Mysterious Crystals Compel Scientists to Change Stance on Earth's History
http://sputniknews.com/art_living/20151021/1028862451/earth-history-crystals.html
Life could have emerged on Earth about 300 million years earlier than previously thought, according to new research.
Living organisms could have existed on our planet 4.1 billion years ago: 300 million years earlier than was previously thought, according to scientists.
It was a spate of ancient zircon crystals unearthed in Western Australia that prompted a team of US researchers to make new conclusions about Earth's history.
Scientists from Stanford University and the University of California drew this conclusion from tens of thousands of multibillion year-old zircons they obtained in Jack Hills, Australia, the oldest material of terrestrial origin found to date.
One such crystal is thought to contain a carbon deposit that is 4.1 billion years old.
According to a paper published by the team in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the discovery is a sign that Earth's history could be rewritten.
"Its complete encasement in crack-free, undisturbed zircon demonstrates that it is not contamination from more recent geologic processes… (and) may be evidence for the origin of life on Earth by 4.1 (billion years ago)," the paper said.
Zircon crystals, which are very resistant to heat and corrosion, are ubiquitous in the crust of Earth.
They preserve materials from their environment as they form, with scientists referring to these crystals as a kind of time capsule.
Earlier, the fossil record was used to suggest that life on Earth appeared around 3.8 billion years ago in the form of single-celled microorganisms.
Russian Scientists Discover Two Ancient Arctic Continents
http://sputniknews.com/environment/20150911/1026877199.html
The Arctic is known not only for its bitter cold, ice, polar bears and walruses, but also for its rich history. As it turns out, there was once an ancient continent called Arctida that occupied the world's northernmost latitudes almost a billion years ago.
Amusingly, Arctida was formed, but then disintegrated around 750 million years ago. But after 500 million years the continent came together again, scientists from Russia's Novosibirsk State University (NSU) have discovered.
"In geological history the fragments of the modern Arctic shelf once comprised a single entity, forming a continent that broke up and formed the structure of the modern Arctic… Our work was to restore the structure of the Arctic paleo-continent, the history of its development and decay, and the kinematics of the continental drift," said Nikolai Matushkin, the Dean of the Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics of the Russian Academy of Sciences at NSU, as cited by a university press-release.
The Russian scientists summarized paleo-magnetic data that had been collected for over 20 years of Arctic explorations. Then, using a method known as paleo-magnetic analysis, the researchers were able to study the position of the Earth's crust and how it moved in the past.
This means that the modern Arctic is the third version of the continent.
Currently, the Arctic has become a coveted prize for its surrounding nations, including Russia, Canada, the United States, Denmark (Greenland) and Norway. The Arctic shelf is believed to have enormous deposits of oil and natural gas.
