Category: Science

Abstract While polymer synthesis proceeds predominantly towards the thermodynamic minimum, living systems operate on the reverse principle – consuming fuel to maintain a non-equilibrium state. Herein, we report the controlled formation of 3D macromolecular architectures based on light-fueled covalent non-equilibrium chemistry. In the presence of green light (525 nm) and a bivalent triazolinedione (TAD) crosslinker, […]

Scientists frequently look at how molecules behave in nature to help them design chemical processes, and that’s what QUT and Ghent University researchers did to create a green light-stabilised 3D polymer structure that unfolds itself when left in darkness. First published 14 December 2020 The team has reported on this world-first example of a reversible, […]

We all know we’re not supposed to litter, right? It’s gross and harms the environment. But somebody forgot to tell all the space agencies that have been launching rockets into Earth orbit for well over half a century now – and leaving their space junk all over the place. December 03, 2020 The space-junk problem […]

All over the US, there are mysterious places and structures that have mysterious or even pre-historic pasts. Here are a few of those mysterious spots that are manmade. October 01, 2020 Georgia Guidestones, Georgia The granite monument, which was erected in 1980, has 10 guidelines inscribed in eight languages and a message at the top […]

By: Robin Fearon Hydrogen gas is the most abundant element in the universe. It is an odorless, non-toxic, non-corrosive gas that burns easily in air to produce a large amount of heat, zero greenhouse gases, and water pure enough to drink as a by-product. The ‘hydrogen economy’ is seen by many as a natural replacement […]

By: Robin Fearon Oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and a few other elements from the periodic table make up 99% of our bodies. October 08, 2020 Our body’s chemical and physical make-up and the way it functions are incredibly complex. Human bodies are estimated to contain up to one hundred trillion cells. We need fuel for these […]

Until recently, astronomers estimated that the Big Bang occurred between 12 and 14 billion years ago. To put this in perspective, the Solar System is thought to be 4.5 billion years old and humans have existed as a genus for only a few million years. Astronomers estimate the age of the universe in two ways: […]

Planet Earth doesn’t have a birth certificate to record its formation, which means scientists spent hundreds of years struggling to determine the age of the planet. So, just how old is Earth? By dating the rocks in Earth’s ever-changing crust, as well as the rocks in Earth’s neighbors, such as the moon and visiting meteorites, […]

Uranium dating is one of the ways of determining the age of ancient objects, even one million years old, by measuring how much of the following are present in them: the amount of radioactive isotopes of uranium, and the amount of other materials into which the radioactive isotopes would decompose Modern Uranium-series methods use decay chains and […]

How Does Carbon Dating Work Carbon-14 is a weakly radioactive isotope of Carbon; also known as radiocarbon, it is an isotopic chronometer. C-14 dating is only applicable to organic and some inorganic materials (not applicable to metals). Gas proportional counting, liquid scintillation counting and accelerator mass spectrometry are the three principal radiocarbon dating methods. What is […]