Physical Sciences | Encyclopedia MDPI

Subject:

Sort:

Hottest Latest Alphabetical (A-Z) Alphabetical (Z-A)

Type:

All Topic Review Biography

Topic Review

Crux, commonly known as the Southern Cross, is a small but distinctive constellation located in the southern celestial hemisphere. Recognized for its iconic shape resembling a cross, Crux holds cultural significance across various civilizations and is one of the most recognizable asterisms in the night sky. Positioned close to the South Celestial Pole, Crux serves as a navigational aid for travelers in the southern hemisphere and has been used for centuries by sailors and explorers to determine directions.

313
08 Mar 2024

Topic Review

Cryotropic Gelation and Macroporous Scaffolds

Cryogels obtained by the cryotropic gelation process are macroporous hydrogels with a well-developed system of interconnected pores and shape memory. Biodegradable cryogels have been prepared from natural polymers (biopolymers) and synthetic polymers with biodegradable/bioresponsive bonds containing bio-resembling or artificial units. The cryogels could be composed of one type of polymer or a combination of different materials. Polymers from natural origins (plants or animals) attract considerable attention for their intrinsic biocompatibility and potential ability to mimic ECM, favoring cell-matrix interactions for tissue-engineering and regeneration.

1.3K
12 Jul 2021

Topic Review

Crystallization of LiNbO3

Due to its piezoelectric, ferroelectric, nonlinear optics, and pyroelectric properties, LiNbO3 crystal has found its wide applications in surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices, optical waveguides, optical modulators, and second-harmonic generators (SHG). LiNbO3 crystallized as R3c space group below Curie temperature shows spontaneous polarization that leads to its ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties. Physical and chemical characteristics of LiNbO3 are mainly determined by Li/Nb ratio, impurity cations, vacancies in a cation sublattice. Different sizes of LiNbO3 ranging from nanoscale and microscale to bulk size have been synthesized by solid state method, hydrothermal/solvothermal method, Czochralski (Cz) growth method, etc. Most basic and applied studies of LiNbO3 focus on its bulk single crystal.

1.7K
17 Dec 2021

Topic Review

Cubic Mile of Oil

The cubic mile of oil (CMO) is a unit of energy, aiming to give the general public an understanding of large quantities of energy. It is approximately equal to 1.6×1020 joule. It was created by Hew Crane of SRI International to aid in public understanding of global-scale energy consumption and resources. Large scale sources of energy include wind, solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, nuclear, hydroelectric, oil, coal, natural gas, geothermal, and biomass (primarily the burning of wood). Traditionally, many different units are commonly used to measure these sources (e.g., joules, BTUs, kilowatt hours, therms) but only some of them are familiar to a global general public, and some argue that fewer are needed and a standard should be chosen. Still, these common energy units are mainly sized for everyday activities, for example a joule is the energy required to lift a small apple one metre vertically. For regional, national, and global scales, larger energy units, such as exajoule, terawatt-hour, billion barrels of oil equivalent (BBOE) and quad are used. Derived by multiplying the small common units by large powers of ten these larger units pose additional conceptual difficulties for many citizens. Crane intended the cubic mile of oil to provide a visualizable scale for comparing the contributions of these diverse energy components as a percentage of total worldwide, energy use. In 2005, the global economy was consuming approximately 30 billion barrels (4.8 billion cubic metres; 1.3 trillion US gallons) of oil each year. Numbers of this magnitude are difficult to conceive by most people. The volume occupied by 1 trillion US gallons (3.8 billion cubic metres) is about 1 cubic mile (4.2 billion cubic metres). Crane felt that a cubic mile would be an easier concept for the general public than a trillion gallons.

1.1K
28 Oct 2022

Topic Review

Current Status of The Celestial Reference Frame

The International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF) is based on the currently accepted International Celestial Reference System (ICRS) and forms the basis for all positional astronomy in the radio domain. The first three generations of this frame have been built from high precision Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) astrometric measurements of positions of extragalactic radio sources (quasars and other radio-loud Active Galactic Nuclei, AGN), with each successive realization of the ICRF becoming more precise. VLBI angular position accuracy has now improved to near the 100 micro-arcsecond (μas) level. Catalogues of positions of extragalactic radio sources with the highest precision, such as the ICRF, are crucial to many applications, such as determining the Earth’s orientation in space, providing calibrator sources for astronomy, studying the motion of tectonic plates, and in spacecraft navigation. The ICRF also contributes towards the realization of a Global Geodetic Reference Frame (GGRF) for sustainable development, a resolution adopted by the United Nations in 2015.

525
28 Jul 2022

Topic Review

Cydonia (Region of Mars)

Cydonia (/sɪˈdoʊniə/, /saɪˈdoʊniə/) is a region on the planet Mars that has attracted both scientific and popular interest. The name originally referred to the albedo feature (distinctively coloured area) that was visible from Earthbound telescopes. The area borders plains of Acidalia Planitia and the Arabia Terra highlands. The area includes the regions: "Cydonia Mensae", an area of flat-topped mesa-like features, "Cydonia Colles", a region of small hills or knobs, and "Cydonia Labyrinthus", a complex of intersecting valleys. As with other albedo features on Mars, the name Cydonia was drawn from classical antiquity, in this case from Kydonia, a historic polis (or "city-state") on the island of Crete. Cydonia contains the "Face on Mars", located about halfway between Arandas Crater and Bamberg Crater.

4.0K
25 Oct 2022

Topic Review

Cygnus, known as the Swan, is a prominent constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere. Its distinctive shape resembles a flying bird with outstretched wings, earning it the nickname "the Northern Cross." Cygnus is rich in celestial wonders, including the famous binary star system Albireo, the North America Nebula, and the Veil Nebula complex.

296
08 Mar 2024

Topic Review

The DØ experiment (sometimes written D0 experiment, or DZero experiment) consists of a worldwide collaboration of scientists conducting research on the fundamental nature of matter. DØ was one of two major experiments (the other is the CDF experiment) located at the world's second highest-energy accelerator, the Tevatron Collider at the Fermilab in Batavia, Illinois, USA. The research is focused on precise studies of interactions of protons and antiprotons at the highest available energies. It involves an intense search for subatomic clues that reveal the character of the building blocks of the universe.

668
11 Oct 2022

Biography

Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit

Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit FRS (/ˈfærənhaɪt/; German: [ˈfaːʁənhaɪt]; 24 May 1686 – 16 September 1736)[1] was a physicist, inventor, and scientific instrument maker. Fahrenheit was born in Danzig (Gdańsk), then a predominantly German-speaking city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He later moved to the Dutch Republic at age 15, where he spent the re

2.8K
22 Nov 2022

Biography

Daryl Muscott Chapin[1] (21 July 1906 – 19 January 1995) was an American physicist, best known for co-inventing solar cells in 1954 during his work at Bell Labs alongside Calvin S. Fuller and Gerald Pearson. For this, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2008. Chapin was born in Ellensburg, Washington (state) on 21 July 1906, although he spent his childhood in Salem,

787
22 Nov 2022

Page
of
130

Featured Entry Collections

>>

Featured Books

>>

Encyclopedia of Social Sciences

Encyclopedia of Social Sciences
Chief Editor:
Michael McAleer

Encyclopedia of COVID-19

Encyclopedia of COVID-19
Chief Editor:
Stephen Bustin

Encyclopedia of Fungi

Encyclopedia of Fungi
Chief Editor:
Luis V. Lopez-Llorca

Encyclopedia of Digital Society, Industry 5.0 and Smart City

Encyclopedia of Digital Society, Industry 5.0 and Smart City
Chief Editor:
Sandro Serpa

Video Production Service

Feedback

Top