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Topic Review
Osmium-188
Osmium (76Os) has seven naturally occurring isotopes, five of which are stable: 187Os, 188Os, 189Os, 190Os, and (most abundant) 192Os. The other natural isotopes, 184Os, and 186Os, have extremely long half-life (1.12×1013 years and 2×1015 years, respectively) and for practical purposes can be considered to be stable as well. 187Os is the daughter of 187Re (half-life 4.56×1010 years) and is most often measured in an 187Os/188Os ratio. This ratio, as well as the 187Re/188Os ratio, have been used extensively in dating terrestrial as well as meteoric rocks. It has also been used to measure the intensity of continental weathering over geologic time and to fix minimum ages for stabilization of the mantle roots of continental cratons. However, the most notable application of Os in dating has been in conjunction with iridium, to analyze the layer of shocked quartz along the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary that marks the extinction of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. There are also 30 artificial radioisotopes, the longest-lived of which is 194Os with a half-life of six years; all others have half-lives under 94 days. There are also nine known nuclear isomers, the longest-lived of which is 191mOs with a half-life of 13.10 hours. All isotopes and nuclear isomers of osmium are either radioactive or observationally stable, meaning that they are predicted to be radioactive but no actual decay has been observed.
  • 544
  • 30 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Inertial Confinement Fusion
Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is a type of fusion energy research that attempts to initiate nuclear fusion reactions by heating and compressing a fuel target, typically in the form of a pellet that most often contains a mixture of deuterium and tritium. Typical fuel pellets are about the size of a pinhead and contain around 10 milligrams of fuel. To compress and heat the fuel, energy is delivered to the outer layer of the target using high-energy beams of laser light, electrons or ions, although for a variety of reasons, almost all ICF devices (As of 2015) have used lasers. The heated outer layer explodes outward, producing a reaction force against the remainder of the target, accelerating it inwards, compressing the target. This process is designed to create shock waves that travel inward through the target. A sufficiently powerful set of shock waves can compress and heat the fuel at the center so much that fusion reactions occur. ICF is one of two major branches of fusion energy research, the other being magnetic confinement fusion. When it was first proposed in the early 1970s, ICF appeared to be a practical approach to power production and the field flourished. Experiments during the 1970s and '80s demonstrated that the efficiency of these devices was much lower than expected, and reaching ignition would not be easy. Throughout the 1980s and '90s, many experiments were conducted in order to understand the complex interaction of high-intensity laser light and plasma. These led to the design of newer machines, much larger, that would finally reach ignition energies. The largest operational ICF experiment is the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in the US, designed using the decades-long experience of earlier experiments. Like those earlier experiments, however, NIF has failed to reach ignition and is, as of 2015, generating about ​1⁄3 of the required energy levels.
  • 2.5K
  • 29 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Tonti Diagram
The Tonti diagram, created by the Italian physicist and mathematician Enzo Tonti, is a diagram that classifies variables and equations of physical theories of classical and relativistic physics. The theories involved are: particle dynamics, analytical mechanics, mechanics of deformable solids, fluid mechanics, electromagnetism, gravitation, heat conduction, and irreversible thermodynamics. The classification stems from the observation that each physical variable has a well-defined association with a space and a time element, as shown in Fig. 1, which can be grasped from the corresponding global variable and from its measuring process.
  • 1.7K
  • 29 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Traditional Chinese Star Names
Traditional Chinese star names (Chinese: 星名, xīng míng) are the names of stars used in ancient Chinese astronomy and astrology. Most of these names are enumerations within the respective Chinese constellations, but a few stars have traditional proper names.
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  • 29 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Sol Rezza
Sol Rezza (born April 7, 1982, Buenos Aires, Argentina ) is a composer, audio engineer and radio producer; specialist in sound design and composition in the field of experimental music and radio art for various media, theater, festivals and installations. Her main works of sound experimentation are the creation of immersive sound environments through the transformation of field recordings, effects and surround sound. Owner of an atypical professional tour, Sol Rezza works in different areas related to sound; from live performances, experimental compositions for radio to the realization of atmospheres / environments and / or sound effects for digital media, video games, films as well as for installations. All her works have two main axes of analysis: the way we perceive time and space through our senses and how sounds influence that perception.
  • 760
  • 29 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Thermoporometry and Cryoporometry
Thermoporometry and cryoporometry are methods for measuring porosity and pore-size distributions. A small region of solid melts at a lower temperature than the bulk solid, as given by the Gibbs–Thomson equation. Thus, if a liquid is imbibed into a porous material, and then frozen, the melting temperature will provide information on the pore-size distribution. The detection of the melting can be done by sensing the transient heat flows during phase transitions using differential scanning calorimetry – DSC thermoporometry, measuring the quantity of mobile liquid using nuclear magnetic resonance – NMR cryoporometry (NMRC) or measuring the amplitude of neutron scattering from the imbibed crystalline or liquid phases – ND cryoporometry (NDC). To make a thermoporometry / cryoporometry measurement, a liquid is imbibed into the porous sample, the sample cooled until all the liquid is frozen, and then warmed until all the liquid is again melted. Measurements are made of the phase changes or of the quantity of the liquid that is crystalline / liquid (depending on the measurement technique used). The techniques make use of the Gibbs–Thomson effect: small crystals of a liquid in the pores melt at a lower temperature than the bulk liquid : The melting point depression is inversely proportional to the pore size. The technique is closely related to that of use of gas adsorption to measure pore sizes but uses the Gibbs–Thomson equation rather than the Kelvin equation. They are both particular cases of the Gibbs Equations (Josiah Willard Gibbs): the Kelvin equation is the constant temperature case, and the Gibbs–Thomson equation is the constant pressure case.
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  • 29 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Electron-beam Technology
Since the mid-20th century, electron-beam technology has provided the basis for a variety of novel and specialized applications in semiconductor manufacturing, microelectromechanical systems, nanoelectromechanical systems, and microscopy.
  • 489
  • 29 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Magnetic Potential
The term magnetic potential can be used for either of two quantities in classical electromagnetism: the magnetic vector potential, or simply vector potential, A; and the magnetic scalar potential ψ. Both quantities can be used in certain circumstances to calculate the magnetic field B. The more frequently used magnetic vector potential is defined so that its curl is equal to the magnetic field: [math]\displaystyle{ \nabla \times \mathbf{A}=\mathbf{B}\, }[/math]. Together with the electric potential φ, the magnetic vector potential can be used to specify the electric field E as well. Therefore, many equations of electromagnetism can be written either in terms of the fields E and B, or equivalently in terms of the potentials φ and A. In more advanced theories such as quantum mechanics, most equations use potentials rather than fields. The magnetic scalar potential ψ is sometimes used to specify the magnetic H-field in cases when there are no free currents, in a manner analogous to using the electric potential to determine the electric field in electrostatics. One important use of ψ is to determine the magnetic field due to permanent magnets when their magnetization is known. With some care the scalar potential can be extended to include free currents as well. Historically, Lord Kelvin first introduced vector potential in 1851, along with the formula relating it to the magnetic field.
  • 7.0K
  • 29 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Zeta Ursae Majoris
Mizar is a 2nd magnitude star in the handle of the Big Dipper asterism in the constellation of Ursa Major. It has the Bayer designation ζ Ursae Majoris (Latinised as Zeta Ursae Majoris). It forms a well-known naked eye double star with the fainter star Alcor, and is itself a quadruple star system. The whole system lies about 83 light-years away from the Sun, as measured by the Hipparcos astrometry satellite, and is part of the Ursa Major Moving Group.
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Topic Review
Applications of Nanotechnology
The applications of nanotechnology, commonly incorporate industrial, medicinal, and energy uses. These include more durable construction materials, therapeutic drug delivery, and higher density hydrogen fuel cells that are environmentally friendly. Bein that nanoparticles and nanodevices are highly versatile through modification of their physiochemical properties, they have found uses in nanoscale electronics, cancer treatments, vaccines, hydrogen fuel cells, and nanographene batteries. Nanotechnology's use of smaller sized materials allows for adjustment of molecules and substances at the nanoscale level, which can further enhance the mechanical properties of materials or grant access to less physically accessible areas of the body.
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