The power of photonics: from vertical farming to quantum computing

The power of photonics: from vertical farming to quantum computing

I am sharing this link from Physics World, August 31st. Torbay has some industry leading photonics companies, so anyone locally reading this may be interested.

James McKenzie marvels at the wonders of photonics, which is so much more crucial to everyday life than it first appears 

• The power of photonics: from vertical farming to quantum computing

Tags

#Science,#Photonics,#Farming.#QuantumComputing,#Applications, #Physics,#PhysicsWorld

Paignton Library STEM Group – September 2022

The September STEM group meeting will be taking place on Saturday 10/9/2022.

There is a post on the STEM Group blog with further details.

Tags

#STEM,#Science,#Space,#Activities,#Coding.#Discussions

Seeing universe's most massive known star

Astronomy is making fantastic new discoveries all the time, not just with space based telescopes but with ground based observatories too.

By harnessing the capabilities of the Gemini South telescope in Chile, astronomers have obtained the sharpest image ever of the star R136a1, the most massive known star in the universe. Their research challenges our understanding of the most massive stars and suggests that they may not be as massive as previously thought. 

This article explains more.

We are improving our knowledge and understanding all the time, with new telescopes both earth and space based due to come online over the next decade alone. This is probably a good time to start looking at studying astronomy and being part of something really exciting.

Links

• Science Daily
• Science Forums

Tags

#Science,#ScienceDaily,#Astronomy,#Star,#Massive,

Simple method destroys dangerous 'forever chemicals,' making water safe

Forever chemicals, known as PFAs, are found all over the world. Due to their nature, they are not broken down in nature.

As this means they are also found in drinking water, it puts humans at risk of harm. New research has found a way to remove these from water and make drinking water safer for consumption.

• Simple method destroys dangerous 'forever chemicals

Links

• Science Daily
• Science Forums

Tags

#Science,#ScienceDaily,##Disposal,#ForeverChemicals

Wind turbine blades could someday be recycled into sweet treats

Interesting article on New wind turbine technology that is more sustainable and allows old turbines to be disposed of and recycled. This is an important step forward as waste is still a big problem so finding more environmentally friendly with producing green energy makes that greener and better for the environment.

Also included a link to Science Forums to discuss further, again please link directly to the original article.

Links

• Science Daily
• Science Forums

Tags

#Science,#ScienceDaily,#WindTurbines,#Recycle,#Materials,#Composite

Paignton Library STEM Group – August 2022 Writeup

The August STEM group meeting took place on Saturday 13/8/2022. It was a quiet meeting but fairly productive.

I partly set up a monitor / keyboard and mouse as I was expecting 2 attendees to come along for help with a Raspberry Pi. They didn't make it so we just carried on with the other planned activities.

We watched the August Space Telescope Science Institute public lecture ( recording ) and had an interesting discussion around this, which also led to a discussion on photography and infra red and UV filtering. Harding also offered a talk on Space and time, which we will discuss further and agree for a later date.

Prior to the meeting starting, and with help from Loic at the library, we set up a tablet with the Lego WeDo 2.0 and got this working. So this is another activity for both Code Club and a future STEM Group meeting.

The next two Code Club will take place on the 20th August and 3rd September, while the next STEM group meeting will be on 10th September. So hopefully more of the same.

#STEM,#Science,#Space,#JWST,#Activities,#Coding.#Discussions

Paignton Library STEM Group – August 2022

The August STEM group meeting will take place on Saturday 13/8/2022. As with previous events, this will be a mix of Science, Technology, and Engineering subjects along with discussions and a look at projects brought along to the event.

We will be watching the August Space Telescope Science Institute public lecture ( recording )

Note : I have now fixed the issue with low volume, so we can now turn the sound up to level where people can hear any audio clearly.

Description

Speaker: Alexandra Lockwood (Space Telescope Science Institute)

The Webb Space Telescope has recently showcased its spectacular first images and is now ready to do incredible science! It has been a long road to get here, including meticulous planning, exacting execution, and an amazing amount of teamwork! Join Dr. Alex Lockwood as she talks about the journey from launch to commissioning, explores details of the first images and spectra, and helps us understand the awesome scientific potential of NASA's newest great observatory.

Recorded live on Tuesday, August 2, 2022.

Preceding this I have found a short video to explain emission and absorption spectra,

I have linked some courses on FreeCodeCamp, that are partially related to data analysis and use of Python in Science.

Schedule (talk / video stream)

• Emission and Absorption Line Spectra – A Level Physics
• James Webb – First image & Spectra – STSCI Lecture
  • Scientific Computing with Python
  • Data Analysis with Python
• STSCI
• JWST
• I have downloaded and printed the technical specification for the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope and will make this available too.
• Science forums question on spectra and molecules

The plan is to watch video, then have a discussion around this.

Schedule (projects stream)

As we are a bring you own projects group, then attendees can bring what they are working on, or perhaps carry on with what they are doing at Code Club for example.

Links

• Paignton Library
• Sense about Science
• Free Code Camp

Tags

#STEM,#Science,#Space,#JWST,#Activities,#Coding.#Discussions

STEM Science Session at Paignton Library

Sphere science will be running a family science session on Tuesday 23rd August at Paignton Library.

They are looking for some teenage volunteers to help run the session. Training provided in the morning, then after lunch present some activities to families.

Please see below for details

Tags

#SphereScience,#STEM,#Science,#Family,#Session

A New Map of All the Particles and Forces

A New Map of All the Particles and Forces

This is an interesting new way to look at the standard model of particle physics that re-arranges things to better illustrate how different particles relate to each other.

The current diagram to present the standard model is below, this just shows the normal matter. I have one that shows anti matter too. In some ways this follows a similar layout to the periodic table

As an intermediate, diagram I actually like this diagram

Both the above diagrams are sourced from [1].

The new model called the 'double simple model' does look far more complex. However it has far more detail and better illustrates the relationship and interactions between the different forces / particles. You can view this at [1], while the paper describing how the team came up with this is at [2].

I have printed this, so it is something to discuss at the next STEM group meeting on the 12th March.

I think the paper at [2] has been around for a while, so this article is more on the Quanta Magazine article.

Related Links

1 Quanta Magazine Article 2 Cornell University paper

In a recent update it seems the mass of the W boson could throw a real spanner in the works regarding the standard model.

1. Newly Measured Particle Seems Heavy Enough to Break Known Physics

General Links

• Paignton Library STEM Group
• Discourse Discussion
• Tuxiversity
• Science Forums
• Preproom
• Qoto Mastodon
• Social coding
• Science Daily

TAGS

#YearOfTheFediverse,#FediverseRising,#Science,#ParticlePhysics, #StandardModel,#Relationship,#Illustration,#Physics

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August STSCI Lecture

The next space telescope science institute lecture is on the 2nd August. The topic of this is Webb's First Look: Images and Spectra from NASA's Newest Great Observatory

We will also be watching this lecture as part of the August STEM Group meeting on Saturday 13th August.

Description

Speaker: Alexandra Lockwood (Space Telescope Science Institute)

The Webb Space Telescope has recently showcased its spectacular first images and is now ready to do incredible science! It has been a long road to get here, including meticulous planning, exacting execution, and an amazing amount of teamwork! Join Dr. Alex Lockwood as she talks about the journey from launch to commissioning, explores details of the first images and spectra, and helps us understand the awesome scientific potential of NASA's newest great observatory.

Links

• STSCI
• JWST
• Science forums question on spectra and molecules

Tags

#Science,#Space,#JWST,STSCI,#Astronomy