Researchers from Australia have discovered that the widely acclaimed mineral perovskite can be used to transform the solar industry through cheaper and more efficient photovoltaics. The Independent reports: Perovskite, which is forged deep within the Earth’s mantle, has been hailed for its unprecedented potential to convert sunlight into electricity. Researchers have already improved its sunlight-to-energy efficiency from around 3 per cent…
Tag: mantle
BlackBerry Phones Aren’t Dead Yet
After TCL announced plans to stop producing BlackBerry phones later this year, it seemed like the once-popular BlackBerry brand would finally be coming to an end. “But now, a new company has pledged to take up the BlackBerry mantle with promises of releasing a new phone featuring a good ‘ol physical keyboard sometime next year,” reports Gizmodo. From the report: In…
Juno’s new images reveal Ganymede’s north pole
These are the first spacecraft images yet acquired of the north pole of Ganymede, largest moon of the giant planet Jupiter. NASA’s Juno spacecraft – now orbiting Jupiter – obtained them. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/ganymede-north-pole-infrared-images-juno-spacecraft-jupiter…
Are the Earth’s magnetic poles about to swap places?
Earth’s previous polar reversal happened 780,000 years ago. Are we facing another one soon? Hear from the authors of a new study, on a strange anomaly that might be a clue. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/earths-magnetic-poles-reversal-soon-study…
Looks like Venus has dozens of active volcanoes
“This study significantly changes the view of Venus from a mostly inactive planet to one whose interior is still churning and can feed many active volcanoes,” one scientist said. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/venus-3d-model-evidence-active-volcanoes…
A proposed new mission to Venus
The proposed VERITAS mission to Venus is one of the finalists for NASA’s Discovery Program. If selected, it will revolutionize our knowledge about the planet’s geology and how this formerly habitable world became a fiery wasteland. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/veritas-mission-venus-surface-interior-geology…
Giant Clams Manipulate Light To Assist Their Symbiotic Partner
Special cells in giant clams shift the wavelength of light to protect them from UV radiation and increase the photosynthetic activity of their symbionts, shows research from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology — originally intended as a photonics investigation. Phys.Org reports: Like corals, giant clams are important players in reef ecosystems and live in symbiosis with photosynthetic Symbiodiniaceae algae….
Moon’s Metal-Rich Craters Challenge Popular Theories About Its Origin
schwit1 shares a report from UPI: The most popular theory of the moon’s origins contends the satellite was formed when a Mars-sized object collided with Earth, vaporizing large portions of Earth’s upper crust. While Earth’s upper crust is poor in metals, new research — published Wednesday in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters — suggests the moon’s subsurface is surprisingly…
An Embattled Group of Hackers Picks Up the WikiLeaks Mantle
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: For the past year, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has sat in a London jail awaiting extradition to the US. This week, the US Justice Department piled on yet more hacking conspiracy allegations against him, all related to his decade-plus at the helm of an organization that exposed reams of government and corporate…
The monstrous ‘blobs’ near Earth’s core may be even bigger than we thought
Using thousands of seismic wave recordings, researchers mapped the mysterious ‘blobs’ deep below the Pacific Ocean and found they are even bigger than imagined. Source: https://www.livescience.com/core-mantle-ulvz-blobs-enormous