A Chinese perspective on autumn

In Chinese thought, autumn is with the direction west, considered to be the direction of dreams and visions. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/autumn-equinox-cycles-of-nature-and-chinese-philosophy…

Aberrant electronic and structural alterations in pressure-tuned perovskite

The perovskite NaOsO3 has a complicated but interesting temperature-dependent metal-insulator transition (MIT). A team led by Drs. Raimundas Sereika and Yang Ding from the Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research (HPSTAR) showed that the insulating ground state in NaOsO3 can be preserved up to at least 35 GPa with a sluggish MIT reduction from 410 K to a…

Image: Mesh reflector for shaped radio beams

This prototype 2.6-m diameter metal-mesh antenna reflector represents a big step forward for the European space sector: versions can be manufactured to reproduce any surface pattern that antenna designers wish, something that was previously possible only with traditional solid antennas. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-09-image-mesh-reflector-radio.html…

The Hall effect links superconductivity and quantum criticality in a strange metal

Over the past few decades, researchers have identified a number of superconducting materials with atypical properties, known as unconventional superconductors. Many of these superconductors share the same anomalous charge transport properties and are thus collectively characterized as “strange metals.” …

The Pringles Tube Is Being Redesigned Because It’s a ‘Recycling Nightmare’

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the BBC: The distinctive Pringles tube is being re-designed after criticism that it’s almost impossible to recycle. The current container for the potato-based snack was condemned as a recycler’s nightmare. It’s a complex construction with a metal base, plastic cap, metal tear-off lid, and foil-lined cardboard sleeve. The Recycling Association dubbed it the number…

Tesla Model Y Owners Find Cooling System Cobbled Together With Home Depot-Grade Fake Wood

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Drive: According to several owners of the all-new Model Y, Tesla has allegedly assembled their cars using what appears to be faux wood trim from a home improvement store. It all started with a forum post featuring a photo of a Model Y’s frunk plastics removed. The original poster of the thread had…

What are brown dwarfs?

A brown dwarf is more massive than a planet, but less massive than a star. Exactly how much more and less? Source: https://earthsky.org/space/definition-what-are-brown-dwarfs…

EU Draft Plan Targets Free Carbon Credit Cut For Most Industries

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Most industries covered by the European Union’s carbon market would see free credits cut by the highest possible rate over the next five years under draft plans, potentially costing some of the biggest polluters millions of euros. The carbon market is the EU’s main policy for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, by forcing power…

Astronomers identify 18 metal-poor stars in the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) astronomers have detected 18 very metal-poor stars in the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy. They found that one of the stars from the sample has an extremely low metallicity, slightly below -3.0. The study was reported in a paper published August 22 on the arXiv preprint repository. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-09-astronomers-metal-poor-stars-sagittarius-dwarf.html…