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Categories: Geoscience: Severe Weather, Physics: Optics
Published Common plastics could passively cool and heat buildings with the seasons
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source By restricting radiant heat flows between buildings and their environment to specific wavelengths, coatings engineered from common materials can achieve energy savings and thermal comfort that goes beyond what traditional building envelopes can achieve.
Published New twists on tornadoes: Earth scientist studies why U.S. has so many tornadoes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Across the Midwest during the warmer months, studying the sky for signs of storms and tornadoes becomes one of the most popular pastimes. Working at the intersection of climate science and meteorology and using modeling, scientists are looking at the big picture of what causes severe storms and tornadoes -- and what dictates where they occur.
Published Climate change and sea level rise pose an acute challenge for cities with combined sewer systems
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Older coastal cities, like Philadelphia, New York and Boston are at risk of being inundated by untreated sewage during floods. Due in part to the design of their combined sewer systems and in part due to sea level rise, these cities could be facing a growing public health crisis as climate change also drives more extreme precipitation. The group recently published research that modeled the potential extent of the problem in a section of the coastal city of Camden, New Jersey, and the effectiveness of one proposed intervention to help protect these communities.
Published Solar technology: Innovative light-harvesting system works very efficiently
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers are reporting progress on the road to more efficient utilization of solar energy: They have developed an innovative light-harvesting system.
Published A chip-scale Titanium-sapphire laser
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source With a single leap from tabletop to the microscale, engineers have produced the world's first practical Titanium-sapphire laser on a chip, democratizing a once-exclusive technology.
Published El Niño forecasts extended to 18 months with innovative physics-based model
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source As more attention is drawn to possible severe weather around the world scientists are looking to improve planning for possible droughts, floods and other scenarios. A team of researchers created a new tool that will allow forecasting of El Nino Southern Oscillation by up to 18 months.
Published A new study highlights potential of ultrafast laser processing for next-gen devices
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study uncovers the remarkable potential of ultrafast lasers that could provide innovative solutions in 2D materials processing for many technology developers such as high-speed photodetectors, flexible electronics, biohybrids, and next-generation solar cells.
Published An optical lens that senses gas
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A research team has developed a small optical lens, only a few millimeters in size, whose refractive behavior changes in the presence of gas. This 'intelligent' behavior of the micro-lens is enabled by the hybrid glass material from which it is made. The molecular structure of the lens consists of a three-dimensional lattice with cavities that can accommodate gas molecules, thereby affecting the optical properties of the material.
Published Light-weight microscope captures large-scale brain activity of mice on the move
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source With a new microscope that's as light as a penny, researchers can now observe broad swaths of the brain in action as mice move about and interact with their environments.
Published For many urban residents, it's even hotter than their weather app says
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source There's a strong chance that last week's scorching temperatures were even hotter than reported for those living in underserved urban areas. New research from environmental engineers has shown that citizen science tools used to gauge heat in these urban areas likely understate the problem of heat islands due to a lack of weather stations. The researchers also suggest a statistical method to improve estimates of urban heat.
Published Moving objects precisely with sound
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have succeeded in directing floating objects around an aquatic obstacle course using only soundwaves. Their novel, optics-inspired method holds great promise for biomedical applications such as noninvasive targeted drug delivery.
Published Novel application of optical tweezers: Colorfully showing molecular energy transfer
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Using a novel non-contact approach, a research team has successfully controlled the speed and efficiency of Forster resonance energy transfer between fluorescent molecules by varying the intensity of a laser beam.
Published Human activity: A double-edged sword in the face of drought
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A professor analyzes the conflicting impacts of human activities on extreme spring droughts.
Published Controlling electronics with light: The magnetite breakthrough
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have discovered that by shining different wavelengths (colors) of light on a material called magnetite, they can change its state, e.g. making it more or less conducive to electricity. The discovery could lead to new ways of designing new materials for electronics such as memory storage, sensors, and other devices that rely on fast and efficient material responses.
Published Restoring the Great Salt Lake would have environmental justice as well as ecological benefits
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Inland seas around the world are drying up due to increasing human water use and accelerating climate change, and their desiccation is releasing harmful dust that pollutes the surrounding areas during acute dust storms. Using the Great Salt Lake in Utah as a case study, researchers show that dust exposure was highest among Pacific Islanders and Hispanic people and lower in white people compared to all other racial/ethnic groups, and higher for individuals without a high school diploma. Restoring the lake would benefit everyone in the vicinity by reducing dust exposure, and it would also decrease the disparities in exposure between different racial/ethnic and socioeconomic groups.
Published Hurricane changed 'rules of the game' in monkey society
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A devastating hurricane transformed a monkey society by changing the pros and cons of interacting with others, new research shows.
Published Researchers leverage shadows to model 3D scenes, including objects blocked from view
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new technique can model an entire 3D scene, including areas hidden from view, from just one camera image. The method relies on image shadows, which provide information about the geometry and location of hidden objects.
Published Large wildfires create weather that favors more fire
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study shows soot from large wildfires in California traps sunlight, making days warmer and drier than they ought to be.
Published Researchers film energy materials as they form
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Shooting a movie in the lab requires special equipment. Especially when the actors are molecules -- invisible to the naked eye -- reacting with each other. 'Imagine trying to film tiny lava flows during a volcanic eruption. Your smartphone camera wouldn't be up to the job.
Published Effective hurricane risk messaging
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Forecasters can use images in social media to better communicate weather related hazards of hurricanes, according to a pair of new studies.