melt – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Researchers ‘Nanoweld’ by Applying Light to Aligned Nanorods in Solid Materials

By Guest PostMarch 9, 2013Scienceabsorb, fibers, gold nanorods, heat, infrared spectrum, jason bochinski, joe tracy, krystian kozek, laura clarke, light, light wavelengths, mechanical characteristics, melt, nanometers, nanoparticles, nanoscale, nm, north carolina state university, polymers, researcher, resilient nanofibers, sigma xi, somsubhra maity, wavelengths, weld, wie chen wu

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a way to melt or “weld” specific portions of polymers by embedding aligned nanoparticles within the materials. Their technique, which melts fibers along a chosen direction within a material, may lead to stronger, more resilient nanofibers and materials.

Physicists Jason Bochinski and Laura Clarke, with materials scientist Joe Tracy, placed specifically aligned gold nanorods within a solid material. Gold nanorods absorb light at different wavelengths, depending upon the size and orientation of the nanorod, and then they convert that absorbed light directly into heat. In this case, the nanorods were designed to respond to light wavelengths of 520 nanometers (nm) in a horizontal alignment and 800 nm when vertically aligned. Human beings can see light at 520 nm (it looks green), while 808 nm is in the near infrared spectrum, invisible to our eyes. (more…)

Surviving Without Ice

By Guest PostSeptember 15, 2012Environment, Natureamphipods, apherusa glacialis, arctic crustaceans, arctic ocean, disney movie, Environment, finding nemo, fram strait, geir johnsen, gulf stream, jorgen berge, life cycle, mark moline, melt, nemo hypothesis, north pole, ocean current, sea ice, shrimp

Arctic crustaceans use currents, deep-water migration to survive sea ice melts

With sea ice in the Arctic melting to record lows in summer months, marine animals living there face dramatic changes to their environment. Yet some crustaceans, previously thought to spend their entire lives on the underside of sea ice, were recently discovered to migrate deep underwater and follow ocean currents back to colder areas when ice disappears.

“Our findings provide a basic new understanding of the adaptations and biology of the ice-associated organisms within the Arctic Ocean,” said Mark Moline, director of the University of Delaware’s School of Marine Science and Policy in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment. “They also may ultimately change the perception of ice fauna as imminently threatened by the predicted disappearance of perennial sea ice.” (more…)

Ancient Forest Emerges Mummified From the Arctic

By Guest PostDecember 17, 2010Environment, Sciencealberta, Arctic, arctic biodiversity, arctic ice, atmosphere, birch, branches, canada, carbon dioxide, david elliot, ellesmere island, ellesmere island national park, global cooling, global warming, joel barker, landslide, melt, melting glacier, methane, mummified forest, North America, ohio state university, organic material, pollen, spruce, tree trunks

SAN FRANCISCO — The northernmost mummified forest ever found in Canada is revealing how plants struggled to endure a long-ago global cooling.

Researchers believe the trees — buried by a landslide and exquisitely preserved 2 to 8 million years ago — will help them predict how today’s Arctic will respond to global warming.

They also suspect that many more mummified forests could emerge across North America as Arctic ice continues to melt. As the wood is exposed and begins to rot, it could release significant amounts of methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere — and actually boost global warming. (more…)

Tag Archives: melt

Researchers ‘Nanoweld’ by Applying Light to Aligned Nanorods in Solid Materials

Surviving Without Ice

Ancient Forest Emerges Mummified From the Arctic