Negative Mass

Washington State University physicists have created a fluid with negative mass. Genrally when you apply force F=ma the mass move in the direction of the force ,but in case of negative mass the direction is opposite to the force applied, that is it accelarates backwards.

 

The necessary conditions for negative mass were created by cooling rubidium atoms to just a hair above absolute zero, creating what is known as a Bose-Einstein condensate called superfluid state in which the particles synchronize and move in unison without losing energy. This was achieved using lasers .

 

A second set of lasers were applied that kicked the atoms back and forth and changed the way they spin. Now when the rubidium rushes out fast enough, it behaves as if it has negative mass. Once you push, it accelerates backwards.

 

The problem with negative mass is that it appears to violate the energy condition. Indeed, that’s how theoretical physicists have been able to show how negative mass could be used to create exotic objects like wormholes.

 

Saoussen Mbarek and Manu Paranjape at the Université de Montréal in Canada say they’ve found a solution to Einstein’s theory of general relativity that allows negative mass without breaking any essential assumptions.

 

The crucial breakthrough by Mbarek and Paranjape is to show that negative mass can produce a reasonable Schwarzschild solution without violating the energy condition. Their approach is to think of negative mass not as a solid object, but as a perfect fluid, an otherwise common approach in relativity.

 

 

 

Flying Cars On The Horizon

Preorder your flying car and it will be available this year, Slovakia based Engineering company AeroMobil recently announced that its latest model will be available this year. This vehicle  is both a four wheeled car as well an aircraft. AeroMobil will be launching the new model at Top Marques Monaco,the most exclusive supercar show on April 20 ,2017.

The flying car was built in compliance with the existing regulatory frameworks for both cars and airplanes which means it is possible that future owners would need both a driver's license and a pilot license to operate the vehicle.

 

Another company Massachusetts-based (US) firm Terrafugia said that its prototype TF-X is expected to be ready by 2018 .Terrafugia’s vision for the future is the TF-X a mass-market flying car with the potential to revolutionize the way we all get around. An all-electric vehicle with vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capabilities and computer-controlled flight, the TF-X is the flying car of the future.    

 

The designs include fold-out wings and helicopter-like rotor blades. The vehicle will have a cruising speed of around 200mph (322 km/h).The planned four-person TF-X will be semi-autonomous and use computer-controlled so that passengers can simply type in a destination before taking off.

The vehicle will be able to recharge its batteries either from its engine or by plugging in to electric car charging stations.It is expected to cost around £183,000 ($261,000) when it goes on sale.
 
It will be a thrilling experience to drive as well as fly and they are on the horizon.

 

Watch some of the flying cars

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRZNLBL7Px4



 

Saturn Mission Spacecraft Cassini Final Journey

Cassini-Huygens Launched in 1997 completed 20 years of remarkable journey for studying the Saturn and its moons ,it reached Saturn in 2004 and since then On the final orbit, Cassini will plunge into Saturn’s atmosphere, sending back new and unique science to the very end. After losing contact with Earth, the spacecraft will burn up like a meteor, becoming part of the planet itself.  Cassini the orbiter and Huygens the Titan lander.

It Collected data of the two moons of Saturn, Enceladus and Titan, Cassini data revealed their potential to contain habitable or at least prebiotic environments. On December 25, 2004, Huygens separated from the orbiter, and it landed on Saturn's moon Titan.  It successfully returned data to Earth, using the orbiter as a relay. This was the first landing ever accomplished in the outer Solar System.

Cassini's finale plunge is a truly spectacular end for one of the most scientifically rich voyages yet undertaken in our solar system. From its launch in 1997 to the unique Grand Finale science of 2017, the Cassini-Huygens mission has racked up a remarkable list of achievements. 

NASA has chosen the name as "Cassini Grand Finale" for the dramatic final phase of its Saturn-studying Cassini mission, with a little help from the public.  

Significance of Avogadro's Number

Avogadro's number is the number of atoms,molecules or ions in one mole of a substance. It is the number of atoms in exactly 12 grams of carbon-12 or 16 grams of Oxygen-16. This experimentally determined value is approximately 6.02214179×1023 particles per mole.

We need to look at another parameter called AMU (atomic mass unit).One AMU is the average of the proton rest mass and the neutron rest mass. This is approximately  1.67377 x  10^-24 grams . 

The mass of a mole of substance is called the molar mass of that substance. The molar mass is used to convert grams of a substance to moles and is used often in chemistry.

There are 6 protons and six neutrons in carbon-12.

          so the molar mass of carbon-12 atom = 
           12 x 1.67377 x 10^-24 x 6.02214179×1023

2323

                        = 12.09 grams 

That is 1 mole of carbon is equivalent 12 grams of carbon-12 and contains Avogadro's number of atoms of Carbon-12. An element's atomic mass is listed as the average of all its isotopes on earth and can found in the periodic table. 

Let us calculate the molar mass of water   H2O

Symbol Element  Atomic weight   Atoms  

H Hydrogen 1.00794             2  

O Oxygen        15.9994             1  

Molar mass of H2O = 2 x 1.00794 + 1 X 15.9994 =18.01528 grams/mole

So one mole of any substance contains Avogadro number of  atoms or molecules or ions but molar mass is different.

Rare Earth Elements

The Rare Earth Elements are the 15 lanthanide series elements starting from atomic number 57-71, plus non-lanthanides yttrium(39)  and Scandium(21). The 17 rare earth elements are lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, and lutetium.

They are not especially rare as their name implies, but they tend to occur together in nature and are difficult to separate from one another. Thulium and lutetium are the two least abundant rare earth elements - but they each have an average crustal abundance that is nearly 200 times greater than the crustal abundance of gold. However, these metals are very difficult to mine because it is unusual to find them in concentrations high enough for economical extraction.

The most abundant rare earth elements are cerium, yttrium, lanthanum and neodymium.

Because of their unique magnetic, luminescent, and electrochemical properties, these elements help make many technologies perform with reduced weight, reduced emissions, and energy consumption; or give them greater efficiency, performance, miniaturization, speed, durability, and thermal stability.

Rare earth metals and alloys that contain them are used in many devices that people use every day such as computer memory, DVDs, rechargeable batteries, cell phones, catalytic converters, magnets, fluorescent lighting and much more.

Many rechargeable batteries are made with rare earth compounds. Demand for the batteries is being driven by demand for portable electronic devices such as cell phones, readers, portable computers, and cameras.  

NASA Solar Plus Probe To Study Sun From Close Range

Solar Plus Probe to be launched by NASA in 2018 to study the Sun from a close range than Helios almost from 3.9 million miles which is about 9 times the radius of Sun. At that distance it could face temperatures exceeding 2500 degrees Fahrenheit and radiation from the Sun. The spacecraft and instruments will be protected from the Sun’s heat and radiation by a 4.5-inch-thick (11.43 cm) carbon-composite shield.

The probe is expected to reach orbital velocities as high as 450,000 mph or 125 miles per second . For perspective, at this speed, you could travel from the Earth to the moon in about 30 minutes. Until now Juno the fastest-moving human-made object in history with 165,000 mph orbiting the Jupiter.

The primary mission of Solar Plus is to study the cause for solar winds and the flow of energy. Solar Probe Plus be equipped with a Faraday cup(developed by Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and Draper) to collect the data regarding the velocity and direction of the positively charged particles,  magnetic fields at the sources of solar wind.

Solar winds cause havoc on Power grids, disrupt communications, navigation systems and satellites. Solar activity can also cause power outages, such as the extensive Canadian blackout in 1989. The geomagnetic storm also causes the auroras also called polar lights or northern lights.

A geomagnetic storm is a temporary disturbance of the Earth's magnetosphere caused by a solar wind shock wave and/or cloud of magnetic field that interacts with the Earth's magnetic field.