Experts Discover a new state of water molecule

Scientist, including one of Indian origin, have unveiled unique and unexpected behavior of water molecules that is unmatched by any known gas, liquid or solid states. Researchers at the US department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) described a new tunneling state of water molecules confined in hexagonal ultra-small channels – 5 angstrom across – of the mineral beryl.

                An angstrom is 1/10-billionth of a meter, and individual atoms are typically about one angstrom in diameter. The discovery, made possible with experiments at ORNL’s Spallation Neutron Source and the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the UK, demonstrates features of water under ultra confinement in rocks, soil and cell walls. “At low temperatures, this tunneling water exhibits quantum motion through the separating potential walls, which is forbidden in classical world,” said lead author Alexander Kolesnikov. “ This means the oxygen and hydrogen atoms of water molecule are ‘delocalized’ and therefore simultaneously present in all six symmetrically equivalent positions in the same time.”

                The existence of the tunneling state of water should help scientists better describe the thermodynamic properties and behavior of water in highly confined environments such as water diffusion and transport in the channels of cell membranes.

                The neutron scattering and computational chemistry experiments showed that, in the tunneling state, the water molecules are delocalized around a ring so it assumes a double top-like shape. First principle simulations made by Narayani Choudhury showed that the tunneling behavior is coupled to the vibrational dynamics of the beryl structure.

                “The kinetic energy of water protons obtained from the neutron experiment is a measure of their motion at absolute zero temperature and is about 30% less than it is in bulk liquid or solid water,” Kolesnikov said.

Asia's biggest telescope ARIES launched at Devasthal in Uttarakhand

On 30 March 2016, Prime minister Narendra Modi and Belgian Prime minister Charles Michel remotely launched Asia’s biggest telescope, the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) which is located at Devasthal near Nainital in Uttarakhand. The telescope is the product of an Indo-Belgian collaborative effort and was assisted by the Russian Academy of Sciences. It will replace Vainu Bappu Observatory in Kavalur, Tamil Nadu to be Asia’s largest ground-based optical telescope.

Highlights:

·         It is the largest optical telescope of its kind in Asia.

·         It will be used to study star structures and magnetic field structures of stars.

·         India produced this telescope in collaboration with a Belgian company called AMOS (Advanced Mechanical and Optical Systems) to build and install the mirrors in 2007.

·         The telescope with a 3.6-metre-wide primary mirror will collect light from its field of view and focus it onto a 0.9-metre secondary mirror from where it will be diverted to various detectors for analysis. This arrangement, called the Ritchey-Chrétien design.

Exercise helps some genes prolong life

Certain genes may play an important role in prolonging lifespan if coupled with a healthy environment that includes exercise, a new study has claimed. Researchers studied the genes in the brain’s dopamine system to assess their impact on lifespan and behavior in mice. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that helps control the brain’s reward and pleasure centres and helps regulate physical mobility and emotional response. The mice in the enriched environment lived anywhere from 16 to 22% longer than those in a deprived environment, depending on the level of D2R expression, said Panayotis K Thanos from University at Buffalo in the US.

Super radio telescope finds 1,300 galaxies

Even operating at a quarter of its eventual capacity, South Africa’s MeerKAT radio telescope showed off its phenomenal power, revealing 1,300 galaxies in a tiny corner of the universe where only 70 were known before. The image released on 18^th July was the first from MeerKAT, where 16 dishes were formally commissioned the same day.

                MeerKAT’s full contingent of 64 receptors will be integrated next year into multi-nation Square Kilometer Array (SKA) which is set to become the world’s most powerful radio telescope. When fully up and running in the 2020’s, the SKA will comprise 3,000 dishes scattered around several countries and allow astronomers to peer deeper into space in unparallel detail.

                It will have a discovery potential 10,000 times greater than the most advanced modern instruments and will explore exploding stars, black holes, dark energy and traces of the universe’s origins some 14 billion year ago.