news 2016
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Chemistry - Physics - 21.12.2016 
Materials: when defects turn into qualities
Hybrid organic-inorganic materials, which were developed approximately twenty years ago – notably by Gérard Férey, laureate of the CNRS 2010 Gold Medal, and his team – are known firstly for their extreme porosity. This remarkable property offers a diverse range of applications in the fields of energy, health, and sustainable development.
Physics - 19.12.2016 
Stretching time to improve extreme event prediction
Stretching time scales to explore extreme events in nature seemed impossible, yet this feat is now conceivable thanks to a team from the Institut FEMTO-ST (CNRS/UFC/UTBM/ENSMM), which used an innovative measurement technique enabling the capture of such events in real time. This technique, which is currently applied in the field of photonics, could help predict rogue wave events 1 on the ocean surface, along with other extreme natural phenomena.
Earth Sciences - Physics - 28.11.2016
History / Archeology - Physics - 15.11.2016 
Novel imaging approach reveals how ancient amulet was made
At 6000 years old, this copper amulet is the earliest lost-wax cast object known. Now, researchers have finally discovered how it was made, using a novel UV-visible photoluminescence spectral imaging approach. All the parameters of elaboration process, such as the purity of the copper, and melting and solidification temperatures, are now accurately known.
Physics - Health - 03.11.2016 
France doubles its experimental capability in nuclear physics
The new SPIRAL2 particle accelerator at the French large heavy-ion accelerator GANIL (CNRS/CEA), inaugurated on November 3 in the presence of the French President François Hollande, will be able to p
Chemistry - Physics - 11.10.2016 
New 3D design for mobile microbatteries
In the race towards miniaturization, a French-US team—mostly involving researchers from the CNRS, Université de Lille, Université de Nantes and Argonne National Laboratory (US) as part of the Research Network on Electrochemical Energy Storage (RS2E) 1 —has succeeded in improving the energy density of a rechargeable battery without increasing its size (limited to a few square millimeters in mobile sensors).
Chemistry - Physics - 07.10.2016 
Lifting the veil on Queen of Sheba’s perfume
It is one of the oldest fragrances in the world. Nicolas Baldovini's team at the Institut de chimie de Nice (CNRS/UNS) has just discovered the components that give frankincense its distinctive odor: two molecules found for the first time in nature, named “olibanic acids” by the scientists. Their research results have just been published online, on the website of the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition .
Physics - 04.10.2016 
French-Japanese laboratory to study materials under extreme conditions
To strengthen their collaboration in materials science and engineering, the CNRS, Université de Lyon, and Tohoku University are launching an international joint unit (UMI) 1 based in Sendai, Japan, on October 4, 2016. Named Engineering Science Lyon – Tohoku for Materials and Systems under Extreme Conditions (ELyTMaX), this new laboratory studies the behavior of materials subject to extreme and complex stress.
Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 14.09.2016 
Gaia maps the position of a billion stars
With one billion stars mapped in a thousand days, European researchers have shown that they are not afraid to tackle the most daunting tasks.
Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 15.06.2016
Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 07.06.2016 
LISA Pathfinder exceeds expectations
Mission accomplished for the LISA Pathfinder spacecraft after only two months of science operations. Not only were the technologies needed for the future eLISA 1 gravitational wave space observatory validated, but the performance of the ESA demonstrator also exceeded the project specifications by a factor of five, and was very close to requirements for eLISA .
Chemistry - Physics - 06.04.2016 
Nanoporous material’s strange "breathing" behavior
High-tech sponges of the infinitely small, nanoporous materials can capture and release gaseous or liquid chemicals in a controlled way.
Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 16.03.2016 
“A source accelerating Galactic cosmic rays to unprecedented energy discovered at the centre of the Milky Way”
For more than ten years the H.E.S.S. observatory in Namibia, run by an international collaboration of 42 institutions in 12 countries, has been mapping the centre of our galaxy in very-high-energy gamma rays. These gamma rays are produced by cosmic rays from the innermost region of the Galaxy.
Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 11.03.2016 
Gravitational Waves, a new way to explore the Universe
On 14 September 2015, gravitational wave detectors from the LIGO/VIRGO collaboration observed a signal from the coalescence of two black holes with masses of 36 and 29 solar masses at a distance of about 1.3 billion light-years. This extraordinary discovery opens the way in astronomy to study gravitational waves.
Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 09.03.2016 
Rosetta: type of ice reveals the age of comets
The ice buried inside comet 67P/ Churyumov-Gerasimenko is mainly found in crystalline form, which implies that it originated in the protosolar nebula and is therefore the same age as the Solar System. This discovery was made by an international team led by a researcher at the LAM 1 (CNRS/Aix Marseille Université) and also including scientists from the Laboratoire J.-L.
Education - Physics - 22.02.2016 
Soap bubbles’ secrets go pop
Some phenomena that appear to be well understood are much more mysterious than it seems. In spite of the numerous applications that rely on the presence or absence of bubbles, no advanced scientific studies had been carried out so far into how bubbles form.
Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 11.02.2016 
Gravitational waves detected 100 years after Einstein’s prediction
LIGO opens New Window on the Universe with Observation of Gravitational Waves from Colliding Black Holes. For the first time, scientists have observed ripples in the fabric of spacetime called gravitational waves, arriving at the Earth from a cataclysmic event in the distant universe. This confirms a major prediction of Albert Einstein's 1915 general theory of relativity and opens an unprecedented new window onto the cosmos.
Chemistry - Physics - 01.02.2016 
Molecular models help to better understand shale gas
Although shale gas development is attracting a lot of attention, the recovery method used, hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is raising increasing concerns. In order to develop more environmentally friendly methods, researchers need models and simulations validated by experiment and capable of reconstructing the complexity of such geological structures.
Physics
Results 1 - 18 of 18.
Hybrid organic-inorganic materials, which were developed approximately twenty years ago – notably by Gérard Férey, laureate of the CNRS 2010 Gold Medal, and his team – are known firstly for their extreme porosity. This remarkable property offers a diverse range of applications in the fields of energy, health, and sustainable development.
Stretching time scales to explore extreme events in nature seemed impossible, yet this feat is now conceivable thanks to a team from the Institut FEMTO-ST (CNRS/UFC/UTBM/ENSMM), which used an innovative measurement technique enabling the capture of such events in real time. This technique, which is currently applied in the field of photonics, could help predict rogue wave events 1 on the ocean surface, along with other extreme natural phenomena.
Marine sediments record variations in the Earth’s magnetic field
Past variations in the strength of the Earth's magnetic field are reflected by the production of isotopes in the atmosphere.
Past variations in the strength of the Earth's magnetic field are reflected by the production of isotopes in the atmosphere.
At 6000 years old, this copper amulet is the earliest lost-wax cast object known. Now, researchers have finally discovered how it was made, using a novel UV-visible photoluminescence spectral imaging approach. All the parameters of elaboration process, such as the purity of the copper, and melting and solidification temperatures, are now accurately known.
The new SPIRAL2 particle accelerator at the French large heavy-ion accelerator GANIL (CNRS/CEA), inaugurated on November 3 in the presence of the French President François Hollande, will be able to p
In the race towards miniaturization, a French-US team—mostly involving researchers from the CNRS, Université de Lille, Université de Nantes and Argonne National Laboratory (US) as part of the Research Network on Electrochemical Energy Storage (RS2E) 1 —has succeeded in improving the energy density of a rechargeable battery without increasing its size (limited to a few square millimeters in mobile sensors).
It is one of the oldest fragrances in the world. Nicolas Baldovini's team at the Institut de chimie de Nice (CNRS/UNS) has just discovered the components that give frankincense its distinctive odor: two molecules found for the first time in nature, named “olibanic acids” by the scientists. Their research results have just been published online, on the website of the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition .
To strengthen their collaboration in materials science and engineering, the CNRS, Université de Lyon, and Tohoku University are launching an international joint unit (UMI) 1 based in Sendai, Japan, on October 4, 2016. Named Engineering Science Lyon – Tohoku for Materials and Systems under Extreme Conditions (ELyTMaX), this new laboratory studies the behavior of materials subject to extreme and complex stress.
With one billion stars mapped in a thousand days, European researchers have shown that they are not afraid to tackle the most daunting tasks.
Gravitational waves spotted again
On 26 December 2015, scientists from the LIGO and Virgo collaborations received an unexpected Christmas gift when the Advanced LIGO detectors recorded a new gravitational wave signal, three months after the first detection 1 . And once again, the signal—a tiny distortion of spacetime—came from the final spinning 'dance' of two black holes on the point of merging, a phenomenon known as coalescence.
On 26 December 2015, scientists from the LIGO and Virgo collaborations received an unexpected Christmas gift when the Advanced LIGO detectors recorded a new gravitational wave signal, three months after the first detection 1 . And once again, the signal—a tiny distortion of spacetime—came from the final spinning 'dance' of two black holes on the point of merging, a phenomenon known as coalescence.
Mission accomplished for the LISA Pathfinder spacecraft after only two months of science operations. Not only were the technologies needed for the future eLISA 1 gravitational wave space observatory validated, but the performance of the ESA demonstrator also exceeded the project specifications by a factor of five, and was very close to requirements for eLISA .
High-tech sponges of the infinitely small, nanoporous materials can capture and release gaseous or liquid chemicals in a controlled way.
For more than ten years the H.E.S.S. observatory in Namibia, run by an international collaboration of 42 institutions in 12 countries, has been mapping the centre of our galaxy in very-high-energy gamma rays. These gamma rays are produced by cosmic rays from the innermost region of the Galaxy.
On 14 September 2015, gravitational wave detectors from the LIGO/VIRGO collaboration observed a signal from the coalescence of two black holes with masses of 36 and 29 solar masses at a distance of about 1.3 billion light-years. This extraordinary discovery opens the way in astronomy to study gravitational waves.
The ice buried inside comet 67P/ Churyumov-Gerasimenko is mainly found in crystalline form, which implies that it originated in the protosolar nebula and is therefore the same age as the Solar System. This discovery was made by an international team led by a researcher at the LAM 1 (CNRS/Aix Marseille Université) and also including scientists from the Laboratoire J.-L.
Some phenomena that appear to be well understood are much more mysterious than it seems. In spite of the numerous applications that rely on the presence or absence of bubbles, no advanced scientific studies had been carried out so far into how bubbles form.
LIGO opens New Window on the Universe with Observation of Gravitational Waves from Colliding Black Holes. For the first time, scientists have observed ripples in the fabric of spacetime called gravitational waves, arriving at the Earth from a cataclysmic event in the distant universe. This confirms a major prediction of Albert Einstein's 1915 general theory of relativity and opens an unprecedented new window onto the cosmos.
Although shale gas development is attracting a lot of attention, the recovery method used, hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is raising increasing concerns. In order to develop more environmentally friendly methods, researchers need models and simulations validated by experiment and capable of reconstructing the complexity of such geological structures.
