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A Wizard's Guide to Understanding Vacuum and Vacuum Coating (Don McClure)
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In an April of Human Isolation, Photos From the Animal Kingdom
Across the world, humans aren't the only ones affected by global upheavals.
Pandemics affect the animal kingdom as well as people. While most of
the human world hunkers down for yet more days of isolation, wildlife
can inspire us to contemplate how humans are as much a part of the
environment as they are. In Belgium, a llama’s antibodies may assist
scientists researching ways to fight COVID-19. In western Kenya, a new
species of bat helps to launch a collection of research articles for
scientific advancement. Finally, monkeys in Nepal and Uganda show just
how closely humans and animals interact. This month, we take a look at
the state of global animal affairs.
READ FULL ARTICLE.
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Anti-Vaccine Messaging Is Well-Connected on Social Media
A
new social network map shows a well-connected anti-vaccine movement,
now intertwined with coronavirus conspiracy theories.
A
video dubbed "Plandemic" that brought together unsubstantiated and
debunked claims and conspiracies about the coronavirus, featuring
a
discredited virologist
who is also aligned with the anti-vaccine movement, gathered millions of views last week
.
READ FULL ARTICLE.
Image credits:
N. Velasquez and N.F. Johnson
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Hubble Space Telescope Celebrates 30 Years
It’s one of NASA’s longest-living and most valuable telescopes, sending back amazing space images to Earth for decades.
This
month, the Hubble Space Telescope hits its 30th year in
orbit. Some of its biggest discoveries have shown us that the
expansion of the universe is actually accelerating, something that
wasn’t envisioned when the telescope was launched in 1990.
WATCH VIDEO.
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Deep Ocean Currents Carry Plastic Microfibers Into Seafloor Hot Spots
Researchers discover hot spot off the coast of Italy with up to 1.9 million pieces of plastic per square meter.
The
deep waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea off the western Italian coast hold
centuries' worth of shipwrecks and lost cargo from past civilizations.
But new research shows that recent civilization has left a heavy burden
on parts of the seafloor.
READ FULL ARTICLE.
Image credits:
Image courtesy of Ian Kane.
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New Gait, Developed on Poppy Seed Soil, Could Help NASA Rovers Explore Moon and Mars
Researchers have developed unique gaits for rovers to prevent them from getting stuck in deep sand or soil.
Alone
on the desolate surface of Mars, NASA rover Spirit rests in an unmarked
grave. Spirit became trapped in a pit of loose sand in 2009; engineers
tried for months to extricate it, wheels spinning, to no avail. Since
then, scientists and engineers have been searching for better methods of
rover locomotion across loose, soft soil.
READ FULL ARTICLE.
Image credits
:
Courtesy of Goldman Lab, Georgia Tech
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Delayed Kentucky Derby Could Make Rescheduled Run in September Faster
Racing later this year could influence which horses will be at their best -- and their chances of winning.
The
first Saturday in May is usually a festive occasion in Louisville,
Kentucky, culminating with the running of the Kentucky Derby, arguably
the most famous horse race in North America. But this year it will be
eerily quiet, as the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the race to be
postponed until September.
READ FULL ARTICLE.
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Heavy Rains May Make Volcanoes Rumble
A new study suggests a correlation between volcanic activity and heavy rainfall, but other volcanologists are skeptical.
Despite its lush tropical flora and pristine beaches, Hawaii would not
have been a great place to be two years ago around this time. On April
14-15, 2018, some 49 inches of rain deluged the island of Kauai in 24
hours, setting a rainfall record for the entire United States. About two
and a half weeks later, on Hawaii, the archipelago's Big Island, the
volcano Kilauea awakened.
READ FULL ARTICLE.
Rights information:
Public Domain
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How to Fly a Helicopter on Mars
NASA
will soon see if specially designed blades spinning really fast can
carry a small chopper through the planet’s barely there
atmosphere.
This summer, the
Mars 2020
mission
is set to blast off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on the start of a
half-year journey to the red planet. Its star passenger is the
Perseverance rover, tasked with searching for signs of ancient life and
collecting rock and soil samples. But tucked underneath the 1-ton rover
is a 4-pound companion vehicle that could quietly make space exploration
history, becoming the first power-controlled aircraft to fly on another
planet.
READ FULL ARTICLE.
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The Beautiful Patterns Left Behind When Whiskey Dries
Scientists can tell where whiskey came from by the patterns it creates.
It
started with a sabbatical and a case of whiskey. Time away from the
usual research and teaching responsibilities -- and a bit of
inspiration. University of Louisville mechanical engineer Stuart J.
Williams wanted to learn more about how particles and fluids interact,
which is called colloid science. And just before he was set to spend
some time working with an expert in the field named Orlin Velev,
Williams talked to a colleague at the Kentucky-based beverage giant
Brown-Forman, who mentioned that whiskeys happen to contain colloids.
Thus a project was born.
READ FULL ARTICLE.
Image credits:
Individual images by Stuart J. Williams, composite arrangement by Abigail Malate, staff illustrator
Rights information:
This image may be reproduced with this Inside Science story.
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Moiré Patterns Reveal Materials' Hidden Properties
By overlapping materials with periodic properties, scientists can detect features otherwise too small to be seen directly.
Moiré
patterns, named after the wavy-looking French fabric, are the
mesmerizing dark bands you see when looking through layered fences or
when taking a picture of a TV screen. More than just a visual illusion,
the underlying geometry of Moiré patterns has a wide range of
applications, from special beacons that guide ships into port to
anti-counterfeiting designs on paper money.
READ FULL ARTICLE.
Rights information:
Public domain
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In Bacteria, Some Daughters Are Born Old
Bacteria engineered to glow green are helping to show how damage from aging is passed down through generations.
When
bacteria reproduce, they divide into two equal daughters. At least,
that's the traditional view. For decades, differences between the two
daughter cells were put down to random chance.
READ FULL ARTICLE.
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Why Is an Empty Shampoo Bottle So Easy to Knock Over?
Two physics experts answer a bewildering shower thought.
Knocking
over a shampoo bottle is an annoyance most of us have experienced,
especially when the bottle is almost empty and seems to fall at the
slightest nudge. In a recent
article
from The
Physics Teacher, physicists knocked over shampoo bottles and showcased
basic physics concepts such as center of mass and force of impact in a
series of simple experiments.
READ FULL ARTICLE.
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OUR MISSION
Striving to MAKE A DIFFERENCE in the lives of our students.
One
of the SVC’s long-term goals has always been to support charitable,
educational, and scientific activities. As its first initiative, the
Foundation created a scholarship program aimed at supporting
enterprising students and practitioners who have an interest in
furthering their education in the field of vacuum coating
technology.
The
Foundation also grants travel awards to students to attend and present
technical papers at the annual SVC Technical Symposium. Since its
inception, both programs have awarded over $250,000 in scholarships to
students from the United States, Canada, China, Lithuania and Spain.
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Society of Vacuum Coaters | PO Box 10628, Albuquerque, NM 87184
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