Lasers, Computers, and Science Lead to Advances in Aluminum Technology

Scientists have discovered a platform to study how aluminum reacts with water; a process that produces a multitude of varied and complex compounds. For almost a century, the aqueous solution of aluminum have been a mystery to science. Using lasers, computers and chemistry, the researchers at Oregon State University and the University of Oregon have found a way to control the synthesis of aqueous aluminum clusters.

The chemical element Aluminum is a silvery white, soft, ductile metal. Next to oxygen and silicon, aluminum is the third most abundant element on the planet.

Even if it makes up about 8% of the total weight of the Earth's surface, aluminum is not found in its native and pristine state. Being chemically reactive, aluminum can be found combined with around 279 different minerals, even in drinking water.

The use of aluminum is varied and can be found in almost all segments of the world economy. Aluminum can be found in industries such as transportation, packaging, construction, consumer goods, and in electrical and industrial parts. Aluminum is also highly recyclable with a theoretical rate of 100% recyclability.

Recycled aluminium maintains the same physical properties as primary aluminium.

The recent breakthrough in aluminum technology may lead to other applications covering transistors, solar energy cells, corrosion protection, catalytic converters and other uses.

Japan's Riken Edges Closer To Naming Atomic Element 113

Elements are identified by their atomic numbers. The atomic number corresponds to the number of protons found in the element's nucleus.

Elements found in the atomic table greater than atomic number 92 are called heavy elements. Those that are past atomic number 112 are called superheavy elements. Although each element has a fixed number of protons, it can vary in the number of neutrons present. These variations of the same element are called isotopes.

Superheavy elements are unstable and radioactive. The half-life of these elements are very short, lasting mere microseconds and for some, even in nanoseconds. The half-life is the time in which half the atoms of an isotope starts to decay and break down. Scientists predict that elements within a region of atomic number 114 and up will have a more longer and stable half-life. These predicted elements are what they call the "island of stability".

One superheavy atom that has been involved in a race to its definite discovery is element 113. Temporarily named Ununtrium (un-un-tri-um: 113), the element is being claimed by two groups. A team of Russian scientists at Dubna (Joint Institute for Nuclear Research) and American scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory reported their experimental report pertaining to this element in August 2003.

On July 23, 2004, a team of Japanese scientists at RIKEN, Japan's premier science research institute, reported their detection of ununtrium in their experiments. They again produced another ununtrium atom in April 2005.

In 2011, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) evaluated the 2004 RIKEN experiments and 2004 and 2007 Dubna experiments. The scientific body concluded that both groups did not meet the criteria for the discovery of the element.

Search for element 113 concluded at last

The most unambiguous data to date on the elusive 113th atomic element has been obtained by researchers at the RIKEN Nishina Center for Accelerator-based Science (RNC). A chain of six consecutive alpha decays, produced in experiments at the RIKEN Radioisotope Beam Factory (RIBF), conclusively identifies the element through connections to well-known daughter nuclides. The groundbreaking result, reported in the Journal of Physical Society of Japan, sets the stage for Japan to claim naming rights for the element.

The search for superheavy elements is a difficult and painstaking process. Such elements do not occur in nature and must be produced through experiments involving nuclear reactors or particle accelerators, via processes of nuclear fusion or neutron absorption. Since the first such element was discovered in 1940, the United States, Russia and Germany have competed to synthesize more of them. Elements 93 to 103 were discovered by the Americans, elements 104 to 106 by the Russians and the Americans, elements 107 to 112 by the Germans, and the two most recently named elements, 114 and 116, by cooperative work of the Russians and Americans.

Extracting Nuclear Grade Uranium From Seawater Receives Big Boost From Emerging Technology

Uraninite

Uranium is a silvery white metallic element. It is a chemical element found in the actinide series of the periodic table. Uranium has the chemical symbol U and the atomic number 92.

It has 92 protons and 92 electrons. Six of these electrons are valence electrons. Valence electrons are electrons of an atom that can participate in the formation of chemical bonds with other atoms

Uranium occurs naturally in soil, rock, and water at low concentrations of a few parts per million. For commercial purposes, uranium is extracted from minerals such as uraninite (also known as pitchblende). Uraninite is a uranium-rich mineral and ore that is the major source for uranium.

Advances in decades-old dream of mining seawater for uranium

Scientists today reported progress toward a 40-year-old dream of extracting uranium for nuclear power from seawater, which holds at least 4 billion tons of the precious material. They described some of the most promising technology and an economic analysis showing uranium from the oceans could help solidify nuclear energy potential as a sustainable electricity source for the 21st century. Their reports were part of a symposium at the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society, being held here through Thursday.

"Estimates indicate that the oceans are a mother lode of uranium, with far more uranium dissolved in seawater than in all the known terrestrial deposits that can be mined," said Robin D. Rogers, Ph.D., who organized the symposium and presented his own technology. "The difficulty has always been that the concentration is just very, very low, making the cost of extraction high. But we are gaining on that challenge."

Erich Schneider, Ph.D., another speaker at the symposium, discussed an economic analysis done for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) comparing seawater extraction of uranium to traditional ore mining. It shows that DOE-funded technology now can extract about twice as much uranium from seawater as the first approaches, developed in Japan in the late 1990s.

Study On Benefits and Adverse Effect Of Oral Zinc Treatment For Common Cold

Illustration by Bloomberg View

Zinc is a chemical metallic element with the atomic number 30 and the symbol Zn. Zinc is an essential trace element needed by the human body. This element is second only to iron in its concentration in the body.

A trace element is a dietary mineral necessary for the proper growth, development, and physiology of the organism.

The required daily value of zinc for the human body is 15 mg for adults and children age 4 and older. High-protein foods contain high amounts of zinc such as beef, pork, and lamb. The dark meat of a chicken has more zinc than the light meat. Other good sources of zinc are nuts, whole grains, legumes, and yeast.

Other reasons people take zinc is to boost the immune system to treat the common cold and ear infections, prevent lower respiratory infections, and for malaria and other parasitic diseases. It is also used for macular degeneration, night blindness, and cataracts.

Oral zinc may lessen common cold symptoms but adverse effects are common

Oral zinc treatments may shorten the duration of symptoms of the common cold in adults, although adverse effects are common, according to a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

MIT News: Rare Earth Element Tellurium Detected in Stars

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Nearly 13.7 billion years ago, the universe was made of only hydrogen, helium and traces of lithium — byproducts of the Big Bang. Some 300 million years later, the very first stars emerged, creating additional chemical elements throughout the universe. Since then, giant stellar explosions, or supernovas, have given rise to carbon, oxygen, iron and the rest of the 94 naturally occurring elements of the periodic table.

Today, stars and planetary bodies bear traces of these elements, having formed from the gas enriched by these supernovas over time. For the past 50 years, scientists have been analyzing stars of various ages, looking to chart the evolution of chemical elements in the universe and to identify the astrophysical phenomena that created them.

Now a team of researchers from institutions including MIT has detected the element tellurium for the first time in three ancient stars. The researchers found traces of this brittle, semiconducting element — which is very rare on Earth — in stars that are nearly 12 billion years old. The finding supports the theory that tellurium, along with even heavier elements in the periodic table, likely originated from a very rare type of supernova during a rapid process of nuclear fusion. The researchers published their findings online in Astrophysical Journal Letters.

"We want to understand the evolution of tellurium — and by extension any other element — from the Big Bang to today," says Anna Frebel, an assistant professor of astrophysics at MIT and a co-author on the paper. "Here on Earth, everything's made from carbon and various other elements, and we want to understand how tellurium on Earth came about."