Sunspots linked to Pacific rain

 
  A study has shown how sunspots could affect climate in the Pacific.
Writing in the journal Science, the international team detailed how the 11-year sunspot cycle might influence the amount of rain falling on the ocean.
It is hoped the findings will lead to better models for regional climate predictions.
The authors emphasised the findings "cannot be used to explain recent global warming because of the trend over the past 30 years".
Sunspots are cooler areas on the Sun's surface that are marked by intense magnetic activity.
Although dimmer than their surroundings, their presence is usually accompanied by bright spots, or faculae, which result in a slight general overall brightening of our star when it is most active.

Sunspots and rain

The new study suggests that relatively small variations in sunspot activity might result in changes in climate.
Two mechanisms are involved.
The first is "top-down" where changes in the upper layers of the atmosphere contribute to wetter conditions below.
The second is "bottom-up" where the ocean evaporates and more clouds are produced.
The study used models to show how these two mechanisms might act together to produce rainfall similar to that observed in the tropics.

In addition, the models predict a cooling effect of the surface of the ocean in equatorial regions.

A step forward

Brad Carter, from the University of Southern Queensland, Australia, said: "This paper represents a useful step forward."
Others, however, were not so convinced.
In an interview with the journal Science, Joanna Haigh from Imperial College London, UK, said: "It is not nearly as conclusive as they would have it."
In the same interview, David Rind of the US space agency (Nasa) added that "even if the amplifier exists, its climate leverage is still relatively puny".
In response Dr Meehl, one of the authors of the study, told BBC News: "There could be other mechanisms in the system that also connect solar variability to climate.
"But the new result here is that we have identified these two (mechanisms) that can produce signals of the size we expect to see in the observations.
"And we've reproduced them in a climate model simulation for the first time."

Single molecule's stunning image

Even the bonds to the hydrogen atoms at the pentacene's periphery can be seen

The detailed chemical structure of a single molecule has been imaged for the first time, say researchers.

The physical shape of single carbon nanotubes has been outlined before, using similar techniques - but the new method even shows up chemical bonds.

Understanding structure on this scale could help in the design of many things on the molecular scale, particularly electronics or even drugs.

The IBM researchers report their findings in the journal Science.

It is the same group that in July reported the feat of measuring the charge on a single atom.

Fine tuning

In both cases, a team from IBM Research Zurich used what is known as an atomic force microscope or AFM.

Their version of the device acts like a tiny tuning fork, with one of the prongs of the fork passing incredibly close to the sample and the other farther away.

When the fork is set vibrating, the prong nearest the sample will experience a minuscule shift in the frequency of its vibration, simply because it is getting close to the molecule.

Comparing the frequencies of the two prongs gives a measure of just how close the nearer prong is, effectively mapping out the molecule's structure.

The microscope must be kept under high vacuum and exceptionally cold

The measurement requires extremes of precision. In order to avoid the effects of stray gas molecules bounding around, or the general atomic-scale jiggling that room-temperature objects experience, the whole setup has to be kept under high vacuum and at blisteringly cold temperatures.

However, the tip of the AFM's prong is not well-defined and isn't necessarily sharp on the scale of single atoms. The effect of this bluntness is to blur the instrument's images.

The researchers have now hit on the idea of deliberately picking up just one small molecule - made of one atom of carbon and one of oxygen - with the AFM tip, forming the sharpest, most well-defined tip possible.

Their measurement of a pentacene molecule using this carbon monoxide tip shows the bonds between the carbon atoms in five linked rings, and even suggests the bonds to the hydrogen atoms at the molecule's periphery.

Tip of the iceberg

Lead author of the research Leo Gross told BBC News that the group is aiming to combine their ability to measure individual charges with the new technique, characterising molecules at a truly unprecedented level of detail.

That will help in particular in the field of "molecular electronics", a potential future for electronics in which individual molecules serve as switches and transistors.

Although the approach can trace out the ethereal bonds that connect atoms, it cannot distinguish between atoms of different types.

The team aims to use the new technique in tandem with a similar one known as scanning tunnelling microscopy - in which a tiny voltage is applied accross the sample - to determine if the two methods in combination can deduce the nature of each atom in the AFM images.

That would help the entire field of chemistry, in particular the synthetic chemistry used for drug design.

The results are of wide interest to others who study the nano-world with similar instruments. For them, implementing the same approach is as simple as picking up one of these carbon monoxide molecules with their AFM before taking a measurement.

Experts Unveil Inventions that Will Be Used in Everyday Life by 2039

Recently the New Scientist magazine predicted that by 2039 the X-Ray vision and invisibility cloak could be used in everyday life. The magazine listed a number of latest scientific and technological inventions that in the near future could be used by people.

Researches that are currently performed on ultrasound will make the X-Ray vision in humans possible, giving the possibility to virtually see through walls. As for the invisible cloaks then, experts believe these will be available in the shops by 2039. The technology used in the invisibility cloaks, which are currently tested by scientists, tricks the human eye by altering the light waves. Read more here: Invisibility is now one step closer.

The list also includes a replication of a gecko's foot, which scientist will create for gloves and boots, making it possible for people to easily climb walls by sticking to them just like the Spiderman.

The magazine's representatives interviewed scientists to discover that within 30 years the world will observe world's first handheld language-translating device that will instantly convert foreign words that are heard by its user. The invention will resemble the "Babel Fish" in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

It is worth mentioning that New Scientist magazine collected information about the latest inventions in science to mark the 30th anniversary of the first cellular network that was launched in Japan back in 1979.

Experts also included in their list an invention called "handheld healing machine", which can identify and instantly heal internal injuries in a human body.

In 2039 scientists also predict that people will use readily-available jet pack which will help users fly short distances avoiding being stuck in traffic jam.

Experts also predict that humans will use a device able to gather human energy and utilize it to charge cell phones and iPods.

The authors of the article in the scientific magazine mention that in 30 years time the upper mentioned scientific and technological inventions might have a great influence on our life and their impact could be even bigger than mobile phones, the Internet and the iPods.

The full list features the following inventions:

• X-Ray vision
• Invisibility cloak
• Hand-held healing machine
• Spiderman-like materials for gloves and boots
• Human energy phone charger
• Jet pack
• Personal spaceship
• Artificial diving gills
• Translating machine

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