MIT Discovers New State of Matter and Magnetism

December 27, 2012 / esfein / 1 Comment

I know we all learned in chemistry class that the basic building blocks of the ‘matter syndicate’ are solid, liquid, gas, and plasma, but it appears there’s a new player in town; his name is ‘quantum spin liquid.’

There are in fact many different states of matter that you’ve either never heard of, or didn’t realize was considered a different state of matter, ie. glass, or ferromagnets.

The specific quantum spin liquid that researchers at MIT have discovered is called herbertsmithite, named after, well, I’m sure you can figure that out. Quantum spin liquids, or QSLs, have a very strange type of magnetism. Unlike the magnets you stick on your refrigerator, the electrons in a QSL don’t all align with the same orientation. In fact, the internal magnetism of a QSL is constantly fluctuating. Herbertsmithite is a solid crystal, but the magnetism is in constant motion like a liquid. Despite the constant fluctuations of the magnetic orientation of the electrons in the QSL, there is a strong connection between all of the electrons, allowing this specific type of matter to have what it takes to be used in long rang quantum entanglement.

So what does that mean for us harebrained civvies? According to Young Lee, the head researcher of the discovery, this means:

…advances in data storage or communications, perhaps using an exotic quantum phenomenon called long-range entanglement, in which two widely separated particles can instantaneously influence each other’s states. The findings could also bear on research into high-temperature superconductors, and could ultimately lead to new developments in that field.

Did I just hear instantaneous long range communication, infinite cloud storage, and flying cars? Yes’m.

The truth is that this discovery will likely involve unimaginable implications.

Lee explains that:

We have to get a more comprehensive understanding of the big picture. There is no theory that describes everything that we’re seeing.

In the last decade humanity has entered the wild, wild west of the quantum future. Herbertsmithite may very well be the trusted six shooter we’ve been waiting for.

Sources:

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/mit-researchers-discover-a-new-kind-of-magnetism-1219.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_matter

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbertsmithite

Controlling Dreams and Implanting Memories

September 26, 2012 / esfein / Leave a comment

MIT researchers have successfully manipulated the dreams of rats using audio cues, leading scientists to believe we have entered the beginning of an age of “dream engineering.”

What do rats dream about anyway? Running through mazes of course. The researchers repeated the same audio cues while they were dreaming that rats heard at a certain point in the maze while they were awake. What they found was neural activity identical to the particular point in the waking life maze that they were trying to recreate in the dream. Using a simple audio cue, they were able to control which part of the maze the rats dreamed of.

Even stranger, researchers are beginning to implant memories and produce artificial memory recall in mice. They have located the neurons specifically responsible for memories, and manipulating these neurons, they can erase specific memories, or even create new ones!

While this could be a breakthrough for several types of psychotherapy, these studies are the stuff of paranoid nightmares.

Don’t be surprised if you wake up tomorrow and realize you’re actually a super agent from Mars, or a brain in a jar being tampered with in some distant future. Okay, fine, be surprised, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.

MIT Separates Oil From Water Magnetically

September 26, 2012 / esfein / Leave a comment

Researchers at MIT have created a method of separating oil from water using magnets. By mixing water repellent, ferrous nano particles into the oil, they are able to separate the mixture from the water at a later time.

It is a simple method that can be used “on a larger scale and deployed at sea for days or weeks, where electrical power is scarce and maintenance facilities limited.”

Researchers did not mention possible negative effects that mixing in ferrous nano particles will have, if any, but I suppose for right now it is better than oceans full of oil.

Go science!

MIT Creates a Way To Separate Oil From Water Magnetically

September 26, 2012 / esfein / 1 Comment

panikgulfoilspill.wikispaces.com How do we separate oil from our wildlife?

Researchers at MIT have created a method to separate oil from water using magnets. This is of growing importance as oil spills occur more frequently around the world and the need to separate oil from our natural water rises. The method to separate oil from water created by MIT has great potential as the need for this maneuver rises in society. So how does it work? By mixing water repellent, ferrous nano particles into the oil, they are able to separate the mixture from the water at a later time.

It is a simple method that can be used

on a larger scale and deployed at sea for days or weeks, where electrical power is scarce and maintenance facilities limited.

The use of this technology can reduce costs and increase effectiveness of clean up efforts. Let’s look at a couple reasons why it is important to separate oil from water in an oil spill situation. According to the New York Times in 2010,

As of Aug. 16, more than 7,000 birds, sea turtles and dolphins have been found dead or debilitated in the gulf since the oil spill began. A majority of the dead were not visibly oiled, and officials have yet to determine why they died. But they have confirmed that many more animals are dying than during the same time period in previous years.

It is not necessarily that the spilled oil killed the animals, but that the oil disrupted a delicate ecosystem in which the animals lived and the failure to quickly and effectively separate oil from the life giving water of their ecosystem was detrimental to their life and impaired their ability to survive. The U.S. Department of Commerce: Office of Response and Restoration talks about the detrimental effects of oil on marine life including both animals and plants.

Spilled oil can harm living things because its chemical constituents are poisonous. This can affect organisms both from internal exposure to oil through ingestion or inhalation and from external exposure through skin and eye irritation. Oil can also smother some small species of fish or invertebrates and coat feathers and fur, reducing birds’ and mammals’ ability to maintain their body temperatures.

The health of our ocean ecosystems and bodies of water depend on action that is both quick and effective. This method of used to separate oil from ocean water could lead to a quick way to deal with one of society’s ever prevalent tragedies.

Researchers did not mention possible negative effects that mixing in ferrous nano particles will have, if any, but I suppose for right now it is better than oceans full of oil.

Go science!

Sources:

http://inhabitat.com/mit-develops-a-way-to-magnetically-separate-oil-from-water/

http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/13/world/oil-spills-fast-facts/

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/04/28/us/20100428-spill-map.html

http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/oil-and-chemical-spills/oil-spills/how-oil-harms-animals-and-plants-marine-environments.html