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Hits Parade — AlphaGalileo Top 5
Our hit parade compiles the press releases with bigger number of visits in May 2011.
1. Caught in the act: Herschel detects gigantic storms sweeping entire galaxies clean — Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik (MPE) — 09/05/2011
With observations from the PACS instrument on board the ESA Herschel space observatory, an international team of scientists led by the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics have found gigantic storms of molecular gas gusting in the centres of many galaxies.
This illustration shows an Ultra-Luminous InfraRed Galaxy (ULIRG) that exhibits massive outflows of molecular gas. Credit: ESA/AOES Medialab
Schematic diagram indicating how outflows of molecular gas can be detected in the spectra of galaxies using ESA's Herschel Space Observatory. The astronomers use a particular spectral line of the hydroxyl molecule (OH), which exhibits a very characteristic shape resulting from a combination of emission by the central black hole and by the gas cloud itself: the emission from the accretion disk around the galactic centre has to pass through the gas clouds along the line of sight, in which OH molecules absorb the light – and since these gas clouds are moving towards us, the absorption lines are blue-shifted. At the same time, all gas clouds emit the OH line, especially those who are not on a direct line of sight to the black hole – and as they are moving away from us, this light is red-shifted. Credit: ESA/AOES Medialab
2. Student archaeologists on trail of Yorkshire gem's hidden past — University of York — 10/05/2011
Archaeologists from the University of York are revealing intriguing traces -hidden for more than two centuries - of the forerunner of one of Yorkshire’s great country houses.
Gawthorpe Hall 1727 engraved by Wm. Von Hagen. Printed by Joseph Smith, London. Credit Harewood House Trust
Student archaeologists
3. Does it take one to know one? New research reveals conspiring conspiracy theorists — University of Kent — 04/05/2011
Conspiracy theories - such as those surrounding the death of Princess Diana - are more likely to be believed by people who are willing themselves to conspire, new research at the University of Kent has shown.
4. Graphene can polarize light — Université Libre de Bruxelles — 30/05/2011
Graphene, an ultra-flat monolayer of carbon atoms in a hexagonal crystal lattice, has attracted a strong wave of research interest due to its unique electrical and photonic properties. Dr. Han Zhang in collaboration with Prof. Loh demonstrates the world's thinnest polarizer, which relies on the coupling, guiding and polarizing of electromagnetic waves by graphene.
5. A World Full of Sensors - Researchers at the TU Darmstadt are Working on 'Smart' Cities — Technische Universität Darmstadt — 16/05/2011
Thanks to numerous sensors, Smartphones make it easy for their owners to organize certain parts of their lives. However, that is just the beginning. Darmstadt researchers envision entire “smart” cities, where all devices present within municipal areas are intelligently linked to one another.
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