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Category: physics – Page 315

A surprising, cascading earthquake

The Kaikoura earthquake in New Zealand in 2016 caused widespread damage. LMU researchers have now dissected its mechanisms revealing surprising insights on earthquake physics with the aid of simulations carried out on the supercomputer SuperMUC.

The 2016 Kaikoura earthquake (magnitude 7.8) on the South Island of New Zealand is among the most intriguing and best-documented seismic events anywhere in the world – and one of the most complex. The earthquake exhibited a number of unusual features, and the underlying geophysical processes have since been the subject of controversy. LMU geophysicists Thomas Ulrich and Dr. Alice-Agnes Gabriel, in cooperation with researchers based at the Université Côte d’Azur in Valbonne and at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, have now simulated the course of the earthquake with an unprecedented degree of realism. Their model, which was run on the Bavarian Academy of Science’s supercomputer SuperMUC at the Leibniz Computing Center (LRZ) in Munich, elucidates dynamic reasons for such uncommon multi-segment earthquake. This is an important step towards improving the accuracy of earthquake hazard assessments in other parts of the world. Their findings appear in the online journal Nature Communications.

According to the paper’s authors the Kaikoura earthquake is the most complicated ever recorded and raises a number of important questions. One of its most striking features was that it resulted in the successive of more than 20 segments of a network. “Looking at the pattern of surface faults affected by the quake, one finds large gaps of more than 15 km in between them. Up to now, analyses of seismic hazard have been based on the assumption that faults that are more than 5 km apart will not be broken in a single event,” says Gabriel. A second unusual observation was that, although the earthquake began on land, it also resulted in the largest tsunami recorded in the region since 1947. This indicates that the subsurface ruptures ultimately triggered local displacements of the seafloor.

Science has a problem. Here is how you can help

Science has a problem (especially theoretical physics). Here’s how you can help.

[I have gotten numerous requests by people who want to share Appendix C of my book. The content is copyrighted, of course, but my publisher kindly agreed that I can make it publicly available. You may use this text for non-commercial purposes, so long as you add the copyright disclaimer, see bottom of post.]

Both bottom-up and top-down measures are necessary to improve the current situation. This is an interdisciplinary problem whose solution requires input from the sociology of science, philosophy, psychology, and – most importantly – the practicing scientists themselves. Details differ by research area. One size does not fit all. Here is what you can do to help.

As a scientist:

10 Space Science Stories

Humanity will get its first good look at Ceres and Pluto, giving us science writers some new pics to use instead of the same half dozen blurry dots and artist’s conceptions. SpaceX will also attempt a daring landing on a sea platform, and long duration missions aboard the International Space Station will get underway. And key technology headed to space and on Earth may lead the way to opening up the window of gravitational wave astronomy on the universe. Here’s 10 sure-fire bets to watch for in the coming year from Universe Today:

1. LISA Pathfinder

A precursor to a full-fledged gravitational wave detector in space, LISA Pathfinder will be launching atop a Vega rocket from Kourou, French Guiana in July 2015. LISA stands for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, and the Pathfinder mission will journey to the L1 Lagrange point between the Earth and the Sun to test key technologies. LISA Pathfinder will pave the way for the full fledged LISA space platform, a series of three free flying spacecraft proposed for launch in the 2030s.

Physicists solve a beta-decay puzzle with advanced nuclear models

An international collaboration including scientists at the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) solved a 50-year-old puzzle that explains why beta decays of atomic nuclei are slower than what is expected based on the beta decays of free neutrons.

The findings, published in Nature Physics, fill a long-standing gap in physicists’ understanding of beta decay, an important process stars use to create heavier elements, and emphasize the need to include subtle effects—or more realistic physics—when predicting certain nuclear processes.

“For decades, scientists have lacked a first-principles understanding of nuclear beta decay, in which protons convert into neutrons, or vice versa, to form other elements,” said ORNL staff scientist Gaute Hagen, who led the study. “Our team demonstrated that theoretical models and computation have progressed to the point where it is possible to calculate some decay properties with enough precision to allow for direct comparison to experiment.”

Researchers close in on physics’ holy grail with ‘super’ breakthrough

A team of scientists in the US has brought us a huge step closer to a superconductor capable of working at room temperature.

If humankind were to find a way to construct a large-scale superconductor that could work at room temperature, the way our energy grids and computers are built – and many other areas of daily life – would be fundamentally changed.

The phenomenon is the lack of electrical resistance and is observed in many materials when they are cooled below temperatures of around −180 degrees Celsius, making them rather limited in their application. However, a team from George Washington University in the US has revealed something that could help us finally reach what is one of the most sought-after achievements in modern physics.

School hosts students from across West Mids for physics day

A DAY of science challenges and investigations run by the Institute of Physics was hosted by Rugby High School.

Teams from 12 schools from across the West Midlands came to take part in Super Physics Day.

The teams of four used their knowledge of science to conduct three timed investigations including ‘Air Drop’, an RAF challenge to drop relief packages from a plane to the desired location.

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