Astronomy Calendar for 2018

Space and astronomy has always been the most fascinating topic among all of us. Though we don't have much knowledge of it, we are very curious about the topic and will be always ready to explore and know more and more. We all enjoy the view of stars in the night sky and we don't want to miss the amazing events happening such as meteor showers. For that sake, here is a astronomy calendar of 2018 with all the details of the events in their chronological dates.

January 1

Mercury will be at its Greatest Western Elongation

Mercury reaches greatest western elongation of 22.7 degrees from the Sun. This is the best time to view Mercury since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the morning sky. Take a look for the planet low in the eastern sky just before sunrise.

3D Printing

3D printing is a process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital designed file. The creation of a 3D printed object is created by laying down successive layers of material until the object is created. Each of these layers can be seen as a thinly sliced horizontal cross-section of the eventual object. 3D printing is the opposite of subtractive manufacturing which is cutting out / hollowing out a piece of metal or plastic with for instance a milling machine. 3D printing enables you to produce complex (functional) shapes using less material than traditional manufacturing methods.

3D Printer printing a model

Ionizing Radiation

Atoms are made up of particles like protons and neutrons which stay inside nucleus and electrons which revolve around the nucleus in a fixed path called shell. Each of these shell have capacity to hold only the fixed number of electrons not one more than that and these electrons have fixed number of energy according to their shell number. This energy increases as we go from the shell closest to the nucleus to the farthest. So, shell are also called energy level. As we increase the energy of any electron, the electron shifts from one energy level to next energy level until the nucleus cannot hold the electron and finally the electron gets free.

Traditional Symbol of Ionization Radiation

Everything you need to know about TRAPPIST - 1

In February 2017, NASA blowed everyone's mind with the shocking discovery of seven earth sized planets revolving around a star smaller than our Sun. This discovery filled our hearts full of joy and excitements which also brought a common question popping in our head 'ARE WE ALONE IN THE UNIVERSE?' Although we don't have any answer for that question, lets find out what we have discovered and the things NASA has revealed about the newly discovered planetary system.

TRAPPIST-1 Planetary System

TRAPPIST-1 is a planetary system, located 39 light years away from the Solar system, near the ecliptic, within the constellation of Aquarius. There are at least seven planets in the orbit around a star which is 12 times less massive than the Sun and only slightly larger than Jupiter. The initial discovery was made by TRAPPIST, the TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope. Additional planets were subsequently identified using TRAPPIST and the Spitzer space telescope, the Very Large Telescope, UKIRT, the Liverpool Telescope and the William Herschel Telescope.

Thermocouple

Thermocouple is a electrical device that converts the heat energy into electrical form of energy. Thermocouple follows the thermoelectric effect and produces a usable temperature dependent voltage. Although usable emf is induced in thermocouple, the induced emf is very small.

Thermo-couple basically works on basis of three principles:

1) Seebeck Effect:

The Seebeck effect states that when two different or unlike metals are joined together at two junctions and the two junctions are provided by two different temperatures, an electromotive force (emf) is generated between the two junctions. The amount of emf generated is different for different combinations of the metals and is directly proportional to the change in temperature between two junctions.

Francis Turbine

The Francis turbine was invented by an American inventor James B. Francis in the 1800s. The Francis turbine is an inward flow reaction turbine and is used in devices with a wide variety of head and flow. The Francis Turbine is the most commonly used turbine today to generate hydroelectricity. They are often used in large hydroelectric dam systems. The Francis turbine is a versatile turbine that can be built with either a horizontal or vertical axis and can be used in many different hydraulic head heights and water flow levels. This turbine also uses mobile guide vanes to direct the water into the turbine which can be set to allow the desired level of water flow into the turbine system.

Francis Turbine

Stanene - Conductor with 100% Efficiency

Stanene (from the Latin stannum meaning tin, which also gives the element its chemical symbol, Sn), is the latest cousin of graphene, the lattice of carbon atoms that has spurred thousands of studies into related 2D materials. Those include sheets of silicene, made from silicon atoms; phosphorene, made from phosphorus; germanene, from germanium; and thin stacks of sheets that combine different kinds of chemical elements. Stanene could be the world’s first electrical conductor with 100% efficiency, which would make it more conductive than graphene. The material has not yet been mass-produced.

Scientists have been working on the concept of electrical conductivity without losses for several years, but most of the systems operate only under extreme conditions, either strong magnetic fields or very low temperatures such as with superconductors. Stanene conducts electricity only through their surfaces or edges and not through their interiors. These structures are a single atom thick, and the electrons and nuclei of heavy atoms in the structures exhibit complex interactions, allowing them to conduct electricity with 100% efficiency.