This month’s intute Spotlight from David Bradley is now available online:
Telescopic lunar liquid: A liquid reflector for a vast Newtonian telescope to be based on the surface of the Moon is being developed by scientists in Canada, UK, and US. The new type of telescope could provide the clearest views yet of ancient parts of the Universe.
Arctic drought – Frozen Arctic ponds that have persisted for millennia are drying out during the polar summer, according to evidence from Canadian scientists. Marianne Douglas of the Canadian Circumpolar Institute at the University of Alberta together with John Smol, of Queen’s University, have studied these shallow ponds that dot the Arctic landscape for more than two decades. Changes in such environmental features provide an important indication of how particular regions are being affected by climate change. Douglas and Smol have analysed 24 years of detailed data, including water quality and water levels from about forty Arctic ponds. The data represents the longest record of systematic fresh water monitoring in the high Arctic.
Plastic breakdown – As if to show just how diverse the properties and applications of ionic liquids can be, a new era in recycling of plastics is fast approaching thanks to scientists in Japan. The researchers have developed a process based on ionic liquids that can depolymerise plastic materials back into the component monomers from which they were originally made. The team says the method can then be used to convert waste polymers into new high-quality plastics.
For more site news from Intute Sciences, see Thursday’s Sciencebase.