HD 106906 B: The Avant-Garde of Planetary Formation

Theories about planetary formation seem to be full of a lot of black holes (pun intended). Sometimes it’s hard to sift the stardust in the lens to see the picture underneath. There are many insightful theories about how it happens (many excellent ones which we’ll talk about here in this entry today.) Just as there are many very bad ones, (also ones we’ll talk about today.)

Since the dawn of time, man has looked to the heavens for answers. In early days we feared the sight of Mars in the sky and revered the warmth of the sun as holy. We were simple people. So why’d we stop doing all that? Well the answer is science, and telescopes. With the creation of telescopes we eventually decided to put our ingenuity into space exploration. Once we learned how to put telescopes into space, well, that’s when the magic happened.

Perhaps the most famous of all these telescopes is the Hubble, which is still in use today. But one of the telescopes that we’re going to be discussing and focusing on primarily here is much more powerful than that. The Kepler Satellite is tasked with staring at one section of the universe for as long as it has power. That’s a daunting task, the expanse is huge, but what it has uncovered has many scientists throwing tantrums and crying over a life’s work wasted. But where some see complete failure, others see incredible promise.

We discussed Kepler 78 B earlier on in this blog. (You can follow the link to that article here) But now we’re going to talk about its latest discovery. A planet so massive that not only should it not exist according to current formation theories, but also should not be in its current orbit given its location. I’m going to fill you in on what I know about this neat little planet, and what it means to current theories in the scientific community.

(Fig. 1) Demonstrates the distance of HD 106906 B from its parent star

(Fig. 2) Artist’s Rendering of HD 106906 B

The “Star” of the Show

That’s an artist’s rendering of the planet HD 106906 B. Pretty nifty huh? The young astrologer, Vanessa Bailey who discovered it thought so too. See, the planet is 11 times the size of Jupiter, but that’s not what’s so incredible. Its parent star is located 650 AU (Astronomical Units which is the relative distance from the Earth to the sun) away. That’s 60 billion miles! That’s a long way when you think about it, considering Neptune, which is our most distant planet (since the unfair deportation of Pluto) is 30 AU away. That means this planet is most likely receiving no radiation from its star, but yet it’s still generating a ton of energy.

Aside from how it’s generating this energy (it’s a gas giant so there are many different ways it could) the other thing that perplexes us is how it formed. One theory is that when that particular system (The Crux system) formed it originally had two suns locked in a bitter competition with each other. Eventually, one of them was victorious, using up the vital elements it needed to form leaving HD with the scraps.

However it happened, our current understanding of how planets and star systems form isn’t leading us any closer to figuring this out. Following Nebular Hypothesis a planet couldn’t form that far away from its star. That’s kind of bad considering Nebular Hypothesis Theory has been around since the 1700’s. It’s also so widely accepted that it’s taught in schools. (Whoops…) But all scientific progress has to begin somewhere! Nebular Hypothesis may be wrong in this case, but as the old saying goes “There’s more than one way to skin a cat.”

The Big “Bow Chicka Wow Wow”

(Fig. 3) Timeline of the widely accepted “Big Bang Theory”

In order to fully understand the theories we’re going to talk about today one must understand what scientists believe set all this in motion. The Big Bang Theory is the center of it all. It basically subscribes to the ideal that in the beginning of time the universe essentially “imploded” on itself. This caused it to superheat, creating the primordial elements. Over time these gases bonded together causing electrical storms as the galaxies gradually cooled. This lightening superheated the gases, creating heavy bonds. From that point gravity took over and pulled these asteroids together creating the planets. Stars, giant fission reactions of gravity, electro-magnetism, and gases, and this is all irrefutable.

Except it isn’t irrefutable, but it is the single handedly the most widely accepted theory on why our little rock is here. (Second is Creationism I’d wager a guess) But from this theory came Nebular Hypothesis theory. In 1734, when Swedish cosmologist Emanuel Swedberg proposed that planets were the result of collapsing stars’ violent forces creating heavy elements he was basically laughed at.

Immanuel Kant refined this theory later, in 1755. Using Science and Mathematics he attempted to show how gravity affected the swirling gases, causing them to collapse over time and the forces create planets. It wasn’t until someone with a reputation in the Astronomical community stepped in and created a model showing how stars collapse and contract.

Enter Pierre-Simon Laplace. His protosolar nebulae model was widely received as the definitive answer throughout the 19^th century, but there were problems with it. Namely physics and mathematics related.

How did these small particles come together to form these giant planets? Why did some stars have planets around them and some not even so much as a dust belt? If planets are the result of a collapsing star then shouldn’t it stand to reason that all stars have planets? Not to mention where do all these heavy elements come from? Some take some extreme conditions to form, but yet they’re all here.

Other failed attempts at making this theory work were Thomas Chamberlin and Forest Moulton’s Planetesimal Theory, The Planetesimal theory basically says that the matter collides into each other forming balls of larger matter. The problem with this is how does dust collide? It’s too light for gravity to effect. There is also Woolfson’s Capture Theory, which claims tidal effects between our sun and a protostar caused the planets to form. The problem with this one is it requires special conditions and draws on the assumption our sun formed first and the planets formed later. Our current knowledge however tells us it all happened around the same time, making Woolfson’s theory the least likely.

The formation of HD 106906 B is believed to be attributed to a Binary Star system. Originally the universe had planned for there to be two stars there. However there were not enough elements available to double up and they began to form too close. Because of this only one star formed and the other burned out, unable to start the nuclear reaction in its core to light up the cosmos. This is just a theory, but it sure sounds like a darn good one. To read more about Binary Stars check out the Wikipedia page, here.  

However it happened we’re never going to know without looking into the sky. Let’s take a look at how Astronomers are mapping the stars, and what technology may lead them to the breakthroughs they need to answer one of the age old questions, “how did we get here?”

The Space Renaissance

(Fig.4) The Kepler Telescope under construction at NASA

Even though HD 106906 was discovered by a ground telescope (The Magellan) located in Chile, we’re going to talk about one that’s currently floating around in space right now staring boldly into the heavens. The Kepler Telescope was launched back in 2009 and since then has discovered a plethora of planets.

(Fig. 5) Breakdown of Kepler Satellite and it’s equipment

 Mercurien (Like Mercury), Sub-Terran (Like Mars), Terran (Earth-like) Even ones like Saturn and Jupiter sized ones. The environments found on these planets is as diverse as the human race itself, ranging from absolute zero to virtually barren magma ridden landscapes like Kepler 78 B even planets that scientists speculate are close enough to Earth to sustain life like ours. But how do these strange and unique solar systems and planets actually form?

Sadly we’ve been studying this for centuries and it seems we’re no closer to uncovering the truth. Thanks to the Kepler Telescope however, we are getting closer. Since 2009, NASA has reported over 2,000 exoplanets and over 2,000 stars have been discovered. As technology continues to evolve and we are able to push further into the stars, these systems, some young, some old, could lead us to the answers that have so long eluded us.

(Fig. 6) Confirmed results from Kepler Exploration

The Kepler telescope is named after 17^th century astronomer Johannes Kepler. While he wasn’t responsible for the discovery of how planets form, he did figure out how they move. Kepler is credited with the Laws of Planetary Motion. Not only is that important to modern day astronomy, it was also the basis of Newton’s laws of Universal Gravitation which states that every point mass in the universe attracts every other point mass with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. In other words, multiply the weight of the objects, that’s how much force you have. Then do the math for the distance between them. You got their movement.

Even though Einstein superseded Universal Gravitation with General Relativity it’s still used as a basis for explanation of gravitational forces. Relativity is used when extreme precision is required. But I digress. Back to Kepler.

There were three parts to his law of planetary motion:

1.    The orbit of every planet is an ellipse with the sun at one of the two foci.

2.    A line joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time.

3.    The square of the orbital period of a planet is proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit.

While the first two were published in 1609 it would be ten more years till observations led him to the discovery of his third law. Those are some pretty incredible discoveries given the technology he had to work with in those early days. It seems fitting to name our deep space stargazing telescope after the man.

The Kepler Probe Don’t Give A Schmidt

(Fig. 7) Palomar Observatory, California

So how do telescopes like the Kepler Satellite and the Magellan Observatory see into space so clearly? As centuries go by we have been improving on the telescope. That led us all the way to 1930, to a man named Bernhard Schmidt. His design would revolutionize the clarity of which we see the sky, one that almost 100 years later, is so tried and true we sent it up into the Kepler Probe in 2009.

“The Schmidt camera was invented by Estonian optician Bernhard Schmidt in 1930. Its optical components are an easy-to-make spherical primary mirror, and an aspherical correcting lens, known as a Schmidt Corrector Plate, located at the center of curvature of the primary mirror. The film or other detector is placed inside the camera, at the prime focus. The design is noted for allowing very fast focal ratios, while controlling coma and astigmatism.

Schmidt cameras have very strongly curved focal planes, thus requiring that the film, plate, or other detector be correspondingly curved. In some cases the detector is made curved; in others flat media is mechanically conformed to the shape of the focal plane through the use of retaining clips or bolts, or by the application of a vacuum. A field flattener, in its simplest form a planoconvex lens in front of the film plate or detector, is sometimes used. Since the corrector plate is at the center of curvature of the primary mirror in this design the tube length can be very long for a wide-field telescope. There are also the drawbacks of having the obstruction of the film holder or detector mounted at the focus half way up the tube assembly, a small amount of light is blocked and there is a loss in contrast in the image due to diffraction effects of the obstruction and its support structure.” – From Wikipedia

This new design changed the astronomy world forever, (obviously if we’re still building satellites that use it today!) As innovation and exploration continue to drive us forward into the world I’m excited to see what scientists come up next. I’ll be following HD 106906 B as well as Kepler 78 B and when more is known I’ll be sure to write more on it. Thanks for reading this guys!

(Fig. 8) The largest Schmidt telescope (2 m), located in Germany.

-Ryan Sanders

For further reading on any of the above mentioned materials you can follow the links below as always. Feel free to share this around on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, where you want to! J Happy learning!

-       Vannesa Bailey’s Scientific Paperon “HD 106906 b: A PLANETARY-MASS COMPANION OUTSIDE A MASSIVE DEBRIS DISK”

-       Tucson News article on HD 106906 B

-       Wiki entry on “Johannes Kepler”

-       Washington Post article on Kepler Satellite

-       Scientific American article on Kepler Extrasolar planet discoveries.

-       NASA’s website, page on Kepler Mission (lots of cool stuff there guys!)

Music Video Day! (The Big Bang Theory Theme Song by The Barenaked Ladies)

Hello loyal readers! Those of you who read this blog on a regular basis (and I know there are a few of you and THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! J ) know that I am also a musician. On top of this blog I also have my YouTube channel where I house my virtuoso talents. Being that I now dedicate so much time to researching this blog I have started to slack on my video upload frequency (not good for my loyal YouTube followers L).

So, because of the difficulty of splitting my time I have decided that once a month I’m going to do a YouTube, blog cross-over. I need to be able to give my brain a rest sometimes so this just seems like the logical solution.

So to keep it in the theme of Science and to also satisfy YouTubers, I have chosen to do an acoustic version of “The Big Bang Theory” by “The Barenaked Ladies.” I hope you enjoy it guys! And thanks for all your continued support in making this blog, and my YouTube channel, a continued success and a complete and utter joy.

Thanks for reading (and watching!)

-       Ryan Sanders

To view any of my other videos you can check out my channel here.

Fossilizing Fossil Fuels For Fundamental Molecules

What’s The Alternative?

What are the similarities between your current automobile and a plant? Some of you might be saying, “Well, my car’s green. Is that what you’re talking about?” or, “Well my interior smells like a Rose, so I get it.” Truth is, there are no similarities. It’s a gas chugging, environment killing, and squirrel squashing road hog. But the University of Wollongong (UOW) in Australia is looking to change that once and for all.

We’ve been talking about alternative fuel sources for a long, long time now. It’s no secret to consumer’s that gas prices are through the roof and almost unbearable. Sustainable and alternative fuel sources wouldn’t just be nice to have as an option, it’s going to be the necessity of the future.

There are several theories on fossil fuels. Some believe that oil reserves are drying up. Others believe that the petroleum is created in the core of the Earth and the pressure is pushing the new stuff back up and refilling the wells. Biogenic theorists argue that fossil fuels are the decomposing remains of carbon based life-forms. Abiogenic theorist’s counter that the organisms found in the crude oil is surface contamination and oil is a mineral created within the core of Earth.

Whatever side you fall on, there is one thing that is certain.

Something’s gotta give.

Hungry, Hungry Humans

The United States is responsible for 1,000 barrels of oil being consumed a day. That’s one country in a very big, very developed world. You expand on that to include everyone and suddenly we’re burning through 89 million barrels worldwide, on a daily basis. That’s nuts, because once you expand on that to factor in a year of consumption, you now have 32 and a half billion barrels being munched down. Each barrel has 42 gallons in it. You do the math, but I shouldn’t need to tell you, that’s a ton (not literally…) of oil.

So you can see why scientists thought we were running out. See, in the 1970’s throngs of experts told the governments of the world that we reached the peak of our oil supply. Now it’s suddenly running out. I don’t know why everyone decided to hit the panic button and spike the prices (other than corporate greed…) before doing their research, but they said we’d be out of fuel in fifteen years. It’s well past 1985 and we’re burning the midnight oil faster than ever.

Not to mention our other fuels. We’re fracking away to get at Natural Gas under the surface. This has detrimental effects to the environment whether these major companies would like to admit it to the public or not. But we need the natural gas. Crude oil creates environmental pollution problems as well, and nuclear energy…I don’t even feel the need to explain that. So what do we do? How do we get the trillions of gallons of fuel per year we need to run as a nation?

Hydrogen.

I know what you’re saying. “Oh duh, of course, but didn’t they try that before?” Well of course silly. But the Wright brothers didn’t build a Boeing 747 for their first flight. Hell, their first craft would have been a blessing to have been held together by duct tape! Everything starts somewhere, and when we started hearing about fuel cells being all the rage a decade ago, they were just putting the thought into the general public’s ear.

The reality of making hydrogen cheaply, efficiently, and safely remains a huge concern, but as I mentioned above Australia is changing all of that. In order to understand what UOW is accomplishing you have to understand where it came from. Let’s quickly explore how they convert water into a usable fuel source.

*I cannot stress this enough, unless under the supervision of a professional NEVER and I do mean NEVER attempt to make hydrogen gas at home. Hydrogen in small quantities is fairly harmless; however, in larger quantities it can be EXTREMELY DANGEROUS! Hydrogen is explosive. Chlorine gas can also be inadvertently produced using this method. This, unlike Hydrogen is dangerous in ANY quantity. Do NOT try this at home*

The old method for hydrogen gas extraction wasn’t very practical. Only around 50-70% of the hydrogen was extracted in the process. The rest escaped in the form of heat from the electricity. Here’s how it works.

Salt water is placed into the containers with separate chambers. An anode (negative connector) is placed in one chamber and a cathode (positive connector) is in the other. As the charge surges through the H2O molecules it separates them into two different gases. The oxygen and hydrogen are collected separately. On a small scale this doesn’t produce enough hydrogen gas to be effective, plus there is a nasty byproduct.

Chlorine gas. Ever heard of World War I? Chlorine gas was introduced as chemical warfare. When breathed in, it basically liquefies your lungs and you die painfully, convulsing, bleeding from every orifice and vomiting up your internal organs. (Humans…what a lovely bunch of folk we are…)

This happens because of the salt. Water, electricity, and table salt (NaCL) have the potential to make it. (Study your chemistry ladies and gentlemen!) Now on an industrial scale this method, while costly, could produce enough fuel to run a few countries, but we need to run the world. So how did the UOW make this possible?

Here Comes The Sun

Yep, you guessed it, photosynthesis, and no, I haven’t lost my mind.

See there are all these little critters living on the surface under the ocean and just beneath it. Kelp, plankton, algae, all these organisms rely on the sun to produce energy. But what if that energy could be harnessed? That’s exactly what researchers at UOW intended to find out.

Using artificially developed chlorophyll and a conductive plastic polymer film, the researchers have begun splitting water molecules from its valuable energy. So far, the team hasn’t witnessed the production of the deadly chlorine gas. The plastic film acts as a catalyst to enact the energy producing process. The technical name for this process is a light-assisted, polymeric water oxidation catalyst that selectively oxidizes seawater with a low onset potential. In other words, turns water into hydrogen gas without electricity and harmful byproducts.

What are the benefits to this? Well first off, hydrogen fuel for our vehicles is a wonderful idea. Currently our vehicles pump carbon dioxide, amongst other terrible carcinogens, into our environment. Some scientists say this is leading to global warming. I think it just makes the air stink. But what’s the byproduct of hydrogen fuel?

Water.

That’s right, you drive 100 miles and all you spit out the back of your tailpipe is harmless water. That water is sucked back up by evaporation and deposited back into the oceans to undergo the process all over again. Talk about renewable sources!

Want to know the best part? Using this process, it only takes five gallons of sea water to run a converted house and an electric car per day. Think about it, that’s 35 gallons a week. Around 140 gallons per month, and around 51,000 per person a year. Considering over 75% of our planet is water, AND the byproduct gets recycled back into the environment, theoretically we would never have to touch gasoline ever again!

Magnetic Personalities

But that’s not the only new method currently being looked into. Researchers in Berkley, California, United States have accidentally developed a welcome new way of extracting hydrogen as well. Originally the program was intended to develop molecules that behaved like magnets, but what they got was something more interesting.

They were trying to combine metal atoms with organic molecular groups (called PY5) to produce new molecules with the properties of bulk magnets. What happened was one of the Molybdenum-oxo complex was exhibiting some peculiar behavior. Turns out it was able to transfer electrons. This process is the main ingredient to splitting hydrogen atoms from oxygen molecules.

“The molybdenum compound was so successful it could work on seawater or pure water without additives. The compound is stable due to five bonds holding the molybdenum in place. Long said the molecule is stable for long periods in aqueous solutions, and they saw no degradation in catalytic activity over their three-day experiment. The molecule remains stable even when impurities, such as those found in seawater, are present. This would further reduce the cost since no organic acids or solvents are needed.

The compound’s stability makes it more durable than the nickel and iron compounds used previously, but it is slower than the natural hydrogenases and needs a higher electric voltage to operate. The group is now experimenting with different metals and "tweaking" the PY5 groups to see if they can improve the speed and efficiency and reduce the energy requirements. They are also looking at the possibility of coupling the system to solar-generated electricity to make it even more viable.” – From Phys.org

This means that even if one technology isn’t available in one part of the world (say the safe and easy production of plastic polymer’s created by UOW, or Mo isn’t readily accessible in their region) we have other options for producing hydrogen gas. Moving forward in a green world this is going to become our future if we want to continue to have a planet.

We only have one Earth…for now. So let’s not muck it up in the meantime.

-Ryan Sanders

For further information on alternative fuel sources and the production of them you can follow any of the links below. As always thanks for reading and feel free to share this article around if you enjoyed it! Happy learning!

-     “Science Alert”  article

-       In depth article on light-assisted catalysts

-   Global Energy And NR Consumption Chart

<a href="http://www.hypersmash.com">www.Hypersmash.com</a>

From Peg Legs to Exoskeletons: Prosthetic Ingenuity

Amputation to Ambulation: Walking Like an Egyptian

It’s hard to imagine the fake limb pictured above, extending forward to shake your hand. Its cold metal fingers clenching tightly around your warm, skin-protected hand. The unsettling feeling that washes over you as the prosthetic steel unguiculate tendrils dig in and squeak. However, just a few hundred years ago that wouldn’t have been so strange. The prosthetic industry was witnessing a boom, and a new science was on its way to making life livable for those who at one time, their situation would have otherwise been a death sentence.

Some of the first prosthetics that have been unearthed date all the way back to ancient Egypt. In 2000 archaeologist’s found a prosthetic big toe made of leather and wood buried just outside the ancient city of Thebes. This particular type of prosthesis is dated from 1069 to 664 B.C.  This beat out the previous record held by a bronze and copper leg found in Rome dating back to 300 B.C. The other advantage the toe has? It wasn’t destroyed by World War II bombing like the Capua leg was.

Yep…that’s one mummified wooden toe alright. It was found attached to a mummy that was later identified as Tabaketenmut who lived some time during the period from 950-710 B.C. After recruiting some volunteers and making a replica of the toe, researchers discovered that this toe was a functional prosthetic. Therefore the torch was passed from Rome to Egypt for the birth of prosthetics.

The Egyptians were also known to put non-functioning prosthetics on their corpses before burial. In the eyes of their God Osiris, a person was useless in the afterlife if they were not whole. Fake arms, legs, eyes, noses, ears, even genitalia have been fastened on the dead before being entombed. These devices, while they are prosthetics, weren’t functioning medical devices until the discovery of the above Cairo Toe.

While this prosthesis was pretty incredible, it was nothing compared to what would come. Today, we’re going to explore the birth of prosthetics all the way to what they are today. (Trust me, we’ve come a looooooooong way.)

Next, let’s go get a haircut real quick.

Just A Little Off The Top…

In medieval times surgery wasn’t considered a medical practice. In fact, it was considered to be more akin to the profession of a barber than that of an apothecary or an herbalist. (Truth be told, witchcraft was considered to have more medical value than surgery back then if that tells you anything…) In response to the shift in medicine after the sweep of plagues through Europe, the barbers and surgeons were merged.

See, physicians went through academic procedure in order to practice medicine back then and surgeons underwent apprenticeship instead. Therefore they were not recognized as a branch of doctors. Merging with the barbers just made sense. They both used sharp pointy tools right? (Perhaps Sweeney Todd was a medical professional.)

One barber-surgeon of note was Ambroise Paré. He is considered one of the founding fathers of modern surgery and pathology. He was a notable anatomist and his battlefield medicine practices are still taught today. (Not to mention he didn’t conform to the norm and pioneered antiseptics in wound treatment instead of cauterization and eventual death by shock).

In 1529, when Ambroise was only 19 years old, he introduced the practice of lifesaving amputation, and the development of prosthesis took off from there. He developed upper and lower extremity devices. His leg device was revolutionary; it featured an above-knee device that was a kneeling peg leg and foot prosthesis that had a fixed position, adjustable harness, knee lock control and other engineering features that are used in today's devices!

That’s pretty incredible for being almost 500 years ago. There were prosthetics before it but mostly used for cosmetic purposes. Hook hands and peg legs were common but this featured moving parts that mimicked human joints. (Albeit it wasn’t perfect) Paré also developed prosthetic eyes made of glass, jewels, and other materials, (once again, cosmetic only).

While there were many extremely notable advances from that point on in the field of functional prosthetics and amputation for the purposes of article length we can’t hope to cover them all. You can view a brief history of prostheses here. Now, let’s head to the Civil War.

Dr. Frankenstein’s Wars

It’s easy to see why the civil war saw so many amputations and prosthetics. Cleanliness wasn’t well understood and infections often led to amputations. By this point technology had advanced to a point where it was easier to simulate the ambulatory functions of limbs however by mimicking joints. By 1863, the midpoint of the war between the North and South a breakthrough was made.

Dubois Parmelee’s prosthesis was like none had seen. It featured a more comfortable suction cup for the knee and a polycentric joint allowing for full range of motion. The other interesting addition was the functional articulating foot. We commonly forget how important our toes and the bend of our ankles are to our balance. This prosthetic allowed for a less awkward movement. He also employed this method for upper extremities.

The original design called for it to be made of steel. As we all know, steel is heavy and bulky. Five years later a man named Gustav Hermann would suggest using aluminum so as to make the leg lighter. His design would wait until 1912, when Marcel Desoutter, a famous English aviator, lost his leg in an airplane accident, and made the first aluminum prosthesis with the help of his brother Charles, an engineer.

All of this led to World War II. Veterans returning from overseas were torn apart. World War II was famous for its use of artillery and explosives. Infections, while better understood, still weren’t completely unheard of. Amputations were sometimes still necessary as lifesaving measures. The problem was when they got back no advancements had been made. Nobody wanted to walk around with a hook hand so the veterans demanded reform. Uncle Sam responded in kind, (too bad he doesn’t seem to listen anymore…)

Thus the prosthetics industry was born. Modern advancements in the industry have led to lightweight metals, composite materials, and plastics being used in prosthetic devices. The new limbs simulate normal body parts much better and in some instances are even crafted to look completely normal.

From a fake big toe in Egypt, to battlefield amputations in French and European wars, prosthetics have played a major role in human function for centuries. With military funding behind it we have seen some of the greatest advances in history. Let’s take a look at some of these awesome technological leaps we’ve made.

The 6 Million Dollar Man

Below the knee, above the knee, under the elbow, maybe you just need a hand? Perhaps a foot? Prosthetics come in all shapes, sizes, colors, functions, and types these days. But let me ask you this. What’s the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions prosthetics? It’s a fake limb of sorts isn’t it? Well that isn’t necessarily always the case.

When I did my analysis of how close we were to making the Master Chief from Halo’s suit I did a brief discussion of the HAL (Hybrid Assistive Limb). You can find that blog here. The original plan for HAL was to be used to help paraplegics walk again but they quickly discovered it had vital use as a super-suit of sorts and became implemented for use in disaster cleanup and rescue.

The way the suit works is pretty incredible. Here is the description, directly from Cyberdyne’s website:

§  When a person attempts to move, nerve signals are sent from the brain to the muscles via motoneurons, moving the musculoskeletal system as a consequence. At this moment, very weak biosignals can be detected on the surface of the skin. "HAL" catches these signals through a sensor attached on the skin of the wearer. Based on the signals obtained, the power unit is controlled to move the joint in unison with the wearer's muscle movement, enabling HAL to support the wearer's daily activities. This is what we call a 'voluntary control system' that provides movement interpreting the wearer's intention from the biosignals in advance of the actual movement. It’s not only a 'voluntary control system' "HAL" has, but also a 'robotic autonomous control system' that provides human-like movement based on a robotic system which integrally work together with the 'autonomous control system'. "HAL" is the world's first cyborg-type robot controlled by this unique Hybrid System.

§        "HAL" is expected to be applied in various fields such as rehabilitation support and physical training support in medical field, ADL support for disabled people, heavy labor support at factories, and rescue support at disaster sites, as well as in the entertainment field.

It’s not just power suits like HAL making the headlines. Remember our discussion on 3D and 4D printing and how that works? If not you can catch up here. Well if you combine that technology with a little clever bioengineering, voila! 3-Dimensional Bio-printing! What is this useful for you ask? Take a look at the image below.

Now, imagine that was you. You just had that unsightly tumor removed and a gaping hole was left on your face. Sure, you can cover it with an eye patch but after a while the pirate jokes get old. Now with the aide of this new technology that ridicule is a thing of the past. While the eye may not function, the cosmetic confidence that comes along with these types of prostheses is still worth the effort to develop them.

The way that bio-printing works is instead of loading a non-organic base material into the printer, an organic material (DNA, proteins, so on so forth) are added into the machine. It doesn’t just stop with the development of synthetic skin and bone. Doctors are convinced that this machinery will lead them to the development of working body parts and organs!

It’s also important to note that brain chips have also come a long way since their early development. New tests have shown that they can repair damaged areas in animals and allow them to resume functions once thought impossible. This will be particularly useful for soldiers suffering from traumatic blast injuries and patients that have undergone a stroke or had a tumor removed that damaged a part of the brain.

With more and more soldiers coming home disfigured every day and cancer scarring so many individuals with its horrifying blight further development of this technology is necessary. After all, (and this is especially true in the case of soldiers) doesn’t everyone deserve the chance to feel normal?

-       Ryan Sanders

Thank you for reading! As always feel free to share this around on Facebook and Twitter! For further reading on prosthetic devices and their history, follow any of the links below. Happy learning!

-       History of Prostheses

-       Brief history of the inventors of ancient prosthetic devices

-       “Cyberdyne”’s website, with information on “HAL exoskeleton”.

-       Wiki entry on Ambroise Paré

The Gold (Nanoparticle) Rush of '09 (Cancer's Worst Nightmare)

From Alchemy to Augmentation

There is a common misunderstanding when people talk about Alchemy. The tendency is to think of it as the ancient art of turning iron and lead into precious metals like gold and silver. The reality is that Alchemy is the closest the ancients ever came to understanding how chemistry works.

Ancient Egypt is said to be the birthplace of Alchemy. At its core, alchemy used chemical elements which we now understand much better, but in those times, it looked like black magic. Think about it, you just dropped a chunk of rock into a bucket, added some chemicals, and next thing you know it separated the gold and the silver from it. Suddenly you’re a sorcerer! That’s some cool stuff!

See, there’s this big rock, called the Emerald Tablet, located in Egypt, thought to be written by the Greek God Hermes himself, and translated by many brilliant minds over the centuries (Including Isaac Newton who, while he wasn’t solving how the universe works, was trying to decipher a 36,000 year old tablet!) that is said to contain the secrets to arts of alchemy itself. There are dozens of translations and the reality is, there is no way of knowing if any of them are correct.

Plato, Leonardo Da Vinci, Aristotle, Copernicus, Kepler, even Napoleon Bonaparte was known to have an obsession with this dark art. So why was alchemy so enticing to these men? Probably because they were men who couldn’t just sit around when there were mysteries to solve. And this tablet was one of their greatest mysteries of all.

Alchemy works on a system of the number seven. Why this is so important, I do not know as I don’t fully understand alchemy entirely but I do know the “Tria Prima” was added to the basic elements to keep with this scheme. Sulfur, Mercury, Salt, Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. Sulfur, Mercury, and salt are considered the Tria Prima (The Three Primes). Sulfur represents the omnipresent spirit of life, mercury is the fluid connection between the high and the low, and salt is the base matter.

There are also seven primary metals that correspond with seven of the planets in our solar system (well six of them anyway…) each one of these metals has an element and an astrological symbol that corresponds with them as well. All of these things combine into the art of the alchemist. They essentially united Astrology with Chemistry and Earth Science because there was no understanding of the separation back then.

The seven primary metals and their celestial bodies are:

1.    Gold – Sun

2.    Silver – Moon (not a planet!)

3.    Copper – Venus

4.    Iron – Mars

5.    Tin – Jupiter

6.    Mercury – Mercury (duh…)

7.    Lead – Saturn

Notice that gold is on top? It’s a pretty important element.

On top of the seven metals there are seven processes associated with these as well. The first step is Calcination, the second is Dissolution, third process is Separation, Conjunction is fourth, the fifth is Fermentation, then Distillation, followed by Coagulation. (Starting to sound a little more like chemistry?)

There is evidence of this in 4^th century Rome as well, in the form of dichroic glass. What is dichroic glass you ask? Its glass that has small particles of gold added to it which makes visual effects of color changing when light passes through it.

So after all that it brings me to what we’re going to discuss today. Gold, on a nanoscale. I know what you’re saying, “If we’re just going to talk about nanoparticles then why are you telling me all this crap about ancient sorcery?” Well because in order to understand what happened to lead us here entirely, it helps to know a little bit about what these scientists were actually trying to accomplish versus what they did.

The Lycurgus cup was thought to have been made accidentally. While the artisan was painstakingly grinding the glass down to complement the metal rim, it’s likely some gold and silver dust contaminated the glass, creating the stunning visual effect it’s known for. I know what you’re saying now too, “Gold? Uh, dude? That’s red…” Yep, sure is. Red as a baboon’s booty.

See when gold particles are broke down to the nanoscale they refract light differently from when they are in a bar or coin format. When they are broken down to one of their smallest usable forms and suspended in a colloidal solution (water basically) they turn red. As they clump together they start to turn blue. Remember that, because that’s going to be important soon.

Before we get to that however, let’s talk about how we make GNPs (Gold Nanoparticles).

Paracelsus and Faraday

In the 16^th century there was a man named Paracelsus. He was a physician who didn’t believe in following the texts of the ancients but preferred to observe in the here and now. His medical approach is still taught today. He was a botanist and an astrologer. Psychology also credits him with being its father, as it’s noted he was one of the first to observe the afflictions rooted in mental illness.

But perhaps what’s more important for us here today is his alchemy. While dabbling with the ancient arts he managed to synthesize and document the first historical evidence of potable gold! Nowadays we would call this solution Colloidal Gold, or Nanoparticles. What he called it was “Aurium Potabile”, what it was nicknamed was the elixir of life.

This process, which had already been used for staining glass, was now discovered to have medicinal properties!

Enter, Michael Faraday.

In the 19^th century was a young self-educated man named Michael Faraday. He would go on to discover electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism, and the laws of electrolysis. He’d invent the dynamo, and even found the Christmas lectures! But first, he had to assist another chemist named Humphry Davy.

While working with Davy he discovered two new compounds of Chlorine. Not too shabby for a man that basically taught himself everything he knew through watching others and reading in his spare time. It was this work, which in 1847, would lead him to an incredible “Eureka!” moment. While experimenting with Paracelsus’ work he discovered the optical properties of gold particles (the change from red to blue and why they were doing this).

That was considered to be the birthplace of Nanoscience as it was the first documented quantum-level observation of its type. But let’s face it, Paracelsus really deserves some of the credit. For once, snake oil salesmen peddled something of value.

A Small Fortune

The first image above is of the atomic structure of the gold nanoparticles. The one below shows how the gold fuses to organic compounds. The second image is very important because it leads me to our next discussion. What is the use of GNPs?

With crazy advances in genetics and Faraday’s discovery of their optical properties, scientists are now using these tiny precious particles to detect cancer and genetic defect markers in human beings. Depending on their size and synthesis properties, GNPs have a variety of uses, spanning from cancer detection and antibody delivery, to Cystic Fibrosis gene markers in an embryo’s DNA.

What happens is that these particles form bonds with the surface structure of the cells that cause these illnesses. When that happens the GNPs clump together on that marker; as the particles clump together the mass increases causing light to refract differently. The end result is a change in the spectrum of color we observe from red to blue. Depending on what they’re testing for, when this color change occurs, it shows them the offender is present.

It’s still a subject under much study and research, but the future of GNPs is certain. They are here to stay. The use of these makes cancer scanning more affordable and creates an earlier detection method. It also requires less invasive procedures and may eventually replace the use of deadly carcinogens (Such as radio/chemo therapy) in order to kill the cancer cells.

Coupled with other nanotechnology we could witness the end of Cancer in my generation’s lifetime. I don’t know about you, but that is maybe one of the coolest things I’ve ever heard.

Stay Golden Ponyboy

Gold may be responsible for our Nation’s eventual economic collapse (that and greed of course) but it may also be our savior as well. We talked a little bit about its medical uses and what makes it so much more practical to use because of its optical qualities. But it has other uses as well, before it became cancer’s number one enemy, the ancients had other uses for this incredible substance.

We mentioned the Lycurgus cup. When GNPs were added in the form of tiny specks to the molten glass mixture it changed the optical refractory qualities. We also talked about why they did this, as they bond together and gain more mass it diffuses light differently. So what other uses does this have besides tableware and pretty Church windows?

John Herschel discovered it was useful in photography! Aside from coining the terms positive and negative, he also invented the cyanotype (using cyanide mixtures in print development) which was the precursor the blueprint. But let’s talk about printing with the gold, or Chrysotype.

In 1841 a photographer named Talbot discovered the effects of printing using silver. In 1842 John Herschel discovered that gold could be used as well. It was unclear back then which light-sensitive metal would win out in the end but it certainly set the stage. Printing with gold is still around today, although they use mixtures now, as the closer you approach to 100% gold the lower quality results.

There are many qualities about this substance still unknown and many applications we probably have yet to discover. With the properties of colloidal gold, gold nanoparticles have applications in various fields, including electron microscopy, electronics, nanotechnology and materials science. Only time will tell what all we can actually do with these cool micro particles.

In the meantime, stay golden.

-Ryan Sanders

If you want to read more about Gold Nanoparticles, follow any of the links below, and as always, feel free to share this around! Thanks for reading, happy learning guys!

-       Wikipedia entry on Michael Faraday

-       An article explaining Paracelsus’ connection to alchemy

-       Lecture on Nanotechnology and GNPs

-       “How Stuff Works” article on GNPs

-       History on printing processes

-       Documentary on Alchemy