Physicists have been exploring the properties of plasmas
within tokamak devices since the 1960s. The doughnut-shaped torus of the
tokamak represented a major break-through in plasma science at the
time, offering the conditions for temperature levels and plasma
confinement times that had never before been reached.
The
ITER Tokamak chamber will be twice as large as any previous tokamak,
with a plasma volume of 840 cubic metres. Left to itself, the plasma
would occupy all of the space in the chamber (1,400 m³), however no
material could withstand contact with the extreme-temperature plasma.
Scientists are able to contain or "confine" the plasma away from the
walls by exploiting its properties.
Plasmas consist of
charged particles—positive nuclei and negative electrons—that can be
shaped and confined by magnetic forces. Like iron filings in the
presence of a magnet, particles in the plasma will follow magnetic field
lines. The magnetic field acts as a recipient that is not affected by
heat like an ordinary solid container.
In ITER,
different types of magnetic fields will work in subtle combination to
shape the plasma into the form of a ring, or torus, and isolate the very
hot plasma from the relatively cold vessel walls in order to retain the
energy for as long as possible. The vacuum vessel is the first safety
confinement barrier and will not be in contact with the plasma.
Physicists have been exploring the properties of plasmas
within tokamak devices since the 1960s. The doughnut-shaped torus of the
tokamak represented a major break-through in plasma science at the
time, offering the conditions for temperature levels and plasma
confinement times that had never before been reached.
In a tokamak, plasma
particles are confined and shaped by magnetic field lines that combine
to act like an invisible bottle. Pictured, the spherical tokamak MAST at
the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (UK), where over 30,000 man-made
''stars'' have been created. Photo: CCFE
Melanin and melatonin are chemically related substances, with many
different characteristic features. Their origin, function, chemical composition
and location in the human body vary widely, and which will be discussed here in
detail.
What is Melanin?
Melanin is one of the major pigments found in human skin, which
determines the skin color. It is synthesized by melanocytes, which are located
in the skin, eye, ear, hair, and central nervous system of the human body. In
addition of providing color, melanin has some other functions, as well. The
most important function is the protection of skin from solar UV radiation,
which causes skin cancer to humans. Melanin shields the cell’s nuclei, thus
prevents DNA damage due to radiation. In addition, it is also involved in
hearing.
What is Melatonin? C13H16N2O2
Difference Between Melanin and Melatonin
Melatonin is a neurotransmitter, which is mainly derived from the cells
in the gastrointestinal tract, the retina, and the pineal gland. Melatonin is
responsible for maintaining sleep wake cycles, biological rhythms, and the
modulation and inhibition of melanin synthesis. In addition, melatonin can
repair the cells, which have been damaged by stress and disease, and stop the
secretion of MSH and ACTH hormones. Also being an antioxidant, melatonin can
destroy microorganisms, and thus it is referred to as disease-fighting hormone.
Melatonin is one of the most complex molecules found in the brain,
liver, intestines, blood, and muscles. Melatonin is synthesized from
Tryptophan, and the synthesis and secretion of melatonin are stimulated by
catecholamines.
The main functions of melatonin are the modulation of the synthesis of
melanin, maintaining the sleep wake cycle and biological rhythms in the body,
whereas that of melanin are providing skin color, photo-protection, and
involving in hearing.
Pineal indolamine (e.g. Melatonin/Serotonin) and peptide hormones
influence immune functions. Melatonin, in particular, increases immune memory
while T-dependent antigene immunization stimulates antibody production.
According to Maestroni (1993), in an article published in the Journal of Pineal
Research a tight physiological link between the pineal gland and the immune
system is emerging that might reflect the evolutionary connection between
self-recognition and reproduction. He goes further, mentioning that
Pinealectomy or other experimental methods which inhibit melatonin synthesis
and secretion induce a state of immunodepression which is counteracted by
melatonin. In general, melatonin appears to have an immunoenhancing effect. An
interesting observation is the apparent protection from autoimmune diseases in
areas of West Africa and especially in places where malaria is a problem
(Greenwood, 1968).
melanin protects against cryptoccocus neoformans (parasite of central
nervous system) its known that europeans and their descendants suffer from
higher rates of many diseases affecting CNS EXAMPLE; huntingtons disease, optic
neuritus, parkinsons, multiple sclerosis, PKU, spinal bifida, etc.
Plasma Melatonin Rhythms In Young and Older Humans During Sleep, Sleep Deprivation, and Wake
Abstract
Study Objectives:
To
determine the effects of sleep and sleep deprivation on plasma
melatonin concentrations in humans and whether these effects are
age-dependent.
Design:
At
least 2 weeks of regular at-home, sleep/wake schedule followed by 3
baseline days in the laboratory and at least one constant routine (sleep
deprivation).
Setting:
General Clinical Research Center (GCRC), Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA.
Participants:
In
Study 1, one group (<10 lux when awake) of 19 young men (18-30 y)
plus a second group (<2 lux when awake) of 15 young men (20-28 y) and
10 young women (19-27 y); in Study 2, 90 young men (18-30 y), 18 older
women (65-81 y), and 11 older men (64-75 y). All participants were in
good health, as determined by medical and psychological screening.
Interventions:
One to three constant routines with interspersed inversion of the sleep/wake cycle in those with multiple constant routines.
Measurements and Results:
Examination
of plasma melatonin concentrations and core body temperature. Study 1.
There was a small, but significant effect of sleep deprivation of up to
50 hours on melatonin concentrations (increase of 9.81 ± 3.73%, P
<0.05, compared to normally timed melatonin). There was also an
effect of circadian phase angle with the prior sleep episode, such that
if melatonin onset occurred <8 hours after wake time, the amplitude
was significantly lower (22.4% ± 4.79%, P <0.001). Study 2. In
comparing melatonin concentrations during sleep to the same hours during
constant wakefulness, in young men, melatonin amplitude was 6.7% ± 2.1%
higher (P <0.001) during the sleep episode. In older men, melatonin amplitude was 37.0% ± 12.5% lower (P <0.05) during the sleep episode and in older women, melatonin amplitude was non-significantly 10.9% ± 8.38% lower (P = 0.13) during the sleep episode.
Conclusions:
Both
sleep and sleep deprivation likely influence melatonin amplitude, and
the effect of sleep on melatonin appears to be age dependent.
The lightsaber, also known as a laser sword,[14] was a weapon usually used by the Jedi, the Sith, and other Force-sensitives. Lightsabers consisted of a plasma blade, powered by a kyber crystal,
that was emitted from a usually metal hilt and could be shut off at
will. It was a weapon that required skill and training, and was greatly
enhanced when used in conjunction with the Force.
A kyber crystal, simply known as a kyber, also called a lightsaber crystal, the living crystal and known in ancient times as a kaiburr crystal, were rare, Force-attuned crystals that grew in nature and were found on scattered planets across the galaxy. They were used by the Jedi and the Sith in the construction of their lightsabers. As part of Jedi training, younglings were sent to the Crystal Cave of the ice planet of Ilum
to mine crystals in order to construct their own lightsabers. The
crystal's mix of unique luster was called "the water of the kyber" by
the Jedi.[2] There were also larger, rarer crystals of great power and that, according to legends, were used at the heart of ancient superweapons by the Sith.
The team used a combination of computation and experimental analysis
to derive the structure of the material, finding that a major source of
the broadband absorption was the physical arrangement of the
constituents, not their chemical characteristics. Specifically, the
combination of disorder and order in the physical arrangement produces a
"smearing" of the material's spectral absorption, and providing its
crucial broadband blocking ability.
"You can't do traditional analytical chemistry on this particular
system," Chuang, a graduate student in chemistry, says, "where you
isolate each component. Only indirect ways of probing" can be used, he
says.
The disorder that turned out to be key, the team says -- a physical
disorder called "geometric disorder" -- is different from the chemical
disorder that other researchers have studied. It turns out that both
kinds of disorder may play a complementary role in producing eumelanin's
broadband absorption.
The material forms tiny crystals -- a chemically ordered state -- but
with intrinsic randomness, such that the orientations of the stacked
molecules can be arbitrary and the sizes of the crystals different,
forming aggregate structures that are highly disordered. That
combination of order and disorder contributes to eumelanin's broadband
absorption, the team found.
"It's a naturally existing nanocomposite," Buehler says, "that has
very critical macroscopic properties as a result of the nanostructure."
While eumelanin molecules all share a basic chemistry, more than 100
variations of that composition exist; the slight variations from one
molecule to another may contribute to the disorder that broadens the
ability to absorb light, Buehler says. "The jury is still out on which
is more important," he says.
Understanding the origins of eumelanin's optical properties could
help guide the creation of new synthetic materials, Buehler says. These
insights may be useful in developing materials for applications such as
pigments, he says, or in improving the efficiency of solar cells.
Plasma (from Ancient Greekπλάσμα, meaning 'moldable substance'[1]) is one of the four fundamental states of matter, and was first described by chemist Irving Langmuir[2] in the 1920s.[3] It consists of a gas of ions – atoms which have some of their orbital electrons removed – and free electrons. Plasma can be artificially generated by heating a neutral gas or subjecting it to a strong electromagnetic field to the point where an ionized gaseous substance becomes increasingly electrically conductive.
The resulting charged ions and electrons become influenced by
long-range electromagnetic fields, making the plasma dynamics more
sensitive to these fields than a neutral gas.[4]
Plasma and ionized gases have properties and display behaviours unlike those of the other states, and the transition between them is mostly a matter of nomenclature[2] and subject to interpretation.[5] Based on the temperature and density of the environment that contains a plasma, partially ionized or fully ionized forms of plasma may be produced. Neon signs and lightning are examples of partially ionized plasmas.[6] The Earth's ionosphere is a plasma and the magnetosphere contains plasma in the Earth's surrounding space environment. The interior of the Sun is an example of fully ionized plasma,[7] along with the solar corona[8] and stars.[9]
Positive charges in ions are achieved by stripping away electrons
orbiting the atomic nuclei, where the total number of electrons removed
is related to either increasing temperature or the local density of
other ionized matter. This also can be accompanied by the dissociation
of molecular bonds,[10] though this process is distinctly different from chemical processes of ion interactions in liquids or the behaviour of shared ions in metals. The response of plasma to electromagnetic fields is used in many modern technological devices, such as plasma televisions or plasma etching.[11]
As more mass is accumulated, equilibrium against gravitational collapse
exceeds its breaking point. Once the star's pressure is insufficient to
counterbalance gravity, a catastrophic gravitational collapse occurs
within milliseconds. The escape velocity at the surface, already at least 1⁄3 light speed, quickly reaches the velocity of light. At that point no energy or matter can escape and a black hole has formed. Because all light and matter is trapped within an event horizon, a black hole appears truly black, except for the possibility of very faint Hawking radiation. It is presumed that the collapse will continue inside the event horizon.
Primordial black holes are a hypothetical type of black hole that formed soon after the Big Bang.
In the early universe, high densities and heterogeneous conditions
could have led sufficiently dense regions to undergo gravitational
collapse, forming black holes. Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich and Igor Dmitriyevich Novikov in 1966[1] first proposed the existence of such black holes. The theory behind their origins was first studied in depth by Stephen Hawking in 1971.[2]
Since primordial black holes did not form from stellar gravitational collapse, their masses can be far below stellar mass (c. 2×1030 kg). Hawking calculated that primordial black holes could weigh as little as 10−8 kg.
Depending on the model, primordial black holes could have initial masses ranging from 10−8 kg
(the so-called Planck relics) to more than thousands of solar masses.
However, primordial black holes originally having mass lower than 1011 kg would not have survived to the present due to Hawking radiation, which causes complete evaporation in a time much shorter than the age of the Universe.[citation needed] Primordial black holes are non-baryonic[3] and as such are plausible dark matter candidates.[4][5][6][7][8] Primordial black holes are also good candidates for being the seeds of the supermassive black holes at the center of massive galaxies, as well as of intermediate-mass black holes.[9]
Primordial black holes belong to the class of massive compact halo objects
(MACHOs). They are naturally a good dark matter candidate: they are
(nearly) collision-less and stable (if sufficiently massive), they have
non-relativistic velocities, and they form very early in the history of
the Universe (typically less than one second after the Big Bang).
Nevertheless, tight limits on their abundance have been set up from
various astrophysical and cosmological observations, so that it is now
excluded that they contribute significantly to dark matter over most of
the plausible mass range.
Lifetime, Hawking radiation and gamma-rays: One way to detect primordial black holes, or to constrain their mass and abundance, is by their Hawking radiation. Stephen Hawking theorized in 1974 that large numbers of such smaller primordial black holes might exist in the Milky Way in our galaxy's halo
region. All black holes are theorized to emit Hawking radiation at a
rate inversely proportional to their mass. Since this emission further
decreases their mass, black holes with very small mass would experience
runaway evaporation, creating a massive burst of radiation at the final
phase, equivalent to a hydrogen bomb yielding millions of megatons of
explosive force.[21] A regular black hole (of about 3 solar masses) cannot lose all of its mass within the current age of the universe (they would take about 1069
years to do so, even without any matter falling in). However, since
primordial black holes are not formed by stellar core collapse, they may
be of any size. A black hole with a mass of about 1011 kg
would have a lifetime about equal to the age of the universe. If such
low-mass black holes were created in sufficient number in the Big Bang,
we should be able to observe explosions by some of those that are
relatively nearby in our own Milky Waygalaxy. NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope
satellite, launched in June 2008, was designed in part to search for
such evaporating primordial black holes. Fermi data set up the limit
that less than one percent of dark matter could be made of primordial
black holes with masses up to 1013 kg
Hawking radiation is black-body radiation that is predicted to be released by black holes, due to quantum effects near the black hole event horizon. It is named after the theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who provided a theoretical argument for its existence in 1974.
Physical insight into the process may be gained by imagining that particle–antiparticle radiation is emitted from just beyond the event horizon. This radiation does not come directly from the black hole itself, but rather is a result of virtual particles being "boosted" by the black hole's gravitation into becoming real particles.[citation needed]
As the particle–antiparticle pair was produced by the black hole's
gravitational energy, the escape of one of the particles lowers the mass
of the black hole.
Astronomers have revealed the
bizarre behaviour of a black hole known as V404 Cygni, located some 8000
light-years from Earth, describing it as “one of the most extraordinary
black hole systems” ever observed.
In a study published in the journal Nature,
a team led by James Miller-Jones, from the Curtin University node of
the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), in
Western Australia, reveals that the black hole is shooting out jets of
high-speed plasma in several directions.
V404
Cygni is feeding on a nearby star, sucking gas away from it and forming
a disc of material which circles the hole’s event horizon, gradually
being sucked in.
"They are like laser beams piercing the universe and allowing us to
see black holes whose emission would otherwise be too dim to be
detectable," Alexander Tchekhovskoy, a computational astrophysicist at
Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, told Live Science.
But
the complex mechanisms behind these jets remain poorly understood. A
potential insight into the problem comes from the fact that material
around a black hole is transformed into plasma, a blisteringly hot, but
diffuse magnetized state of matter. Physicists have long suspected that
twisting magnetic fields somehow interact with the curved fabric of
space-time around a spinning black hole to give rise to the jets.
Proteus' name suggests the "first" (from Greek "πρῶτος" prōtos, "first"), as prōtogonos
(πρωτόγονος) is the "primordial" or the "firstborn". It is not certain
to what this refers, but in myths where he is the son of Poseidon, it possibly refers to his being Poseidon's eldest son, older than Poseidon's other son, the sea-god Triton. The first attestation of the name, although it is not certain whether it refers to the god or just a person, is in Mycenaean Greek; the attested form, in Linear B, is ????, po-ro-te-u.
Comments
Melanin and melatonin are chemically related substances, with many different characteristic features. Their origin, function, chemical composition and location in the human body vary widely, and which will be discussed here in detail.
What is Melanin?
Melanin is one of the major pigments found in human skin, which determines the skin color. It is synthesized by melanocytes, which are located in the skin, eye, ear, hair, and central nervous system of the human body. In addition of providing color, melanin has some other functions, as well. The most important function is the protection of skin from solar UV radiation, which causes skin cancer to humans. Melanin shields the cell’s nuclei, thus prevents DNA damage due to radiation. In addition, it is also involved in hearing.What is Melatonin? C13H16N2O2
Difference Between Melanin and Melatonin
Melatonin is a neurotransmitter, which is mainly derived from the cells in the gastrointestinal tract, the retina, and the pineal gland. Melatonin is responsible for maintaining sleep wake cycles, biological rhythms, and the modulation and inhibition of melanin synthesis. In addition, melatonin can repair the cells, which have been damaged by stress and disease, and stop the secretion of MSH and ACTH hormones. Also being an antioxidant, melatonin can destroy microorganisms, and thus it is referred to as disease-fighting hormone.
Melatonin is one of the most complex molecules found in the brain, liver, intestines, blood, and muscles. Melatonin is synthesized from Tryptophan, and the synthesis and secretion of melatonin are stimulated by catecholamines.Pineal indolamine (e.g. Melatonin/Serotonin) and peptide hormones influence immune functions. Melatonin, in particular, increases immune memory while T-dependent antigene immunization stimulates antibody production. According to Maestroni (1993), in an article published in the Journal of Pineal Research a tight physiological link between the pineal gland and the immune system is emerging that might reflect the evolutionary connection between self-recognition and reproduction. He goes further, mentioning that Pinealectomy or other experimental methods which inhibit melatonin synthesis and secretion induce a state of immunodepression which is counteracted by melatonin. In general, melatonin appears to have an immunoenhancing effect. An interesting observation is the apparent protection from autoimmune diseases in areas of West Africa and especially in places where malaria is a problem (Greenwood, 1968).
melanin protects against cryptoccocus neoformans (parasite of central nervous system) its known that europeans and their descendants suffer from higher rates of many diseases affecting CNS EXAMPLE; huntingtons disease, optic neuritus, parkinsons, multiple sclerosis, PKU, spinal bifida, etc.
Plasma Melatonin Rhythms In Young and Older Humans During Sleep, Sleep Deprivation, and Wake
Abstract
Study Objectives:
To determine the effects of sleep and sleep deprivation on plasma melatonin concentrations in humans and whether these effects are age-dependent.
Design:
At least 2 weeks of regular at-home, sleep/wake schedule followed by 3 baseline days in the laboratory and at least one constant routine (sleep deprivation).
Setting:
General Clinical Research Center (GCRC), Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA.
Participants:
In Study 1, one group (<10 lux when awake) of 19 young men (18-30 y) plus a second group (<2 lux when awake) of 15 young men (20-28 y) and 10 young women (19-27 y); in Study 2, 90 young men (18-30 y), 18 older women (65-81 y), and 11 older men (64-75 y). All participants were in good health, as determined by medical and psychological screening.
Interventions:
One to three constant routines with interspersed inversion of the sleep/wake cycle in those with multiple constant routines.
Measurements and Results:
Examination of plasma melatonin concentrations and core body temperature. Study 1. There was a small, but significant effect of sleep deprivation of up to 50 hours on melatonin concentrations (increase of 9.81 ± 3.73%, P <0.05, compared to normally timed melatonin). There was also an effect of circadian phase angle with the prior sleep episode, such that if melatonin onset occurred <8 hours after wake time, the amplitude was significantly lower (22.4% ± 4.79%, P <0.001). Study 2. In comparing melatonin concentrations during sleep to the same hours during constant wakefulness, in young men, melatonin amplitude was 6.7% ± 2.1% higher (P <0.001) during the sleep episode. In older men, melatonin amplitude was 37.0% ± 12.5% lower (P <0.05) during the sleep episode and in older women, melatonin amplitude was non-significantly 10.9% ± 8.38% lower (P = 0.13) during the sleep episode.
Conclusions:
Both sleep and sleep deprivation likely influence melatonin amplitude, and the effect of sleep on melatonin appears to be age dependent.
The team used a combination of computation and experimental analysis to derive the structure of the material, finding that a major source of the broadband absorption was the physical arrangement of the constituents, not their chemical characteristics. Specifically, the combination of disorder and order in the physical arrangement produces a "smearing" of the material's spectral absorption, and providing its crucial broadband blocking ability.
"You can't do traditional analytical chemistry on this particular system," Chuang, a graduate student in chemistry, says, "where you isolate each component. Only indirect ways of probing" can be used, he says.
The disorder that turned out to be key, the team says -- a physical disorder called "geometric disorder" -- is different from the chemical disorder that other researchers have studied. It turns out that both kinds of disorder may play a complementary role in producing eumelanin's broadband absorption.
The material forms tiny crystals -- a chemically ordered state -- but with intrinsic randomness, such that the orientations of the stacked molecules can be arbitrary and the sizes of the crystals different, forming aggregate structures that are highly disordered. That combination of order and disorder contributes to eumelanin's broadband absorption, the team found.
"It's a naturally existing nanocomposite," Buehler says, "that has very critical macroscopic properties as a result of the nanostructure."
While eumelanin molecules all share a basic chemistry, more than 100 variations of that composition exist; the slight variations from one molecule to another may contribute to the disorder that broadens the ability to absorb light, Buehler says. "The jury is still out on which is more important," he says.
Understanding the origins of eumelanin's optical properties could help guide the creation of new synthetic materials, Buehler says. These insights may be useful in developing materials for applications such as pigments, he says, or in improving the efficiency of solar cells.
Plasma (from Ancient Greek πλάσμα, meaning 'moldable substance'[1]) is one of the four fundamental states of matter, and was first described by chemist Irving Langmuir[2] in the 1920s.[3] It consists of a gas of ions – atoms which have some of their orbital electrons removed – and free electrons. Plasma can be artificially generated by heating a neutral gas or subjecting it to a strong electromagnetic field to the point where an ionized gaseous substance becomes increasingly electrically conductive. The resulting charged ions and electrons become influenced by long-range electromagnetic fields, making the plasma dynamics more sensitive to these fields than a neutral gas.[4]
Plasma and ionized gases have properties and display behaviours unlike those of the other states, and the transition between them is mostly a matter of nomenclature[2] and subject to interpretation.[5] Based on the temperature and density of the environment that contains a plasma, partially ionized or fully ionized forms of plasma may be produced. Neon signs and lightning are examples of partially ionized plasmas.[6] The Earth's ionosphere is a plasma and the magnetosphere contains plasma in the Earth's surrounding space environment. The interior of the Sun is an example of fully ionized plasma,[7] along with the solar corona[8] and stars.[9]
Positive charges in ions are achieved by stripping away electrons orbiting the atomic nuclei, where the total number of electrons removed is related to either increasing temperature or the local density of other ionized matter. This also can be accompanied by the dissociation of molecular bonds,[10] though this process is distinctly different from chemical processes of ion interactions in liquids or the behaviour of shared ions in metals. The response of plasma to electromagnetic fields is used in many modern technological devices, such as plasma televisions or plasma etching.[11]
Depending on the model, primordial black holes could have initial masses ranging from 10−8 kg (the so-called Planck relics) to more than thousands of solar masses. However, primordial black holes originally having mass lower than 1011 kg would not have survived to the present due to Hawking radiation, which causes complete evaporation in a time much shorter than the age of the Universe.[citation needed] Primordial black holes are non-baryonic[3] and as such are plausible dark matter candidates.[4][5][6][7][8] Primordial black holes are also good candidates for being the seeds of the supermassive black holes at the center of massive galaxies, as well as of intermediate-mass black holes.[9]
Primordial black holes belong to the class of massive compact halo objects (MACHOs). They are naturally a good dark matter candidate: they are (nearly) collision-less and stable (if sufficiently massive), they have non-relativistic velocities, and they form very early in the history of the Universe (typically less than one second after the Big Bang). Nevertheless, tight limits on their abundance have been set up from various astrophysical and cosmological observations, so that it is now excluded that they contribute significantly to dark matter over most of the plausible mass range.
Black holes are sites of immense gravitational attraction. Classically, the gravitation generated by the gravitational singularity inside a black hole is so powerful that nothing, not even electromagnetic radiation, can escape from the black hole. It is yet unknown how gravity can be incorporated into quantum mechanics. Nevertheless, far from the black hole, the gravitational effects can be weak enough for calculations to be reliably performed in the framework of quantum field theory in curved spacetime. Hawking showed that quantum effects allow black holes to emit exact black-body radiation. The electromagnetic radiation is produced as if emitted by a black body with a temperature inversely proportional to the mass of the black hole.
Physical insight into the process may be gained by imagining that particle–antiparticle radiation is emitted from just beyond the event horizon. This radiation does not come directly from the black hole itself, but rather is a result of virtual particles being "boosted" by the black hole's gravitation into becoming real particles.[citation needed] As the particle–antiparticle pair was produced by the black hole's gravitational energy, the escape of one of the particles lowers the mass of the black hole.Astronomers have revealed the bizarre behaviour of a black hole known as V404 Cygni, located some 8000 light-years from Earth, describing it as “one of the most extraordinary black hole systems” ever observed.
In a study published in the journal Nature, a team led by James Miller-Jones, from the Curtin University node of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), in Western Australia, reveals that the black hole is shooting out jets of high-speed plasma in several directions.
V404 Cygni is feeding on a nearby star, sucking gas away from it and forming a disc of material which circles the hole’s event horizon, gradually being sucked in.
"They are like laser beams piercing the universe and allowing us to see black holes whose emission would otherwise be too dim to be detectable," Alexander Tchekhovskoy, a computational astrophysicist at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, told Live Science.
But the complex mechanisms behind these jets remain poorly understood. A potential insight into the problem comes from the fact that material around a black hole is transformed into plasma, a blisteringly hot, but diffuse magnetized state of matter. Physicists have long suspected that twisting magnetic fields somehow interact with the curved fabric of space-time around a spinning black hole to give rise to the jets.
An archaic Gorgon (around 580 BCE), as depicted on a pediment from the temple of Artemis in Corfu, on display at the Archaeological Museum of Corfu