Russian Science: Discussion Thread

Nuclotron-based Ion Collider Faсility (NICA) - a new accelerator complex designed at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna - will put Russia at the forefront of the global quest for new sources of high energy.

In an interview with Rossiya-24 TV, Vladimir Kekelidze, the head of the Laboratory of High Energy Physics in Dubna, said that the NICA collider will be able to recreate a special state of matter in which our Universe stayed shortly after the Big Bang — the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP).

“We are venturing into a whole new field of science. This is more than just building a collider – it is a new era in the development of high energy physics here in Russia,” he said.

The $545 million NICA project is going to be an international  project where scientists from 24 countries will be working together to create new materials and devise advanced methods of cluster therapy, radiobiology, electronics, space research, of reprocessing nuclear waste and creating safe sources of energy.

The initial launch of the NICA collider is slated for 2019 and full-capacity operation is scheduled to start in 2023.

RadioAstron Observations of the Extremely Hot Heart of Quasar 3C 273

Supermassive black holes, containing millions to billions times the mass of our Sun, reside at the centers of all massive galaxies. These black holes can drive powerful jets that emit prodigiously, often outshining all the stars in their host galaxies.

But there is a limit to how bright these jets can be - when electrons get hotter than about 100 billion degrees, they interact with their own emission to produce X-rays and gamma-rays and quickly cool down.

Astronomers have just reported a startling violation of this long-standing theoretical limit in the quasar 3C 273. "We measure the effective temperature of the quasar core to be hotter than 10 trillion degrees!" comments Yuri Kovalev (Astro Space Center, Lebedev Physical Institute, Moscow, Russia), the RadioAstron project scientist.

"This result is very challenging to explain with our current understanding of how relativistic jets of quasars radiate."

However, the incredibly high temperatures were not the only surprise the RadioAstron team has found in 3C 273. The team also discovered an effect never seen before in an extragalactic source: the image of 3C 273 has substructure caused by the effects of peering through the dilute interstellar material of the Milky Way.

"Just as the flame of a candle distorts an image viewed through the hot turbulent air above it, the turbulent plasma of our own galaxy distorts images of distant astrophysical sources, such as quasars," explains Michael Johnson of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), who led the scattering study.

He continues: "These objects are so compact that we had never been able to see this distortion before. The amazing angular resolution of RadioAstron gives us a new tool to understand the extreme physics near the central supermassive black holes of distant galaxies and the diffuse plasma pervading our own galaxy."

Discovery Made by Russian Scientists Will Help Stabilize Fusion Reactors

Research associates at the National Research Nuclear University (MEPhI) Department of Plasma Physics have made a discovery that will help protect fusion reactors from plasma damage, thus ensuring their reliable operation, the university press service said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Thermonuclear units are designed to utilize fusion reactions, like those that occur on the sun, to generate electric power. If successful, the project will give humankind an almost inexhaustible energy source. The largest project in this area is the ITER international thermonuclear reactor, which is being built in France.

One undesirable process that can occur at such plants is the so-called unipolar arc between thermonuclear plasma and the reactor's first wall. This can cause the destruction of the reactor wall and contaminate and cool the plasma, which is unacceptable in the case of controlled thermonuclear synthesis. The mechanism that generates unipolar arcs is not completely understood yet, so research related to this problem is a priority.
Interaction between the plasma and tungsten, which is part of the first wall of a fusion reactor, causes the metal surface to be covered with a huge number of filaments with a diameter of several dozen nanometers and lengths up of to one micron. Scientists call them tungsten fuzz.

Dmitry Sinelnikov, a research associate at the Department of Plasma Physics, on an internship program at Nagoya University in Japan, discovered that the emergence of unipolar arcs is followed by snowflake-like structures forming on tungsten fuzz. Additional experiments were carried out at the MEPhI department to ascertain how such structures predetermine the qualities of tungsten fuzz under the impact of high-voltage electrical fields. It turned out that these snowflakes largely influence the impact of an electrical field.

"Apart from their external beauty, snowflake-craters can help provide better understanding of the mechanism of the arc's movement across the surface," Sinelnikov said, as quoted by the press service.

The scientists believe that further study of this phenomenon will help prevent the occurrence of harmful unipolar arcs in fusion plants, thus helping ensure their stable operation.

http://sputniknews.com/science/20160809/1044083885/discovery-russian-scientists-stabilize-fusion-reactors.html

magnumcromagnon wrote:Russia first to test clean pulse-detonation rocket engine (VIDEO)

kvs wrote:

magnumcromagnon wrote:Russia first to test clean pulse-detonation rocket engine (VIDEO)

This is the biggest news in rocketry since the USSR made oxidizer rich staged combustion rocket engines that the USA thought were
impossible (no US alloy could handle the heat).   That was an epic historic event and so this one.

But of course all we will hear about is Putin, Putin, Putin, hackers, Putin, aggression, Putin, blah, blah.

magnumcromagnon wrote:

...Can you go in depth about the full potential of PDE's? I admit I'm not the most informed on this subject. BTW the 2020's will be a real watershed moment with 3-D printing, scramjet engines, PDE's, high-energy fuel, and laser-fusion superalloy aluminum and nickel powders!

miketheterrible wrote:Russia has developed a polymer composite is stronger than titanium and aluminum
https://cont.ws/@s1601v3006/512670

Scientists from Moscow state University announced the creation of a new type polymer composite material is considerably superior in the thermal stability of all the analogues, characterized by affordable price and production technology.

An experimental batch of material synthesized in the laboratory of Moscow state University, are on trial in trials at the Central Institute of aviation motors (CIAM) named after Baranov, at Kazan national research technical University named after Tupolev (KAI) and other organizations of the aviation industry.

The development of new types of composites and their penetration into the aviation industry continues. Until recently it was believed that the polymers in the best case can withstand temperatures up to 250 degrees Celsius and unable to tolerate the higher temperatures. MSU has created a material that can withstand temperatures up to 450 degrees Celsius, is more durable than aircraft titanium and aluminum, and the technology of its production is not costly.

How to describe Russian specialized publications, our scientists have developed a new polymer-based composite on the basis of two relatively simple parts – unsaturated hydrocarbon propargyl and nitrogen compounds and benzene, which generally produce orange paint. The combination of these ingredients can be turned into a heavy-duty polymer, able to withstand powerful heat without damaging its structure. It is emphasized that the created material can be produced quite cheaply compared to other heavy-duty composites in the industry today

kvs wrote:

miketheterrible wrote:Russia has developed a polymer composite is stronger than titanium and aluminum
https://cont.ws/@s1601v3006/512670

Scientists from Moscow state University announced the creation of a new type polymer composite material is considerably superior in the thermal stability of all the analogues, characterized by affordable price and production technology.

An experimental batch of material synthesized in the laboratory of Moscow state University, are on trial in trials at the Central Institute of aviation motors (CIAM) named after Baranov, at Kazan national research technical University named after Tupolev (KAI) and other organizations of the aviation industry.

The development of new types of composites and their penetration into the aviation industry continues. Until recently it was believed that the polymers in the best case can withstand temperatures up to 250 degrees Celsius and unable to tolerate the higher temperatures. MSU has created a material that can withstand temperatures up to 450 degrees Celsius, is more durable than aircraft titanium and aluminum, and the technology of its production is not costly.

How to describe Russian specialized publications, our scientists have developed a new polymer-based composite on the basis of two relatively simple parts – unsaturated hydrocarbon propargyl and nitrogen compounds and benzene, which generally produce orange paint. The combination of these ingredients can be turned into a heavy-duty polymer, able to withstand powerful heat without damaging its structure. It is emphasized that the created material can be produced quite cheaply compared to other heavy-duty composites in the industry today

The average Russia hating sap has simply no clue how significant this is.   Interesting how nitrogen is a key element in high temperature compounds.

Regular wrote:Russian science and technology was always been strong even from times of Peter the Great. Math, Chemistry, Physics is one of the best in the world. Education wise Russia is very uneven.
What is bad- Patent system, lack of investors. Russia is yet to monetise their science in any meaningful way. Now Russian silicon valleys are actually there to rectify this, but this process is slow. I imagine it would boost Russian economy greatly as potential is there.

miketheterrible wrote:https://sdelanounas.ru/blogs/99507/

Russian scientists have created the ink for printing flexible electronics

https://sdelanounas.ru/blogs/99506/

TPU scientists created x-ray system for detection of defects in gas turbine engines