Russian Science: Discussion Thread

Power Galore: New Collider to Make Russia Leader in High Energy Physics
17:42 26.03.2016 (updated 20:32 26.03.2016)

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/russia/20160326/1037019163/russia-collider-energy.html#ixzz444DmdjZF

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.

@nica.jinr.ru

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/RadioAstron_Observations_of_the_Extremely_Hot_Heart_of_Quasar_3C_273_999.html

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."

Siberian Scientists Create New System for Monitoring Neurosurgeries

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/science/20160531/1040520735/siberia-scientists-monitoring-system-neurosergeries.html#ixzz4ADuuWYXJ

Russian scientists develop electromagnetic cannon to study Universe

SHATURA (Moscow Region), July 12. /TASS/. The tests of a railgun developed by scientists of the United Institute of High Temperatures at the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) will help study matter at extremely high temperatures and pressure and understand how the Universe is organized, RAS President Vladimir Fortov said on Tuesday.

Fortov made this statement during the electromagnetic cannon’s trials at the practice range of the Shatura branch of the United Institute of High Temperatures.

Universe setup and satellites’ safety

"Our task is to try to obtain such high pressures in laboratory conditions with the help of such systems and study the behavior of matter at extremely high temperatures and pressures," Fortov told journalists.

"This is needed to understand how the Universe is organized because 95% of the Universe’s entire visible matter stays precisely in a strongly compressed and heated state. We’re trying to obtain the states of matter with many millions of atmospheres with the help of these systems," Fortov said.

"The second direction used here is the need to study the strikes by meteorites and comets against the surface of the Earth and satellites in order to protect these space vehicles from the impact of high-velocity particles," the scientist said.

"This is also an uneasy task as the strikes of celestial bodies like the Tunguska meteorite develop the velocities of dozens of kilometers per second. Therefore, one of the tasks we’re dealing with is to determine a crater shape and develop a protective system that would protect space vehicles from space debris, comets and meteorites," Fortov said.

Electromagnetic cannon

A railgun is an electromagnetic cannon using rails to accelerate a projectile through the electromagnetic effects. The pressure in the railgun is comparable with the pressure at the bottom of the Mariana Trench and amounts to over a thousand atmospheres.

According to Fortov, "frequently, when something goes differently from what is expected, screws are torn apart."

This is what happened on Tuesday during the demonstrative trials of a railgun at the practice range when two fastening pins broke away from the device’s bandage after a projectile weighing 2 grams was launched with a velocity of 3.2 km/s.

Nonetheless, the RAS president said that scientists were "on the right track" and the equipment was working at its maximum capacity, adding that the device would have been fully repaired by the evening.

Russian scientists are currently working on reaching the hypersonic mode of speeds. Thus, similar railguns have helped reach a speed of 11 km/s with a projectile weighing about 1.5 grams.

The efforts to develop an electromagnetic cannon have been under way throughout the world in the past 45-50 years. Today China is actively working on this technology. In particular, about 150 articles on this issue were published in China last year, Fortov said.

Intensive work in this area is also being conducted in the United States where a railgun weapon was mounted on a ship about a year ago. The United States said at the time that this technology could accelerate a projectile weighing 10-20 kg to 2.5-3 km/s, Fortov said.

As the RAS president said, the Russian Academy of Sciences is dealing only "with the physical issues," studying the destruction mechanics, which has relation to fundamental science.


More:
http://tass.ru/en/science/887778

Darius I stele found in southern Russia may become world sensation

The stele has an inscription in the ancient Persian language. The approximate assessment dates the find to the first half of the 5th century B.C.

KRASNODAR, August 4. /TASS/. Archeologists doing excavations in the area of antique town of Phanagoria in the Temryuk district of Russia’s southern Krasnodar territory have discovered fragments of a marble stele carrying an inscription of the ancient Persian King Darius I, the press service of the Volnoye Delo foundation said in a press release on Thursday.

The find has good chances of becoming a world sensation, said the foundation run by businessman Oleg Deripaska.

"The decoded inscriptions state someone made them in the name of the Persian King Darius I," the press release said. "The stele has an inscription in the ancient Persian language. The approximate assessment dates the find to the first half of the 5th century B.C."

Apart from the stele, the archeologists have found in the acropolis the remainders of ancient fortress walls, which in itself is an important even in classical archeology, the foundation said.

The stele was found in the seams that can be attributed to the 5th century B.C. The text contains a word unregistered before and roughly interpreted as the place name Miletus, one of the biggest cities in Ionia, a region known as Asia Minor now.

"Miletus stood at the head of the so-called Ionian uprising of Greek city states against Darius I," the press release said. "It was suppressed in 494 B.C.".

"Researchers believe the king put up a marble stele in the city after his victory over the Greeks," it said. "The monument had a text on it - for instance, reporting on the king’s triumph. Later on, a fragment of the overturned and broken stele got to Phanagoria - quite possibly, as ballast on a ship that called into the Phanagoria port, since there is no natural stone of the kind on the Taman peninsula.

At present, the stele is undergoing scrutiny at the restoration laboratory of the Phanagoria Research and Cultural Center.

Darius I (b. 550, d. 486 B.C.), a Persian ruler from the Achaemenian dynasty considerably expanded the territory of his country with the aid of wars against the Getae, Thrace, Lemnos, Imbros, and Macedonia. He was buried in the mausoleum built on the cliffs at Naqsh-e Rustam near Persepolis on his order and decorated with sculptures.


More:
http://tass.ru/en/science/892592

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

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

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.

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.

...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!

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!

Even though this prototype is a intended as a rocket engine, PDEs have the potential to make ground to space aircraft-style flight possible. The
idea is to do fluid dynamic engineering instead of turbine engineering. The US tested a pulse detonation aircraft engine in 2008 but
there is no hard distinction between aircraft and rocket modes aside from tuning the parameters for different levels of thrust. Controlling
detonation via fluid flow is very tricky and ramjets or scramjets are much more primitive concepts but they work at speeds where the
the PDEs don't. So PDEs cover the 0 to 5 Mach range and scramjets operate for over Mach 5.

https://info.aiaa.org/tac/PEG/HSABPTC/Public%20Documents/Dora%20Musielak%20Publications/Fundamentals%20of%20PDE%20Propulsion_Musielak.pdf

The above slides discuss the origin of the gain in thermodynamic efficiency. PDEs follow the Humphrey cycle where the pulse detonation front
adds heat at constant volume. Turbojets follow the Brayton cycle and add heat at constant pressure and lose thermal efficiency as
the combustion temperature is increased (see slides 16, 17 and 18).

Four new elements added to Mendeleev's periodical table

More:
http://tass.com/science/915690

Russian astronomers fail to detect meteorite’s crash in Siberia

The meteorite went undetected as there are not enough astronomical observatories in Siberia

NOVOSIBIRSK, December 7. /TASS/. The meteor seen on Tuesday night in the city of Sayanogorsk, in Russia’s Siberian Republic of Khakassia, went undetected by ground telescopes as there are not enough astronomical observatories in Siberia, the Novosibirsk Planetarium’s Director, Sergei Maslikov, told TASS on Wednesday.

"No one carries out astronomic research in that area, unfortunately. Krasnoyarsk is the closest city but there is neither a planetarium, nor an observatory there," he said.

Maslikov elaborated that the observatories closest to Khakassia were located in Novosibirsk and Irkutsk. "We could not see it here. In Irkutsk, the skies are constantly observed but Irkutsk is also rather far. I don’t think Irkutsk’s residents could see the meteor since it was smaller than the one that had crashed in the Chelyabinsk region, so it could have been seen in a limited area," Maslikov added.

A source in the Astronomical Observatory of the Irkutsk State University confirmed to TASS that they had not detected any celestial bodies.

The director of the Novosibirsk planetarium also said that comets were constantly observed from space as these observations were of great interest to astronomers. "We should now what celestial bodies come down from space and in what numbers. We know the approximate numbers but not specific figures," Maslikov noted.

According to him, ‘shooting stars’ come down from space almost every day but they usually fall away from human settlements, into the oceans or deep forests.

As the Sayanogorsk city website reported on December 6, a falling star considered to be an meteorite landed in the region of Khakassia, presumably in the Babik valley near Sayanogorsk.

The meteorite that hit the ground in Khakassia was not detected by the multichannel monitoring telescope (MMT) aimed at searching for quick-changing and fast-moving space objects, researcher officer of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Science, head of the MMT project Grigory Beskin told TASS earlier. He added that a multichannel system was capable of detecting such meteorites at a height of around 100 kilometers provided the meteorite would be flying not more than several dozen kilometers from the observatory. To cover the entire territory of the country, a vast network containing scores of such telescopes is necessary, Beskin said.


More:
http://tass.com/science/917304

First printed on a 3D printer for the nano-satellite will launch in 2017
http://vpk.name/news/172005_pervyii_napechatannyii_na_3dprintere_nanosputnik_zapustyat_v_2017_godu.html

The main purpose of the launch AppData is to study the performance and reliability of materials and structures

TOMSK, January 3. /TASS/. The first Russian nanosatellite printed on a 3D printer elements of the hull will be launched from the International space station (ISS) in 2017, reported TASS the head of the strategic academic unit of "Space engineering" at Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) Eugene Kolupaev.

"The launch is scheduled during the exit of astronauts into space in 2017, he said. - It will release into orbit, and he had no engines, due to the initially given inertia will work 4-6 months is the estimated time, and then fall and burn up in the dense layers of the atmosphere".

As explained TASS Director of the Institute of high technology physics TPU Aleksey Yakovlev, the main objective in launching nanosatellite into space - the study of the behavior of materials and structures with which it is made. "We got through the first stage, when the satellite was delivered to ISS, have traced it withstood all loads during transportation to orbit. The next stage is when the astronauts will prepare to launch and release in open space, we will be able to receive telemetry and track its trajectory", - said Yakovlev.

According to him, scientists of the University it is important to understand that the materials and design of workable and reliable for use in extreme conditions of space. "If we are going out to get the telemetry, so it works. In addition, the main problem of the satellites to conserve battery power when you exit in sub-zero temperatures, because the open space more than 100 degrees below zero. We used a special thermal insulation design, which will reduce temodar, can lead to damage of the battery, this solution allows to increase the resources of the battery," - said the head of the Institute.

He stressed that if the studies are successful, the University will be able to produce elements for such devices in series. "We have this all ready, there are consumers who are ready to order - Russian and foreign companies, particularly Chinese," said Yakovlev.

Satellite "Tomsk-TPU-120" - the first Russian spacecraft, created using 3D technology and specially selected materials. It was developed by the TPU in cooperation with RSC "Energia" and the Institute of strength physics and materials science SB RAS, in the spring of 2016, he was taken to the ISS. In Russia a consortium was established, which deals with the creation of groups of small robotic spacecraft weighing from 3 to 30 kg, in the long term, as scientists believe, these satellites together in groups, can even repair each other in orbit. In the next two years to orbit the Earth is scheduled to bring two groups of small satellites.

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

Russia is strong in material physics. Nanotechnology is growing fast.

Meanwhile, EU peformes only public opinion polls

Russians’ view of science and technology 20% more positive than in EU—study
http://marchmontnews.com/Technology-Innovation/Central-regions/21746-Russians-view-science-and-technology-20-more-positive-than-EU%E2%80%94study-.html

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.

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.

you mean this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWkYRh6OXy8
but russia is catching up ok we all get it....

Russia to establish new Earth’s remote sensing center in Antarctica

More:
http://tass.com/science/940976

Is the Russia science a significant important science in the world? Is it a important science?

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.

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

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.

Judging by the information supplied by sdelanounas.ru, the situation today in this regard is vastly better than in the past.
Modern Russian innovations are being turned into actual industrial processes. For example, metal 3D printing and carbon-carbon
materials for aircraft wings and other parts. I do not think it is valid any more to look back at the Soviet era or some
undeveloped agrarian past and evaluate the current situation. Even though you say the process is slow and is a matter
of potential, I think you are not seeing the current conditions. Things are evolving very fast.

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

Unlike a lot of the talk in Popular Mechanics, these innovations will be deployed.

I do not think it is an accident that US-led NATO is baying for war just when Russia is getting its sh*t together.
Russia is an existential commercial threat:

https://sputniknews.com/analysis/201710211058428894-russia-slovakia-talks-tigr-vehicle/

Russian Nobel Prize winners in science

Physics
1958: Pavel Cherenkov, Ilya Frank and Igor Tamm "for the discovery and interpretation of the Cherenkov effect"
1962: Lev Landau "for his theories about condensed matter, particularly about liquid helium superfluidity"
1964: Nikolay Basov and Aleksandr Prokhorov "for fundamental work in the area of the quantum electronics, which led to the construction of oscillators and amplifiers on the basis of the maser laser principle"
1978: Pyotr Kapitsa "for his fundamental inventions and discoveries in Cryophysics"
2001: Zhores Alferov (RU) "for the development of semiconductor heterostructures for high-speed and opto-electronics" (working in the time of the USSR)
2003: Alexei Abrikosov (RU), Vitaly Ginzburg (RU) "for innovative work in the theory about superconductors" (working in the time of the USSR)

Chemistry
1956: Nikolai Semenov For outstanding work on the mechanism of chemical transformation including an exhaustive analysis of the application of the chain theory to varied reactions (1934–1954) and, more significantly, to combustion processes.