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Humans produce two flammable gases: hydrogen and methane. Flammable gases accumulate in an enclosed space and can ignite. Astronauts are humans who spend lots of time in enclosed space. The logic is irrefutable. So, what's the risk to farting astronauts? More »
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Located some 11 billion light-years from Earth are two clouds of gas. Just two billion years younger than the Big Bang itself, they appear to be the first known clouds that are completely unaltered since the birth of the universe. More »
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To get life, you first need organic molecules, and the easiest way to get those is from the compound methanol. Now it seems there are very specific conditions needed to create methanol and, ultimately, life... and most stars don't have them. More »
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A basic fact of the universe is that space is a dark, black expanse that's only broken up by the lights of stars and galaxies. But that wasn't always the case — space was once a dense, opaque fog. More »
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Splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen is generally considered a fantastic way to get a renewable power source. The problem is how exactly you go about splitting the water. Current methods require some power input in order to kickstart the reaction, reducing its effectiveness as a sustainable power source, since power needs to flow continually in to the system. But a new technique could meld together a number of other methods and produce constant, carbon-neutral hydrogen from two things we have in abundance: fouled water and seawater. More »
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That green clump might not be much to look at, but it's one of the rarest sights in the cosmos: a Lyman-alpha blob. They're among the universe's biggest structures, and only now are we starting to understand how they work. More »
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The universe just isn't what it used to be. Billions of years ago, when the universe was still in its infancy, the casual observer would have seen stars forming all around him, and at a pretty rapid clip. In recent years, however (i.e. the last few billion), the rate of star formation has slowed to a fraction of its former pace. Now, a team of Australian astronomers believes it knows why. More »
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We're still trying to figure out how to properly harness the power of hydrogen as a clean energy source — and now we might be able to pick up some unexpected pointers from some bizarre symbiotic bacteria found at the ocean depths. More »
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Near the star Rho Ophiuchi, there are thick cosmic dust clouds from which new suns are born. While the vast majority of particles in the clouds are hydrogen, a newly discovered molecule could explain where water came from. More »
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Hyperoxia, also known as oxygen toxicity or poisoning, can happen when your body is exposed to pure O2 for too long. That's right - one of the gasses you need to survive can also poison you. More »
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Hydrogen is the simplest of all atoms, and it's easily the most abundant, accounting for 90% of all atoms in the universe. And this fundamental building block may have something to tell us about one of the universe's great mysteries. More »
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Thanks to quantum computing, we now have a fairly precise idea how much energy a hydrogen molecule gives off. Gone are the days when we had to guess this sort of thing by tossing atoms from hand to hand. More »
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Oxygen and hydrogen are both excellent energy sources, and we've got tons of both on Earth. Unfortunately, that energy is mostly tied up in water molecules that require still more energy to split apart. But what if you could split water molecules with a modest electric current, under conditions you can duplicate on your kitchen counter? Researchers at MIT have discovered a process, using the simple apparatus above, that could put a solar water refinery in every home. More »
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In the next year, students at Georgia Tech will be driving cars that run on fossil fuels but don't release tons of carbon into the environment. It's all part of the university's long-term plan to develop vehicles that produce recyclable carbon. Eventually they hope to eliminate fossil fuel from the equation, but in the meantime they are working with an engine that traps carbon emissions for dumping off and recycling at fuel stations. Let's hope they model it on this Swiss zero-emissions car called SAM, which looked cool but was discontinued due to lack of funds. More »
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