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Categories: physics

Thanks to new, advanced instruments, it is now possible to study the climate of planets far beyond our solar system. The image shows the night sky over ESO’s Very Large Telescope. Photo:  ESO/Y. Beletsky

Water and extreme winds detected on exoplanet

On the exoplanet WASP-127b, over 500 light years away, wind speeds can reach 33,000 kilometres per hour, according to a study by an international team of scientists. This is the first time winds of this type have been detected and it has been possible thanks to an instrument partly built at Uppsala University. The study is published in Astronomy & Astrophysics.

The new quantum material is unique as it has a 2D-like crystal structure with clearly separated, atom-thin layers, consist of cerium, silicon and iodine (CeSiI) and are the first example of a 2D material with heavy fermions.

New 2D material with super-heavy electrons

A new 2D quantum material has been discovered. The material consists of atom-thin layers of cerium, silicon and iodine (CeSiI) and is the first example of a 2D material with heavy fermions. It is presented in a new study by researchers in materials science at Uppsala University and others, published in the scientific journal Nature.

An X-ray flash illuminates a molecule. Credit: Raphael Jay

X-rays visualise how one of nature’s strongest bonds breaks

The use of short flashes of X-ray light brings scientists one big step closer toward developing better catalysts to transform the greenhouse gas methane into a less harmful chemical. The result, published in the journal Science, reveals for the first time how carbon-hydrogen bonds of alkanes break and how the catalyst works in this reaction.

DNA Gives Clues to Clean and Effective Energy Production

Researchers from several universities have, by studying helical molecules in the body such as DNA, received clues as to how energy production in fuel cells can be made more efficient without admixture of carbon dioxide and heavy metals. The new research shows how the helical molecules, found naturally in all oxygen-dependent life, catalyses energy production in the cells.

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Founded in 1477, Uppsala University is the oldest university in Sweden. With more than 50,000 students and 7,500 employees in Uppsala and Visby, we are a broad university with research in social sciences, humanities, technology, natural sciences, medicine and pharmacology. Our mission is to conduct education and research of the highest quality and relevance to society on a long-term basis. Uppsala University is regularly ranked among the world’s top universities.

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