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Artemis I: Crystals of experimental detectors record radiation doses near the moon

Do cosmic radiation doses near the moon differ significantly from those received by astronauts in low Earth orbit? Experimental lithium fluoride detectors, installed aboard the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis I mission, have now made it possible to obtain preliminary estimates.

As the Orion capsule of the uncrewed Artemis I mission orbited the moon in late November and early December 2022, more than 10,000 small crystals, embedded within two human phantoms, were collecting data on cosmic radiation doses. Among them were several dozen experimental fluorescent lithium fluoride detectors, developed at the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IFJ PAN) in Cracow.

A method for reading the information stored in these detectors, providing insights into radiation doses and the properties of the detectors themselves, has now been presented in the journal Radiation Measurements.

Elusive uranium ‘sandwich’ molecule isolated after more than 50 years

In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers from The University of Manchester and Lancaster University have isolated and characterized uranocenium, the positively charged form of a landmark uranium compound called uranocene. The work shows that this long-sought molecule is stable, and that it behaves in a way that challenges how chemists usually think about bonding in heavy elements.

Uranocene is a ‘sandwich’ molecule: a single uranium atom held between two flat rings, each made of eight carbon atoms. It is the uranium counterpart of ferrocene, an iron sandwich molecule whose discovery contributed to the 1973 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Ferrocene readily gives up an electron to form the ferrocenium cation, a switch so clean and reliable that it is used as a reference standard in laboratories worldwide. Until now, no one had been able to isolate the equivalent uranium compound.

What makes glass good at conducting heat? Sound holds the key

Glass can keep a drink safely contained, protect a smartphone screen, or serve as a foundation for electronic components. But when it comes to controlling heat, this familiar material still holds some scientific mysteries. Now, researchers have identified a key factor governing how efficiently heat travels through silicate glass, offering a new guideline for designing glass materials for next-generation electronic devices.

A research team led by Tohoku University investigated 13 different silicate glass compositions to understand how their thermal properties influence heat conduction. Their findings, published in Applied Physics Letters, reveal that the speed of sound through glass plays the dominant role in determining its thermal conductivity.

“Thermal conductivity has been studied for a long time, yet it remains one of the least understood properties of non-crystalline materials,” says Sohei Sukenaga, associate professor at Tohoku University.

What if Dark Energy Was Once Negative? Scientists Uncover a Surprising New Possibility

A gravity model that lets dark energy change sign could help resolve a persistent disagreement over how fast the universe is expanding.

In an existing theory of gravity, the same present-day matter density can fit two very different histories of the universe. Researchers had largely pursued the one that kept dark energy’s density positive. Exploring the other has now revealed a possible history in which that density began below zero and turned positive billions of years later.

Dark energy is the mysterious ingredient believed to drive the universe’s accelerating expansion. The simplest explanation treats it as unchanged throughout cosmic history. In the new analysis, however, the effects attributed to dark energy arise from a modified description of gravity. Its density is an effective quantity derived from the gravitational equations, rather than a property of a newly introduced substance.

Ruby Fixes Three Regex Engine Bugs Responsible for Four Critical GitLab RCE Flaws

GitLab.com already runs the patched version, and GitLab Dedicated tenants on recent internal releases need no action, GitLab said. Because GitLab bundles its own copy of Ruby and patched it there, installing one of these fixed versions applies the fix.

GitLab also published detection rules that self-managed administrators can use to look for signs of exploitation attempts.

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