Short Takes – 4-28-23 – Geeky Stuff Edition

Chemists think outside the box to craft tricky cubanes. CEN.ACS.org article. For chemistry geeks. Pull quote: “A cubane contains eight carbon atoms, one at each corner of the structure. It is almost the same size as benzene, and although the molecules are chemically quite different, both can bear substituents oriented at similar angles. This means that replacing a benzene group in a drug molecule with a cubane can sometimes improve the drug’s solubility or metabolic stability without affecting its biological activity.”

Out of gas in orbit? This US space company is here to help. Phys.org article. For space geeks. Pull quote: “"Our first contract with the US government is to deliver them fuel in 2025" to Space Force satellites, Faber says.” Space commerce is expanding and services like this will expand to support it.

The U.S. Military Relies on One Louisiana Factory. It Blew Up. WSJ.com article. For military geeks. Pull quote: “Sales volume is limited and that means profits can be too thin to support more than a single production facility. This type of vulnerability is so common, the Pentagon describes it as the “single source” problem. Only one foundry in the U.S. makes the titanium castings used in howitzers, and only one company makes the rocket motor used in the Javelin antitank weapon widely used in Ukraine.”

Partners Extend International Space Station for Benefit of Humanity. NASA.gov blog post. For space geeks. It’s official ISS operations extended to 2030 (2028 with Russian participation). Pull quote: ““The International Space Station is an incredible partnership with a common goal to advance science and exploration,” said Robyn Gatens, director of the International Space Station Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Extending our time aboard this amazing platform allows us to reap the benefits of more than two decades of experiments and technology demonstrations, as well as continue to materialize even greater discovery to come.””

Batteries depleted. ChemistryWorld.com opinion piece. For chemistry geeks. Pull quote: “New processes could reclaim more materials ­– particularly lithium, but also graphite, electrolytes and packaging materials. Methods that reduce the number of processing steps between dismantling a battery and arriving at the materials required to make a new one should also help. But to be successful, those processes will also need to be cheap enough to provide viable returns for recyclers, as well as being compatible with diverse and evolving cell compositions as producers continue to drive for batteries that can provide superior performance.”

OFSP Aircraft Bomblet. Cat-UXO.com article. Site for EOD geeks. Pull quote: “The A133 fuze consists of a body, a pressure plate, a remote cocking mechanism, a detonator capsule safety check and a locking bolt similar to the VOG-17 VMG-M fuze mechanism.”

Second ‘Impossible’ Ring Found Around Distant Dwarf Planet. NYTimes.com article. For astonomy geeks. Pull quote: “A potential explanation for Quaoar’s distant rings is the presence of a moon, Weywot. The moon may have created gravitational disturbances that prevented the ring’s particles from accreting into additional moons. Both rings occur in locations near what are known as resonances with Weywot, and the resonances may turn out to be more important than the Roche limit for determining whether rings turn into moons or remain as rings.”

How a hypoxic environment is conducive to organic carbon storage in the coastal ecosystem. Phys.org article. For environmental geeks. Pull quote: “The researchers predict that more labile organic matter will be stored in coastal waters or buried in sediments when hypoxic regions expand due to global warming and eutrophication. The responses of microbial communities to low oxygen concentration and the effects of hypoxia on DOM composition may provide important negative feedback regulation in marine carbon cycle and global climate change.”