Large and small

[unixronin]

Researchers at Xiamen University, China, have created a new, slightly flattened mini-fullerene, with the structure C₅₀Cl₁₀, which is not subject to the isolated-pentagon rule.

Apple's iTunes 4.5 authentication scheme has been successfully broken within 24 hours of the release of iTunes 4.5.  Apple intentionally changed the authentication scheme from iTunes 4.2 to iTunes 4.5 because the 4.2 scheme had been reverse-engineered.

The Cassini-Huygens probe is now 48 million km from Saturn, two months from arrival. Its latest Saturn photo (full-resolution version here) fills the entire frame of the narrow-field camera.

And last but not least, the Hubble telescope has imaged the planetary nebula NGC6302, also known as the Bug Nebula.  NGC6302 is interesting because it is ionized by one of the hottest stars known (around 250,000 Kelvin), and this is an extremely brief phase in stellar evolution.  The star itself is not visible, but this photo clearly shows its ejecta torus.

Comments

What a cool fullerene!

[dakiwiboid.livejournal.com]

I used to work for a dear old prof when I was a secretary in an academic chem department, back in the eighties and early 90's. He had been one of the guys who worked (with many applications of spiritous liquors) on the Manhattan Project, and was still keeping his mind active and alive by keeping up with stuff. He got his hands on some of the "special soot" with fullerenes in it, and conducted what he called his "senility research project". I think he may have even published something. I just loved that man, though his handwriting was impossible to read. He loved science and life. He was a privilege to work for.

Re: What a cool fullerene!

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

It's got to be cool to have a prof like that.... I've always wished I'd had the opportunity to take classes from Richard Feynman or Murray Gell-Mann.