杏吧原创

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PAGE 20 MOMENT A while ago, I borrowed a piece of opal from a geological museum to photograph for a book I was working on. Using my ?real? camera, I had to figure out a good composition for a picture of this complicated mineral. Notice the larger light-blue ?veins? running across the image. I used them as organizational elements, to create sections to help the viewer decide how to look at the image. PHENOMENON Over many years of geological time, opal is slowly formed as many small spheres of silica (what glass is made of) self-assemble into perfectly ordered layers. Diffraction (not to be confused with refraction) occurs when light passes through the spheres and gaps, and it is split into the colors of the visible spectrum: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. The diameter of the spheres and the spacing between them determines the colors that we see. Light reflected from the different stacked layers creates interference effects.

Life

Can you work out what these enigmatic close-up photos are of?

杏吧原创 and photographer Felice Frankel has zoomed in on everyday occurrences with her camera for her new book, Phenomenal Moments, which reveals the hidden science in our daily lives

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MENAN, ID - AUGUST 21: Locals and travelers from around the world gather on Menan Butte to watch the eclipse on August 21, 2017 in Menan, Idaho. Millions of people have flocked to areas of the U.S. that are in the "path of totality" in order to experience a total solar eclipse. (Photo by Natalie Behring/Getty Images)

Space

The stargazing events to look forward to in 2026

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Best acronym? Best use of AI? We present our end-of-year awards

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Aerial view of the round structures of the AmazonFACE experiment built in a National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA) research area, located 80 km north of Manaus. AmazonFACE is one of the largest scientific experiments ever conducted in the Amazon. It simulates, in a tropical forest area, the impact of the increase in atmospheric CO2 predicted for the coming decades. Using FACE (Free Air CO2 Enrichment) technology, the project seeks to understand how climate change will affect the forest, its biodiversity, and the beneficial functions it currently carries out.

Environment

Testing the Amazon’s ability to soak up increasing carbon emissions

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Life

Images reveal the astonishing complexity of the microscopic world

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Twisteddoodles on the equipment every lab needs…

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Tom Gauld’s Christmas predictions

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friends celebrate the christmas on the rooftop

Mind

Why do I feel lonely even when I’m surrounded by a festive crowd?

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BG2B51 Back of man wearing a set of large false ears for a joke

What part do my ears or auditory system play when I think of a tune?

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MB9M93 Monster Truck Jumping Mid Air

What are the pros and cons of using carbon dioxide in tyres?

From convenience to the environmental impact, air is still preferable to carbon dioxide in tyres, say our readers

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Which animals can recognise individual people? Part 3

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This week鈥檚 new questions

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Where did I put it? Loss of vital crypto key voids election

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Twisteddoodles on an unexpected Martian discovery

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