Iona records. Iona: Pioneering Celtic Progressive Rock Band from the UK

Who are Iona and what type of music do they play. How has Iona’s music evolved over the years. What are some of Iona’s most popular albums and songs. Where can fans find the latest news and music from Iona and its members.

The Origins and Evolution of Iona

Iona is a pioneering Celtic progressive rock band formed in the UK in 1989. Founded by multi-instrumentalists Dave Bainbridge and David Fitzgerald, along with vocalist Joanne Hogg, the band quickly established itself as a unique voice in the progressive rock and world music scenes.

What sets Iona apart from other bands? Their signature sound blends Celtic folk melodies, atmospheric synthesizers, soaring electric guitar, and spiritually-themed lyrics into a captivating musical tapestry. This innovative fusion of ancient and modern elements helped Iona carve out a distinct niche and build a devoted international fanbase.

Key Members Over the Years

• Dave Bainbridge – guitars, keyboards, bouzouki
• Joanne Hogg – vocals, keyboards
• David Fitzgerald – woodwinds (1989-1992)
• Troy Donockley – uilleann pipes, whistles (1995-2009)
• Frank van Essen – drums, violin
• Phil Barker – bass

Iona’s Musical Journey and Stylistic Development

How has Iona’s sound evolved since their 1990 self-titled debut album? While maintaining their core Celtic progressive rock identity, the band has continually expanded their musical palette over the decades:

• Early albums featured a strong emphasis on Celtic folk instrumentation and melodies
• Mid-period works saw increased complexity and progressive rock elements
• Later releases incorporated more ambient and electronic textures
• Live performances showcase extended improvisations and dynamic interplay between musicians

This willingness to experiment and grow artistically has kept Iona’s music fresh and engaging for over 30 years. Their ability to seamlessly blend disparate influences into a cohesive whole remains a hallmark of the Iona sound.

Landmark Albums in Iona’s Discography

With a career spanning over three decades, Iona has released numerous critically acclaimed studio and live albums. Which releases stand out as pivotal moments in the band’s evolution?

Journey into the Morn (1995)

Many consider this album to be Iona’s creative breakthrough. It features epic compositions like “Encircling” and “Heaven’s Bright Sun” that fully realized the band’s Celtic progressive rock vision. The addition of Troy Donockley on uilleann pipes added new dimensions to Iona’s sonic palette.

Open Sky (2000)

This millennium-bridging release saw Iona embracing more ambient and electronic textures while retaining their Celtic core. Standout tracks like “Woven Cord” and “Songs of Ascent” showcase the band’s evolving sound.

Another Realm (2011)

Iona’s most recent studio album to date, “Another Realm” is a tour-de-force of the band’s accumulated musical wisdom. Epic compositions sit alongside intimate acoustic pieces, demonstrating Iona’s mastery of light and shade in their arrangements.

Spiritual Themes and Lyrical Inspirations

Iona’s music often explores deeply spiritual and mystical themes. What are some of the key inspirations behind their lyrics?

• Celtic Christian history and mythology
• Biblical narratives and imagery
• Personal faith journeys of band members
• Nature and the beauty of creation
• Ancient prayers and liturgies

This focus on spirituality gives Iona’s music a transcendent quality that resonates with listeners regardless of their personal beliefs. The band’s ability to tackle profound themes without becoming preachy is a testament to their artistic integrity.

Iona’s Influence on Progressive and Celtic Rock

How has Iona impacted the broader music scene? Their pioneering fusion of Celtic, progressive, and spiritual elements has inspired numerous artists across multiple genres:

• Helped establish Celtic progressive rock as a distinct subgenre
• Influenced the neo-prog movement of the 1990s and beyond
• Inspired a new generation of Celtic-influenced bands
• Demonstrated the viability of spiritually-themed progressive rock

Iona’s legacy can be heard in the work of bands like Clannad, Nightwish, and countless others who have incorporated Celtic elements into their rock and metal sounds.

Solo Projects and Collaborations

While Iona is not currently active as a touring or recording unit, the individual members remain prolific in their musical endeavors. What are some notable solo projects and collaborations from Iona members?

Dave Bainbridge

• “Celestial Fire” (2014) – A solo album featuring guest appearances from several Iona alumni
• “The Remembering” (2016) – A collection of solo piano improvisations
• Celestial Fire Band – A live project performing Iona material and original compositions

Joanne Hogg

• “Looking Into Light” (1999) – A solo album of contemplative, faith-inspired songs
• “Raphael’s Journey” (2008) – A concept album based on the Biblical story of Tobit
• Collaborations with various worship music projects

Troy Donockley

• Current member of symphonic metal band Nightwish
• Numerous session and guest appearances across multiple genres

These diverse projects demonstrate the versatility and continued creativity of Iona’s members, even as the band itself is on hiatus.

Connecting with Iona in the Digital Age

How can fans stay up-to-date with Iona and its members in today’s interconnected world? The band and individual artists have embraced various digital platforms to engage with their audience:

• Official website (www.iona.uk.com) – News updates, discography, and web store
• Social media presence – Facebook pages for both Iona and individual members
• YouTube channels – Live performances, music videos, and behind-the-scenes content
• Streaming platforms – Iona’s catalog is available on major services like Spotify and Apple Music
• Bandcamp – Some solo projects and archival releases are available for direct purchase and streaming

This multi-faceted approach allows Iona to maintain a connection with their fanbase even in periods of reduced band activity. It also provides a platform for members to promote their ongoing musical projects.

The Future of Iona: What Lies Ahead?

While Iona is not currently an active touring or recording unit, the door remains open for future collaborations. What possibilities might the future hold for Iona and its members?

• Potential reunion concerts or festival appearances
• Archival releases of live recordings or unreleased material
• Continued solo projects and collaborations between members
• Possible new Iona studio recordings, if schedules and inspiration align

The enduring legacy of Iona’s music ensures that there will always be interest in new material or performances from the band. While the future remains uncertain, the rich catalog of existing Iona music continues to captivate and inspire listeners around the world.

Iona’s unique blend of Celtic melodies, progressive rock structures, and spiritual themes has created a timeless body of work that transcends genre boundaries. Whether experiencing their music through studio albums, live recordings, or the ongoing projects of individual members, listeners are transported to a realm where ancient and modern, earthly and divine, seamlessly intertwine. As long as there are seekers of transcendent musical experiences, Iona’s artistic vision will continue to resonate and inspire.

Official website of the UK-based band

Official Site of Iona!

Welcome to the official home of the UK-based band IONA, and OPEN SKY RECORDS. Here you will find the most definitive and authoritative guide
to all things Iona along with all the latest news on albums releases from Open Sky Records. Whilst Iona are not currently touring or recording
as a band, the individual members are still busy with various musical projects. So do join the mailing list and keep checking the store for
both Iona and solo releases and more besides!

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21st October 2021

THE MAP PROJECT PART 2…..
Finally, 4 years including a pandemic later, the Map Project Part 2 is completed. The order has been placed for CDs so I’ll hopefully have those ready to post out by the end of November.
I’ll keep you posted. ?

19th August 2021

Hi Everyone, Hope some of you can make it to se us at this fabulous venue on Thursday and support the return of LIVE MUSIC! We’ll be playing a number of classic Iona tunes plus lots more!

5th May 2021

Dave & Sally have a gig!!!! A few more to be announced soon!

6th April 2021

A SONG FOR GOOD FRIDAY. …..

https://youtu.be/oushASMTLe0

18th February 2021

IT’S THE PSALM 119 session 4 ??? https://youtu.be/IeyWIg6lU34

13th February 2021

PSALM 119. Session 3.
Thanks so much to those of you who’ve messaged. I love hearing from folk scattered across the globe! So good to connect in this way. I hope you enjoy the music but even more , are encouraged to read and meditate on the words of this amazing psalm.

https://youtu.be/4X5VCy4mwIU

6th February 2021

PSALM 119. Session 2
If you’re on my mailing list or have subscribed to my YouTube channel, you might have seen this. If not, here’s the late night Psalm 119 session 2.
????

20th March 2021

Working on new music with Dave Bainbridge!

29th January 2021

LATE NIGHT PSALM SINGING??
This is the first in a series of musical
meditations on Psalm 119 with violinist Natasha Petrovic ??

https://youtu. be/bITbnsxxjm8

17th January 2021

Hi Everyone, Dave here. Great progress on my forthcoming solo album this past week, which features Iona alumni Frank van Essen and Troy Donockley. Keep up to date on progress by signing up to my mailing list at www.davebainbridgemusic.com

18th January 2021

I know….. it’s been ages since I posted anything ?.
Here’s wishing all of you God’s peace and hope in 2021.

> More News on Facebook

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Albums – IONA

In this section you can find info on all the Iona CD and DVD releases, and many
of the great solo and collaborative projects by the band members. Albums are
presented in chronological order starting with the most recent. Click on a
cover or ‘More Details’ for photos, audio samples, lyrics, reviews, and much more.

More Details >

Live in the Studio
In Stock
by Dave Bainbridge & Sally Minnear

Released in 2018

DVD: £16. 00
A beautifully filmed and recorded document of the duo’s live set, honed over numerous concerts throughout the past 4 years. The main programme features around 85 minutes of material and demonstrates the range and diversity of music that Dave & Sally …

More Details >

Live in the UK
Not Available
by Celestial Fire

Released in 2017

DVD/2CD: Not Available
Recorded on their first concert tour, this is the first release by Dave Bainbridge’s new band Celestial Fire. Featuring a mix of Iona music (some rarely played live, such as ‘Brendan’s Voyage/Return’), music from Dave’s solo albums and even a Yes cov…

More Details >

The Remembering
In Stock
by Dave Bainbridge

Released in 2016

CD: £16.00
Download*: £9.99
*available in raw AIF & MP3 formats
An evocative and atmospheric first collection of solo piano improvisations: “Bainbridge’s style is contemporary, yet imbued with the dynamic spirit of Ravel and Debussy, with a thrilling dash of Bill Evans. .. an album that’s pure class from first not…

More Details >

Celestial Fire
Not Available
by Dave Bainbridge

Released in 2014

CD: Not Available
Download*: £9.99
*available in raw AIF & MP3 formats
The follow up to Dave’s much acclaimed first solo album ‘Veil of Gossamer’ is in some ways an album he’s always wanted to make. “…an album which really draws upon the excitement and exhilaration I first felt, listening to many of my early musical h…

More Details >

Edge of the World – Live in Europe
In Stock
by Iona

Released in 2013

CD: £19.50
Download*: £9.99
*available in raw AIF & MP3 formats
Iona’s first full-length live recording in 9 years! This new double CD was recorded at various venues in the UK & The Netherlands during their 2012 Another Realm Tour.

More Details >

Another Realm
Not Available
by Iona

Released in 2011

CD: Not Available
Download*: £9.99
*available in raw AIF & MP3 formats
Almost 5 years after the release of IONA’s last studio album ‘The Circling Hour’, the band’s latest opus ‘Another Realm’ is now available. Over a year in the making, this is the band’s first double CD studio album, with over 95 minutes of brand new,…

More Details >

Raphael’s Journey
Not Available
by Joanne Hogg & Frank van Essen

Released in 2010

CD: Not Available
Download*: £7.99
*available in raw AIF & MP3 formats
After being available as a download only for some time, we are delighted to now have in stock this great album on CD. ‘The voice of Iona’, Joanne’s latest, beautiful album produced by Frank van Essen features gorgeous string arrangements by Frank and…

More Details >

Bright Silver, Dark Wood
In Stock
by Martin Nolan

Released in 2010

CD: £14.50
We’re pleased to be able to add to our store this excellent solo album from Iona’s most recent band member, uilleann piper and whistle player Martin Nolan. Recorded in Dublin with a cast of some of the best traditional Irish musicians around, includi…

More Details >

Life Journey
Not Available
by Dave Bainbridge & David Fitzgerald

Released in 2009

CD: Not Available
Download*: £7. 99
*available in raw AIF & MP3 formats
IONA’s co-founders reunite once again for another inspirational soundtrack to a book, taking up where ‘The Eye of the Eagle’ left off back in 1998. The music on this album was originally commissioned and conceived as an interpretation in sound of the…

More Details >

Cathedral of Dreams
In Stock
by Nick Fletcher

Released in 2009

CD: £15.25
We would like to introduce you to the music of Nick Fletcher with this, our latest release on Open Sky Records. Nick is an incredibly talented guitarist, improviser and composer of music for solo guitar and we are thrilled to have this release includ…

About IONA – IONA

Formed in 1989, IONA take their name from the small island off the west coast of Scotland.
From the beginning, their aim has been to write spiritual, atmospheric, yet uplifting music that
would stir the emotions, weaving complex patterns that echo the intricate knot work of the great
Celtic artists. Often inspired by the great figures of the Celtic Golden Age such as Columba, Aidan,
Brendan and Patrick, IONA’s music is as timeless as the message that reaches out to us across the
centuries.

Uniquely combining rock / folk / progressive / ethnic and ambient elements with the
crystalline voice of Joanne Hogg as their focus, IONA create ‘a blaze of colours and textures…all
the sounds fusing into a single, yearning, heartfelt beautiful cry.’

IONA have built up a formidable reputation as a great live band with their incredible
musicianship and disarmingly humorous banter and are noted for their timeless and innovative studio
recordings. They have released 6 acclaimed studio albums, three live albums (two doubles, one with
The All Souls Orchestra), a beautifully illustrated 4 cd box set and two DVDs. Their seventh (2cd)
studio album Another Realm was released
in June 2011.

After a period of relative inactivity there is a new urgency and vibe surrounding the
band. In a 2010 interview with Dutch magazine iO Pages, band co-founder, producer, guitarist,
keyboardist Dave Bainbridge stated; “There is definitely a renewed vision and purpose within the
band. A sense that we’re back on the track that we first set out upon all those years ago.”
Judging by the tremendous reactions the band have had to gigs over the past year or so in Holland, Germany, Belgium, the UK,
USA, Canada and Switzerland the ‘wild goose’ is indeed flying again.

But how do you describe Iona’s music? Here’s how some have tried:

‘IONA has carved out a unique musical niche…..creating music that is challenging and
inspirational…. Their music surrounds the listener, seeming to have no beginning and no end…..
Book of Kells touches something elemental,
resonating as few albums can. Allow it to touch you as well.’

C.C.M. Magazine (USA)

‘Their music seems to draw from the collective memories of an entire race of people – ‘Beyond
these Shores’ is all that and more. It is a modern day masterpiece.’

Bob Darden – Billboard (USA)

‘Beautiful, mystic and edifying…….powerful, pure and simple.’

Musikk Forum Magazine (Norway)

‘… an exhilarating contemporary folk act, able to press traditional instruments convincingly
into service alongside their electric counterparts … rarely has the Celtic thing been given so
many welcome twists, or played with such conviction.’

‘Q’ MAGAZINE

‘… staked in moods and atmospherics – they proceed to weave a complex, many stranded
soundscape.’
FRoots

‘… ambitious and visionary … The effect is at times stunning, as huge ethereal
soundscapes… rise up from the hi-fi speakers…..A beautiful album.’

Cross Rhythms Magazine

‘… close your eyes and prepare to sink into the atmosphere created by this magical band.’

Cornerstone Magazine (USA)

. .. It must be said Miss Hogg always did have a near mystical voice…. they know how to
produce soundscapes, big, vast spaces which fill with melody and passion.’

FRoots Magazine

‘The much awaited stunning live album from IONA….. The sound is immense, galactic,
roof-blowing, soul-wrenching. It feels as though the whole recording has been touched by the hand of
Heaven.’

Cross Rhythms

‘Anyone with a Celtic nerve in their ear will be enthralled with this music … these songs
exude the mystery of faith, hope and struggle … still, as always, beauty hangs on every note,
every syllable.’

AFTS (USA)

‘A rock band full of imagination…which continues to grow day by day.’

Marquee (Japan)

If you have never heard IONA, or were unaware that they are
still active, then now would be a great time to make your acquaintance with a truly unique
band.

More Iona.

..

Records Requests

WHAT IS CONSIDERED A PUBLIC RECORD BY LAW?

The law defines a public record as follows. “Public record” includes, but is not limited to, any writing containing information relating to the conduct or administration of the public’s business prepared, owned, used or retained by any state agency, independent public body corporate and politic or local agency regardless of physical form or characteristics. The law also defines writing as follows. “Writing” includes, but is not limited to, handwriting, typewriting, printing, photostating, photographing and every means of recording, including letters, words, pictures, sounds or symbols or combination thereof, and all papers, maps, magnetic or paper tapes, photographic films and prints, magnetic or punched cards, discs, drums or other documents.

HOW DO I MAKE A PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST?

Public records are open to inspection during regular City office hours, except for City Holidays.  While there are charges for the duplication of records (free up to 100 pages) there is no charge to inspect or view records.

In order for the City staff to best serve the public, all requests must be made in writing. This helps to  more accurately identify the records sought and process the request more efficiently. Please fill out the form below and  be as specific as possible when making your request; include dates and times if applicable, and any details regarding the information you are requesting.

Public Records Request Form

Please submit your completed request to the City Clerk’s Office, 3548 N. Main Street, Iona, ID 83427, or by fax (208)-535-0087, or by email to: [email protected].

WHAT IS THE RESPONSE TIME ON A PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST?

The City Clerk’s office will process a request within three (3) working days after the request is received. However, if it is determined a longer period is needed to locate or retrieve your request, staff will notify you in writing via email or mail, and provide the public records no later than (10) working days following receipt of your request.

Iona – Records | Swimcloud

45 Discography for Iona Records

Iona Gaels Basketball History | Coaches Database

Iona College (New Rochelle, NY)
Hynes Athletics Center
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC)

Current head coach: Rick Pitino (2020-)

• Asst: Tom Abatemarco (2020-)
• Asst: Casey Stanley (2020-)
• Asst: Ricky Johns (2017-)
• DBO: Joey Kuhl (2020-)
• Asst. to the HC: Jeff Martin (2020-)

Post-Season:

• National Championships:  0
• Final Four Appearances:  0
• Sweet Sixteen Appearances:  0
• NCAA Tournament Appearances:  14  (1979, 1984, 1985, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021) **
• NCAAT Overall Record:  0-14 **
• NIT Championships:  0
• NIT Appearances:  6  (1982, 1983, 1996, 1997, 2014, 2015)
• NIT Overall Record:  1-6
• CIT Championships:  0  (Runner-up in 2011)
• CIT Appearances:  1  (2011)
• CIT Overall Record:  3-1

Conference Titles (MCC, ECAC, MAAC):

• MAAC Regular Season Championships:  11  (1983, 1984, 1985, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2019)
• MAAC Tournament Championships:  12  (1984, 1985, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2006, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021)
• ECAC Metro Tournament Championships:  2  (1979, 1980)

Award Winners:

Iona head coaches:

Key: Conf. Titles= Regular Season only, NCAA Apps= NCAA Tournament Appearances, Nat. Champ= NCAA Tournament Champions
** Listed records and accomplishments do not include wins or appearances later vacated by the NCAA.

90,000 Future Records: Has Sport Reached The Limit Of Great Achievements?

• Polina Romanova
• BBC Russian Service

August 16, 2016

Photo author, Getty Images

The history of professional swimming hardly remembers competitions stranger than the 2009 FINA World Championships of the year. In the swimming pool of the Roman sports complex Foro Italico, world records have been broken 43 times.

The culprit, an elastane-nylon / polyurethane swimsuit, has been banned by the International Swimming Federation (FINA) since 2010 as “technology doping”.The results, however, have not been reversed, and 20 of the current 40 world records still date from 2008 or 2009.

Records in several athletics disciplines have not been broken since the 1980s, due in part to the fight against drug doping. Almost all of the best results of those years belonged to athletes from the USA, the USSR and the GDR – countries that actively developed programs for the use of anabolic steroids in sports.

Physiologists report a general slowdown in the pace of higher and higher performance and acknowledge that professional sports are likely to be close to human limits.Of the 97 male and female athletics disciplines, 74 records were set more than five years ago.

Each has hundreds of ingredients, from the right workouts to the right weather. But if the wind speed and the degree of rarefaction of the air are not subject to athletes, some aspects of athletic training may be able to allow them to push the limits further, without violating the laws of fairness and “purity” of the sport.

Technological factor

The Aquatics Championships in Rome were preceded by the swimming competition at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 (25 new world records) and the World Short Course Championships in Croatia in the same year (17).

In total, the LZR Racer super swimsuit, according to the estimates of its manufacturer – Speedo, has 84 world records in just under two years.

Designed in conjunction with the Australian Institute of Sports and NASA and tested in a wind tunnel, the super suit was made of 50% polyurethane, water-repellent material that combines the elasticity of rubber and the strength of metal.

The LZR Racer, released in February 2008, was followed by similar suits from other manufacturers.All of them were extremely tight to the body, which made it possible to better overcome the resistance of the water and, thus, increase the speed of the swimmer.

Photo author, Getty Images

Photo caption,

LZR Racer suits, which almost completely cover the swimmer’s body, were banned because of the advantage they gave athletes

American Michael Phelps, who won eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, compared himself in this rocket suit.

“This suit is very, very tight, like a plastic bag stuffed to the absolute limit,” explains Stephen Hayk, professor of sports engineering at Sheffield Hallam University in England.“The advantage is that when you swim, natural vibrations pass through your body, but if you are wrapped in this plastic bag, the body does not vibrate and the water resistance is reduced.”

“It took an athlete 30-40 minutes to put it on, he continues, “and this is not entirely normal for a swimsuit.”

Under current FINA rules, a swimsuit should be no longer than the knee (for men, no higher than the waist) and made of textiles or fabrics.

“However, this does not mean that carbon fiber and other materials cannot be used in the manufacture – the main thing is that you can prove that in the end it is fabric,” says Professor Heik.

Manufacturers of swimwear, he said, continue to experiment with the costumes of athletes, but in many respects the focus has shifted to glasses and hats.

“I noticed some people put on a hat, then glasses, and on top of another hat,” says Hayk. “When you dive into the water, the first thing that comes into contact with it is your head, so any advantage can matter.You will not get a giant superiority, but a small effect is quite possible. “

German Paul Biedermann, who set a world record in Rome at a distance of 200 meters freestyle, overcame it in a polyurethane suit in 1 minute 42 seconds. At the current Olympics in Rio de – Janeiro Biederman swam the same distance three seconds slower

The efforts of clothing manufacturers for all high-speed sports are to better overcome drag – water or aerodynamic.

“Imagine a wave trail that follows a boat – if the trail is very wide, then the resistance is high, if the trail is narrow, then the resistance is low,” explains Stephen Hayk. – You can reduce the resistance if you make the air flow straight over the body and for him. ”

Photo author, Thinkstock

Photo caption,

Cyclists are tested in a wind tunnel

Aerodynamics are of key importance in cycling – about 80% of the energy a cyclist spends on overcoming air resistance, and the faster he travels, the more resistance he encounters.Suit manufacturers try to keep them as streamlined as possible, minimize the number of seams and place them in such a way as not to increase surface friction.

One study found that tight cycling clothing gives a 91 second advantage over a windbreaker at a distance of 40 km.

The right aerodynamic helmet (specially shaped and with air holes) can give you an edge per minute for the same 40 km, according to professional cyclist Michael Hutchinson.

Since the rules of the International Cycling Union prohibit radical changes in the design of the bike itself and the addition of parts solely for the purpose of improving aerodynamics, manufacturers are focusing on improving the design of the frame, handlebars and wheels.

“Cyclists try different clothes, different helmets and, of course, different bicycles in a wind tunnel. Typically, resistance values ​​are projected on the floor. Thus, using a special optimization system, the best helmet, the best bike and the best clothing are identified, which give the best overall effect, “says Professor Hayk.

Technology is changing almost every sport, from pole vaulting (according to Hayk’s 2009 study, replacing a metal pole with a fiberglass pole allowed athletes to break the world record 19 times in one decade) to golf balls, skis and tennis rackets.

“Most sports equipment today is made of composite materials,” notes Dr. Aravind Vijayaraghavan of the University of Manchester. “Typically, it is some kind of soft, lightweight material like plastic that is reinforced with something like carbon fiber or graphene.This makes the material lightweight but very durable. ”

The least benefit from innovative technology is probably in running, both short and long distances. – polyurethane coating, which returns energy to the athlete when running

Photo author, Getty Images

Photo caption,

American athletes performed at the London Olympics in tight suits, but at the same time in earrings and with loose hair

” then athletes may have a slight advantage, but to be honest, once you put on shoes with stiff spikes, then you only have shorts and a tank top, “says Stephen Hayk.

For example, at the previous Olympics, American runners competed in special running suits. “If you look at women, many of them had earrings, bracelets and elaborate hairstyles with loose hair – even if these costumes had some effect, all these decorations neutralized it,” continues Hayk.

Studying the impact of technological innovation on athletics, Stephen Hayk and colleagues analyzed the top 25 performances of men and women since 1890.

“You can only see the true effect of a particular technology when it is suddenly implemented everywhere or suddenly completely banned,” says Hayk. “We found that technological intervention can change the result by 5-10%.”

According to him, anything that goes beyond 10% usually causes concern and can be regarded as the very same “technological doping”.

Physiological issues

If the control of the honesty of sports in the technological field is a relatively new phenomenon, the results of the activities of the World Anti-Doping Organization (WADA), founded in 1991, are becoming more visible today, notes the doctor of the Finnish Olympic team and a member of the anti-doping Committee of Estonia Sergey Ilyukov.

“By and large, anti-doping actions have led to the fact that in many disciplines now part of the records and average results are falling,” – he notes.

“In 1989, the International Athletics Federation began to introduce the so-called out-of-competition tests, and as the iron curtain collapsed, this process accelerated, which led to the fact that the pre-preparatory period between competitions for athletes was not able to use anabolic steroids”, – explains Ilyukov.

The ban on stimulants has left physiologists and sports physicians working on natural ways to help athletes cope with stress.

Professor Stuart Egginton of the University of Leeds Department of Life Sciences explains doping as “using a non-natural substance or artificially increasing the natural level of a substance, which ultimately gives you an athletic advantage.”

The use of natural substances in the most effective way allows the development of dietetics.

“Our bodies are designed to absorb different substances, different foods, and then turn them into compounds necessary for the metabolic process to maintain life,” says Egginton.

This process is quite costly: the body must break down food into elements and then turn them into substances necessary for muscle function. The task of the nutritionist in this case is to make the athlete’s body spend less energy on digesting food.

“If we give athletes products that require less transformation, and / or biologically active additives – not medications, but natural compounds, then we can increase the efficiency of metabolism.As a result, we will get greater productivity, since the conversion of food consumed into energy occurs more efficiently, “explains the physiologist.

Adenosine triphosphoric acid (ATP) serves as a source of energy for metabolism and muscle contraction.

” Under intense loads, if you run 100 -, a 200- or 400-meter sprint, – your muscle cells actively produce ATP, but at the same time, metabolites (metabolic products) accumulate in large quantities, which ultimately leads to fatigue and slowing of muscle contraction, “says Dr. Niall McFarlane of the University of Glasgow.

The opposite effect is observed with long loads: for example, when running a marathon runner, when the body loses its ability to produce ATP, which also leads to fatigue. Accordingly, according to McFarlane, it is necessary to work to help the body work more efficiently and cope with the accumulation of metabolic products.

Photo author, Getty Images

Photo caption,

The fight against doping will give an additional impetus to the development of sports, says Sergei Ilyukov

For example, in order to get rid of excess metabolites and allow muscles to work effectively longer, creatine is used as a supplement – a natural compound produced in the body from amino acids.

“When ATP breaks down, a phosphate molecule is released, which contributes to fatigue. So if we can put something in muscle cells that allows us to get rid of this phosphate molecule, maybe we can work harder or longer,” explains Dr. McFarlane …

Photo Credit, Getty Images

Photo Caption,

The drinks that athletes drink during a marathon contain the nutrients they need

“In the 1950s, people were convinced that you can’t run a mile in less than four minutes that this is a natural barrier – continues the physiologist.- At the same time, physical limitations have not changed since then – how much oxygen a person consumes, how much energy his muscles can produce, how the body reacts to a change in the acid-base balance of the blood, and so on. However, the difference is that people now eat better and exercise harder. “

There are simpler ways to improve athletic performance: Professor McFarlane cites the example of drinks given to athletes during a marathon. At each stage, the composition of this drink is carbohydrates, ions potassium and sodium and so on – changes, which allows you to optimize the water balance in the body.

“It’s important for proper muscle function and also to prevent dehydration, where you can’t handle the increased heat production,” McFarlane notes.

Scientists are also working to increase the level of collagen, a protein responsible for the strength and elasticity of connective tissue.

According to Niall McFarlane, many people take chondroitin sulfate, a supplement for joints and connective tissue that increases its elasticity and tensile strength.”That way, if you run 42 km, your muscles will not become sluggish; when they are toned, your running speed will increase,” he notes.

However, both physiologists admit that, despite the small positive effects, there will be no dramatic improvement in the results.

“This is called the Law of Diminishing Returns – you need to put in a lot more effort and resourcefulness to get an improvement than you did the last time around,” says Stuart Egginton of the University of Leeds.“For each new record, you have to fight much harder.”

In an environment where the win is a hundredth of a second, many factors play a decisive role, many of which do not depend on athletes or scientists.

The 1968 Olympics were held in Mexico City, in 2240 meters above sea level, the thin air set new records at all distances in the men’s sprint and almost all the women’s sprints, while the American jumper Bob Beamon, who surpassed the previous record by 55 cm, remained the best for over 20 years.

“Hundreds of factors have to come together, and we’re just tinkering with one of them,” says Professor McFarlane.

“Heart of a Champion”

The main factor McFarlane considers not technological or physiological, but psychology.

“Nobody runs the 100-meter race at a constant speed, everyone starts and runs differently, and the main thing is to find your strengths, play on them and not let your nerves get the better of you,” the scientist says.

The ability to focus on the present without being distracted by doubts and surroundings is achieved through several common techniques, says Professor David Yukelson, a sports psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania.

“Professional athletes do not think, they react,” he notes. “But how they react is a matter of preparation.”

First of all, it is self-control. Each person reacts to stressful situations in different ways – someone has an increased heart rate and breathing, someone feels tension in the shoulders. “You need to know your body and be able to control it,” explains the psychologist.

Photo author, Getty Images

Photo caption,

Multiple Olympic champion and record holder Michael Phelps considers psychological preparation one of the most important components of training

Modern methods of studying the brain – neuroimaging – provide a better understanding of how it responds to stress and high loads …”It’s a mix of new technology and old school techniques,” says Yukelson.

Professionals also work with athletes on goal setting techniques and so-called visualization.

Swimmer Michael Phelps, 23 Olympic gold medalist and 26-time world champion, cites mental conditioning as the most important aspect beyond training.

In an interview with the Washington Post, the athlete said that he has a detailed idea of ​​all the possible outcomes of the competition, both good and bad: “If my swimsuit breaks or my glasses break, what will I do?”

“Since the different reactions are already programmed into his head, he doesn’t worry about them on competition day and instead focuses on his performance,” says Phelps coach Bob Bowman.“Self-confidence is perhaps his greatest strength.”

“It’s a combination of all the sciences,” says David Yukelson of professional sports. “But yes, I think the right mindset can make a difference.”

Beyond Capability

“We already demand more from athletes than our bodies are designed to do,” says physiologist Niall McFarlane. Evolutionarily, humans have never needed to run so fast and so far, he continues: “We would never chase one animal for 26 miles.If suddenly we had not caught up with him, we would have been left without strength, food and help 26 miles from where we started. “

The physiologist sees the future of professional sports in endurance competitions.

” In 20 years we will be interested not how fast athletes can run a marathon, but how much they can run in 24 hours, or how fast they can run a hundred miles, “he says. This way scientists can work to improve the endurance of each athlete, and in the end, less intense loads can be less health risks than professional sports now, McFarlane said.

“The rules of the game need to be changed,” his colleague Stuart Egginton echoes. “Like in football, if the defense becomes too strong, the offside rules need to be changed.“ Yes, we are approaching the limit of human capabilities, most likely it is ”,

The first one to run one mile in less than four minutes was the British student of Oxford, Roger Bannister, in 1954. Although before that most scientists insisted that it was impossible, within a month and a half Australian John Landy broke his record, now surpassed by almost 17 seconds.

Photo Credit, Central Press / Getty Images

Photo Caption,

Covering a mile in less than four minutes was considered impossible, but Bannister set himself this goal and fulfilled it. His race was later named “Mile of the Century”

A world temperature record was set at the Large Hadron Collider – Rossiyskaya Gazeta

Physicists from the European Center for Nuclear Research CERN set a temperature record at the Large Hadron Collider. They managed to obtain material heated to 5.5 trillion degrees (350,000 times hotter than the Sun).This achievement can be entered into the Guinness Book of Records.

The record was born when lead ions collided at a speed close to the speed of light. The purpose of the experiment is to obtain a quark-gluon plasma or a quark-gluon “soup”. It filled our Universe in the first microseconds of its appearance after the Big Bang. As the quarks cooled, they combined to form protons and neutrons, from which nuclei of atoms arose.

According to one of the research participants, Jurgen Schukart, the first hints of a record appeared back in 2010, but it took two years to measure all the parameters.

“The fact is that it is impossible to measure such temperatures directly,” Eduard Boos, head of the department of experimental high-energy physics of the Research Institute of Nuclear Physics of Moscow State University, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, told the RG correspondent. – “The assessment can be done only by indirect data.” Therefore, it is important to understand whether a quark-gluon “soup” has arisen or not. For this, a lot of very different data are measured, which are repeatedly refined and rechecked. If there is confidence that the plasma was born, then everything is quite simple further: various indicators are converted into temperature, pressure and other parameters.Hence this record.

Why do heavy ions collide with such high temperatures? It’s all about the charge of the particles. The larger it is, the greater the energy to which the particle is accelerated in the field of the accelerator. In addition, the ion itself is quite large. Therefore, when such pancakes collide, and even overclocked to huge energies, a substance with fantastic temperatures is born. By the way, they do not pose any danger, since the amount of heated substance is scanty, less than an atom.

The previous record, 4 trillion degrees, set by physicists from Brookhaven National Laboratory (USA), lasted only a couple of months. Then it was possible to obtain a substance heated to 4 trillion degrees (250,000 times hotter than the Sun). To do this, scientists collided gold ions in a collider. Even then, physicists predicted that the LHC would surpass this record, because lead ions are much heavier than gold ions. 90,011 90,000 75 years ago, the leader of the pro-fascist regime, Antonescu, was executed in Romania

On June 1, 1946, the execution of Adolf Hitler’s allies, convicted at the Bucharest trial, took place in Romania.The ousted dictator Ion Antonescu could not be shot the first time. Lying on the ground, he demanded a second volley.

How Antonescu came to power and became friends with Hitler

General Ion Antonescu’s rise in popularity was facilitated by the transfer of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the Soviet Union under the threat of military force. Territorial losses in 1940 seriously undermined the authority of King Carol II of Romania. The discontent of the population forced the monarch to entrust Antonescu with the formation of a new government.The general was respected as an incorruptible military man who sharply protested against the evacuation of the army from Bessarabia. Antonescu suspended the constitution, dissolved parliament and demanded that Karol II transfer the government to him. With the support of Nazi Germany, the general, at the suggestion of the main political parties, forced the king to abdicate.

He was replaced by his 19-year-old son Mihai I. He became the supreme commander in chief and received the rest of the monarch’s functions, including the right to appoint the prime minister.However, the real power was in the hands of Antonescu, who declared himself the statului conductor (leader of the state). He brought legionnaires into the government – members of the ultra-nationalist, anti-communist and anti-Semitic Iron Guard party.

On September 14, 1940 Romania was declared a national legionnaire state.

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Ion Antonescu at a meeting with Adolf Hitler in Salzburg

Bundesarchiv, Bild

Antonescu made efforts to strengthen the alliance with Germany.Adolf Hitler himself was interested in cooperation with Romania, primarily in the economic sector. So, the Fuhrer sent troops to Ploiesti in order to secure the oil fields. On November 20, 1940, Antonescu arrived in Berlin, where three days later a document was signed on Romania’s accession to the Pact of Three Powers – an agreement between Germany, Italy and Japan on the delimitation of spheres of influence.

During negotiations with Hitler and Joachim von Ribbentrop, the general expressed his desire and readiness to “fight to the end on the side of the” Axis “and contribute to its victory”, not hiding that he was seeking to restore Romania “in its former borders”.Hitler, for his part, acknowledged that the “guarantees” provided to Romania were directed against the USSR, and stressed that “the history of the world does not end in 1940”. The visit to the capital of the Third Reich strengthened Antonescu in his confidence that the territories of Romania seized by the USSR would soon be able to return. In addition, he counted on the return of the northern part of Transylvania, which Romania ceded to Hungary.

On January 14, 1941, the general again met with Hitler, finding out the details of the upcoming attack on the USSR.

At the same time, the Antonescu regime was in fierce conflict with the legionnaires, who outraged society with their extrajudicial reprisals against the military, famous figures of politics and culture. After the suppression of the legionnaire putsch and the establishment of a military dictatorship, Antonescu became even more committed to Germany.

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Ion Antonescu

kronika.ro

In the early 1940s, he held the full power in Romania.The government formed by Antonescu implemented anti-Semitic laws. Mass executions of Jews from Bessarabia and Bukovina took place. In September of the same year, the deportation of Jews to Transnistria began.

The deposed dictator was interrogated in the Lubyanka

Romania participated in World War II from June 22, 1941 to May 12, 1945. After the capture of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, the Romanian troops continued military operations in the USSR: they occupied Odessa, stormed the Crimea and fought at Stalingrad.The change in the course of the war and the counter-offensive of the Red Army contributed to the coup d’état in Romania on August 23, 1944, organized by Mihai I. As a result, Antonescu was overthrown, and the country went over to the side of the anti-Hitler coalition. The prerequisites were created for the establishment of a communist regime based on the USSR in Romania.

In the same month, the arrested Antonescu and his closest associates were taken to Moscow.

“The Romanian dictator was in a marshal’s daily mousy tunic with numerous medal strips and one medal,” recalled a retired major general in the late 1990s, and during the events, Lieutenant Colonel “Smersh” Mikhail Belousov, who was in charge of the operation.- Small growth, thin, reddish, looks, as I thought to myself, depressed: During the dinner, which lasted about two hours, there were no remarkable conversations. The “guests” drank little, but ate decently, they said that all the dishes were delicious. There was a conversation about the difficulties and troubles brought by the war. ”

On the train from Balti Antonescu opened his heart to Belousov. For example, he said that Hitler did not like to mention the name of Joseph Stalin and called him simply “he”. In addition, the marshal boasted that the Fuhrer did not meet with any of his allies as often as he did.According to Antonescu, the German Reich Chancellor considered Romania the most important and most reliable ally. The ex-conductorul also complained to the Chekist that at the end of 1942 Soviet troops inflicted a “terrible blow” on the Germans and Romanians at Stalingrad. Allegedly, even then Antonescu realized that the war was lost, and suggested that King Mihai I and his mother try to sign a truce with the allies.

Upon arrival in the capital of the USSR, the former Romanian leaders were taken to one of the dachas in the Moscow region.

Then they were transferred to the internal prison of the NKGB in Lubyanka, where the Romanians were held in pre-trial detention until April 1946.

At the Lubyanka, investigative work was carried out with them, but no information about this has yet been published. Only at the Nuremberg trial did the Soviet representative of the prosecution report on the interrogations of Romanian prisoners held in Moscow: “The interrogation of Antonescu was carried out in accordance with the laws of the Soviet Union, and the protocol of his testimony, which is of exceptional importance for clarifying the nature of Germany’s relations with its satellites, has been submitted to the tribunal.”

Antonescu could not be killed the first time

On May 6, 1946, the Bucharest trial began over the former Marshal, the former head of state and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers Ion Antonescu, the former Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Justice and Propaganda Mihai Antonescu, the ex-Governor of Transnistria Gheorghe Aleksianu , former Defense Minister Constantin Pantazi, former Government Commissioner for Jewish Affairs Radu Lecca, Inspector General of the Gendarmerie Constantin Vasiliu, ministers and generals of the collapsed regime.Some were tried in absentia. The trial was attended by representatives of the main Romanian newspapers and accredited foreign correspondents, including from TASS.

The indictment noted: “We have opened an archive, examined documents, checked data, interviewed experts in cases where there were doubts. We have not made a single statement that is not supported by documents or known facts, and we have not made a single conclusion before arriving at verified data. Ion Antonescu and those who pursued his policy are guilty of the calamity of the country and the war crime, thereby betraying the interests of the Romanian people, placing the country at the service of Hitler’s fascist enemy.The Romanian nation, represented by the people’s judges, has the opportunity to examine the facts and deliver the judgment they deserve. ”

The prosecution concluded that “the first concrete act of national betrayal by the Antonescu dictatorship was an invitation to Hitler’s troops to enter the country.”

On May 17, 1946, the sentences were read out to the accused. Seven were sentenced to death with confiscation of property in favor of the state. Later, three convicts were sentenced to life imprisonment.

The execution of Ion and Mihai Antonescu, Vasiliu and Aleksianu took place on June 1, 1946 at 18:00 in the Zilava military prison “in the presence of persons prescribed by law,” as reported by the office of the Council of Ministers. The shooting was filmed.

In the last moments of his life, Antonescu demanded that the soldiers, not the gendarmes, carry out the sentence.

Having received a refusal, the former conductorul began to swear. He also flatly refused to be blindfolded. Given the high status of the convict, the new Romanian authorities allowed him to command his own execution.Antonescu signaled to fire by raising his hat. The Soviet Union reported that the former Romanian leader was shot “for crimes against peace and aggression against the peoples of the USSR.”

In 2013, the commander of the execution company, Kostike Galavan, said that the execution of the sentence was delayed for several hours, since no response to requests for clemency was received from the royal palace. In the end, it was decided to carry out the execution without waiting for the papers.

“There have been five death sentences and the same number of pillars have already been dug in.Mom and wife Antonescu came. I heard his wife Maria say that she will soon join him. Maria Antonescu brought the badge and pinned it on his chest. And he told her to retire to the monastery and that in the future he will take his rightful place, which he deserves, ”Galavan recalled.

Already at the place of execution, it became known about the pardon of Pantatsi.

According to Galavan, “in the last word, Antonescu said that he was dying for the ideals of the Romanian people”. The dictator did not die after the first volley and, lying on the ground, demanded that he be shot again.

“The commander came and shot him again. The physician stated that Antonescu had not died. And Vasiliu is not dead yet. Then the commander fired again. And knocked out Vasily’s brains. All were dead, ”the senior sergeant of the gendarmerie stated.

A similar fate befell many of Hitler’s other allies. So, on October 24, 1945, the former Minister-President of Norway Vidkun Quisling was executed in Oslo.

And on March 12, 1946, the leader of the Hungarian fascists and the leader of Hungary in the last months of World War II, Ferenc Salasi, who was responsible for war crimes, was executed.After the occupation of Hungarian territory by the Red Army, he fled to Austria, but was returned back by the Americans. Salash was tried alongside other members of the collaborationist government from the National Socialist Arrow Cross Party.

General Charles de Gaulle changed the death penalty to life imprisonment for another famous collaborationist, French Marshal Philippe Pétain. The dictator of Ustash Croatia, Ante Pavelic, managed to escape to Austria in May 1945 and then went into hiding in different countries, being sentenced to death by the Yugoslav people’s court.In 1959, he died in Madrid from the consequences of injuries sustained as a result of the Chetnik assassination attempt.

90,000 It has been experimentally proven that you can get matter from energy

Researchers at the RHIC / STAR collaboration at Brookhaven National Laboratory in the United States have provided compelling evidence for a physical phenomenon predicted over 80 years ago: light can produce electron-positron pairs.

To prove this fact, scientists studied in detail more than 6,000 pairs of electrons and positrons, which were formed in the collision of gold ions at the relativistic heavy ion accelerator – the RHIC collider.The research results are published in the journal Physical Review Letters.

The achievement of American scientists is to demonstrate that pairs of electrons and positrons (that is, particles of matter and antimatter) can be produced in the collision of high-energy photons (particles of light). This transformation of light into matter is described by Einstein’s famous equation E = mc ² , which states that energy and matter (mass) are equivalent.

People have known for a long time that matter can be converted into energy: the Earth receives energy from nuclear reactions occurring on the Sun, and the inhabitants of the planet use electricity generated by nuclear power plants.Now scientists are convinced that the reverse process is also real – it is possible to directly obtain matter from energy.

This surprising result was obtained thanks to the ability of the RHIC STAR detector to measure the angular distribution of particles produced in grazing collisions of gold ions.

The RHIC accelerator accelerates gold ions almost to the speed of light, they fly towards each other and collide not head on, but as if accidentally touching each other – sliding past each other.Hence the term sliding collisions. Physicists call such collisions peripheral.

The hypothetical possibility of obtaining pairs of electrons and positrons (anti-electrons) from light was first described by physicists Gregory Breit and John A. Wheeler in 1934. But testing their hypothesis in those years was technically impracticable.

“In their article, Breit and Wheeler showed that this is almost impossible to do,” says Zhangbu Xu of the RHIC / STAR collaboration.“Lasers didn’t even exist yet! But Breit and Wheeler proposed an alternative: accelerating heavy ions. And their alternative is exactly what we do at RHIC. “

Let us remind that an ion is the nucleus of an atom, “stripped” of electrons. The gold ion (nucleus of 79 protons and 118 neutrons) has an impressive positive charge. Still, because there are as many as 79 positively charged protons in it. Acceleration of such a “charged” heavy ion to almost the speed of light creates a powerful annular magnetic field.It appears around a rushing particle, like around a wire through which an electric current runs.

“If the [particle] speed is high enough, the strength of the annular magnetic field can be comparable to the strength of the perpendicular electric field,” explains Xu. gold and moving with it like a cloud. ”

Probably, Xu means that the combination of magnetic and electric fields generates a kind of analogue of photons, explains the portal Phys.org.

In the RHIC collider, gold ions accelerated to a tremendous speed (99.995% of the speed of light) move in two rings of the accelerator towards each other. They slide past each other at the point where the STAR detector stands. Together with the ion beams, the accompanying photon clouds meet each other.

STAR physicists tracked interactions of two opposing clouds of photons and looked for electron-positron pairs predicted by physical theory.

However, such pairs of particles can be generated, according to theory, by many processes at the RHIC collider.In particular, physicists from the United States needed to figure out whether they were generated by real or “virtual” photons.

“Virtual” photons exist for a short time – millionths of a second. They appear for a brief moment, but they have mass nonetheless. Real photons live long and fly far away. We can be convinced of this with our own eyes, where they fall in the form of light on the retina of our visual organ.

To make sure that electron-positron pairs were generated from real photons, not “virtual” photons, physicists from Brookhaven had to show that the contribution of “virtual” photons does not affect the result of the experiment.

For this, STAR scientists analyzed the nature of the angular distribution of each electron in relation to its partner, the positron. The point is that the angular distribution of pairs generated by real photons differs from the angular distribution of pairs generated by “virtual” photons. In general, the scientists had a lot of work.

“We also measured all the energies, mass distributions and quantum numbers of the systems. They are consistent with theoretical calculations of the interactions of real photons,” explains Daniel Brandenburg of Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Other scientists tried to create electron-positron pairs (without success, however) in collisions of focused beams of powerful lasers. According to Brandenburg, the photons of the laser beams are still lacking in energy.

“Our results clearly show the direct and immediate creation of matter-antimatter pairs in collisions of [quanta] of light, as originally predicted by Breit and Wheeler,” emphasizes Brandenburg. all kinematic distributions with high statistical certainty and establish that the experimental data correspond to collisions of real photons. “

Just a month ago, Academician Yuri Oganesyan, the “father” of chemical element No. 118 – Oganeson, spoke about the possibility of obtaining electron-positron pairs in heavy ion collisions in Dubna, at the NICA collider under construction here.

The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research NICA Collider is due to start operation in two years. It will be able to accelerate even heavier nuclei than RHIC – uranium nuclei with 92 protons “on board.”

The idea to produce electron-positron pairs at the NICA collider so captivated the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Sergeev that he proposed combining the capabilities of the collider with powerful laser beams and building a laser center for this in Dubna.

So, who knows, maybe the next news about the birth of matter from energy will come from Dubna near Moscow. In the meantime, the world is thoroughly studying the achievement of American researchers.

Earlier, we wrote about how the longest-lived exotic particle was discovered in collisions at the LHC, and also that a laser and hydrogen bubbles will help accelerate particles to incredible energies. If you are not too tired of physical calculations, you can also read about how “giant atoms” swallow other atoms to form a new state of matter.

More news from the world of science can be found in the “Science” section of the “Watch” media platform.

90,000 Moldovan ex-prime minister who recovered from COVID-19 was hospitalized :: Politics :: RBK

Ion Chicu

(Photo: Roveliu Buga / AP)

Former Prime Minister of Moldova Ion Chicu was sent to intensive care.This is reported by NOI.md with reference to the press service of the Republican Clinical Hospital. Timofey Moshnyag.

The press service of the medical institution confirmed to the publication that Kiku was hospitalized, but did not provide details about the reason for the hospitalization or the health of the former prime minister.

Prime Minister of Moldova infected with COVID-19

Deschide Edition.md, citing its sources, said that Kiku was hospitalized due to complications caused by coronavirus infection. However, the hospital did not confirm this.

Ion Chicu contracted the coronavirus in early December. Then he decided to work remotely, but later resigned at the request of the new President of Moldova, Maia Sandu, who wanted to hold early parliamentary elections.

Korean thermonuclear reactor has set a world record // Watch

Physicists from South Korea have set an important record bringing the era of commercial thermonuclear reactors closer.

The era of commercial fusion reactors is getting closer. South Korean physicists working with the KSTAR reactor set an important world record: they held plasma with ion temperatures above 100 million degrees for 20 seconds.

The

KSTAR, which entered service in 2008, is a tokamak type. The reactor is a torus (“donut”). A hot plasma is created inside it, in which thermonuclear reactions take place. This plasma is kept from touching the reactor walls by powerful magnetic fields.

Let us explain that plasma is formed when electrons are detached from gas atoms. It consists of torn off electrons and ions, that is, atoms missing one or more electrons. Electrons and ions have different temperatures, since the latter are much heavier than the former.

For thermonuclear reactions to proceed effectively, it is necessary that both electrons and ions reach a very high temperature and maintain it for a long time. This is not an easy task.

Not so long ago, physicists learned how to obtain and hold plasma with an electron temperature of 100 million degrees in tokamaks.However, it is much more difficult to heat ions to such a state and to hold such a hot plasma with a magnetic field. Never before has such a temperature of ions been maintained in a reactor for at least ten seconds.

Korean researchers were the first to cross this psychological mark. Moreover, they took the 20 second barrier.

By comparison, in 2008, when KSTAR was launched, the holdover time was only 1.5 seconds. In 2019, it’s already 8 seconds. By 2025, the project team hopes to reach the milestone of 300 seconds.

Recall that the temperature at the center of the Sun is only 15 million degrees. But since man-made reactors are much smaller than a star, a much hotter plasma is needed for the reactions to proceed.

Note that experiments in the field of thermonuclear fusion have been going on since the 1950s. Designing a reactor that releases more energy than it consumes has proven to be a daunting task.

However, the game is worth the candle. Commercial thermonuclear reactors can provide humanity with very cheap energy in almost unlimited quantities.However, they will not create any hazardous waste.

By the way, earlier Vesti.Ru wrote about the launch of a Chinese thermonuclear reactor.

90,000 Why it is difficult to find a replacement for lithium in electrochemistry and how it can still be done

If not lithium, then …

Lithium-ion batteries appeared in the early 1990s and improved very quickly: the popularity of portable electronics grew, first laptops, then smartphones, tablets and other gadgets powered by their energy.A new impetus to the development of batteries was given by electric vehicles, robots, storage and distribution systems. But as the development progressed, the disadvantages of lithium-ion batteries also came to light: fire hazard, rapid aging, and sensitivity to temperature. In addition, technologies using lithium run into a serious limitation: there is not so much lithium in nature, it is expensive to extract, raw materials, lithium carbonate, cost over $ 20 thousand per ton.

But replacing lithium is difficult. For example, the specific capacity, that is, the ratio of the charge and mass of an ion, has a maximum, a lighter metal ion does not exist.Messages about promising materials that can compete with lithium appear regularly, but their developers do not hide the problems and limitations that may, in principle, be insoluble.

For example, a team from Stanford announced that it has invented an aluminum-ion battery that can withstand 7,000 charge cycles, which also happens in just seconds. Actually, aluminum-ion batteries appeared more than 30 years ago, they are unsafe, unfriendly to the environment and quickly lose their ability to recharge.The Stanford battery seemed to refute this reputation, but the scientists reported that the charge carrier in the battery is not the triple-charged aluminum cation Al3 + (it could “carry” three times more charge than the single-charged lithium), but the complex ion AlCl4– is a heavy single-charged particle, which means the battery capacity is small. And the low voltage at the output of the battery makes it impossible for it to compete with lithium.

The group of the Israeli professor Doron Orbach is engaged in magnesium – a metal with a +2 charge, that is, a magnesium battery must have a higher capacity than a single-charge lithium battery.But researchers cannot find a cathode in a pair of magnesium: stable and safe oxides turn out to be traps for magnesium, and sulfides, in which the speed of movement of magnesium cations is higher, have too low voltage.

There are hopes for flowing vanadium redox batteries – giant tanks with liquid electrolyte (sulfuric acid solution of vanadium salts) capable of storing excess renewable energy. When solar panels or wind turbines generate electricity, pumps pump electrolyte through the electrodes of the system, it is charged and returned back to the tank.In China, they were going to build the world’s largest vanadium flow battery with a capacity of 800 MW • h.

Fans of liquid batteries stress their reliability: thousands of charging cycles, and this is three to four years of service, without signs of degradation! But the efficiency of flow-through batteries is much lower than that of metal-ion batteries – no more than 70%. And the system of tanks with sulfuric acid can only be static – you can definitely forget about electric buses and electric cars. Finally, vanadium is not cheap – $ 50 per kilogram of pentavalent oxide.

So, British scientists write in a review of battery technology, lithium-ion batteries will dominate the market at least until the middle of the 21st century. The key advantage of lithium is undeniable – this metal is very light and “fast”, and miniature batteries for smartphones, laptops and other gadgets are already firmly attached to it. But already for an electric vehicle (tens of kilowatt-hours of energy) and even more so for a power plant (mega- and gigawatt-hours), specific and volumetric energy consumption (energy per unit of mass and volume) becomes not so important, and sodium-ion batteries can provide a breakthrough. replacing at once both expensive lithium-ion and obsolete lead-acid ones.

Picture: comparison of sodium-ion and lead-acid batteries according to the main parameters

… sodium!

Lead-acid batteries were invented 150 years ago and will be familiar to anyone who has opened the hood of a car at least once – but their sales are still ahead of sales of lithium-ion batteries: $ 40 billion versus $ 30 billion in 2019.

A sodium battery has energy characteristics close to lithium, but sodium is about a hundred times cheaper than lithium, and the chemical properties of sodium make it possible to use light and cheap aluminum instead of heavy and expensive copper on the anode current collector.There are also disadvantages: the radius of the sodium ion is greater than that of the lithium ion, which means that the energy density on the sodium electrode is lower, and for an energy capacity comparable to a lithium-ion battery, the sodium-ion should be 30-50% larger. But where size is not so important, sodium-ion batteries will squeeze lead-acid and capture new niches, experts predict, for example, electric vehicles, for which charging speed is more important than diminutiveness and capacity.

“The search for a new material for electrochemical applications mostly looks like empirical speculation by scientists – they note interesting properties in compounds of similar composition and structure and are trying to get new, improved materials.Experts from the Chemistry Department of Moscow State University discovered an interesting structure previously described only for large alkaline cations – potassium, rubidium, cesium – and tried to synthesize a new compound with sodium in order to test its electrochemical properties. They turned out to be unique, ”said Stepan Kalmykov, Dean of the Faculty, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Employees of the Department of Electrochemistry of Moscow State University under the leadership of a senior researcher, candidate of chemical sciences Oleg Drozhzhin for the first time synthesized and characterized the electrochemical properties of sodium-vanadium pyrophosphate β-NaVP2O7.Its energy consumption reaches 420 W • h / kg, only 20% less than that of the lithium cathode material LiCoO2 – 530 W • h / kg. Another important characteristic of this electrode material is the extremely small, only half a percent, change in volume during charging and discharging. Only lithium-titanium spinel, the most stable, powerful and safe anode material used in electric transport, has similar properties.

Picture: Sodium Ion Battery Diagram

“The change in volume during charging and discharging directly affects such an important indicator as the loss of capacity over time.The less the volume of the material changes, the longer it can work stably. Many compounds have not found application in batteries due to a significant change in volume, ”explains Oleg Drozhzhin.

Electrochemists have obtained a material, the framework of which can reversibly give up and incorporate up to two sodium cations per unit cell, from the composition VP2O7 to Na2VP2O7. The total capacity of such cycling is about 220 mAh / g, a record for such materials.Scientists from Moscow State University plan to modify the electrochemical properties of the compound by changing the initial oxidation state of vanadium and its partial replacement with other cations, including to reduce the cost of electrode materials. The work of the specialists was supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation.

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