Poor posture, inadequate back support and a sedentary lifestyle are considered some of the risk factors for this pain. It may also have psychological causes including dissatisfaction with a job or boredom.In a remarkable experiment designed to bring answers to one of the key mysteries about our Sun, physicists have reported finding evidence for a new source of neutrinos that has been spotted for the first time.
Neutrinos are tiny subatomic particles that interact only via the weak force and gravity. What makes neutrinos unique (and a complex subject to study) is, they are electrically neutral and have a mass so little that it was long thought to be zero. The mass of a neutrino is far smaller than any of the other known particles that make up atoms.
Solar neutrinos, or neutrinos from the sun, are all around us and passing through us at any given time. Scientists have estimated that 100 billion solar neutrinos pass through just our thumbnail every passing second. Neutrons are of the products in the main reaction that powers the sun and other stars – nuclear fusion.
The Sun, captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, pointing to "active regions" on its surface where there are bright spots and illuminated arcs, 20 April 2015. Image credit: NASA/SDO
Stars are powered for most of their lives by nuclear fusion in its core. The main kind of nuclear fusion that happens in a star's core is protons (charged hydrogen molecules) being converted to helium. That said, depending on the mass of the star itself, this conversion can happen in different ways.
In the cores of stars like the Sun, the bulk of energy produced (99%) comes from a process called the proton-proton chain reaction (pp). This process creates helium from the fusion of two protons, releasing a positron and a neutrino in the process. The reaction releases an enormous amount of energy in the form of gamma rays.
Photomultiplier tubes on the inside surface of the partly-submerged Kamiokande Neutrino Observatory in Japan. Image: Kamiokande Neutrino Observatory
However, there has been little proof to explain where the missing energy (the remaining 1%) comes from. Physicists have theorised that it may be produced in another set of nuclear fusion reactions called the CNO chain reactions.
The CNO cycle uses carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen as intermediaries to ultimately produce helium, just like in the pp chain. However, there has been no experimental proof of neutrinos from this reaction until now.
In stars that are much heavier than our Sun, the CNO cycle is the main source of energy.
Scientists had already detected neutrinos in 1956, and established a firm link to the most prevalent fusion process, the pp chain, by 2001.
But only now, in a remarkable first, have neutrinos from the second set of reactions – the CNO cycle – been spotted. Researchers from the Borexino experiment have been working to measure low-energy solar neutrinos – a central feature in the story of the missing solar neutrinos – since 2000.
The Borexino team announced their findings on 23 June at the Neutrino 2020 virtual meeting, concluding that the "quest (for) the CNO neutrinos has finally produced the first observation of the signal," in their presentation.
The study is still awaiting peer review before the announcement is made official.
On 26 June, NASA astronauts Chris Cassidy and Bob Behnken conducted the first of four spacewalks. During their six hours and seven minutes outside, Cassidy lost a mirror from his spacesuit's left sleeve. He had no idea it had happened and went about completing his work - swapping out old batteries with new Lithium-ion batteries that are connected to the ISS' solar arrays. The American duo also managed to complete some extra tasks that were originally scheduled for today (1 July).
Astronaut Chris Cassidy takes a selfie outside the ISS. Image credit: NASA/Twitter
Cassidy said he has no idea how the small mirror on his left sleeve came off as the band for the mirror "is on pretty tight". He thinks it might've got caught on a metal tether attachment as he exited the airlock.
“I just happened to glance down and I saw this reflecting thing disappearing into the darkness, and that was the last I saw of it,” Cassidy said in an interview with The Associated Press. “That was a real bummer for me.”
Astronauts cherish every opportunity to be part of a #spacewalk, and yesterday was no different. @AstroBehnken and I completed the first step in updating the external batteries which are connected to the outboard starboard solar arrays on @Space_Station. pic.twitter.com/hsE0bJld5t
— Chris Cassidy (@Astro_SEAL) June 27, 2020
Yesterday @Astro_SEAL snapped this shot from our worksite on @Space_Station – @SpaceX’s Crew Dragon and @JAXA_en’s HTV in clear view. Not bad for a view while working… pic.twitter.com/DsV5owA3P9
— Bob Behnken (@AstroBehnken) June 27, 2020
Another spacewalk has been planned for today and will begin at 5:05 pm IST. He said he will use a spare one for today's walk. This will be the second walk that Behnken and he will undertake together.
Spacewalking astronauts wear a mirror on each sleeve in order to see the displays on their chest control panel.
During today's excursion, both NASA astronauts will complete the battery replacement to upgrade one of two power channels on the Internation Space Station. They will be removing six nickel-hydrogen batteries and replacing them with three new lithium-ion batteries along with the adapter plates that completes the power circuit to the new batteries.
emoving six nickel-hydrogen batteries and replacing them with three new lithium-ion batteries along with the adapter plates that completes the power circuit to the new batteries. Image credit: Twiiter/NASA
According to a NASA blog, their work will also include routing power and ethernet cables in preparation for the installation of a new external wireless communications system with an enhanced HD camera and to increase helmet camera coverage for future spacewalks. To support future power system upgrades, they also will remove a device called an “H-Fixture” that was installed before the solar arrays were launched to the space station
This spacewalk is also supposed to last from anywhere around six to seven hours. NASA astronauts and SpaceX's Crew Dragon commander Doug Hurley along with Russian cosmonaut Ivan Vagner will help Cassidy and Behnken during today's walk. This will be the eighth spacewalk for each astronaut.
Cassidy is already two-and-a-half months into a six-month mission, along with his two Russians counterparts - Anatoly Ivanishin and Vagner - who launched with him from Kazakhstan. Behnken and Doug Hurley arrived at the ISS via a SpaceX spacecraft a month ago and will be staying there till August.
You can watch it LIVE here:
Facebook has launched the Avatars feature in India.
A competition to Bitmoji, the feature will enable users to create a cartoon-like version of themselves by choosing from a variety of face cuts, hairstyle, and outfit options.
You can use an Avatar in Facebook comments, stories, profile picture, and Messenger chat windows. These Avatars can also be shared on WhatsApp chats.
“With much of our social interaction these days taking place online, it’s more important than ever to be able to express yourself personally on Facebook,” the company said in a press note.
Image: Facebook
The Avatar creator can be accessed from Bookmarks in Facebook app, as well as from the comment composer. Users can also access it from someone else’s Avatar shared across the app.
People will have to use their mobiles to create Avatar.
In order to create an Avatar, go to Facebook or Messenger comment composer > tap on the emoticon icon > then tap on the sticker tab. Click on “Create Your Avatar” or find the avatar creator in the Bookmarks section in the app.
“Avatar creation from Messenger is currently only available on Android, but will be rolled on iOS soon,” clarified Facebook. The social media giant rolled out Avatars in the US in May. It is considered as a competitor to Bitmoji or Apple’s Memoji.
The company seems to have decided to introduce this feature in view of the surge in Facebook usage during quarantine and stay-at-home orders around the globe. Facebook first unveiled its customisable Avatars in Australia in June 2019.
Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan has impressed yet again with the trailer of his first digital show Breathe: Into The Shadow. Amazon Prime shared the trailer of the much-awaited series on Wednesday and left the netizens intrigued. In the trailer video, Junior Bachchan desperately searches for his daughter Sia and would go to any extent to bring her back. As soon as the mind games begin, Abhishek and his wife played by Nithya Menen find themselves trapped in a dark territory. A masked man asks Abhishek to kill if he wants to see his daughter. Google Photos has temporarily disabled images and video backup for folders created by Facebook, WhatsApp and other messaging apps. This step has been taken by the company to conserve internet resources amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“Due to COVID-19, people are sharing more photos and videos. To save internet resources, backup & sync has been turned off for device folders created by messaging apps like WhatsApp, Messages and Kik,” reads a message on Google Photos community forum.
Users will be receiving a notification in this regard in the app. In order to store photos and videos, they will have to manually go into the app and select those folders to be backed up.
The search giant has only mentioned a few messaging apps like WhatsApp, Messages and Kik but the tech website noticed a list of other apps in a teardown of the latest Google Photos APK.
The apps that will not be able to provide backup facility are Facebook, Helo, Instagram, LINE, Messages, Messenger, Snapchat, Twitter, Viber, and WhatsApp.
Before Google Photos, YouTube lowered its video quality to standard definition 480p on the service across the European Union. However, if users want to watch videos in HD, they will have to select that option. Otherwise, by default, videos will run in 480p.
Netflix in May also lowered its streaming quality in Europe.
The Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea reopened on Wednesday after being closed for four months due to the COVID-19 crisis. The two theme parks will follow infection containment guidelines to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus among visitors, reports Efe news. Tokyo Disneyland is ranked the third theme park of the Disney chain by number of visitors – about 18 million in 2018, only behind those of Florida and California.