Here are today’s most important updates from the realm of Science and Space.
A team of 30 scientists from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has proposed to the Indian government the development of Angstrom-scale semiconductor chips, which would be significantly smaller than the currently smallest chips in global production. As per agency report, the proposal outlines a plan to utilize a new class of semiconductor materials known as ‘2D materials’ to manufacture ultra-miniaturized chips. These Angstrom-scale chips would be nearly one-tenth the size of the smallest chips currently being produced globally, potentially placing India at the forefront of next-generation semiconductor technology. Currently, the global semiconductor industry is dominated by silicon-based technologies led by countries like the United States, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. In contrast, the IISc-led initiative aims to leapfrog current standards by deploying advanced materials such as graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) to create 2D semiconductors.
Scientists have claimed to discover a new colour that has not been seen by humans before. The researchers are calling the new colour 'olo', according to the findings. Only five people have seen the colour, describing it as something like a peacock blue or teal, with the level of saturation in the new colour being "off-the-charts". Researchers assert that the colour can only be experienced through laser manipulation of the retina. To perceive it, the researchers had laser pulses fired into their eyes, which pushed their perception beyond its natural limits, according to a report in The Guardian. The human eye can distinguish millions of shades of colour when light falls on colour-sensitive cells called cones in the retina. Meanwhile, we're not going to see olo on any smartphone displays or any TVs anytime soon.
NASA's Mars rover has pictured a mysterious, skull-shaped rock on the Red Planet whose origin remains uncertain. The mysterious rock, which NASA is calling the "Skull Hill", was discovered on April 11 by the Perseverance rover on the Jezero crater rim, using the Mastcam-Z instrument. Though most of the region surrounding the rock is light-colored and dusty, Skull Hill is dark, angular, and covered in tiny pits. "This float rock uniquely contrasts the surrounding light-toned outcrop with its dark tone and angular surface, and it features a few pits in the rock," NASA said. While the origin of the rock remains uncertain, NASA is of the view that pits on the Skull Hill may have been formed due to erosion, or it may have been dropped here by an "impact crater".
Scientists have found that plant owners have one of four types of relationships with their indoor plants. They include highly connected, engaged, limited engagement, and no relationship, as confirmed by the researchers. Researchers found that people exhibit varying levels of connection and engagement with their plants and their findings provides preliminary evidence that individuals are aware of many of the benefits of indoor plants and that not all indoor plant-person relationships are the same. The context of the pandemic may have influenced participants' relationships with indoor plants or their perceptions of the benefits these plants offer, the researchers noted
