Star birth appears to drive galactic gas cloud formation

Physics Today ◽  
2014 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-261
Author(s):  
Dorota Brzezińska ◽  
Marek Dziubiński ◽  
Adam S. Markowski

Abstract Despite the fact that LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) is used in a large number of cars, tests have not yet been carried out to ascertain how hazardous can be the release of LPG from the car when parked in enclosed garages. The problem applies to both public and industrial parking areas, especially in Poland, where more than 10% cars are fueled by LPG. The paper describes full scale experiments, which demonstrate conditions that may occur in a garage in the event of accidental LPG release from the car installation. Over the course of the tests, a series of six LPG spillage tests were performed to study emission time and flammable cloud formation depending on the accidental gap diameter. Additionally, to enable the visual observation of the gas dispersion and influence of the ventilation system the experiment was conducted using well visible CO2 gas cloud, produced from dry ice. The experiments have shown that without ventilation LPG can accumulate on the floor of the enclosed garage for a long time, which generates a high explosive hazard. However, good ventilation (especially jet fan systems) can quickly remove hazardous flammable LPG clouds. Moreover, very important for effective LPG detection is the location of detectors closer to the floor than is currently recommended - at a height of 30 cm.


2021 ◽  
Vol 946 (1) ◽  
pp. 012015
Author(s):  
E I Malkin ◽  
N V Cherneva ◽  
P P Firstov ◽  
G I Druzhin ◽  
D V Sannikov

Abstract During volcano eruptions, so called dirty thunderstorms are the sources of electromagnetic radiation. They are caused by ash-gas clouds formed during explosive eruptions. Thunderstorm activity in an ash-gas cloud during volcano eruption is monitored by radio equipment. The VLF direction finder, located at Paratunka, monitors thunderstorm activity in the region of Kamchatka Peninsula including dirty thunderstorms accompanying explosive eruptions of Shiveluch and Bezymyanniy volcanoes. In the paper, we analyze records of electromagnetic radiation associated with dirty thunderstorms occurring during volcano eruptions from 2017 to 2020. During that period 24 eruptions of Shiveluch volcano and 5 eruptions of Bezymyanniy volcano occurred. Seventeen and three of them, respectively, caused dirty thunderstorms. Two-stage scenario of development is typical for all the dirty thunderstorms. The first stage lasts for 5–7 minutes and accompanies eruptive column development. However, if the eruption begins according to a smooth scenario, the first stage may be weak. The second stage lasts for 20–80 minutes and is associated with eruptive cloud formation and propagation. The intensity of this dirty thunderstorm stage depends on eruption power as well as on the interaction of an eruptive cloud during its propagation with the clouds of meteorological origin. Based on the obtained data, that is indicated by the increase of cloud-to-cloud stroke number.


2020 ◽  
Vol 497 (2) ◽  
pp. 2286-2301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob L Ward ◽  
Mélanie Chevance ◽  
J M Diederik Kruijssen ◽  
Alexander P S Hygate ◽  
Andreas Schruba ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The time-scales associated with the various stages of the star formation process remain poorly constrained. This includes the earliest phases of star formation, during which molecular clouds condense out of the atomic interstellar medium. We present the first in a series of papers with the ultimate goal of compiling the first multitracer timeline of star formation, through a comprehensive set of evolutionary phases from atomic gas clouds to unembedded young stellar populations. In this paper, we present an empirical determination of the lifetime of atomic clouds using the Uncertainty Principle for Star Formation formalism, based on the de-correlation of H α and H i emission as a function of spatial scale. We find an atomic gas cloud lifetime of 48$^{+13}_{-8}$ Myr. This time-scale is consistent with the predicted average atomic cloud lifetime in the LMC (based on galactic dynamics) that is dominated by the gravitational collapse of the mid-plane ISM. We also determine the overlap time-scale for which both H i and H α emissions are present to be very short (tover < 1.7 Myr), consistent with zero, indicating that there is a near-to-complete phase change of the gas to a molecular form in an intermediary stage between H i clouds and H ii regions. We utilize the time-scales derived in this work to place empirically determined limits on the time-scale of molecular cloud formation. By performing the same analysis with and without the 30 Doradus region included, we find that the most extreme star-forming environment in the LMC has little effect on the measured average atomic gas cloud lifetime. By measuring the lifetime of the atomic gas clouds, we place strong constraints on the physics that drives the formation of molecular clouds and establish a solid foundation for the development of a multitracer timeline of star formation in the LMC.


Science ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 357 (6358) ◽  
pp. 1375-1378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shingo Hirano ◽  
Takashi Hosokawa ◽  
Naoki Yoshida ◽  
Rolf Kuiper

The origin of super-massive black holes in the early universe remains poorly understood. Gravitational collapse of a massive primordial gas cloud is a promising initial process, but theoretical studies have difficulty growing the black hole fast enough. We report numerical simulations of early black hole formation starting from realistic cosmological conditions. Supersonic gas motions left over from the Big Bang prevent early gas cloud formation until rapid gas condensation is triggered in a protogalactic halo. A protostar is formed in the dense, turbulent gas cloud, and it grows by sporadic mass accretion until it acquires 34,000 solar masses. The massive star ends its life with a catastrophic collapse to leave a black hole—a promising seed for the formation of a monstrous black hole.


Author(s):  
Robert J. Fogelin

Philo expands on the nature of his objections to the natural religion of Cleanthes: far-fetched comparisons are dismissed in matters of common life, but are appropriate objections when we rise to the level of abstruse and remote reasoning. He offers a counterargument to the design-designer hypothesis, citing Epicurus. Constancy and change are discussed; cloud formation is one example. Philo’s critique of Cleanthes’ argument from design moves through stages, with striking similarity to Agrippa’s suspension of belief as presented by Sextus Empiricus.


Author(s):  
Kosuke Fujii ◽  
Norikazu Mizuno ◽  
J R Dawson ◽  
Tsuyoshi Inoue ◽  
Kazufumi Torii ◽  
...  

Abstract We investigate the H i envelope of the young, massive GMCs in the star-forming regions N48 and N49, which are located within the high column density H i ridge between two kpc-scale supergiant shells, LMC 4 and LMC 5. New long-baseline H i 21 cm line observations with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) were combined with archival shorter baseline data and single dish data from the Parkes telescope, for a final synthesized beam size of 24.75″ by 20.48″, which corresponds to a spatial resolution of ∼ 6 pc in the LMC. It is newly revealed that the H i gas is highly filamentary, and that the molecular clumps are distributed along filamentary H i features. In total 39 filamentary features are identified and their typical width is ∼ 21 (8–49) [pc]. We propose a scenario in which the GMCs were formed via gravitational instabilities in atomic gas which was initially accumulated by the two shells and then further compressed by their collision. This suggests that GMC formation involves the filamentary nature of the atomic medium.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. 3625
Author(s):  
Mateusz Krzysztoń ◽  
Ewa Niewiadomska-Szynkiewicz

Intelligent wireless networks that comprise self-organizing autonomous vehicles equipped with punctual sensors and radio modules support many hostile and harsh environment monitoring systems. This work’s contribution shows the benefits of applying such networks to estimate clouds’ boundaries created by hazardous toxic substances heavier than air when accidentally released into the atmosphere. The paper addresses issues concerning sensing networks’ design, focussing on a computing scheme for online motion trajectory calculation and data exchange. A three-stage approach that incorporates three algorithms for sensing devices’ displacement calculation in a collaborative network according to the current task, namely exploration and gas cloud detection, boundary detection and estimation, and tracking the evolving cloud, is presented. A network connectivity-maintaining virtual force mobility model is used to calculate subsequent sensor positions, and multi-hop communication is used for data exchange. The main focus is on the efficient tracking of the cloud boundary. The proposed sensing scheme is sensitive to crucial mobility model parameters. The paper presents five procedures for calculating the optimal values of these parameters. In contrast to widely used techniques, the presented approach to gas cloud monitoring does not calculate sensors’ displacements based on exact values of gas concentration and concentration gradients. The sensor readings are reduced to two values: the gas concentration below or greater than the safe value. The utility and efficiency of the presented method were justified through extensive simulations, giving encouraging results. The test cases were carried out on several scenarios with regular and irregular shapes of clouds generated using a widely used box model that describes the heavy gas dispersion in the atmospheric air. The simulation results demonstrate that using only a rough measurement indicating that the threshold concentration value was exceeded can detect and efficiently track a gas cloud boundary. This makes the sensing system less sensitive to the quality of the gas concentration measurement. Thus, it can be easily used to detect real phenomena. Significant results are recommendations on selecting procedures for computing mobility model parameters while tracking clouds with different shapes and determining optimal values of these parameters in convex and nonconvex cloud boundaries.


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