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...Open University, explains more...Space may seem calm, but it is a more hostile environment than that on Earth. Invisible radiation is a big problem for space enthusiasts and scientific instruments. Substituting electronic devices to do human tasks reduces risk, but it doesn’t eliminate all risk. Every active device in space is dealing with such risks right now – be it...

...Open University to visualise what remained of the bead microstructure and measuring the chemistry of any preserved metal fragments. At The University of Manchester in the x-ray imaging facility, we produced an x-ray CT model of the bead which illustrated the variations in its structure and composition in three dimensions. The results indicated the bead micro-structures...

...Open University field trip to Iceland under a Europlanet grant. Copyright: Claire Batty Researching VOCs at AstrobiologyOU In AstrobiologyOU, we are studying VOCs in ‘analogue environments’. An analogue environment is a location or situation that resembles the geological or biological conditions of another planetary body. Some analogues are laboratory simulations,...

Open University chemist Mike Bullivant outlines the properties of gold...Find out more about The Open University's Science courses and qualifications [vial of gold] Why is gold so expensive? Gold is an unusual metal in that it predominantly exists in the Earth’s crust as the element (so-called ‘native’ gold); that is, it’s not chemically combined with other elements....