On January 6th 2015, Nielsen released a year end report on the Music industry that reported that older, or catalog releases out sold new releases for the first time in the history of the recording industry. The surge was led by the resurgence of vinyl, which sold 12 million units in that format alone. Albums by Pink Floyd, The Beatles, and Miles Davis rounded out the top 5 albums of 2015.
Overall, catalog albums, (those which have been released for 18 months or more), sold 122.8 million copies while current releases sold 118.5 million copies. Current releases still led digital or download sales, but by the slim margin of 52.5 million new releases to 50.9 for catalog. However, catalog music also dominated streaming, with catalog making up 70% while new releases made up 30% of that market.
Speculation as to why this has occurred varies. Some analysts believe that the reason may be that some of the more notable names in today's pop music, failed to release an album in 2015. Others think that what has happened could indicate that the music of today's new artists, is some how disposable and now worthy of purchase. Still, others think that the vast number of releases by new artists, coupled with the ability to listen to the music without buying, is responsible.
The truth, whatever the opinion, may well be a combination of all of the above.
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
The Solar System May Have A Ninth Planet
On January 20th 2016, astronomers at the California Institute of Technology announced that they have found evidence of a possible ninth planet in our solar system. The discovery was made by Mike Brown, the man responsible for Pluto's demotion to dwarf planet, and Konstantine Batygin. The new planet is beyond the orbit of Pluto in what is known as the Kuiper Belt, a region of space filled with icy objects at the farthest reaches of our solar system.
While some researchers are calling the new planet, Planet X, Brown and Batygin are calling it Planet Nine, and say that they never intended to discover a new planet. In fact, neither have observed the planet directly. Brown and Batygin base their assertion of a ninth planet on the observation of the motion of several other objects that were discovered in the Kuiper Belt in 2014. The two astonomers noticed that something was effecting the orbits of at least five of them.
Sedna, a dwarf planet which was also discovered by Brown and another dwarf planet nicknamed Biden as well as several smaller Kuiper Belt objects, were observed to be clustering in their orbits. Brown and Batygin theorized that perhaps the gravity of a much larger object, like a planet, had be the cause of this. They also noticed that the orbits of Sedna and Biden didn't allow them to come in close to the solar system.
Brown and Batygin's computer simulations predicted that only a very large planet could account for the perturbation of the orbits of Sedna and Biden and some of the other small Kuiper belt objects. The predictions gave the size of the planet as having 10 times the mass of the Earth and an orbit that is 20 times further from the sun then Neptune. Though Planet Nine has yet to be seen, the search using terrestrial telescopes is already under way.
While some researchers are calling the new planet, Planet X, Brown and Batygin are calling it Planet Nine, and say that they never intended to discover a new planet. In fact, neither have observed the planet directly. Brown and Batygin base their assertion of a ninth planet on the observation of the motion of several other objects that were discovered in the Kuiper Belt in 2014. The two astonomers noticed that something was effecting the orbits of at least five of them.
Sedna, a dwarf planet which was also discovered by Brown and another dwarf planet nicknamed Biden as well as several smaller Kuiper Belt objects, were observed to be clustering in their orbits. Brown and Batygin theorized that perhaps the gravity of a much larger object, like a planet, had be the cause of this. They also noticed that the orbits of Sedna and Biden didn't allow them to come in close to the solar system.
Brown and Batygin's computer simulations predicted that only a very large planet could account for the perturbation of the orbits of Sedna and Biden and some of the other small Kuiper belt objects. The predictions gave the size of the planet as having 10 times the mass of the Earth and an orbit that is 20 times further from the sun then Neptune. Though Planet Nine has yet to be seen, the search using terrestrial telescopes is already under way.
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
The Chinese Create A Self Folding Material
On January 8th 2016, researchers in China announced that they had created a material that can change its shape all on its own. A team of scientists at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China, says that they have developed a smart material that can be reprogrammed indefinitely to fold into complex shapes without being melted down.
The material is what is known as a shape memory polymer. Tao Xie, a materials scientist at Zhejiang University, who led the team that created the new substance, said that the material can be manipulated from either a temporary or permanent position. Most shape memory polymers work by making use of reversible chemical bonds. Tao Xie's polymer changes shape by using the long squiggly molecules that make up the material it self.
The molecules can be taught to fix or to freeze into place by physically folding them while heating them, not by rearranging them. The new material has transition temperatures of 70 degree C and 130 degrees C, for elasticity and plasticity, respectively. Current demonstrations of the shape shifting material have included going from a flat sheet to an origami bird and then to an origami boat.
Now that the technique has proven successful, Xie and his team hope to create a version that works at a lower temperature. He says that the current version of the memory shape polymer should cost the same as the plastic that people use in their everyday lives. They also feel that engineers may also one day be able to create affordable and reusable biomedical devices.
The material is what is known as a shape memory polymer. Tao Xie, a materials scientist at Zhejiang University, who led the team that created the new substance, said that the material can be manipulated from either a temporary or permanent position. Most shape memory polymers work by making use of reversible chemical bonds. Tao Xie's polymer changes shape by using the long squiggly molecules that make up the material it self.
The molecules can be taught to fix or to freeze into place by physically folding them while heating them, not by rearranging them. The new material has transition temperatures of 70 degree C and 130 degrees C, for elasticity and plasticity, respectively. Current demonstrations of the shape shifting material have included going from a flat sheet to an origami bird and then to an origami boat.
Now that the technique has proven successful, Xie and his team hope to create a version that works at a lower temperature. He says that the current version of the memory shape polymer should cost the same as the plastic that people use in their everyday lives. They also feel that engineers may also one day be able to create affordable and reusable biomedical devices.
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
The Periodic Table Gets Four New Elements
On January 3rd 2016, researchers announced that they had confirmed the addition of four new elements to the periodic table. The four elements, which complete the seventh row of the scientific chart, were verified and then added by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. The elements are 113, 115, 117, and 118 and have all met IUPAC's criteria, and they are the first elements to be added to the periodic table since 2011.
The four new elements are all using temporary names until they receive their official names over the next several months. A team of Russian-American scientists from the Joint Institute of Nuclear Research in Dubnia and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are responsible for the discovery of elements 115, 117, and 118. Their working names are, Ununpentium (Uup), Ununseptium (Uus), and Ununoctium (Uuo), respectively.
Element 113, which was discovered by a Japanese team at Riken Institute in Japan, has the working name of Ununtrium (Uut). All of the new substances are man made and are what are considered to be what is known as superheavy elements. All four only exist for fractions of a second before decaying into other elements. The four new elements were made by slamming lighter nuclei into each other, and then tracking their radioactive decay.
The four new elements are all using temporary names until they receive their official names over the next several months. A team of Russian-American scientists from the Joint Institute of Nuclear Research in Dubnia and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are responsible for the discovery of elements 115, 117, and 118. Their working names are, Ununpentium (Uup), Ununseptium (Uus), and Ununoctium (Uuo), respectively.
Element 113, which was discovered by a Japanese team at Riken Institute in Japan, has the working name of Ununtrium (Uut). All of the new substances are man made and are what are considered to be what is known as superheavy elements. All four only exist for fractions of a second before decaying into other elements. The four new elements were made by slamming lighter nuclei into each other, and then tracking their radioactive decay.
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