Science Talk (2023)

Micromachines are small machines. Sensors in cellphones and automobiles are typical micromachines. You can integrate electronics and mechanics into a micromachine. Mechanical strain caused by acceleration is detected by a sensor and signal-processed by integrated circuits. Actuators are also attractive micromachines that can generate motion. Our group studies a microrobot driven by micro artificial muscle. Recently, a microfingers robot met a small insect using augmented reality. Moreover, a micromachine can serve as a small biochemistry laboratory on itself. Cells are cultured and biochemical reactions processed on the micromachine. Let's open the interdisciplinary treasure box “micromachine” packed with electronics, machines, chemistry, biology, and so on.

Moving through the world we feel our mass continuously via the pull of Earth's gravity. Surely that mass is the sum of the masses of all of our body's constituents, but zooming in from cells to molecules to atoms to nuclei we arrive at the smallest known units: elementary particles, such as electrons and quarks. Despite their minute size most such particles do have masses and despite them all being elementary, the different particles have different masses. The origins of these masses and indeed the explanation for those differences lies in something called the Higgs mechanism, an idea that has existed since the 1960's but was only recently confirmed in 2012. In this presentation we will discuss the world of elementary particles, their interactions, and the unexpectedly important role of this Higgs mechanism in their masses and our lives.

Have you seen in a recent news a donuts shape feature observed by a telescope? Donuts in different cultures have different shapes. Here, this “donuts” in the sky refer ringed features, such as the icy rings around planets in the Solar System, or rather fluffy ones around baby stars, or halo like rings created by photos around a black hole. Many of these images are taken by devices sensitive to the radiation or the wave outside of the human sense.

To study those elusive objects, researchers from around the world work together at the telescopes, or collaborate with other telescopes. The Universe is big (and expanding) and mysterious. These ringed objects demand our collective effort to decipher the mysteries of how they are formed and evolved. The saga continues to the next generation of engineers and scientists.

First, an overview of the movement and physics (weather) of the Earth's atmosphere will be explained. How and why the atmosphere moves, and what phenomena occur due to this movement. Furthermore, other phenomena occurring in the laboratory and around us will be shown. Then, the general atmospheric chemistry will be explained. Trace amounts of substances play important role in the atmospheric chemistry, especially nitrogen oxide and ammonia are very important. Finally, concentrations and chemistry of nitrous acid (HONO), nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitric acid (HNO3) in the atmosphere in Osaka, Japan, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, and Antarctica. The atmosphere in Ho Chi Minh is very special compared to those in Japan and developing countries. In Antarctica, behavior of HNO3 will be explained, and very unusual phenomenon was observed. Furthermore, I will show that the hole in the Antarctica is blue and explain the reason and possibility of future research.