A new energy bus runs in front of Potala Palace in Lhasa, capital city of Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region, March 12, 2018. [Photo by Daqiong/chinadaily.com.cn] Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet autonomous region, has put into use 128 gas-electric hybrid buses since the beginning of this year, increasing the total number of new energy buses to 312 in an effort to develop a clean energy transportation system, Xinhua News Agency reported. New energy buses not only help reduce the difficulty of transportation, but also help protect the blue sky and clear water of Lhasa, the city's public transportation operator was quoted as saying. Passengers depart a new energy bus in Lhasa, capital city of Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region, March 12, 2018. [Photo by Daqiong/chinadaily.com.cn] Lhasa has been stepping up its efforts in providing green public transportation since 2015. Apart from the buses, Lhasa government also collaborated with Ofo since last May to provide 3,600 sharing bikes in the urban area. Also, 192 gas-electric hybrid taxicabs marked with the logo of new energy came into service in 2017. In 2018, Lhasa will invest more in new energy buses. By the end of this year, new energy buses are projected to take up 80 percent of all buses, said Cao Zhiming, chairman of board of Lhasa Communications Industry Group Co Ltd. Qiu Weiyi contributed to this story. where can i buy wristbandsjelly band silicone medical alert braceletcustom wristbands in bulkcustomized friendship bracelets onlinemedical id silicone wristbands
In a simulation using atomic force microscopy, four water molecules bond with a sodium ion one by one (A to D). A fifth water molecule (white spot at lower left) bonds with the hydrated sodium ion. As one sodium ion can only bond with four water molecules tightly at most, the fifth one can only bond outside. (E) An artist's rendering of a hydrated sodium ion with three water molecules. (F) Chinese scientists have become the first to directly observe the atomic structure of a hydrated sodium ion-the basic chemical makeup of seawater. The technology can be used to study other water-based liquids, opening new avenues for molecular and materials sciences, experts said on Monday in the science journal Nature. It is the first time scientists have been able to visualize the atomic structure of hydrated ions in their natural environment since the notion was proposed more than a hundred years ago. The same team of scientists also discovered that exactly three water molecules are needed to allow a single sodium ion to travel 10 to 100 times faster than other ion hydrates-a process that could lead to more efficient ion batteries, anti-corrosion coatings and seawater desalination plants, according to the Nature article. Water is the most plentiful liquid on Earth. Its simple chemical structure-two hydrogen atoms bonded to one oxygen atom-is the basic building block of most life on Earth, said Wang Enge, a physicist and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. But the science behind water, especially regarding its structure and interaction with other chemicals, is extremely hard and not well understood, Wang said. In 2005, the journal Science listed the structure of water as one of the most compelling scientific puzzles, despite a century's worth of research having been done. Since the late 19th century, scientists have been studying ion hydration, a process in which water dissolves soluble materials such as sodium chloride, or salt. Although the process is extremely common in nature, exactly how it works at an atomic level has remained a mystery. The main reason for water's complexity is its simplicity, said Jiang Ying, a professor at Peking University's International Center for Quantum Materials, who was part of the study. Because hydrogen atoms are so simple and small compared with the oxygen atom, the weird properties of quantum mechanics start to interfere with experiments and make them less predictable, he said. Therefore, it is crucial for scientists to directly see how water interacts with other materials at an atomic level. By using new atomic force microscopy developed by Chinese scientists, it's possible to see even the smallest changes in a single water molecule's structure around the ions, Jiang said. Scientists found that three water molecules surrounding a single sodium ion can travel exceptionally fast on a sodium chloride molecule's surface. This sublime phenomenon can occur at room temperature, but also applies with other chemical ions such as potassium ions-one of the key ions necessary for neural cell communication. Although the magic number for each type of ion might be different, the phenomenon is a game changer for ion-related fields, he said. For example, engineers can alter the flow speed of lithium ions in batteries to make them charge faster or store more power. Scientists can also create special filter systems that can change the number of water molecules surrounding an ion, thus speeding up or reducing the filtering speed according to specific needs. This discovery also allows scientists to have a better understanding of how cells communicate with each other by exchanging ions through channels on their membranes, Jiang said. This has potentially profound scientific implications for future applications in biology and medicine, he said, adding that two Nobel Prizes were given to research related to ion channels in the last two decades-one for their discovery in 1991 and the other for their mechanisms in channeling water in 2003.
