Salt of the sky: Hollie Rosier of Swansea University in Wales studies the tiny grains of salt found in the atmosphere and how they affect jet engines. The salt grain in this image is two millimeters in diameter. “Salt, along with elevated high temperatures and exhaust gases, could potentially accelerate corrosion,” Rosier says of her ongoing research. This microscopic image was taken during one of her experiments and recently won the university's annual Research as Art competition.

This article was originally published with the title What Is It?.

5 Comments

1. 1. adamsmith36 02:24 PM 12/2/12

   "two millimeters in diameter"...
   "microscopic image"
   
   ?????
   
   

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2. 2. Percival 04:52 AM 12/3/12

   adamsmith36, you have to subscribe or buy the online issue to see the image.
   
   Or, you could Google for the researcher and the institution:
   
   http://www.livescience.com/21099-salt-grain-research-art-competition.html
   
   http://tinyurl.com/crjgtwm
   
   You're welcome. ;>)

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3. 3. Drowkin in reply to Percival 05:57 AM 12/3/12

   Actually, I believe Adam's surprise text wasn't in response to not being able to see the image, but in the fact that "microscopic" was used to describe an object 2 mm in diameter. Hardly microscopic is what passed through my mind, and I'd imagine Adam experienced the same discovery.

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4. 4. bmcglasson 12:50 PM 12/3/12

   Must be a typo. 2 microns maybe

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5. 5. Postman1 09:47 PM 12/4/12

   Two millimeter pieces of salt flying around in the atmosphere sounds a bit dangerous.

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