Physics and Matter News - May 2009 Archives
While the perils associated with particle physics, from Earth-gobbling black holes to Vatican-destroying amounts of antimatter, gain news headlines, it's easy to overlook the large economic and societal benefits of particle physics research.
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 | A team of physicists and engineers have demonstrated all-fiber quantum logic, where single photons are generated and used to perform the controlled-NOT quantum logic gate in optical fibers with high fidelity. ...> Full Article |
On May 26, Nanyang Technological University's School of Biological Science will pioneer the world's first remotely controlled Solution X-Ray Scattering experiment. The experiment will be initiated from Singapore at 4.10pm - 6pm in SBS and conducted at the German Electron Synchrotron, Hamburg, Germany.
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 | Berkeley Lab researchers have demonstrated that electric fields can be used as ON/OFF switches in multiferroic materials, a development that holds promise for future magnetic data storage and spintronic devices. ...> Full Article |
Kansas State University theorists have developed a model that allows them to compute not just the energy of photo-emitted electrons, but also the times after their release at which they can be detected. Within their quantum mechanical model, they found that electrons that are emitted by ultra-short laser pulses from different parts of a metal surface will arrive at an electron detector at slightly different times.
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 | Researchers have created a new type of invisibility cloak that is simpler than previous designs and works for all colors of the visible spectrum, making it possible to cloak larger objects than before and possibly leading to practical applications in "transformation optics." ...> Full Article |
 | Breakthrough research that yielded the world's first-ever ship degaussing system to use high temperature superconducting (HTS) materials garnered "Top Navy Scientist and Engineer of the Year" accolades for George Stimak, a program officer at the US Office of Naval Research. ...> Full Article |
Scientists are a step closer to making environmentally-friendly 'magnetic' refrigerators and air conditioning systems a reality, thanks to new research published today in Advanced Materials.
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Researchers in condensed matter physics at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Chicago have created an experimental and computer model to study how jamming, the physical process in which collections of particles are crammed together to behave as solids, might affect the behavior of systems in which thermal motion is important, such as molecules in a glass.
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Since Galileo Galilei and Newton, the assumption is valid that inert and heavy mass are equivalent. This is, however, questioned by new physical theories such as the string theory. Now, the equivalence principle is put to test with so far unachieved accuracy within the scope of the "microscope" space project -- a German-French cooperation. PTB has developed the manufacturing and measuring methods for the test masses.
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Scientists at the California Institute of Technology have developed an efficient method to detect entanglement shared among multiple parts of an optical system. They show how entanglement, in the form of beams of light simultaneously propagating along four distinct paths, can be detected with a small number of measurements. Entanglement is an essential resource in quantum information science, which is the study of advanced computation and communication based on the laws of quantum mechanics.
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 | A clever materials science technique that uses a silicon crystal as a sort of nanoscale vise to squeeze another crystal into a more useful shape may launch a new class of electronic devices that remember their last state even after power is turned off. ...> Full Article |
Experts from around the globe will be converging on Des Moines May 12-15 to discuss the state of the art of magnetic refrigeration. Scientists and industry representatives will be attending the Third International Conference on Magnetic Refrigeration, Thermag III, which is being hosted by the US Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory and Iowa State University.
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By modifying a commonly used commercial infrared spectrometer to allow operation at long-wave terahertz frequencies, researchers at NIST discovered an efficient new approach to measure key structural properties of nanoscale metal-oxide films used in high-speed integrated circuits.
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James Shaffer, professor in the OU Department of Physics, was part of the German-led team that made the recent discovery that some say demonstrates a "new" type of bonding, which makes this molecule different from other Rydberg molecules. The electron scattering in this approach can be used as a benchmark test for future quantum calculations of atomic and molecular structure.
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What happened in the first trillionth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a second after the Big Bang?Super-sensitive microwave detectors, built at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, may soon help scientists find out.
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Quantum cryptography, a completely secure means of communication, is much closer to being used practically as researchers from Toshiba and Cambridge University's Cavendish Laboratory have now developed high speed detectors capable of receiving information with much higher key rates, thereby able to receive more information faster.
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In a forthcoming Physical Review Letters article, a group of physicists at the University of Nevada, Reno are reporting a refined analysis of experiments on violation of mirror symmetry in atoms that sets new constraints on a hypothesized particle, the extra Z-boson.
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Ames Laboratory physicists demonstrate unique mechanism of superconductivity
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Quantum mechanics could be used to describe the way memory works and revolutionize the way we think about the human mind, a Queensland University of Technology researcher says.
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New species of ancient crocodile discovered
Kitchen gadget inspires scientist to make more effective plastic electronics
Making memories last
Ferroelectric switching discovered for first time in soft biological tissue
Forensic research extends detection of cyanide poisoning
The wild early lives of today's most massive galaxies
What really happened prior to 'Snowball Earth'?
Shakespeare's skill 'more in grammar than in words'
Detailed picture of how myoV 'walks' along actin tracks
Need muscle for a tough spot? Turn to fat stem cells
Earth's energy budget remained out of balance despite unusually low solar activity
Pictures of food create feelings of hunger
Mighty mesh
Sweeten up your profits with the right hybrid
Patterns of antibiotic-resistant bacteria found in Galapagos reptiles
Bilayer graphene works as an insulator
Patterns of chromosome abnormality: The key to cancer?
Advantages of living in the dark: The multiple evolution events of 'blind' cavefish
Snakes improve search-and-rescue robots
Enhancing cognition in older adults also changes personality
Magnetic actuation enables nanoscale thermal analysis
A new artificial intelligence technique to speed the planning of tasks when resources are limited
'Tiger mothers' should tame parenting approach
Film coatings made from whey
Growing US violent extremism by the numbers
If a fat tax is coming, here's how to make it efficient, effective
Bobsled runs -- fast and yet safe
Fruit fly intestine may hold secret to the fountain of youth
Bright lights of purity
How seawater could corrode nuclear fuel
Does antimatter weigh more, less or the same as matter?
Scientists create first atomic X-ray laser
Jupiter's 'Trojans' on an atomic scale
World's longest superconductor cable