Physics and Matter News - November 2008 Archives

Using invisibility to increase visibility (11/30/2008)

Research into the development of invisibility devices has spurred two physicists' thought on the behavior of light to overcome the seemingly intractable problem of optical singularities which could soon lead to the manufacturing of a perfect cat's eye. ...> Full Article

Dancing atoms now understood (11/29/2008)

Scientists crack secret of unusual magnetic resonance, key to enhanced MRIs ...> Full Article

The physics of explosives and blast helmets (11/28/2008)

New research aims to better protect against improvised explosive devices ...> Full Article

Scientists see new mechanism for superconductivity (11/27/2008)

Research explains unconventional superconductivity without phonons ...> Full Article

The physics of golf balls (11/26/2008)

New research aims to help golfers by producing better balls that fly farther ...> Full Article

Researchers develop breakthrough technique to unlock the secret of plasmas (11/26/2008)

University of British Columbia researchers have developed a technique that brings scientists a big step closer to unlocking the secrets of the most abundant form of matter in the universe. ...> Full Article

Putting an end to turbulence (11/25/2008)

Whether in oil pipelines or city water mains -- scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization have discovered that turbulent flow is not stable. ...> Full Article

Supercontinuum generation and soliton dynamics milestone achieved (11/24/2008)

Unique fiber design enables first observation of two resonant dispersive waves on both sides of the emitting soliton ...> Full Article

Quantum computing spins closer (11/24/2008)

Researchers set speed record for flipping the spin of an electron and measuring its new position; a key to quick quantum computing ...> Full Article

Quantum computers could excel in modeling chemical reactions (11/23/2008)

Futuristic devices would likely outperform conventional computers in chemical simulations ...> Full Article

Billions of particles of anti-matter created in laboratory (11/22/2008)

Take a gold sample the size of the head of a push pin, shoot a laser through it, and suddenly more than 100 billion particles of anti-matter appear. The anti-matter, also known as positrons, shoots out of the target in a cone-shaped plasma "jet." ...> Full Article

Dancing droplets (11/21/2008)

A group of physicists from the University of Liege, Belgium, is publishing research in the New Journal of Physics today, Tuesday. Nov. 18, which shows how lab technicians can make droplets dance, float and bounce above a surface, keeping small amounts of fluid free of contamination and ripe for testing. ...> Full Article

'Enlightened' atoms stage nano-riot againsts uniformity (11/20/2008)

Harnessing this behavior could lead to cooler computer chips, better bio-sensors ...> Full Article

'Firefly' cubesat to study link between lightning and terrestrial gamma ray flashes (11/19/2008)

Massive energy releases occur every day in the upper reaches of Earth's atmosphere. Lightning may give rise to these bursts of radiation. However, unlike the well-known flashes of light and peals of thunder familiar to Earth-dwellers, these energy releases are channeled upward and can be detected only from space. Our atmosphere protects us from the effects of this radiation, but the mechanisms at work can impact Earth's upper atmosphere and its space environment. ...> Full Article

Putting a new spin on current research (11/16/2008)

Physicists at the London Center for Nanotechnology have found a way to extend the quantum lifetime of electrons by more than 5,000 percent, according to Physical Review Letters. Electrons exhibit a property called 'spin' and work like tiny magnets which can point up, down or a quantum superposition of both. The state of the spin can be used to store information and so by extending their life the research provides a significant step towards building a usable quantum computer. ...> Full Article

Cold atoms could replace hot gallium in focused ion beams (11/15/2008)

Scientists have developed a radical new method of focusing a stream of ions into a point as small as one nanometer, a versatile ion source that is expected to have broad application in nanotechnology both for carving smaller features on semiconductors than now are possible and for nondestructive imaging of nanoscale structures with finer resolution than currently possible with electron microscopes. ...> Full Article

Iron-based materials may unlock superconductivity’s secrets (11/14/2008)

Researchers are decoding the mysterious mechanisms behind the high-temperature superconductors that industry hopes will find wide use in next-generation systems for storing, distributing and using electricity. ...> Full Article

Stretching silicon: A new method to measure how strain affects semiconductors (11/11/2008)

Engineers and physicists have developed a method of measuring how strain affects thin films of silicon that could lay the foundation for faster flexible electronics. ...> Full Article

The inaudible symphony analyzed (11/10/2008)

By measuring "inaudible" sounds, events like illegal nuclear tests can be detected. This "infrasound" can also help us understand more about the upper atmosphere ...> Full Article

Physicists create BlackMax to search for dimensions in space at the Large Hadron Collider (11/10/2008)

A team of theoretical and experimental physicists, have designed a new black hole simulator called BlackMax to search for evidence that extra dimensions might exist in the universe. ...> Full Article

Ultrafast lasers give CU-Boulder researchers a snapshot of electrons in action (11/9/2008)

In the quest to slow down and ultimately understand chemistry at the level of atoms and electrons ...> Full Article

Very cold ice films in laboratory reveal mysteries of universe (11/8/2008)

Could life have started in a lump of ice? ...> Full Article

Electron pairs precede high-temperature superconductivity (11/7/2008)

New method exploring 'energy gap' shows electron pairs exist before superconductivity sets in ...> Full Article

New spaceship force field makes Mars trip possible (11/4/2008)

New research shows how knowledge gained from the pursuit of nuclear fusion research may reduce the threat to acceptable levels, making man's first mission to Mars a much greater possibility. ...> Full Article