Physics and Matter News Archives Page 7

New laser beam believed to set record for intensity (2/16/2008)

If you could hold a giant magnifying glass in space and focus all the sunlight shining toward Earth onto one grain of sand, that concentrated ray would approach the intensity of a new laser beam made in a University of Michigan laboratory. ...> Full Article

New Experimental Atomic Clock Surpasses Accuracy Of Current U.S. Standard Time Clock (2/15/2008)

A next-generation atomic clock developed by researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Colorado at Boulder has been shown to be accurate to within one second over 200 million years, surpassing the accuracy of the current U.S. time standard atomic clock more than two-fold. ...> Full Article

Researcher reveals superconducting surprise (2/14/2008)

A better understanding of material could bring 'endless applications' ...> Full Article

Researchers hear the sound of quantum drums (2/9/2008)

Forty years ago, mathematician Mark Kac asked the theoretical question, "Can one hear the shape of a drum?" ...> Full Article

Scientists make breakthrough in single-molecule sensing (2/8/2008)

Simultaneous optical and electronic measurements on same molecule ...> Full Article

Particle Accelerator: Signals Sent Racing Ahead At Light Speed To Keep Particles Colliding (2/7/2008)

Imagine trying to catch up to something moving close to the speed of light - the fastest anything can move - and sending ahead information in time to make mid-path flight corrections. Impossible? Not quite. Physicists at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), a particle accelerator at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, have achieved this tricky task - and the results may save the Lab money and time in their quest to understand the inner workings of the early universe. ...> Full Article

'T-ray' breakthrough signals next generation of security sensors (2/5/2008)

A new generation of sensors for detecting explosives and poisons could be developed following new research into a type of radiation known as T-rays ...> Full Article

New Technique Makes Tissues Transparent (2/4/2008)

If humans had see-through skin like a jellyfish, spotting disease like cancer would be a snap: Just look, and see a tumor form or grow. ...> Full Article

Hidden art could be revealed by new terahertz device (2/3/2008)

Like X-rays let doctors see the bones beneath our skin, "T-rays" could let art historians see murals hidden beneath coats of plaster or paint in centuries-old buildings, University of Michigan engineering researchers say. ...> Full Article

Taking ULTRA molecular fingerprints (2/3/2008)

A new laser under development at the Science and Technology Facilities Council's (STFC) Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire will enable UK bio scientists to monitor biological processes at a millionth of a millionth of a second. ...> Full Article

Researchers Use Musical Chords To Analyze And Illustrate Hydrogen Molecule's Response To Laser Pulses (2/2/2008)

For Kansas State University physics professor Uwe Thumm, confirmation of a theory about the behavior of small molecules became music to his ears -- literally. He and colleagues in Heidelberg, Germany, have shown how a hydrogen molecule responds to laser pulses by using the changing musical chord created by the molecule's vibrational motion. ...> Full Article

Squeezed Crystals Deliver More Volts Per Jolt (2/1/2008)

A discovery by scientists at the Carnegie Institution has opened the door to a new generation of piezoelectric materials that can convert mechanical strain into electricity and vice versa, potentially cutting costs and boosting performance in myriad applications ranging from medical diagnostics to green energy technologies. ...> Full Article

Particle accelerator may reveal shape of alternate dimensions (1/31/2008)

When the world's most powerful particle accelerator starts up later this year, exotic new particles may offer a glimpse of the existence and shapes of extra dimensions. ...> Full Article

Magnetism loses under pressure (1/30/2008)

Scientists have discovered that the magnetic strength of magnetite-the most abundant magnetic mineral on Earth-declines drastically when put under pressure. Researchers from the Carnegie Institution's Geophysical Laboratory, together with colleagues at the Advanced Photon Source of Argonne National Laboratory, have found that when magnetite is subjected to pressures between 120,000 and 160,000 times atmospheric pressure its magnetic strength declines by half ...> Full Article

Heat Pumps 'Go With The Flow' To Boost Output (1/30/2008)

Air-source heat pumps typically deliver 1 1/2 to three times more heating energy to a home than the electric energy they consume. This is possible because heat pumps move heat rather than convert it from a fuel (as combustion heating systems do). National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) researchers are working to improve the performance of these energy superstars even further by providing engineers with computer-based tools for optimizing heat exchanger designs. ...> Full Article

Manchester physicist gets to grips with gravity (1/29/2008)

A physicist from The University of Manchester will appear on national television today (Tuesday 29 January 2008), tackling a question that has baffled the world's greatest scientists for over 400 years - what is gravity? ...> Full Article

Scientists propose test of string theory based on neutral hydrogen absorption (1/29/2008)

Ancient light absorbed by neutral hydrogen atoms could be used to test certain predictions of string theory, say cosmologists at the University of Illinois. Making the measurements, however, would require a gigantic array of radio telescopes to be built on Earth, in space or on the moon. ...> Full Article

Physicist challenges cosmic theory (1/27/2008)

Revisiting the foundations of cosmology has led Dr David Wiltshire (Physics and Astronomy) to an exciting discovery that could solve the "biggest problem" in cosmology - dark energy. ...> Full Article

Helium-8 study gives insight into nuclear theory, neutron stars (1/26/2008)

The most neutron-rich matter that can be made on Earth-the nucleus of the helium-8 atom-has been created, trapped and characterized by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory. This new measurement gives rise to several significant consequences in nuclear theory and the study of neutron stars. ...> Full Article

Researchers Solve Problem of Quantum Dot 'Blinking' (1/25/2008)

Quantum dots-tiny, intense, tunable sources of colorful light-are illuminating new opportunities in biomedical research, cryptography and other fields ...> Full Article

Debut of TEAM 0.5, the World's Best Microscope (1/24/2008)

TEAM 0.5, the world's most powerful transmission electron microscope - capable of producing images with half-angstrom resolution (half a ten-billionth of a meter), less than the diameter of a single hydrogen atom - has been installed at the Department of Energy's National Center for Electron Microscopy (NCEM) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. ...> Full Article

Scientists Dramatically Improve Soft X-Ray Lasers With Discovery (1/23/2008)

Colorado State University scientists have found a way to dramatically improve the quality of laser light at extremely short wavelengths, according to a paper that was published Sunday online by Nature Photonics. ...> Full Article

New technology sharpens X-ray vision (1/21/2008)

Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) and the EPFL in Switzerland have developed a novel method for producing dark-field x-ray images at wavelengths used in typical medical and industrial imaging equipment. ...> Full Article

Discovery cuts cost of next generation optical fibres (1/18/2008)

Scientists have discovered a way of speeding up the production of hollow-core optical fibres - a new generation of optical fibres that could lead to faster and more powerful computing and telecommunications technologies. ...> Full Article

'Electrospray' Droplet Research Yields Surprising, Practical Results (1/13/2008)

Chemical engineers are the first to mathematically describe precisely how droplets form when liquids are exposed to electric fields, an advance that could have applications in areas ranging from manufacturing to medical diagnostics. ...> Full Article

Super-computer could throw light on 'mysterious' dark energy (1/12/2008)

Cosmologists have run a series of computer simulations of the Universe that could ultimately help solve the mystery of dark energy. ...> Full Article

An 'Invisibility Cloak' For Sound? (1/10/2008)

Theoretical device could mask sound in 3-D ...> Full Article

Laboratory Is 'Beefing' Up Magnets For Electric-Drive Cars (1/10/2008)

New Magnet Alloy Stays Strong - Even at 200 Degrees Celsius ...> Full Article

Wind tunnel key for 'hypersonic vehicles,' future space planes (1/9/2008)

By using the only wind tunnel capable of running quietly at "hypersonic" speeds, Purdue University engineers have conducted experiments to yield critical data for designing an advanced aircraft called the X-51A, powered by engines called scramjets. ...> Full Article

Magnetic Alloy With Swiss Cheese Structure Morphs Shape (1/9/2008)

Researchers have turned a stubborn alloy into a shape-shifting foam by just giving it a little breathing room. ...> Full Article