Physics (Pre 2010)



8 December 2009

Lightning unleashes radiation cocktail for air travelers


Physicists have estimated that airplane passengers could be exposed to a radiation dose equal to that from 400 chest X-rays if their plane happens to be near a lightning discharge...

1 December 2009

LHC revs up to set new world record


The Large Hadron Collider yesterday become the world's highest energy particle accelerator, shooting twin beams of protons to an energy of 1.18 TeV and beating Tevatron's previous 2001 record of 0.98 TeV...

16 November 2009

Universal quantum processor demonstrated


Physicists have demonstrated a "universal" programmable quantum information processor that uses two quantum bits of information to run any program allowed by quantum mechanics...

24 August 2009

Boffins ponder DIY black hole


Dartmouth College researchers have proposed a new way of creating a reproduction black hole in the laboratory, albeit on a much-tinier scale than their celestial counterparts...

31 July 2009

UK boffins split electron


Physicists from the Universities of Cambridge and Birmingham have shown that electrons, which are indivisible in isolation, can divide into two new particles called spinons and a holons when crowded into in a narrow wire...

14 July 2009

The repulsive side of light


A team of Yale scientists has discovered a "repulsive" light force that can be used to control tiny components, meaning future nanodevices could be manipulated by light rather than electricity...

30 June 2009

Laser-lens promises attosecond shutter-speeds


A virtual lens created by two counterpropagating laser beams could theoretically deliver incredibly fast shutter speeds, making the real-time observation of matter at the molecular level a real possibility...

2 June 2009

Incandescent light bulbs: not quite down and out


It may not be game-over for incandescent bulbs after all. US researchers report vast improvements in energy efficiency and brightness by briefly exposing an ordinary bulb to an extremely bright laser which creates nano-scale structures on the bulb's tungsten filament...

29 May 2009

Breakthrough in controlling superposition quantum states


Superposition states are a fundamental concept in quantum mechanics and for the first time they have been controllably created with light...

28 May 2009

Tantalizing glimpse of macroscopic quantum effects


The weird laws of quantum mechanics govern how molecules, atoms and smaller particles behave, but quantum phenomena sometimes "leak up" to macroscopic scales, researchers have found...

11 May 2009

Entanglement of photon detected across four locations


Caltech scientists have shown how entanglement in the form of beams of light simultaneously propagating along four distinct paths can be detected with a surprisingly small number of measurements...

6 May 2009

Modified Newtonian dynamic could do away with dark matter


The number of physicists questioning the existence of dark matter has been increasing for some time now. And while competing theories of gravitation have been developed independent of dark matter, they conflict with Newton's theory of gravitation. Now, some physicists are suggesting that Newton might be wrong...

24 March 2009

Cold fusion a hot topic - again


In a sign of science's reinvigorated quest for new energy sources, the American Chemical Society's annual shindig features no less than 30 papers on the topic of cold fusion - or Low-Energy Nuclear Reactions as it is now known - with some of the presenters saying their findings are "very significant"...

10 March 2009

Physicists observe single top-quark


Fermilab scientists have observed particle collisions that produce single top quarks. The result confirms important parameters of particle physics, such as the total number of quarks, and has significance for the ongoing search for the Higgs boson...

4 February 2009

"Holographic noise" may herald new era in physics


Physicists at the Centre for Gravitational Physics in Germany are in a lather over what appears to be "holographic noise," minute quantum convolutions of space-time that may prove we exist in a holographic universe...

8 January 2009

Physicists clock elusive repulsive Casimir force


Researchers have detected and measured, for the first time, a repulsive quantum mechanical force that could be harnessed and tailored for a wide range of novel nanotechnology applications...

6 January 2009

Central tenet of theory of relativity looks shaky


Physicists have developed a promising new way to identify a possible abnormality in a fundamental building block of Einstein's theory of relativity, which, if confirmed, would disprove that the laws of physics remain the same for any two objects traveling at a constant speed...

26 September 2008

Metallic vapor behind noctilucent reflectivity?


Noctilucent clouds are highly reflective to radar, an unusual property that has long puzzled scientists. Now, a Caltech physicist has proposed that it may be metal atoms at high altitude that are causing this unusual radar reflecting behavior...

12 August 2008

String Theory Faster-Than-Light Drive Proposed


Two physicists have come up with a new method to travel faster than the speed of light without breaking the laws of physics. The only drawback? The drive requires a massive amount of energy. How much? Think about converting Jupiter's entire mass into pure energy...

7 August 2008

Quantum "Uncollapse" Muddies Definition Of Reality


Measuring (observing) a quantum object forces it to collapse from a waveform into one position. This collapse, according to quantum mechanics dogma, is what makes objects "real," but new verification of "collapse reversal" suggests that we can no longer assume that measurements alone create reality...

1 July 2008

Lab-Created Giant Atom Goes Classical


Physicists have built a giant millimeter-sized atom whose sole electron orbits it in a classical manner as envisaged by Niels Bohr when he suggested a planetary orbit analogy for how atoms and electrons might behave...

27 June 2008

Novel Molecule Shows Intriguing Quantum Behavior


Purdue University researchers have created a hybrid molecule whose quantum state can be intentionally manipulated with an externally applied electrical field - a required step in the construction of a quantum computer...

13 June 2008

Physicists Create Quantum-Entangled Images


Using a technique known as "four-wave mixing," researchers at the Joint Quantum Institute and the University of Maryland have created "quantum images," pairs of information-rich visual patterns whose features are entangled so that changes in one image are instantaneously replicated in the other image, regardless of the distance separating them...

16 May 2008

The Great Escape


A mechanism for how information might escape from a black hole has been proposed by a team of physicists at Penn State who say that if quantum gravity is considered, then space-time becomes much larger and there is room for information to reappear in the distant future on the other side of what was first thought to be the "end" of space-time...

29 April 2008

Graphene's "Muffin-Tin" Nanodots Explained


Researchers believe they now understand how graphene - a featureless, flat sheet of carbon atoms - lying on an equally featureless iridium surface, converted itself into a kind of "muffin tin" that formed identically sized and spaced muffins out of applied iridium atoms...

28 April 2008

Quantum-Hall Effect Observed, Sans Magnetic Field


The quantum-Hall effect (where electrons condense into an exotic quantum fluid) was thought to only occur in specially prepared materials under the influence of an intense magnetic field, but US researchers have observed the effect in a bulk crystal of bismuth-antimony without any magnetic field being present...

11 March 2008

Real And Virtual Systems Merged In Mixed Reality State


Using a virtual pendulum and its real-world counterpart, scientists using "bidirectional instantaneous coupling" have created the first mixed reality state in a physical system...

13 December 2007

Engineers Generate "Rogue Waves"


UCLA researchers have succeeded in creating and capturing optical rogue waves, freakish, brief pulses of intense light that are very similar to the infamous oceanic monsters...

26 October 2007

Physicists Mull Big Bang Detritus


Physicists may have discovered an example of a cosmic defect, a remnant from the Big Bang called a "texture"...

2 October 2007

New Algorithm Speeds Lattice QCD Equations


A new mathematical algorithm that quickly solves Lattice Quantum Chromodynamics linear equations overcomes a significant bottleneck experienced by researchers...

6 July 2007

Physicists Surf New Type Of Electron Wave


Physicists have proven the existence of a new type of electron wave on metal surfaces: the acoustic surface plasmon...

2 July 2007

Before The Big Bang


Using Loop Quantum Gravity theory, physicists have proposed a new mathematical model for what the universe looked like before the Big Bang...

15 June 2007

Kinematics - The Language Of Invention


Machinery is so ubiquitous these days that it has almost become invisible to us - at least until it breaks down. But even less recognized is the theoretical system of machine design notation known as "kinematics" that paved the way for complex machines. Now, a new book looks at the interesting and important aspects of kinematics that have become lost or forgotten down through the ages...

31 May 2007

Tantalizing Hint Of Room-Temperature Superconductor


Nanoscale imaging has revealed that isolated pockets of superconductivity can exist in certain materials at higher temperatures than thought previously possible...

13 April 2007

Quantum Shenanigans Of Photosynthesis Mapped


It's thanks to a remarkably long-lived wavelike electronic quantum coherence that plants can turn sunlight into chemical energy with such astonishing efficiency...

21 March 2007

Manganese Key To Radiation-Proofing Of Organisms


Protein oxidation appears to be the mechanism behind the uncanny ability of a bacterium to resist damage from radiation, say researchers from the US military...

23 February 2007

5 Minutes To Doomsday


The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists recently reset their Doomsday Clock forward 2 minutes, just to show everyone that once again we are all on the brink of catastrophe (as if we'd have it any other way). But what exactly does the Doomsday Clock achieve, and why should we take any notice of the time-setting habits of a bunch of boffins anyway?

8 February 2007

Casimir Force Gets Hot And Sticky


Researchers have found that the Casimir-Polder force of attraction is stronger when the surface of a material is heated...

5 February 2007

Physicists Hope For Glimpse Of Extra Dimensions


Looking backward in time to an instant after the big bang, physicists have devised a way to unlock the hidden shapes of alternate dimensions of the universe...

26 January 2007

The Universe As Magic Roundabout: Part II


If Lynds is right, then we live in a universe where there is no past or present, and one that is deterministic, even if it is impossible for us to recognize it as such. But there are a number of pressing questions in regard to Lynds' model. How does it fit in with current research that claims that the universe will expand forever? Does Lynds' model imply that the universe somehow "knows" to play events over and over? And will we all have to relive our lives backward?

19 January 2007

The Universe As Magic Roundabout


The model of the universe that Lynds is proposing, similar to others before him, is that the universe is in fact closed and subject to an infinite cycle of big bangs and big crunches. However, the difference between Lynds' theory and those that have gone before it is that in Lynds' model the big bang is no more the beginning of the universe than the big crunch is its end. That while the universe is finite, there is no arrow of time; there is no past or present, and that in neither a big crunch nor big bang is a singularity ever reached...

24 January 2007

Physicists Propose Test For String Theory


String theory could soon be put to the test, thanks to the Large Hadron Collider which begins operations this year...

18 January 2007

Prussian Blue Wrangled Into Data Storage Duty


French scientists, manipulating the pigment known as Prussian Blue, have created an extremely effective magnetic data storage medium...

12 January 2007

String Theory? Knot!


Ever since string theory was first proposed in 1969 it has been plagued by controversy. Now, its chief proponent has come out and conceded that his initial model is likely only one small part of a much more complex multifaceted megaverse. But recent discoveries in astrophysics may tie a Gordian knot in string theory...

14 December 2006

Atom-Smashers Get Peek At Top Quark


Physicists have gotten their first look at the top quark, a subatomic particle that was spat out of the Department of Energy's Tevatron Collider without its antimatter partner...

7 December 2006

Cousin Of Higgs Boson Detected


After 30 years of looking, an independent physicist claims to have detected axion particles, members of a family of particles that likely also includes the Higgs boson...

19 October 2006

Magnetic Appeal Of Schizophrenic Superconductors


Ultra-narrow wires can behave as either superconductors or insulators, depending on the influence of magnetic fields. Now, scientists think they know why...

17 October 2006

Scientists Create Super-Heavy Element 118


After months of particle accelerator shenanigans, scientists have managed to create three atoms of the newest super-heavy element, element 118...

25 September 2006

Honey, I Shrunk The Particle Accelerator


Is that a particle accelerator in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me? Investigating the mysteries of the sub-atomic domain could soon become much easier thanks to new micro-accelerator technology...

6 September 2006

Gravity Equations Useful In Modeling Earthbound Phenomena


Sir Isaac Newton would be proud. His classical equations used to calculate gravitational force have also been found to be accurate in modeling the spread of diseases by insects...

17 August 2006

Magnetic Field Creates Bizarre Superconducting Effects


One physicist has opened a can of worms with his theorem that Cooper-pair wave symmetry and time-reversal symmetry both break down when superconductors are exposed to strong magnetic fields...

28 July 2006

Memory And Computation Set For Cohabitation


Scientists have turned semiconductors into magnets, potentially opening the door for computer chips that can both calculate and store data...

24 July 2006

Hacking The Speed Of Light


Physicists at the U.S. Department of Energy have literally found a back-door to an otherwise rock-solid physical tenet - the speed of light...

30 June 2006

Strange Quarks' Role In Proton Revealed


Physicists have found that strange quarks do indeed contribute to the structure of the proton; in particular, the proton's electric and magnetic fields...

5 June 2006

The Strange Case Of The Missing Dimension


When exposed to very high magnetic fields at very low temperatures, barium copper silicate enters a rarely observed quantum critical state of matter; where the magnetic waves go from a three-dimensional to a two-dimensional pattern...

29 May 2006

Hunt On For Fourth Spatial Dimension


Scientists have developed a new mathematical framework that they say competes with Einstein's General Theory of Relativity...

12 May 2006

Faster Than Light Effect Baffles Boffins


Physicists are scratching their heads after seeing light travel through a doped optical fiber almost instantaneously. The researchers plan on taking the experiment further and putting one of Einstein's key tenets to the test...

2 May 2006

Neutron Source Fires Up


Scientists have finally witnessed the Spallation Neutron Source in action at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and predict it will herald a new generation of materials research...

3 April 2006

MINOS Project Detects Ghostly Particles Changing "Flavor"


In an experimental first, an international team of scientists has managed to observe the all but massless neutrino particle transform from one "flavor" to another...

31 March 2006

Solitons Observed In A Solid


Only theorized as possible twenty years ago, a team of scientists say they have observed evidence of solitary vibrations (solitons) in a solid...

27 March 2006

Not So Fast Einstein!


A quantum theory of gravity could be within reach, as scientists report having measured the gravitational equivalent of a magnetic field...

15 March 2006

The Strange Matter Of Superfluidity


Recent experiments into superconductivity and superfluidity may have recreated the same quantum conditions that occur in the heart of quark stars; stars believed to be comprised of strange matter...

10 March 2006

What's Normal About Renormalization?


For a number of physicists, there is an increasing sense of unease about the current state of physics. Much of this disquiet is to do with the way modern physics relies on some sneaky techniques to explain away the trickiest bits of the accepted model. Without these corrective bolted-on components, much of modern physics simply doesn't stand up to scrutiny...

3 March 2006

Intra-Molecular Movement Of Protons Observed


Using time-slices of just 100 attoseconds, UK scientists say they can now track individual protons moving in a molecule, paving the way for the direct observation of chemical reactions...

23 February 2006

Quantum Computer Computes, While Not Operating


Scientists demonstrating counterfactual computation say that "quantum mechanics doesn't get any more mysterious than this..."

22 February 2006

Joining The Quantum Dots


Scientists have found a way to make the artificial atoms known as quantum dots communicate with one another using light energy...

1 February 2006

Turbulent 73 Years Over For Physicists


Scientists believe they can now explain a phenomenon that has baffled physicists for over 70 years - fluid turbulence...

30 January 2006

Soundwave Fusion Rocks On


To silence their critics, an international research team have used sound waves to induce nuclear fusion without the need for an external neutron source...

23 December 2005

Gravity Grind - A Day In The Life Of A Gravity Detective


In a remote forest outside the world's most isolated city, engineer Chunnong Zhao begins his day's work at the Australian International Gravitational Observatory, one of four such observatories spread around the Earth that are searching for Albert Einstein's elusive gravity waves...

13 December 2005

Probe Set To Dial 1-800-ENTANGLEMENT


A new nano-probe could allow physicists to manipulate on-demand a single electron into what's known as quantum critical states...

1 December 2005

Atoms Coaxed Into Quantum "Cat" State


Scientists have managed to manipulate atoms into a Schrödinger "cat" state, where the atoms exist in two states simultaneously, in this case, spinning in opposite directions at the same time...

28 November 2005

Pimp My Electron Microscope


Observing the quantum world is problematic thanks to the size and speed of particle interactions. But a new souped-up electron microscope that enables researchers track a single electron might change that...

3 November 2005

Study Of Runaway Breakdown Set For Lab


Runaway breakdown, the phenomena supposedly behind terrestrial gamma ray bursts, could soon be studied more closely following electrifying new findings about sparks...

12 October 2005

Atom Wrangling Gets Serious


German researchers report "quasipermanent" storage of an atom between two mirrors for an unprecedented 17 seconds...

29 September 2005

3 And 7 Lucky Numbers For Dimensional Evolution


Physicists say the way our Universe diluted as it expanded favored the formation of three- and seven-dimensional realities...

19 September 2005

Biochemists Turn To Quantum Physics


Physicists aren't the only ones interested in electron spin. Biochemists believe that factoring electron spin into their calculations can help them come to grips with poorly understood biochemical reactions...

30 August 2005

Physicists Propose Search For Dark Energy


An orbiting telescope that would take measurements from distant supernovae could finally answer some of the most intriguing questions about our expanding universe and the dark energy that appears to saturate it...

23 August 2005

Novel Water Switch Displays Intriguing Properties


A switch, based on the clinging technique used by palm beetles but using the electrostatic properties of water to operate, has displayed properties that researchers believe may have a wide range of applications...

15 August 2005

Nanotube Transistor Created


Researchers have reported on the creation of transistors made from synthesized carbon nanotube structures that far outperform conventional electronic transistors...

1 August 2005

New Type Of Molecular Motor Suggested


If nano-machines are to be of any use, they'll need a reliable source of motive power. To this end, two chemists have designed a new kind of electrical motor composed of a single molecule...

29 July 2005

Neutrinos Open Window Into Earth's Interior


A neutrino detector in Japan is using anti-electron neutrinos emanating from inside the earth (geoneutrinos) to open a window into the Earth's interior, revealing previously hidden information...

26 July 2005

Big Bang Produced A "Perfect Fluid"


An unexpected discovery may see physicists heading back to the drawing board in order to update models representing the Universe immediately after the Big Bang...

22 July 2005

Too Much Uncertainty For Quantum Computing?


Dutch theoretical physicists have cast fresh doubt on whether quantum computers will be able to sustain quantum bit coherence for the length of time required to complete a computation. But if quantum mechanics can kiss and make-up with classical physics, then Schroedinger's kittens just might come to the rescue...

22 July 2005

Single-Atom-Thick Materials Almost Ready For Prime-Time


Two dimensional atomic crystals that can be grown to any size with custom properties could start a new industrial revolution...

24 June 2005

"Holy Grail" Still Elusive


A peculiar force that works at the quantum level has been the subject of some intense examination, and it looks as though the findings could help nanotechnologists solve some troubling problems with future nanotechnology...

21 June 2005

Howzat! Cricket Hairing Aids


Scientists have replicated a feature of the humble cricket that could lead to a new generation of hearing aids...

16 June 2005

Does Time Exist?


While time may be a convenient metronome that delivers neatly portioned slivers of existence to conscious beings, the idea of a 'universal time' is looking increasingly fanciful, at least to some physicists...

4 May 2005

Terrestrial Gamma Ray Mystery Deepens


Researchers studying high-energy gamma ray bursts from earth-bound thunderstorms are mystified as to why relatively low energy lightning strikes can create very high energy gamma ray bursts, and why the gamma ray burst precedes the lightning strike by a split-second...

11 April 2005

Alpha Constant May Not Be Constant


One of the cornerstones of physics, the fine structure - or alpha - constant, may not be a constant after all, according to a physicist studying distant quasars...

4 April 2005

First Synthesis Of Ultracold Molecules Achieved


A completely new field of research called superchemistry has been made possible by the synthesis of complex molecules in a Bose-Einstein condensate...

30 March 2005

New Theory On Origin Of Light


Two physicists believe that light may arise as a direct result of small violations of relativity...

21 February 2005

Universe's Expansion May Be Due To Gravity "Leakage"


The accelerating expansion of the universe is usually attributed to dark energy but a new theory says that the expansion may be speeding up due to gravity leaking into other dimensions...

11 February 2005

Real-World Quantum Effects Demonstrated


A university team has demonstrated a nanomechanical device that bridges the worlds of classic and quantum physics...

1 November 2004

Natural Nuclear Reactor Showed Elegant Simplicity


Researchers have established how Earth's only natural nuclear reactor worked flawlessly for 150 million years without blowing up...

29 October 2004

Taming The Photon


Long distance quantum information exchange moved a step closer as scientists demonstrate precise control of the emission time and pulse shape of single photons...

27 August 2004

Electron Lattice Yields Superconductor Clues


An extremely sensitive scanning tunneling microscope that can locate clusters of electrons is giving insights into how high-temperature superconductors work...

4 August 2004

Dramatic Assymetrical Matter, Antimatter Decay Observed


A Stanford accelerator experiment has revealed a dramatic difference in the behavior of matter and antimatter...

28 July 2004

New Sub-Atomic Particle Proposed


Three physicists are suggesting that neutrinos are influenced by a new force resulting from their interactions with newly recognized particles called "accelerons", with dark energy as the result...

9 July 2004

Neutrino Boogie Upsets Standard Model


Newly observed neutrino oscillatory patterns allow the mass difference between neutrinos to be measured and show that the Standard Model is incomplete...

5 July 2004

New Theory Unites Dark Matter & Dark Energy


A new theoretical model proposes dark matter and dark energy are two aspects of a single unknown force...

24 March 2004

K Meson Decay May Upset Standard Model Of Particle Physics


A rare type of K meson decay that occurs only once in every 7 billion decays suggests a possible discrepancy with the Standard Model...

3 March 2004

Nuclear Fusion From Bubbles Blasted With Sound


More tabletop fusion fun as scientists look into what appears to be nuclear fusion occurring in a liquid bombarded by ultrasound...

26 January 2004

Evidence For New Form Of Atomic Matter - The Pentaquark


Protons and neutrons are composed of three quarks but scientists have found evidence for a new particle made up of five quarks...

13 October 2003

New State Of Matter Mooted


It appears that bosons can exist as a metal which directly contradicts conventional wisdom and likely requires a new state of matter to be recognized...

27 February 2003

Quantum Entanglement Of Three Electrons Achieved


Scientists have demonstrated the quantum entanglement of three electrons using an ultrafast optical pulse and a quantum well of magnetic semiconductor material...

31 October 2002

Scientists Hope To Reveal "Extra Dimensions," Exotic Forces


Physicists have devised a new experiment that will be used in the quest for exotic forces in nature and "additional spatial dimensions"...

7 March 2002

Cold Fusion - The Sequel


Researchers have reported results that suggest the possibility of nuclear reactions during the explosive collapse of bubbles in liquid, a process known as cavitation...

28 December 2001

Controlling Electron Spin Electrically


Researchers demonstrate continuous electrical tunability of spin coherence in semiconductor nanostructures...