Physics in the News

Friday, August 22, 2014

Traces of one of the Universe’s first stars detected

The first stars were born a few hundred million years after the Big Bang, as this artist impression shows. (Credit: NASA)

via bbc

Scientists pulled hydrogen from water using an AAA battery

The nickel-based catalyst is just as effective as platinum. (Credit: Tunnicliffe, Stanford)

Cyborg moths can be controlled mid-flight by scientists(VIDEO)

via motherboard

Study finds that human subjects prefer when robots give the orders(VIDEO)

via mit

Asteroid had active volcanoes, reveal researchers

New meteorite evidence shows volcanic activity began much earlier in the history of the solar system than previously thought.(USGS) — New meteorite evidence shows volcanic activity began much earlier in the history of the solar system than previously thought. (Credit:USGS)

via abc

Telescope captures spectacular view of nebula, star cluster

This mosaic of images from the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile shows two dramatic star formation regions in the southern Milky Way. (Credit: ESO/G. Beccari)

The next space race is for a rental car into orbit

Boeing in among three companies bidding for the next NASA contract to take astronauts into space. The company is offering its CST-100 space capsule in the competition. (Credit: Boeing)

via washingtonpost

Quantum gravity expert says “philosophical superficiality” has harmed physics

Carlo Rovelli: "Theoretical physics has not done great in the last decades. Why? Well, one of the reasons, I think, is that it got trapped in a wrong philosophy." (Credit: Horgan) — Carlo Rovelli: “Theoretical physics has not done great in the last decades. Why? Well, one of the reasons, I think, is that it got trapped in a wrong philosophy.” (Credit: Horgan)

via scientificamerican

Pairing old technologies with new for next-generation electronic devices

The scientists reported a 40-times-larger effect than previously achieved in semiconductor materials, with the largest value measured comparable to a record high value of the spin-Hall effect observed in heavy metals such as Platinum. (Credit: UCL London Centre for Nanotechnology)

World Science U

The Anthony Pitucco Blog

Hi I highly recommend reviewing the World Science U at http://www.worldscienceu.com set for those interested in pursuing more detail in specific areas of physics and mathematics. This is an excellent site devoted to teaching science at various levels via short videos (Science Unplugged), Short Courses and university level courses (University Courses).

“WHETHER YOU ARE A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT, SCIENCE MAJOR IN COLLEGE OR A LIFELONG LEARNER, WORLD SCIENCE U IS WHERE YOU CAN EXPLORE THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE GUIDED BY LEADING RESEARCHERS AND EDUCATORS.” (from World Science U site)

It is now offering a Summer Session on Special Relativity taught by Prof. Brian Greene from Columbia University,

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Physics in the News

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Newly released Hypatia Catalog offers glimpse into the lives of stars

Natalie Hinkel gives a plenary talk at the Cool Stars 18 meeting in Flagstaff, Arizona, about her paper on the Hypatia Catalog. (Credit: Natalie Hinkel)

US–Russia tensions hit scientists

The US Department of Energy has cancelled visits by Russian scientists to key US labs, including the Los Alamos National Laboratory. (Credit:NC-ND/Los Alamos National Laboratory)

via physicsworld

Unraveling new mysteries of cosmos next spring(VIDEO)

Astrophysicists detect destruction of three stars by supermassive black holes

A star in a galaxy passes by a black hole closely enough to be destroyed once every 10,000 years. It is possible to detect the death of a star in a fairly distant galaxyas the destruction of a star generates a bright X-ray flare; it is only necessary to distinguish such a flare from other types of X-ray radiation. Because flares occur in a variety of astrophysical processes, the task of finding stars destroyed by black holes is quite complicated. (Credit: Sergei Sazonov)

via mipt

New clue on the formation of a black hole

The recent finding of an intermediate-mass black hole provides evidence that could support some theories of how supermassive black holes form. (Credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser)

Roll over, Boltzmann

via cbpf

Where’s the Kaboom? Astronomers detect no x-ray emission from recent supernova explosion

via americaspace

Does gravity hold the key to proving existence of parallel worlds?

To date, perhaps some of the best evidence for parallel worlds actually arrives courtesy of an enigmatic oddity within deep-space, careening toward the Milky Way at an incredible 200,000 miles per hour. Though it’s more than 2 million light years away, the Andromeda galaxy, as observed by astronomers, appears to engage in anomalous behavior which, at times, suggests a strange gravitational phenomenon. Specifically, gravity that could be draining from another universe, as yet invisible to us, could be the impetus behind such anomalous phenomena in deep space. (Credit: Micah Hanks) — Some of the best evidence for parallel worlds actually arrives courtesy of an enigmatic oddity within deep-space, careening toward the Milky Way at an incredible 200,000 miles per hour. Though it’s more than 2 million light years away, the Andromeda galaxy, appears to engage in anomalous behavior which suggests a strange gravitational phenomenon. Specifically, gravity that could be draining from another universe, as yet invisible to us, could be the impetus behind such anomalous phenomena. (Credit: Micah Hanks)

via mysteriousuniverse

Quantum State Can Turn About a Point Like a Ballerina

Having a single point in contact with the ground lets a ballerina spin. In the same way, a quantum state is dynamic because it can turn about a point thanks to quantum uncertainty, say CQT and Oxford researchers. (Credit: Michael Garner, courtesy English National Ballet)

NASA’s first green fuel spacecraft figures out eco-power

via networkworld

Mysterious source of ozone-depleting chemical baffles NASA

A cross-section of the Earth's ozone layer as measured by the limb profiler, part of the Ozone Mapper Profiler Suite that's aboard the Suomi NPP satellite. (Credit: NASA/NOAA) — A cross-section of the Earth’s ozone layer as measured by the limb profiler, part of the Ozone Mapper Profiler Suite that’s aboard the Suomi NPP satellite. (Credit: NASA/NOAA)

Can a plane bend upwards causing objects to be repelled?

A simulation of two colliding black holes. Colors reflect the variation of gravitational waves. (Credit: Werner Benger/NASA Blueshift)

via physicscentral

NASA and markerbot reveal bioshielding dwelling for mars

Physics in the News

Monday August 18, 2014

Rubbish explodes in space

Astronaut Alexander Gerst captured the moment from his home aboard the ISS. (Credit: Alexander Gerst)

via theregister

Spacewalking cosmonaut tosses tiny satellite into space for Peru

Cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev looks on after he released a small Peruvian satellite into space during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Aug. 18, 2014. (Credit: NASA TV) — Cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev looks on after he released a small Peruvian satellite into space during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Aug. 18, 2014.
(Credit: NASA TV)

Novel technique to record quantum mechanical behavior of an electron within a nanoscale defect

Part of the optical apparatus used to direct pulses of light to control the quantum state of a single electronic spin in diamond. (Credit: UPenn)

Image overload: NASA requests h elp to sort it all out

North Korea is barely lit when juxtaposed with neighboring South Korea and China. (Credit NASA)

via cnn

Set your alarm: Venus and Jupiter will light up the pre-dawn sky

A panoramic view of the Venus Jupiter Conjunction on August 17, 2014, taken from the Cairns Esplanade in Queensland Australia. (Credit: Joseph Brimacombe.) — A panoramic view of the Venus Jupiter Conjunction on August 17, 2014, taken from the Cairns Esplanade in Queensland Australia. (Credit: Joseph Brimacombe)

via bbc

Black Holes? I’ll take a medium, please

To celebrate the NASA-ESA Hubble Space Telescopes 16 years of success, NASA and the European Space Agency are releasing this mosaic image of the starburst galaxy, Messier 82 (M82), made in March 2006. It is the sharpest wide-angle view ever obtained of M82, a galaxy remarkable for its webs of shredded clouds and flame-like plumes of glowing hydrogen blasting out from its central regions. Located 12 million light-years away, it is also called the "Cigar Galaxy" because of the elongated elliptical shape produced by the tilt of its starry disk relative to our line of sight. (AP Photo/NASA-ESA) — To celebrate the NASA-ESA Hubble Space Telescopes 16 years of success, NASA and the European Space Agency are releasing this mosaic image of the starburst galaxy, Messier 82 (M82), made in March 2006. It is the sharpest wide-angle view ever obtained of M82, a galaxy remarkable for its webs of shredded clouds and flame-like plumes of glowing hydrogen blasting out from its central regions. Located 12 million light-years away, it is also called the “Cigar Galaxy” because of the elongated elliptical shape produced by the tilt of its starry disk relative to our line of sight. (AP Photo/NASA-ESA)

via time

Quantum computing methodology a gigantic leap for next gen development

Fascinating rhythm: Light pulses illuminate a rare black hole

This image of the galaxy Messier 82 is a composite of data from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, the Hubble Space Telescope and the Spitzer Space Telescope. The intermediate-mass black hole M82 X-1 is the brightest object in the inset, at approximately 2 o'clock near the galaxy's center. (Credit: NASA/H. Feng et al.) — This image of the galaxy Messier 82 is a composite of data from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, the Hubble Space Telescope and the Spitzer Space Telescope. The intermediate-mass black hole M82 X-1 is the brightest object in the inset, at approximately 2 o’clock near the galaxy’s center. (Credit: NASA/H. Feng et al.)

via phys

Physics in the News

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Dust in the interstellar wind: Seven particles of possible interstellar origin identified in samples returned by NASA’s stardust spacecraft

A team of researchers has identified seven dust particles that were returned to Earth in 2006 by NASA’s Stardust spacecraft, which might have originated in the interstellar medium. This false-color image shows a diffraction pattern created by one of these particles, named Orion. Image (Credit: Zack Gainsforth)

via americaspace

NASA’s Chandra observatory searches for trigger of nearby supernova

“While it may sound a bit odd, we actually learned a great deal about this supernova by detecting absolutely nothing,” said Raffaella Margutti of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who led the study. “Now we can essentially rule out that the explosion was caused by a white dwarf continuously pulling material from a companion star.” (Credit: NASA)

via marketwatch

RNA exchange by vampire-like plant strangleweed inspires scientists

When parasitic plants such as dodder attack plants like the sugar beet shown here, there is a vast exchange of genetic information between the plants, a Virginia Tech researcher has discovered. (Photo : Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sceinces) — When parasitic plants such as dodder attack plants like the sugar beet shown here, there is a vast exchange of genetic information between the plants, a Virginia Tech researcher has discovered. (Credit: Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sceinces)

The violent past of a space rock that fell to Earth in Novato

The fragmentation of the Novato meteorite on Oct. 17, 2012, as depicted in a horizontally mirrored image to show the progression of the event (from left to right). (Robert P. Moreno Jr., Jim Albers and Peter Jenniskens/NASA-SETI)

via kqed

Young Hobart engineer Willem Olding maps out a revolutionary future in artificial intelligence

Engineering PhD student Willem Olding aims to take out the tedium in creating mapping systems to free-up time for more important work. (Credit: Richard Jupe)

ISEE-3 Reboot Team Unable to Change Spacecraft’s Trajectory

NASA's International Sun-Earth Explorer 3 spacecraft, which launched in 1978, will fly by the moon on Aug. 10, 2014. Credit: SpacecraftforAll. — NASA’s International Sun-Earth Explorer 3 spacecraft, which launched in 1978, flew by the moon on Aug. 10, 2014 and is heading toward the sun. (Credit: SpacecraftforAll.com)

via tvtechnology

Atomic force microscope sensitivity increases 20 times, thanks to laser cooling

Lasers can be used to super-cool microscopes, making them 20 times more sensitive than ever before. (Photo : Quantum Optics Group, ANU — Lasers can be used to super-cool microscopes, making them 20 times more sensitive than ever before. (Credit: Quantum Optics Group, ANU)

Higgs boson could also explain the earliest expansion of the Universe

The influence of the Higgs boson and its field (inset) on cosmological inflation could manifest in the observation of gravitational waves by the BICEP2 telescope (background). (Credit: EPFL)

Focus: Fast bit-switching in a thermal memory

A bit of heat. Two parallel, thin plates that exchange heat via thermal radiation can form a thermal “bit” that changes rapidly between “one” and “zero.” One of them is made of a material like VO2 that switches between two states with different thermal properties, depending on its temperature. (Credit: P. Ben-Abdallah/Univ. of Paris-Sud)

via physics.aps

Cygnus commercial cargo ship ‘Janice Voss’ finishes resupply mission and departs space station

Cygnus Orb-2 spacecraft ‘Janice Voss’ bids farewell to the ISS at 6:40 a.m. EDT, Friday, Aug. 15, 2014. It’s set to reenter the atmosphere on Aug. 17. (Credit: NASA TV)

via universetoday