Physics in the News

Monday, August 11, 2014

Physicists create water tractor beam

Dr Horst Punzmann (left) and Professor Michael Shats test their wave-generated tractor beam. (Credit: Stuart Hay)
Dr Horst Punzmann (left) and Professor Michael Shats test their wave-generated tractor beam. (Credit: Stuart Hay)
via anu

Amazing HD footage of ‘Flying Saucer’

via sky

The craziest NASA mission ever proposed

In this concept image, the robotic vehicle deploys an inflatable bag to envelop a free-flying small asteroid before redirecting it to a distant retrograde lunar orbit. (Credit: NASA)
In this concept image, the robotic vehicle deploys an inflatable bag to envelop a free-flying small asteroid before redirecting it to a distant retrograde lunar orbit. (Credit: NASA)
via sciencenews

Scientists unravel mystery of universe’s existence

Researchers from Three Perimeter Institute have a new idea, and have claimed that what is perceived as the big bang, could be the three-dimensional 'mirage' of a collapsing star in a universe profoundly different than our own. (Credit: NASA, ANI)
Researchers from Three Perimeter Institute have a new idea, and have claimed that what is perceived as the big bang, could be the three-dimensional ‘mirage’ of a collapsing star in a universe profoundly different than our own. (Credit: NASA, ANI)
via aninews

Crowd-funded ISEE-3 reboot mission to begin Sunday after lunar flyby

The International Sun-Earth Explorer 3 (ISEE-3) will have the closest view of the moon at 11:16 a.m. PDT. Members of the rebooted mission partnered with Google to create a website, where they will host a video hangout beginning at 10:30 a.m. PDT. (Credit: ISEE3, NASA)
The International Sun-Earth Explorer 3 (ISEE-3) will have the closest view of the moon at 11:16 a.m. PDT. Members of the rebooted mission partnered with Google to create a website, where they will host a video hangout beginning at 10:30 a.m. PDT. (Credit: ISEE3, NASA)
via arstechnica

The black hole at the beginning of time –“We may have emerged from a black hole in a higher-dimensional universe”

our known universe could be the three-dimensional “wrapping” around a four-dimensional black hole’s event horizon. In this scenario, our universe burst into being when a star in a four-dimensional universe collapsed into a black hole. (Credit: Perimeter Institute)
our known universe could be the three-dimensional “wrapping” around a four-dimensional black hole’s event horizon. In this scenario, our universe burst into being when a star in a four-dimensional universe collapsed into a black hole. (Credit: Perimeter Institute)
via dailygalaxy

Bendable sound waves can skirt objects and trap particles

Scientists have developed a method to bend sound waves as they travel through open air, and can even create an acoustic “bottle” that can trap and hold tiny particles. (Credit: Xiang Zhang Group)
Scientists have developed a method to bend sound waves as they travel through open air, and can even create an acoustic “bottle” that can trap and hold tiny particles. (Credit: Xiang Zhang Group)
via spectrum

Researchers propose new architecture for quantum computing based on microscopic defects in diamonds

At the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien), experiments with nitrogen atoms in diamonds are already being carried out. (Credit: TU Wien)
At the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien), experiments with nitrogen atoms in diamonds are already being carried out. (Credit: TU Wien)
via redorbit

Physics in the News

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Meet the former NASA engineer who wants to build a giant robot that can juggle cars(VIDEO)


via businessinsider

Baby universe picture brought closer to theory

 The anisotropies of the Cosmic microwave background (CMB) as observed by Planck. The CMB is a snapshot of the oldest light in our Universe, imprinted on the sky when the Universe was just 380 000 years old. It shows tiny temperature fluctuations that correspond to regions of slightly different densities, representing the seeds of all future structure: the stars and galaxies of today. (Credit: ESA and the Planck Collaboration - D. Ducros)
The anisotropies of the Cosmic microwave background (CMB) as observed by Planck. The CMB is a snapshot of the oldest light in our Universe, imprinted on the sky when the Universe was just 380 000 years old. It shows tiny temperature fluctuations that correspond to regions of slightly different densities, representing the seeds of all future structure: the stars and galaxies of today. (Credit: ESA and the Planck Collaboration – D. Ducros)
via redorbit

Massive neutrinos may not bring about cosmological concordance after all

Scientists have found that tension among different data sets persists even after accounting for massive sterile neutrinos, possibly indicating systematic biases in the measurements. (Credit: Leistedt, et al. ©2014 American Physical Society)
Scientists have found that tension among different data sets persists even after accounting for massive sterile neutrinos, possibly indicating systematic biases in the measurements. (Credit: Leistedt, et al. ©2014 American Physical Society)
via phys

Grad student aims to improve particle accelerators

Siddharth Karkare, left, and Laurent Boulet '14 in the Newman Hall photocathode research lab. (Credit: Lindsay France/University)
Siddharth Karkare, left, and Laurent Boulet ’14 in the Newman Hall photocathode research lab. (Credit: Lindsay France/University)
via cornell

Hubble finds supernova star system linked to potential ‘zombie star’

(Credit: NASA)
The two inset images show before-and-after images captured by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope of Supernova 2012Z in the spiral galaxy NGC 1309. The white X at the top of the main image marks the location of the supernova in the galaxy. (Credit: NASA)
via time

Pew Finds Experts Divided On Whether Robots Will Be Good For Society

Nearly half of the respondents (48%) predicted that robots and AI will displace more jobs than they create over the coming decade. While that left a slim majority believing the impact of technology on employment will be neutral or positive. (Credit: Humanrobo/Wikimedia Commons)
Nearly half of the respondents (48%) predicted that robots and AI will displace more jobs than they create over the coming decade. While that left a slim majority believing the impact of technology on employment will be neutral or positive. (Credit: Humanrobo/Wikimedia Commons)
via forbes

NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array Moves onto Two-Year Extension

Credit: NASA/JPL/Caltech)
NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array Moves onto Two-Year Extension. (Credit: NASA/JPL/Caltech)
via azoquantum

Physics in the News

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Shipyard workers test out robot suits in South Korea

Chu says worker feedback from the trial has been mostly positive. Testers were pleased that the exoskeleton let them lift heavy objects repeatedly without strain, but everyone also wanted it to move faster and be able to cope with heavier loads. (Credit: Daewoo)
via cnet

An NMR Chip The Size of a Seed

Harvard electrical engineering and applied physics professor Donhee Ham and his colleagues have drastically shrunk the size of the electronics even further, fitting the RF receiver, transmitter and other components on a tiny seed-sized chip. (Credit: Dongwan Ha/Harvard SEAS)
Harvard electrical engineering and applied physics professor Donhee Ham and his colleagues have drastically shrunk the size of the electronics even further, fitting the RF receiver, transmitter and other components on a tiny seed-sized chip. (Credit: Dongwan Ha/Harvard SEAS)
via ieee

The never-ending conundrums of classical physics

The incorrect “equal transit time” explanation for lift. (Credit: )
The incorrect “equal transit time” explanation for lift. (Credit: )

via  archtechnia

Is cosmic radiation the dawn of new physics or statistical slip-up?

The Milky Way is bit of a barrier between us the extra-galactic universe. (Credit: NASA, CC BY)
The Milky Way is bit of a barrier between us the extra-galactic universe. (Credit: NASA, CC BY)

via theconversation

Full NASA Cannae Drive and EMdrive Test paper shows that there is anomolous thrust and the null test article criticism is wrong

nasatestemdrive4
via nextbigfuture

Inmarsat warns over delays from failed rocket launch

Inmarsat used its satellite network to name search areas for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight
Inmarsat used its satellite network to name search areas for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight

via telegraph

Jupiter’s volcanic moon spews “curtains of fire”

Footage from the Venus Express orbiter confirmed sightings of hot spots on the surface of the planet, in accordance with volcanoes still simmering. (Credit: NASA)
Footage from the Venus Express orbiter confirmed sightings of hot spots on the surface of the planet, in accordance with volcanoes still simmering. (Credit: NASA)
via slashgear

Physicists introduce another quantum animal: The Quantum Pigeon

At the present moment another measurement is performed which is influenced both by what happened earlier and what happened later. (Credit: Jeff Tollaksen)
At the present moment another measurement is performed which is influenced both by what happened earlier and what happened later. (Credit: Jeff Tollaksen)
via phys

Radio telescope pinpoints Pluto for spacecraft buddy

The cold surface of Pluto and its largest moon Charon as seen with ALMA on July 15, 2014. (Credit: /AUI/NSF)
The cold surface of Pluto and its largest moon Charon as seen with ALMA on July 15, 2014. (Credit: /AUI/NSF)
via discovery

Social trails go off the beaten path: quantum lines of desire happen in physics also

 Kater Murch (right), assistant professor of physics at Washington University in St. Louis, and junior Chris Munley work with the equipment that can map a quantum device's trajectory between two points in quantum state space, a feat until recently considered impossible. (Credit: Joe Angeles/WUSTL Photos)

Kater Murch (right), assistant professor of physics at Washington University in St. Louis, and junior Chris Munley work with the equipment that can map a quantum device’s trajectory between two points in quantum state space, a feat until recently considered impossible. (Credit: Joe Angeles/WUSTL Photos)

via sciencecodex

Planting imperfections at specific spots within diamond lattice could advance quantum computing

This is a schematic of the process to localize NV centers in 3-D. The researchers blasted carbon ions through holes to create vacancies and heated the diamond to make the vacancies mobile within the crystal. NV centers could form in the nitrogen-doped layer below where the holes were placed. (Credit: F.J. Heremans and D. Awschalom/U. Chicago and K. Ohno/UCSB)
This is a schematic of the process to localize NV centers in 3-D. The researchers blasted carbon ions through holes to create vacancies and heated the diamond to make the vacancies mobile within the crystal. NV centers could form in the nitrogen-doped layer below where the holes were placed. (Credit: F.J. Heremans and D. Awschalom/U. Chicago and K. Ohno/UCSB)

via phys

Physics in the News

Wednesday July 30, 2014

Mystery of the ‘Cheshire Cat’ of quantum physics solved: Scientists manage to separate a particle from its spin

Scientists have observed for the first time a weird quantum phenomenon known as the 'Cheshire Cat' effect (illustration shown). The 'cat' in question was a subatomic neutron particle, and the ghostly 'grin' the particle’s magnetic moment, which describes the strength of its coupling to an external magnetic field. (Credit: Vienna U)
Scientists have observed for the first time a weird quantum phenomenon known as the ‘Cheshire Cat’ effect (illustration shown). The ‘cat’ in question was a subatomic neutron particle, and the ghostly ‘grin’ the particle’s magnetic moment, which describes the strength of its coupling to an external magnetic field. (Credit: Vienna U)
via livescience

Astronomers puzzle over new breed of massive stars

Illustration of Wolf-Rayet star R136a1, the most massive star known. (Credit: Wikipedia)
Illustration of Wolf-Rayet star R136a1, the most massive star known. (Credit: Wikipedia)
via forbes

Can you touch your nose?

(Credit: IFL)
(Credit: IFL)
via backreaction

Why Russia was studying space lizard sex In the first place

NASA is studying the effects of radiation on sperm. Freeze-dried mouse sperm are spending one, 12, and 24 months on the ISS before being used to fertilize mouse eggs back home. (Credit: Wei Ming/Shutterstock)
NASA is studying the effects of radiation on sperm. Freeze-dried mouse sperm are spending one, 12, and 24 months on the ISS before being used to fertilize mouse eggs back home. (Credit: Wei Ming/Shutterstock)
via gizmodo

101 geysers identified on Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus

This graphic shows a 3-D model of 98 geysers whose source locations and tilts were found in a Cassini imaging survey of Enceladus' south polar terrain by the method of triangulation. While some jets are strongly tilted, it is clear the jets on average lie in four distinct "planes" that are normal to the surface at their source location. (Credit: NASA)
This graphic shows a 3-D model of 98 geysers whose source locations and tilts were found in a Cassini imaging survey of Enceladus’ south polar terrain by the method of triangulation. While some jets are strongly tilted, it is clear the jets on average lie in four distinct “planes” that are normal to the surface at their source location. (Credit: NASA)
via nasa

Electrical storm’ of thoughts deep within a zebrafish’s brain as 80,000 neurons fire off (VIDEO)

via wired

Exoskeleton gives super strength, latest facial recognition software beats the human eye

via euronews

Man-made ‘breathing’ leaf is an oxygen factory for space travel

This man-made leaf could help us breathe in space. (Credit: Julian Melchiorri/Dezeen/MINI)
This man-made leaf could help us breathe in space. (Credit: Julian Melchiorri/Dezeen/MINI)
via cnet

Vintage NASA Probe Out of Gas, But Still Alive, Private Team Says

An artist's depiction of NASA's International Sun-Earth Explorer 3 spacecraft as it flies through space. The volunteer ISEE-3 Reboot Project, which hoped to move the probe closer to Earth, now says the spacecraft is out of gas. (Credit: NASA)
An artist’s depiction of NASA’s International Sun-Earth Explorer 3 spacecraft as it flies through space. The volunteer ISEE-3 Reboot Project, which hoped to move the probe closer to Earth, now says the spacecraft is out of gas. (Credit: NASA)
via space

 

Physics in the News

Sunday, July 27, 2014

A cosmic two-step: The universal dance of the Dwarf Galaxies

The coherent dance of dwarf orbits around the Andromeda Galaxy. (Credit: R. Ibata/Nature)
The coherent dance of dwarf orbits around the Andromeda Galaxy. (Credit: R. Ibata/Nature)
via theepochtimes

Webb Sunshield Stacks Up to Test!

The James Webb Space Telescope (sometimes called JWST) is an orbiting infrared observatory that will complement and extend the discoveries of the Hubble Space Telescope, with longer wavelength coverage and greatly improved sensitivity.(Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn)
The James Webb Space Telescope (sometimes called JWST) is an orbiting infrared observatory that will complement and extend the discoveries of the Hubble Space Telescope, with longer wavelength coverage and greatly improved sensitivity.(Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn)
via nasa

NASA Preps for nail-biting comet flyby of Mars

Simulation depicts comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring during its close Mars flyby on Oct. 19. Its nucleus will miss Mars by about 82,000 miles (132,000 kilometers). The comet’s trail of dust particles shed by the nucleus might be wide enough to reach the planet. Click to see the interactive, animated view. (Credit: Solarsystemscope.com)
Simulation depicts comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring during its close Mars flyby on Oct. 19. Its nucleus will miss Mars by about 82,000 miles (132,000 kilometers). The comet’s trail of dust particles shed by the nucleus might be wide enough to reach the planet. Click to see the interactive, animated view. (Credit: Solarsystemscope.com)
via universetoday

Princeton man drawing attention to outer space

Justin Dowd, a Princeton man who won a contest and will be traveling into outer space next year, sits next to an illustration used in the opening scene of his educational video. (Credit: T&G Staff/STEVE LANAVA)
Justin Dowd, a Princeton man who won a contest and will be traveling into outer space next year, sits next to an illustration used in the opening scene of his educational video. (Credit: T&G Staff/STEVE LANAVA)

via telegram

Sometimes a typo means you need to blow up your own spacecraft

via vice

Listening in on cosmic messages

Mapping signals on the sky can offer clues about where the signals originate. Pulsars (top) concentrate in the Milky Way, because most of the ones we see sit in our galaxy. Gamma bursts (middle) come from everywhere, which means they’re parked in other galaxies. Fast radio bursts (bottom) seem to mostly avoid our galgaxy, a hint that they may come from very far away.(Credits: Green Bank Telescope, West Virginia Univ; G. Fishman et al/BATSE, CGRO, NASA.; J. Carpenter, T.H. Jarrett/2MASS, R. Hurt, C. Crockett)
Mapping signals on the sky can offer clues about where the signals originate. Pulsars (top) concentrate in the Milky Way, because most of the ones we see sit in our galaxy. Gamma bursts (middle) come from everywhere, which means they’re parked in other galaxies. Fast radio bursts (bottom) seem to mostly avoid our galgaxy, a hint that they may come from very far away.(Credits: Green Bank Telescope, West Virginia Univ; G. Fishman et al/BATSE, CGRO, NASA.; J. Carpenter, T.H. Jarrett/2MASS, R. Hurt, C. Crockett)
via sciencenews

Physicist thinks lack of evidence for inflation, multiverse a cosmic “deal-breaker”

Evidence of gravitational waves in the infant universe may have been uncovered by the BICEP2 radio telescope. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Evidence of gravitational waves in the infant universe may have been uncovered by the BICEP2 radio telescope. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
via uncommondescent

Mars Mission advocated to a packed room at Comic-Con

The first Giant Leap was Apollo 11 landing astronauts on the moon. The next Giant Leap could be Apollo 45 landing humans on Mars. (Credit: NASA)
The first Giant Leap was Apollo 11 landing astronauts on the moon. The next Giant Leap could be Apollo 45 landing humans on Mars. (Credit: NASA)
via io9