Physics in the News

Saturday, June 28, 2014

The Space-Based Quantum Cryptography Race

: via technologyreview

Space football fever: NASA astronauts lose hair in World Cup bet (VIDEO)

STEREO probes operations will be curtailed for more than a year

Illustration of the positions of the two STEREO spacecraft show that they attain 180 degrees of separation in Feb. 2011, thus allowing the world to see the entire Sun for the first time. (Credit: NASA/STEREO/SSC)

via thewatchers

Oppenheimer’s Folly: On black holes, fundamental laws and pure and applied science

Einstein and Oppenheimer: Both men in their later years dismissed black holes as anomalies, unaware that they contained some of the deepest mysteries of physics (Image: Alfred Eisenstaedt, LIFE magazine)

via scientificamerican

Physicists Think They Can Solve the Mysteries of Quantum Mechanics, Cosmology, and Black Holes in One Go

Hubble Space Telescope image. (Credit: NASA, ESA, G. Illingworth, D. Magee, and P. Oesch (University of California, Santa Cruz), R. Bouwens (Leiden University), and the HUDF09 Team)

via scientificamerican

The Smallest Black Hole in the Universe (Synopsis)

A binary system containing a stellar-mass black hole called IGR J17091. The strong gravity of the black hole, on the left, is pulling gas away from a companion star on the right. This gas forms a disk of hot gas around the black hole, and the wind is driven off this disk(Credit: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss)

via scienceblogs.com

Physicists’ findings improve advanced material

A new technique developed by a Binghamton University physicist and his colleagues will improve the quality of flexible, conductive, transparent glass. — A new technique developed by a Binghamton University physicist and his colleagues will improve the quality of flexible, conductive, transparent glass. (Credit: NASA)

Physics in the News

Friday, January 27, 2014

NASA: Sun’s corona much larger than previously thought

Scientists used these observations of the sun's atmosphere (the bright light of the sun itself is blocked by the black circle at the middle) from NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory on Aug. 5, 2007, to define the outer limits of the solar atmosphere, the corona. (Credit: NASA/STEREO) — Scientists used these observations of the sun’s atmosphere (the bright light of the sun itself is blocked by the black circle at the middle) from NASA’s Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory on Aug. 5, 2007, to define the outer limits of the solar atmosphere, the corona. (Credit: NASA/STEREO)

via NASA

“Ant-stronauts” Aboard The International Space Station

mage Caption: The Ants In Space CSI-06 investigation looks at how an ant colony responds to the extreme environment of microgravity aboard the International Space Station to solve their collective need for resources. Data gathered from this study may help with algorithms for robotics on Earth. (Credit: NASA) — The Ants In Space CSI-06 investigation looks at how an ant colony responds to the extreme environment of microgravity aboard the International Space Station to solve their collective need for resources. Data gathered from this study may help with algorithms for robotics on Earth. (Credit: NASA)

via NASA

This Superluminous Supernova Does Not Care About the Laws of Physics

Before (left) and after (center) images of the region where DES13S2cmm was discovered. On the right is the supernova. (Credit: Dark Energy Survey)

via motherboard.vice.com

NASA Just Detected Mysterious Signal 240 Million Light Years Away From Earth

This composite image of the Perseus Cluster combines data equivalent to more than 17 days of observation time over a decade. (Credit: X-ray: NASA, CXC, SAO, E.Bulbul, et al.)

via NASA

Nearby Alien Planet May Be Capable of Supporting Life

Potentially habitable Super-Earth Gliese 832 c appears in an artist's conception against a background of a stellar nebula. — Potentially habitable Super-Earth Gliese 832 c appears in an artist’s conception against a background of a stellar nebula.

‘Cosmic own goal’ another clue in hunt for dark matter

The visible galaxies in the Local Group simulation, shown in the lower right, only trace a tiny fraction of the vast number of dark matter halos, revealed in the upper left. Credit: John Helly, Till Sawala, James Trayford, Durham University — The visible galaxies in the Local Group simulation, shown in the lower right, only trace a tiny fraction of the vast number of dark matter halos, revealed in the upper left. (Credit: John Helly, Till Sawala, James Trayford, Durham University)

Physics in the News

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Confirmed: That Was Definitely the Higgs Boson Found at LHC

Candidate Higgs boson events from collisions between protons in the LHC. The top event in the CMS experiment shows a decay into two photons (dashed yellow lines and green towers). The lower event in the ATLAS experiment shows a decay into 4 muons (red tracks).[ — Candidate Higgs boson events from collisions between protons in the LHC. The top event in the CMS experiment shows a decay into two photons (dashed yellow lines and green towers). The lower event in the ATLAS experiment shows a decay into 4 muons (red tracks).(Credit: NASA)

via discovermagazine

Einsteins biggest blunder? The 25-year-old supernova that could change the speed of light forever

A time sequence of Hubble Space Telescope images, taken in the 15 years from 1994 to 2009, showing the collision of the expanding supernova remnant with a ring of dense material ejected by the progenitor star 20,000 years before the supernova. (Credit: NASA)

via extremetech

New Math Technique Improves Atomic Property Predictions to Historic Accuracy

Computational techniques developed by a team from NIST and IU could enable precise computation of atomic properties that are important for nuclear medicine, as well as astrophysics and other fields of atomic research. Image: Paco Ayala (Fotolia)

via sciencenewsline

We may have just glimpsed dark matter, about 240 million light years away

The Perseus galaxy cluster. — The Perseus galaxy cluster is one of the most massive objects in the universe, containing thousands of galaxies immersed in a vast cloud of multimillion degree gas. (Credit: NASA)

Supermassive black hole trio discovered

Two closely orbiting black holes in a galaxy about 4.2 billion light-years from Earth emit wavy jets, seen as a bluish spiral, while the third black hole in the trio is more distant, emitting linear jets off to the right.

Catching A Gravitational Wave

Monash and Warwick astronomers are searching for gravitational waves emitted by Scorpius X-1.

Clumped galaxies give General Relativity its toughest test yet

More than 600 000 galaxies from the BOSS survey were utilized to measure the strength of gravitational interactions of galaxies extremely far away from each other. This is a visual representation of that measurement; the amount that the circles are distorted, or squashed from perfect concentric rings, indicates the velocity that galaxies are falling towards each other and hence the strength of the gravitational interactions. Credit: BOSS/U. Portsmouth — More than 600 000 galaxies from the BOSS survey were utilized to measure the strength of gravitational interactions of galaxies extremely far away from each other. This is a visual representation of that measurement; the amount that the circles are distorted, or squashed from perfect concentric rings, indicates the velocity that galaxies are falling towards each other and hence the strength of the gravitational interactions. (Credit: BOSS/U. Portsmouth)

Physics in the News

Wednesday June 25, 2014

The Curiosity rover has been on Mars for one Martian year. It celebrated by taking a selfie.

NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover captures a selfie to mark a full Martian year — 687 Earth days — spent exploring the Red Planet. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS) — NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover captures a selfie to mark a full Martian year — 687 Earth days — spent exploring the Red Planet. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)

via washingtonpost

Cold white dwarf star is ‘Earth-size diamond in space’

Artist impression of a white dwarf star in orbit with pulsar PSR J2222-0137. It may be the coolest and dimmest white dwarf ever identified. (Credit: B. Saxton NRAO/AUI/NSF)

via public.nrao.edu

LLNL researchers define boundaries for petawatt laser absorption

Lawrence Livermore physicist Hui Chen sets up targets for an experiment using petawatt laser technology at the Jupiter Laser Facility.

How the Aged Vacuum Tube Could Save Moore’s Law

One of the bulbs Thomas Alva Edison used to discover thermionic emission (the Edison Effect) in 1884. Edison found when he connected an ammeter between the filament and the auxiliary electrode, a current would flow, passing through the evacuated space of the bulb from filament to electrode. This current was later found to consist of electrons.

Measuring the mass of ‘massless’ electrons

This image shows professor Donhee Ham and his student Hosang Yoon are in the laboratory at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. (Credit: Eliza Grinnell, Harvard SEAS.)

Philosophy begins where physics ends, and physics begins where philosophy ends

Richard Feynman - Philosopher (Image: Washington University) — Richard Feynman – Physicist, Philosopher (Image: Washington University)

via scientificamerican

Physics in the News

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Science and spacewalks on Space Station

This might look like a routine scientific experiment, but you’re actually looking at European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst as he sets fire to samples of various solids aboard the International Space Station to see how they burn. This man truly has a wonderful job. (Credit: ESA)

Universe Shouldn’t Be Here, According to Higgs Physics

The BICEP2 telescope at twilight, which occurs only twice a year at the South Pole. The MAPO observatory (home of the Keck Array telescope) and the South Pole station can be seen in the background.

via livescience

SpaceX puts Falcon 9 rocket launch on hold until July

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a payload of Orbcomm communications satellites is seen at launch complex 40 after an attempted launch was scrubbed due to technical issues at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla.

Magic Island on Saturn’s Moon Performs Mysterious Vanishing Act

via guardianlv.com

Satellite Swarm Spots North Pole Drift

Swarm measurements of Earth’s magnetic field from June 2014. Blue areas show where it has weakened. (Credit ESA/DTU Space)

Greetings from Earth! NASA Spacecraft to Carry Message for Aliens

The Golden Record carried a message from Earth on board NASA's Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 missions. (Credit: NASA) — The Golden Record carried a message from Earth on board NASA’s Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 missions.
(Credit: NASA)