Jan

11

All About Richard Feynman

January 11, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Feynman Online. ‘This web site is dedicated to Richard P. Feynman (1918-1988), scientist, teacher, raconteur, and musician. He assisted in the development of the atomic bomb, expanded the understanding of quantum electrodynamics, translated Mayan hieroglyphics, and cut to the heart of the Challenger disaster. But beyond all of that, Richard Feynman was a [...]

Nov

9

Large Hadron Collider: Cold and Ready for Physics

November 9, 2007 | Leave a Comment

CERN: LHC completes the circle. ‘At a brief ceremony deep under the French countryside today, CERN Director General Robert Aymar sealed the last interconnect between the main magnet systems in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). This is the latest milestone in commissioning the LHC, the world’s most powerful particle accelerator.
The LHC’s superconducting main magnets will [...]

Oct

28

Supersolidity

October 28, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Evidence for “Supersolidity” Becomes More Solid. ‘In recent years, no topic in condensed matter physics has been hotter than the study of ultracold solid helium. Subtle experiments suggest that as temperatures dip toward absolute zero, crystalline helium can bizarrely flow like a liquid with no viscosity, a phenomenon known as supersolidity. Now, a new experiment [...]

Oct

17

2007 Physics Nobel Prize Laureates Articles Freely Available

October 17, 2007 | Leave a Comment

The American Physical Society has announced that both of the original articles describing the work that led to this year’s physics Nobel Prize have been made free-to-read. While the Nobel Laureates made their discoveries independently, both published their fundamental work in papers submitted to the Physical Review journals in 1988:
Enhanced magnetoresistance in layered magnetic structures [...]

Oct

9

Nobel Prize in Physics 2007: Discovery of Giant Magnetoresistance (GMR)

October 9, 2007 | 1 Comment

Nobel Prize in Physics 2007 - “for the discovery of Giant Magnetoresistance“: Albert Fert and Peter Grünberg. ‘This year’s physics prize is awarded for the technology that is used to read data on hard disks. It is thanks to this technology that it has been possible to miniaturize hard disks so radically in recent years. [...]

Sep

14

Dipositronium: The Matter-Antimatter Molecule

September 14, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Matter-antimatter molecule makes its debut. ‘The first ever molecule made from matter-antimatter pairs has been created by physicists in the US. Dubbed “dipositronium”, it contains two electrons and two positrons that are bound together in much the same way as molecular hydrogen. The researchers claim that their technique could be improved to make the first [...]

Sep

5

Theory for Everything

September 5, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Stringscape. ‘In its near 40-year history, string theory has gone from a theory of hadrons to a theory of everything to, possibly, a theory of nothing. Indeed, modern string theory is not even a theory of strings but one of higher-dimensional objects called branes. Matthew Chalmers attempts to disentangle the immense theoretical framework that is [...]

Aug

18

Super Crystals in Organic Semiconductors

August 18, 2007 | Leave a Comment

UA Physicists Discover ‘Super Crystals’ in a Semiconductor. ‘University of Arizona physicists have discovered that “super crystals” - crystals which are hundreds to thousands times larger than conventional crystals - exist in certain organic semiconducting solids.
Pure super-crystalline organic semiconductors will conduct electricity much differently than conventional solids. Super-crystalline semiconductors, for example, could create splashes of [...]

Aug

16

Article: Hollywood Blockbusters - Unlimited Fun but Limited Science Literacy

August 16, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Hollywood Blockbusters: Unlimited Fun but Limited Science Literacy, C.J. Efthimiou and R.A. Llewellyn, arXiv:0707.1167v1. Abstract: In this article, we examine specific scenes from popular action and sci-fi movies and show how they blatantly break the laws of physics, all in the name of entertainment, but coincidentally contributing to science illiteracy. [via EETimes]
Excerpt: Hollywood directors and [...]

Aug

16

How to Quantify the Uncertainty of “Instantaneously”

August 16, 2007 | Leave a Comment

‘We have broken speed of light’. ‘A pair of German physicists claim to have broken the speed of light - an achievement that would undermine our entire understanding of space and time. According to Einstein’s special theory of relativity, it would require an infinite amount of energy to propel an object at more than 186,000 [...]

Aug

7

The Best Summer Physics Project: Studying Bubbles in a Glass of Beer…

August 7, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Putting the fizz in physics. ‘Many of us look forward to a cold beer at the end of a hot summer day, but physicist John Page brings beer to work. For him, the bubbly beverage is a perfect medium for demonstrating a scientific technique pioneered by his group at the University of Manitoba.
Page is a [...]

Jul

9

Astroparticle Physics in Europe: Six Key Challenges Identified

July 9, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Astrophysicists draw up wish list. ‘Astroparticle physicists in Europe have identified six key challenges that they face and the new facilities that they need to meet their research aims. Their plans for the next ten years have been outlined in The Astroparticle Physics Roadmap Phase 1 published by ApPEC and ASPERA, which are consortia of [...]

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