Newswise: Physics Sponsored By AIP

Under wraps: X-rays reveal 1,900-year-old mummy's secrets

Researchers used the powerful X-rays of the Advanced Photon Source to see the preserved remains of an ancient Egyptian girl without disturbing the linen wrappings. The results of those tests point to a new way to study mummified specimens.

FSU researchers investigate how face shape affects COVID-19 mask performance

Face masks are helpful in preventing the spread of COVID-19, but researchers believe they can be made even more effective, something that has implications far beyond the current pandemic as masks could become a more commonly used public health intervention. Kourosh Shoele, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, is part of a team that has received an $800,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to improve the efficacy of face masks as a defense against COVID-19 and other pathogens.

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory receives two national environmental awards

The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory received two national awards for its sustainability efforts, including a DOE Sustainability Award for instituting a water treatment method that is safer for wildlife and a gold EPEAT Award for purchasing 97 percent EPEAT-certified electronics.

Acoustics Virtually Everywhere: 25 Scientists Summarize Research They're Presenting This Week at ASA's December Meeting

As part of the 179th ASA Meeting, 25 sound scientists summarize their innovative research into 300-500 words for a general audience and provide helpful video, photos, and audio. These lay language papers are written for everyone, not just the scientific community. Acousticians are doing important work to make hospitals quieter, map the global seafloor, translate musical notes into emotion, and understand how the human voice changes with age.

Delivering Sound to People Where They Want It for VR, AR

What if a commercial audio speaker could function like an autozoom projector does for light, and you could deliver the sound people want where they want it? Chinmay Rajguru, from the University of Sussex, will discuss his research team's work creating a sound projector that can deliver spatial sound at a distance by forming a beam of audible sound at the 179th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, Dec. 7-10.

Adapting Magnetometers for Noisy, Physically Demanding Environments

Researchers routinely measure magnetic fields to better understand a vast array of natural phenomena. Many of these measurements are performed in shielded environments, but the research community has achieved these sensitive measurements in extreme environments as well as outside of highly controlled environments. In AVS Quantum Science, researchers discuss ways in which various predominantly optically pumped magnetometer technologies have been adapted for use in a wide range of noisy and physically demanding environments.

Face Shields No Match for Sneeze Vortex Rings

Do face shields provide enough protection to the wearers against COVID-19 if they don't also wear a mask? No. But researchers in Japan are working to create face shields safe enough to be worn alone. In Physics of Fluids, Fujio Akagi and colleagues describe their work to gain a better understanding of what happens to the airflow around a face shield when someone nearby sneezes.

Batteries Mimic Mammal Bones for Stability

Sodium-ion batteries offer several advantages over lithium-ion batteries; however, it is difficult to develop sodium cathodes, materials through which electrons can enter a battery. Many candidate materials are unstable or cannot withstand high voltages. To find a solution, researchers turned to nature. They created a porous system of NVP structures, surrounded by a dense shell of reduced graphene oxide. They describe the mammal bone-inspired sodium cathode in the journal Applied Physics Reviews.

Tiny Nanospindles Enhance Use of Ultrasound to Fight Cancer

Ultrasound can be used to treat cancer when used in combination with molecules that sensitize the system to sound waves. These sonosensitizers generate toxic reactive oxygen species that attack and kill tumor cells. In Applied Physics Review, scientists report a new type of sonosensitizer based on a vanadium-doped titanium dioxide that enhances the amount of damage ultrasound inflicts on tumors. Studies in mice showed that tumor growth was markedly suppressed when compared to a control group.

Study confirms dark coating can reduce satellite reflectivity

Observations conducted by the Murikabushi Telescope of Ishigakijima Astronomical Observatory confirmed that dark coating can reduce satellite reflectivity by half.

Acoustical Society annual meeting wire for AIP

Enhanced Phantom Limb Perception Improves Prosthesis Function, Study Finds

In exploring ways to make it easier for users to control a prosthesis, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), in Laurel, Maryland, found that giving them sensory stimulation enhances the perception of their phantom hand and leads to more reliable and repeatable muscle movement signals, which are used to control a prosthetic arm. Their most recent findings, "Sensory Stimulation Enhances Phantom Limb Perception and Movement Decoding," were published in the Journal of Neural Engineering.

Imitation Mosquito Ears Help Identify Mosquito Species and Sex

Using an imitation "ear" modeled on the organs that mosquitos use to hear, researchers have identified a mosquito's species and sex using sound -- just like mosquitos do themselves. The researchers hope this bioinspired detector could someday be used in the field to save lives by aiding in more selective pesticide use and possibly preventing mosquitos from mating. A presentation of the new research will be given as part of the 179th ASA Meeting.

Driving Water Splitting to Create Chemical Fuels

Scientists improved the performance of bismuth vanadate, an electrode material for converting solar energy to hydrogen--an energy-dense and clean-burning fuel.

A Swift Kick to Initiate Electronic Motion in Molecules

Researchers have observed the production of electronic excitations near a single atom in a molecule. This is caused by impulsive stimulated X-ray Raman scattering of X-ray pulses that last less than a femtosecond. The combination of X-ray Raman scattering and the ability produce sub-femtosecond X-ray pulses allows scientists to view motion in molecules at atom-scale resolution and helps them understand chemical reactions involving light.

Researchers develop unique process for producing light-matter mixture

In groundbreaking new research, an international team of researchers led by the University of Minnesota Twin Cities has developed a unique process for producing a quantum state that is part light and part matter.

Harnessing Quantum Properties to Create Single-Molecule Devices

Researchers, led by Columbia Engineering Prof Latha Venkataraman, report today that they have discovered a new chemical design principle for exploiting destructive quantum interference. They used their approach to create a six-nanometer single-molecule switch where the on-state current is more than 10,000 times greater than the off-state current--the largest change in current achieved for a single-molecule circuit to date.

Smarter Traffic Signs Ahead?

Researchers in Poland have created smart road signs that use built-in Doppler radar, video, and acoustic radar and weather stations to monitor road traffic and conditions to warn drivers in real-time of hazards and prevent collisions on highways. During the 179th ASA Meeting, Dec. 7-10, Andrzej Czyzewski will describe his applied research project to develop autonomous road signs with built-in acoustic radar devices.

Acoustics Virtually Everywhere: Schedule for ASA Meeting Press Conferences Dec. 9-11

Press conferences at the 179th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of American will cover the latest in acoustical research, from the impact of face masks to the beating of mosquito wings, and will be held virtually Dec. 9-11. To ensure the safety of attendees, volunteers, and ASA staff, Acoustics Virtually Everywhere will be hosted entirely online.

90 Years of Neutrino Science

Berkeley Lab has a long history of participating in neutrino experiments and discoveries in locations ranging from a site 1.3 miles deep at a nickel mine in Ontario, Canada, to an underground research site near a nuclear power complex northeast of Hong Kong, and a neutrino observatory buried in ice near the South Pole.