New experiment could confirm the fifth element
An experiment which could confirm the fifth state of matter in the universe - and change physics as we know it - has been published in a new paper from the University of Portsmouth.
Collisions of "Isobars" Produce Surprising Result
Scientists compared collisions of ruthenium-96 ions with collisions of zirconium-96 ions, which have four fewer protons, expecting to see a greater separation of charged particles emerging from ruthenium collisions because its greater proton number generates a stronger magnetic field. The results instead showed slightly more charge separation in zirconium collisions. This suggests there may be more differences between these two "isobar" nuclei than just their proton numbers.
UNLV Researchers Discover New Form of Ice
By incrementally raising the pressure in diamond anvil cell, and periodically blasting it with a laser beam, UNLV scientists observed a sample of water ice make the transition from a known cubic phase, Ice-VII, to a newly discovered intermediate phase, Ice-VIIt, before settling into another known phase, Ice-X.
Meet Richard Buttery, Director of the DIII-D National Fusion Facility
Meet Richard Buttery, director of DIII-D, the largest magnetic fusion device in the United States. As a Department of Energy Office of Science user facility, DIII-D plays a leading role in the advancement of #fusionenergy research. This is one in a series of profiles on the directors of the SC-stewarded user facilities.
Moon's orbit proposed as a gravitational wave detector
Researchers from the UAB, IFAE and University College London propose using the variations in distance between the Earth and the Moon, which can be measured with a precision of less than a centimeter, as a new gravitational wave detector within a frequency range that current devices cannot detect.
Truman and Hruby 2022 fellows explore their positions
.Postdoctoral researchers who are designated Truman and Hruby fellows experience Sandia National Laboratories differently from their peers.
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UTEP Physics Professor Receives Prestigious Cottrell Scholar Award
Jorge Munoz, Ph.D., assistant professor of physics at The University of Texas at El Paso, has been named a 2022 Cottrell Scholar by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement. Munoz is one of 24 teacher-scholars in chemistry, physics, and astronomy to receive the award which recognizes excellence in research and teaching as well as the recipient's potential to become an academic leader.
Stackable 'holobricks' can make giant 3D images
Researchers have developed a new method to display highly realistic holographic images using 'holobricks' that can be stacked together to generate large-scale holograms.
PPPL's apprenticeship program ramps up for 2022
PPPL is now accepting applications for its latest cohort of apprentices for fields including electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, information technology, welding, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HAC).
Treating Cancer with Light-Sensitive Nanoscale Biomaterials
Treating cancer and other diseases with laser light is not currently considered routine, but new approaches using nanoparticles show some promise in improving existing techniques. In Applied Physics Reviews, researchers review the status of the field and by combining photothermal therapy or photodynamic therapy with nanomaterials, they have been able to apply these types of phototherapies while also delivering drugs to sites in the body that are otherwise inaccessible. It is also possible to combine PTT and PDT into a single treatment, creating an even more powerful treatment method.
Gravitational Wave Mirror Experiments Can Evolve Into Quantum Entities
In AVS Quantum Science, scientists in Germany review research on gravitational wave detectors as a historical example of quantum technologies and examine the fundamental research on the connection between quantum physics and gravity. The team examined recent gravitational wave experiments, showing it is possible to shield large objects from strong influences from the thermal and seismic environment to allow them to evolve as one quantum object. This decoupling from the environment enables measurement sensitivities that would otherwise be impossible.
Sliding into place: Study shows how cartilage interacts with the joints in our bodies
The study expands the fundamental understanding of cartilage mechanics and demonstrates a valuable new research tool.
Novel X-ray lens facilitates glimpse into the nanoworld
PSI scientists have developed a ground-breaking achromatic lens for X-rays. This allows the X-ray beams to be accurately focused on a single point even if they have different wavelengths.
First-ever study of LGBT+ experiences in physics reveals red flags
LGBT+ physicists often face harassment and other behaviors that make them leave the profession, according to a new study, which comes as physics as a discipline has attempted to grapple with equity and inclusion issues. The authors found that the two biggest factors that influence a person's decision to leave physics are the overall climate of the organization they belong to and more specifically observing exclusionary behavior.
The Dark Side of the Universe: How Black Holes Became Supermassive
Three physicists at Brookhaven National Laboratory have recently developed a model to explain the formation of supermassive black holes, as well as the nature of another phenomenon: dark matter. In a paper published in Physical Review Letters, they describe a cosmological phase transition that facilitated the formation of supermassive black holes in a dark sector of the universe.
UCI scientists make leap forward for genetic sequencing
Irvine, Calif., March 11, 2022 -- In a paper published today in Sciences Advances, researchers in the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Physics & Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine revealed new details about a key enzyme that makes DNA sequencing possible. The finding is a leap forward into the era of personalized medicine when doctors will be able to design treatments based on the genomes of individual patients.
Argonne Director Kearns receives two Purdue Distinguished Alumnus Awards
Purdue University honored Argonne Director Paul Kearns with the John E. Christian Distinguished Alumnus Award.
MRS Names Ramamoorthy Ramesh New Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Materials Research
MRS is pleased to announce the appointment of Ramamoorthy Ramesh, University of California, Berkeley, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, as the next Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Materials Research.
Quantum Information: Light from Rare-earth Molecules
Light can be used to distribute quantum information rapidly, efficiently, and in a secure, tap-proof manner. Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Strasbourg University, Chimie ParisTech and the French national research center CNRS have now achieved major progress in the development of materials for processing quantum information with light. In Nature, they present a europium (europium belongs to the rare-earth metals) molecule with nuclear spins, by means of which an effective photon-spin interface can be produced.
Magnetism helps electrons vanish in high-temp superconductors
A Cornell University physicist's discovery could lead to the engineering of high-temp superconducting properties into materials useful for quantum computing, medical imaging.
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The Zen of Zentropy
A challenge in materials design is that in both natural and manmade materials, volume sometimes decreases, or increases, with increasing temperature. While there are mechanical explanations for this phenomenon for some specific materials, a general understanding of why this sometimes happens remains lacking.
In a first, researchers image the full structure of trapped excitons
Excitons form when electrons leave their place in atoms and grab the "holes" they left behind for a brief, whirling dance. Now they've been stably trapped and measured, a big step in developing new technology.
Don't miss these articles curated by Newswise staff in the Staff Picks channel
Don't miss these articles in our Staff Picks channel
Spotting Accelerator-Produced Neutrinos in a Cosmic Haystack
Physicists working at the MicroBooNE detector at Fermilab have developed new tools to help tune out "noise" from cosmic rays when searching for signs of neutrinos. This method combines data-sifting techniques with image reconstruction methods similar to CT scans to make signals of neutrinos produced by a particle accelerator stand out against the tracks produced by cosmic rays. The approach should work at all surface-based neutrino detectors.