Blueprint of a Trend: How Does a Financial Bubble Burst?
A joint study by academics in Switzerland, Germany and at Boston University sheds new light on the formation of financial bubbles and crashes. The study reveals a general empirical law quantifying market behavior near bubbles and crashes.
New Software to Support Interest in Extreme Science
Today the University of Chicago's Flash Center for Computational Science will release a major new version of supercomputer code, called FLASH 4-alpha. This is the first version of the FLASH code that has extensive capabilities for simulating high-energy density physics experiments.
Better Control of Microwave Heating for Experiments
Organic chemists and materials scientists have long used microwaves to activate materials and break chemical bonds, but have not understood their special heating properties. Now an international research team has a new molecular-level probe to track how components in a mix absorb energy differently.
Green UV Sterilization: Switching on LEDs to Save Energy and the Environment
Ultraviolet light can safely sterilize food, water and medical equipment by disrupting the DNA and other reproductive molecules in harmful bacteria. Traditionally, mercury lamps have supplied this UV light, however mercury release from power generation and lamp disposal have generated discussion of harmful environmental impact. A potentially energy efficient and non-toxic alternative is the light-emitting diode, or LED, which can be made to emit at almost any desired wavelength.
Full 3-D Invisibility Cloak in Visible Light
Watching things disappear "is an amazing experience," admits Joachim Fischer of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany. But making items vanish is not the reason he creates invisibility cloaks. Rather, the magic-like tricks are attractive demonstrations of the fantastic capabilities that new optical theories and nanotechnology construction methods now enable.
Nuclear Photonics: Gamma Rays Search For Concealed Nuclear Threats
Gamma rays are the most energetic type of light wave and can penetrate through lead and other thick containers. A powerful new source of gamma rays will allow officials to search for hidden reactor fuel/nuclear bomb material.
3-D Terahertz Cloaking
Invisibility appears to be the next possible advance in the use of Terahertz radiation in medicine, security, and communications. A research team from Northwestern and Oklahoma State universities claims to be first to cloak a three-dimensional object from view in a broad range of Terahertz frequency light, which lies between infrared and microwaves.
Two Graphene Layers May Be Better Than One
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have shown that the electronic properties of two layers of graphene vary on the nanometer scale.
Good Eggs: Nanomagnets are Food for Thought on Computer Memories
Magnetics researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) colored lots of eggs recently. Bunnies and children might find the eggs a bit small--in fact, too small to see without a microscope. But these "eggcentric" nanomagnets have another practical use, suggesting strategies for making future low-power computer memories.
Zeroing in on the Elusive Green LED
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a new method for manufacturing green-colored LEDs with greatly enhanced light output.
Did the Early Universe Have One Dimension?
Did the early universe have just one spatial dimension? That's the mind-boggling concept at the heart of a theory that University at Buffalo physicist Dejan Stojkovic and colleagues proposed in 2010.
Icy Moon Zaps Saturn with Electron Beams
Scientists have discovered an electrical current running between Saturn and its moon Enceladus that creates an observable emission on the ringed planet.
Solar Power without Solar Cells: a Hidden Magnetic Effect of Light Could Make It Possible
A dramatic and surprising magnetic effect of light discovered by University of Michigan researchers could lead to solar power without traditional semiconductor-based solar cells.
Scientists Finely Control Methane Combustion to Get Different Products
Scientists find that combustion of methane using two gold atoms at room temperature yields ethylene, while at lower temperatures it yields formaldehyde.
Researchers Advance Toward Hybrid Spintronic Computer Chips
Researchers here have created the first electronic circuit to merge traditional inorganic semiconductors with organic "spintronics" - devices that utilize the spin of electrons to read, write and manipulate data.
The Science of Sound: Acoustical Society Meets in Seattle, May 23-27
Sonic booms, the science of making music, the impact of noise on people and animals, and bursts of sound-induced light are just some of the intriguing topics that will be presented at the 161st Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA).
Economics, Physics Are Roadblocks for Mass-Scale Algae Biodiesel Production
Companies looking to engineer an eco-friendly diesel fuel have more red lights in their path. According to Kansas State University researchers, making petroleum diesel completely green would not only bend the laws of physics, it would cost too much green.
Getting to Know the Strong Force, One of the Four Fundamental Forces of the Universe
First observation of sub-atomic particles known as hb will provide better understanding of the universe.
Physicists Detect Low-Level Radioactivity from Japan Arriving in Seattle
Physicists are detecting radioactivity arriving in Seattle from Japanese nuclear reactors damaged in a tsunami following a mammoth earthquake, but the levels are far below what would pose a threat to human health.
New Particles Can Change Colors and Tag Molecules
Engineers have invented a new kind of nano-particle that shines in different colors to tag molecules in biomedical tests. These tiny plastic nano-particles are stuffed with even tinier bits of electronics called quantum dots.
Neutron Analysis Yields Insight Into Bacteria for Solar Energy
Structural studies of some of nature's most efficient light-harvesting systems are lighting the way for new generations of biologically inspired solar cell devices.
Process Gives Graphene Nanoribbons Metallic Properties
A "templated growth" technique for fabricating nanoribbons of epitaxial graphene has produced structures just 15 to 40 nanometers wide that conduct current with almost no resistance. These structures could address the challenge of connecting graphene devices made with conventional architectures.
Perimeter Institute to Host Sir Roger Penrose
Einstein's theory of relativity combines space and time into a unified notion. Twistor theory goes beyond this and examines paths taken by light and other particles without mass - in an attempt to understand our universe at a deeper level, including the foundations of quantum physics.
New Measurement of the Muon Lifetime Provides Key to Determining Strength of Weak Nuclear Force
An international research team led by scientists from the Boston University and the University of Illinois has developed a new way to measure the muon lifetime. This new measurement--the most precise determination of any subatomic particle lifetime yet devised--provides a high-accuracy value for a crucial parameter determining the strength of the weak nuclear force.
Silicon Spin Transistors Heat Up and Spins Live Longer
University of Utah researchers built "spintronic" transistors to align the "spins" of electrons for a record time in silicon chips at room temperature -- a step toward computers and other spintronic devices that are faster and use less energy than electronic counterparts.