Precision mass measurements of nuclei reveal neutron star properties
Researchers at the Institute of Modern Physics (IMP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and their collaborators recently measured the masses of several key nuclei with high-precision by employing a state-of-the-art storage-ring mass spectrometry technique.
Alternative fuel for string-shaped motors in cells
Researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG), the Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life (PoL) and the Biotechnology Center (BIOTEC) of the TU Dresden in Dresden, Germany, and the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bangalore, India, discovered a novel molecular system that uses an alternative chemical energy and employs a novel mechanism to perform mechanical work.
EIC Center at Jefferson Lab Announces Six Research Fellowship Awards
The Electron-Ion Collider Center at the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (EIC Center at Jefferson Lab) has announced the winners of six new research fellowships. Over the next year, the fellows will work to advance the science program and further the research of the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). The EIC is a unique physics research facility dedicated to answering fundamental questions about nature's building blocks.
Scurrying Centipedes Inspire Many-Legged Robots That Can Traverse Difficult Landscapes
Intrigued to see if the many limbs could be helpful for locomotion in this world, a team of physicists, engineers, and mathematicians at the Georgia Institute of Technology are using this style of movement to their advantage. They developed a new theory of multilegged locomotion and created many-legged robotic models, discovering the robot with redundant legs could move across uneven surfaces without any additional sensing or control technology as the theory predicted.
Quantum computer in reverse gear
Today's computers are based on microprocessors that execute so-called gates. A gate can, for example, be an AND operation, i.e. an operation that adds two bits.
UTEP Awarded Numerous Grants to Support NASA Space Research
Researchers at The University of Texas at El Paso will help build a robotic device for welding in space, prepare astronauts for a mission to the Moon and more, thanks to a slew of new grants from NASA.
Teletrix licenses methods for ionizing radiation training using augmented reality
A method using augmented reality to create accurate visual representations of ionizing radiation, developed at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been licensed by Teletrix, a firm that creates advanced simulation tools to train the nation's radiation control workforce.
Neutron star's X-rays reveal 'photon metamorphosis'
A "beautiful effect" predicted by quantum electrodynamics (QED) can explain the puzzling first observations of polarized X-rays emitted by a magnetar - a neutron star featuring a powerful magnetic field, according to a Cornell astrophysicist.
Hubble Follows Shadow Play Around Planet-Forming Disk
Astronomers using Hubble have uncovered two eerie shadows from gas-and-dust disks encircling the star TW Hydrae. They are evidence for two unseen planets that have pulled dust into their orbits, which blocks light from the central star and makes shadows.
After a Walkabout, a Transfer Student Finds Her Footing in Physics
Brianna Romasky - who attended community college before moving to Australia, returning to the U.S. and enrolling at Rutgers-New Brunswick - is focused on plasma-based particle acceleration.
Squeezing data from a diamond sandwich
For decades, scientists sought a way to apply the outstanding analytical capabilities of neutrons to materials under pressures approaching those surrounding the Earth's core. These extreme pressures can rearrange a material's atoms, potentially resulting in interesting new properties.
Do Your Homework to Prep for the 2023 and 2024 Eclipses
This year and next, Americans will have the extraordinary opportunity to witness two solar eclipses as both will be visible throughout the continental U.S. Both occurrences promise to be remarkable events and teachable moments but preparation is essential. In The Physics Teacher, astronomer Douglas Duncan of the University of Colorado provides a practical playbook to help teachers, students, and the general public prepare for the eclipse events. He also shares ways to fundraise for schools and organizations and guidance for safe eclipse-viewing.
Astronomers find distant gas clouds with leftovers of the first stars
Using ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT), researchers have found for the first time the fingerprints left by the explosion of the first stars in the Universe. They detected three distant gas clouds whose chemical composition matches what we expect from the first stellar explosions.
Astronomers Witness Star Devouring Planet: Possible Preview of the Ultimate Fate of Earth
Astronomers using the Gemini South telescope in Chile, operated by NSF's NOIRLab, have observed the first evidence of a dying Sun-like star engulfing an exoplanet. The "smoking gun" of this event was seen in a long and low-energy outburst from the star -- the telltale signature of a planet skimming along a star's surface. This never-before-seen process may herald the ultimate fate of Earth when our own Sun nears the end of its life in about five billion years.
Research examines key factors related to COVID-19 variant dynamics
A team of researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory recently published the most comprehensive study of global COVID-19 variant transitions, which showed significant diversity in variant spread around the globe related to vaccination rates, number of co-circulating variants and immunity from previous infection.
Zhaodi Pan seeks to uncover the oldest mysteries of the universe
Zhaodi Pan developed a detector to search for ancient clues in the cosmic microwave background.
Quantum entanglement of photons doubles microscope resolution
Using a "spooky" phenomenon of quantum physics, Caltech researchers have discovered a way to double the resolution of light microscopes.
Can ET detect us?
A team of researchers from Mauritius and Manchester University has used crowd-sourced data to simulate radio leakage from mobile towers and predict what an alien civilization might detect from various nearby stars, including Barnard's star, six light years away from Earth.
Making electric vehicle charging stations cybersecure
Argonne research is informing smart infrastructure that can support the electric grid.
JSA Awards $558K for Initiatives Fund Program for FY2023
Jefferson Sciences Associates (JSA) has announced the award of $558,060 through its JSA Initiatives Fund Program. The program supports projects by staff and scientific users at the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. The FY23 program awards leveraged over $800,000 in matching funds, and taken together, the program and matching awards total over $1.3 million. Project awards include scientific meeting support, education and career development, and outreach activities, all of which support the lab's mission.
ORNL celebrates 80th anniversary, unveils International Hall representing diversity
Oak Ridge National Laboratory leadership and staff gathered at the lab's main campus in Oak Ridge, Tenn., on April 27 to dedicate a renovated International Hall of flags and unveil new displays reflecting the lab's rich 80-year history.
Self-folding origami machines powered by chemical reaction
A Cornell-led collaboration harnessed chemical reactions to make microscale origami machines self-fold - freeing them from the liquids in which they usually function, so they can operate in dry environments and at room temperature.
First-of-a-Kind Technology: INL Demonstrates Mobile Hot Cell for Radioactive Source Recovery
A crowd gathers around a black wooden box that resembles a short refrigerator, waiting for the motion of a pair of robotic arms sitting just outside the box.
Silver nanoparticles spark key advance in thermoelectricity for power generation
An international team of scientists led by a University of Houston physicist and several of his former students has reported a new approach to constructing the thermoelectric modules, using silver nanoparticles to connect the modules' electrode and metallization layers.
To Track Turbulence in Tokamaks, Researchers Turn to Machine Learning
Fusion energy researchers use a technique called Gas-Puff Imaging (GPI) to visualize an important phenomenon in tokamak devices involving turbulence in plasma magnetic confinement fields. This technique can generate roughly 1 million frames of visual data, far too much for humans to analyze by eye. Scientists recently tested a machine-learning based approach for analyzing GPI images. The system provides detailed, time- and space-resolved information and could aid in design and operation of future fusion power devices.