A unique observatory in a remote location in Argentina is starting to unravel the mysteries of High Energy Cosmic Rays. There is no scientific consensus on the source of these particles which the shower the Earth at energies 10 million times higher than can be produced in particle accelerators! But the Pierre Auger Observatory is shedding new light on these energetic particles from space and using them as messengers to tell us more about the wider Universe.
Scientists of the
New research shows that the unique properties of atomic Bose-Einstein condensates extend to the internal spin states of the atoms from which the condensates are formed. Bose-Einstein condensates are an unusual form of matter in which all atoms exist in the same quantum state.
Beyond fundamental physics interest, the work could provide a foundation for future research with potential implications for quantum information systems.
Bose-Einstein condensates are formed by
By watching a distant star as it passed behind Saturn’s outer rings, Cornell University astronomers on NASA’s Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn have found the most direct evidence to date of patterns, called gravitational wakes, within the planet’s outer rings.
The patterns, thin, parallel striations like spokes on a pinwheel, have been theorized since the 1970s, but their small scale (just 100 meters — 328 feet — wide) makes them impossible to see even with the spacecraft’s hig
Speeding Star Observed with VLT Hints at Massive Black Hole
Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope, astronomers [1] have recorded a massive star moving at more than 2.6 million kilometres per hour. Stars are not born with such large velocities. Its position in the sky leads to the suggestion that the star was kicked out from the Large Magellanic Cloud, providing indirect evidence for a massive black hole in the Milky Way’s closest neighbour. These results will soon be published in th
Scientists at The University of Manchester have discovered a new way to test Einstein’s theory of relativity using the ‘lead’ of a pencil.
Until now it was only possible to test the theory by building expensive machinery or by studying stars in distant galaxies, but a team of British, Russian and Dutch scientists has now proven it can be done in the lab using an ultra-thin material called Graphene.
The group, led by Professor Andre Geim of the School of Physics and Ast
An international team of researchers, using new computer simulations
Scientists from the Max-Planck Institute for Solar System Research, the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, and the University of California Los Angeles, have now presented a new three-dimensional computer model that successfully describes and explains all important characteristics of the banded flows on Jupiter. The simulations suggest that the wind system may reach as deep as 7000 km into the planet’s
The two Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft arrive at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. on Nov. 9 for major testing as they near completion. Set to launch in Spring 2006, STEREO is the first mission to image the sun and solar wind in 3-D. This new view is critical to improving our understanding of space weather and its impact to space and on Earth systems.
During its two-year mission, the two nearly identical spacecraft will explore the
Twin APL-built solar probes shipped to NASA Goddard for pre-launch tests
The first spacecraft designed to capture 3-D “stereo” views of the sun and solar wind were shipped today from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md., to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, Md., for their next round of pre-launch tests.
The nearly identical twin STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) observatories, designed and built by
In an upcoming issue, the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics will publish the most complete picture of a “triggered” star-forming region. Induced (or “triggered”) star formation is one of the processes that are supposed to lead to the formation of massive stars. Massive stars play a key role in the chemical and dynamical evolution of galaxies. The way massive stars form is still much debated among the astronomers’ community: it is currently one of the hottest astrophysical topics. Do they form by a
Theory could result in faster artificial muscles
Robots, both large and micro, can potentially go wherever it’s too hot, cold, dangerous, small or remote for people to perform any number of important tasks, from repairing leaking water mains to stitching blood vessels together.
Now MIT researchers, led by Professor Sidney Yip, have proposed a new theory that might eliminate one obstacle to those goals – the limited speed and control of the “artificial muscles” that perf
By studying how superconductors interact with magnetic fields, Pitt researchers advance quest for higher-temperature superconducting materials
Superconductors are materials with no electrical resistance that are used to make strong magnets and must be kept extremely cold–otherwise, they lose their superconducting abilities. Even the “high-temperature” superconductors discovered in the 1980s must be kept at around -300°F.
The search for superconductors that function at hi
Venus Express, the first mission to Venus by the European Space Agency (ESA), uses Finnish technology for two crucial devices.
The probe is to be launched on Wednesday, Nov. 9 from Kazakhstan. Venus Express is scheduled to arrive at its destination next April. It will then begin to study the second planet’s atmosphere, surface and other characteristics.
The Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) designed the computer system and software for the probe’s ASPERA-4 par
Robert’s Quartet [1] is a family of four very different galaxies, located at a distance of about 160 million light-years, close to the centre of the southern constellation of the Phoenix. Its members are NGC 87, NGC 88, NGC 89 and NGC 92, discovered by John Herschel in the 1830s. NGC 87 (upper right) is an irregular galaxy similar to the satellites of our Milky Way, the Magellanic Clouds.
NGC 88 (centre) is a spiral galaxy with an external diffuse envelope, most probably composed
Plain old colors are passé. Complex visual effects, such as pearlescence, translucence, iridescence and glitter, help sell many products, including cars, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and military hardware. A new instrument at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) makes comprehensive measurements of such appearance properties to help companies calibrate their own tools and control product quality.
Exotic surfaces and coatings may look different depending on illuminatio
Pores never become clogged in this filter – because there are no pores at all. The filter is designed in a different way.
The device invented by V.B. Krapukhin, Ph. D. (Engineering) was shown for the first time at the recent “Chemistry-2005” exhibition in Moscow where constantly crowded near the exhibition booth. The most heard comment was “simple like everything ingenious”.
The water purification filter looks as follows:
There is a tank containing troubled, evi
A team of researchers at Yale University is the first to devise a way to predict the microstructure of crystals as they form in materials, according to a report in the September issue of Applied Physics Letters.
Although there are theoretical models that predict grain size and ways to monitor the growth of individual crystals, this new method makes it possible to estimate grain size and therefore the properties of materials that are dependant on microstructure.
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