|
Mobile version
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Addressing the solar cell power conversion dilemma PhysOrg Share    
Physicists studying the properties of GaNAs alloys believe that the characteristics of these semiconductor alloys could lead to more efficient solar cells. Read the associated APS Physics Synopsis article. More
Theoretical walker struts its energy-efficient stuff Nature News Share
Staggering home from the supermarket laden with bags of shopping, it would be impossible -- and more than a little silly -- to rock your torso quickly back and forth while swinging your legs in loopy, pendulum-like steps. But research soon to appear in the journal Physical Review E suggests that if you were able to take a cue from a theoretical walker that does just that, you might save yourself some energy. More A physicist explains why parallel universes may exist NPR Share
Our universe might be really, really big -- but finite. Or it might be infinitely big. Both cases, says physicist Brian Greene, are possibilities, but if the latter is true, so is another posit: there are only so many ways matter can arrange itself within that infinite universe. Eventually matter has to repeat itself and arrange itself in similar ways. So if the universe is infinitely large, it is also home to infinite parallel universes. More
Single molecules probe tiny hotspots Physics World Share
Researchers in the U.S. are the first to use single fluorescent dye molecules to probe the local electromagnetic fields inside nanoscale "hotspots" on metal surfaces. The imaging technique can identify structures as small as just 15 nm across with a resolution of less than 2 nm -- which is much smaller than conventional optical microscopes can achieve. More Tearing into the Metrodome: Are other air-pressurized stadiums unsafe and outmoded? Scientific American Share
With a roof made of fabric similar to that used in trampolines, it's not hard to envision why 43 centimeters of snow tore through Minneapolis's Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome last month. What is perhaps harder to imagine is why anyone would consider keeping in place an inflatable domed stadium that most engineers agree is antiquated. Forensic investigators and engineers are still studying the Dec. 12 accident, although it is unclear whether any federal agencies have been summoned to investigate. More
The hunt for neutrinos in the Antarctic The Observer Share
The IceCube project has constructed a giant detector in the Antarctic ice to find subatomic particles. It could reveal where cosmic rays come from -- and their cause. More In pursuit of qubits, uniting subatomic particles by the billions The New York Times Share
In a step toward a generation of ultrafast computers, physicists have used bursts of radio waves to briefly create 10 billion quantum-entangled pairs of subatomic particles in silicon. The research offers a glimpse of a future computing world in which individual atomic nuclei store and retrieve data and single electrons shuttle it back and forth. More
Scientists go deep underground to search for elusive dark matter The Columbus Dispatch Share
For more than 125 years, the Homestake mine was the center of the search for gold in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Though the mine closed in 2002, it once again will play a big role in the pursuit of something precious. This time, however, the target is nothing you can see or touch. A group of particle physicists is looking for proof of dark matter, the mysterious glue that holds galaxies together. More Toxic ash clouds might be culprit in biggest mass extinction ScienceNOW Share
Tiny particles embedded in ancient Canadian rocks have provided new clues about what might have triggered Earth's deadliest mass extinction. The ultimate cause, researchers say, might be globe-smothering clouds of toxic ash similar to that spewed by modern-day coal-fired power plants. More |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
