APS Weekly NewsBrief

Chaos could improve performance of wireless communication systems

15 May 2013 07:31:38 CDT

In a new study, researchers have investigated how wireless communication could be implemented with chaotic signals, and found that chaotic signals could overcome some of these physical constraints and lead to superior performance. Read the associated Physical Review Letters abstract.

Cosmic flashes could herald birth of black holes

15 May 2013 07:31:38 CDT

The birth of a black hole may be signaled by a characteristic cosmic flash. It was previously thought that only the most massive of black holes would produce gamma-ray bursts when they form. But other dying stars were thought to produce a black hole without any kind of flash. New research suggests that a wide variety of black hole births might also have their own characteristic flash, allowing astronomers to witness the formation of stellar- and intermediate-mass black holes.

Pear-shaped nucleus boosts search for new physics

15 May 2013 07:31:38 CDT

A lopsided atomic nucleus may help to refine nuclear theory. The stubby pear shape may also be pointing towards new tests of particle physics that could reveal why matter became more common than antimatter in the early moments of the Universe. Read the associated APS Physics Viewpoint.

Quantum meld brings photons together

15 May 2013 07:31:38 CDT

Encoding information in quantum particles such as photons, the quanta of light, could lead to powerful new technologies, such as ultrafast quantum computers and unbreakable quantum cryptography. A method for loading the information carried by two photons into a single photon suggests a way to boost the efficiency of data transmission in such systems.

Iron nanocrystal shape-shifts to get out of a jam

15 May 2013 07:31:38 CDT

Tiny iron fragments can shape-shift to get out of a jam. The metal nanocrystals have been glimpsed reshaping themselves to squeeze through tight spaces, without melting or compressing. That could be a boon to digital memory storage and to nanofabrication. Read the associated APS Physics Synopsis.

Thermal invisibility cloak in first demonstration

15 May 2013 07:31:38 CDT

Researchers have built and tested a form of invisibility cloak that can hide objects from heat. Similar cloaking efforts are underway to make objects invisible to light and even sound waves, but this is the first device to work with heat. Read the associated APS Physics Focus story.

Lord Kelvin wipes out on speed boat wakes?

15 May 2013 07:31:38 CDT

Lord Kelvin is still making waves. In the 1880s, the great British physicist — then a commoner named William Thomson — argued that the wake of a boat fans out at the same angle regardless of how fast the boat is going. But scientists and engineers have long known that boats sometimes appear to have narrower wakes. Now two French physicists say they've explained that narrowing. Their idea may not sail smoothly into the textbooks, however, as experts in marine engineering are skeptical. Read the associated abstract of the forthcoming Physical Review Letter.

Getting to the bottom of foamy physics

15 May 2013 07:31:38 CDT

Researchers have created a new mathematical model to describe the complex evolution of foamy bubbles — something that has proved fiendishly difficult to model thanks to the hugely varying length and time scales involved.

Experimental volcanoes make a blast

15 May 2013 07:31:38 CDT

A row of miniature volcanoes exploded last week — on command. Volcanologists detonated explosive charges buried in a meadow in Ashford, N.Y., blowing 12 small craters in the ground and throwing debris 80 meters in the air.

Solar 'sandwich' could cover a variety of surfaces

15 May 2013 07:31:38 CDT

Ultrathin and flexible solar cells could be one step closer thanks to an international team of researchers that has made photovoltaics from 2D crystals called semiconducting transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs). These devices could someday coat any surface exposed to sunlight to produce electricity — something that has proved difficult to do with current solar-cell technologies, which are thick, heavy and brittle.

Hubble finds hunks of planet orbiting dead stars

15 May 2013 07:31:38 CDT

Pollution is a growing concern here on Earth, but in a nearby star cluster pollution is actually proving pretty useful. Astronomers analyzing Hubble data have found that a pair of white dwarfs — the tiny, final form most of the universe's stars will assume — show signs of "pollution" from asteroid and planet-like debris falling upon them.

Moon's water may have earthly origins

15 May 2013 07:31:38 CDT

Water trapped deep within the moon's interior came from the same source as water on Earth, a new study reveals. The research suggests that the moon seized a healthy supply of water from Earth when the satellite formed in the aftermath of a cataclysmic collision 4.5 billion years ago.

Hints of lightweight dark matter get even stronger

15 May 2013 07:31:38 CDT

A strange light is shining near the center of the Milky Way, and evidence is mounting that it is the spark of lightweight dark matter meeting a violent end. At the same time, a suite of sensitive detectors deep underground is seeing hints of similar particles.

The 10 best physicists

15 May 2013 07:31:38 CDT

From subatomic to cosmic, the pick of the pioneers.