Atoms perform a quantum flip
Unlike billiard balls, atoms can suddenly reverse their momentum
Author archive
Read article: Burst bangers and brain busters
Burst bangers and brain busters
Why is it that you can warm your hands by blowing gently against them and cool them by blowing hard? The answer requires a clear understanding of physics and a rudimentary knowledge of the workings of the human body. And how is the vanishing elephant trick carried out? This feat, which probably had its heyday […]
Nikolai Basov 1922 – 2001
The pioneering Russian physicist whose work led to the invention of the laser dies at 78
Read article: Solar neutrino puzzle is solved
Solar neutrino puzzle is solved
New evidence that solar neutrinos can change "flavour" confirms that our understanding of the Sun is correct and that neutrinos have mass
Molecular storage ring makes its debut
The multitude of energy levels found in molecules has so far defeated the use of laser-based techniques, which rely on exciting transitions that can spontaneously radiate and return to the original levels. Many other ingenious methods have been invented to slow, cool or trap molecules. Paramagnetic molecules have been cooled to sub-kelvin temperatures in a […]
Organic metal challenges superconductor paradigm
Moreover, the material in question – an organic crystalline solid called lambda-(BETS)2FeCl4 – contains a large concentration of magnetic ions (S Uji et al. 2001 Nature 410 908). The discovery by Shinya Uji of the National Research Institute for Metals in Tsukuba, Japan, and co-workers at the Institute for Molecular Science, the Electrotechnical Laboratory and […]
Read article: Physics and work
Physics and work
The report was commissioned from the Institute for Employment Studies by the physics programme of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to examine the views of organizations that employ postgraduate physicists. University physics departments in the UK produce about 800 new physics PhDs every year, about 200 of whom have been funded by […]
Surface acoustic waves go under the microscope
Surface acoustic waves are commonly found in the electronic circuitry of everyday appliances, such as mobile phones and televisions, where they are used to filter frequencies. Surface acoustic waves are also employed in transponders to transmit signals that are modulated in amplitude and frequency to remote locations. In one recent advance, Thorsten Hesjedal of Stanford […]
Read article: The physics of the Web
The physics of the Web
Statistical mechanics offers insights into the structure and dynamics of the Internet, the World Wide Web and other complex interacting systems, says Albert-László Barabási
Read article: Will a chip every day keep the doctor away?
Will a chip every day keep the doctor away?
Silicon can be developed into a biocompatible and biodegradable material that could lead to smaller, smarter and more-interactive implants in the human body
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