Scanning tunnelling microscopes (STMs) rely on an ultrafine ‘tip’ to push atoms over a surface. The atoms are pushed either by the tip itself, or by an electric field. The new technique relies on the current that tunnels from the tip to the atom. As the tip approaches the bromine atom, the atom moves closer […]
The first virtual observatory to receive significant funding will be a European project called ASTROVIRTEL, which is based at the ESO headquarters in Garching, Germany. European astronomers will be able to apply for grants from the European Commission to analyse the archive, which will include data from the Very Large Telescope (VLT), the New Technology […]
Converting electrical signals into optical pulses is one of the speed ‘bottlenecks’ in current telecommunications systems. To reach high data speeds, a series of electro-optic devices called modulators, all operating at different wavelengths, are used. The most common modulators are based on a lithium niobate compound, but they require high voltages (5 V) to work. […]
The JIF scheme is designed to bring facilities at UK universities to the forefront of international research. Nearly £600m has been awarded to 109 projects in 28 different institutions since the UK Government and the Wellcome Trust – the world’s largest biomedical research charity -first funded the scheme. The size of the third round awards […]
Ulysses was launched to make continuous measurements of the solar wind, a steady stream of ionized particles that flows outwards from the star. In 1998 Pete Riley and colleagues from Los Alamos National Laboratory published a paper describing a dramatic drop in the number of protons registered by Ulysses. They suggested that a comet could […]
The Innsbruck model relies on ions stored in an array of microtraps. Because the microtraps can be fabricated in a solid state device, thousands of traps can be put into an array. The internal quantum state of the ions acts as the qubit. A different ion, called the head ion, moves above the array to […]
About a year ago I was asked to speak at a local women’s studies conference on mathematics, science and technology. I didn’t flatter myself at having been chosen, because nearly every local woman who was even vaguely involved with science or mathematics at a professional level had been invited to speak. Nevertheless, I had for […]
Read article: Dark-matter dispute intensifies
The controversy surrounding evidence for the discovery of “dark matter” particles has heated up following two conflicting talks given at a conference at the end of February. The papers were presented at the 4th International Symposium on Sources and Detection of Dark Matter/Energy in the Universe held in Marina del Ray, California. (Most of the […]
Read article: Science and the Stradivarius
Is there a secret that makes a Stradivarius sound so good, and can modern violins match the wonderful tonal quality of this great Italian instrument, asks Colin Gough
There was an inevitable irony in the timing of a recent report on “science and society” published by the House of Lords select committee on science and technology. The report was released the day after the UK government announced that it was going to invest £530m in the development of a superjumbo jet, and that […]
