Brian DeMarco and Deborah Jin used a pair of magneto-optical traps to confine about 700000 atoms of potassium-40 at temperatures below 300 nanokelvin. This is about half of the degeneracy temperature for a gas of fermions. At these temperatures the occupation of the lowest quantum states increases from around zero to about 60%. The quantum […]
Only two other methods have previously been used to manufacture quantum dots: electron beam lithography and epitaxy. Lithography is a top down approach in which the beam defines the dot pattern, whereas epitaxy is a bottom-up approach in which the dots self-organize. Ion bombardment or sputtering is more cost effective and easily controllable than the […]
In copper oxide each of the copper atoms is expected to bond with two oxygen atoms. According to some theories however, the copper atoms can covalently bond with each other. Such bonds – in which the nuclei share electrons – are not usually associated with metals. Such behaviour could help explain high-temperature superconductivity in the […]
Read article: Top Livermore physicist resigns
Campbell left his position last Friday after a series of anonymous faxes was sent to officials at the Department of Energy (DOE) saying that he did not have a doctorate degree. Although Campbell finished his PhD coursework at Princeton University, he did not complete his dissertation. Campbell joined Livermore in 1977, and has won a […]
When the European Physical Society (EPS) holds its general conference in London this month, there is likely to be much talk over coffee about the need for Europe to match the United States in a variety of activities. These will include journal publishing, the organization of conferences, funding and, maybe, even physics. The scientific communities […]
Most particle physicists agree on the scientific case for a next-generation linear collider. It is just a question of persuading the politicians to foot the bill
Results presented at the International Europhysics Conference on High Energy Physics in mid-July provide strong hints that the Higgs boson, one of the holy grails of particle physics, is lurking just around the corner. Over 500 physicists gathered in Tampere, Finland, armed with the latest data and hot on the trail of this elusive particle, […]
Many key advances in the biological sciences have been made possible by physics-based techniques. The future of biomedicine depends on collaboration between the two fields
Read article: Single molecules feel the force
Biophysicists are now able to study a whole host of living processes with unprecedented accuracy thanks to a microscope normally associated with surface science
“The entire scope of human experience can be viewed as a collective effect resulting from elementary particles dutifully following well-understood equations.” Statements like this excite deep-seated passions and tend to bring out strongly polarized views. The Pearly Gates of Cyberspace by Margaret Wertheim is a product of this passionate debate. This debate is one I […]
