String theory is seen as a way of reconciling Einstein’s theory of relativity with quantum mechanics. According to the theory, the fundamental particles and their interactions are generated by the vibrations of tiny loops of string. Progress in the field has been rapid in recent years. Recent breakthroughs have included the demonstration that five previously […]
Read article: Flutter and tumble in fluids
Recent experiments in fluid mechanics are shedding light on the intricate motion displayed by non-spherical objects as they fall, a problem that has puzzled physicists for centuries
Read article: Neutron scattering: strategic necessity or expensive luxury?
In 1994 the Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded to Cliff Shull and Bert Brockhouse for, in the words of the Nobel committee’s citation, showing “where atoms are” and “what atoms do”, respectively. Some 40 years ago Shull and Brockhouse developed and demonstrated a uniquely powerful and universally applicable non-destructive technique for probing the structures […]
Read article: Phosphors help switch on xenon
The glass tube in a conventional fluorescent light is coated on the inside with a phosphor layer and filled with a discharge material, usually mercury. Electrons excite the mercury atoms from the ground state into a short-lived excited state. Ultraviolet light is emitted as the atoms return to the ground state and this is absorbed […]
Two of the oldest and largest physical societies in the world celebrate anniversaries this year. The Institute of Physics, which publishes this magazine, can trace its roots back to the Physical Society that was formed in London 125 years ago. And the American Physical Society (APS) is currently celebrating its centennial. Other venerable societies of […]
Although scientists have known about gamma-ray bursts since 1967, no one has come up with a feasible explanation of why they occur. The explosions may be caused by the collision of super-dense neutron stars; the sudden collapse of a massive star into a black hole; or other, exotic mechanisms. Many astronomers believe that the gamma […]
The radiation causes the eumelanin to generate large quantities of free oxygen radicals, which in turn damage cell DNA and hence may lead to cancer. His research was reported yesterday at the annual American Physical Society meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.
Although they are only 5nm long, each complex can generate 1 V in picoseconds, making them suitable for ultrafast switching, logic devices, and solar-power generation. The work was presented this week at the American Physical Society’s centennial meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.
Read article: Matter makes waves
Phillips and his colleagues produced a focused directional output from the Bose-Einstein condensate by firing two laser beams into the condensate. One beam adds energy to the atoms, while the second stimulates them to emit photons and drop down to a lower energy state. As the photons of the second laser beam have slightly less […]
Murray and Holman ran numerical simulations of the planets positions over a 200 million year period using their new technique. They discovered that although the outer planets appear in stable orbits, over longer time scales their classical ‘predicted’ orbit diverges from the simulations due to chaotic effects. One resonance is caused by interactions between Jupiter, […]
