Read article: Physics, technology and the Olympics
Physics, technology and the Olympics
What effect does technology have on the performance of athletes, asks Steve Haake
Read article: Physics, technology and the Olympics
Magnets help tell left from right
Like these so-called chiral molecules, circularly polarized light also comes in right and left-handed varieties, and can be used to produce an excess of one type of molecule. However, circularly polar...
Physics goes inside the ear
In 1960 von Bekesy published the results of his classic measurements on the cochlea, which suggested that the ear was essentially a linear device. However, von Bekesy conducted his experiments on cada...
Physics get physical
For ‘short’ races the average speed of a world-record performance declines sharply with increasing distance. However, above a certain distance, the decline is more gentle. For both running...
Water transfers energy at ultrafast rate
As a water molecule is excited by the laser pulse, it can only drop back to a less excited state by releasing the excess energy. This energy causes the O-H bonds to stretch and vibrate. As the bonds v...
E-beams tackle E. coli
For over a century milk has been pasteurised by heating it to 65 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes and then rapidly cooling it to below 10 degrees Celsius for storage. The new technique relies on energet...
Electron transfer made easy
Electron transfer in protein results from quantum tunnelling between reduction- oxidation (redox) centres. “There’s a widely accepted idea that electrons get from one redox centre to anoth...
Read article: Magnetic resonance sees the heart beat
Magnetic resonance sees the heart beat
Ultrasound is commonly used to look at the heart, but it is unsuitable for the 10-20% of the population that have breathing difficulties (emphysema) or who are medically obese. In both techniques, pat...
Physics and biology
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
The brain is ‘classical’
Nearly all the quantum models of the brain depend on how long the brain can keep quantum coherence. Penrose argues for example, that microtubles – small hollow cylinders that help cells keep the...
