PhysicsWeb editor moves on
“When I helped create PhysicsWeb nearly three years ago, I was sure that it would be a successful site. However, sites such as PhysicsWeb do not rely solely on one individual, and I would like t...
Heat flow surprise in space
On Earth, convection or thermal diffusion dominates heat transfer. But these effects are extremely weak in zero gravity, and adiabatic compression can dominate. To observe local overheating and adiaba...
Read article: ‘The Quantum Project’ hits the Web
‘The Quantum Project’ hits the Web
The 32-minute film can be downloaded from Sightsound.com. Viewers are charged $3.95 to view it for up to five days, with a higher charge for permanent downloads. The film’s makers, Metafilmics, ...
Turbulence turns elastic
Polymer films are used in to make many mass-produced products, such as compact discs. It has been known for some time that the flow rate of liquid polymers can become irregular during the manufacturin...
Read article: Cosmic rays: an in-flight hazard?
Cosmic rays: an in-flight hazard?
When Victor Hess discovered cosmic radiation almost 90 years ago, he did so in manned balloon flights that reached altitudes of up to 5 km in the Earth’s atmosphere. This was only a few years af...
Quantum heat flow in the lab
Quantized electrical conductance was confirmed in experiments with very narrow conducting wires in the late 1980s. The electrons move through the wire along quantum channels, each of which contributes...
Carbon-60 and the ultimate switch
Most materials only become superconducting when they are cooled to low temperatures. In this state the electrons inside the material overcome their natural repulsion and travel through the material in...
Nuclear treaty review starts in New York
The New York conference is intended to specify a timetable for all the main nuclear powers – China, France, Russia, the UK and the US – to abandon their nuclear weapon stockpiles. Delegate...
Read article: The universe is flat – official
The universe is flat – official
All the matter and radiation in the universe was created by the big bang. The radiation stopped interacting with the matter about 300,000 years later – when the universe had cooled down enough f...
Boost for particle physics in Canada
“This renewal of funding will permit TRIUMF to become a world leader in particle physics research,” said Arthur Carty, President of National Research Council. “It will also retain an...
