Physics posts
- May 25, 2013
- 03:45 PM
- 0 views
Waiting for the Revolution
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
An interview with the Nobel Prize-winning physicist David J. Gross.... Read more »
Peter Byrne. (2013) Waiting for the Revolution. Simons Foundation. info:/
- May 25, 2013
- 02:12 PM
- 5 views
Astronomers Measure the Elusive Extragalactic Background Light
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
If all the light emitted by all galaxies in the observable universe at all wavelengths during all of cosmic history were known, it would clue astronomers about the entire history of galaxy formation and evolution, and provide insights to key aspects of the expansion history of the universe.... Read more »
Iqbal Pittalwala. (2013) Astronomers Measure the Elusive Extragalactic Background Light. UC Riverside Today. info:/
- May 25, 2013
- 12:33 PM
- 4 views
Intrinsic decoherence observed again!
by Marco Frasca in The Gauge Connection
Decoherence is the effect that causes a quantum system to behave classically. The most known of this kind of effects is due to environment where the interaction of an open quantum system with its surrounding is the reason for the loss of quantum coherence. This effect is well-proven on an experimental ground and must be considered […]... Read more »
Bryce Gadway, Jeremy Reeves, Ludwig Krinner, & Dominik Schneble. (2012) Evidence for a Quantum-to-Classical Transition in a Pair of Coupled Quantum Rotors. Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 190401 (2013). arXiv: 1203.3177v2
Adachi, S., Toda, M., & Ikeda, K. (1988) Quantum-Classical Correspondence in Many-Dimensional Quantum Chaos. Physical Review Letters, 61(6), 659-661. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.61.659
- May 25, 2013
- 04:59 AM
- 9 views
‘Quantum microscope’ peers into the hydrogen atom
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
The first direct observation of the orbital structure of an excited hydrogen atom has been made by an international team of researchers. The observation was made using a newly developed “quantum microscope”, which uses photoionization microscopy to visualize the structure directly. The team’s demonstration proves that “photoionization microscopy”, which was first proposed more than 30 years ago, can be experimentally realized and can serve as a tool to explore the s........ Read more »
Tushna Commissariat. (2013) 'Quantum microscope' peers into the hydrogen atom. physicsworld.com. info:/
- May 24, 2013
- 11:06 AM
- 6 views
A Little News, Two Approximations, And A Few Graphical Derivatives To Go With Your Coffee
by Hamilton Carter in Copasetic Flow
Good Morning! While drinking my coffee after getting a full night's sleep, (hooray for happily sleeping seven month olds!!!), I came across a cute little satellite and some useful approximations.ESTCUBE 1The Estonian University of Tartu has successfully placed a student built and student operated cubesat into orbit. The satellite will deploy an electrodynamic tether and test the ability of the device to propel the space craft by exploiting the force between the electric charge p........ Read more »
Jones Preston, Muñoz Gerardo, Ragsdale Michael, & Singleton Douglas. (2008) The general relativistic infinite plane. American Journal of Physics, 76(1), 73. DOI: 10.1119/1.2800354
- May 24, 2013
- 10:07 AM
- 30 views
Ants Reveal How to Build a Tunnel You Can't Fall Down
by Elizabeth Preston in Inkfish
It's hard to keep your footing in a steep tunnel made of loose dirt while others are scrambling around and over your body. Harder still in pitch blackness. That's why fire ants build tunnels that will catch them when they fall—a strategy human engineers might want to steal.
"Slips and missteps are likely a constant, recurring feature of life underground," says Nick Gravish, a graduate student in Daniel Goldman's rheology and biomechanics lab at Georgia Tech. Yet ants have to traverse their........ Read more »
Gravish, N., Monaenkova, D., Goodisman, M., & Goldman, D. (2013) Climbing, falling, and jamming during ant locomotion in confined environments. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1302428110
- May 24, 2013
- 08:36 AM
- 19 views
HAWC Observatory captures first image
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
An international team of researchers, including scientists from Los Alamos, has taken the first image of the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory, or HAWC.The facility is designed to detect cosmic rays and the highest energy gamma rays ever observed from astrophysical sources.... Read more »
Los Alamos National Laboratory. (2013) HAWC Observatory captures first image. Los Alamos National Laboratory. info:/
- May 23, 2013
- 06:01 PM
- 1 view
Beta Decay and Neutrinos over Cocktails
by Hamilton Carter in Copasetic Flow
This was going to be so much longer and more detailed, but as you may or may not be aware, seven month olds occasionally decide of their own volition to pull all nighters, (much like grad students). So, I leave you with a few somewhat less than scattered thoughts, and an incredible video on the topic of neutrinos. After yesterday's post on the possibility of the variation of radioactive decay rates with neutrino activity from the sun, I spent my free time today reading about beta decay and........ Read more »
Cowan C. L., Reines F., Harrison F. B., Kruse H. W., & McGuire A. D. (1956) Detection of the Free Neutrino: a Confirmation. Science, 124(3212), 103-104. DOI: 10.1126/science.124.3212.103
Reines F. (1979) The Early Days of Experimental Neutrino Physics. Science, 203(4375), 11-16. DOI: 10.1126/science.203.4375.11
- May 23, 2013
- 03:37 PM
- 21 views
Researchers Turn a Smartphone into a Biosensor
by Jason Carr in Wired Cosmos
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign researchers have developed a cradle and app for the iPhone that uses the phone’s built-in camera and processing power as a biosensor to detect toxins, proteins, bacteria, viruses and other molecules. Having such sensitive biosensing capabilities in the field could enable on-the-spot tracking of groundwater contamination, combine the phone’s GPS … Read More →... Read more »
Gallegos, D., Long, K., Yu, H., Clark, P., Lin, Y., George, S., Nath, P., & Cunningham, B. (2013) Label-free biodetection using a smartphone. Lab on a Chip, 13(11), 2124. DOI: 10.1039/C3LC40991K
- May 23, 2013
- 11:58 AM
- 17 views
New Method for Clean and Safe Hydrogen Production Proposed
by dailyfusion in The Daily Fusion
Duke University engineers have developed a new safer method for catalytic hydrogen production. According to the authors of the study, it does not require high temperatures and produces smaller amounts of toxic chemicals than other industrial hydrogen production technologies.... Read more »
Shodiya, T., Schmidt, O., Peng, W., & Hotz, N. (2013) Novel nano-scale Au/α-Fe2O3 catalyst for the preferential oxidation of CO in biofuel reformate gas. Journal of Catalysis, 63-69. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcat.2012.12.027
- May 23, 2013
- 08:24 AM
- 17 views
Fragile mega-galaxy is missing link in history of cosmos
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
Two hungry young galaxies that collided 11 billion years ago are rapidly forming a massive galaxy about 10 times the size of the Milky Way, according to UC Irvine-led research published Wednesday in the journal Nature.... Read more »
UC Irvine Media Realease. (2013) Fragile mega-galaxy is missing link in history of cosmos. UC Irvine. info:/
- May 21, 2013
- 04:41 PM
- 2 views
Gran Sasso, Solar Neutrinos, and Radioactive Decay Rates
by Hamilton Carter in Copasetic Flow
We interrupt your normal coverage of magnetic monopole searches today to bring you something much more cool from well.. the same location! I was jazzed to find out yesterday that the next monopole project I was going to write about was done at a stunningly pretty location Gran Sasso, Italy. (picture 1)Then, thanks to +Oliver Thewalt I found out about a very interesting study done regarding a possible time dependence of the decay rates of radioactive isotopes. So much for the pre........ Read more »
Bellotti E., Broggini C., Di Carlo G., Laubenstein M., & Menegazzo R. (2012) Search for time dependence of the 137Cs decay constant. Physics Letters B, 710(1), 114-117. DOI: 10.1016/j.physletb.2012.02.083
Jenkins Jere H., Fischbach Ephraim, Buncher John B., Gruenwald John T., Krause Dennis E., & Mattes Joshua J. (2009) Evidence of correlations between nuclear decay rates and Earth–Sun distance. Astroparticle Physics, 32(1), 42-46. DOI: 10.1016/j.astropartphys.2009.05.004
- May 21, 2013
- 02:23 PM
- 36 views
Berkeley Lab Builds ‘Artificial Forest’ to Harvest Solar Energy
by dailyfusion in The Daily Fusion
Devices for artificial photosynthesis are often called “artificial leaves”. This leaves, however, are of no use unless you can create an “artificial forest” from them. Now, scientists with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have reported the first fully integrated nanosystem for artificial photosynthesis.... Read more »
Liu, C., Tang, J., Chen, H., Liu, B., & Yang, P. (2013) A Fully Integrated Nanosystem of Semiconductor Nanowires for Direct Solar Water Splitting. Nano Letters, 2147483647. DOI: 10.1021/nl401615t
- May 20, 2013
- 05:36 PM
- 2 views
The Valentine's Day Magnetic Monopole
by Hamilton Carter in Copasetic Flow
There's an assymetry to the form of the two Maxwell's equations shown in picture 1. While the divergence of the electric field is proportional to the electric charge density at a given point, the divergence of the magnetic field is equal to zero. This is typically explained in the following way. While we know that electrons, the fundamental electric charge carriers exist, evidence seems to indicate that magnetic monopoles, the particles that would carry magn........ Read more »
Cabrera Blas. (1982) First Results from a Superconductive Detector for Moving Magnetic Monopoles. Physical Review Letters, 48(20), 1378-1381. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.48.1378
Friseh Henry J. (1990) Quest for magnetic monopoles. Nature, 344(6268), 706-707. DOI: 10.1038/344706a0
- May 18, 2013
- 06:20 PM
- 1 view
Some Quantized Flux History
by Hamilton Carter in Copasetic Flow
In 1961, William Fairbank and Bascomb Deaver experimentally verified that magnetic flux can be quantized. This week I read an excellent paper on the history of the experiment[1]. For those who aren't close to a library with access to the journal, (and for my own notes), here are a few of the highlights. For more info on the Fairbank/Deaver experiment see[4] .The Other ExperimentThe first interesting thing you should know is that there was a similar experiment &n........ Read more »
Einzel Dietrich. (2011) 50 Years of Fluxoid Quantization: 2e or Not 2e. Journal of Low Temperature Physics, 163(5-6), 215-237. DOI: 10.1007/s10909-011-0349-x
Doll R., & Näbauer M. (1961) Experimental Proof of Magnetic Flux Quantization in a Superconducting Ring. Physical Review Letters, 7(2), 51-52. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.7.51
Byers N., & Yang C. (1961) Theoretical Considerations Concerning Quantized Magnetic Flux in Superconducting Cylinders. Physical Review Letters, 7(2), 46-49. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.7.46
- May 18, 2013
- 07:06 AM
- 44 views
Ground-breaking science and spectacular cosmic images from the PAPER instrument in the Karoo
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
-Scientific studies done with the “PAPER” array, one of the world-class scientific instruments in South Africa’s Karoo Radio Astronomy Reserve, is producing ground-breaking science and spectacular cosmic images, resulting in several important articles in top astronomy journals.
-The first scientific paper based on observations performed with South Africa’s new KAT-7 radio telescope, has been accepted for publication by the prestigious journal Monthly Notices of the Roy........ Read more »
SKA SA Project Office. (2013) Ground-breaking science and spectacular cosmic images from the PAPER instrument in the Karoo. SKA Africa . info:/
- May 17, 2013
- 04:55 PM
- 40 views
Strategies for Breaking Even on Home Energy Consumption Suggested
by dailyfusion in The Daily Fusion
When you are buying a car you always look at official miles per gallon figures to find out how much fuel it will use. At the same time, most people have only a vague idea about how much energy their houses consume, even though home energy expenditures often account for a larger share of the household budget.... Read more »
N.A. McNabb. (2013) Strategies to Achieve Net-Zero Energy Homes: A Framework for Future Guidelines Workshop Summary Report. NIST Special Publication. DOI: 10.6028/NIST.SP.1140
- May 17, 2013
- 06:48 AM
- 78 views
CMS harbors new physics beyond the Standard Model
by Marco Frasca in The Gauge Connection
In these days is ongoing LHCP 2013 (First Large Hadron Collider Physics Conference) and CMS data seem to point significantly toward new physics. Their measurements on the production modes for WW and ZZ are agreeing with my recent computations (see here) and overall are deviating slightly from Standard Model expectations giving Note that Standard Model is alive and […]... Read more »
Marco Frasca. (2013) Revisiting the Higgs sector of the Standard Model. arXiv. arXiv: 1303.3158v1
Marco Frasca. (2010) Mass generation and supersymmetry. arXiv. arXiv: 1007.5275v2
T. G. Steele, & Zhi-Wei Wang. (2013) Is Radiative Electroweak Symmetry Breaking Consistent with a 125 GeV Higgs Mass?. Physical Review Letters, 151601. arXiv: 1209.5416v3
Krzysztof A. Meissner, & Hermann Nicolai. (2006) Conformal Symmetry and the Standard Model. Phys.Lett.B648:312-317,2007. arXiv: hep-th/0612165v4
- May 16, 2013
- 02:27 PM
- 38 views
Researchers Develop New Way to Produce Hydrogen From Water and Sunlight
by dailyfusion in The Daily Fusion
Using a combination of microanalytic techniques that at the same time image photoelectric current and chemical reaction rates across a surface on a micrometer scale, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have shed new light on what may become a cost-effective way to generate hydrogen gas directly from water and sunlight.... Read more »
Esposito, D., Levin, I., Moffat, T., & Talin, A. (2013) H2 evolution at Si-based metal–insulator–semiconductor photoelectrodes enhanced by inversion channel charge collection and H spillover. Nature Materials. DOI: 10.1038/nmat3626
- May 16, 2013
- 12:57 AM
- 1 view
GIGO and Lightning Formation (GIGO: Gammas In, Gammas Out)
by Hamilton Carter in Copasetic Flow
Two recent lightning studies provide interesting insight into the formation of lightning and the terrestrial gamma flashes, (also known as dark lightning), that sometimes accompany it[1][2][4]. While both studies make use of the radio pulses created during lightning formation they seem to differ in their explanations of how the radio pulses are created.Lake Maracaibo from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catatumbo_lightningFirst a little background on l........ Read more »
Østgaard N., Gjesteland T., Carlson B. E., Collier A. B., Cummer S., Lu G., & Christian H. J. (2013) Simultaneous observations of optical lightning and terrestrial gamma ray flash from space. Geophysical Research Letters. DOI: 10.1002/grl.50466
Gurevich A. V., & Karashtin A. N. (2013) Runaway Breakdown and Hydrometeors in Lightning Initiation. Physical Review Letters, 110(18). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.185005
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