Invading black holes cause 'cosmic flashes'September 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Mathematicians at the University of Leeds, UK, have determined that cosmic flashes, known as gamma ray bursts, are produced by jets of plasma that originate from invading black holes. Gamma ray bursts are beams of high-energy radiation that are similar to the radiation emitted by explosions of nuclear weapons.
Earth-sized moons may orbit around 'hot Jupiters'September 12th, 2009 SYDNEY - In a new study, scientists have determined that giant gas planets like Jupiter, which orbit close to their parent star, could harbour moons the size of Earth. According to a report by ABC News, the study was led by graduate student Tim Cassidy from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, US.
Laser tests may soon replace dentist's dreaded drillAugust 31st, 2009 LONDON - The dentist's dreaded drill may soon be a thing of past, thanks to the laser tests University of Sydney scientists have developed to identify weaknesses in dental enamel. Currently, X-rays and metal probes are used to check cavities, but they fail to detect weaknesses in the enamel in time to repair the surface.
Future astronauts may be sent to 'gravity holes'August 29th, 2009 LONDON - If scientists have their way, then space missions in the future might see astronauts being sent to 'gravity holes'. Gravitational "sweet spots" called Lagrange points lie at least 1 million kilometres away.
Scientists make major advance in understanding evolution of the universeAugust 20th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, a team of scientists has achieved a significant advance in the understanding of the early evolution of the universe, by putting new constraints on the details of how the universe looked in its earliest moments. The research was conducted by a team of scientists associated with the LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) Scientific Collaboration and the Virgo Collaboration.
Dancing helps galaxies lose weight!July 30th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In an interesting new research, astronomers have determined that dwarf spheroidal galaxies, which contain few stars relative to their total mass, are formed by indulging in a cosmic dance. Dwarf spheroidal galaxies appear to be made mostly of dark matter - a mysterious substance detectable only by its gravitational influence, which outweighs normal matter by a factor of five to one in the universe as a whole.
'Invisibility cloak' to protect buildings from earthquakesJuly 21st, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new research by scientists at the University of Liverpool has shown it is possible to develop an 'invisibility cloak' to protect buildings from earthquakes. Sebastien Guenneau, from the University's Department of Mathematics, developed the technology with Stefan Enoch and Mohamed Farhat from the Fresnel Institute (CNRS) in Marseilles.
Earliest stars in Universe may have been twinsJuly 10th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Astrophysicists, using extremely detailed computer simulations, have determined that the earliest stars in the universe formed not only as individuals, but sometimes also as twins. The robust simulations of the early universe were created by astrophysicists Matthew Turk and Tom Abel of the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, and Brian O'Shea of Michigan State University.
Tidal interaction making Earth and Sun push each other awayJune 2nd, 2009 LONDON - A new research has suggested that the Earth is moving away from the Sun because tidal interaction is making them both literally push each other away. Thanks to radar beams pinging off various solar-system bodies and to tracking of interplanetary spacecraft, the sun-Earth distance has been pegged with remarkable accuracy.
Lightning can sometimes behave in very un-spark-like waysJune 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists at the Florida Institute of Technology, using high-energy particles from space to probe thunderstorms, have accumulated evidence that lightning sometimes behaves in very un-spark-like ways. Lightning can start in regions of thunderstorms that have relatively low electric fields and, so, should create no sparks.
Cosmic "ghost" found lurking around supermassive black holeMay 29th, 2009 WASHINGTON - NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has found a cosmic "ghost" lurking around a distant supermassive black hole, which is the first detection of such a high-energy apparition, and may be evidence of a huge eruption produced by the black hole. The X-ray ghost, so-called because a diffuse X-ray source has remained after other radiation from the outburst has died away, is in the Chandra Deep Field-North, one of the deepest X-ray images ever taken.
Scientists detect giant atmospheric waves using auroras like flashlightsMay 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists, using auroras like flashlights, have exposed giant atmospheric waves crashing just above Earth that can endanger satellites. When strong winds crash into mountains or large atmospheric disturbances such as thunderstorms and hurricanes, the "explosion" sends invisible "shock waves" of air rippling outward in all directions at hundreds of miles an hour.
Crust of neutron stars 10 billion times stronger than steelApril 15th, 2009 LONDON - New simulations indicate that the crust of neutron stars is 10 billion times stronger than steel. According to a report in New Scientist, this finding makes the surface of these ultra-dense stars tough enough to support long-lived bulges that could produce gravitational waves detectable by experiments on Earth.
Giant solar waves spew more energy than 10 bn atom bombsMarch 21st, 2009 LONDON - Scientists have detected vast turbulent waves in the sun's lower atmosphere that at a time spew the energy equivalent of 10 billion nuclear warheads. Queen's University Belfast (QUB) scientists with researchers from the Universities of Sheffield and California State, have shed some light on why the corona, the region around the sun, has a much higher temperature than its surface - something of a puzzle to scientists.
Holographic universe might conceal many other dimensionsFebruary 9th, 2009 LONDON - Viennese scientists are trying to grasp the mysteries of the holographic principle: How many dimensions are there in our universe?
'A hologram, as you find it on bank notes or credit cards, appears to show a three-dimensional picture, even though in fact it is just two-dimensional,' Daniel Grumiller explained. He is at the Institute of Theoretical Physics, Vienna University of Technology.
Loading ...