Laser cooling may be used to create "exotic" states of matterSeptember 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new study, scientists have determined that the technique of laser cooling could be used to create "exotic" states of matter. According to a report in National Geographic News, in a new technique, Martin Weitz and Ulrich Vogl of the University of Bonn in Germany used a laser to bring the temperature of dense rubidium gas far below the normal point at which the gas becomes a solid.
New laser technique may help find supernovasAugust 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have developed a laser technique that, in combination with standard techniques, would help to find supernovas. To find a supernova, the new technique would have to search for one single atom of a certain isotope of hafnium on Earth, which would prove that a supernova once exploded near our solar system.
Atomic clock based on ytterbium atoms 4 times more accurate than beforeAugust 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have said that an experimental atomic clock based on ytterbium atoms is about four times more accurate than it was several years ago, giving it a precision comparable to that of the NIST-F1 cesium fountain clock, the civilian time standard of the US. NIST scientists evaluated the clock by measuring the natural frequency of ytterbium, carefully accounting for all possible deviations such as those caused by collisions between the atoms, and by using NIST-F1 as a "ruler" for comparison.
Scientists make first direct measurement of lunar backscatter from solar windJuly 4th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A team of scientists has for the first time observed energetic neutral atoms scattered off the Moon from the incoming solar wind ion beam. When the solar wind, made up mostly of ionized hydrogen, hits the Moon, most of it is absorbed, but some is reemitted as energetic neutral atoms.
Century-old problem solved by discovery of 'a touch of glass' in tiny metal crystalsJune 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A team of scientists has claimed to have solved a century-old problem involving the proper understanding of tiny metal crystals in steel, by finding a 'touch of glass' in the crystals. The research team, from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), has recently found evidence of an important similarity between the behavior of polycrystalline materials, such as metals and ceramics, and glasses.
'Magnetic superatoms' maybe used to create faster computers with larger memoryJune 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have discovered a 'magnetic superatom', which one day may be used to create molecular electronic devices for the next generation of faster computers with larger memory storage. Found by a team of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) scientists, the 'magnetic superatom' is a stable cluster of atoms that can mimic different elements of the periodic table.
Scientists create nonexpanding metal using high pressureJune 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), using high pressure, have created a material that does not expand when heated, and acts like a metal with an entirely different chemical composition. For creating this material, the scientists had to squeeze a typical metal alloy at pressures hundreds of thousands of times greater than normal atmospheric pressure.
Tiny rotors may help develop nano-scale generatorsMay 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists are working on infinitesimally small rotors that may one day lead to nano-scale generators. Collaborating with the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, a research team have already probed the rotation of molecules on a fixed surface to understand how they may help in the development of future rotor-based machinery at nanoscale level.he researchers focussed on rotating magnetic fields, which play an important part in machines like electric motors and generators.
Scientists create clock that takes 300 million yrs to lose just 1secApril 17th, 2009 LONDON - Researchers studying ultra-cold atoms have made a clock that takes 300 million years to lose just one second. The atomic clock, which is twice as accurate as any similar device made previously, may believably turn out to be useful for measuring distances to far away galaxies, or for tracking tiny movements in the Earth's crust that may give a warning of earthquakes.
Scientists develop unique approach for splitting water into hydrogen and oxygenApril 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists at the Weizmann Institute's Organic Chemistry Department in the US have developed a unique approach for splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen. The design of efficient systems for splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, driven by sunlight is among the most important challenges facing science today, underpinning the long term potential of hydrogen as a clean, sustainable fuel.
New blockbuster: Watch a carbon atom make a moveApril 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Researchers working with the world's most powerful electron microscope have filmed carbon atoms in live motion for the first time, as the atoms repositioned themselves around the edge of a hole punched into a graphene sheet. Viewers of the 'movie' that promises to become a blockbuster - at least over the Internet - observed chemical bonds breaking and forming as the suddenly volatile atoms are driven to find a stable configuration.
Genes from fireflies shed light show causes of infertilityMarch 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Genes from fireflies and jellyfish are virtually shedding light on possible causes of infertility and auto-immune diseases in humans. Auto-immune diseases are those in which something goes wrong with your immune system and it attacks healthy cells and tissues and makes you sick.
Water plays the role of catalyst in explosivesMarch 21st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, US, have shown that water, in hot dense environments, plays an unexpected role in catalyzing complex explosive reactions. A catalyst is a compound that speeds chemical reactions without being consumed.
New technique makes atomic fountains clocks more stableMarch 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - With the aid of a new method developed by scientists in Germany, the output frequency of the atomic fountains clocks has become more stable. At present, Caesium fountain clocks are the most accurate clocks in the world, furnishing the second accurate to 15 places after the decimal point.
Dancing atoms help chemists understand how water molecules splitMarch 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Chemists have used single oxygen atoms dancing on a metal oxide slab, to get a better understanding of how water splits into oxygen and hydrogen, which would improve their understanding of the chemistry needed to generate hydrogen fuel from water or to clean contaminated water. The scientists, from the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), made the discovery while trying to determine the basics of how titanium dioxide - a compound sometimes found in sunscreen - breaks down water.
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