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Alarm over shortage of nuclear experts The Boston Globe Share    
The United States is facing a critical shortage of nuclear scientists and engineers, even as demand rises for their expertise in managing an aging U.S. arsenal, monitoring dangerous weapons stockpiles around the world, and operating new nuclear power plants, according to the latest government figures and independent studies. Read the associated APS study. More
Solar flare activity doesn't account for recent warming Ars Technica Share
A paper published in Physical Review Letters shows that an apparent link between short-term solar activity and longer-term temperature trends may be an artifact resulting from poor analysis. Read the associated Physical Review Letters article. More Mass of the common quark finally nailed down ScienceNOW Share
It's not every day that scientists reduce the uncertainty in a fundamental constant of nature from 30 percent to 1.5 percent, but a team of theoretical physicists claims to have done just that. Using supercomputers and mind-bogglingly complex simulations, the researchers have calculated the masses of particles called "up quarks" and "down quarks" that make up protons and neutrons with 20 times greater precision than the previous standard. The new numbers could be a boon to theorists trying to decipher particle collisions at atom smashers like Europe's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) or trying to develop deeper theories of the structure of matter. Read the associated Physical Review Letters article. More Laser 'punch' could bump up fusion power NewScientist Share
How do you create efficient fusion power with fewer radioactive by-products? Use a laser to send the equivalent of a seismic wave through the fuel. A new proposal suggests that modifying the shape of the laser pulse that will compress and heat fuel in the National Ignition Facility could help ignite fusion by punching up the impulse delivered to a target pellet. More
Tiny water desalination device could help aid efforts Physics World Share
Each year, two million people -- mostly children -- die from water-borne diseases, such as diarrhea and cholera, according to the United Nations. The particularly vulnerable include those people trapped in disaster-stricken areas, such as victims of the recent earthquake in Haiti, who struggled to get clean water after damage to water resources. However, a technique that produces drinking water from seawater, using just small amounts of energy, could lead to a portable technology that could help to address this dire situation. More Invisibility cloak that generates virtual images gets closer to realization PhysOrg Share
In a twist on the concept of an invisibility cloak, researchers have designed a material that not only makes an object invisible, but also generates one or more virtual images in its place. Because it doesn't simply display the background environment to a viewer, this kind of optical device could have applications that go beyond other invisibility cloak schemes. Plus, unlike previously proposed illusion devices, the design proposed here could be realized with artificial metamaterials. More
Cosmic magnetic field strength measured ScienceNews Share
Astronomers say they have detected evidence of how strong the magnetic fields between galaxies must be. The finding helps illuminate how magnetism arose in the cosmos and could one day serve as a probe for understanding processes that happened soon after the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago. More Should the U.S. compete or cooperate with China on clean energy? USA Today Share
Amid recent studies suggesting the United States is losing the clean energy edge to China, the U.S. Department of Energy is helping fund a joint research center. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced $37.5 million in U.S. funding over the next five years for the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center, to be located at existing facilities in both countries. The Center will focus on energy efficiency, clean vehicles and carbon capture from coal plants. More
Hawking creates alter ego in kid's book UPI Share
Professor Stephen Hawking's daughter says the children's book she co-wrote with her father features a "fictional alter ego" for the British scientist. In "George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt," Eric, a brilliant scientist, helps his son, George, save Earth from a robot. Father and son travel to Mars for the mission. More A primer on the great proton smashup The New York Times Share
For those whose physics knowledge was a bit rusty, the news about the Large Hadron Collider, the world's biggest physics machine, might have been puzzling. Yes, the collider finally crashed subatomic particles into one another last week, but why, exactly, is that important? Here is a primer on the collider -- with just enough information, hopefully, to impress guests at your next cocktail party. More |
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