|
Researchers Claim to Cook Up Isolated Magnetic Poles
from Scientific American
A pair of papers published this week offer experimental evidence that magnetic monopoles do in fact exist, albeit not as electron-like elementary particles, a caveat that one self-professed purist says disqualifies them from genuine monopole status. Full Article
Code-breaking Quantum Algorithm Run on a Silicon Chip
from NewScientist
A quantum calculation able to crack one of the most common forms of data encryption has been performed on a silicon chip for the first time. The study demonstrates that complex quantum circuits can be built relatively easily out of silicon and silica – a significant milestone on the road to full-blown quantum computing. Full Article
Lasers Can Chill Stuff Super Fast
from Wired
Need to cool something extra-fast? New research suggests that lasers might do the trick. Physicists proposed the idea of laser cooling 30 years ago, but until recently, experiments had been successful only with low-pressure gases. Now, German researchers have shown that bombarding high-pressure gas with a laser can produce dramatic cooling, dropping the temperature as much as 66 degrees Celsius (about 119 degrees Fahrenheit) in a matter of seconds. Full Article
Celestial Population Boom
from ScienceNews
The number of car-to-house-sized meteoroids whizzing through the Earth's neighborhood is about 10 times higher than Earth-based telescopic surveys suggest, a new study reveals. That finding, reported online Aug. 28 and in an upcoming Journal of Geophysical Research–Planets, comes from analyses of recently declassified data on infrasonic waves in the atmosphere detected between November 1960 and April 1972. Full Article
Diamonds are for Softies – Boron is Harder
from NewScientist
You don't often break a diamond. So when in 2003 Dave Mao cracked a tooth of his diamond anvil, he knew something extraordinary must have happened. Together with his daughter Wendy and other colleagues at the Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C., he was using the device to test materials at pressures many millions of times higher than those at the Earth's surface - higher even than in our planet's core - by squeezing them between two tiny diamond jaws. Full Article
Physicists Shed Light on Mysterious Battlefield Injury
from Physics World
A common battlefield brain injury could originate in the blast waves of nearby explosions, even though such waves cause relatively small accelerations of a soldier's body. Full Article
U.S. Awards $503M for Renewable Energy Projects
from Reuters
The U.S. Energy and Treasury Departments announced $503 million in government cash grants to companies developing renewable energy projects. The funding will help meet the Obama administration's goal of doubling U.S. renewable energy production over the next three years, creating jobs and providing financing on easier terms than many companies can obtain in the private sector. Full Article
The Real Sea Monsters: On the Hunt for Rogue Waves
from Scientific American
A near-vertical wall of water in what had been an otherwise placid sea shocked all on board the ocean liner Teutonic – including the crew – on that Sunday in February, more than a century ago. Full Article
| 
