Friday 4 October 2013

Physicists 'entangle' microscopic drum's beat with electrical signals

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Extending evidence of quantum behavior farther into the large-scale world of everyday life, physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have "entangled"—linked the properties of—a microscopic mechanical drum with electrical signals.



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Improving lithium-ion batteries with nanoscale research

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New research led by an electrical engineer at the University of California, San Diego is aimed at improving lithium (Li) ion batteries through possible new electrode architectures with precise nano-scale designs. The researchers have presented nanowires that block diffusion of lithium across the wire's silicon surface and promote layer-by-layer axial lithiation of the nanowire's germanium core.



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'Accelerator on a chip' demonstrated

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In an advance that could dramatically shrink particle accelerators for science and medicine, researchers used a laser to accelerate electrons at a rate 10 times higher than conventional technology in a nanostructured glass chip smaller than a grain of rice.



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Scientists directly observe bound states of elementary magnets in ferromagnetic quantum crystals

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Simulating solid state properties with precisely controlled quantum systems is an important goal of the Quantum Many-Body Systems Division at MPQ. Now the team around Professor Immanuel Bloch (Chair for Experimental Physics at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich and Director at MPQ) has come again a step closer to it – to be precise, to the understanding of processes in ferromagnetic solid state crystals in which elementary excitations, so-called magnons, can emerge. About 80 years ago the German physicist Hans Bethe deduced from a theoretical model that in one-dimensional ferromagnets two of those elementary magnetic excitations can form a bound state. Like two tiny bar magnets, two atoms can stick together and form a new particle that propagates in the crystal. The MPQ team has now succeeded to observe these most elementary mobile magnetic domains, the two-magnon states, directly and to resolve their dynamics with time-resolved measurements. This study complements conventional spectroscopy in solid state crystals which yields information on momentum and frequency of the magnetic excitations. Bound states of excitations can influence the thermal conductance properties of low-dimensional ferromagnets or the propagation speed of quantum information in magnetic wires.



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Observations reveal critical interplay of interstellar dust, hydrogen

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(Phys.org) —For astrophysicists, the interplay of hydrogen—the most common molecule in the universe—and the vast clouds of dust that fill the voids of interstellar space has been an intractable puzzle of stellar evolution.



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A first: Stanford engineers build computer using carbon nanotube technology

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A team of Stanford engineers has built a basic computer using carbon nanotubes, a semiconductor material that has the potential to launch a new generation of electronic devices that run faster, while using less energy, than those made from silicon chips.



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'Jekyll and Hyde' star morphs from radio to X-ray pulsar and back again

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Astronomers have uncovered the strange case of a neutron star with the peculiar ability to transform from a radio pulsar into an X-ray pulsar and back again. This star's capricious behavior appears to be fueled by a nearby companion star and may give new insights into the birth of millisecond pulsars.



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Researchers devise means to combine scanning tunneling microscopy and infrared spectroscopy

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(Phys.org) —A team of researchers at the University of California with members also from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Stanford University has succeeded in combining tunneling microscopy and infrared spectroscopy to gain a better understanding of how molecules behave when they stick to a surface. In their paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters, the team describes how they used a custom built laser to allow for performing infrared spectroscopy with scanning tunneling microscopy without heating its tip.



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Herschel throws new light on oldest cosmic light

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(Phys.org) —Cosmologists have achieved a first detection of a long-sought component in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). This component, known as B-mode polarisation, is caused by gravitational lensing, the bending of light by massive structures as it travels across the Universe. The result is based on the combination of data from the South Pole Telescope and ESA's Herschel Space Observatory. This detection is a milestone along the way to the possible discovery of another kind of B-mode signal in the polarised CMB - a signal produced by gravitational waves less than a second after the Universe began.



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Engineers invent programming language to build synthetic DNA

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Similar to using Python or Java to write code for a computer, chemists soon could be able to use a structured set of instructions to "program" how DNA molecules interact in a test tube or cell.



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Scientists create never-before-seen form of matter

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Harvard and MIT scientists are challenging the conventional wisdom about light, and they didn't need to go to a galaxy far, far away to do it.



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How engineers revamped Spitzer to probe exoplanets

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(Phys.org) —Now approaching its 10th anniversary, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has evolved into a premier observatory for an endeavor not envisioned in its original design: the study of worlds around other stars, called exoplanets. While the engineers and scientists who built Spitzer did not have this goal in mind, their visionary work made this unexpected capability possible. Thanks to the extraordinary stability of its design and a series of subsequent engineering reworks, the space telescope now has observational powers far beyond its original limits and expectations.



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Evidence for densest galaxy in nearby universe

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Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory and telescopes on the ground may have found the most crowded galaxy in our part of the universe.



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Simulations help researchers decide which technology would make a better solar collector, quantum dot or nanowire

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A trio of researchers at North Dakota State University and the University of South Dakota have turned to computer modeling to help decide which of two competing materials should get its day in the sun as the nanoscale energy-harvesting technology of future solar panels—quantum dots or nanowires.



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Nanofabrication: Medical sensors improve with holey gold nanostructures

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Recent advances in nanotechnology are providing new possibilities for medical imaging and sensing. Gold nanostructures, for example, can enhance the fluorescence of marker dyes that are commonly used to detect biomolecules and diagnose specific diseases.



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Sensor provides new approach to molecule detection on silicon surfaces

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Alastair McLean and Benedict Drevniok from the Department of Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy and their collaborators have found a way to "feel" the surface of silicon molecules at the molecular level.



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Physicists use blind quantum computing to verify results of quantum computer

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(Phys.org) —A team of researchers working at the University of Vienna, has developed a technique for verifying results produced by a quantum computer. In their paper published in the journal Nature Physics, the researchers explain how their method uses one simple quantum computer to verify results produced by another that is far more powerful.



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Researchers make headway in quantum information transfer via nanomechanical coupling

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Fiber optics has made communication faster than ever, but the next step involves a quantum leap –– literally. In order to improve the security of the transfer of information, scientists are working on how to translate electrical quantum states to optical quantum states in a way that would enable ultrafast, quantum-encrypted communications.



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Simulation sets atoms shivering

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(Phys.org) —In "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" (JK Rowling, 1997), Harry, Ron, and Hermione encounter a massive stone chessboard, one of many obstacles in their path. To advance, they must play, and win. Although the board and pieces are much larger than normal, and the circumstances a bit peculiar, one thing remains clear to them—this is a game of chess, with the same rules as always.



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Dating our galaxy's dormant volcano

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(Phys.org) —A dormant volcano—a supermassive black hole—lies at the heart of our galaxy. Fresh evidence suggests that it last erupted two million years ago.



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Crystal quantum memories for quantum communication

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Research into the strange phenomenon known as quantum entanglement - once described as 'spooky' by Albert Einstein - could revolutionise ICT over the coming years, enabling everything from ultra-fast computing to completely secure long-distance communications. EU-funded researchers are carrying out cutting-edge work on quantum technologies, with one team recently demonstrating a key breakthrough in extending the range of quantum communications.



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Goodbye Big Bang, hello black hole? A new theory of the universe's creation

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Could the famed "Big Bang" theory need a revision? A group of theoretical physicists suppose the birth of the universe could have happened after a four-dimensional star collapsed into a black hole and ejected debris.



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Researchers reveal Earth's habitable lifetime and investigate potential for alien life

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Habitable conditions on Earth will be possible for at least another 1.75 billion years – according to astrobiologists at the University of East Anglia.



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Young stars cooking in the Prawn Nebula

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The glowing jumble of gas clouds visible in this new image make up a huge stellar nursery nicknamed the Prawn Nebula. Taken using the VLT Survey Telescope at ESO's Paranal Observatory in Chile, this may well be the sharpest picture ever taken of this object. It shows clumps of hot new-born stars nestled in among the clouds that make up the nebula.



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On the road to fault-tolerant quantum computing: High temperature superconductivity in a toplogical insulator

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Reliable quantum computing would make it possible to solve certain types of extremely complex technological problems millions of times faster than today's most powerful supercomputers. Other types of problems that quantum computing could tackle would not even be feasible with today's fastest machines. The key word is "reliable." If the enormous potential of quantum computing is to be fully realized, scientists must learn to create "fault-tolerant" quantum computers. A small but important step toward this goal has been achieved by an international collaboration of researchers from China's Tsinghua University and the DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) working at the Advanced Light Source (ALS).



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Magnetic field may shape 'blooming' star

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(Phys.org) —An old star, IRAS 15445-5449, has begun to push out a jet of charged particles that glow with radio waves.



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Hubble Repairs iPad Covers

Here's a great iPad case from Zazzle featuring a Hubble-related design. Maybe you'd like to see your name on it? Click to personalize and see what it's like!

who do you know that would like one of these? A special design by themilkyway,
another talented creative from the Zazzle community!


tagged with: hubble repairs, hubble, technology, hubble over earth, space, universe, galaxy, hubble telescope, satellite, exploration, space exploration, nasa, science, earth, orbiting, telescope

.

»visit the themilkyway store for more designs and products like this
The Zazzle Promise: We promise 100% satisfaction. If you don't absolutely love it, we'll take it back!

Scientists observe competing quantum effects on the kinetic energy of protons in water

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(Phys.org) —Quantum mechanics plays an important role in determining the structure and dynamics of water, down to the level of the atomic nuclei. Sometimes, nuclear quantum effects (NQEs) along different molecular axes compete with each other and partially cancel each other out. This phenomenon is thought to play a role in determining the melting and boiling temperatures of water. Now for the first time, scientists have experimentally observed that two large components of NQEs partially cancel each other out to result in a small net effect on the melting and boiling points of water.



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Beyond quantum simulation: Physicists create 'crystal' of spin-swapping ultracold molecules

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Physicists at JILA have created a crystal-like arrangement of ultracold gas molecules that can swap quantum "spin" properties with nearby and distant partners. The novel structure might be used to simulate or even invent new materials that derive exotic properties from quantum spin behavior, for electronics or other practical applications.



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Laying down a discerning membrane

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One of the thinnest membranes ever made is also highly discriminating when it comes to the molecules going through it. Engineers have constructed a graphene oxide membrane less than 2 nanometers thick with high permeation selectivity between hydrogen and carbon dioxide gas molecules.

via Science Daily

ALMA discovers large 'hot' cocoon around a small baby star

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International research team, led by researcher at the University of Electro-Communication observed an infrared dark cloud G34.43+00.24 MM3 with ALMA and discovered a baby star surrounded by a large hot cloud. This hot cloud is about ten times larger than those found around typical solar-mass baby stars. Hot molecular clouds around new-born stars are called "Hot Cores" and have temperature of – 160 degrees Celsius, 100 degrees hotter than normal molecular clouds. The large size of the hot core discovered by ALMA shows that much more energy is emitted from the central baby star than typical solar-mass young stars. This may be due to the higher mass infall rate, or multiplicity of the central baby star. This result indicates a large diversity in the star formation process.



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Carbon nanotube logic device operates on subnanowatt power

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(Phys.org) —Researchers have demonstrated a new carbon nanotube (CNT)-based logic device that consumes just 0.1 nanowatts (nW) in its static ON and OFF states, representing the lowest reported value by 3 orders of magnitude for CNT-based CMOS logic devices. The device could serve as a building block for large-area, ultralow-power CNT logic circuits that can be used to realize a variety of nanoelectronics applications.



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Promising new alloy for resistive switching memory

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Memory based on electrically-induced "resistive switching" effects have generated a great deal of interest among engineers searching for faster and smaller devices because resistive switching would allow for a higher memory density.



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Densest array of carbon nanotubes grown to date

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Carbon nanotubes' outstanding mechanical, electrical and thermal properties make them an alluring material to electronics manufacturers. However, until recently scientists believed that growing the high density of tiny graphene cylinders needed for many microelectronics applications would be difficult.



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Building bridges between nanowires

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Place a layer of gold only a few atoms high on a surface bed of germanium, apply heat to it, and wires will form of themselves. Gold-induced wires is what Mocking prefers to call them. Not 'gold wires', as the wires are not made solely out of gold atoms but also contain germanium. They are no more than a few atoms in height and are separated by no more than 1.6 nanometres (a nanometre is one millionth of a millimetre). Nanotechnologists bridge this small 'gap' with a copper-phthalocyanine molecule. A perfect fit. This molecule was found to be able to rotate if the electrons coursing towards it possess sufficient energy, allowing it to function as a switch. What's more: the copper atom of this molecule floats in the vacuum above the gap - fully detached. This might allow researchers to identify new properties the nanowires may possess.



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Researchers make flexible, transparent e-paper from silicon

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(Phys.org) —In the growing area of flexible, transparent electronic devices, silicon has not played much of a role. Instead, materials such as indium tin oxide, carbon nanotubes, and others are often used to make bendable electronics.



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Container's material properties affect the viscosity of water at the nanoscale

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Water pours into a cup at about the same rate regardless of whether the water bottle is made of glass or plastic.



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Clues to the growth of the colossus in Coma

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A team of astronomers has discovered enormous arms of hot gas in the Coma cluster of galaxies by using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA's XMM-Newton. These features, which span at least half a million light years, provide insight into how the Coma cluster has grown through mergers of smaller groups and clusters of galaxies to become one of the largest structures in the Universe held together by gravity.



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Crab Nebula Wall Decal

Here's a great wall decal featuring a beautiful image from deep space

today I've chosen for you this popular design from Zazzle. It was created by SayHello,
another talented creative from the Zazzle community!


tagged with: crab nebula, supernova, remnant, pulsar, wind nebula, nebulae, space, astronomy, universe

The Crab Nebula is a supernova remnant and pulsar wind nebula in the constellation of Taurus.

»visit the SayHello store for more designs and products like this
Click to customize.
via Zazzle Astronomy market place

Monogram - Sculpted Region of the Orion Nebula Sticker

Here's a great sheet of stickers featuring a beautiful image from deep space


tagged with: peel off, envelope sealers, galaxies and stars, orion nebula detail, sculpted gas clouds, sgcion, stellar winds, sculpting trapezium stars, messier 42, messier 43

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series A region within the Orion Nebula showing the sculpting effect that stars can have on any surrounding gas clouds. This glowing region reveals arcs and bubbles formed when stellar winds - streams of charged particles ejected by the nearby Trapezium stars - collide with material.

more items with this image
more items in the Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series

image code: sgcion

Image credit: NASA, ESA, M. Robberto (Space Telescope Science Institute/ESA) and the Hubble Space Telescope Orion Treasury Project Team

»visit the HightonRidley store for more designs and products like this
Click to customize.
via Zazzle Astronomy market place

Hubble watches star clusters on a collision course print

Here's a great poster featuring a beautiful image from deep space

I love browsing around and bumping into cool stuff. Check this out, created by freshpaperie,
another talented creative from the Zazzle community!


tagged with: astronomy, hubble, space, telescope, stars, star, clusters, collision, nasa, poster

credit: By NASA Goddard Space Flight Center from Greenbelt, MD, USA (Hubble Watches Star Clusters on a Collision Course) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

»visit the freshpaperie store for more designs and products like this
Click to customize with size, paper type etc.
via Zazzle Astronomy market place

"Hubble Space Telescope" iPad Cases

Here's a great iPad case from Zazzle featuring a Hubble-related design. Maybe you'd like to see your name on it? Click to personalize and see what it's like!

here's a cool design that is sure to work out for you. It was created by JMeyerMedia,
another talented creative from the Zazzle community!


tagged with: hubble, space, telescope, new, astronomy, images, us - nasa

Hubble Space Telescope

»visit the JMeyerMedia store for more designs and products like this
The Zazzle Promise: We promise 100% satisfaction. If you don't absolutely love it, we'll take it back!

New biomimetic material to develop nanosensors

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The new features of this biomimetic material will allow us to develop multiple nanometer-sized chemical sensors over the same substrate by electron beam lithography, as a result, multifunctional biochips of major versatility will be developed. The possibility to record at nanometric scale is an essential benefit facing traditional biomimetic materials since this new material developed by researchers at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) and the Universidad Complutense (UCM) within the framework of Moncloa campus provides commercial potential applications.



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Researchers apply transmission electron microscopy through unique graphene liquid cell (w/ Video)

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(Phys.org) —Autumn is usually not such a great time for big special effects movies as the summer blockbusters have faded and those for the holiday season have not yet opened. Fall is more often the time for thoughtful films about small subjects, which makes it perfect for the unveiling of a new movie produced by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Through a combination of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and their own unique graphene liquid cell, the researchers have recorded the three-dimensional motion of DNA connected to gold nanocrystals. This is the first time TEM has been used for 3D dynamic imaging of so-called soft materials.



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