Researchers discover breakthrough technique that could make electronics smaller and better

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An international group of researchers from the University of Minnesota, Argonne National Laboratory and Seoul National University have discovered a groundbreaking technique in manufacturing nanostructures that has the potential to make electrical and optical devices smaller and better than ever before. A surprising low-tech tool of Scotch Magic tape ended up being one of the keys to the discovery.



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New system for quantum simulation proposed

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Researchers have proposed a new platform for quantum simulation. They show that a combined system of ultracold trapped ions and fermionic atoms could be used to emulate solid state physics. This system may outperform possibilities of existing platforms as a number of phenomena found in solid state systems are naturally included, such as the fermionic statistics of the electrons and the electron-sound wave interactions.

via Science Daily

'We may be able to watch dark energy turn on': Unprecedented sky survey

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Moonless nights outside the Cerro Tololo astronomical observatory in Chile are so dark that when you look down, you can't see your feet. "You can't see your hands," said a physicist. "But you can hold them up to the sky and see a hand-shaped hole with no stars in it. It's really incredible."

via Science Daily

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Eagle lander samsung galaxy s4 case

Here's a great product from Zazzle featuring an astronomy case. Maybe you'd like to see your name on it? Click to personalize and see what it's like!

what do you think of this one? I bumped into it and thought it was cool. By widam3d,
another talented artist from the Zazzle community!

Eagle lander samsung galaxy s4 case

Eagle lander, the spaceship that went to the moon on your phone, for space fans.

»visit the widam3d 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!

NASA Invites Children, Families to Learn About NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory Mission

The Sunday Experiment is a free afternoon for children of all ages and their families to discover NASA Goddard's exciting missions on Sept. 15, 2013.

via NASA Breaking News

http://www.nasa.gov/press/2013/september/nasa-invites-children-families-to-learn-about-nasas-solar-dynamics-observatory

Quantum inverted pendulum: Control scheme dynamically maintains unstable quantum system

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A simple pendulum has two equilibrium points: hanging in the "down" position and perfectly inverted in the "up" position. While the "down" position is a stable equilibrium, the inverted position is definitely not stable. Any infinitesimal deviation from perfectly inverted is enough to cause the pendulum to eventually swing down.



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Atom-based analogues to electronic devices

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Scientists have pushed back the boundaries of atom-based transport, creating a current by characterizing the many-body effects in the transport of the atoms along a periodic lattice. Scientists adopted a new analytical approach before comparing it to approximate numerical simulations.

via Science Daily

Soyuz Landing Coverage Set for NASA Television

NASA Television will provide live coverage Tuesday, Sept. 10, as three of the crew members on the International Space Station return home, ending more than five months in space.

via NASA Breaking News

http://www.nasa.gov/press/2013/september/soyuz-landing-coverage-set-for-nasa-television

New computer model will help design flexible touchscreens

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Electronic devices with touchscreens are ubiquitous, and one key piece of technology makes them possible: transparent conductors. However, the cost and the physical limitations of the material these conductors are usually made of are hampering progress toward flexible touchscreen devices.



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NASA-Led Study Reveals Industrial Soot's Role in 1800s Glacier Retreat

A NASA-led team of scientists has uncovered strong evidence that soot from a rapidly industrializing Europe caused the abrupt retreat of mountain glaciers in the European Alps that began in the 1860s, a period often thought of as the end of the Little Ice Age.

via NASA Breaking News

http://www.nasa.gov/press/2013/september/nasa-led-study-reveals-industrial-soots-role-in-1800s-glacier-retreat

Researchers propose a new system for quantum simulation

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Researchers from the universities in Mainz, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Ulm have proposed a new platform for quantum simulation. In a theoretical paper recently published in Physical Review Letters, they show that a combined system of ultracold trapped ions and fermionic atoms could be used to emulate solid state physics. This system may outperform possibilities of existing platforms as a number of phenomena found in solid state systems are naturally included, such as the fermionic statistics of the electrons and the electron-sound wave interactions.



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NuSTAR delivers the X-ray goods

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(Phys.org) —NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, is giving the wider astronomical community a first look at its unique X-ray images of the cosmos. The first batch of data from the black-hole hunting telescope was publicly available on Aug. 29, via NASA's High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center, or HEASARC.



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The challenge of keeping cool

Laurent Tavian

The compressor unit of the 4.5 K refrigerator at Point 6. The unit provides 18 kW cooling capacity. There are eight of these units in the complete system (Image: CERN)

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is one of the coldest places on Earth, with superconducting magnets – the key defining feature – that operate at 1.9 K. While there may be colder places in other laboratories, none compares to the LHC’s scale and complexity. The cryogenic system that provides the cooling for the superconducting magnets, with their total cold mass of 36,000 tonnes, is the largest and most advanced of its kind. It has been running continuously at some level since January 2007, providing stalwart service and achieving an availability equivalent to more than 99% per cryogenic plant.

Read more: "The challenge of keeping cool" – CERN Courier

via CERN updates

http://home.web.cern.ch/about/updates/2013/09/challenge-keeping-cool

Quantum steps towards the Big Bang

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(Phys.org) —Present-day physics cannot describe what happened in the Big Bang. Quantum theory and the theory of relativity fail in this almost infinitely dense and hot primal state of the universe. Only an all-encompassing theory of quantum gravity which unifies these two fundamental pillars of physics could provide an insight into how the universe began. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) in Golm/Potsdam and the Perimeter Institute in Canada have made an important discovery along this route. According to their theory, space consists of tiny "building blocks". Taking this as their starting point, the scientists arrive at one of the most fundamental equations of cosmology, the Friedmann equation, which describes the universe. This shows that quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity really can be unified.



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The Drake Equation revisited: An interview with Sara Seager

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Planet hunters keep finding distant worlds that bear a resemblance to Earth. Some of the thousands of exoplanet candidates discovered to date have similar sizes or temperatures. Others possess rocky surfaces and support atmospheres. But no world has yet provided an unambiguous sign of the characteristic that still sets our pale blue dot apart: the presence of life.



Zazzle Space market place

Night Sky Mosaic iPhone 4 Cover

Here's a great product from Zazzle featuring an astronomy case. Maybe you'd like to see your name on it? Click to personalize and see what it's like!

it's always a pleasure to choose a design from JustPretty,
another talented artist from the Zazzle community!

Night Sky Mosaic iPhone 4 Cover

Geometric shapes create a mosaic or stained glass effect for a unique night sky phone case.

»visit the JustPretty 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!

Eagle Lander Case For iPad

Here's a great product from Zazzle featuring an astronomy case. Maybe you'd like to see your name on it? Click to personalize and see what it's like!

it's always a pleasure to choose a design from widam3d,
another talented artist from the Zazzle community!

Eagle Lander Case For iPad

Eagle lander, the spaceship that went to the moon on your phone, for space fans.

»visit the widam3d 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!

Phoenix on Space Carina Nebula - universe backdrop Samsung Galaxy S3 Covers

Phoenix on Space Carina Nebula - universe backdrop Samsung Galaxy S3 Covers

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series An awesome mobile phone skin with a stylized Rising Golden Phoenix and featuring the 7,500 light year distant Carina Nebula. This Hubble image shows rich, interstellar gas clouds feeding the formation of new stars. As a proto star forms, the gas clouds get dragged to its surface and some gets emitted as tight jets of material travelling at hundreds of miles per second. These in turn help sculpt the gas clouds into weird and grotesque shapes, some looking like strange worms, swimming through space.

more items with this image
more items in the Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series
image codes: cnbigc phnx

Image credit: NASA, the Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI) and ESA
via Zazzle Astronomy market place