Scientists have developed a new concept of mathematical modeling

A team of scientists from the Research Center "Fundamental Problems of Thermophysics and Mechanics," of Samara Polytech is engaged in the construction of new mathematical models and the search for methods for their study in relation to a wide range of local nonequilibrium transport processes in various physical systems. An innovative approach developed not so long ago is based on a modern version of third-generation thermodynamics. The project of these scientists, "Development, theoretical research and experimental verification of mathematical models of oscillatory processes, heat and mass transfer and thermomechanics with two- and multiphase delays" was among the winners of the RFBR contest. Recent research results are published in the journal Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications.

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Buckyballs release electron-positron pairs in forward directions

When electrons collide with positrons, their antimatter counterparts, unstable pairs can form in which both types of particle orbit around each other. Named 'positronium,' physicists have now produced this intriguing structure using a diverse range of positron targets—from atomic gases to metal films. However, they have yet to achieve the same result from vapours of nanoparticles, whose unique properties are influenced by the 'gases' of free electrons they contain in well-defined, nanoscopic regions.

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Electronics at the speed of light

A European team of researchers including physicists from the University of Konstanz has found a way of transporting electrons at times below the femtosecond range by manipulating them with light. This could have major implications for the future of data processing and computing.

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Physicists find ways to overcome signal loss in magnonic circuits

Researchers from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Kotelnikov Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics, and N.G. Chernyshevsky Saratov State University have demonstrated that the coupling elements in magnonic logic circuits are so crucial that a poorly selected waveguide can lead to signal loss. The physicists developed a parametric model for predicting the waveguide configuration that avoids signal loss, built a prototype waveguide, and tested the model in an experiment. Their paper was published in the Journal of Applied Physics.

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The coolest LEGO in the universe

For the first time, LEGO has been cooled to the lowest temperature possible in an experiment which reveals a new use for the popular toy.

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Study suggests universal method for measuring light power

Always on the lookout for better ways to measure all kinds of things, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have published a detailed study suggesting an "elegant" improved definition for the standard unit of light power, the optical watt.

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'The Demon in the Machine' is named physics book of the year in UK

Paul Davies' newest book, The Demon in the Machine, takes aim at one of the great outstanding scientific enigmas—what is life, how and why does it emerge and what distinguishes the living from the non-living? The book, which was published this past October in the U.S. has now been named the top physics book of 2019 by Physics World, a publication of the UK Institute of Physics.

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No storm in a teacup: It's a cyclone on a silicon chip

University of Queensland researchers have combined quantum liquids and silicon-chip technology to study turbulence for the first time, opening the door to new navigation technologies and improved understanding of the turbulent dynamics of cyclones and other extreme weather.

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Researchers directly measure 'Cheerios effect' forces for the first time

There's an interesting fluid dynamics phenomenon that happens every morning in millions of cereal bowls. When there are just a few bits of cereal left floating on top of the milk, they tend to cluster together in the middle or around the edges of the bowl, rather than dispersing across the surface.

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Improving efficiency, effectiveness of security X-ray technology

The smuggling of contraband, such as explosives and drugs, is a major threat in airport security. These risks have increased in modern times with the uptick in parcel delivery, but security inspection methods have not seen any significant improvements.

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First intrinsic magnetic topological insulator discovered

The so-called topological insulators are those materials that are insulators in bulk, i.e., those that do not allow electric currents in their volume, but that are conductors on their surfaces. Unlike the usual conductors, that is, metals, the electric current circulating in a topological insulator does not suffer any loss of energy. This property opens great possibilities for application in electronics, since it would enable the fabrication of more efficient, faster and low-energy consumption devices. This is an objective as desirable as it is necessary in the current scenario of rapid advance of energy demand worldwide, which threatens our environment. For that very reason, the discovery of topological insulators about a decade ago caused a global research boom in the fields of nanotechnology and condensed matter physics.

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Ultrashort X-ray technique to probe conditions found at the heart of planets

Combining powerful lasers and bright X-rays, Imperial and STFC researchers have demonstrated a technique that will allow new extreme experiments.

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Physicists determine the barely-measurable property entropy for the first time in complex plasmas

Since the end of the 19th century, physicists have known that the transfer of energy from one body to another is associated with entropy. It quickly became clear that this quantity is of fundamental importance, and so began its triumphant rise as a useful theoretical quantity in physics, chemistry and engineering. However, it is often very difficult to measure. Professor Dietmar Block and Frank Wieben of Kiel University (CAU) have now succeeded in measuring entropy in complex plasmas, as they reported recently in the renowned scientific journal Physical Review Letters. In a system of charged microparticles within this ionized gas, the researchers were able to measure all positions and velocities of the particles simultaneously. In this way, they were able to determine the entropy, as it was already described theoretically by the physicist Ludwig Boltzmann around 1880.

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For Canadian researcher, it's a microscopic Christmas

There was Tiny Tim, and then the Little Drummer Boy—but they had nothing on the microscopic gingerbread house believed to be the smallest in the world and unveiled Wednesday by a Canadian researcher.

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Researchers crack Newton's elusive three-body problem

It's been nearly 350 years since Sir Isaac Newton outlined the laws of motion, claiming "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." These laws laid the foundation to understand our solar system and, more broadly, to understand the relationship between a body of mass and the forces that act upon it. However, Newton's groundbreaking work also created a pickle that has baffled scientists for centuries: The Three-Body Problem.

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Topological materials for information technology offer lossless transmission of signals

New experiments with magnetically doped topological insulators at BESSY II have revealed possible methods of lossless signal transmission that involve a surprising self-organization phenomenon. In the future, it might be possible to develop materials with such characteristics at room temperature that can be used as processing units in quantum computing, for example. The study has been published in Nature.

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Research reveals a singular moment: When a bubble breaks free

Understanding how a drop or bubble suspended in a larger mass of fluid divides into multiple pieces is invaluable for engineers designing chemical reactors, engines and ships, as well as for geoscientists studying interactions of oceans and the atmosphere. But the difficult math underlying the phenomenon has forced scientists to rely on idealized systems that lack real-world nuance. Now, researchers at Princeton University have described the breakup of bubbles surrounded by turbulent flows like those found in industrial processes or in nature.

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Study unveils new spatiotemporal dynamics of carriers in perovskite thin films

Hybrid organic or inorganic halide perovskites are a unique class of solar cell materials that break some of the material design rules that have been in place for over 30 years. For instance, they can achieve an extraordinarily high performance, despite being rich in defects and disordered on a macroscopic scale.

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Products of nuclear transmutations are spotted with unprecedented detail

Ancient Greeks imagined that everything in the natural world came from their goddess Physis; her name is the source of the word physics. Present-day nuclear physicists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have created a GODDESS of their own—a detector providing insight into astrophysical nuclear reactions that produce the elements heavier than hydrogen (this lightest of elements was created right after the Big Bang).

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Discovery reveals tractionless motion is possible

In an article published in Physical Review Letters, Bristol scientists have answered the fundamental question: "Is it possible to move without exerting force on the environment?", by describing the tractionless self-propulsion of active matter.

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Leptons help in tracking new physics

Electrons with 'colleagues'—other leptons—are one of many products of collisions observed in the LHCb experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. According to theorists, some of these particles may be created in processes that extend beyond standard physics. The latest analysis verifies these predictions.

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New heat model may help electronic devices last longer

A University of Illinois-based team of engineers has found that the model currently used to predict heat loss in a common semiconductor material does not apply in all situations. By testing the thermal properties of gallium nitride semiconductors fabricated using four popular methods, the team discovered that some techniques produce materials that perform better than others. This new understanding can help chip manufacturers find ways to better diffuse the heat that leads to device damage and decreased device lifespans.

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Laser-based prototype probes cold atom dynamics

By tracking the motions of cold atom clouds, astronomers can learn much about the physical processes which play out in the depths of space. To make these measurements, researchers currently use instruments named 'cold atom inertial sensors' which, so far, have largely been operated inside the lab. In new work published in EPJ D, a team of physicists at Muquans and LNE-SYRTE (the French national metrology laboratory for time, frequency and gravimetry) present an innovative prototype for a new industrial laser system. Their design paves the way for the development of cold atom inertial sensors in space.

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A general theory on explosions that happen against deformable objects

In line with current international research about the interaction of matter with high energies, the University of Seville researcher Alfonso M. Gañán Calvo has studied the explosive behavior of matter subjected to the highest known energy densities produced by humans on the Earth. As a result, he has developed a general theory and the first predictive analytical model of a three-dimensional violent explosion against a liquid object (very deformable). The scientific article that gathers these results has been given the distinction of being highlighted as a suggested article by the editor of Physical Review Letters in the latest issue of that publication.

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Physicist proposes a new approach in modeling the evolution of the universe

A physicist from RUDN University has proposed a new theoretical model for the interaction of spinor and gravitational fields. He considered the evolution of the universe within one of the variants of the widespread Bianchi cosmological model. In this case, a change in the calculated field parameters led to changes in the evolution of the universe under consideration. Upon reaching certain values, it began to shrink down to the Big Bang. The article was published in the journal The European Physical Journal Plus.

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New open release from CERN streamlines interactions with theoretical physicists

What if you could test a new theory against data from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)? Better yet, what if the expert knowledge needed to do this was captured in a convenient format? This tall order is now on its way from the ATLAS Collaboration at CERN, with the first open release of full analysis likelihoods from an LHC experiment.

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Colliding molecules and antiparticles

Antiparticles—subatomic particles that have exactly opposite properties to those that make up everyday matter—may seem like a concept out of science fiction, but they are real, and the study of matter-antimatter interactions has important medical and technological applications. Marcos Barp and Felipe Arretche from the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Brazil have modelled the interaction between simple molecules and antiparticles known as positrons and found that this model agreed well with experimental observations. This study has been published in The European Physical Journal D.

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Scientists 'tune in' to proton spin precession

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have developed a non-invasive way to measure the "spin tune" of polarized protons at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC)—an important factor for maintaining these spinning particles' alignment.

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Slippery when wet: How does lubrication work?

In a recent paper in Science Advances, researchers from the University of Amsterdam present new experimental insight into how lubrication works. They have developed a new method using fluorescent molecules to directly observe nanometric lubrication films with a sensitivity of a single molecular layer. Their quantitative description of the relation between topography, contact pressure and lubrication provides a deeper understanding of lubrication.

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Tiny quantum sensors watch materials transform under pressure

Since their invention more than 60 years ago, diamond anvil cells have made it possible for scientists to recreate extreme phenomena—such as the crushing pressures deep inside the Earth's mantle—or to enable chemical reactions that can only be triggered by intense pressure, all within the confines of a laboratory apparatus that you can safely hold in the palm of your hand.

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New technology improves gravitational wave detectors by cutting quantum noise

Physicists have successfully developed a new instrument that significantly reduces quantum-level noise that has thus far limited experiments' ability to spot gravitational waves. Collisions between massive black holes and stars are thought to generate these ripples in space-time that were first detected in 2015. In all, about 11 detections have been fully confirmed so far.

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Does tapping your can of beer really keep it from fizzing all over you?

A team of researchers at the University of Denmark has tested the popular notion that tapping a can of beer after it has been shaken will prevent it from spraying when it is opened. Their paper describes a trial they carried out along with their conclusions, and is available on the arXiv preprint server.

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Study unveils new nonlinear dynamics of spinning bosonic stars

Although researchers have been studying dark matter and trying to observe it, its nature is a longstanding scientific mystery. The standard cosmological model suggests that approximately one-quarter of cosmological energy and matter is almost immune to electromagnetic interactions, thus the only way to observe it is to study its gravitational effects. However, the type of particles that make up dark matter is still a subject of debate.

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Is there dark matter at the center of the Milky Way?

MIT physicists are reigniting the possibility, which they previously had snuffed out, that a bright burst of gamma rays at the center of our galaxy may be the result of dark matter after all.

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Insects' drag-based flight mechanism could improve tiny flying robots

Thrips are tiny insects 2 millimeters long, about as long as four human hairs are thick. Thrips are known for their unwelcome ability to devour garden plants and, lately, to inform the design of microrobotics.

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Scientists are designing accelerators that one day could help clean the environment

It's been 30 years since a pilot project in Miami-Dade County found that blasting wastewater with electrons could clean it up, removing all kinds of nasty stuff, from mircroorganisms to harsh chemicals.

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Study gathers the first observation of leptonic decay D+→τ+ντ

The Beijing Spectrometer III (BESIII) collaboration, a large team of researchers from universities worldwide conducting particle physics studies has recently reported the first observation of the leptonic decay D+→τ+ντ. This observation, presented in a paper published in Physical Review Letters, opens up the possibility of additional tests of mu/tau universality in D decays.

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The X17 factor: A particle new to physics might solve the dark matter mystery

A team of scientists in Hungary recently published a paper that hints at the existence of a previously unknown subatomic particle. The team first reported finding traces of the particle in 2016, and they now report more traces in a different experiment.

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Study calls 200-year-old law about gas mixtures into question

According to a new study led by a team from The University of New Mexico, centuries-old laws about the behavior of gas mixtures do not apply in the presence of shock waves.

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Shape-programmable dielectric liquid crystal elastomer actuators

Materials scientists aim to use bioinspired soft robots to carry out advanced interactions between humans and robots, but the associated technology remains to be developed. For example, soft actuators must perform quickly with force to deliver programmable shape changes and the devices should be easy to fabricate and energy efficient for untethered applications. In a new report on Science Advances, Zoey S. Davidson and an interdisciplinary research team in the departments of Physical Intelligence, Materials Science and Engineering, and the School of Medicine in Germany, U.S. and Turkey, combined several characteristics of interest using two distinct active materials systems to build soft robots.

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Liquid flow is influenced by a quantum effect in water

Researchers at EPFL have discovered that the viscosity of solutions of electrically charged polymers dissolved in water is influenced by a quantum effect. This tiny quantum effect influences the way water molecules interact with one another. Yet, it can lead to drastic changes in large-scale observations. This effect could change the way scientists understand the properties and behavior of solutions of biomolecules in water, and lead to a better understanding of biological systems.

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Gamma-ray laser moves a step closer to reality

A physicist at the University of California, Riverside, has performed calculations showing hollow spherical bubbles filled with a gas of positronium atoms are stable in liquid helium.

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Fish scattering sound waves has impact on aquaculture

Schools of fish can scatter sound waves, which has impacts on fish farming. Fisheries acoustics have been studied for over 40 years to assess biomass and optimize aquaculture applications.

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Has physics ever been deterministic?

Researchers from the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the University of Vienna and the University of Geneva, have proposed a new interpretation of classical physics without real numbers. This new study challenges the traditional view of classical physics as deterministic.

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Simple experiment explains magnetic resonance

Physicists at University of California, Riverside, have designed an experiment to explain the concept of magnetic resonance. The project was carried out by undergraduate students in collaboration with local high school teachers.

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A momentous view on the birth of photoelectrons

The creation of photoelectrons through ionisation is one of the most fundamental processes in the interaction between light and matter. Yet, deep questions remain about just how photons transfer their linear momentum to electrons. With the first sub-femtosecond study of the linear photon momentum transfer during an ionisation process, ETH physicists provide now unprecedented insight into the birth of photoelectrons.

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New instrument extends LIGO's reach

Just a year ago, the National Science Foundation-funded Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory, or LIGO, was picking up whispers of gravitational waves every month or so. Now, a new addition to the system is enabling the instruments to detect these ripples in space-time nearly every week.

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Non-adiabatic dynamics of strongly driven diffusive Josephson junctions

Understanding how microwave absorption changes the transport properties of diffusive Josephson junctions is at the forefront of interest in the quantum transport community. It is especially relevant for current efforts to address the current-phase relation in topological Josephson junctions, and more generally, the microwave transport in quantum devices.

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Standard compression algorithm could revolutionize physical and biological computations, researchers say

Entropy, a measure of the molecular disorder or randomness of a system, is critical to understanding a system's physical composition. In complex physical systems, the interaction of internal elements is unavoidable, rendering entropy calculation a computationally demanding, and often impractical, task. The tendency of a properly folded protein to unravel, for example, can be predicted using entropy calculations.

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Atom music lets listeners experience atomic world through sound

Atom music is a fun new way to explore the atomic world via musical synthesis techniques.

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How small is a small-world network?

Discovered in the field of social sciences in the 1960s, the phenomenon known as small-world networks has fascinated popular culture and science for decades. It arose from the observation that in the world, any two people are connected by a short chain of social ties.

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How the U.S. hydrogen bomb secrets disappeared

Given a choice of items to lose on a train, a top-secret document detailing the newly developed hydrogen bomb should be on the bottom of the list. In January 1953, amid the Red Scare and the Korean War, that's exactly what physicist John Archibald Wheeler lost.

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Scientists develop new primary method for measurement of pressure

Scientists from the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) have implemented a novel pressure measurement method, partly as a byproduct of the work on the "new" kelvin. In addition to being new, this procedure is a primary method, i.e. it only depends on natural constants. As an independent method, it can be used to check the most accurate pressure gauges, for which PTB is known as the world leader.

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This 'fix' for economic theory changes everything from gambles to Ponzi schemes

Whether we decide to take out that insurance policy, buy Bitcoin, or switch jobs, many economic decisions boil down to a fundamental gamble about how to maximize our wealth over time. How we understand these decisions is the subject of a new perspective piece in Nature Physics that aims to correct a foundational mistake in economic theory.

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Student solves a 100-year-old physics enigma

An EPFL Bachelor's student has solved a mystery that has puzzled scientists for 100 years. He discovered why gas bubbles in narrow vertical tubes seem to remain stuck instead of rising upward. According to his research and observations, an ultra-thin film of liquid forms around the bubble, preventing it from rising freely. And he found that, in fact, the bubbles are not stuck at all—they are just moving very, very slowly.

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