New model that describes the organization of organisms could lead to a better understanding of biological processes

At first glance, a pack of wolves has little to do with a vinaigrette. However, a team led by Ramin Golestanian, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, has developed a model that establishes a link between the movement of predators and prey and the segregation of vinegar and oil. They expanded a theoretical framework that until now was only valid for inanimate matter. In addition to predators and prey, other living systems such as enzymes or self-organizing cells can now be described.

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Ultrapure copper for an ultrasensitive dark matter detector

In February and March, three batches of copper plates arrived at Fermilab and were rushed into storage 100 meters underground. The copper had been mined in Finland, rolled into plates in Germany and shipped across land and sea to the lab—all within 120 days. In the quest to detect dark matter, the mysterious substance making up 85% of the matter in the universe, every day that the copper spent above ground mattered.

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Using game-theory to look for extraterrestrial intelligence

Astronomer Eamonn Kerins with the University of Manchester has developed an approach to looking for intelligent extraterrestrial beings on other planets that involves using game theory. He has written a paper describing his ideas and has uploaded it to the arXiv preprint server.

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Scientists repurpose MRI magnet for new discoveries

A limiting factor in modern physics experiments is the precision at which scientists can measure important values, such as the magnetic field within a detector. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and their collaborators have developed a unique facility to calibrate field measurement devices and test their limits inside powerful magnetic fields.

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Assessing the viability of small modular nuclear reactors

Small modular nuclear reactors could provide nuclear power to small communities and rural areas currently served by environmentally damaging fossil fuel energy-sources. Assessing the potential of these reactors means keeping one eye on the past, with another fixed firmly in thefuture.

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Researchers form ultra-strong coupling between photons and atoms

ITMO University researchers have demonstrated that individual atoms can be transformed into polaritons—quantum particles that are a mixture of matter and light, which are transmitted via optical fibers. In this new state of matter, photons and atoms form ultra-strong coupling for the first time. The results of this research can be used to control the properties of light and matter and to create quantum memory. The paper is published in Physical Review Letters.

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Identifying biomolecule fragments in ionising radiation

When living cells are bombarded with fast, heavy ions, their interactions with water molecules can produce randomly scattered 'secondary' electrons with a wide range of energies. These electrons can then go on to trigger potentially damaging reactions in nearby biological molecules, producing electrically charged fragments. So far, however, researchers have yet to determine the precise energies at which secondary electrons produce certain fragments. In a new study published in EPJ D, researchers in Japan led by Hidetsugu Tsuchida at Kyoto University define for the first time the precise exact ranges in which positively and negatively charged fragments can be produced.

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Bumper crop of black holes in new gravitational wave paper

Only a few years ago, scientists the world over celebrated as the first-ever gravitational waves were detected—confirming a long-held scientific theory and opening up an entirely new field of research.

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Physicists circumvent centuries-old theory to cancel magnetic fields

A team of scientists including two physicists at the University of Sussex has found a way to circumvent a 178-year old theory which means they can effectively cancel magnetic fields at a distance. They are the first to be able to do so in a way which has practical benefits.

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Topology gets magnetic: The new wave of topological magnetic materials

The electronic structure of nonmagnetic crystals can be classified by complete theories of band topology, reminiscent of a "topological periodic table." However, such a classification for magnetic materials has so far been elusive, and hence very few magnetic topological materials have been discovered to date. In a new study published in the journal Nature, an international team of researchers has performed the first high-throughput search for magnetic topological materials, finding over 100 new magnetic topological insulators and semimetals.

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Direct observation of a single electron's butterfly-shaped distribution in titanium oxide

The functions and physical properties of solid materials, such as magnetic order and unconventional superconductivity, are greatly influenced by the orbital state of the outermost electrons (valence electrons) of the constituent atoms. In other words, it could be said that the minimal unit that determines a solid material's physical properties consists of the orbitals occupied by the valence electrons. Moreover, an orbital can also be considered a minimal unit of 'shape,' so the orbital state in a solid can be deduced from observing the spatially anisotropic distribution of electrons (in other words, from how the electron distribution deviates from spherical symmetry).

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First-ever evidence of exotic particles in cobalt monosilicide

Anew study provides the first evidence of exotic particles, known as fourfold topological quasiparticles, in the metallic alloy cobalt monosilicide. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, this comprehensive analysis, one that combines experimental data with theoretical models, provides a detailed understanding of this material. These insights could be used to engineer this and other similar materials with unique and controllable properties. The discovery was the result of a collaboration between researchers at Penn, University of Fribourg, French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids, and University of Maryland.

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Record neutron numbers at Sandia Labs' Z machine fusion experiments

A relatively new method to control nuclear fusion that combines a massive jolt of electricity with strong magnetic fields and a powerful laser beam has achieved its own record output of neutrons—a key standard by which fusion efforts are judged—at Sandia National Laboratories' Z pulsed power facility, the most powerful producer of X-rays on Earth.

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Random effects key to containing epidemics

To control an epidemic, authorities will often impose varying degrees of lockdown. In a paper in the journal Chaos, scientists have discovered, using mathematics and computer simulations, why dividing a large population into multiple subpopulations that do not intermix can help contain outbreaks without imposing contact restrictions within those local communities.

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A major milestone for an underground dark matter search experiment

Crews working on the largest U.S. experiment designed to directly detect dark matter completed a major milestone last month, and are now turning their sights toward startup after experiencing some delays due to global pandemic precautions.

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Solid-state technology for big data in particle physics

At CERN's Large Hadron Collider, as many as 40 million particle collisions occur within the span of a single second inside the CMS particle detector's more than 80 million detection channels. These collisions create an enormous digital footprint, even after computers winnow it to the most meaningful data. The simple act of retrieving information can mean battling bottlenecks.

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The experimental demonstration of entanglement between mechanical and spin systems

Quantum entanglement is the basic phenomenon underlying the functioning of a variety of quantum systems, including quantum communication, quantum sensing and quantum computing tools. This phenomenon results from an interaction (i.e., entanglement) between particles. Attaining entanglement between distant and very different objects, however, has so far proved highly challenging.

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Estimating risk of airborne COVID-19 with mask usage, social distancing

The continued increase in COVID-19 infection around the world has led scientists from many different fields, including biomedicine, epidemiology, virology, fluid dynamics, aerosol physics, and public policy, to study the dynamics of airborne transmission.

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Precision metrology closes in on dark matter

Optical clocks are so accurate that it would take an estimated 20 billion years—longer than the age of the universe—to lose or gain a second. Now, researchers in the U.S. led by Jun Ye's group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Colorado have exploited the precision and accuracy of their optical clock and the unprecedented stability of their crystalline silicon optical cavity to tighten the constraints on any possible coupling between particles and fields in the standard model of physics and the so-far elusive components of dark matter.

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Pump down the volume: Study finds noise-cancelling formula

Noisy, open-plan offices full of workers hunched over desks while wearing noise canceling headphones could soon be a thing of the past, thanks to new research from The Australian National University (ANU).

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Timekeeping theory combines quantum clocks and Einstein's relativity

A phenomenon of quantum mechanics known as superposition can impact timekeeping in high-precision clocks, according to a theoretical study from Dartmouth College, Saint Anselm College and Santa Clara University.

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Do the twist: Making two-dimensional quantum materials using curved surfaces

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have discovered a way to control the growth of twisting, microscopic spirals of materials just one atom thick.

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Shedding light on moiré excitons: A first-principles perspective

Moiré superlattices that are located within van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures can trap long-lived interlayer excitons to form ordered quantum dot arrays, paving the way for unprecedented optoelectronic and quantum information applications. Excitons are an electrically neutral quasiparticle that can transport energy without transporting net electric charge. They form when a material absorbs a photon of higher energy than its bandgap and the concept can be represented as the bound state of an electron and an electron hole that are attracted to each other by an electrostatic Coulomb force. In a new report now published on Science Advances, Hongli Guo and a team of scientists in the department of physics and astronomy at the California State University, Northridge, U.S., performed first-principles simulations to shed light on moiré excitons in twisted molybdenum disulfide/ tungsten disulfide (MoS2/WS2 ) heterostructures. The team showed direct evidence of localized interlayer moiré excitons in vdW heterostructures and mapped out the interlayer and intralayer moiré potentials based on energy gaps. They noted nearly flat valence bands in the heterostructures while exploring how the vertical field could be tuned to control the position, polarity, emission energy and hybridization strength of the moiré excitons. The scientists then predicted that the alternating electric fields could control the dipole moments of hybridized moiré excitons, while suppressing their diffusion in moiré lattices.

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Reviewing multiferroics for future, low-energy data storage

,A new UNSW study comprehensively reviews the magnetic structure of the multiferroic material bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3—BFO).

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World record resolution in cryo electron microscopy

Holger Stark from the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen and his team have broken a crucial resolution barrier in cryo electron microscopy. For the first time, his group succeeded in observing individual atoms in a protein structure and taking the sharpest images ever with this method. Such detailed insights make it easier to understand how proteins do their work or cause diseases in the living cell. The technique can also be used in the future to develop new drugs.

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Adaptive turbo equalizer for underwater acoustic differential orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing systems

In mobile underwater acoustic communications (UAC), the relative movement between the transceivers will cause Doppler spread in the received signal, which will bring inter-carrier interference to the orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) UAC system, thereby distorting the transmitted symbols. The design of a high-performance low-complexity receiver in mobile OFDM UAC systems remains a difficult problem.

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A machine-learning algorithm that can infer the direction of the thermodynamic arrow of time

The second law of thermodynamics delineates an asymmetry in how physical systems evolve over time, known as the arrow of time. In macroscopic systems, this asymmetry has a clear direction (e.g., one can easily notice if a video showing a system's evolution over time is being played normally or backward).

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The new heavy isotope mendelevium-244 and a puzzling short-lived fission activity

Gaining a better understanding of the limiting factors for the existence of stable, superheavy elements is a decade-old quest of chemistry and physics. Superheavy elements, as are called the chemical elements with atomic numbers greater than 103, do not occur in nature and are produced artificially with particle accelerators. They vanish within seconds.

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Thermal vision of snakes inspires soft pyroelectric materials

Converting heat into electricity is a property thought to be reserved only for stiff materials like crystals. However, researchers—inspired by the infrared (IR) vision of snakes—developed a mathematical model for converting soft, organic structures into so-called "pyroelectric" materials. The study, appearing October 21 in the journal Matter, proves that soft and flexible matter can be transformed into a pyroelectric material and potentially solves a long-held mystery surrounding the mechanism of IR vision in snakes.

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Reimagining the shape of noise leads to improved molecular models

Tenacity comes naturally to a guy who hails from the "mule capital of the world." That trait has stood Columbia, Tennessee, native Elliot Perryman in good stead as an intern at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Last fall, he began working with staff scientist Peter Zwart in the Center for Advanced Mathematics for Energy Research Applications (CAMERA) through the Berkeley Lab Undergraduate Research program.

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Pinning down the ampere with a supersensitive particle detector

From light bulbs to cell phones, all electronic devices in everyday life rely on the flow of electrons to function. Just as scientists use meters to describe the length of an object or seconds to measure the passage of time, they use amperes, or amps, to quantify electric current—the rate at which electric charge moves through a circuit.

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Microscopy with undetected photons in the mid-infrared region

Microscopy techniques that incorporate mid-infrared (IR) illumination holds tremendous promise across a range of biomedical and industrial applications due to its unique biochemical specificity. However, the method is primarily limited by the detection range, where existing mid-infrared (mid-IR) detection techniques often combine inferior methods that are also costly. In a new report now published on Science Advances, Inna Kviatkovsky and a research team in physics, experimental and clinical research, and molecular medicine in Germany, found that nonlinear interferometry with entangled light provided a powerful tool for mid-IR microscopy. The experimental setup only required near-IR detection with a silicon-based camera. They developed a proof-of-principle experiment to show wide-field imaging across a broad wavelength range covering 3.4 to 4.3 micrometers (µm). The technique is suited to acquire microscopic images of biological tissue samples at the mid-IR. This work forms an original approach with potential relevance for quantum imaging in life sciences.

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Artistic enigma decoded by cosmic Czech start-up

A Madonna and Child painting with a history almost as enigmatic as the Mona Lisa's smile has been identified as an authentic Raphael canvas by Czech company InsightART, which used a robotic X-ray scanner to investigate the artwork.

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Upgrades yield increased cryogenic power at Large Hadron Collider

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is one of the coldest places on Earth. The 1.9 K (-271.3 °C) operating temperature of its main magnets is even lower than the 2.7 K (-270.5 °C) of outer space. To get the LHC to this temperature, 120 tons of liquid helium flow around a closed circuit in the veins of the accelerator.

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New theory on the origin of dark matter

A recent study from the University of Melbourne proposes a new theory for the origin of dark matter, helping experimentalists in Australia and abroad in the search for the mysterious new matter.

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Zeptoseconds: New world record in short time measurement

In 1999, the Egyptian chemist Ahmed Zewail received the Nobel Prize for measuring the speed at which molecules change their shape. He founded femtochemistry using ultrashort laser flashes: the formation and breakup of chemical bonds occurs in the realm of femtoseconds.

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A new ultrafast control scheme of ferromagnet for energy-efficient data storage

The digital data generated around the world every year is now counted in zettabytes, or trillions of billions of bytes—equivalent to delivering data for hundreds of millions of books every second. The amount of data generated continues to grow. If existing technologies remained constant, all the current global electricity consumption would be devoted to data storage by 2040.

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Miniscope3D—A single-shot miniature three-dimensional fluorescence microscope

A miniature fluorescence microscope that weighs less while offering high resolution compared to existing devices will have a range of applications in systems biology. Existing miniature fluorescence microscopes are a standard technique in life sciences, but they only offer two-dimensional (2-D) information. In a new report now on Nature Light: Science & Applications, Kyrollos Yanny, Nick Antipa and a team of scientists in the Joint Graduate Program in Bioengineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley and the Universite libre de Bruxelles Belgium, developed a single-shot 3-D fluorescence microscope. They engineered the new device known as the Miniscope3D by replacing the tube lens of a conventional 2-D miniscope with an optimized multifocal phase mask at the objective's aperture stop. Using the device, Yanny and Antipa et al. optically recorded neural activity in free-moving animals and in long-term in situ imaging applications in incubators and within lab-on-a-chip devices.

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ATLAS Experiment releases new search for long-lived particles

Despite its decades of predictive success, there are important phenomena left unexplained by the Standard Model of particle physics. Additional theories must exist that can fully describe the universe, even though definitive signatures of particles beyond the Standard Model have yet to turn up.

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Finding the right color to control magnets with laser pulses

Scientists have discovered a new way to manipulate magnets with laser light pulses shorter than a trillionth of a second.

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Machine-learning technique could improve fusion energy outputs

Machine-learning techniques, best known for teaching self-driving cars to stop at red lights, may soon help researchers around the world improve their control over the most complicated reaction known to science: nuclear fusion.

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Direct visualization of electromagnetic wave dynamics by laser-free ultrafast electron microscopy

Femtosecond lasers can be integrated with electron microscopes to directly image transient structures and morphologies in materials in real time and space. In a new report, Xuewen Fu and a team of scientists in condensed matter physics, microsystems, nanotechnology and materials science in China and the U.S. developed a laser-free ultrafast electron microscope (UEM) offering similar potential but without the requisite femtosecond lasers or elaborate instrumental modifications. The team created picosecond electron pulses to probe dynamic events by chopping a continuous beam with a radiofrequency (RF)-driven pulser with a pulse repetition rate tunable from 100 MHz to 12 GHz. They studied gigahertz electromagnetic wave propagation dynamics as an application for the first time in this work and revealed the transient oscillating electromagnetic field on nanometer space and picosecond time scales with time-resolved polarization, amplitude and local field enhancement. The study showed the use of laser-free, ultrafast electron microscopy (UEM) in real-space visualization for multidisciplinary research—specifically in electrodynamic devices associated with information processing technology. The research work is now published in Science Advances.

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New NIST project to build nano-thermometers could revolutionize temperature imaging

Cheaper refrigerators? Stronger hip implants? A better understanding of human disease? All of these could be possible and more, someday, thanks to an ambitious new project underway at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

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Scientists find upper limit for the speed of sound

A research collaboration between Queen Mary University of London, the University of Cambridge and the Institute for High Pressure Physics in Troitsk has discovered the fastest possible speed of sound.

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Evidence of top quarks in collisions between heavy nuclei

The result of recent research by the CMS collaboration opens the path to study in a new and unique way an extreme state of matter that is thought to have existed shortly after the Big Bang. The collaboration has seen evidence of top quarks in collisions between heavy nuclei at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

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Support film makes cryo-electron microscopy sharper

A trio of researchers at MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology has developed a support film for creating sharper images in cryo-electron microscopy. In their paper published in the journal Science, Katerina Naydenova, Peipei Jia and Christopher Russo describe the factors that lead to blurring due to sample movement. They also describe the support film they developed to correct the problem. Micah Rapp and Bridget Carragher with Columbia University have published a Perspective piece in the same journal issue describing the work by the team and how the new support film is likely to impact future research efforts.

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Carbon creation finding set to rock astrophysics

A new measurement of how quickly stars create carbon may trigger a major shift in our understanding of how stars evolve and die, how the elements are created, and even the origin and abundance of the building blocks of life.

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Aerodynamicists reveal link between fish scales and aircraft drag

The team's findings have been published in Nature: Scientific Reports: "Transition delay using biomimetic fish scale arrays," and in the Journal of Experimental Biology: "Streak formation in flow over biomimetic fish scale arrays."

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Extremely rare Higgs boson decay process spotted

The Higgs boson reached overnight fame in 2012 when it was finally discovered in a jumble of other particles generated at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Geneva, Switzerland. The discovery was monumental because the Higgs boson, which had only been theorized about previously, has the special property of endowing other elementary particles with mass. It is also exceedingly rare and difficult to identify in the debris of colliding particles.

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UK Nobel physics laureate pays tribute to snubbed Hawking

Nobel physics laureate Roger Penrose on Tuesday said his late colleague Stephen Hawking richly deserved a share of the prize after the British scientists conducted pioneering research into black holes.

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Physics Nobel for black holes too late for Hawking

Scientists greeted the news that the Nobel Physics Prize was awarded Tuesday for research on black holes with regret that the accolade came too late for world-renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, who died in 2018.

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New measurement of nucleus of thorium-229 moves scientists step closer to a nuclear clock

A team of researchers from Germany and Austria has taken a new measurement of the nucleus of a thorium-229 isotope, moving one step closer to a nuclear clock. In their paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters, the group describes how they measured the isotope and their results.

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Could megatesla magnetic fields be realized on Earth?

Magnetic fields are used in various areas of modern physics and engineering, with practical applications ranging from doorbells to maglev trains. Since Nikola Tesla's discoveries in the 19th century, researchers have strived to realize strong magnetic fields in laboratories for fundamental studies and diverse applications, but the magnetic strength of familiar examples are relatively weak. Geomagnetism is 0.3−0.5 gauss (G) and magnetic tomography (MRI) used in hospitals is about 1 tesla (T = 104 G). By contrast, future magnetic fusion and maglev trains will require magnetic fields on the kilotesla (kT = 107 G) order. To date, the highest magnetic fields experimentally observed are on the kT order.

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3 scientists share Nobel physics prize for cosmology finds

Three scientists won this year's Nobel Prize in physics Tuesday for advancing our understanding of black holes.

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Panel to announce 2020 Nobel Prize for physics

The 2020 Nobel Prize for physics is being announced Tuesday, an award that has in the past honored discoveries about the tiniest of particles and the vast mysteries of outer space.

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Scientists find evidence of exotic state of matter in candidate material for quantum computers

Using a novel technique, scientists working at the Florida State University-headquartered National High Magnetic Field Laboratory have found evidence for a quantum spin liquid, a state of matter that is promising as a building block for the quantum computers of tomorrow.

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Using physics to map the chaos of movement in living organisms

The behavior of living organisms might obey the same mathematical laws as physical phenomena, such as weather and the motion of planets, says new research from the Biological Physics Theory Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST).

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Beirut explosion was one of the largest non-nuclear blasts in history, new analysis shows

The explosion in the Port of Beirut was one of the biggest non-nuclear blasts in history—releasing enough energy in a matter of milliseconds to power more than 100 homes for a year—according to a new assessment of the disaster by engineers from the University of Sheffield.

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World's first direct observation of the magneto-Thomson effect

Applying a temperature gradient and a charge current to an electrical conductor leads to the release and absorbtion of heat. This is called the Thomson effect. In a first, NIMS and AIST have directly observing the magneto-Thomson effect, which is the magnetic-field-induced modulation of the Thomson effect. This success may contribute to the development of new functions and technologies for thermal energy management and to advances in fundamental physics and materials science on magneto-thermoelectric conversion.

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Physicists build circuit that generates clean, limitless power from graphene

A team of University of Arkansas physicists has successfully developed a circuit capable of capturing graphene's thermal motion and converting it into an electrical current.

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Study sets limits on the flux of heavy compact objects using data from the Pi of the Sky project

Strangelets, and specifically nuclearites, their heavy species, are very dense, compact and potentially fast objects made of large and roughly equal numbers of up, down and strange quarks, which may inhabit the universe. Their existence was first hypothesized by Edward Witten back in 1984. These objects have never been detected before and have so far attracted less attention than meteors, perhaps due to their lack of relevance in particle physics.

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Two groups demonstrate designs for electrocaloric cooling that change temperature under an electric field

Two teams working independently of each other have demonstrated designs for electrocaloric cooling that can change temperatures under an electric field. Both groups used lead scandium tantalate capacitors in their systems, but they differed slightly in how they were used. The first group, with members from PARC in the U.S. and Murata Manufacturing Co., in Japan showed that electrocaloric cooling could be done using only solid materials. The second group, with members from the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology and Murata Manufacturing Co. in Japan used fluids for heat transfer. Both teams have published accounts of their work and findings in the journal Science.

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Detector array demonstrates novel microwave readout

Over the years, SRON has developed increasingly sensitive Transition Edge Sensors (TES) for space missions such as SPICA and Athena. One of those TES detector arrays, developed as backup X-ray microcalorimeters for Athena, has now played a vital role to demonstrate a new readout technology developed at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Japan. This technology is called low-noise microwave SQUIDs multiplexed readout. The research results are published in Applied Physics Letters.

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Einstein's description of gravity just got much harder to beat

Einstein's theory of general relativity—the idea that gravity is matter warping spacetime—has withstood over 100 years of scrutiny and testing, including the newest test from the Event Horizon Telescope collaboration, published today in the latest issue of Physical Review Letters.

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Radar developed for rapid rescue of buried people

When someone is buried by an avalanche, earthquake or other disaster, a rapid rescue can make the difference between life and death. The Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques FHR has developed a new kind of mobile radar device that can search hectare-sized areas quickly and thoroughly. The new technology combines greater mobility with accurate detection of vital signs.

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Detection of gravitational wave 'lensing' could be some way off

Gravitational wave scientists looking for evidence of "lensing," in which the faintest gravitational wave signals become amplified, are unlikely to make these detections in the near future according to new analysis by scientists at the University of Birmingham.

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What tiny surfing robots teach us about surface tension

Propelled by chemical changes in surface tension, microrobots surfing across fluid interfaces lead researchers to new ideas.

from General Physics News - Science News, Physics News, Physics, Material Sciences, Science https://ift.tt/3ie9JPq

Timing the life of antimatter particles may lead to better cancer treatment

Experts in Japan have devised a simple way to glean more detailed information out of standard medical imaging scans. A research team made up of atomic physicists and nuclear medicine experts at the University of Tokyo and the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS) has designed a timer that can enable positron emission tomography (PET) scanners to detect the oxygen concentration of tissues throughout patients' bodies. This upgrade to PET scanners may lead to a future of better cancer treatment by quickly identifying parts of tumors with more aggressive cell growth.

from General Physics News - Science News, Physics News, Physics, Material Sciences, Science https://ift.tt/2Gf4L85