Elastic nozzles could create more stable liquid jets

Until now, little attention has been paid to the flow of liquid through deformable elastic nozzles. New research published in The European Physical Journal Special Topics introduces the concept of passively-deforming nozzles, and shows that softer nozzle materials can produce more stable jets across a wide range of flow rates. The research team was led by Andrew Dickerson at the University of Tennessee, U.S.

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

Paper by team claiming to have achieved superconductivity at room temperature retracted

Editors at the journal Nature have retracted a paper by a team that claimed to have achieved superconductivity at room temperature. Published in 2020, the paper described work by a combined team from the University of Rochester and the University of Nevada, announcing that they had reached superconductivity at room temperature with a material made of sulfur, carbon and hydrogen under extreme pressure.

from General Physics News - Science News, Physics News, Physics, Material Sciences, Science https://ift.tt/Bja5lSd

Extreme nonlinear wave group dynamics in directional wave states

Understanding the unpredictable behaviors of ocean waves can be a matter of survival for seafarers. Deep-water wave groups have been known to be unstable and become rogue, causing unsuspecting boats to tip over.

from General Physics News - Science News, Physics News, Physics, Material Sciences, Science https://ift.tt/kZ4xRbW

Exploring a new algorithm for reconstructing particles

A team of researchers from CERN, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Staffordshire University have implemented a new algorithm for reconstructing particles at the Large Hadron Collider.

from General Physics News - Science News, Physics News, Physics, Material Sciences, Science https://ift.tt/WjTqs3O

LHCf continues to investigate cosmic rays

LHCf has completed its first data-taking period during LHC Run 3, taking advantage of the record 13.6 TeV collision energy. This coincides with the machine's record fill time of 57 hours.

from General Physics News - Science News, Physics News, Physics, Material Sciences, Science https://ift.tt/aom671b

Physicists find way to control detonation wave in promising new type of engine

Skoltech researchers have theoretically predicted synchronization—a kind of self-regulation—in detonation waves. The discovery could help tame this inherently chaotic process so as to stabilize combustion in a rotating detonation engine. This refers to an experimental device potentially conserving vast amounts of fuel compared with conventional rocket and ship engines. The study came out in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics.

from General Physics News - Science News, Physics News, Physics, Material Sciences, Science https://ift.tt/6QthFxD

Review of noble-gas spin amplification via spin-exchange collisions

This study was led by Prof. Xinhua Peng and Prof. Min Jiang who have been devoted to developing spin-based quantum technologies for the detection of weak magnetic fields for many years.

from General Physics News - Science News, Physics News, Physics, Material Sciences, Science https://ift.tt/lLWT0sx

Fermi's ground-breaking figure: How the radial wave function transformed physics

One way to better understand an atom is to shoot a particle at it and infer the atom's properties based on how the particle bounces off it. In the mid-1930s, the physicist Enrico Fermi showed that one measurable number—the scattering length—illuminated everything that could be known about an electron scattering off an atom, or a neutron scattering off a nucleus.

from General Physics News - Science News, Physics News, Physics, Material Sciences, Science https://ift.tt/YznkQR9

Artificial intelligence reduces a 100,000-equation quantum physics problem to only four equations

Using artificial intelligence, physicists have compressed a daunting quantum problem that until now required 100,000 equations into a bite-size task of as few as four equations—all without sacrificing accuracy. The work, published in the September 23 issue of Physical Review Letters, could revolutionize how scientists investigate systems containing many interacting electrons. Moreover, if scalable to other problems, the approach could potentially aid in the design of materials with sought-after properties such as superconductivity or utility for clean energy generation.

from General Physics News - Science News, Physics News, Physics, Material Sciences, Science https://ift.tt/vTzA17Q

Playing wind instruments spreads more viruses than breathing, but less than speaking or singing

The riskiest instrument is the voice, at least when it comes to spreading viruses such as SARS-CoV2. Compared to breathing quietly, during singing or speaking infected people release more than 500 times particles into the air, which can contain viruses.

from General Physics News - Science News, Physics News, Physics, Material Sciences, Science https://ift.tt/yS62m1j

Detailed insight into friction: How objects start to slide

Chemists and physicists at the University of Amsterdam shed light on a crucial aspect of friction: how things begin to slide. Using fluorescence microscopy and dedicated fluorescent molecules, they are able to pinpoint how and when the friction at the contact between two objects is overcome and sliding starts to occur. They report on the details of this important transition from static to dynamic friction in The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters.

from General Physics News - Science News, Physics News, Physics, Material Sciences, Science https://ift.tt/myf1vor

Traditional computers can solve some quantum problems

There has been a lot of buzz about quantum computers and for good reason. The futuristic computers are designed to mimic what happens in nature at microscopic scales, which means they have the power to better understand the quantum realm and speed up the discovery of new materials, including pharmaceuticals, environmentally friendly chemicals, and more. However, experts say viable quantum computers are still a decade away or more. What are researchers to do in the meantime?

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

Constraining the nucleon size with relativistic nuclear collisions

It may be hard to imagine that the debris of violent heavy ion collisions—which dissolve the boundaries of protons and neutrons and produce thousands of new particles—can be used to gain detailed insight into the properties of nucleons. However, new advances in experimental methods along with improved theoretical modeling have made it possible. Based on a state-of-the-art model for the colliding nuclei and the hydrodynamic evolution of the quark-gluon plasma produced in the collision, a recent Physical Review Letters study demonstrates that specific observables are strongly sensitive to the size of the protons and neutrons inside the colliding nuclei.

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

New insight into the particle interactions that may take place at the hearts of neutron stars

The international ALICE collaboration at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has just released the most precise measurements to date of two properties of a hypernucleus that may exist in the cores of neutron stars.

from General Physics News - Science News, Physics News, Physics, Material Sciences, Science https://ift.tt/SDod3hE

Under pressure: Solid matter takes on new behavior

Investigating how solid matter behaves at enormous pressures, such as those found in the deep interiors of giant planets, is a great experimental challenge. To help address that challenge, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers and collaborators took a deep dive in understanding these extreme pressures.

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

Picotesla magnetometry of microwave fields with diamond sensors

Microwave field sensors are important in practice for a variety of applications across astronomy and communication engineering. The nitrogen vacancy center in diamond allows magnetometric sensitivity, stability and compatibility with ambient conditions. Despite that, the existing nitrogen vacancy center-based magnetometers have limited sensitivity in the microwave band.

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

Reverse-engineering the brain to decode input signals from output neuron firing

The brain is an extremely complex organ whose exact functioning remains difficult to understand. On average, the human brain contains 100 billion neurons that fire upon receiving input signals from multiple sensory organs. But, what is truly remarkable about our brain is the synchronization of this neural firing when triggered by a common input. Put simply, common inputs can generate a collective response in neurons that are not only spatially separated but also have different firing characteristics.

from General Physics News - Science News, Physics News, Physics, Material Sciences, Science https://ift.tt/5y1w6is

Feeling out of equilibrium in a dual geometric world: A novel theory for nonlinear dissipative phenomena

Losing energy is rarely a good thing, but now, researchers in Japan have shown how to extend the applicability of thermodynamics to systems that are not in equilibrium. By encoding the energy dissipation relationships in a geometric way, they were able to cast the physical constraints in a generalized geometric space. This work may significantly improve our understanding of chemical reaction networks, including those that underlie the metabolism and growth of living organisms.

from General Physics News - Science News, Physics News, Physics, Material Sciences, Science https://ift.tt/mFw3NEv

Researchers use purified liquid xenon to search for mysterious dark matter particles

Sitting a mile below ground in an abandoned gold mine in South Dakota is a gigantic cylinder holding 10 tons of purified liquid xenon closely watched by more than 250 scientists around the world. That tank of xenon is the heart of the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment, an effort to detect dark matter—the mysterious invisible substance that makes up 85% of the matter in the universe.

from General Physics News - Science News, Physics News, Physics, Material Sciences, Science https://ift.tt/Uq6XtNr

MICROSCOPE mission presents most precise test of general relativity's Weak Equivalence Principle

In new studies published in Physical Review Letters and a special issue of Classical and Quantum Gravity on September 14, a team of researchers present the most precise test yet of the Weak Equivalence Principle, a key component of the theory of general relativity. The report describes the final results from the MICROSCOPE mission, which tested the principle by measuring accelerations of free-falling objects in a satellite orbiting Earth. The team found that the accelerations of pairs of objects differed by no more than about one part in 1015 ruling out any violations of the Weak Equivalence Principle or deviations from the current understanding of general relativity at that level.

from General Physics News - Science News, Physics News, Physics, Material Sciences, Science https://ift.tt/wL6vIRn

Transfer of a domain pattern between magnetization and electric-polarization space achieved for the first-time

Translation of information from one state into another is key to our society. The general purpose of this information transfer is making information accessible, easier to process and to store.

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

3D shaping of microscopic membranes that underlie cellular processes

Cell membranes transition seamlessly between distinct 3D configurations. It is a remarkable feature that is essential for several biological phenomena such as cell division, cell mobility, transport of nutrients into cells, and viral infections. Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and their collaborators have recently devised an experiment that sheds light on the mechanism by which such processes might occur in real time.

from General Physics News - Science News, Physics News, Physics, Material Sciences, Science https://ift.tt/oS3FK1M

The thermodynamics of life taking shape

Revealing the scientific laws that govern our world is often considered the "holy grail" by scientists, as such discoveries have wide-ranging implications. In an exciting development from Japan, scientists have shown how to use geometric representations to encode the laws of thermodynamics, and apply these representations to obtain generalized predictions. This work may significantly improve our understanding of the theoretical limits that apply within chemistry and biology.

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

When curved materials flatten, simple geometry can predict the wrinkle patterns that emerge

An object that's intrinsically flat, say a piece of paper, can be shaped into a cylinder without stretching or tearing it. The same isn't true, however, for something intrinsically curved like a contact lens. When compressed between two flat surfaces or laid on water, curved objects will flatten, but with wrinkles that form as they buckle.

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

Innovative liquid-lithium charge stripper boosts accelerator performance

The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) accelerates heavy-ion beams at beam power up to 400 kilowatts into a target to create rare isotopes for scientific research. A charge stripper plays an essential role in this process. It strips additional electrons from the charged-particle beam to accelerate it more efficiently.

from General Physics News - Science News, Physics News, Physics, Material Sciences, Science https://ift.tt/nE4p3de

Unraveling a mystery surrounding cosmic matter

Early in its history, shortly after the Big Bang, the universe was filled with equal amounts of matter and "antimatter"—particles that are matter counterparts but with opposite charge. But then, as space expanded, the universe cooled. Today's universe is full of galaxies and stars that are made of matter. Where did the antimatter go, and how did matter come to dominate the universe? This cosmic origin of matter continues to puzzle scientists.

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

Science uncovers the secret to superb shots in soccer

Soccer, also known as football, is the most popular sport in 57 countries, and its players are among the most highly paid athletes in the world; therefore, every shot is valuable. Knowing how to adjust foot orientation and swing when kicking the ball can help players understand how to improve their shots on goal, giving them a competitive edge.

from General Physics News - Science News, Physics News, Physics, Material Sciences, Science https://ift.tt/poM7wJs

New practical method of producing Airy beams could enhance ultrasound

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis recently invented a technique for generating ultrasound waves that can self-bend, like the rainbow.

from General Physics News - Science News, Physics News, Physics, Material Sciences, Science https://ift.tt/8R2qB3J

Key advance in physics research could help enable super-efficient electrical power

Today, an international team of researchers led by Séamus Davis, Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford and University College Cork, has announced results that reveal the atomic mechanism behind high-temperature superconductors. The findings are published in PNAS.

from General Physics News - Science News, Physics News, Physics, Material Sciences, Science https://ift.tt/R5CGZiE

Robust and realistic general method for dealing with wind-driven phenomena

By adapting a flow-following physical framework to the statistical modeling of large spatio–temporal datasets, KAUST researchers have developed a more robust and realistic general method for dealing with wind-driven phenomena. The approach promises to greatly improve the accuracy of pollutant dispersion prediction by incorporating more physically realistic processes into geostatistical modeling.

from General Physics News - Science News, Physics News, Physics, Material Sciences, Science https://ift.tt/N5aIXBm

Evidence of excitonic insulators in moiré superlattices

Excitons are quasiparticles that are formed in insulators or semiconductors when an electron is promoted to a higher energy band, leaving a positively charged hole behind.

from General Physics News - Science News, Physics News, Physics, Material Sciences, Science https://ift.tt/qonXT7j

A fresh look at metals reveals a 'strange' similarity

Our theoretical understanding of the way in which metals conduct electricity is incomplete. The current taxonomy appears to be too blurry and contains too many exceptions to be convincing. This is the conclusion that materials scientists from the University of Groningen reached after thoroughly examining the recent literature on metals. They analyzed more than 30 metals and show that a simple formula can provide a classification of metals in a more systematic manner. Their analysis was published in Physical Review B on 29 August.

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

Artificial breathing system reveals alveoli function in lungs

Alveoli are the basic functional units of the human respiratory system, acting as tiny air sacs that exchange gases. Air inhaled through the mouth and nose flows into the lungs through the branched structure of the bronchial tubes, and the alveoli appear in the deep sections of this network.

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

Physicists discover new rule for orbital formation in chemical reactions

Squeaky, cloudy or spherical—electron orbitals show where and how electrons move around atomic nuclei and molecules. In modern chemistry and physics, they have proven to be a useful model for quantum mechanical description and prediction of chemical reactions. Only if the orbitals match in space and energy can they be combined—this is what happens when two substances react with each other chemically. In addition, there is another condition that must be met, as researchers at Forschungszentrum Jülich and the University of Graz have now discovered: The course of chemical reactions also appears to be dependent on the orbital distribution in momentum space. The results were published in the journal Nature Communications.

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

Physicists develop a linear response theory for open systems having exceptional points

Linear analysis plays a central role in science and engineering. Even when dealing with nonlinear systems, understanding the linear response is often crucial for gaining insight into the underlying complex dynamics. In recent years, there has been a great interest in studying open systems that exchange energy with a surrounding reservoir. In particular, it has been demonstrated that open systems whose spectra exhibit non-Hermitian singularities called exceptional points can demonstrate a host of intriguing effects with potential applications in building new lasers and sensors.

from General Physics News - Science News, Physics News, Physics, Material Sciences, Science https://ift.tt/mVyP5MU

New theory for detection of terahertz electromagnetic waves gives hope for advances in IT and medicine

Detecting electromagnetic waves in the terahertz frequency range remains a challenging problem. Researchers from the University of Cambridge, together with physicists from the University of Augsburg, have recently discovered a new physical effect which could change that. In a new study, the scientists are now developing a theory explaining the mechanism behind it. Their findings make it possible to construct small, inexpensive, and highly sensitive terahertz detectors. These could be used, for example, in medical diagnostics, for contactless security checks, or for faster wireless data transmission. The results of the new theory have been published in the journal Physical Review B.

from General Physics News - Science News, Physics News, Physics, Material Sciences, Science https://ift.tt/PsS95z2

Less risk, less costs: Portable spectroscopy devices could soon become real

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is an analytical tool with a wide range of applications, including the magnetic resonance imaging that is used for diagnostic purposes in medicine. However, NMR often requires powerful magnetic fields to be generated, which limits the scope of its use.

from General Physics News - Science News, Physics News, Physics, Material Sciences, Science https://ift.tt/bC6VoSg

SU(N) matter is about 3 billion times colder than deep space

Japanese and U.S. physicists have used atoms about 3 billion times colder than interstellar space to open a portal to an unexplored realm of quantum magnetism.

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