news 2010

If you owned a mechanical device made out of the strongest material known to mankind, wouldn't you want to know under what circumstances it might fail? Marianetti, whose research focuses on modeling the behavior of materials at the atomic scale, was interested in the properties of graphene, a one-atom-thick sheet of carbon with myriad high-tech applications including smaller computers and longer-lasting batteries.

Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle sets limits on Einstein's "spooky action at a distance", new research finds. Researchers have uncovered a fundamental link between the two defining properties of quantum physics. Jonathan Oppenheim, a physicist at the Department of Applied Mathematics & Theoretical Physics and a Fellow of Wolfson, and Stephanie Wehner of Singapore's Centre for Quantum Technologies and the National University of Singapore published their work today in the latest edition of the journal Science.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Wind power is likely to play a large role in the future of sustainable, clean energy, but wide-scale adoption has remained elusive. Now, researchers have found wind farms' effects on local temperatures and proposed strategies for mediating those effects, increasing the potential to expand wind farms to a utility-scale energy resource.

Prof. Schattschneider from Vienna University of Technology (TU Vienna), together with colleagues from Belgium, is developing a method of producing rotating electron beams and is publishing the technology in the scientific journal "Nature". Manipulating materials with rotating quantum particles: a team from the University of Antwerp and TU Vienna (Professor Peter Schattschneider, Institute of Solid State Physics) has succeeded in producing what are known as vortex beams: rotating electron beams, which make it possible to investigate the magnetic properties of materials.

University of Sydney researchers have discovered a new super-strength light alloy and had their key findings published in the prestigious journal, Nature Communications . The alloy is much stronger than expected and the reasons are being revealed by top-end microscopy and microanalysis at the University's node of the Australian Microscopy and Microanalysis Research Facility (AMMRF).

When it comes to refrigerators, size matters. Who hasn't at least once in their life wished for a bigger fridge' However, who can say they've wished for the extreme opposite ' the smallest conceivable one? But this is exactly what experts in quantum mechanics from the University of Bristol have done.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Physicists are divided on whether string theory is a viable theory of everything, but many agree that it offers a new way to look at physical phenomena that have otherwise proven difficult to describe. In the past decade, physicists have used string theory to build a connection between quantum and gravitational mechanics, known as gauge/gravity duality.

An immunofluorescence image of a human mesenchymal stem cell growing on a plate of microposts, which have the approximate consistency of Silly Putty. This image was taken after one day of culturing. The red dots are the microposts, which are relatively short in this sample. The green is the cell and the blue is its nucleus.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Understanding the processes that cause volcanic eruptions can help scientists predict how often and how violently a volcano will erupt. Although scientists have a general idea of how these processes work - the melting of magma below the volcano causes liquid magma and gases to force their way to Earth's surface ' eruptions happen so rarely, and often with little warning, that it can be difficult to study them in detail.

A world first model for predicting fluid flows close to surfaces will enable engineers to reduce drag in vehicles, and in turn, lead to more efficient and greener planes, cars and boats, according to a University of Melbourne study. Research team leader and Federation Fellow Professor Ivan Marusic from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Melbourne says skin-friction drag accounts for 50 per cent of fuel expenditure in aircraft, so even modest reductions in drag would save money and significantly reduce carbon emissions.

Today's trend in winter sports draws more and more people away from the designated slopes. Free riding and ski tours experience a massive boost in popularity.

An ANU-led team has developed the most efficient quantum memory for light in the world, taking us closer to a future of super-fast computers and communication secured by the laws of physics. The team at the ANU Research School of Physics and Engineering used a technique they pioneered to stop and control light from a laser, manipulating electrons in a crystal cooled to a chilly -270 degrees Celcius.

The quest to derive energy from wind may soon be getting some help from California Institute of Technology (Caltech) fluid-dynamics expert John Dabiri-and a school of fish. As head of Caltech's Biological Propulsion Laboratory, Dabiri studies water- and wind-energy concepts that share the theme of bioinspiration: that is, identifying energy-related processes in biological systems that may provide insight into new approaches to-in this case-wind energy.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Thanks to an interdisciplinary team of researchers, scientists now have a more complete understanding of one of the human body's most vital structures: the red blood cell. Led by University of Illinois electrical and computer engineering professor Gabriel Popescu, the team developed a model that could lead to breakthroughs in screening and treatment of blood-cell-morphology diseases, such as malaria and sickle-cell disease.

March 31, 2010 — Coral Gables — University of Miami assistant professor in the College of Engineering, Na Li and her collaborators have developed a fast, economical and easy method to detect melamine in milk. Melamine is the compound found in contaminated pet food and in tainted dairy products from China in 2007 and 2008 respectively.

Those who witnessed the first takeoff of an Airbus A380 Superjumbo from Zurich airport at the end of January know that elegant is not the right word for the aircraft.

Turbines installed in water could cause drop in temperature; land turbines could cause rise MIT analysis suggests wind turbines could cause temperatures to rise and fall New microscopy technique offers close-up, real-time view of cellular phenomena CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Although wind power has emerged as a viable renewable energy source in recent years ? one that proponents say could lessen the threat of global warming ? a new MIT analysis may serve to temper enthusiasm about wind power, at least at very large scales.

Jason Petta, an assistant professor of physics, has found a way to alter the property of a lone electron without disturbing the trillions of electrons in its immediate surroundings. Such a feat is an important step toward developing future types of quantum computers.