Applied Physics

Stephen Hawking in Ontario.

Check this out... Hawking plans long commute to Canada ...

Blog Post - T. Ryan Gregory - Dec 3 2008 - 5:01pm

MIT's Fusion Reactor Makes Fusion Power Possible

Research carried out at MIT's Alcator C-Mod fusion reactor may have brought the promise of fusion as a future power source a bit closer to reality, though scientists caution that a practical fusion powerplant is still decades away. Fusion, the reacti ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 27 2009 - 3:12pm

Magnetic Behavior At One Billionth Of A Meter

A key challenge of nanotechnology research is investigating how different materials behave at lengths of merely one-billionth of a meter. When shrunk to such tiny sizes, many everyday materials exhibit interesting and potentially beneficial new properties ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 8 2008 - 2:59pm

Sonar In Space? Space-DRUMS Makes It Possible

After it's conception and development during World War I, sonar is finally finding use in an unlikely medium: space. Astronauts on the International Space Station will soon be able to conduct experiments in zero gravity with no container contamination ...

Article - Chris Rollins - Dec 11 2008 - 5:36pm

If Silk Hadn't Been Invented, People Might Say 'Smooth As SPADD Damping'

During launch into orbit, a satellite is exposed to a number of extreme stresses. At takeoff the extremely strong engine vibrations are transmitted via the launcher structure to the satellite, which is also exposed to a high-intensity sound levels (140 dB ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 16 2008 - 12:53pm

Engineering Absolved- London Millenium Bridge 'Wobble' Happened Because People Walk Wrong

On its opening day, the London Millennium Bridge experienced unexpected swaying due to the large number of people crossing it. A new study finally explains the Millennium Bridge 'wobble' by concluding that humans did not walk the way engineers wo ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 16 2008 - 9:17pm

Quantum Cascade Laser Discovery Yields New Lower Power Version

Researchers say they have discovered an entirely new mechanism for making common electronic materials emit laser beams. The finding could lead to lasers that operate more efficiently and at higher temperatures than existing devices, and find applications i ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 22 2008 - 12:24pm

Auralization, Acoustics And The Quest For The Perfect Concert Hall

When many of us go to see a live performance of some kind, like a play or a concert, we are often mostly concerned with the quality of the performers. We've gone to hear the flowing sounds of the San Francisco Symphony or the clear voices of Broadway ...

Article - Chris Rollins - Dec 24 2008 - 11:58am

Why Will We Have A 'Leap Second' This Year?

2008 will be a little longer than you might have assumed at the beginning of the year. But not so much that you’ll be early for that New Year’s Eve party. The spin of the Earth is slowing down. Not by much, only about 0.002 seconds a day (it actually varie ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 26 2008 - 1:53pm

What Good Is A Fence With Holes? Some Blizzard Basics

If you've ever been to a windy beach or a snow-blown landscape, you may have noticed a useless-looking fence with a pile of snow or sand on one side. The fence looks useless because it's full of holes- they're usually about 50% porous- and y ...

Article - Chris Rollins - Jan 30 2009 - 4:35pm