Physics

Manhattan Project Scientist Dies

Samuel Isaac Weissman, a professor and chemist who helped develop the first atomic bomb as part of the Manhattan Project, has died, his wife said Friday. He was 94. Weissman died Tuesday in St. Louis. His wife, Jane Loevinger, said a cause of death was not ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 15 2007 - 11:45pm

'Super' Stainless Steel

A new type of stainless steel alloy developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory could allow for significantly increased operating temperatures and corresponding increases in efficiency in future energy production systems. The new alloys offer superior oxida ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 20 2007 - 9:35pm

Is The Large Hadron Collider Ready For Prime Time?

CERN Director General Robert Aymar announced that the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will start up in May 2008 despite the fact that a low-energy run originally scheduled for this year has been dropped due to delays, coupled with the failure in March of a pre ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 30 2008 - 9:36am

Keeping Accurate Time- Measuring Absorption Of Electromagnetic Waves By Caesium Atoms

Very precise time keeps the Internet and e-mail functioning, ensures television broadcasts arrive at our TVs and is integral to a network of global navigation satellites (such as the Global Positioning System) used for precision mapping and surveying, envi ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 8 2007 - 7:46am

Color Chameleons: Optical Nanoparticles, Not A New Boy George Song

A research team headed by Yadong Yin at the University of California, Riverside has created a liquid that changes its color “on demand” and can take on any color of the rainbow. Nanoscopic particles made of tiny magnetic crystals coated with a plastic shel ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 13 2007 - 10:35am

Acoustic Plasmons Could Revolutionize Data Storage

It may seem odd to think about using metallic structures for transmitting light because light quickly attenuates on passing through a metal, but light waves travelling only a few centimeters don't lose their energy and that discover could change the f ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 14 2007 - 11:14pm

Why Disk Drives Aren't A Physics-Induced Train Wreck: Precise Precession

Each time you press "save" on your computer you force atoms on magnets to align their polarity with the intruding magnetic field. Helping physicists understand why it happens and why it isn't a physics-induced train wreck more often is the g ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 16 2007 - 1:40pm

No Particle Accelerator Needed- New Boson Found In Plain Ceramic

New fundamental particles aren’t found only at Fermilab and at other particle accelerators. They also can be found hiding in plain pieces of ceramic, scientists at the University of Illinois report. The newly formulated particle is a boson and has a charge ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 17 2007 - 11:06am

Duplicating The Beauty Of Nature With Polymers

There are many objects in nature, such as flowers, that are “pre-programmed” to develop into delicate, beautiful and intrically shaped forms. But can this pre-determined process be duplicated by man starting with plain, flat surfaces? Yes, say Dr. Eran Sha ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 22 2007 - 9:20pm

Thousands Of Atoms Swap 'spins' With Partners In Quantum Square Dance

Physicists at the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have induced thousands of atoms trapped by laser beams to swap “spins” with partners simultaneously. The repeated exchanges, like a quantum version of swinging yo ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 25 2007 - 1:58pm