Uncategorized
- Physics
Transistor laser flaunts twin talents
A transistor that doubles as a laser can now operate at room temperature, bringing it to the verge of practical applications.
- Astronomy
Crisis in the Cosmos?
Baby galaxies that hail from the early history of the cosmos but are full of old stars and are nearly as massive as the Milky Way is today may challenge the standard theory of galaxy formation.
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19600
The recent discovery of “mature” galaxies at distances corresponding to the remote cosmic past mentioned in this article threatens more than galaxy-formation theory. It threatens to shatter the increasingly fragile Big Bang paradigm by showing that the composition of the cosmos is uniform in time and space. Michael J. DunnAuburn, Wash. If a Big Bang […]
- Humans
Benched Science
As a result of three U.S. Supreme Court decisions in the 1990s, people who sue for redress from injury are now less likely to have scientific or medical evidence concerning that injury reach a jury.
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19599
In general, a judge is an independent legal expert. To expect a legal expert to be able to determine the validity of the scientific information is no more reasonable than to expect a scientist to be able to do a good job of making legal judgments. Thomas BradleyPoway, Calif. If I remember correctly, expert witnesses […]
- Math
Numbers of No Escape
Playful iterative processes can get you stuck in mathemagical black holes.
- Humans
From the September 28, 1935, issue
A new dam under construction, transmutation of elements, and signs that point to sunspots.
- Humans
Science Cinema
The Museum of the Moving Image has launched a Web site that features short films, interviews, and articles devoted to science and technology in movies. It includes streaming video of award-winning student films, a discussion of the time-travel, science-fiction movie “Primer,” and articles about the movie “Kinsey” and the controversy over an “intelligent design” film. […]
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Concentrated Guidance: Attention training gives kids a cognitive push
A brief course on how to pay attention boosts children's scores on either intelligence or attention tests, depending on their age.
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Milky seas clarified
With the help of satellites, scientists have obtained the first-ever photos of an expanse of seawater filled with bioluminescent bacteria.
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19598
This article is unfortunately murky. It’s confusing to state that accelerating charged particles to high speeds “therefore” produces cosmic rays. And what “charged particles”? Is the “energized” gas in fact “ionized”? “Energized” is too general a word. Finally, why are high-speed particles more easily compressed than slower-moving material? Fredric BlumMerion, Pa. “Energized” means that the […]
- Astronomy
Cosmic Ray Font: Supernova remnants rev up ions
High-resolution X-ray images of the Tycho supernova remnant offer new evidence that supernova shock waves generate most cosmic rays that bombard Earth.
