Physics
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Materials Science
Whisking Whiskers: Nanobrushes sweep up
Researchers have made microscopic brushes with carbon nanotube bristles.
- Materials Science
Micropower Heats Up: Propane fuel cell packs a lot of punch
Portable electronic devices such as laptops and MP3 players could soon run on miniature fuel cells that consume propane.
- Physics
Quantum Diaries
What’s it like being a physicist? For the “World Year of Physics” in 2005, more than 30 physicists from around the world are providing occasional glimpses of their lives throughout the year via blog entries, video clips, and photos. Go to: http://interactions.org/quantumdiaries/
- Materials Science
Tissue Tether: Improved conducting plastic could boost nerve-regeneration success
Biomedical engineers aim to repair damaged nerves with a chemically modified conducting polymer that stimulates the growth of nerve cells.
- Physics
Molecular Anatomy Revealed
Using ever-faster lasers to zap the electron clouds in atoms and molecules, scientists are making major strides toward observing and controlling the elementary quantum transformations that underlie all of chemistry.
- Physics
Quantum Bull’s-Eye: Particle-mass prediction hits the mark
By precisely predicting the mass of a subatomic meson, physicists have demonstrated they have the computational know-how to calculate real-world details from quark basics.
- Physics
Galactic data shore up a constant
Alpha, a constant of nature found to vary in some astrophysical studies, actually holds steady, according to the first survey of galaxies used to evaluate alpha's constancy.
- Physics
Scales tilt against five-quark particles
Studies that fail to find purported five-quark particles, or pentaquarks, are stacking up quicker than studies that claim to have found such particles, suggesting that they might not really exist.
- Physics
Test puts pedal to heavy metal
Stellar explosions forge heavy elements such as gold more quickly than scientists had predicted, as indicated by the first measurement of the half-life of a rare form of nickel that's a key link in the chain of element formation.
- Materials Science
Something to Chew On
Researchers are closer than ever to making synthetic enamel to improve dental implants and perhaps to grow a whole tooth from scratch.
- Materials Science
Shape shifter
Scientists have created a polymer that, after being deformed, will revert to its original shape when exposed to ultraviolet light.
- Physics
Einstein at Home
The Einstein@Home program offers participants a chance to use idle time on their computers to search for spinning pulsars in data collected by gravitational-wave detectors in the United States and Europe. This Web site describes the program and lets you sign up your computer for cutting-edge astrophysics research. Go to: http://einstein.phys.uwm.edu/
