Tag Archives: could spell the

Physics in the News

Saturday, August 9, 2014

High-energy particle collisions reveal the unexpected

High-energy collisions between nuclei (white arrows) produce a cloud of elementary particles including quarks (red) and gluons (yellow). When gluons form an expansion front, they can produce a wall of matter called a color glass condensate, which eventually dissipates as the expansion continues. (Credit: © 2014 Larry McLerran, RIKEN–BNL Research Center)
High-energy collisions between nuclei (white arrows) produce a cloud of elementary particles including quarks (red) and gluons (yellow). When gluons form an expansion front, they can produce a wall of matter called a color glass condensate, which eventually dissipates as the expansion continues. (Credit: © 2014 Larry McLerran, RIKEN–BNL Research Center)
via phys

Watch water run UP a wall: Material that allows liquid to defy gravity could spell the end of windscreen wipers(VIDEO)

via cnet

Lonely supernovae may have been kicked out of their galaxies

University of Warwick researchers explain mystery of the loneliest supernovas. Compact binary star systems that have been thrown far from their host galaxy when one star of that pair became a neutron star, go through a second trauma when the remaining white dwarf star is eventually pulled onto the neutron star. (Credit: Mark A. Garlick / space-art.co.uk / University of Warwick)
University of Warwick researchers explain mystery of the loneliest supernovas. Compact binary star systems that have been thrown far from their host galaxy when one star of that pair became a neutron star, go through a second trauma when the remaining white dwarf star is eventually pulled onto the neutron star. (Credit: Mark A. Garlick / space-art.co.uk / University of Warwick)
via forbes

Whovian physicists claim TARDIS time travel is possible

While time travel may be theoretically possible, there are unfortunately several drawbacks to the researchers’ TARDIS concept. In order to function, it requires the use of exotic matter, which has yet to be shown to exist in our universe. Time travel would also have to violate classical mechanics, and in order to move in anything other than a circular direction in both time and space, more than one TARDIS curve would need to be constructed, raising the possibility of exiting the time vortex into a universe of anti-matter. (Credit: Bitbillions)
While time travel may be theoretically possible, there are unfortunately several drawbacks to the researchers’ TARDIS concept. In order to function, it requires the use of exotic matter, which has yet to be shown to exist in our universe. Time travel would also have to violate classical mechanics, and in order to move in anything other than a circular direction in both time and space, more than one TARDIS curve would need to be constructed, raising the possibility of exiting the time vortex into a universe of anti-matter.
(Credit: Bitbillions)
via inquisitr

String theory coming unstrung even among science writers?

A construction for computer visualization of certain complex curves" (Credit: CC BY-SA 2.5)
A construction for computer visualization of certain complex curves. Science journalist, Tom Siegfried, has been one of the most vociferous proponents of string theory for many, many years, but even his faith seems like it might be failing as the decades roll on. (Credit: CC BY-SA 2.5)
via columbia

Watch Pluto and Charon engage in their orbital dance

Animation of Pluto and Charon showing nearly a full rotation (Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute)
Animation of Pluto and Charon showing nearly a full rotation (Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute)
via universetoday

Rosetta will teach us more about comets than we have learned in 50 years

Do you see a duck? On August 6, millions of miles away from Earth, the firing of a rocket thruster signalled the end of a decade-long journey by a European spacecraft to reach its ultimate target – the 'duck' comet. (Credit: ESA/Rosetta/MPS)
Do you see a duck? On August 6, millions of miles away from Earth, the firing of a rocket thruster signalled the end of a decade-long journey by a European spacecraft to reach its ultimate target – the ‘duck’ comet. (Credit: ESA/Rosetta/MPS)
via phys

Nature’s magnifying glass: Gravitational lensing

A typical magnifying glass works by bending light (i.e. refraction) to a focus point, in this case your eye. In a similar way, gravitational lensing also works by bending light, but in this case it is mass from another galaxy bending the light. This galaxy that extends far into space causes light rays passing near and through its gravitational field to bend and again refocus onto a particular location. The more massive and dense the matter, the more bending and refracting. (Credit: Flickr, Hubble Heritage)
A typical magnifying glass works by bending light (i.e. refraction) to a focus point, in this case your eye. In a similar way, gravitational lensing also works by bending light, but in this case it is mass from another galaxy bending the light. This galaxy that extends far into space causes light rays passing near and through its gravitational field to bend and again refocus onto a particular location. The more massive and dense the matter, the more bending and refracting. (Credit: Flickr, Hubble Heritage)
via united-academics

Cassini prepares for its biggest remaining burn

This is an artists concept of Cassini during the Saturn Orbit Insertion (SOI) maneuver, just after the main engine has begun firing. (Credit: NASA/JPL)
This is an artists concept of Cassini during the Saturn Orbit Insertion (SOI) maneuver, just after the main engine has begun firing. (Credit: NASA/JPL)
via phys