Tag: physics
-
Weekly Science Picks
Hello everyone. I hope you’ve all had a good week! It’s a balmy Autumn evening here in the UK where I sit as I write this – and I must say, this week’s science picks include something quite historic… Anyone with half an eye on the science news recently should know by now that it’s…
-
Quantum computing: Australian researchers store data on a single atom!
Computers are everywhere these days. They play us music, tell us when to wake up, remind us that we’re late for an appointment, and provide us with entertainment. Even if we don’t realise it, so ingrained in our lives are computers that the world would be a very different place without them. Computing is also…
-
All You Need is a Minute to Learn Physics
Really. Well okay, maybe a little more than a minute. Three minutes tops. Well okay, maybe five minutes and throw in an appreciation of watching cartoons and Youtube videos. That’s it. I was skeptical when I stumbled on Henry Reich’s MinutePhysics Youtube channel one night. How could anyone explain light, The Big Bang or relativity in…
-
The World’s Slowest Experiment
What exactly is a liquid? It’s a seemingly basic question with an answer which may seem obvious to any of us. But as with so many things in science, it may not be as straightforward as you think. Of course you know what a liquid is, and the answer which may have come to mind…
-
Weekly Science Picks
At the top of my list this week would have to be the ISS Commander Chris Hadfield from Canadian Space Agency wringing out a wet towel in zero gravity. If you haven’t watched it yet. Do it now. The explanation behind what happens is more in depth than “magic”. Cmdr Hadfield is right when he…
-
Postcard from Spitzer: weather on 2M2228 is hot and cloudy
Long distance weather reports are now a commonality. The report for 2MASSJ22282889-431026 is somewhat unusual. It forecasts wind-driven, planet-sized clouds, with the light varying in time, brightening and dimming about every 90 minutes. The clouds on 2MASSJ22282889-431026 are composed of hot grains of sand, liquid drops of iron, and other exotic compounds. Definitely not the first…
-
Andromeda and the 13 Dwarfs
Astronomy is quite notorious for being full of things we don’t entirely understand. Sometimes it really does feel as if the closer we look at the Universe, the less it makes sense. One thing in particular which seems to constantly evade our understanding is the way in which galaxies work. A lot of very smart…
-
Science Weekly Picks
Being responsible for picking the week’s most interesting science stories is a fun and fascinating challenge. It pushes to me to look beyond my own interests and explore what others find compelling. So I trust you find my ‘science making news’ selection of interest and delight; explore the quantum, human, off-world and mathematical highs of…
-
Connecting the Quantum Dots
Last week, after I spent a couple of days in Brest, Brittany at a ESF, EU workshop/seminar brainstorming with other internet and scientific researchers on interesting topics related to internet science and innovation, I got myself back to Paris. I visited a French national institute with an international reputation for scientific excellence – ESPCI (École supérieure de…
-
Could the next generation of electronics be made with graphene?
While it may look like little more than molecular chicken wire, graphene really is wonderful stuff. A sheet of carbon atoms naturally forms into a geometrically perfect set of hexagons and, since it was first chemically synthesised in 2004, researchers across the world have been investigating its potential for uses in a wide variety of…
-
Zorbing: Adventures in a Hamster Ball
Zorbing It was a cloudy day, but we headed down the M1 towards the Gold Coast. Arriving at our destination around 9/9:30AM. Destination: OzBall. It was about a year ago I had seen video of this amazing, thrilling ride. A weatherman on Sunrise 7 strapped inside a huge plastic ball rolled down a hill. This…
-
The Higgs: An Unexpected Boson
The interesting thing about research is that the most interesting results are always the ones which are unexpected. This is particularly true out in the frontiers of physics where, frequently, no one really knows quite what to expect. While news reporters were swift to leap to the conclusion that the Higgs boson had been discovered…
-
Weekly Science Picks
By now, I think it’s safe to say that if you’re reading this, it means the world didn’t end on Friday. Which is rather a good thing, because a lot of interesting things have been happening recently! Even though I’ve been busy as can be, writing papers and trying to finish off a thesis there…
-
Turn Back Time
Recall the outrageously cool movie from the 1980s, Back to the Future? Marty McFly and Doc Brown were stretching scientific boundaries, righting the future, all while making sure not to meet their future selves. Fast-forward and time travel may be closer than we think. (Close, relatively speaking of course.) If you like exceptions to the…