Smorgasbord of Articles

I have not had much time of late to write up, or even read some of these articles and while I hope to catch up over my break, I do not wish to deprive you of them any longer than necessary. So here are a bunch of potentially interesting articles.

Quantum 'world record' smashed
New invisibility cloak type designed
Physics probes 'splashback' problem
Freak space rock spins dusty trail
India Mars probe makes first burn
Olympic torch in first spacewalk
Laser ripping apart spacetime to create ghosts
New Super-Black Material
Superconducting video camera seeing in living color

Source for Dark Matter and Antimatter News

I stumbled upon a link on the APS website to an archive of all their cosmology news which includes lots of articles on Dark Matter and antimatter and the beginnings of the universe. If any of that interests you, don't hesitate to check it out.


APS-Cosmology

Single Atom Switch

Summary: There's a lot of technical science in this article but the heart of the matter is scientists were able to create a simple optical switch out of just one atom.



American Physical Society

Another Disappointment in Dark Science

Summary: One possible explanation for all of this Dark Matter that should be detected but isn't, is that Dark Matter could consist of relatively small black holes created in the early days of the universe. However, lack of data from Kepler supporting this theory has crossed of another possibility on our 'What in Sagan's Name is this stuff?' list.



American Physical Society

Lightest Tripod Ever

Summary: High precision measurements require optical elements to be super-duper stable to researchers has proposed using light beams reflected off of three mirrors to suspend a fourth mirror in the air to be used in measurements. It sounds crazy until you remember that (A) the suspended mirror is only two millimeters in diameter and (B) the reason this might be possible is quantum mechanics so of course it sounds crazy.



American Physical Society

Levitons: A Kinda Sorta Particle

Summary: Physicists in France and Switzerland have seen a new type of quasiparticle they called the leviton. This particle was predicted back in 1996. The ability to make these particles on demand could lead to quantum-electronics circuits that involve sending singular electrons through these circuits. I'm not sure exactly what the practical use it, but it sounds cool.


Physics World

A Light Knot

Summary: Have you had a burning desire to trap light inside a knot? Neither have I, but it looks as if this is becoming possible. Scientists "have discovered a new family of solutions to Maxwell's equations that are knots of light that do not disperse or lose their specific topological properties as they propagate. The researchers say such knots, if made for real, could be used to trap atoms or create similar knots in plasmas or quantum fluids." It ties by brain in knots just thinking about it. While this seems really cool (and the conceptual image looks awesome) I don't think it will be incredible to me unless they tell me that this can be used to make a real life light saber.



Physics World

The Good Kind of Tangled Phone Lines

Summary: The Japanese telecom company NTT has hit a new milestone in quantum entanglement. As a reminder, quantum entanglement is locking two particles together to have the exact same properties (spin, momentum, and polarization) for the duration of their entanglement. This means that you only have to look at one particle to know the state of the other. If the particles are far apart, this becomes an incredibly efficiant way to transfer data, which is what NTT hopes to achieve. Their experiment used two protons separated by 150 kilometers of optical fiber. Not only is this special because of the distance, this is also a new medium through which the data was passed. It would not be efficient yet, but down the line, who knows.



Extreme Tech

E-Sail: The Solar Sail for your Interstellar Needs

Summary: If I haven't mentioned it before, the solar sail is my favorite method for interstellar travel in the future. I've been excited about this nearly my whole life so I tend to jump up and down with excitement when new details are released. The most recent development is in the wires that would tether the sail to the ship without over loading it.



Physics Today

Fifty Years of Observing

Summary: The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico has now been observing our universe for 50 long years. This is the radio telescope most commonly used for a picture when teaching children. One of the coolest things is that it is still the biggest single-dish telescope in the world. It is a very interesting read so I encourage you to click on the picture to get to the article.

Earth's Eternal Magnetic Field

Summary: Below is a link to an article about Earth's magnetic field and its longevity. It also talks about other aspects of the Earth's innards.



Physics Today

Butterflies of Science

Summary: To be honest, I don't really understand this article but it looks really interesting. It talks about combining quantum mechanics with mathematics, electric fields in a crystal, and some thing called a Hofstadter butterfly.



Physics World

Slaying the Dragon Kings

Summary: Dragon kings: extreme events such as earthquakes and financial crashes that can occur with devastating effect in complex systems.
A weird term but a very serious one. This article details how scientists have found a way to predict and then prevent them.



Physics World
American Physical Society

Happy Aversion of NASA Boycott

Summary: Due to some old legislation that excluded citizen of China and other nations from visiting NASA facilities, six Chinese researchers were denied registration for an upcoming conference. To protest, other research teams within the states were planning on boycotting the conference. Thankfully, NASA administrator Charles Bolden, overturned this ban and said that the organizers of the conference had acting without consulting NASA HQ. Disaster Averted!


Physics World

Lava World

Summary: The data from Kepler has revealed another planet that would be brilliant inspiration of any sci-fi novel you are trying to write. This planet, Kepler 78b, is mostly rock and iron but extremely close to its host star. This, paired with the theory that it is tidally locked, means that it is reasonable to assume that that side of the planet is completely molten. With that side of the planet being between 2,000C and 2,800C, it is obviously too hot to support life. It is uncertain what the temperatures on the other side of the planet might be or how far down the molten layer goes. This planet is also an enigma because "according to current theories of planet formation, Kepler 78b could not have formed so close to its star, nor could it have moved there." As a bonus, it is also doomed to be slowly pulled closer and closer into it's star which will proceed to rip it apart.


BBC News
Nature

Dark Articles

Summary: Linked are two articles about Dark Energy talking about one of the biggest mysteries concerning this elusive stuff and the other talks a little bit about its history. As a bonus, if you read far enough down on the page, there is an article about "The Big Bang Theory" which is a great show that I am very behind on.


Fermilab Today

But Which Higgs?

Summary: So we found the Higgs Boson. Or at least a new particle that is incredibly similar to what we expected the Higgs to look like. But what is it really? While there is the very unexciting possibility that it completely fits the mold of the Standard Model version of the Higgs, there are still other possibilities and more exciting results that come as a bonus.


Symmetry Magazine

Planck Length

Summary: Below I have linked you to a beautiful article in Fermilab Today answering the question "It is said that the Planck length is the smallest length possible. Is that true? If so, why?" It's not particularly news, but if you are in any way interested in physics or quantum mechanics then i is a worthwhile read.


Fermilab Today