Physics and Astronomy News Archive: March 2004

Bizarre attractive force found in mayonnaise

Source: RiceU Posted: 3/30/04

Scientists at Rice University have discovered that a little-understood tensile force, which was previously thought to be an oddity found only in the types of plastics used to make bulletproof vests, occurs in everyday emulsions like mayonnaise and salad dressing.

Mars Express confirms methane in the Martian atmosphere

Source: ESA Posted: 3/30/04

During recent observations from the ESA Mars Express spacecraft in orbit around Mars, methane was detected in its atmosphere. Whilst it is too early to draw any conclusions on its origin, exciting as they may be, scientists are thinking about the next steps to take in order to understand more.

Standing Body of Water Left Its Mark in Mars Rocks

Source: NASA/JPL Posted: 3/25/04

NASA's Opportunity rover has demonstrated some rocks on Mars probably formed as deposits at the bottom of a body of gently flowing saltwater.

New microscale inchworm actuator made by Sandia

Source: Sandia Posted: 3/25/04

Creating a tool small enough to measure friction on a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device is not an easy task. The tool has to be about the width of a human hair.

Accuracy of the World’s Best Rulers Verified

Source: NIST Posted: 3/23/04

Three of the world’s premier measurement laboratories—including the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)—have lined up the "hash marks" from four of the world’s best optical frequency rulers and declared that they match.

SOHO snaps spectacular Sun shot

Source: ESA/NASA Posted: 3/17/04

On Friday, 12 March 2004, the Sun ejected a spectacular 'eruptive prominence' into the heliosphere. SOHO, the ESA/NASA solar watchdog observatory, faithfully recorded the event.