Physics and Astronomy News Archive: January 2005

Image: Biggest Stars Produce Strongest Magnets

Biggest Stars Produce Strongest Magnets

Source: CFA Harvard   Posted: 1/31/05

Astrophysicists have announced that they have linked two of astronomy's extremes, showing that some of the biggest stars in the cosmos become the strongest magnets when they die.
Image: Lab Experiments Mimic a Star's Energy Bursts

Lab Experiments Mimic a Star's Energy Bursts

Source: NIST   Posted: 1/30/05

A key process that enhances the production of nuclear energy in the interior of dense stars has been re-created in the laboratory for the first time by physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Image: Laser Applications Heat Up for Carbon Nanotubes

Laser Applications Heat Up for Carbon Nanotubes

Source: NIST   Posted: 1/30/05

Carbon nanotubes—a hot nanotechnology with many potential uses—may find one of its quickest applications in the next generation of standards for optical power measurements.
Image: New view of distant colliding galaxies captured by Keck laser system

New view of distant colliding galaxies captured by Keck laser system

Source: UCSC   Posted: 1/23/05

For the first time, astronomers have been able to combine the deepest optical images of the universe, obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope, with equally sharp images in the near-infrared part of...
Image: Spacetime wave orbits black hole

Spacetime wave orbits black hole

Source: MIT   Posted: 1/12/05

Astronomers from MIT and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics have seen evidence of hot iron gas riding a ripple in spacetime around a black hole. This spacetime wave, if confirmed, would represent a new phenomenon that goes beyond Einstein's general relativity.
Image: Chandra Finds Evidence for Swarm of Black Holes Near the Galactic Center

Chandra Finds Evidence for Swarm of Black Holes Near the Galactic Center

Source: Chandra   Posted: 1/12/05

A swarm of 10,000 or more black holes may be orbiting the Milky Way's supermassive black hole, according to new results from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Image: Chip-Scale Magnetic Sensor Draws on Mini Clock Design

Chip-Scale Magnetic Sensor Draws on Mini Clock Design

Source: NIST   Posted: 1/4/05

A low-power, magnetic sensor about the size of a grain of rice that can detect magnetic field changes as small as 50 picoteslas—a million times weaker than the Earth's magnetic field—has been demonstrated by researchers at the NIST.
Image: Saturn’s Outer Rings May Be Eroding

Saturn’s Outer Rings May Be Eroding

Source: USC   Posted: 1/2/05

The planet’s E ring could disappear within 100 million years, based on images captured by the Cassini spacecraft.