Physics and Astronomy News Archive: March 2006

Image: Robotic NASA Craft Begins Orbiting Mars for Most-Detailed Exam

Robotic NASA Craft Begins Orbiting Mars for Most-Detailed Exam

Source: NASA   Posted: 3/12/06

With a crucially timed firing of its main engines, NASA's new mission to Mars successfully put itself into orbit around the red planet.
Image: Sandia's Z machine exceeds two billion degrees Kelvin

Sandia's Z machine exceeds two billion degrees Kelvin

Source: SANDIA   Posted: 3/12/06

Sandia's Z machine has produced plasmas that exceed temperatures of 2 billion degrees Kelvin - hotter than the interiors of stars.
Image: Experimental Atomic Clock Uses Ytterbium ‘Pancakes’

Experimental Atomic Clock Uses Ytterbium ‘Pancakes’

Source: NIST   Posted: 3/12/06

Scientists at the NIST have significantly improved the design of optical atomic clocks that hold thousands of atoms in a lattice made of intersecting laser beams.
Image: New 'Crystal Sponge' Triples Hydrogen Storage

New 'Crystal Sponge' Triples Hydrogen Storage

Source: NSF   Posted: 3/12/06

In a step toward making cars that can run on hydrogen rather than gasoline a reality, chemists have announced a new 'crystal sponge' material that can store in its pores nearly three times more hydrogen than any substance known.