Physics and Astronomy News Archive: June 2005

Image: MIT physicists create new form of matter

MIT physicists create new form of matter

Source: MIT   Posted: 6/26/05

MIT scientists have brought a supercool end to a heated race among physicists: They have become the first to create a new type of matter, a gas of atoms that shows high-temperature superfluidity.
Image: Elusive Planet Reshapes a Ring Around Neighboring Star

Elusive Planet Reshapes a Ring Around Neighboring Star

Source: NASA   Posted: 6/26/05

The new NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope image of a narrow, dusty ring around the nearby star Fomalhaut offers the strongest evidence yet that an unruly and unseen planet may be gravitationally tugging on the ring.
Image: New Liquid Cooling Technique

New Liquid Cooling Technique

Source: GeorgiaTech   Posted: 6/26/05

A new technique for fabricating liquid cooling channels onto the backs of high-performance integrated circuits could allow denser packaging of chips while providing better temperature control and improved reliability.
Image: Astronomers discover most Earth-like extrasolar planet yet

Astronomers discover most Earth-like extrasolar planet yet

Source: UCBerkeley   Posted: 6/26/05

The world’s preeminent planet hunters have discovered the most Earth-like extrasolar planet yet: a possibly rocky world about 7.5 times as massive as the Earth.
Image: 'Strange' physics experiment is unraveling structure of proton

'Strange' physics experiment is unraveling structure of proton

Source: UIUC   Posted: 6/17/05

An international team of nuclear physicists has determined that particles called strange quarks do, indeed, contribute to the ordinary properties of the proton.
Image: New Study: Why Solar Cells Lose Potency

New Study: Why Solar Cells Lose Potency

Source: OhioU   Posted: 6/17/05

When photovoltaic material is exposed to intense light it forms defects, reducing the efficiency of the solar cells by 10 to 15 percent. New study at Ohio University may have found the root of the problem.
Image: Scientists Discover Possible Titan Volcano

Scientists Discover Possible Titan Volcano

Source: NASA/JPL   Posted: 6/10/05

A recent flyby of Saturn’s hazy moon Titan by the Cassini spacecraft has revealed evidence of a possible volcano, which could be a source of methane in Titan’s atmosphere.
Image: Mars Express discovers aurorae on Mars

Mars Express discovers aurorae on Mars

Source: ESA   Posted: 6/10/05

ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft has for the first time ever detected an aurora on Mars. This aurora is of a type never previously observed in the Solar System.
Image: NIST Photon Detectors Have Record Efficiency

NIST Photon Detectors Have Record Efficiency

Source: NIST   Posted: 6/6/05

Sensors that detect and count single photons, the smallest quantities of light, with 88 percent efficiency have been demonstrated by physicists at NIST.
Image: Shadow Technique Improves Measurement of Micro Holes

Shadow Technique Improves Measurement of Micro Holes

Source: NIST   Posted: 6/6/05

NIST researchers and collaborators have developed a new method for measuring the interior dimensions of small holes with an uncertainty of only 35 nanometers.