Physics and Astronomy News Archive: July 2013

Image: Astronomers Detect Three 'Super-Earths'

Astronomers Detect Three 'Super-Earths'
Source: NSF Posted: 7/6/13
Astronomers find a system with at least six planets, including a record-breaking three super-Earths orbiting in the star's 'habitable zone' where liquid water could exist on the planets.

Image: Researchers Build an All-Optical Transistor

Researchers Build an All-Optical Transistor
Source: MIT Posted: 7/6/13
An optical switch that can be turned on by a single photon could point toward new designs for both classical and quantum computers.

Image: Explanation of Mysterious Radio Flashes?

Explanation of Mysterious Radio Flashes?
Source: Radboud Posted: 7/6/13
Mysterious bright radio flashes that appear for only a brief moment on the sky and do not repeat could be the final farewell greetings of a massive star collapsing into a black hole.

Image: New Insights On The Early Bombardment Of Mercury

New Insights On The Early Bombardment Of Mercury
Source: SWRI Posted: 7/6/13
Were the plains of Mercury formed by volcanic flows or composed of material ejected from the planet’s giant impact basins?

Image: Gemini Obervatory Delivers a Sharper Universe

Gemini Obervatory Delivers a Sharper Universe
Source: Gemini Posted: 7/6/13
A unique new instrument at Gemini South in Chile takes the removal of atmospheric distortions (using adaptive optics technology) to a new level.

'The strength and weakness of physicists is that we believe in what we can measure. And if we can't measure it, then we say it probably doesn't exist. And that closes us off to an enormous amount of phenomena that we may not be able to measure because they only happened once. For example, the Big Bang. ... That's one reason why they scoffed at higher dimensions for so many years. Now we realize that there's no alternative... '

Michio Kaku
(1947-)