Physics and Astronomy News Archive: July 2005

Image: The Supernova That Just Won't Fade Away

The Supernova That Just Won't Fade Away

Source: ESA   Posted: 7/21/05

Scientists have found that a star that exploded in 1979 is as bright today in X-ray light as it was when it was discovered years ago, a surprise finding because such objects usually fade significantly after only a few months.
Image: Physicists Create a 'Perfect' Way to Study the Big Bang

Physicists Create a 'Perfect' Way to Study the Big Bang

Source: EPSRC   Posted: 7/21/05

Physicists have created the state of matter thought to have filled the Universe just a few microseconds after the big bang and found it to be different from what they were expecting. Instead of a gas, it is more like a liquid.
Image: 3-D Multilayered Optical Structures Made Without A Clean Room

3-D Multilayered Optical Structures Made Without A Clean Room

Source: AmesLab   Posted: 7/21/05

First in novel optical materials: researchers at Ames Lab made 3-D photonic band gap crystals 4mm square and 12 layers high without a “clean room” or multimillion dollar equipment traditionally required.
Image: Astronomers Debate Whether Oldest Known Dust Disk Will Ever Form Planets

Astronomers Debate Whether Oldest Known Dust Disk Will Ever Form Planets

Source: CFA/Harvard   Posted: 7/21/05

Astronomers have discovered the first exception to the dust disk planet formation rule - a 25-million-year-old dust disk that shows no evidence of planet formation.
Image: Wiring the Brain at the Nanoscale

Wiring the Brain at the Nanoscale

Source: NSF   Posted: 7/11/05

Working with platinum nanowires 100 times thinner than a human hair a team of U.S. and Japanese researchers has demonstrated a technique that may allow doctors to monitor individual brain cells.
Image: New device creates electricity and treats wastewater

New device creates electricity and treats wastewater

Source: WUSTL   Posted: 7/11/05

An environmental engineer at Washington University in St. Louis has created a device similar to a hydrogen fuel cell that uses bacteria to treat wastewater and create electricity.
Image: NASA's Deep Impact Tells a Tale of the Comet

NASA's Deep Impact Tells a Tale of the Comet

Source: NASA/JPL   Posted: 7/11/05

Data from Deep Impact's instruments indicate an immense cloud of fine powdery material was released when the probe slammed into the nucleus of comet Tempel 1 at about 10 kilometers per second.