Physical sciences news

Fermilab physicists discover "doubly strange" particle

Physicists of the DZero experiment at the U.S. Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory have discovered a new particle made of three quarks, the Omega-sub-b (Î©b). The particle contains two strange quarks and a bottom quark (s-s-b). It is an exotic relative of the much more common proton and weighs about six times the proton mass.

Full story

Nuclear Pairs

0 comments

Physical sciences news // 08 June, 2008 02:52:00

Like children playing a game of tag, some protons and neutrons link up briefly inside the nucleus of the atom and then rapidly split apart. These pairings have now been quantified in the first simultaneous measurement of such pairings and their constituents.

Princeton scientists discover exotic quantum state

3 comments

Tags: quantum state condensed-matter physics

Physical sciences news // 24 April, 2008 01:23:00

'Quantum Hall-like effect' found in a bulk material without an applied magnetic field

A Grand Canyon as Old as the Dinosaurs?

5 / 5

0 comments

Tags: grand canyon geology colorado

Physical sciences news // 13 April, 2008 02:22:00

The origin of the Grand Canyon has been a topic of scientific controversy for nearly 140 years. Now, with geochronologic data from the canyon and surrounding plateaus, geologists from the California Institute of Technology present significant evidence that lends new insight into its history of formation.

Gathering 'concrete' evidence

3 / 5

0 comments

Tags: pyramid concrete

Physical sciences news // 02 April, 2008 01:17:00

Even though they are among the best-known structures on Earth, the pyramids of Egypt may still hold surprises. This spring, an MIT class is testing a controversial theory that some of the giant blocks that make up the great pyramids of Giza may have been cast in place from concrete, rather than quarried and moved into position.

Air is heavier than previously thought

0 comments

Tags: air heavy kilogram

Physical sciences news // 22 November, 2004 01:20:45
Scientists have discovered that the air in the atmosphere around us is heavier (more dense) than they had previously thought. Knowing this will enable scientists to measure the mass of objects more accurately than ever before.

Magnetic Stars Puzzle Solved

0 comments

Physical sciences news // 18 October, 2004 09:31:58
How does one explain the enormous magnetic field strengths of the so-called 'magnetic stars'? This question concerning magnetic fields in the cosmos, first posed half a century ago, has now been answered.

2004 Nobel Prize in Physics

0 comments

Physical sciences news // 04 October, 2004 11:58:59
Three Americans share the Nobel prize in physics this year for work in quantum physics.

Researchers use semiconductors to set speed limit on light

0 comments

Physical sciences news // 28 September, 2004 09:40:43
In a nod to scientific paradox, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have slowed light down in an effort to speed up network communication.

Microscope sets 'small' record

0 comments

Physical sciences news // 17 September, 2004 10:05:42
Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers, using a state-of-the-art microscope and new computerized imaging technology, have pushed back the barrier of how small we can see--to a record, atom-scale 0.6 angstrom.