Physics news
General Relativity survives gruelling pulsar test Einstein at least 99.95% right!
---An international research team led by Prof. Michael Kramer of the University of Manchester's Jodrell Bank Observatory, UK, has used three years of observations of the "double pulsar", a unique pair of natural stellar clocks which they discovered in 2003, to prove that Einstein's theory of general relativity - the theory of gravity that displaced Newton's - is correct to within a staggering 0.05%. Their results are published on the14th September in the journal Science and are based on measurements of an effect called the Shapiro Delay.
Scientists develop technology for roll-up laptop screens
Scientists at the University of Cambridge have developed a range of unique, shape-changing structures, which can be used as roll-up display screens (such as laptop screens), re-usable packaging, roll-up keyboards and self-erecting, temporary habitats. These structures, also known as ‘morphing’ structures, afford multiple configurations without the need of complex parts or sophisticated manufacturing.
60 Second Physics
60 SECOND PHYSICS
Physics has demonstrated that the everyday phenomena we experience are governed by universal principles applying at time and distance scales far beyond normal human experience. Elementary particle physics is one avenue of scientific inquiry into these principles. What rules govern energy, matter, space and time at the most elementary levels? How are phenomena at the smallest and largest scales of time and distance connected?
To address these questions, particle physicists seek to isolate, create, and identify elementary interactions of the most basic constituents of the universe. One approach is to create a beam of elementary particles in an accelerator and to study the behavior of those particles-for instance, when they impinge upon a piece of material or when they collide with another beam of particles. Other experiments exploit naturally occurring particles, including those created in the sun or resulting from cosmic rays striking the earth’s atmosphere.
Some experiments involve studying ordinary materials in large quantities to discern rare phenomena of search for as-yet-unseen phenomena. All of these experiments rely on sophisticated detectors that employ a range of advanced technologies to measure and record particle properties.
Particle physicists also use results from ground- and –space –based telescopes to study the elementary particles and forces that govern their interactions. This latter category of experiments highlights the increasing importance of the intersection of particle physics, astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology.
From Revealing the Hidden Nature of Space and Time: Charting the Course for Elementary Particle Physics (2006), Committee on Elementary Particle Physics in the 21st Century, National Research Council and via the Fermilab/SLAC magazine SYMMETRY.
Physics has demonstrated that the everyday phenomena we experience are governed by universal principles applying at time and distance scales far beyond normal human experience. Elementary particle physics is one avenue of scientific inquiry into these principles. What rules govern energy, matter, space and time at the most elementary levels? How are phenomena at the smallest and largest scales of time and distance connected?
To address these questions, particle physicists seek to isolate, create, and identify elementary interactions of the most basic constituents of the universe. One approach is to create a beam of elementary particles in an accelerator and to study the behavior of those particles-for instance, when they impinge upon a piece of material or when they collide with another beam of particles. Other experiments exploit naturally occurring particles, including those created in the sun or resulting from cosmic rays striking the earth’s atmosphere.
Some experiments involve studying ordinary materials in large quantities to discern rare phenomena of search for as-yet-unseen phenomena. All of these experiments rely on sophisticated detectors that employ a range of advanced technologies to measure and record particle properties.
Particle physicists also use results from ground- and –space –based telescopes to study the elementary particles and forces that govern their interactions. This latter category of experiments highlights the increasing importance of the intersection of particle physics, astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology.
From Revealing the Hidden Nature of Space and Time: Charting the Course for Elementary Particle Physics (2006), Committee on Elementary Particle Physics in the 21st Century, National Research Council and via the Fermilab/SLAC magazine SYMMETRY.