Viewing macro behaviors of ultra-cold quantum gases through the micro-world Understanding collective behavior of ultra-cold quantum gases is of great interest since it is intimately related to many encountered systems in nature such as human behavior, swarms of birds, traffic jam, sand dunes, neutron stars, fundamental magnetic properties of solids, or even super-fluidity or super-conductivity. In all of these everyday life examples, collective behavior plays a crucial role since all participating objects move, voluntarily or not, synchronously. In a recent study coordinated by the Institute of Laser Physics, University of Hamburg -- Germany, in collaboration with ICFO -- the Institute of Photonic Sciences, researchers have observed, for the first time, the collective spin dynamics of ultra-cold fermions by analyzing the microscopic properties of the particles through their local collisions. The "super" behavior of matter is actually a macro manifestation of the micro-laws of quantum mechanics. Hence, the research group led by ICREA Professor at ICFO Dr.
Metal Asteroid Psyche, a Weird Magnetic Space Rock, Explained (Infographic) by Karl Tate, SPACE.com Infographics Artist | January 14, 2014 04:35pm ET Discovered in 1852, the main-belt asteroid Psyche is unique in that it is believed to be the exposed core of an ancient protoplanet that never completely formed, or whose rocky outer layers were destroyed. It is the most massive known M-type (metallic) asteroid, with a composition of 90-percent iron and nickel, and 10-percent silicate rock — similar to Earth's core. Possible NASA Mission to Metal Asteroid Psyche (Images) The Earth's nickel-iron core is a dynamo that creates a massive magnetic field around the planet. Psyche is an irregularly-shaped asteroid measuring about 150 miles (240 kilometers) along its largest side. The 7 Strangest Asteroids in the Solar System Psyche orbits the sun at a distance of between 3.3 and 2.5 astronomical units (AU).
Strange Metal Asteroid Targeted in Far-Out NASA Mission Concept One of the strangest objects in the solar system may get its first closeup in the coming years. A team of scientists is mapping out a mission to the huge metallic asteroid Psyche, which is thought to be the exposed iron core of a battered and stripped protoplanet. The proposed mission would reveal insights about planet formation processes and the early days of the solar system, its designers say, and would also afford the first-ever good look at an odd class of celestial objects. "This is the first metal world humankind will have ever seen," team member Lindy Elkins-Tanton, director of the Carnegie Institution for Science's Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, told SPACE.com last month at the American Geophysical Union's annual fall meeting in San Francisco. "I think this is an opportunity to do some fundamental science that hasn't been done before." The huge metal asteroid Psyche may have a strong remnant magnetic field.Credit: Damir Gamulin/Ben Weiss A protoplanet's core?
Dyson Spheres: How Advanced Alien Civilizations Would Conquer the Galaxy (Infographic) Ancient extraterrestrial civilizations, millions of years older than humanity, would need enormous amounts of energy. By creating a swarm of satellites in a spherical shell, they could harness much of the power of their star. Science fiction author Olaf Stapledon described spherical, energy-trapping alien structures in his 1937 novel "Star Maker": "Not only was every solar system now surrounded by a gauze of light traps, which focused the escaping solar energy for intelligent use, so that the whole galaxy was dimmed, but many stars that were not suited to be suns were disintegrated, and rifled of their prodigious stores of sub-atomic energy." Incredible Technology: How to Search for Advanced Alien Civilizations Recalling Stapledon's description, physicist Freeman Dyson proposed similar structures in a scientific paper in 1960. Astrophysicist Nikolai Kardashev proposed in 1962 that very old and advanced civilizations would be of three types:
Tiny Robot Flies Like a Jellyfish A new teeny-tiny robot flies through the air like a jellyfish swims. The jellyfish flier is a strange sight — it looks a little bit like a Chinese lantern that's developed a hankering for the open skies — but its unique design keeps it from tipping over without the use of sensors or external controls. That talent could make it handy for maneuvering in small spaces, said its inventor Leif Ristroph, a postdoctoral researcher at New York University. "What's cool is you can actually build these flying things yourself," Ristroph told LiveScience. "All the components I used to make this, they cost about $15 and they're available on hobby airplane websites." Searching for stability Ristroph, whose background is in physics, studied insect flight for his doctorate. Many small robots take insects as their inspiration, such as the dragonfly-like DelFly, a Dutch drone that weights only 0.7 ounces (20 grams). "The real number-one issue in flying is stability," Ristroph said. The flying jellyfish
Strange Ancient Fish Had Front And Back Legs The closest known relative of the ancestors of limbed animals such as humans likely evolved the foundation for rear legs even before the move to land, researchers say. This ancestor may have even been able to walk underwater, they added. These findings reveal that a key step in the evolution of hind limbs happened in fish, challenging previous theories that such appendages evolved only after the move to land. Scientists investigated fossils of a 375-million-year-old fish known as Tiktaalik roseae, discovered in 2004 in northern Canada's Ellesmere Island. Bizarre fish This ancient creature was undoubtedly a fish, possessing gills, scales and fins. This extinct fish had large forefins and shoulders, elbows and partial wrists, enabling it to support itself on ground. Prior analyses of other fossils dating from the water-land transition found their back appendages were small and weak compared with their front appendages. Titaalik's hind quarters
"Exo-Planet Atmospheres Can Form Prebiotic Seeds of Life" The atmospheres around exoplanets and brown dwarfs form exotic clouds that, instead of being composed of water droplets, are made of dust particles made of minerals that could give rise to the precursors to life, researchers at the University of St Andrews have revealed. Dr Craig Stark and colleagues in the School of Physics and Astronomy have studied the atmospheres of alien worlds called exoplanets - those which orbit other stars that are not our Sun; and failed stars (called brown dwarfs – those not big enough to burn properly like the Sun). Their research, to be published in the International Journal of Astrobiology, found that such electrified dusty environments can lead to the formation of prebiotic molecules - the biological seeds that produce life. Dr Stark added: “These charged gases are called plasmas – like those found in fluorescent lights and plasma televisions.
'Superlens' extends range of wireless power transfer Inventor Nikola Tesla imagined the technology to transmit energy through thin air almost a century ago, but experimental attempts at the feat have so far resulted in cumbersome devices that only work over very small distances. But now, Duke University researchers have demonstrated the feasibility of wireless power transfer using low-frequency magnetic fields over distances much larger than the size of the transmitter and receiver. The advance comes from a team of researchers in Duke's Pratt School of Engineering, who used metamaterials to create a "superlens" that focuses magnetic fields. The superlens translates the magnetic field emanating from one power coil onto its twin nearly a foot away, inducing an electric current in the receiving coil. The experiment was the first time such a scheme has successfully sent power safely and efficiently through the air with an efficiency many times greater than what could be achieved with the same setup minus the superlens.
Researchers 'detune' a molecule: Scientists control the bonds between atoms in a buckyball Rice University scientists have found they can control the bonds between atoms in a molecule. The molecule in question is carbon-60, also known as the buckminsterfullerene and the buckyball, discovered at Rice in 1985. The scientists led by Rice physicists Yajing Li and Douglas Natelson found that it's possible to soften the bonds between atoms by applying a voltage and running an electric current through a single buckyball. The researchers detailed their discovery this week in the online Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "This doesn't mean we're going to be able to arbitrarily dial around the strength of materials or anything like that," Natelson said. "But in general, if we can manipulate the charge distribution on molecules, we can affect their vibrations. The effect appears when a buckyball attaches to a gold surface in the optical nano antenna used to measure the effects of an electric current on intermolecular bonds through a technique called Raman spectroscopy.
Symphony of life, revealed: New imaging technique captures vibrations of proteins, tiny motions critical to human life Like the strings on a violin or the pipes of an organ, the proteins in the human body vibrate in different patterns, scientists have long suspected. Now, a new study provides what researchers say is the first conclusive evidence that this is true. Using a technique they developed based on terahertz near-field microscopy, scientists from the University at Buffalo and Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute (HWI) have for the first time observed in detail the vibrations of lysozyme, an antibacterial protein found in many animals. The team found that the vibrations, which were previously thought to dissipate quickly, actually persist in molecules like the "ringing of a bell," said UB physics professor Andrea Markelz, PhD, wh0 led the study. The research opens the door to a whole new way of studying the basic cellular processes that enable life. "People have been trying to measure these vibrations in proteins for many, many years, since the 1960s," Markelz said.