(Phys.org) -- The word “cochlea” comes from the Latin for “snail shell.” While this inner ear component has a clear spiral shape, it’s currently unclear why that is. In the 1980s, ...
Jun 14, 2012
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(Phys.org) -- The famous physicist Niels Bohr first conceived of the notion of quantum jumps, or quantum leaps, in 1913. Bohr understood quantum jumps as objective events in which an atom emits or absorbs ...
Jun 11, 2012
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(Phys.org) -- When two photons simultaneously enter two input ports of a beam splitter, their paths interfere destructively, which causes the photons to simultaneously exit the beam splitter through the same output port. ...
Jun 07, 2012
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(Phys.org) -- When illuminated by laser light, assorted colloidal particles can arrange themselves into highly ordered structures called quasicrystals. By changing the phases of the lasers, researchers can ...
Jun 06, 2012
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(Phys.org) -- Why do the bubbles in a glass of stout beer such as Guinness sink while the beer is settling, even though the bubbles are lighter than the surrounding liquid? That’s been a puzzling question ...
May 29, 2012
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(Phys.org) -- The laws of classical electromagnetism that were developed in the 19th century are the same laws that scientists use today. They include Maxwell’s four equations along with the Lorentz la ...
May 24, 2012
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(Phys.org) -- An electron’s spin is separate from its motion, and is suitable for use in both highly-precise magnetic sensing as well as a qubit in quantum computing. Recently, scientists at the University ...
May 23, 2012
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(Phys.org) -- Replacing the need for nimble fingers, researchers have demonstrated how to make origami using light of a specific wavelength. They call the new folding technique photo-origami, and it could ...
May 10, 2012
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(Phys.org) -- For the first time, physicists have experimentally demonstrated the interaction of two motionless light pulses. Because the stopped light pulses have a long interaction time, it increases the ...
May 08, 2012
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(Phys.org) -- Finding new connections between different disciplines leads to new – and sometimes useful – ideas. That’s exactly what happened when scientists in the Department of Physics, Queens College, ...
Apr 28, 2012
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(Phys.org) -- At the heart of quantum mechanics lies the wave function, a probability function used by physicists to understand the nanoscale world. Using the wave function, physicists can calculate a system's ...
Apr 25, 2012
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(Phys.org) -- In optical communication systems, the overall performance depends on the strategy used to transmit photons from one location to another. In previous attempts to optimize this performance, scientists ...
Apr 16, 2012
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(Phys.org) -- While factoring an integer is a simple problem when the integer is small, the complexity of factorization greatly increases as the integer increases. When the integer grows to more than 100,000 ...
Apr 11, 2012
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(PhysOrg.com) -- When an optical fiber is bent by 90° or more, the light begins to leak away, posing a problem for fiber optics communications. But by using special lenses that can bend light by not only ...
Apr 02, 2012
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Ranging in thickness from a few nanometers to several micrometers, thin films and coatings play a role in a wide variety of applications. The reflective metal layer on a mirror, the coatings ...
Mar 27, 2012
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