http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (PhysOrg.com) -- A table-top gamma-ray detector created at the University of Michigan can not only identify the presence of dangerous nuclear materials, but can pinpoint and show their exact location and type, unlike conventional detectors. http://phys.org/news207936317.html Physics Tue, 02 Nov 2010 17:05:34 EST news207936317 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists in Shanghai in China, have developed a waterproof cotton fabric that remains waterproof after going through a domestic wash at least 250 times. http://phys.org/news207462287.html Chemistry Thu, 28 Oct 2010 06:40:01 EST news207462287 For certain kinds of cancer, the most effective therapy does not use x-rays or gamma rays but beams of ions, the electrically charged cores of atoms, including hydrogen ions (protons) and heavier ions such as carbon and neon. http://phys.org/news206698526.html Physics Tue, 19 Oct 2010 09:15:58 EST news206698526 Dramatic flares and bursts of energy - activity previously thought reserved for only the strongest magnetized pulsars - has been observed emanating from a weakly magnetised, slowly rotating pulsar. The international team of astrophysicists who made the discovery believe that the source of the pulsar's power may be hidden deep within its surface. http://phys.org/news206284902.html Space & Earth Thu, 14 Oct 2010 14:22:21 EST news206284902 Using the Large Area Telescope (LAT) onboard NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope satellite, astronomers have detected gamma rays from a nova for the first time, a finding that surprises both observers and theorists. The discovery dispels the long-held idea that nova explosions are not powerful enough to produce such high-energy radiation. These findings are published in the August 13th edition of Science with Teddy Cheung, an astrophysicist at the Naval Research Laboratory, as the lead author. http://phys.org/news201789435.html Space & Earth Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:37:29 EST news201789435 Astronomers using NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have detected gamma-rays from a nova for the first time, a finding that stunned observers and theorists alike. The discovery overturns the notion that novae explosions lack the power to emit such high-energy radiation. http://phys.org/news200849593.html Space & Earth Thu, 12 Aug 2010 17:20:01 EST news200849593 (PhysOrg.com) -- A research team led by astronomers from Kyoto University, Tokyo Institute of Technology, and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan used the Subaru Telescope to observe a dark gamma-ray burst (GRB) that provides clues for understanding the origin of dark gamma-ray bursts. http://phys.org/news198930941.html Space & Earth Wed, 21 Jul 2010 12:10:01 EST news198930941 HESS, one of the world's best-performing ground-based gamma ray detectors, will soon boast a fifth telescope that will double its potential for making new discoveries. The telescope will be equipped with a camera designed and built by French scientists as part of the HESS joint project, which involves several CNRS laboratories. http://phys.org/news196000286.html Space & Earth Thu, 17 Jun 2010 13:31:59 EST news196000286 In 2008 the Nuclear Science Division (NSD) of the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory launched the Applied Nuclear Physics program, headed by NSD's Kai Vetter upon his return to Berkeley after six years with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. One of the goals of Applied Nuclear Physics is to take experimental principles and equipment created for basic research and develop them into tools that can address practical needs like cancer therapy and homeland security. http://phys.org/news194720066.html Physics Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:54:51 EST news194720066 (PhysOrg.com) -- This beautiful composite image shows N49, the aftermath of a supernova explosion in the Large Magellanic Cloud. A new long observation from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, shown in blue, reveals evidence for a bullet-shaped object being blown out of debris field left over from an exploded star. http://phys.org/news193940188.html Space & Earth Mon, 24 May 2010 17:50:01 EST news193940188 Positronium is a short-lived system in which an electron and its anti-particle are bound together. In 2007, physicists at the University of California, Riverside created molecular positronium, a brand-new substance, in the laboratory. Now they have succeeded in isolating for the first time a sample of spin polarized positronium atoms. http://phys.org/news191868695.html Physics Sat, 01 May 2010 04:32:35 EST news191868695 A giant NASA science balloon crashed during take-off in Australia Thursday, destroying its multi-million-dollar payload, toppling a large car and narrowly missing frightened observers. http://phys.org/news191742850.html Space & Earth Thu, 29 Apr 2010 07:10:01 EST news191742850 Stefan Funk wants to improve ground-based gamma ray imaging systems. Today's best instruments have their limits, Funk noted, and newer, more sensitive equipment is required to enter the next stage of astrophysical research. A physicist with the joint SLAC/Stanford Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Funk received funding for a Laboratory Directed Research and Development project to develop components capable of boosting gamma ray telescope speed and precision while keeping costs down. http://phys.org/news190393764.html Physics Tue, 13 Apr 2010 16:30:02 EST news190393764 If our eyes could see radio waves, the nearby galaxy Centaurus A (Cen A) would be one of the biggest and brightest objects in the sky, nearly 20 times the apparent size of a full moon. What we can't see when looking at the galaxy in visible light is that it lies nestled between a pair of giant radio-emitting gas plumes ejected by its supersized black hole. Each plume is nearly a million light-years long. http://phys.org/news189359842.html Space & Earth Thu, 01 Apr 2010 16:58:04 EST news189359842 Time taken to detect brain tumours could soon be significantly reduced thanks to an ongoing pioneering project led by the University of Liverpool with the Nuclear Physics Group and Technology departments at the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) at Daresbury Laboratory. Project ProSPECTus is developing the technology for next generation SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) imaging that is set to revolutionise the medical imaging process, improving future diagnosis of cancer and the probability of successful cancer therapy whilst enabling a higher throughput of patients in hospitals. http://phys.org/news186837980.html Medicine & Health Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:50:01 EST news186837980 One of the pleasures of perusing ancient maps is locating regions so poorly explored that mapmakers warned of dragons and sea monsters. Now, astronomers using NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope find themselves in the same situation as cartographers of old. A new study of the ever-present fog of gamma rays from sources outside our galaxy shows that less than a third of the emission arises from what astronomers once considered the most likely suspects -- black-hole-powered jets from active galaxies. http://phys.org/news186768316.html Space & Earth Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:06:37 EST news186768316 (PhysOrg.com) -- Jets of particles streaming from black holes in far-away galaxies operate differently than previously thought, according to a study published today in Nature. The new study reveals that most of the jet's light -- gamma rays, the universe's most energetic form of light -- is created much farther from the black hole than expected and suggests a more complex shape for the jet. http://phys.org/news185644637.html Physics Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:30:02 EST news185644637 (PhysOrg.com) -- New images from NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope show where supernova remnants emit radiation a billion times more energetic than visible light. The images bring astronomers a step closer to understanding the source of some of the universe's most energetic particles -- cosmic rays. http://phys.org/news185556288.html Space & Earth Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:25:12 EST news185556288 High-energy bursts of gamma rays typically occur far out in space, perhaps near black holes or other high-energy cosmic phenomena. So imagine scientists' surprise in the mid-1990s when they found these powerful gamma ray flashes happening right here on Earth, in the skies overhead. http://phys.org/news184313955.html Space & Earth Tue, 02 Feb 2010 09:20:04 EST news184313955 (PhysOrg.com) -- Astronomers studying two exploding stars, or supernovae, have found evidence the blasts received an extra boost from newborn black holes. The supernovae were found to emit jets of particles traveling at more than half the speed of light. http://phys.org/news183836389.html Space & Earth Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:50:04 EST news183836389 (PhysOrg.com) -- For the first time, astronomers have found a supernova explosion with properties similiar to a gamma-ray burst, but without seeing any gamma rays from it. The discovery, using the National Science Foundation's Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope, promises, the scientists say, to point the way toward locating many more examples of these mysterious explosions. http://phys.org/news183817492.html Space & Earth Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:00:18 EST news183817492 In all directions of the sky, cosmic rays rocket through space with incredible speed. These “rays”—which mostly consist of protons—are some of the most energetic particles in the universe. For nearly 100 years, they have also been some of the most enigmatic. Now, a new result from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope’s Large Area Telescope collaboration offers insight into how, exactly, the universe accelerates these particles to such high energies. The high-energy cosmic rays appear to be coming from supernova remnants, the dying remains of exploded stars; the new result reveals the spatial distribution of this emission in one particular supernova remnant. http://phys.org/news182186696.html Space & Earth Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:25:36 EST news182186696 (PhysOrg.com) -- An international research project involving the University of Adelaide has revealed that the magnetic field in the centre of the Milky Way is at least 10 times stronger than the rest of the Galaxy. http://phys.org/news181983028.html Space & Earth Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:00:05 EST news181983028 The discovery of seventeen new millisecond pulsars was announced today at the American Astronomical Society Meeting by scientists from the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Space Science Division and a team of international researchers. http://phys.org/news181928704.html Space & Earth Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:46:49 EST news181928704 (PhysOrg.com) -- A galaxy located billions of light-years away is commanding the attention of NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and astronomers around the globe. Thanks to a series of flares that began September 15, the galaxy is now the brightest source in the gamma-ray sky -- more than ten times brighter than it was in the summer. http://phys.org/news179593672.html Space & Earth Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:40:01 EST news179593672 (PhysOrg.com) -- A thin rain of charged particles continually bombards our atmosphere from outer space. The mysterious particles were first detected 100 years ago but until 10 years ago when a new type of telescope began to come online physicists weren't sure where the "cosmic rays" came from or how they were generated. They suspected the particles were accelerated by supernova shockwaves, but suspicions aren't proof. http://phys.org/news179427195.html Space & Earth Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:30:01 EST news179427195 New information about lightning-emitted X-rays, gamma rays and high-energy electrons during thunderstorms is prompting scientists to raise concerns about the potential for airline passengers and crews to be exposed to harmful levels of radiation. http://phys.org/news179426300.html Space & Earth Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:39:14 EST news179426300 (PhysOrg.com) -- An extraordinarily bright, extraordinarily long-lasting supernova named SN 2007bi, snagged in a search by a robotic telescope, turns out to be the first example of the kind of stars that first populated the Universe. The superbright supernova occurred in a nearby dwarf galaxy, a kind of galaxy that's common but has been little studied until now, and the unusual supernova could be the first of many such events soon to be discovered. http://phys.org/news179002328.html Space & Earth Wed, 02 Dec 2009 19:30:02 EST news179002328 Nearby galaxies undergoing a furious pace of star formation also emit lots of gamma rays, say astronomers using NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Two so-called "starburst" galaxies, plus a satellite of our own Milky Way galaxy, represent a new category of gamma-ray-emitting objects detected both by Fermi and ground-based observatories. http://phys.org/news176396829.html Space & Earth Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:08:03 EST news176396829 (PhysOrg.com) -- An international collaboration that includes scientists from the University of Delaware's Bartol Research Institute in the Department of Physics and Astronomy has discovered very-high-energy gamma rays in the Cigar Galaxy (M82), a bright galaxy filled with exploding stars 12 million light years from Earth. http://phys.org/news176391501.html Space & Earth Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:50:01 EST news176391501