News tagged with fundamental constant

Atomic clock comparison via data highways

(Phys.org) -- Optical atomic clocks measure time with unprecedented accuracy. However, it is the ability to compare clocks with one another that makes them applicable for high-precision tests in fundamental ...

Physics / General Physics

created Apr 27, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Is graphene the best quantum resistance standard?

New research from NPL's Quantum Detection Group presents the most precise measurements of the quantum Hall effect ever made, using the two-dimensional material graphene.

Physics / Quantum Physics

created Sep 19, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

The constants they are a changin': NIST posts latest adjustments to fundamental figures

The electromagnetic force has gotten a little stronger, gravity a little weaker, and the size of the smallest "quantum" of energy is now known a little better. The National Institute of Standards and Technology ...

Physics / General Physics

created Jul 20, 2011 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (16) | comments 7 | with audio podcast

First app from NPL to help researchers working in the lab

The UK's National Physical Laboratory (NPL) has released its first app for iOS devices such as iPhones and iPads. It will provide researchers with easy and up-to-date access to the values for all the physical constants.

Physics / General Physics

created Nov 17, 2010 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Accurate Avogadro constant may help redefine the kilogram

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new accurate determination of the Avogadro constant has used the method of "counting" the atoms in a 1 kg sample of an almost perfect silicon sphere highly enriched with the isotope 28Si. They used ...

Physics / General Physics

created Oct 20, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (18) | comments 4 | with audio podcast report

Variations in fine-structure constant suggest laws of physics not the same everywhere

(PhysOrg.com) -- One of the most controversial questions in cosmology is why the fundamental constants of nature seem fine-tuned for life. One of these fundamental constants is the fine-structure constant, ...

Physics / General Physics

created Sep 06, 2010 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (78) | comments 77 | with audio podcast report

Math theories may hold clues to origin, future of life in universe

How did we get here and where are we headed? These are some of life's biggest questions. To get the answers, one Kansas State University professor is doing the math.

Other Sciences / Mathematics

created Jun 09, 2009 | popularity 3.9 / 5 (35) | comments 62

Goal: developing the best atomic clock in the world

They are masters at working with light: the scientists at the newly founded QUEST Institute at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Braunschweig. And they want to work on some of the most exciting questions relating ...

Physics / General Physics

created May 29, 2009 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0