News tagged with physics theory
Finnish researchers find explanation for sliding friction
Friction is a key phenomenon in applied physics, whose origin has been studied for centuries. Until now, it has been understood that mechanical wear-resistance and fluid lubrication affect friction, but the fundamental origin ...
May 29, 2012 |
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The new world of gamma-ray optics
Scientists discover that certain materials like silicon or gold exhibit a surprisingly large refractive index for extremely high energetic gamma-rays.
May 14, 2012 |
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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 ...
Apr 27, 2012 |
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Long-held genetic theory doesn't quite make the grade, biologists find
New York University biologists have discovered new mechanisms that control how proteins are expressed in different regions of embryos, while also shedding additional insight into how physical traits are arranged in body plans. ...
Apr 26, 2012 |
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Physicists show standard 'quasiparticle' theory breaks down at 'quantum critical point'
A new study this week finds that "quantum critical points" in exotic electronic materials can act much like polarizing "hot button issues" in an election. Reporting in Nature, researchers from Rice Univer ...
Apr 25, 2012 |
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Does the quantum wave function represent reality?
(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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Raising the prospects for quantum levitation
More than half-a-century ago, the Dutch theoretical physicist Hendrik Casimir calculated that two mirrors placed facing each other in a vacuum would attract. The mysterious force arises from the energy of virtual particles ...
Apr 18, 2012 |
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Game of go: A complex network
Could computers ever beat the best go players? Although unthinkable at this stage, this could soon become possible, thanks to CNRS theorists. For the first time, two scientists from the Theoretical Physics ...
Apr 16, 2012 |
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Italian physicist behind 'faster-than-light' test resigns
An Italian physicist at the head of a team that made a cautious but hugely controversial claim that neutrinos may travel faster than the speed of light resigned on Friday following calls for his dismissal.
Mar 30, 2012 |
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When dark energy turned on (Update)
(PhysOrg.com) -- Some six billion light years distant, almost halfway from now back to the big bang, the universe was undergoing an elemental change. Held back until then by the mutual gravitational attraction ...
Mar 30, 2012 |
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How quantum physics could make 'The Matrix' more efficient
Researchers have discovered a new way in which computers based on quantum physics could beat the performance of classical computers. The work, by researchers based in Singapore and the UK, implies that a Matrix-like ...
Mar 29, 2012 |
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Quantum copies do new tricks
One of the strange features of quantum information is that, unlike almost every other type of information, it cannot be perfectly copied. For example, it is impossible to take a single photon and make a number of photons ...
Mar 22, 2012 |
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Looking at quantum gravity in a mirror
Einstein's theory of gravity and quantum physics are expected to merge at the Planck-scale of extremely high energies and on very short distances. At this scale, new phenomena could arise. However, the Planck-scale ...
Mar 18, 2012 |
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Why we've got the cosmological constant all wrong
(PhysOrg.com) -- Some scientists call the cosmological constant the "worst prediction of physics." And when today’s theories give an estimated value that is about 120 orders of magnitude larger than the ...
Mar 05, 2012 |
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In the early universe, rapid expansion or something very weird
(PhysOrg.com) -- The widely-accepted theory of cosmic inflation states that our universe expanded rapidly in the moments after its birth, resulting in the immense expanse we see today.
Feb 27, 2012 |
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