Magnetic reconnection can trigger geomagnetic storms that disrupt cell phone service, damage satellites and black out power grids. But how reconnection, in which the magnetic field lines in plasma snap apart and violently ...
Space Exploration
Sep 10, 2014
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Research from North Carolina State University shows that a type of modified titania, or titanium dioxide, holds promise as an electrical insulator for superconducting magnets, allowing heat to dissipate while preserving the ...
Superconductivity
Sep 4, 2014
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Topological transport of light is the photonic analog of topological electron flow in certain semiconductors. In the electron case, the current flows around the edge of the material but not through the bulk. It is "topological" ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 1, 2014
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Understanding the sun from afar isn't easy. How do you figure out what powers solar flares – the intense bursts of radiation coming from the release of magnetic energy associated with sunspots – when you must rely on ...
Space Exploration
Jul 9, 2014
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When a massive star dies, it can collapse under its own gravity with such force that it produces a supernova, leaving behind an extremely dense remnant consisting almost entirely of neutrons—a neutron star. Some neutron ...
Astronomy
Jul 4, 2014
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(Phys.org) —Researchers at UCLA have created a nanoscale magnetic component for computer memory chips that could significantly improve their energy efficiency and scalability.
Nanophysics
Jun 5, 2014
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Time and again, even simple materials take physicists by surprise. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids in Dresden have observed an electronic property in the metal bismuth which they expected ...
Condensed Matter
Jun 3, 2014
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Scientists have for the first time witnessed the mechanism behind explosive energy releases in the Sun's atmosphere, confirming new theories about how solar flares are created.
Astronomy
Mar 27, 2014
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An international team of scientists led by physicists from the University of York has paved the way for a new class of magnetic materials and devices with improved performance and power efficiency.
General Physics
Feb 28, 2014
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A computer hard disk uses a process called magnetic recording to store digital data. This involves applying a small field to switch the physical properties of grains of a magnetic material. The grains exist in one of two ...
General Physics
Feb 26, 2014
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