New insights have been gained about stellar winds, streams of high-speed charged particles called plasma that blow through interstellar space. These winds, created by eruptions from stars or stellar explosions, carry with ...
Plasma Physics
Nov 5, 2018
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10
Phonons are discrete units of vibrational energy predicted by quantum mechanics that correspond to collective oscillations of atoms inside a molecule or a crystal. When such vibrations are produced by light interacting with ...
Quantum Physics
Jun 5, 2018
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581
Reactions in solar panels, catalytic converters, and other devices are governed by the quick motion of electrons. To capture the movement of these electrons, scientists use pulses of extremely high energy x-rays. The challenge ...
Optics & Photonics
Apr 10, 2018
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12
Sheet-like materials can have intriguing properties that could benefit devices from flexible electronics to solar cells. Researchers think they can customize the properties of these materials by using light pulses to rapidly ...
Nanophysics
Apr 10, 2018
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23
(Phys.org)—It has taken more than 20 years, but researchers have demonstrated for the first time that femtosecond lasers can be used to structurally manipulate bulk silicon for high-precision applications. Since the late ...
Scientists at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory recently upgraded a powerful optical laser system used to create shockwaves that generate high-pressure conditions like those found within planetary ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 17, 2017
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48
The energy density contained in the center of a star is higher than we can imagine - many billions of atmospheres, compared with the 1 atmosphere of pressure we live with here on Earth's surface.
General Physics
Jan 11, 2017
2
132
In an algae-eat-algae world, it's the single-celled photosynthetic organisms at the top (layer of the ocean) that absorb the most sunlight. Underneath, in the sublayers, are cryptophyte algae that must compete for photons ...
Biochemistry
Dec 8, 2016
2
11
In an electron microscope, electrons are emitted by pointy metal tips, so they can be steered and controlled with high precision. Recently, such metal tips have also been used as high precision electron sources for generating ...
Optics & Photonics
Nov 15, 2016
2
2313
Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have found a way to give photons, or light packets, their marching orders.
Optics & Photonics
Jun 17, 2016
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