Physics and Astronomy News Archive: February 2020

Image: Giant Leap for Lunar Studies

Giant Leap for Lunar Studies

Source: Field Museum   Posted: 2/27/20

Scientists have found a new way to analyze the chemistry of the Moon’s soil using a single grain of dust.
Image: New Droplet-Based Electricity Generator

New Droplet-Based Electricity Generator

Source: CityU HK   Posted: 2/25/20

Researchers have designed a new droplet-based electricity generator: A drop of water lights up 100 small LED bulbs.
Image: Simple, Solar-Powered Water Desalination

Simple, Solar-Powered Water Desalination

Source: MIT   Posted: 2/25/20

A completely passive solar-powered desalination system developed by researchers could provide more than 1.5 gallons of fresh drinking water per hour for every square meter of solar collecting area.
Image: How Mars Formed

How Mars Formed

Source: SWRI   Posted: 2/21/20

Researchers investigate how Mars formed by using smoothed-particle hydrodynamics impact simulations.
Image: Unprecedented Dimming of Betelgeuse Red Supergiant

Unprecedented Dimming of Betelgeuse Red Supergiant

Source: ESO   Posted: 2/20/20

Astronomers have captured the unprecedented dimming of Betelgeuse, a red supergiant star in the constellation of Orion. The stunning new images of the star’s surface show not only the fading red supergiant but also how its apparent shape is changing.
Image: Critical Piece of the Planetary Formation Puzzle Uncovered

Critical Piece of the Planetary Formation Puzzle Uncovered

Source: NASA   Posted: 2/19/20

Data from NASA’s New Horizons mission are providing new insights into how planets and planetesimals – the building blocks of the planets – were formed.
Image: Using Sound and Light for Ultra-fast Data Transfer

Using Sound and Light for Ultra-fast Data Transfer

Source: Leeds UK   Posted: 2/19/20

Researchers have made a breakthrough in the control of terahertz quantum cascade lasers, which could lead to the transmission of data at the rate of 100 gigabits per second.
Image: Ultra-high energy events key to study of ghost particles

Ultra-high energy events key to study of ghost particles

Source: WUSTL   Posted: 2/11/20

Physicists have proposed a new way to leverage data from large neutrino telescopes such as the IceCube Neutrino Observatory in Antarctica.
Image: Astronomers discover class of strange objects near our galaxy’s enormous black hole

Astronomers discover class of strange objects near our galaxy’s enormous black hole

Source: UCLA   Posted: 2/7/20

Astronomers have discovered a new class of bizarre objects at the center of our galaxy, not far from the supermassive black hole called Sagittarius A*.
Image: Taking the Temperature of Dark Matter

Taking the Temperature of Dark Matter

Source: UCDavis   Posted: 2/5/20

Researchers use gravitational lensing to put a limit on the warmth and therefore the mass of dark matter.
Image: Study finds billions of quantum entangled electrons in ‘strange metal’

Study finds billions of quantum entangled electrons in ‘strange metal’

Source: Rice   Posted: 2/4/20

Physicists provide direct evidence of entanglement’s role in quantum criticality.
Image: Storing Information in coupled Quantum Dots

Storing Information in coupled Quantum Dots

Source: NIST   Posted: 2/3/20

Researchers have for the first time created and imaged a novel pair of quantum dots — tiny islands of confined electric charge that act like interacting artificial atoms.
Image: Anti-Solar Cells: A Photovoltaic Cell That Works at Night

Anti-Solar Cells: A Photovoltaic Cell That Works at Night

Source: UCDavis   Posted: 2/1/20

What if solar cells worked at night? That’s no joke, according to Jeremy Munday, professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UC Davis.