Physics and Astronomy News Archive: April 2005

Image: Ultra-fast X-ray pulses reveal how a solid melts into a liquid

Ultra-fast X-ray pulses reveal how a solid melts into a liquid

Source: Stanford   Posted: 4/22/05

Using ultra-fast bursts of X-ray light, scientists at the Department of Energy's Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) have observed the dizzyingly fast first steps of a solid melting into a liquid.
Image: NASA's Spitzer Telescope Sees Signs of Alien Asteroid Belt

NASA's Spitzer Telescope Sees Signs of Alien Asteroid Belt

Source: Spitzer   Posted: 4/22/05

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has spotted what may be the dusty spray of asteroids banging together in a belt that orbits a star like our Sun.
Image: Scientists control super fast frequencies

Scientists control super fast frequencies

Source: UMich   Posted: 4/22/05

Imagine an imaging technology that could see deep into human tissue without the harmful side effects of radiation. Super-fast oscillations of radio waves, called terahertz (THz) have that promise, but so far, controlling them has been beyond reach.
Image: New superlens opens door to nanoscale optical imaging

New superlens opens door to nanoscale optical imaging

Source: UCBerkeley   Posted: 4/22/05

A group of scientists at the UC Berkeley, is giving new relevance to the term 'sharper image' by creating a superlens that can overcome a limitation in physics that has historically constrained the resolution of optical images.
Image: Underground physics: Searching for neutrinos in deep places

Underground physics: Searching for neutrinos in deep places

Source: ANL   Posted: 4/10/05

A new physics experiment combines thousands of tons of steel plates, a powerful particle accelerator and 450 miles of solid rock to reveal the secrets of a particle that sometimes seems to barely exist.
Image: The Home Stretch: Discovery Reaches Its Launch Pad

The Home Stretch: Discovery Reaches Its Launch Pad

Source: NASA   Posted: 4/10/05

Space Shuttle Discovery has taken one long crawl to its oceanfront launch pad and one momentous step toward a safe Return to Flight.
Image: Stellar score

Stellar score

Source: UToronto   Posted: 4/10/05

Collaboration between musician and astronomer captures galactic events.
Image: Spitzer Detects Old Stars in Early Universe

Spitzer Detects Old Stars in Early Universe

Source: Caltech   Posted: 4/10/05

UK and US astronomers have used the Spitzer Space Telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope to detect  light coming from some of the first stars to form in some of the most distant galaxies yet seen.