Physics and Astronomy News Archive: June 2006

Image: First 500 GHz Silicon-Germanium Transistor Demonstrated

First 500 GHz Silicon-Germanium Transistor Demonstrated

Source: GaTech   Posted: 6/22/06

A research team from IBM and the Georgia Institute of Technology has demonstrated the first silicon-germanium transistor able to operate at frequencies above 500 GHz.
Image: Scientists tackle long-standing questions about plutonium

Scientists tackle long-standing questions about plutonium

Source: LLNL   Posted: 6/22/06

Scientists have gone a long way to solving a question about the nature of plutonium that has remained a mystery since the Manhattan Project.
Image: Scientists find the reason behind black holes' light shows.

Scientists find the reason behind black holes' light shows.

Source: UMichigan   Posted: 6/22/06

A team of astronomers led by the University of Michigan may know how black holes are lighting up the Universe.
Image: NASA's Cassini Spacecraft Captures Saturnian Moon Ballet

NASA's Cassini Spacecraft Captures Saturnian Moon Ballet

Source: NASA/JPL   Posted: 6/22/06

The cold, icy orbs of the Saturn system come to life in a slew of new movie clips from the Cassini spacecraft showing the ringed planet's moons in motion.
Image: Smashing young stars leave dwarfs in their wake

Smashing young stars leave dwarfs in their wake

Source: McMaster U.   Posted: 6/13/06

Astronomers have discovered that the large disks of gas and dust around young stars will fragment if two young stars pass close to each other and form smaller brown dwarfs stars with disks of their own.
Image: XMM-Newton spots the greatest of great balls of fire

XMM-Newton spots the greatest of great balls of fire

Source: ESA   Posted: 6/13/06

Thanks to data from ESA’s XMM-Newton X-ray satellite, a team of international scientists found a comet-like ball of gas over a thousand million times the mass of the sun.
Image: Physicists Devise New Technique for Detecting Heavy Water

Physicists Devise New Technique for Detecting Heavy Water

Source: Caltech   Posted: 6/13/06

Scientists at Caltech have created a new method of detecting heavy water that is 30 times more sensitive than any other existing method.
Image: Inexpensive Detector Sees the Invisible, In Color

Inexpensive Detector Sees the Invisible, In Color

Source: NASA   Posted: 6/13/06

An inexpensive detector developed by a NASA-led team can now see invisible infrared light in a range of 'colors,' or wavelengths.