Physics and Astronomy News Archive: September 2004

Image: Massive Merger Of Galaxies Is The Most Powerful On Record

Massive Merger Of Galaxies Is The Most Powerful On Record

Source: NASA/GSFC   Posted: 9/26/04

An international team of scientists, led by a NASA-funded researcher, announced today, they observed a nearby head-on collision of two galaxy clusters.
Image: Spinach may soon power mobile devices

Spinach may soon power mobile devices

Source: MIT   Posted: 9/19/04

For the first time, MIT researchers have incorporated a plant’s ability to convert sunlight to energy into a solid-state electronic “spinach sandwich” device that may one day power laptops and cell phones.
Image: Is This Speck of Light an Exoplanet?

Is This Speck of Light an Exoplanet?

Source: ESO   Posted: 9/15/04

Is this newly discovered feeble point of light the long-sought bona-fide image of an exoplanet? A research paper by an international team of astronomers [2] provides sound arguments in favour, but the definitive answer is now awaiting further observations.
Image: Physicists Create Artificial Molecule On A Chip

Physicists Create Artificial Molecule On A Chip

Source: NSF/YALE   Posted: 9/13/04

Using integrated circuit fabrication techniques, a team of researchers from Yale University has bound a single photon to a superconducting device engineered to behave like a single atom, forming an artificial molecule.
Image: NASA Gravity Probe B ready to test Einstein's theory

NASA Gravity Probe B ready to test Einstein's theory

Source: NASA   Posted: 9/10/04

Gravity Probe B (GP-B), a NASA spacecraft to test two predictions of Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, achieved a major milestone this past week with the completion of the Initialization and Orbit Calibration (IOC) phase of its mission and the transition into the science phase.