news 2011

The earliest rocks in our Solar System were more like candy floss than the hard rock that we know today, according to research published Geoscience. The work, by researchers from Imperial College London and other international institutions, provides the first geological evidence to support previous theories, based on computer models and lab experiments, about how the earliest rocks were formed.

Science 18 Mar 11 The mysterious hourglass-shaped magnetic spectrum found in high temperature superconductors could be caused by fluctuating magnetic stripes Fluctuating magnetic stripes could be the cause of the mysterious hourglass-shaped magnetic spectrum found in high temperature superconductors, according to new research.

New method for self-assembling molecules Researchers at the University of Sheffield have discovered a new way of making small molecules self-assemble into complex nanopatterns, which will push the limits of what is possible in `bottom-up´ methods of nanopatterning for advanced functional materials through molecular self-assembly.

Science Pete Wilton | 02 Mar 11 One of the key theories underpinning modern physics is being tested by the latest results from the LHC 's ATLAS experiment. Supersymmetry theory says that every particle must have a Supersymmetric partner particle yet so far ATLAS hasn't found a single one of these 'sparticles'.

Solar experts detect waves in giant magnetic holes the size of the UK Massive waves in giant magnetic holes on the surface of the Sun have been discovered for the first time by solar scientists from the University of Sheffield and Queen´s University Belfast, something that will bring experts a step closer to unlocking the secrets of the Sun.

Scientists weigh out ingredients for the perfect galaxy Herschel space telescope finds out how much dark matter it takes to make a galaxy - News Friday 18 February 2011 Adapted from a news release issued by the UK Space agency and NASA Astronomers working with Europe 's Herschel Space Observatory have found out just how much dark matter it takes to make a new galaxy bursting with stars.

Dark matter key ingredient for making galaxies A team of scientists led by a Sussex astronomer has discovered the perfect recipe for galaxy formation, a forthcoming journal paper reveals. Using the European Space Agency's Herschel Space Observatory to study distant objects with the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE) camera, researchers have found that it takes dark matter equivalent to 300 billion Suns to give rise to a galaxy bursting with stars.

An international team of astronomers have identified a thick stellar disc in the Andromeda galaxy, which will help them to understand more about how our own Milky Way and other galaxies evolved. The University of Cambridge-led study involved researchers from the UK, US and Europe, and marks the first time that the "thick disc" in Andromeda, which contains old stars, has been identified.

Astronomers from the University have joined a hunt to discover Earth-like planets. Scientists from St Andrews and Edinburgh are joining an international team to build an instrument that can analyse potential planets identified by will be created in a project also involving Queen's University Belfast and the Universities of Geneva, Harvard and the Italian Institute of Astrophysics.

Physicists from the University of Birmingham, with colleagues at Imperial College, London, and Technical University of Denmark, have demonstrated an 'invisibility cloak' that can hide a three-dimensional object, centimetres in dimension, large enough for the cloaking area to be visible to the human eye, according to research published today (1 February 2010) Communications.

Science Pete Wilton | 28 Jan 11 An asteroid 'the size of the Titanic' caused the luminous scar on Jupiter's surface spotted back in July 2009. In 1994 astronomers observed the planet being struck by the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet, and most people assumed that only comets, with their erratic orbits, were likely to get close enough to Jupiter to be dragged to their doom.

Hunt for dark matter closes in at Large Hadron Collider Imperial physicists celebrate the latest results from the CMS particle detector at CERN, which are better and faster than expected - News Wednesday 26 January 2011 Physicists are closer than ever to finding the source of the Universe's mysterious dark matter, following a better than expected year of research at the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) particle detector , part of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC ) at CERN in Geneva.

Planck unveils wonders of the Universe Astronomers reveal galaxy clusters and distant cold objects from space. Adapted from a news release issued by the UK Space Agency Monday 17 December 2010 Scientists working on Europe's Planck spacecraft have released the mission's first new findings this week in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics , revealing the coldest objects in the Universe in greater detail than ever before.

Astronomers have shown how gravitational lensing allows us to see the faintest and most distant galaxies, helping us to understand the origin of the Universe. The first gravitational lens, a phenomenon in which light from a distant object is bent around a massive foreground object, was discovered in 1979 by a team led by Dr. Dennis Walsh from The University of Manchester's Jodrell Bank Observatory.

The first scientific results from Europe's Planck spacecraft featuring the coldest objects in the Universe have today been released. Astronomers at The University of Manchester's Jodrell Bank Observatory played a key role in the worldwide teams searching for an exciting variety of astronomical finds, from massive galaxy clusters to new, unidentified objects.

Remnants of the first stars have helped astronomers get closer to unlocking the "dark ages" of the cosmos. A team of researchers from the University of Cambridge and California Institute of Technology are using light emitted from massive black holes called quasars to "light up" gases released by the early stars, which exploded billions of years ago.