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Physics - Materials Science - 10.05.2021

Parallel universes cross in Flatland
Physicists at the University of Bath observe modified energy landscapes at the intersection of 2D materials. Last updated on Tuesday 11 May 2021 In 1884, Edwin Abbott wrote the novel Flatland: A Romance in Many Dimensions as a satire of Victorian hierarchy. He imagined a world that existed only in two dimensions, where the beings are 2D geometric figures.

Computer Science - Physics - 30.04.2021

’Bat-sense’ tech generates images from sound
Scientists have found a way to equip everyday objects like smartphones and laptops with a bat-like sense of their surroundings. At the heart of the technique is a sophisticated machine-learning algorithm which uses reflected echoes to generate images, similar to the way bats navigate and hunt using echolocation.

Physics - Computer Science - 29.04.2021

Machine learning algorithm helps unravel the physics underlying quantum systems
Scientists from the University's Quantum Engineering Technology Labs (QETLabs) have developed an algorithm that provides valuable insights into the physics underlying quantum systems - paving the way for significant advances in quantum computation and sensing, and potentially turning a new page in scientific investigation.

Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 28.04.2021

Black hole-neutron star collisions may settle dispute over Universe’s expansion
Studying the violent collisions of black holes and neutron stars may soon provide a new measurement of the Universe's expansion rate, helping to resolve a long-standing dispute, suggests a new simulation study led by researchers at UCL. Our two current best ways of estimating the Universe's rate of expansion - measuring the brightness and speed of pulsating and exploding stars, and looking at fluctuations in radiation from the early Universe - give very different answers, suggesting our theory of the Universe may be wrong.

Physics - 22.04.2021

Asteroseismologists confirm that older stars rotate faster than expected
Stars spin faster than expected as they age according to a new study led by scientists at the University of Birmingham which uses asteroseismology to shed new light on this emerging theory. All stars, like the Sun, are born spinning. As they grow older, their spin slows down due to magnetic winds in a process called 'magnetic braking'.

Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 19.04.2021

Durham among first to use Hubble successor
Durham's astronomers are playing a key role in the biggest scientific programme to be carried out on the new successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. Our scientists will use NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to hunt for dark matter and investigate early galaxy formation. The JWST is the largest, most powerful space telescope ever built and is scheduled for launch in October 2021 before beginning operations in 2022.

Health - Physics - 15.04.2021

Understanding the growth of disease-causing protein fibres
Researchers have developed a method to directly measure the growth rate of 'amyloid' fibrils linked to Parkinson's and other diseases. Last updated on Monday 19 April 2021 Amyloid fibrils are deposits of proteins in the body that join together to form microscopic fibres. Their formation has been linked to many serious human diseases including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Type 2 diabetes.

Physics - 12.04.2021

Following atoms in real time could lead to better materials design
Researchers have used a technique similar to MRI to follow the movement of individual atoms in real time as they cluster together to form two-dimensional materials, which are a single atomic layer thick. This technique isn't a new one, but it's never been used in this way, to measure the growth of a two-dimensional material Nadav Avidor The results , reported in the journal Physical Review Letters , could be used to design new types of materials and quantum technology devices.

Physics - Astronomy / Space Science - 08.04.2021

Particle’s ’wobble’ hints at new physics
The "wobble", or rate of precession, of the muon particle in a magnetic field is different from what our best theoretical model of the subatomic world would predict, according to an experiment involving UCL researchers that strengthens evidence for new, unknown physics. The Muon g-2 experiment, carried out at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in the United States, measured with unprecedented precision the rate at which the muon "wobbled" (precessed) as it circulated a 15-metre magnetic ring at nearly the speed of light.

Physics - 01.04.2021

Promise of quantum computing using factory-made silicon chips
A single qubit on a standard silicon transistor chip has been successfully demonstrated as "quantum capable" in a new study by the UCL spinout Quantum Motion, led by researchers at UCL and Oxford University. The qubit is the building block of quantum computing, analogous to the bit in classical computers.

Physics - Astronomy / Space Science - 01.04.2021

Distant stars spiralling towards a collision give clues to the forces that bind sub-atomic particles
Bath space scientists have found a new way to probe the internal structure of neutron stars, giving clues about the makeup of matter at an atomic level. Last updated on Tuesday 27 April 2021 Space scientists at the University of Bath and Texas A&M University-Commerce have found a new way to probe the internal structure of neutron stars, giving nuclear physicists a novel tool for studying the structures that make up matter at an atomic level.

Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 24.03.2021

New image of magnetic fields at black hole’s edge
A new image of the supermassive M87 black hole has been unveiled by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration involving UCL researchers, giving a closer look at how the black hole interacts with the matter surrounding it. The EHT team released the first image of a black hole in 2019, revealing a bright ring-like structure with a dark central region described as the black hole's shadow.

Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 24.03.2021

New image reveals magnetic fields at black hole’s edge
A new image of the supermassive M87 black hole has been unveiled by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration involving UCL researchers, giving a closer look at how the black hole interacts with the matter surrounding it. The EHT team released the first image of a black hole in 2019, revealing a bright ring-like structure with a dark central region described as the black hole's shadow.

Physics - 23.03.2021

New result from the LHCb experiment challenges leading theory in physics
Bristol physicists are part of a team that has announced 'tantalising' results that potentially cannot be explained by our current laws of nature. The LHCb Collaboration at CERN has found particles not behaving the way they should according to the guiding theory of particle physics - the Standard Model.

Physics - 23.03.2021

New result from LHCb experiment challenges leading theory in physics
UK particle physicists have today announced 'intriguing' results that potentially cannot be explained by the current laws of nature. This new result offers tantalising hints of the presence of a new fundamental particle or force that interacts differently with these different types of particles. Paula Alvarez Cartelle Results from the LHCb Collaboration at CERN suggests particles are not behaving the way they should according to the guiding theory of particle physics - suggesting gaps in our understanding of the Universe.

Physics - Materials Science - 12.03.2021

Start small to answer big questions about photosynthesis
New scientific techniques are revealing the intricate role that proteins play in photosynthesis. Despite being discovered almost 300 years ago, photosynthesis still holds many unanswered questions for science, particularly the way proteins organise themselves to convert sunlight into chemical energy and, at the same time, protect plants from too much sunlight.

Physics - Mechanical Engineering - 05.03.2021

Giant ’quantum twisters’ may form in liquid light
New mechanism found for generating giant vortices in quantum fluids of light. Anyone who has drained a bathtub or stirred cream into coffee has seen a vortex, a ubiquitous formation that appears when fluid circulates. But unlike water, fluids governed by the strange rules of quantum mechanics have a special restriction: as was first predicted in 1945 by future Nobel winner Lars Onsager, a vortex in a quantum fluid can only twist by whole-number units.

Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 04.03.2021

Source of hazardous high-energy particles located in the Sun
The source of potentially hazardous solar particles, released from the Sun at high speed during storms in its outer atmosphere, has been located for the first time by researchers at UCL and George Mason University, Virginia, USA. These particles are highly charged and, if they reach Earth's atmosphere, can potentially disrupt satellites and electronic infrastructure, as well as pose a radiation risk to astronauts and people in airplanes.

Physics - Chemistry - 02.03.2021

Through the looking glass: artificial ’molecules’ open door to ultrafast devices
Researchers from the University of Cambridge and Skoltech in Russia have shown that polaritons, the quirky particles that may end up running the quantum supercomputers of the future, can form structures that behave like molecules - and these 'artificial molecules' can potentially be engineered on demand.

Physics - 01.03.2021

Photon-photon polaritons: the intriguing particles that emerge when two photons couple
Researchers exploring the interactions between light particles, photons and matter find that optical microresonators host quasiparticles made by two photons. Last updated on Tuesday 2 March 2021 Scientists at the University of Bath have found a way to bind together two photons of different colours, paving the way for important advancements in quantum-electrodynamics - the field of science that describes how light and matter interact.