ErieneOh

PHYS1010
Prof.Weiss
July10,2014
Uncertaintygivesscientistsnewconfidenceinsearchfornovelmaterials
DOE/SLACNationalAcceleratorLaboratory
(http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140710141624.htm)

ScientistsatStanfordUniversityandtheDepartmentofEnergy'sSLACNationalAcceleratorLaboratory
havefoundawaytoestimateuncertaintiesincomputercalculationsthatarewidelyusedtospeedthe
searchfornewmaterialsforindustry,electronics,energy,drugdesignandahostofotherapplications.Jens
Norskov(leadresearcher)hadthistosayabouttheadvancement:knowingtheprobabilityforerrorinthese
calculationsisessential.Ittellsusexactlyhowmuchconfidencewecanputinourresults."Thesetof
calculationsinvolvedinthisstudyisknownasDFT,forDensityFunctionalTheory.Itpredictsbondenergies
betweenatomsbasedontheprinciplesofquantummechanics.DFTcalculationsallowscientiststopredict
hundredsofchemicalandmaterialsproperties,fromtheelectronicstructuresofcompoundstodensity,
hardness,opticalpropertiesandreactivity.Thefutureforthistechnologylooksbrightthusfar,asone
researcherpointedout"Therewereroughly30,000paperspublishedlastyearusingDFT,"hesaid."Ibelieve
thetechniquethey'vedevelopedwillbecomeabsolutelynecessaryforthesekindsofcalculationsinallfields
inaveryshortperiodoftime."

July10,2014
Hubblespotsspiralbridgeofyoungstarslinkingtwoancientgalaxies
SpaceTelescopeScienceInstitute(STScI)
(http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140710101402.htm)

NASA'sHubbleSpaceTelescopehasphotographedanunusualstructure100,000lightyearslong,which
resemblesacorkscrewshapedstringofpearlsandwindsaroundthecoresoftwocollidinggalaxies.The
uniquestructureofthestarspiralmayyieldnewinsightsintotheformationofstellarsuperclustersthat
resultfrommerginggalaxiesandgasdynamicsinthisrarelyseenprocess.Scientistsweresurprisedatthis
discoverasthisparticularsuperclusterarrangementhadneverbeenseenbeforeingiantmergingelliptical
galaxies.Theunderlyingphysicalprocessesthatgiverisetothe"stringofpearls"structurearerelatedto
theJeansinstability,aphysicsphenomenonthatoccurswhentheinternalpressureofaninterstellargas
cloudisnotstrongenoughtopreventgravitationalcollapseofaregionfilledwithmatter,resultinginstar
formation.Thisprocessisanalogoustothatwhichcausesacolumnofwaterfallingfromaraincloudto
disrupt,andraintofallindropsratherthanincontinuousstreams.Scientistsarecurrentlyworkingtobetter
understandthestarchainsorigin.

July9,2014
Newtechnologyilluminatescolderobjectsindeepspace:Newmaterialoffersmorestable
infrareddetection
NorthwesternUniversity
(http://www.mccormick.northwestern.edu/news/articles/2014/07/newtechnologyilluminatescolderobjectsi
ndeepspace.html)

Researchershavelonglookedtoinfraredwavestoprobethedepthsofspace.Infraredhasalonger
wavelengththanvisiblelight,soitcanpenetratedenseregionsofgasanddustwithlessscatteringand
absorption.Currentinfrareddetectorsaretypicallybuiltwithmercurycadmiumtelluride,whichworkswell
withmidandlonginfraredwavelengths.However,thiswellestablishedtechnologydemonstrateslow
uniformityandinstabilityforinfraredwaveswithverylongwavelengths.NowaMcCormickteamhasrefineda
newtechnologythatcouldmakethesecolderobjectsmorevisible,pavingthewayforenhancedexploration
ofdeepspace.ByengineeringthequantumpropertiesofthetypeIIsuperlatticematerial,theteam
demonstratedtheworldsfirstInAs/InAsSbverylongwavelengthinfraredphotodiodeswithhighperformance.
Thenewdetectorcanbeusedasaninexpensiveandrobustalternativetocurrentinfraredtechnologies.

July8,2014
FrictionfromtidescouldhelpdistantEarthsizedplanetssurvive,andthrive
NASA
(http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/frictionfromtidescouldhelpdistantearthssurviveandthrive/)

Asonemightalreadyknow,frictiongeneratesheat.Now,computermodelingbyNASAscientistsshows
thatfrictioncouldbethekeytosurvivalforsomedistantEarthsizedplanetstravelingindangerousorbits.
Althoughheatcanbeadestructiveforceforsomeplanets,therightamountoffriction,andthereforeheat,
canbehelpfulandperhapscreateconditionsforhabitability.Nearthestar(whileitisinorbit),the
gravitationalforceispowerfulenoughtodeformtheplanet,whileinmoredistantreachesoftheorbit,the
planetcaneasebackintoshape.Thisflexingactionproducesfriction,whichgeneratesheat.Inextreme
cases,tidalstresscanproduceenoughheattoliquefytheplanet.Oneconclusionofthestudyisthatsome
planetscouldmoveintoasaferorbitabout10to100timesfasterthanpreviouslyexpectedinasalittleas
afewhundredthousandyears,insteadofthemoretypicalrateofseveralmillionyears.Suchplanetswould
bedrivenclosetothepointofmeltingor,atleast,wouldhaveanearlymeltedlayer,similartotheoneright
belowEarthscrust.Theirinteriortemperaturescouldrangefrommoderatelywarmerthanourplanetistoday
uptothepointofhavingmodestsizedmagmaoceans.TheteammodeledplanetsthatarethesizeofEarth
anduptotwoandahalftimeslarger.Planetsatthehighendofthissizerangelikelywouldexperience
strongertidalstressesandpotentiallycouldbenefitmorefromtheresultingfrictionandheating.

July10,2014
NASAsnewestnearEarthnetworkantennaisoperational
NASA
(http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasasnewestnearearthnetworkantennaisoperational/)

AribboncuttingceremonynearthebaseofthenewNASAantennawithintheAlaskaSatelliteFacility
(ASF)markedtheofficialbeginningfortheNearEarthNetwork(NEN)asset.OperatedbytheUniversityof
Alaska,Fairbanks(UAF),thefacilityisaprimepolarlocationforNASAandpartofitsgloballydistributing
groundbasednetworkprovidingcommunicationservicesfororbitingspacecraft.Thisadditionwillallow
NASAtoexpanditsNearEarthNetworkcapabilities,providingmoreflexibilityinsupportofcurrentand
futuremissions.TheNENprovidestelemetry,trackingandcommand(TT&C)servicestoanextensiveand
diversecustomerbaseofapproximately35missions.TheyincludethehighrateEarthObservingSystem
(EOS),Aqua,AuraandQuikSCATandSmallExplorer(SMEX)missionssuchasSWIFT,AIM,IRISand
NuStar.ThenetworkprovidesTT&Cservicesfororbitingsatelliteswithperiodicpassesthataverage140per
day.TheNENalsosupportsorbitingsatellitesthroughshortdurationcommunicationsservices.These
missionsrequiredailyandsometimeshourlycontact.TheNENiscurrentlyaugmentingitsgroundstation
networktoprovidecommunicationservicesforfuturespacecraft.FutureuserswillincludeNASAsnewest
heavyliftvehicle,theSpaceLaunchSystem(SLS)andtheOrionMultiPurposeCrewVehicle(MPCV).
July10,2014
Radioburstdiscoverydeepensastrophysicsmystery
McGillUniversity
(https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/radioburstdiscoverydeepensastrophysicsmystery2374
27)

ThediscoveryofasplitsecondburstofradiowavesbyscientistsusingtheAreciboradiotelescopein
PuertoRicoprovidesimportantnewevidenceofmysteriouspulsesthatappeartocomefromdeepinouter
space.ThisfastradioburstwasfirstdetectedusinganinstrumentotherthantheParkesradiotelescopein
Australia.ScientistsusingtheParkesObservatoryhaverecordedahandfulofsuchevents,butthelackof
anysimilarfindingsbyotherfacilitieshadledtospeculationthattheAustralianinstrumentmighthavebeen
pickingupsignalsoriginatingfromsourcesonornearEarth.Exactlywhatmaybecausingsuchradio
burstsrepresentsamajornewenigmaforastrophysicists.Possibilitiesincludearangeofexotic
astrophysicalobjects,suchasevaporatingblackholes,mergersofneutronstars,orflaresfrommagnetars
atypeofneutronstarwithextremelypowerfulmagneticfields.TheunusualpulsewasdetectedonNov.2,
2012,attheAreciboObservatory,aNationalScienceFoundationsponsoredfacility.Effortsarenowunder
waytodetectradioburstsusingradiotelescopesthatcanobservebroadswathsoftheskytohelpidentify
them.

July9,2014
Newwindowintohighenergyprocessesonthesun
NASA/GoddardSpaceFlightCenter
(http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/messengerstereomeasurementsopennewwindowintohighenergy
processesonthesun/)

TofurtherstudytheSun,NASAcameupwithasolution:NASA'sMESSENGERspacecraftwhichorbits
Mercury,andsoisascloseas28millionmilesfromthesunversusEarth's93millionmilesisnear
enoughtothesuntodetectsolarneutronsthatarecreatedinsolarflares.Theaveragelifetimeforoneof
theseneutronsisonly15minutes.Howfartheytravelintospacedependsontheirspeed,andslower
neutronsdon'ttravelfarenoughtobeseenbyparticledetectorsinorbitaroundEarth.Suchcharged
particlestwirlandgyratearoundthemagneticfieldlinescreatedbythevastmagneticsystemsthat
surroundthesunandEarth.Neutrons,however,astheyarenotelectricallycharged,travelinstraightlines
fromtheflaringregion.Theycancarryinformationaboutflareprocessesunperturbedbytheenvironment
throughwhichtheymove.Thisinformationcanbeusedbyscientiststodecipheroneaspectofthe
complicatedaccelerationprocessesthatareresponsibleforthecreationofhighlyenergeticandfastsolar
particles.TheMESSENGERdatashowedanincreaseinthenumberofnotelectricallycharged
neutronsatMercurysorbithoursbeforethelargenumberofchargedparticlesreachedthespacecraft.This
indicatedthattheneutronsweremostlikelyproducedbyacceleratedflareparticlesstrikingthelowersolar
atmosphere,releasingneutronsasaresultofhighenergycollisions.So,together,theMESSENGERand
STEREO(asolartelescopeonNASA'sSolarTerrestrialRelationsObservatory,orSTEREO)datacan
providenewinformationabouthowparticlesareacceleratedinsolarflares.

July8,2014
Solarenergygetsaboost:'Singletfission'canincreasesolarcellefficiencybyasmuchas30
percent
UniversityofCaliforniaRiverside
(http://ucrtoday.ucr.edu/23698)
ChemistsattheUniversityofCaliforniaRiversidehavepublishedworkonsingletfission,aprocessin
whichasinglephotongeneratesapairofexcitedstates.This1>2conversionprocess,asitisknown,has
thepotentialtoboostsolarcellefficiencybyasmuchas30percent.Applicationsoftheresearchinclude
moreenergyefficientlightingandphotodetectorswith200percentefficiencythatcanbeusedfornight
vision.Biologymayusesingletfissiontodealwithhighenergysolarphotonswithoutgeneratingexcess
heat,asaprotectivemechanism.Currenttechnologyputstheefficiencyofsolarcellsat32percent(bywhat
iscalledtheShockleyQueisserLimit.).Thenextstepnowforthesescientistsistolookfornew
materialsthatexhibitsingletfission,figureouthowtotakethetripletexcitonsandturntheminto
photocurrentefficiently,andlookathowthespinpropertiesoftheelectronsaffecttheexcitondynamics.
July4,2014
Asolitarysuperconductoremergesunderpressure
AmericanChemicalSociety
(http://phys.org/news/201407solitarysuperconductoremergespressure.html)

Threedecadesago,researchersdiscoveredthatcertainorganicmoleculesbecomesuperconductingatlow
temperatures.Thisfindingsparkednumerousinvestigationsintothepropertiesoftheselightweight,lowcost
andeasytomodifymaterials.Despitemuchrecentprogress,chemistsremainpuzzledbyoneaspectof
thesecompounds:allknownmolecularsuperconductorsneedthecooperativeactionoftwoormoredifferent
molecularspeciestomoveelectronswithoutresistance.HengBoCuiandReizoKatofromtheRIKEN
CondensedMolecularMaterialsLaboratoryincollaborationwithHayaoKobayashiandAkikoKobayashi
fromNihonUniversityhavenowrealizedacrucialgoalinthesearchformetallikeorganicmoleculesby
uncoveringthefirstmolecularsuperconductorcontainingonlyonecomponent.Theresearcherspartnered
withMasaakiSasafromFujitsutoexplorenumerousmetaldithiolatesyntheticderivatives.Theyeventually
foundapromisingcompound,nickelbis(trifluoromethyl)tetrathiafulvalenedithiolate(Ni(hfdt)2).Thismolecule
hasbulkyfluorinatedendgroupsonitsdithiolateringsthattriggertwodimensionallayerstackinginthe
crystalstateahighlyfavorablearrangementformetallikeconductivity.Aftercarefullymanipulatingthe
tiny,submillimetersizedNi(hfdt)2crystalsintotheirdiamondanvilcelldevice,theteammeasuredhowits
electricalbehaviorchangedwithpressureandtemperature.Atapressureofabout8.1gigapascals,they
foundthattheresistivitysuddenlyplungedtozeroatatemperatureof5.5kelvinclearevidencethatthey
haddiscoveredasinglecomponentmolecularsuperconductor.Highleveltheoreticalcalculationsconfirmed
theseexperimentalfindingsbyrevealingthecriticalpointatwhichpressureconvertsNi(hfdt)2froman
insulatortoasuperconductor.Thesefindingshavehelpedfurtherourunderstandingofsuperconductors.

July11,2014
Arraysofelectronstrappedinnanoscalecircuitrycouldformthebasisforfuturescalablequantum
computers
Phys.org
(http://phys.org/news/201407arrayselectronsnanoscalecircuitrybasis.html)

Asingleelectrontrappedinasemiconductornanostructurecanformthemostbasicofbuildingblocksfora
quantumcomputer.Beforepracticalquantumcomputerscanberealized,however,scientistsneedto
developascalablearchitecturethatallowsfullcontroloverindividualelectronsincomputationalarrays.
MatthieuDelbecqandcolleaguesfromtheRIKENCenterforEmergentMatterScience,incollaborationwith
researchersfromPurdueUniversityintheUnitedStates,havenowdemonstratedthescalabilityofquantum
dotarchitecturesbytrappingandcontrollingfourelectronsinasingledevice.Aquantumdotcreatesan
electricfield'well'thatistoodeepfortheelectrontoescape,allowingindividualelectronstobeconfinedtoa
spacejustafewnanometersacross.Scientistshavefabricatedtwoandthreedotdevicesinthepast,buta
realprocessorwouldneedmanymore.Delbecqandhiscolleagueshavenowusedasimilarapproachto
createafourquantumdotstructure,provingthescalabilityofthisarchitecture.Theresearchers
demonstratedaschemeforbothcontrollingtheelectronsinthefourquantumdotsandmeasuringor
'readingout'thespinstateoftheelectrons."Thenextstepistoformfourspinqubitswiththisarchitecture
andusethemtoactuallyperformcomputations,"saysDelbecq.Theresultsdemonstratethatquantumdot
architecturehasthepotentialtobescaleduptothenumberofqubitsneededtorealizeafullyfunctional
quantumcomputer.

July11,2014
Manipulatingmagneticfieldeffectsinorganicsemiconductors
Phys.org
(http://phys.org/news/201407magneticfieldeffectssemiconductors.html)

ResearchersledbyCurtRichterandHyukJaeJangofPML'sSemiconductorandDimensionalMetrology
Divisionhavefoundawaytochangethemagnetoresistanceofathin(100nm)organicsemiconducting
materialbypairingitwithaneventhinnerlayeraselfassembledmonolayer(SAM)toalterits
characteristics.Bydemonstratingthatthiskindoffinetuningisbothstraightforwardandrepeatable,the
researchershaveopenedupanunprecedentedlevelofcontrolovermaterialsthatholdhugepromisefor
nextgenerationtechnologies.Magnetoresistanceisthechangeofelectricalresistivityundermagnetic
fields.Magnetoresistancehasbeenwidelyusedincommercialapplicationssuchascomputerharddisk
storageandonchipsensors,especiallyafterthe2007NobelPrizewinningdiscoveryofgiant
magnetoresistanceinmetallicsystems.Manipulationofelectronicandoptoelectronicpropertiesoforganic
materialsbymagneticfieldscanimpactelectronicandspintronictechnologybyaffectingthefunctionality
ofvariousorganicbaseddevicessuchaslightemittingdiodes,photovoltaics,andfieldeffecttransistors,and
byenablingtheinventionofnovelspintronicdevicessuchasflexiblememorystorage.Withthisnew
understanding,thehopeisthatwecouldperhaps,bygettingtherightstructureandapplyingthemagnetic
field,improvetheefficiencyandperformanceoforganiclightemittingdiodes

July7,2014
WasdaVinciwrong?Expertsshowfrictionandfracturearerelated,withimplicationsfor
earthquakes
Phys.org
(http://phys.org/news/201407davinciwrongexpertsfriction.html)

NewresearchcomingfromHebrewUniversityofJerusalemshowsthathowthingsbreak(fracture)andhow
thingsslide(friction)arecloselyinterrelated.Thebreakthroughstudymarksanimportantadvancein
understandingfrictionandfracture,withimplicationsfordescribingthemechanicsthatdriveearthquakes.
Over500yearsago,daVincidescribedhowroughblocksslideoveroneanother,providingthebasisforour
understandingoffrictiontothisday.Thephenomenonoffracturewasalwaysconsideredtobesomething
totallydifferent.ButnewresearchbyProf.JayFinebergandhisgraduatestudentIlyaSvetlizky,atthe
HebrewUniversity'sRacahInstituteofPhysics,hasdemonstratedthatthesetwoseeminglydisparate
processesoffractureandfrictionareactuallyintimatelyintertwined.AppearinginthejournalNature,their
findingscreateanewparadigmthat'sverydifferentfromthedaVinciversion,and,accordingtothe
researchers,giveusanewunderstandingofhowearthquakesactuallyoccur."Theinsightsgainedfromour
studyprovideanewparadigmforunderstandingfrictionandgiveusanew,fundamentaldescriptionofthe
mechanicsandbehaviorthatdriveearthquakes,theslidingoftwotectonicblockswithinnaturalfaults,"says
Fineberg."Inthisway,wecannowunderstandimportantprocessesthataregenerallyhiddenkilometers
beneaththeearth'ssurface."

July14,2014
HowFishEat(inSLOWMOTION!)
SmarterEveryday
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq48opvHsNI&index=11&list=WL)

DestinfromtheyoutubechannelSmarterEverydayvisitedDr.SeymouratJamesCookUniversityin
Australiatolearnmoreaboutthemechanicsofafishbite.Destinthencapturedslowmotionvideosofafish
bitingthebaitusinghisPhantom(Slowmotion)camera,producingsomefantasticfootageoftheworkingsof
thefish.Thisishowthefishbitegoes:first,thefishopensitsmouth,asitheadstowardsthesurfaceofthe
water,towardsthefood.Then,thefluidmomentum(ofwater)pushesinthroughitsmouth(thebuccal
cavity),andexitsitsgills(opercularflap),gettingridofthismomentum.Thelattermotionofopeningitsgills
takesplace30millisecondsafterthefishopensitsmouth.Thiswholeprocesscreatessortofavacuum
environmentsothatthefoodgetssuckedintothemouthofthefish.Prettyinterestingstuff.