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News
Fibonacci spirals in nature could be stress-related (Apr 24)
http://physicsweb.org/article/news/11/4/16
The Fibonacci sequence -- in which each successive number is the sum of
its two preceding numbers -- regularly crops up in nature. It describes
the number of petals around daisies, how the density of branches
increases up a tree trunk, and how a pine cone's scales are arranged.
Now, having performed "stress engineering" to create Fibonacci-sequence
spirals on microstructures grown in the lab, physicists in China think
they may have found the reason why the sequence is so ubiquitous -- with
a little help from a seemingly unrelated physics problem posed over 100
years ago (Appl. Phys. Lett. 90 164102).
Twin spacecraft take first 3D images of the Sun (Apr 24)
http://physicsweb.org/article/news/11/4/17
The first 3D images of the Sun have been released by NASA. Taken by its
twin STEREO spacecraft, which were launched in October 2006, the images
should allow astronomers to gain a better understanding of coronal mass
ejections (CMEs). These enormous explosions on the surface of the Sun
can eject billions of tonnes of plasma into space at millions of
kilometres per hour, potentially wiping out electrical grids on the
Earth and damaging orbiting satellites.
New lower limit set for Newton’s law (Apr 25)
http://physicsweb.org/article/news/11/4/18
Everyday experience tells us that force equals mass times acceleration,
but does Newton's second law still hold for very small accelerations? By
observing a torsion pendulum oscillating with a very long period,
physicists in the US have now found that the law is valid down to
accelerations of about 5 x 10^-14 m/s^2 -- a thousand times smaller than
the previous lower limit. The researchers say that the results could
give further credence to the existence of dark matter (Phys. Rev. Lett.
98 150801).
MRI resolution reaches 90 nm (Apr 26)
http://physicsweb.org/article/news/11/4/19
Researchers in the US have used an alternative form of magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) to visualize objects with a resolution of just
90 nm. The best conventional MRI microscopes, in contrast, typically
have a resolution of about 3 µm. The researchers claim the technique,
known as magnetic resonance force microscopy, could be used to map out
the structure of nanometre-scale structures such as proteins and
pharmaceutical drugs (Nature Nanotechnology doi:10.1038/nnano.2007.105)
Optical lattices could give insight into QCD (Apr 27)
http://physicsweb.org/article/news/11/4/21
Physicists in Germany and Hungary claim that ultracold atoms in an
optical lattice could be used to simulate certain aspects of quantum
chromodynamics (QCD) -- the theory that describes how quarks are bound
inside protons, neutrons and other hadrons. They predict that by cooling
atoms such as lithium-6 into a Fermi condensate, the atoms could be made
to behave similarly to quarks. Although the technique has yet to be
proved experimentally, it could shed new light on unsolved problems in
QCD, which is notoriously difficult to simulate on a computer (Phys.
Rev. Lett. 98 160405).
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Physics World is looking for funny, off-beat and thought-provoking articles for the “Lateral Thoughts” section of the magazine. Articles in this section can cover any topic under the Sun, as long as it appeals to physicists.
We will award £100 to the best entry and £100 to the best article by a student. Entries, which must be 900-950 words long, can be e-mailed to pwld@iop.org by 31 May 2007 – so start thinking laterally.
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