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Archive for the ‘physics’ category: Page 21

Aug 15, 2024

New semiconductor material AlYN promises more energy-efficient and powerful electronics

Posted by in categories: chemistry, energy, physics

Due to its excellent material properties and its adaptability to gallium nitride (GaN), AlYN has enormous potential for use in energy-efficient high-frequency and high-performance electronics for information and communications technology.

Aluminum yttrium nitride (AlYN) has attracted the interest of many research groups around the world due to its outstanding material properties. However, the growth of the material has been a major challenge. Until now, AlYN could only be deposited by magnetron sputtering.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics IAF have now succeeded in fabricating the new material using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technology, thus enabling the development of new, diverse applications.

Aug 15, 2024

Cricket physics: Wind tunnel experiments reveal why bowling with a near horizontal arm makes for tough batting

Posted by in category: physics

Key to winning a cricket match is tricking the other team’s batters—no small feat, as bowlers bowl cricket balls nearly 100 miles per hour. In recent years, a bowling technique that has become popular involves keeping the arm almost entirely horizontal during delivery, notably used by Sri Lankan stars Lasith Malinga and Matheesha Pathirana. The aerodynamics of such deliveries have perplexed sports physicists.

Aug 14, 2024

Mystery Droplets Inside Cells May Play Vital Roles in Life

Posted by in category: physics

The novel physics of biomolecular condensates could explain how these droplets help cells do their jobs.

By Trevor GrandPre

Aug 13, 2024

Revolutionary Math Proof No One Could Explain…Until Now

Posted by in categories: mathematics, physics

The Geometric Langlands Correspondence. Edward Frenkel is a renowned mathematician and professor at the University of California, Berkeley, known for his work in representation theory, algebraic geometry, and mathematical physics. Edward is also the author of the bestselling book “Love and Math: The Heart of Hidden Reality”, which bridges the gap between mathematics and the broader public.

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b9

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Aug 13, 2024

Discrete and Continuous Processes in Computers and Brains

Posted by in categories: computing, neuroscience, physics

Theories of computation and theories of the brain have close historical interrelations, the best-known examples being Turing’s introspective use of the brain’s operation as a model for his idealized computing machine (Turing 1936), McCulloch’s and Pitts’ use of ideal switching elements to model the brain (McCulloch and Pitts 1943), and von Neumann’s comparison of the logic and physics of both brains and computers (von Neumann 1958).

Aug 13, 2024

Physics solves a training problem for artificial neural networks

Posted by in categories: physics, robotics/AI

Fully forward mode learning for optical neural networks.

Aug 12, 2024

Using corrugated wall coverings to passively cool buildings

Posted by in categories: physics, space

A team of applied physicists at Columbia University, working with a colleague from Henry M. Gunn High School, and another from the University of California, Los Angeles, has found that using corrugated siding on outdoor building walls can passively reduce wall temperatures.

In their paper published in the journal Nexus, the group describes how they added corrugated siding to a small test and found that doing so lowered the wall temperatures.

Prior research has shown that covering the tops of buildings with radiative cooling materials can reduce the amount of heat that makes its way inside by up to 20%. This is because they are made in such a way as to reflect sunlight and radiate heat into .

Aug 12, 2024

Spacetime defects uncouple gravity from mass in dark matter alternative

Posted by in categories: cosmology, physics

Something seems to be missing from the universe, and the favored model of physics calls it “dark matter” – but despite a century of searching, it remains a no-show. A new paper proposes an alternative hypothesis, showing how gravity could exist without mass and produce many of the same effects we ascribe to dark matter.

Einstein’s theory of general relativity is still our best model for describing gravity. As you might remember from high school physics class, gravity is the force that arises from masses resting on the fabric of spacetime. The more mass an object has, the deeper the “dip” in spacetime and the stronger the gravitational pull.

But starting in the 1930s, some strange astronomical observations began to raise questions. Galaxy clusters seemed to be moving much too fast to stay stable based on visible matter, suggesting that far more matter was present than we could see. That led to the hypothesis that huge amounts of invisible stuff – which was dubbed dark matter – pervaded the universe. The idea has held surprisingly strong in observations in the decades since, backed up by the motions of stars within galaxies and the bending and magnifying of light through gravitational lenses.

Aug 12, 2024

Celestial Light Shows: Physicists Decode the Cosmic Dance of Auroras on Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn

Posted by in categories: physics, space

A recent study reveals new insights into aurorae across Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn, highlighting the role of magnetic fields and solar winds in shaping these phenomena, with significant implications for space weather forecasting and planetary exploration.

The breathtaking aurorae, commonly known as the Northern and Southern Lights, have captivated human imagination for centuries. From May 10th to 12th, 2024, the most powerful aurora event in 21 years showcased the extraordinary beauty of these celestial light displays.

Recently, space physicists from the Department of Earth Sciences at The University of Hong Kong (HKU), including Professor Binzheng Zhang, Professor Zhonghua Yao, and Dr Junjie Chen, along with their international collaborators, have published a paper in Nature Astronomy that explores the fundamental laws governing the diverse aurorae observed across planets, such as Earth, Jupiter and Saturn. This work provides new insights into the interactions between planetary magnetic fields and solar wind, updating the textbook picture of giant planetary magnetospheres. Their findings can improve space weather forecasting, guide future planetary exploration, and inspire further comparative studies of magnetospheric environments.

Aug 8, 2024

Donald Hoffman — Consciousness, Mysteries Beyond Spacetime, and Waking up from the Dream of Life

Posted by in categories: mathematics, neuroscience, physics

Professor Donald Hoffman is a cognitive neuroscientist and the author of more than 90 scientific papers and three books, including Visual Intelligence and The Case Against Reality.

He is best known for his theory of consciousness, which combines evolutionary theory with mathematics to make a compelling case that the reality we see every day is an illusion created by our minds.

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