Applied Physics

Lituus- Bach's Forgotten Horn Gets Recreated In The 21st Century

21st century computer modelling software has enabled a long-lost, trumpet-like instrument called the  Lituus to be recreated – even though no one alive today has heard, played or even seen a picture of this forgotten instrument- allowing a work by Bach to ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 13 2009 - 8:30am

Quantum Mechanics Visible In Everyday Life?

At the quantum level, the atoms that make up matter and the photons that make up light behave in seemingly bizarre ways. Particles can exist in "superposition," in more than one state at the same time (don't look!), a situation that permitte ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 22 2009 - 11:40am

Dolphins And Delta Wings

Dolphins, whales and porpoises are perfectly adapted for maximum aquatic agility.  We know why that is- biologists expect that as a result of evolution- but to-date no one in physics had ever successfully analyzed how the animals' flippers interact wi ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 29 2009 - 10:04am

MANTRA- Monster Trucks For Really Smart Kids

Have a really smart kid who loves big trucks but you can't stand loud, growling voices with too much reverb in stadiums?   You're in luck.    MANTRA (The Manufacturing Technology Transporter) is a specially modified monster truck that is packed w ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 4 2009 - 12:29pm

Bumpy Roads And The Physics Of The 'Washboard' Phenomenom

Any road with a loose surface like or gravel or snow can develop ripples that make driving a very shaky experience. A team of physicists from Canada, France and the United Kingdom have recreated this "washboard" phenomenon in the lab with surpris ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 7 2009 - 3:27pm

Shape Memory Alloys Get A Design Tool

Is it a magic trick?   A man takes a paper clip and bends it so that it is just a crooked piece of wire, then he throws it into a bowl of hot water and instantly the metal wire returns to the shape of the paper clip. This phenomenon is called the shape mem ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 14 2009 - 11:16am

Nanoscopic Discovery- Salt Stretches!

"It's not supposed to do that"- Sandia principal investigator Jack Houston. Researchers from Sandia National Laboratories and the University of Pittsburgh have found they can make salt, a solid, physically stretch.   "Unlike, say, gold, ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 19 2009 - 12:27pm

Make It A Safe Day With Lasers

Health requires safety. There is a laser hazard that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is concerned about: the increased availability in stores and on the Internet of certain types of laser products.  A laser can be unsafe when misused as a toy or di ...

Blog Post - Hatice Cullingford - Jul 22 2009 - 4:11pm

Nanosized Violin String Makes Sweet Physics Music

Researchers at TU Delft have succeeded in measuring the influence of a single electron on a vibrating carbon nanotube.   That can be a real milestone on the road to ultra-small measuring instruments. Researchers in the Kavli Institute for Nanoscience at TU ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 26 2009 - 11:49am

Ultrafast Acoustics: Lasers Trigger Nano-Earthquakes

In America, there is a debate over 'high risk, high reward' independent research versus Big Science- largescale science projects usually being done by taxpayer funded grants to large universities and basic research primarily being done in the pri ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 26 2009 - 2:56pm