New tools reveal prelude to chaos
Engineers at Washington University in St. Louis have developed tools that mathematically describe the kinetics in a system right before it dissolves into randomness.
Flavor of the moment
In a new paper in the journal Physical Review Letters, Bhupal Dev, assistant professor of Physics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, describes how future accelerators could crash together charged particles in a new way to shed light on their behavior.
A new view on electron interactions in graphene
There’s a new way to look at how electrons interact with each other in graphene, an intriguing material comprised of a single layer of carbon atoms. Washington University in St. Louis researchers, led by Erik Henriksen, assistant professor of physics in Arts & Sciences, are exploring the quantum electronic properties of graphene using infrared light.
Why is radioactive iron raining down on us?
Most of the galactic cosmic rays reaching Earth come from nearby clusters of massive stars, according to new observations from NASA’s ACE spacecraft. The distance between the cosmic rays’ point of origin and Earth is limited by the survival of a radioactive isotope of iron, Fe-60, which has a half life of 2.6 million years. These tiny clocks indicate there was a source within spitting distance of Earth within the past few million years.
Obituary: Daniel J. Leopold, 61, research associate professor of physics
Daniel J. Leopold, PhD, research associate professor of physics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, died Dec. 10, 2015, after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 61.
High-energy observatory launches this week
On Wednesday, Aug. 19, at 8:15 a.m. St. Louis time, NASA TV will begin broadcasting the launch of a cargo container at the Tanegashima Space Center off the southern coast of Japan. In addition to water and spare parts, the cargo container will carry CALET, an astrophysical observatory designed to study the high-energy cosmos.
Obituary: Ernst K. Zinner, astrophysicist and cosmochemist, 78
Ernst K. Zinner, PhD, research professor emeritus of physics and earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, died Thursday, July 30, of medical complications of mantle cell lymphoma. Among many other accomplishments, in 1987 Zinner identified for the first time material in the laboratory that predated the formation of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago.
Functioning brain follows famous sand pile model
In 1999, Danish scientist Per Bak made the startling proposal that the brain remained stable for much the same reason a sand pile does; many small avalanches hold it at a balance point, where — in the brain’s case — information processing is optimized. Now scientists have shown for the first time that a brain receiving and processing sensory input follows these dynamics.
Physics’ Nussinov receives NSF grant to study glassy materials
Zohar Nussinov, PhD, associate professor of physics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, received a three-year, $279,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for research titled “Theoretical Approaches to Multi-Scale Complex Systems.”
Physicist Yang receives NSF CAREER award
Li Yang, PhD, assistant professor of physics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has received a five-year CAREER grant, expected to total $475,000, from the National Science Foundation.
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