Physics and Astronomy

A group led by astronomers from Ohio State University and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have measured the mass of a unique black hole, and determined that it is the smallest found so far.

Early results indicate that the black hole weighs in at less than a million times the mass of our sun -– which would make it as much as 100 times smaller than others of its type. To get their measurement, astronomers used NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and a technique similar to Doppl

A team of scientists led by biophysicist Stuart Lindsay from the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University have created the first reproducible single molecule negative differential resistor and in the process have developed a groundbreaking experimental technique that provides a “roadmap” for designing single molecule devices based on biochemistry.

The findings will be discussed in a presentation by Lindsay on February 18 at the American Association for the Advancement of S

Over 40 nations and around 20 international organisations, including ESA, have come together in Brussels for two days, today and tomorrow, to exchange views on policies related to international cooperation in space.

Entitled ‘Winning through cooperation: sharing the benefits of space’, the conference provides a forum for discussion between States capable of providing space technology – the supply side – and those willing to make use of it – the demand side. The conference was joi

A particle accelerator operates in Earth’s upper atmosphere above major thunderstorms at energies comparable to some of the most exotic environments in the universe, according to new satellite observations of terrestrial gamma-ray flashes.

Terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) are very short blasts of gamma rays, lasting about one millisecond, that are emitted into space from Earth’s upper atmosphere. The gamma rays are thought to be emitted by electrons traveling at n

Computer sims vital tools in exploring nanoworld

Years ago, when Uzi Landman and his colleagues set out to uncover some of the rules that govern why a non-reactive metal like gold acts as a catalyst when it is in nanoclusters only a few atoms in size, they didn’t sit down in a lab with the precious metal. Instead, they ran computer simulations and discovered that gold is a very effective catalyst when it is in clusters of eight to two dozen atoms. They also found that electrical ch

ESA’s SMART-1 mission was extended by one year, pushing back the mission end date from August 2005 to August 2006.

ESA’s Science Programme Committee endorsed unanimously the proposed one-year extension of SMART-1 on 10 February 2005. The extension by one year of the mission will provide opportunities to extend the global coverage, compared to the original six-month mission, and to map both southern and northern hemispheres at high resolution. The new orbit will also be more stab