Physics and Astronomy

Flares of distant supernovae may reveal major changes in early evolution of universe

Astronomers´ “yardstick” for measuring vast distances across the cosmos grew longer today as scientists at The Johns Hopkins University announced they had identified and closely analyzed two distant new instances of a kind of exploding star known as a Type Ia supernova.

The new supernovae belong to a group of star types known as “standard candles” that astronomers prize for their usefulness i

Graphite had already been extensively studied. German physicist Martin Dienwiebel was therefore extremely surprised when he discovered a completely new effect in this well-known lubricant. During research into the frictional properties of the material, he discovered that the frictional force almost completely disappeared at a certain moment.

Dienwiebel only intended to test the new friction force microscope he had developed. The Tribolever is a raster microscope which can measure frictional

On 30 June 1908, the seemingly endless forests of Siberia received an unwelcome and unexpected visit by an intruder from deep space. As it plunged headlong through the Earth’s atmosphere, the incoming asteroid exploded a few miles above the tree tops, flattening the forest over an area about 50 km (30 miles) in diameter. If the 60 metre (200 ft) wide chunk of rock had arrived a few hours later, it could have destroyed a city the size of London or Paris.

Exactly how many of these threatening

Until the last few years, Mars has been regarded as a cold, arid world that lost most of its water long ago. However, recent observations by NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Odyssey spacecraft have provided tantalising evidence that huge amounts of water may be hidden just below the surface.

Now, a powerful new instrument is poised to probe the Martian soil, using an advanced radar system to penetrate the rust-red desert. On Friday 11 April, Professor Iwan Williams (Queen Mary) will expl

Material has been discovered moving at nearly 10% the speed of light away from the centre of the nearby quasar PDS456 – the most powerful object in the local universe. Like all quasars, PDS456 is thought to be powered by matter converting into energy when material is swallowed by a supermassive black hole. New observations show that its energy output is so large that it is “choking on its food” and radiation is literally blowing the top off the inner region of the disc of in-falling material that su

Spinning black holes could be responsible for at least some of the immensely powerful gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) astronomers observe coming from distant galaxies. On Tuesday 8 April, Sheila McBreen of University College, Dublin, will tell the UK/Ireland National Astronomy Meeting in Dublin that her analysis of the way gamma-rays were emitted over the course of outbursts from a large sample of GRBs has revealed particular signatures, most likely to be those of a rotating black hole either being “spun up”