Physics and Astronomy

Nature has been manipulating structures on the atomic and molecular scale for millions of years, in comparison humans have only been developing these techniques over the last few decades. Molecular engineering builds structures and devices at the smallest scales imaginable, aiming to make better materials, new types of information technologies, biomedical devices and much more. In an article, `Natural strategies for the molecular engineer`, published today in the Institute of Physics` journal, Nanote

Now physicists need not fully control the growth of laser crystals, because the crystals grow themselves. Professor Nikolay Ledentsov and his team at the Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute have learned how to provide special conditions in which crystals can grow defectless.

Growing crystals with enhanced characteristics is possible on the basis of the effect of quantum dots. A quantum dot is a tiny islet of one material lost in the monocrystal of the other material. For a long time t

Jefferson Lab researchers utilize CLAS and CEBAF’s 5.7 GeV continuous beam to gather new insights on several fundamental questions about the neutron

The CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) is like a perfect survey instrument. Because it surrounds the interaction point in Jefferson Lab’s Hall B, it can record several particles produced in a subatomic interaction at once. More than 40,000 data channels convey information on the trajectory (measured with drift chambers),

There will be greater tension than usual among engineers and scientists at Europe`s spaceport at Kourou, French Guiana, in January 2003, as they gather to see ESA`s comet-chasing spacecraft Rosetta departing on its long journey. If it is to keep its rendezvous with Comet Wirtanen in 2012, Rosetta must lift off on its Ariane-5 launcher no sooner than 03:40 CET on 13 January 2003 and no later than the end of that month. This span of suitable dates is called a launch window. For interplanetary

In a new report, a team of senior women physicists have challenged the scientific and academic establishments to tackle the problem of female under-representation in physics careers. The report, “Women Physicists Speak”, was led by Professor Gillian Gehring of the University of Sheffield and will be launched at a meeting of the Institute of Physics on 5 September. It is the result of an international conference about the issue and makes a number of important recommendations. · Women in Leade

Computer and optical communications engineers are now using optical structures to produce faster, more powerful, light-based processors and networks. However, according to Dr Andrew Parker from Oxford University, they are well behind the times as nature has been making these optical structures for at least 515 million years. He and his team are now planning to unravel nature`s manufacturing process and use it to create man-made optical devices.

Speaking at the Photon02 Conference in Cardiff