Category archives: Physics

Searching for the decay of nature’s rarest isotope: Tantalum-180m

Searching for the decay of nature’s rarest isotope: Tantalum-180m

Particle physicsPhysics

By César Tomé

Tantalum is one of the rarest elements and has multiple stable isotopes. The least abundant tantalum isotope, Ta-180 is found naturally in a long-lived excited state, a feature unique to this isotope. In excited states, a nuclei’s protons or neutrons have higher than normal energy levels. Although energetically possible, the radioactive decay of this excited […]

Atomic force images beyond the fundamental limit

Atomic force images beyond the fundamental limit

Computer scienceMaterialsPhysics

By César Tomé

Atomic force microscopy, or AFM, is a widely used technique that can quantitatively map material surfaces in three dimensions, but its accuracy is limited by the size of the microscope’s probe. A new AI technique overcomes this limitation and allows microscopes to resolve material features smaller than the probe’s tip. A new deep learning algorithm […]

Super strong magnetic field detected in nuclear matter

Super strong magnetic field detected in nuclear matter

Particle physicsPhysics

By César Tomé

A new analysis by the STAR collaboration at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), a particle collider at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, provides the first direct evidence of the imprint left by what may be the universe’s most powerful magnetic fields on “deconfined” nuclear matter . The evidence comes from […]

Electron-cyclotron plasma generation and spectrum characterization

Electron-cyclotron plasma generation and spectrum characterization

Physics

By Invited Researcher

Ernest Lawrence was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in November 1939 “for the invention and development of the cyclotron and for results obtained with it, especially with regard to artificial radioactive elements”. His invention was based on generating a spiral accelerated trajectory of protons governed by a simple alternating radio frequency voltage together with […]

First experimental evidence of hopfions in crystals

First experimental evidence of hopfions in crystals

Condensed matterMaterialsPhysics

By César Tomé

Hopfions, magnetic spin structures predicted decades ago, have become a hot and challenging research topic in recent years. The first experimental evidence has just been presented in Nature . A deeper understanding of how different components of materials function is important for the development of innovative materials and future technology. The research field of spintronics […]

Infodynamics would hint we live in a computer simulation

Infodynamics would hint we live in a computer simulation

Physics

By Invited Researcher

Infodynamics Author: Melvin M. Vopson, Associate Professor of Physics, University of Portsmouth The simulated universe theory implies that our universe, with all its galaxies, planets and life forms, is a meticulously programmed computer simulation. In this scenario, the physical laws governing our reality are simply algorithms. The experiences we have are generated by the computational […]