Even in stringent times, it seems like a good idea to do some science to find out what the world is made of and how it works.
Physicists have created a quantum gas capable of reaching temperatures below absolute zero and paving the way for future quantum inventions. The chilly substance was composed of potassium atoms which were held in a lattice arrangement using a combination of lasers and magnetic fields. According to a news report in the journal Nature, by tweaking…
Using the European X-ray astronomy satellite XMM-Newton, researchers have discovered a new source of cosmic rays. In the vicinity of the remarkable Arches cluster, near the center of the Milky Way, these particles are accelerated in the shock wave generated by tens of thousands of young stars moving at a speed of around 700,000 km/h….
Astronomers have used the Hubble Space Telescope to work out when precisely our Milky Way Galaxy will crash into its neighbor, Andromeda. The pair are being pulled together by their mutual gravity and the scientists expect them to begin to merge in about four billion years’ time. A further two billion years on and they…
Robots represent the cutting edge in science. For decades we have been promised a bright future in which these human-like machines will become so advanced that we won’t be able to tell the difference between them and us. But are technologists really dabbling in the unknown in their work or merely ripping a page out…
Add methane emissions to the growing list of environmental risks posed by fracking. Opposition to the hydraulic fracturing of deep shales to release natural gas rose sharply last year over worries that the large volumes of chemical-laden water used in the operations could contaminate drinking water. Then, in early January, earthquakes in Ohio were blamed…
Gen Xers are surprisingly blasé about climate change. A survey in 2009 found members of Generation X were largely disengaged from climate change. Two years later, these American adults became slightly more so, a follow-up survey has revealed. Americans in this age group generally are not well-informed about climate change, nor are they highly concerned…