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Astronomers Study Gamma Rays from Black Hole-Powered Galaxies

Astronomers using data from NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have made the most accurate measurement of starlight in the universe and used it to establish the total amount of light from all of the stars that have ever shone, accomplishing a primary mission goal.

2 Nov 2012

New Device Powered by Quantum Nonlocality Measures Wave-Particle Duality of Photons

What is light made of: waves or particles? This basic question has fascinated physicists since the early days of science. Quantum mechanics predicts that photons, particles of light, are both particles and waves simultaneously. Reporting in Science, physicists from the University of Bristol give a new demonstration of this wave-particle duality of photons, dubbed the 'one real mystery of quantum mechanics' by Nobel Prize laureate Richard Feynman.

2 Nov 2012

Scientists Observe Distant, Super-Luminous Supernovae

The most-distant, super-luminous supernovae found to date have been observed by an international team, including Raymond Carlberg of the University of Toronto's Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics. The stellar explosions would have occurred at a time when the universe was much younger and probably soon after the Big Bang.

2 Nov 2012

PM's Science Prize Awarded for Investigations into Dark Matter in Galaxies

The Australian Institute of Physics congratulates the winners of the Prime Minister's Prizes for Science, who received their awards at a dinner at Parliament House last night.

1 Nov 2012

Quasars Illuminate Dark Galaxies

Most people think of galaxies as huge islands of stars, gas and dust that populate the universe in visual splendor. Theory, however, has predicted there are other types of galaxies that are devoid of stars and made predominately of dense gas. These "dark" galaxies would be unseen against the black backdrop of the universe.

1 Nov 2012

Schrödinger’s Thought Experiment Quantum Theories Applied to Holy Books

Whenever I see angry mobs reacting to the destruction of religious books it makes me think of Schrödinger, iPads and how we should interpret fundamentalist religious teachings in the digital era.

1 Nov 2012

Researchers Discover Super-Luminous Supernovae in the Early Universe

Supernovae are the brilliant, explosive deaths of stars. For a short time, these explosions can outshine an entire galaxy containing billions of stars.

1 Nov 2012

Scientists Synthesize New Superconductors Based on Iron and Selenium

Physicists describe how they have synthesized a new material that belongs to the iron-selenide class of superconductors, called LixFe2Se2(NH3)y, in a paper about to be published in EPJ B. The work was carried out by Ernst-Wilhelm Scheidt from the University of Augsburg and colleagues. This material displays promising superconducting transition temperatures of 44 Kelvins (K) at ambient pressure, thus improving upon traditional copper-based high-temperature superconductors.

1 Nov 2012

In-Depth Insights into Electronic Structure of Iron Oxide Electrode in Operation

Hydrogen production by solar water splitting in photoelectrochemical cells (PEC) has long been considered the holy grail of sustainable energy research. Iron oxide is a promising electrode material. An international team of researchers led by Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, have now gained in-depth insights into the electronic structure of an iron oxide electrode – while it was in operation. This opens up new possibilities for an affordable hydrogen production from solar energy.

30 Oct 2012

Gas Cloud G2 on Track to Become Super-Massive Black Hole’s Next Victim

The super-massive black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy has a healthy appetite, frequently snacking on asteroids and comets. Now, a cloud of gas and dust called G2 is on a dangerous course to become its next meal.

29 Oct 2012