Physicists of the DZero experiment at the Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory have discovered a new heavy particle, the Ξb (pronounced „zigh sub b“) baryon, with a mass of 5.774±0.019 GeV/c2, approximately six times the proton mass. The newly discovered electrically charged Ξb baryon, also known as the „cascade b“, is made of a down, a strange and a bottom quark. It is the first observed baryon formed of quarks from all three families of matter. Its discovery and the measurement of its mass provide new understanding of how the strong nuclear force acts upon the quarks, the basic building blocks of matter.
https://news.fnal.gov/2007/06/fermilab-physicists-discover-triple-scoop-baryon/
Solscape
How Supermassive Black Holes Merge
For astronomers it’s clear that galaxies get bigger through galactic mergers. But they have always wondered what happens with the supermassive black holes that seem to always lurk at the heart of galaxies. What happens when two compact objects with millions of times the mass of our sun collide? An international team of physicists has developed a computer simulation designed to answer this question. It turns out that the interaction depends a lot on the amount of hot gas surrounding each black hole. As the black holes start to interact, this gas exerts a frictional force on the black holes, slowing down their spin rate. Once they get within the width of our solar system, they start emitting gravitational waves, which continues to extract energy from the system. This causes them to continue coming together, and eventually merge. These mergers should be so energetic, they’ll generate gravitational waves detectable across space.
http://news.stanford.edu/pr/2007/pr-hole-061307.html
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merging-bh-large.jpg
Scientists wirelessly power light bulb from 2 meters away
A team from MIT’s Department of Physics, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies (ISN) has experimentally demonstrated an important step toward accomplishing a vision of the future in which wireless power transfer is feasible. They were able to light a 60W light bulb from a power source more than two meters away. There was no physical connection between the source and the appliance.
https://news.mit.edu/2007/wireless-0607
Atlantis lifts off
The space shuttle Atlantis launched Friday evening on a mission to the International Space Station. Atlantis lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center at 7:38 p.m. EDT reaching orbit about eight minutes later. Weather cooperated for the launch and there were no major technical issues during the countdown. The main purpose of the STS-117 mission is to install a new truss segment and solar panel to the station. The mission will also feature the rotation of one ISS crew member, with Clay Anderson replacing current ISS astronaut Sunita Williams.
NASA Press Release
The first image of surface features on a sun-like star
University of Michigan astronomers combined light from four widely separated telescopes to produce the first picture showing surface details on a sun-like star beyond our solar system. The image of the rapidly rotating, hot star Altair is the most detailed stellar picture ever made using an innovative light-combining technique called optical interferometry.
Article @ University of Michigan
Plastic that doesn't burn
Scientists from the University of Massachusetts Amherst have created a synthetic polymer that doesn’t burn.
http://www.umass.edu/newsoffice/newsreleases/articles/53157.php
Increase In Cancer In Sweden Can Be Traced To Chernobyl
The incidence of cancer in northern Sweden increased following the accident at the nuclear power plant in Chernobyl in 1986. This was the finding of a much-debated study from Linköping University in Sweden from 2004.
New research from Linköping University provides more scientific support for this Chernobyl connection. In two studies using different methods, Martin Tondel has shown a small but statistically significant increase in the incidence of cancer in northern Sweden, where the fallout of radioactive caesium 137 was at its most intense.
Astronomers Discover 28 New Exoplanets
Astronomers have announced the discovery of 28 new planets outside our solar system, increasing the total number of known exoplanets to 236. The planets are among 37 new objects discovered by the teams within the past year. Seven of the 37 are confirmed brown dwarfs, which are failed stars that nevertheless are much more massive than the largest, Jupiter-sized planets.
California, Carnegie team reports 28 new exoplanets, 7 new brown dwarfs
The Ions Are Coming!
A scientist using the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) has found a way to forecast solar radiation storms. The new method offers as much as one hour advance warning, giving astronauts time to seek shelter and ground controllers time to safeguard their satellites when a storm is approaching.
https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2007/25may_costep/