Saturn Lightning Superbolts Revealed in New Photos NASA's Cassini spacecraft has revealed new photographs of powerful lightning flashing on Saturn after steadily watching a particularly stormy part of the ringed planet, according to a new study. Lightning, a common phenomenon on Earth, has been an elusive target on Saturn, at times only indirectly identified by previous studies. The new photos show a series of bright flashes against a cloudy backdrop. "We can learn the brightness and total power from the images," the lead researcher Ulyana Dyudina told SPACE.com. "The brightest lightning on Earth, called superbolts ? In the past, lightning images have been difficult to obtain because the planet's nights are typically very bright due the highly reflective nature of Saturn's rings. Yet, scientists who had been monitoring a section of the planet at latitude 35 degrees south ? ? The Cassini spacecraft was able to obtain the new images of lightning on Saturn in the period around August 2009, during the planet's equinox. Gas giant lightning
g-factor (physics) For the acceleration-related quantity in mechanics, see g-force. A g-factor (also called g value or dimensionless magnetic moment) is a dimensionless quantity which characterizes the magnetic moment and gyromagnetic ratio of a particle or nucleus. It is essentially a proportionality constant that relates the observed magnetic moment μ of a particle to the appropriate angular momentum quantum number and the appropriate fundamental quantum unit of magnetism, usually the Bohr magneton or nuclear magneton. The most famous of these is the electron spin g-factor (more often called simply the electron g-factor), ge, defined by The z-component of the magnetic moment then becomes The value gS is roughly equal to 2.002319, and is known to extraordinary precision.[1][2] The reason it is not precisely two is explained by quantum electrodynamics calculation of the anomalous magnetic dipole moment.[3] Secondly, the electron orbital g-factor, gL, is defined by which, since gL = 1, is just μBml
Solid Single crystalline form of solid Insulin. The branch of physics that deals with solids is called solid-state physics, and is the main branch of condensed matter physics (which also includes liquids). Materials science is primarily concerned with the physical and chemical properties of solids. Microscopic description[edit] Model of closely packed atoms within a crystalline solid. The atoms, molecules or ions which make up solids may be arranged in an orderly repeating pattern, or irregularly. Schematic representation of a random-network glassy form (left) and ordered crystalline lattice (right) of identical chemical composition. In other materials, there is no long-range order in the position of the atoms. Whether a solid is crystalline or amorphous depends on the material involved, and the conditions in which it was formed. Classes of solids[edit] The forces between the atoms in a solid can take a variety of forms. [edit] Minerals[edit] A collection of various minerals. Ceramics[edit]
Mass Transits: Kepler Mission Releases Data on Hundreds of Possi The Kepler spacecraft, launched in 2009 to scour distant stellar systems for Earth-like planets, has yet to attain that lofty goal, but it is now returning a flood of data about all manner of planets outside the solar system. On June 15, the Kepler team released information on possible planets identified in the first month or so of the spacecraft's three-plus-year mission—a massive set of more than 300 candidates that promises to significantly augment the known catalogue of extrasolar planets. The data were published online at the preprint repository arXiv.org and will be submitted to The Astrophysical Journal. On top of that bountiful, publicly released haul, the Kepler team is holding onto a list of 400 of the most intriguing potential host stars for further observation. With these two sets of objects, Kepler is poised to rewrite the catalogue of known exoplanets, which currently contains about 450 objects, including five confirmed exoplanets that the Kepler team announced in January.
Higgs mechanism In particle physics, the Higgs mechanism is essential to explain the generation mechanism of the property "mass" for gauge bosons. In the Standard Model, the three weak bosons gain mass through the Higgs mechanism by interacting with the Higgs field that permeates all space. Normally bosons are massless, but the W+, W-, and Z bosons have values around 80 GeV/c2. In gauge theory, the Higgs field induces a spontaneous symmetry breaking, where instead of the usual transverse Nambu–Goldstone boson, the longitudinal Higgs boson appears. The simplest implementation of the mechanism adds an extra Higgs field to the gauge theory. In the Standard Model, the phrase "Higgs mechanism" refers specifically to the generation of masses for the W±, and Z weak gauge bosons through electroweak symmetry breaking.[1] The Large Hadron Collider at CERN announced results consistent with the Higgs particle on July 4, 2012 but stressed that further testing is needed to confirm the Standard Model. Background[edit]
Superconductivity Video of a Meissner effect in a high temperature superconductor (black pellet) with a NdFeB magnet (metallic) A high-temperature superconductor levitating above a magnet Superconductivity is a phenomenon of exactly zero electrical resistance and expulsion of magnetic fields occurring in certain materials when cooled below a characteristic critical temperature. It was discovered by Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes on April 8, 1911 in Leiden. Like ferromagnetism and atomic spectral lines, superconductivity is a quantum mechanical phenomenon. Explanation[edit] The electrical resistivity of a metallic conductor decreases gradually as temperature is lowered and at the same time its conductivity becomes infinite. Classification[edit] There are many criteria by which superconductors are classified. Elementary properties of superconductors[edit] Zero electrical DC resistance[edit] Electric cables for accelerators at CERN. The situation is different in a superconductor. Meissner effect[edit]
Did a 'sleeper' field awake to expand the universe? - space - 11 IT'S the ultimate sleeper agent. An energy field lurking inactive since the big bang might now be causing the expansion of the universe to accelerate. In the late 1990s, observations of supernovae revealed that the universe has started expanding faster and faster over the past few billion years. Einstein's equations of general relativity provide a mechanism for this phenomenon, in the form of the cosmological constant, also known as the inherent "dark energy" of space-time. To overcome this daunting discrepancy, physicists have resorted to other explanations for the recent cosmic acceleration.
Gauge boson The Standard Model of elementary particles, with the gauge bosons in the fourth column in red In particle physics, a gauge boson is a force carrier, a bosonic particle that carries any of the fundamental interactions of nature.[1][2] Elementary particles, whose interactions are described by a gauge theory, interact with each other by the exchange of gauge bosons—usually as virtual particles. Gauge bosons in the Standard Model[edit] The Standard Model of particle physics recognizes three kinds of gauge bosons: photons, which carry the electromagnetic interaction; W and Z bosons, which carry the weak interaction; and gluons, which carry the strong interaction.[3] Isolated gluons do not occur at low energies because they are color-charged, and subject to color confinement. Multiplicity of gauge bosons[edit] Massive gauge bosons[edit] According to the Standard Model, the W and Z bosons gain mass via the Higgs mechanism. Beyond the Standard Model[edit] Grand unification theories[edit] See also[edit]
Superfluid Superfluidity is a state of matter in which the matter behaves like a fluid with zero viscosity; where it appears to exhibit the ability to self-propel and travel in a way that defies the forces of gravity and surface tension. While this characteristic was originally discovered in liquid helium, it is also found in astrophysics, high-energy physics, and theories of quantum gravity. The phenomenon is related to the Bose–Einstein condensation, but it is not identical: not all Bose-Einstein condensates can be regarded as superfluids, and not all superfluids are Bose–Einstein condensates. Fig. 1. Fig. 2. Superfluidity of liquid helium[edit] Ultracold atomic gases[edit] Superfluid in astrophysics[edit] Superfluidity in high-energy physics and quantum gravity[edit] Superfluid vacuum theory is an approach in theoretical physics and quantum mechanics where the physical vacuum is viewed as superfluid. See also[edit] References[edit] Jump up ^ "MIT physicists create new form of matter".
"There Was No Big Bang!" Say Several Leading Cosmologists (A Gal "What banged?" Sean Carroll, CalTech -Moore Center for Theoretical Cosmology & Physics Several of the worlds leading astrophysicists believe there was no Big Bang that brought the universe and time into existence. Before the Big Bang, the standard theory assumes, there was no space, just nothing. Proponents of branes propose that we are trapped in a thin membrane of space-time embedded in a much larger cosmos from which neither light nor energy -except gravity- can escape or enter and that that "dark matter" is just the rest of the universe that we can't see because light can't escape from or enter into our membrane from the great bulk of the universe. One of the most important space probes of the century is the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) launched in 2001 to measure the temperature differences in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiatiion -the 14-billion year old Big Bang's remnant radiant heat . Are branes the key to understanding the origin of our universe?
Weak hypercharge Definition[edit] It is the generator of the U(1) component of the electroweak gauge group, SU(2)×U(1) and its associated quantum field B mixes with the W3 electroweak quantum field to produce the observed Z gauge boson and the photon of quantum electrodynamics. Weak hypercharge, usually written as YW, satisfies the equality: where Q is the electrical charge (in elementary charge units) and T3 is the third component of weak isospin. Rearranging, the weak hypercharge can be explicitly defined as: Note: sometimes weak hypercharge is scaled so that although this is a minority usage.[2] Baryon and lepton number[edit] Weak hypercharge is related to baryon number minus lepton number via: Neutron decay[edit] n → p + e− + ν e Hence neutron decay conserves baryon number B and lepton number L separately, so also the difference B − L is conserved. Proton decay[edit] Proton decay is a prediction of many grand unification theories. p+ → e+ + π0 → e+ + 2γ See also[edit] Notes[edit] Jump up ^ J.
Liquid The density of a liquid is usually close to that of a solid, and much higher than in a gas. Therefore, liquid and solid are both termed condensed matter. On the other hand, as liquids and gases share the ability to flow, they are both called fluids. Although liquid water is abundant on Earth, this state of matter is actually the least common in the known universe, because liquids require a relatively narrow temperature/pressure range to exist. Most known matter in the universe is in gaseous form (with traces of detectable solid matter) as interstellar clouds or in plasma form within stars. Introduction[edit] Thermal image of a sink full of hot water with cold water being added, showing how the hot and the cold water flow into each other. A liquid, like a gas, displays the properties of a fluid. Liquid particles are bound firmly but not rigidly. Examples[edit] Pure substances that are liquid under normal conditions include water, ethanol and many other organic solvents. Applications[edit]
Hundreds of Possible Alien Planets Discovered By NASA Spacecraft NASA's Kepler spacecraft hunting for Earth-like planets around other stars has found 706 candidates for potential alien worlds while gazing at more than 156,000 stars packed into a single patch of the sky. If all 706 of these objects pass the stringent follow-up tests to determine if they are actually planets, and not false alarms, they could nearly triple the current number of known extrasolar planets. They were announced as part of a huge release of data from the mission's first 43 days by NASA's Kepler science team this week. The Kepler space observatory monitors stars for subtle changes in their brightness, which could indicate the presence of alien planets passing in front of them as seen from Earth. Astronomers will use the newly-released data from Kepler to determine if orbiting planets are responsible for the variation in brightness of several hundred stars. ?" By measuring tiny decreases in the brightness of stars when planets cross ? Zoo of parent stars Search goes on