401 articles from THURSDAY 10.9.2020

Quirky response to magnetism presents quantum physics mystery

Scientists describe the quirky behavior of one such magnetic topological insulator. The new article includes experimental evidence that intrinsic magnetism in the bulk of manganese bismuth telluride (MnBi2Te4) also extends to the electrons on its electrically conductive surface. Such materials could be just right for making qubits, but this one doesn't obey the rules.

Facebook just invented … Facebook

Facebook unveiled a new product today called Facebook Campus: “a college-only space designed to help students connect with fellow classmates over shared interests.”Sound familiar? Campus appears to be a throwback to the first days of Facebook, when a person had to have a college email address and attend a select group of universities to be able to join. Charmaine Hung, Campus’s product...

Study finds humans are behind costly, increasing risk of wildfire to millions of homes

People are starting almost all the wildfires that threaten U.S. homes, according to an innovative new analysis combining housing and wildfire data. Through activities like debris burning, equipment use and arson, humans were responsible for igniting 97% of home-threatening wildfires, a University of Colorado Boulder-led team reported this week in the journal Fire.

Researcher creates an ultra-simple inexpensive method to fabricate optical fiber

A novel process to fabricate special optical fiber that is far simpler, faster and cheaper than the conventional method has been developed by Cristiano Cordeiro, a researcher and professor at the University of Campinas's Physics Institute (IFGW-Unicamp) in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Cordeiro created the innovation during a research internship at the University of Adelaide in Australia,...

Quirky response to magnetism presents quantum physics mystery

The search is on to discover new states of matter, and possibly new ways of encoding, manipulating, and transporting information. One goal is to harness materials' quantum properties for communications that go beyond what's possible with conventional electronics. Topological insulators—materials that act mostly as insulators but carry electric current across their surface—provide some...

Phasing quantum annealers into experiments from nonequilibrium physics

It is established that matter can transition between different phases when certain parameters, such as temperature, are changed. Although phase transitions are common (like water turning into ice in a freezer), the dynamics that govern these processes are highly complex and constitute a prominent problem in the field of nonequilibrium physics.

New Hubble data suggests there is an ingredient missing from current dark matter theories

Observations by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile have found that something may be missing from the theories of how dark matter behaves. This missing ingredient may explain why researchers have uncovered an unexpected discrepancy between observations of the dark matter concentrations in a sample of massive galaxy...

The Russian hackers who interfered in 2016 were spotted targeting the 2020 US election

Russian military hackers responsible for cyberattacks against Democratic targets during the 2016 American election are now targeting over 200 organizations in the United States (including political parties, think tanks, and consultants serving both Democrats and Republicans), according to Microsoft, which is increasingly calling out Russian cyber espionage. In the final weeks before the...

Severe floods hit 760,000 people in West and Central Africa

Nigerien student Hachimou Abdou has had to catch a boat to classes since river water swamped his route to university in the capital Niamey - one of about 760,000 people hit by severe flooding in recent weeks in parts of West and Central Africa. Floods are common during the rainy season, but in recent years climate change, land degradation and poor urban planning have led to more frequent...

NASA's Terra highlights aerosols from western fires in danger zone

The year 2020 will be remembered for being a very trying year and western wildfires have just added to the year's woes. So far in 2020, California has experienced 7,606 fires and those fires have consumed 2.3 million acres. Washington and Oregon have also been hard hit by wildfires. Over 300,000 acres are reported to be burning. Four towns in Oregon have been mostly destroyed by the wildfire...

Infrared NASA imagery provides Paulette's temperature palette

NASA's Aqua satellite analyzed Tropical Storm Paulette in infrared imagery as it moved through the Central Atlantic Ocean. At NASA, the imagery was false-colored to show cloud-top temperature gradients and identify the locations of the strongest storms. The imagery also indicated Paulette was being affected by wind shear.

Ingredient missing from current dark matter theories

Recent observations have found that something may be missing from the theories of how dark matter behaves. This missing ingredient may explain why researchers have uncovered an unexpected discrepancy between observations of the dark matter concentrations in a sample of massive galaxy clusters and theoretical computer simulations of how dark matter should be distributed in clusters.