Applied Physics

Don't give up the driving range just yet, but a group of physicists at the 61st Meeting of the American Physical Society's Division of Fluid Dynamics say they can optimize a golf ball with numerical simulations, leaving prototyping to verify manufacturing rather than as part of the design. That means some day you could have a golf ball optimized for your swing. Fluid flow optimization is nothing new, if you could download NASTRAN 25 years ago you could simulate parts of planes, trains and automobiles - or even golf balls - but we all basically fly and drive within the same parameters and very…

When a flow reaches a certain speed, things get turbulent: The fluid or the gas no longer flows in an orderly fashion but whirls around wildly.   Turbulent flows in pipes are of importance for many every-day applications. What they all have in common is their appearance: They travel down the pipe bubbling and gurgling like a mountain stream. The flow only calms down when its speed is reduced. Scientists call this calmer state laminar. Crucial for the difference between laminar and turbulent flow are the inner forces that link the water molecule to each other. Only if the influence of…

A University of Michigan professor has created 3-D portraits of the president-elect that are smaller than a grain of salt. He calls them "nanobamas." John Hart, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, made the mini-Barack Obama 'Nanobama' likenesses with his colleagues to raise awareness of nanotechnology and science.   Plus, Obama flowed much nicer with 'nano' than  McCain would have.   And Hart voted for Obama, not that you didn't think so already. Each one contains about 150 million carbon nanotubes stacked vertically like trees in a forest. A…

We rarely think about the electricity impact of something like a conveyor belt at an airport.   When our luggage goes on , or we step on one, numerous gears with ball- and slide-bearings go to work. The power consumption is tremendous, in the range of several gigawatt hours per annum. A substantial amount of this is lost through friction. In wind turbines and in cars, too, a percentage of the energy is spent on friction – reducing the efficiency factor accordingly. Novel lubricants that almost eliminate the effect of friction could be the answer. Once they have been set in motion, the…

From the Tour de France to NASCAR, competitors and fans know that speed is only part of the equation. Strategy, including the ability to use elements like aerodynamic drafting, which makes it easier to follow closely behind a leader than to be out in front, is also critical. But in some cases, drafting happens in reverse: It's the leader of a pack who experiences reduced drag, while the followers encounter more resistance -- and have to expend more energy to keep up. In research published in the Nov. 7 issue of Physical Review Letters (Vol. 101: No. 194502), Cornell fourth-year physics…

Headphones for MP3 players placed within an inch of pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) may interfere with these devices, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008. An MP3 player is a popular digital music player. Earlier this year an FDA report concluded that interactions between MP3 players, such as the popular iPod®, and implanted cardiac devices are unlikely to occur. Researchers investigated the effects of MP3 player headphones, most of which contain the magnetic substance neodymium, on the operation of…

A team of theoretical and experimental physicists  have designed a new black hole simulator called BlackMax to search for evidence that extra dimensions might exist in the universe.  Black holes are theorized to be regions in space where the gravitational field is so strong that nothing can escape its pull after crossing what is called the event horizon. BlackMax simulates these regions.  Approximately two years in the making, the computer program enables physicists to test theories about the production and decay of black holes and takes into account new types of effects on…

A robot rover designed by a Bremen university team has won an ESA contest to retrieve soil samples from a lunar-style terrestrial crater. Eight student teams fielded rovers during the event, their progress monitored by an advanced 3-D viewer already flight-tested in space and planned for eventual deployment on the Moon. Craters surrounding the Moon's poles are a top 21st Century science target. Lunar researchers believe these craters may be 'cold traps', preserving ancient water ice deposits. Such ice would not only be an invaluable time capsule, it would also support manned lunar…

According to the international space agencies, 'space weather' like radiation from the sun and cosmic rays in a solar storm, is the single greatest obstacle to deep space travel.  New research out today in Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion shows how knowledge gained from the pursuit of nuclear fusion research may reduce the threat to acceptable levels, making man's first mission to Mars a much greater possibility. The solar energetic particles, although just part of the 'cosmic rays' spectrum, are of greatest concern because they are the most likely to cause deadly radiation…

Researchers in China writing in Journal of the American Chemical Society are reporting development of a new DNA "tweezers" that are the first of their kind capable of grasping and releasing objects on-demand. The microscopic tweezers could have several potential uses, the researchers note. Those include microsurgery, drug and gene delivery for gene therapy, and in the manufacturing of nano-sized circuits for futuristic electronics. Zhaoxiang Deng and colleagues note that other scientists have developed tweezers made of DNA, the double helix molecule and chemical blueprint of life. Those…