Physical Sciences

Microprinting Technique for Patterning Single Molecules
credit: Paul Weiss lab, Penn State Microcontact Insertion Printing Left: Single molecules are inserted into a preexisting layer in microscopic regions that are defined by a patterned elastomeric stamp. Right: Complex and overlapping chemical patterns can be fabricated employing multiple stamping steps. (scanning electron micrograph, field of view 90 µm x 90 µm)
Top High-Energy Astronomy Prize Awarded
Top High-Energy Astronomy Prize Awarded
Seven or Eight Dwarf Galaxies Discovered Orbiting the Milky Way
Researchers from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-II) announced the discovery of eight new dwarf galaxies, seven of them satellites orbiting the Milky Way.
Astronomers Discover New Kind of Black-Hole Explosion
Hubble Space Telescope image of the host galaxy of the "hybrid gamma-ray burst" GRB 060614 (centered in the small box).
Taking Nanolithography Beyond Semiconductors
A new technique of chemical patterning developed at Penn State combines conventional lithography with molecular self-assembly for the creation of multifunctional surfaces.
New Technique Studies How Plastic Solar Cells Turn Sunlight into Electricity
A plot of the wavelength of emitted infrared light vs. the time delay of the light emission provides information about the path of an electron within a plastic solar cell. This information about how the cell makes an electric current from light will lead to improvements in the efficiency and usable lifetime of solar cells.
Twin Star Explosions Fascinate Astronomers
Credit: NASA/Swift/Stefan Immler
Ultraviolet Light Reveals Secrets of Nanoscale Electronic Materials
In this diagonally striped picture, the distance between each line is about 0.4 nanometers and each of the bands is several nanometers.
Astronomers See Inside a Quasar for the First Time
A mosaic of X-ray images of the quasar Q2237+0305, magnified by a gravitational lens. The bright spots are four magnified images of the same quasar, which change in brightness over time. Credit: C.S. Kochanek, Ohio Sate University
Scientists Snap First Images of Brown Dwarf in Planetary System
This is an artist's concept of the star HD 3651 as it is orbited by a close-in Saturn-mass planetary companion and the distant brown dwarf companion discovered by Spitzer infrared photographs. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / T. Pyle (SSC)
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