Physical Sciences

"Probing the Universe with Gravitational Waves" a free public lecture on February 9
Nobel Laureate Barry C. Barish
Department of Chemistry Welcomes Stephanie Hill
Graduate Student Highlight: Santina Cruz
Santina Cruz
Dr. Megan Matthews (‘11) Finds a Culture of Collaboration at Penn State
Matthews
Membraneless protocells could provide clues to formation of early life
"The Quantum Universe in the Planck Era and Beyond" a free public lecture on February 2
J. Richard Bond
"Discovery of Pulsars: A Graduate Student's Story" a free lecture for the public on January 26
Jocelyn Bell Burnell
Stellar winds, the source material for the universe, are clumpy
Illustration of a high-mass X-ray binary system made up of a compact, incredibly dense neutron star paired with a massive normal supergiant star. New data from NASAs Chandra X-ray Observatory shows that the neutron star in the high-mass X-ray binary, OAO 1657-415, passed through a dense patch of stellar wind from its companion star, demonstrating the clumpy nature of stellar winds. Credit: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss
New method uses ultraviolet light to control fluid flow and organize particles
A new method uses ultraviolet light and small amounts of gold or titanium dioxide nanoparticles to gather larger particles at the point of light. This method was used to gather polystyrene particles, which form a well-packed structure called a colloid crystal, as depicted in this image. Credit: Sen Lab, Penn State
How hot are atoms in the shock wave of an exploding star?
An international team of researchers combined observations of nearby supernova SN1987A, made with NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory, with simulations to measure the temperature atoms in the shock wave that occurs from the explosive death of a star. This image superimposes synthetic X-ray emission data onto a density map with from the simulation of SN1987A. Credit: Marco Miceli, Dipartimento di Fisica e Chimica, Università di Palermo, and INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo, Palermo, Italy
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