physics archive

Physicists shed light on superconductivity riddle - MIT physicists believe they have identified a mysterious state of matter that has been linked to the phenomenon of high-temperature superconductivity. This state may not a precursor to superconductivity, as has been theorized, but a competing state. July 18, 2008

MIT reports finer lines for microchips - MIT researchers have achieved a significant advance in nanoscale lithographic technology, used in the manufacture of computer chips and electronic devices, to make finer patterns of lines over larger areas than have been possible with other methods. July 8, 2008

MIT instrument studies edge of sun's bubble - The Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft have now traveled beyond the edge of the sun's outflow of particles and radiation. Some of the data that reveals this boundary region comes from a set of magnetic field sensors developed and built at MIT back in the 1970s. July 7, 2008

Front-row seat for summer's physics extravaganza - Nearly 20 years in the making, the largest particle accelerator in the world will start running in Switzerland this summer, offering scientists a glimpse of particles that have never been seen before. July 1, 2008

Physics awards - Awards given in MIT Physics for the academic year 2007-2008. June 4, 2008

NASA selects MIT-led team for search satellite - A planet-searching satellite planned by scientists from MIT, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and NASA-Ames is one of six proposed spacecraft concepts that NASA has picked for further study as part of its Small Explorer satellite program. June 3, 2008

Measuring a pulsar's smoothness - The team operating the Laser Interferometer Gravity-wave Observatory, including a group from MIT, is reporting this week that the pulsar at the center of the Crab Nebula must have an extremely smooth surface. June 3, 2008

New class to focus on 'physics of energy' - This fall, MIT's physics department will offer a new course designed to help students understand the physical processes that govern all aspects of energy production, transmission, conversion, storage, and consumption. May 29, 2008

Hope on the Horizon: Fusion - Leslie Bromberg on fusion. May 21, 2008

MIT solves gravity-defying bird beak mystery - As Darwin showed nearly 150 years ago, bird beaks are exquisitely adapted to the birds' feeding strategy. A team of MIT researchers has now explained exactly how some birds use their long, thin beaks to defy gravity and transport food into their mouths. May 15, 2008

Robert I. Hulsizer Jr., physics professor emeritus, 88 - Professor of Physics Emeritus Robert I. Hulsizer Jr. PhD '48, a former chairman of the faculty and expert on elementary particle physics whose zeal for teaching science made him a student favorite at MIT, died on April 30 of complications from Alzheimer's. May 8, 2008

Harald A. Enge, retired physics professor, 87 - Harald A. Enge, retired professor of physics and member of the Laboratory for Nuclear Science, died April 14 of respiratory failure. He was 87. April 30, 2008

Three MIT faculty named Guggenheim fellows - Three MIT professors were named Guggenheim fellows for their "stellar achievement and exceptional promise for continued accomplishment," the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation announced this month. April 11, 2008

Feld wins major spectroscopy award - Michael Feld, director of MIT's George R. Harrison Spectroscopy Laboratory, has been chosen to receive the 2008 William F. Meggers Award. April 9, 2008

Catching planets in the making - It took a real oddball of a star--or rather, pair of stars--to provide the exceptional conditions that made detection possible of the intermediate stage of planet formation by a team of astronomers, including an MIT physicist, in March. April 2, 2008

Researchers rip into 'wallpaper problem' - Frustrated by tape that won't peel off the roll in a straight line? Angry at wallpaper that refuses to tear neatly off the wall? A new study by an MIT mathematician and others shows that wallpaper is simply obeying the laws of physics. March 30, 2008

Researchers boost thermoelectric efficiency - Researchers at Boston College and MIT have used nanotechnology to achieve a major increase in thermoelectric efficiency, a milestone that paves the way for a new generation of products that run cleaner. March 20, 2008

MIT physicists bask in the media limelight - They say everyone gets his or her 15 minutes of fame--and that even includes MIT physicists. From late-night TV shows to front-page stories in The New York Times, MIT physicists are getting more press than some minor movie stars. March 5, 2008

John C. Szczepanski, Lincoln Laboratory senior staff member, 58 - Physicist John C. Szczepanski SM '80, PhD '93, a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army and technical staff member at MIT Lincoln Laboratory for the past 15 years, died Feb. 11 in Huntsville, Ala., after a brief illness. He was 58. March 5, 2008

New 'snapshots' aid quest for fusion energy - Physicists at MIT and the University of Rochester have devised a new way to take 'snapshots' of the high-energy, high-temperature reactions seen as key to achieving the long-held dream of controlled nuclear fusion. February 28, 2008

Spectroscopy lab celebrates new space with Feb. 27 event - MIT's George R. Harrison Spectroscopy Laboratory will host "MIT's Spectroscopy Laboratory: The Next 80 Years," an event to celebrate its new space, on Wednesday, Feb. 27. February 20, 2008

Physicist describes strange world of quarks, gluons - MIT physics professor John Negele will talk about the theory that governs interactions of quarks and gluons, known as quantum chromodynamics, during a Feb. 17 presentation to the AAAS annual meeting in Boston. February 17, 2008

Turning 'funky' quantum mysteries into reality - The strange world of quantum mechanics can provide a way to surpass limits in speed, efficiency and accuracy of computing, communications and measurement, according to research by MIT scientist Seth Lloyd. February 16, 2008

MIT to lead development of new moon telescopes - NASA has selected a proposal by an MIT-led team to develop plans for an array of radio telescopes on the far side of the moon that would probe the so-called "Dark Ages," the earliest formation of the basic structures of the universe. February 15, 2008

MIT reveals superconducting surprise - MIT physicists have taken a step toward understanding the puzzling nature of high-temperature superconductors, materials that conduct electricity with no resistance at temperatures well above absolute zero. February 12, 2008

Interview with the dean: Marc Kastner - In the first of a series of interviews with each of MIT's five school deans, Marc Kastner of the School of Science discusses the goals he has set, the challenges he faces and the surprises he has witnessed in his new position. February 6, 2008

Engineering applied to studying biological pathways - An MIT team has used an engineering approach to show that complex biological systems can be studied with simple models developed by measuring what goes into and out of the systems. This approach also allows them to study systems in their natural state. February 6, 2008

Kenneth A. Wright, longtime researcher at MIT, 88 - Kenneth Wright, an alumnus and a physicist who spent more than 60 years at MIT researching the effects of radiation, died Jan. 7. January 22, 2008

Lewin's popularity extends to news media - Professor Walter Lewin of MIT's physics department achieved celebrity status after the MIT News Office and OpenCourseWare secured a front page story on him in The New York Times on Dec. 19. January 16, 2008

MIT gas sensor is tiny, quick - Engineers at MIT are developing a tiny sensor that could be used to detect minute quantities of hazardous gases, including toxic industrial chemicals and chemical warfare agents, much more quickly than current devices. January 10, 2008

MIT involved in two of top 10 physics stories of 2007 - Two research projects involving MIT physicists are among the top ten physics stories of the year, as ranked by the American Institute of Physics. December 19, 2007

MIT instrument surprises at solar system's edge - The Voyager 2 spacecraft's Plasma Science instrument, developed at MIT in the 1970s, has turned up surprising revelations about the the temperature and magnetic field in the boundary zone that marks the edge of the sun's influence in space. December 10, 2007

Zwierlein wins physics award for superfluidity work - Martin Zwierlein, assistant professor of physics, was recently awarded the Klung-Wilhelmy-Weberbank Prize for physics. He was honored for superfluidity discoveries made as an MIT graduate student working with MIT Nobel laureate Wolfgang Ketterle. December 5, 2007

Sculpted 3-D particles could aid diagnostics - MIT engineers have used ultraviolet light to sculpt 3-D microparticles that could be used in medical diagnostics and tissue engineering. The particles might be designed to act as probes to detect certain molecules or to release drugs or nutrients. December 4, 2007

MIT radar technology fights breast cancer - Treating breast cancer with a type of heat therapy derived from MIT radar research can significantly increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy, according to results from the fourth clinical trial of the technique reported online Nov. 25. November 28, 2007

MIT works toward 'smart' optical microchips - A new theory developed at MIT could lead to "smart" optical microchips that adapt to different wavelengths of light, potentially advancing telecommunications, spectroscopy and remote sensing. November 1, 2007

Dresselhaus wins prize from American Physical Society - MIT Institute Professor Mildred Dresselhaus has been named winner of the 2008 Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize from the American Physical Society "for pioneering contributions to the understanding of electronic properties of materials." October 25, 2007

Physics professor probes superconductivity - Eric Hudson is an expert in scanning tunneling microscopy, which is based on the stunning fact that by generating a voltage between the right type of tiny metal tip and a surface just a few atoms' widths away, you can actually map its individual atoms. October 3, 2007

Green Center for Physics dedication set for Oct. 5 - The Green Center for Physics, the dynamic cornerstone of a major building and renovation project, will officially open with a dedication ceremony at 2:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 5. October 3, 2007

Stars caught in bizarre death-dance - MIT astronomers played a key role in discovering what NASA calls one of the most bizarre objects in space: a star "skeleton" of very low mass that is orbiting and being slowly consumed by a pulsar, that is itself spinning faster than a kitchen blender. September 13, 2007

MIT creates 3D images of living cell - A new imaging technique developed at MIT's Spectroscopy Laboratory has allowed scientists to create the first 3D images of a living cell, using a method similar to the X-ray CT scans doctors use to see inside the body. August 12, 2007

Lecturers top the iTunes U top ten - Professor Walter Lewin's lectures are legendary, and now his lectures and others from MIT are accessible worldwide through Apple's iTunes U. MIT lectures on physics, psychology, math and architecture have recently made the iTunes U top ten list. July 25, 2007

MIT physicists get ultra-sharp glimpse of electrons - MIT physicists have developed a spectroscopy technique that allows them to inspect the world of electrons in a 2D plane with 1,000 times greater resolution than previous methods allowed. The technique has already revealed some surprises. July 20, 2007

MIT biology, physics and nuclear science professors honored - Thomas Schwartz, Assistant Professor of Biology, Daniel Kleppner, the Lester Wolfe Professor of Physics, and Michael Golay, Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering, awarded honors in their fields. July 3, 2007

Edmund Bertschinger named head of MIT physics - Edmund Bertschinger, professor of physics and division head of astrophysics, has been appointed head of the Department of Physics, effective July 1. Bertschinger succeeds Marc Kastner, who will become dean of the School of Science. June 22, 2007

Goodbye wires… - Imagine a future in which wireless power transfer is feasible: cell phones, mp3 players, laptops, and household robots could charge themselves, free from wires. An MIT team led by Professor Marin Soljacic is now one step closer to this vision. June 7, 2007

Physics awards - Recent achievements by members of the MIT community. June 6, 2007

Experiment confirms famous physics model - More than 100 MIT students and professors gathered on April 11 to hear Jocelyn Monroe announce the results of a particle detection experiment designed to produce evidence that would confirm or reject the Standard Model of Particle Physics. April 18, 2007

Superhero comics offer super physics lessons - Prof. Jim Kakalios of the University of Minnesota spoke April 5 on "The Uncanny Physics of Superhero Comic Books" as part of the MIT Physics Colloquium Series. His comics-based approach to teaching physics has earned him acclaim from students. April 11, 2007

Five from MIT are Guggenheim Fellows - Five members of the MIT faculty have been awarded Guggenheim Fellowships for 2007. They are Edmund Bertschinger, Erica Funkhouser, Michel X. Goemans, Erika Naginski, and Anne Whiston Spirn. April 11, 2007

Laser-cooling brings large object near absolute zero - Using a laser-cooling technique that could one day allow scientists to observe quantum behavior in large objects, MIT researchers have cooled a coin-sized object to within one degree of absolute zero. April 5, 2007

MIT reveals the tangle under turbulence - MIT researchers report that they have visualized for the first time a convoluted tangle underlying turbulence. This work may ultimately help engineers design better planes, cars, submarines and engines. March 28, 2007

Congress commends E8 math team - A major mathematical feat by a team of 18 scientists, including two from MIT, has received a commendation from Congress, one week after the work made international headlines after being unveiled at MIT. March 28, 2007

Math research team maps E8 - An international team of 18 mathematicians, including two from MIT, has mapped one of the largest and most complicated structures in mathematics. If written out, the calculation would cover an area the size of Manhattan. March 18, 2007

Dresselhaus wins L'Oréal-UNESCO Award - MIT Institute Professor Mildred Dresselhaus is the North American winner of a 2007 L'Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science. Dresselhaus was selected for "conceptualizing the creation of carbon nanotubes." February 22, 2007

Physicist Francis E. Low dies at 85 - Francis E. Low, a retired MIT physicist and provost who worked on the Manhattan Project, died of heart failure on Feb. 16 at a retirement home in Haverford, Pa. He was 85. February 20, 2007

Reactor upgrades to benefit fusion research - For about six months of the year, bursts of a hot, electrically charged gas swirl around a donut-shaped vacuum vessel in an MIT experimental reactor, helping scientists learn more about a potential future energy source: nuclear fusion. February 15, 2007

Kastner of physics is new dean of science - Marc A. Kastner, the Donner Professor of Science and current head of the Department of Physics, will succeed Class of 1942 Professor of Chemistry Robert J. Silbey as the next dean of the School of Science effective July 1. February 14, 2007

MIT 'optics on a chip' may revolutionize electronics - In work that could lead to completely new devices, systems and applications in computing and telecommunications, MIT researchers are bringing the long-sought goal of "optics on a chip" one step closer to market. February 6, 2007

Team develops nanoparticles to battle cancer - On a quest to modernize cancer treatment and diagnosis, an MIT professor and her colleagues have created new nanoparticles that mimic blood platelets. Their goal? To send these to carry out different medical missions inside the body. February 1, 2007

New book documents MIT breast cancer therapy - A breast cancer treatment based on MIT research originally intended for detecting missiles is documented in a new book by Alan J. Fenn, an MIT researcher and inventor of the technique. January 26, 2007

Panel backs 'heat mining' as key U.S. energy source - A comprehensive new MIT-led study of the potential for geothermal energy within the U.S. has found that mining the heat that resides as stored thermal energy in the Earth's hard rock crust could supply a considerable amount of electricity. January 22, 2007

Science writer awarded physics prize - Marcia Bartusiak, a visiting professor in MIT's graduate program in science writing, joins venerable physicists in receiving the American Institute of Physics' Gemant Award. January 16, 2007

Cosmic rays discerned in supernova remnants - MIT astronomers and a colleague have created an extraordinarily detailed image of the remains of an exploded star that provides new clues about the origins of cosmic rays, mysterious high-energy particles that bombard the Earth. November 20, 2006

MIT chemist studies how electrons behave - Troy Van Voorhis likes to watch how things work. This natural curiosity led to his current research on the behavior of electrons, which will now be further supported by a 2006 David and Lucile Packard Foundation fellowship. November 17, 2006

Panelists ponder nuclear age with Iran, North Korea - Alarm over the nuclear ambitions of North Korea and Iran should not derail a calm, careful analysis of the two countries' weapons capabilities and goals, a panel of experts said in a forum sponsored by the MIT Center for International Studies. November 15, 2006

Wireless energy could power consumer electronics - Recharging your laptop computer and a variety of other gadgets may one day be as convenient as surfing the web--wirelessly. A dead cell phone beeping in the middle of the night was the inspiration for an MIT researcher to innovate a solution. November 14, 2006

Astronomer develops youth apprenticeship program - An interdisciplinary field with room for creativity, astronomy is the perfect subject to spark a lifelong love of science, says Irene Porro, who has just secured a grant from the NSF to develop a youth astronomy apprenticeship program at MIT. November 7, 2006

Portable 'lab on a chip' could speed blood tests - Testing soldiers to see if they have been exposed to biological or chemical weapons could soon be much faster and easier, thanks to MIT researchers who are helping to develop a tiny diagnostic device that could be carried into battle. October 16, 2006

Nobelists' work supports big-bang theory - MIT alumnus George F. Smoot has been awarded the 2006 Nobel Prize in physics, together with John C. Mather, for work that looks back into the infancy of the universe and attempts to gain some understanding of the origin of galaxies and stars. October 3, 2006

Method unveils ultrafast photochemical reactions - MIT researchers have made a fundamental advance in understanding how different environments affect chemical reactions by devising a novel way to observe ultrafast photochemical reactions--reactions induced by a pulse of laser light--in crystals. September 27, 2006

Physicists observe subatomic quick-change artist - It's taken 19 long years of painstaking experiments, but it's finally official: Physicists have observed the subatomic particle Bs meson switching between matter and antimatter states at a mind-boggling 3 trillion times per second. September 27, 2006

Knotty problem puzzles protein researchers - An MIT team has discovered the most complicated knot ever seen in a protein, and they believe it may be linked to the protein's function as a rescue agent for proteins marked for destruction. September 20, 2006

Materials scientists tame tricky carbon nanotubes - Based on a new theory, MIT scientists may be able to manipulate carbon nanotubes -- one of the strongest known materials and one of the trickiest to work with -- without destroying their extraordinary electrical properties. September 15, 2006

MIT physicist shares award for 'Big Bang' research - An MIT physicist is among the members of the Cosmic Background Explorer science team recently awarded the 2006 Gruber Cosmology Prize for their groundbreaking studies confirming that our universe was born in a hot Big Bang. September 6, 2006

Nobel winner will sing in 'Atomic' love opera - Frank Wilczek will 'top' his 2004 Nobel achievement on August 24 -- at least in terms of elevation. In the Austrian mountain village of Alpbach, elevation 3,280 feet above sea level, Wilczek will sing the lead role in the opera "Atom & Eve." August 24, 2006

Xiwen Zhong, research engineer, dies at 71 - Xiwen Zhong, a research engineer at the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Science Center, died Aug. 1 after a long illness. He was 71. August 10, 2006

Physicist Wen receives grant for gravity work - MIT Professor of Physics Xiao-Gang Wen has received a grant from the Foundational Questions Institute to fund his study of the relationship between quantum mechanics and gravity. August 2, 2006

MIT physicists shed new light on superfluidity - For the first time, MIT scientists have directly observed the transition of a gas to a superfluid, a form of matter closely related to the superconductors that allow electrical currents to travel without resistance. July 20, 2006

MIT scientists create fiber webs that see - In a radical departure from conventional lens-based optics, MIT scientists have developed a sophisticated optical system made of mesh-like webs of light-detecting fibers. July 6, 2006

Telescope to probe early universe, more - A novel telescope that will aid the understanding of the early universe is moving closer to full-scale construction thanks to a $4.9 million award from the National Science Foundation to a U.S. consortium led by MIT. July 5, 2006

Nanotechnology 'fertile' for energy breakthrough - Thinking small may help solve one of the world's biggest problems -- the need for alternative energy sources -- according to scientists attending the first Energy Nanotechnology International Conference held June 26-28 at MIT. June 30, 2006

Joannopoulos to lead ISN - John Joannopoulos, the Francis Wright Davis Professor of Physics, has been appointed director of the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies (ISN) effective Saturday, July 1. June 14, 2006

Physics awards - 2006 Awards listings. June 7, 2006

Sensor opens up study of crucial molecule - MIT scientists have discovered a way to monitor a crucial molecule -- nitric oxide -- as it goes about its business within living cells. The researchers have developed a bright fluorescent sensor that helps capture and illuminate NO in living, functioning cells. June 1, 2006

MIT poet develops 'seeing machine' - An MIT poet has developed a small, relatively inexpensive "seeing machine" that can allow people who are blind, or visually challenged like her, to access the Internet, view the face of a friend, "previsit" unfamiliar buildings and more. May 23, 2006

MIT Museum gets physics-al - Deborah Douglas, science and technology curator at the MIT Museum, demonstrates the use of an organ pipe, one of MIT's oldest physics instruments. April 26, 2006

Protein viewer unveiled - Two hundred high school biology students on a recent field trip to campus became the first to use a new 3-D protein database viewer that was created at MIT and will soon be available to schools nationwide. April 12, 2006

Physicists get to heart of antimatter - Like Jekyll and Hyde, some subatomic particles are able to act as both matter and their antimatter counterparts. Known as mixing, this long-known process has been measured for the first time by an international collaboration involving MIT scientists. April 12, 2006

Big breakthrough for tiny particles - MIT chemical engineers have devised an elegant new method for creating complex polymeric microparticles that could have applications in a variety of fields. The method gives researchers extraordinary control over the properties of the microparticles. April 10, 2006

MIT technology used to shrink tumor - Technology developed by MIT researchers is being used to shoot a laser through a spaghetti-thin, flexible fiber to attack tumors and other diseased tissue in highly targeted, minimally invasive surgery. April 5, 2006

MIT novelist Lightman compares science, writing - Alan Lightman gave a talk recently on his twin careers in science and writing, urging students to "find something you love, something you are passionate about, something that you feel compelled to do." April 3, 2006

Inventors Hall of Fame to induct 2 professors - Two MIT professors--Robert Langer and Ali Javan--have been named to the National Inventors Hall of Fame, the hall announced on Wednesday, Feb. 8. February 9, 2006

IAP: Series explores faith of scientists - Astronomer Johannes Kepler was a man for whom science and faith were not mutually exclusive, an expert on the 17th century German told a standing-room-only audience at a Jan. 12 Independent Activities Period event. January 19, 2006

Star research earns physicist share of Bruno Rossi Prize - MIT physicist Deepto Chakrabarty will share this year's Bruno Rossi Prize for pioneering work on understanding the environment around fast-spinning neutron stars, where matter can whirl about at nearly light speed and where space itself is warped. January 18, 2006

E=mc2 passes tough MIT test - In a fitting cap to the World Year of Physics 2005, MIT physicists and colleagues from the National Institute for Standards and Technology report the most precise direct test yet of Einstein's most famous equation. December 21, 2005

MIT gets Blue Gene supercomputer - "Blue Gene," a new computer that will be MIT's most powerful, will be dedicated on Thursday, Nov. 10. November 9, 2005

DARPA names Ippen to lead project - The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded a 3.5-year, $9.5 million program to Professor Erich P. Ippen of MIT's Research Laboratory of Electronics (RLE). November 9, 2005

MIT space cameras take first pictures - X-ray cameras designed by MIT astrophysicists are a key component of a new instrument aboard an orbiting Japanese observatory that will probe the secrets of such phenomena as exploding stars and galaxy clusters. October 14, 2005

Researchers find clue to start of universe - With the help of neighbors who adjusted their home electronics gear, scientists at MIT's Haystack Observatory have made the first radio detection of deuterium, an atom that is key to understanding the beginning of the universe. September 1, 2005

Professor earns top physics prize - MIT physics Professor Patrick A. Lee has won the prestigious Dirac Medal for 2005. Lee was honored for his "pioneering contributions to our understanding of disordered and strongly interacting many-body systems." August 9, 2005

Philip Morrison dies at 89 - MIT Institute Professor Emeritus Philip Morrison, a distinguished theoretical astrophysicist and interpreter of science and technology for the general public, died Friday, April 22, at his home. He was 89. July 26, 2005

Haystack marks physics milestone - MIT's Haystack Observatory celebrated the World Year of Physics last month with a lecture on "The Fourth Test of Einstein's Theory of General Relativity," a key experiment conducted at the observatory during the 1960s. July 14, 2005

MIT starts second wireless revolution - Technology being developed at MIT promises to pave the way for the next generation of wireless networks, saving consumers hundreds of billions of dollars over the next 20 years. July 11, 2005

MIT physicists create new form of matter - MIT scientists have brought a supercool end to a heated race among physicists: They have become the first to create a new type of matter, a gas of atoms that shows high-temperature superfluidity. June 22, 2005

Wilczek's name added to Nobel monument - In a ceremony held Monday, June 13, the ambassador of Sweden joined other officials in honoring Americans who won Nobel Prizes in 2004, including MIT physics professor Frank A. Wilczek. June 14, 2005

Physics awards - 2005 awards listings June 1, 2005

News briefs - News from around the Institute. June 1, 2005

Physics department to be unified - A dynamic new center unifying the Department of Physics is the cornerstone of a significant renovation and expansion program of MIT's historic Bosworth Buildings, scheduled to begin this June. May 11, 2005

Dresselhaus honored with Heinz Award - Institute Professor Mildred Dresselhaus has won the 11th Heinz Award for Technology, the Economy and Employment in recognition of scholarship that has helped keep the United States on the cutting edge of nanostructures and other technologies. May 2, 2005

Physicists serve up 'perfect' liquid - Physicists working to re-create the matter that existed at the birth of the universe expected something like a gas and ended up with the "perfect" liquid, four teams of researchers reported recently. One of the teams is led by MIT. April 19, 2005

Science becomes art in 'Weird Fields' - The whorls and swirls of color may look like something by art nouveau painter Gustav Klimt, but the winning images from MIT's annual 8.02 "Weird Fields" contest are really computer-generated visualizations of vector fields. April 6, 2005

Nobel laureate DNA sells on eBay - MIT Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek and his wife, Betsy Devine, recently found themselves the subjects of an unusual eBay auction, thanks to some enterprising students from a Swedish high school. April 4, 2005

Beyond cool - Ultra-cold forms of matter and recent advances in that field were the focus of Nobel laureate Wolfgang Ketterle's Killian Lecture on March 15. March 17, 2005

Wilczek sizes up universe - In a talk called "The Universe is a Strange Place," MIT Professor Frank Wilczek focused on his work, the future of physics and his own life since winning the Nobel Prize in 2004. March 9, 2005

Ketterle's talk a cool matter - Nobel laureate Wolfgang Ketterle of MIT, one of the first observers of a new state of matter called the Bose-Einstein condensate, will present "When Freezing Cold Is Not Cold Enough" as the 33rd Killian Lecture on Tuesday, March 15. March 9, 2005

Wilczek to give Ford lecture - Professor Frank Wilczek, who won the 2004 Nobel Prize in physics, will present the seventh Ford/MIT Nobel Laureate Lecture on Monday, March 7 at 4 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium. March 2, 2005

Museum exhibition displays physical laws - The MIT Museum is offering an insider's view of how MIT is redesigning its beginning physics course using a confluence of lectures, hands-on experiments and simulations to create a rich learning experience. February 9, 2005

MIT undergrad IDs supersized stars - MIT junior Emily Levesque is lead author of an upcoming paper announcing the discovery of three stars that have the largest diameters of any normal stars known, more than a billion miles across. February 3, 2005

Kleppner awarded international physics prize - Professor Daniel Kleppner has won the 2005 Wolf Prize for physics for his groundbreaking work in atomic physics. The $100,000 prize was announced by the Israel-based Wolf Foundation Council. January 19, 2005

MIT well-represented at historic physics conference - Three MIT undergraduates and a recent alumna will represent United States physics students at a conference in Paris this week where Nobel laureates, other eminent scientists, and 500 outstanding students from around the globe will discuss the importance of physics. January 11, 2005

Giant telescope will keep an eye on solar systems - MIT astrophysicists and their colleagues are excited about the latest milestone toward developing a giant telescope that will allow direct observations of planets orbiting stars in solar systems beyond ours. December 17, 2004

Eight elected to Physical Society - Eight MIT researchers are among the 215 newly elected fellows of the American Physical Society. December 15, 2004

Physics - 2004 awards listings. June 2, 2004

Guth shares prize - Alan Guth, the Weisskopf Professor of Physics, will share the $200,000 Cosmology Prize awarded by the Peter Gruber Foundation. March 31, 2004

Guth shares cosmology prize - Alan Guth, the Weisskopf Professor of Physics, will share the $200,000 Cosmology Prize awarded by the Peter Gruber Foundation. March 29, 2004

Contest adds artistic spin to electromagnetism - The winning images in the first annual 8.02 "Weird Fields" contest are not only beautiful but also educational, helping their creators understand abstract phenomena. March 11, 2004

Electoral system in Iraq - Winning the World Series has something in common with winning a presidential election, and the same method of selecting a winner will also work for Iraq. March 3, 2004

Contest adds artistic spin to study of electromagnetism - The winning images in the first annual 8.02 "Weird Fields" contest are not only beautiful but also educational, helping their creators understand abstract phenomena. March 3, 2004

Physicist an art enthusiast - A physicist's whirlwind tour of modern art, which included a lecture as well as trips to art museums, was the sleeper hit of IAP 2004. February 4, 2004

Quark buck - Having a physics degree from MIT can lead not only to a life in academia -- it can give you a leg up in the business world, as two alumni recently explained. February 4, 2004

Quark buck - Having a physics degree from MIT can lead not only to a life in academia -- it can give you a leg up in the business world, as two alumni recently explained. February 2, 2004

Comparing atomic masses with precision - MIT atomic physicists have developed a technique that compares the masses of single charged atoms with unprecedented accuracy -- akin to measuring the distance between Boston and Los Angeles to within the width of a human hair. December 19, 2003

Physicists perform ultracold coup over molecules - Three research groups around the globe have observed molecules form a collective identity at ultracold temperatures. December 18, 2003

Knowing bacteria's defenses may foil them - An MIT biophysicist's revelation of how bacteria clump as a defense mechanism may one day lead to drugs designed to make the bacteria act in ways that would allow us to get rid of them more easily. October 29, 2003

Knowing bacteria's defenses may foil them - An MIT biophysicist's revelation of how bacteria clump as a defense mechanism may one day lead to drugs designed to make the bacteria act in ways that would allow us to get rid of them more easily. October 28, 2003

String theory discussed - MIT physics professors Walter Lewin, Edward H. Farhi and Alan Guth are featured in NOVA's "The Elegant Universe," a three-hour miniseries to be broadcast on WGBH. October 22, 2003

Plasmatron could cut emissions - A bus in Indiana is the latest laboratory for MIT's plasmatron reformer, a small device its developers believe could significantly cut the nation's oil consumption. October 22, 2003

Letting the sparks fly - Two 84-ton, 10-megawatt motor generators used since 1963 to power the Bitter and hybrid magnets at the Francis Bitter Magnet Laboratory are being dismantled to make room for a high-field superconducting NMR magnet and spectrometer. October 22, 2003

MIT's plasmatron cuts diesel bus emissions - A bus in Indiana is the latest laboratory for MIT's plasmatron reformer, a small device its developers believe could significantly cut the nation's oil consumption as well as noxious emissions from a variety of vehicles. October 16, 2003

Biggest chill achieved - MIT scientists have cooled a sodium gas to the lowest temperature ever recorded--only half-a-billionth of a degree above absolute zero. September 17, 2003

Coldest temperature ever! - MIT scientists have cooled a sodium gas to the lowest temperature ever recorded -- only half-a-billionth of a degree above absolute zero. September 11, 2003

Study on nuclear energy's future - A team of researchers from MIT and Harvard has released an interdisciplinary study on barriers and solutions for nuclear power as a means of reducing greenhouse gases. June 29, 2003

Researchers control light with shock - Light is faster than a speeding bullet, but MIT researchers found that light waves do some really weird things when they meet a speeding bullet head on. June 12, 2003

Physics awards - Winners of MIT physics awards. June 4, 2003

Hawking muses on universe - In a live broadcast from England to several classrooms at MIT, physicist Stephen Hawking described scientists' search for a complete theory of the universe. January 29, 2003

MIT physicists play role in uncovering strings of toxic proteins in Alzheimer's - MIT physicists played a role in a Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) study showing that brain damage related to Alzheimer's disease may start far earlier than previously thought. January 10, 2003

MIT physicists had close ties with Giacconi - Riccardo Giacconi, co-recipient of the 2002 Nobel Prize in physics, had personal connections with many MIT X-ray astronomers, most notably his mentor, MIT's Bruno Rossi October 23, 2002

Magnet pulls world toward nuclear fusion - A 150-ton magnet developed in part by MIT engineers is pulling the world closer to nuclear fusion as a potential source of energy. October 1, 2002

Two MIT physicists win awards - Two MIT physics professors, Alan Guth and Frank Wilczek, have recently won prestigious awards. September 11, 2002

Fusion outreach honored - "Mr. Magnet" and the communications and outreach coordinator at the Plasma Science and Fusion Center will be hoonored for their efforts to introduce nuclear fusion to children and the general public. June 27, 2002

Physics awards - Five students received physics awards. June 5, 2002

Researchers create laser source - MIT researchers report in the May 16 online version of Science that they have now made a continuous source of coherent atoms. May 22, 2002

Coherent atoms source created - MIT researchers report that they have now made a continuous source of coherent atoms. This work paves the way for a laser that emits a continuous stream of atoms. May 16, 2002

Re-cycling history - Ulrich Becker, professor of physics, gestures as he shows MIT's cyclotron to "Copenhagen" actors Hank Stratton, Mariette Hartley and Len Cariou. May 15, 2002

Motor contest revs up class - Each of the 500-plus kids in Professor Walter Lewin's introductory physics classes had an assignment to make a motor in the Great Motor Contest. April 10, 2002

Calder talks to physicists - Neil Calder spoke about scientists getting their work in the news. March 6, 2002

Publicizing physics work - Neil Calder of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center will give a physics colloquium on Feb. 28 on "How to Get the Press Your Science Deserves." February 27, 2002

Physics course transformed - A new course in introductory physics this term promises to affect the freshman experience of almost every student who enters 77 Massachusetts Ave. December 19, 2001

NSF awards to create Center for Bits and Atoms - NSF awarded $13.75 million to create a Center for Bits and Atoms to explore how content of information relates to physical representation, from atomic nuclei to global networks. November 27, 2001

Instrument monitors molten materials - The MIT inventor of an instrument that will aid efforts to store radioactive wastes in stable glass has been honored with a 2001 R&D 100 Award. October 29, 2001

Ketterle leads banner Nobel year for MIT - Professor Wolfgang Ketterle shares this year's Nobel Prize in physics with two MIT alumni for causing atoms to sing in unison, thus discovering a new state of matter called Bose-Einstein condensate. October 17, 2001

MIT physicist shares Nobel - MIT's Wolfgang Ketterle and two MIT alumni share the 2001 Nobel in Physics for causing atoms to sing in unison, thus discovering a new state of matter: the Bose-Einstein condensate. October 9, 2001

The future of GPS - Exploiting "quantum weirdness" would dramatically improve the precision of radar, sonar, the global positioning system and other object locators, according to MIT researchers. August 29, 2001

'Quantum weirdness' may help GPS - Exploiting "quantum weirdness" would dramatically improve the precision of radar, sonar, the global positioning system (GPS) and other object locators, MIT researchers report. August 22, 2001

Boosting radar performance - Recent upgrades of the high-power microwave transmitters which drive the linear electron accelerator at the Bates Laboratory have found applications missile tracking. July 18, 2001

Physics honors students - The Department of Physics honored students with awards at a ceremony on June 5. June 6, 2001

Bates plans open house - The MIT Bates Linear Accelerator will be open to the public on Sunday, May 20 from noon-4pm. May 2, 2001

Nobelist on astrophysics - The center of our galaxy is a strange place, inhabited by astronomical phenomena such as the Great Annihilator, where subatomic particles constantly destroy each other. April 25, 2001

Wilczek to give physics talk - The goal of the theoretical physicist is to create such precise, elegant theories that you can use them to explain life, the universe and everything. April 25, 2001

Friedman on role of quarks - After more than a decade of disagreement and doubt in the scientific community, the quark is finally accepted as a basic building block of nature. April 4, 2001

A diamond as big as the Ritz - Life expectancy is not the same for all quarks. The "strange" quark, for example, is very unstable compared to the "up" and "down" quarks. April 4, 2001

Friedman says we are made of quarks - The quark is finally accepted as a basic building block of nature, says Institute Professor Jerome I. Friedman, Nobel laureate, professor of physics and Killian lecturer. March 27, 2001

Friedman to deliver Killian - Institute Professor and Nobel laureate Jerome I. Friedman will deliver the 29th annual Killian Award Lecture -- titled "Are We Really Made of Quarks?" March 14, 2001

'Approaching Chaos' on view - Approaching Chaos: Visions from the Quantum Frontier festures striking images in which applications such as acoustics of concert halls and mesoscopic physics are interwoven with artwork. March 8, 2001

Physics photography - Matt T. Yourst won a photo contest in 8.03 (Physics III) with this composition of objects related to vibrations and waves. February 28, 2001

Bates' new experiment - Researchers working at MIT's Bates Linear Accelerator Center have developed a new and unique experimental capability that could open a window into the fundamental properties of the proton. February 28, 2001

Adams of LNS honored - Richard Adams, special assistant to the directorate in LNS, has received the School of Science Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his 36 years of work. January 24, 2001