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For those who can't read what it says on the trophy (i.e. everyone): "Royal College of Science Union, Science Challenge 2011, Imperial College Physics Prize, Kelly Oakes". Basically, I won a thing.

Physicists from the University of Stuttgart show the first experimental proof of a molecule consisting of two identical atoms that exhibits a permanent electric dipole moment.

NIMS and the University of Queensland Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis, the Dalian Polytechnic University, and the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Science, clarified for the first time the cluster structure which has an extremely large effect on the long-term stability of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) for independent distributed power generation.

A research group at the NIMS International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA) has proved that the electrical resistance of a metal single atomic layer on a silicon surface becomes zero by superconductivity.

(PhysOrg.com) -- Interview with Prof. Dr

The National Physical Laboratory Acoustics team has been investigating acoustic cavitation – the formation and implosion of micro cavities, or bubbles, in a liquid caused by the extreme pressure variations of high intensity sound waves – using the new NPL reference vessel and a chemical commonly found at crime scenes.

Conventional wisdom would say that blocking a hole would prevent light from going through it, but Princeton University engineers have discovered the opposite to be true. A research team has found that placing a metal cap over a small hole in a metal film does not stop the light at all, but rather enhances its transmission.

Explosions of reactive gases and the associated rapid, uncontrolled release of large amounts of energy pose threats of immense destructive power to mining operations, fuel storage facilities, chemical processing plants, and many other industrial applications.

Starting from the behavior of small flames in the laboratory, a team of researchers has gained new insights into the titanic forces that drive Type Ia supernova explosions. These stellar explosions are important tools for studying the evolution of the universe, so a better understanding of how they behave would help answer some of the fundamental questions in astronomy.

For more than a century, the use of X-rays has been a prime diagnostic tool when it comes to human health.

(PhysOrg.com) -- When a skier rushes down a ski slope or a skater glides across an ice rink, a very thin melted layer of liquid water forms on the surface of the ice crystals, which allows for a smooth glide instead of a rough skid. In a recent experiment, scientists have discovered that the interface between the surface and bulk electronic structures of certain crystalline materials can act in much the same way.

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have made advances in better understanding correlated quantum matter that could change technology as we know it, according to a study published in the Nov. 20 edition of Nature.

For millennia, writing has been the preferred way to convey information and knowledge from one generation to another. We first developed the ability to write on clay tablets with a point, and then settled on a reed pen, as preserved from 3000 BC in Egypt when it was used with papyrus.

Rainfalls are suspected to trigger the spread of a multitude of foliar (leaf) diseases, which could be devastating for agriculture and forestry. Instead of focusing on the large-scale, ecological impact of this problem, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge and the University of Liege in Belgium are studying the phenomenon from a novel perspective: that of a single rain droplet.

Wine drinkers know that swirling a good vintage around in a glass aerates the wine and releases its bouquet. Just how the process – known as "orbital shaking" – works, however, has been something of a mystery.