Functional tractor beam created

A tractor beam is something that most of us will know from science fiction, such as Star Trek or Star Wars. It is classified as a beam that can attract an object from a distance, without a seeming physical connection. It functions pretty much like gravity, but instead it can be aimed at a specific object and drag it towards itself. It seems ludicrous to pursue the development of such a device, but scientists from the University of St Andrews actually managed to make one. That does not immediately mean we can drag star ships from outer space, however: their device works on a microscopic level.

Temperatures below absolute zero are possible

One of the fundamental laws of physics is that it is not possible to achieve temperatures lower than absolute zero, which is defined as 0 Kelvin. This equals to -273.15 degrees Celcius and attaining this temperature will cause particles to come at an absolute stand still. Temperature can be regarded as the 'tremblings' of atoms and molecules, and movements less than zero are therefore considered impossible. Scientists have already achieved near zero temperatures, and have shown that all kinds of weird behaviour occurs at that level. Now it appears that scientists have actually managed to let the temperature drop below absolute zero, thereby defying what was thought to be an absolute constant in the realm of physics, and revealing all kinds of interesting phenomena in the process.

Time is not symmetrical, new study shows

We experience time as a straight line; it only goes forward and never backwards, unless you are playing back a piece of video or audio in reverse. This is something that is never questioned, but the wondrous world of quantum mechanics has taught us to look differently at things that seem obvious. Einstein already proved with his theory of relativity that time differs depending on the observer, but individual particles appear to go one step further. There supposedly is an anti-particle for every particle that has exact opposites characteristics, and that also means that it has a different direction in time. An associated theory is dubbed supersymmetry, but scientists have revealed that time is actually asymmetrical.

Nobel Prize awarded to quantum physics researchers

Physics is perhaps, in the humble opinion of your editor and Alfred Nobel himself, the most pure form of science, as it deals with discovering the laws that govern the world (and beyond) around us. Especially quantum physics has gathered interest in the last hundred years, giving rise to a fascinating and mysterious scientific field that we have only just begun to understand. That is why it seems fitting that the organizing committee awarded 2012's Nobel Prize for physics to two quantum physicists.

Microscope shows atom bonds in molecules

Microscopes allow us to see small things that cannot be observed with the eye. Examples include tissue structure, cells, or even individual parts of cells. But as technology progresses, we gain the ability to image increasingly smaller things. Now, researchers have found a way to reveal the bonds between individual atoms in a molecular structure. Basically, it shows us the most fundamental structure of matter, even though atoms themselves are also built up from individual parts. This technology ought to help with studying compounds and their chemical properties.

Existence of dark energy is an 'almost certainty'

Science has taught us a lot about how the world and the universe work, but there are still many mysteries that elude us. One of those mysteries is dark energy, the force that supposedly counters gravity and aids the increasingly rapid expansion of the universe. Because we cannot observe dark energy, there are still many questions regarding its existence. Researchers from the University of Portsmouth and LMU University Munich have conducted a study and found that dark energy explains certain phenomena in our universe with a statistical chance of 99,996 percent; an almost certainty. Work on dark energy has already resulted in a Nobel prize.

Uniting dark matter and dark energy

One of the most elusive topics in physics right now are dark matter and dark energy. We know they exist because their effect is measurable, but we do not exactly know what it is. We observe their effects by looking at the orbits of planets and stars: we know pieces of matter attract each other by the force of gravity, but this effect alone cannot explain what we see. Hence dark matter: which is matter we cannot see but does have gravitational effects. On the other hand, there is dark energy, that opposes the force of gravity and is supposedly responsible for the expansion of the universe. While the details are still incredibly fuzzy, some scientists have come up with a way to unite the two into one single theory and are thereby challenging Einstein himself.

New record in quantum teleportation

While it sounds like science fiction, it is possible to instantaneously teleport data between two places. It is one of the wonders of the quantum world, and it works with a process called quantum entanglement. Scientists have already shown that they can teleport so-called quantum states over a distance of around 100km. However, a new attempt resulted in teleportation spanning a distance of 143km, which is a new world record. By increasing the distance, we should eventually be able to create extremely fast quantum networks suitable for communication.

New theory argues universe started with a Big Freeze

In the beginning, there was a Big Bang and it created the whole universe. That is the condensed and oversimplified version of the theory that supposedly started off everything we know exists, about 14 billion years ago. According to the theory, everything was in a extremely hot and condensed state, which resulted in rapid expansion, forming atoms and thereafter more complex forms of matter, eventually giving rise to a wide dispersion of galaxies, solar systems, stars and planets. A new hypothesis from the University of Melbourne states that a Big Bang is not the most accurate model to describe the early phase of the universe. Scientists think it was more similar to a 'Big Freeze', like water turning into ice.

Sub-atomic 'soup' reaches highest temperature ever

CERN keeps breaking the boundaries of science with their experiments in physics. A while ago, they reported to have found a candidate for the much sought after Higgs boson, a sub-atomic particle that is supposed to complete the standard model of particle physics. Before that, they found another new particle, by pushing the limits of science by creating high-speed collisions of particles. Such collisions create high temperatures, and CERN now reports to have broken the record of the highest man-made temperature ever, creating a 'soup' of subatomic particles that was supposedly also present during the Big Bang.

'Noise' may boost research towards quantum computer

For most people, quantum physics is weird and hard to understand. That is not surprising, because our observations at the sub-atomic level are radically different from what we have come to expect in the 'real' world. A famous example is quantum entanglement; a weird interaction between two particles, that assume each other's opposite form regardless of how far away they are from each other. This sort of behaviour makes instant teleportation of data a possibility, as has recently been shown by transferring data over 100km without a 'physical' connection. When particles on the quantum level interact, that is not only due to entanglement, but also due to something called quantum discord. Often regarded as background noise, but scientists have now found that it may actually be even more useful than applications of entanglement.

CERN seems to have found the Higgs boson

Scientists are getting closer and closer to the discovery of the elusive Higgs boson, a particle that should exist according to theory. While previous measurements on collisions in the Large Hadron Collider showed ever-increasing hints pointing at the existence of the Higgs boson, CERN now claims to have found its actual 'footprints', although this does not directly prove the particle exists.

Update 04/07: CERN has elaborated on their findings, and state that they have indeed found a new particle.

Gravity helps scientists make use of stem cells

Stem cells are well-known as a promising therapeutic agent, because they have the capability to specialize in all possible cell types, allowing scientists to create a great variety of tissues. When the body fails to repair certain tissues by itself, such as those of the brain and heart, science may be able to lend a hand by use of stem cells. However, coaching these cells into becoming the right kind of tissue that does exactly what the scientists want, and make it ready for transplantation, is not that easy. Now, researchers from the Sbarro Health Research Organization have discovered that gravity plays an important role in stem cell behaviour, and reducing gravitational pressure may actually be helpful to improve stem cell therapy.

Splitting atoms by using quantum mechanics

The concept of an atom has been used by scientists since the ancient Greeks. While the word is derived from the Greek word for indivisible, we now know that atoms are made up of even smaller building blocks. Researchers have managed to split atoms and create enormous amounts of energy, according to the famous law E=MC². This process, called nuclear fission, is based on radioactivity, and works with expulsion of small particles from the atom core. New attempts from the University of Bonn use the fuzzy mechanics of quantum theory in order to split atoms.

Scientists teleport data over a distance of 100 km

Teleportation is something that belongs to the realm of science fiction, but scientists have brought it one step closer to reality. Using principles of quantum mechanics, they managed to teleport data from one place to another over a distance of 97 km. This process is instantaneous, and even though it will not allow us to actually send massive objects such as ourselves through space and time, it will help us by creating quantum networks for exchange of data.

Scientists observe the 'birth' of an electron

Behaviour of atoms is hard to study due to the incredibly small particles that scientists need to work with. Additionally, at the atom or subatomic level, things behave weirdly, which makes understanding what happens even harder. It is known that atoms consist of several building blocks, including a core of protons and neutrons encapsulated by an electron cloud. Electrons are used to bind atoms together, but they can also detach from an individual atom. The latter process is called ionization, and it turns an atom into an electrically charged ion. Removing an electron from an atom has now, for the first time, been witnessed by scientists.

Scientists close in on the identity of dark matter

Dark matter is still one of the biggest mysteries in the universe, in addition to dark energy. It consists of matter we cannot see, but we know exists because of its gravitational effect, just like ordinary observable matter. Over time, scientists gathered clues about the identity of dark matter, and a couple of particles are currently under investigation to find out whether one of them forms the illusive dark matter. New research from NASA closes in on the true particle of dark matter, by excluding some postulated candidates. Slowly, but steadily, the mystery of one of the universe's biggest secrets is being unravelled.

Applying quantum physical weirdness to the 'real world'

Ever since we have ventured into the subatomic world, the playground of quantum mechanics, we have found that particles behave in extremely weird ways. It is as if the classical view of the world does not apply to the world of quantum mechanics, and experimental results have repeatedly challenged our knowledge about reality. For example, we have discovered that the smallest things we can detect can behave as individual particles and as waves at the same time. Recently, scientists even proved that things can come into existence from what appears to be the nothingness we have come to know as vacuum. While the rules of quantum mechanics are almost impossible to imagine, because they are so radically different from what we experience on a day to day basis, we must accept them because they have been tried and tested. And even though we sometimes like to think that this weirdness only happens on very small scales, a few scientific groups have shown that it also applies to larger structures.

Faster-than-light neutrino does not exist after all

In September last year, researchers from CERN shocked the world by announcing that a specific particle was able to travel faster than light, something that is impossible according to laws of physics. After a revaluation of their systems, the scientists found a flaw that explains why they measured neutrino's to be faster than light. It appears to be an end to something that would cause Einstein to turn over in his grave.

Scientists map dark matter around us, provides clue about existence of dark energy

Dark matter is matter that we know is there, but we cannot actually detect. Hence the name. We deduce existence of dark matter by its effect on gravity. There is a big gap between the required gravitational force to hold stars and planets in galaxies together, and the amount of matter we can detect. Scientists from the University of Edinburgh mapped the locations of dark matter in the universe. The map, in turn, tells us something about where we may be able to find something called dark energy. This is equally undetectable, and has an anti-gravity effect, thus opposing the effect of dark matter.