Mobilog

Tuesday, July 30, 2002

The Smallest Ever Laser Light Beam

As computer technologies continue to shrink to nanoscale dimensions, scientists are finding it increasingly difficult to view and measure their tiny creations. Just billionths of a meter in length, modern machine components are actually becoming smaller than the wavelengths of light used to view them. Researchers have attempted to create laser-type light beams of extremely short wavelengths for viewing these minuscule objects, but the results have typically been weak and the apparatus too cumbersome for practical applications. Now scientists appear to have found a way to create this so-called extreme-ultraviolet light, using equipment that can fit on a dining room table.
12:42:02 PM

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New Bubble Reaction Findings Make Fusion Claim Unlikely

Sonoluminescence, the process in which light is created when sound waves move through a liquid and cause bubbles to expand and collapse, was at the center of a contentious scientific debate earlier this year. A team of researchers reported that they had exploited the phenomenon to achieve nuclear fusion using a tabletop apparatus, an assertion that quickly met with skepticism. New research casts further doubt on those claims. Scientists have directly measured the reaction rates inside a single bubble as it sonoluminesces and the findings suggest so-called bubble fusion is "most unlikely."
12:41:07 PM

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Second Law of Thermodynamics Violated!

It seems that something odd happens to the second law of thermodynamics when systems get sufficiently small. The law states that the entropy, or disorder, of the universe increases over time and it holds true for large-scale systems. For instance, whereas a hot beverage will spontaneously dissipate heat to the surrounding air (an increase in disorder), the air cannot heat the liquid without added energy. But scientists predicted nearly a decade ago that small assemblages of molecules inside larger systems may not always abide by the principle. Now Australian researchers report that even larger systems of thousands of molecules can also undergo fleeting energy increases that seem to violate the venerable law.
12:29:14 PM

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