19520210
submission
xt writes:
A recently submitted paper in arXiv claims that by using Bessel beams it is theoretically possible to pull particles towards the light source, opening up new avenues for optical micromanipulation (the direction of the force is size dependent, so it could be used for particle sorting). There is also a simpler article translated in English (original article in Greek).
17710988
submission
xt writes:
A team of physicists, lead by the University of Bonn's Martin Weitz, have managed to create a Bose-Einstein condensate (detailed explanation here) out of photons, previously thought to be impossible. The research was published in the journal Nature and has possible applications on solar energy technology and shortwave lasers, which would be well-suited to the manufacture of computer chips as the process uses lasers to etch logic circuits onto semiconductor materials. Seems like Moore's law is safe again!
12527404
submission
xt writes:
The Boltzmann equation is old news. What's news is that the 140 year old equation has been solved, using mathematical techniques from the fields of partial differential equations and harmonic analysis, some as new as five years old. This solution provides a new understanding of the effects due to grazing collisions, when neighboring molecules just glance off one another rather than collide head on. We may not understand the theory, but we'll sure love the applications!
