Physics (PHY) Discoveries

NSF's public investment in science, engineering, education and technology helps to create knowledge and sustain prosperity. Read here about the Internet, microbursts, Web browsers, extrasolar planets, and more... a panoply of discoveries and innovations that began with NSF support.

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		Coping With Unusual Atomic Collisions Makes an Atomic Clock More Accurate Researchers have figured out how to nullify collision effects and make the clock still more precise Released  May 20, 2009
		A Better Mass for the W Boson; Higgs Boson Given Less Space to Hide Analyzing several years' worth of results from Fermilab's Tevatron collider, physicists come up with the most accurate measurement to date of the mass of the W boson, and narrow down the possible mass of the still undiscovered Higgs boson Released  April 7, 2009
		Squeezing Noise Below Quantum Limits Exquisitely sensitive microwave amplifier increases nano-scale measurement accuracy; could lead to quantum computing breakthroughs Released  March 26, 2009
		A Beautiful Memory Breakthrough in "entanglement" demonstrates potential of quantum information science Released  March 17, 2009
		2008: Year in Review A look back at some of the NSF-supported advances and activities that made news last year Released  March 13, 2009
		New Record for World's Smallest Letters Stanford University breaks record set in 1991, promises denser information storage Released  March 10, 2009
		Shockwave of X-ray Starquake Enthralls Scientists For postdoctoral researcher Andrew Steiner and other astrophysicists, the shockwave that jolted the Earth in late December 2005 was a lucky find, providing new data on neutron stars Released  March 2, 2009
		How to Teleport Quantum Information from One Atom to Another Researchers have shown for the first time how to use a process called teleportation to transfer a quantum state over a significant distance from one atom to another Released  February 25, 2009
		Excited Atoms Advance Quantum Computing Scientists using a single atom to control another with the Rydberg Blockade principle have moved a step closer to unimaginable computing power Released  February 24, 2009
		Electrical Nanowires Probe Individual Cells Radically new technology for studying and controlling cells at the nanoscale Released  February 20, 2009
		Nanoscale Repulsion Tiny quantum force, measured for the first time, could be an aid to nanodevice designers Released  February 19, 2009
		Measuring Excitement for Carbon Nanotubes Studying light pulses in nanoscale molecules brings scientists closer to understanding properties that may lead to a multitude of applications Released  February 10, 2009
		For the "Few-Body Problem," a Solution From Another Plane Complex ionization collisions can be explained with a "simple" classical model Released  December 29, 2008
		Unlocking the Secrets of Atomic Nuclei Rare isotope research at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory leads to important new applications in areas such as medical treatments and security technology Released  November 13, 2008
		First Ultracold Polar Molecule Gas Ready for Research Groundbreaking technique could lead to quantum computers, molecular clocks and super-efficient power plants Released  October 29, 2008
		Physicists Gear Up for Huge Data Flow University of Nebraska researchers build a computer center to handle the flood of data expected from the world's next-generation particle accelerator Released  August 7, 2008
		Beyond Cold: How the World Works at Minus 459 Degrees Graduate student David McKay describes how atoms are cooled to near absolute zero for research using an approach called quantum simulation Released  July 25, 2008
		Building a Machine to Search for Cosmic Secrets Katherine McAlpine describes the intricate lowering into place of the last large piece of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector, part of the Large Hadron Collider Released  April 2, 2008
		Nuclear Scientists Explore the Core of Existence A journalist at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory describes physicists' experiments to understand the neutron dripline and some surprising results Released  March 24, 2008
		2007: Year in Review A look back at some of the NSF-supported advances and activities reported last year Released  January 30, 2008
		Nuclear Physics Boot Camp Preps Future Scientists Exotic Beam Summer School stimulates new learning and discoveries in nuclear physics students. Released  October 19, 2007
		UltraLight Project: Moving Huge Amounts of Data In spring 2008, the largest particle accelerator in the world will be completed Released  August 24, 2007
		Team Selected for the Proposed Design of the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory Released  July 10, 2007
		First Result from New Experiment Confirms Neutrino Oscillation Studies may aid understanding of all matter Released  March 30, 2006
		MIT Group Creates a High-Temperature Superfluid Released  June 22, 2005
		A Bubble Full of Sunshine Temperatures inside bursting bubbles can be four times hotter than the Sun Released  March 3, 2005
		High Energy Physics Center Attracts U.S. Undergrads to Summer in Switzerland Apprenticeship at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland Released  January 27, 2005
		Cold Flashes: Astrophysics at the South Pole What one scientist calls the world’s weirdest telescope was built to detect high-energy particles, not the light from distant stars. In 1997, AMANDA recorded the first precise map of neutrinos from outer space as they zipped through Antarctic ice. Released  October 13, 2004
		Researchers Get First Look into Antimatter Atoms Physicists have probed the properties of whole atoms of antimatter, the "mirror image" of matter, providing the first look inside an antimatter atom and taking a big step on the way to testing standard theories of how the universe operates. Released  July 30, 2004
		Breakthrough Brings Laser Light to New Regions of the Spectrum Researchers have created a "waveguide" that coaxes extreme-ultraviolet light waves into forming a tightly focused laser-like beam that will allow researchers to "see" tiny features and carve miniature patterns. Released  December 9, 2003