5th State of Matter

Physicists create ‘new state’ of matter in a solid

An international team of physicists have coaxed particles into an exotic “fifth state” of matter at a higher temperature than ever before, according to new research.

The research also represents the first time a Bose-Einstein condensate has been created in a solid, rather than in a super-cooled gas.

The Bose-Einstein condensate is a super-cooled state of matter in which all the atoms have the same energy and quantum characteristics, similar to the way all photons in a laser share the same characteristics.

This new form of matter was first predicted mathematically by Indian physicist S.N. Bose and Albert Einstein in 1924.

Three American physicists — Eric Cornell, Wolfgang Ketterle and Carl Wieman — first created a Bose-Einstein condensate in the lab in 1995 and shared the 2001 Nobel Prize for physics for their work.

Open Science Computer Grid

The Open Science Grid is a distributed computing infrastructure for large-scale scientific research:

Researchers from many fields, including astrophysics, bioinformatics, computer science, medical imaging, nanotechnology and physics, use the OSG infrastructure to advance their research. OSG provides help for new communities to adapt their applications to use the distributed facility and make their resources accessible.
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The OSG includes two grids: an Integration Grid and a Production Grid. The Integration Grid is used to test new grid applications, sites and technologies, while the Production Grid provides a stable, supported environment on which researchers run their scientific applications.

Computer scientist spearheads $30 million ‘Open Science Grid’

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science announced today that they have joined forces to fund a five-year, $30 million program to operate and expand upon the two-year-old national grid.

Math, Marketing and Medical Studies

Treat Me? by Darshak Sanghavi:

What, after all, does a 31 percent relative reduction in heart attacks mean? In the case of the 1995 study, it meant that taking Pravachol every day for five years reduced the incidence of heart attacks from 7.5 percent to 5.3 percent. This indeed means that there were 31 percent fewer heart attacks in patients taking the drug. But it also means that the “absolute risk” of a heart attack for any given person dropped by only 2.2 percentage points* (from 7.5 percent to 5.3 percent).

I must say this seems pretty obvious to me, but I would agree this might not be obvious to many, unfortunately (see: Scientific Illiteracy and the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement). And yes I don’t put it past people to present things in ways which benefit the presenter, with the hope of taking advantage of math challenged (just look at all the ridiculous mortgage and other loan marketing).

500 Engineering Jobs for Texas

Dell, Perry announce 500 engineering jobs:

Dell, the world’s largest seller of personal computers, aims to attract a broad range of educated and experienced engineers, including electrical, mechanical and software engineers, as well as those holding doctorates, to expand the company’s commitment to technological design.

“Austin and Central Texas is the largest engineering recruiting site by far,” Dell said, adding that Texas college graduates will compose nearly 10 percent of new recruits.
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New jobs are likely to yield an annual income of $60,000 to $100,000.

Interesting, Dell is often criticised for not investing in technological innovation. They have often been seen as relying on manufacturing and business process (build to order system) innovation but not technological innovation. Maybe the recent stock price troubles have caused Dell to decide to invest in more technological innovation. Dell has stated they have greatly increase spending on customer service as a result of recent troubles.

Matter to Anti-Matter 3 Trillion Times a Second

Fermilab press release:

Fermilab’s CDF scientists make it official: They have discovered the quick-change behavior of the B-sub-s meson, which switches between matter and antimatter 3 trillion times a second.
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Determining the astonishing rate of 3 trillion oscillations per second required sophisticated analysis techniques. CDF cospokespersons Konigsberg and Fermilab’s Rob Roser explained that the B_s meson is a very short-lived particle. In order to understand its underlying characteristics, scientists have to observe how each particle decays to determine its true make-up.

Hypoallergenic Cats

Kittens

Some people are kept from owning wonderful cats due to allergies. Now, ‘Hypoallergenic cats’ go on sale. Some cats naturally do not have the normal allergen. By testing large numbers of cats and then breeding those that are free from the allergen cats that do not lead to allergic reactions are now available. Still not cheap, though.

Blog posts from September 2005

Engineered Ice Cream

Moo bella Vending Machine

Technology Innovation One Scoop at A Time

For the world’s best-engineered ice cream, go to the Union Court dining area at Boston University. What you’ll find is a vending machine that can make 96 varieties of ice cream to order from 12 flavors, two base mixes–premium and low carb–and three dry-ingredient mix-ins.
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The sophisticated internals are invisible to consumers, who use a touch pad and 15-inch flat-panel display to select flavors. What happens next is an ice cream geek’s dream: “We pump the base mix, aerate it, flavor it, flash freeze it, scrape it up off of a freezing surface, form it into a scoop and into the consumer’s cup in 45 seconds,” Baxter explains.

Very cool: Moo Bella web site with the flavor options and a video.
Continue reading →

UTexas: Engineering Career Podcasts

Introducing the Engineering Career Assistance Center Podcast

The University of Texas at Austin “ECAC provides resources for students ranging from resume tips, job counseling, workshops, internship and externship programs, and yearly career fairs.” I’m not sure why they require iTunes but that is the choice they made. It would seem better to me to make things available in formats that don’t require one particular player.

externs.com (affiliated with this blog) offers a directory of externships and internships. It is completely free: add your internship openings or search for opportunities. We will be making an effort to increase the science and engineering related opportunities. Please add your internship positions.

Japan Project X: Innovators Documentaries

Project X is a popular Japanese TV documentary that examines historically successful companies and the engineers that made them successful – and more.

Japan in stew over recalls:

Perhaps only in Japan could a television series like Project X have become one of the most popular TV shows. No, it isn’t a science fiction thriller. It’s about product quality.

More specifically, it’s about a bunch of corporate engineers who invented the handheld calculators and ink-jet printers that helped turn this nation into an industrial powerhouse.

MIT Sloan Japan club on Project X

Searching on the web I see that Japanese embassies have made them available overseas but I can’t find them online. I did find this list of the episodes: Project X: Innovators. Maybe Japan will copy a recent move by the White House and post the videos online.

New NRC Report on k-8 Science Education in the USA

Major Changes Needed To Boost K-8 Science Achievement according to a report from the National Research Council (NRC):

First, students should know, use, and interpret scientific explanations of the natural world. Second, they should be able to generate and evaluate scientific evidence and explanations. Third, they should understand the nature and development of scientific knowledge. And finally, students’ work should include active participation in scientific collaboration and discussion. All K-8 education should offer students opportunities to engage in the four strands of science proficiency.