"At near-absolute-zero temperatures, atoms can be held in an optical lattice"

At near-absolute-zero temperatures, atoms can be held in an optical lattice—formed by standing light waves, where the atoms sit in the troughs of the waves at low potential energy. At these temperatures, they lose most of their thermal fluctuations and begin to act like an ideal quantum system. Atoms held in an optical lattice can be used to simulate electrons trapped in a crystalline solid, so this quantum system can be helpful in studying important phenomena like quantum magnetism and high-temperature superconductivity. The atoms could also be used for quantum logic gates and registers (the working memory of quantum computers).

Source and rest of the story:  http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2011/12/how-cold-is-cold-enough-a-lot-colder-than-you-think.ars

This is intriguing, when I was a kid I thought Molecular circuits were just Sci Fi, now it is looking like quantum computers may be a reality in my lifetime.

Neutrinos and Dark Matter

A planned Neutrino Telescope KM3NeT  http://www.km3net.org/home.php looks to add a lot to our knowledge about the universe.  It will also be one of the largest objects ever built.

When it the KM3NeT is finished it will join the IceCube particle detector in the Antarctic http://www.icecube.wisc.edu/index.php in the search into the understanding the cosmos.

MIT discovery could lead to all-optical chips!

From Mass High Tech:

Ross, along with fellow materials science and engineering professor Lionel Kimerling and former students Lei Bi ’11 and Juejun Hu Ph.D. ’09, figured out that the fairly common gemstone garnet had the properties they needed to make the optical “diode for light” as it is both transparent and magnetic. The release cites Ross saying, “The whole system could be made using standard microchip manufacturing machinery.”

This is an impressive discovery in my opinion.  Here is Journal Nature Abstract.

This is deserving of Nobel Prize consideration in my opinion. Considering the fact that the system can be made with standard microchip manufacturing, it is an elegant and efficient solution as well.

Open Source Physics receives SPORE Award

Science Prize for Online Resources in Education (SPORE)

Open Source Physics (OPS) wins SPORE award.

Links to OPS summary and full article at Science.

Open Source Physics in their own words:

Computational Resources for Teaching
The OSP Collection provides curriculum resources that engage students in physics, computation, and computer modeling. Computational physics and computer modeling provide students with new ways to understand, describe, explain, and predict physical phenomena.