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Light exposure improves conductivity

November 14, 2013

Quite by accident, Washington State University researchers have achieved a 400-fold increase in the electrical conductivity of a crystal simply by exposing it to light. The effect, which lasted for days after the light was turned off, could dramatically improve the performance of devices like computer chips.

WSU doctoral student Marianne Tarun chanced upon the discovery when she noticed that the conductivity of some strontium titanate shot up after it was left out one day. At first, she and her fellow researchers thought the sample was contaminated, but a series of experiments showed the effect was from light.

Other sources:
Nanowerk
Nanotechnology News
VRForums
innovations-report
someone somewhere
ScienceNewsline
Machines Like Us
ZME Science

Physics pumpkin drop featured on ESPN

October 15, 2013

The 9th Annual Pumpkin Drop, hosted by the Department of Physics and Astronomy every year during Dad’s Weekend, received national attention during ESPN coverage of the Oct. 12 football game.

Or watch the “splatacular” video on youtube

WSU planetarium previews 3D science learning – free Oct. 1

September 27, 2013

The latest digital technology for viewing the universe at the WSU planetarium will be previewed in a free, public demonstration at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, in Sloan Hall 231. A demo for WSU organizations, departments, clubs, units, students, staff and faculty will be at 2 p.m. Seating is first come, first served.

The demo of the SciDome 3D projector by maker SPITZ, Inc. will include teaching visuals, lessons from the extensive SciDome curriculum, the Layered Earth software for earth science teaching and previews of full-dome shows featuring astronomy and space science, biology, chemistry, earth science, mathematics and the arts.

In addition to using the planetarium for WSU classes, the Department of Physics and Astronomy welcomes hundreds of school children from the region each year to the facility.

Continue planetarium preview

WSU observatory holds star party

September 4, 2013

WSU's Jewett Observatory — WSU’s Jewett Observatory

Jazz and Barbecue Star Party

Enjoy live music, BBQ dinner, dessert, and good company at the Jewett Observatory! Sponsored by the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Palouse Astronomical Society, the event is free but a $7 donation is suggested.

When: Saturday, September 7, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Where: You’ll find the observatory on Olympia Avenue, up the hill from Grimes Way

Read the article in the Tribune

The tractor beam has arrived

August 6, 2013

Phil Marston. Photo credit Robert Hubner — Phil Marston. Photo by Robert Hubner.

WSU physicist Phil Marston was intrigued by the way an acoustic beam is scattered by a sphere.

“Basically, it goes into the category of a problem you solve because it would be curious to see what the answer is and whether there is something there that you didn’t anticipate,” he says. “That was true.”

In the serpentine path from abstract musing to basic science to demonstrated phenomenon, he sowed the seeds for a small-scale but real-life tractor beam that could have applications in both nanotechnology and medicine.