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The different shape and appearance of these individual cobalt atoms is caused by the different spin directions. Image: Ohio University

Issue no. 15, 2010 Published: Apr 30, 2010
Physicists capture first images of atomic spin
Location chosen for European Extremely Large Telescope
Japanese solar-sailing space probe ready for take-off
New wound dressing booby traps bacteria
Method developed to identify musical notes at any venue
Towel-folding robot hopes to be labs' standard model

Physicists capture first images of atomic spin
Though scientists argue that the emerging technology of spintronics may trump conventional electronics for building the next generation of faster, smaller, more efficient computers and high-tech devices, no one has actually seen the spin - a quantum mechanical property of electrons - in individual atoms until now. In a study published in Nature Nanotechnology, physicists at Ohio University and the University of Hamburg in Germany present the first images of spin in action. The team used a custom-built microscope with an iron-coated tip to manipulate cobalt atoms on a plate of manganese. Through scanning tunnelling microscopy, the team repositioned individual cobalt atoms on a surface that changed the direction of the electrons' spin. Images captured by the scientists showed that the atoms appeared as a single protrusion if the spin direction was upward, and as double protrusions with equal heights when the spin direction was downward. The study suggests that scientists can observe and manipulate spin, a finding that may impact future development of nanoscale magnetic storage, quantum computers and spintronic devices. Unlike electronic devices, which give off heat, spintronic-based devices are expected to experience less power dissipation.
PhysOrg.com / Nature Nanotechnology Apr 26, 2010	back to top

Location chosen for European Extremely Large Telescope
Europe has chosen the place it wants to build the world's biggest optical telescope. The observatory will be constructed on Cerro Armazones, a 3,000m-high mountain in Chile's Atacama Desert. The E-ELT (European Extremely Large Telescope) will have a primary mirror 42m in diameter. Astronomers say the next-generation observatory will be so powerful it will be able to image directly rocky planets beyond our Solar System. It should also be able to provide major insights into the nature of black holes, galaxy formation, the mysterious 'dark matter' that pervades the Universe, and the even more mysterious 'dark energy' which appears to be pushing the cosmos apart at an accelerating rate. Final go-ahead for the E-ELT is expected at the end of this year. The European Southern Observatory (Eso) organisation which is managing the project says it hopes the telescope can be operational by 2018. The decision on the E-ELT site was taken by the ESO Council after several years of study at competing locations that included other places in Chile, and in the Canary Islands, Spain. The huge telescope is one of the major projects listed on a roadmap of research infrastructures that Europe feels it needs to fulfil its scientific goals over the next 20 years. Other facilities range from high-powered laser systems through to a plan to construct the world's most advanced polar ice-breaker.
BBC News Apr 26, 2010	back to top

Japanese solar-sailing space probe ready for take-off
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is getting ready to launch the first spacecraft to use the Sun's power directly for a flight to Venus. The Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation Of the Sun (Ikaros) probe will be launched on 18 May, along with a second climate satellite destined for Mars by more conventional means. Once in orbit Ikaros will deploy a solar sail stretching 20 metres across to gather the radiation of charged particles from the Sun. The sail, which at 0.0075mm thick is thinner than a human hair, is studded with solar cells and control surfaces that the mission controllers hope will allow the spacecraft to be steered towards Venus. As long as the Sun is hitting the sail the spacecraft gathers speed, and the direction of travel can be changed by tilting the sail. The Japanese goal is to combine solar sail propulsion with solar power to run an ion drive to boost speed in a probe going to Jupiter in by 2020. The Ikaros probe is intended to test the solar propulsion and navigation technology with a six-month mission to head towards Venus, and carries monitoring equipment to measure dust levels and gamma radiation.
VNUnet UK Apr 28, 2010	back to top

New wound dressing booby traps bacteria
Scientists at the University of Bath in England, are turning harmful bacteria into agents of their own destruction. In an effort to create antibacterial wound dressings, a new material comes laden with microbial booby traps that are triggered by the activity of harmful bacteria. Bacterial infections are a serious problem for patients with burns and other wounds. While many wound dressings today contain silver to thwart microbial activity, the metal can hurt human cells that are trying to regrow. The silver may also cull out weaker bacteria, leaving the survivors even more of a threat than before. The researchers have set out to build a better dressing by peppering it with tiny capsulelike vesicles that look to bacteria exactly like cells prime for infection. But when the bacteria do attack, they release an antibacterial agent that kills them and any of their kind that happen to be nearby.
Science News / Journal of the American Chemical Society Apr 28, 2010	back to top

Method developed to identify musical notes at any venue
A team of telecommunications engineers from the University of Jaen in Spain has created a new method to automatically detect and identify the musical notes in an audio file and generate sheet music. The system works even when the type of instrument, musician, type of music or recording studio conditions vary. The fact that the new system can 'adapt' means it will work even if elements such as the type of instrument, music, style, studio or microphone position vary. The researchers start with a 'wav' file, a common format for audio recordings, and after applying the method they obtain a 'midi' file, a musical instrument communication protocol that makes it possible to visualise the sheet music and listen to the result. Another advantage of this method is that it does not require prior training with a musical database. The technique determines the note or 'spectral pattern' of the musical notes of an instrument, which are used to compile a harmonic dictionary. With the help of this dictionary and a computer algorithm, the musical notes with patterns that most resemble the harmonic dictionary are identified. The method can only be applied to files with one instrument, but the scientists are already investigating how it could be applied to several instruments.
PhysOrg / IEEE Transactions on Audio, Speech, and Language Processing Apr 23, 2010	back to top

Towel-folding robot hopes to be labs' standard model
There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but who cares when you can have a free robot? Ten lucky researchers are getting a new model gratis from Silicon Valley robotics lab Willow Garage. The PR2 is being given away in an attempt to establish a standard hardware platform to help roboticists build on each other's work and independently verify claims of robotic prowess. Most robots destined for research have custom-built hardware and software, which means the researcher spends more time tweaking and troubleshooting than designing new and smarter behaviour, says Keenan Wyrobek, a Willow Garage engineer developing robots to work directly with people. There has already been a handful of standard robotics platforms, and they have validated the approach, says Wyrobek. For example a small wheeled robot called Pioneer has helped researchers worldwide collaborate on two-dimensional navigation for robots, he says. Wyrobek hopes that PR2 will do the same for 'mobile manipulation'. Each of the robot's two arms can lift up to 1.8 kilograms each, and it has two cameras and a 3D laser scanner to help it picture the world around it and identify objects. One research team from University of California, Berkeley, has already used these abilities to have the robot plug itself into the mains and fold towels: easy tasks for humans but fiendishly difficult for robots.
New Scientist Apr 28, 2010	back to top