New research could help develop gamma ray lasers and produce fusion power
Positronium is a short-lived system in which an electron and its anti-particle are bound together. In 2007, physicists at the University of California, Riverside created molecular positronium, a brand-new substance, in the laboratory. Now they have succeeded in isolating for the first time a sample of spin polarized positronium atoms.
Study results appear this week in the journal Physical Review Letters.
Spin is a fundamental and intrinsic property of an electron, and refers to the electron's angular momentum. Spin polarized atoms are atoms that are all in the same spin state. A collection of spin polarized positronium atoms is needed to make a special form of matter, called the Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). The BEC, predicted in 1924 and created in 1995, allows scientists to study atoms in a unique manner.
"We achieved our result by increasing the density of the positronium atoms in our lab experiment," said David Cassidy, the lead author of the research paper and an assistant researcher working in the laboratory of Allen Mills, a professor of physics. "At such a high density, positronium atoms get annihilated simply by interacting with each other. But it turns out that not all the positronium atoms get annihilated under these conditions."
Cassidy explained that positronium atoms come in two types - say, an up type and a down type. The positronium atoms are only annihilated when an up type meets a down type. Two atoms of the same type do not affect each other.
"So if you have 50 percent ups and 50 percent downs and you squeeze them all together they will totally annihilate and turn into gamma rays," he said. "But if you have, for example, about 66 percent ups and 33 percent downs, then only half of the ups will be destroyed. You will get a load of gamma rays - but in the end you will be left with only one type of atom - in this case, up atoms.
"This is an important development for making the BEC," Cassidy said, "because you have effectively purified your sample of positronium. And you need a pure collection of spin aligned atoms to make the BEC."
When atoms are in the BEC state, they are essentially stopped (or they move extremely slowly), facilitating their study. Non-BEC atoms on the other hand whiz around at very high speeds, making them harder to study.
"There are fundamental processes that can be looked at in new ways when you have matter in the BEC state," Mills said. "Having Bose-condensed atoms makes it easier to probe the way they interact under certain conditions. Moreover, to have motionless positronium atoms is an important aspect for making something called a gamma ray laser, which could have military and numerous scientific applications."
According to Mills and Cassidy, the new research could lead also to the production of fusion power, which is power generated by nuclear fusion reactions.
"The eventual production of a positronium condensate could help us understand why the universe is made of matter and not antimatter or just pure energy," Cassidy said. "It could also one day help us measure the gravitational interaction of antimatter with matter. At present, nobody knows for sure if antimatter falls up or down."
Jay Leno drives the Koenigsegg Trevita CCXR
Jay Leno go a chance to drive the Koenigsegg Trevita CCXR.
M.I.A. – Born Free Music Video
A short film featuring the song, which doubles as its music video was directed by French director Romain Gavras. The film was released on M.I.A.'s website on April 26, 2010, three days after the release of the song.
The film depicts an armed force wearing United States flags on their shoulders, running through a building in an urban zone and beating a couple having sex, passing by a man smoking crack, and a red-haired young man being violently forced into a detainee transport vehicle along with other red-haired men that have been rounded up, and has been described widely as a metaphoric political statement.[3] The men are shown being driven out to the desert, treated brutally, and forced to run across a live minefield.[4][5][6] During the course of events a child is shown shot through the head and another person is graphically shown being blown to pieces after stepping on a live mine. During the video a mural is seen with armed red haired men and the slogan "Our day will come", which is the historic slogan of the Irish Republican Army, Tiocfaidh ár lá. Also depicted are keffiya-wearing red-haired children who throw rocks and glass bottles at the armored vehicles transporting the detainees, an apparent reference to the Palestinian resistance.
M.I.A, Born Free from ROMAIN-GAVRAS on Vimeo.
What the heck fest 2010 – July 16th, 17th, 18th, 2010
What the heck Fest will be happening again this year in Anacortes, Washington on July 16th, 17th, and 18th. WTH Fest 2010 will also be happening during Shipwreck Day, Saturday, July 17.
I added a bunch of info on the bands to the blog and I'll be adding more as more details about who is performing become available.
Liturgy – WTH 2010
Lloyd & Michael – WTH 2010
Kate Davidson and M. Ritchey have been making music together for twelve years. Having begun their collaboration in a small, dimly-lit dorm room in Portland, they continued by founding the band Dear Nora in 1999. After several national and international tours, Kate decided to pursue a new life in San Francisco, where she learned how to rip wicked guitar solos, turned Dear Nora into a Fela Kuti-inspired 9 person jam band, and released several albums (on Magic Marker Records) to wide acclaim. M. Ritchey stayed in Portland and formed The Badger King with YACHT's Jona Bechtolt, and also followed her tendency toward the mythical to a weird, often cryptic, electro-fantasy-prog solo album under the name "Manta" (which became "Mantar" after veiled litigious threats from a local smooth jazz band became tedious), pouring her energies into an inhuman laptop that neither gave nor received love.
Over the years, both Kate and M. Ritchey explored many new musical avenues, but a small part of each of their hearts remained in that tiny, poorly-ventilated dorm room in which both their friendship and their musical lives were born. Luckily, and for unrelated reasons, they both happened to move to Los Angeles at the same time that, due to the whims of Fate, each was becoming disillusioned with her solo musical venture. It was at this moment that Lloyd and Michael spread its wings and took flight into the disgusting, smoggy air. Now older, wiser, and infinitely more attractive, Kate and M. Ritchey were ready to bring their well-honed individual expressive talents together again, after a decade of solitary wandering. A new album was inevitable, and ended up being recorded in only about four days due to the incredibly strong and positive vibes both were experiencing.
"Just As God Made Us," Lloyd and Michael's debut album (States Rights Records), sounds like Dear Nora mixed with Mantar, plus elements of Yes, the Doobie Brothers, the Indigo Girls, Hector Berlioz, "The Winds of Change" by the Scorpions, Beyoncé Knowles, Ween, the pre-disco work of the Bee Gees, Joni Mitchell, Pharoah Sanders, and possibly Peter, Paul and Mary.
Lloyd and Michael is the sound of friendship. It is the sound of freedom.
Ian Svenonius – WTH 2010
Ian Svenonius is an American musician, notable as the singer and mouthpiece of various Washington, D.C.-based music groups including Nation of Ulysses, The Make-Up, Weird War, and Chain and The Gang. Between his numerous projects, Svenonius has released more than 15 full-length albums and more than 20 singles, EPs, and splits. Svenonius is also a published author and an online talk show host.
Svenonius' career has been characterized by antics and theatrics. His first band, Nation of Ulysses, formed in 1988, was influential in the early Washington D.C. punk scene. The band broke up in 1992 after failing to record their third studio album. After a short-lived side-project called Cupid Car Club, Svenonius formed The Make-Up in 1995, who combined garage rock, soul, and a so-called "liberation theology" to make a new genre they dubbed "Gospel Yeh-Yeh".[2] The Make-Up dissolved early in 2001, and a year later, Svenonius formed the band Weird War, who were also known briefly known as the Scene Creamers, in which he is still active. Svenonius' solo work includes the 2001 album Play Power under the fictional pseudonym of David Candy,[3] the book The Psychic Soviet,[4] and as host of Soft Focus on VBS.tv.[5] Svenonius' projects and writings have all shared an anti-authoritarian, populist, tongue-in-cheek political agenda (though there may be an element of parody in his rhetoric).
Ô Paon – WTH 2010
Geneviève Castrée (born 1981) is a Canadian comics artist, illustrator, and musician from Quebec[1]. She once recorded under the name Woelv[2][3] and has recently switched to Ô PAON[4]. She was born in Loretteville, Quebec[1] and now lives in the Pacific Northwestern United States[3]. She has performed and exhibited her art-work and music extensively at international venues and galleries.
Mount Eerie – WTH 2010
Mount Eerie is an Anacortes, Washington-based band fronted by Phil Elverum. Elverum is the principal member of the band, but he has collaborated with many other musicians on his records.