THEORY OF RELATIVITY RECONFIRMED
General Theory of Relativity predicts that massive bodies, like planets and stars,
distort the fabric of space and time by their presence and also when they move. In particular, the theory predicts that large rotating bodies, such as the Earth, will “drag” space-time with them as they turn about their axis.
This phenomenon called the Lense-Thirring effect also known as frame dragging has been
measured by Ignazio Ciufolini of the University of Lecce in Italy and Erricos Pavlis of the University of Maryland in the US. These scientists have measured a value of the Lense-Thirring effect-that is 99% of the value predicted by the Theory of General Relativity. However, the uncertainty in the result could be as high as 10%.
“The Lense-Thirring effect measured by them is about two meters per year. However, frame-dragging effects could be huge around a spinning black hole and they may have important dynamical consequences on the accretion disk of matter by rotating black holes and rotating neutron stars.”
MOLECULAR ELECTRONICS ON SILICON
Prof. Mark C. Hersam and his group of scientists have demonstrated a strategy for intentionally positioning molecules, which is necessary for the construction of nanoscale systems such as molecular transistors or light emitting diodes. The process works at room
temperature and on silicon, which suggests that it can be made compatible with conventional silicon microelectronics. The nanofabrication process, called multi-step feedback controlled lithography, is useful for a variety of fundamental studies and for the construction and testing of prototype nanoscale devices that could be used in future technologies ranging from consumer electronics to biomedical diagnostics.
The researchers used a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) to precisely align multiple types of molecules on a silicon surface at room temperature. Their nanofabrication process will soon lead to molecular transistors or light emitting diodes. As this new process works at room temperature, this means it is possible to integrate it with current technologies.