UniversityOfWisconsin-milwaukee
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Radio telescopes show theory of gravity holds in extreme situations
Radio telescopes have been crucial to some significant discoveries regarding the nature of the universe. Now, though, they're verifying the basic rules of the cosmos. An international group of astronomers has shown that Einstein's theory of gravity holds up even in more extreme situations. The team spent six years using a trio of radio telescopes (Arecibo, Green Bank and Westerbork Synthesis) to track an unusual three-star system with a pulsar bracketed by two white dwarfs -- a textbook example of extreme gravity in action. How that pulsar moved would determine whether or not Einstein's concept passed muster.
New material brings semiconducting to the graphene party
Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee have cooked up a new graphene-based material that could provide a speed boost for all electronics. We've seen the carbon allotrope turn up in circuitry and transistors before, but the new chemical modification -- graphene monoxide -- is said to be easier to scale up, and most importantly is semiconducting, unlike the insulating or conducting forms that have preceded it. This also means graphene can now provide the triad of electrical conductivity characteristics. The scientists were honest enough to admit the discovery was as much by chance as design, with it coming to light while investigating another material containing carbon nanotubes and tin oxide. We're sure they're not the first to make a discovery this way, we just haven't had time to check the notes to be sure of it.
