frouman.net

sciencehabit writes "Physicists have, for the first time, been able to image the quantum workings of electrons in hydrogen atoms, an advance that could open the door to a deeper understanding of the quantum world (abstract). Building on a 1981 proposal by three Russian theorists and more recent work that brought that proposal into the realm of possibility, the team first fired two lasers at hydrogen atoms inside a chamber, kicking off electrons at speeds and directions that depended on their underlying wave functions. A strong electric field inside the chamber guided the electrons to positions on a planar detector that depended on their initial velocities rather than on their initial positions. So the distribution of electrons striking the detector matched the wave function the electrons had at the moment they left their hydrogen nuclei behind. There may be practical applications in the future—a commentary accompanying the paper suggests that the method could aid in the development of technologies such as molecular wires, atom-thick conductors that could help shrink electronic devices—but that their result concerns 'extremely fundamental' physics that might be just as valuable for developing quantum intuition in the next generation of physicists."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

WEIRDNUZ.M319 (News of the Weird, May 19, 2013)
by Chuck Shepherd

Lead Story

* The beauty pageant each April at the Rattlesnake Roundup in
Sweetwater, Tex., requires traditional skills like interview poise,
evening-gown fashion, and talent, but also some ability and
inclination to milk and skin rattlers. High school senior Kyndra

WEIRDNUZ.M318 (News of the Weird, May 12, 2013)
by Chuck Shepherd

Copyright 2013 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.

Lead Story

* Caribou Baby, a Brooklyn, N.Y., "eco-friendly maternity, baby
and lifestyle store," has recently been hosting gatherings at which
parents exchange tips on "elimination communication"--the

WEIRDNUZ.M317 (News of the Weird, May 5, 2013)
by Chuck Shepherd

Copyright 2013 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.

*Editor's Note: Chuck returns to blogging what's really weird from
*
*the past week. Mondays, starting tomorrow, May 6th.
*
[link]

Lead Story

WEIRDNUZ.M316 (News of the Weird, April 28, 2013)
by Chuck Shepherd

Copyright 2013 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.

Ladies and gentlemen, Beginning next Sunday, Yr Editor makes
a long-awaited, thrice-weekly return to the blog
WeirdUniverse.net. On May 5th, you could (if you wanted to)

WEIRDNUZ.M315 (News of the Weird, April 21, 2013)
by Chuck Shepherd

Copyright 2013 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.

Lead Story

* To counter the now-well-publicized culture of rapes in India, three
engineers in Chennai said in March that they are about to send to
the market women's anti-rape lingerie, which will provide both a

WEIRDNUZ.M314 (News of the Weird, April 14, 2013)
by Chuck Shepherd

Copyright 2013 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.

Lead Story

* Undocumented immigrant Jose Munoz, 25, believed himself an
ideal candidate for President Obama's 2012 safe-harbor initiative
for illegal-entry children, in that he had been brought to the U.S. by

WEIRDNUZ.M313 (News of the Weird, April 7, 2013)
by Chuck Shepherd

Copyright 2013 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.

Lead Story

* Wait . . . What? A startup company in Austin, Tex., also serving
San Francisco, promises to take its customers' incoming U.S. Mail
three times a week, photograph it, and deliver it back to the

WEIRDNUZ.M312 (News of the Weird, March 31, 2013)
by Chuck Shepherd

Copyright 2013 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.

Lead Story

* In March, Microsoft was fined 561 million euros (about $725
million) by the European Commission after, apparently, a
programer carelessly left out just one line of code in Microsoft's

WEIRDNUZ.M311 (News of the Weird, March 24, 2013)
by Chuck Shepherd

Copyright 2013 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.

Lead Story

* One of the many decisions greeting Pope Francis, as Salon.com
pointed out, is whether to officially recognize a "Patron Saint of
Handgunners"--as urged by a U.S. organization of activists for more

WEIRDNUZ.M310 (News of the Weird, March 17, 2013)
by Chuck Shepherd

Copyright 2013 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.

Lead Story

* Leaders of the ice-fishing community, aiming for official
Olympics recognition as a sport, have begun the process by asking
the World Anti-Doping Agency to random-test its "athletes" for

WEIRDNUZ.M309 (News of the Weird, March 10, 2013)
by Chuck Shepherd

Copyright 2013 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.

Lead Story

* A Verizon risk team, looking for data breaches on the firm's
computers, found that a software developer for a Verizon contractor
was basically idle for many months, yet remained productive--because

WEIRDNUZ.M308 (News of the Weird, March 3, 2013)
by Chuck Shepherd

Copyright 2013 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.

Lead Story

* An Arizona appeals court ruled in February that someone can be
guilty of driving under the influence of marijuana even though its
psychoactive ingredient has long left his system. Since tests of

WEIRDNUZ.M307 (News of the Weird, February 24, 2013)
by Chuck Shepherd

Copyright 2013 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.

Lead Story

* Officials at England's 12th-century St. Peter's Church in Seaford,
East Sussex, which is renowned for its eerie quietness, created a
30-minute CD recently of near-total silence, first as a small-scale

WEIRDNUZ.M306 (News of the Weird, February 17, 2013)
by Chuck Shepherd

Copyright 2013 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.

Lead Story

* An estimated 3.2 million kids aged 5-12 take mixed-martial arts
classes, training to administer beatdowns modeled after the adults'
Ultimate Fighting Championships, according to a January report in

WEIRDNUZ.M305 (News of the Weird, February 10, 2013)
by Chuck Shepherd

Copyright 2013 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.

Lead Story

* Cliche Come to Life: The Kerry, Ireland, county council voted in
January to let some people drive drunk. The councillors reasoned
that in the county's isolated regions, some seniors live alone and

WEIRDNUZ.M304 (News of the Weird, February 3, 2013)
by Chuck Shepherd

Lead Story

* California lawyer Jonathan Frieman finally got his day in court in
January, but a Marin County judge quickly rejected his argument
that he is entitled to use the state's carpool lanes accompanied only
by a sheath of corporate papers in the passenger seat. (During the

WEIRDNUZ.M303 (News of the Weird, January 27, 2013)
by Chuck Shepherd

Copyright 2013 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.

Lead Story

* Perspective: A leading "adult" search engine reported in
December that, over the last seven years, just two of the most
popular Internet pornography websites it analyzes have been viewed

WEIRDNUZ.M302 (News of the Weird, January 20, 2013)
by Chuck Shepherd

Copyright 2013 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.

Lead Story

* "Fulton Jail Will Get Working Cell Locks," read the December
19th Atlanta Journal-Constitution headline. The County
Commission serving Atlanta had finally voted to break a

WEIRDNUZ.M301 (News of the Weird, January 13, 2013)
by Chuck Shepherd

Copyright 2013 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.

Lead Story

* The usual 20,000 or so visitors every year to Belgium's Verbeke
Foundation art park have the option (365 of them, anyway) to spend
the night inside the feature attraction: a 20-foot-long, 6-foot-high