physics

May 4, 2016

Galactic Ambitions

Math and physics double-major Mia de los Reyes collected Park, Astronaut, Goldwater and Churchill scholarships while at NC State. 

Feb 11, 2016

New Imaging Technique Shows How DNA is Protected at Chromosomes’ Ends

A new imaging technique lets researchers see how DNA is protected at the ends of your chromosomes. 

Dec 3, 2015

Researchers Simulate Scattering of Helium Nuclei in Stars

Alpha particles, or helium nuclei, play a key role in the synthesis of elements such as carbon and oxygen within stars. An accurate description of alpha particles and their interactions is key to understanding how nature produces elements. Since there’s no way to replicate elemental synthesis in a lab, physicists rely on mathematical calculations to… 

Dec 2, 2015

5 Questions About Neutrinos

NC State physicists Chris Gould, Albert Young and Diane Markoff, with graduate student Jason Messimore, were part of a team of nearly 100 physicists who won the 2016 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics. Read more about their fascinating work in detecting and studying the elusive neutrino. 

Oct 27, 2015

Researchers Create Better Algorithm for Simulating Particles in Fermi Sea

A new, more precise algorithm for simulating particle interactions when a single impurity is introduced into a Fermi sea shows that when these particles interact, the transition from quasiparticle to bound molecule in a polarized two-dimensional system is smooth. 

Oct 21, 2015

From Exoplanets to Rainbow Station: Using Lasers to Print in Four Dimensions

In 2010, Michael Escuti received funding from NSF to study and make novel hologram technologies. He created a tool with applications from studying alien worlds to making cellphones more energy efficient. 

Oct 8, 2015

Professor Channels Passions Into Philanthropy

Chris Gould, NC State professor of physics, is a member of the university’s C.W. Dabney Lifetime Giving Society, R. Stanhope Pullen Society and Chancellor’s Circle. 

Aug 21, 2015

How DNA ‘Proofreader’ Proteins Pick and Edit Their Reading Material

Researchers have discovered how two important proofreader proteins know where to look for errors during DNA replication and how they work together to signal the body’s repair mechanism. 

Apr 20, 2015

What Science Looks Like at NC State

At NC State, science is more than labs, computers and experiments. Science is a story. Science is a calling. Science is diverse. These are the stories of the dual identities of our scientists – the researcher and the everyday man or woman. 

Feb 11, 2015

NC State Researchers Land UNC System Research Grants

NC State is a key partner in five of six grants awarded as part of a new, statewide initiative designed to advance strategically-important collaborative research projects in North Carolina. 

Nov 10, 2014

New Materials Yield Record Efficiency Polymer Solar Cells

NC State researchers have found that temperature-controlled aggregation in a family of new semi-conducting polymers is the key to creating highly efficient organic solar cells that can be mass produced more cheaply. 

Sep 10, 2014

Polarization Imaging Reveals New Views of Hunt Library, Insight Into Exciting Field of Research

These two photos of the James B. Hunt, Jr. Library use a false-color technique to reveal a characteristic of light called polarization. 

Jun 4, 2014

How a Protein “Cancer Cop” Targets UV Damage in DNA

Ah, summer. People are outside enjoying the warm weather, swimming, playing, or just soaking up that glorious, skin-damaging, high-energy UV radiation from the sun. We know that prolonged sun exposure damages skin – the sun is a nuclear reactor, after all. But how does our body respond to and repair this damage at the DNA… 

Mar 13, 2014

Researchers Describe Oxygen’s Different Shapes

Oxygen-16, one of the key elements of life on earth, is produced by a series of reactions inside of red giant stars. Now a team of physicists, including one from North Carolina State University, has revealed how the element’s nuclear shape changes depending on its state, even though other attributes such as spin and parity… 

Sep 17, 2013

Smaller than Small: Why We Measure the Space between Atoms

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Jacob Jones, an associate professor of materials science and engineering at NC State. We study the movement of incredibly small things. How small is small? Think smaller than “nano.” Think smaller than atoms themselves. We measure the infinitesimally small shifts in the positions of atoms to electrical forces.…