Toshiba Europe has reached the demonstration phase of what it claims is the first system to use quantum cryptography to secure a real-time video and voice data stream.

Developed by a 30-person team of scientists working at the company’s Cambridge Research Laboratory , the company says that its immediate plans are to develop the technology for use in specialised video-conferencing systems, where high levels of security are essential.

Longer term, it could also be used to secure the transmission of any other high-bandwidth communication, as well as the movement of large numbers of sensitive files.   more »

Posted to: Physics News

"PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) _ Physicists and Albert Einstein buffs around the world began flipping switches and dialing phones Monday night to commemorate World Year of Physics and the 50th anniversary of Einstein's death.

A worldwide relay of lights got under way at 8:45 p.m. with the illumination of the football stadium and two towers on the campus of Princeton University.

About 140 groups across the United States planned to illuminate everything from college campuses to private homes, said Claire Gmachl, an associate professor of electrical engineering at Princeton University who was organizing the campus' start of the relay.'

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Posted to: Physics News

"Each annual edition provides an opportunity to add new material, update/expand existing tables, and correct errors. Certainly, all errors that we have found or that have been brought to our attention by users are corrected in each new edition. We typically introduce five or six new topics each year, and five to ten existing tables are updated or expanded. The net result is the at least 5% of the book is substantially changed each year. In some years, when a very long table is updated, the changes can amount to 10-20%." - Read More

Related Blog Posts: Scitech Library Question - Handbook of Chemistry & Physics Updating Policy

As if you thought we were the only ones blogging about physics...

Not Even Wrong (http://www.math.columbia.edu/~woit/blog/)

The String Coffee Table (http://golem.ph.utexas.edu/string/index.shtml)

Quantum Diaries (http://interactions.org/quantumdiaries/)

(kudos to daily refill dot com)

Here are some great physics experiments to try on your own:

For more Physics Experiments, visit: http://littleshop.physics.colostate.edu/AmazingPhysics.html

Do a little people-watching, next time you’re in the grocery line. There’s always someone with a cart, bulging with every conceivable kind of diet food. Flats of turkey bacon prop listlessly against the fat free half & half and Olestra cookies. At first glance, this is clearly someone who is completely health conscious, diet minded, and watching what they eat.

But peek beneath the basket to the lower rack – where you normally find dog food, kitty litter, and toxic chemicals – and you will see the full case of Mountain Dew. Diet foods and junk foods, rubbing wrappers in the very same cart might suggest mental illness, delusional optimism, or some other form of brain strain.

However, unbeknownst to the rest of us, these folks are actually brilliant physicists, cleverly disguised as profoundly confused shoppers, so as not to attract any attention. They throw you off their trail with very characteristic behaviors, like chasing a candy bar with a Diet Coke.    more »