Professor Jeff Gore speaks with CBS News about why he feels the penny should be retired. Gore explains that Canada eliminated its penny and now rounds prices up and down based on the last number of a product’s price. Gore notes that the Canadian “economy is doing fine” without the penny.
CBC News reports that MIT researchers have detected a circular ring of debris circulating the minor planet Chiron. “If true, Chiron would join Chariklo as the second centaur with such a halo. It would also become only the sixth ringed body in Earth's solar system,” CBC reports.
MIT researchers have found that the minor planet Chiron may have a system of rings, reports Monte Morin for the Los Angeles Times. The researchers observed Chiron passing in front of a bright star and observed that Chiron's shadow contained some features “that suggested something surrounding the centaur was blocking the light.”
Adam Rutherford of BBC Radio 4 speaks with Prof. Nicholas Makris about his work examining the evolution of violin design during the 17th and 18th centuries. Makris explains that, “if you go over that roughly 200 years you see that the F-hole length was increasing over that time period,” an adjustment that increased the violin’s acoustic power.
Professor Jeremy England speaks about how his research group is investigating how physics can help explain the origins of life on The Academic Minute. England explains that his group models “what happens when you take a clump of matter that no one would call alive and then start zapping it with a source of energy (like sunlight).”
The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that Prof. Marc Kastner has been appointed the first president of the Science Philanthropy Alliance. The alliance is aimed at increasing “philanthropic giving for basic science by an additional $1-billion annually within five years.”
MIT researchers have found that the high temperature of intracluster gas, which condenses to form stars, may be hindering the development of new stars, reports Jonathan O’Callaghan for the Daily Mail. The researchers hope to use the new findings to better understand how stars form in surrounding galaxies.
Jeffrey Mervis writes for Science that Prof. Marc Kastner will serve as president of the Science Philanthropy Alliance, a group aimed at boosting support for basic scientific research. Kastner’s new position will allow him to make the case for the importance of basic research on a “national scale.”
Researchers from MIT and Harvard have identified the optical features within a limpet’s shell that allow the mollusk to display blue stripes, reports Nidhi Subbaraman for BetaBoston. The findings could inspire developments in augmented reality screens.
Asma Khalid profiles Professor Alan Guth for WBUR's “Visionaries” series, which features experts in a variety of fields. Guth reminisces about how a high school teacher fostered his interest in physics, his time as a student at MIT and his development of the theory behind why the universe expanded so quickly after the Big Bang.
The Naked Scientists feature Prof. Nicholas Makris explaining his research on the evolution of violin design and performing on the lute. Makris explains his finding that the violin’s “F-hole length increased from the Amati time period to the Guarneri time period," making the instrument's sound more powerful.
A new study conducted by MIT researchers examines the unique acoustical properties of Cremona-era violins’ F-shaped holes, writes Douglas Quenqua for The New York Times. “The scientists found that the length of the holes, not the width, and the strength of the back plate had the biggest effects on sound quality,” Quenqua explains.
Matt Cantor of USA Today writes that by examining the key features that augment a violin’s sound, MIT researchers have found that the shape and design of the “f-holes” give the instrument its acousitcal power. The researchers also found that the instrument’s shape evolved gradually over time, by chance.
The Economist writes about a new MIT study examining the development of violin design, which was found to have evolved by chance. The researchers also found that the shape and length of the violin’s “f-holes” give the instrument its acoustical power.
A new study conducted by researchers from MIT found that a violin’s acoustic power comes from the design of the instrument, writes Joseph Dussault of The Christian Science Monitor. The researchers also found that the “violin’s distinctive, f-shaped sound hole came not as a result of human ingenuity, but rather a series of random mutations.”