[NEIU Physics Students] Phys. Rev. Focus--4 OCT 2007

[Gregory W. Anderson]

PHYSICAL REVIEW FOCUS   4 October 2007   http://focus.aps.org/
David Ehrenstein, American Physical Society

Introductions to the Focus stories of the past week;
visit http://focus.aps.org for the complete stories.

OIL HOLDS WATER TRANSFIXED
Many of life's essential biological processes depend on water and 
specifically on the repulsion that the oily parts of biomolecules 
have toward water. But some aspects of the oil-water interaction 
haven't been clear. Researchers reporting in the 5 October Physical 
Review Letters studied water mixed with oily compounds using 
precisely-timed pulses of infrared light. They showed that part of 
the shell of water surrounding oily molecules is frozen in place, 
confirming a controversial model from 60 years ago. The findings 
could help scientists better understand how water repulsion molds 
the molecules of life.
(Y. L. A. Rezus and H. J. Bakker, Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 148301)
Link to the paper: http://link.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v99/e148301
COMPLETE Focus story at http://focus.aps.org/story/v20/st11

Also from PRL (story from AIP's Physics News Update):

THE VACUUM STRIKES BACK
Story at http://www.aip.org/pnu/2007/split/841-1.html
(R. Bruce et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 144801)

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