How to make a figure span on two columns in a scientific paper?

From the TUG faq: use the starred versions figure* and table*. Unfortunately, they're somewhat limited in positioning.

Also, the same solution applies to equations. Just include them in a figure* environment. But I don't recommend doing this: it will look ugly and confusing. For an example, see this paper. (sorry, I couldn't find an example in arXiv)

What about using the code below?

\documentclass[11pt,a4paper,twocolumn,english]{article}
\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage{babel}
\usepackage[font=small,labelfont=bf,tableposition=top]{caption}
\usepackage{blindtext}
\usepackage{cuted}

\title{Two column document with figure underneath title}
\author{abhijit8}

\begin{document}
\maketitle

\begin{strip}
    \centering\noindent
    \rule{0.75\linewidth}{0.5\linewidth}
    \captionof{figure}{\blindtext}
\end{strip}

\blindtext[2]

\begin{strip}
    \centering\noindent
    \rule{0.75\linewidth}{0.5\linewidth}
    \captionof{figure}{\blindtext}
\end{strip}

\medskip
\noindent
\begin{minipage}{\linewidth}
    \centering
    \rule{0.75\linewidth}{0.5\linewidth}
    \captionof{figure}{The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog}
\end{minipage}

\medskip
\blindtext[4]
\end{document}

It is from http://www.latex-community.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=10661#p41194 and works like a charm for me.