It’s nuclear physics 101: Radioactivity proceeds at its own pace. Each type of radioactive isotope, be it plutonium-238 or carbon-14, changes into another isotope or element at a specific, universal, immutable rate. This much has been known for more than a century, since Ernest Rutherford defined the notion of half-life—the time it takes for half of the atoms in a radioactive sample to transmute into something else. So when researchers suggested in August that the sun causes variations in the decay rates of isotopes of silicon, chlorine, radium and manganese, the physics community reacted ... (p. 20)

In a simulated merger, astrophysicists tried to push the boundaries of two black holes into shedding their event horizons. But the resulting black hole was still shrouded by its event horizon, through which even light can’t escape.

Physicists manipulated a microwave pulse and could essentially watch it transition from a quantum state into the realm of classical physics.

SEE THE VIDEO: Researchers film a fungus catapulting its spores with an acceleration greater than what astronauts feel.

A team dissects the physics of a mosquito bite, working to find a way to design gentler needles. (p. 11)

Physicists have discovered a new particle made of three quarks, including two strange quarks. Its existence further validates the standard model of particle physics.

A new paper suggests the possibility that the behavior of electrons in quantum systems could verify Riemann’s famous conjecture about prime numbers.

By identifying a new way to wrestle fluorine from carbon compounds, chemists may now be able to break down certain types of greenhouse gases before they reach the atmosphere.