All Stories by Davide Castelvecchi
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- Physics
Black Hole of Light: Laser pulses create model of event horizon
Physicists have created the optical analog of a black hole's surface of no return, a setup that could help test whether actual black holes glow.
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True Blue: Electron jumps make protein shine like an LED
A protein thought to be fluorescent instead emits light the way an LED does, suggesting that some living things might do the same.
- Tech
Diamond detectors
The quantum states of single diamond impurities work as magnetic sensors that could enable nuclear magnetic resonance to detect single atoms.
- Physics
Birds network too
Starlings in a flock adjust their trajectories to those of their closest neighbors, which helps the flock stay together when under attack.
- Chemistry
Energy in Motion
The molecular machines of living cells harvest energy out of randomness, and scientists are learning how to do the same with artificial molecules.
- Tech
Nanocrystal
Researchers have used DNA as Velcro to create the first materials that spontaneously assemble into regular 3-D patterns.
- Chemistry
Chomping on uranium
Chemists forced the most common form of uranium into a new kind of chemical reaction, which could lead to new industrial applications and new tools to clean up the environment.
- Physics
Scanner Darkly: Tiny venetian blinds enhance radiography
Microscopic gratings that select scattered X rays might improve luggage screening and cancer detection.
- Physics
Dusty Fireball: Can lab-made blob explain ball lightning?
Artificial cousins of ball lightning contain microscopic particles, just like a model says they should. With video.
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- Physics
Bathtub Optics: Bending light also shifts it sideways
When light bends at an interface, it also shifts depending on its polarization. With animation.
