Physics
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Materials Science
The containers the U.S. plans to use for nuclear waste storage may corrode
The different components of a nuclear waste storage unit start to corrode each other when wet, new lab experiments show.
- Physics
Scientists cooled a nanoparticle to the quantum limit
Physicists decreased a nanoparticle’s motion to the lowest level allowed by quantum mechanics.
- Physics
A quantum strategy could verify the solutions to unsolvable problems — in theory
A quantum technique for verifying solutions to difficult problems could apply to an “unbelievably huge” class of puzzles.
- Chemistry
A dance of two atoms reveals chemical bonds forming and breaking
Two rhenium atoms approach and retreat from one another in an electron microscope video.
- Physics
The fastest-spinning object ever made could help spot quantum friction in a vacuum
Scientists have developed a torque sensor made with a nanoparticle that can spin more than 300 billion times a minute.
- Physics
How to restore the legendary acoustics of Notre Dame
Using heritage acoustics, researchers hope to help restore the sound of Paris's Notre Dame cathedral.
- Space
Dark matter pioneer Vera Rubin gets a new observatory named after her
A new effort to study the cosmos is named after Vera Rubin, an astronomer who searched out dark matter and battled sexism.
- Materials Science
This material could camouflage objects from infrared cameras
A coating of samarium nickel oxide counteracts hotter objects’ tendency for brighter thermal radiation.
- Math
Color-changing fibers help reveal mysteries of how knots work
Experiments with colorful fibers helped scientists discover a few simple rules behind knots’ varying strengths.
- Space
2019 brought us the first image of a black hole. A movie may be next
The Event Horizon Telescope team is gearing up for more black hole discoveries.
- Quantum Physics
Google claimed quantum supremacy in 2019 — and sparked controversy
Google’s quantum computer outperformed the most powerful supercomputer on a task, the company reported. But some scientists aren’t fully convinced.
- Quantum Physics
Quantum jitter lets heat travel across a vacuum
In a first, scientists observed tiny, vibrating membranes exchanging heat due to quantum fluctuations.
