Physics

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

More Stories in Physics

  1. Quantum Physics

    The unsung women of quantum physics get their due

    The new book, Women in the History of Quantum Physics, spotlights the oft-forgotten contributions of women scientists in the field.

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  2. Quantum Physics

    As quantum mechanics turns 100, a new revolution is under way

    With greater control over the quantum realm, physicists are poised to make major leaps in quantum computing, quantum gravity and more.

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  3. Tech

    New audio tech could let you listen privately without headphones

    Private listening out in the open is possible thanks to acoustic metasurfaces that precisely bend and direct sound waves.

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  4. Plants

    A leaf’s geometry determines whether it falls far from its tree

    Shape and symmetry help determine where a leaf lands — and if the tree it came from can recoup the leaf’s carbon as it decomposes.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    Lining medical stents with hairlike fuzz could fend off infections

    Implanted tubes that transport bodily fluids can get gross. A lab prototype suggests a new vibration-based way to keep them clean and prevent infection.

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  6. Physics

    Physicists explain how cheese rosettes form

    Rosettes made by scraping Tête de Moine, or “monk’s head,” cheese result from variations in the friction between the blade and the cheese.

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  7. Physics

    Here’s how we might generate electricity from rain

    Water drops produce electricity when dripped through a small tube. That power might be harnessed as renewable energy in rainy places.

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  8. Physics

    Imitation dark matter axions have arrived. They could reveal the real thing

    A long-elusive, hypothetical subatomic particle called the axion can be simulated and potentially detected in a type of thin material.

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  9. Particle Physics

    Neutrinos’ maximum possible mass shrinks further

    The KATRIN experiment in Germany nearly halved the maximum possible mass for neutrinos, setting it at 0.45 electron volts.

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