Physics
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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
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PhysicsAcoustical Society of America
A new way to cough, music for the deaf, toadfish sonic sabotage and more in meeting news.
By Devin Powell -
ChemistryMolecules/Matter & Energy
Detecting gunshot residue, free-falling through sand and thinning blood magnetically in this week's news.
By Science News -
PhysicsLight created from the void
An international team of physicists confirms a long-held theory about the quantum energy that fills empty space.
By Devin Powell -
TechNuclear energy: As Germany goes…
The German government surprised many energy analysts May 30, with its pledge to phase out use of nuclear power. What makes the announcement particularly noteworthy is that this government is not offering to walk away from a bit player. Nuclear power currently supplies almost one-quarter of that nation’s electrical energy — more than its share in the United States.
By Janet Raloff -
ChemistryMolecules/Matter & Energy
The electron is still round, plus waterfall-jumping objects, a blood-clotter spotter and more in this week’s news.
By Science News -
PhysicsWhat it means to ‘feel the noise’
Scientists investigating the nexus between sound and touch suggest that the ear arose from skin.
By Devin Powell -
PhysicsGators go a-courtin’ with fancy physics
Their subsonic mating bellows generate Faraday waves, a phenomenon almost never seen outside the lab.
By Devin Powell -
ChemistryMolecules/Matter & Energy
Finding materials harder than diamond, plus spintronic devices, wrinkle physics and more in this week's news.
By Science News -
PhysicsRogue waves captured
Re-creating tiny versions of these monster swells in a laboratory tank reveals their mathematical underpinnings.
By Devin Powell -
ChemistryMolecules/Matter & Energy
How leeches are able to swell tenfold, plus not-so-super solids, new natural toxins and more in this week's news.
By Science News -
PhysicsNew laser is from the birds
Inspired by an optical trick that colors feathers without pigment, physicists come up with a cheap, practical design.
By Devin Powell -
ChemistryMolecules/Matter & Energy
A moth with chemical weapons, light-up bubbles and insidious fungi in this week’s news.
By Science News