Physics

  1. Physics

    Graphite in Flatland: Carbon sheets may rival nanotubes

    Researchers have created freestanding carbon films as thin as one atom.

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  2. Physics

    Dancing the heat away

    By laser-zapping nanocapsules of water, scientists find that the specific molecular motions caused by the excitation, not just simple heat diffusion, determine how energy and heat flow through such minuscule structures.

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  3. Physics

    Tiny tubes tune in colors

    At the right length and conductivity, ultrathin filaments of carbon known as carbon nanotubes can receive visible light waves in the same the way as larger antennas receive radio signals.

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  4. Materials Science

    Reversible gel restores artwork

    To help conservationists restore paintings to their original glory without damaging the original paint, chemists have developed a cleaning product that switches from a liquid to a gel.

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  5. Materials Science

    One-Upping Nature’s Materials

    Striving for designer substances that build themselves from individual molecules.

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  6. Physics

    An electron ruler gauges crystal flaws

    Electrons ricocheting through a crystal now make it possible for scientists to discern shifts in crystal lattices as small as a hundredth of an atom's width.

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  7. Physics

    To freeze this liquid, add heat

    A wrong-headed mixture of liquid starch, water, and a solvent freezes when heated.

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  8. Physics

    Hurrying a nuclear identity switch

    Radioactive beryllium-7 atoms locked inside molecular cages decay extraordinarily quickly.

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  9. Physics

    Wake Up, Little Surfers: Riding waves toward tabletop accelerators

    Prospects that today's giant particle accelerators could shrink to the size of rooms look better than ever, now that new experiments have produced electron pulses of uniform energy from laser-powered accelerators that act over millimeter distances.

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  10. Physics

    Marrying matter and light

    Physicists have created circuit components that, in a manner analogous to atoms, meld with light, opening new ways to study fundamental light-matter interactions.

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  11. Physics

    Spooky Timing: Quantum-linked photons coordinate clock ticks

    Physicists have demonstrated a new technique for bringing distant clocks into closer synchronization by means of entangled photons whose quantum properties are mysteriously correlated.

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  12. Physics

    Orbiting relativity test gets slow start

    Unexpected but necessary adjustments to a satelliteborne test of relativity theory have slashed the time available to collect data.

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