Physics
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Physics
Matter’s Missing Piece Shows Up
The first direct evidence of the tau neutrino, the last of the 12 subatomic particles considered the fundamental building blocks of matter, has finally been found.
- Physics
Muon Manna? Particle shower may spotlight loose nukes
Radiation from space may help border guards spot loose nukes stowed in shipping containers.
- Physics
Squirming through space-time
In the exotic realm of curved space, the topography of space itself might provide a propulsion assist—albeit a tiny one.
- Physics
In orbit, water makes the stretch
An astronaut-at-play stumbled upon an unexpected behavior of water in near-zero gravity: The formation of durable films—some as wide as saucers—that would instantly break here on Earth.
- Physics
Bunches of atoms madly morph
While investigating the instability of tiny clusters of atoms, scientists observe ultrasmall salt grains switching shapes at a stupendous rate.
- Physics
New approach smooths wrinkle analysis
A simple new theory of wrinkle formation predicts basic traits of wrinkled surfaces, such as how close together the folds will be, without miring scientists in impossible-to-solve equations.
- Materials Science
Making Polymers That Self-Destruct: Layers break apart in controlled way
A new polymer film chews itself apart under certain conditions, making it a potential candidate for the controlled delivery of therapeutic drugs.
- Physics
Device Sees More inside Live Cells
A new type of optical microscope, which can discern objects smaller than a supposedly fundamental limit for visible-light viewing, may make it possible to see finer details of the insides of living cells.
- Physics
A Curie-ous Tale
Marie Curie discovered two elements and won two Nobel Prizes for her pioneering studies on radioactivity. A new online exhibit at the American Institute of Physics’ history site depicts how she displayed her ardor and brilliance in many other facets of life as well, such as organizing and equipping a radiological medicine unit for French […]
- Materials Science
Waterproof Coats: Materials repel water with simplicity, style
Researchers have produced new types of water-repelling surfaces, including one that's colorful and another made of inexpensive plastic.
- Materials Science
Technique may yield vocal cord stand-in
A plastic material used in some biological implants could someday form a foundation for tissue that can repair or replace human vocal cords.
- Materials Science
Ceramic rebounds from stressful situations
The ceramic titanium silicon carbide can fully recover after being compressed to a degree that would leave most ceramics shattered and most metals permanently deformed.
