Physics
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Physics
Powers of Ten
Florida State University’s “Molecular Expressions” Web site offers a fascinating sequence of images, each one 10 times bigger or smaller in scale than the one preceding or following it. The journey ranges from a view of the universe 10 million light years away from the Milky Way to an impressionistic glimpse of a diminutive sea […]
- Physics
Quantum computers to keep an eye on
A primitive ion-based computer exploiting the weirdness of quantum mechanics has taken an important step forward in problem solving.
- Physics
Clocking gravity
The first attempt to measure the speed of gravity finds it roughly equal to that of light, as expected, though not everyone agrees that the method used can actually measure gravity's speed.
- Materials Science
Conch yields clues for future materials
A conch's tough, calcium carbonate shell resists fractures because a protein surrounds the mineral crystals throughout the shell.
- Materials Science
Quick-Change Surface: Material repels water on command
Researchers have modified a gold surface so that it switches from a water-attracting mode to a water-repelling one on command.
- Materials Science
Fracture Protection: Nanotubes toughen up ceramics
The addition of carbon nanotubes to a ceramic material dramatically improves its fracture resistance.
- Materials Science
Carbon nanotubes beam electrons
Researchers have taken a step toward using carbon nanotubes as electron sources in devices such as high-resolution electron microscopes.
- Materials Science
Gold Deposits: Scientists design nanoparticle films
In a step toward a cheaper, easier way to connect computer chips to computers, scientists have patterned semiconductors with a film of extremely small gold particles.
- Materials Science
Gold Deposits: Scientists design nanoparticle films
In a step toward a cheaper, easier way to connect computer chips to computers, scientists have patterned semiconductors with a film of extremely small gold particles.
- Physics
Prying apart antimatter
Matter and antimatter look reassuringly alike in physicists' first investigations of energy levels of antihydrogen atoms.
- Physics
Prying apart antimatter
Matter and antimatter look reassuringly alike in physicists' first investigations of energy levels of antihydrogen atoms.
- Physics
Getting Warped
While museum displays such as simulations of warped space-time acquaint visitors with the ideas behind Albert Einstein's scientific discoveries, other galleries of artifacts, letters, and even film footage reveal the multifaceted man that Einstein was.
