Physics
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Physics
Superconductor has odd electron pairing
Although electrons pair up in many superconductors, there's one in which they join together in two different ways, new calculations confirm.
- Physics
Clues to exotic particles found again
Although a correction to theory last year watered down its results, further analysis of a muon experiment still provides hints of new subatomic particles.
- Materials Science
What the mail must go through
Mail irradiation in Washington, D.C. is damaging valuable objects and documents intended for scientific study or archiving at the Smithsonian, the White House, and other government organizations.
- Physics
Manhandled molecules, midget memories
A thick coating of organic chemicals can record information at densities potentially a million times greater than is possible with current compact disk technology.
- Materials Science
A Cut above the Ordinary: Low-tech machining yields coveted nanostructure
A new finding that machining of metals imparts a hard, fine-grained structure to turnings and other scraps may lead to less costly but more durable parts for cars and other applications.
- Physics
Peer Pressure in Numbers: Physicists model the power of social sway
A mathematical model of peer-influenced behavior may help explain some unexpected patterns that have been observed in financial data and bird populations.
- Physics
Relativity and Gravitation
Learn more about the hot Big Bang, relic radiation, black holes, cosmic strings, inflation, and other topics at the frontiers of cosmology research. Offered by the Cambridge University relativity and gravitation research group, this Web site features illustrated explanations of key concepts, colorful movies, and a link to Stephen Hawking’s pages. Go to: http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/gr/public/
- Physics
Violent chemistry saps sonobubble energy
In liquids agitated by sound waves, imploding gas bubbles get cooled when atoms recombine, making the bubbles unlikely nuclear reactors.
- Physics
Hunting for Higher Dimensions
Inspired by recent theoretical insights, physicists at accelerators and gravitational laboratories are searching for clues to dimensions beyond the four dimensions of space-time.
- Physics
Melting nuclei re-create Big Bang broth
The seething primordial matter that existed in the first microseconds after the Big Bang may have briefly reappeared in fireballs created at a European particle accelerator.
- Materials Science
Spinning Fine Threads: Silkworms coerced to make better silk
The caterpillars that spin commercial silk can make tougher or more elastic threads, depending on how fast they're forced to spin.
- Physics
Scaling energy barriers to save data
Researchers demonstrate a promising new way to make semiconductor-based memory that doesn't erase when the power goes off.
