Physics
These simple knife tricks stop onion tears instantly
With a high-speed camera and a tiny guillotine, scientists showed that chopping onions slowly and with sharper knives cuts down on tears.
By Carly Kay
Physics
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
More Stories in Physics
- Materials Science
New wetsuit designs offer a layer of protection against shark bites
By weaving Kevlar or polyethylene nanofibers into standard neoprene in wetsuits, researchers found ways to limit injury during rare encounters with sharks.
- Particle Physics
Lasers made muon beams, no massive accelerator needed
The advance hints at the possibility of portable muon-making devices that could help peer through solid materials for hidden contraband.
- Quantum Physics
Discoveries that enabled quantum computers win the Nobel Prize in physics
In the 1980s, John Clarke, Michel Devoret and John Martinis demonstrated quantum effects in an electric circuit, an advance that underlies today’s quantum computers.
- Physics
These parachutes unfurl thanks to the Japanese art of kirigami
Parachutes inspired by Japanese paper cutting unfurl automatically and fall more predictably than standard parachutes.
- Physics
Here’s what might spark ghostly will-o’-the-wisps
Chemists have discovered tiny zaps of electricity moving between “swamp-gas” bubbles. Could they ignite methane gas to glow as dancing blue flames?
- Physics
Ice is more flexible than you think, a new nano-movie shows
Scientists have filmed nanoscale ice crystals adapting to trapped air bubbles without losing structural integrity.
- Particle Physics
A primordial black hole may have spewed the highest energy neutrino ever found
The Big Bang may have spawned these theoretical black holes, whose lives are thought to end in a burst of extremely energetic particles.
- Chemistry
A new book explores the link between film giant Kodak and the atomic bomb
In Tales of Militant Chemistry, Alice Lovejoy traces how film giants Kodak and Agfa helped produce weapons of war during the 20th century.
- Materials Science
Salt can turn frozen water into a weak power source
Experiments reveal that when slabs of salty ice are strained, electricity is generated, though practical uses are still a long way off.
