Physics
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
Insect swarms might generate as much electric charge as storm clouds
Honeybees flying over a sensor measuring atmospheric voltage sparked a look into how insect-induced static electricity might affect the atmosphere.
- Climate
Wind turbines could help capture carbon dioxide while providing power
Turbulent wakes from wind turbines can concentrate CO2 from cities and factories, making it easier to remove the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere.
- Earth
Particles from space provide a new look inside cyclones
Cosmic rays that smash into the atmosphere make muons that are sensitive to changing air pressure inside storms.
- Physics
Protons may be stretchier than physics predicts
Studying how quarks inside protons move in response to electric fields shows that protons seem to stretch more than theory says they should.
- Health & Medicine
Cooperative sperm outrun loners in the mating race
Sperm that swim in clusters travel more directly toward the uterus, while overcoming fluid currents in the reproductive tract.
- Humans
Here’s where jazz gets its swing
Swing, the feeling of a rhythm in jazz music that compels feet to tap, may arise from near-imperceptible delays in musicians’ timing, a study shows.
- Physics
Quantum experiments with entangled photons win the 2022 Nobel Prize in physics
Three pioneers in quantum information science share this year’s Nobel Prize in physics.
- Physics
Despite a retraction, a room-temperature superconductor claim isn’t dead yet
A high-profile retraction called a superconductivity result into question. But a new experiment appears to support it.
- Particle Physics
Carlos Argüelles hunts for particles beyond the standard model
Carlos Argüelles overcame hardship and discrimination to pursue a passion for physics.
- Science & Society
Big questions inspire the scientists on this year’s SN 10 list
These scientists to watch study climate change, alien worlds, human evolution, the coronavirus and more.
- Particle Physics
How ghostly neutrinos could explain the universe’s matter mystery
If neutrinos behave differently from their antimatter counterparts, it could help explain why our cosmos is full of stuff.
- Quantum Physics
This environmentally friendly quantum sensor runs on sunlight
Quantum sensors often rely on power-hungry lasers to make measurements. A new quantum magnetometer uses sunlight to measure magnetic fields instead.
