Physics

  1. Physics

    What happens when lawn sprinklers suck in water? Physicists answer that quirky question

    Experiments with a floating sprinkler and laser-illuminated microparticles revealed the surprisingly complex physics behind a simple question.

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  2. Physics

    50 years ago, timekeepers deployed the newly invented leap second

    After more than 50 years, metrologists will stop using the leap second to align the time kept by atomic clocks with the rate of Earth’s spin.

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  3. Materials Science

    Artificial intelligence helped scientists create a new type of battery 

    It took just 80 hours, rather than decades, to identify a potential new solid electrolyte using a combination of supercomputing and AI.

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  4. Materials Science

    A fiber inspired by polar bears traps heat as well as down feathers do

    Scientists took a cue from polar bear fur to turn an ultralight insulating material into knittable thread.

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  5. Physics

    Here’s the science behind the burbling sound of water being poured

    The height of the pour and the thickness of the stream help determine the loudness of the falling water.

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  6. Physics

    Here’s how much fruit you can take from a display before it collapses

    About 10 percent of the fruit in a tilted market display can be removed before it all crashes down, computer simulations show.

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  7. Earth

    STEVE and other aurora-like glows perplex scientists with their complex physics

    New views of STEVE from citizen scientists keep raising questions about the atmospheric light show — but computer models may offer some answers.

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  8. Physics

    Invisible comet tails of mucus slow sinking flakes of ‘marine snow’

    New measurements reveal the gunk that surrounds the particles, an important factor in understanding how the ocean sequesters carbon.

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  9. Quantum Physics

    A maverick physicist is building a case for scrapping quantum gravity

    To merge quantum physics and general relativity, physicists aim to quantize gravity. But what if gravity isn’t quantum at all?

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  10. Earth

    Before ancient Egyptians, nature sculpted sphinxes. Here’s how

    Steady winds can carve landforms called yardangs — thought to have inspired the Great Sphinx of Gaza — from featureless blobs, a new study suggests.

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  11. Astronomy

    A rare, extremely energetic cosmic ray has mysterious origins

    In 1991, physicists spotted a cosmic ray with so much energy it warranted an ‘OMG.’ Now that energetic particle has a new companion.

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  12. Physics

    Light, not just heat, might spur water to evaporate

    In experiments, light shining on water as much as doubled the evaporation rate expected from heat alone, hinting at a never-before-seen effect.

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