Physics

  1. illustration of a black hole
    Astronomy

    Weird black holes may hold secrets of the early universe

    Big black holes in little galaxies, rogue black holes and other behemoths could offer clues to cosmic evolution.

    By Ashley Yeager
  2. An overhead photo of the nuclear physics facility ISOLDE at CERN.
    Physics

    Measurements of a key radioactive decay nudge a nuclear clock closer to reality

    In a step toward building a nuclear clock, scientists measured light emitted when a special type of thorium nucleus decayed.

    By Emily Conover
  3. illustration of red and green squiggle lines passing through several grids
    Quantum Physics

    Quantum computers braided ‘anyons,’ long-sought quasiparticles with memory

    Particle-like quantum states called non-abelian anyons remember being swapped and could be useful for protecting information in quantum computers.

    By Emily Conover
  4. A house in Indonesia
    Environment

    This house was built partly from recycled diapers

    Disposable diapers can replace nearly a third of the materials used in load-bearing structures, offering a potential path to more affordable housing.

    By Carolyn Gramling
  5. An illustration of blue-gray clouds with bright blue and orange dots of light scattered throughout the image.
    Planetary Science

    Jupiter’s lightning bolts contort the same way as Earth’s

    Jovian lightning extends in jagged steps as it does on Earth, data from NASA’s Juno spacecraft suggest. The finding might aid the search for life.

    By Nikk Ogasa
  6. A photo of someone in a blue jacket with their upper body through the sunroof of a car. There is a ring of several small microphones surrounding them.
    Physics

    Science explains why shouting into the wind seems futile

    Sending a sound upwind, against the flow of air, makes the sound louder due to an acoustical effect called convective amplification. Sound sent downwind is quieter.

    By Emily Conover
  7. An image showing a black hole with a red ring surrounding it and going horizontally across the front.
    Physics

    Black holes resolve paradoxes by destroying quantum states

    A classic quantum experiment done near a black hole would create a paradox, physicists report. But not if the black hole collapses quantum states.

    By Lisa Grossman
  8. A huge tangle of worms on a black backdrop
    Physics

    These worms can escape tangled blobs in an instant. Here’s how

    Tangled masses of California blackworms form over minutes but untangle in tens of milliseconds. Now scientists know how.

    By Emily Conover
  9. A close up photo of a tiny transparent rectangle sitting on the tip of a person's finger.
    Quantum Physics

    A sapphire Schrödinger’s cat shows that quantum effects can scale up

    The atoms in a piece of sapphire oscillate in two directions at once, a mimic of the hypothetically dead-and-alive feline.

    By Emily Conover
  10. Fungus mycelium growing on a decaying trunk.
    Materials Science

    A vegan leather made of dormant fungi can repair itself

    Researchers developed a leather alternative made from dormant fungus that can be reanimated and then regrow when damaged.

    By Jude Coleman
  11. A photo of a hand holding a light colored rectangle with darker lines running across it.
    Health & Medicine

    A graphene “tattoo” could help hearts keep their beat

    A proof-of-concept electronic heart tattoo relies on graphene to act as an ultrathin, flexible pacemaker. In rats, it treated an irregular heartbeat.

    By Meghan Rosen
  12. A microscopic image of columns of black particles. The top row has gold dots in the center
    Physics

    Videos of gold nanoparticles snapping together show how some crystals grow

    Real-time electron microscopy shows gold nanoparticles tumbling and sliding in a fluid before snapping together in crystalline structures.

    By James R. Riordon