Physics
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Physics
Fundamental constants place a new speed limit on sound
Physicists propose a new maximum rate that sound waves can travel under conditions normally found on Earth — 36 kilometers per second.
- Physics
Black hole revelations win the 2020 Nobel Prize in physics
The Nobel Prize in physics was awarded to a trio of scientists for their work on the most mysterious objects in the universe: black holes.
- Tech
A new thermometer measures temperature with sound
An acoustic thermometer takes temperature by listening to the faint hum that objects give off when they get hot.
- Space
The first black hole image helped test general relativity in a new way
The Event Horizon Telescope’s iconic image of the black hole at the center of galaxy M87 once again shows Einstein was right.
- Physics
A stop-motion experiment reveals supercooled water’s dual nature
Scientists found signs that water cooled well below freezing consists of two different arrangements of molecules.
- Space
EHT data show turbulence makes the glowing ring around M87’s black hole wobble
Event Horizon Telescope data spanning nearly a decade reveal that the appearance of the supermassive black hole inside galaxy M87 changes over time.
- Animals
Sea butterflies’ shells determine how the snails swim
New aquarium videos show that sea butterflies of various shapes and sizes flutter through water differently.
- Physics
Toy boats float upside down underneath a layer of levitated liquid
The upward force of buoyancy keeps objects afloat even in unusual conditions.
- Physics
Record-breaking gravitational waves reveal that midsize black holes do exist
The biggest merger of two black holes so far raises questions about how the pair of objects came to be.
- Quantum Physics
A measurement of positronium’s energy levels confounds scientists
A gap in the energy levels of positronium seems to be substantially larger than predicted, and physicists don’t know why.
- Physics
Four types of flames join forces to make this eerie ‘blue whirl’
Pinning down the structure of the “amazingly complex” blaze could help scientists control it.
- Physics
A new experiment hints at how hot water can freeze faster than cold
A study of tiny glass beads suggests that the Mpemba effect is real.
