Physics
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Chemistry
A dance of two atoms reveals chemical bonds forming and breaking
Two rhenium atoms approach and retreat from one another in an electron microscope video.
- Physics
The fastest-spinning object ever made could help spot quantum friction in a vacuum
Scientists have developed a torque sensor made with a nanoparticle that can spin more than 300 billion times a minute.
- Physics
How to restore the legendary acoustics of Notre Dame
Using heritage acoustics, researchers hope to help restore the sound of Paris's Notre Dame cathedral.
- Space
Dark matter pioneer Vera Rubin gets a new observatory named after her
A new effort to study the cosmos is named after Vera Rubin, an astronomer who searched out dark matter and battled sexism.
- Materials Science
This material could camouflage objects from infrared cameras
A coating of samarium nickel oxide counteracts hotter objects’ tendency for brighter thermal radiation.
- Math
Color-changing fibers help reveal mysteries of how knots work
Experiments with colorful fibers helped scientists discover a few simple rules behind knots’ varying strengths.
- Space
2019 brought us the first image of a black hole. A movie may be next
The Event Horizon Telescope team is gearing up for more black hole discoveries.
- Quantum Physics
Google claimed quantum supremacy in 2019 — and sparked controversy
Google’s quantum computer outperformed the most powerful supercomputer on a task, the company reported. But some scientists aren’t fully convinced.
- Quantum Physics
Quantum jitter lets heat travel across a vacuum
In a first, scientists observed tiny, vibrating membranes exchanging heat due to quantum fluctuations.
- Space
Electric charges on dust grains may help explain how planets are born
In an experiment, glass beads clung together like protoplanetary dust particles when shaken and flung more than 100 meters skyward.
- Quantum Physics
A new, theoretical type of time crystal could run without outside help
The idea tiptoes closer to the original concept of time crystals, first proposed in 2012.
- Physics
Mounting evidence suggests neutrinos are key to why antimatter is rare
The source of matter’s dominance over antimatter might be revealed by the tiny subatomic particles.
