Physics
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Physics
Exploding stars scattered traces of iron over Antarctic snow
Researchers melted half a ton of snow to find just 10 atoms of a radioactive variety of iron.
- Physics
50 years ago, Fermilab turned to bubbles
The National Accelerator Laboratory, now called Fermilab, used to have a bubble chamber to study particles. Today, most bubble chambers have gone flat.
- Physics
Scientists seek materials that defy friction at the atomic level
Scientists investigate superslippery materials and other unusual friction feats.
- Particle Physics
How a 2017 radioactive plume may be tied to Russia and nixed neutrino research
A botched attempt at producing radioactive material needed for a neutrino experiment may have released ruthenium-106 to the atmosphere in 2017.
- Particle Physics
Dark matter particles won’t kill you. If they could, they would have already
The fact that no one has been killed by shots of dark matter suggests the mysterious substance is relatively small and light.
- Physics
Increased control over ions’ motions may help improve quantum computers
Scientists precisely manipulated the ion’s oscillations and energy levels, a key step toward building better quantum computers.
- Materials Science
Permanent liquid magnets have now been created in the lab
Magnets that generate persistent magnetic fields are usually solid. But new little bar magnets have the mechanical properties of liquids.
- Cosmology
Scientists still can’t agree on the universe’s expansion rate
A mismatch in measurements of how fast the universe is expanding might not be real, a study hints.
- Materials Science
Latest claim of turning hydrogen into a metal may be the most solid yet
If true, the study would complete a decades-long quest to find the elusive material. But such claims have been made prematurely many times before.
- Astronomy
The highest-energy photons ever seen hail from the Crab Nebula
An experiment in Tibet spotted photons with over 100 trillion electron volts of energy.
- Materials Science
50 years ago, bulletproof armor was getting light enough to wear
In 1969, bulletproof armor used boron carbide fibers. Fifty years later, bulletproof armor is drastically lighter and made from myriad materials.
- Chemistry
How seafood shells could help solve the plastic waste problem
Chitin and chitosan from crustacean shells could put a dent in the world’s plastic waste problem.
