Physics
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Materials Science
A new fabric becomes more breathable as you work up a sweat
A yarn-based textile can switch from breathable to insulating and back again, depending on how much you sweat.
- Physics
Laser light can contain intricate, beautiful fractals
Fractals show up in cauliflower, seashells and now — lasers.
- Physics
Lasers could send messages right to a listener’s ear
Communication in noisy environments or dangerous situations could one day rely on lasers.
- Materials Science
Being messy on the inside keeps metamaterials from folding under stress
Inspiration from disordered arrangements of atoms in crystalline metals may lead to longer-lasting, next-gen materials.
- Physics
Physicists aim to outdo the LHC with this wish list of particle colliders
Proposed new accelerators could solve mysteries of the Higgs boson.
- Physics
A new gravitational wave detector is almost ready to join the search
Buried deep underground, Japan’s KAGRA detector relies on components cooled to just 20 degrees above absolute zero.
- Chemistry
150 years on, the periodic table has more stories than it has elements
The organized rows and columns of the Periodic Table hide a rich and twisting history.
- Particle Physics
Readers ask about electrons’ roundness, a science board game and more
Readers had questions about electrons’ roundness, a camera that measures light intensity in decibels and more.
- Physics
A weird type of zirconium soaks up neutrons like a sponge
Zirconium-88 captures neutrons with extreme efficiency, and scientists don’t yet know why.
- Quantum Physics
‘Beyond Weird’ and ‘What Is Real?’ try to make sense of quantum weirdness
The books ‘Beyond Weird’ and ‘What is Real?’ have different perspectives on what quantum physics says about reality.
- Physics
High-speed video reveals physics tricks for shooting a rubber band
To fire a rubber band flawlessly, use a wide band and don’t pull too hard, physicists suggest.
- Physics
The physics of fluids explains how crowds of marathon runners move
A new liquid-inspired theory can predict the movements of marathoners lining up for a race.
