Physics
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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
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PhysicsSecond gravitational wave signal detected
LIGO has spotted a second set of ripples in the fabric of spacetime.
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AstronomySpace-based probe passes tests for gravitational wave detection
The LISA Pathfinder mission has demonstrated that future observatories in space could detect gravitational waves.
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AstronomySpace-based probe passes tests for gravitational wave detection
The LISA Pathfinder mission has demonstrated that future observatories in space could detect gravitational waves.
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Quantum PhysicsQuantum weirdness survives space travel
Quantum weirdness travels from Earth to space and back again.
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Materials ScienceButterfly-inspired nanostructures can sort light
Scientists re-created a nanostructure found on butterflies that can separate out circularly polarized light, a characteristic that may be useful for telecommunications.
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Quantum PhysicsSchrödinger’s cat now dead and alive in two boxes at once
The living-dead feline has been split in two, using a system of microwaves inside superconducting cavities.
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PhysicsThe center of Earth is younger than the outer surface
Einstein’s general theory of relativity predicts the center of the Earth is two years younger than the crust.
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ClimateZapping clouds with lasers could tweak planet’s temperature
Breaking up the ice particles inside cirrus clouds could make them reflect more light, turning them into a tool to combat global warming.
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AstronomyStephen Hawking finds the inner genius in ordinary people
Ordinary people wrestle with big questions in science and philosophy in Genius, a new television series hosted by Stephen Hawking.
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Quantum PhysicsPhysicists smash particle imitators
A new quasiparticle collider smashes together the faux-particles that appear in solid materials.
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Particle PhysicsLarge Hadron Collider starts its 2016 physics run
Experiments at the Large Hadron Collider are taking data for the first time in 2016.
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Quantum PhysicsCommunicating covertly goes quantum
Researchers are working to make quantum messages that are undetectable.