All Stories by Peter Weiss
- Physics
Grainy Geyser: Tall squirts reveal sand’s liquid ways
Dropping a steel ball into fine, loosely packed sand produces towering jets of grains.
- Physics
Misbehavin’ Meson: Perplexing particle flouts the rules
The discovery of what appears to be a new subatomic particle with bizarre properties is challenging theorists' understanding of how matter behaves.
- Physics
New pass at neutrino mass
The first experiment to create neutrinos in an accelerator and then beam them a long distance has found a long-awaited, new form of evidence that those fundamental particles weigh something.
- Physics
Why the thinnest sticky hairs rule
The foot hairs of geckos and other creatures that can walk on ceilings may be microscopic because only such slender hairs offer optimal adhesion, regardless of shape.
- Physics
Teleporting Matter’s Traits: Beaming information quantum-style
Physicists have transferred a quantum state from one atom to another by manipulating a mysterious, atom-to-atom quantum link called entanglement.
- Physics
Squashed spheres set a record for filling space
Modestly deformed spheres can stack with unexpected compactness.
- Tech
Sixth Sense
A budding technology called electric field imaging may soon enable devices such as appliances, toys, and computers to detect the presence of people and respond to their motions.
- Tech
Microwave mirror hits the spot
A technique for rebounding and refocusing sound also works for electromagnetic waves, possibly opening new uses ranging from improving cell phone communication to treating illness.
- Tech
Tiny Tubes Brighten Bulbs: Nanotubes beat tungsten in lightbulb test—maybe
Experiments suggest that lightbulbs with filaments made from carbon nanotubes outshine conventional bulbs.
- Tech
Groovy Pictures: Extracting sound from images of old audio recordings
To preserve songs and words on antique vinyl records and wax cylinders, a new scanning technique maps their grooves, then simulates a stylus moving along those contours to extract high-quality sound.
- Physics
Holey Water: Punctured fluid stays riddled
Extreme vibrations and high concentrations of tiny particles, such as cornstarch, in water can create holes in the liquid.
- Physics
After 40-year prep, gravity test soars
The Gravity Probe B satellite, which was built to test aspects of general relativity, finally hurtled into space.
