Peter Weiss

All Stories by Peter Weiss

  1. Tech

    A Shot in the Light

    Bullet replicas that look on a microscopic level like they've been fired from a gun—even though they haven't—enable forensics specialists to fine-tune as never before instruments to automatically match bullets from crime scenes.

  2. Physics

    Prying apart antimatter

    Matter and antimatter look reassuringly alike in physicists' first investigations of energy levels of antihydrogen atoms.

  3. Physics

    Prying apart antimatter

    Matter and antimatter look reassuringly alike in physicists' first investigations of energy levels of antihydrogen atoms.

  4. Physics

    Getting Warped

    While museum displays such as simulations of warped space-time acquaint visitors with the ideas behind Albert Einstein's scientific discoveries, other galleries of artifacts, letters, and even film footage reveal the multifaceted man that Einstein was.

  5. Physics

    Identity Check: Elusive neutrinos morph on Earth, as in space

    Strengthening a challenge to the prevailing theory of particle physics, measurements of elusive particles called antineutrinos from nuclear reactors suggest that no neutrino types, be they matter or antimatter, have stable identities.

  6. Physics

    Icicle waves go with the flow

    A new model of icicle growth may explain the strange fact that ripples often found on those icy spikes typically sit about 1 centimeter apart, whether the icicles themselves are big or small.

  7. Tech

    Deadly Bubble Bath: Ultrasound fizz kills microbes under pressure

    A modest pressure increase on a liquid agitated by ultrasound dramatically boosts the microbe-killing power of those high-frequency sound waves.

  8. Tech

    Resistancefree wire takes long jump

    A wire-making company has demonstrated a process that yields potentially inexpensive, high-current superconducting wires about 10 times longer than previous prototypes.

  9. Computing

    Loony Tunes: Bugs blare in software set to music

    A novel way of converting computer programs into familiar-sounding music helps programmers locate errors in their code.

  10. Physics

    Cold War Conductor: Ultracold plutonium compound shows no resistance

    Researchers studying the crystalline properties of radioactive plutonium have discovered the first plutonium-based superconductor.

  11. Physics

    Speedy impacts send microwave distress calls

    Laboratory smash-ups mimicking those between fast-moving space debris and satellites appear to emit microwave bursts, suggesting that microwave detectors might someday prove useful for monitoring the health of spacecraft.

  12. Tech

    Hot Flashes, Cold Cuts

    By obliterating matter in a never-before-seen way, a new breed of lasers cuts everything from eyeballs to diamonds with unprecedented precision.