All Stories by Peter Weiss
- Physics
Catch a Wave
Detection of gravitational waves predicted by Einstein's 1916 general theory of relativity may finally occur, thanks to a new generation of laser-based observatories.
- Materials Science
Tiny gems on steps find future in films
The discovery of diamond-crystal seeds on steps in silicon may lead to long-sought, large wafers of pure, single-crystal diamond for electronics and other uses.
- Physics
Matter waves: Be fruitful and multiply
For the first time, physicists induced atoms to amplify a selected matter wave in a manner analogous to a cascade of photons amplifying the characteristic electromagnetic wave of an optical laser.
- Physics
Time’s arrow may make U-turns in universe
Time may run backwards for isolated chunks of matter in our universe and that reversed state could be probed gently from the forward-going realm without disturbing the time arrow.
- Physics
Loud Loop: New explanation of whip-snapping unfurls
The wake of a loop zooming along a whip may silence the faster-moving tip so the loop actually causes the whip's loud bang.
- Physics
Atom laser gets a full tank
A method to refill Bose-Einstein condensates—ultracold clouds of atoms all in the same quantum state—may soon make possible the first atom lasers that can shoot a stream of condensate atoms indefinitely.
- Tech
Paint-on displays get closer to reality
By smearing on a coating and hardening it with light, researchers have created a new kind of electronic display.
- Chemistry
Steering reactions with light
A light-based scheme for guiding the motion of chemical wave fronts may suggest ways to control analogous waves present in epileptic seizures and heart arrhythmias.
- Tech
Deep Vision
Increasingly available virtual-reality gear gives scientists, engineers, and planetarium visitors new perspectives.
- Physics
Tiny tungsten beams lord over light
By filtering radiated heat, a novel microstructure of crisscrossed tungsten beams promises to improve the efficiency of light bulbs and of heat-to-electricity conversion devices.
- Tech
Bugs on Mars
Undaunted by the hurdles on flight posed by thin air and a lack of oxygen, aerospace engineers are devising extraordinary flying machines resembling giant insects and windmills to make the exploration of Mars more rapid and effective.
- Tech
Live Tour: Joystick journeys reveal tumor interiors
A new holographic technique may someday enable doctors to skip certain biopsies and choose instead to take video excursions inside suspicious growths in skin or internal body linings.
