All Stories by Peter Weiss
- Physics
Unexpected Boost: A superconductivity killer’s silver lining
Among superconductors—materials able to conduct electricity without resistance—an effect that normally diminishes current-carrying ability surprisingly turns out to sometimes enhance it.
- Astronomy
Physics-astronomy merger wins big
A new report recommends fostering the extraordinary collaboration taking place between particle physics and astronomy.
- Physics
Detector spots solar chameleons
A new measurement of the sun's emission of ghostly neutrinos indicates that the prevailing theory of particle physics needs repair.
- Physics
Not-So-Neutral Neutron: Clearer view of neutron reveals charged locales
A sharp, new picture of the neutron reveals that rather than being uniformly electrically neutral, the particle contains regions of positive and negative charge.
- Astronomy
Strange Stars? Odd features hint at novel matter
Two stellar corpses thought to be made of neutrons may actually contain weird forms of matter never observed before.
- Physics
Molding Atoms: Using a tiny template to make tinier structures
With the help of a molecular mold composed of exactly 188 atoms, researchers have been able to impose textures at an even smaller atomic scale on a metal surface.
- Materials Science
Osmium is Forever: Rare metal’s strength humbles mighty diamond’s
A new route to materials harder than diamond may have opened with the surprising finding that the rare metal osmium resists compression better than diamond does.
- Health & Medicine
X rays tell stirring tale about fat
X rays reveal how food processing shapes microscopic crystals of edible fats.
- Tech
Sowing neat rows of seeds on silicon
A new way to introduce foreign atoms into silicon with atomic-scale precision may help chip manufacturers over a looming hurdle.
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Microbes Fire an Oozie: Slime engines may push bacteria along
Some bacteria may propel themselves with slime engines: clusters of nozzles at the ends of the microbes that exude viscous goop.
- Physics
The Black Hole Next Door
Microscopic black holes—fleeting replicas of the huge, matter-gobbling ones in space—may be detected soon in our atmosphere and at a big particle collider now being built.
- Computing
Finding networks within networks
A new mathematical procedure, or algorithm, picks out those members within a larger network—for instance, related sites on the World Wide Web—that have especially close ties.
