Physics
Sign up for our newsletter
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Tech
Election projections for science investments
The November 2, mid-term election results are in (mostly) and pundits are billing it as a historic turnabout. With a divided Congress, passing legislation — never an easy task — risks becoming harder still. And with fiscal austerity having been a leading campaign issue for the newbies, R&D is unlikely to see a major boost in federal funding during the next two years.
By Janet Raloff - Tech
Coming soon: Holographic Skype
The creators of the fastest telepresence system to date predict real-time 3-D TV in a decade.
- Physics
Entanglement loophole closed
A long-distance experiment rejects a challenge to quantum physics.
- Tech
Trading places
As the pace of financial transactions accelerates, researchers look forward to a time when the only limiting factor is the speed of light.
- Tech
Robots can use coffee as a picker-upper
A gripper made of a bag of loose grains has advantages over grasping devices that use individual digits.
- Animals
Doing the wet-dog wiggle
Hairy animals have evolved to shed water quickly by shaking at the optimal speed for their size.
- Physics
Sailing toward the island of stability
The creation of six new superheavy isotopes has encouraged researchers who hope to find long-lived elements of even greater mass.
- Physics
Holy moley
Adding more decimal places to Avogadro constant could produce a better definition of the kilogram.
-
- Physics
Physics Nobel goes to graphene
Discovered only six years ago, the 2-D carbon sheets have spun off a new field of research.
- Physics
Glacier found to be deeply cracked
A new study finds deep fissures in Alaska ice that could affect future responses to melting.
- Physics
Being single a real drag for spores
Launching thousands of gametes at once helps a fungus waft its offspring farther.