Physics

  1. Computing

    New theory defines faster MRI

    Better equations could improve MRI quality, or even bring quantum computing closer.

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  2. Physics

    Standard model gets right answer for proton, neutron masses

    Correct calculation strengthens theory of quark-gluon interactions in nuclear particles.

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  3. Physics

    Superconductivity does the twist

    Electron fluctuations could explain why exotic material conducts without resistance.

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  4. Space

    Misplaced muons either mundane or monumental

    During an experiment in Fermilab's Tevatron particle accelerator, a group of elementary particles called muons showed up in a strange place. Physicists are considering the likely implications.

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  5. Physics

    Take the time to break quantum encryption

    A time-travel scenario permitted by Einstein’s general theory of relativity offers a bit of possibility for breaking quantum encryption.

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  6. Chemistry

    Blueprint to repel oil and water

    The texture of surfaces could be designed so that both water and oil can bead up and thus flow off.

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  7. Space

    Half-life (more or less)

    Physicists are stirred by claims that the sun may change what’s unchangeable—the rate of radioactive decay.

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  8. Chemistry

    Silk

    Mimicking how spiders make their complex array of silks could usher in a tapestry of new materials, and other animals or plants could be designed to be the producers.

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  9. Physics

    Book Review: Sun in a Bottle: The Strange History of Fusion and the Science of Wishful Thinking by Charles Seife

    Review by Davide Castelvecchi.

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  10. Physics

    Facts and Speculations in Cosmology by Jayant V. Narlikar and Geoffrey Burbidge

    Cambridge Univ. Press, 2008, 287 p., $60.

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  11. Chemistry

    Long Live Plastics

    With plastics in museums decomposing, a new effort seeks to halt the demise of materials commonly thought to be unalterable.

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  12. Physics

    Magic tape

    Physicists discover an unexpected source of X-rays.

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