Physics

  1. Materials Science

    Snappy Transition: Venus flytrap inspires new materials

    Inspired by the quick-shut action of the Venus flytrap, researchers have designed a patterned surface with microscale hills that can rapidly flip to form valleys.

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  2. Physics

    Shadow World

    Physicists have found new evidence for a 10-year-old conjecture that bridges the gap between the many-dimensional space of string theory and more familiar theorizing.

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  3. Physics

    Rock, paper, toxins

    A computer model simulates a kind of rock-paper-scissors competition among three species of virtual bacteria.

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  4. Materials Science

    Printing scheme could yield 3-D photonic crystals

    An innovative printing scheme makes three-dimensional crystal structures that could be used to control the flow of light.

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  5. Physics

    Let There Be Aluminum-42: Experiment creates surprise isotope

    In experiments that created the heaviest isotope yet of magnesium, an unexpected isotope of aluminum also showed up.

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  6. Materials Science

    Polymer could improve natural gas purification

    A new polymer membrane that efficiently separates carbon dioxide from methane could greatly ease the processing of natural gas.

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  7. Physics

    Axion Gone: New tests find no sign of anomalous particle

    New experiments contradict earlier claims of the discovery of the axion, a possible constituent of cosmic dark matter.

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  8. Materials Science

    Feet of clay, but superstrong

    Gluing together nanoscale clay particles with a simple adhesive creates a strong but flexible material.

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  9. Physics

    Light does some weird math

    Adding a photon to a light pulse then taking one out gives a different result from doing the same operations the other way around.

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  10. Physics

    Hot stuff

    A plasma-based amplifier bumps up a laser's intensity by an unprecedented 20,000 times.

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  11. Physics

    Not flipping out

    A single atom on a surface has favored magnetic orientations that could allow it to encode a data bit.

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  12. Physics

    Electron Superhighway

    The remarkable strength and electrical properties of graphene, a chicken-wire network of carbon atoms, make it a promising new material for computer chips.

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