Physics

  1. Materials Science

    Between the Sheets: In reactors and nanotubes, errant atoms get a grip

    A new computer simulation predicts that neutron irradiation of graphite displaces atoms and bonds in unexpected ways.

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  2. Materials Science

    Invent by Number: Researchers predict, then produce superior titanium alloys

    Researchers have developed a new method or making titanium-based alloys with many qualities far superior to those in any alloy previously known.

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  3. Physics

    Fusion device crosses threshold

    By sparking thermonuclear reactions, a machine called Z has joined the big leagues among potential technologies for producing power from controlled nuclear fusion.

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  4. Physics

    Light rambles through room-temperature ruby

    Researchers have dramatically slowed light within a solid at room temperature.

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  5. Physics

    Attractive atoms pick up repulsive habits

    Rubidium atoms intrinsically attract each other, but new experiments near absolute zero have induced the atoms to repel each another instead.

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  6. Physics

    Rare Events: Exotic processes probe the heart of matter

    Physicists have for the first time unambiguously detected and measured the rates of certain reactions among protons, neutrons, and simple atomic nuclei.

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  7. Physics

    Why is antimatter absent? Hunt heats up

    Two new particle accelerators built to help discover why there's matter instead of antimatter in the universe are closing in on an answer at record speed.

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  8. Materials Science

    A New Cool: Prototype chills fast and electrifies, too

    Researchers have incorporated an efficient thermoelectric material into a prototype device that can cool or produce electricity.

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  9. Physics

    Snowflake Central

    Stunning photos, fascinating historical material, and an informative snowflake physics primer highlight this Web site, which is devoted to natural and designer snow crystals. Assembled by Caltech physicist Kenneth G. Libbrecht, the site includes tips on how to photograph snow crystals and spotlights efforts to study how snow crystals form. Go to: http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/.

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  10. Materials Science

    A Hard Little Lesson: Squeezed nanospheres grow superstrong

    A substance not known for its hardness—silicon—becomes one of the hardest of materials when formed into ultrasmall spheres.

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  11. Physics

    Origins at CERN

    Starting on Nov. 11, the Exploratorium in San Francisco begins a series of Webcasts taking viewers to research laboratories around the world where scientists are investigating the origins of matter, the universe, Earth, and life itself. The first programs come from the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland, location of the world’s […]

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  12. Materials Science

    A new carbon nanotool springs to life

    Physicists have pulled out the inside cylinders of multiwall carbon nanotubes, as if expanding a telescope, indicating how the devices may serve as tiny bearings and springs in future nanomachines.

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