Physics
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Physics
Sandcastle Physics
Just about anyone can build a sandcastle out of wet sand. Why sand behaves as it does–on the beach, during earthquakes, at low pressures–isn’t yet fully understood. A NASA space shuttle experiment is now slated to tackle details of what happens when sand is compressed. Go to: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/11jul_mgm.htm
- Materials Science
Healing Wounds: Interactive dressing speeds the process
A new, easily prepared hydrogel material promotes more rapid wound healing in laboratory animals than do conventional dressings.
- Materials Science
Molecular template makes nanoscale helix
Using ribbons made of organic molecules as minuscule templates, researchers have coaxed a semiconductor material into tiny helical coils.
- Physics
Heightened Resistance: Sharper shaft points to smaller bits
Scientists have exploited a method for detecting the orientations of magnetic fields to achieve a remarkable leap in detector sensitivity.
- Materials Science
X Rays to Go: Carbon nanotubes could shrink machines
A new type of X-ray machine operates at room temperature by producing X-ray-generating electrons with carbon nanotubes instead of traditional heated metal filaments.
- Physics
Twice-charmed particles spotted?
Exotic cousins of protons and neutrons known as doubly-charmed baryons may have made their laboratory debut.
- Materials Science
Spring in your step? The forces in cartilage
Researchers are uncovering the role of molecular forces in cartilage's ability to resist compression.
- Physics
Double or Nothing
The hunt for a rare, hypothetical nuclear transformation known as neutrinoless double-beta decay may answer one of the most urgent questions in physics today: How much do elementary particles called neutrinos weigh?
- Physics
Super Conductors
Materials that conduct electricity without resistance are known as superconductors. Explore the basic physics and potential applications of these fascinating materials at the American Physical Society’s Physics Central Web site. Go to: http://www.physicscentral.com/action/action-01-3.html
- Materials Science
Wiregate: Metallic picket fence flips magnetic bits
Rather than relegate magnetic fields to the usual backup role of data storage for computers, a new microcircuit exploits those fields for computation, possibly leading to cheaper, lower-power chips than traditional electronic ones.
- Physics
Voyager spacecraft still buffeted by sun
Even though the two Voyager probes launched in 1977 passed the outermost planets in our solar system more than a decade ago, their sensors show that they can't yet outrun the influence of solar flares.
- Physics
Loud Loop: New explanation of whip-snapping unfurls
The wake of a loop zooming along a whip may silence the faster-moving tip so the loop actually causes the whip's loud bang.
