Physics
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Physics
50 years ago, physicists found the speed of light
In the 1970s, scientists set a new maximum speed limit for light. Fifty years later, they continue putting light through its paces.
- Astronomy
A new supercomputer simulation animates the evolution of the universe
The detailed simulation shows the cosmos changing from a dark, featureless gas to a web of stars and galaxies radiating light.
- Physics
Physicists explain how to execute a nearly splashless dive
A pocket of air lets elite divers pull off the rip entry, breaking through the water without sending it flying.
- Physics
How physics can improve the urinal
Urinals built with curves like those in nautilus shells eliminate the splash-back common with conventional commodes.
- Plants
Why dandelion seeds are so good at spreading widely
Individual seeds on a dandelion flower are programmed to let go for a specific wind direction, allowing them to spread widely as the wind shifts.
- Physics
Zapping tiny metal drops with sound creates wires for soft electronics
Wearable medical devices and stretchable displays could benefit from a way to use high-frequency sound to create liquid metal wires.
- Physics
Crowdsourced cell phone data could keep bridges safe and strong
Accelerometers and GPS sensors in smartphones could provide frequent, real-time data on bridge vibrations, and alert engineers to changes in integrity
- Animals
Here’s how polar bears might get traction on snow
Microstructures on the Arctic animals’ paws might offer extra friction that keeps them from slipping on snow, a new study reports.
- Animals
Insect swarms might generate as much electric charge as storm clouds
Honeybees flying over a sensor measuring atmospheric voltage sparked a look into how insect-induced static electricity might affect the atmosphere.
- Climate
Wind turbines could help capture carbon dioxide while providing power
Turbulent wakes from wind turbines can concentrate CO2 from cities and factories, making it easier to remove the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere.
- Earth
Particles from space provide a new look inside cyclones
Cosmic rays that smash into the atmosphere make muons that are sensitive to changing air pressure inside storms.
- Physics
Protons may be stretchier than physics predicts
Studying how quarks inside protons move in response to electric fields shows that protons seem to stretch more than theory says they should.
