Physics
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Particle Physics
How light from black holes is narrowing the search for axions
The orientation of light waves from the region around galaxy M87’s central black hole rules out the existence of axions of a certain mass.
- Materials Science
This fabric can hear your heartbeat
With special fibers that convert tiny vibrations to voltages, a new fabric senses sounds, letting it act as a microphone or a speaker.
- Physics
Physicists explain the mesmerizing movements of raindrops on car windshields
Wind and gravity compete to make some raindrops go up while others slide down, a mathematical analysis suggests.
- Physics
Russia’s war in Ukraine raises nuclear risks, physicists warn
Experts flag the potential for accidents at seized nuclear sites as well as the increased dangers of accidental nuclear warfare.
- Astronomy
Astronomers may not have found a sign of the universe’s first stars after all
A new study of radio waves from early in the universe’s history finds no hint of the “cosmic dawn” claimed by an earlier study.
- Quantum Physics
A new gravity sensor used atoms’ weird quantum behavior to peer underground
Quantum sensors promise to be more accurate and stable in the long run than other gravity probes.
- Computing
Core memory weavers and Navajo women made the Apollo missions possible
The stories of the women who assembled integrated circuits and wove core memory for the Apollo missions remain largely unknown.
- Animals
How lizards keep detachable tails from falling off
A hierarchical structure of micropillars and nanopores allows the tail to break away when necessary while preventing it from easily detaching.
- Quantum Physics
‘From Data to Quanta’ defends Niels Bohr’s view of quantum mechanics
In his new book, philosopher Slobodan Perović corrects misconceptions about physicist Niels Bohr’s work.
- Physics
Freshwater ice can melt into scallops and spikes
Ice submerged in liquid water can melt into three different shapes, depending on the water’s temperature.
- Animals
A diamondlike structure gives some starfish skeletons their strength
Electron microscope images of knobby starfish’s calcite skeletons reveal an unexpected architecture that compensates for the mineral’s brittleness.
- Earth
Weird ‘superionic’ matter could make up Earth’s inner core
Computer simulations suggest that matter that behaves like a mash-up of solid and liquid could explain oddities of Earth’s center.
