Physics
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Quantum Physics
This weird quantum state of matter was made in orbit for the first time
Bose-Einstein condensates made on the International Space Station could reach temperatures lower than any known in the universe.
- Space
The Milky Way’s giant gas bubbles were seen in visible light for the first time
Variation in the light’s wavelengths could help scientists map the velocity of the gas that makes up the towering structures known as Fermi bubbles.
- Physics
A new device can produce electricity using shadows
Even under low light, this new technology exploits the contrast between light and shade to produce a current that can power small electronics.
- Space
A weird cosmic flare called the ‘Cow’ now has company
Scientists have now found three similar luminous, short-lived bursts of light, part of a class known as fast blue optical transients.
- Physics
A star shredded by a black hole may have spit out an extremely energetic neutrino
A star’s fatal encounter with a black hole might have produced a neutrino with oomph.
- Quantum Physics
Physicists exploit a quantum rule to create a new kind of crystal
Cold atoms can form crystals as a result of the Pauli exclusion principle.
- Physics
Physicists have found a way to foil a classic oobleck science trick
Cornstarch and water solidifies under impact, but a new technique can make it remain a liquid.
- Space
The closest black hole to Earth may have been spotted 1,000 light-years away
What appears to be the closest black hole to the solar system shares orbits with two massive stars, a new study finds.
- Physics
50 years ago, superconductors started feeling the pressure
Today, high-pressure superconductors are a hot topic. 50 years ago, scientists were just starting to explore the possibilities.
- Physics
A newfound superconducting current travels only along a material’s edge
In a first, scientists spot electricity flowing without resistance on the rim of a topological superconductor.
- Physics
Scientists ‘strummed’ a molecule’s chemical bonds like guitar strings
Scientists dragged an atomic force microscope tip, with a single carbon monoxide molecule dangling from it, across a chemical bond.
- Physics
Gravitational waves have revealed the first unevenly sized black hole pair
For the first time, LIGO and Virgo scientists spotted gravitational waves produced when one big black hole merged with a smaller one.
