Physics
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Physics
How to get the biggest splash at the pool using science
Move over belly flops and cannonballs. Manu jumps, pioneered by New Zealand’s Māori and Pasifika communities, reign supreme.
- Particle Physics
Muons’ magnetism matches theory, easing an enduring physics conundrum
A puzzle over muons’ magnetic properties could have broken the standard model. But the theory bounced back.
- Science & Society
Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’ plan has a major obstacle: Physics
Scientists suggest the missile defense plan will face big hurdles, especially given its projected timeline and cost.
- Physics
Scientists used a levitating magnet to hunt for dark matter
The quantum-based magnet technique could allow scientists to spot ultralight dark matter particles.
- Quantum Physics
The unsung women of quantum physics get their due
The new book, Women in the History of Quantum Physics, spotlights the oft-forgotten contributions of women scientists in the field.
- Quantum Physics
As quantum mechanics turns 100, a new revolution is under way
With greater control over the quantum realm, physicists are poised to make major leaps in quantum computing, quantum gravity and more.
- Tech
New audio tech could let you listen privately without headphones
Private listening out in the open is possible thanks to acoustic metasurfaces that precisely bend and direct sound waves.
- Plants
A leaf’s geometry determines whether it falls far from its tree
Shape and symmetry help determine where a leaf lands — and if the tree it came from can recoup the leaf’s carbon as it decomposes.
- Health & Medicine
Lining medical stents with hairlike fuzz could fend off infections
Implanted tubes that transport bodily fluids can get gross. A lab prototype suggests a new vibration-based way to keep them clean and prevent infection.
- Physics
Physicists explain how cheese rosettes form
Rosettes made by scraping Tête de Moine, or “monk’s head,” cheese result from variations in the friction between the blade and the cheese.
- Physics
Here’s how we might generate electricity from rain
Water drops produce electricity when dripped through a small tube. That power might be harnessed as renewable energy in rainy places.
- Physics
Imitation dark matter axions have arrived. They could reveal the real thing
A long-elusive, hypothetical subatomic particle called the axion can be simulated and potentially detected in a type of thin material.
