Physics
- Chemistry
Molecular cage traps rare gases
Organic compound could cull valuable xenon from the air and detect cancer-causing radon in homes.
- Materials Science
Weird materials could make faster computers
Topological insulators could speed up how computers switch between 1s and 0s.
- Quantum Physics
You shouldn’t try to pigeonhole quantum physics
A quantum analysis shows a way to violate math’s pigeonhole principle, by allowing three particles in two boxes with no two in the same box.
- Particle Physics
Dark matter hunters may get three new experiments
NSF and DOE have approved three new facilities to look for the exotic particles that might make up dark matter.
- Physics
Diamonds under pressure impersonate exoplanet cores
Scientists use lasers at the National Ignition Facility to squeeze diamonds to the extreme pressures found inside massive exoplanets.
- Cosmology
Lab version of early universe fails to solve lithium problem
An experiment that imitated conditions from just after the Big Bang failed to explain why observed amounts of lithium don’t match those expected from theory.
- Quantum Physics
Quantum math makes human irrationality more sensible
Vagaries of human decision making make sense if quantum math describes the way the brain works.
- Physics
‘Faraday, Maxwell, and the Electromagnetic Field’ is a biography of brilliance
Authors Nancy Forbes and Basil Mahon show how two men’s work came together to change physics.
- Chemistry
Safe salt could yield cheaper, more efficient solar cells
Magnesium chloride could be the key ingredient for concocting efficient solar cells with cadmium telluride.
- Physics
Tiny silica spheres put the disco in disco clams
The electric effect in disco clams is actually the result of light scattering off tiny silica spheres.
- Science & Society
Weapon inspection scheme would test for nukes but keep designs secret
Technique borrowed from computer science could improve weapon verification and encourage countries to agree to nuclear disarmament.
- Life
Bacteria’s tail spins make water droplets swirl
When bacteria band together, they can turn a fairly tame drop of water into a swirling vortex.
