Physics

  1. Materials Science

    Recyclable superplastics made with old chemistry

    A new durable plastic and a self-healing gel are the first high-performance polymers that are easily recycled.

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  2. Quantum Physics

    Next-gen quantum teleportation in just 2 photons

    Researchers teleport quantum information between two photons instead of the standard three.

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  3. Physics

    Gravity’s Ghost and Big Dog

    Sociologist Harry Collins chronicles the occasionally heated (and often arcane) debates among scientists studying gravitational waves.

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  4. Chemistry

    Element 117 earns spot on periodic table

    Atoms jam-packed with 117 protons have been produced at a particle collider in Germany, confirming the discovery of a new element.

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  5. Physics

    Exciton

    Getting excited can kick a person’s energy to a higher level. At the nanoscale, strange almost-particles called excitons do the same trick.

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  6. Chemistry

    Color-changing polymer maps fingerprints

    Tiny beads of sweat may offer new way to identify people’s fingerprints.

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  7. Materials Science

    How fractals jam glassy materials

    Understanding the intricate energy landscape of glasses could help to explain what happens when glassy materials are deformed or when coffee beans in a container jam.

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  8. Quantum Physics

    Major step taken toward error-free computing

    Physicists have achieved nearly perfect control over a bit of quantum information, bringing them a step closer to error-free computation.

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  9. Materials Science

    Blender whips up graphene

    Easy recipe makes large quantities of graphene using kitchen blender.

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  10. Quantum Physics

    Shor’s code-breaking algorithm inspired reflections on quantum information

    Twenty years ago, physicists met in Santa Fe to explore the ramifications of quantum information.

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  11. Physics

    Laser kicks molecules into fastest ever spin

    The powerful kick of a laser has spun molecules faster than they’ve ever been spun before: 10 trillion rotations per second, or 600 trillion RPM.

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  12. Quantum Physics

    Excitons’ motions captured in images

    Scientists have observed how quasiparticles called excitons move.

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