Physics
- Tech
‘Nuts and Bolts’ showcases the 7 building blocks of modern engineering
Science News reviews Roma Agrawal's book, which updates the classic list of simple machines and reveals the heart and soul of engineering.
- Physics
A pivotal quantum theory holds up even in extreme electric fields
Quantum electrodynamics, which describes how charged particles and light interact, works in the strong fields around highly ionized uranium atoms.
- Animals
Parrots can move along thin branches using ‘beakiation’
The movement involves swinging along the underside of branches with their beaks and feet, similar to how primates swing between trees.
- Physics
A predicted quasicrystal is based on the ‘einstein’ tile known as the hat
The einstein tile can cover an infinite plane only with a nonrepeating pattern. A material based on it has features of both crystals and quasicrystals.
- Physics
What happens when lawn sprinklers suck in water? Physicists answer that quirky question
Experiments with a floating sprinkler and laser-illuminated microparticles revealed the surprisingly complex physics behind a simple question.
- Physics
50 years ago, timekeepers deployed the newly invented leap second
After more than 50 years, metrologists will stop using the leap second to align the time kept by atomic clocks with the rate of Earth’s spin.
- Materials Science
Artificial intelligence helped scientists create a new type of battery
It took just 80 hours, rather than decades, to identify a potential new solid electrolyte using a combination of supercomputing and AI.
- Materials Science
A fiber inspired by polar bears traps heat as well as down feathers do
Scientists took a cue from polar bear fur to turn an ultralight insulating material into knittable thread.
- Physics
Here’s the science behind the burbling sound of water being poured
The height of the pour and the thickness of the stream help determine the loudness of the falling water.
- Physics
Here’s how much fruit you can take from a display before it collapses
About 10 percent of the fruit in a tilted market display can be removed before it all crashes down, computer simulations show.
- Earth
STEVE and other aurora-like glows perplex scientists with their complex physics
New views of STEVE from citizen scientists keep raising questions about the atmospheric light show — but computer models may offer some answers.
- Physics
Invisible comet tails of mucus slow sinking flakes of ‘marine snow’
New measurements reveal the gunk that surrounds the particles, an important factor in understanding how the ocean sequesters carbon.
