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NASA reports trouble with Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope, which has been peering into the universe for more than 30 years, has been down for the past few days, NASA said Friday.
New research adds a wrinkle to our understanding of the origins of matter in the Milky Way New findings published this week in Physical Review Letters suggest that carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen cosmic rays travel through the galaxy toward Earth in a similar way, but, surprisingly, that iron arrives at Earth differently. Learning more about how cosmic rays move through the galaxy helps address a fundamental, lingering question in astrophysics: How is matter generated and distributed across the universe?
Researchers find optimal way to pay off student loans After graduating or leaving college, many students face a difficult choice: Try to pay off their student loans as fast as possible to save on interest, or enroll in an income-based repayment plan, which offers affordable payments based on their income and forgives any balance remaining after 20 or 25 years.
Study reveals new therapeutic target for C. difficile infection A new study paves the way for the development of next generation therapeutics for the prevention and treatment of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), the most frequent cause of healthcare-acquired gastrointestinal infections and death in developed countries.
Team discovers unexpected quantum behavior in kagome lattice An international team led by researchers at Princeton University has uncovered a new pattern of ordering of electric charge in a novel superconducting material.
New cause found for intensification of oyster disease A new paper in Scientific Reports led by researchers at William & Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science challenges increased salinity and seawater temperatures as the established explanation for a decades-long increase in the prevalence and deadliness of a major oyster disease in the coastal waters of the mid-Atlantic.
LIGO mirrors cooled to near absolute zero could probe quantum gravity A set of mirrors used to detect gravitational waves is the largest system ever to be brought close to a frigid quantum state at a temperature of just 77 nanokelvin
Synopsis: The Smallest Quantum Computer Yet
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
A trapped-ion-based quantum computer that fits in two boxes, each the size of a studio apartment’s shower, can create a fully entangled 24-particle quantum state.
[Physics 14, s73] Published Thu Jun 17, 2021
Synopsis: Pulsar Halo Hints at Slow Diffusion of Cosmic Rays
Author(s): Marric Stephens
Observations made by the LHAASO gamma-ray observatory show huge differences in the rate at which charged particles propagate through the Milky Way.
[Physics 14, s77] Published Wed Jun 16, 2021
World's most powerful magnet being shipped to ITER fusion reactor The world’s most powerful magnet, 280,000 times stronger than Earth's own magnetic field, is being shipped to France for installation in the core of the ITER fusion reactor
Synopsis: Cantilever Experiments Update Description of Thermal Noise
Multiple sources of mechanical dissipation seem to explain why a cantilever subject to an extreme temperature gradient has less thermal noise than theory predicts.
[Physics 14, s76] Published Tue Jun 15, 2021
Viewpoint: When the Disorder is Just Right
Author(s): Philip W. Phillips
A new model suggests that disorder can be a crucial ingredient for producing non-Fermi-liquid behavior in a system of interacting fermions.
[Physics 14, 88] Published Mon Jun 14, 2021
Merging galaxies throw shade on alternative dark matter theory The rate of galaxies merging 2 billion years after the big bang is 5 to 10 times more than predicted by theories of modified Newtonian dynamics, and more in line with dark matter theories
Focus: Surface Effect Contributes to Small Structures’ Surprising Strength
Author(s): Dan Garisto
Experiments that compress cubes containing gold nanowires suggest that a previously overlooked feature may help explain the surprising strength of tiny objects.
[Physics 14, 87] Published Fri Jun 11, 2021
Synopsis: An Optical System Defies Conventional Band Theory
Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz
Squeezed wave functions reshape an open quantum system’s bulk-boundary properties and generate a new class of parity-time symmetry.
[Physics 14, s70] Published Thu Jun 10, 2021
When time runs backwards: What thermodynamics can tell us about life The second law of thermodynamics, which gives us an arrow of time, is routinely violated at the smallest scales - an insight that is already yielding fresh clues to some of biology's great mysteries
Synopsis: An Efficient Way to Predict Water’s Phases
Author(s): Marric Stephens
A machine-learning technique maps water’s phase space as reliably as gold standard ab initio calculations but at a much smaller computational cost.
[Physics 14, s67] Published Wed Jun 09, 2021
The Meaning of Meaning: Carlo Rovelli finds inspiration in rebellion Rovelli has been the source of some of the most intriguing ideas in fundamental physics. In this new short film, ‘The Meaning of Meaning', the physicist explains how a rebellious past has influenced his science.
Carlo Rovelli’s rebellious past and how it made him a better scientist Physicist Carlo Rovelli has made pioneering contributions to the science of quantum theory and consciousness. Our exclusive short film "The Meaning of Meaning" reveals the man behind the ideas
Andrea Ghez interview: How I proved supermassive black holes are real Twenty years ago, Andrea Ghez set out to show there is a black hole at the centre of our galaxy by watching stars orbit it. She won a Nobel prize for the work and reveals how surreal it's been
Physicists beat Lorentz reciprocity for microwave transmission New device could boost telecommunications and be adapted for photonics
Japan’s SuperKEKB set for first particle collisions Revamped accelerator will soon be smashing electrons and positrons together
Wood-based 'supermaterial' is stronger and tougher than steel New material is made by compressing treated wood
Three photons bind together to make a ‘molecule’ of light Technique could be used to create quantum-information systems
Nuclear excitation by electron capture seen at long last Breakthrough could lead to new type of energy source
Pistachio trees 'talk' to their neighbours, reveals statistical physics Ising model could account for nut production of pistachio orchards
US National Science Foundation clamps down on misconduct Agency will now require every grantee organization to report cases of sexual harassment