Viewpoints

Observing the Great Spin and Orbital Swap

September 15, 2014

The experimental observation of spin-orbital exchange interactions in ultracold atoms opens a window for the exploration of poorly understood magnetic behaviors.

Diamond and Silicon Get Entangled

September 11, 2014

Two silicon-vacancy centers in diamond can emit photons that are indistinguishable—suggesting they have potential as building blocks for a diamond-based quantum computer.

Microwave Photons Move Out of Equilibrium

September 8, 2014

A circuit for microwave photons provides a useful test bed for nonequilibrium physics.

The Beginning of Extra-Galactic Neutrino Astronomy

September 2, 2014

What can high-energy neutrinos tell us about astrophysical objects beyond our galaxy?

Synopses

Patchy Particles without the Patches

September 17, 2014

Mobile DNA strands could provide a different way to patch together DNA-coated particles to form colloidal structures whose structure and function can be tailored.

Testing the Weak Interaction with Potassium

September 11, 2014

Potassium-37 is one of several isotopes that could be used to directly test the standard model weak interaction.

Nerve Pulses Pass by Each Other

September 10, 2014

Experiments on neuron fibers from earthworms and lobsters reveal that two nerve pulses that collide do not annihilate, contrary to common beliefs of nerve electrophysiology.

Higgs Mass Comes into Clearer Focus

September 9, 2014

Improved analysis of CERN’s data has tightened up the accuracy of the measurement of the Higgs boson’s mass

Focus

Electron Handedness Affects Gas Molecule Breakup

September 12, 2014

Experiments show that beams of left- or right-handed electrons are not equal-opportunity destroyers of molecules having two mirror-image forms, which supports the idea that primordial cosmic rays generated the asymmetry in biological molecules.

High-Precision Measurements Using Lots of Cold Atoms

September 5, 2014

A new technique uses up to $30$ Bose-Einstein condensates simultaneously to make ultraprecise measurements.

Notes from the Editors

Physics Survey

September 8, 2014

The Physics editors are interested in your feedback. Please take a few minutes to answer this survey.