Physics - Browse Physics

1.

Focus

Testing for Vanishing Dimensions

Phys. Rev. Focus 27, 10 (2011) – Published March 11, 2011

LISA, a future gravitational wave detector, could find evidence that the early universe had fewer than three spatial dimensions.

2.

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Why Black Holes Slow Down

Phys. Rev. Focus 25, 22 (2010) – Published June 11, 2010

The mysterious slowing down of some newborn, fast-moving, black holes may result from gravitational waves emitted by a bulge in the event horizon.

3.

Focus

Intergalactic Projectiles

Phys. Rev. Focus 19, 17 (2007) – Published May 30, 2007

Two black holes can merge and then shoot out of their galaxy, according to computer simulations, and the streaking black hole ‘rocket’ might be visible to astronomers if conditions are right.

4.

Focus

Black Holes that Don’t Trap

Phys. Rev. Focus 18, 12 (2006) – Published October 18, 2006

The radiation emitted at the edge of a black hole might exist even if the hole doesn’t possess an “event horizon” from which nothing can escape.

5.

Focus

A Fleeting Detection of Gravitational Waves

Phys. Rev. Focus 16, 19 (2005) – Published December 22, 2005

Reports of the discovery of spacetime ripples known as gravitational waves in 1969 and 1970 proved erroneous but inspired efforts that continue today.

6.

Focus

Budding Black Holes

Phys. Rev. Focus 16, 12 (2005) – Published October 14, 2005

A tiny black hole could briefly appear in a particle accelerator and then vanish into its own separate universe.

7.

Focus

The Weight of Light

Phys. Rev. Focus 16, 1 (2005) – Published July 12, 2005

In 1960 physicists finally verified Einstein’s 1911 prediction that gravity could change light’s frequency. Understanding the effect is essential to modern navigational technology.

8.

Focus

The Birth of Wormholes

Phys. Rev. Focus 15, 11 (2005) – Published March 25, 2005

A 1935 idea from Albert Einstein and Nathan Rosen for unifying electromagnetism with gravity lives on in the minds of science fiction fans.

9.

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Quiet at the End

Phys. Rev. Focus 15, 8 (2005) – Published March 3, 2005

Simulations show that two observers near a cosmic singularity such as a black hole cannot communicate.

10.

Focus

Deriving Dimensions

Phys. Rev. Focus 14, 13 (2004) – Published September 28, 2004

New calculations show how the four dimensions we take for granted emerge from the “quantum foam” of spacetime.

11.

Focus

Landmarks: Forgotten Black Hole Birth

Phys. Rev. Focus 13, 23 (2004) – Published May 28, 2004

The modern concept of a black hole came from a 1939 paper by atom bomb physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer.

12.

Focus

Revising Gravity

Phys. Rev. Focus 12, 12 (2003) – Published October 9, 2003

The gravitational force between ordinary matter and dark matter may defy Newton’s law.

13.

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Light-Speed Submarine

Phys. Rev. Focus 12, 4 (2003) – Published July 25, 2003

A seeming paradox in relativity involving a near-light-speed submarine has now been resolved.

14.

Focus

How Does Your Black Hole Grow?

Phys. Rev. Focus 10, 27 (2002) – Published December 13, 2002

Researchers can finally describe the inexorable growth of a black hole quantitatively.

15.

Focus

Ring Around the Singularity

Phys. Rev. Focus 9, 13 (2002) – Published March 5, 2002

Rotating, donut-shaped black holes may exist if our universe contains extra dimensions.

16.

Focus

Big Spheres to Catch Gravity Waves

Phys. Rev. Focus 8, 3 (2001) – Published July 13, 2001

A proposed detector made of two concentric spheres might spot gravitational waves that more conventional detectors won’t.

17.

Focus

Magnetic Fields Smooth Space

Phys. Rev. Focus 7, 27 (2001) – Published June 6, 2001

Magnetic field lines do not like to bend, so when the space around them becomes warped by large masses, the fields fight back.

18.

Focus

Newton’s Still Correct

Phys. Rev. Focus 7, 8 (2001) – Published February 15, 2001

Extra spatial dimensions–beyond the three we know–could alter Newton’s inverse-square law of gravity at short distances. But new measurements show that Newton is correct down to at least 200 micrometers.

19.

Focus

Earth’s Peculiar Neighbors

Phys. Rev. Focus 4, 16 (1999) – Published September 24, 1999

Physicists have discovered several new types of orbits for near-Earth asteroids, including the possibility of undiscovered satellites of Earth.

20.

Focus

Wormhole Construction: Proceed with Caution

Phys. Rev. Focus 2, 7 (1998) – Published August 3, 1998

Theorists prove that ‘exotic matter’ is necessary for cosmic shortcuts called wormholes to exist.