Browse Physics

Placing a water molecule inside a 60-carbon-atom cage creates a structure that can be guided by an electric field.

Femtosecond laser spectroscopy can identify otherwise inaccessible precursors in photoinduced chemical reactions.

Water dimers have been detected in room-temperature water vapor, a key step toward understanding their effect on solar absorption and chemistry in the atmosphere.

Surface-sensitive spectroscopy reveals the microscopic structure of the water-vapor interface and its dependence on nuclear quantum effects.

Frictional forces between surfaces coated with charged polymers can be adjusted with external electric fields.

An improved equation for electrochemical cells accurately captures processes in desalination and generation of electricity from salt gradients in the ocean.

Experiments show that the times required to cross the barrier for the folding and unfolding of different nucleic acids are consistently about a few microseconds, despite many orders of magnitude differences in rate coefficients.

Single atoms deposited on an iron oxide surface provide a valuable model system for studying catalysis.

A study of ancient and modern papers reveals how cellulose reacts with light to discolor documents and art over time.

A discrepancy between theory and experiment regarding how molecules fold in response to applied forces is resolved.

The symmetry of a molecule may affect how it adsorbs on a surface.

Bubbles of hydrogen and oxygen burn spontaneously if they are small enough.

To complement normal NMR spectroscopy performed in high magnetic fields, researchers are developing a technique that works in nearly zero fields.

New STM experiments resolve the nodal structure of individual orbitals of single organic molecules.

Calculations elucidate how the lateral diffusion of macromolecules within a liquid membrane depends on the properties of the solvent layer surrounding it.

Protected surface states of topological insulators could be exploited to enhance surface reaction dynamics.

Theoretical analysis of periodic RNA modifications in a simple biochemical reactor reveals emergent evolutionary properties.

Mapping out the force between two molecules offers a way to test out a new, high-resolution force microscopy technique.

The lead-acid battery found in most cars owes much of its voltage to relativistic effects in the lead atom, as shown by simulations.

Nanoscale simulations of a classic experiment show that it’s harder to cut through ice with the pressure of a water-repelling wire than with a water-attracting one.