Browse Physics

Noise has a distinct effect on how some mechanical systems learn and forget.

Spontaneous synchronization between an array of mechanical oscillators gives rise to an acoustic analog to the laser.

The paddling motion works not just for swimmers but also for fliers, as new high-speed video observations of fruit flies show.

Imposition of small periodic perturbations on discrete stochastic systems can dramatically change the probabilities of rare events.

Properties of vibrations in a pillar in a 1400-year-old Sicilian cathedral correlate with those of very small, nearby earthquakes, suggesting new ways of monitoring the gradual damage that such quakes can inflict on old buildings.

Images reveal some of the factors that determine the shapes of icicles.

Experiments and modeling point to the optimal shapes for enhancing lift or drag forces on objects moving in granular media.

New techniques measure mechanical properties of proteins without damaging them.

Spatial variations can drive evolution in certain ecological habitats.

Modeling shows that globalization of trade makes the world economy more sensitive to shock and slower to recover.

In networks like blood vessels and leaf veins, feedback between the formation of branches and the signals that propagate through them leads to new types of growth patterns.

A microscopic model of innovation tells us how human progress occurs in fits and starts.

Statistical physics chimes in on how popularity changes in the virtual world of the Web.

Reducing coordination among local nodes in a network suffering from time lags can improve the overall performance of the entire network.

The reasons why complex systems like neuronal networks process some signals better than others might be buried in the noise.

A simple model explores some of the factors that constrain the shape of rodlike bacteria as they grow.

The squashed, peanutlike shapes of a rubber band rolling at various speeds are predicted by equations that model the competition between gravitational, bending, and inertial forces.

Experiments with thin films show what factors control wrinkling and folding.

New ways to describe the spread of “persistent” diseases, which can lie dormant in the population for years, are emerging from statistical physics.

DNA replication slows if the number of defects in a genome is above a threshold value.