Browse Physics

Paper pyramids hovering in an oscillating air column enlighten us about the stability of flying insects.

A model explains why, during pregnancy, contractions in the uterus exhibit collective behavior.

Interactions between primordial photons and axions may be why the accepted model of nucleosynthesis overestimates the abundance of the isotope lithium-7.

Theorists suggest that the weeks-long flare measured last year from a distant galaxy was probably beamed by a jet of material aligned with the rotational axis of a mammoth black hole.

An underground neutrino detector has found the first evidence of a nuclear reaction that produces deuterium in the sun.

Transport measurements suggest that a lithium-based metal may be a candidate material for thermomagnetic cooling.

Quantum interference of pairs of photons emitted by nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond paves the way for entanglement of distant qubits.

Semiconductor quantum dots connected by floating metallic gates point the way to a scalable quantum computer.

The breaking of charge-parity symmetry at lower temperatures than expected in the initial stages of the big bang could explain the abundance of matter over antimatter in the universe.

Using a simplified airplane seating arrangement, theorists have found that boarding time is less dependent on the number of passengers than one might expect.

A well-known model for studying magnetic phase transitions may provide a path to developing a quantum theory of gravity.

Simulations reveal both solid- and liquidlike frictional properties in molecularly thin lubricants.

An algorithm for simulating animal evolution has been adapted to predict a silicon-based material fit for optoelectronics applications.

Researchers have observed a new phase transition as the geophysically important mineral FeO becomes metallic when compressed in a diamond anvil cell.

Experimentalists make considerable progress towards sustained production of superheavy elements.

Liquids that approach an often-quoted lower limit for viscosity are deemed “perfect,” but now this lower limit is itself being questioned.

A crust-busting vibration of a neutron star—induced by a merger with another dense object—may explain pre-emptive flashes for some gamma-ray bursts.

An adiabatic quantum algorithm can calculate properties about graphs that cannot be efficiently computed on a classical computer.