Recent Articles
Synopsis: Proton Loses Weight
The most precise measurement to date of the proton mass finds a value that is 3 standard deviations lower than previous estimates. Read More »
Viewpoint: Language Boundaries Driven by Surface Tension
A new model of language evolution assumes that changes in the spatial boundaries between dialects are controlled by a surface tension effect. Read More »
Focus: Graphene Sliding on Graphene
Creating a bulge in a graphene sheet offers the first measurement of the shear forces between graphene layers, an essential factor in many graphene-based devices. Read More »
Synopsis: Bacteria Never Swim Alone
Simulations and theory indicate that the “synchronized swimming” of bacteria occurs in much sparser suspensions of the microorganisms than expected. Read More »
Synopsis: A Reionization Filter for the Cosmic Microwave Background
A new method of analyzing cosmic microwave background data could isolate signatures from the so-called reionization period that occurred a few hundred million years after the big bang. Read More »
Viewpoint: Active-Matter Thermodynamics Under Pressure
Experiments show that, unlike an ideal gas, an active-matter system comprised of self-propelled disks does not have a well-defined mechanical pressure. Read More »
Synopsis: Instant-Freeze Water
Laser pulses can turn liquid water into an exotic type of ice within a few nanoseconds. Read More »
Viewpoint: Tube Model Under Tension
Results from a new method of analyzing neutron-scattering data from polymer samples under deformation may challenge the prevailing “tube model” of polymer motion. Read More »
Focus: Image—Cooperating Lasers Make Topological Defects
A circle of interacting lasers is a new model system for exploring topological defects, disordered structures that show up in a wide variety of seemingly unrelated systems. Read More »
