An ultrasoft material can move smoothly through a pipe, but the motion generates “furrows” on the material’s front surface. Read More »
Forces imposed by laser light can manipulate the shape of a membrane’s vibrational modes. Read More »
Experiments reveal the factors that determine the friction between the single-atom-thick layers in van der Waals materials, which may have uses in lubrication technology. Read More »
A new gravimeter is compact and stable and can detect the daily solar and lunar gravitational oscillations that are responsible for the tides. Read More »
As a string winds around a cylinder, a switch occurs from tight winding to looser winding, a behavior that could be relevant for natural phenomena. Read More »
The early failure of thin-walled cones under compression was thought to arise mainly from the presence of imperfections. A new model suggests otherwise. Read More »
A zigzag arrangement that appears spontaneously in a collection of magnetic particles and some other colloids is explained by the fluid flow around each particle. Read More »
A new artificial intelligence algorithm can model the behavior of a set of objects, such as helical springs or pendulums, using a method that can extrapolate to objects that the algorithm hasn’t previously analyzed. Read More »
A model system of floating disks can be tuned to execute a variety of behaviors by controlling the interactions between the disks. Read More »
Dropping a rotating plastic bottle containing water results in a bounce whose height depends on the rotation rate. Read More »
Sign up to receive weekly email alerts from Physics Magazine.
Sign Up
