Subterms
As the sun moves across the sky, sunflowers continually orient themselves to soak up the most light (SN: 8/4/16). Now a type of human-made material can do that, too. This is the first artificial material capable of phototropism, researchers report November 4 in Nature Nanotechnology. Stemlike cylinders of the material, dubbed SunBOTs, maneuvered to capture […] More
When things heat up, most solids expand as higher temperatures cause atoms to vibrate more dramatically, necessitating more space. But some solid crystals, like scandium fluoride, shrink when heated — a phenomenon called negative thermal expansion. Now, by measuring distances between atoms in scandium fluoride crystals, scientists think that they have figured out how that […] More
Quantum supremacy is here, researchers from Google claim. For the first time, a quantum computer has solved a problem that can’t be performed by a standard computer — at least not within a reasonable amount of time — Google announced October 23. This milestone, known as quantum supremacy, is a long-anticipated step toward useful quantum […] More
An elusive hypothetical particle comes in imitation form. Lurking within a solid crystal is a phenomenon that is mathematically similar to proposed subatomic particles called axions, physicist Johannes Gooth and colleagues report online October 7 in Nature. If axions exist as fundamental particles, they could constitute a hidden form of matter in the cosmos, dark […] More
A new way to chill out is simple: Just unwind. Called twistocaloric cooling, the method involves unwinding tightly twisted strands of various materials. The technique was used to chill water by several degrees Celsius, scientists report in the Oct. 11 Science. Cooling techniques like those used in traditional refrigerators rely on cycles of compressing and […] More
Speaking with Andrea Young feels like watching a racehorse holding itself back at the starting gate. We met on the campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he’s a condensed matter physicist, to chat about his work on 2-D materials. His mind seems to be working faster than the conversation can flow. My […] More
“I like it if I can run uphill and be rewarded with a view of the bay,” says Monika Schleier-Smith. She’s talking about a favorite spot to exercise around Palo Alto, Calif., but the sentiment also applies to her scientific work. A physicist at Stanford, Schleier-Smith, 36, has a reputation for embracing the uphill climb. […] More
Something Deeply HiddenSean CarrollDutton, $29 Quantum physics is about multiplicity. Its equations describe multiple possible outcomes for a measurement in the subatomic realm. Physicists have devised a dozen or two different interpretations of what that really means. And in turn, dozens and dozens of books have been written to explain, defend or deny the validity […] More
