Physics

  1. Physics

    Analyze This: Can you outrun these geological disasters?

    There's one geological disaster you probably can outrun, and a few others that are iffy.

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  2. Physics

    Scientists traced an incoming neutrino back to its galactic birthplace

    The high-energy particle was born in a blazar 4 billion light-years away, scientists now report.

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  3. Physics

    Scientists Say: Infrared

    Infrared light belongs to a part of the spectrum that people can’t see. But this kind of light can be used to “see” the heat signatures of objects.

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  4. Animals

    Electric currents in the air may cue ‘ballooning’ spiders on when to take off

    Some spider species float on the breeze using a parachute of silk. A new study suggests electrical charges in the air help spiders time these flights.

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  5. Physics

    Mars appears to have a lake of liquid water

    A 15-year-old Mars orbiter has spotted signs of a salty lake beneath the Red Planet’s southern polar ice sheets.

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  6. Physics

    An active sun is a somewhat smaller sun

    The sun grows and contracts a little over cycles lasting around 11 years, new data show. Changes in the strength of its magnetic fields may help explain this.

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  7. Physics

    To witness maximum pressure, peek inside a proton

    Scientists used experimental data to estimate the pressures inside a proton. And surprise: Its mega-big — the greatest known!

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  8. Physics

    The plant world has some true speed demons

    Some plants can fling, snap and hop at dizzying speeds. Such botanical gymnastics gives lie to the idea that all plants are slow, boring stick-in-the-muds.

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  9. Chemistry

    This plastic can be recycled over and over and over

    A new kind of plastic is fully recyclable: Unlike current plastics, it breaks down into the exact same molecules from which it was made.

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  10. Materials Science

    Photons map the atomic scale to help medicine and more

    At a big lab outside Chicago, a gigantic beam of speedy electrons is helping researchers fight diseases, build better electronics and more.

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  11. Materials Science

    Light-sensitive ‘ink’ gives 4-D printing more wiggle room

    Many 4-D-printed objects can flex and change their shape. A new “ink” and printing method now gives them greater range of motion.

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  12. Ecosystems

    Small swimmers may play huge role in churning the seas

    Hoards of migrating shrimp and krill can cause large-scale water movements in the ocean, a new study suggests.

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