Physics
- Earth
Here’s how ice needles can sculpt natural rock art
Striking stone patterns adorn remote cold landscapes the world over. The recipe for these adornments: Freeze, thaw, repeat.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Electron
Electrons are negatively charged particles. They are attracted to the positively charged particles in the center, or nucleus, of an atom.
- Animals
A spider’s feet hold a hairy, sticky secret
Their widespread stickiness traces to the shape of hairs on its feet, scientists now find.
- Earth
Explainer: How auroras light up the sky
The northern and southern lights are considered natural wonders of the world. Here’s how these and related splendid sky glows form.
- Brain
A sense of touch could upgrade virtual reality, prosthetics and more
Scientists and engineers are trying to add touch to online shopping, virtual doctor appointments and artificial limbs.
- Climate
Research on climate and more brings trio the 2021 physics Nobel Prize
Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann pioneered work on simulations of Earth’s climate. Giorgio Parisi probed complex materials.
- Physics
Let’s learn about dark matter
Dark matter is only detectable by the gravitational pull it exerts on visible objects, like stars and galaxies.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Plasma
In physics, plasma refers to one of the four states of matter. In medicine, plasma describes the part of blood that ferries cells, nutrients and more throughout the body.
- Materials Science
Tiny swimming robots may help clean up a microplastics mess
Big problem, tiny solution. Researchers in the Czech Republic have designed swimming robots that can help collect and break down microplastics.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Aerosol
Aerosols are tiny bits of solids or drops of liquids suspended in gas. Aerosols include mist, fog and soot, as well as pollution from fossil fuels.
- Materials Science
Take a look at this weird, bendy type of ice
These specially grown threads of ice bend into curves, then spring back when released.
- Physics
Scientists Say: Mass
Mass shows how much an object resists speeding up or slowing down when force is applied — a measure of how much matter is in it.
