Physics

  1. Space

    Waves from the birth of time

    Inflation is the idea that in the split-second after the Big Bang, the universe exploded into huge-ness. Although the hypothesis is 30 years old, evidence to confirm it had been lacking. Until now.

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  2. Physics

    Laser tweezers grab nano bits

    An optical fiber, a bit of gold and a laser make up a new type of tweezers. Scientists may soon use it to pick up and move around individual viruses or proteins.

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  3. Earth

    Earthquake-triggered lightning?

    An experiment with beads offers support for the claim that a rare type of lightning may accompany some quakes.

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  4. Physics

    Temperature ‘lock’ for new hard drives?

    A novel material can alter how easy it is to change data stored on it, based on temperature. One immediate application: more secure hard drives for computing.

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  5. Animals

    We are stardust

    Everything making up Earth and what’s now living upon it — from trees and people to our pets and their fleas — owes their origins to the elements forged by ancient stars.

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  6. Physics

    Closing in on fusion energy

    Scientists blasted a tiny capsule of hydrogen with laser beams, setting off a reaction that released more energy than in earlier experiments. Still, scientists remain a long way from creating a reaction that releases more energy than it needs to get started.

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  7. Physics

    Building a mirror with light

    Scientists proved that lasers can be used to harness materials into a reflective surface. Some scientists ask: Can a space mirror be far away?

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  8. Physics

    The ultimate wordfind puzzle

    The world’s oldest library has books with hidden texts. Researchers are now using a high-tech approach to reveal their long-masked words.

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  9. Planets

    Jupiter’s long-lasting storm

    Most studies of Jupiter’s centuries-old Great Red Spot suggest this giant storm should have petered out after a few decades. A new study traces the storm’s staying power to the vertical movement of its gases.

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  10. Health & Medicine

    Cool Jobs: Data detectives

    Statisticians are experts in seeing the patterns hidden within the raw numbers called data. They especially excel at finding real trends, while eliminating what is actually due to chance. That’s why they offer a good reality check in any field that involves numbers.

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  11. Physics

    X-ray ‘eyes’

    Movie directors often make “short” subjects, flicks running sometimes just a few minutes or so. But scientists have begun making much quicker “shorts,” essentially nanofilms. Their goal: catching science in action.

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  12. Materials Science

    Looking unbelievably cool

    Everything above absolute zero gives off some heat. Usually objects radiate more heat — or energy — as their temperature climbs. But engineers now have created a material that sometimes appears to cool even as it is warming.

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