Clarified at last: The physics of popping champagne
When you uncork a bottle of champagne, complex supersonic phenomena occur. Scientists at TU Wien have now been able to calculate exactly what happens for the first time......»»
Peter Higgs: physicist who predicted "God particle"
Nobel laureate Peter Higgs gave his name to one of the great scientific discoveries of the last century, earning a place alongside Albert Einstein and Max Planck in physics textbooks......»»
RIP Peter Higgs, who laid foundation for the Higgs boson in the 1960s
Higgs shared the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics with François Englert. Enlarge / A visibly emotional Peter Higgs was present when CERN announced Higgs boson discovery in July 2012. (credit: University of Edinburgh ) Peter.....»»
Elon Musk just gave another Mars speech—this time the vision seems tangible
"These are unthinkable numbers, but we’re not breaking any physics to achieve this." Enlarge / SpaceX will continue to iterate on Starship. (credit: SpaceX) Elon Musk has been talking publicly about his sweeping vision.....»»
Simulating magnetization in a Heisenberg quantum spin chain
The rapid progress of quantum simulators is now enabling them to study problems that before have been limited to the domain of theoretical physics and numerical simulation. A team of researchers at Google Quantum AI and their collaborators showed thi.....»»
Kerr-enhanced optical spring for next-generation gravitational wave detectors
The detection of gravitational waves stands as one of the most significant achievements in modern physics. In 2017, gravitational waves from the merger of a binary neutron star were detected for the first time which uncovered crucial information abou.....»»
Can You View a Round Solar Eclipse Through a Square Hole?
Here’s a cool way to watch the eclipse on Monday—and learn about the weird physics of light while you’re at it......»»
Dark energy might not be constant after all
First results from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument offer hints of new physics. Enlarge / The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) has made the largest 3D map of our universe to date. (credit: Claire Lamman/DESI c.....»»
"It"s ultimately about predicting everything"—theory could be a map in the hunt for quantum materials
A breakthrough in theoretical physics is an important step toward predicting the behavior of the fundamental matter of which our world is built. It can be used to calculate systems of enormous quantities of quantum particles, a feat thought impossibl.....»»
Physics of complex fluids: Ring polymers show unexpected motion patterns under shear
The shearing of fluids—meaning the sliding of fluid layers over each other under shear forces—is an important concept in nature and in rheology, the science that studies the flow behavior of matter, including liquids and soft solids. Shear forces.....»»
A return to roots: Lab builds its first stellarator in 50 years and opens the door for research into new plasma physics
For the first time, scientists have built a fusion experiment using permanent magnets, a technique that could show a simple way to build future devices for less cost and allow researchers to test new concepts for future fusion power plants......»»
Focusing ultra-intense lasers to a single wavelength
Ultra-intense ultrashort lasers are powerful tools used in various fields like physics, national security, industry, and health care. They help researchers delve into strong-field laser physics, laser-driven radiation sources, particle acceleration,.....»»
Meteorites: Why study them? What can they teach us about finding life beyond Earth?
Universe Today has explored the importance of studying impact craters, planetary surfaces, exoplanets, astrobiology, solar physics, comets, planetary atmospheres, planetary geophysics, and cosmochemistry, and how this myriad of intricately linked sci.....»»
Easily observing environmental pollution-causing harmful substances through a mobile phone camera
DGIST's Physics and Chemistry Professor Park Jin-hee and her research team have developed a technology that allows easy detection of hazardous chemicals. Allowing one to detect harmful substances by analyzing color changes using a mobile phone camera.....»»
Nano-oscillator hits record quality factor
In their latest study, a team led by Tracy Northup at the Department of Experimental Physics unveils the successful creation of a levitated nanomechanical oscillator with an ultra-high quality factor, significantly surpassing previous experimental ac.....»»
Plasma fusion: Adding just enough fuel to the fire
How much fuel can we add to the fire while still maintaining control? Metaphorically speaking, that's the question one team at the U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) has been asking themselves lately......»»
Cosmochemistry: Why study it? What can it teach us about finding life beyond Earth?
Universe Today has had some fantastic discussions with researchers on the importance of studying impact craters, planetary surfaces, exoplanets, astrobiology, solar physics, comets, planetary atmospheres, and planetary geophysics, and how these diver.....»»
A method to compute the Rényi entanglement entropy in auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo simulations
Entanglement is a widely studied quantum physics phenomenon, in which two particles become linked in such a way that the state of one affects the state of another, irrespective of the distance between them. When studying systems comprised of several.....»»
This beloved feature almost ruined Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
At a GDC panel, the Nintendo developers of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom gave a rare peek at the difficulty of creating the game's physics system......»»
Testing begins on sensitive neutrino detector for nonproliferation and fundamental physics
Neutrinos and antineutrinos are nearly massless particles produced in many nuclear reactions, including the fission of uranium in nuclear power plants on Earth and the fusion reactions at the core of the sun......»»
Scientists on the hunt for evidence of quantum gravity"s existence at the South Pole
Several thousand sensors distributed over a square kilometer near the South Pole are tasked with answering one of the large outstanding questions in physics: does quantum gravity exist? The sensors monitor neutrinos—particles with no electrical cha.....»»