Any way you slice it, a paper cut is painful. Magazines, letters and books harbor a devious potential for minor self-induced agony. But other types of paper — like thin tissue paper or the thicker stuff used for postcards — are less likely to offend. Scientists have now explained the physics behind why some paper … Read more
Brief blasts of light might make some materials into fleeting superconductors. A new study strengthens the case for this controversial claim, first made more than a decade ago. But while some physicists are convinced, others remain skeptical. Superconductors transmit electricity without resistance, typically only at low temperatures. But since 2011, some scientists have claimed that … Read more
This video was supported by funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. TRANSCRIPT Maria Temming: In 2021, a historic heat wave baked the Pacific Northwest killing hundreds of people and fueling wildfires. Researchers later reported that human-caused climate change made this heat wave at least 150 times more likely. But how do scientists figure out … Read more
Scientific clockmakers have crafted a prototype of a nuclear clock, hinting at future possibilities for using atomic nuclei to perform precise measurements of time and make new tests of fundamental physics theories. While the definition of a “clock” is scientifically hazy, the prototype is not yet used to measure time. So it technically should be … Read more
A lucky alignment of two sun-studying spacecraft may have finally solved a decades-old solar mystery. Data from NASA’s Parker Solar Probe and the European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter suggest that plasma waves known as Alfvén waves inject energy into the solar wind as it leaves the sun’s outer atmosphere, potentially explaining why the solar wind … Read more
Extreme Climate Survey Scientific news is collecting questions from readers about how to navigate our planet’s changing climate. What do you want to know about extreme heat and how it can lead to extreme weather events? Black holes usually form when a dying star collapses, resulting in a black hole at least several times the … Read more
The rotation of the Earth has been measured many times – but never like this. At first, scientists used entangled quantum particles called photons to detect the speed at which the globe spins. The achievement is a step toward investigating one of physics’ greatest mysteries: how the tiny world of quantum physics interacts with gravity. … Read more
Extreme Climate Survey Scientific news is collecting readers’ questions about how to navigate our planet’s changing climate. What do you want to know about extreme heat and how it can lead to extreme weather events? In an absolute sense, the inner core still rotates in the same direction as the mantle and surface. Imagine a … Read more
Extreme Climate Survey Scientific news is collecting readers’ questions about how to navigate our planet’s changing climate. What do you want to know about extreme heat and how it can lead to extreme weather events? But some scientists are raising concerns about HALEU’s growth. According to a June 7 comment ScienceHALEU could be used to … Read more
Extreme Climate Survey Scientific news is collecting readers’ questions about how to navigate our planet’s changing climate. What do you want to know about extreme heat and how it can lead to extreme weather events? The storage density of DNA is many times higher than that of any device humans have created. For example, if … Read more