Several science students may imagine a ball rolling down a hill or a car skidding due to friction as prototypical examples of the systems physicists care about. However, much of modern physics consists of looking for objects and essentially invisible sensations: the small electrons of quantum physics and the particles concealed within odd steels...
University of Cincinnati computational chemist Yu Shi. Credit: Andrew Higley, University of CincinnatiA chemist at the College of Cincinnati has come up with a unique means to examine the thermodynamic properties of molten salts that are utilized in numerous nuclear and solar power applications.UC College of Arts and Sciences research join and computational chemist...
A full moon, known as the "Strawberry Moon" is shown split in half, June 15, 2022. Credit: REUTERS/JOE SKIPPERThe brand-new project entails putting three guardian satellites carrying loads of fuel and kinetic weapons into the moon's orbit around the Earth.China's "Planetary Defense System" has been capturing momentum recently, with Beijing researchers now planning to...
The Penrose tiling pattern is a type of quasicrystal, which means that it has an ordered yet never-repeating structure. The pattern, composed of two shapes, is a 2D projection of a 5D square lattice. Credit: NoneBy shining a laser pulse series inspired by the Fibonacci numbers at atoms inside a quantum computer, physicists have...
Simply ten months after the initial genome sequencing of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, two mRNA vaccines were shown to provide 95% effectiveness against symptomatic infections through randomized, placebo-controlled trials of more than 74,000 individuals.That unprecedented success was partially sustained by the $10 billion governmental investment in Operation Warp Speed (OWS) in March 2020 to accelerate...
A new working paper attempts to quantify the importance of more powerful computers for improving outcomes across society. In it, researchers analyzed five areas where computation is critical, including weather forecasting, oil exploration, and protein folding (important for drug discovery). Credit: MITQ&A: MIT's Neil Thompson on Calculating Power and InnovationTechnology in many industries has...
The complex cells of organisms known as eukaryotes, such as the animal cell pictured here, arose more than 1.5 billion years ago. Biologists have long known that back then, one simple, bacteria-like cell engulfed another, and the new arrival settled into its host cell to eventually become what we know as the energy-generating mitochondrion. But...
Kristina Armitage for Quanta MagazineThree computer scientists have actually posted a proof of the NLTS opinion, showing that systems of knotted particles can remain challenging to analyze even away from extremes.A striking new proof in quantum computational complexity could best be comprehended with a lively idea experiment. Run a bath; after that dispose a...
Credit: Caiaimage/Chris RyanAs parents, we all want to create intelligent and focused kids, especially in a world where digital distraction seems inescapable. (Also, tech titans like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates have strategies for restricting their children's screen time.).Why? Because in the future, there will undoubtedly be two kinds of people in the world:...
Horticulturalist Carlos Magdalena in Bolivia viewing the largest known giant water lily species (Victoria boliviana). Credit: Cesar David SalazarAn artist's observations, two botanists' suspicions, and DNA tests reveal a case of mistaken identity among giant water plants.When 19th-century European botanists encountered impressive water lilies with leaves more extensive than a pingpong table, they initially...
