Physics Buzz

Particle accelerators have opened a unique window into the subatomic world, revealing some of the most fundamental components of our universe. In the last ten years, CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has taken us to new energy frontiers that resulted in the detection of the Higgs boson among other accomplishments, including the recent discovery of a doubly charmed particle . But there is still much to learn.

Scientists from Japan have found an easier way to make a special kind of crystal that can "remember" its shape if deformed. These materials—known as shape memory alloys—are valuable in a range of applications from medical devices to building construction, but manufacturing them can be difficult and costly. A recent paper published in Nature Communications is looking to change that.

Speaking today at a press conference in western Italy , scientists from the LIGO and Virgo collaborations reported new results detailing the observation of yet another gravitational wave signal, this one emanating from a source at least a billion light years away.

Scientists have discovered a new way to manipulate the magnetic structure of certain materials to form a kind of magnet known as fragmented spin ice. The resulting material possesses some of the weirdest magnetic properties known to science. Researchers are still trying to figure out exactly how these weird magnets behave, and learning to harness them could one day lead to novel applications. The discovery was published last month in the journal Nature Communications .

Room temperature superconductors would be a game-changer in our energy-hungry world. Even as we integrate alternative energy sources into the electric grid, create more energy efficient devices, and reduce demand where we can, we still battle resistance. Electrical resistance , that is.

Before the arrival of hurricane Irma in Florida, the Pasco county sheriff's department posted a tweet that quickly went viral, urging citizens not to try and scare off the hurricane:

Before the arrival of hurricane Irma in Florida, the Pasco county sheriff's department posted a tweet that quickly went viral, urging citizens not to try and scare off the hurricane:

Results from an experiment exploring how atoms interact on a very fundamental level show that scientists may understand less about what’s going on in some atomic scattering experiments than previously thought. Published recently in the American Physical Society’s journal Physical Review Letters , the international team of researchers hopes that this work will spark follow-up studies that could help us better address one of the most fundamental unsolved problems in physics.

What do the most basic t-shirts have in common with cutting-edge fabric that can detect and neutralize nerve gas ? The answer is cotton, “the fabric of our lives” as it’s called by the U.S. industry. Cotton is one of the most promising fabrics for applications in wearable "smart materials", such as clothing that responds to changes in temperature, harnesses motion to power electronics , is highly-visible, or monitors body functions.

If you’re in need of some charming news and a break from weather-related disaster coverage, this is your story. Today, in the American Physical Society’s journal Physical Review Letters , a several-hundred-member team of CERN researchers announced the first unambiguous sighting of a baryon with two heavy quarks.

Aside from being hot, what does the liquid, metallic core of a newly formed planet have in common with a bowl of chicken noodle soup?

The way in which the universe's heaviest elements were forged has long been a mystery. Now some researchers suspect they might have found an answer—these elements may be born when miniature black holes devour neutron stars from the inside. Such a scenario could also help solve a host of other cosmic puzzles, such as the origin of enigmatic gamma rays and radio bursts.

Everyone's used a Sharpie—from the classroom to the office, the ubiquitous permanent marker is a mainstay for producing waterproof labels and signage. But the same physics that gives this ink its permanence also makes it possible to remove it all at once, with nothing more than ordinary water. The trick, according to new research  from the laboratory of one of fluid mechanics' most prolific authors , is to take it S-L-O-W.

Do long arms give you a disadvantage at the gym?

Two separate discoveries this week show how spectacular the weather can be on other planets in our solar system. First, a paper from Nature Geoscience explains a mechanism that can create snowstorms on Mars. A separate paper from Nature Astronomy discusses how diamonds can rain down on giant icy planets such as Neptune and Uranus.

As the Flint water crisis so vividly highlights, those of us lucky enough to live in places with clean tap water often take it for granted. The problem is that when something goes awry, it’s usually discovered after people have already started getting sick. Even without criminal negligence and cover-ups, like those in the Flint crisis, contaminated water can have devastating consequences.

It's almost here...the first total solar eclipse to grace the mainland US in close to 40 years! While this is a big one for the USA— visible as a total solar eclipse in 16% of the country  and as a partial eclipse everywhere else—we know that not everyone is going to be able to make it to the path of totality. Even for those of us who've traveled to see this astronomical phenomenon in its full glory, chancy weather and the threat of clouds mean that nothing is a guarantee. To that end, the Physics Buzz team is deployed across the country to bring you coverage of totality—from our home base's (College Park, MD) Eclipse at the Ellipse event to the relative wilderness of Idaho Falls, selected for its relatively low incidence of cloud cover this time of year. Because of course we were nerds about this. Image Credit:   eclipse2017.org That means that our readers on the east coast will hopefully get a preview of the eclipse, roughly an hour and a half before it comes

Greyson wrote in this week to ask: What would happen if you put a metal object in between the earth and a magnet that had the same pull as gravity?

The 2017 total solar eclipse is almost upon us, and we’re sure you’ve been hearing a lot about it over the past few weeks (including our eclipse posts Part I and Part II ). Whether it’s your first solar eclipse or one of many you’ve witnessed, the event promises to be a show-stopper—weather permitting, of course.

If you want to see a stunning demonstration of nature colliding with modern technology, do a simple image search for lighting strikes a power line . A chance strike can wreak havoc on the daily lives of those nearby and on the wallets of those responsible for restoring power. Most of us lucky enough to live with stable electric grids take for granted the traffic lights, internet connections, refrigerators, air conditioning, lights, coffee makers, and credit card readers that are essential to our way of life. A major interruption to the grid is a serious and often dangerous issue.