9 D Universe

Whether it’s providing clean water around the world or designing space craft to monitor the impact of climate change, today’s young people are keen to find solutions to the many challenges society is facing. That effort needs many different approaches, but studying physics undoubtedly increases the arsenal of tools a [...]

Orthopaedic implant surgeries, such as hip and knee replacements, are common procedures performed daily around the world. Bacterial colonization of the implants, however, can lead to complications, implant failure and, in about 7% of cases, necessitate revision surgery. Current infection control methods rely on antibiotics, but are far from optimal. [...]

The online world makes it easier for researchers to collaborate – but does not result in more groundbreaking work. That is according to a new study, which finds that teams of scientists working remotely are less likely to make big research breakthroughs. The discovery could help to explain a recently [...]

In a study led by University of Florida astronomer Adam Ginsburg, groundbreaking findings shed light on a mysterious dark region at the center of the Milky Way. The turbulent gas cloud, playfully nicknamed "The Brick" due to its opacity, has sparked lively debates within the scientific community for years. [...]

For the first time, particle physicists have observed the simultaneous production of a photon and a top quark. The milestone was achieved by the ATLAS collaboration, which operates a giant detector at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The discovery could lead to a deeper understanding of the electroweak interaction, and [...]

Researchers in the US have improved the coherence time of charge quantum bits (qubits) by a factor of 1000 thanks to advances in the materials used to construct them. Led by Dafei Jin of the Argonne Center for Nanoscale Materials and David Schuster of Stanford University and the University of [...]

Author(s): Thomas GalleyA proposed model unites quantum theory with classical gravity by assuming that states evolve in a probabilistic way, like a game of chance.[Physics 16, 203] Published Mon Dec 04, 2023 [...]

The ongoing drive towards more sustainable development, defined by the United Nations as meeting “the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future to meet its needs”, manifests itself in many different ways. For scientists and engineers, it is most commonly translated into the pursuit of innovative [...]

The dean of MIT’s School of Science embraces skepticism and failure, and she wants the next generation of scientists to jump right in. https://www.wired.com/story/women-in-science-nergis-mavalvala/ The post Dr. Nergis Mavalvala Helped Detect the First Gravitational Wave. Her Work Doesn’t Stop There appeared first on MIT Physics. [...]

It first appeared as a glowing blob from ground-based telescopes and then vanished completely in images from the Hubble Space Telescope. Now, the ghostly object has reappeared as a faint, yet distinct galaxy in an image from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). [...]

Going into a public toilet is sometimes not for the faint hearted. Not only could there be visible evidence of previous use, but also the unseeable germs that may lurk on surfaces. Now researchers in Germany and Turkey have come up with a new transparent coating that makes porcelain more water-repellent [...]

Author(s): Michael SchirberThe crack resistance of polymer materials is explained by a new model that incorporates a network of stretchable polymer chains.[Physics 16, 202] Published Fri Dec 01, 2023 [...]

In early November of this year, aurora borealis were observed at surprisingly low latitudes, as far south as Italy and Texas. Such phenomena indicate the impacts of a solar coronal mass ejection on the Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere. Far more dramatic than this recent light show was, it was [...]

MIT Digital Learning Lab and Empowr pilot a new internship program. For Thomas Esayas, now a high school senior in Texas, the shift to virtual learning in the earlier days of the Covid-19 pandemic provided an opportunity to dive further into his interests in computer science. He started learning the fundamentals [...]

A new study develops a theory of how magnetic switchbacks are formed around the sun. This quantitative model can be used to predict magnetic field variations and potentially explain the heating and acceleration of the solar wind. [...]

Density turbulence in the solar corona and solar wind is evident via the properties of solar radio bursts; angular scattering-broadening of extra-solar radio sources observed through the solar atmosphere, and can be measured in-situ in the solar wind. A viable density turbulence model should simultaneously explain all three types of [...]

A cornerstone but surprising prediction arising from Einstein's theory of general relativity is the existence of black holes, which astronomers later found to be widespread throughout the universe. Key characteristics of black holes include their masses and their "spin"—they rotate even though they have no actual surface, with an event [...]

Author(s): Charles DayUsing fluorescent tracers, researchers visualize the forces that move micrometer-diameter particles through a liquid subjected to a temperature gradient.[Physics 16, s168] Published Thu Nov 30, 2023 [...]

Author(s): Rachel BerkowitzAn archaeology-focused sabbatical prompted semiconductor physicist Kristin Poduska to ask questions about how the environment impacts the chemical and structural properties of natural materials.[Physics 16, 200] Published Thu Nov 30, 2023 [...]

More stable clocks could measure quantum phenomena, including the presence of dark matter. The practice of keeping time hinges on stable oscillations. In a grandfather clock, the length of a second is marked by a single swing of the pendulum. In a digital watch, the vibrations of a quartz crystal mark [...]

Cosmologist and MLK Scholar Morgane König uses gravitational waves to study the universe’s origins, inflation, and present trajectory. The way Morgane König sees it, questioning how we came to be in the universe is one of the most fundamental parts of being human. When she was 12 years old, König decided the [...]

For nearly fifty years, astronomers have come up empty-handed in their search for stars within the sprawling structure known as the Magellanic Stream. A colossal ribbon of gas, the Magellanic Stream spans nearly 300 moon diameters across the Southern Hemisphere's sky, trailing behind the Magellanic Cloud galaxies, two of our [...]

The way Morgane König sees it, questioning how we came to be in the universe is one of the most fundamental parts of being human. When she was 12 years old, König decided the place to find answers was in physics. A family friend was a physicist, and she attributed her [...]

Author(s): Michael SchirberThe onset time for “viscous fingering”—an instability that can occur at a gas–liquid boundary—depends on the compressibility of the gas, offering a way to control the behavior.[Physics 16, s171] Published Wed Nov 29, 2023 [...]