Physics
- Climate
Zapping clouds with lasers could alter Earth’s climate
Scientists zapped ice crystals in a lab. They were exploring whether this approach might be used to break those crystals in clouds — potentially as a way to cool Earth’s fever.
- Physics
Spinning black holes may ‘sing’ during a collision
The massive black hole in the movie Interstellar would create a unique gravity-wave signal when gobbling a smaller partner.
- Climate
This planet’s lightning storms are like nothing on Earth
Radio waves from a faraway exoplanet could signal intense lightning storms there.
- Animals
The shocking electric eel!
Electric eels are fascinating animals. Their powerful zaps can act like a radar system, trick fish into revealing their location and then freeze their prey’s movements.
- Animals
Snot may be key to dolphins’ tracking of prey
Dolphins produce clicking noises that bounce off of prey, like sonar, showing where they are. Mucus in the animals’ nasal passages may make that ‘sonar’ work.
- Physics
Scientists Say: Absolute zero
Even when we think it’s cold out, most molecules are moving. Only at absolute zero will all of their motions stop.
- Materials Science
Nanowires could lead to super-long-lived battery
Scientists have long been looking for ways to make rechargeable batteries that last forever. They now may be close. Their solution: gel-dipped nanowires.
- Earth
Cool Jobs: Getting to know volcanoes
It’s too hot to explore the insides of a volcano. These scientists examine their lava, their low-frequency rumblings and their ‘vog’.
- Animals
Insects can patch their broken ‘bones’
When insects suffer wounds, they can mend their ‘skeleton’ with a patch on the inside. This makes the leg strong again, new data show.
- Physics
Possibility of strange new particle surprises physicists
Last winter, physicists at the Large Hadron Collider detected hints of a particle beyond their wildest dreams. Soon they may learn if it’s real.
- Tech
How to make window ‘glass’ from wood
Scientists have come up with a way to make wood transparent. The new material could be used in everything from windows to packaging.
- Physics
Scientists Say: Frequency
The distance between one wave peak and another is wavelength. But how fast those peaks are moving along is frequency.
