Figure 1: Moore and his colleagues measured the momentum kick imparted by a single gas molecule on an optically levitated silica nanoparticle (center) [2]. Thanks to the isolation offered by setups ...

Conduction electrons typically whiz through crystals in broad energy bands. However, some arrangements of atoms conceivably engender so much destructive interference among the electrons’ wave packets ...

The creation of modern quantum mechanics was a messy business in which many of the participants did not grasp the significance of their own discoveries. The wave nature of electrons is revealed in ...

The new JWST observatory is revealing far more bright galaxies in the early Universe than anyone predicted, and astrophysicists have more than one explanation for the puzzle. With the JWST observatory ...

Figure 1: Will two objects fall at the same rate in a vacuum? Galileo was the first to test this equivalence principle, and he was followed by many others, including the Apollo astronauts. Now, the ...

Gravitational waves emitted by the merger of two black holes have been detected, setting the course for a new era of observational astrophysics. Figure 1: Numerical simulations of the gravitational ...

Particle physicists are faced with a growing list of “anomalies”—experimental results that conflict with the standard model but fail to overturn it for lack of sufficient evidence. For their study of ...

A detailed experimental analysis explains the forces by which a spinning magnet can cause another magnet to levitate in midair. An experiment with off-the-shelf components uses a magnet glued to the ...

Scientists have pinpointed energy-efficient ways to cook al dente pasta and developed an infallible recipe for the perfect cacio e pepe sauce. The study by Toultchinski and Vilgis was inspired by a ...

Analogs to massless fermions predicted by particle physicists 80 years ago have been found in a crystalline metal and in a photonic crystal. Figure 1: Two possible Fermi surfaces (blue lines) for ...

Different analyses of gravitational-wave observations are converging on evidence for a distinct population of massive black hole binaries produced through repeated mergers. Figure 1: Hundreds of ...

Interest in developing batteries based on sodium has recently spiked because of concerns over the sustainability of lithium, which is found in most laptop and electric vehicle batteries. In the 1870 ...