At a time in the sun’s cycle when space weather experts expect less solar activity, our star is going bonkers with solar flares and coronal mass ejections. What effects will Earth feel?
As companies make quantum computers available through their cloud services, take a look at what it means for computing to move beyond classical mechanics and into quantum physics.
An ion-trap used for quantum computing research in the Quantum Control Laboratory at the University of Sydney.
Michael Biercuk
Lenka Zdeborova, Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)
Methods stemming from decades of research on disordered materials are used to describe algorithmic phase transitions, and to design new algorithms in machine-learning problems.
The last thing the spider saw before everything went black.
Flickr/Nicola Albertini
David Hu, Georgia Institute of Technology e Patricia Yang, Georgia Institute of Technology
New parenthood got our fluid dynamics experts thinking about what ends up in the diaper. They headed to the zoo and the lab to come up with a cohesive physics story for how defecation works.
It’s been five decades of microwave popcorn and piping hot leftovers in home kitchens. A serendipitous discovery helped engineers harness radar to create this now ubiquitous timesaving appliance.
Every moment of life on our planet has had the force of gravity in the background. But the prospect of long-distance space travel means it’s time to figure out what happens to our biology in its absence.
Will NSW physics students learn what these lines represent?
starsandspirals/Flickr
NSW’s proposed new rigorous physics syllabus refocuses on the fundamentals, but it’ll require investment in teaching skills so all students can benefit from it.
Scientific and technological innovations and economic policies promoting growth at all costs have created a consumption and production vortex on a collision course with the Earth system.
Tiny CubeSats are ready to be our eyes in the skies.
Earth Background: NASA; HARP Spacecraft: SDL; Montage: Martins, UMBC
As technology advances, tiny satellites no bigger than a loaf of bread have advanced from just proving they work to being big contributors in answering science questions.
Static electricity can cause more than just a bad hair day.
Ken Bosma
These mini lightning bolts have been known for millennia. Understanding static electricity at the atomic level opens the door for new technologies – as well as ways to cut down on the tiny zaps.