All that glitters is not green. Glitter and shimmery pigments are often made using toxic compounds or pollutive microplastics (SN: 4/15/19). That makes the sparkly stuff, notoriously difficult to clean…
Category: Physics
The thickness of lead’s neutron ‘skin’ has been precisely measured
Some atomic nuclei are thin-skinned — they’re surrounded by a slim shell of neutrons. Physicists now know how thick that neutron skin is for one particular type of nucleus. The…
The already tiny neutrino’s maximum possible mass has shrunk even further
To understand neutrinos, it pays to be small-minded. The subatomic particles are so lightweight, they’re almost massless. They’re a tiny fraction of the mass of the next lightest particle, the…
How matter’s hidden complexity unleashed the power of nuclear physics
Matter is a lush tapestry, woven from a complex assortment of threads. Diverse subatomic particles weave together to fabricate the universe we inhabit. But a century ago, people believed that…
Newly made laser-cooled antimatter could test foundations of modern physics
For the first time, physicists have used lasers to deep-freeze antimatter. In a new experiment, an ultraviolet laser quelled the thermal jitters of antihydrogen atoms, chilling the antiatoms to just…
Muon magnetism could hint at a breakdown of physics’ standard model
A mysterious magnetic property of subatomic particles called muons hints that new fundamental particles may be lurking undiscovered. In a painstakingly precise experiment, muons’ gyrations within a magnetic field seem…
New ‘vortex beams’ of atoms and molecules are the first of their kind
Like soft serve ice cream, beams of atoms and molecules now come with a swirl. Scientists already knew how to dish up spiraling beams of light or electrons, known as…
A proposed ‘quantum compass’ for songbirds just got more plausible
Scientists could be a step closer to understanding how some birds might exploit quantum physics to navigate. Researchers suspect that some songbirds use a “quantum compass” that senses the Earth’s…
Physicists used LIGO’s mirrors to approach a quantum limit
Quantum mechanics usually applies to very small objects: atoms, electrons and the like. But physicists have now brought the equivalent of a 10-kilogram object to the edge of the quantum…
Muon magnetism could hint at a breakdown of physics’ standard model
A mysterious magnetic property of subatomic particles called muons hints that new fundamental particles may be lurking undiscovered. In a painstakingly precise experiment, muons’ gyrations within a magnetic field seem…
