Grand challenges for physics in the US
Experts identify the most pressing problems in physics today
Busquin calls for EU Framework increase
More cash on the cards for European R&D
Radiation from mobile phones amplified in human cells
Earlier studies used simplistic models that assume human cells are spherical. But many cells – for example, muscular and red blood cells – are not spherical. Sebastián’s team th...
Radiation check for airlines
“We know that cosmic radiation at aircraft altitudes is several orders of magnitude more intense than that experienced at ground level because there is less protection from our atmosphere”...
Read article: The bubble bursts for shrimps
The bubble bursts for shrimps
Scientists originally thought the shrimps’ snapping sound was produced by mechanical contact between opposing sides of the claw. But Barbara Schmitz, a biologist at the Technical University of M...
Read article: Physics, technology and the Olympics
Physics, technology and the Olympics
What effect does technology have on the performance of athletes, asks Steve Haake
Magnets help tell left from right
Like these so-called chiral molecules, circularly polarized light also comes in right and left-handed varieties, and can be used to produce an excess of one type of molecule. However, circularly polar...
Physics goes inside the ear
In 1960 von Bekesy published the results of his classic measurements on the cochlea, which suggested that the ear was essentially a linear device. However, von Bekesy conducted his experiments on cada...
Physics get physical
For ‘short’ races the average speed of a world-record performance declines sharply with increasing distance. However, above a certain distance, the decline is more gentle. For both running...
Water transfers energy at ultrafast rate
As a water molecule is excited by the laser pulse, it can only drop back to a less excited state by releasing the excess energy. This energy causes the O-H bonds to stretch and vibrate. As the bonds v...
