Category Archives: Physics

The randomly ordered atoms of glasses can at times arrange themselves into crystals, weakening them. Now researchers have discovered this crystallization is apparently due to avalanches of particles within glasses, report findings detailed in the Proceedings of the National Academy … Continue reading →

In the streams and rivers of South America, the 2-cm-long glass knifefish lives among a high population of predators, and prefers to stay hidden, biding its time until it must emerge to find food or flee. While hiding, the knifefish … Continue reading →

The creation of carbon that can behave like a metal has been a longstanding dream, but previous attempts to synthesize metallic carbon led to materials that are not stable at room temperature and pressure. Now computer simulations predict that a … Continue reading →

Beams of energy that can move chunks of matter around might seem only to be science fiction, like the tractor beams of Star Trek, but such optical traps have existed for nearly three decades. Now researchers show they can use … Continue reading →

Superconductors are extraordinary materials in which electricity flows without resistance, potentially enabling advances such as ultra-fast magnetically levitating trains. Now scientists find that even a fairly common liquid solvent can transform into a superconductor with the help of high pressure. … Continue reading →

When matter heats, it generally expands. Now scientists reveal that when several metallic liquids get heated, the distance between atoms can actually contract, findings detailed in this week’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Using synchrotron x-ray diffraction and … Continue reading →