Category Archives: APS Physics

Pluto’s Tilt Explains Ice Sheet’s History

Posted on October 21, 2021 by rberkowitz

Climate models based on changes in Pluto’s orbital tilt suggest that the dwarf planet’s heart-shaped ice sheet continues to undergo cycles of sublimation, condensation, and reorientation. Read more in APS Physics…

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A Laser-Free Method for Cooling Heavy Molecules

Posted on October 21, 2021 by rberkowitz

Electric deceleration brings a beam of the largest molecules yet to a standstill. Continue reading →

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Strong Currents Don’t Faze Salt Marsh Coastal Defences

Posted on October 18, 2021 by rberkowitz

A model captures the influence of plant flexibility, leaves, and current on
wave dissipation by a meadow of marsh plants. Continue reading →

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Real-Time Monitoring of Nanoscale Polarization Switching

Posted on October 12, 2021 by rberkowitz

Researchers have visualized the nanoscale jumps in a ferroelectric’s polarization that are thought to play a key role in how well some ferroelectric devices function. Continue reading →

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Direct Detection of Phonons

Posted on September 30, 2021 by rberkowitz

Using an updated superconducting particle detector, researchers can directly measure from its quasiparticle signal the number of phonons that hit the detector. Continue reading →

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The Women Who Win

Posted on September 30, 2021 by rberkowitz

Women who have received major physics prizes share their thoughts about what the awards mean to them and about how they help in bringing science to the forefront. Continue reading →

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A Hallmark of Topological Insulators is Measured in Atoms

Posted on September 27, 2021 by rberkowitz

Using ultracold atoms, researchers measure the number of chiral edge states in a system with time-reversal symmetry. Continue reading →

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A Way to Experimentally Test String Theory’s “Fuzzball” Prediction

Posted on September 17, 2021 by rberkowitz

Simulations reveal the gravitational-wave signal of string theory’s “fuzzy” black holes, a signature that researchers could potentially measure. Continue reading →

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Analyzing the Sharkskin Instability

Posted on August 18, 2021 by rberkowitz

The stretching and recoiling of polymer chains leads to the characteristic ridge pattern as a soft material exits a narrow nozzle. Continue reading →

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Balding Black Holes Lose Their Magnetic Hair

Posted on July 28, 2021 by rberkowitz

First-principles plasma simulations show that black holes can’t keep their magnetic fields. Read more in APS Physics… Continue reading →

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