Category Archives: APS Physics

Adding Certainty to Plutonium’s Fission Yield

Posted on June 14, 2024 by rberkowitz

A first-of-its-kind measurement reveals the energy spectrum of the neutrons produced during the fission of plutonium, a common nuclear fuel component. Continue reading →

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Spider-Inspired Microphone Detects Tiny Gusts of Sound

Posted on May 30, 2024 by rberkowitz

A small device senses sounds using a spiderweb-like design—a strategy that could lead to chip-size microphones that are less affected by thermal noise. Continue reading →

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A Better Way to Charge a Quantum Battery

Posted on May 23, 2024 by rberkowitz

Coupling the charger and battery to a common reservoir induces a direct flow of energy into the battery. Continue reading →

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Filamentation Observed in Wakefield Acceleration

Posted on May 7, 2024 by rberkowitz

A particle-beam-generating method—called wakefield acceleration—uses proton bunches, which can fragment into high-density filaments as a result of their interactions with plasma, new experiments show. Continue reading →

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Lithium-Ion “Traffic Jam” Behind Reduced Battery Performance

Posted on April 24, 2024 by rberkowitz

Real-time in situ x-ray observations of new nickel-rich lithium-ion batteries reveal that reduced performance comes from lithium ions getting trapped in the cathode. Continue reading →

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Quantum Machine Learning Goes Photonic

Posted on April 16, 2024 by rberkowitz

Measuring a photon’s angular momentum after it passes through optical devices teaches an algorithm to reconstruct the properties of the photon’s initial quantum state. Continue reading →

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Evidence of a New Subatomic Particle

Posted on April 10, 2024 by rberkowitz

A signal from the decay products of a meson—a quark and an antiquark—comes from two subatomic particles and not one, as previously thought. Continue reading →

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Modeling Tissue Mechanics with Molten Glass

Posted on April 5, 2024 by rberkowitz

A glass studio becomes a physics lab for biophysicists examining the physiological tissue properties of marine microorganisms. Read more in APS Physics…

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Thermal Conductivity Not Too Hot to Handle

Posted on April 5, 2024 by rberkowitz

A radiometry technique directly measures thermal conductivity in molten metals and confirms the relationship with electrical resistivity. Continue reading →

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Molecular Lawnmower Drives Itself

Posted on March 14, 2024 by rberkowitz

A protein-based motor uses a trimming mechanism to move forward across a field of grass-like peptide segments. Continue reading →

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