Category Archives: APS Physics

How Lasers Could Build Heavy Elements

Posted on February 22, 2024 by rberkowitz

Laser-generated nucleosynthesis remains out of reach of present-day technology—but more powerful lasers could eventually make it possible. Continue reading →

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Explaining Mars’ Patchy Aurora

Posted on February 2, 2024 by rberkowitz

The solar wind’s orientation relative to Mars’ magnetic-field lines changes as the planet rotates, creating conditions ripe for magnetic reconnection. Continue reading →

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Hot Surfaces Make Droplets Move Erratically

Posted on January 31, 2024 by rberkowitz

A droplet of a volatile liquid can move on a uniformly heated surface thanks to a nonuniform evaporation effect that drives an unstable fluid flow within the droplet. Continue reading →

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How Fur Frustrates Fouling

Posted on January 12, 2024 by rberkowitz

A hair’s resistance to dirt depends on how much it deforms in a flowing fluid. Read more in APS Physics… Continue reading →

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Water Reduces Ground Coffee’s Charge

Posted on January 6, 2024 by rberkowitz

Adding water to coffee beans before grinding can reduce the buildup of static charge—and make a stronger espresso. Continue reading →

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Why Humidity Doesn’t Affect Drying Paint

Posted on December 15, 2023 by rberkowitz

Experiments verify a theory that explains why paint doesn’t dry any faster on a dry day than on a wet day. Continue reading →

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Solid-State Physicist Turns to Rocks

Posted on December 1, 2023 by rberkowitz

An archaeology-focused sabbatical prompted semiconductor physicist Kristin Poduska to ask questions about how the environment impacts the chemical and structural properties of natural materials. Continue reading →

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Tension Remodeling Resolves Tissue Architecture Question

Posted on November 27, 2023 by rberkowitz

A dynamical tension model captures how cells swap places with their neighbors in epithelial tissues, explaining observed phase transitions and cellular architectures. Continue reading →

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It’s a Trap—for Lanthanides

Posted on November 15, 2023 by rberkowitz

Trapping and imaging single dysprosium atoms extends the utility of optical tweezer arrays to electronically complex species, opening the door to new quantum physics studies. Continue reading →

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Binary Colloids Don’t Flock Together

Posted on October 26, 2023 by rberkowitz

A homogenous mixture of two self-propelling species first forms a polar vortex and then spontaneously demixes, thanks to a difference in speeds and other competing effects. Continue reading →

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