Physics
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History
Rachel Makinson and the science of wool
Distinguished career began on a temporary basis.
Rachel Makinson joined the radiophysics laboratory at Australia’s then Council of Scientific and Industrial Research ...
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Can water be two types of liquid?
Researchers offer evidence to support decades-old theory.
Cold water behaves strangely. For starters, it expands rather than contracting as it cools (which is why ice floats),...
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History
Maria Goeppert Mayer: from nuisance to Nobel
Success and professorships were family affairs.
The co-winner of the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physics was Maria Goeppert Mayer – one of only two women to receive it since...
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Here’s why this happens
The physics behind waves that light up a beach.
Blue waves made quite a splash along the coast off southern California earlier this year, but it’s not an unusual phe...
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Focus
The supersizing of quantum physics
Smashing noise limits by squeezing light.
Quantum physics is the realm of tiny particles no longer. Scientists at the giant gravitational wave detector LIGO in...
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Homemade masks can work, physics suggests
But don’t expect a bandana to do the job.
Physics suggests that homemade masks are useful in a pandemic, as long as they’re the right sort and fitted right. ...
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It happened in just zeptoseconds
Physicists calculate the speed of nuclear reactions.
Australian and US physicists say they have calculated the speed of the most complex nuclear reactions and found that ...
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Where robotics meets quantum computing
Researchers adapt techniques to overcome noise.
Australian physicists say they have adapted techniques from autonomous vehicles and robotics to efficiently assess th...
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Why you should close the toilet lid
Study shows flushing creates clouds that can carry viruses.
Physics has been surprisingly prominent in the flurry of scientific activity to understand COVID-19 and its real and ...
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A new wave way to grow biomaterials
Controlling biofilms opens a world of opportunities.
Australian physicists have developed a way to use waves to manipulate the growth of bacteria biofilms – one of the mo...
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Making water-repellent surfaces toughen up
New approach equips them for the real world.
Superhydrophobic surfaces are smart, but not that tough. They repel water brilliantly but are easy to cut, scratch...
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Snapshot
Watch the art of Roman Hill on film
Fluid dynamics in action can be a visual feast.
Roman Hill’s canvas is eight square millimetres of glass and his media are commonly available: oil, water, ink, paint...