Science

Predicting when solids will melt is more difficult than you might think r.classen/Shutterstock Physicists may finally have an answer for a seemingly simple question that has remained unanswered for about a century: when does a substance melt? Kostya Trachenko at Queen Mary University of London found it mysterious that “in this age of scientific and

Quantum jobs fair for kick-starting graduate careers – Physics World Skip to main content Close search menu Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2024 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

WASHINGTON — Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy John Plumb will be stepping down in May, a Pentagon spokesperson confirmed March 29. Plumb is leaving his post two years after being confirmed as the first assistant secretary of defense for space policy, a position that Congress established in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act.

GPS attacks can interfere with the safe operation of aircraft Marko Hannula / Alamy Russia is suspected of launching a record-breaking 63-hour-long attack on GPS signals in the Baltic region. The incident, which affected hundreds of passenger jets earlier this month, occurred amid rising tensions between Russia and the NATO military alliance more than two

Ask me anything: Katrin Erath-Dulitz ‘As a researcher, I rely on creative thinking’ – Physics World Skip to main content Close search menu Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2024 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

As inter-satellite laser links help fuel the rapid expansion of the largest constellations the world has ever seen, a traditional satellite operator wants to put stronger lasers to work clearing the debris that LEO megaconstellations risk leaving behind. Sky Perfect JSAT, Japan’s flagship geostationary satellite operator, announced the creation of a startup in January that

A hydrogel disc can increase 100 times in area when stretched Lili Chen et al. A hydrogel that can stretch to around 15 times its initial length is one of the most elastic materials yet known and could be used for robotic grippers or tendons. Hydrogels, which are made of long chain-like polymer molecules linked

Superfluid helium: the quantum curiosity behind huge experiments like the LHC – Physics World Skip to main content Close search menu Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2024 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

WASHINGTON — A NASA official says he is optimistic that a problem with the Voyager 1 spacecraft that has kept it from transmitting intelligible data for months can be resolved. Speaking at a March 20 meeting of the National Academies’ Committee on Solar and Space Physics, Joseph Westlake, director of NASA’s heliophysics division, said it

Antibodies are proteins that can target and attack certain cells MirrorImages/Alamy An experimental treatment rejuvenates the immune system of older mice, improving the animals’ ability to fight infections. If it works in humans, the therapy could reverse age-related declines in immunity that leave older adults susceptible to disease. These declines may be due to changes

Climate change will affect how time is corrected using ‘negative leap seconds’ – Physics World Skip to main content Close search menu Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2024 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

Operators of satellites in non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) could be forced to turn off beams when flying over countries that have not authorized them, do more to disable bootleg dishes in these territories, or a mix of both, depending on who you ask about new global rules in the works. Approval to study ways for cracking

Beer brewers generate a huge variety of flavours from just a handful of ingredients Kutredrig/Getty Images An artificial intelligence that can predict how a beer will taste from its chemical make-up could help create alcohol-free versions that taste just like regular ones. Predicting flavour from chemical compounds is difficult, as complex interactions between ingredients and

Researchers use machine learning to improve the taste of Belgian beers – Physics World Skip to main content Close search menu Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2024 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

WASHINGTON — Several companies that launched their first spacecraft on a rideshare mission earlier this month are reporting varying degrees of success, from full operations to an early end of testing. Apex, a satellite manufacturer that launches its first Aries spacecraft on SpaceX’s Transporter-10 mission March 4, announced March 25 that the satellite has commissioned

Increased exposure to wildfire smoke is one of the most damaging effects of climate change Nasa's Earth Observatory Exposure to rising levels of wildfire smoke could lead to more than 10,000 additional deaths each year in the US by 2050. This could make deaths due to wildfire smoke the costliest consequence of climate change for

Neutron reflectometry, electrochemistry, surface and interface analysis – Physics World Skip to main content Close search menu Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2024 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

The last time Patricia Cooper attended a meeting of the American Astronomical Society, she wasn’t sure what she was getting into. It was January 2020 and Cooper, at the time a vice president at SpaceX, had agreed to represent the company on a panel discussion at the conference on the interference satellite constellations could create