Article 3EDY7 Physics Week in Review: January 27, 2018

Physics Week in Review: January 27, 2018

by
JenLucPiquant
from on (#3EDY7)

6a00d8341c9c1053ef01bb09ec3775970d-800wiAmong this week's physics highlights: 3D holograms made with lasers, a possible tractor beam for human levitation, and why bigger drones can fly longer.

The Era of Quantum Computing Is Here. Outlook: Cloudy. Quantum computers should soon be able to beat classical computers at certain basic tasks. But before they're truly powerful, researchers have to overcome a number of fundamental roadblocks. Related: Last September, physicists worked up the first-ever intercontinental, quantum-encrypted video conference. Now, they've finally revealed how they did it-and its massive implications.

3D Holograms Made With Lasers: By moving a single particle with an invisible laser beam, scientists can create three-dimensional images like the holograms in sci-fi movies that float in thin air.

Test of Einstein's Theory Confirms the Sun Is Losing Mass. "a team of researchers in the U.S. are using new measurements of Mercury's orbit to learn more about the sun-and more about Einstein's theory itself."

A Tractor Beam for Human Levitation? Researchers from the University of Bristol demonstrated that it's possible to steadily trap particles larger than a wavelength in an acoustic tractor beam. Related: Doctors Could Someday Use Tractor Beams to Get Those Tiny Floaters Out of Your Eyes.

This experiment could test the (weak field limit) of quantum gravity (for real).

Running as fast as possible is not necessarily the optimal way to escape, according to new research of predator-prey relationships in the African savanna.

Fungi Can Help Concrete Heal Its Own Cracks. One promising candidate is eco-friendly and poses no known risks to human health.

The Physics of Why Bigger Drones Can Fly Longer. Bigger isn't always better-but when it comes to drones, it kind of is.

Fossil Discoveries Challenge Ideas About Earth's Start. A series of fossil finds suggests that life on Earth started earlier than anyone thought, calling into question a widely held theory of the solar system's beginnings.

Black holes are firing a triple-threat of speedy particles at us. Scientists at Pennsylvania State University have simulated a way to get all three types of particles from a single source.

The Three Meanings Of E=mc^2, Einstein's Most Famous Equation.

6a00d8341c9c1053ef01bb09ec3811970d-320wiFractal Chapel: Tree-Inspired Columns Branch Out to Open Up Interior Space. "Designed by architects of Momoeda Yo, the square pillars were made using traditional Japanese woodworking methods. They stack on top of each other, forming different forest layers and growing smaller as they go up - a fractal-style repeating pattern."

"Architectural acoustics is inseparable from architecture, in that every building has its own unique acoustical profile."

How Much Kinetic Energy Could Black Panther Collect from Bullets? Enough to charge two iPhones or flip a car.

Can You Shatter a Mountain With Sound? Nerdist's Kyle Hill takes "a look at what it would take to replicate some of the sonorous feats Black Bolt is famous for. Specifically, what would it take to crack a mountain with sound alone? Would it even still be sound at that point?"

Grooves on a saguaro cactus may help it withstand high winds by reducing its drag.

Ask a Physicist: Which Falls Faster, a Brick or an Elephant?

Shape-shifting organic crystals use memory to improve plastic electronic.

The occult roots of higher-dimensional research in physics: How spiritualists of the 19th century forged a lasting association between higher dimensions and the occult world.

On Highway Noise Barriers, the Science Is Mixed. Are There Alternatives?

For the next 9 months, the brightest object in the night sky will be a tiny, disco-ball-like satellite. Related: Astronomers Are Annoyed at a New Zealand Company That Launched a Disco Ball Into Orbit.

In the Search for Alien Life, "Everyone Is an Astrobiologist". Scientists are plotting new directions in the quest for cosmic company.

NASA's Lovely Tribute to the Teacher Who Perished on Challenger. Two astronauts will carry out the original lessons Christa McAuliffe had planned for her time in orbit in 1986.

Much ado about nothing: ancient Indian text contains earliest zero symbol. One of the greatest conceptual breakthroughs in mathematics has been traced to the Bakhshali manuscript, dating from the 3rd or 4th century.

Modern mathematics is used to solve question about medieval war. "Was it really a war against the Vikings, or an internal civil war?... Modern mathematical techniques - similar to those used to analyse social-networking websites - are being used to answer this question."

Threads: The British Nuclear War Movie That Traumatized a Generation Is Back.

Valery N. Chalidze, a theoretical physicist who, alongside the Nobel laureate Andrei D. Sakharov, campaigned to expose human rights abuses in the Soviet Union and then carried on that work in exile in the United States, is dead.

The World's Most Lyrical Footnote: Physicist Richard Feynman on the Life-Expanding Common Ground Between the Scientific and the Poetic Worldviews. "What men are poets who can speak of Jupiter if he were a man, but if he is an immense spinning sphere of methane and ammonia must be silent?"

"Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider." Scientific method founding father Francis Bacon, born January 22, 1561, on learning and how to read intelligently.

A British Lab That Creates Lightning Indoors In Order to Predict Failures on the Electrical Grid. Related: World's Largest Air-Insulated Van de Graaff Generator in Boston, Massachusetts. The massive machine created cracking displays of indoor lightning.

Isaac Newton-Inspired Apple Kendama (a traditional Japanese toy that dates back to the 1700s) by Yasuhiro Suzuki.

Brown University animates science communication. The SciToons program pairs students with different levels of scientific expertise to create animated science explainers.

They Just Invented Ice Cream That You Can Light on Fire. "This feat was accomplished by adding a natural ingredient that prevents the separation of moisture and oil within the ice cream."

Mind-Boggling Visual Compares Our Sun to the Biggest Known Stars in the Universe.

Rob Scallon Records Acoustic and Metal Songs on 100 Year Old Wax Cylinder Recording Equipment.

Dance and the physics of rotation: Per The Kid Should See This: "Breakdancers B-Girl Eren and Tori Torsion talk about why they love to dance, and how practice, hard work, and overcoming obstacles can help you get to know who you are. Physicist Kevin Oh also explains the physics of rotation with some help from (and to help out) B-Boy Evol's spins."

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