WHEN we were 16 years old, my friend Karen and I were interviewed for an educational video. With our hair thick with styling mousse, pale blue eyeliner and misplaced teen swagger, we explained why we had chosen to study physics. We were the only two girls in our school that...
Author: Dima Osyka
New physics rules tested on quantum computer
Aalto researchers have used an IBM quantum computer to explore an overlooked area of physics, and have challenged 100-year-old notions about information at the quantum level. The rules of quantum physics, which govern how very small things behave, use mathematical operators called Hermitian Hamiltonians. Hermitian operators have underpinned quantum physics...
Diamond holds up at pressures more than five times those in Earth’s core
Diamond holds up under pressure, maintaining its structure in laser experiments that reached more than five times the pressure at the center of the Earth. Diamond stands up to a squeeze. Surprisingly, the material’s structure persists even when compressed to 2 trillion pascals, more than five times the pressure in...
Tiny, sunlight-powered aircraft could soar beyond airplanes’ reach
A tiny microflier (gray disk at top) levitates above a mesh platform when illuminated by eight LED lights (yellow) as shown in this illustration. Flight isn’t easy at the edge of space. But tiny “microfliers” could soar high in Earth’s atmosphere fueled only by sunlight, experiments suggest. At heights between...
Reasons Why the History of Physics Matters
Aristotle profoundly shaped scholarship with his use of empirical evidence and reliance on logic. Yet, several of his theories were also wrong: he believed the heavenly bodies were made from “aether,” women had fewer teeth than men, and eels reproduced by spontaneous generation. These ideas were later disproved, using Aristotle’s...
The history of physics, in 4000 manuscripts
Collector David Wenner’s private library holds original works from Copernicus, Maxwell, Einstein, and more. Melinda Baldwin A single-story ranch house on the eastern coast of Florida has a room that would make any physicist or historian momentarily lose her breath. It’s a home library about the size of a college...
12 female physicists you need to know about
In 2018, the NSW Higher School Certificate physics syllabus is undergoing changes for the first time in 17 years, but students will not be taught about the contributions of female physicists to the field. Image credit: Jessica Chapman/WikimediaRuby Scott-Payne, the only female, at the International Union of Radio Science conference...
Four women who changed the face of physics
Hertha Ayrton, British physicist and mathematician Birthplace: Born in Portsea, Hampshire, in 1854; died in 1923. Known for: British physicist who was the first woman nominated to become a fellow of the Royal Society (although women could not be elected). Education: She attended Girton College, Cambridge University, where she studied...
6 Defining Moments in the History of Physics | Immere Education
Science, as per its nature, strives for the glittering ideal of truth by always reassessing, redefining its position so that it may sidle ever closer. Physics, the study of motion and interaction, is no different. Like a diligent scribe, physics duly adapts to each mumbled correction of the story dictated...
United Arab Emirates’ Hope probe enters Martian orbit – Physics World
The $200m Emirates Mars Mission successfully arrived in Martian orbit today concluding its seven-month journey to the red planet. The arrival of the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) probe – named Hope – marks the beginning of the science stage in the first interplanetary voyage undertaken by an Arab nation. At...