Issues
Readers’ Forum
Commentary: The case for caution in predicting scientists’ future impact
Search and Discovery
Diamond defects enable nanoscale nuclear magnetic resonance
Detecting the tiny magnetic field from a few thousand atomic nuclei is a first step toward imaging complex molecular structures directly.
Gamma-ray spectra show that supernova remnants create cosmic-ray protons
Spectral signatures of pion decay have long been sought as direct evidence of proton acceleration in supernova shock fronts.
Earth’s land surface temperature trends: A new approach confirms previous results
The newcomers to the task looked at many more weather stations and used a geostatistics technique to adjust for data discontinuities.
An optical tractor beam sorts microscopic particles
A change in the polarization of a light field can sufficiently change the scattering forces experienced by spherical particles to reverse their direction of motion.
Issues and Events
Scientists experiment with crowdfunding
Interactions with the public prove as rewarding as the money.
White House to revive its climate change campaign
With new coal plants effectively outlawed under new carbon emissions limits, the Obama administration is poised to regulate CO2 from existing power plants.
Gradual path proposed to empty helium reserve
Lawmakers and consumers urge an overhaul of the 1996 program to end the federal government’s involvement in the helium business.
Articles
Black holes, quantum information, and the foundations of physics
Quantum mechanics teaches that black holes evaporate by radiating particles—a lesson indicating that at least one pillar of modern physics must fall.
Three-dimensional displays, past and present
Displays that reproduce depth in some cases and create its illusion in others vary from the simple to the sophisticated.
Zero-field nuclear magnetic resonance
Counter to intuition, one doesn’t necessarily need a strong magnet—or any magnet, for that matter—to extract richly informative spectra from nuclear spins.
Books
Why You Hear What You Hear: An Experiential Approach to Sound, Music, and Psychoacoustics
New Products
Obituaries
Stanley Sweet Hanna
Adilet Imambekov
Akira Tonomura
Quick Study
Condensation, atmospheric motion, and cold beer
The latent heat released when water condenses is an important driver of weather phenomena. And as a simple experiment shows, it also makes it tough to enjoy a frosty one in the summertime.