Issues
Readers’ Forum
Search and Discovery
Astronomers observe a nascent galaxy stuck to the cosmic web
A strand of the web appears to be conducting gas into the protogalaxy.
Freestanding solids get stretched
Engineering a phase transformation to proceed in just the right way creates a material that’s permanently under tension.
The universal statistics of random searches
The time it takes a random walker to find all the targets in a given domain can be determined from the average time it takes to find just one of them.
Issues and Events
Isotope program expands activities
To meet the growing demand for isotopes and lessen dependence on foreign sources, the Department of Energy has been realigning its capabilities and connecting with universities.
New MIT design revives interest in high-field approach to fusion
Tokamaks made with high-temperature superconductors may offer a less expensive, more compact route to fusion power, if their coils can withstand the tremendous forces.
Could an outlier beat the establishment to fusion power?
Buoyed by recent experimental results, a stealthy company is already making plans to commercialize its aneutronic approach to producing electricity.
Articles
Imaging particle beams for cancer treatment
Proton and carbon-ion radiotherapy are powerful tools for killing tumor cells, but only if the particles deposit their energy where they’re supposed to.
Keeping fusion plasmas hot
Interactions between electromagnetic waves and the most energetic ions in a plasma can perturb the orbits of those ions enough to expel them from the confining magnetic field.
An early history of high-intensity focused ultrasound
Foresighted leadership, the GI Bill, and research conducted in an unventilated steam tunnel all contributed to the development of a now ubiquitous medical tool.
Books
New Products
Obituaries
Russell James Donnelly
John Leask Lumley
Yoichiro Nambu
Quick Study
Neutron stars’ hidden nuclear pasta
The novel, amorphous state of matter that exists in the crust of neutron stars leaves a trace in the spins of magnetized, rapidly rotating pulsars.