Issues
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Search and Discovery
Isotope measurements help pin down the ancient rise of oxygen
An extraordinarily well-preserved deposit of water-soluble minerals sheds light on the history of Earth’s atmosphere and ocean.
An attosecond view of electron–nuclear coupling
Even as a hydrogen molecule breaks apart, the dissociating protons hold sway over an escaping electron.
New tools for forecasting steam-blast eruptions
Satellite data can pinpoint predictors of future explosive activity.
Issues and Events
Foundations play a supporting role in basic science
Philanthropic efforts on behalf of basic research span a range of modalities, from assistance for individual investigators to the establishment of research institutes.
Articles
The improbable clouds at the edge of the atmosphere
The combined effects of ozone, sunlight, and atmospheric waves turn the near void of Earth’s mesosphere into a refrigerator capable of producing vast clouds of water ice.
The turbulent formation of stars
How stars are born from clouds of gas is a rich physics problem whose solution will inform our understanding of not just stars but also planets, galaxies, and the universe itself.
The discovery of Ovshinsky switching and phase-change memory
An unusually broad set of experiences helped prepare Stanford Ovshinsky to recognize a phenomenon that forever changed solid-state physics.
Books
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Obituaries
Ezechiel Godert David Cohen
Richard Edward Taylor
Quick Study
The Sun’s magnetic midlife crisis
Old Sun-like stars observed by the Kepler Space Telescope spin faster than astronomers expected. Apparently, they experience a dramatic shift in their rotation and magnetism at about middle age.