Issues
From the Editor
Readers’ Forum
Search and Discovery
An optical trap nudges a nanoparticle into its motional ground state
Cooling techniques borrowed from atomic physics bring a room-temperature speck of glass into the quantum regime.
A novel liquid-crystal phase is ferroelectric
Molecular dipoles in a liquid don’t usually spontaneously align. The secret to getting them to do so may be the molecules’ shape.
Barbs of a feather lock together
When a bird extends its wings in flight, microscopic fasteners stick to each other to prevent gaps between the feathers and improve the bird’s macroscopic maneuverability.
Issues and Events
Opening a new university offers opportunities to try new approaches and reach new populations
Brand recognition, funding, and language barriers are common challenges.
Take your pick: A new warhead or a “new program of record”
Administration officials say a proposed new weapon for the US Navy won’t require nuclear testing.
Articles
Particle beams behind physics discoveries
Advances in accelerator technology are enabling discoveries in particle physics and other fields.
Between complacency and panic
How the rhetoric of moderation has shaped the US government’s approach to risk, from nuclear fear to climate policy.
Books
New Products
Obituaries
Gloria Becker Lubkin
Quick Study
The speedy secret of shark skin
The outward flaring of a shark’s scales removes drag-producing eddies that otherwise form in the animal’s wake.
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