Issues
From the Editor
Readers’ Forum
Search and Discovery
How two planets likely acquired their backward orbits
It’s challenging enough to figure out what exoplanetary systems look like today. Reconstructing their histories is more difficult still.
A new look at the proton sea
The ensemble of particles that make up the proton manifests a puzzling asymmetry that continues to challenge theory and experiment alike.
One frog species finds a solution to the cocktail party problem
A mechanism in the lungs of tree frogs helps filter incoming noise and other amphibian sounds from the calls of their own species.
Issues and Events
Fears of a lithium supply crunch may be overblown
Unexploited lithium deposits lie throughout the world, but investment in new mines is lagging.
Hackathons catch on for creativity, education, and networking
Physics and astronomy communities take a page from data-science and tech worlds to hold events of feverish teamwork.
Articles
Ernest Rutherford’s ambitions
One of the pioneers of radioactivity research, Rutherford feared his work would be overlooked—and changed his publishing strategies to make sure it wasn’t.
Why are theorists excited about exotic nuclei?
The limits of nuclear stability provide deep insights into the fundamental force responsible for the presence of matter.
Inducing new material properties with hybrid light–matter states
Even in the absence of light, coupling cavities with molecules and materials can modify their chemical reactivity, conductivity, and more.
Books
New Products
Obituaries
Arthur Ashkin
John David Barrow
George Robert Carruthers
Quick Study
Boiling eggs, radiation damage, and the Arrhenius plot
In 1899 a Swedish chemist created a method to analyze the effect of temperature on the rates of chemical reactions.
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