Issues
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Cover Image
Cover Image
cover: Some monarch butterflies migrate thousands of kilometers for the winter. Aiding that flight are microscopic scales covering their wings: The arrangement of the scales reduces the aerodynamic drag by as much as 45%, compared with wings with their scales removed. To learn more about the roller-bearing effect that the scales produce, turn to the Quick Study by Amy Lang on page 54. (Photo by Cynthia B. Cummings.)
Readers' Forum
Commentary: Capturing the history of GE Lighting
Nineteenth-century women and physics across the pond
Hope for CO2 air capture
Search and Discovery
High-energy neutrinos originate in our own galaxy
High-energy cosmic rays, long suspected of interacting with matter in the dense galactic plane, are almost certainly the source of the Milky Way’s neutrinos.
Toward faster, safer proton therapy
Most facilities for zapping tumors with protons are extremely inefficient. But perhaps they don’t have to be.
Issues and Events
Helium prices surge to record levels as shortage continues
The shortfall may end if a new supply from Russia reaches the market. Growing numbers of universities and labs are recycling their supplies.
Impending ship retirement leaves ocean-drilling researchers adrift
Scientists may have to wait more than a decade for the launch of a new vessel capable of collecting samples below the ocean floor.
Articles
Helping the pandemic generation
Physics undergraduates have returned to classrooms, but pandemic trauma has endured. How can the community assist?
The dynamics and changes of the world’s monsoons
The seasonal rainy phase observed in many places across Earth is shaping the climate and is being changed by global climate trends.
Connecting extreme weather events to climate change
Advances in attribution science are improving understanding of human influence on our planet.
Books
Spacetime, essentially
General Relativity: The Essentials, Carlo Rovelli
New Products
Obituaries
George William Crabtree
John Edward Harries
Quick Study
Microscopic scales enhance a butterfly’s flying efficiency
Ever catch a butterfly and noticed what looks like dust coating your fingers? They’re the scales covering the insect’s wings, and they allow it to slip through the air.
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