Issues
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Cover Image
Cover Image
Cover: As students of electromagnetism and quantum mechanics learn, different configurations of unobservable fields can give rise to exactly the same observable physics. Perhaps surprisingly, the same holds true in statistical mechanics, where the “unobservable fields†are the positions and momenta in ensembles of real particles. To learn more, turn to the story on page 11. (Image courtesy of Florian Sammüller.)
Readers' Forum
Physicists’ role in modern life: Reflections from the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting
Physicists’ role in modern life: Reflections from the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting
Demands on early-career faculty
Search and Discovery
Gauge invariance applies to statistical mechanics too
Mathematical tools from the abstract world of quantum fields have surprising relevance to the seemingly more concrete realm of particles in boxes.
Updates
The gradual, then sudden, demise of an East Antarctic ice shelf
Decades of satellite imagery held previously unrecognized clues to the ice shelf’s impending collapse—and could help researchers foresee the next one.
Passive radiative cooling: Not such an off-the-wall idea
A growing class of materials can cool horizontal surfaces to below the ambient temperature with no power input. Now there’s a material that works on vertical surfaces too.
A hybrid surface controls where frost forms
A textured honeycomb surface coated in graphene oxide remains frost-free for longer than other specialized materials.
Office tape is an effective tool for making ultrathin diamond
The 1-µm-thick membrane is 5 cm wide, about an order of magnitude as large as diamond membranes produced by previous approaches.
Issues and Events
Vast amounts of hydrogen are likely hidden under our feet
Enough of the gas is trapped beneath our planet’s surface to satisfy our energy needs for decades, a new study finds. The question is whether it’s economically viable to use.
Yamilée Toussaint sparks girls’ interest in STEM through dance
The engineer and dancer aims to increase the number of women of color in the sciences.
A geophysicist uses Swifties’ seismic activity for science outreach
Eleanor Dunn employs celebrity and crowdsourcing to spark the public’s interest in science.
Frank Kameny the astronomer
The famed gay rights leader and accomplished scientist was one of thousands of US government employees who lost their livelihoods during the Lavender Scare.
Q&A: Physicist Karen Hallberg is the new Pugwash secretary general
The organization relies on science diplomacy in seeking solutions to global threats.
Features
The lessons learned from ephemeral nuclei
Recent experimental analyses of fleeting clusters of protons and neutrons put the very notion of the atomic nucleus in a new light.
Early debates in space science
Does the Sun generate a wind or a breeze? Where do gamma-ray bursts originate? Here’s how five of the biggest questions in the field were answered with the help of satellites.
Helping physics departments thrive
Capturing the wisdom of hundreds of individuals and departments, the Effective Practices for Physics Programs guide is a handbook for creating significant and sustainable change.
New Products
Quick Study
Cosmic extremes of luminosity
What is the brightest object in the sky? The obvious answer is the Sun. But the difference between intrinsic brightness and perceived brightness complicates matters.