Physics in Action by Topic
Electricity & Magnetism
Electrostatics help "bug bot" micro-drones cling to surfaces just like their biological counterparts!
Radiofrequency electromagnetic waves can power brain implants in mice
Lasers have enabled the creation of free-floating, interactive holograms!
By mimicking the structure of organisms like the Pollia condensata berry, researchers have invented an elastic fiber that changes color when stretched!
It’s flexible, fast, nontoxic, doesn’t catch on fire, and its materials are inexpensive.
The principle of complementarity remains upheld.
Creating art with stunning electric arcs
New research reveals the frictional nuances on the atomic scale
A twist on this physics principle can detect rotation in tornadoes, planets and more
These powerful particle accelerators can fit on a desk
Blurring the lines between man and machine with electronic implants
Ladybug hairs inspire sensitive, flexible electronic sensors
Measuring charge in electric vehicles
With an adapted wireless router, you can see moving objects through walls
A new bus route will feature electric buses that wirelessly charge while waiting for passengers.
A new brain sensor developed by a team of researchers could represent a significant improvement in the ability to detect exactly where abnormal brain activity starts.
Physics enthusiasts aren't always the people you turn to for advice on the latest fashion trends, but it's impossible not to give physics at least partial credit for the recent nail craze--magnetic nail polish.
Electronic sensors are used to gather all sorts of information. Perhaps you’ve seen some fitness monitors that look like arm bands, chest bands, or watches. There are brain monitors, some look like a swim cap with wires coming out. Mindball (a game using your brain waves) just has a single band you put around your head. Now imagine an electronic sensor that is wireless, flexible, and as inconspicuous as a temporary tattoo!
Physicists using modern spacecraft have observed storms all over the planet and discovered that lightning can generate energies far in excess of what was previously thought possible. What's even more alarming is that some of them can generate anti-matter.
fMRI’s might be the future technology to read your thoughts and emotions. There have been claims that fMRI can determine if you are telling the truth, what image you are looking at, and perhaps in the future, what you are thinking , feeling, or your intending.
Imagine walking into your bedroom and your cell phone starts charging immediately, you don't even have to bother plugging it in. These capabilities are being developed in scientists' labs around the country thanks to a technology known as inductive charging.
The eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland created an ash cloud that disrupted air traffic throughout Europe. And as if the magma and ash violently spewing out of the volcano's crater wasn't scary enough, the eruption also generates lightning!
Flying kites and tumbling plastic bags show that wind carries kinetic energy. The purpose of a windmill is to harness that energy. From the earliest versions 2,200 years ago in Persia to the Megawatt turbines today, windmills use physics to harness nature's chaotic fiery for human benefit.
What do night vision goggles, land mine detectors, and studies of the universe have in common? In some way, all of them are connected to a small range of light sandwiched between visible light and microwaves on the electromagnetic spectrum—infrared light.
Lithium-ion batteries already power your cell phone and your laptop, and they may soon power your car. What makes these batteries so great?
In 1951, the astrophysicist Lyman Spitzer devised a way to contain a hot plasma—an ionized gas—with the hope of producing a sustained fusion reaction that could lead to electric power generation.
Medical x-rays provide images of the body but utilize radiation that in large doses can damage cells. A completely different technology, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), emerged in the late 1970s.
Have you ever seen a liquid magnet? If magnetic material is ground into an extremely fine powder, with a particle size of about 10 nanometers, and suspended in a liquid, the resulting magnetic suspension is called a ferrofluid.
Nobel-prize-winning research led to the MP3 player and HDTV-on-demand.