20
10
science news of the year |
Photons lassoed Physicists
set a new record for quantum entanglement by linking five light particles that
exist in two states at once, a
property called superposition (SN Online: 5/15/10).
Matter & Energy
3. 5 | typical laps per second for a drinking cat
Everyday relativity Two
tabletop experiments demonstrate the time-warping
effects of relativity at the
human scale (SN: 10/23/10,
p. 10).
mechanics: More slits don’t
make for more interference
(SN: 8/14/10, p. 12).
Bat trouble White-nose
syndrome, a fatal disease
of hibernating bats, spreads
widely; biologists predict
that it could wipe out the
Northeast’s population
of the once-common little
brown myotis bat in as few
as 16 years (SN Online:
8/5/10).
Calculating nature For the
first time, a quantum computer predicts the behavior
of a hydrogen molecule (SN
Online: 1/22/10).
Gravity reconsidered
Entropy and information
may be crucial concepts for
explaining why what goes
up must come down (SN:
9/25/10, p. 26).
Free fall Physicists drop a
cloud of supercold atoms
down a 120-meter-tall
elevator shaft, an experiment that may lead to new
insights about gravity (SN:
7/17/10, p. 16).
A salty tail Just adding
sodium can spur limb
regrowth in tadpoles, a
study finds, suggesting that
it may be possible to stimulate some tissue regrowth in
humans (SN: 10/23/10, p. 15).
Microchill A new model
shows how physicists could
construct the world’s smallest fridge out of microscopic
particles (SN: 9/25/10, p. 11).
Quantum lemonade
Physicists harness forces
that usually destroy quantum connections to entangle
isolated globs of atoms (SN
Online: 6/29/10).
Feline fluid dynamics Experiments and high-speed
photography reveal that cats
drink by pulling up columns
of liquid with their tongues,
finely balancing inertia and
gravity (SN: 12/4/10, p. 5).
Same rules apply Physicists
demonstrate quantum properties in objects big enough
to see, linking the physics of
the ultrasmall to the everyday
world (SN: 4/10/10, p. 10).
New blood A controversial
move to boost genetic diversity in faltering Florida panthers, by importing females
of the same species from
Texas, has resulted in a more
robust population of mixed-heritage cats (SN: 10/23/10,
p. 9).
Weakest strength A blob
of cold beryllium atoms
measures the smallest force
yet — a 174-yoctone wton
tug by an electric field (SN:
5/22/10, p. 11).
String theory tangled
Stringy math helps describe
the quantum property
known as entanglement
(SN: 9/25/10, p. 11).
Triple play Adding a third
slit to the famous double-slit
experiment (right) confirms
a basic axiom of quantum
Just warm enough The need
to avoid fungal infections
without wasting energy
may have driven mammals
to evolve their characteristic body temperature (SN:
1/1/11, p. 15).
I, monkey Though monkeys
hadn’t previously shown
clear signs of recogniz-
ing themselves in a mirror,
when wired with experimen-
tal headgear, rhesus mon-
keys checked themselves out
(SN Online: 9/29/10).
Approaching the island of stability
smashing together the elements calcium-48, with 20 protons, and berkelium-249, with 97,
has produced superheavy atoms containing 117 protons, albeit for a tiny sliver of a second
(Sn: 4/24/10, p. 15). temporarily known as ununseptium, the new element fills an empty
spot in the periodic table between the previously discovered elements 116 and 118.
down at spot 112 on the periodic table, an element first produced in 1996 by German
scientists now has a name: copernicium, for the 16th century astronomer copernicus
(Sn: 3/27/10, p. 13).
there are also six new isotopes of existing heavy elements, produced as researchers
at lawrence Berkeley national laboratory in california monitored the radioactive decay
of element 114 (Sn: 11/20/10, p. 12). While not as dramatic as an entirely new element,
new isotopes such as these help illuminate how matter behaves when lots of protons
and neutrons get squished into a single atomic nucleus. many researchers think that if
they can make elements heavy enough, perhaps with 120 protons or more, the atoms
will be relatively stable and stick around on an “island of stability” for several seconds
instead of decaying away immediately (Sn: 6/5/10, p. 26).
www.sciencenews.org
January 1, 2011 | science news | 21
