Optical structures based on the Smith hat produced unusual light patterns that reflected their lack of mirror symmetry and changed with light direction and polarization. The Smith hat first drew global attention in 2023 because a single tile could cover an entire surface without ever creating a repeating pattern. Now, the same unusual geometry has […]
New Twist on the Einstein Problem Reveals Unexpected Physics
Optical structures based on the Smith hat produced unusual light patterns that reflected their lack of mirror symmetry and changed with light direction and polarization. The Smith hat first drew global attention in 2023 because a single tile could cover an entire surface without ever creating a repeating pattern. Now, the same unusual geometry has […]
New Twist on the Einstein Problem Reveals Unexpected Physics
Optical structures based on the Smith hat produced unusual light patterns that reflected their lack of mirror symmetry and changed with light direction and polarization. The Smith hat first drew global attention in 2023 because a single tile could cover an entire surface without ever creating a repeating pattern. Now, the same unusual geometry has […]
New Twist on the Einstein Problem Reveals Unexpected Physics
Optical structures based on the Smith hat produced unusual light patterns that reflected their lack of mirror symmetry and changed with light direction and polarization. The Smith hat first drew global attention in 2023 because a single tile could cover an entire surface without ever creating a repeating pattern. Now, the same unusual geometry has […]
Scientists Just Challenged a Century-Old Theory of How Crystals Form
3D atomic imaging of advanced materials provides new insights into transitions such as liquids freezing into solids. For nearly a century, scientists have relied on classical nucleation theory to explain how phase transitions such as freezing and condensation get started. The theory describes how small, ordered regions called nuclei emerge within disordered matter, and a […]
Scientists Expose Unexpected Driver of the May 2024 Superstorm
Even though the solar wind was unusually dense during the May 2024 superstorm, ions from the solar wind contributed very little to the ring current, marking the first time both were observed simultaneously during a storm of this magnitude. In May 2024, auroras spread into skies far beyond their usual range, appearing at unusually low […]
Scientists Expose Unexpected Driver of the May 2024 Superstorm
Even though the solar wind was unusually dense during the May 2024 superstorm, ions from the solar wind contributed very little to the ring current, marking the first time both were observed simultaneously during a storm of this magnitude. In May 2024, auroras spread into skies far beyond their usual range, appearing at unusually low […]
Scientists Expose Unexpected Driver of the May 2024 Superstorm
Even though the solar wind was unusually dense during the May 2024 superstorm, ions from the solar wind contributed very little to the ring current, marking the first time both were observed simultaneously during a storm of this magnitude. In May 2024, auroras spread into skies far beyond their usual range, appearing at unusually low […]
Scientists Expose Unexpected Driver of the May 2024 Superstorm
Even though the solar wind was unusually dense during the May 2024 superstorm, ions from the solar wind contributed very little to the ring current, marking the first time both were observed simultaneously during a storm of this magnitude. In May 2024, auroras spread into skies far beyond their usual range, appearing at unusually low […]
Scientists Find a New Way To Hear the Faint “Ringing” of Black Holes
A new method maps the subtle gravitational wave vibrations produced by merging black holes, potentially enabling more precise tests of general relativity. When two black holes collide, the violence of the merger does not end immediately. The newly formed, larger black hole continues to ‘ring’ as it settles into a stable shape, and researchers have […]