MIT physicists capture the first sounds of heat “sloshing” in a superfluid
The results will expand scientists’ understanding of heat flow in superconductors and neutron stars.
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Benchtop test quickly identifies extremely impact-resistant materials
High-speed experiments can help identify lightweight, protective “metamaterials” for spacecraft, vehicles, helmets, or other objects.
Astronomers spot 18 black holes gobbling up nearby stars
The detections more than double the number of known tidal disruption events in the nearby universe.
Study: Stars travel more slowly at Milky Way’s edge
The findings suggest our galaxy’s core may contain less dark matter than previously estimated.
New tool predicts flood risk from hurricanes in a warming climate
Using New York as a test case, the model predicts flooding at the level experienced during Hurricane Sandy will occur roughly every 30 years by the end of this century.
New model predicts how shoe properties affect a runner’s performance
Developed by MIT engineers, the model could be a tool for designers looking to innovate in sneaker design.
Stripes in a flowing liquid crystal suggest a route to “chiral” fluids
Study finds chiral structures, with mirror-image configurations, can emerge from nonchiral systems, suggesting new ways to engineer these materials.
A carbon-lite atmosphere could be a sign of water and life on other terrestrial planets, MIT study finds
A low carbon abundance in planetary atmospheres, which the James Webb Space Telescope can detect, could be a signature of habitability.
MIT researchers observe a hallmark quantum behavior in bouncing droplets
In a study that could help fill some holes in quantum theory, the team recreated a “quantum bomb tester” in a classical droplet test.
MIT engineers design a robotic replica of the heart’s right chamber
The realistic model could aid the development of better heart implants and shed light on understudied heart disorders.
A mineral produced by plate tectonics has a global cooling effect, study finds
An accordion-textured clay called smectite efficiently traps organic carbon and could help buffer global warming over millions of years.
With a quantum “squeeze,” clocks could keep even more precise time, MIT researchers propose
More stable clocks could measure quantum phenomena, including the presence of dark matter.
New laser setup probes metamaterial structures with ultrafast pulses
The LIRAS technique could speed up the development of acoustic lenses, impact-resistant films, and other futuristic materials.
MIT engineers are on a failure-finding mission
The team’s new algorithm finds failures and fixes in all sorts of autonomous systems, from drone teams to power grids.
Physicists trap electrons in a 3D crystal for the first time
The results open the door to exploring superconductivity and other exotic electronic states in three-dimensional materials.