Physics in Action by Topic
Compression Waves & Sound
Hitomi, An Ambitious Endeavor Cut Short
Japan's Hitomi X-ray Observatory was lost in an accident just a month after launch. What did we learn in that month?
FAST: Earthquake Analysis
A new software algorithm promises fast, sensitive detection of small seismic events
Cleaning with Sound
Sound may not be a normal cleaning product in your house, but it is just the thing for cleaning delicate jewelry, surgical instruments, lenses, and many other small, intricate objects. Soon, it could also make cleaning big objects like houses or machines much more efficient.
Nanoantennas – detecting the very small
How many ways can you think of to detect a single particle or atom? What uses would a tool that could do this have? The nanoantenna can! Read on to find out how and what uses it might have.
Sensitive as a Bat: Navigating the World by Echoes
Daniel Kish is the world's foremost expert on echolocation, and teaches the trick, learned from bats, to help the blind navigate like never before.
Fiddle Physics
Physicists are using sophisticated recording equipment and computer models to probe how a violin makes its sound. Could they be on the verge of discovering the "secret of Stradivari"?
Catch an Earthquake
San Francisco and Los Angeles, home to about 7.5 million people and to much of the economy of California, lie close to the infamous San Andreas fault.
Sound, Lights, Action!
Sonoluminescence is a way to turn sound energy into light. When intense sound waves are created in a flask of water, a tiny air bubble in the water can give off flashes of light.
Blowin' in the Wind
After crossing Florida, Hurricane Katrina headed into the Gulf of Mexico early on August 26, 2005 as a Category One hurricane.
