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phase transitions

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A levitating puck of material.
superconductivity

Room-Temperature Superconductor Discovery Meets With Resistance

By Charlie Wood +1 authors
Zack Savitsky
March 8, 2023
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A paper in Nature reports the discovery of a superconductor that operates at room temperatures and near-room pressures. The claim has divided the research community.

Hugo Duminil-Copin wearing glasses
2022 Fields and Abacus Medals

For His Sporting Approach to Math, a Fields Medal

By Jordana Cepelewicz
July 5, 2022
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With Hugo Duminil-Copin, thinking rarely happens without moving. His insights into the flow-related properties of complex networks have earned him the Fields Medal.

A Kagome lattice with atomic spin arrows placed on the edges.
quantum physics

Quantum Simulators Create a Totally New Phase of Matter

By Charlie Wood
December 2, 2021
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One of the first goals of quantum computing has been to recreate bizarre quantum systems that can’t be studied in an ordinary computer. A dark-horse quantum simulator has now done just that.

Animation of a gemstone flipping up and down between mirror-image states.
quantum computing

Eternal Change for No Energy: A Time Crystal Finally Made Real

By Natalie Wolchover
July 30, 2021
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Like a perpetual motion machine, a time crystal forever cycles between states without consuming energy. Physicists claim to have built this new phase of matter inside a quantum computer.

A pixelated black and white animation of a model of percolation.
mathematical physics

Mathematicians Prove Symmetry of Phase Transitions

By Allison Whitten
July 8, 2021
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A group of mathematicians has shown that at critical moments, a symmetry called rotational invariance is a universal property across many physical systems.

Photo of the blue-winged leafbird of Southeast Asia.
explainers

How Animals Color Themselves With Nanoscale Structures

By Viviane Callier
June 16, 2021
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Animals sculpt the optical properties of their tissues at the nanoscale to give themselves “structural colors.” New work is piecing together how they do it.

Computer scientist and complexity researcher Carlos Gershenson of the National Autonomous University of Mexico stands by a busy urban roadway.
Q&A

Complexity Scientist Beats Traffic Jams Through Adaptation

By Rodrigo Pérez Ortega
September 28, 2020
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To tame urban traffic, the computer scientist Carlos Gershenson finds that letting transportation systems adapt and self-organize often works better than trying to predict and control them.

A glass object being shaped by a blowtorch.]
Abstractions blog

Why Is Glass Rigid? Signs of Its Secret Structure Emerge.

By John Pavlus
July 7, 2020
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At the molecular level, glass looks like a liquid. But an artificial neural network has picked up on hidden structure in its molecules that may explain why glass is rigid like a solid.

Gif of a grid of arrows whose directions flip up and down.
Abstractions blog

The Cartoon Picture of Magnets That Has Transformed Science

By Charlie Wood
June 24, 2020
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One hundred years after it was proposed, the Ising model is used to understand everything from magnets to brains.


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