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The Cartoon Picture of Magnets That Has Transformed Science
One hundred years after it was proposed, the Ising model is used to understand everything from magnets to brains.
Strange Metal-like Bonds Discovered in Customized Crystals
While studying materials made from DNA-coated nanoparticles, researchers found a new form of this matter: lattices in which smaller particles roam like electrons in metallic bonds.
Elusive Higgs-Like State Created in Exotic Materials
Two teams of physicists have created the “Higgs mode” – a link between particle physics and the physics of matter. The work could help researchers understand the strange behavior of deeply quantum systems.
Physicists Aim to Classify All Possible Phases of Matter
A complete classification could lead to a wealth of new materials and technologies. But some exotic phases continue to resist understanding.
The Atomic Theory of Origami
By reimagining the kinks and folds of origami as atoms in a lattice, researchers are uncovering strange behavior hiding in simple structures.
Swirling Bacteria Linked to the Physics of Phase Transitions
The new experiments suggest that simple models can explain the behavior of thousands of interacting organisms.
Jammed Cells Expose the Physics of Cancer
The subtle mechanics of densely packed cells may help explain why some cancerous tumors stay put while others break off and spread through the body.
The New Laws of Explosive Networks
Researchers are uncovering the hidden laws that reveal how the Internet grows, how viruses spread, and how financial bubbles burst.
At the Far Ends of a New Universal Law
A potent theory has emerged explaining a mysterious statistical law that arises throughout physics and mathematics.