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In Applied Physics Letters, researchers use laser treatments to transform ordinary cork into a powerful tool for treating oil spills. They tested variations of a fast-pulsing laser treatment, closely examining the nanoscopic structural changes and measuring the ratio of oxygen and carbon in the material, changes in the angles with which water and oil contact the surface, and the material’s light wave absorption, reflection, and emission across the spectrum to determine its durability after multiple cycles of warming and cooling.

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In the Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A, researchers deploy an array of microscopic coils to create a magnetic field and stimulate individual neurons. The magnetic field can induce an electric field in any nearby neurons, the same effect created by an electrode but much more precise. They used an array of eight coils, which combined can induce electric fields using much less current per coil, and employed soft magnetic materials, which boost the magnetic strength of the coils. The researchers constructed a prototype of their coil array, called MagPatch, and encapsulated it within a biocompatible coating.

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AIP is delighted to announce the appointment of Alejandro de la Puente as director of the Society of Physics Students and AIP’s first Student Engagement Officer.

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The Acoustical Society of America and the Canadian Acoustical Association are co-hosting a joint meeting May 13-17 at the Shaw Centre/Westin Ottawa Hotel.

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While asleep, the area of birds’ brains dedicated to singing remains active, triggering vocal muscles without producing sound. In Chaos from AIP Publishing, researchers translate the muscle activity to synthesize the songs of avian dreams. Reproducing distinctive bird calls provides a window into the contents of the bird’s dreams.

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With climate change and rising urbanization, the likelihood and severity of urban flooding are increasing. But not all city blocks are created equal. In Physics of Fluids, an AIP Publishing journal, researchers investigated how urban layout and building structures contribute to pedestrian safety during flooding.

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Polymer-based hydrogels are used to treat skin ailments and in tissue engineering because of their ability to retain water, deliver drugs into wounds, and biodegrade. However, they are complicated to manufacture and not very resilient to external forces like rubbing against clothing, sheets, or wound dressings.

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An AAPM team has received a $250,000 Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to fund a project titled “Radiation risk in medicine: Identifying and enabling patient-provider shared decision-making.”

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By evaluating sound vibrations produced by the airflow induced within the lungs and bronchial tree during normal breathing as well as those produced by the larynx during vocalizations, doctors can identify potential disease-related abnormalities within the respiratory system.

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For telescopes operating in the vacuum of space, or optical equipment in extreme environments, existing coatings are often insufficient. In the Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology Aresearchers in China turned to atomic layer deposition and developed an ultrablack thin-film coating for aerospace-grade magnesium alloys. The team used alternating layers of aluminum-doped titanium carbide and silicon nitride and together the materials prevent nearly all light from reflecting off the coated surface. The coating absorbs 99.3% of light while being durable enough to survive in harsh conditions.

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Despite the technological advances keeping meat fresh for as long as possible, certain aging processes are unavoidable. Adenosine triphosphate is a molecule produced by breathing and responsible for providing energy to cells. When an animal stops breathing, ATP synthesis also stops, and the existing molecules decompose into acid, diminishing first flavor and then safety. Hypoxanthine and xanthine are intermediate steps in this transition. Assessing their prevalence in meat indicates its freshness. In AIP Advances, researchers developed a biosensor using graphene electrodes modified by zinc oxide nanoparticles to measure HXA. The team demonstrated the sensor’s efficacy on pork meat.

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In JVSTB, researchers report successful results from a hand-held breast cancer screening device that can detect breast cancer biomarkers from a tiny sample of saliva.

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AIP is delighted to announce the appointment of Trevor Owens as its first Chief Research Officer.

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China’s Chang’e-5, the first lunar sample return mission since the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 in 1976, delivered 1.73 kilograms of regolith from the Oceanus Procellarum, a plane named for its vast size.

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AIP and APS are pleased to announce David Brydges as the recipient of the 2024 Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics “for achievements in the fields of constructive quantum field theory and rigorous statistical mechanics, especially the introduction of new techniques including random walk representation in spin systems, the lace expansion, and mathematically rigorous implementations of the renormalization group.”

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Inspired by a 1725 fire engine that pumped water at larger distances and higher speeds than previously possible, authors publishing in the American Journal of Physics analyzed the pressure chamber’s Windkessel effect to capture the physics behind this widely used, enduring technology. They compared the initial state of the chamber, the rate at which bucket brigades could pour water in (volumetric inflow), the length of time pressure builds, and the effects on output flow rate. Next, the authors plan to examine the physiological Windkessel involved in the heart-aorta system.

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AIP Publishing is excited to announce the appointment of Julia R. Greer as the new editor-in-chief of Journal of Applied Physics. Greer is the Mettler Chair Professor of Materials Science, Mechanics, and Medical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology and the Fletcher Jones Foundation Director of Caltech’s Kavli Nanoscience Institute. As editor-in-chief, Greer’s vision for Journal of Applied Physics is to build upon its long and distinguished history and establish an even broader reach.

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The Heineman Foundation, AIP, and American AAS are pleased to announce John E. Carlstrom as the winner of the 2024 Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics.

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Shuttlecocks, also known as birdies or birds, are traditionally made from duck feathers, but nylon shuttlecocks have become more widely used because of their superior durability. Their flight behavior, however, is far different from that of traditional feather birdies. In Physics of Fluids, scientists in India explored the aerodynamic performance of nylon shuttlecocks at various flight speeds. Through computational analyses based on two-way fluid-structure interactions, the team coupled equations governing air flow with equations determining skirt deformation of a shuttlecock in flight.

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In The Physics Teacher, researchers from Fordham University partnered with middle and high schools in the Bronx and Manhattan in a citizen science project to collect real-time air quality data.

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In Physics of Fluids, researchers from the University of Utah report snowflake accelerations in atmospheric turbulence.

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Hannah White and her colleagues at Macquarie University researched how creaky voice is reflected in Australian English used in Sydney, and what factors influence its prevalence.

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Xinyang Wu from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has designed a computer algorithm to intelligently create mashups using the drum tracks from one song and the vocals and instrumentals from another. The algorithm mimics the process used by professionals, identifying the most dynamic moments to adjust the tempo of the instrumental tracks and add the drum beat mashup at exactly the right moment for maximum effect. The result is a unique blend of pleasing lyrics and exciting instrumentals with wide-ranging appeal.

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James Boland, an acoustician for SLR Consulting, employed insights from the field of sensory criminology to better understand the unique acoustic needs inside prison environments. By focusing on speech intelligibility, strategic reduction of noise levels, and the incorporation of privacy considerations, acoustic design can significantly improve the overall prison environment. Creating distinct zones within the prison and balancing moments of quiet with activity are essential to fostering a more comfortable and secure space.

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Gea Oswah Fatah Parikesit and their team at Universitas Gadjah Mada have investigated the physics behind why the bundengan, a portable shelter woven from bamboo that features a collection of strings and bamboo bars, sounds better when played in the rain. The bundengan is constructed by weaving bamboo splits, which are covered by overlapping bamboo culm sheaths with ropes to secure everything in place. When wet, the culm sheaths seek to return to their curled form, but tied down in their planar formation, they instead press into each other. The resulting tension allows the sheaths to vibrate together.

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Phoebe Peng, an Engineering Honours student at the University of Sydney, is researching ways to allow people with low vision and blindness to play pingpong using sound. The process uses neuromorphic cameras and an array of loudspeakers, designed to allow players to track the ball and movements based on sound. Using two perfectly positioned cameras, Peng could identify and track a ball in 3D in real time. She then fed that data into an algorithm controlling loudspeakers along the sides of the table, which created a sound field matching the position of the ball.

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Joe Wolfe and John Smith from the University of New South Wales conducted acoustic experiments to study the didjeridu’s unusual and complicated performance techniques.

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Researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University have developed a promising new solar-powered atmospheric water harvesting technology that could help provide enough drinking water for people to survive in difficult, dryland areas: They synthesized a super hygroscopic gel capable of absorbing and retaining an unparalleled amount of water. .

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Parag Chitnis of George Mason University led a team that developed a wearable ultrasound system that can produce clinically relevant information about muscle function during dynamic physical activity. The system uses a patented approach that uses long-duration chirps and ultrasound sensing, and it allowed the team to design a simpler, cheaper system that could be miniaturized and powered by batteries. The result is an ultrasound monitor with a small, portable form factor that can be attached to a patient.

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As humans age, our eyes adjust based on how we use them, growing or shortening to focus where needed, and we now know that blurred input to the eye while the eye is growing causes myopia.