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An analysis of representations of fluid flows in classical paintings reveals scientific inaccuracies. Some of these misrepresentations might be caused by a limited understanding of fluid dynamics and others by deliberate artistic choices.
Fluid simulations today are remarkably realistic. In this Comment I discuss some of the most striking results from the past 20 years of computer graphics research that made this happen.
Declaring a cosmopolitan right to scientific progress risks perpetuating the inequities it aims to overcome. Instead, science ought to be reimagined in a way that directly addresses its links to nationalist projects and harmful capitalist practices.
Random lasers made out of disordered media have a rich but often unpredictable laser light emission, in all directions and over many frequencies. Strategies for taming random lasing are emerging, which have the potential to deliver programmable lasers with unprecedented properties.
A fundamental technical challenge in the analysis of network data is the automated discovery of communities — groups of nodes that are strongly connected or that share similar features or roles. In this Comment we review progress in the field over the past 20 years.
Across the world, decisions on investment and policy are made under the assumption of continuous economic expansion. Fundamental physical limits may soon put an end to this phase of development, as foreshadowed by the 1972 report The Limits to Growth.
Emerging quantum technologies pose new measurement challenges, but also offer previously unknown measurement solutions. National metrology institutes are playing a leading role in this fast evolving world.
As we celebrate the ten-year anniversary of the discovery of the Higgs boson, CERN’s Director-General at that time reminisces about the years leading up to this milestone.
Against the backdrop of various philosophical accounts, this Comment argues for the need of a human rights approach to scientific progress, which requires us to rethink how we view scientific knowledge.
Scientists have long preferred the simplest possible explanation of their data. More recently, a worrying trend to favour unnecessarily complex interpretations has taken hold.
Methods for studying Bose–Einstein condensation in ultracold gases have been under development for over 40 years. A highly sophisticated suite of techniques has emerged from rapid technological advances that show no sign of slowing down.
Having long played the role of collaborators with other, more renowned, institutions, historically disadvantaged South African universities are now challenging the status quo — and emerging as leaders.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals outline a roadmap towards a more equitable future for humanity. Along with other scientists, physicists have long made valuable contributions to this endeavour.
Undergraduate labs are more effective and more positive for students if they encourage investigation and decision-making, not verification of textbook concepts.
Scientific progress has always been driven by the ability to build an
instrument to answer a specific question. But spreading the news of how to replicate
that tool is an evolving art, ripe for an open-source revolution.
Passing a supercurrent through a topological material can highlight the existence of higher-order boundary states, and may lead to applications in topological superconductivity.
Muon colliders offer enormous potential for the exploration of the particle physics frontier but are challenging to realize. A new international collaboration is forming to make such a muon collider a reality.
Methodology adapted from data science sparked the field of materials informatics, and materials databases are at the heart of it. Applying artificial intelligence to these databases will allow the prediction of the properties of complex organic crystals.
Physicists and biologists have different conceptions of beauty. A better appreciation of these differences may bring the disciplines closer and help develop a more integrated view of life.
#BlackInPhysics Week aimed to build community among physicists by celebrating, supporting and increasing the visibility of Black physicists. The week accomplished all of this, and more.
