Vortices and tall buildings: A recipe for resonance
Structures buffeted by steady winds experience pushes and pulls in the direction perpendicular to the wind flow. If those forces were to organize coherently, the results could be disastrous.
The discovery of superconductivity
A century ago Heike Kamerlingh Onnes set a new standard for physics research
laboratories. But careless notebook entries have confused the story of his greatest discovery.
Imaging with ambient noise
Whether noise is a nuisance or a signal depends on how it’s processed. By cross-correlating noise recorded at two sensors, researchers can retrieve the waves that propagate between them and extract details about the intervening medium.
NSF speeds funding for research on BP oil spill
Sopping up oil with new materials, mapping the subsurface plume, and accelerating biodegradation of the slick are among dozens of time-sensitive research projects receiving grants.