Varnish affects the sound of a violin

Varnishes protect works of art and wooden instruments from environmental damage. However, until recently, little research had been carried out into the effects of varnish on the sound of violins. Empa researchers have now ...

'Seeing' through paint

(PhysOrg.com) -- When light passes through materials that we consider opaque, such as paint, biological tissue, fabric and paper, it is scattered in such a complex way that an image does not come through. "It is possible ...

An early universe analog built in a lab in Germany

A team of researchers at Universität Heidelberg has built an early universe analog in their laboratory using chilled potassium atoms. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes their simulator and ...

Space-time metasurface makes light reflect only in one direction

Light propagation is usually reciprocal, meaning that the trajectory of light travelling in one direction is identical to that of light travelling in the opposite direction. Breaking reciprocity can make light propagate only ...

Physics of 'booming' and 'burping' sand dunes revealed

Avalanching sand from dune faces in Death Valley National Park and the Mojave Desert can trigger loud, rumbling "booming" or short bursts of "burping" sounds—behaving as a perfectly tuned musical instrument.

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