This Week in Physics Magazine
Making Physics Inclusive to LGBTQ+ Folks
Allison Mattheis – March 28, 2022
Despite improvements in working conditions, harassment and discrimination continue to affect the retention of LGBTQ+ physicists; creating positive workplace climates could help.
Podcast: Life as an LGBTQ+ Physicist
LGBTQ+ physicists speak about how their identities affect their lives and careers.
Wanted: LGBTQ+ Allies
It’s time to act on changing workplace climates that are hostile to LGBTQ+ physicists.
Seeking Diversity When Faced with Adversity
Michael Ramsey-Musolf’s challenging experiences as an out gay physicist started in the 1980s and led him to become a firm advocate for sexual and gender minorities in the academic world.
Back to the March Meeting
The first in-person APS March Meeting since 2019 was a test bed for holding large scientific gatherings in the time of COVID-19.
Immune System’s Memory in an Evolving World
Researchers have identified strategies that our immune system uses to deal with highly evolving pathogens such as the flu virus and SARS-CoV-2.
A New Type of Neutron Star
The merging of two neutron stars could give birth to a third, more extreme variety that is stabilized by an incredibly strong magnetic field.
Sound Speed Measured on Mars
Researchers have made the first measurements of the speed of sound on Mars, revealing that the red planet’s temperature fluctuates on a faster timescale than previously thought.
Shock Waves Emanate from Dying Black Holes
New black hole simulations that incorporate quantum gravity indicate that when a black hole dies, it produces a gravitational shock wave that radiates information, a finding that could solve the information paradox.
Creating a Superconductor-Semiconductor Interface
Engineering a semiconductor’s energy bands allows pairs of electrons to tunnel into it more easily from a superconductor.
Machine-Learning Model Could Improve Human Speech Recognition
A tool that predicts how many words per sentence a listener understands could one day allow companies to make bespoke hearing aids with improved capabilities.
Multilevel Atoms Go Dark
Collective effects among excited atoms with complex energy structures can keep the atoms from relaxing, putting them in long-lived dark states.