Water tornado in the laboratory: A simple experiment simulates planet formation
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 6-Aug-2025 03:11 ET (6-Aug-2025 07:11 GMT/UTC)
Simple laboratory model for cosmic flows developed: A water tornado enables a realistic simulation of the dynamics of gas and dust in planet-forming discs.
Kepler’s laws confirmed in a water tank: The orbits of floating particles follow the same physical rules as celestial bodies in a gravitational field.
Potential for experiments on planet formation: The cost-effective and versatile setup opens up new ways to study interactions between dust and gas under laboratory conditions.
Can metal-based nanoparticles generated by lasers help build smarter, more immersive electronics? In the latest issue of International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, Jun-Gyu Choi and collaborators from Ajou University and Samsung Electronics present how laser ablation in liquids enables scalable, surfactant-free nanoparticle synthesis tailored for artificial sensory and neuromorphic devices. Their work marks a breakthrough in bridging material science and intelligent electronics, paving the way for high-performance, flexible, and human-like interfaces in the next wave of extended reality technologies.
Increasing numerical studies showed that the simplest Hubbard model on the square lattice with strong repulsion may not exhibit high-temperature superconductivity (SC). It is desired to look for other possible microscopic mechanism beyond the simplest Hubbard model to realize d-wave high-temperature SC. This study proposed that the interplay between the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger electron–phonon coupling (EPC) and the Hubbard repulsion can induce robust d-wave high-temperature SC. Using state-of-the-art density-matrix renormalization group simulations, the researchers shows that d-wave SC emerges in the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger-Hubbard model with strong Hubbard interaction and moderate EPC, paving a possible new route in understanding and looking for high-temperature SC in quantum materials.
A recent review in journal Earth and Planetary Physics highlights that China's Tianwen-2 mission, launched on May 29, 2025, will carry a penetrating radar to directly probe the internal structures of the near-Earth asteroid 2016 HO₃ (Kamo'oalewa) and the active asteroid 311P/PANSTARRS. This investigation is expected to provide crucial data for unveiling the internal characteristics of asteroids and comets, thereby offering new insights into the early evolution of the solar system.
This is the first confirmed case of a star that survived an encounter with a supermassive black hole and came back for more. This discovery upends conventional wisdom about such tidal disruption events and suggests that these spectacular flares may be just the opening act in a longer, more complex story.
In a paper published in Earth and Planetary Physics, researchers propose a semi-empirical model combining Burton's empirical Dst formula with global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations to predict geomagnetic storm intensity. The hybrid approach demonstrates higher accuracy than pure empirical models when tested against moderate-to-intense storm events, while maintaining computational efficiency for operational space weather forecasting. This advancement enables more reliable Dst index estimation within global magnetosphere simulations.