Molecules containing noble gases shouldn’t exist. By definition, these chemical elements — helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon and radon — are the party poopers of the periodic table, huddling in the rightmost column and refusing to make molecules. Indeed, no one has ever seen any naturally occurring noble gas molecules on Earth. Earlier this decade, though, astronomers accidentally discovered one of these aloof elements in molecules in space.

A team of researchers from the University of Rochester, the State University of New York at Buffalo and the University of Nevada Las Vegas has reduced the amount of pressure required to force a material to become superconductive at room temperature, improving on their own previous results. In their paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters, the group outlines their technique and plans for the future.

With Spring approaching this weekend, earth could make a close encounter with an asteroid the size of the Golden Gate bridge.

Why is it so difficult for airlines to devise a quick, simple boarding process? For the typical economy class passenger, getting onboard anything bigger than a Boeing 737 or an Airbus A320 involves a fair degree of chaos. The new rules around social distancing and mask wearing in the airline industry have imposed a new sense of order on air travel. Does this mean we can expect faster, smoother boarding?

Las Vegas has its share of celebrities, including one who works at the UNLV Physics Department.

Gov. Steve Sisolak on Friday toured a University of Nevada, Las Vegas lab researching technology that could allow for the transmission of electricity over long distances, something the Democratic governor said could potentially grow Nevada’s energy industry.

Gov. Steve Sisolak on Friday toured a UNLV lab researching technology that could allow for the transmission of electricity over long distances, something the Democratic governor said could potentially grow Nevada’s energy industry.

Gov. Steve Sisolak on Friday toured a University of Nevada, Las Vegas lab researching technology that could allow for the transmission of electricity over long distances, something the Democratic governor said could potentially grow Nevada’s energy industry.

Jason Steffen studies planets in other solar systems. His most famous work—OK, second-most famous work—was with NASA’s Kepler Mission, a survey of planetary systems. But you’re more likely to have heard of Steffen, a professor at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, in a very different context: as a student of the airplane boarding process. Years ago, after waiting in yet another line on a jam-packed jetway, the physicist thought to himself, “There has to be a better way than this.”

Jason Steffen studies planets in other solar systems. His most famous work—OK, second-most famous work—was with NASA’s Kepler Mission, a survey of planetary systems. But you’re more likely to have heard of Steffen, a professor at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, in a very different context: as a student of the airplane boarding process. Years ago, after waiting in yet another line on a jam-packed jetway, the physicist thought to himself, “There has to be a better way than this.”

Fast radio bursts, or FRBs – powerful, millisecond-duration radio waves coming from deep space outside the Milky Way Galaxy – have been among the most mysterious astronomical phenomena ever observed. Since FRBs were first discovered in 2007, astronomers from around the world have used radio telescopes to trace the bursts and look for clues on where they come from and how they’re produced.

The Physics World 2020 Breakthrough of the Year goes to Elham Fadaly, Alain Dijkstra and Erik Bakkers at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, Jens Renè Suckert at Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena in Germany and an international team for creating a silicon-based material with a direct band gap that emits light at wavelengths used for optical telecommunications.