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The screech of peeling sticky tape conceals a rapid train of tiny shockwaves, ultrafast imaging shows

A new experiment has uncovered the mechanism responsible for the screeching sound made by peeling sticky tape. Using a combination of ultrafast imaging and synchronized acoustic recordings, Sigurdur Thoroddsen and colleagues at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology have shown that the noise is produced by a rapid train of tiny shockwaves, released through a specialized form of stick–slip motion. The research is published in Physical Review E.

If you’ve ever used sticky tape, you’ll probably be all too familiar with the harsh sound it makes as it peels away from a surface. Yet despite decades of experimental scrutiny, physicists have yet to fully explain the origins of this intriguing acoustic effect.

Previous studies established that peeling proceeds via a “stick–slip” mechanism—a jerky motion characterized by brief, rapid accelerations interrupted by sudden stops. Similar dynamics underpin phenomena ranging from earthquakes to the squeak of basketball shoes on a polished wooden court. However, the fine details of how this process unfolds in peeling tape turned out to be more complex than they first appeared.

Cooling without gases: Molecular design brings solid-state cooling closer to reality

Some solid materials can cool down or heat up when pressure is applied or released. This behavior enables cooling and heating technologies that do not rely on climate-damaging refrigerant gases. In practice, however, a major obstacle remains: many materials behave differently during heating and cooling, which makes their response difficult to use reliably in real devices. In a study published in the journal Communications Materials, researchers investigate a solid material known for its exceptionally large cooling/heating response (thermal response) under pressure and ask a simple question: can this response be made more reliable? They show that a very small change in composition leads to a clear improvement and use neutron experiments to explain why this improvement occurs.

Putting sports stats to the test: Unpredictable play helps pick a winner in soccer

A comprehensive game plan and strategic tactics are critical to winning soccer, but how much does a team’s unpredictability in moving the soccer ball around the pitch matter? In a new article published in PLOS One, an international team of researchers analyzed event data from top-tier association soccer competitions to provide insights into match analysis, player tactics and game strategy.

“Soccer is low-scoring, so a couple of moments can swing a match, and simple statistics like possession or shot counts do not always capture who performed better. Our approach measures how unpredictably and widely a team moves the ball across a match,” says Dr. Sergiy Shelyag, Associate Professor in Applied Mathematics and Data Science at Flinders University.

We found that ‘all zones count’ metric, the one that values every region of the field equally, including rarely used areas, aligns best with winning.

InN thin films show transient Pauli blocking for broadband ultrafast optical switching

Recent decades have witnessed rapid advancements in high-intensity laser technology. The combination of laser irradiation and novel materials is opening exciting avenues for the design of functional materials and devices. Semiconductors are ideal platforms for generating laser-driven functionalities because they can exhibit novel features such as ultrafast optical transparency. This effect arises from electronic occupation redistribution driven by ultrafast excitation, which manifests as a phenomenon called transient Pauli blocking.

In a new development, a team of researchers in Japan, led by Professor Junjun Jia from the Global Center for Science and Engineering and the Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering at Waseda University, has examined the transient Pauli blocking effect in an InN film.

The study utilized pump-probe transient transmittance measurements with multicolor probe lasers, alongside first-principles electronic band-structure calculations. Their findings are published in Physical Review B.

Stress-testing the Cascadia Subduction Zone reveals variability that could impact how earthquakes spread

The Cascadia Subduction Zone is unusually quiet for a megathrust fault. Spanning more than 600 miles from Canada to California, the fault marks the convergence of the Juan de Fuca and North American plates. While other subduction zones produce sporadic rumblings as the plates scrape past each other, Cascadia shows very little seismic activity, fueling assumptions that the plates are locked together by friction.

The subduction zone—miles offshore and deep underwater—is difficult to observe. Most data collection is based onshore, which limits the breadth and quality of results. The lack of earthquakes further complicates efforts to understand its behavior and structure.

In a new study, the first to monitor strain offshore over an extended period of time, University of Washington researchers report that the plates may not be fully locked.

Beam-spin asymmetry study puts proton models to the test

Getting an up-close view of life at the cellular level can be as simple as placing onion skin under a microscope and adjusting the knobs. Peering deeper, into the heart of the atoms within, isn’t as easy. It requires peeling through layers of particle accelerator data to shed light on protons, neutrons and the subatomic processes at play.

This type of zoom doesn’t use a lens. Clarity is achieved by blending ultrafine physics measurements and theoretical predictions. Now, the first results from the KaonLT experiment at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility are adding a new level of detail in the quest to map out how the components of atomic nuclei are put together.

The study, published in the journal Physics Letters B, focuses on producing short-lived particles called mesons, which can provide important information about the particles and forces that form the proton.

Scientists Uncover the Secret Structure Behind “Nature’s Proton Highway”

Phosphoric acid is vital in both biology and modern technology because of its exceptional ability to move electrical charge. Inside the human body and in devices such as fuel cells, this small molecule helps drive essential chemical reactions.

Scientists at the Department of Molecular Physics at the Fritz Haber Institute have now uncovered new details about how it performs this task at the molecular level.

AI Finds Life Shortening Hormone Disorder Using Only Hand Photos

A privacy-first AI can diagnose a life-shortening hormone disorder—just from a photo of your hand.

Researchers at Kobe University have developed an artificial intelligence system that can identify a rare endocrine disorder by examining photos of the back of a person’s hand and their clenched fist. By avoiding facial images, the approach was designed with privacy in mind. The team believes this tool could help doctors refer patients to specialists more efficiently and help narrow gaps in access to care.

Acromegaly and Delayed Diagnosis.

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