Article archives

The ‘prehistory’ of philosophy of science (9):  Epicurus’ vessel and the origin of empiricism

The ‘prehistory’ of philosophy of science (9): Epicurus’ vessel and the origin of empiricism

Philosophy of science

By Jesús Zamora Bonilla

One fascinating, as well as disconcerting fact about the evolution of Greek thought about science is that, almost immediately after the end of the ‘Classical’ period of philosophy, and particularly after Aristotle’s founding work on both philosophy and science, these two activities seemed to follow two radically separate courses. Actually, Greek science achieved its peak […]

MI weekly selection #416

MI weekly selection #416

Weekly Selection

By César Tomé

Artefacts hint at complex culture 105K years ago Archaeologists have found a cache of artefacts in the Kalahari Desert including a set of crystals that appeared to have been part of a collection with no practical purpose, suggesting the beginnings of a complex culture. Other artefacts included items that may have been used for water […]

Hybrid 2D materials as a novel platform for tunable superconductivity

Hybrid 2D materials as a novel platform for tunable superconductivity

DIPC Interfaces

By DIPC

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are layered compounds which can be thinned down to the single-layer limit. While mechanical exfoliation generates atomically thin TMD flakes possessing an area of a few square microns, chemical and physical methods provide high-quality monolayers on large-area substrates, which are suitable for actual technological applications. Similar to other two-dimensional materials, TMD […]

Evidence of brand new physics at Cern? Why we’re cautiously optimistic about our new findings

Evidence of brand new physics at Cern? Why we’re cautiously optimistic about our new findings

Particle physicsPhysics

By Invited Researcher

When Cern’s gargantuan accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), fired up ten years ago, hopes abounded that new particles would soon be discovered that could help us unravel physics’ deepest mysteries. Dark matter, microscopic black holes and hidden dimensions were just some of the possibilities. But aside from the spectacular discovery of the Higgs boson […]

MI weekly selection #415

MI weekly selection #415

Weekly Selection

By César Tomé

Trio of atomic clocks compared Light frequencies of three different atomic clocks have been compared, moving physicists a step closer to making the measurement of a unit of time — the second — more precise. One clock is made of ytterbium atoms, another of strontium atoms and the last is made of just one aluminum […]

HOMA: a space orbit simulator

HOMA: a space orbit simulator

MathematicsPhysics

By BCAM

Quick simulations of space orbits and trajectories are essential in different aspects of space engineering, from the optimization of trajectories and orbit transfers, to the determination of the orbits themselves, altitude control, and gravitational modelling. Although the preliminary analysis of satellite space orbits can be done without extensive simulations, to represent the dynamical states of […]

MI weekly selection #414

MI weekly selection #414

Weekly Selection

By César Tomé

Oumuamua may be hunk of nitrogen-rich planet The interstellar object Oumuamua is likely a piece of a planet rich in nitrogen that broke off about 500 million years ago and is shaped more like a cookie than a cigar. Researchers used computer models focusing on Oumuamua’s shape, size and shininess to determine the object’s possible […]