Category Archives: physics

In the ocean, clever camouflage beats super sight

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In the ocean, clever camouflage beats super sight. Duke Today, Aug. 23, 2016. Some fish blend seamlessly into their watery surroundings with help from their silvery reflective skin. Researchers have long assumed that squid, shrimp and other ocean animals could see through this disguise, thanks to an ability to detect a property of light — called polarization — that humans can’t see. But a new study finds that not even polarization vision helps animals spot silvery fish from afar. Picked up by Cosmos.

Breakneck bite

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Breakneck bite. 1,100 words, Aug. 1, 2016. The jaws of trap-jaw ants can generate forces hundreds of times their body weight and snap shut at speeds reaching 145 miles per hour — over 2,000 times faster than the blink of an eye. Duke biologists are using 3-D X-ray imaging to peer inside the insects’ heads and study the internal structures that power their impressive mandibles.

What happens underground when a missile or meteor hits

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What happens underground when a missile or meteor hits. Duke Today, April 10, 2015. Duke University researchers have developed techniques that enable them to simulate high-speed missile and meteor impacts into soil and sand in the lab, and then watch what happens underground close-up, in super slow motion. They report that materials like soil and sand actually get stronger when they are struck harder. The research may ultimately lead to better control of earth-penetrating missiles designed to destroy deeply buried targets such as enemy bunkers or weapons stockpiles. Picked up by io9, the Daily Mail, Scientific American, EarthSky, Popular Science and Discovery Channel Canada.

What happens inside an avalanche

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What happens inside an avalanche. Duke Today, March 5, 2015. When you walk on the beach, the sand supports your weight like a solid. What happens to the forces between the sand grains when you step on them to keep you from sinking? Researchers have developed a new way to measure the forces inside materials such as sand, soil or snow under pressure. The technique uses lasers coupled with force sensors, cameras and advanced computer algorithms to measure the forces between neighboring particles in 3-D. Picked up by the News & Observer and the National Science Foundation.

How mantis shrimp evolved many shapes with same powerful punch

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How mantis shrimp evolved many shapes with same powerful punch. Duke Today, Feb. 27, 2015. The miniweight boxing title of the animal world belongs to the mantis shrimp, a cigar-sized crustacean whose front claws can deliver an explosive 60-mile-per-hour blow akin to a bullet leaving the barrel of a gun. A Duke University study of 80 million years of mantis shrimp evolution reveals a key feature of how these fast weapons evolved their dizzying array of shapes — from spiny and barbed spears to hatchets and hammers — while still managing to pack their characteristic punch. Picked up by the daily news feed of the National Science Foundation.

Laser sniffs out toxic gases from afar

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Laser sniffs out toxic gases from afar. Duke Today, December 3, 2014. Scientists have developed a way to sniff out tiny amounts of toxic gases — a whiff of nerve gas, for example, or a hint of a chemical spill — from up to one kilometer away. The new technology can discriminate one type of gas from another with greater specificity than most remote sensors — even in complex mixtures of similar chemicals — and under normal atmospheric pressure, something that wasn’t thought possible before. Picked up by NPR affiliate WUNC.

Anatomy of an avalanche

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Anatomy of an avalanche. 1,100 Words, September 30, 2014. By studying the forces inside granular materials like rice, coal, sand or snow as they’re squeezed, pulled or cracked, researchers hope to better understand phenomena like the jamming of grain hoppers or the early warning signs of earthquakes and avalanches.