The 50 most-cited articles in Physics Today, 2019

The marriage of the two fields may give birth to a new research frontier that could transform them both.

Arrays of electrically and magnetically controllable electron-spin qubits can be lithographically fabricated on silicon wafers.

Suitable combinations of laser beams can make neutral atoms behave like electrons in a magnetic field.

The motion underlying contact interactions that are vital for biology has farther-reaching implications than previously thought.

A simple principle relating growth to lateral water transport explains the variety of self-organized vegetation patchiness.

We are writing to propose that the Auger effect be renamed the Auger–Meitner effect to recognize Lise Meitner's contribution to it. Meitner is better known for her work on nuclear fission, for which she was nominated for the Nobel Prize more than 30 times (reference 11. R. L. Sime, Lise Meitner: A Life in Physics, U. California Press (1996); "This Month in Physics History: December 1938: Discovery of Nuclear Fission," APS News 16(11), 2 (2007).; see also the article "A Nobel tale of postwar injustice," by Elisabeth Crawford, Ruth Lewin Sime, and Mark Walker, Physics Today, September 1997, page 26). However, she is less widely recognized for her discovery of what has since become known as the Auger effect and her subsequent publications on the topic22. L. Meitner, Z. Phys. 9, 145 (1922), p. 147; https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01326963L. Meitner, Z. Phys. 17, 54 (1923), p. 64 (trans. by R. Sime). in 1922 and 1923.When an electron from an atom's inner shell is ejected—for example, by UV radiation or nuclear beta decay—an electron from a higher energy level will drop into the vacancy and…

A new class of quantum mechanical liquids is stabilized by an elegant mechanism that allows them to exist despite being orders of magnitude thinner than air.

Watery air bubbles covered with bacteria or viruses can live far longer than uncontaminated ones. And on bursting, they spawn orders of magnitude more droplets, each one a microbial grenade.

The flows inside cells are intricate and often counterintuitive. Measurements, models, and simulations are helping to unravel the complexities.

On Earth and on other planets, internal gravity waves shape the dynamics and thermodynamics of the atmosphere.

Soft matter, a diverse subject that crosses the boundaries of physics, chemistry, and materials science, continues to surprise with its rich phenomena.

Whereas previous discoveries of superconductors were largely serendipitous, the latest advances have emerged from the close coupling of theoretical predictions and high-pressure experiments.

Despite a length-scale difference of 18 orders of magnitude, the internal structure of neutron stars and the spatial distribution of neutrons in atomic nuclei are profoundly connected.

Microscopic self-propelled particles could one day be used to clean up wastewater or deliver drugs in the body.

New mathematical approaches have extended physicists’ understanding of magnets, superfluids, and other complex systems.

The waves responsible for transporting energy in the ocean and atmosphere are not solely a product of the combined forces of winds, tides, and mountains.

Answers to open questions that will be addressed by the ITER experiment should enable the production of fusion energy.

Researchers seek government help in addressing supply shortage as prices are expected to continue soaring.

The discovery of γ-ray emission from novae has been used not only to better understand sudden brightening events but also to answer some old questions and raise new ones.

Working with ultra-intense laser pulses? These optical elements are what you need.

Since the discovery of the DNA double helix, the main molecular repository of genetic information, scientists have been struggling to find ways to efficiently manipulate genes. The ability to mark, modify, or regulate specific sequences of DNA in a controlled fashion is of key importance because of the ways that gene editing could be used to improve human life. For example, genetic therapies are being developed to permanently cure cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

Tempestuous interactions between plasmas, galaxies, and dark matter have shaped the history and current structure of the universe.

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. Together, the six Apollo landings laid the foundation for modern planetary science.

Quantum architects, with knowledge of both physics and computer engineering, are key to developing scalable quantum computers.

Subnanometer metal clusters offer catalytic properties not possible on bulk or nanoparticle metals.

One of the subtlest phenomena in physics has been subjected to more than a century of experimental and theoretical investigations.

In 1597 the English philosopher Francis Bacon wrote, “ipsa scientia potestas est (knowledge itself is power).” Today we are inundated with knowledge and information. There exist nearly a billion websites, more than a million articles on the arXiv eprint server, and now, more than 100 physics journals. What makes one site stand out over another? Is it one particular posted article? Is it one particular journal? The quality of its content? Its breadth of use and appeal?PEINTURE/NATURE MORTE, 1928 (OIL AND PENCIL ON CANVAS), PATRICK HENRY BRUCE (1881–1936)/PRIVATE COLLECTION/BRIDGEMAN IMAGESPPT|High resolutionOver its 90-year history, Reviews of Modern Physics (RMP) has served the whole physics community. The journal has reported on current trends through colloquia and reprinted prize lectures (Nobel and now the American Physical Society’s Medal for Exceptional Achievement in Research). It has published values of fundamental constants and particle data, reviewed mature topics, and, perhaps uniquely among the journals of the American Physical Society (APS), it, has offered refereed,…

The Cal-Bridge program connects promising juniors and seniors from underrepresented groups with STEM faculty mentors to help smooth the transition from undergraduate to graduate programs.

A long-sought structural and electronic analogue of the cuprate superconductors has finally been synthesized.

More advanced estimates of atmospheric conditions depend on merging the knowledge gained from humans and computers.

Once a wildfire is ignited, complex interactions with the local winds affect how it behaves.

Microwave cavity experiments make a quantum leap in the search for the dark matter of the universe.

The story of how solid-state physics emerged in the postwar period and was eventually rebranded as condensed-matter physics illuminates some major shifts in the late-20th-century physics community.

A mysterious object led two physicists to investigate the German quest and failure to build a working nuclear reactor during World War II.

In 1953, as a political battle raged over the US’s nuclear future, the eminent physicist lost a classified document, about the hydrogen bomb, on an overnight train from Philadelphia to Washington, DC.

Alternative formats for sharing information and facilitating discussion help scientists lower their carbon footprints.

Survey data show that PhD physicists find satisfaction in a wide range of careers, from academia to government to industry.

A coast-to-coast eclipse on 7 August 1869 gave US astronomers a chance to make their mark on 19th-century astronomy.

Determining where the elements of the periodic table come from has taken decades of interdisciplinary research in astronomy, chemistry, and nuclear physics.

The conditions required for an object to float in a stable orientation sometimes lead to surprising results.

Jean Bricmont’s review of Travis Norsen’s Foundations of Quantum Mechanics: An Exploration of the Physical Meaning of Quantum Theory (Physics Today, April 2018, page 58) stresses the virtues of Louis de Broglie and David Bohm’s pilot-wave interpretation of quantum mechanics, also referred to as Bohmian mechanics (BM), but the review omits mention of some of that interpretation’s rather serious defects. As Bricmont notes, in BM the standard Schrödinger wavefunction ψ(r, t) for a particle is augmented with a classical trajectory r(t) that is interpreted as the actual precise physical position of the particle as a function of time. Sometimes that Bohmian trajectory can provide a helpful intuitive picture, but in other cases it is quite misleading.John Bell presented an example of how Bohmian trajectories can mislead: a modified double-slit experiment with a lens placed right after each slit so that the emerging beams cross on their way to two distant detectors located beyond the crossing point.11. J. S. Bell, Speakable and Unspeakable in Quantum Mechanics: Collected Papers on Quantum…

Improving the academic environment for marginalized groups is aided by a holistic approach and dedicated resources.

The homeland of Nikola Tesla and Jožef Stefan saw a rise in physics funding after World War II. Now, after the destruction wrought by the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s, physics in Yugoslavia’s successor states is recovering, albeit unevenly.

Lawrence, the creator of the cyclotron, also tried to bring the first color TV to American consumers. The story of his efforts reveals how the history of television was connected to physics and the military.

Controlling coherent light across a vast spectral range enables ultraprecise measurements and the quantum control of atomic, molecular, and condensed-matter systems.