Temperature, Humidity & Wind Predict Second Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic
Weather parameters, typically excluded from pandemic modeling, improve prediction capabilities. The “second wave” of the coronavirus pandemic has placed much blame on a lack of…
American Institute of Physics News
COVID-19: Microwaves Used to Deactivate Coronavirus, Flu, Other Aerosolized Viruses
Tool uses electromagnetic energy to help study inactivation of aerosolized viral particles and reduce the spread of infection. As the pandemic has continued to spread…
Air Purifiers Can Actually Increase the Spread of Airborne Viruses Like COVID-19
A computation shows air purifiers in elevators and other confined spaces can actually increase saliva droplet dispersal, spreading COVID-19. The positions of air inlets and…
Egg Experiment Reveals Scrambling of the Brain on Impact to Find Answers About Concussions
Put to the test, impact from rotational deceleration causes tremendous egg yolk deformation. What causes brain concussions? Is it direct translational or rotational impact? This…
Disposable Helmet Designed to Retain Cough Droplets, Minimize COVID-19 Transmission
An open-faced helmet connected to an air filtration pump decreases risk of disease transmission from patients to dentists or otolaryngologists. The risk of infection of…
Cornell University to Extract Energy From Manure to Heat the Campus
University considers proposal to convert cattle manure to methane and use it in combination with geothermal energy to heat the campus all winter. Cornell University…
Hand-Held Particle Detector Measures Aerosols for Coronavirus Risk Assessment
A portable device can determine aerosol concentrations in public spaces. Because of the role they play in coronavirus transmission, understanding aerosol concentrations and persistence in…
Some Masks Can Be Worse Than Not Wearing One at All: Physics of How Masks Affect Airflow and COVID-19 Protection
A computer model deepens our understanding of airflow while wearing face masks, where particles land in the respiratory tract and the effectiveness of three-layer surgical…
VENUS Apparatus: Device Mimics Life’s First Steps in Outer Space
Called VENUS, the device will give scientists an unprecedented ability to study how molecules form in the icy clouds of space. A device developed by…
New Testing Shows Masks Not Enough to Stop COVID-19’s Spread Without Social Distancing
Simply wearing a mask may not be enough to prevent the spread of COVID-19 without social distancing. In Physics of Fluids, by AIP Publishing, researchers tested…
Safe Social Distancing Alert: Long Streams of Virus-Laden Droplets Can Trail Behind Infected Individuals
Fast walking in narrow corridors can increase COVID-19 transmission risk. Long streams of virus-laden droplets can trail behind infected individuals walking through a narrow corridor,…
Batteries Mimic Multilayer Geometry of Mammal Bones for Structural Stability
By copying the multilayer geometry of mammal bones, cathodes for sodium-ion batteries can be made more structurally stable, while maintaining high capacities and fast charge…
COVID Face Shields No Match for Sneeze Vortex Rings
Face shields worn alone are not effective against COVID-19 sneezes. Do face shields provide enough protection to the wearers against COVID-19 if they don’t also…
There Many Different COVID-19 Tests – Which One to Choose?
Different diagnostic techniques are appropriate at different stages of coronavirus infection. Using the right one is crucial for rapid diagnosis to help end the COVID-19…
Improving Lithium-Ion Battery Performance, Cell Lifetime for Renewable Energy Applications
Creating higher energy density lithium-ion batteries with graphene-coated nickel, cobalt, aluminum nanoparticle cathodes. Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) that function as high-performance power sources for renewable applications,…
Time to Rethink COVID Predictions? Pandemic Infection Rates Are Deterministic but Cannot Be Modeled
Forecasting cannot foresee COVID-19 infection rates peaking or plateauing. During the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Joseph Lee McCauley, a physics professor at the…
COVID-19 Pandemic Could Be Stopped if at Least 70% of the Public Wore Face Masks Consistently
Face masks slow spread of COVID-19; types of masks, length of use matter. The use of face masks to help slow the spread of COVID-19…
Quantifying Quantumness: A Mathematical Project of “Immense Beauty”
Investigators develop a method to determine how quantum the state of a system is. Large objects, such as baseballs, vehicles, and planets, behave in accordance…
