The Physics and Hype of Hypersonic Weapons

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August 24, 2021

Dear Reader, The U.S., Russia and China are racing to develop new hypersonic missiles, weapons that military officials claim will revolutionize warfare. But physicists disagree—and in this week's lead story, they explain why "many of the claims about [hypersonic weapons] are exaggerated or simply false."

Sophie Bushwick, Associate Editor, Technology @sophiebushwick

Astrophysics The Physics and Hype of Hypersonic Weapons These novel missiles cannot live up to the grand promises made on their behalf, aerodynamics shows By David Wright,Cameron Tracy

Fossil Fuels New Tech Can Reveal a Vast Network of Methane Leaks But it is unclear if oil and gas companies and their regulators will respond By Anna Kuchment

Electronics Flexible Microprocessor Could Enable an 'Internet of Everything' Researchers have developed a microprocessor built on high-performance plastic rather than silicon—and they say it could enable smarter food labels and supply chain management. By Christopher Intagliata | 04:16

Renewable Energy Wave Power Charges Ahead with Static Electricity Generators An ocean-powered buoy brings technology closer to the dream of obtaining energy from the sea By Maddie Bender

Quantum Computing How Quantum Computing Could Remake Chemistry It will bring molecular modeling to a new level of accuracy, reducing researchers' reliance on serendipity By Jeannette M. Garcia

Memory Digital Heads Help Eyewitnesses Identify Suspects Witnesses were more accurate when they interacted with 3-D models than when they looked at still photographs. And the models were less expensive than an in-person lineup By Sophie Bushwick

Climate Change Walling Off One Coastal Area Can Flood Another Seawalls and levees may simply shift rising water elsewhere—often into disadvantaged communities By Robin Meadows

Astronomy Chinese Astronomers Eye Tibetan Plateau Site for Observatory Project Years of weather monitoring suggest a high-altitude locale in Qinghai Province could host future telescopes By Meghan Bartels,SPACE.com

FROM THE STORE Technology vs. Truth: Deception in the Digital Age In the digital age, information, both true and false, spreads faster than ever. The same technology that provides access to data across the globe can abet the warping of truth and normalization of lies. In this eBook, we examine the intersection of truth, untruth and technology, including how social media manipulates behavior, technologies such as deepfakes that spread misinformation, the bias inherent in algorithms and more.

QUOTE OF THE DAY "In a country whose official seismic-monitoring stations are sometimes offline because of limited resources, the community-seismology project provides much-needed data. Right now, the network is detecting aftershocks that continue to rattle the region." Alexandra Witze, Nature

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FROM THE ARCHIVE 50, 100 & 150 Years Ago: September 2021 U.S. could go metric; vicious fish By Mark Fischetti | September 2021

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