The week in physics: 2021 in review; Books of 2021; Dual-anonymous peer review

The most popular Physics Today articles of 2021 Forward this email  View in your browser THE WEEK IN PHYSICS: 13–17 DECEMBER Webinar Live Webinar: Dust Devils on Earth and Mars Desert whirlwinds or dust devils can be destructive, and even lethal. On Mars, they are a prominent meteorological phenomenon, causing surface changes, allowing us to track winds, and sometimes cleaning the solar panels of rovers. New observations and analyses let us predict their effects. Register now. The most popular Physics Today articles of 2021 Our list includes coverage of a step forward in laser fusion, a nearly forgotten climatology pioneer, and the orientation of icebergs. Andrew Grant The year in reviews: Books and more that stood out in 2021 Highlights this year include books about physics in the kitchen, nuclear secrecy, and the end of the universe. Ryan Dahn Advertisement The Only Grad Guide You Will Ever Need The Student Guide to Grad School in Physics, Astronomy & Related Fields is here! Read this new magazine from GradSchoolShopper to get advice from real students, faculty and leadership at the Society of Physics Students. Then use GradSchoolShopper.com to explore hundreds of grad programs exclusively in the physical sciences! Read the issue now. FROM THE VAULT: December 2004 Transforming the electric infrastructure If the electric power grid is to meet 21st-century demands, society will need to invest in extensive modernization. Clark W. Gellings and Kurt E. Yeager From the January magazine The surface hydrology of Antarctica's floating ice The frozen continent's ice shelves are melting. Where is the water going, and what does it mean for the future? Sammie Buzzard Dual-anonymous peer review gains traction NASA and other agencies worldwide are adopting the anonymized process for awarding grants and instrument time after seeing its success for the Hubble Space Telescope. Rachel Berkowitz A double-slit experiment without slits A telltale interference pattern confirms that a coherent superposition of molecular orientations creates two indistinguishable scattering pathways. Heather M. Hill FROM THE DECEMBER MAGAZINE Branched flow In many kinds of irregular media, propagating waves enter a beautiful and relatively neglected regime called branched flow. It affects sound, light, water, and matter waves over vastly different length scales. Eric J. Heller, Ragnar Fleischmann, and Tobias Kramer Get notified about our webinars and whitepapers Sign up Get Physics Today delivered for just $25 per year Subscribe FEATURED JOBS > Digital Quantum Simulations for Dynamical Quantum Matter Theory Postdoc  |  Los Alamos National Laboratory > High Energy Density & Fusion Design Physicist  |  Sandia National Laboratories Are you hiring? Do you want your job to appear here? Post with Physics Today and select the "Publication" enhancement to easily showcase your job to 66 000 physicists and engineers. Physics Today is published by the American Institute of Physics 1 Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740 USA +1 301 209 3100 © 2021 American Institute of Physics. Unsubscribe  |  Email Preferences  |  Privacy Policy  |  Contact Us