The week in physics: Solar panels over canals; Kathrin Spendier

The week in physics: 28 July–1 August Solar panels over canals could provide benefits beyond energy Two projects in the western US are testing the feasibility of installing solar farms over sun-drenched irrigation canals. Jenessa Duncombe Q&A: Kathrin Spendier manages the XPRIZE quantum computing competition Curiosity about snow friction drove the competitive skier to slalom into physics. Toni Feder From the vault: April 1988 Flavor SU(3) symmetries in particle physics Anyone who understands quantum mechanical harmonic oscillators can understand the role and significance of the flavor symmetries of the standard model. Howard Georgi You might have missed Anyons abound in 1D quantum gases The statistical behavior of the unusual particles, which are neither fermions nor bosons, is coming under experimental control. Johanna L. Miller From the August issue The enduring puzzle of static electricity Even though it lacks a complete explanation, the small-scale, everyday effect is being exploited for various applications. Ignaas Jimidar and Joshua Méndez Harper Post a Job Get Job Alerts Browse All Jobs Machine Director Canadian Light Source (Saskatoon, Canada) View Job Director of the Ion Beam Laboratory University at Albany (Albany, NY) View Job Tenure-Track Assistant Professor of Physics in Experimental Applied Physics Davidson College (Davidson, NC) View Job Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy Tenure Track Faculty Position The University of Mississippi (Oxford, MS) View Job Faculty Position in Theory of Condensed Matter and Interacting Quantum Matter EPFL (Lausanne, Switzerland) View Job Tenure-Track Assistant Professor of Physics in Experimental/Computational Physics Santa Clara University (Santa Clara, CA) View Job Physics Today is published by the American Institute of Physics. To manage your AIP email preferences and newsletter subscriptions, click here. Or unsubscribe from all AIP emails. © 2025 American Institute of Physics. Physics Today 1 Physics Ellipse College Park, MD 20740-3842 +1 301 209 3100