The week in physics: Project Hail Mary; Sea urchin spines

The Week in Physics ADVERTISEMENT Ted Pella, Inc., Microscopy Supplies for Science and Industry Manufacturer and supplier for a wide range of equipment, reference standards, supplies and consumables for scanning electron, transmission electron, atomic force, & optical microscopy. Science inspires, but does not limit, Andy Weir's fiction Spreadsheets littered with calculations motivate the science-fiction writer's stories, including Project Hail Mary. Jenessa Duncombe MAR 19, 2026 Sea urchin species discerns surroundings with electrically responsive spines Capitalizing on a mechanoelectrical mechanism that arises from the spines' structure could yield useful sensors for marine environmental monitoring and other applications. Alex Lopatka MAR 18, 2026 ADVERTISEMENT MicroLED Production—Can Hexapods Provide Advantages? Hexapods—six-axis parallel-kinematic platforms—enable precise alignment by controlling all six degrees of freedom simultaneously. Their high stiffness, compact footprint, and user-defined pivot point make them ideal for micro-LED transfer, alignment, and repair applications. Learn more. From the vault Sakharov in his own words "Autobiographical narratives constitute an important part of mankind's memory," Andrei Sakharov says in the preface to his newly published life story, Memoirs. "That is one reason why I took up writing this book." Another, he continues, is "to try to set the record straight." Susan Eisenhower and Z. Roald Sagdeev AUG 01, 1990 Trees can glow during thunderstorms Alex Lopatka MAR 20, 2026 What can physicists do? Ekin Dogus Cubuk runs a startup to accelerate physics R&D using AI Toni Feder MAR 20, 2026 ADVERTISEMENT Science Policy Moves Fast. Don't Fall Behind. FYI: Science Policy News is your trusted source for what's happening now and what's coming next. Get clear, reliable coverage of science policy through content designed for how you read: a weekly planning newsletter, in-depth articles, and a concise monthly recap. Choose one or all three and stay informed! Post a Job Get Job Alerts Browse All Jobs Research Group Leader Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin (MPZPM) (Germany (DE)) View Job AAS Editor in Chief American Astronomical Society (Washington D.C.) View Job Paleoclimate/Paleoceanography/Sediment Geochemistry - Assistant Professor Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego (La Jolla, California) View Job Scientist: Electron Microscopy & Nanomaterials Characterization Unearthly Materials, Inc. (14610, Rochester) View Job Physics Teaching Jobs at K-12 Private Schools ATOMS Placement Services (Nationwide) View Job Postdoctoral or Research Associate NIST Applied Physics Division (Boulder, Colorado) 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. © 2026 American Institute of Physics Physics Today 1 Physics Ellipse College Park, MD 20740 +1 301 209 3100