news 2021

With the temperatures outside below zero and the speed skating world championships around the corner, ice is on everyone's mind. One thing we all know: ice is slippery - but why? This seemingly simple physics question turns out to have a remarkably intricate answer. In a new publication that appeared in Physical Review X this week, a group of UvA physicists shed new light on how temperature, pressure and the speed of the skater combine to make it possible to skate on ice.

The feeding behaviour of several invertebrate animals in aquatic food webs is drastically changed by increasing inputs of nitrogen and phosphorus into surface waters. This is demonstrated in a new study by researchers from the University of Amsterdam and Wageningen Environmental Research, that is now published in the scientific journal Ecology.

Extreme shyness likely emerges in very early childhood. Developmental psychologist Milica Nikolic is conducting research to determine how parents can prevent their children from becoming overly shy in later life. Extreme shyness can have a negative impact on both mental and physical health. Almost everyone has experienced it at one time or another: all eyes are on us - for example during a presentation at work - and we suddenly feel shy.

An interdisciplinary team of researchers from the Universities of Konstanz and Amsterdam have uncovered a new state of matter, liquid glass, with previously unknown structural elements. The discovery leads to new insights into the nature of glass and its transitions. While glass is a truly ubiquitous material that we use on a daily basis, it also represents a major scientific conundrum.