Popular Science articles about Physics & Chemistry

The small, thin battery comes out of the printer and can be applied to flexible substrates.

Integrated optical trap holds particles for on-chip analysis

A new type of optical particle trap can be used to manipulate bacteria, viruses and other particles on a chip as part of an integrated optofluidic platform. The optical trap...

Unexpectedly long-range effects in advanced magnetic devices

NIST MOIF (Magneto-optic imaging film) technique is unique in being able to image magnetic domains in real time while they are forming, growing and disappearing. Bright and dark regions represent stray magnetic fields as domains change. Here a series of MOIF images shows reversal of domains in a ferromagnetic film having a grid of antiferromagnetic strips on top as the external field increases to the right.A tiny grid pattern has led materials scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Institute of Solid State Physics in Russia to an unexpected finding—the...

New lab-on-a-chip measures mechanics of bacteria colonies

Researchers at the University of Michigan have devised a microscale tool to help them understand the mechanical behavior of biofilms, slimy colonies of bacteria involved in most human infectious diseases.

Stirred, not shaken: Bio-inspired cilia mix medical reagents at small scales

The artificial cilia are flexible rubber fingers less than 1/100 of an inch long, and 1/1000 of an inch wide. The tips shown here vibrate 65 times per second.The equipment used for biomedical research is shrinking, but the physical properties of the fluids under investigation are not changing. This creates a problem: the reservoirs that hold the liquid...

University of Leicester researchers discover new fluorescent silicon nanoparticles

This is a suspension of nanoparticles in a quarz-glass cell exposed to ultra violet light.Researchers in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Leicester have developed a new synthesis method, which has led them to the discovery of fluorescent silicon nanoparticles...

Tunnel vision

Agents discovered this tunnel in Nogales, Ariz.   It ended up on the Mexican side of the US -- Mexico border.  Five drug trafficking suspects were arrested, and the tunnel destroyed.Criminals of all kinds are digging tunnels along the U.S. border at a fast and furious pace. Of every tunnel ever discovered by U.S. border patrol agents, 60 percent have...

Straighten up and fly right: Moths benefit more from flexible wings than rigid

The wing of a <i>Manduca sexta</i>, or tobacco hawkmoth, reveals the extent of deformation during flight.Most scientists who create models trying to understand the mechanics and aerodynamics of insect flight have assumed that insect wings are relatively rigid as they flap.

From human bite to robot jaws

This is the Chewing Robot concept.The UK spends around £2.5 billion each year on dental materials to replace or strengthen teeth*. The Chewing Robot is a new biologically inspired way to test dental materials...

Stanford researchers find a quicker, cheaper way to sort isotopes

Richard Zare, a Stanford chemist, developed a new way to determine isotope ratios.Whether it's the summer grass that tickles your feet or the red Bordeaux smacking on your palette, nearly every part of the world around you carries special chemical markers. These...

Can a new implant coating technique create a new six million dollar man?

This is an image of electrochemically-deposited crystals from a scanning electron microscope.Tel Aviv University researcher Prof. Noam Eliaz of the TAU School of Mechanical Engineering has developed an electrochemical process for coating metal implants which vastly improves their functionality, longevity and...

Researchers unite to distribute quantum keys

Researchers from across Europe have united to build the largest quantum key distribution network ever built. The efforts of 41 research and industrial organisations were realised as secure, quantum encrypted information was sent over an eight node, mesh network.

Nanotechnology may increase longevity of dental fillings

Dr. Franklin Tay, associate professor of endodontics in the Medical College of Georgia School of Dentistry, is studying a new nanotechnology technique to extend the longevity of tooth-colored fillings.Tooth-colored fillings may be more attractive than silver ones, but the bonds between the white filling and the tooth quickly age and degrade. A Medical College of Georgia researcher hopes...

NIST develops novel ion trap for sensing force and light

The NIST "stylus trap" can hold a single ion (electrically charged atom) above any of the three sets of concentric cylinders on the centerline. The device could be used as a stylus with a single atom "tip" for sensing very small forces or an interface for efficient transfer of individual light particles for quantum communications.Miniature devices for trapping ions (electrically charged atoms) are common components in atomic clocks and quantum computing research. Now, a novel ion trap geometry demonstrated at the National Institute of...

New statistical technique improves precision of nanotechnology data

Georgia Tech researchers illustrate how their new statistical technique improves measurement of nanostructure properties by correcting data errors. Shown (left to right) are Zhong Lin Wang, V. Roshan Joseph, C.F. Jeff Wu and Xinwei Deng.A new statistical analysis technique that identifies and removes systematic bias, noise and equipment-based artifacts from experimental data could lead to more precise and reliable measurement of nanomaterials and nanostructures...

Spanish scientists develop echo-location in humans

This is researcher Juan Antonio Martínez detecting a column by echolocation.A team of researchers from the University of Alcalá de Henares (UAH) has shown scientifically that human beings can develop echolocation, the system of acoustic signals used by dolphins and...

Scientists create first working model of a two-qubit electronic quantum processor

A team led by Yale University researchers has successfully implemented simple algorithms using a quantum processor based on microwave solid-state technology--similar to that found in computers and cell phones. The...

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Composites for energy

Advanced composite materials are playing a vital role in improved design and reduced operating costs for renewable energy technologies. Research presented today [Tuesday 30 June] will highlight how wind,...

First step to converting solar energy using 'artificial leaf'

An international team of researchers has modified chlorophyll from an alga so that it resembles the extremely efficient light antennae of bacteria. The team was then able to determine the...

MIT: A new approach to engineering for extreme environments

Composite materials such as fiberglass, which take on a mix of properties of their constituent compounds, have been around for decades. Now, an MIT materials scientist is taking composites to...

NuTeV anomaly helps shed light on physics of the nucleus

A new calculation clarifies the complicated relationship between protons and neutrons in the atomic nucleus and offers a fascinating resolution of the famous NuTeV Anomaly.

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