Latest science news in Physics & Chemistry
Toyota unveils self-driving Lexus at CES 2013
Ultra high-definition televisions may have captured most of the headlines during the first day of the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, but the far more important announcement may...
Video: Day One at CES in Las Vegas
The Consumer Electronic Show, or CES, is under way in Las Vegas until January 11. Brian Brennan of KLAS reports on some of the cooler devices he saw on the...
How much does a kilogram actually weigh?
It's not as east to tell now, thanks to minuscule build-ups of pollutants that are making the prototype kilogram heavierAge: 217.Appearance: It's not about what it looks like; it's about what it weighs.And how...
New antimatter trapping method to provide 'a major experimental advantage'
Researchers have proposed a method for cooling trapped antihydrogen which they believe could provide 'a major experimental advantage' and help to map the mysterious properties of antimatter that have to...
From the Amazon rainforest to human body cells: Quantifying stability
The Amazon rainforest, energy grids, and cells in the human body share a troublesome property: They possess multiple stable states. When the world's largest tropical forest suddenly starts retreating in...
What Is a Solar X-Flare?: Sun's 'Richter Scale' Explained | Video
Solar flares are classified by letters B, C, M and X. Similar to the earthquake scale, the power unleashed is measured exponentially. Find out what it can damage on and...
Ordinary glass's extraordinary properties revealed
Researchers raise the possibility of designing ultrastable glasses at the molecular level via a vapor-deposition process. Such glasses could find potential applications in the production of stronger metals and in...
Greener route to carboxylic acids
Reaction uses water as the oxygen source and solvent for converting primary alcohols
A new phase in reading photons: Photodetector beats the quantum limit by a factor of four
A new photodetector can cleanly discriminate among four states, not just the standard two states of binary logic.
Experts okay restart of worrisome Belgian nuclear plants
Scientific experts have greenlighted the restart of two Belgian nuclear power plants despite signs of micro-cracks in reactor vessels, the daily Le Soir said Saturday.
Dan Shechtman: 'Linus Pauling said I was talking nonsense'
The Israeli Nobel laureate discusses the discovery that caused a furore among fellow scientistsTo stand your ground in the face of relentless criticism from a double Nobel prize-winning scientist takes a lot of...
Atom smasher heading for two-year hiatus
The world's largest atom smasher goes into a two-year hibernation in March, as engineers carry out a revamp to help it reach maximum energy levels that could lead to more...
Laser Folds Tiny Origami for US Army
Tiny structures folded by lasers could lead to new weapon triggers or smaller robots for the U.S. military.
Energy-Efficient Light Bulbs Might Cause Skin Damage, Study Suggests
The lamps emit surprisingly high levels of UV radiation.
Researchers seek longer battery life for electric locomotive
Norfolk Southern Railway No. 999 is the first all-electric, battery-powered locomotive in the United States. But when one of the thousand lead-acid batteries that power it dies, the locomotive shuts...
January 2013 Story Tips
Many of the nation's foremost authorities on cyber security will gather in Oak Ridge Jan. 8-12 for the inaugural Cyber Sciences Laboratory workshop. Scientists are using an instrument at Oak...
Richard Feynman's Functional Integral 5 - Radiation In An Oven
This is the fifth part of a ten-part post on the foundation of our understanding of high energy physics, which is Richard Feynman's functional integral. read more
Ways to make driving easier, safer born at BMW idea factory
Those iPod and iPhone adapters that are now standard equipment in nearly every modern car were born out of a "what if" idea by BMW engineers in Silicon Valley in...
France sets requirements for nanoparticles
France has become the first country in Europe to require manufacturers to identify use of nano-particles, the extremely fine grains that are increasingly found in drugs and consumer products.
Idea for supply chains of flying drones takes off
Start-up companies are demonstrating unmanned aerial vehicles that can deliver small payloads such as medical supplies to remote areas.
Superconductors for efficient wind power plants: Researchers develop cooling system for novel generator
(Phys.org)—An efficient, robust, and compact wind power plant with a 10 MW superconducting generator is being developed by partners from industry and science within the recently established EU project SUPRAPOWER....
Possibility of surfaces that can be manipulated
A chemist has studied a number of polymer blends that can be used to produce manipulatable surfaces.
The guide to biomolecular movie-making
High-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) is providing the means to produce dramatic footage of moving biomolecules, and scientists at Kanazawa University leading the field.
Laser guided maglev graphite air hockey
Levitating graphite discs that spin when exposed to light could be a new way to harness solar energy
Soft landing and particle coverage key to keeping or losing charge on surfaces
(Phys.org)—Producing sustainable energy demands materials with specific physical and chemical properties that are controlled by the size and electrical charge of small metal particles, and scientists at Pacific Northwest National...
One-volt operation of high-current vertical channel polymer semiconductor field-effect transistors
(Phys.org)—Scientists from the CFN, in collaboration with a scientist from the Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Department at BNL, have fabricated a vertical channel polymer semiconductor field effect transistor...
Keeping tabs on chemicals in the air: New state-of-the-art samplers, analytical capabilities improve tracer measurements
(Phys.org)—How do pollutants move through different kinds of environments? How far would toxic chemicals released in a terror attack travel? These are the kinds of questions that have motivated "atmospheric...
Iridium | video | @GrrlScientist
What does the international kilogram prototype, black pigments and the KT extinction have in common?This week's element is iridium, which has the atomic number 77, and the symbol Ir. Iridium is a silvery-white...