Latest science news in Physics & Chemistry
Nanotechnology: Spotting a molecular mix-up
Information within the bonds of molecules known as super benzene oligomers pave the way for new types of quantum computers.
Data storage: A fast and loose approach improves memory
An unconventional design for a nanoscale memory device uses a freely moving mechanical shuttle to improve performance.
Super-fine sound beam could one day be an invisible scalpel
A carbon-nanotube-coated lens that converts light to sound can focus high-pressure sound waves to finer points than ever before. The engineering researchers who developed the new therapeutic ultrasound approach say...
Year in Science: Higgs boson takes the prize
Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: As 2012 draws to a close, physicists are celebrating — and being celebrated for — the end of a quest to find a subatomic particle...
Magnetism Confirmed to Control the Flow of Heat
The strange world of quantum mechanics just got a little stranger with the discovery that a magnetic field can control the flow of heat from one body to another. First...
Paper Waste Makes World's Grossest-Looking Bricks
The Paper Brick C. Martinez et al., Universidad de JaénAnother "green" brick, this time made like sausage We don't want to be unkind, because it's nice that people are working toward a...
Physicists achieve elusive 'evaporative cooling' of molecules
Achieving a goal considered nearly impossible, physicists have chilled a gas of molecules to very low temperatures by adapting the familiar process by which a hot cup of coffee cools....
Microwave-assisted method for producing thin films
Scientists have demonstrated that assembly of so-called thin films is possible at low temperatures. They are working toward the assembly of thin films in a variety of materials.
Soybeans a source of valuable chemical
The humble soybean could become an inexpensive new source of a widely used chemical for plastics, textiles, drugs, solvents and as a food additive.
Dot Earth Blog: Exploring a Proposed Carbon Diet for American Power Plants
A proposal for getting the carbon out of American power plants affordably and under existing laws.
Engineers working to prevent heat buildup within 3D integrated circuits
In the effort to pile more power atop silicon chips, engineers have developed the equivalent of mini-skyscrapers in three-dimensional integrated circuits and encountered a new challenge: how to manage the...
The Mathematics of the Pop-Up Tent
Ever wrestled with a pop-up tent, trying to flatten it to fit into the bag? Help is at hand, in the form of a mathematical theory to describe the shapes...
Long-wavelength laser will be able to take medicine fingerprints
A laser capable of working in the terahertz range – that of long-wavelength light from the far infrared to 1 millimetre – enables the 'fingerprint' of, say, a drug to...
Synthetic and biological nanoparticles combined to produce new metamaterials
Scientists from Aalto University, Finland, have succeeded in organising virus particles, protein cages and nanoparticles into crystalline materials. These nanomaterials studied by the Finnish research group are important for applications...
The life-saving real world results of intelligent vehicle systems
Smart automotive technologies that help drivers avoid collisions, navigate and improve fuel efficiency should make roads safer, ease congestion and reduce pollution. But just how beneficial are they? Potentially very,...
Fuel cell park in Connecticut is on board for 2013
(Phys.org)—North America's biggest fuel cell power plant is coming to Connecticut, and construction is to begin immediately. Dominion Resources, an energy company based in Virginia, and FuelCell Energy, a Connecticut...
Variable congestion charges may yield more stable air quality and improved health
Higher congestion charges in the morning and in the spring would even out the negative health effects caused by air pollution from cars in large cities.
Physicist's research may lead to more precise measurements of time
(Phys.org)—Tanya Zelevinsky's Pupin Hall lab is home to a sprawling contraption of gangly wires, metal pipes and chambers, and flashing lights. Inside a container that opens up like a porthole...
Intelligent control for performance: Reducing drag, saving fuel
(Phys.org)—NASA Dryden's versatile F/A-18 Full Scale Advanced Systems Testbed (FAST) aircraft recently completed a series of flights that explored reducing fuel consumption during cruise flight conditions by making small modifications...
It's elemental: Accurate analysis of Earth's core with molecular dynamics simulation
(Phys.org)—Accurately determining the relative percentages of the elements comprising the Earth's core and mantle which formed early – that is, within 30 Ma (megaannum, or million years) after the solar system itself formed...
Early Alzheimer’s diagnosis compound
A tracer that binds to Alzheimer’s plaques and shows up on medical imaging techniques
Laser technique expands capabilities: New system will advance carbon cycling and alternative energy research
Using short pulses from an ultraviolet laser, scientists are able to fracture organic samples that can be measured to produce a stable-isotope ratio. This ratio has applications in forensics and...
Novel ways of substituting critical raw materials
How to be more resourceful is a dilemma facing us all as we strive to reduce, reuse, recycle and substitute. Now an EU project is focusing on the latter with...
Analysis of Marcellus flowback finds high levels of ancient brines
Brine water that flows back from gas wells in the Marcellus Shale region after hydraulic fracturing is many times more salty than seawater, with high contents of various elements, including...
Schrödinger's cat has a light touch: Quantum physics used to observe delicate systems
A new paper introduces a novel way to observe very delicate bodies based on quantum physics. Researchers in Spain have shown that groups of photons organized in certain quantum states...
'Sandwich chips' combining the best of two technologies
Two Leibniz institutes in Germany broke new technological ground and successfully combined their – up to now separate – technology worlds. Due to their high performance the novel chips developed...
Metamaterials experts show a way to reduce electrons' effective mass to nearly zero
The field of metamaterials involves augmenting materials with specially designed patterns, enabling those materials to manipulate electromagnetic waves and fields in previously impossible ways. Now, researchers from the University of...
Low-frequency radio emissions from high-altitude sprite discharge
When lightning strikes from a towering cumulonimbus cloud down to the ground, the electrical discharge can perturb the atmosphere's electric field, potentially triggering a second event-sprite discharge. This more elusive...