Latest science news in Physics & Chemistry
Nanotechnologists reveal the frictional characteristics of atomically thin sheets
Nanotechnology researchers have used friction force microscopy to determine the nanoscale frictional characteristics of four atomically-thin materials, discovering a universal characteristic for these very different materials. Friction across these thin...
MIT makes significant step toward lightweight batteries
A team of researchers at MIT has made significant progress on a technology that could lead to batteries with up to three times the energy density of any battery that...
How are droplets displaced by ultrasounds?
Understanding the physical mechanisms that enable a droplet to be displaced by propagating an acoustic wave along the substrate on which it lies is the hurdle that has just been...
Broadband used in ocean images
FALMOUTH, Mass., April 2 (UPI) -- Two advanced broadband acoustic systems will help oceanographers pinpoint tiny zooplankton even in rough seas, scientists in Massachusetts said.
NIST racetrack ion trap is a contender in quantum computing quest
Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have built and tested a device for trapping electrically charged atoms (ions) that potentially could process dozens of ions at...
NIST scientists address 'wrinkles' in transparent film development
A closer look at a promising nanotube coating that might one day improve solar cells has turned up a few unexpected wrinkles, according to new research conducted at the National...
NIST researchers holding steady in an atomic-scale tug-of-war
How hard do you have to pull on a single atom of - let's say - gold to detach it from the end of a chain of like atoms? It's...
Nanoscale 'stealth' probe slides into cell walls seamlessly, say Stanford engineers
A nanometre-scale probe designed to slip into a cell wall and fuse with it could offer researchers a portal for extended eavesdropping on the inner electrical activity of individual cells...
Paintable electronics? NIST studies spray-on manufacturing of transistors
A multidisciplinary research team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has found that an organic semiconductor may be a viable candidate for creating large-area electronics, such as...
Melamine in milk: Tiny gold particles help researchers find protein impostor
Researchers have developed a fast, economical and easy method to detect melamine in milk, using gold nanoparticles.
New models for optimizing mission control of unmanned aerial vehicles
Engineers are working on a theoretical approach to improve automated mission control and decision-making for fleets of unmanned aerial vehicles.
Chemists Identify New Way to Create Photovoltaic Devices
(PhysOrg.com) -- A promising new polymer-based method for creating photovoltaic devices, which convert sunlight into electricity, has been identified by chemists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Their new technique...
Smoke alarms + sprinklers + closed doors = lives saved in dorm fires
Experimenting on a university dormitory that was scheduled to be torn down, fire researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated that the correct...
Electrical Nerve Hacking Restores Movement To Paralyzed Limbs
When Matthew Schiefer, a neural engineer at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, first managed to stimulate the leg of an unconscious volunteer by wrapping an electrode around a nerve bundle, he...
Beyond the quantum limit: Scientists create multi-particle entanglement of atoms in a Bose-Einstein condensate on a microchip
The microcosm, the realm of quantum physics, is ruled by probability and chance. The behavior of quantum particles cannot be predicted with certainty but only with certain probabilities given by...
Artificial muscles push on through
French scientists have designed a new type of polymer actuator that can push and pull instead of bending
Report: Iraqi oil output goals ambitious
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 1 (UPI) -- Iraqi plans to boost oil production to 12 million barrels per day are incredibly ambitious, a report by IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates...
Moscow, Caracas join forces in oil
CARACAS, Venezuela, April 1 (UPI) -- Moscow and Caracas signed a deal to form a joint venture to develop Venezuela's Junin-6 block in one of the largest fields outside...
Physicists demonstrate 100-fold speed increase in optical quantum memory
(PhysOrg.com) -- As with today's computers, future quantum computers will require more than just quantum information processing; they will also require methods to store and retrieve the quantum information. For...
CDF Discovers The Graviton!
The CDF Collaboration blessed yesterday afternoon the results of a search for massive Gravitons decaying into pairs of Z bosons. And it is a startling new result! Usually after a blessing...
Some Choices Are Better Than Others in Studying the Universal Solvent
By mixing and matching choices from a buffet of 30 to 70 options, scientists are modeling water's behavior in surface and subsurface reactions and in heterogeneous atmospheric processes such as...
Huge solar powered plane takes to the air (w/ Video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- A huge airplane using solar cells as its only power source is being tested in Switzerland. In its first successful test flight last December, the plane flew only...
CT and MRI scans associated with shorter hospital stays and decreased costs
Advanced imaging techniques such as computed tomography (CT) scans and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) might shorten the length of a person's hospital stay and decrease the high costs associated with...
Carbon nanostructures - elixir or poison?
A Los Alamos National Laboratory toxicologist and a multidisciplinary team of researchers have documented potential cellular damage from 'fullerenes' - soccer-ball-shaped, cage-like molecules composed of 60 carbon atoms. The team...
Next Big Thing: Literary Scholars Turn to Science
Some scholars are turning to M.R.I.’s and evolutionary theory to explore how and why people read fiction.
Study shows experiences are better than possessions
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new Cornell study finds that lust for material things fade but our unique experiences remain with us for a long time.
Radical research changes lab-on-a-chip design
(PhysOrg.com) -- A University of Alberta mechanical engineering professor has developed a new model that could revolutionize the design of hand-held devices that provide reliable, nearly instant medical or environmental...
South Korea-Jordan sign $130M nuclear deal
SEOUL, March 31 (UPI) -- A South Korean consortium led by state-run Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute and Daewoo Engineering and Construction Company struck a $130 million deal Tuesday...