Latest science news in Physics & Chemistry
Shale gas could redefine energy, BP says
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Extracting natural gas from shale rocks could redefine the energy sector in the United States during the next century, oil executives said in...
National Ignition Facility achieves unprecedented 1 megajoule laser shot
Scientists at the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have successfully delivered an historic level of laser energy -- more than 1 megajoule -- to a target in...
Using magnetic toys as inspiration, researchers tease out structures of self-assembled clusters
Scientists have long studied how atoms and molecules structure themselves into intricate clusters. Unlocking the design secrets of Nature offers lessons in engineering artificial systems that could self-assemble into any...
How many argon atoms can fit on the surface of a carbon nanotube?
Phase transitions - changes of matter from one state to another without altering its chemical makeup - are an important part of life in our three-dimensional world. Water falls to...
Honda Begins Operation of New Solar Hydrogen Station in LA
Honda began operation of a next generation solar hydrogen station prototype at the Los Angeles Center of Honda R&D Americas, intended for ultimate use as a home refueling appliance capable...
Epson Develops Graphics Engine-Equipped Application Processor for Effortlessly Rendering Screens
Seiko Epson Corporation today announced it has developed and begun shipping samples of the S1C33L26, an application processor ideal for product applications requiring high-resolution liquid crystal displays (LCDs), such as...
Lens with 'Super Resolution' Could Improve Medical Imaging Applications
(PhysOrg.com) -- Some of the most recent research in imaging involves metamaterials, the synthetic materials that possess properties that are not observed in nature. Metamaterials are structured materials, in the...
TMS Announces Staff Changes in Executive Department Restructuring
The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) has restructured its executive department through the creation of two new staff positions.
US helium strategy threatens supply
The US should change how helium is sold from its federal stockpile to remove influence over world markets and avert national shortages
Better batteries with nano-cables
Bright future for high-capacity Li-ion batteries from titanium dioxide coated carbon nanotubes
Physicists Investigate Possibility of an 'Unhiggs'
(PhysOrg.com) -- One of the biggest goals of the LHC is to discover the Higgs boson, the only particle in the Standard Model that has not yet been observed. In...
Engineering Team Explores Power of the Mind; Testing How Mere Thoughts Can Operate Computers and More
Rowan U engineering team is exploring brain/computer interfaces, with an eye to many future applications in health and security areas.
Russia finds 'strategic' oil deposit
MOSCOW, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Russian oil producer Rosneft uncovered a giant oil field in East Siberia with more than 1 billion barrels of oil, the Russian natural resources...
PetroChina leads Iraqi team at Halfaya
BAGHDAD, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- PetroChina Co. led a consortium to sign a 20-year contract with its partners in Iraq to develop the Halfaya oil field in southeastern Maysan...
With a Little Help, E. Coli Turns Biomass Directly to Biodiesel
We know how to convert biomass to biodiesel, but the economics of doing so makes many prevailing methods of doing so expensive and unfeasible, keeping an alternative-fueled future just out of reach. But...
Power-generating rubber film developed
PRINCETON, N.J., Jan. 28 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they have developed power-generating rubber film that can harness body movements to power devices such as pacemakers and cellphones.
Digital quantum batteries inspired by plasma TVs
(PhysOrg.com) -- Plasma TVs are notorious for their excessive use of electricity, but the same principle used to produce high definition pictures in the TVs could result in the development...
New AAAS Fellow Takes the Wheel on Researching Greener Autos
According to one Ryerson University researcher and newly elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the key to greener vehicles is found in magnesium alloys.
DuPont Plant Investigation
Fatal Accident: Safety board begins probe of phosgene leak.
Wireless optical transmission key to secure, safe and rapid indoor communications
Light is better than radio waves when it comes to some wireless communications, according to Penn State engineers. Optical communications systems could provide faster, more secure communications with wider bandwidth...
Cracking carbon-carbon bonds
US chemists discover a tungsten complex that can break a strong carbon-carbon bond in an aromatic ring
Cosmic Log: Bacteria rebuilt to make oil
Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: Researchers have engineered a common strain of bacteria to produce diesel fuel and other goodies from plain old plants. Diesel fuel...
Decorated with Electric Current, Nanoribbons Align with Expectations
(PhysOrg.com) -- A bizarre substance predicted to shrink electronics and give quantum physicists a new tabletop toy behaves pretty much as its designers expected.
Bill Gates's Hidden Dreams of Geoengineering Revealed
The Microsoft chairman, it turns out, has a small history of dabbling in climate-altering schemes Bill Gates has already proven his interest in geoengineering schemes with his earlier co-patent filing for reducing the...
Toyota's acceleration issue 'not a simple problem'
Toyota's halt of sales and production of eight vehicle models over the risk of sudden acceleration is "unprecedented" and will likely take more than a week to sort out, says...
Running barefoot eases impacts: researcher
Barefoot seems better for the feet, producing far less impact stress compared with feet shod in fancy, expensive running shoes, according to a study.
Norwegian firm seeks to charge into US electric car market
With a jump-start from a new quick charging system, Norwegian electric carmaker THINK is taking aim at the US market with a new assembly facility set to begin operations later...
Eni, PDVSA move on Orinoco belt
CARACAS, Venezuela, Jan. 27 (UPI) -- Italian energy giant Eni announced it formed a joint venture with Petroleos de Venezuela to develop the Orinoco belt, the world's largest deposit...