Latest science news in Physics & Chemistry
Lightning-produced radiation a potential health concern for air travelers
New information about lightning-emitted X-rays, gamma rays and high-energy electrons during thunderstorms is prompting scientists to raise concerns about the potential for airline passengers and crews to be exposed to...
Scientists say paper battery could be in the works
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ordinary paper could one day be used as a lightweight battery to power the devices that are now enabling the printed word to be eclipsed by e-mail,...
Fine-tuned laser: Step toward airport scanners that can identify explosives
Engineers have developed the first practical method for tuning terahertz quantum cascade lasers. What's more, the method is a fundamentally new approach to laser tuning that could have implications for...
See-through surprise: Lab makes solid material transparent to terahertz waves
Very often in science, the unexpected discovery turns out to be the most significant. Researchers weren't looking for a breakthrough in the transmission of terahertz signals, but there it was:...
Low emissions diesel truck engine created
MUNICH, Germany, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- German scientists say they have developed a diesel truck engine that emits barely measurable emissions.
Shale gas a game changer?
WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Technology used to exploit natural gas locked in shale deposits could transform the geopolitical dynamics in the global energy sector, a U.S. analyst suggests.
Self-destructing bacteria improve renewable biofuel production
An Arizona State University research team has developed a process that removes a key obstacle to producing lower-cost, renewable biofuels. The team has programmed a photosynthetic microbe to self-destruct,...
New platinum compound shows promise in tumour cells
MIT chemists have developed a new platinum compound that is as powerful as the commonly used anticancer drug cisplatin but better able to destroy tumour cells...
Metamaterials could reduce friction in nanomachines
Nanoscale machines expected to have wide application in industry, energy, medicine and other fields may someday operate far more efficiently thanks to important theoretical discoveries concerning the manipulation of famous...
Metal atoms in carbon nanotubes caught on film
High-resolution electron microscopy films individual metal atoms as they move around and react inside a carbon nanotube
Super cool atom thermometer: New, reliable ways of measuring extreme low temperatures
Physicists have devised a thermometer that can potentially measure temperatures as low as tens of trillionths of a degree above absolute zero.
World's smallest semiconductor laser to have big impact in computing, bio-hazard detection
Researchers have demonstrated the world's smallest semiconductor laser, which may have applications to the Air Force in communications, computing and bio-hazard detection.
Observatory: New Materials May Aid in Capturing Carbon
Chemists say a new class of materials called metal-organic frameworks hold promise for carbon capture.
Pulitzer Board elects Politico co-founder
(AP) -- The Pulitzer Prize Board has elected its first member representing a primarily online news organization, keeping in step with the board's recent decision to allow entries from...
Researchers demonstrate nanoscale X-ray imaging of bacterial cells
An ultra-high-resolution imaging technique using X-ray diffraction is a step closer to fulfilling its promise as a window on nanometer-scale structures in biological samples. In the Proceedings of the National...
Snowflake chemistry could give clues about ozone depletion
There is more to the snowflake than its ability to delight schoolchildren and snarl traffic.
Breakthrough in 'spintronics' could lead to energy efficient chips
Scientists have succeeded in transferring magnetic information directly into a semiconductor. For the first time, this is achieved at room temperature. This breakthrough brings the development of a more energy...
Singh, Medvedev discuss energy
MOSCOW, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- India and Russia should pursue bilateral cooperation in developing the hydrocarbon and nuclear sector, the Indian prime minister said in Moscow.
MIT takes step toward airport scanners that can identify explosives
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- For more than 30 years, scientists have been trying to harness the power of terahertz radiation. Tucked between microwaves and infrared rays on the electromagnetic spectrum,...
Energy savings an energy source -- Exxon
DOHA, Qatar, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Efforts to expand the use of efficient energy technology may save the world more than 100 million barrels of oil by 2030, Exxon...
Space technology optimises windmill efficiency
(PhysOrg.com) -- A French start-up company from ESA's Business Incubation Centre in the Netherlands has developed a small instrument to measure wind speed and direction from the ground up to...
Using lasers to cool and manipulate molecules
(PhysOrg.com) -- "For years, we have been using laser cooling to trap and manipulate atoms," David DeMille tells PhysOrg.com. "This has been very useful for both basic science and many...
Diamond scope sees smaller
No microscope can see a single protein – but a researcher is working on it, using nano-diamonds sensitive to magnetic fields.
Rethinking artificial intelligence
The field of artificial-intelligence research (AI), founded more than 50 years ago, seems to many researchers to have spent much of that time wandering in the wilderness, swapping hugely ambitious goals for a...
Lab on a piece of paper
A cheap and disposable microfluidic device can test if water is safe to drink
Brain waves can 'write' on a computer in early tests, researchers show
Neuroscientists have demonstrated how brain waves can be used to type alphanumerical characters on a computer screen. By merely focusing on the "q" in a matrix of letters, for example,...
Geothermal Power Heats Up on U.S. Campuses
Schools Across the Country Are Using Federal Stimulus Funds to Advance Alternative Energy Projects
Scientists build 'single-atom transistor'
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers from Helsinki University of Technology (Finland), University of New South Wales (Australia), and University of Melbourne (Australia) have succeeded in building a working transistor, whose active region...