Latest science news in Physics & Chemistry
Discovery Of An Unexpected Boost For Solar Water-splitting Cells
Scientists have discovered, serendipitously, that a residue of a process used to build arrays of titania nanotubes -- a residue that wasn't even noticed before this -- plays an important...
Chemists Make New Chiral Palladium Metal
Researchers in the Netherlands have succeeded in making the first ever piece of chiral palladium metal. The findings are significant because they lead to an entirely new class of materials....
New 167-processor Chip Is Super-fast, Ultra Energy-efficient
A new, extremely energy-efficient processor chip provides breakthrough speeds for a variety of computing tasks. The chip, dubbed AsAP, is ultra-small, fully reprogrammable and highly configurable, so it can be...
Self-healing Concrete For Safer, More Durable Infrastructure
A newly developed concrete material can heal itself when it cracks. No human intervention is necessary -- just water and carbon dioxide.
Researchers give high marks to new technology for fingerprint identification
Overworked crime scene investigators can take heart at the results of recent tests at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of new technologies that automate the manual portion...
Breaking the ties that bind: New hope for biomass fuels
Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers have discovered a potential chink in the armour of fibres that make the cell walls of certain inedible plant materials so tough. The insight ultimately...
NIST develops powerful method of suppressing errors in many types of quantum computers
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a technique for efficiently suppressing errors in quantum computers. The advance could eventually make it much easier to...
Planck fuels up
System reference tests conducted on Planck at Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, have confirmed that the satellite's subsystems work perfectly, and the helium dilution cooler tanks have now been...
The New TV Remote: Your Bare Hand?
The TV remote control of the future isn't an expensive device with an LCD screen and blinking lights. It's your hand.
The Cold War Moves To Cyberspace
Somewhere in Washington's national security apparatus, more than a few old-timers surely pine for the clarity of the Cold War. But now they face more ephemeral threats from shadowy foes...
Green technologies win �1.4 billion in UK budget
Carbon reduction sees a stimulus #20; but blue-skies research may be at risk.
Many devices don't require a converter
Q. We will be sailing in the Greek Islands on a 32-foot boat in May, and I am wondering how to properly charge our various electronic gadgets -- an e-book...
25 Microchips That Shook the World
These chips unleashed earthshaking technologies and gadgets--and are part of the reason why engineers don't get out enough.
Flight-deck-cleaning 'Zamboni' gives Navy aircraft carriers a cleaner wake (w/Video)
The Navy's newest flight deck cleaning technology cuts grime with the power of a Zamboni and the environmental safety of clean running water.
Robo-Saurus Kills Car
Now for some pure, mindless, energy-wasting fun: watch this outsized mecha crush a car. Good clean family race-track entertainment.
New Research Promises Better Atomic Clocks
(PhysOrg.com) -- The most accurate timekeepers in the world are atomic clocks, which tell time based on the absorption of a very specific and unchanging microwave frequency, which induces electrons...
New Era Of Research Begins As World's First Hard X-ray Laser Achieves 'First Light'
The world's brightest X-ray source sprang to life last week at the U.S. Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) offers researchers the first-ever...
Walgreens among latest pistachio recalls
WASHINGTON, April 22 (UPI) -- The Walgreen Co., operator of the largest U.S. drugstore chain, is among the latest companies recalling possibly tainted pistachio products.
Power steering for your hearing: Ears have tiny 'flexoelectric' motors to amplify sound
Utah and Texas researchers have learned how quiet sounds are magnified by bundles of tiny, hair-like tubes atop "hair cells" in the ear: when the tubes dance back and forth,...
Obituary: Olgierd Zienkiewicz
A civil engineer and pioneer of the finite element met
Rare F.D.A. Meeting to Discuss Complaints on Device Approval
The meeting comes after dissident scientists charged that medical devices were approved over significant and often unanimous objections from scientific reviewers.
NIST Metrology Day Celebrates Measurements in the Market
NIST will celebrate World Metrology Day on May 20 by holding a symposium in Gaithersburg, Md. The symposium will emphasize how measurement science and standards play an everyday role in...
Conference Offers Insight Into Exploration of Nano-sized Electronics
New methods for exploring the behavior of the high-performance electronics materials and devices that will shape the future of the electronics industry will be the focus of the International Conference...
Dark matter could come naturally from quantum gravity
Physicist looks at ‘effective field theory’ to explain the mysterious entity
Implementing Sustainable Technology To Monitor The Integrity Of U.S. Bridges
Researchers are implementing a self-powered monitor system for bridges that can continuously check their condition using wireless sensors that "harvest" power from structural vibration and wind energy.
Sharp Releases Notebook PC with Optical Sensor LCD Pad
Sharp Corporation will release into the Japanese market a new notebook PC employing an optical sensor LCD for the touchpad. Its new touch-sensing recognition method allows handwritten input and intuitive...
World's First X-ray Laser Powers Up
Technology opens new scientific frontiers and a new chapter for a storied lab
Next-Gen Ultrasound
Many of the piezoelectric transducers used for medical ultrasound imaging will soon be replaced with capacitive transducers, which are fabricated using techniques borrowed from the microelectronics industry.