Latest science news in Physics & Chemistry
The lightest electromagnetic shielding material in the world
Electric motors and electronic devices generate electromagnetic fields that sometimes have to be shielded in order not to affect neighboring electronic components or the transmission of signals. High-frequency electromagnetic fields...
BFI London Film Festival 2020 to have online, physical events
The BFI London Film Festival will have a hybrid format of digital and live screenings due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Fantastic WiFi extenders and boosters for every space
Be able to surf the web from your backyard. (hamza tighza via Unsplash/)It’s easy to take WiFi for granted until your devices refuse to connect to an available network. Though wireless internet access...
Spintronics: Faster data processing through ultrashort electric pulses
Physicists at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and Lanzhou University in China developed a simple concept that could significantly improve magnetic-based data processing. Using ultrashort electric pulses in the terahertz...
Looping X-rays to produce higher quality laser pulses
Ever since 1960, when Theodore Maiman built the world's first infrared laser, physicists dreamed of producing X-ray laser pulses that are capable of probing the ultrashort and ultrafast scales of...
Ion conducting polymer crucial to improving neuromorphic devices
''Neuromorphic'' refers to mimicking the behavior of brain neural cells. When one speaks of neuromorphic computers, they are talking about making computers think and process more like human brains-operating at...
Spintronics: Faster data processing through ultrashort electric pulses
Physicists have developed a simple concept that could improve significantly magnetic-based data processing. Using ultrashort electric pulses in the terahertz range, data can be written, read and erased very quickly....
Just add nano-materials for stronger, tougher diving fins
Adding microscopic nano-materials to carbon fibre composites has resulted in stronger, tougher fins for divers. A space material company teamed up with a market leader in the design and production...
Flexible material shows potential for use in fabrics to heat, cool
A film made of tiny carbon nanotubes (CNT) may be a key material in developing clothing that can heat or cool the wearer on demand. A new North Carolina State...
Fluorine enables separation-free 'chiral chromatographic analysis'
Researchers from the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences recently developed a new platform for rapid chiral analysis, producing chromatogram-like output without the need for...
A path to new nanofluidic devices applying spintronics technology
Researchers in the ERATO Saitoh Spin Quantum Rectification Project in the JST Strategic Basic Research Programs have elucidated the mechanism of the hydrodynamic power generation using spin currents in micrometer-scale...
A three-dimensional phase diagram of heavy-fermion compound with coexisting quantum phases
URu2Si2 is a metal that belongs to the family of heavy-fermion compounds in which several quantum phases (e.g., magnetism and superconductivity) can compete or coexist. These metals exhibit small energy...
Thermophones offer new route to radically simplify array design, research shows
Scientists have pioneered a new technique to produce arrays of sound produced entirely by heat.
Complexity of human tooth enamel revealed at atomic level in NIH-funded study
Scientists used a combination of advanced microscopy and chemical detection techniques to uncover the structural makeup of human tooth enamel at unprecedented atomic resolution, revealing lattice patterns and unexpected irregularities....
Quantum fluctuations can jiggle objects on the human scale
The universe, as seen through the lens of quantum mechanics, is a noisy, crackling space where particles blink constantly in and out of existence, creating a background of quantum noise...
P.E.I. fishermen surrounded by 'thousands' of jellyfish
Fishermen on P.E.I. are noticing a high concentration of lion's mane jellyfish.
Researchers fabricate polyacrylonitrile-derived carbon films and fibers at high temperature
Superman can squeeze a lump of coal and turn it into a sparkling diamond—in comic books, anyway. There is some scientific validity to this fictional feat. Coal and diamonds are...
Materials scientists drill down to vulnerabilities involved in human tooth decay
Researchers have cracked one of the secrets of tooth decay. The materials scientists are the first to identify a small number of impurity atoms in human enamel that may contribute...
'Hybrid' Quantum Networking Demonstrated for First Time
By exploiting the wave-and-particle-like nature of light, a new technique offers the best of both worlds -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
Just add nano-materials for stronger, tougher diving fins
Adding microscopic nano-materials to carbon fibre composites has resulted in stronger, tougher fins for divers. A space material company teamed up with a market leader in the design and production...
On This Day, July 2: Greece joins World War I
On July 2, 1917, Greece declared war on the Central Powers, joining World War I on the side of Britain, France, Russia and Italy.
Jellyfish-inspired soft robots can outswim their natural counterparts
Engineering researchers have developed soft robots inspired by jellyfish that can outswim their real-life counterparts. More practically, the new jellyfish-bots highlight a technique that uses pre-stressed polymers to make soft...
Self-replicating molecules catalyze multiple reactions
The chemical system is a step to developing synthetic life
Material research: New chemistry for ultra-thin gas sensors
The application of zinc oxide layers in industry is manifold and ranges from the protection of degradable goods to the detection of toxic nitrogen oxide gas. Such layers can be...
Scientists use a Teflon pipe to make a cheap, simple reactor for silica particle synthesis
The synthesis of silica particles, used in bioimaging and drug delivery, could become considerably cheaper and more efficient by adopting a new flow synthesis method which involves a spiral channel...
Tabletop quantum experiment could detect gravitational waves
Tiny diamond crystals could be used as an incredibly sensitive and small gravitational detector capable of measuring gravitational waves, suggests new research.
Man with metal detector finds surfer's lost wedding ring
A New Zealand surfer who dropped his wedding ring into the ocean was reunited with the precious possession with help from a stranger with a metal detector.
Building a harder diamond
Scientists create a theoretical carbon-based material that would be even harder than diamond. This work may have industrial applications for cutting and polishing in place of current synthetic diamond.