Latest science news in Physics & Chemistry
Energy researchers find Obama an eager student
During a tour of MIT labs prior to his talk at Kresge Auditorium last Friday, President Barack Obama saw demonstrations of several clean-energy technologies being developed at MIT: batteries that can be self-assembled...
Preliminary run held at CERN collider
GENEVA, Switzerland, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Scientists have quietly moved to power up the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland for a second time, officials say.
Japan leads solar car race
A team of Japanese from Tokai University continued to lead the solar car race in Australia
What Does a Futuristic, "Smart" Grid Look Like? How Would It Function?
For questions about what a modern "smart" grid would look like or how it would function, please consider the research expertise of Alan Mantooth, professor of electrical engineering and executive...
Plugging into an electric vehicle revolution
A road trial of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), which could one day end up in every Australian driveway, is underway. Over the next three months, staff from Victorian energy...
Cancer research gets physical
(PhysOrg.com) -- Cancer research has traditionally been the realm of biologists, and, more recently, engineers. Now, physicists are getting in on the action.
Hidden Costs Of Energy Production And Use
A new report examines and, when possible, estimates "hidden" costs of energy production and use -- such as the damage air pollution imposes on human health -- that are not...
Caltech scientists first to trap light and sound vibrations together in nanocrystal
Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have created a nanoscale crystal device that, for the first time, allows scientists to confine both light and sound vibrations in the...
Art Restoration: Technique Removes Old Polymer Layers From Sensitive Historic Artworks
Italian researchers have developed a technique to effectively remove old polymer layers from sensitive historic artworks. The new cleaning system involves only a tiny proportion of volatile organic compounds.
PhD student solves decade-long mystery of magnetism
(PhysOrg.com) -- A PhD student from the London Centre for Nanotechnology has won a prize for solving a decade-long mystery central to understanding modern magnetic systems.
Shrimps' eyes may lead to new DVD players
BRISTOL, England, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- British scientists say they've found mantis shrimp can see in 12 colors -- humans see in only three -- and can distinguish various...
INL scientist is harnessing the power of plasma
Most schoolchildren learn that everything in the universe is a solid, a liquid or a gas. But those lessons miss the fourth and by far most common state of matter:...
New Japanese glasses bring tears to the eyes
The Japanese eyewear company behind Sarah Palin's designer glasses has come up with a high-tech solution for obsessive video-gamers and bookworms whose eyes dry out from lack of blinking.
Weather Patterns Help Predict Dengue Fever Outbreaks
High temperatures, humidity and low wind speed are associated with high occurrence of dengue fever according to a new study.
Charge your cell phone using light, courtesy SunCore
SunCore is a little known Irvine, Calif.-based company that's on the cusp of shipping some potentially revolutionary technology.
Particles are back in the LHC
During the last weekend (23-25 October) particles have once again entered the LHC after the one-year break that followed the incident of September 2008.
Vibrations Keep Water Out of Lotus Leaves
Droplets literally bounce up out of the surface in laboratory tests.
Cost of solar photovoltaic systems falls
BERKELEY, Calif., Oct. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. government scientists say the installed costs of solar power systems in the nation declined by more than 30 percent between 1998 and...
Baseball in the cold a mental, physical challenge
Baseball fans looking over the equipment list — balaclavas, tights, parkas, and hand warmers — are forgiven if they think the Phillies and Yankees are headed for a ski vacation.
Designer molecule detects cyanide
BLOOMINGTON, Ind., Oct. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say they have developed a small molecule that detects cyanide in water samples and then glows under ultraviolet or "black" light.
Going Plasmonic In Search Of Faster Computing, Communications
Researchers have demonstrated some of the first commercially viable plasmonic devices, paving the way for a new era of high-speed communications and computing in which electronic and optical signals can...
Arpa-E, Government's Mad Science Lab for Energy, Funds First Projects
Like Darpa on the military side, the new agency for stoking energy innovation awards $151 million to big ideas Darpa's addiction to out-of-this world schemes has rubbed off in the best way...
New molecules created by UC Riverside chemists have wide applications
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have successfully created in the laboratory a class of carbenes, highly reactive molecules, used to make catalysts - substances that facilitate chemical reactions....
Opinion: The future of sustainable energy
Martin Nicholson evaluates various types of sustainable energies available today - and how far into the future they will take us.
Berkeley researchers create first hyperlens for sound waves
Ultrasound and underwater sonar devices could 'see' a big improvement thanks to development of the world's first acoustic hyperlens. Created by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley...
Study shows how carbon nanotubes can affect lining of the lungs
Carbon nanotubes are being considered for use in everything from sports equipment to medical applications, but a great deal remains unknown about whether these materials cause respiratory or other health...
Polymer May Allow Soldiers With Artificial Limbs To Feel Heat, Cold, Touch
Current prosthetics may look natural, but they're still primitive -- offering patients no real neurological control other than opening or closing their hand. But for U.S. soldiers who have lost...
Japanese automakers rev up efforts in hydrogen cars
Imagine a car that can be refuelled in minutes but emits only water. Sounds like science fiction? In fact it already exists -- Hollywood star Jamie Lee Curtis has one....