Latest science news in Physics & Chemistry
New Mobile Lab Allows Researchers To Study Air Quality, Health Effects
A new mobile air research laboratory will help a team of researchers better understand the damaging health effects of air pollution and why certain airborne particles -- emitted from industrial...
Nanotechnology used in biofuel processing
RUSTON, La., Oct. 12 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they are using nanotechnology to improve the cellulosic ethanol processes involved in producing biofuels.
Toward Better Solar Cells: Chemists Gain Control Of Light-harvesting Paths
Chemists have pioneered a method to tease out promising molecular structures for capturing energy, a step that could speed the development of more efficient, cheaper solar cells.
Replicated - Butterfly Wings On A Nano Scale
Researchers have developed a technique to replicate biological structures, such as butterfly wings, except on a nano scale and the resulting biomaterial could also be used to make optically active...
Physicists Measure Elusive ‘Persistent Current’ That Flows Forever
Physicists have made the first definitive measurements of “persistent current,” a small but perpetual electric current that flows naturally through tiny rings of metal wire even without an external power...
Physicist at atom lab held on terror links
French police arrest a nuclear physicist on suspicion that he had links to terrorist organizations in Algeria, the European Organization for Nuclear Research said Friday.
Wave pumps to fuel desalination plant
FREEPORT, Texas, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- A Texas company says it plans to use energy generated by waves in the Gulf of Mexico to make salt water drinkable.
Atomtronic transistor and diode could advance quantum computing
(PhysOrg.com) -- What if atoms could be used to perform the functions currently the province of electronic devices? The goal of atomtronics is to do just that by creating analogues...
New designs for smarter buildings
After two years of design, experimentation, fund-raising and building, the University of Arizona's Solar Decathlon team has completed construction of its 800-square-foot solar-powered house on the National Mall in Washington,...
New catalyst converts waste CO2 to useful molecules
UK scientists develop super-efficient catalyst to convert waste CO2 from power stations into useful cyclic carbonates
Wasteland and wilderness
(PhysOrg.com) -- Harvard science historian and physicist Peter Galison is using part of his Radcliffe year to explore the intersections of forbidden wilderness and nuclear wasteland.
Large Hadron Collider could test hyperdrive propulsion
(PhysOrg.com) -- The world's most powerful particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), could be used to test the principles behind hyperdrive, a possible future form of spacecraft propulsion that...
Race for Superconductors Shrinks to Nanoscale
(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of researchers from UT Dallas, Clemson University and Yale University are using science on the nanoscale to address one of the most elusive challenges in physics...
Last time carbon dioxide levels were this high: 15 million years ago
You would have to go back at least 15 million years to find carbon dioxide levels on Earth as high as they are today, a UCLA scientist and colleagues report...
Hydrogen milestone could help lower fossil fuel refining costs
(PhysOrg.com) -- Hydrogen researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory have reached a milestone on the road to reducing carbon emissions and protecting the nation against the...
Quantum computing may actually be useful, after all
(PhysOrg.com) -- In recent years, quantum computers have lost some of their luster. In the 1990s, it seemed that they might be able to solve a class of difficult but...
First 'One-way Roads' For Light Could Lead To Simpler Lightwave Technology
Light readily bounces off obstacles in its path. Some of these reflections are captured by our eyes, thus participating in the visual perception of the objects around us. In contrast...
Philips announces breakthrough in fully digital light detection technology
Royal Philips Electronics today announced that its scientists have developed a highly innovative digital silicon photomultiplier technology that will allow faster and more accurate photon (the basic quantum unit of...
Technological devices offer glimpse into future
Nancy Lan-Lan Ma, a student at Keio University in Japan, demonstrates her product, Cheeron++, at the UbiComp in Orlando, Fla. Sorry, Elmo, the dolls of the future are not just...
ARM Announces 45nm SOI Test Chip Results That Demonstrate 40 Percent Power Savings Over Bulk Process
ARM announced at the IEEE SOI Conference, Foster City, Calif., the results from a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) 45nm test chip that demonstrate potential power savings of up to 40 percent over...
Mindjet boosts online collaboration with Catalyst
US technology firm Mindjet has unleashed a Catalyst technology platform that "attacks a major problem" in business by helping turn online brainstorming sessions into real-world results.
Dot Earth: Africa’s Devastating Drought
Millions face starvation in a broad stretch of Kenya and Somalia scorched by drought.
Color-changing roof tiles absorb heat in winter, reflect it in summer
(PhysOrg.com) -- Anyone who has ever stepped barefoot onto blacktop pavement on a hot sunny day knows the phenomenon very well: Black surfaces absorb the sun's heat very efficiently, producing...
Companies Strike Deal on Testing for E. Coli
Beef trimmings from one company will be tested before they are mixed with others.
Israel Gelfand, Math Giant, Dies at 96
Dr. Gelfand’s pioneering work in many areas has proved crucial in quantum mechanics, M.R.I. imaging and CAT scans.
Penn State Advanced Vehicle Team unveils its new set of wheels
(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of Penn State engineering students recently took delivery of a 2009 Saturn Vue that will be used in an advanced vehicle technology engineering contest sponsored by...
World's First All-Electric Locomotive Has Over 1,000 Batteries, Runs 24 Hours On a Single Charge
Norfolk Southern is the latest company to push a piece of heavy industrial machinery into green territory with their 100% electric NS 999 locomotive. The zero-emissions train makes use of...
New NIST database on gas hydrates to aid energy and climate research
The National Institute of Standards and Technology has developed a free, online collection of data on the properties of gas hydrates, naturally occurring crystalline materials that are a potential energy...