Latest science news in Physics & Chemistry
Vehicle pools for goods
'Have you got a spare seat on the journey to Berlin?' Many weekend commuters use opportunities to travel together, instead of driving alone. It's more companionable and saves petrol, money...
Molecules wrestle for supremacy in creation of superstructures
Research at the University of Liverpool has found how mirror-image molecules gain control over each other and dictate the physical state of superstructures...
Camera Flash Turns An Insulating Material Into A Conductor
An insulator can now be transformed to conduct electricity by an ordinary camera flash. Researchers have found a new way of turning graphite oxide -- a low-cost insulator made by...
One Nano-step Closer To Weighing A Single Atom
By studying gold nanoparticles with highly uniform sizes and shapes, scientists now understand how they lose energy, a key step towards producing nanoscale detectors for weighing any single atom.
'Hidden Portal' Concept Described: First Tunable Electromagnetic Gateway
While the researchers can't promise delivery to a parallel universe or a school for wizards, books like Pullman's Dark Materials and JK Rowling's Harry Potter are steps closer to reality...
Energy efficient sewage plants
High-rate digestion with microfiltration is state-of-the-art in large sewage plants. It effectively removes accumulated sludge and produces biogas to generate energy. A study now reveals that even small plants can...
UNC Football Team Pops Temp-Taking Pills To Help Establish Heat-Concussion Link
Football players at the University of North Carolina are changing up their diet regimens to include vitamin-sized pills containing batteries, thermometers, and radio transmitters. The CorTemp capsule that 18 Tarheel players took this...
Isotope reactor won't restart until spring 2010
Some Canadian nuclear medicine specialists are concerned that the idled reactor at Chalk River won't ever be able to produce a reliable supply of medical isotopes again.
Tasting the Light: Device Lets Blind "See" with Their Tongues
Neuroscientist Paul Bach-y-Rita hypothesized in the 1960s that "we see with our brains not our eyes." Now, a new device trades on that thinking and aims to partially restore the experience of vision...
Math proves system core reliable
Researchers have created a ‘kernel’ – the basis of a computer’s operating system – that is big enough to be useful, but proven reliable with math.
Physicists hold their breath as LHC prepares to rise from the ashes
If all goes to plan, the LHC will come back to life in November. Sam Wong explains the measures being taken to prevent another catastrophic failure, and gauges the mood of physicists at...
'Printed chips' could be boon for consumers
Until now, creating the microchips that power all of our electronic gadgets has been a laborious, complex and time-consuming process costing billions of dollars. But if a Milpitas, Calif.-based startup...
New LED lights have a bright future for communication
Imagine a world where bright, energy sipping, cheap, durable LEDs light the world. A world where if you have enough light to see, you are connected.
Listening to the Price of Power: New Thermostats Could Save Billions
A new generation of inexpensive programmable thermostats with the capacity to communicate may provide a simple and versatile tool for addressing California`s complex, billion-dollar summer peak energy demand problems. Engineering...
Highlight: Mechanical energy dissipation in ultrananocrystalline diamond microresonators
Researchers in the Nanofabrication and Devices group at the Argonne National Laboratory, in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania, Advanced Diamond Technologies Inc., and Innovative Micro Technology, have discovered that...
New lasers drive powerful applications
(PhysOrg.com) -- Telecoms, healthcare and display technology will be the major beneficiaries of a new generation of semiconductor lasers developed in a massive European research effort. Better cancer treatment, wider...
Keeping our sights on big breakers with radar
Scientists of the Geesthacht GKSS Research Centre have developed a radar system with which it is possible to study the behaviour of sea waves. This technology will be used immediately...
New catalyst for methane to methanol
Solid catalyst could overcome some of the recovery problems associated with homogeneous systems for methanol production from methane
Bend-But-Don't-Break is Chemist's Area of Expertise
University of Wisconsin-Madison chemist studies one of plastic's most intriguing qualities — how they can bend without breaking.
Grad Student Researches Improvised Explosive Devices by Making His Own
Phillip Mulligan is trying to make improvised explosive devices more powerful with the idea of eventually making them less deadly.
Five Lessons for Dangerous Living With Bill Gurstelle
I learned a lot of interesting scientific facts while writing Absinthe and Flamethrowers: Projects and Ruminations on the Art of Living Dangerously. Here are five ways to (safely) add a little danger to...
After bloody revolution: Bringing science back to Liberian classrooms
Adam Cohen and Ben Rapoport needed materials to conduct a science experiment, but supplies were hard to come by. read more
Unified Field Theory
As an alternative to Quantum Theory there is a new theory that describes and explains the mysteries of physical reality. While not disrespecting the value of Quantum Mechanics as a...
Leading Society for 'Everything Material' Names 2009 Awards Recipients
To celebrate the distinguished achievements of leaders in the field of materials science and engineering, the Board of Trustees of ASM International (the materials information society) has named its 2009...
How the humble leaf could power the planet
Researchers at Imperial College London embark on 'artificial leaf' project to produce power by mimicking photosynthesis
Scandinavian Fuel Cell Can Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions From Goods Transport
The fuels cell that four Scandinavian industrial companies are developing could supply power to trailers and fork-lift trucks.
First Report from New Nuclear Energy Standards Group Released
NIST and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) have published a report on the inaugural meeting of the Nuclear Energy Standards Coordination Collaborative (NESCC), a new ANSI Standards Panel, co-chaired...
GM: Volt Will Get 230 MPG in City
Rechargeable Electric Car Would Have More Than 4 Times the Mileage of Current Leader; EPA Confirmation Awaits