Latest science news in Physics & Chemistry
When Atoms Are Getting Close: Shortest Carbon-chlorine Single Bond Detected
In chemistry as well as in all adjoining sciences, an understanding of chemical bonding is of fundamental importance. Researchers have now been able to detect the shortest single bond ever...
Scientists develop first fully automated pipeline for multiprotein complex production
Most cellular processes are carried out by molecular machines that consist of many interacting proteins. These protein complexes lie at the heart of life science research, but they are notoriously...
WFU researchers are developing a cheaper way to make biodiesel
Biodiesel is not likely to replace gasoline as the main source of transportation fuel in most of our lifetimes. But researchers at Wake Forest University are convinced that they...
Beaming solar energy to algae
Flasks bubble with red- and green-colored concoctions. Across the building, an engineer fiddles with glass rods and flickering fluorescent lights.
DOE to Establish Energy Frontier Research Center at Stony Brook University
Stony Brook University will be home to the new Northeastern Chemical Energy Storage Center (NOCESC), which involves a team of experimentalists and theorists.
Stretchable Nanotube Films May Advance Medical Electronics
(PhysOrg.com) -- One of the issues hindering the development of medical electronic devices capable of being implanted in the human body is the lack of suitable materials. Most semiconducting materials...
China triples wind power capacity goal: report
China has more than tripled its target for wind power capacity to 100 gigawatts by 2020, likely making it the world's fastest growing market for wind energy technology, state press...
Study Finds that Styrofoam Increases Biodiesel Power Output
(PhysOrg.com) -- By dissolving polystyrene packing peanuts in biodiesel, scientists have found that they can boost the power output of the fuel while getting rid of garbage at the same...
Students Make Atari Games Look Like Atari Again
One of the main themes of Racing the Beam is the strong affinity between the Atari VCS and the CRT television. The system was designed around the TV and it...
Atomic Physics Study Sets New Limits On Hypothetical New Particles
Physicists are reporting a refined analysis of experiments on violation of mirror symmetry in atoms that sets new constraints on a hypothesized particle, the extra Z-boson.
Two Argonne Mathematicians Recognized as SIAM Fellows
Hans G. Kaper and Jorge More, both researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, have been named Fellows of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM).
NIST super-sensors to measure 'signature' of inflationary Universe
What happened in the first trillionth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a second after the Big Bang? Super-sensitive microwave detectors, built at the National Institute of Standards and...
Cheap sensor finds pollutants
A team of researchers have developed a low-cost way to test for agricultural water contaminants, such as pesticide residues.
Quantum Ghosts Are Helpful
Physicists have harnessed the phenomenon, "spooky action at a distance," to shed light on another unusual and previously difficult aspect of quantum physics -- that of distinguishing between two similar...
'Smart turbine blades' to improve wind power
Researchers have developed a technique that uses sensors and computational software to constantly monitor forces exerted on wind turbine blades, a step toward improving efficiency by adjusting for rapidly changing...
Seeking to Save the Planet, With a Thesaurus
“Global warming” becomes “deteriorating atmosphere” as environmental marketers attempt to literally change the terms of the climate debate.
Highlights of APS Meeting in Denver, May 2-5, 2009
The April Meeting of the American Physical Society (APS) will take place from May 2-5, 2009 at the Sheraton Denver Hotel in downtown Denver. This is the second of the...
Gel-Based Glue Fastens Snails to Wet Surfaces, Model for Surgical Adhesive
A species of slug (Arion subfuscus) produces a defensive gel it can chemically convert into a remarkably strong glue. Similar gel-based glues attach some snails firmly onto slippery rocks; tools...
Frozen helium-4 may be an unusual 'superglass'
(PhysOrg.com) -- When helium is cooled to around 4 degrees above absolute zero, it turns liquid. Make it a couple of degrees cooler, and it becomes a "superfluid" that flows...
Students Design Low-Cost Surgical Lamp for Developing Nations
Engineering students have developed a low-cost, battery-powered surgical lamp to be used in developing nations where electricity isn't reliable.
Collective Behavior In Chemistry
Scientists note that the oscillating Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction requires a requisite number of particles to get started
Huge pores in zeolite molecular sieve
Researchers have synthesised a new zeolite-based crystalline molecular sieve that is chiral and almost mesoporous
Nanocolloids identify blood clots
US and UK scientists have discovered a safer contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging
Efficient solar cells could work in tandem
An efficient new dye-based solar energy system could built into a doubly-active solar cell
Hydrogen fuel tank gets cooler and cleaner
Researchers solve problems to improve performance of ammonia borane as a hydrogen storage material
'Self-healing' Polymer May Facilitate Recycling Of Hard-to-dispose Plastic
Researchers in The Netherlands are reporting development of a new plastic with potential for use in the first easy-to-recycle computer circuit boards, electrical insulation, and other electronics products that now...
Synthesis with a template
The discovery of a soccer-ball-shaped molecule made of 60 carbon atoms was a minor revolution in chemistry: Fullerenes are spherical, highly symmetrical molecules made of carbon atoms, and are the...
Slide Show: 10 Things You Should Know about Toyota's New Prius Hybrid
I say "hybrid car"; you say "Prius." Toyota's fuel-sipping sedan has become iconic for gasoline–electric hybrid technology, so much so that the model seems to cast a green aura over...