Reflections on Three Mile Island 30 years later

Thirty years ago today, March 28, 1979, with a former nuclear engineer in the White House and a newly-elected governor in Harrisburg, PA, the United States faced a crisis when...

New Biometric ID: A Quick X-ray Snapshot Of A Person's Knees

Forget LED thumb-pad identification devices, complex retinal laser scanning, or even computerized iris recognition. The way forward for biometric validation is a quick X-ray snapshot of a person's knees, according...

New nanogenerator may charge iPods and cell phones with a wave of the hand

Imagine if all you had to do to charge your iPod or your BlackBerry was to wave your hand, or stretch your arm, or take a walk? You could say...

Fitter frames: Nanotubes boost structural integrity of composites

A new research discovery at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute could lead to tougher, more durable composite frames for aircraft, watercraft, and automobiles. >Epoxy composites are increasingly being incorporated into the design...

Transforming medical diagnosis with new scanning technology

A new technology which dramatically improves the sensitivity of Magnetic Resonance techniques including those used in hospital scanners and chemistry laboratories has been developed by scientists at the University of...

Why Is There More Matter Than Antimatter In The Natural World?

Mathematicians have for the first time estimated, from mathematical symmetry arguments, the size of a fundamental imbalance pervading the subatomic world. This imbalance, called the CP violation, distinguishes matter from...

New rotor fault ID technique created

BRAUNSCHWEIG, Germany, March 26 (UPI) -- German scientists say they have developed a technique that enables identification of otherwise invisible faults in rotor blades.

Possible Fifth Force Would Make Direct Detection of Dark Matter Unlikely

(PhysOrg.com) -- No one knows exactly what a `fifth force` might be, but studies have shown that, if a long-range fifth force does exist, it could have surprising effects on...

Hormone-mimics in plastic water bottles -- just the tip of the iceberg?

In an analysis1 of commercially available mineral waters, the researchers found evidence of estrogenic compounds leaching out of the plastic packaging into the water. What's more, these chemicals are potent...

Explosion Video of the Week: TATP

'First economical process' for making biodiesel fuel from algae

Chemists reported development of what they termed the first economical, eco-friendly process to convert algae oil into biodiesel fuel - a discovery they predict could one day lead to U.S....

IT solutions offer cost and climate benefits

Existing information technologies (IT) can produce dramatic reductions in harmful CO2 emissions while fully meeting the demands of today's corporations, two new WWF reports are demonstrating...

Rice fine-tunes attack on cancer

Two lasers may be better than one when attacking cancer cells, according to a paper by Rice University scientists. Yildiz Bayazitoglu, Rice's H.S. Cameron Chair Professor of Mechanical Engineering and...

Light burst reveals new ability

In a recent study, a completely unexpected burst of light showed a new way to manipulate light using existing silicon-based chips.

Crystal Cathedral: OMG! Poser tweets as Schuller

(AP) -- Televangelist Robert H. Schuller has reached millions worldwide with his weekly "Hour of Power" TV broadcasts, but when it comes to the Internet, he had a high-tech...

China's giant step into nanotech

How 2 ... Call back sent e-mail in Gmail

Ever realize you accidentally hit "Reply All" seconds after it was too late? Or forget to send the attachment mentioned in your message? With Gmail's "Undo Send" and "Forgotten Attachment...

Could nanomachines give friction the slip?

The quantum stickiness between very close surfaces produces no drag when they move, researchers claim.

Carbon dioxide forms polymeric materials under high pressure

Carbon dioxide is a molecular gas at ambient conditions and an important consitituent of the Earth`s atmosphere. It is also a likely component in the Earth`s mantle, and it plays...

Lifeless cells ensure sharp vision

Seemingly dead cells perform a surprising task in the lens of a fish eye. Every morning and evening they change the lens's capacity to refract light in order to enhance...

Scientists spy Galfenol's inner beauty mark

(PhysOrg.com) -- The sonar on submarines may get far more sensitive ears in the near future thanks to a mysterious compound developed by the military. Developed over a decade ago,...

Making a Point: Picoscale Stability in a Room-Temperature AFM

(PhysOrg.com) -- Forget dancing angels, a research team from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado (CU) has shown how to detect and monitor...

Corrosion-resistant nanocoating for metals could replace toxic chromium

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have developed a method for coating metal surfaces with an ultrathin film containing nanoparticles - particles measuring billionths...

Flatland physics probes mysteries of superfluidity

(Physorg.com) -- If physicists lived in Flatland -the fictional two-dimensional world invented by Edwin Abbott in his 1884 novel -some of their quantum physics experiments would turn out differently (not...

Xu Guangxian: A chemical life

Chemistry World tells the inspiring story of the second chemist to win China’s prestigious State Supreme Science and Technology Prize, Xu Guangxian

Spacetime May Have Fractal Properties on a Quantum Scale

(PhysOrg.com) -- Usually, we think of spacetime as being four-dimensional, with three dimensions of space and one dimension of time. However, this Euclidean perspective is just one of many possible...

Samsung NC310 Netbook Claims 11 Hour Battery Life

(PhysOrg.com) -- Most standard netbooks offer between two and five hours of battery life, the newly released Samsung NC310 goes beyond these limits and can achieve 11 hours of computing...

Injection drug is recalled in Canada

OTTAWA, March 25 (UPI) -- Health Canada says certain lots of the drug Desferrioxamine Mesilate for Injection (500 milligram and 2 gram format) are being recalled for safety...