Latest science news in Physics & Chemistry
Better solar panel efficiency achieved
CHESTNUT HILL, Maine, March 4 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they have developed a titanium nanostructure that provides an expanded surface area and greater efficiency in the transport...
Major step toward less energy loss in new electromagnetic materials
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at Uppsala University have managed for the first time to measure magnetic properties in new materials quantitatively with the help of electron microscopy - with unparalleled precision....
Technological competence not sufficient for success in the digital gaming machine industry
The shift from electromechanical to digital technology generated a lot of opportunities for the gaming industry, but it simultaneously created a new set of prerequisites for success. Technological competence is...
Cost Of Installed Solar Photovoltaic Systems Drops Significantly Over The Last Decade
Researchers report that records from a decade's worth of solar power installations indicate that overall costs have declined significantly because of decreases in associated expenses such as labor and overhead...
Solid-state Metamaterial Device Tames Terahertz Frequency
Terahertz radiation, a fleeting phase of the electromagnetic spectrum, has proved difficult to manipulate with great precision. Scientists report engineering a solid-state metamaterial device capable of controlling a terahertz beam...
Researchers find novel technique to study living cells
An international team of scientists, co-led by a University of Kentucky researcher, has developed a technique for imaging nanostructures on the surface of living cells...
Scientists Create Light-Bending Nanoparticles
(PhysOrg.com) -- Metallic nanoparticles and other structures can manipulate light in ways that are not possible with conventional optical materials. In a recent example of this, Rice University researchers discovered...
Researchers develop new reversible, green window technology
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU, Israel) researchers have developed a new, highly energy-efficient window technology, featuring two reversible panes that will save energy all year round in homes and...
Nanotubes wreak havoc with heat
Electrons flowing in 1D structures dissipate energy in strange ways
Gold-palladium Nanoparticles Achieve Greener, Smarter Production Of Hydrogen Peroxide
Chemists and engineers writing in the journal Science reports a breakthrough in the decades-long effort to produce H2O2 directly from oxygen and hydrogen and to limit its decomposition after production....
Ultimate In 'Green' Energy: Plants Inspire New Generation Of Solar Cells
The ability of plants to turn sunlight into energy through photosynthesis has been successfully mimicked by scientists to produce a new generation of solar cells.
John Kansius, Visionary Inventor, Passes Away
John Kanzius was a true PopSci guy: A former radio engineer who, upon being diagnosed, figured there had to be a better way to deal with cancer than his crippling...
Story Tips from Oak Ridge National Laboratory - March 2009
With the aid of a one-of-a-kind instrument at ORNL's Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, discoveries have been made that could open new pathways for nanoscale electronics. An enzyme cocktail that...
Scientists Track Heat in Tiny Rolls of Carbon Atoms
(PhysOrg.com) -- IBM Research scientists today announced a landmark study in the field of nanoelectronics; the development and demonstration of novel techniques to measure the distribution of energy and heat...
Found in the Trash: A Jug of Plutonium (Vintage ’44, Sleuths Say)
A cleanup crew at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington State has found one of the earliest batched of plutonium ever made.
World first as scientists grow microtubes from crystals (Video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- In a world-first, scientists at the University of Glasgow have grown micro-tube structures from crystals of inorganic compounds.
Trading carats for nanometers - and defective diamonds for crystal clear microscopy
(PhysOrg.com) -- Large, perfect diamonds are precious to almost all of us but to some scientists, it is the defects that really matter. This is because defects can form nanoscopic...
Seeing the small picture: X-ray nanoprobe pushes observation to ever smaller frontiers
(PhysOrg.com) -- Try to picture putting some atoms under a microscope. Even if you could pick them up, put them on a slide and get them to stay still, you...
Intel outsourcing some Atom manufacturing to TSMC
(AP) -- Intel Corp. is handing over the secrets of its Atom processor to an Asian manufacturer in a gambit to sell more of the tiny chips that go...
Atomic-sized One-stop Shop For Nanoelectronics Created
Researchers have created a nanoscale one-stop shop, a single platform for creating electronics at a nearly single-atom scale that could yield advanced forms of such technologically important devices as high-density...
Can Geothermal Power Compete with Coal on Price?
Although the environmental benefits of burning less fossil fuel by using renewable sources of energy--such as geothermal, hydropower, solar and wind--are clear, there's been a serious roadblock in their adoption:...
Optical Techniques Show Continued Promise In Detecting Pancreatic Cancer
Optical technology has been shown to be effective in detecting the presence of pancreatic cancer through analysis of neighboring tissue in the duodenum. The promising new technology uses novel light-scattering...
Battery Wrapped in Solar Cells Recharges in the Sun
(PhysOrg.com) -- Although you can buy solar charging devices for rechargeable batteries, it would be even more convenient if batteries had built-in solar cells. Sitting in sunlight, the battery could...
Future Helicopters Get SMART
Helicopters today are considered a loud, bumpy and inefficient mode for day-to-day domestic travel--best reserved for medical emergencies, traffic reporting and hovering over celebrity weddings. But NASA research into rotor...
Flow Structure Under Breaking Waves Analyzed
The study of wave structure and turbulence helps provide valuable information to predict how often waves are generated, the velocity of them, how long they last and their temporal extent.
Plastic Bottle Recycling Increases
Plastic bottle recycling by consumers increased 115 million pounds in 2007.
'Voltage Patterning' could be next step in nanostructure lithography
(PhysOrg.com) -- "What you want these days is to have precise control of nanostructures. Using masks and optical techniques, it is possible to control how nanostructures grow for use in...