Latest science news in Physics & Chemistry
Boosting the power of solar cells
(PhysOrg.com) -- New ways of squeezing out greater efficiency from solar photovoltaic cells are emerging from computer simulations and lab tests conducted by a team of physicists and engineers at...
High-Temp Superconducting Nanowire System is First of its Kind
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists from the California Institute of Technology have, for the first time, created an array of nanowires that are superconducting at relatively high temperatures. This work, published recently...
Sperm Size Isn't Everything
Contrary to common scientific belief, the length of a sperm's tail does not always determine how fast it can swim. Research has shown that in the counterintuitive microscopic world in...
Scientists discover cells reorganise shape to fit the situation
Flip open any biology textbook and you're bound to see a complicated diagram of the inner workings of a cell, with its internal scaffolding, the cytoskeleton, and how it maintains...
New theory defines faster MRI
Better equations could improve MRI quality, or even bring quantum computing closer
Students turn gas guzzlers green
Australian students have converted a standard economy car into a Renewable Energy Vehicle that costs only $1.40 to run per 100 kilometres.
Vital Signs: Safety: Helmets’ Face Shields Found to Be Sturdy
Plastic face shields that attach to helmets are strong enough to protect players’ eyes from even the most powerful blows, a new study finds.
Detroit, Check Out This Radical New Karma
A radical new car is getting its first workout. It's the zebra-striped brainchild of designer Henrik Fisker, who's trying to succeed where Detroit so far has failed. Anthony Mason checks...
Can you charge an iPod using an onion?
Soaking an onion in an energy drink to charge your iPod? It is either so bonkers it must be true or it's a YouTube hoax. First a video circulated on...
Atom smashers on TV
Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: Can the movies turn real-life physicists into stars? "The Atom Smashers" packs a lot of real life into its saga about the world's biggest subatomic...
Space Sportilization: Former Redskin Player Ken Harvey Offers A 21st Century Game on the Moon
(PhysOrg.com) -- Ken Harvey, former linebacker for the Washington Redskins is trying to capture the imagination of young people by proposing a 21st century game of "Float Ball" to be...
Spinning into the future of data storage
Scientists from Queen Mary, University of London have improved their understanding of the inner workings of our computers and mp3 players, thanks to an exciting new field of research called...
Molecular memory a game-changer
A team at Rice University has determined that a strip of graphite only 10 atoms thick can serve as the basic element in a new type of memory, making massive...
Physicists Receive Patent for Improved Cancer Therapy Device
Four physicists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have been awarded U.S. Patent No. 7,432,516 B2 for the design of a “medical synchrotron” capable of delivering precision...
The light syringe
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the University of St Andrews have developed a novel form of syringe, formed solely from light.
Putting an end to turbulence
When a flow reaches a certain speed, things get turbulent: The fluid or the gas no longer flows in an orderly fashion but whirls around wildly. However, in contrast to...
Indiana University Bloomington to focus research on energy and environment
A new research centre has been established at Indiana University Bloomington to explore issues related to energy and the environment, including the carbon cycle and its role in climate, the...
Researchers Induce Superconductivity in an Insulator
(PhysOrg.com) -- To continue to improve semiconductor devices, such as transistors, which form the backbone of the consumer electronics industry, researchers need to be able to control the movement and...
Dismay over car duty 'climb down'
An environment group voices its dismay over the UK Chancellor's decision to limit the increase of duty on the most polluting cars.
The Most Ambitious Engineering Problem Ever Solved
Construction on the $10-billion behemoth—housed 300 feet underground in a 17-mile circular tube—spanned 14 years and required the efforts of 10,000 engineers and physicists. But its real engineering feat comes...
Explaining Why It's Not Just Déjà Vu (All Over Again)
No matter how many times you experience déjà vu in your life, it never ceases to be a bizarre occurrence. While science has pretty much explained all the mystery out...
Counting the drops
Korean scientists have created a microfluidic abacus that allows them to add droplets together
Polymers 'battered' with nanoparticles could create self healing paints
Research chemists at the University of Warwick have devised an elegant process which simply and cheaply covers small particles of polymer with a layer of silica-based nanoparticles. The final result...
Michael Phelps' got nothing on dolphins
Dolphins have a kick that would make Olympic gold-medalist Michael Phelps jealous — 212 pounds worth.
Tests find chemical leaches from ‘safe' products
Products marketed for infants or billed as "microwave safe" release toxic doses of the chemical bisphenol A when heated, an analysis by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has found.
Physicists aim to help golfers by producing better balls that fly farther
At the 61st Meeting of the American Physical Society's Division of Fluid Dynamics this week, a team of researchers from Arizona State University and the University of Maryland is reporting...
About New York: At a New York Seminary, a Green Idea Gets Tangled in Red Tape
A geothermal energy plan to reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions has been continually delayed by a four-year siege of red tape.
Ariane Sherine: Give it to me straight
Ariane Sherine: For spinach-in-the-teeth and embarrassing-smell moments, it is far better to be brutally honest