Physics
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Materials Science
Light filter lets rays through from only one direction
Angle-sensitive light filter could improve photography, telescopes and solar energy harvesting.
- Materials Science
Pearl coating inspires tougher ceramics
A material called mother of pearl, or nacre, has inspired the design of more durable, less brittle ceramics.
- Physics
A tractor beam reels in objects with sound
A tractor beam of focused sound waves has pulled on an object as large as a Toblerone chocolate bar.
- Materials Science
World’s thinnest material stretches, bends, twists
Graphene, the thinnest known material at one carbon atom thick, can be manipulated under the microscope using tricks from a variety of paper-cutting origami called kirigami.
- Chemistry
Milk protein a potential flame retardant
Protein found in milk offers a nontoxic way to extinguish fabric fires.
- Physics
Shifting grains may explain earthquake lightning
Mysterious lightning before or during earthquakes could get its spark from underground shifting.
- Materials Science
Phosphorene introduced as graphene alternative
Sheets of ultrathin phosphorus could lead to faster semiconductor electronics.
- Physics
Material’s magnetism tuned by temperature
Layered substance may lead to more reliable hard drives in the future.
- Materials Science
Silk bone screws may mend better than metal ones
The silk-made screw and plates are less stiff than metal ones and dissolve in the body, making them a safer, less invasive alternative for setting broken bones.
- Physics
Superfast laser pulses could pave way for beam weapons
Short light bursts turn columns of air into energy conduits.
- Physics
Flying snakes get lift from surrounding air vortices
When a paradise flying snake leaps into and glides through the air, it’s getting lift from small, swirling vortices in the air around it.
- Physics
Key to free will may be stripping reality naked
If reality emerges from an unseen foundation, human free will could influence the future.
