Materials Science
- Materials Science
Questions about toxic red tides, and more reader feedback
Readers had inquiries about a new deicing material, harmful algal blooms and more.
- Physics
Vanadium dioxide’s weird phase transition just got weirder
When shifting from one crystalline structure to another, the atoms inside vanadium dioxide bumble around a lot more than expected.
- Materials Science
This reflective paint could keep sunbaked buildings cool
A new type of polymer coating that reflects sunlight to control heat could supplement or replace air conditioning systems.
- Materials Science
High-tech ‘skins’ turn everyday objects into robots
Robotic skins turn inanimate objects into multipurpose machines.
- Materials Science
Here’s how graphene could make future electronics superfast
Graphene-based electronics that operate at terahertz frequencies would be much speedier successors to today’s silicon-based devices.
- Physics
A new hydrogen-rich compound may be a record-breaking superconductor
The record for the highest-temperature superconductor may be toast.
- Materials Science
A new material harnesses light to deice surfaces
A new sun-powered material could someday melt the ice off airplane wings, wind turbines and rooftops.
- Physics
Here’s how to bend spaghetti to your will
Researchers have discovered how to snap spaghetti sticks without sending bits of pasta flying.
- Chemistry
See the ‘periodic table’ of molecular knots
A new table of knots points the way to twisting molecules in increasingly complex pretzels.
- Materials Science
A filter that turns saltwater into freshwater just got an upgrade
Smoothing out a material used in desalination filters could help combat worldwide water shortages.
- Physics
Strange metals are even weirder than scientists thought
Some strange metals are odd in more ways than one, and that could help scientists understand high-temperature superconductors.
- Tech
A new kind of spray is loaded with microscopic electronic sensors
For the first time, researchers have built circuits on microscopic chips that can be mixed into an aerosol spray.
